“We need someone to go to Kenya!”  I had not really met Tom Langford, an elder at the Quaker Avenue Church of Christ and I didn’t know that much about the Kenya Mission project. I had traveled to Madill, Oklahoma to attend a “Positive Christian Leaders’ Retreat.”  I had just begun my own preaching ministry with a one year appointment to preach at the Rochelle Road Church of Christ to provide experience in church work. Monroe Teague and Ken Vaughn, two leaders at Rochelle Road, were great spiritual mentors and they had traveled to Madill with me. 

I looked forward to meeting other preachers and church leaders at Madill.  My wife Linda and I were praying for God to open a door for us in ministry.  I was hoping to gain information from these church leaders about possible churches we might be able to work with in the future.  Growing up I never dreamed I would be a preacher.  In high school I wanted to work for the telephone company.  All that changed when I met Linda Watkins.  She introduced me to Baker Boulevard Church of Christ and a whole new world spiritually.  Soon I was taking courses at the Farmers Branch Bible Training Work and making plans for a life of preaching. 

About sixty preachers were in Madill that night listening to Tom’s presentation.  The couple who had originally planned to go to Kenya had decided not to go because of educational concerns for their children.  I thought, “Well this is the right place to come.  Everyone here is a preacher, surely someone would be willing to go.”  Then Tom began to list the qualifications the elders at Quaker were looking for.

“We need someone young and willing to commit for ten years.”  I looked around the room and mentally checked off all the white-haired men listening attentively.  There were a few there who were young including David Langford, Tom’s son who was sitting on the bench next to me.  “We’re looking for someone who is married.”  That eliminated Dave and several others.  “We’d also like to find a couple without children.”  The list had ruled out most of the people in the room.  In fact, as I looked around I suddenly realized I was the only person in the room that met all three of the qualifications. The hair on my neck stood up and I felt a numbing sensation.  I thought the Lord not only opened the door, he hit me with it to make sure he had my attention.

I didn’t sleep well that night.  I tossed and turned in my bunk.  This wasn’t the life of ministry I had planned on.  I had always envisioned preaching at a nice suburban church somewhere, probably in Texas.  I knew nothing about Kenya.  What would Linda think?  What would our families think?  I visited with Ken Vaughn and also with Chris Atteberry of the Farmers Branch Church of Christ about my feelings.  They both encouraged me to pray about it and then pursue it if I had peace.  The next morning I knew what I needed to do. I approached Tom Langford and told him I wanted to interview for the mission work in Kenya.  He suggested I put together a resume, gather some letters of recommendation and contact Quaker for a time to come meet the elders and preach.  Several couples applied for the position of being missionaries in Kenya, but I felt strongly that God was speaking to me and was sure that we would be the ones to go.

As I drove home I wondered how Linda would react to all this.  At first she was shocked that I came back with the idea of mission work from the retreat.  She told me she never wanted to let me spend the night away again.  However, after we prayed and talked about it, she also felt we needed to walk through the open door.  Next of course we had to tell our families.  They were initially uneasy about it, but soon they too became supportive and encouraging as it became obvious to them that we really wanted to go.

In the next few months we met with the Quaker Avenue elders and preached for the church; we took psychological tests, talked to counselors, and visited with Rolland and Jessie McLean, the other couple chosen to go to Kenya.  By the second week of November 1980, the elders called Linda and me to say we had been chosen to be part of the missionary team to Kenya.

After some coursework on missions at Abilene Christian University we left for Kenya on August 22, 1981, less than two years after hearing Tom’s announcement in Madill, Oklahoma.  We agreed to a ten year commitment without ever having seen Kenya. We have now completed twenty five years in East Africa as missionaries. In fact, we have now lived in Africa longer than we have lived in America. When Linda and I first began praying about where to minister we never imagined that God would send us to the other side of the world to Africa.  Now we can hardly imagine having done anything else.

 

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SPIRITUAL TRUTH #3

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9