By Meghan Marriott
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall make straight your paths.Proverbs 3:5-6
These two verses have really been my “go-to” verses over the past two years. They are a wonderful confirmation and can really set the mind at peace – if you’re willing to do what it says…and it says a lot! First, “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Not part of your heart. Not half of your heart. All. That’s a lot of trusting. Then, “lean not on your own understanding.” Ok, now I don’t know which is harder! How many times do I try to understand something based on my own experiences and what I know? It is an easy first reaction – How can I explain this situation or how can I make sense of it all? Thirdly, “in all your ways acknowledge Him.” There’s one of those “all” words again. No matter what He wants us to keep our eyes upward, acknowledging Him in all things – big or small. Then finally the words of assurance: “and He shall make straight your paths.”
Last summer I was able to finally make it to the one continent I have always dreamed of going to. Kenya, a much heard about country in East Africa, was in some ways what I expected and in other ways not. I went on this journey with three other friends: Nichole, Bryan, and Ashiq. We volunteered with a low-key non-profit organization called Education for the Future Foundation (EFF). Through the donations of others EFF provides scholarships for Kenyan students to attend secondary/high school. Schooling is not free in Kenya, and as you can imagine, there are a great number of kids who are unable to afford this opportunity. Because of this they often end up in low-income jobs only to continue the cycle of poverty that they’ve known all too well growing up.
Nichole and I were placed in one school in the western part of the country in a city called Kisumu. The others were about an hour away in Luanda. EFF gives applications to select students based on two things: 1) the level of need, and 2) high levels of achievement in school. We were there to select students for these applications and to assess the situation for ourselves firsthand. (Let it be known that though these students were selected for an application, it still may be some while before a sponsor turns up to support them. EFF is a newer organization and so does not have a lot of scholarships to give each year.) We looked through the school’s “orphan list,” talked with teachers, interviewed students, and then went to some of the students’ homes to speak with their guardians.
This is Brian Omondi. He is one of the students we gave an application to for a scholarship. A few weeks before we arrived in Kisumu, a teacher had walked him home (a few pieces of scrap being held up by sticks) only to find his younger sister staring at a rat eating the nose of their father’s dead body. The mother had passed some time before. He was very soft-spoken and seemed very reserved but when we told him he was one of the students we had selected to give an application to, he smiled literally the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.
Kenya definitely kept me on my toes –spiritually, emotionally, and well, of course physically. As I said earlier, some of this I expected, and some of it I didn’t.
It was beautiful, just as I expected. The world is such an intricate and absolutely stunning piece of work created by the One and only. Other than the mountains (I am a mountain person), perhaps what amazed me the most was the sky. No matter what time of the day, it always was so clear and picturesque. So much of God’s creativity and goodness and generosity are shown in nature and I was excited to witness this in Kenya too.
My friend Bryan sitting by a large rock formation we traveled to one day. Absolutely stunning view.
The Kenyan sky.
The dire need and poverty was there, again, just as I expected. Houses made of mud. Shanties. Trash everywhere. Unsanitary conditions concerning buildings, food, etc. Torn and tattered clothing. Sickness. Scarce school supplies. You get the point.
This is the pathway to our house we walked on every day. Overwhelmingly littered with trash.
Stack of schoolbooks from just one of the classes at the school I helped at. Classes are packed to the brim. 80 students in one class is normal.
Many homes are made with whatever resources are available.
How can I explain the unfairness of a corrupt government official asking us for money for his people and then implying how rich he will be from that money? This is the same chief who steals food supplied by the government for these people and then sells it to make some quick cash. The same chief that tried making Nichole and I feel right at home by saying that if anyone in the neighborhood bothers us, to just let him know and he’ll beat them with that large stick he has hanging up in his office.
How can I understand WHY such injustice exists to witness a child with bloodshot eyes and a bottle of alcohol in hand begging me for money?
How can I try to comprehend the so simple but so life-determining fact that I live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world while I sit and interact with those who use newspaper and plastic bags for a makeshift diaper for their infant? Or watch that same infant being breastfed by a mother who is sick with HIV. Or sit in home after home being told there is only enough food to feed the student one time a day, or maybe even three days a week. So, education that requires money? No way. Or how about the mother not only selling chips (fries) during the day but also selling her body at night in order to pay for rent and food for her child. How can I wrap my head around that? How can I change that? How can this even be? I don’t understand. There is so much suffering and injustice and corruption in this small part of the country let alone the rest of the world. Up against that, I feel helpless. I. I. I.
This was the family with the infant mentioned above. Despite everything, they were giving praises to God.
Well, this is when I need to be checked. Who am I to be able to make sense of all the hurts of this world? God is God for a reason. To not lean on my own understanding is tough in situations like these however I’m not trusting God if I don’t. And that’s what this trip illustrated for me the most. Trust. Utter, raw, beautiful trust.
Thus I finally come to what I experienced in Kenya that I had not expected. The relationships countless people had with the Lord left me awestruck – kids and adults alike. No matter what, His name was always at the tip of their lips ready to be praised. I’ve never heard the phrase “God-willing” so much in my life. There was a constant acknowledgement of the Lord and His rule in their life. The source of their strength shone brightly and openly. That isn’t all though. Most of those people I talked about above – those hurting from this or that – these same people seemed to have some of the strongest relationships with God I’ve ever seen. They did trust Him with all their heart, even when they could not explain why things were as they were. Though they were incredibly short on food, and/or could not send their child(ren) to school, and/or lost family member after family member, and/or were left to live in an orphanage, they were still always finding reasons to praise the Lord.
Children at an orphanage singing and praising the Lord while makin’ some beats.
Needless to say, my questions and conversations with God were all over the place during and after my time spent there. While I had once thought I was a dutiful follower of that set of verses, I had now come to see differently. “Why isn’t my relationship with God like theirs?” I often thought. “I want a strong relationship with Him too, so powerful that if I were to lose family, friends, or my education; or if I were to end up on the streets or not have money for food I could still praise His name.” Though not impossible, the odds are that these things won’t happen to me – at least not anytime soon. Does that give me reason to not trust Him enough? Food is always in my fridge; I’m attending a top university; I’m a daughter of two absolutely wonderful parents, and the list goes on. That’s what’s tricky – learning to acknowledge Him even when you think you have everything figured out. So many times when I feel as though I’m coming to a standstill or dry spot with God, I realize it’s because I’m not placing my trust in Him – or at least not ALL of it. I’m not letting Him rule my life. I’m leaning on my own understanding and attempting to keep parts of my life under my control. Though I may not be experiencing so much of the suffering others face, there are still many things I can and should offer to His hands. After all, this way He will make our paths straight.
In one trip I experienced a lot. Gratefulness at the opportunity of a lifelong dream to go to this place. Joy at the beauty of God’s creation – both humans and nature. Sadness and frustration at the evils and losses people were facing on a constant basis. Encouragement from witnessing these same people totally directed by and completely in love with the One who gave us life.
Front of the church my Swahili teacher from Michigan State University helped build in his home in Kisii, Kenya.
Things I saw in Kenya tore me apart but God was there simultaneously working to put me back together; to show me what a life entrusted to Him could be like. Joy in the face of sorrow; peace in the midst of a storm; and devotion in a world seemingly plagued by misfortune.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
“It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.” Acts 1:7
“All our trust reflects His rule in our life.” – Malcolm Magee
“I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.” – Mother Teresa
Just for fun.
Meghan Marriott lives in Lansing, Michigan in the United States, where she studies Comparative Cultures and Politics, with a double major in Social Work, specializing in African Studies at James Madison College, Michigan State University. She loves unstructured travelling, loving generously and playing with animals, along with hanging out with family and friends and going to church. Meghan recently got engaged to Justin, a kind, humble and gifted man of God.
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