I mentioned in my last blog that we took the Real Life teams to downtown Atlanta for an overnight on the streets. Thanks to the help and hospitality of the folks at Safehouse Outreach (http://www.safehouseoutreach.org/), we were able to pull this off, and some good things came out of it.

Benny and I had about two hours to spare before the teams got downtown, so we hung out with some of the folks hanging outside the facilities. We met a homeless man named Greg, originally from Detroit, MI. He explained a little about how he ended up on the streets, how he ended up down here in Atlanta, and some of his church background. But the real interesting stuff happened when he turned to me and said, "Now let me tell you what I think the Lord is saying to you..."

Greg then went on about how God wants to bless me financially. He wants to open up some big things for me to receive. Greg continued to tell me about how I have been struggling financially in the past while. It's crazy because it's true, but even crazier because I had not said a word to Greg about what I do for a living. He then continued to tell me about how God wants to release financial blessings on my life and ministry, but that I have never released my finances to Him, basically saying "I don't trust you with finances, because you don't trust Me."

Another thing that Greg mentioned to me was that I haven't "tithed" in a while. And honestly, I haven't given finances regularly to the Lord in at least two years. It would be really easy to come up with the excuse "I haven't had an income in a year and a half." But in reality, this is a perfect example of how I haven't trusted God to take care of my needs. I think about all of the close friends I have around me who need financial help. These are my brothers and sisters. I want to be able to support them as much as I can, no matter how much or little I have, myself.

This is not just about my finances. This concept permeates my entire life. I wrote a short blog not too long ago about how I had to grieve my youth, how I have to be alright growing up and taking the responsibilities of the things God is putting in my hands. I want to see God's blessings pouring out into my ministry and into my community. But if I am not trusting that God will take care of those things, then I'm not going to see it happen, even if it is happening.

Throughout the night on the streets, I learned a lot. I am convinced that we met at least fifteen angels in downtown Atlanta in the middle of the night. God spoke. The Holy Spirit moved. Jesus walked with us. My Father showed me the keys to His Kingdom. He told me to trust Him with the things He's giving me. And if I do that, I'm going to receive those keys, and a whole lot more.

And what's really cool is... I was given Financial Coaching from a Homeless Man.

Almost one year ago to the day I sat in an internet café in Lira, Uganda confused, frustrated, and discouraged. Here is one of the last things I wrote then in the blog called Things are Already Better:

"So basically I am praying for peace- Peace of mind, peace of body, peace of heart, so that God can use me even when I don't have much to offer."

And here is what you, my readers, supporters, and encouragers, wrote back to me (quotes):

Mom Tabor 1/15/09- "You ARE making a difference."

Brandon's Mom and Dad 1/15/2009- "Sounds like the Lord has taken you to the end of yourself, which is exactly where He wants you, no matter what the end plan is."

Brother Matt 1/15/2009- "Never forget that God is using you in ways that you may never know and I do think God works through/speaks to us most when we are completely vulnerable."

Snyder 1/15/2009- "You just have to keep pressing into them no matter how awkward you feel - and you need to be honest with your team about your struggles too, no matter how dumb they sound."

Carol 1/15/2009- "Dear Braedon, Thanks for your blog, I will begin to pray peace over you."

Casey 1/15/2009- "My prayer for you would be that you would learn how to process things and find the time to do it."

Carmen 1/15/2009- "Just remember that you ARE where you are supposed to be right now in your life, and that you are probably touching so many people in so many ways that you might have no idea and probably never will."

Wendy 1/15/2009- "A peaceful mind does not have to be seamlessly organized and an organized mind is not always filled with wisdom."

Crystal 1/15/2009- "Just take one day at a time and continue to keep God in the top drawer of your filing cabinet."

Kara 1/15/2009- "give yourself a chance, cut yourself some slack, take a deep breath and keep doing what you're doing."

Grama Clayton 1/15/2009- "Dear Braedon, I have never met you but I know I have already fallen in love with you."

Jim 1/15/2009- "I believe God is growing you through this so that you may be able to claim Philippians 4:12-13 at a level most of us will never understand."

Kim 1/15/2009- "I hope that is encouraging to you, knowing how many people are not only praying for you consistently, but they are encouraged and challenged by what you're doing and by what you're thinking and writing down here in your blog."

David 1/15/2009- "It won't be easy...but nothing worth while is ever easy!!!"

Leslie 1/16/2009- "It might take weeks, months or years, for all the data that is coming in now to get into the right files. Don't worry about that."

Mark 1/17/2009- "You are making a difference where you are Braedon, and wherever you find yourself on the day after this, I have confidence you will continue to make a difference."

 

My time in Uganda was not the easiest of my World Race experience, as shown by my blog. But after reading all of these amazing comments and encouragements, I came out of Uganda with a fire and an understanding that God has bigger things in store for me. So thank you to everyone that commented on this blog, and any other blog I have written. Your words are a large encouragement and have helped remind me of what God has in store for His Kingdom. Knowing that I have so many men and women, brothers and sisters, supporting me, praying for me, and protecting me helps me to get over my fears and go for what it is God desires. Thank you.

Like I said, your comments are a huge encouragement. If you have anything to say, long or short, when reading any of my blogs, please leave a comment. I want this blog to not only be an outlet for me, but a discussion with the people who love me most. If you have an idea of what you want me to write about, or you want to share something you've experienced, let me know! Love you all!

To read the original blog I wrote in Uganda, click here...

WOOHOO!!! Thanks again to all of you for supporting me financially! I have reached my first support goal of $3,000! God's given me food and shelter for the past 3 months, and now He's providing in a different way (my own income). Stay tuned for another support raising update...

If you missed part 1, click here and read it before continuing...

Team Karis travelled to Eldoret by bus, with the buzz all around of what Dad was going to show us next. We met up with Pastor William, his wife Pamela, and their friend Patrick. It was a tight squeeze into the home we stayed in with two other teams, but it was a great testimony to how community works. Some folks helped Patrick and Pamela cook (all day long), some people helped wash the immense amount of dishes, and some would get rid of the trash. Some people got sick ("runny stomach" as it was kindly referred to) for one reason or another, but there was always someone there to take care of them. But this was just our time at home.

When we trekked off into downtown Eldoret, we were blown away by a new image of the Church of Christ. It took a bumpy and dusty bus ride into town, a walk through the sheet metal market, past the trash dump, and through a rusty metal door to get to the magnificent church building that was known as "Latter Glory Church of Eldoret." And when we sat in the church on Sunday morning, praying for the pastors, for the preachers, for the congregation, and for God to show up, in walked the people of the church. Dressed in dusty, baggy pants, winter coats and hats, we found out that most of the people that attend the church are actually young boys who have been kicked out of their homes onto the streets. Nearly all of the street kids we met had a bottle of shoe glue in their hand, sniffing it until they were too high to remember they were hungry. As little as we were able to communicate with most of the kids that came in, it was amazing to at least pray for them, sit next to them, and even dance and praise God with them.

One day I was talking with some of the boys (David spoke English pretty well) and David asked me to give him a pair of pants. I had only brought two pairs of pants with me on the World Race, one pair of jeans and one pair of nicer brown pants for when I had to preach or go to church. And he had a decent pair of pants on already, so I didn't think it was too much of a necessity. So I told him that he didn't need my pants because he already had clothes. But then there was a shift in the conversation. David said something like this: "Yes I have pants, but they have holes and stains all over them. If you walked into a place to get a job, they would hire you in a second, because you look clean and ready for the workplace. But if I walk in and try to get a job, they will kick me out because I do not have clean clothes and they cannot have a dirty boy working for them." ... I did not have a response. All I could say was "You're right." David did not have what it takes to get a job, at least in Eldoret, Kenya. No matter what David said or did, even if he gave up sniffing glue and was absolutely determined to get off of the streets, no one would hire him because of what he looked like.

Maybe this is what it sounds like to talk with a homeless man in the U.S. Hundreds of people walk by him every day with the usual, "Get a job, ya bum!" But maybe he's tried on many occasions to get a job, and because he doesn't have a suit and tie he's never given the job... 

My heart broke that day. It broke for every one of those kids that came into church, every kid on the street in Eldoret, every kid we met walking around the community we lived in. I understood the care and compassion our Father has for them. The way my heart broke is exactly how His heart breaks every morning when these kids wake up on the street, hungry, dirty, cold, and parentless. And I honestly do not have the resources to get these boys off of the streets. I do not have the food to feed them. I do not have the clothes to cover them. But at the end of the day, when I sit next to them, listening to them, putting my arm around them, dancing with them, they experience love and care, which they have not experienced, perhaps, at all in their lives. I actually exchanged bracelets with one of the boys one day, without exchanging any words, and I still wear that bracelet to this day as a reminder of my brothers in Eldoret whom I care so much about. 

We had opportunities to do a lot of things in and around Eldoret while we were there: door-to-door prayer and evangelism (with the amazing Pastor Titus), speaking about faith with local drug dealers (Eugene), and spending time on Christmas day talking with a man named Joseph about how he has the ability to hear the voice of the Lord speaking directly to him. I could go on and on about all that God did with us while in Kenya, but that would maybe take a publisher and a printing company (someday). So for now I will leave you with these two challenges:

Praise the Lord from the heavens,

Praise Him in the heights above.

Praise Him, all His angels,

Praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

Praise Him, sun and moon,

Praise Him, all you shining stars.

Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For He commanded and they were created.

He set them in place for ever and ever;

He gave a decree that will never pass away." Psalm 148:1-6

The first memory I have of my time in Africa is an image I can picture in my mind at any given moment, recalling the sounds, the feelings, the colors, and the joy. The setting is in Kijabe, Kenya just on the eastern lip of the Great Rift Valley, approx. an hour northwest of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Looking out into the Valley, with the cool wind blowing on my face and the sounds of monkeys jumping from tree to tree, I felt like I was getting a glimpse through a window into Heaven. Sure, there is plenty of corruption, drunkenness, and carelessness throughout Africa (like anywhere else in the world). But there was an overwhelming sense that THIS was a special creation of God's.

Have you ever heard any stories of an artist, who during the day is working hard to make the paintings that will sell well, please the employer, and feed his family? But when he gets home, he spends some time with his kids, has a good talk with his wife about their days, and then he goes into his own little studio and paints the painting that he has a passion for, that means so much to him, that expresses all of the love he has for his wife and kids. That painting is not something that can be sold, not a creation that can be spoiled or ruined. It has a special place in the artist's heart. That's how I saw the Great Rift Valley- a work of God's own hands, an expression of God's love and passion for us, His children.

My team leader on Karis, Lindsay Heston, recently wrote a blog titled "Valleys Fill First," about being in the low place, the hard place away from the mountaintop experience we so desire. But she explains that it's in those hard, dry, dark places that God is closest, working and growing us more and more. It's because that valley, though it doesn't always seem like it's any sort of creation from a loving Father, is not some trap God has caught us in. It's a work of passion, love, and desire, a piece of art made by the hands and heart of Our Father. He loves us so much that He wants us to grow, learn, and become closer to Him. The Valley is exactly where we are supposed to be, fully experiencing the passion of our God!

 Our debrief and preparation for our time in Africa gave us a week in Kijabe, worshiping, praying, resting, and dancing. I was given the opportunity to be the first G-Squad member to preach in front of the squad. We had some amazing times praying for patients in the local hospital and speaking with local shop owners. But our time in Kijabe was only a jump start into our ministry in Kenya (click to read part 2)...