When Daniel and I were asked to speak at our friend Maureen's church in Webuye village during our visit, we were so honored and excited about the opportunity! We had no idea of how many people we would be speaking in front of, or what their expectations of us would be, but we did know that they would see us, a mixed race couple. We knew that was something they didn't see often, or maybe had never seen before. That gave us the idea to speak on how only Christ brings true unity, despite our nationality, race, gender, etc. We wanted to first share the Gospel, then explain how the Gospel message of Christ brings people together, regardless of our differences.
The church sat a few streets away from Maureen's house on a beautiful, lush grassy piece of land. It was a large, one room wood structure with tin sheets boarded over it. As we stepped outside of Maureen's house to leave, you could already hear the church's music! As we walked up to the church entrance, we were immediately greeted with big hugs by several people. The sound of the music we had been hearing was now intensified, and the atmosphere of the room was so electric and exciting! Everyone was clapping, swaying, hollering, and singing. The group of women that were on stage leading worship were dancing and hopping all around the stage as they sang in Swahili. We were ushered to our seats through a crowd of children that were in front of the stage dancing in unison, and were greeted with hugs by the pastor and his wife, who were also charismatically dancing to the music. Daniel and I clapped along with everyone, not understanding the song's words, but so entranced by the scene that was happening all around us. We would look at each other and laugh in a way that said, "I can't believe we are getting to experience this right now!" It was like nothing we had ever seen before.
The church sat a few streets away from Maureen's house on a beautiful, lush grassy piece of land. It was a large, one room wood structure with tin sheets boarded over it. As we stepped outside of Maureen's house to leave, you could already hear the church's music! As we walked up to the church entrance, we were immediately greeted with big hugs by several people. The sound of the music we had been hearing was now intensified, and the atmosphere of the room was so electric and exciting! Everyone was clapping, swaying, hollering, and singing. The group of women that were on stage leading worship were dancing and hopping all around the stage as they sang in Swahili. We were ushered to our seats through a crowd of children that were in front of the stage dancing in unison, and were greeted with hugs by the pastor and his wife, who were also charismatically dancing to the music. Daniel and I clapped along with everyone, not understanding the song's words, but so entranced by the scene that was happening all around us. We would look at each other and laugh in a way that said, "I can't believe we are getting to experience this right now!" It was like nothing we had ever seen before.
After worship had ended, the pastor came on stage and began speaking to the congregation in Swahili, then switched to English, repeating what he had just said. His english was very good. He said, "We have some visitors from the United States of America here today, and they have come to share a message with us. To help them feel included, I will be speaking in English so they can understand me. My wife will accompany me on stage and translate for you all in Swahili." We thought it was funny how Daniel gets mistaken for an American quite often since he sounds American. Growing up in a transient place like Dubai, he doesn't have an Indian accent like his parents do.
After the pastor spoke, we were invited to come on stage. A woman came on stage with us to translate our message in Swahili. We first began by introducing ourselves, telling where we live, and both originate from. We also thanked the church for the opportunity to come up and speak to them. We started off our message by first sharing with the church that we were recently married, and highlighting the fact that, as they could see, we are a mixed race couple. We began to share a brief timeline of how we came to meet, when we got engaged, and got married. We talked about the issues that we faced from both of our families as two people from different cultures and countries desired to come together as one flesh. It was scary and a big step of faith for our families, due to them not really knowing much about where the other person came from. We also shared some of the comments that we received by others about their fear of me moving to the Middle East, and with me coming from a small town in conservative South Georgia, unfortunately there were also some comments about the fact that Daniel has brown skin and I have white. It hurts my heart to type that, but sadly that is the mindset of many people who have not yet stepped outside of their comfort zones, or interacted with people from other cultures. Through prayer, and the wise counsel of older couples, we saw how God softened our families' hearts, and how they became accepting and welcoming to the other person. They were gladly ready to see us join as one, bringing two families together. As far as the comments made by others, we hoped that the way in which we live our lives out together and display Christ's love, would lead them to see how beautiful it is when people love and accept each other, despite their cultural and racial differences (Ephesians 2:13). Only Christ can bring true unity. That truly is a glimpse of Heaven.
We passed the microphone back and forth, taking turns discussing each part of our story, and pausing after every part so it could be translated in Swahili. It was interesting when we would get to light-hearted parts of our story and narrate jokes; there would be a silence over the crowd and straight faces staring back at us. Only after the translator finished translating, the crowd would burst into laughter.
Daniel then gave a short exhortation on striving for unity in Christ, and noted how we are not of this world, but only in it, and should be an example of Christ by how we live and treat others. We are called to love one another, in a world currently fueled by so much hate. He also explained how the Gospel transcends race, upbringing, culture, expectations, and stereotypes, by expectation with biblical upbringing, culture, stereotypes, expectations, etc. We live our lives by what the Bible says, knowing this is how God has called us to live and represent ourselves, not by what society tells us. God never said it would be easy to set ourselves apart, but by His word we know that it will be truly rewarding in the end. As sinners, we fail daily, giving into our own fleshy temptations, but thankfully our God is a loving, merciful, and forgiving father.
I was so proud of Daniel, and looked at him in amazement as he spoke to the crowd. I felt my love for him grow even more that day.
We concluded our message with this verse: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
After the pastor spoke, we were invited to come on stage. A woman came on stage with us to translate our message in Swahili. We first began by introducing ourselves, telling where we live, and both originate from. We also thanked the church for the opportunity to come up and speak to them. We started off our message by first sharing with the church that we were recently married, and highlighting the fact that, as they could see, we are a mixed race couple. We began to share a brief timeline of how we came to meet, when we got engaged, and got married. We talked about the issues that we faced from both of our families as two people from different cultures and countries desired to come together as one flesh. It was scary and a big step of faith for our families, due to them not really knowing much about where the other person came from. We also shared some of the comments that we received by others about their fear of me moving to the Middle East, and with me coming from a small town in conservative South Georgia, unfortunately there were also some comments about the fact that Daniel has brown skin and I have white. It hurts my heart to type that, but sadly that is the mindset of many people who have not yet stepped outside of their comfort zones, or interacted with people from other cultures. Through prayer, and the wise counsel of older couples, we saw how God softened our families' hearts, and how they became accepting and welcoming to the other person. They were gladly ready to see us join as one, bringing two families together. As far as the comments made by others, we hoped that the way in which we live our lives out together and display Christ's love, would lead them to see how beautiful it is when people love and accept each other, despite their cultural and racial differences (Ephesians 2:13). Only Christ can bring true unity. That truly is a glimpse of Heaven.
We passed the microphone back and forth, taking turns discussing each part of our story, and pausing after every part so it could be translated in Swahili. It was interesting when we would get to light-hearted parts of our story and narrate jokes; there would be a silence over the crowd and straight faces staring back at us. Only after the translator finished translating, the crowd would burst into laughter.
Daniel then gave a short exhortation on striving for unity in Christ, and noted how we are not of this world, but only in it, and should be an example of Christ by how we live and treat others. We are called to love one another, in a world currently fueled by so much hate. He also explained how the Gospel transcends race, upbringing, culture, expectations, and stereotypes, by expectation with biblical upbringing, culture, stereotypes, expectations, etc. We live our lives by what the Bible says, knowing this is how God has called us to live and represent ourselves, not by what society tells us. God never said it would be easy to set ourselves apart, but by His word we know that it will be truly rewarding in the end. As sinners, we fail daily, giving into our own fleshy temptations, but thankfully our God is a loving, merciful, and forgiving father.
I was so proud of Daniel, and looked at him in amazement as he spoke to the crowd. I felt my love for him grow even more that day.
We concluded our message with this verse: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35
After the service, everyone gathered outside and chatted with us for a while before the crowd started to thin out as people started to head home. The pastor and his wife thanked us for coming and for the message we shared. The pastor pulled out some oil he had gotten while traveling in the Middle East, and prayed for the both of us as he put some of the oil on our foreheads. He prayed that God would continue to use us for His glory around the world, and that we may be "fruitful and multiply" (hehe). After taking a few group pictures, we all joined back together at Maureen's place for a wonderful Kenyan lunch.
We're so thankful we were able to have the opportunity to share our hearts, and God's word, with this church family in Webuye, Kenya. We pray God would grant us many more opportunities to gather with His people in other countries!
We're so thankful we were able to have the opportunity to share our hearts, and God's word, with this church family in Webuye, Kenya. We pray God would grant us many more opportunities to gather with His people in other countries!