Trips to Kenya (Part 4 of 5): Torch and Batteries
Torches and Batteries: My daughter and her husband over the last couple of years have supported a young man at the home named Mbathi Daniel. I got to meet him and know him on this trip. He is a soft -spoken young man with a very tender heart.
On the next to last day of our visit, he asked me if I had any batteries. I said that I didn’t, but I asked him why he needed batteries. He said that he needed batteries for his torch. It took a while to figure out what he was talking about, but I eventually realized that he had a flashlight that needed new batteries. Little did I know at the time, how well his need would weave into the need which each of us as sponsors have.
Matthew 5:16 says: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” This verse tells us that as Christians our righteous life, pure conversation, faithful obedience, and good works should be seen by all who know us. Though most of do not realize it, the country in which we live, as wonderful as it is, also distracts us as Christians. The complexities of our daily lives, and the vast amount of activities and material things that exist in abundance in our society, all tend to take our attention away from the things of the Lord. Simply put, they become idols that dim our light. Or, as Mbathi might say, our “torch.”
Visiting Mulango will do more to recharge your torch batteries than you can possibly imagine. It will help push those idols off the throne of your heart, so that it can be rightly occupied by the things that should be there. I know this because I have now experienced it for the second time. The dimming of your light happens so gradually that you may never notice it, or you may believe that it has not dimmed. It is something you can only really appreciate in hindsight. I know this for a fact because though I pray for the children of Mulango daily, it was not until my second trip that I realized how much mine had dimmed from my first trip. I can say it won’t happen again, but unless I stay close to the One that put the light there in the first place, it will always happen. Part of staying close, is stay close to His Word, staying close in prayer, but also staying close to His work (helping those in need). The unique thing about visiting Mulango is that not only are you getting very close to those in need, but you also are getting close to people whose life situation allows them a closeness to the Lord that will really humble you. You can hear it in their prayers. You can see it in their reliance on Him. You can hear it in their worship. They recognize their need to rely on the Lord, and He is an intricate part of their lives on a daily basis. Though our lives in America have so many more material advantages than theirs, their lives leave me envious of their relationship with the Lord. If you need some new batteries for your “torch,” I can promise you that Mulango is just the place to get them, as they have them in abundance. I will make sure that Mbathi has physical batteries for his torch the next time we send packages to Mulango. Mbathi, the children at Mulango, and the workers at Mulango have already provided me with new spiritual batteries for mine.