Sam & Christina in Kenya: Day 194 - Final Thoughts Before Leaving

January 21, 2013 (Sam)

Once again, we find ourselves mere hours from boarding an airplane, getting ready to head back across time zones back to the other side of the world. It has been a wonderful last six months. But it was a process getting here. Before Christina and I came to Kenya in July of last year I had serious questions in my mind as to whether or not this was a responsible decision. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to come here, but more than fulfilling my desires, I wanted to make sure that we were doing what was in the best interests of the people here. I mean, it was going to cost thousands of dollars for us to travel, live and work here for six months (if you remember, my initial tasking when coming here was to assist with construction projects). Couldn’t that money be better spent by giving it to an organization that would know how to more effectively use it? Was I really arrogant enough to think that I had enough to offer to justify spending that kind of money on this trip? I was seriously struggling with the decision.

I confided my misgivings to my pastor and mentor, Mark. Pretty much verbatim, this is how he answered me, “It’s not arrogance on your part Sam; it’s just ignorance. Your trip is not about you going to Kenya to swing a hammer. Trust me, you’re not that good. It’s about your personality: how God is going to work in people’s lives through your personality and your interaction with them.”

I don’t know if I’m going to be able to accurately sum up how this truth has manifested itself in my life over the last six months in a single blog post, but I’ll try. First though, let me tell you a story:

One day, there was a young woman who went to someone else’s house because there was a man having dinner there who she cared very much about. Even though there were a lot of needy people in her community, she decided to bring the man a really expensive gift as a special treat for him. She could have used the money to help some of the other poor people, but instead she decided to lavish this gift on her friend. Some other people who were at the dinner scolded her for the way she had spent her money, buying this really nice gift instead of helping the poor people, but the man who she brought the gift for, whose name was Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” It’s a pretty beautiful story. This woman brings a gift as a symbol of her love for her friend and then takes the time to meticulously adorn him with it. So we see, sometimes giving money isn’t always the right response. Sometimes, many times, the most valuable gift we can give is the gift of our time. Our energy. Our passion. Spending time and developing relationships with other people is perhaps the most valuable investment we can ever make in the life of another human being. More valuable than money. It’s time. It’s friendships. It’s relationships.

I am so thankful that Christina and I decided to come here, instead of just sending a check. We have developed relationships that will last a lifetime and beyond. We have come to know people in ways more intimate than can ever be achieved through simple monetary contributions. We have made friends who we now call family. I have met new brothers here. Christina has found new sisters here. We have formed meaningful, deep, close relationships.

Relationships. More important than money: even an absent father can send a check. More important than service: you can wash your friend’s car every day and still not be close to him. No, the most important thing is relationships. The most profound impact we will ever have on others will be through dedicated time and personal investment.

In the eyes of many, our trip here might be defined as a failure: we didn’t accomplish what we came here for; we weren’t able to implement the program we came here to set up. And I didn’t do a bit of construction work. But ultimately, that wasn’t what our trip was about. Nothing profound has changed in this country since our being here, but profound and deep-seated changes have taken place in the lives of individuals: both ourselves and others.

Read through the gospels; the majority of intimate and life-changing encounters that Jesus had with other people didn’t take place in a church, or other “religious” setting. They took place in living rooms, on roadsides, and around dinner tables. He came here to accomplish an agenda, for sure. But he didn’t work through that process like a businessman making a pitch in the conference room of an office building. No, instead, he loved others. He had dinner with others. He made friends with others. He cried with others. He laughed and joked with others. He walked with others. He was a friend to others. Jesus’ ministry was accomplished through relationships. When he commissioned his twelve disciples before leaving them, he wasn’t talking to a group of men whom he had only spent time with from 9-5, Monday through Friday. He was charging 12 men, whom he knew like brothers, to carry on the work that he had started here. He had mentored them, taught them, and been an example to them for three years prior. Now that's an effective teacher!

Coming home from Kenya, I am a different person than I was when I left six months ago. My priorities are different. My perspectives on what’s important have once again shifted. How I live my life from here on out has forever changed. But none of these changes are because of a corporation, an organization, or a country. They are because of a person. And his name is Jesus.

This Jesus, who was more interested in developing a relationship with a woman than he was with social welfare initiatives, is the same Jesus who wants to get to know you today. He is the same today as he was 2,000 years ago. Apart from him, outside of him, we are nothing. But with him, in him, we find life! Like a branch needs a vine, our operation in life is impossible without a connection to Jesus. And this is not a connection that can be achieved by attending Sunday morning service, quitting smoking, or going on a mission trip. This is a personal, intimate, relational connection.

He wants to know you. Look again at his interaction with the woman who interrupted his dinner. He is so pleased, so happy to be engaging with this woman in a relational exchange. He silences the naysayers. “Leave her alone. She has done a beautiful thing to me.”

This is a beautiful thing indeed. And just as this woman’s trip to see Jesus was not about accomplishing something radically beneficial for society, our trip to Kenya was not about accomplishing something radically beneficial for this country. The point instead was relational development.

Like Mark said, it was not through hard work or task accomplishment that hearts were touched and lives were changed. Rather it was through unique personalities and focused interaction with people that God was able to work a transformation in our lives, and the lives of others.

We may be leaving now, but there is something about Kenya that is forever lodged in our hearts. An allure that will not quickly wear off. No, the relationships that we’ve developed here run too deep and are too precious to be soon forgotten. We will be back. We will see our Kenyan family again. Like the woman at Jesus’ feet throwing off all social encumbrances just to spend some time with her savior and friend... so we are reminded to never forget... the most important thing.

Yeah, we’ll be back.