Elias and the cow... (written July 18th late PM)

Today I found myself in deep Africa – in a place so rural and far from the beaten path, that I could never have found my way out if not for the Kikuyu ladies with me. I laugh to myself as I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of ladies chattering in a language I don’t understand and am inundated with their culture and practices which are so very different from my own.
These are Christian people – sons and daughters of God – so in an odd way, I am at home. But more often I am reminded that I am in a very foreign land. Today I did not see another muzungu (white person). And for the first time ever, a child was absolutely terrified of me. He had never seen a muzungu before, and my white skin, green eyes, and light colored hair completely horrified him. I could not comfort him, as he spoke no English, and it was disturbing to me because loving children is what comes naturally to me. The ladies with me explained that most likely the child thought I had been burned terribly or something like that – because according to my African friends here, when a black person is burned, the scar tissue that remains is white. So to this child I looked monstrous.
Later today we went to Kibongoti to speak to a group of ladies at the church. It was a precious meeting – and God was very present. Thank you God!
When leaving the church, there were about a dozen beautiful, dirty, unkempt children who came running to see the muzungu. They called to me, waving with vigor and laughing wildly when I spoke to them --- but they would not come near me. They truly looked at me as if I were some strange oddity that they couldn’t resist watching but wanted no real part of. We rode through town 3 times today, and not one other muzungu was in sight. It was quite an odd experience, and I knew I was in the heart of Africa, modern day Africa, today.

I must share with you about Elias. He is about 20 years old (no one knows his actual age because they have not kept up with his birthday). He is a young man who suffers from cerebral palsy. Elias walks, but with a terrible limp, and his hands and arms are drawn. He speaks with a drawl and struggles to find words that can be understood. But oh when he smiles!!!
Elias’s smile is without a doubt the brightest, most sincere smile I have ever seen. No joke – it is spectacular. And beyond that, when he worships God – I am quite certain Heaven’s angels pause and give audience to him.

Several months ago when planning this trip, I had asked the pastors wives to let me know of any specific needs so I could pray about them and seek God’s provision. One pastor’s wife replied asking me to prayerfully consider purchasing and delivering a calf/cow to a young man with cerebral palsy since he had been praying for some time now that God would bless him with a cow to care for, grow, sell for a profit, and then purchase another calf to begin again. He looked at this as a business venture, a way for him to be able to make money, while at the same time having something that “needed” him --- something he could care for.
So after praying over the requests – I ordered them in the importance according to God’s guidance to me.
Elias’s cow was at the top of the list.

So today, I walked up a narrow green pathway with huge cornstalks on either side of the path – coffee and tea growing all around me. No road access --- the place was too beautiful for roads and the people who live there can not afford cars. It was at the base of Mt. Kenya, with views that rivaled any I’ve ever seen. The sky was blue, the clouds white and puffy (my favorite), the breeze was gentle, and the excitement contagious. As I walked up this path, I led a young cow to the home of Elias the cripple who loves God. Elias knew I was coming – with his father’s help he had built a small coral with a sturdy feed bin packed full of fresh cut greens. Elias was ready.

And when he walked (hobbled) down the pathway to meet us (the cow and me) --- I KNOW God smiled. Elias was beaming and exclaiming loudly, “God bless you so much!” in his slurred dialect.

That moment was in the top ten wonderful moments of my entire life. I could actually FEEL God’s overwhelming love for this crippled young man. And during those moments, I know Elias felt it too.

Everyone in the area is poor beyond belief –but they are not hungry. They have beautiful crops and water is plentiful. So for Elias to receive a young cow --- he has now become more wealthy than his own father. Elias is loved dearly by all his neighbors --- they have formed a wall of protection around him and so Elias lives tucked away in a fertile, beautiful place where the outside world has little chance to impact or wound. Elias has known enough pain. Shortly after his birth, when his mother realized something was wrong with him, she walked the distance from her residence to where he now lives and literally THREW him on the ground in front of his grandmother. She spoke words of death and curse over him and then left forever.

The grandmother looks like something out of prehistoric times. She was gruff, hard, and had skin that looked like elephant hide. But regardless of her exterior, she had picked up the broken child and loved him. Elias’s father soon after left the birth mother explaining to her that he loved his son, and would not desert him (not all men here are brutal, some are loving and kind). So in this tiny, hidden community, Elias has grown under the care of his grandmother, father, and neighbors. He has not heard from his mother since that day.
No electricity, no running water, no roads, no pollution. It was literally like walking through an Eden in today’s world.
Elias had prepared his home for his visitors. Benches (handmade) were sitting outside his humble home (a tiny shack that had been built for him on his father’s small piece of land by men from Elias’s church), the ground had been churned and smoothed, and of course Kenyan tea was waiting as well. (I prayed as I sipped mine – as I do with most meals I take here – and I thank God for His protection over me.) The pastor who had made the actual arrangements for the purchase of the cow, stood and shared words of love, encouragement, and life with Elias and his visitors. Then several others spoke, and I stood to speak truth to Elias. The truth that God was the giver of the cow, and I was only the one walking up the path with it. To the best of my ability I spoke words of life, light, and truth over Elias.

Today, Elias fully embraced just how much his Heavenly Father adores him.

Elias then stood up and worshipped God with hands held high and using words that were surely understood by God. I wish you could have seen it, heard it, and felt the air around us. Our Father was most pleased – I could feel His rejoicing in the worship of this crippled child of His.

After sharing some Kenyan tea, I then looked around Elias’s garden on his tiny shamba (farm). The pastor walked with me to explain the different plants. I asked the pastor if Elias’s father was a Christian. He said no – he was not. So I asked if he would interpret and let me invite Elias’s father to church the next day.
The interpreter shared my English words transforming them into the understood Kikuyu. And God opened my mouth. In a matter of moments I found myself praying with this man (Jarod) as he asked Jesus to become his Savior. He was painfully humble, soft spoken, and meek in everyway. He then called his wife over to us (Elias’s step mother). Her name is Faith. But she had no faith in her heart because she did not know the Savior. He talked with her as interpreters shared with me what he was saying. And within 10 minutes, Faith prayed and asked Jesus to come into her heart.
Amen! Praise the Lord!

So today Elias got a cow from God ---- and his father and step mother got their names written in the Lamb’s book of life.

It was a beautiful day!
Thank you God.