On the (Pothole) Road:

Our Mission to Kimilili, Kenya

by Daniel Bucher

 

I come from a country which ranks at the top in many world statistics. Switzerland excels in health care, education, and social welfare. There is almost no unemployment. When I look at these things, I know I am blessed and privileged to live where I live. But as we all know, even in a perfect environment it is easy to become unsatisfied to the point where even small, insignificant things start to bother you. As Mohandas Gandhi once said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

I was blessed to be a part of the Workers Together with Him mission to Kimilili, Kenya. I have been to Africa before, and I have been involved in missions to different countries, but this time it was as if I had stepped into another world. I’d forgotten all my past impressions, emotions and feelings. I’d forgotten that I’d be on a continent where people struggled for all the basic things I took for granted. I had forgotten about the fight these people have to face every day to keep on living. But I had also forgotten the happiness and the peace that I saw on their faces, and the satisfaction they enjoyed to be our hosts.

Reverend John Opio was this perfect host, and he made this mission a smooth and uncomplicated ride. The accommodations, transportation, and the location for the seminar were organized in a great manner so that Tim and Jay had the best foundation upon which to teach the Word of God. Rev. Opio is a very humble man and a true disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. My prayers are with his vision to bring the truth of God’s Word to people so they can teach others.

Every morning as we traveled to the class location, we had to drive on a road that halfway was full of potholes and the other half was smooth and easy. This “Pothole Road” was like a thread woven through the fabric of our mission.

In his seminar “Questions Seldom Asked, and Answers Seldom Heard” Jay taught that the potholes represent the sin in the world, and that we need the fuel of our hope in Christ to carry us through these rough roads. We need this hope to reach our destination.

Tim used the example of the pothole in his series, “The Principles of the Doctrine of Christ.” He taught that the potholes exist because the foundation was not right. Jesus is the rock, the foundation, and the chief cornerstone of our faith. Psalm 11:3 says, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The week of teaching ended with the ordination of eight students who had completed their training with Christian Life Teachings International.

This journey showed me that it does not matter where you live and what struggles you have to overcome. We all are in different circumstances and we will make our choices. Whatever we choose will result in consequences that will determine our walk. But our Lord is faithful and just, and if we have our foundation right and have enough fuel to keep moving forward, we will stand at the judgment seat with our heads held high.

Thank you for the prayers which you offered to God for our journey. Thanks also to our Christian family in Africa for their hospitality, and to my two travel companions and friends who undertook this journey with me. Above all I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for allowing me to be a tool to further the Gospel which brings deliverance to his people.

 

 

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From the March 2012 issue of The Vine & Branches