Letters from Kenya - Luggage

Our first devotion on our trip to Kenya was given by Kevin Plain, the volunteer Youth Pastor at Scenic Nazarene.  During the devotion, he asked us to think about what our expectations were for the trip.  To be honest, coming into the trip I had been so busy with ministry stuff here at One Life that I was just glad to make it on the plane. 

The question began to resonate with my spirit however, and I came to the conclusion that my only expectations were to be fully present to God and others and to minister to the least of these.  What I didn’t expect was to lose my luggage.  

Our connection at London Heathrow was pretty hairy because of going through security checkpoints and when we finally got to our gate, boarding our flight to Kenya was almost finished.  It was there that we discovered that due to some sort of computer glitch, nearly half of our luggage was unaccounted for in the system.  And sure enough, when we got to Nairobi, half of it didn’t arrive with us.

Zandee and I had packed a couple days worth of clothes on our carry on, anticipating that this sort of thing might happen.  Well, come Tuesday word reached us at the work site that all of our luggage had arrived, save one.  I jokingly told our hosts that it had to be mine…well, it actually did turn out to be mine and over the course of the next few days I discovered a completely different form of recycling than I’d ever participated in. J

My luggage didn’t arrive until end of the day Thursday, just 2 days before we were to leave to come home.  Definitely not what I had expected out of my trip.  Neither was the lesson that I learned through it.  During that time of recycling my clothes and trying to keep the odor at a minimum I discovered a way of life that many people in Kenya (and in Springfield for that matter) have to live. 

There are many who only have one or two sets of clothes and don’t have access to new ones on a regular basis.   Zandee and I have never been “clothes horses” and we’ve always made a practice of “cleaning out our closets” and donating items to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. 

What I’ve learned from this experience is that I don’t need nearly as much as I think I do and there are many who would benefit if I would simply learn to live with “enough” and not a self-imposed “surplus.”  As Paul says, “⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Tim. 6:7-8)

The interesting part of the whole experience of being without my luggage is that I didn’t feel that I was missing anything.  Now my wife and my teammates may have had other thoughts…after all, it is difficult to smell yourself.  But I was content and to be honest, I was thankful that I had the clothes I packed in my carry on. 

Perhaps this is the secret to lasting contentment and peace that seems so illusive this side of the Atlantic.  We have so much and strive after bigger and better things, but rarely experience fulfillment.  I had so little compared to what I normally experience at home and found myself to be at peace with my situation, my circumstances and myself. 

It makes me appreciate the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 6:6 – “6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”

Perhaps this is the reason why many Christians today seem to search for meaning apart from the holy life.  They haven’t discovered contentment in who God is and what He’s blessed them with and because they don’t experience the peace that goes beyond understanding, which comes from contentment, the holy life seems more like a burden than a blessing.  I think we would all do well to think about that and how it applies to our lives... it might just change our lives.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Jeremy