Finding the Joy

Lisa told the team this morning that today we shouldn’t worry about anything else but instead to focus on the joy. So today I did that.   

One of the bests parts of the trips to Kenya for me is when we have the opportunity to go to church and worship with the Kenyan people. So I knew that finding joy wouldn’t be difficult but I decided to pay closer attention to it because after all…I am Lisa’s favorite pastor  it was in the middle of a humorous conversation but I contend her comment still counts.

We went to the New Hope Church this morning and sat in on the childrens Sunday School lesson. They begin with singing and the first song had verses with the following lyrics:

I want to clap, clap, clap.

I want to jump, jump, jump.

I want to dance, dance, dance.

Followed by the chorus of: When people see me, they see Jesus.

We attended the youth service which was primarily in Swahili and although we didn’t know the words they were singing in was still powerful because the singing was led by three youth and their hearts were truly into their praise and worship of God. Stanley Gitari introduced the team and was so joyful when sharing about the many blessings the water well, which provides clean water, has brought to that entire community. 

In the afternoon we visited the Sodzso Boys Rescue Center. We heard about the amazing work done there to provide help for the children from the street. My first thought was how young the boys were who there and how sad and tough that was to hear. But my thought quickly shifted to how amazing it was that they were being rescued because of the thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity of others. And then we got to play football (American soccer) with the boys, which for me was the most joyful part of the day. The boys patiently and expectantly waited for us so we could play with them. While playing I didn’t think once about how dumb it was that didn’t bring a change of clothes so I had to play in a polo, dress slacks, and dress shoes. The laughter and smiles on the faces of the boys and those adults playing was definitely joy filled. They were laughing and smiling even when getting hit in the face of with the ball or running full speed into each other and getting knocked down. 

There is so much negativity that we can choose to focus on when there is SO MUCH MORE that can bring us joy. I admit that I struggle with finding it sometimes because I spend time worrying about what is to come instead of looking at what is right in front of me. God truly wants us to be a joyful people. As the song we heard this morning said: “When people see me they seeing Jesus,” how cool it would be for them to see the joy and love of Jesus in you? We were made for it but we have to get out of our own way and look for the joy. Thanks for the direct and not so subtle reminder, pastor Lisa. I am so grateful for you and your heart.

So those of you reading this-where did you find joy today or where will you find joy tomorrow? I’d love to hear about it in the comments on Facebook-so others can hear about it too!!

Grace & Peace & Joy

Rev Kev