Jamie Hung

“Journey for Faith”

Coming on this trip, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve always heard from people that Africans are extremely pure in heart and I can learn so much from them. I was eager to meet the Kenyans to see what people meant.

My first encounter with Kenyans was at a place called Singoroi. I was definitely overwhelmed and shocked as the people followed us wherever we went. It was as if we were celebrities. Even during the sermon, people stared at us. With everything that was going on, it was easy for me to doubt the people there. Were they just coming to church to get a glimpse of the foreigners? This doubt also carried over to house to house evangelism. I was already insecure about how I was sharing but to see that people were still accepting Christ, I was doubtful. Were they just being polite and accepting Jesus because we came?

With the same skeptical eyes, I looked at the pastors of Kenya with unbelief. We had bible study with the pastors and they would always answer the questions with the “right answer.” For example: Q1: “What do you fear the most?” A: God Q2: “How often do you think about Jesus’ 2nd Coming?” A: Everyday.

It was hard because I felt that I couldn’t relate to them and in my head I was thinking “Are you for real?” I saw how my skepticism was hindering me from seeing the blessings I could be receiving. While my team shared about how they were blessed by the Kenyans, I was still doubtful. I realized that I viewed them with the same eyes I viewed people in America. More than doubting them, I doubted God and what he was capable of doing in people’s lives. It was while my small group of pastors shared their testimonies that I saw more clearly what I struggled with. I always thought that people in Kenya would have crazy stories on how they came to Christ. I was shocked to find out that almost everyone in my group came to Christ after coming to church one night and hearing the sermon. I saw how simply sharing God’s word was all that they needed. I also found out later on that in the church of Singoroi, 85 new members joined the church even after we left. That totally rebuked me and helped me see that God can work in so many ways and that I can’t limit what He can do. The thing He needs is for people to go forth and share the gospel. Man’s actions and God’s power as Pastor Dave always says.

With this new perspective I tried to really see God throughout the time in an area called Pokot. I have to admit though that my self centered struggles about my inabilities still came up into my mind, but God still allowed me to see His work being done. Pokot was literally a “dry and barren land.” During house to house, we traveled far distances to even see houses but at those houses no one was really home. We walked a total of around 9 km and decided to head back. Our whole group felt like it was a hopeless search. Finally as we were heading back, we came across a man named Christopher. We were able to share the gospel with him and he accepted Christ. It was through the seemingly hopeless search in the desert that God was changing my heart and mindset to see His kingdom before my own. As I was sharing, no longer was the focus on man’s action, but my heart knew that only through God’s power could this man believe.

Now that I was seeing God’s power, I really saw the need for it in my life. I grew up with the knowledge that with God all things are possible, but it was hard for me to see it played out in my life. I was extremely privileged to meet Pastor Jiveti, a pastor who revered God, loved Him, obeyed Him, trusted Him, and depended on Him. Everything he shared seemed so centered on Christ. It pushed me to really want to live my life against the standard of Christ as opposed to man. In America it was easy for me to be sucked into the norm and be content with my Christian walk because I compared it to everyone else but I saw through this pastor’s life that dependence on God requires that “He must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30). We can never become content with our walk because Christ is who we look to as the standard and therefore we always need more of Him. I’m excited and scared to return to America, but I have hope knowing that our God is a powerful God. Please pray that I will continue to live a life loving God and not settling for the norm but clinging onto to Christ.