Jenny Hyun

There are many things that I loved about Kenya. I literally thought to myself everyday, ‘I can’t believe I’m in Kenya!’ I loved every moment of the missions trip because it was so amazing to see how much compassion and love God has for Kenya, and surely, that He is at work in the hearts of many people. If I would have to choose one thing that I love the most about Kenya, it would be their passion during worship. Besides the actual singing, there are a few snap shots that pass through my mind as I reminisce about the way the people in Kenya worshipped God. Through the different ways that the Kenyans worshipped, God showed me His glory.

From the mouths of the Beloved
On the first day upon our arrival at the orphanage in Kisii, 36 children greeted us with a presentation of songs. The children were of various age groups from pre-school to high school. As I was watching and listening to them singing, something stirred deeply in my heart. It was so evident that they were singing with all of their hearts—their voices were amazingly loud and in unison—it was such a beautiful sound. If I hadn’t known that these children were orphans, I would have thought they had mothers and fathers, because their faces were gleaming with joy as they worshipped. These children had lost their parents through HIV/AIDS, tribal conflict, and other tragedies and it just blew my mind to see them so happy and joyous.

From the worship of these children, I saw God’s character and love being displayed. God, the Father, is the true father of these children, and He’s the one who truly loves them the most and takes care of them daily—and this is the reason why the children were able to sing praise to Him with hearts that were full of joy. He too is a good father to me, takes care of me, and provides what I need.

Hunger for Thee
West Pokot is a very special place where God’s love was shown through many miracles. There are still not many Christians who live in this area, and many adults are still young Christians. However, amongst the adult congregation I saw a few people whom I would never forget.

During Sunday service, there was an opportunity for the congregation to respond to the Word of God by coming to the altar to be prayed for. A lot of the church members came forward to receive prayers and after a while they returned back to their seats. However, there was a man who remained at the altar and I couldn’t help but gaze at him for a long time. He was half lying on the ground in the most awkward position-- one of his arms folded under his chest and the other arm was raised up high in a gesture of praise. He was crying out to the Lord in a loud voice with his face half frowning and half smiling. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and formed a small puddle by the altar. This man looked so uncomfortable and I wondered why he was remaining in that position. Soon, I realized that it must have been the Holy Spirit working in his heart and he just couldn’t help but to pray like that.

As I was watching him pray, I was really blessed and challenged. All he cared about was to receive every ounce of what God was pouring onto him while praying—and he wanted so much of Him that the eyes of people did not matter to him. More than the hunger of the man that deserved God’s blessings, it is the goodness of God who wants to give so much to His children and only those who are hungry and humble will be able to receive from Him.

The Eyes that Can See
After the Sunday service in Pokot, the congregation gathered in the church backyard. We made a large circle and greeted each other with handshakes while some of the praise leaders played drums and chanted. When everyone had taken their turn to shake each other’s hands, we closed with a praise song and a prayer. As I was humming the praise, my eyes caught the sight of an old lady worshipping the Lord. I remembered that I saw this old lady coming in the sanctuary earlier on and I remember observing her because she seemed very aged. Both of her eyes were closed and I think she no longer had eyes because they disintegrated due to aging. Also, her body was left with sheer bones and skin, so she had to walk with two wooden sticks. It is even amazing that she was able to come to church, because she could not see nor could she walk with her own strength. It was so beautiful to see her worshipping - her eyes were closed, and she was holding tightly onto the wooden sticks but her two hands were lifted high, singing praise to Him.

It was so clear to me that she saw Jesus, maybe not with her physical eyes but in her spirit and it is the beauty of the Lord that brings this old lady to worship.

A Heart Like a Child
Isaac is one of the workers who serves at the mission’s training base in Mt. Elgon. Isaac drives to West Pokot every week with a missionary to transport food and water for the children at a school and for the missionary who lives there. He sometimes goes alone. West Pokot is a place with no water, electricity, or any source of food. It is quite a bumpy and rough road to get to West Pokot and it takes about 3 hours to travel from Mt. Elgon. It was such a blessing to see Isaac because, although his job may seem menial and insignificant as a driver, he’s partaking in such a wonderful ministry, serving 550 children and a missionary. If you ever meet Isaac, the first thought that might cross your mind is that he might be a basketball player or a thug—he’s a little over 6 and a half feet tall and puts up a tough façade. He was very helpful for crowd control during open-air evangelism or even with many children during VBS because of his intimidating aura. However, despite his physical appearance, as I got to know him more, I saw that his heart is just the opposite.

One day, we were doing VBS with 550 children in Kalemenyang church in West Pokot. We were singing children’s praise songs and doing the motions. I looked back and saw Isaac standing in the back, and made a double take—I couldn’t believe my eyes! He was trying to follow along with the motions and sing with the children! He was poking his cheek with his finger, just like the rest of the children, and worshipping along with their childish songs. Here was a 23 year- old grown man, married, with a one-year old son, who might appear to be intimidating, but he had a heart like a child before God. It didn’t matter if the song was for the children, and it didn’t matter that the motions were childish. He was merely worshipping God, who deserves praise in any style or form.

The worship coming from these Kenyans transcended the hardships in life, physical condition, and the identity. They were such great testimonies of God’s goodness and worthiness, and He truly deserves heart-filled worship from the mouths of all His people. I hope more people over all nations may see His glory and join in worship to Him.