Mazungu in a Matatu. (Translation: white man in a mini van)

Just go ahead and GET IN THE BUS!

Outside the bus

Last week I got to travel from Machakos, Kenya to Nakuru, Kabarnet and Tambach, Kenya. All travel was done by local public transportation which means I rode in a matatu, rode in a tuk-tuk, rode on a motorcycle and did a lot of walking.

Inside the bus

It was very exciting to visit with Pastor Julius and minister in the prisons with him, because that is specifically what the Lord has called me here for (41 inmates now know Jesus and are being discipled!!), but it was also just as exciting getting in the bus with all the Kenyans and seeing how they travel in their own country. I mean that really got me out of my comfort zone, especially the two young boys that practically sat in my lap for 2-1/2 hours from Nairobi to Nakuru and stared at me because I was the one and only mazungu they had ever seen.....but they were great and did not cry, praise God!

Tara and I have been very fortunate to have met so many missionaries here at the YWAM Base. Some of the missionaries are in training and have just begun their journeys and some have been missionaries for many years with a lot of experience and a lot of great stories. One of the missionaries with a ton of wisdom is Connie Taylor. Connie and her husband are starting up a YWAM base in Cambridge, UK. She brought her DTS team here to Kenya on their outreach mission. We got to hear her speak a few weeks ago. She was very encouraging. She talked about potatoes. She grew up in the states and she knew all about potatoes, especially couch potatoes. People that just sit on the couch like potatoes and watch the world go by on their TV. Couch potatoes don't really do much but they sure like to watch much. Connie also said she knew a lot about pew potatoes. Pew potatoes sit on the pew, much like couch potatoes, and watch all the things going on in the church. Pew potatoes don't really do much but just like couch potatoes they sure like to watch much.

I listened to what Connie was saying. I had been a potato for most of my life. Mainly a couch potato but when I went to church I was a pew potato. I heard Connie's words of encouragement a few days before I left for my trip to the prisons. While I was sitting in the matatu surrounded by people staring at me, I couldn't help but think how grateful I am to be inside the bus and not outside the bus. If I was outside the bus I would just be another pew potato watching people inside the bus. I could feel God's blessing upon my life...I mean I could feel the joy and love and grace and peace.....and blessings....I could feel it...not just hear about it. I was experiencing it for myself, because I was inside the bus and not outside the bus.

So, just go ahead and get in the bus. Get off the couch, get off the pew and get in the bus. Whatever God has been telling you to do...do it! Go do it now....no matter how uncomfortable or uneasy...no matter what others will say or think....no matter even if they will stare at you as if you are the one and only mazungu they have ever seen. GET IN THE BUS!

Blessings to you,
Joel and Tara