Behind the Green Gate

There has been a man named Victor whom I have seen around lately. My first contact with him was on the way to lunch hour. I heard, “Chelsea! Chelsea! Who is Chelsea?” I looked, laughed and said, “I am.” He then starts shouting, “Go team Chelsea.” Pretty typical when people learn my name, but how did he know my name?
This was about four weeks back. A week and a half ago we were sitting outside our gate to our home and here comes Victor walking down the road asking, “Where is Chelsea?” I said, “I am here.” He asked for us to come to his home right down the road. We couldn’t then because we were celebrating Kaitlyn’s birthday. So a few days pass by and Victor saw Chris and again invited us to his home, but we weren’t able to make it. A few more days pass by and we were on our way to ministry near the Mosque. I hear, “Ay, Chelsea!” Guess who we bumped into? Yep…Victor! I told him we were sorry we could not make it to his house. He welcomed us to come yet again. I told him we are very busy this week but we will try. He seemed to be very understanding and we parted. The next day Kaitlyn ran into him and he said, “Joy, where is Chelsea? You need to come to my house. It’s the one with the green gate.” So this morning we finally got the hint and went in search for Victor and his green gate.

            Hope, Ashlee and I went to the first green gate and there was no Victor. We went two houses down to the next green gate. On our journey to find him we met Jacqueline. We went into her home and found out all about her life. She told us she is a teacher in Ojmaii and shared her heart to help the children in need in the area. She was incredibly refreshing. Almost everyone we have come in contact with has either been hurt by the corruption of Kenya and their pain is evident or they are corrupt themselves. Not Jacqueline. She has seen the corruption, but she is a beautiful carrier of the Holy Spirit. She sees the need and wants to meet it in Jesus’ name. She is not backing down because of the corruption but is facing it head on.

 Last night Hope and I were talking about a revelation she had. She was asking the Lord to show her that there was still hope for Busia and feeling like we did not do enough. He reminded her of a picture she thought of five years ago. This picture was a battle ground where everyone was dead and everything had been burned except for this one tiny green sprout. God told her we brought this hope to Busia. Where it looks like there is death everywhere, the Lord has planted a green sprout of hope. I felt like this is Jacqueline. Yes, because we came in the name of Jesus we have brought hope. But on top of that, the Lord showed us that we were not leaving this place dead and burned, but there are those that carry hope and hope will flourish.

More than that God gave me some personal hope. Because of the corruption in Kenya, many look at homes for orphans as a bad thing. People always ask if we will be back in Africa and I tell them yes but am always hesitant to tell them why. I am not a fan of opposition. It felt like they put their pain from the corruption onto me when I told them I will be here to start a home for orphans. Many people here say that the orphans have families, they’re not alone, they’re taken care of and so they kind of stay out of things. Not Jacqueline. She sees the need and sets out to meet it. She carries the joy of the Lord so heavily that it fanned the flame of my passion, which is really the Lord’s passion, for the least of these.

Together we spoke about childlike faith. Many here think that it’s a shame when a child comes to know Christ. They think it’s something to do in their older life and they should be able to “live” for a while first. But how obvious is it that the enemy has so thwarted their minds? When a child sees Christ, they run with who He is. They don’t doubt that He shed His blood once and for all. They don’t doubt the power of that blood to save, heal and deliver. They just walk in it. We’re ready to see the children of Busia rise up from their parents’ ashes and walk in who Christ is and in His freedom. We are leaving, but Jacqueline is here as the green bud of hope.

On our way home I thought about Victor. We never did find him. I think He might have been an angel. How did he know my name? What are the chances of us running into him at the times and places we did? Why did he call Kaitlyn “Joy” when she didn’t even start going by that name till after he said something? Whether he is an angel or not, he was sent by the Lord that we may seek to find him behind the green gate and in turn find a green sprout of hope called Jacqueline behind a green gate. God’s timing is perfect. Why do I tend to forget that so much? He is faithful and good and Busia is His!