African Culture is drastically different from America in a lot of ways: 1. Driving on the left side of the road, 2. Words like silly and sassy are not used because of alternative meanings and 3. When asking people if they know the Lord you don’t sugar coat it with 15 minutes of small talk or use tools of symbolism. You literally walk up to people introduce yourself and pose the question “are you born again?” This process is what our team and hosts call street evangelism. The entire process was A LOT to take in at once. It was socially awkward and against every norm I’ve ever experienced in America. It was overwhelming and uncomfortable and to be completely honest I resented it and relied a lot upon the Kenyans to do God’s work. Although I soon began to realize that I WAS called to Kenya, I WAS called to make disciples, to share the good news, to leave America’s social norms at home and to reach the people of Kenya their way, in an affective way. SO I began to pray. Everyday for a changed heart, an empowered mind, and a drastic boost of confidence. I prayed and prayed and prayed and then came Kiserian, an area where we were to plant a new church for a community who believed in God but turned after the church they attended failed. We were instructed to invite people to church and witness to the people of the streets. So we divided the groups and set out to reach and invite the community. I could feel God laying on my heart “share.” Unsure of what “share” fully meant we pressed on. So after a few peoples blank stares and lack of excitement about the new church we reached a woman at a banana stand. I asked if she knew Christ and if she was born again and she said yes… in a “I’m going to tell you what you want to want to hear kind of way,” and that’s when it happened. God broke down the walls of my heart and said… yelled “SHARE.” So I told this woman the story of my whole life and how I turned from church and God and suffered and how I was only happy and joyful with Christ and how I’m still learning and growing and how I love the Lord because this world can’t offer me what my God does, and at that point I had an epiphany. Regardless of whether that woman got saved right then didn’t matter. What mattered was I had the confidence to plant God’s seeds and faith that God would do the rest. I had to realize that I’m not going to be comfortable but in my un-comfort I invite God to move and for HIS will to be done.
Since then opportunities have arisen to share Gods word and now I have confidence. Confidence that I can only do what I can and that God will do the rest. Confidence that my God’s will will be done if I’m faithful. I learned that God gives me the ability to follow his call but it takes me to actually follow God’s call. I learned that when I follow faithfully that’s all I can do, I can only plant or water I cannot force to grow. God can and God does we just have to be patient and do our part.
God Bless,
Elizabeth “Liz” Brantley
I love and miss you mom, dad, Thomas, and Olivia.
PS DAD: HAPPY LATE FATHERS DAY!!! I missed spending the day with you… we will make it up when I get back!
