Since our last newsletter we have had several crusades. We get many invitations as much as our capacity and strength allows.
In the villages children and adults have a great need to hear the Word of God being preached. Most live in very poor conditions. This is clearly seen by the many dilapidated earth cabins and houses. During the recent crusade the team stayed in a dirty and disgusting guest house. There was no roof in the room where Torkild was to sleep and it was full of bats that made dirt everywhere. Torkild placed the bed high edged at the wall because the mattress stank. Luckily he had brought a small tent that he pitched and he also brought a mattress from home. He had a piece of tarpaulin that was stretched out as a ceiling. This way he was protected from the bats.
On the Saturday Torkild took a walk in the village to meet the people. Many good things happened during this walk and he was received well – especially as they heard him speaking their language. He watched as some did a home slaughtering of a pig. In turn he explained how as a young man he had taken a lot of pigs to slaughterhouses in Denmark. They liked his story about that.
On his way back to the guest house he met a young girl. She quickly crawled up a papaya tree to get him a papaya. With some lemon juice on it was really tasty.
A simple walk around the village seemed to have a greater impact on the people than a long sermon did.
Something wonderful happened in the crusade. On the very first day after the children’s meeting five adults came up to the pastor and wanted him to pray and lead them to the Lord. This was a great joy to the whole team. The village had been known for its heavy idolatry during many generations and many rituals and traditions were still being observed. The pastor told us how difficult it was for the church to break the regional darkness and that people were in bondage. But due to the many children that came to the meetings, parents got curious and every day the crowd increased.
Saturday after the meeting the pastor’s daughter came up to us, beaming like a sun together with two of her friends. The two girlfriends wanted to Christians. It was wonderful to see their determination and it was the climax of the week.
Our hearts were filled with praise to Jesus. On Sunday morning the two girls came to the service dressed in their finest clothes. Each one of them received a New Testament which they were very thankful for.
The church members were full of joy and gratitude that ten people had received Christ during the crusade. They all came to the service Sunday morning. Praise the Lord! His word will never return void. We thank the Lord Jesus for all – children and adults – who gave their lives to Him when hearing the gospel.
The father disappeared and they have had no contact with him for several years. Ruth is a bright girl in school. Her school decided to sponsor her schooling because they are really poor. For various reasons the school recently shut down and Ruth had to find another school.
The mother cannot afford to send Ruth to another school. Ruth’s grandfather is a Maasai and he wants to have her back in Maasai land. He does not want a girl to get eductaed, but instead follow the Maasai traditions for girls: to be married. Maasais think that only boys should get educated.
Ruth’s mother told me that Ruth’s grandfather had received an offer from an elderly, wealthy Maasai who wanted to pay a very large dowry in the form of many cows in order to marry Ruth. Ruth had been desperate because she wanted to stay in school, get her education and choose her husband when the time was ripe. For this reason the mother and Ruth came to our office asking for help.
We trusted God and sent Ruth to a good, Christian school where she is thriving.
We received a sponsor who will support her until Form 4 is completed. But Ruth wishes to continue for another two years and graduate from High School. If any of you would like to support Ruth for a few more years please write us or send a gift to our missions account. Please earmark it “Ruth”.
