Words can't describe all of the experiences I had in Kenya. All of the people I met, all the things I saw, all the stories I heard. It's a country filled with a lot of sorrow, yet with so much potential. I have never met so many young people with so much hope, with such a desire to serve, with such amazing talents. I think the young people of Kenya, and of Africa in general, are rising up. They are realizing that their communities, their nations, need true leaders. Not leaders that are corrupt and selfish, but leaders that serve others before they themselves are served. Fathers and mothers, workers and teachers that lead by example. And these young people of Africa are learning what it looks like to fill those positions. Despite, maybe even because of, their broken stories, these young people are finding the tools to fight against darkness, sorrow, and pain in their countries. One of the tools that they are using the most is the power of belonging to a family. No family is perfect, but there is strength in numbers. When people with diverse backgrounds, talents, and characteristics choose to come together in unity and work for a common cause, God uses those people in powerful ways.
That is what I saw mostly in Kenya. People from broken places with broken stories choosing to rise above their situations to come together and heal the brokenness. As a single community, they are shining God's healing light into their communities. This was God's intention for each of us all along. He created us each into a beautiful being made for a very specific purpose, like a potter molding something on a clay wheel. He saw us at the beginning- we were pure and beautiful in His sight. But as our stories developed in this world, we each began to have cracks and gaps in us; we lost sight of our purpose. Soon those cracks became so big that we became useless and broken. God could not stand to see his children in this state, when His original intention for us was to be such a pure creation. So He chose to come down and redeem us. After that His beautiful light filled us. Our cracks were never made invisible, but are still gaping for everyone to see. But the cracks are now filled with an amazing light. A light from within that shines out to the rest of the world. This light seeks darkness and overcomes it, because where there is light there can be no dark. And when people see this light, they turn towards it expecting to see something magical and beautiful. Instead they see an ordinary pot with gaping cracks in it. They see the broken story, they see the healing and the new purpose, they see the unfathomable light coming from this small, insignificant, broken piece of clay. And they are in awe of such a broken beauty, a simple light that is leading people towards God. An imperfect thing which leads many to such a perfect healing and liberation.
That is what I saw mostly in Kenya. People from broken places with broken stories choosing to rise above their situations to come together and heal the brokenness. As a single community, they are shining God's healing light into their communities. This was God's intention for each of us all along. He created us each into a beautiful being made for a very specific purpose, like a potter molding something on a clay wheel. He saw us at the beginning- we were pure and beautiful in His sight. But as our stories developed in this world, we each began to have cracks and gaps in us; we lost sight of our purpose. Soon those cracks became so big that we became useless and broken. God could not stand to see his children in this state, when His original intention for us was to be such a pure creation. So He chose to come down and redeem us. After that His beautiful light filled us. Our cracks were never made invisible, but are still gaping for everyone to see. But the cracks are now filled with an amazing light. A light from within that shines out to the rest of the world. This light seeks darkness and overcomes it, because where there is light there can be no dark. And when people see this light, they turn towards it expecting to see something magical and beautiful. Instead they see an ordinary pot with gaping cracks in it. They see the broken story, they see the healing and the new purpose, they see the unfathomable light coming from this small, insignificant, broken piece of clay. And they are in awe of such a broken beauty, a simple light that is leading people towards God. An imperfect thing which leads many to such a perfect healing and liberation.
One of the ministry tools that my team used when we did church services on Outreach was drawing pictures. It was my first time ever drawing in front of a huge crowd. While our team members told their testimonies about how God rescued them out of their brokenness and brought them into His family, I drew this picture of a broken pot on stage. The service had an amazing impact on both our team and the church we spoke at. The church was made up mostly of youth that had been rescued off of the streets or from bad family situations, so the story-line applied really well to their own personal lives- that God can take broken stories and fill them with redemption and hope.