Chris is currently participating in a one-month short term mission in Kenya, Africa with African Enterprise as part of the Youthworks Year 13 Gospel Gap Year program. In this, the third chapter of his journal, he confronts the practical and spiritual problems presented by the suffering surrounding him.

A new attitude to suffering

As we continue our ministry in this nation it is inevitable that we find ourselves confronted with the world of poverty which consumes 16.7 million Kenyans.  Today as our matatu traveled through some of the Kenyan countryside in all it’s Third World glory I was really struck by a beautiful moment courtesy of the other guys in the matatu. 

We were singing a few well known tunes and eventually Rick Mullens, ‘Our God is an Awesome God’ began. As we sang the chorus line “He reigns from Heaven above with wisdom, power and love” it occurred to me how significant those lines were for our current context. Initially it seemed almost inappropriate singing about God’s mighty control in the midst of such suffering and depravity. Associating the will of a loving and caring God with such conditions seemed contradictory. But as I reflected on this I later realised how inappropriately I and others approach the issue of suffering. This year I have come to a deep realisation about the importance God places on trust and my ability to praise Him for His control over the world. Through my experiences over the past two days I’ve come to know that our trust of God must go very deep, even to the realm of suffering.

When Jesus was confronted with the mourning of Mary and Martha He wept deeply and this shows that God takes no pleasure in the suffering brought about by human sinfulness. However, in His sovereign will God still allows it. I have come to understand that God purposes suffering to point our minds towards Him and eternity.  A man who finds little to fulfill and satisfy himself in this world will inevitably be drawn to consider the hope of the world to come.

On Wednesday we were taken to a range of different Christian services in Nairobi. As we toured the various African Enterprise ministries we soon arrived at the Mathare Womens Rehabilitation project. The story behind the women in this centre is incredible - each has come from an unspeakably tragic background, usually involving making a living out of shameful servitude. But it is extremely difficult for such women to abandon these professions even after they have made a decision to make Jesus their Lord. Outcast from their society and often with many hungry children to feed, these women often feel the pressure to simply return to their old way of life. However African Enterprise has begun a self-sustaining business project whereby these women can make clothing in a workshop. Each day they also receive spiritual encouragement and fellowship with people of a similar background.

Yet perhaps even more incredible than the economic redemption of these women was the perspective they were able to contribute to the idea of suffering. As I talked to one, she shared with me her favourite verse from Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” She explained that she knew that no matter what circumstance she was confronted with in life she had to rejoice in God. I was shamed in comparison by all the times in my life I had doubted God’s control and love in bringing difficulty and adversity upon me. If such women can rejoice in God and His control in their lives then nothing I encounter in my life should ever lead me to do otherwise.

It’s probably obvious that I am deeply impressed by the ministry to these women by African Enterprise. My admiration grew as we witnessed its work constructing desperately needed toilets in the slums of Korogocho. Looking at each toilet block I could see that almost all of them were constructed with the direct support of Australian Church organisations or Australian African Enterprise. Its balance of demonstrating practical love to the betterment of African communities, and its genuine, unashamed proclamation of the gospel is an inspiration to me.

Their example of balancing practical service with gospel proclamation is something we imitated over the past two days working in the Mathare slum. This region of Nairobi is one of the poorest regions of the city, consisting of a multitude of poorly constructed five to ten story apartment blocks. We spent the time taking turns working on four different projects. I began with cleaning out the clogged drains filled with rancid, stagnant water and trash, a task I found incredibly draining due to jetlag and poor sleep. It had less obvious benefits though because as ‘mozungu’ (white men) worked cleaning out these fetid drains, locals would stop and stare in utter amazement. It was in these moments that I was able to do some outreach, however the language barrier prevented me from making significant inroads. It is my prayer though that our actions along with my faltering gospel sowed a seed in their lives which one day will grow into a tree of faith. Two other
projects - constructing a toilet in the church for community use and cleaning out piles of stinking rubbish (filled with some very questionable plastic bags) from the streets - continued in a very similar vein.

The fourth project, though, really served as an amazing opportunity for outreach. We set up a shoe shining stall on the street and served dozens of bemused Kenyans. As they sat and had their shoes shined the team had a chance to evangelise to the customers. I was amazed to find how open Kenyans were to being challenged about their beliefs and so humble in their acceptance of a gospel which even to some of the Christians we talked to was quite an unknown message. I was quite surprised however to find that many of the people I talked to were in fact firm Christians who knew and fully accepted the gospel message.

I initially struggled to come to grips with the point of my ministry to Christians. But I realised that the ministry we were conducting in this area extended beyond the critical mission of evangelising these people. I realised that as I talked to true believer after true believer, they were being encouraged by simply hearing a mouzungu passionate about God and spreading His gospel. The Christians Gospel Victory church with which we were working thanked us deeply for our work. I also realised at the end of this day that their shared passion for God and commitment to ministry in such difficult circumstances had been just as much an encouragement to me and the Year 13 team.

Photos courtesy carlosjwj