This post is another story I want to share with you in my effort to live the Simple Life back in Kenya.

In the town of Bungoma, Kenya, there are many churches.

In those churches there are many pews.

In those pews there are many Christians.

In those Christians there are very passionate hearts.

But in those hands, there are no Bibles.

When we were doing house-to-house evangelism, I asked the pastor if there was any way we could get Bibles to the people that just accepted Christ.  One of my biggest fears is leading someone to the Lord, and then leaving them with a serious lack of discipleship.  In the much quoted Great Commission, Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations – not just converts.  So we set out to undertake the Bibles for Bungoma project.  Our contact knew of a Bible distributor in the area and told us that each Bible would cost around $8.  For two cups of Starbucks, we could make an eternal impact in the lives of Christians around the world.  So we began to rally our resources.  I am still amazed at the way the Lord moved so quickly and greatly.  In a matter of four days, three girls had raised almost $2,000!  That money bought over 190 Bibles and discipleship manuals for the wonderful people of Bungoma!!  The Lord never ceases to amaze me.

The wonderful part about this whole story is that all we did was simply put ourselves in a place of asking questions and letting the Lord respond.  I asked if Bibles were available, and God found a way to get them to Kenya.  We asked our friends, families and supporters if they wanted to invest in God's Kingdom, and the Lord moved mightily!!  He is just so good!!  I will never forget the joy on the faces of the people who got to hold their very own Bible, in their own language.  They truly were in love with the Living Word.  I want to thank many of you who contributed to this project and rejoice that in a matter of a week, almost two thousand dollars were raised and the Bibles were distributed into the hands that desperately needed them.

Thank you for sewing into the Kingdom, and helping us disciple the nations.

** As quickly as the Bibles got to Bungoma, they were gone almost as quickly.  There is still a great need there, as well as all over Kenya and Eastern Africa, for Bibles.  If you are interested in investing $10 for the Kingdom, please contact me at JenniferLeeMitchell@gmail.com and we can get a Bible into the hands of those who need it!!  Thank you so much!

God is Good!!  I came to know this phrase in a whole new way this week.

It was the end of a very long week for us.  I had been leading a team of 12 in the bush and our ministry lasted about 13 hours a day.  It was our last night before a day off and we were all exhausted.  "Just a few more hours" I thought to myself.  We turned the Jesus Film on and expected to have a few hours of rest until prayer time at the end.  However, within moments of sitting down for the first time that day, Pastor Godfrey came and said that there was a woman who wanted prayer.  She had what looked like a growth on her abdomen that was causing her a lot of pain.  We asked if she was a Christian and she said the only way she would accept Jesus was if he healed her right then.  "Ok, here we go" us prayer warriors thought.

So we began praying for healing and expecting God to heal her instantly.  It seemed perfectly appropriate.  After the prayer, she said her pain had gone down, but since it was not a complete healing she would not accept Jesus.  Slightly dejected, we watched her get up and go on her way.  Not thinking much after that moment, I went about packing up my stuff and loading the van.

About an hour later, Pastor found me and said that I must pray for someone else.  He said there was a woman who wanted to become a Christian.  (See, here in Africa, people just walk up to us on the streets and confess their sins.  It really is quick inexplicable).  When he brought me to the woman, it turns out it was the same woman from our prayer hours before!  Even though she was not totally healed, she decided to give her life to Jesus.  I led her in the prayer to commit her life to Jesus, with Pastor Godfrey translating.  When we finished praying, the other women present started breaking out in yells and cheers.  I was filled with joy as well, but this celebration was deeper than normal salvations.  I asked the pastor what was going on and he said that the woman was his sister!  His sister had just accepted Christ and her whole family was surrounding me celebrating!

Martha heard the commotion and joined us as we began dancing in the backyard and the old African mama's began yelling "Iasou Mulungi! Iasou Mulungi!"  "God is good! God is good!"  It was such a beautiful celebration.  I could see Jesus joining with the angels as his one lost sheep came home.

When the commotion started, Abraham, the pastor's 12-year-old son came running around the corner and jumped into his Aunt's arms. He had a smile so big it took up his entire face.  His father told us that for the past few days Abraham had been trying to get his aunt to come speak with us because he knew that if she just came, she would accept Jesus.  She had continually told the boy that she would not go speak with the white people, however today God had different plans!!  It was the faith of this precious 12-year-old that planted the seed in his aunt, which God watered right in front of our eyes!!

I praise the Lord to be part of his wonderful celebration as the lost come home!!

God is SO good!

Iasou Mulungi!

"For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me..." ~ Deuteronomy 5:9

Does God punish children for the sins for their fathers?

Does this Deuteronomy passage speak only to the Israelites of the Old Testament?  Or is there some string of truth for the world today?

While we were going evangelizing a few days ago, a 10-year-old girl named Flo approached me.  She asked me to pray for her baby brother.  Thinking she simply wanted me to pray blessings over him, I easily agreed.  However, I was not prepared for what I experienced next.  Flo brought me to her one-year-old brother who was completely covered in open soars.  Our translator said that the child was afflicted by an advanced case of AIDS.  With tears filling my eyes, I laid hands on this precious life and prayed my hardest for an instant healing for the boy.  I knew he did not have long to live.  After praying, Flo asked me to go pray for her house.

When we arrived at the hut, Flo's mother was sitting under a rundown hut, smoking a pipe and cutting vegetables.  When I saw her it was like I ran into a brick wall.  I knew instantly that the spirit of witchcraft had a huge hold over this household.  I began speaking to Flo's mother with my normal evangelism opening. "Hi, we are from the States, we believe in Jesus and that is why we are hear."  She instantly interrupted me and said she did not want to hear anything about Jesus, but we could pray for her kinds, that was all.  Ignoring that remark, I told the woman that we would pray in the name of Jesus for healing and explained that He is the only true power on Heaven and Earth.  I told her that Jesus loved her so much and wanted to set her free.  She quickly responded that she was demon possessed and that she worshiped demons.  She said she did not want to be free and she certainly didn't want Jesus.  Then she told us again to pray for her kids.

I watched as hopeful little Flo placed her hands on her baby brother and joined us for praying for his healing.  I could feel the desperation in the girl.  She was desperate for an act of God.  Even though we were filled with faith, the Lord chose not to heal instantly in that moment.  I prayed for Flo and told her that she was completely loved by God.  I encouraged her to keep faith in Jesus, despite having two parents who worshipped demons.  I left the house wondering if I could have done more to encourage Flo and heal the little boy.

As I prayed I felt the Lord reveal to me that this poor child's affliction was directly related to his mother's practices in witchcraft.  I don't know if she placed a curse on him, or if it was simply tied in the spiritual, but I did feel like the boy would only be healed once his mother had left her demonization practices.  This caused great distress in my mind.  Could a little baby boy really be punished for the sins of his parents?  Isn't God merciful?  Doesn't God want all of his children to be free?

Later that night, we showed the Jesus Film in the middle of the town.  As I sat down to pray, a small girl came up to me and asked if I would teach her songs about the love of Jesus.  Even though it was dark, I was able to recognize Flo's hopeful eyes.  I sat and sang with her for hours as I encouraged and prayed for this powerful Christian warrior.  Even though I did not see her whole family set free, I know that Flo is going to be a powerful witness to her parents.  I am standing on faith that her little brother will be healed, and both of her parents will be set free.  I believe God is in the business of freeing people, and it is his desire to have all people come to him.

Even though I don't have a theology worked out for a demon-possessed mother, and a baby boy dying of AIDS – I do know that God is good, he is just and he is loving – and it is in that truth that I put my trust.

We walked up to the school and I opted to teach the older students for an hour.  We began by singing some praise songs in English, and then the students sang to us in Ugandan.  It was then that an older girl, about my size, in the front row started stepping out...I thought she was going to dance...when she suddenly collapsed on the ground...right in front of me.  Thinking she had fainted, I quickly ran to her and tried to lift her into a sitting position.  It was then that the headmaster said over my shoulder, "Pray for her, she needs deliverance."  "What?!" I thought in my head... "We are in the middle of a school, in the middle of the day, in the middle of me being exhausted...what the heck are we going to deliver?!"  I allowed those thoughts to go through my head for about half a second before I lifted this beautiful 110-pound girl in my arms.  Martha, Lauren Williamson and I took the girl, Kadogo, under a nearby tree and began praying.  As I lay the unconscious girl on the grass I was instantly filled with compassion for this girl who was in desperate need of freedom.  I looked into her eyes, and I saw tears streaming down her face.  The teachers told me that she was demon possessed and needed deliverance.  The first thing I thought was, "I am not equipped for this.  What the heck am I supposed to pray?"  But pray I did.  We were determined to see this precious girl free.  I began to speak to the spirits of worry and fear and witchcraft and tell them to leave, and surprisingly, they did.  Kadogo went from trembling and calling to her dead ancestors to silently weeping.

Martha asked if she could say the name of Jesus, but she still could not.  So we kept praying.  We learned that she was not a Christian, and when we asked if she wanted to accept Jesus, she nodded her head.  Even though she was unable to speak, I led Kadogo in the sinner's prayer.  I prayed as hard as I could for this precious life.  I quoted every scripture I could about freedom and new life – It was all I knew how to do.  Amazingly, at the end of the prayer, Kadogo was able to say "Jesus".  I heard her whisper it over and over again.  She was free!!  All three of us were in utter amazement of the Lord's good work.  God used an attack of the enemy to not only free one of his children, but give her eternal life.  God set her free!!  It was such a beautiful moment.  Still in shock that God cast demons out through us, Martha, Lauren and I could only pray and praise God for the amazing work that he did that day.  God put me in a situation where I had no idea what to do, and he again used my weakness to do miracles.  He never ceases to amaze me.  I praise Him for being so good!  He loves his children and he desires to set the captives free.

Praise God we are free.

We are free indeed.

The World Race program talks about the different steps many racers go through to get to the point of Kingdom Empowerment.  They say the steps are abandonment, brokenness, dependence, and finally empowerment.  I feel like I reached abandonment in Turkey.

This week I have completely understood what they mean by dependence.  Tim and Paul, our team leaders had to go to Kampala, the capital of Uganda to get some work done for next month.  They left Ashley Higgins, an amazing woman of God and videographer, and me in charge.  I was honored for the position, but a little worried.  I have no clue how to lead as far as AIM programming goes, much less in the bush of Africa.  Nevertheless, off Tim & Paul went, and up Ashley and I steped to lead the group of 12.  Our week was scheduled for us to travel to two different Bush towns and work with local pastors there.  We packed up on Monday and arrived late that afternoon.  After a quick meeting with the pastor, we went right into house-to-house evangelism.  Our schedule for the next few days was: Up with the sun, quick breakfast, then teaching at local schools all morning, break for lunch, then house-to-house until dinner, finally finishing the night with a crusade or a showing of the Jesus film.  Now, as excited as I was to have tangible ministry this month, I had no idea we would be having as much or as strenuous as we did.  I am learning that ministry takes a LOT out of you.  By the time lunch came around each day, we were completely exhausted....It takes a lot of energy to keep the attention of an entire elementary school.  When it came time to evangelize each day, I was completely spent.  I had literally no energy at all.  I remember the first day stuttering and stumbling over my words as I attempted to relate the Gospel to a Muslim woman.  I was completely weak.  But amazingly, it was in those moments that God did a miracle.

Spiritual Warfare.  Most Christians in the West hear that term and instantly think of crazy over-the-top charismatics, or some witchdoctor sitting in a smoke hut communing with the dead.  However, here in Africa, Spiritual Warfare is common jargon among Christians because it is something that they face literally everyday.  Here, it is more common for people to seek the help of a witchdoctor than it is to see a medical practitioner.  People face spirits everyday.  This week we have been working in Bugobi, Uganda, a small bush town.  Within a few hours of being here we learned that it is a common practice for parents to commit their newborns to the service of demons within hours of their birth.  Children wear amulets and bracelets demonstrating their pledge to evil spirits.  There are also people who practice child sacrifices in order to appease the evil spirits.  Literally everyone is walking around under spiritual oppression and the Christians are bright lights amidst a very dark environment.  The people here worship demons and believe that any health and wealth they have comes from them.  In as much as the people worship demons, they are also terrified of evil spirits.  They have many rituals and practices in order to keep the evil spirits away.  They are in such bondage and deception that they do not realize that the thing they worship is the very thing they are afraid of.

As Christians, we have to daily put on the armor of God.  We are in the middle of a battle here, and at times we can literally feel the enemy at our heals.  The first night in Uganda, we knew something was wrong.  Many of us were plagued by the spirit of fear and were oppressed at night.  Last week I slept a total of about five hours.  We could hear people screaming at night, and their chants drifted in with the wind.  The enemy was fighting very hard to get us to leave.  However, we are not children of the darkness, but children of the Light. (1 John 1).  We don't have to walk in fear because there is no fear in Christ Jesus.  I never thought I would become one of "those" Christians, but I constantly find myself rebuking the spirit of fear.  Yesterday I found myself casting the spirit of infirmity off of my teammate who was feeling sick.  It is common for me to begin a praying for someone on the street, "I rebuke every spirit of witchcraft on this person, you have no power here."  In Africa, everything is spiritual.  Illnesses are very rarely just illnesses, depression is very rarely just because some one is having a bad day.  Oppressive spirits run rampant here and we can see as people walk around plagued by them.  It makes me wonder how much of the Western world is under a different sort of spirit.  Here, things are so active because the people are used to that culture.  In the West, it seems as though people are perfectly content under their lethargy and spiritual dryness.

As much as it kills my skeptical, Western spirit to admit it – Spiritual Warfare is alive and well...both in the bush of Africa, and in the business world in America.  Though we are battling different spirits, evil forces are at work all over the world.  Jesus even says, "If you are not for me, you are against me."  People all over the world are buying into the lies of the enemy and following evil spirits rather than the Truth and Light.  As Christians, it is vital for us to not only be equipped for battle, but to actually fight.  God says that he has given us the keys to the kingdom, and he has dressed us for battle.  The battle is his, and he has put us on the front lines.

Whether we are casting out demons in Africa or battling spiritual deadness in America...the battle is alive and well.
It is time for the Church to rise up and fight.

When I picture traveling evangelists, I usually imagine a bike, a crisp white shirt, and a perfectly tailored answer concerning salvation.  That, or a sweaty purple suit shouting something about fire, hell, and brimstone.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would become the very thing that I do not have a particularly good taste for.  In my mind, door-to-door evangelism was not only ineffective, but was intrusive, and certainly not the Lord's plan for me.  One would think that seven months on the race would rid me of planning my own life for myself...but I guess I still have more to learn on the subject.
This month my team is in a tiny town in Uganda.  We have no electricity or water, and are camping out in our tents indoors because the bugs are just that bad.  In the midst of these conditions, my team has one directive – evangelize.  We began last week giving a whole new meaning to door-to-door evangelism, because when I say we are in a tiny town in Uganda, I mean tiny. We basically go into the bush every day and share the Good News to every hut that we encounter.   Enter: my cynical mind and skeptical spirit and you have a perfect combination for Spirit-stifling.  However, I decided at the beginning of the month that I am in Uganda doing evangelism right now because that's what I was created to do.  God created me specifically for a purpose, and if I believe that he has good plans for me, then Uganda is part of those plans.  So I decided that no amount of doubt would prevent me from bringing Kingdom to these tiny huts in this tiny village.   We split off each day into small groups with our translators and preach the Gospel to anyone who has ears.  Each day has its own challenges – one day it's a resistant Muslim woman, another day it is a husband preventing his wife from faith, yet another day brings translation issues – it seems like no amount of preaching will ever get done....and yet, somehow, at the end of the day, I am amazed at how many people confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord.  One would think that I would have learned the lesson of the simple Gospel(Insert Could It Be That Simple) back in Kenya, but I am nothing if not stubborn.

Each day God continues to show me how much he loves the people of this world.

My heart skips a beat every time I get to say with a Muslim "I believe that Jesus is God and he is the only true God".

I am constantly amazed at the size of the harvest and vastly ashamed that the workers so few.

I grow increasingly grateful as I present the Gospel and trust that, "at that time, it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:19).

And I am boldly walking in the promise of God, "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance." (Psalm 2:8).

Look out huts – I am evangelizing.

What does it feel like to have all of your debts completely paid for?  What thoughts would go through your mind if you never felt the burden of finances again?  This week I got a little taste of heaven as I watched God free a precious girl from her burdens...

It was after dinner when Simone began her story.  I did not notice her much through the meal – she was a quiet girl, content to sit in the background while other people carried on the conversation.  It was only after the meal was over that I began to think that God had a bigger purpose for this quiet, beautiful young girl.  Simone, a 15-year-old girl, began telling us the story of her life with such honesty that I began feeling the emotions as she expressed them.  Simone is an orphan whose parents died when she was young.  Her aunt took her in, but did not have very much to help take care of Simone.  She lived her childhood with barely a full stomach, and always on faith for school fees.  Simone ended up being brought to church, and it was there that she first heard the Gospel. She quickly received and fell in love with Jesus.  She is very active in church and in her youth group.  However, at home she was constantly battling the enemy.  Her uncle is a witchdoctor, and would constantly try to curse her.  Though Simone is a Christian, I could see the fear in her eyes as she remembered evil spirits tormenting her at night.  I asked her what her burdens are and she shared about fear from her uncle and the struggle to get her school fees paid for.  She shared with me her dream of becoming a lawyer, but her doubt that she could do it because of finances.  I found out later that her school costs the equivalent of $135 for an entire year of high school.  One hundred and thirty-five dollars is the only thing that is standing between this precious girl and her dream.

It was then that I began thinking about the situation from an eternal perspective.  It was almost like I could see God doing the same thing for us.  As sinners, we deserve nothing at all.  Our sins compile debts that we could never repay.  We were suffering and dying under the weight of it all.  Then Jesus came and completely paid our debts in full.  Now we get to live in freedom, free from that bondage and burden.  Praise God that our debts are paid in full!

And the best part is, that God removed our debts, not because of any merit of our own, but because he loves us that much.  My team was overwhelmed with love for Simone after meeting her just once.  We knew we had to do something to help her.  How much more so does God love us and want to give good gifts to his children!!  Best of all, he paid a debt that he did not owe, so we could be free – We are paid in full.

"And the King will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." ~Matthew 25:34-36

As I was walking back to the clinic where we stay, I passed by children who don't have shoes or pants...little boys no older than 10 begging for their next meal...sick people who cannot afford a doctor...lonely hearts without any hope.

And then it hit me...

Simply, Jesus is all around me!

I think so often we Christians like to think the Bible is more confusing than it actually is. We like to think that what the Bible actually says isn't what it actually means. We do think so we don't actually have to do anything about the great need that surrounds us. We use phrases like, "Don't give a man a fish, teach him to fish" as our mantra. Our great excuse. But Jesus didn't say, "When I was naked, you taught me how to sew." Dear friends, there is such a great need all around us. Jesus even told his disciples that the poor we will always have among us. They are God's heart. The lost, the poor, the sick, the broken – They are God's heartbeat. They are Jesus.

God is calling us to a simple life. When we see someone hungry – feed them. Visit those in prison. Give clothes to people who don't have them. How can we ever profess to love Jesus if we are unwilling to get out of our comfortable lives and clothe ourselves with the scent of poverty?

So I set out to begin living life with the eyes of helping Jesus. I never want him to say that I didn't give him food when he was hungry. Here in Bungoma, the need is great – at times it seems overwhelming, but God is greater! So Martha, Ashley and I set our minds to always stop for the one...to look at everyone with the eyes of Christ...to not be so consumed with schedules that we pass someone by...and to seek God in every situation. We have been trying to live this way for only a week, but we have such incredible Kingdom stories so far!! I cannot wait to share these experiences with you.

May we each strive to live the Simple Life. May we not be so focused on our own plans for the day that we miss what God is leading us to. May we be willing to sacrifice our time, our money, our possessions for Jesus. There is always someone who needs the Jesus in us. May we be available so Kingdom can come on this earth!