Hi friends! On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we will begin the final part of Joy’s faith journey. For those who prefer to read, today’s content is also posted below. As a recap, at the end of part 5, Joy and David moved their family out to Kenya so they could become long term missionaries. While there, they served in unexpected ways and took on more meaningful roles than they initially anticipated. However, being in Africa took a serious physical toll on their family and they had to return to the U.S. to receive better medical care. Even though they had to leave, Joy and David remained concerned over what was going to happen at the children’s home. Who would take care of the orphans? When I pieced together the timing of when part 5 happened and when I met Joy, my jaw dropped. I met her shortly after all of that happened. Despite that, there was no trace of fear or even a hint that her family had just gone through what was essentially chaos. All that was present in her was love, joy, and peace as she helped guide the short-term mission teams. It was humbling to realize the depth of her trust in the Lord and her eagerness to serve that was not deterred by circumstances. Joy was simply filled with smiles, laughter, love, and encouragement. She is a light for God that cannot be hidden. If you enjoy this post, please share it with others using the share button below. With that, let’s dive into the last part of Joy’s story. Enjoy!
The children’s home in Awasi was being run by some local mamas that came in and shared duties. While this was wonderful, many times they had their own children with them to care for. The orphans really needed someone that could come in and place their full focus and attention on them. As I prayed to the Lord about the children’s home, one woman’s face kept coming to my mind. The strange thing was that I had only met her once in my life.
Several years before, our medical mission team stayed at a hostel in Sotek, Kenya. The woman that kept coming to my mind during prayer was the person who oversaw things there. While we were at the hostel, another group lodging there had an issue with their accommodations. I remember sitting there and watching her take care of the problem. There was something so beautiful and angelic about the way she handled people.
During our stay, I also had a small interaction with her. Sotek was cold on the nights our team was there. When I went to bed the first evening, I realized I did not have a blanket. The woman managing the hostel had previously told us where her room was located. She encouraged us to stop by if we had any issues. So, that night I went and knocked on her door to ask if she had an extra blanket. Without hesitation, she kindly provided me with one. She was so full of grace and love that it left me wishing that I had an opportunity to get to know her better
When our medical mission team left the hostel, I had this feeling that it was not the last time I would see her. Anytime the Lord truly spoke, it seemed there was a knowing. Although I barely knew her, the impression that we would meet again remained.
Now it was almost 4 years later. Up to that point, I had no additional interaction with her since that time at the hostel. It seemed crazy that every time I prayed about the children’s home, her face popped up for some unknown reason. I said, “Lord, I don’t even know her. We would have to find her. Are you sure?” Time and again He brought her to my mind.
Since the Lord kept showing me this woman’s face, I began praying for the right opportunity to share my thoughts with Phil. In November of 2016, which was just a month or two after our family left Africa to get medical care, I returned to Kenya to lead a medical trip. David’s health was stable at that point, so I felt it was possible to go back. It was a chance to help with the medical camps and to check on the orphans in Awasi. After we completed our medical mission in other regions of Kenya, Phil and I headed out to the mission house next to the children’s home.
That morning, as we were sitting at the mission, Phil looked at me and said, “What are we gonna do?” I asked him what he was referring to. He clarified and said, “What are we gonna do about these kids? This mission house? This children’s home?” There it was. The Lord had opened up the opportunity I had been praying for.
I told Phil that there was someone that I thought might be an amazing asset to the children’s home. It was the woman from the hostel we stayed at a long time ago. Phil replied, “Jemima from Sotek? I remember her. She was wonderful.” I proceeded to tell him how every time I prayed about the children’s home, her face was right in front of me. I wondered, though, how we were going to track her down. It had been years since we had seen her.
Martin, who worked for Phil as a driver, happened to be sitting in the living room having tea at the same time as us. He had taken us to so many different locations during our time in Kenya over the years. Phil asked Martin if he knew Jemima or how we could get in touch with her. As it turned out, he had her number in his phone.
I was so thankful to the Lord as the pieces fell together. It was so much confirmation in that moment. Phil asked Martin if he would call Jemima up and see if she would meet us in Nairobi before we flew out that week. He wanted to speak to her about the possibility of running the children’s home. What I heard next was even more beautiful.
In the past, when I prayed for the Lord to bring someone to run the children’s home, I also lifted up a specific request. I asked Him to send someone that connected with children that had disabilities. Oftentimes in Africa, children with disabilities were not treated fairly. People did not know how to care for them. Some people believed they were possessed. Many times people tried to get rid of these kids. Disabled children were sometimes even thrown over walls in an effort to discard them. The hope was that the child would pass away because of the fall. At the children’s home we had a couple of kids with disabilities, so I asked the Lord for the right person to care for them as well.
When Martin called Jemima to request a meeting with her, he discovered that she was no longer at the hostel in Sotek. She had moved to Nairobi, the exact city where we were hoping to meet her. What was even more beautiful was that she was currently overseeing a Catholic children’s home for disabled kids. It was so fun to watch the Lord uncover every piece that had been prayed for.
That Friday we met with Jemima. When she saw me she said, “Room 7. You asked me for the blanket.” I was astounded. To this day we laugh about the fact that she recalled that one interaction from years ago. It was so obvious the Lord knew that He was intertwining our stories from the get-go.
I told Jemima everything about the children’s home. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I did not want to leave things out. I wanted her to be forewarned about all that it entailed. After hearing everything she agreed to come and see the children’s home in Awasi. After that visit, she decided to take the job.
From there, the Lord used Jemima in incredible ways. She began integrating children from different tribes together. Normally, there was a lot of division between tribes, but she taught them to appreciate each other’s culture. They learned that love comes from God and God is love.
Once Jemima was at the children’s home, the way the community viewed the place began to shift. Initially, the chief and the police in the village thought little of it due to the pastor that ran it before. When Jemima took over, things changed. The people had a lot of respect for her. In fact, she was the first one the chief and police contacted for any case that needed tender care. It was beautiful how much they trusted her because of the work that she was doing.
Over the eight years Jemima oversaw the children’s home, she did intense counseling, with a true counselor, for the children. She also did family tracing. Some of those children never knew they had a mom or a dad. She began to slowly reintegrate some of those older children with a family member.
As time passed, the man that originally had the vision for the children’s home began pulling back from the organization. It was not that he was not invested, but rather there were things going on at home that prevented him from getting to Kenya. As a result, a period of transition began to occur. This was also compounded by a law that was passed that stated that a child may not be held in an institution without a court order. As we began praying and talking, it became apparent that we needed to make it a goal to reunify all the children in the home with relatives. Afterall, children thrive in families not in institutions.
Within the past year or so, Jemima did something amazing. She traced each child back to a living relative, counseled the family, and reunified them. Every single child that was in the children’s home is now living with a relative. Jemima made it a point to conduct a visitation to each place to ensure things were going well. Turns out, every child was doing amazing. The Lord’s timing for it all was always perfect.
What was formerly the children’s home is now a pastoral training center and agricultural business center with Phil’s organization. Jemima felt the Lord calling her to pursue more education. She has a heart to change policies on a government level and was accepted into a school in Germany.
Even though our family never returned as long-term missionaries, I felt like I would be going to Kenya for the rest of my life. I knew I could never say “no” to going unless the Lord gave me peace when, and if, that day ever came. About a year and a half ago, I was in Kenya with my two youngest girls. I knew the direction that the children’s home was going since Jemima was working on family reunification. As we walked out the door at the end of the trip, I knew it would probably be the last time I was at that home. It was beautiful because we witnessed these kids coming back to a place of spiritual wholeness. Each was gaining a family stability that they never had before. It was amazing.
As for me, over the past eleven years, I have gone to Kenya at least once or twice each year for medical missions or to do hut to hut care. For the first time, I finally feel a peace about not going to Africa every year. The Lord is calling me to do things more locally and to be present here in my community. While we will still be using Iddy and Oscar’s to help kids in Kenya receive an education, the Lord has also opened a desire for us to help children in other countries, such as Cambodia, as well.
Throughout my life, I have seen God moving everywhere in my story. I’m solely His vessel. What I finally realized is that He moves regardless of where we are on His planet. For the first time in my life, I feel at peace with where I am on the globe. He has filled my cup with that knowledge. The Lord’s love is needed just as much in our local village as it is in a far-off land. He calls us to be His hands and feet wherever we are.
Joy, thank you again for sharing part of your life and what God has been doing in and through you with all of us. It has been an honor. To everyone else, if you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it with others by hitting the share button. If you are not already a subscriber, consider doing a free or paid subscription so you don’t miss any content and to support my work. Thank you!
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We Are His Hands and Feet: Joy's Faith Journey- Part 6