God is There in The Midst of Chaos

singing 

This passed weekend I got another amazing opportunity. I went with a mix group from Australian to a women’s’ prison in Nakuru. It was my first time being inside a prison and having some conversations with prisoners. There were about 200 women there with different cases that went from steeling all the way to murder. We visited them two different days.

Sabbath was a special day. We arrived to prison at about 9:30 am and immediately started our service with some Kiswahili songs. We had three singers from an nearby SDA church who lead song service for everyone. At the end of song service, some of the prisoners got an offer to lead in their own songs; they accepted. Five of them got up and lead us passionately for 3 active songs. We had prayer followed by a beautiful sermon by Joy Batler focused on Romans 8:35-38. At the end, we shook hands with all the prisoners, had small conversations with some of them, and then left.

On Sunday morning, we arrived to prison at about 9:00 am for some medical work. We had one doctor and 5 nurses who looked at the cases of every prisoner. We also had different other stations like face painting, for the little kids. I was the pharmacist for the day. We thought that only those who need to see the nurse would go. Not surprisingly, we were mistaken, all the women lined up with their kids waiting for a free medical check up. We also had some packages for every single woman that had some necessary items they need like: toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper… etc.

a prisoner's child who is 2 months old 

I never imagined that I could experience the presence of God in prison among all those who hurt (whether deliberately or unintentionally) others. Many times we tend to judge those who are in prison without getting to really know them and the reason behind their stories. I was amazed as I felt the passion that those prisoners had while leading in song service, leading in prayer, and during the private conversations I had with some of them. It was a blessing to meet people who have hope of one day being out of the bondage of prison even though they have 14 more years to go. It was a blessing to see some of them deeply moved by the prayers that we offered while committing themselves to God and asking for a better future. I was blessed to be there.   

I'm a New SM!

Maxwell Adventist Academy has a yearly trip to hike up mount Kenya. School goes off on a Thursday evening and reopens on the following Tuesday evening. I had the chance to go with the school on that trip, but after hearing that one of my friend was going to volunteer at an SDA orphanage in a village about 4 hours away from Nairobi I was in a dilemma. Working in an orphanage was one of the experiences I always wanted to have and hiking up mount Kenya is probably a lifetime chance. After some prayer and looking at the school calendar I realized that if I don’t use this break to go to the orphanage, I probably wouldn’t have another chance to go. So without hesitation, I decided to volunteer for 5 days at Ian Castleman Orphanage.

Yes! We made it. 

Ian Castleman Orphanage is not in Nairobi or anywhere near there. It’s in a village that is about 50 minutes away from a town called Nakuru, which is about two and a half hours away from Nairobi. To get there, Violetta (a close friend of mine) and I decided to take matatus, public microbuses, to experience more of the culture and how the people live on a daily bases. And sure enough, we had an experience! When we arrived to the matatu station in Nairobi we bought our tickets and waited for an hour for the matatu to arrive. Once it arrived it took us about two and a half hours to arrive to Nakuru. Then we faced the challenge of trying to find another matatu to take up to the village. When we asked some of the locals who were there, they told us the station is not nearby and that we had to walk or take a taxi to reach there.  It was hard to walk with five bags and a box full of project for the kids, and we didn’t have enough money to take a taxi. Well, guess what? God answered the prayer that we did not even pray. To everyone’s surprise the matatu that never passes through the station where we were at, passed just when we needed it. Not only that, but it seems that everyone we got in contact with through out our trip was very helpful. All the sudden I found the taxi drivers leaving their taxies, picking up our luggage, placing it in the back of the matuatu and telling, “Go. Go. This is the matatu you need”. I felt like a brand new SM who slowly discovers how God works in small details of a person’s life.

The sewing machine was broken so we had to sew everything by hand

When we arrived to the orphanage I was stunned. Kenya has a lot of orphanages but this one is very different. The orphanage has more than 140 orphans; many of them are disable and about 10 are HIV Positive. After hearing a lot of the stories about the kids I felt like I could not handle anymore. The stories and the situations the kids were in broke my heart. To be honest with you, it took me two days to get use to the place I was at. Over all I really enjoyed my time there and I had a beautiful experience. I spent a lot of time playing with the kids, leading worships, sewing clothes, and even teaching the 7^th grade Algebra and CRE (Christian Religious Education).

teaching

Here are some of the stories that really touched me.

Emmanuel:

Emmanuel 

Emmanuel is a disable child who came to the orphanage with his mom. His mom pleaded to work as a career at the orphanage so she can have some income and take care of her disabled boy at the same time. After 8 months of work, the woman ran away leaving her child behind. The director of the orphanage told me that he hasn’t seen her for 18 months since then.

Elisha Ian Castleman:

Elisha

Elisha was found under a tree covered in mud, with his placenta still attached to his body. He was immediately taken to the hospital and after recovering he was taken to the orphanage. The director of the orphanage held him in his hand when he was only 2 hours old. The OCS (Office of Commanding Situations) found Elisha’s mother. She was arrested for attempted murder. When asked to defense her case, the mother said that the father of the baby left her and when she realized that she couldn’t raise the child up she decided to leave him under a tree.

Joseph

Joseph:

Joseph has a problem with his spinal cord, which affects his back and brain. A lady who pretended to be a poor neighbor of the mother brought him to the orphanage. After the little boy was accepted, the directors discovered that the lady who brought him was his own mother.

Charity:

Charity 

This girl has the most interesting story of all. A story I would only see in movies such as Tarzan. While some women were collecting some firewood around the fences of a game park, they saw a child with some baboons. They then rushed to the child care office and reported the story. The baby was taken outside the park and immediately to Elburgon Hospital that is about 4 miles away from the orphanage. Doctors reported that the baby was seven years old when she was brought out of the game park. It was also assumed that the baby was left with the baboons before she was one year old and that is why the baboons considered her their own child. Charity was breast fed by a baboon, which cause her to grow baboon hair all over her body. Charity is now in the orphanage doing a lot better. She still has some baboon hair on her back. However, it’s slowly going away. She is still in kindergarten and when she screams, it sounds just like a monkey. I heard her say one word the whole time I was there. It was: “Thank you”. Just hearing this word coming out her mouth made my day! I believe that one day she’ll act just like a normal human being acts.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15. I read this verse so many times but I never really realized the deep meaning it holds. It was just so hard to imagine a woman leaving her won child. I never though that I would actually hear true stories of women who have no compassion on their children. However the Bible itself tells us that they will forget, but He will never forget us. Praise God for Ian Castleman Orphanage and all the people who serve there. God has not forgotten all these children who were forgotten by their biological parents. He sent other people who can be their parents, take care of them, and show them His unconditional love. And I had the privilege to work with these people for 5 days. 

Heaven has never tasted so sweet!

I woke up at 3:57 am with a scream and the astonishing realization that it was only a nightmare. I pinched my arm and turned on the light to make sure that I was awake. “Lord, Thank you so much that it’s not reality” I prayed as my right hand reach under my pillow for my cell phoned and dialed Dad’s number in Egypt. “Baba, are you and mom okay?” I asked with a worried voice.

“ Ya, we’re fine. Why are you calling that early? Are you okay?” his voice was slightly becoming more worried.

Sandy, Dad, Mom, and I 

“ Ya. I’m fine. I just had a bad dream and I wanted to make sure you and mama are okay.” I said as I was getting relieved.

“ Don’t worry. We’re all fine here. May God give you peace. Mom and I will pray for you.” Dad said with his usual comforting voice.

“Thanks dad. Sorry for waking you up. Good night”

“No problem. Good night.”

            My dream was something like that. Mom and I were in Egypt, near Tahrir Square, during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. All the protesters crowded around Mubarak’s house and kept shouting, ”If you don’t leave we’ll have to end your life.”  I was a little worried about Mubarak so I asked my mom if they could really kill him. Unfortunately, before my mom was able to even answered my question, we saw millions of people carrying guns, sticks, stones,…etc pushed their way into Mubarak’s house and started fighting. Mom told me that we had to run away so we don’t get hurt. On our way home, we heard the devastating news that Mubarak was dead. I was HEARTBROKEN! What was even more horrifying was the news that mom told me when we reached home. “Your Dad is the one who died” She said. So apparently in my dream My Dad was Mubarak. It might sound funny now, but at 4:00 am before the sun was even out, it would be terrifying. All that I could do after hearing those news was to run in my moms arms and join her in sobbing.  

Thankful for my brother 

After my call to my dad I thanked God for all the people who are present in my life especially for my family and for their health. For the next hour I was laying on my bed thinking of all the different families I know of who lost their loved ones. Just last school year at LSU, before I left to Kenya, about three friends of mine lost a parent. This past Christmas break a friend of mine lost his 23rdish years old brother who got electrocuted by a light pole while driving in the rain. Besides all the deaths that we had after the bombing in Alexandria, just from the Feb 25, 2011 Egyptian revolution about 500 more people died. Thousands of people die and thousands of families are heartbroken everyday. I heard all these stories before but I never really connected to the pain that those families went through. After this nightmare I had a glimpse of how it’s like to lose a loved one. “When will it end Lord? When?” Oh, I was tired of this broken world we live in. Heaven has never tasted so sweet. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” Revelation 21:4

There is a lot of sadness in this world, if not death, there are thousands of other things that can put a person down. I can’t blame God for al these things because I know that He only gives good gifts to his children. “ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11 In fact I believe that God weeps with those who weeps and when a tear comes down my eye there are hundred tears that come down His eye. “The lord is close to the brokenhearted” Plsams34: 18

But when will He put all these things to an end? When will He come back? I’m not sure when, but I believe that He is coming in His perfect timing. But until then, I know that I can face all these hardships that comes through my way because He gives me the strength I need to face them. And I pray that others would not give up on God because He will NEVER give up on them.

It's All About Love!

at my grandma's house for Christmas  

Since Maxwell Adventist Academy has only one long break during the school year, I was blessed to spend Christmas/ birthday in Egypt (home). Wow, just remembering how I felt as the plane was landed in Cairo airport, as I was being greeted, “welcome home.” by the workers I encountered, and as I ran to meet my parents and best friends who were waiting for me gives me Goosebumps. My first two weeks were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. School was still going on at NUA (Nile Union Academy) and I enjoyed hanging out with some of the students I went to school with. I even got to teach three classes for missionaries who had to go home early for Christmas break. It was AWESOME!  

at one of the soccer stadiums in Cairo

All was well until Jan 1, 2011 around 12:15 am. There was bombing in Alexandria, in front of one of the Coptic Churches. As the priest was finishing his last prayers for the New Year few of the hundreds who were attending the service decided to leave few minutes early before everyone crowds at the gate.  About five minutes after they left, a very loud boom followed by loud noises of people screaming and weeping shook the whole church building. When everyone started rushing to the gate to see what was happening, all that they could see was a damaged car and pieces of human meat everywhere. About 22 youth/ adults died and double the amount were in different hospitals in dangerous conditions. After all the police investigate, the newspaper concluded that the horrible crime was terrorist attach.

Not too long ago, Jan 6 (the Egyptian Christmas eve), 2010 six young men got shot as they were coming out of the church after the Christmas Eve program in Naga Hammadi (one of the Egyptian villages). Before even a year has passed, Christians had facing another heartbreak.

There was a sad spirit among all the Christians in Egypt. As it is our tradition to buy new clothes for Christmas, most of them decided not to and wore black clothes instead. All students at the academy were furious. Some of them were talking to me about what happened and all that they kept repeating was that they HATE whoever did this crime. Egyptian channels kept on posting news about the accident and the new news that police was able to investigate. One of the Christian Egyptian channels interviewed some of the families in Alexandria that could not find dead bodies to their own relatives. I would not be able to forget the mourning I watched that a grandma had over her lost daughter, son in-law, and grandchildren. “Why would people do such a thing? Can’t they see all the heartache they’re causing to these innocent people? If I encounter one of these guilty people, how can I deal with them?” I was thinking. One of Christian songs that were made just for these events says, “We can hold guns and kill you, but we won’t because our Christ taught us to love you.” This song made me think a lot.   

Different people speak about love often, as if it’s an easy process.  During my break in Egypt and especially after this incident I realized how hard it is to love those who hurt and kill the closest people to you. It was very hard for all the Egyptians to come to the point that all that they could do was to only love and keep loving and loving, but by the help of all the pastors and the sermons on TV most of them were able to come to that point.

All that I was thinking of was, “I wish I was able to stand somewhere and give a long speech and say to all those who did this horrible crime that they are not making God happy by killing His own children” But there was something different about how I felt. Despite of all my heartache, I could sense deep love for those who did this crime. I actually felt sorry for them and prayed that God will forgive them. It was a love that no human power can ever give. It was the kind of love that only God could put in my heart. It the same kind of love that pushed Jesus to pray for those who killed him and say ”Forgive them because they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34. Yes my heart was aching but it wasn’t full of hatred. “So what are we suppose to do to them?” some of the NUA students asked. “Keep loving them and pray that someday they’ll understand.” I answered.

When I came back to Maxwell, as I was having supper with some of the students, one of the girls, Bethany, asked me,”Miss Germeen, if I would ask you of the one thing that is so essential in this life, what would you say?” As she asked this question my mind traveled thousands miles away and I was able to picture all the craziness that Egyptians went though and I answered, “ LOVE”.  

Learning from The Baby Elephant

Few weeks ago I went on a school trip to the Mara on safari. We had a small group; about 10 students and 9 staff. We left the school on Friday morning, for three day, and returned on Sunday evening. We drove about 5 hours. Instead of staying at a fancy hotel we decided to save some money and camp instead. We camped at an Adventist mission field. When we arrived, we set out tents, went on a walk, ate, had worship, and then went to sleep. We wake up very early the next morning excited to enter the park and spend the whole day there. We had a blast! We saw a lot of animals: buffaloes, zebras, lions, crowned canes, ostriches, elephants, secretary bird, water-bucks, and a leopard. After learning a lot about these animals, we left the park around 5pm. During our worship that night we went around the circle and everyone shared what he or she was blessed by for the day. One of the students, Dale, said that he was blessed by the way animals take care of their babies. “ It reminds me of how God takes care of us,” He continued.

The next morning we were allowed to go to the park for three more hours. It was worth dragging my self out of bed as the sun just rose. We saw a leopard and a cheetah walking not further than 10 feet away from us. However that was not what made the trip very special to me. What made it worth going was a scene I saw of an elephant and its baby. About 100 feet away from us was an elephant and her newborn baby walking across the park. We decided to drive closer to get better pictures of the baby elephant. When we came closer, there was another truck taking pictures of them as well. When the baby elephant realized that there were a lot of people around, it felt unsafe and scared. Without even thinking, it started running and hid under its mother’s feet where it felt totally safe and at peace. I immediately remembered what Dale said the night before. Yes, God is always there for us to run and hide under his feet when we are unsafe, hurting, lost, and scared. The question the kept going through my mind was not if God was there for us like the mother elephant was to her baby, rather it was, “do I run and hide under his feet in times when I need to?”  I was also thinking about Isaiah 49:15 “ Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the Child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” It was impossible for me to even think that the mother elephant will leave her little baby unsafe, but even if she did, God will not leave it alone. So many times I tend to focus more on the situation I’m in rather than running to the person who will always be there for me. I tent to keep being insecure instead of running to my tower of refuge where I can feel safe and at peace. So my prayer was,” Lord, help me to learn how to take refuge in you when I am disturbed and unsafe”.  

Not Giving Up

It’s not fun when a person plans and works hard on something for some people who just do not appreciate what’s been done for them. It’s hard for a person to keep going when they know that the very people they are working for will constantly reject what they are doing. It just makes a person feel like giving up! Well, I know a man who did not give up on his good works, even when those whom He was working for rejected Him and did not appreciate His sacrifice. His name is Jesus.

The night before Jesus was arrested was a tough one for Him. He knew what He was about to go through. His physical and mental strength were decreasing incredibly. He asked Peter, James, and John, hoping that they would realize how much He needs their support, to stay awake with Him in prayer. Unfortunately, they fell asleep along with the rest of the disciples. The book of Matthew tells us that three times Jesus went to the them hoping that they will be awake praying for Him and themselves, but every single time He found them asleep. Just imagine what was going on in Jesus’ mind. The very people whom He was about to die for cannot stay awake for few hours to pray with Him. Do they even appreciate what He was about to do for them? Not only that, He knew that one of these very close friends was finishing his last deals on betraying Him; and not longer after that another one will deny that he even knows Him. Why would Jesus keep going when the very people He planned to die for do not appreciate the sacrifice?

If Jesus did it then I can do it. If Jesus was willing to die by the hands of those very ones He wanted to save, then I can put more effort for those people who do not appreciate. Praise God that Jesus did not give up on us when we did not deserve His sacrifice. He loved us so much that He decided to die for us even when we did not appreciate His great sacrifice. It is true that Jesus would have died even if there were only one person to die for. And for those who did not accept Him He prayed and said, “ Forgive them for they do not do what they are doing” Luke 23:24.  I’ve learned to keep putting effort in my work even if it was going to affect one single person. I’ve also learned to pray for those who keep rejecting that one day the words would touch them and they would understand.

 

We Can Only Fear The Future If We Forgot How God Lead Us in The Past

Lately I’ve been reading a book called ”Man of Peace”; it is the contemporary version of the “Desire of Ages” that is written by Ellen G. White. The book states, with details, the life of Jesus. It explains the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John on a deeper level. Two days ago I was reading chapter 35 about the storm on the sea. After long day of healing and talking about God’s word, Jesus needed some rest, so He asked the disciples to take him to the other side of the lake. As soon as Jesus got into the boat, he fell asleep. The evening began really calm and peaceful, but not too much longer, a strong storm started. The disciples were experienced fishermen who handled many storms before, but that was a different one. It was a rough one. When the disciples failed to save the boat, they started calling Jesus. After several times of trying to wake Him up, He got up, looked at them with love as peace covered his face, then lifted His hands and ordered the wind and waves to be still. “Instantly, the wind stopped, the waves sank, and the clouds dissipated. The boat bobbed on quite waters under a sky full of stars.” P. 96 All the disciples were amazed at Jesus’ supernatural power. “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!” The storm pushed all the other boats near to the boat where Jesus and the disciples were at, and they all witnessed the miracle. Because of the storm, it took Jesus and the disciples a while to get to the other side of the lake. They arrived as the sun was coming up. When they got to the other side, they found two wild men with broken chains trying to attack them. Here comes the interesting ping. The disciples forgot what just happened a few hours ago and how Jesus calmed the crazy storm. Instead of depending on Him for another challenge and trusting that He will act, they were terrified and ran to the beach. However, Jesus stood calm and “ held up the same hand that had quieted the waves in the storm and they could not come nearer.”

I found myself in the same situation as the disciples this passed week. New challenges and storms started to rise again in my work. Instead of realizing that the same God who calmed the previous storm is the same one who will calm this present one, I focused on the storm itself. All the problems I faced became my reality; I was not able to see beyond them. It was not until I read this chapter that I realized how important it is to remember how God has been leading me in the past. One of my favorite Ellen G. White quotes is from Life sketches, p. 196, “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has lead us, and His teaching in our past history”. Why should I be worried of my future or even the present time when I know that the same God who lead me in the past is the same on who is leading me now and will continue to lead me? I love the fact that Jesus didn’t just give up on the disciples and tell them, “ Well, because you still don’t believe in my, I will not help you”. He stopped the wild men with the same hand that calmed the storm. It just gives me hope to know that despite of my unbelief, God is still so patient with me. He is still willing to give me strength to face my storm.