With one month left to my departure the
president of the Rotary club reminded
me that it was time to start preparing for
departure. I was to share with him
details of my exit plan. I informed him
that I had none but hoped to continue
with school if I could get funding.
Meanwhile, as I was thinking of my
illegal plan for raising college fees, a
strong sense of guilt struck me since I
had made a promise to the Rotary club
that I would leave if I did not have
tuition. Every time I tried to pray I
could not escape the thought that I had
this illegal plan. It made it difficult to
approach God. One day, I took a long
walk to clear my mind about this moral
dilemma. I came across a Habitat for
Humanity thrift store and decided to
walk in and buy some clothes to take
back to my family in Kenya. For some
strange reason I decided to check out
the books that they had. One book
strongly caught my attention: "Be
Anxious for Nothing" by Joyce Meyer. I
felt drawn to it in an unusual way.
Without hesitation, I bought it and even
forgot that I had walked in the store to
buy clothes. I read the entire 200 page
book in 2 days. It was the appropriate
message for what I was going through. I
was convinced that God was telling me
not to worry and just obey Him. A Bible
reading that had been mentioned in the
book had struck my heart and become
my meditation: Matthew 6: 31-34. I
immediately dropped all the illegal
plans I had and was only left with my
return ticket. I then went into a 2 week
period of fasting and prayers to ask God
to take charge. I found peace with the
idea of going home knowing He was in
charge.
With about 2 weeks left to my departure
I got a phone call from the president of
the Rotary. He wanted to confirm that I
wanted to continue with school as I had
told him earlier and then offered to find
a way to make it happen. I was sure this
was God working out a way for me to
continue with college. My faith and
trust in God became very strong. A deep
sense of peace and confidence in Him
filled me and I saw a bright future
ahead. I was thankful to Him that I was
not going back to struggle in Kenya.
IDEA DIAPORA 31
For the next 3 years of my undergraduate studies, through the support of the
Reverend, I experienced God's moving
in my situation. Only He could ensure
that my tuition and my needs were taken
care of in the manner that they were.
Every semester the Reverend, who was
no longer the Rotary club President,
asked for money from his network of
friends and family on my behalf. He
made several phone calls, talked to
several people face-to-face, and hand
wrote numerous letters. Meanwhile, all I
could do was fast and pray that people
would give generously. He created a
scholarship fund for me and people
gave generously. I never even met or
knew most of them. At the beginning of
the semester I always received a list of
around 40 to 50 people that had given
so that I can write thank you letters,
with almost half of them being anonymous givers.
The generosity of these people assured
me that God was at work and inspired
me to accomplish the impossible. In 4
years, by the grace of God, I attained 2
bachelor’s degrees and a Master’s
degree, while working in 2 part time
jobs. Throughout that time all my
tuition was paid in full each semester
and each month my grocery needs were
also taken care of, including health
needs. I was living like the child of a
king. The explanation for this life was
that God was at work. He had given me
the strength to study, sharpened my
brain, and showered me with abundant
favor. I was unable to understand how it
took me 7 years to get a simple diploma
and just 4 years to get 2 bachelor
degrees and a Masters. The simple
explanation was that it was God’s way
of working.
One mystery that I hoped to understand
one day was why the former Rev. of the
Methodist Church had taken such a
heavy burden on my behalf. I always
knew God was involved in it but still
wanted to know why he called me only
at the last minute- two weeks before my
departure to Kenya, and offered to do
all that difficult work of fund raising for
three years. Even so, I was also at peace
with letting it be one of God's
mysterious works in my life. At the end
of 2006 it was time to go home and an
opportunity to teach at University of
Nairobi had opened up. I had applied
and was asked to go for an interview
with the possibility of being hired.
One Thursday, with two days before my
departure, the Reverend asked me to
join him for a farewell breakfast with
some of his friends. At the breakfast he
made a revelation that confirmed that
God had been working through him for
the past three years. He recalled one
Sunday during the last month of my first
year in the U.S., when he unintentionally noticed that I had tithed 10% of my
income. He would know this because I
always disclosed how much I earned to
him. He had instantly wondered how I
would do so at a time when I did not
earn much and was about to leave for
Kenya with very little. This bothered
him the whole day. As he kept wondering, God spoke to him and instructed
him to help me complete my education.
This was why he established the fund
for my tuition and raised money for my
education. This revelation confirmed
that through him God had provided for
me throughout that time. I knew it had
to be for a reason. He had also provided
me with a loving a compassionate host
family that had made it possible to go to
America. Before I left Kenya I had
made a vow to God that I would return
and help fellow Kenyans that were
suffering as I did before I left. I saw the
teaching job that I was pursuing at the
University of Nairobi (UoN) as a start.
But before I left I had also applied to 4
universities for my doctoral studies
since the teaching job was only a 1 year
appointment. I wasn't sure how those
applications would t