06/30/2022
Greetings from Kenya! Thank you for sticking with me on this journey! Thank you for praying, for reaching out to check on me, for loving me, and for giving so I can be here as God's hands and feet in Africa. But mostly, thank you for being such an important part of my life. God is faithful, and this journey with Him is so worth it!
I am doing good, no, I am great. Kenya is not that far from Uganda but seems a world away. I traveled to Nairobi which is the capital of Kenya, and I felt as if I was back in any major city in the USA. Then my journey took me deep into middle Kenya. I was welcomed by mountains and temperatures cool enough to sleep under 3 blankets! As we headed back down the mountain, I was overtaken by the beauty. The angel’s trumpets and clematis vines grew wild, and the lantana was at least 10 feet tall.
I have been in Kenya since the first of June and have had the opportunity to serve with several different ministries during this time. My first stop was a home for street boys in Nairobi. Then I traveled to Isiolo, Kenya to visit some friends who live and serve here and found so much more than I ever hoped for. The last few months have been challenging, provoking, stirring, so many emotions, thoughts, and lots of introspection and learning. I can say with great certainty, there is no perfect address, no perfect city, no place without adversity, but there is one place that I so desire to make my home.
Of course, I have your attention ... read more below, "Beauty in the Making". But first, take a look at some of my joys along the journey!
Much Love,
Robin
I got to help set up and run a "market" where the boys staying at the home earned points all month to go shopping for items they needed.
Even young boys love arts and crafts - drawing our hands and stamping them with our one of a kind fingerprint! What a joy to share God's word with these young boys -- reminding them of how they were uniquely created by God and have great purpose! (Psalm 139)
Hearing some stories of rescue and redemption was so powerful!
GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!!
BEAUTY IN THE MAKING
To answer the burning question – where is home? Honestly, this question has been whirling around my brain and some days consuming me. Then in the quest of an answer, pursuing the One who knows, I hear the answer in a still small voice, “This place is your home.” Moses knew this place. Anna made this place her home. The more I linger with God, I learn and accept who I am and what I was created to do. Many things, circumstances, influences, and lots of personal choices have distracted me from this place. But time and time again God is faithful to bring me home.
When I share my personal testimony, I often use the analogy of a fragile vessel being fashioned by God. (2 Corinthians 4) There have been several moments in my life where I have been struck down (2 Corinthians 4:8-9), circumstances that sent me running for shelter and comfort. Just like a child running to their father when they are hurt, scared, or in need of safety, these life-altering moments drove me into the Secret Place with my Heavenly Father. They sent me home. Psalm 90:1 Lord, through all the generations You have been our home! The prayer written by Moses in Psalm 90, the man of God, paints a beautiful blueprint for what I know is to be my lifestyle.
God is my home and my safe place. He is a place of shelter, refuge, and retreat. It is in this place I am assured of who I am. But not only who, I am at home when I am spending time in God’s presence worshiping Him, studying His word, and in prayer. I am learning that this too is a major part of my purpose, a work of the Lord.
Most of the time I experience such peace from God in the Secret Place. This place is positively a place to hide, but never a place to hide anything from an all-knowing and ever-present God. This closeness reveals who He is. In Psalm 90:2-12 we get a picture of the Creator of the universe and His sovereign dominion over His creation. He is only good, pure and perfect. He is holy. His purity and light expose the darkness in me. Anything in me that is not pure will be illuminated. You spread out our sins before you – our secret sins – and you see them all. Psalm 90:8
This may not sound like the most pleasant or comfortable place to live. For me however, one who has known much darkness, yet tasted the mercy, forgiveness, grace, and deliverance that comes as we submit to the fire of purification – I am well acquainted with the beauty of freedom this fire produces. Psalm 90:13 is a plea for God to have pity on us, and He does. But God doesn’t end there. He removes our stains by the precious blood shed by His Son Jesus.
For all my many ways and reasons I stray away from home, our Heavenly Father awaits my return. In all my quests for meaning and purpose, I have never found life, satisfaction, or purpose outside of Him. Why would Moses ask for satisfaction, joy, or gladness, even restoration and redemption if it were not possible? (Psalm 90:14-15) This usually does not come in ways we expect. God alone can satisfy. He usually doesn’t pour out material or worldly blessings to woo me. My Heavenly Father knows me best.
When I stray from His will, or when I am empty, alone, or undone, He uses His steadfast love to draw me home again. This love often looks a little more like discipline and usually comes in the form of breaking. When I surrender to the process, He purifies me from the things that do not bring Him glory. Then He re-builds, shining His glory in me, and fashions me for His good purpose. Being close, surrendered, and fully focused I can see my God-given purpose once again.
Psalm 90:16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. Moses asks God to see what He is doing among him and his people. Moses desires to see God’s glory among them. I so desire to see God’s hand working in me and those around me. What is He doing in the earth and more specifically, in my sphere of influence? And herein lies my purpose – knowing what God is doing around me and then joining in the work.
I spent many years responding to people and trying to meet the needs of those around me. When I am lost in God’s gaze and attuned to Him, I learn to respond to Him, not others. He may tell me to help meet a need for someone, but not always. He knows the best way to minister to everyone. Serving in Africa, where the needs are endless, I need to know how God is moving and specifically how He is asking me to join in His work.
As we come close and set our eyes on Him, He purifies us and fashions us for His work. God alone makes us beautiful, and He is the One who has the power to make our work impactful for His kingdom. Psalm 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
When I spend my days in the place I am meant to be, I learn what to do. I trust God to show me where and when I will have a physical place to call home again. Maybe it will be here on earth, maybe not. In the meantime, I will continue to love Him, and love others. I am at peace. I am at home!
Some more joy on this beautiful journey...
Sunsets are not new, but new every evening and new in every location.
Viewing the second largest mountain in Africa from my bedroom window.
Zebras and camels on the side of the road. Gets me every time.
I am blessed.
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