I listened to a young man tell his story. A story about hearing God's voice at the age of 19 telling him to go to Africa. A story about obedience, because he went and his life was changed. For it was there on that trip, which he funded himself, that the plan of God began to unfold for his life. And what an amazing plan.
That young man is now married with three kids and another on the way. And yet, he doesn't just provide for his family. He now also feeds and educates over sixty African children in the slums of Nairobe, Kenya.
That young man who spends most of his time putting food on his own table through his own construction business also travels to Kenya once or twice a year, checking on and growing the school that employs four people and gives hope to children who otherwise would have grown up without it.
It all started when he met a girl named Agnes, who at the tender age of sixteen was providing for her entire family without the benefit of education. He decided he could do something to help, so even while he still a college student, he began sending money for her to go to school. And as the years went by, he began to provide education for more and more kids until he finally hired a pastor and a teacher and a cook and opened a school in Kenya. He and his wife now oversee the non-profit organization called H.O.P.E., and are looking to buy property in Nairobi to open a permanent orphanage facility that will house the school.
And I was struck as I listened to him tell his story that he is just one man. Just one ordinary man who saw a need so overwhelming that he decided to help just one person. And through his obedience in helping just one, God is using him to change the course of an entire community.
One became many.
Dreams became reality, until he had to dream bigger.
And now he's outgrown his dreams again, so it's time to go back to dreaming bigger.
And as I ate my dessert and drank my coffee and looked at faces of children whose lives are being forever changed and marked by the Kingdom of God, I hear the question rolling around in my heart.
Who is your "one?"
Where is God calling you to obedience so that the "one" can become "many?"
What do you have to give that can be multiplied in the hands of a miracle working God?
If you've never asked yourself those questions, it's time. The many are waiting for you.
Author's Note: If you'd like to find out more about H.O.P.E., the school in Kenya that is making a difference in so many lives, please log on to their website here.
