Brooks
Meet my new friend Pamela. Her husband went to seminary and was trained as a Baptist pastor. He and his wife pastored a church for some time, but have transitioned into simple church and are now planting churches in a village near Kitale. It's a very poor area with red dirt streets, trash strewn all about, goats, chickens and cows ambling about, while children play football in vacant lots and men and women walk very intentionally going about their business.
We were at Pamela and Kefir's house yesterday for house church. Their home is in a string of several other connecting homes, facing other identical homes separated by just a few feet of dirt. It has two dark rooms, divided by a curtain. One room is their bedroom; the other is the sitting room by day, and a bedroom for nine-year old Audrey by night. Each room measures about 8 x 10.
It was so good to be with them. Pamela, as you can see, is a beautiful young woman, and her husband adores her. He is so humble, and she is such a woman of gentleness and faith. Pamela and Kefir are typical of the Kenyan culture, which I have come to appreciate and love. They are soft-spoken, often speaking in low tones, but with such conviction and passion.
While we were together, I asked Pamela about her children. She said she had Audrey, but that she had also lost a boy who was three months old. She had had to have a C-section and there had been complications. This was almost two years ago. Even though she was smiling, it was obvious that she was understandably still grieving over the loss of this boy. But, then the words just began tumbling out of her as her story continued. She had started to feel sick and been to seek medical help. She wanted me to understand that she had read in a paper from the U.S. that women there could go to a clinic and get a screening for female problems, and that this is available for any woman, but here in Kenya, this is impossible. When she goes to the doctor, there are many lines and she must stand in a line, and even your husband cannot stand in line with you, no matter how sick and weak you are. And then they yell at you, "Go to this line, go to that line!" Finally, maybe you can see the doctor and he will tell you what kind of medicine you need and ask you if you can afford 400 shillings. When you say yes, he will give you a prescription, but when you go to the pharmacy, they will tell you the cost is 1200 shillings, so there is no possibility of you being able to pay for it.
So, Pamela was telling me that she was so ill that she couldn't do any work at all. She was so desperate that finally she gave in and went to the doctor. After standing in all of the different lines, she met with the doctor. He told her that she had fibroid tumors on her uterus and she needed to have surgery. He also told her that she was pregnant, and that she was anemic--and that she has malaria. The doctor wanted to do surgery to take out the tumors, but, of course, that would mean that she would lose the child, so Pamela told the doctor, "No, I am going home!" She said first of all, there was no way she wanted to lose the baby. Secondly, there was no way to pay for the surgery or the medicines for the other problems. She said I have nothing; I have only God, but He is enough. So she went home, went to bed and started to pray. As she was telling her story, I couldn't help, but remember the miracle God had done in my own life when I was her age and my excitement began to grow as she continued to tell her story. "So, God visited our house and the bleeding that was happening stopped. And if God had not healed me, I would not be able to visit with you this day or prepare a meal for you or tell you about this thing He has done for me." And, so I did rejoice with her and told her a small bit of my own story some 35 years ago, and yes, because of God's miracles, we were actually able to be able to sit together in her living room that day and share our lives with each other and talk about this awesome God and the miracles He had performed in our lives!
But, that isn't the end of Pamela's story. Pamela speaks beautiful English...as well as Swahili and her native tribal language. But somewhere along the line, we misunderstood what she had spoken. This was not a story that happened a year or two ago. This is a story that is currently happening. This is Pamela's life today. She is standing on God's promises today for her own health, for the health and birth of her baby. She had been to the doctor last week and found out all of this news. God is currently healing her and raising her up. Last week she couldn't get out of bed and yesterday she was in the "kitchen" in the backyard preparing a meal for us. Kefir was helping her, which is VERY unusual in the Kenyan culture for a man to be helping the woman, so I know he is still quite concerned about her health and that she is still not fully recovered, even though she is doing so well.
When we learned of our misunderstanding, we asked if we could pray for her-Anny (one of the Congolese visiting team members) and myself, as the only women present. It was awesome! We look forward to the birth of this special little one and Pamela's full recovery and healing. Please pray with us for this very humble, precious family: for the birth of their baby and for their spiritual babies and church plants in their community as well.
We were at Pamela and Kefir's house yesterday for house church. Their home is in a string of several other connecting homes, facing other identical homes separated by just a few feet of dirt. It has two dark rooms, divided by a curtain. One room is their bedroom; the other is the sitting room by day, and a bedroom for nine-year old Audrey by night. Each room measures about 8 x 10.
It was so good to be with them. Pamela, as you can see, is a beautiful young woman, and her husband adores her. He is so humble, and she is such a woman of gentleness and faith. Pamela and Kefir are typical of the Kenyan culture, which I have come to appreciate and love. They are soft-spoken, often speaking in low tones, but with such conviction and passion.
While we were together, I asked Pamela about her children. She said she had Audrey, but that she had also lost a boy who was three months old. She had had to have a C-section and there had been complications. This was almost two years ago. Even though she was smiling, it was obvious that she was understandably still grieving over the loss of this boy. But, then the words just began tumbling out of her as her story continued. She had started to feel sick and been to seek medical help. She wanted me to understand that she had read in a paper from the U.S. that women there could go to a clinic and get a screening for female problems, and that this is available for any woman, but here in Kenya, this is impossible. When she goes to the doctor, there are many lines and she must stand in a line, and even your husband cannot stand in line with you, no matter how sick and weak you are. And then they yell at you, "Go to this line, go to that line!" Finally, maybe you can see the doctor and he will tell you what kind of medicine you need and ask you if you can afford 400 shillings. When you say yes, he will give you a prescription, but when you go to the pharmacy, they will tell you the cost is 1200 shillings, so there is no possibility of you being able to pay for it.
So, Pamela was telling me that she was so ill that she couldn't do any work at all. She was so desperate that finally she gave in and went to the doctor. After standing in all of the different lines, she met with the doctor. He told her that she had fibroid tumors on her uterus and she needed to have surgery. He also told her that she was pregnant, and that she was anemic--and that she has malaria. The doctor wanted to do surgery to take out the tumors, but, of course, that would mean that she would lose the child, so Pamela told the doctor, "No, I am going home!" She said first of all, there was no way she wanted to lose the baby. Secondly, there was no way to pay for the surgery or the medicines for the other problems. She said I have nothing; I have only God, but He is enough. So she went home, went to bed and started to pray. As she was telling her story, I couldn't help, but remember the miracle God had done in my own life when I was her age and my excitement began to grow as she continued to tell her story. "So, God visited our house and the bleeding that was happening stopped. And if God had not healed me, I would not be able to visit with you this day or prepare a meal for you or tell you about this thing He has done for me." And, so I did rejoice with her and told her a small bit of my own story some 35 years ago, and yes, because of God's miracles, we were actually able to be able to sit together in her living room that day and share our lives with each other and talk about this awesome God and the miracles He had performed in our lives!
But, that isn't the end of Pamela's story. Pamela speaks beautiful English...as well as Swahili and her native tribal language. But somewhere along the line, we misunderstood what she had spoken. This was not a story that happened a year or two ago. This is a story that is currently happening. This is Pamela's life today. She is standing on God's promises today for her own health, for the health and birth of her baby. She had been to the doctor last week and found out all of this news. God is currently healing her and raising her up. Last week she couldn't get out of bed and yesterday she was in the "kitchen" in the backyard preparing a meal for us. Kefir was helping her, which is VERY unusual in the Kenyan culture for a man to be helping the woman, so I know he is still quite concerned about her health and that she is still not fully recovered, even though she is doing so well.
When we learned of our misunderstanding, we asked if we could pray for her-Anny (one of the Congolese visiting team members) and myself, as the only women present. It was awesome! We look forward to the birth of this special little one and Pamela's full recovery and healing. Please pray with us for this very humble, precious family: for the birth of their baby and for their spiritual babies and church plants in their community as well.
Add new comment