The last blog was from before I even really got to Kenya last year! I want to formally apologize to anyone who was going to use my blog as a way to keep up with what was going on with the East Kenya Missions team. Thankfully, James is REALLY good about keeping up with what is going on and you can visit his blog HERE to read what the Lord has been doing on this side of the globe. I can't tell you how many times I have started new entries and have left them unfinished and unpublished. I truly am sorry, and I am trying to make up for it by keeping this up-to-date until I return to the States.
I could spend paragraphs upon paragraphs trying to tell you everything that has happened over the last year, but then this would be another unfinished post because it would just take way too long to really explain all of the adventures we've experienced. I will start from today, Saturday, May 2, 2015. Today is my sister's birthday. I'm not going to lie, my sister and I have had a roller coaster of a relationship, but today reminds me of family. I love my family dearly. All of them. Even the crazy ones (you know you who are). As a foreign missionary, you understand the confusing words found in Luke 14:26. I'm not going to type it for you because I want to make you whip out your nearest Bible app and look it up for yourself in whatever version you understand the best. I actually like all of chapter 14, so go ahead and read the whole thing. You'll notice that the verse in Luke doesn't say anything about friends or neighbors. It talks specifically about your family. Now I don't know who you call your family, but I call them the Johnstons and the Loftons and all the married names those relatives have. In the Eastern cultures on this side of the pond, family is a big deal, so the words Jesus speaks here are really harsh words to those people listening to him. Why would anyone hate their family? Aren't we taught to love everyone? Jesus, didn't you tell us that we are to love our enemies?? Now you want us to hate our families???
We get it. We call it The Cost.
We are to freely come to the throne of God because Jesus paid The Cost for us. But in order to follow Him and be a disciple, we must be willing to do so above all else. I've heard of a few people who tell me that their way of evangelizing is to try to talk people out of being a Christian. Some of you may call it crazy, but I think it's being honest. The early Christians spread the Gospel like wildfire! Why? Because they were honest about The Cost of being a Christian and so the people who became Christians wanted to follow Christ more than anything else. Following Christ means not following something else. Think about it. Today, most American Christians are cultural Christians. We go to church like we're supposed to and do the right things and dress the right way, but we really aren't actively following Christ. To follow Christ, you must consider Luke 14:26. When it comes down to it, are you willing to follow what Christ teaches over what your family believes or what you even believe yourself? You may have been taught things that you cling to which hinder your relationship with Christ. Are you willing to die to yourself in order to live in Christ? Y'all....it's worth it. The Cost is totally worth it.
I have so much more to say on that topic, but I would never be able to do it justice. To sum up: we are called by God to do certain things in our lives whether that's in the same place you've lived your entire life or across the world. I was called to Kenya to be a part of a team by using the spiritual gift of teaching to teach missionary kids so that the work here could be done more efficiently. In order to do that, I had to want to follow God's will more than I want to be in Bossier City, Louisiana, holding my niece or handing my mom flowers on Mother's Day or hugging my dad on Father's Day or even eating dinner with my sister tonight on her birthday. It's not that these crazy missionaries (and actually all those people who are following God's call and find themselves away from their families) don't want to be there and don't miss their families. It's that they are genuinely trusting in God's Call and His will for their lives. Remember that as you are ministering to those who are away from their families, make sure you tell them how proud you are of them and how much you appreciate what they are doing. I am so proud of the work that is being done here on the coast of Kenya and am honored to get to work with such amazing men and women of God.
Now that I have officially gone on a tangent, here's what's been going on lately:
We went back to America for a few weeks for several reasons. James and Kenya taught at the World Missions Seminar in Little Rock, Arkansas, March 2-13.
The weekend between the two seminar weeks, the kids got to perform at the Louisiana Destination Imagination State Tournament. They did so amazing!
After the Seminar, my sister-in-law had my beautiful niece, Daisy Cate Johnston, on the first day of spring! I stayed for two weeks after she was born trying to spoil her rotten.
We all came back to Kenya to get some hard work in before we return to the States the last week of July. Since we have returned, the kids have done well finishing up their curriculums before the last day of school (May 22). Clayton got a new vehicle and James and Clayton bought a buggy to go out on the hard village roads.
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| photo by James Taylor |
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| photo by John Strader |
A new church has been established in Midiani with the baptisms of 27 members! The pastor at Mnara Wa Kweli Landmark Baptist Church was able to baptize the members for the first time in his life. He needs crutches to assist him in walking, so Clayton and James carried him up and down a steep hill and stood with him to steady him in the water.
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| photo by Lynn Raburn |
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| photo by John Strader |
The compound is completely full of people who are on fire. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I love them. With all of these people being in one fenced-in compound, I'm sure we'll be getting on each other's nerves, but in the end, we all want to see the furtherance of the Kingdom of God and it's beautiful to be a part of.
Please pray for a few things with us:
-A mission team will be coming in 2 weeks. Pray for safe travels and also for all of the people to whom they will be ministering.
-Travels north. Pray for the team members that will be traveling to the northern regions of Kenya. Pray for safety and for God to show the team exactly where they need to be.
-Standardized testing. The kids will be taking the IOWA test next week. This is the first time they'll get to experience standardized testing, so pray that they feel confident and do well to show how much they've learned.
-Furlough for the Taylors. Pray for the Taylors as they prepare for their 9-10 month furlough coming at the end of the summer. This will be a big change for them as they will be living predominately in Monticello and going to school.
-Future plans. I have accepted a job at Elm Gove Middle School teaching 8th grade math for the 2015-2016 school year. Please pray that God reveals the next step in my place in the East Kenya Missions ministry. I am torn right now in what I will be doing after this next school year. Please pray for clarity and wisdom as I make decisions.
Thank you so much for all of your love and support. It means a lot to know people have been praying for me along this year's journey.
In Christ,
Ashley
PS: Happy Birthday, Brittany. :)
What a great reminder for when I feel like an absolute lunatic when telling people what we are doing. Praying for all of you! May God reveal His Will for your life quite clearly over the next few months.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anne! I'm so excited for the changes that are coming for your family!
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