This was a short talk I gave at the last InterVarsity Large Group meeting:
Bwana Asifiwe! (Amen)- (teach that, because you can’t start a Kenya talk without a big BWANA ASIFIWE)
As some of you may know, I went on a missions trip to Kenya this summer. It was this thing called a “Global Project”. It was seven weeks long and I was on a team consisting of several students and leaders, from Intervarsity chapters all over the United States and four Kenyan students, who were a part of FOCUS, which is like the Kenyan “Intervarsity”. I have never been out of the country for this long and definitely never on a missions trip for that long. As the time came for me to go to Kenya I slowly became more and more nervous about what I was going to encounter there. Honestly, I was scared that God was going to ask me to do something difficult and risky for His Kingdom.
The most transformative part of the trip was my ministry assignment where the whole group dispersed all over Kenya in twos and went to live with Kenyan families for three weeks. I lived, breathed, and ate Kenya! At first, it was so hard. Cultural barriers are tricky and frustrating to navigate. I was also required to preach in church and give talks almost every day. Something that you may not know about me is I was not and still am not a good public speaker. But, I said “God, you have me here for a reason, I’m going to take every risk head on.” When you are obedient to God’s will in your life, He is NOT going to let you down. Every time I got up to speak, God gave me the words to say.
So I’ve always said that “I’m not a person who could be a missionary, I don’t have what it takes.” But, I was in the totally wrong mindset there. Of course I don’t have what it takes, I’m human, but GOD does have what it takes and HE gave me the strength and patience to face difficult times in Kenya. Without God there is no way I would have been able to do all the things I did while I was in Kenya. But with God there is nothing I can’t do. Why do we limit our God? Do we really believe He is all powerful and all knowing? I started off this trip thinking “I can’t be a missionary”, but I came back from this trip not being able to imagine a future without missions being a part of it. My greatest fear before this summer was God calling me to something risky and hard, now my greatest fear is living a complacent, apathetic life that doesn’t challenge me or push me.
God transformed me this summer and if you let Him, He will do the same for you. The world is such a big place and there is such a great need for Jesus. There are so many people who don’t know the true God and don’t have people who can tell them about it. My challenge to you is to start considering going on a short term mission. Go out into the World, learn, allow God to change and grow you. Take risks that you never thought you could do and watch God show off. Do not let fear stop you from starting something new in your life that could impact the World for Jesus.
