Out Of Africa (PT 2)

When I got to the conference center in Nairobi, Kenya in East Africa to teach, I never know what to expect. Will we have our usual translator? Will there be someone there to translate for us? Will we connect? Will I like her? Immediately I saw some familiar faces and I saw Patricia who translated for us last year. I love Patricia. She is like my twin in Nairobi. We have the same amount of children and we get along and she makes me laugh. She was so touched that Lisa who co taught with me and I returned. She was sad that she would not be able to translate all week for us. Who would do it?
It was mid afternoon on Monday and I was starting to get a bit concerned that some of the other translators were not at the conference and the other leaders did not want to do it. You could tell. And then this women stepped up out of nowhere. I had never met her before. She spoke great English. Her name was Elizabeth. I loved her spunk and her genuineness. And she was also very wise. She shared too, always asking us permission but it was so good.
She shared that she was a teacher in school. She shared that she never married and never had children. Then she shared that she was Emanuel’s mom. Emanuel is shy, talented man at Lifeway who does all the IT and communications. He also is a great worship leader. That is when I put two and two together. When Emanuel was a little boy he lost his parents and family when he was small and he ended up in Nairobi. And Elizabeth took him and many other children and invested in their lives.  In fact, there was women that were at the conference that she helped and nurtured and mentored when they were smaller.  What a legacy!
As we worked closely throughout the week, I got to know Elizabeth and I could see how God gave her an incredible ministry. So many have been under her care as students and she made a difference in the circumstances she was in and became a mother to the motherless.   I was touched.
There is this commercial that used to be on TV that said "Reach Out And Touch Someone".  I don't know most of your circumstances, but I do know that when you put your heart into reaching out to some who needs it, you make all the difference in the world and in their individual lives.  Here is to making a difference one person at a time!