They Didn't Give Up!

April 27, 2014 (Sunday) Out in the village of Rafiki sits a new church with a beautiful cross on the top. The two wooden windows open and the light of day floods in. Over the pulpit area there are two transparent pieces of roofing that allows light to fall in on the front area of the church.  The church is perched on a little knoll and the view of rolling land and banana trees swaying in the gentle breeze is a peaceful reminder of how great our God is.  

He has seen the people of Rafiki through tragedy and he has delivered them to into a place of victory.  We are ready to rejoice and give thanks to the Lord as we meet inside the new church for the very time. Last night the pastor told me he “shut and locked” the door of the church.  He was rejoicing that he had a door to lock!  One of the men working at the church told me that the pastor came during the day and he walked around and around the church.  His head was down and he never said a word; he just kept walking around and around. The worker was concerned and asked him if he was ok.  The pastor said, "for years I’ve preached with rain falling in on my head and the people would get wet…..I’ve never had such a nice church!"  It was hard for him to believe that all of this has transpired in such a short time.  It is a miracle in Rafiki!

The church doors were opened and the people came. One by one they stood and thanked the Lord. Life is hard here and they didn’t have the means to rebuild but the Lord has blessed them in such a grand way. 

It was a dedication service of a new church with plans to keep the doors open during the week so that it could be used as class rooms for the children. It will be a busy place and a blessing to many. There's lots of rejoicing in Rafiki.

We came to the dedication service with a few new chairs to make it more comfortable for the older ones but the little ones tried them out first :)

Eyes in Rafiki are looking up and so are the hearts of the people. Behind the church the 30’ well has been covered and sealed. This will stop the dirty buckets from being dropped inside and hopefully the cases of typhoid will drop.  We installed a large water tank that sits high in the sky. A faucet close to the ground will give everyone the daily water that is needed.  

A few roles of fencing were placed near the very active pathway that borders the church land.  It is a start, a new beginning and their hearts are full of thanksgiving.

Rafiki means "Friend." We come from different parts of the world. We look different. We speak different languages but....we are friends.  

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.