A wise person once told me that the Christians who are truly living their faith are those who have invested in someone and then seen that person grow and flourish in their faith…yet have also invested in someone and been disappointed when he/she turns their back on you and rejects what you taught. This is not to say that I’m the model Christian, but I’m definitely learning.
Aaron (name changed) is a young man who we met when we first arrived here at Tenwek. At the time, he had a new wife and young child and needed a job. He had been an apprentice to the neighbor’s gardener and was ready to start working for us once we got settled in. (Being a gardener at the Mitchell's isn’t hard. Our garden is small and basic, our yard just needs the leaves raked, and we aren’t picky. A perfect job.) It was great to get to know Aaron and we even spent some time sitting and chatting about life, reading the Bible together, and praying. He proclaimed that he was a Christian and was trying his best despite his struggles in the past. (Aaron could relate well to the story of the prodigal son. He really did ask his dad for his inheritance early, his share of the family land, and then sold it…using the money in not so productive ways. However, unlike the prodigal son he wasn’t welcomed back into his family.) Although I never felt like Aaron and I were close buddies, I tried to disciple him the best I knew how. Unfortunately, Aaron slipped back into destructive patterns of behavior and we had no choice but to let him go as our gardener. Even though he wasn’t working for us any longer, he would still come by the house on Sunday afternoons to chat, and ask for ways he could earn some money. The discipleship continued. He wanted to start up a small business selling eggs, so we worked out a business model that would allow him to cover his costs and make some profit. He saved up some money and I matched it so he could buy six chickens. After that day Aaron stopped coming by the house. I heard from one of his relatives that he has fallen off the wagon again. I haven’t seen Aaron in months.
We needed a new gardener. A long time missionary family recommended another young man to us and said, “He might not be a seasoned gardener, but his is a great guy and will love your kids.” Adison started working for us, and over the weeks I got to know his story. At age ten his mother died and his alcoholic father took him out into the forest and abandoned him. By God’s grace he found his way to help and ended up in a children’s home that was started by Tenwek missionaries. He eventually went away to boarding school for high school (almost all Kenyans go to a boarding high school) and he graduated last year with less than stellar grades. Through connections, he found his way to Tenwek and eventually to our garden.
The relationship started out similar to the one I had with Aaron; we spent some time sitting and chatting about life, reading the Bible together, and praying. However, Adison really soaked up what we talked about. Our relationship grew and he became more than a gardener, he became part of our family. We shared meals together, he played with the boys, and he got to know Erin’s parents when they came to visit. We joked that he was my oldest son, and I was the mzee (Swahili for “old man”).
When not working for us (our yard is only big enough to warrant two days a week of work), Adison found his way over to our neighbor’s, the Espy’s, where he developed an equally good relationship with their family. Instead of having no family, he now has two.
Adison decided that he didn’t want to be a gardener for life (I didn’t blame him) and wanted to go to nursing school, but his high school grades weren’t good enough to get in. However, he was humble enough to re-enroll into boarding school to redo his senior year and improve his scores. So, we lost another gardener. But…the story doesn’t end there.
About a month ago Adison came back to Tenwek during a short break and spent some time with us and the Espy's. He told us that school had been going well, and he was trying to be a light to the 1100 students there. He had purposefully made friends with “the bad crowd” because he wanted to have a positive influence on them. “It isn’t the healthy people who go see you at the hospital,” he told me. Adison told us one of his new friends, Isaac, had been a repeat offender at school and was inches away from being expelled. However, his latest suspension had caused an awakening, and Isaac realized his pattern of poor behavior needed to change. He turned to Adison for prayer and advice, and Adison led him to Christ. The next week, when Isaac gave his testimony during a chapel service, Adison said “The students were in shock that Isaac, the worst behaved kid in school, had been changed by God’s grace. Sixteen other students have since become Christian’s because of Isaac’s testimony.”
Adison, now elected as student body president, invited me to speak at his school’s chapel service last Sunday. I got to set aside my scrubs and venture away from the hospital to speak to a “congregation” of 1100 high school students.
I talked about the parable of the four soils found in Luke 8. I knew that some of the students had hearts like the soil found on the beaten path, and that the gospel would not grow in them until the soil had been tilled. I knew that some were like the rocky soil, that their faith was shallow and without root. I knew that some were like the soil that contained thorns; the seed was trying to grow and mature but was choked by the worries and pleasures of this life. I also knew that there were some students who were like the fertile soil, with the seed of the gospel maturing within them and yielding a crop 100 times more than was sown. I knew this because I saw Adison there in the audience as well as the 16 new Christians that were a product of his ministry. Most importantly, I was encouraged because I got to meet Isaac.
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Isaac is a Christian because of Adison's deep faith put into practice. Adison's faith is maturing partly because of our relationship. We are here in Kenya because of all of you back home who support us both financially and prayerfully. Thank you!
Aaron (name changed) is a young man who we met when we first arrived here at Tenwek. At the time, he had a new wife and young child and needed a job. He had been an apprentice to the neighbor’s gardener and was ready to start working for us once we got settled in. (Being a gardener at the Mitchell's isn’t hard. Our garden is small and basic, our yard just needs the leaves raked, and we aren’t picky. A perfect job.) It was great to get to know Aaron and we even spent some time sitting and chatting about life, reading the Bible together, and praying. He proclaimed that he was a Christian and was trying his best despite his struggles in the past. (Aaron could relate well to the story of the prodigal son. He really did ask his dad for his inheritance early, his share of the family land, and then sold it…using the money in not so productive ways. However, unlike the prodigal son he wasn’t welcomed back into his family.) Although I never felt like Aaron and I were close buddies, I tried to disciple him the best I knew how. Unfortunately, Aaron slipped back into destructive patterns of behavior and we had no choice but to let him go as our gardener. Even though he wasn’t working for us any longer, he would still come by the house on Sunday afternoons to chat, and ask for ways he could earn some money. The discipleship continued. He wanted to start up a small business selling eggs, so we worked out a business model that would allow him to cover his costs and make some profit. He saved up some money and I matched it so he could buy six chickens. After that day Aaron stopped coming by the house. I heard from one of his relatives that he has fallen off the wagon again. I haven’t seen Aaron in months.
We needed a new gardener. A long time missionary family recommended another young man to us and said, “He might not be a seasoned gardener, but his is a great guy and will love your kids.” Adison started working for us, and over the weeks I got to know his story. At age ten his mother died and his alcoholic father took him out into the forest and abandoned him. By God’s grace he found his way to help and ended up in a children’s home that was started by Tenwek missionaries. He eventually went away to boarding school for high school (almost all Kenyans go to a boarding high school) and he graduated last year with less than stellar grades. Through connections, he found his way to Tenwek and eventually to our garden.
The relationship started out similar to the one I had with Aaron; we spent some time sitting and chatting about life, reading the Bible together, and praying. However, Adison really soaked up what we talked about. Our relationship grew and he became more than a gardener, he became part of our family. We shared meals together, he played with the boys, and he got to know Erin’s parents when they came to visit. We joked that he was my oldest son, and I was the mzee (Swahili for “old man”).
When not working for us (our yard is only big enough to warrant two days a week of work), Adison found his way over to our neighbor’s, the Espy’s, where he developed an equally good relationship with their family. Instead of having no family, he now has two.
Adison decided that he didn’t want to be a gardener for life (I didn’t blame him) and wanted to go to nursing school, but his high school grades weren’t good enough to get in. However, he was humble enough to re-enroll into boarding school to redo his senior year and improve his scores. So, we lost another gardener. But…the story doesn’t end there.
About a month ago Adison came back to Tenwek during a short break and spent some time with us and the Espy's. He told us that school had been going well, and he was trying to be a light to the 1100 students there. He had purposefully made friends with “the bad crowd” because he wanted to have a positive influence on them. “It isn’t the healthy people who go see you at the hospital,” he told me. Adison told us one of his new friends, Isaac, had been a repeat offender at school and was inches away from being expelled. However, his latest suspension had caused an awakening, and Isaac realized his pattern of poor behavior needed to change. He turned to Adison for prayer and advice, and Adison led him to Christ. The next week, when Isaac gave his testimony during a chapel service, Adison said “The students were in shock that Isaac, the worst behaved kid in school, had been changed by God’s grace. Sixteen other students have since become Christian’s because of Isaac’s testimony.”
Adison, now elected as student body president, invited me to speak at his school’s chapel service last Sunday. I got to set aside my scrubs and venture away from the hospital to speak to a “congregation” of 1100 high school students.
Dr. Mitchell a Pastor?
Isaac, Me, and Adison
Very cool! I love to hear the Lord using you in new, unexpected ways!
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