The True North

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Jennie Reeb

This week I met Jesus on a whole new level.

A good friend of mine, Brooke, came to visit me this week and so we headed to the coast to pick up a few days of sunshine and ocean water. It was a difficult yet joyous time. I loved having her here but with her came a ton of reminders of home and the things I sacrificed to be here. She brought with her the love of home and the familiarity of an American who really knows my life. We left very late Monday night and took the night bus to Mombasa Town. Not even 30 minutes into the journey, our bus broke down and we were stuck on the side of the road, trying to sleep but caught in this miserable slump of grogginess. As the clock ticked by, hitting first 1am and then 2am, I got off the bus, stretched and started to pray. Asking for guidance and His presence during that time I took a few moments to just thank Him for what had gone right that day. With weary steps I climbed back onto the bus and picked up the phone to call home. Talking to my mom I explained the situation and promised that I would call her as soon as the bus started moving. I hung up and immediately the driver stepped into the bus and started the engine. With more alertness that I had all night I called my mom back with the great news and shared a moment of praise with her before saying goodnight and settling in for the 7 hour drive. What a terrible drive it was.

We arrived around 6:15 to Mombasa and climbed into the waiting taxi, to tired to be excited about the ocean. After a quick detour due to a corrupt police officer (typical problem here), we were on the way to the cottage and 2 hours later we arrived and got checked in. After unpacking our stuff, we headed to the beach for a day of sun tanning (or in my case, getting burned). After dinner we sat on our beds and just looked at each other. We were both very bored and were sitting in the dark due to the want to save money on electricity. What at first we considered a negative, soon became the best part of the trip. Since we didn’t have anything to do, we just spent the evenings talking. We talked about home and our friends, about school and family, and most of all about God and His calling on our lives.

Lying on our beds, I mentioned to Brooke that Jesus had convicted me of something. On the beaches here there are young men who will try to sell you things even after you tell them three times you don’t want any. The locals call them “beach boys” and at first they really annoyed me. I ignored them or looked the other way or snapped at them about not wanting anything. What Jesus called me out on was my love for these people. I was approaching the situation all wrong. Instead of getting mad or angry, I was being presented with the perfect opportunity to talk with them about Jesus, and almost every time I had snubbed it. What would the world look like if I took a few extra minutes and just walked down the beach with them. What if I asked them about Jesus and showed an interest in them. So the next day as we went for our afternoon walk I put this into practice. As we were walking, two guys came up and started up a conversation. They offered coconuts and fish and we told them we weren’t interested but instead of just walking briskly by, I slowed down and started asking questions. Jamal, was his name. He told me about where he came from and his wife and their daughter Missy in Tanzania. I asked him about his childhood and his life and dreams. It was interesting to see his reaction. At first he was a little stand offish and had a question in his eyes. I suppose he doesn’t get a lot of questions like these. But as the conversation went on and as I dove deeper into who he was, he started to open up. I told him about my work here in Kenya and about Jesus in my life and he listened. After I finished he just looked at me, thanked me, said he had to go, shook my hand and slowly walked away. I don’t know if he was freaked out by the “crazy white girl” or what, but I felt peace; and as I turned toward home I was happy with Jesus for showing me how to love more like Him.

Wednesday we had to go into Mombasa Town to fix our bus tickets for the ride home. It is an amazing place full of people and colors. We arrived off the ferry and immediately bombarded by Matatu drivers all yelling for us to get into their cars. As we asked again and again where our bus station was a guy showed up and said, “bus station, over here”. That was it. He then turned and briskly walked into the thick crowd. Not having any better option, I grabbed Brooke and we worked to keep up with this stranger. He pointed to the van and we jumped in. I was surprised when he got in too. At this point I was a little wary (my lack of trust when traveling in a foreign country had me a little freaked out) and asked a few other people if this was the way to the bus station. Not getting a definite answer, I decided to just pray. So I prayed for safety and I prayed that the Lord would surround us and make our path clear. When the van finally stopped, he motioned us out and as soon as our feet hit the ground we were surrounded by these men who were saying things to us in Swahili. The stranger kept saying “no” to them and waving us forward. Finally stopping in front of a green building he pointed towards the door and said, “you are safe here”. I shook his hand and thanked him. I looked towards Brooke and when I turned around he was gone. Searching through the crowd I was unable to find him and decided to head inside. Walking up to the doors I noticed a sign by the window. All it said was, “your guardian angel”. I stopped as we entered the building and just stared at it. Glancing up at the sky I sent up a quick thanks and ducked inside.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully and we ended with a heart warming chat before heading to bed in preparation of our early morning. This morning we woke up at 6am and headed out to the beach to catch the sunrise. It, to say the least, was beautiful. We spent a few minutes watching the sky change colors and then headed back inside to pack up and check out. Getting to the bus station at 8:50 we waited around for our bus to show up at 9am. But as Kenya would have it, 9am came and went. When the bus finally did come at 10:15 we jumped on and settled in for the “quick” 6 hour drive. I pulled out my iPod and started the listen to music and next thing I knew my earphones didn’t work anymore. That is the worst thing that can happen when you’re stuck on a bus and very loud stand up comedy is playing in Swahili over the loud speaker. Brooke was kind enough to lend me one of her earphones and we listened to her voice memos for a few hours. They were full of her friends singing worship songs, preaching and people praying over her with faith that the Lord would move mountains during her time in Mozambique. As we listened, the Lord spoke to me. I know what He wants me to be doing. As Brooke was telling me about what she experienced in Nashville this summer I was hit with specific thoughts about outreach in the city. Not just any random type of outreach. I had a picture of walking the worst streets and talking with broken people about the redemption, hope and love of Christ. I felt the courage and the love being poured into me in that very moment. All I would need, He gave me. He has answered my prayer. He has shown me the way and now I just have to learn how to say yes!

The bus ride was the best 9 hours of my life. We cried and shared and just talked about the glory of the Lord. One of the talks on her iPod spoke about going out and laying hands on people. On believing that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in me. And I knew right then and there that this was my mission. I was scared but even more so, I was ecstatic! I have a purpose and I have the power in me, all because of Jesus!

When we arrived at the gas station where we were to be picked up by the taxi driver, a blind man was lead to us by a younger man. Neither spoke english and as I tried to explain that I wanted to pray for him, the guy sitting at the table next to us leaned over and spoke the words in Swahili. He blind man said yes and so I took a deep breath, placed my hands on his shoulders and spoke to Jesus. It wasn’t an elaborate prayer and my grammar was most likely completely wrong. I didn’t use big words and stumbled a few times, but I did it. I asked Jesus to heal him. I ask God to make this mans eyes new and that he would know it was God. With a real heart, high expectations and a strong desire I asked the Lord to show Himself to this man and to completely change his life. And that was it. I told the man I loved him and thanked him for the opportunity to pray with him. He and the young man moved on and I sat there with the biggest feeling of peace I have ever known. I had taken the first step in the direction the Lord’s calling me.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough and I spent the rest of the car ride giving praise to God for his mercy and faithfulness.

He gave me direction. I don’t know much, but I know that I am called to walk the streets and lift people up the Jesus. It’s that simple. Go for a walk, run into people who need love, prayer and the Savior, and introduce them to Him.

So after almost 4 months of not knowing why He brought me here, having questions about what I’m supposed to be learning, and wondering if my time here was actually purposeful, I have an answer. He has shown me the power of His name and the works of His hands. I trust in the everlasting North Star, in Him and the righteousness of His love. There is nothing to great nor to small for my King and He is just beginning to show me what He’s capable of.

So as I was challenged today, I want to challenge you.
Romans 8:11 ” The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And jut as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
So go forth and be not afraid of whatever great work the Lord has called you to. Embrace it and stand firm with courage and strength, being rooted in the knowledge that the creator of the universe lives in you and nothing is impossible!

As my friend Brooke likes to say, “Go out there and conquer, you WORLD CHANGER!”

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May your name be lifted HIGHER, be lifted HIGHER, be lifted HIGHER!

A Work of Wonder

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Jennie Reeb

Last week was a tough one, but through the pain Jesus showed up and was made beautiful in the eyes of many children! My teammate, Elise, lost a dear friend to cancer back home and was unable to attend the funeral yesterday. While it was painful and hard to understand, she stood with the confidence that Jesus called her here for a purpose. That purpose was revealed during my last day at school this past Friday. Here is her blog post about that day. I encourage you all to take a look.

The Passing of Time

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Jennie Reeb

A lazy Sunday afternoon. The perfect time to write out my thoughts and experiences! Went to church this morning at Good Shepard, like usual and noticed myself being distracted by my thoughts. So many thoughts were running through my head, that the entire prayer passed and I found myself with my head still bowed as everyone rose to sing the last song (not good, but it happens sometimes!).

I’m in Kenya.

Sometimes the thought takes me by surprise. I always end up wondering how I will view this time 20, 40, 60 years from now. So I want to take this time to just tell you my thoughts. I’ll begin with breakfast this morning 🙂

I’m running out of food (as usual, towards the end of the week) so breakfast today consisted of a piece of toast with homemade strawberry jam, an egg and hot chocolate. Standing at the counter I started wondering what I used to think about back in the States. When walking to class, eating my meals, sitting on the mall or hiking a mountain, what were my thoughts? What subjects filled my mind? Here, I spend a lot of time silently talking with the Lord. When I’m making dinner, walking down the street, sitting on the swing, jumping streams of trash in the slum, washing dishes, or just sitting my the window watching the rain fall, I relay my day, thoughts and emotions to Him. My thoughts here are about how my life looks now and how the Lord is changing it to what He wants it to look like. They’re filled with sorrow over both of my countries. Sorrow towards Kenya for the troubles it faces everyday and sorrow towards America for the troubles and problems it overlooks everyday. I think about how I will merge back into life in America in a mere 82 days and the amazing struggle I know I’m going to go through. I have seen too much and felt to much to return to my “normal” life. I think about the struggles I deal with in my relationships with people here and how much I am learning about people and Jesus because of these trials. It is amazing, the things I didn’t know about life, myself and Him.

All this, I thought over one meal – and my thinking is always like this. It can be exhausting really and sometimes I just want to think about football. Which is why yesterday was so nice – the whole day, all I could think about was Appalachian State University playing Montana.

Football Saturdays.

Is there anything greater? I miss it so much and am blown away sometimes by the fact that I chose Kenya over a season of App football (sorta dramatic, but true). There aren’t words to explain how much I love my school, our football team and Saturdays in the fall. App won, as expected, and it makes my heart happy. It also hurts when I know I’m missing things at home.

I think about it sometimes and have to end up making a list to make myself feel better. Here is a sample of the list I make for God.

Things I love and miss from home:
*family, friends, Boone, App football, my church, the fall season, Thanksgiving, Chaps (my puppy), hiking, pumpkin chai lattes, cheerwine, my old sweatpants, how friendly the south is, worship nights & bonfires, ect.

Things I love about Kenya:
*the people, my school, the adventure of a new culture, the colors, the food, my friends from all over the world, the struggles that show me more of Jesus, Chai ya mazewa (chai with boiled milk – a staple for the Kenyan people), seeing new places, the animals and most of all the chance to show kids love like they have never known.

I think I have been blessed beyond anything I should, could or would ever deserve. I read Kisses From Katie a book about a girl who moved to Uganda to serve the Lord. Her story is inspiring because despite all the things she misses about America, she has found her true joy in serving and loving God’s people in Uganda. I can relate to her in some ways. I look at my life here and am blown away by what He has called me to. I get the privilege of seeing God move mountains every day. I have the opportunity to struggle through all kinds of trials and find Jesus even more faithful and glorious on the other side. Struggles that I would never face at home where my life was comfortable and easy. There are days when I feel like I could do this forever and other days when I am filled with joy over the coming reunion with the people who make my heart happiest. And I am blessed, because the Lord has given me both worlds. He has given me the time, strength and love needed to encompass both worlds with my heart.

I was talking to my mama the other night on the phone and I was telling her that I felt like everything in my life was flying all over the place. I am rarely comfortable or at peace here because I’m constantly struggling with new ideas or things the Lord is revealing to me. It’s like I’m in the middle of a huge storm in the ocean and I’m standing on the smallest piece of rock, just big enough for my feet to fit. The raging water is my life and all the questions I have about how Jesus calls me to live, what that looks like, who He is and all the things He is showing me. The rock I stand on is my small faith, in the deepest part of my soul, that tells me I will not fall. The one truth that Jesus is Lord and that even when I don’t understand anything about Him or whats going on in my life, I still know that He is there. He is the peace I need, so that in the moments where I sit still and can feel the whole world moving around me, I keep breathing and believing because He is my rock.

It is the craziest feeling I have ever had but the strongest truth I have ever known.

I think about the future a lot here. About the possibility of going into mission work full time and all that implies, and I don’t know. I have no idea where I’m supposed to be, but I know that the Lord has it mapped out. Right now I’m in Kenya and Lord-willing I’ll be back in the States in December. I have 3 semesters of school left and after that there are no plans, only dreams, freedom and the guarantee that He will be right there beside me.

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Here are a few pictures from my last day of school in Kibera. Sad day but it was full of laughing, hugs and love! Oh how my little ones will be missed. Chantel and I are off to Mt. Kenya on Friday for the next adventure with the Lord!

(Moses and I)