Handfuls of Purpose

Every time I think about the phrase ‘handfuls of purpose’, I think of the time I was in Bethlehem in May standing in the very field where Boaz left Ruth handfuls of purpose to glean.  The Message Bible puts that verse this way, “Better yet, pull some of the good stuff out and leave it for her to glean. Give her special treatment." Ruth 2:16.  In other words, Boaz commanded the reapers to leave some sheaves for Ruth deliberately and purposefully.  Ruth was not supposed to know that the reapers were commanded to do that by Boaz but she was to think that she had gleaned the sheaves all by herself. 

Two Sundays ago my friends took some colleagues to lunch and afterwards, I joined them to go on a Safari Walk.  I offered to carry Jill’s 5 months daughter for the afternoon.  When we came back, Jill’s daughter was asleep on my arms and so I decided to take her to her house which is only a few meters from our flats.  On our way to her house, Jill asked me to give her 200 shillings.  I gave her the money and when we got to her house, I was so surprised to see how small it was and how crumbed together everything was.  Basically, her place looked like a shack.  I left her place feeling really bad for her.  I started wondering; what if some good Samaritans like Boaz left some handfuls of purpose for Jill for to glean.  Wouldn’t that be wonderful?  

Fast forward to last evening – just before the fellowship, I was feeling so tired and worn out.  As a matter of fact, I found myself thinking I wish I did not have to attend Friday Fellowship with the children.  I even met a colleague just a few minutes before fellowship and I mentioned how tired I was feeling.  He told me, “once a missionary always a missionary, you cannot run away from your calling.”  Then he added, “God will give you the grace.”  How true those two statements were.  One, once called – you cannot run away (remember what happened to Jonah?).  Two, God’s grace will always be sufficient. 

 

Apart from feeling tired, I didn’t feel adequately prepared to teach the children on any subject whatsoever.  But then again, that was not the first time I felt inadequate.  Time and again, God has continued to teach me that it is not by power nor by might but by His Spirit.  As soon I stood to speak, God gave me the words to speak.  How true He is to His word that says, open your mouth and I will fill it (Ps 81:10).  It was like God was dropping handfuls of purpose directly into my spirit. 

 I was so excited as fresh sheaves were dropping from heaven and the children and I were gleaning off the hot presses.  The amazing thing is that I was teaching from Psalm 23, a psalm that I would have normally ignored thinking there is nothing to glean from.  If Ruth, ignored Boaz’ field, would she have received handfuls of purpose from another field?  You tell me.

I'm in that place once again.....

As Matt Redman sung in the song 'Once Again', I am in that place....once again.  For me it is literal.  I am back in Kenya.  Actually I have been back from Sierra Leone since August 11.  Once again I have found myself in Thomas Barnardo Children's Orphanage where I volunteered in 2012 before leaving for Sierra Leone.  The big question I have been asking God, is why am I back here?  I can't help but wonder if God has some "unfinished business" for me to do here in the Children's Orphanage and in Kenya.  Once again I am in that place where I am asking God what could a Masai Girl from a small town in Loitoktok have to offer the children in the Orphanage leave alone the world?  I was reading Galatians yesterday and I was being reminded - once again - that the gospel and my calling is not of and from human origin.

So today, like any other Friday we had fellowship in the Children's Home starting at 6pm but today was different since this was my first week since I was given the role of an events coordinator for Westminster Events Centre - WEC (www.westminsterevents.co.ke).  Well, for those of who who do not know, WEC is one of the projects of Thomas Barnardo Children's Orphanage which is geared toward raising money for the Children's Orphanage.   I actually think it's funny since I know nothing about event planning.  But God has a way of placing us somewhere (anywhere) strategically for the sake of advancing His Kingdom (So if you have a few tips on event planning and marketing please drop me a line).

I had two clients who came in to WEC just before 6pm and even though I mentioned to them that I had to be with the Children in the Fellowship at 6, they seemed to be in no hurry to leave.  By the time they left just a few minutes before 7pm, the younger children were done with fellowship and only the 3 teenagers had gone to their class with Nathan (a volunteer from Scotland whose Glaswegian accent everyone has difficulty understanding).  I found them halfway through the discussion of Eccesiastes 11 and made one or two contributions of my own.  When we finished and as we were waiting for the taxi to bring Nathan and I back to the flats where the volunteers stay, we sat there chatting and the result, was that all the three teenagers gave their lives to Christ.  It is just so wonderful and once again I am in that place where I am even more humbled knowing that God can use masai girl from a small village to save a soul.  Oh, it's an honor to be a vessel for the Master's use.  Pray that God sustains the 3.  Pray for us that God will continue to use us in the next 3 months or however long God gives us to mold them.  Pray that more will come to the saving knowledge of Christ and not only amongst the children but even the staff and their caretakers.

Friends this is my first blog post so I won't bore you with a long post.  Plus I need to finish reading Galatians, do my hair (trying to go natural), watch the movie 'Heaven is for Real' and post on my facebook, twitter and send an email (gosh where do people get all the time to do all these and still a good 8 hours of sleep).

One more thing before I go.....Please help me continue praying for my friends and colleagues battling ebola in Sierra Leone and the other West African Countries.  My heart really goes out to them.