As we are on the cusp of another major transition, I am finding myself in a mode of reflection. Our second term on the field has blessed us with some of the highest highs of our life, and has also cost us some of our lowest lows. It's an enormous task to process the past 2+ years, where we've lived in a place that has felt more like home than anywhere else in years, and where we've experienced so much loss that when I made a list of griefs and losses I almost forgot to include Covid-19.
Interestingly, what I've found myself thinking about so much lately is the medical ministry. Perhaps that sounds odd - aren't we always thinking about the medical ministry and aren't we medical missionaries after all? Yes. Well, at least half of us are. Eli is a medical doctor working in medical ministry every day and it does consume much of his thoughts. I, on the other hand, have little to do with the medical side of our ministry and think of it rather infrequently. Despite that, I am fully committed to the medical ministry in the sense that I am fully committed to supporting Eli and I deeply care about what happens at our hospital and with our residents and I desire to see God's kingdom built up because of it all. But my daily life has nothing to do with medical anything (which is probably best for all involved).
Yet what my husband does every day is the whole reason we live and serve in Kenya. What my husband does every day impacts our family and requires commitment from all of us. What my husband does every day is ministry and that is what keeps us doing what we're doing.
We are not humanitarian aid workers. We are not adventure-seekers. We are not tourists. We are not transplants who find enjoyment in living someplace different for its own sake.
We are missionaries. We have a specific purpose. We have a mission. We desire and hope and pray to have lasting impact by what we do.
If we didn't desire to have an impact - a Kingdom impact - then we wouldn't live and serve in Kenya.
There are many expats who live in this country who don't have a mission to be impactful by living here. They are doing all manner of other occupations and living normal lives. Sometimes I envy them. Living a normal life in this country would be wonderful. There's so much beauty here in Kenya, so many adventures to experience, so much good food to enjoy, so many cultures to appreciate, so much good fun to be had.
But that's not what we signed up for. We signed up to be on mission, to have an impact by what we do and maybe even see that impact come to fruition.
And that is why this life of ministry can be so hard. If we didn't concern ourselves with patient outcomes at the hospital, if it was neither here nor there what the spiritual ministry of the hospital was, if discipleship wasn't a main motivation behind all that we do, then our life would be much easier.
But we do care very much about all these things and we pour ourselves into them.
We moved to Kenya to be in medical ministry. No one goes into ministry because it promises success or happiness (although it can and does offer such). People go into ministry because they are called and because they believe in the impact of the Gospel.
We are such people.
And it's because of a life of ministry that we've experienced some of the highest highs and lowest lows of our life. Some of our highs would have never been enjoyed if it had not been for ministry. Some of our lows would have never been suffered if it had not been for ministry.
We have been shaped by our experiences these past 2+ years. We've learned more about ourselves, we've been strengthened and humbled, we've endured and pressed on. We've been lost and confused, found and encouraged. I actually thought when we started this term that it would be easier than the last, which goes to show how naive I still was. I'm not sure seasons of life ever get easier - they are all hard in different ways, just as they all have blessings to be enjoyed in different ways. This term was hard, harder than we expected, and it was also good. We're grateful for it, and we're hopeful the lessons we learned will help us with the lessons we have yet to learn.
Because, Lord willing, there is much more ministry ahead of us.
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