13 Mar 2009 |
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In October 2008, Harvesters’ medical team headed into the highlands area of the West Pokot District of Kenya. Alongside Pokot Outreach Ministries' evangelists and nurses the team sought to bring the Gospel through medicine and pave the way for evangelists and pastors to plant churches among the otherwise unreached area of Pokot. God was at work. Harvesters’ twenty member medical team made its way into the bush; six hours drive from the nearest clinic. Once at camp the team split into groups of ten and partnered with local evangelist and pastors. The next seven days where spent conducting mobile clinics and sharing the Gospel. Often under no more than a shade tree, the people were seen by doctors and nurses and given medicine for their ailments. Their sicknesses, sometimes common, other times severe, speak volumes of their condition and environment. Malnutrition, dehydration, sores, wounds, malaria, typhoid, s.t.d’s, colds, and many other issues and diseases, all made their way through those small clinics. Medical problems that might be solved in the U.S. with a quick visit to the local pharmacy go unchecked and aggravate into something far more serious. Daily, as the people streamed in, national evangelists and pastors gathered them into a large group. As the people waited to be examined team members and evangelists shared the Gospel with them. For many, this was the first time they had heard this news. The Gospel is new to many Pokot and is a foreign concept for them. God was working on many of their hearts and dozens made commitments for Jesus Christ. Each day the team returned to camp with stories of Pokot accepting salvation through Jesus Christ and the gratitude of the people. At each clinic the people expressed their appreciation for the love shown by the team and thanked the national evangelist and pastors for bringing the team to visit them. Often they would say, “We have never seen so many white people before. No one has ever done anything like this for us, not even our own government. God bless you so much For months God had been paving the way and preparing hearts. Pokot Outreach Ministries’ had sent the word out into the bush that the team would be coming and the people responded. In all, around 3500 Pokot were examined, given medicine, and most importantly, heard the Gospel. Today there are fifteen churches planted in that area of West Pokot, Kenya. In what many might view as a temporary solution to a much larger problem, God uses to win souls. It’s often that God uses the small things to do the big things. Through simple love to a people who don’t know love, God won hearts and called people that never knew salvation to Himself. And while the people of that area may fall sick again or even die, the Gospel is now alive in those hills. The Believers are meeting and the Word continues to travel out. God is still at work. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are interest in participating in an up-coming trip with Harvesters please contact us for more information. We would love to have you. Bring people from your church, your husband, your wife, your kids, your friends…whoever has a heart for Christ and a heart to serve...or wants one. More often than not it seems that the people on the team take more away from the trip than they feel like they leave. God has a funny way of breaking us down and teaching us about Him when we think we’re the ones coming with something to give. Don and Sherry Gray (Callahan, Fl.) were a part of the medical team in October 2008. This is how they explained their experience... Since our trip our view about life and our experience has changed significantly. We believe that the will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you. We had no fear. To get something you never had, you have to do something you've never done before, so we ran to the adventure. When God takes something from your life, He is not punishing you, but opening your life to receive something better; He will provide you the strengthening experience required making you strong to support the job. That is how we now view our history and life. We cannot help but think that God is calling us stronger now than ever before in our relationships with Him; that there are many in this world that have yet to hear the Truth about the God who created them and who loves them and desires a personal relationship with them. We were blessed with the opportunity to take God's Truth, Jesus Christ, to the Pokot tribe. Come and serve for two weeks on a short-term missions’ trip, it might just change your life. |
