Ken Evangelista

Bwana Asifiwe (Praise the Lord)! I’m so thankful for the Lord’s provision and faithfulness this summer. Prior to going to Kenya I had a lot of doubts about whether or not I should go on missions. After the experiences and lessons God has taught me, there is no doubt this was His will for me.

Before I came to Kenya, I had no knowledge of the conditions of Kenya other than the compassion/hunger commercials seen on television. Members of the teachers training team shared about the slums in the area where millions of people live and 500 children die every day because of poverty and AIDS and 50 are found dead in the nearby river due to abandonment of their parents. Later in the trip God gave me a small glimpse of what the hunger conditions were like when our team went to an area called Kwale. We ministered to about 70 students at the local primary school. The very last day we assisted the teachers with the distribution of their lunch which consisted of a mere 1 ½ cups of porridge. When the food came out the kids pushed, shoved, and fought with one another for the last drops of porridge. In that instant my heart broke for the children; I felt God reminding me of His love for these kids. The sad part wasn’t just that these children were hungry, but because they needed true spiritual food, Jesus Christ the Bread of Life. As much as I wanted to give them physical food, the reality was that physical food could last them for a limited time and that these children could have SO MUCH MORE by knowing and experiencing Christ. God showed me that the world’s problems such as hunger and AIDS could not be solved by humanitarian works- man’s efforts are so limiting but with Christ all things are possible, and His love is what this world really needs. As the medical person on the team, I was able to treat some children’s wounds. But even the medical bag I carried with me would eventually run out and God kept reminding me of His unending power and love that these children and the world really need. As I cleaned the wound and put a bandage on, I prayed to God that more than physical healing, the land of Kenya would experience spiritual healing.

This world is not perfect and my walk with the Lord is far from perfect. As I walk away from this experience in Kenya I can take comfort, rather than worry about the fact that people cannot solve the world’s problems, but we have a God who is able to solve the world’s greatest problem- sin, and a God who is able to strengthen the feeble knees of His Children! Throughout the trip God had been reminding me of Colossians 1:6b - “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” My prayer now is that as I continue to understand God’s grace in my life, my heart, the hearts of all His children would be transformed to be more like Christ’s and share the good news of the Gospel with others. God is the one who will build His Kingdom and I want to be faithful in doing my part in sharing the news with others.