Our Faith and Ministry Journey To Date: A Real-time Testimony

We plan to share our faith and ministry journey when we update the Pure Heart Ministry Foundation newsletter (PHMF). Most of us enjoy hearing a powerful testimony, whether it’s a story about someone’s relationship with God or simply an uplifting experience. This time, however, we want to share our testimony before it’s fully written, from the start, while we are still living it. We’ll be sharing as things happen: the highs, the lows, the challenges, and the victories, all in real time. Our hope is that by doing so, we can all be encouraged by experiencing the unfolding journey together. By faith, when the journey reaches a clear ending, we’ll celebrate together. And please share your thoughts, questions, and/or affirming testimonies. We won’t include a lot of scripture here; you can look up references yourself, and I encourage you to do so.

Our First Trip to Kenya: The Gift of Faith

It still amazes me that James and I went on our first trip to Nakuru, Kenya, in February 2024. We felt confident in trusting Pastor Patrick, even though we had never met him in person. There are so many stories about corruption, deception, and danger in Africa, and of course, the wild animals (just kidding). We traveled all the way across the world for ten days with people we had never met before. Looking back, I believe it was the gift of faith that carried us through. I wasn’t nervous at all, just excited. To me, the gift of faith is when God’s Spirit gives you supernatural assurance and peace about a situation that would normally make you anxious. But how do you tell the difference between faith and presumption? Here’s some practical evidence of why I believe God’s approval is on this ministry relationship. And I hope this will help you in your decision-making:

PRAYER – We asked God for direction and felt peace each time a decision was made.

HUSBAND APPROVAL – As a woman, God has given me a godly husband to whom I submit (most of the time). His personality is more “take it slow,” while I tend to say, “Let’s go, let’s do it.” God knew exactly what He was doing when He put us together. Sometimes James encourages me to slow down and take time to pray and seek counsel. Other times, I encourage him to move forward when the time is right. We balance each other well and make a great team. I’m not bragging on us. God brought us together.

PRACTICAL CUES – When we sent financial support, we received clear evidence that the funds were used as promised. We started small to make sure everything was managed properly. The 10 days we spent in Africa were beautiful. Everything fell into place. I made all the hotel and travel arrangements. The hotel I picked “just happened” to be the perfect location for our daily travels, and the hotel managers became our instant buddies, often sitting down to eat meals with us.  God!

INCIDENTALS – I never felt drawn to ministry in Africa before this calling. In fact, my previous attitude was, “Why travel across the world when there are so many ministry needs right here in America?” I was even annoyed by Black Americans who felt a pull toward Africa, thinking, “Stop it, you’re not African.” But as the Bible says, God’s ways are not our ways. He truly has a sense of humor, perhaps hearing my self-righteous claims, and He knew, planned, and orchestrated exactly where He would send me.

Talk to you in a few.