18 years in Kenya (October 2001 - October 2019), Oswald Chambers' thoughts on being a missionary

I am created for God; he made me.

I must continually keep my soul open to the fact of his creative purpose

and never confuse it with my own intentions.

God wants me in a relationship where he is so easily my master and teacher

that I have no conscious awareness of it -

a relationship where all I know is that I am his to obey.

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit

has brought about this realization:

'You are not your own.'

We are called to be Jesus Christ’s own

and are not dictate to him what we intend to do.

The same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our 'Jerusalem'.

There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed,

and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude.

But nothing must divert us from going 'up to [our] Jerusalem.'

Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem.

He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted,

or lingered in others where He was blessed.

Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord

even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go 'up to Jerusalem.'

The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus,

but of being a perfect delight to Him.

The missionary’s secret is truly being able to say,

'I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me.'

Be entirely his!

The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ,

not the needs of the lost.

He says, “Go on the basis of the revealed truth of My sovereignty,

teaching and preaching out of your living experience of Me.”

“None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself,

so that I may finish my race with joy,

and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24).

That is how to keep going until we are gone from this life.

The key to the missionary’s devotion is that he is

attached to nothing and to no one except our Lord Himself.

It does not mean simply being detached from the external things surrounding us.

Our Lord was amazingly in touch with the ordinary things of life,

but He had an inner detachment except toward God.

The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on

keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people,

but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him,

which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.

God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses.

And why is He doing it?

He is doing it for only one purpose - that He may be able to say,

“This is My man, and this is My woman.”

Once God has placed His call upon you,

woe be to you if you 'turn aside to the right or the left.' (Deut. 28:14).

He will do with you what He is not doing with other people.

Let Him have His way.

All of God’s people are ordinary people

who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them.

A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God.

The great controlling factor is not the needs of people,

but the command of Jesus.

The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us.

The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front -

to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success.

In the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us,

and is the Lord Jesus Himself.

The goal is to be true to Him - to carry out His plans.

In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call

will be replaced by the needs of the people,

to the point that human sympathy for those needs

will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus.

The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult,

but we must remember the command of Jesus Christ -

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19).

A missionary is created for the purpose of being God's servant,

one in whom God is glorified.

Beware lest you forget God's purposes for your life.

To go simply means to live.

- - - - - - -

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish Baptist evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest.

His writings have greatly influenced me!


All quotes above are Chambers'.

Photos are a random selection, representing my God-ordained ministry relationships.

Trip to Kenya's South Coast and Ukunda, Part Four: an amazing visit at Shimba Hills village, witnessing a miracle

I first met Katunge (seated in the wheelchair) at Shimba Hills in 2002. She was sitting on the ground on market day, making makuti (roof shingles) out of palm fronds. She called out to me, 'Mzungu, kaa hapa (white lady, sit here)", which I proceeded to do. We've been friends ever since then.

Ha, ha! The cat is also posing in this picture, as Katunge and I sit on her bed chatting.

During this recent visit, I found out that Katunge (now 90 years old), had recently suffered a stroke. She was at home alone when it happened and collapsed on the ground inside her mud house, her right leg and arm suffered from paralysis.

Katunge is now back at home after six months in a hospital. Her grandson (wearing a white t-shirt) helps her before he leaves for school and after he gets home, but mostly she's alone during the day. She told me (through translation) that she's not able to do much. She's been praying for a wheelchair and asked if I could provide her with one. I asked Stella (Masudi's mom, in the orange dress), if she knew of any organization that could provide Katunge with a wheelchair.

Just then, Mody (Masudi's nephew, in a blue shirt) heard a motorbike arrive and stood up to look out the door. He turned to us and stated very nonchalantly - "A wheelchair just arrived."

I jumped up saying, "What! Are you serious?"

The boda boda guy chats with Katunge briefly before leaving

Sure enough, a boda boda (motorbike taxi) had just arrived unannounced and dropped off a wheelchair for Katunge! He was there for less than five minutes and refused to say who had sent the 'miracle gift from heaven'.

After it was removed from the motorbike, Linet brought it over to Katunge

Mody and the grandson carried Katunge out of the house and put her in the wheelchair

The boda boda driver says farewell, and left as quietly as he arrived

A big pile of coconuts at Katunge's place, waiting to be sold

There was also more reason to celebrate, this time for Stella (Masudi's mom, who lives just a short distance from Katunge). My Mom had recently made it possible for her to have water piped directly to her house and stored in this large water tank. It has simplified her life in so many ways!




Linet translates as Stella says 'thank you' to my Mom.

A good looking rooster, at Stella's place

Before leaving Shimba Hills, we stopped by to see Emma (Masudi's sister) at her shop

Trip to Kenya's South Coast and Ukunda, Part Three: camels, starfish, bush babies, coconuts, and tuktuks

I've been to Diani Beach many times when these camels are around, but had never ridden any of them.
On this trip, I decided it was finally time to do so! Linet was also eager to give it a try.

The owner charged us $5 each for our stroll down the beach. It was quite fun :)

That same day we joined a few other folks on a glass-bottom boat, going out to a nearby sandbar while the tide was low. It was another first for both of us! This short video shows what we could see through the glass-bottom of the boat.

One of the boat guys gathered a few starfish and sea urchins, so we could see and touch them briefly. Later, while snorkeling, I saw many of that same kind of starfish.

Such a stunning starfish!

Interesting sea urchin 

You heavens, praise God. Praise him, earth.

Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

~ Psalm 69:34, Message

I love snorkeling!

One evening, I took Linet to Stilts Tree Houses to see and feed the Bush Babies (also known as Galago). They're nocturnal animals, waking up around 7pm when it gets dark. They have very sensitive and large ears, plus quite large eyes to find their prey at night. They eat insects, lizards, eggs, birds, fruit, leaves, and flowers.

Linet was a natural at feeding them, with a few small pieces of banana

During our four days at the Coast, we consumed a LOT of coconut water and meat. So, so delicious!
We bought 10 from Mohammed; he opened some for us and we also tried our hand at it.

Godwill took us to our guesthouse with his motorbike, after a lovely evening with his family.

We used a lot of tuk-tuks to get around, and ended up having this polite young man drive us a few times.

Trip to Kenya's South Coast and Ukunda, Part Two: enjoying the lovely Diani Beach

Lazaro and Lekuraki

I happened upon these two friendly Samburu guys while out for a walk on the beach one day. Lazaro has been selling Samburu jewelry at the South Coast for several years, but Lekuraki has only recently tried his hand at it. He's becoming discouraged because business isn't so good for him; he's now thinking of going back home. He said it's time for him to get a herd of cattle and find a wife. Believe it or not, I didn't even buy anything from them... which I now regret :(

We had a hard time hearing each others' names, so we wrote them in the sand.

Normally I avoid 'beach boys', people who try to sell things on the beach. They can be quite annoying and persistent.
But every once and a while, I encounter someone who isn't so focused on making a business deal.

The guys are both wearing the traditional attire of their tribe, the Samburu.
Many nomadic people have retained their old ways, and haven't become so adjusted to the Western influence.

It's been said that Diani Beach, on Kenya's South Coast, is one of the most beautiful in the whole world.

Linet's first time ever to see - and dip her feet in - the ocean. She was so excited!!

One day we happened upon this restaurant right on the beach, where we ended up enjoying a nice lunch of grilled fish.

This day it looked like a storm was rolling in, but luckily it headed farther north of where we were.

I rise early to watch the sun appear
A glorious and quiet event
God paints the sky

Beauty unfolds

- - - - -
The skies were made by God’s command.
He scooped sea into his jug, put ocean in his keg.
Psalm 33:6-7