Seeing Jesus

Meet Kosgei. Mentally handicapped and usually pretty dirty, Kosgei is a regular visitor to our training center. He spends his days wandering through the village, following us around as we work. At the beginning of the summer, I would get so frustrated with him. He would wander into my meetings and interrupt the Bible studies I was leading. When I saw him approaching, my heart would sink and I would think, “Oh no, here comes Kosgei. Can someone please take him out of here?”
Until one day. One life changing day, Kosgei came up behind me and grabbed my hand. His hand was dirty and I had somewhere to be, and I just wanted him to go away. But then I heard the whisper of Jesus. “It’s me Kierra, Jesus. I just want to hold your hand.” Everything changed in that moment. My annoyance vanished and butterflies filled my stomach as I realized I was holding hands with Jesus. Suddenly Matthew 25 came alive to me: “Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me.” This really was Jesus standing next to me wanting to hold my hand. So I walked with Jesus that day, hand in hand, and began to see Him not only in Kosgei, but in every person I passed . Thank you Kosgei for teaching me to see the face of Jesus in others!

Who am I, Lord?

A huge part of my summer in Kenya was learning who I am. One day as I was heading back to my hut to do more work on my computer, one of Kenyan friends said, “Kierra, you are ever working. I don’t even think you know who you are. You don’t have time to know who you are– you only know your work.” Her words pierced me and I knew she was right. I didn’t know how to relax and stop working because I found my identity in what I did. I didn’t know who I was when I wasn’t working. So, I began to pray, “Lord, show me who I am.”
He gave me many answers to this question throughout the summer, but the loudest answer came through the Kenyans. Whenever a Kenyan would introduce themselves at church or a meeting, they would say, “I’m so and so, and I am saved. Jesus is my personal savior.” It was so simple, and yet so profound. For the Christians, their core identity was found in the fact that they were saved; they were a child of God.
So often in the States we introduce ourselves and say, “I’m so and so and I’m a teacher.” Or “I’m so and so and I’m a doctor.” It’s because we find our identity in what we do. But I learned this summer that first and foremost, I am Kierra Higgins and I am saved. I am a child of the King of Kings. I am a citizen of heaven. And that is more than enough.

Mourning Into Dancing

"Susie receiving her loan!"

I have to update you on what God’s been doing in the lives of our Samaritan Women! They each received a loan on August 9th, and so far their businesses are going well. One is selling material, another ground nuts, another kerosene, and others chickens. I praise God for these businesses and the freedom they are bringing!
But more than the businesses, I praise God for the transformation He’s doing in these ladies’ hearts. He has truly set them free and has given them a new reason to live. They are growing in their relationship with Him and are reading and memorizing His word every week. For Rose with her bad eyes, this has meant asking a little girl next door to read a Bible verse to her and then saying it over and over again until she’s memorized it.
One week, some friends of mine brought dancing ribbons that we gave to the women. We put on worship music and danced for an hour together in worship to our King. Truly, God has turned their mourning into dancing! The women loved the morning and asked me to come dance with them in their homes before I left. I visited them the day before I left, and what a special morning we had! There wasn’t room to dance in their little shacks, so we took our ribbons and danced in the streets of the slum area, singing praise to God with all our hearts. Drunks staggered through the area, neighbors came to stare, but the women didn’t care. When people asked what we were doing, they just smiled and said, ‘We’re worshipping our God!”

Asate Sana! (Thank you so much!)

Well, here I am - my first day back in the ELI office after four months in Kenya. We did it God! We did it friends! We traveled this journey with perfect health, divine joy and strength, and with the presence of God filling every moment. How do I begin to say thank you? Thank you Lord for your incredible faithfulness, protection, guidance, and miracles. And thank you friends and family for your support, prayers, and encouragement!
Truly, the miracles of this summer would not have been possible without you. Thank you for your sacrifice and for playing your part in the Body of Christ. Thank you for the finances you sacrificially gave — this journey wouldn’t have been possible without them. And thank you for going to battle for me in prayer. It was your prayers that sent the angels who protected my health, kept me safe amidst some crazy travel experiences, and fought for me in the spiritual realm against all other attacks of the enemy. It was your prayers that enabled God to speak, touch, and use me in the way He did.
Please know that you played a vital role in every story that you read about this summer. Your support, prayers, and encouragement were part of every life transformation. Every child we brought into the new Children’s Home, every prostitute set free, every HIV+ patient treated, every American’s life changed— you had a part in. Because I couldn’t do this job without you. Whether hugging a new orphan in our Children’s Home, or handling their sponsorship money in the states, I get to help change that little life forever. And it is your support that makes my service possible. So thank you!
On behalf of the people in Kenya whose lives have been forever changed, thank you!