Forces of HOPE

03/01/2026

“Hurry Us Up”

Psalm 90:12 (TLB) - “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”

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There’s a saying in the United States that goes something like this: “To light a fire under one’s butt.” It’s used when you want to emphasize the need to “get moving” (songa mbele) on a project or goal, usually one that’s met with some initial resistance in the beginning. For example: “I need to light a fire under my butt and finish my paperwork at the office!”

The Psalm above speaks to how we are to look to the Lord and the Holy Spirit to clarify how much time we have left to show Jesus to others during our time on Earth. But the second half of the verse is the Psalmist reminding himself that all we really need to understand is the time we NEED to accomplish what the Lord would have for our life’s purposes.

Running and finishing the race may be noble, but may we also “light a fire under our butts” and hurry us up (tuharakishe) to show the practical example of Jesus to others. Time is under God’s perfection and God’s control, so when it is gifted to us, let us use it for His glory and goodness.

- Extending warm grace to you always, Mama Wakiroho C.F.

02/01/2026

“New Year, New Beginning, New Hope”

1 Peter 5:8 (TLB) - “Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.”

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Revival is HERE and NOW!

For the first time since the 1970’s, the fire of the Holy Spirit is prophetically on the move across the globe. Tens of thousands are baptized daily on secular college campuses in the United States, and world leaders are proclaiming the Gospel and reading from an open Bible during speeches.

But the devil still roars like a ravenous beast, looking for new hopes of grace to shatter. Let those of us with life and spirit experience rise to mentor those new feet of faith on the ground. Every student needs a teacher, and many are called according to this holy purpose. Be one of the good ones (moja ya mazuri), a reliable source of sincerity and truth with miles already rooted in the Lord’s character. Feed the hungry! Quench the thirsty! Care for the widow! Adopt the orphan! And visit those in prison! Let those who recognize Jesus in you say, “I knew they were a Christian because they LOVED!”

Against this, the enemy cannot stand or exist, for Jesus is alive..and He resides in your heart. One drop of light is enough to extinguish infinite darkness; so, it is time for all of us who know the Son of God to shine brighter than the noonday sun!

Extending warm grace to you always,
Mama Wakiroho C.F.

30/10/2025

To my brothers and sisters in Christ across the oceans...

You are not forgotten. Please know that we are fervently praying for you all amidst the political turmoil that is happening as we speak. This is a good time to remind people that prayer is not a last resort, but should be the first resort to a problem. Jesus gave us the gift of tearing down the veil in the temple so we could directly address the Almighty God of the Heavens and the Earth. Think about that for a second…we are daughters and sons of the ultimate political authority. He WILL work miracles among the chaos, even if he does not initially stop the storm itself. Remember... Look at Christ, not the waves around you, and tell Him of your troubles. Saying prayer is powerful is not a “good showing of hope.” Realizing the power in prayer is a spiritual literacy we should all strive for.

Mungu anajua! Mungu anajali! Mungu hisikiliza!

- Mama Wakiroho (Cheryl Foos)

22/08/2025

21/04/2025

Pasaka Sangura: A Tanzanian Legend
Written By: Mama Wakiroho, Cheryl Foos

In the tall, grass plains of Tanzania, there once lived a very curious cheetah cub. This cub would race and play, laugh and jump, all in the coolness of the evenings just as a young cheetah should feel free to do. His favorite game was to chase after the dancing fireflies and watch as the lightning bugs would tease the buffalos.

“Mama,” this curious duma called out to his mother in the stillness of the sunset. “What is your animal on the savannah?”

“Sungura,” his mother softly replied. “The rabbit.”

“They are tasty, aren’t they?” the young cub asked with a flick of his long tail. “I like to chase them.”

“This sungura,” the mama explained, “is not one you eat. And it chases you, mwanangu mdogo.”

The young cub eye’s widened in surprise and he struggled to understand. “Oh my goodness…I do not believe such a thing. Mungu wangu…it cannot be the case.”

The mama duma stood up, stretched a long, relaxing stretch, and paced over to her son. She laid back down in the tall grass and protectively curled around her son, and she was once again invisible to anyone who might try to find them. “For this rabbit, we do not need to hide.”

“Is he easy to catch?” the enraptured cheetah cub asked his mother as he licked his lips in anticipation of a delicious meal.

Mama laughed a hearty laugh that echoed into the night sky before she looked directly into her son’s eyes. “Yes, he is easy to catch. And sometimes, he even runs to us so as not to leave anyone behind! But we do not eat him, kijana. His spirit lives with us on this very earth, and every year, sungura reminds us of his gift of grace that means we will peacefully lie down with him in Heaven one day, just as the lion will lay down with the lamb.”

The young cub stopped baring his teeth in anticipation of a meal, and he smiled, knowing that he was loved. “This bunny…this Pasaka Sungura….this Easter rabbit is the same as the God who commands the sky, Mama. I know it! He reminds me of the stories you tell me about a man called Jesus. Do they know each other, Mama?”

Again, Mama duma chuckled. “Pasaka Sungura is just a story told to the little ones, my son, my mwanangu. So that they might understand.” She raised an eyebrow. “Yesu is real. But the rumor says Pasaka Sungura leaves all the little ones treats by their dens before the sunrise, just because he loves them.”

The young cub stood straight up in excitement and exclaimed to his mother, “Yes, Mama! I cannot wait for this!” Then he scampered off into the dark of the evening, always looking for more fireflies.

The mother spoke quietly after her son. “The Easter Rabbit has already found you, my kijana. You are the same as a lamb who knows His voice. Rest again tonight, my young one, knowing that you are protected, and that you will never be abandoned.”

02/09/2024

“Nilikumbuka” - (I remembered.)

Once there was a little girl who had seen the Northern Lights in a movie, and she dreamed of seeing the lights in Alaska ever since. Thirty years later, resigned to the financial pressures of life, that little girl understood that her dream would simply stay a wandering fairytale wish. One day, the little girl found herself in the middle of a desert, late into the night, when suddenly, an aurora appeared before her very eyes. Her heart was overwhelmed with the love of the Lord that He demonstrated to her…that He would remember such a small child’s longing. So often, it is easier to think of where God should be, such as the Northern Lights being found, well, up North. The middle of the dry and dusty tumbleweeds is not a place one would expect to find the elusive Aurora Borealis; but on that evening, God brought the lights to the little girl. The desert of our dashed hopes, our forgotten innocence, and our most desperate disbeliefs are all no match for the illumination of God’s love.

- Mama Wakiroho

(Photo Credit: Cheryl Foos, Ephrata, WA)

20/08/2024

Dear Brethren -

No one knows the hour of Christ’s return except the Father, but we do know this…do not be afraid. For Christians, the second coming of the Lord is joyous. Saving grace is a gift; it is not conditional. Therefore, it cannot be separated from a person once it is received. If the message you hear about the church being fast asleep brings you a sense of fear, then it is not from the Lord. This world has gone crazy (wameenda wazimu), so be ready for Jesus even now!

- Mama Wakiroho, Cheryl Foos