I joined iServe Africa in September 2019, soon after my nursing internship. Joining ministry is not something I had thought of before, but the journey has been fruitful, more of becoming rather than doing. My greatest highlight is the conviction of my own sin, which brought a better understanding of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Before, I was one who professed salvation, but neither had understanding nor lived it out. Majorly I depended on works, which I thought made me righteous before God. With this tainted picture, it drove everyone around me to think that I was this “perfect person”. Sadly, I carried around this lie with me and it made it very difficult for me to grasp the words of Romans 3:23. Even though the verse was never speaking to me but to other people. Little did I know that at a point in this life God would actually use this very verse to open my eyes to the wonder of the gospel.
In August 2019 during a Ministry Training course at iServe Africa, we were going through expositions in the book of Romans during the morning devotions. Romans 3 became my awakening chapter; I was convicted of my sin and lo! What a wretch I was. That is the time I understood what good news it was that Christ actually died for me. Since then, I believed. I have had a chance to unlearn and to relearn a lot about the word of God. My journey then started first as a missionary in northern Uganda and later as an apprentice in Voi in the coastal region of Kenya. I went out not as one trusting in her own ways but in the Lord who forgave her sins. How gracious indeed is our God.
My experience in cross-cultural missions has helped me to integrate with and to appreciate people from different cultures and backgrounds. The greatest beauty is seeing how God’s mission of letting the gospel be known to the ends of the earth is still going on, amidst a world that seems to be moving fast. The encouragement then for a believer is to continue in the faith since the Lord has remained faithful, echoing the words of Roman 13:11 ‘Salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. I have particularly enjoyed working with mothers and children under the Afya Bora program, which I have done for two years. There had been many challenges especially with learning a new language, times I went down with Malaria, and moments of conflicts with colleagues. Overall, I have learned to be content, and trust in the Lord. He has held me fast.
My first year in Uganda was more of becoming than doing since I had already believed in the gospel; I could not wait to get to the field to start sharing this good news. However, it became a season when my sins were exposed, and the Lord helped me even at times through shame and tears. I learned how proud I was, how impatient I was with others, and how I sought glory for myself rather than the Lord. I can confidently say that I have seen the transforming power of the gospel throughout my life. It is indeed true that the Lord disciplines those whom He loves. Hitherto I have been convicted of how filthy the natural man is and it takes the grace of God to hold him alive. How terrible then will it be for those who will still be living in unbelieve when the Lord comes back!
For two months, I will be serving at the iServe Africa offices, and the short time I have been here has helped me to view work differently. It has been a joy seeing all the people out there who through the organization are teaching and living out the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
It is my daily prayer that the Lord would teach me to love the scripture, to adore the gospel, and to be a prayerful woman even beyond the walls of iServe Africa. I would not trade the years I have been under the organization for a single day elsewhere. Through the process, I have learned of the sovereignty of God and even to use the organization as a platform for my growth and sanctification.
