I am a little sad as I finish packing this morning. It is 7:30 am and I am ready to make the trip to the Manyala Church in Butera. I am unhappy because I will again miss spending time with Cyrillah, Isaac’s 104-year old mother who lives in the small house behind us. Cyrillah was already in bed before I got home last night from Uganda and now we will have to leave before she gets up this morning. I will not get to see her again until after our 2-day trip to Butera. See blog episode # 11 to learn all about her.
We 
are about halfway to Butere when we reach a police checkpoint. The officer motions for us to pull our car over. The policeman says our tire has wear on it and he asks Isaac for money. This is a common practice in Kenya. The checkpoints are set up to make sure the vehicles are working properly. This is similar to our inspections in the USA, except here they don’t check things like the horn, brakes or headlights. Just whatever they can see with a quick glance from their eyes.
Many of these policemen use these checkpoints to pad their own 
pocketbooks. They tell you that something is wrong with your vehicle. Then they expect you to pay them a cash bribe in order for the problem to magically go way. The tire on Isaac’s car is not brand new, but it still has plenty of tread. The officer just made the tire an issue so Isaac will hand him some cash.
Isaac refuses to hand this officer any money. He has strong moral values and believes it is Biblically wrong to succumb to bribery. Because Isaac refuses to give any money, the officer gets upset. He has Isaac step out of the car, confiscates Isaac’s driver’s license and then starts to write up a ticket. What this means is that Isaac will now have to come back to this town at a future date to show up in court. Since the location is far away from his home, this becomes a major inconvenience. Along with that, he will likely lose the court case and then have to pay a fine.
I get out of the car and think, “How can I help?” I see another policeman standing a short distance from us. I go back to the car and quietly ask Isaac’s wife, “Would it help if I talked to him?” She replies, “Yes. He is the commander in charge. It might help.” There is a patch on his shirt that indicates he is the commander.
I walk over to him, shake his hand, and introduce myself. Then I say to him, “I have traveled to Kenya all the way from the USA. I am here to teach people God’s Word and help them in their relationship with God.” He smiles. I can tell he likes what I have said. Then I ask, “Can you assist me?” “What can I do for you?” he replies. I point to where the policeman is writing the ticket. “Can you stop this man from giving us a ticket?”
He looks at the man, looks back at me and then immediately walks over and tells the other policeman to tear up the ticket. The policeman who was writing the ticket angrily walks away. I go up to the commander and give him a hug this time. I look him in the eye and say, “Thank you so much.” He says, “You are welcome.”
I ask him if it is okay to get a picture of him and I together. He says “Yes.” I get 
Isaac to snap the photo. Later on, I learn that it is unheard of for a police officer to allow you to get a picture taken with him. People in Kenya that I showed the picture to shake their heads in disbelief. But I have bonded with this man by way of God’s love. And the love of God can motivate people to do things that are outside the realm of what is normal or acceptable.
We still have a slight problem. Actually, more than a slight problem. Isaac’s driver’s license had been confiscated and had been sitting in one of the police cars. And while we were dealing with the ticket situation, that particular police car had taken off in hot pursuit of a yellow school bus that had been told to pull over but had refused. We watched as Isaacs driver’s license sped down the road on a high-speed chase. Oh! Oh!
We decide the best thing to do is for us to get back in our car and begin driving in the same direction the police car went. Hopefully we will find it. After several miles of driving, we spot the car on the side of the road. It had caught up to the vehicle it had been chasing and pulled it over. We park behind it. Isaac goes up to one of the policemen at the scene and kindly asks if he will return his driver’s license. Much to our relief, the policeman agrees and gives Isaac his driver’s license back. Tragedy averted, our road trip continues.
A half hour later, we arrive at Manyala. I am excited to teach. It is around 9:30 am. The conference was scheduled to start at 9:00 am. I greet the pastor and his wife. I had already met him at Kaemiti. A very nice man. He insists that I first visit his house, which is just down the street from the church, and eat breakfast. That seems to be the 
cultural strategy of Kenya and Uganda. First, stuff the teachers stomach full of food. Then they will have plenty of energy to teach. 😊.
I finish eating and we finally arrive at the church. I teach for an hour and a half. I can see that many people are blessed. More and more people arrive throughout the time I am teaching.
I have spent ten days in Kenya and am starting to build a close bond with certain 
people here who are very special to me. As I am teaching, one of those people arrives and sits in the front row. It is Simon. He’s a very energetic young man, honest to the tee, with a big heart and lots of enthusiasm for the things of God. I am so glad to see him again. I know 
that Simon has his own ministry work going on. But he is somehow able to take a break from that once again so he can travel to where I am teaching. Here is a photo I had taken with his wife and daughter later on.
Afterwards, we went back to the pastor’s house. I ask
ed if it was okay to watch the women as they prepared our meal. They welcomed me. I observed as they cut off the head of a chicken and drained its blood. Kind of gross, but interesting. The food was awesome. During the meal I listened to a really great testimony from a lady who grew 
up in a Muslim family. She witnessed a miracle and responded by getting saved. After that, her family rejected her. However, later on her family accepted Jesus Christ as well.
After our meal we hold a crusade in the small town close by. The stage is much 
smaller than the one we had at Kimaeti. But it will do. Behind us it looks like we are in front of the saloon from an episode of ‘Gunsmoke.’ There are a series of little stores, all side by side, with people congregating in front of them. It reminds me of what a small town looked like in an old Western movie when the stagecoach pulls up.
Soon there is lots of dancing and singing going on in front of the stage and people begin to gather around in droves. Most of them are children. Some of these 
children sit on top of the roof of nearby buildings. As the dancing continues, I join in with a group of dancers. I keep up as best I can. Before long, I am out of breath. I need to exercise more. I am out of shape!
A man who is drunk begins to walk around in the middle of everything going on. I see my friend Peter go over and start talking to him. I walk over to join them. The man tells Peter about his problems and wants Jesus Christ to come into his life. First, I command the alcohol to leave his brain, so he is fully coherent. Then I lead him into a prayer of salvation.
Before long, it is time for me to get up on stage and deliver my evangelistic message. I share about God’s love, the sin of Adam and the need for a savior. I talk a lot about the pain and suffering that Jesus Christ went through so that we could have eternal life. I invite people to come to the front if they would like to receive Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior. No one com
es forward. Isaac then asks those who have just received salvation to raise their hand. We see five girls and one guy raise their hand. I invite people to come forward if they are already saved and would like to be prayed for. Three ladies come up and I pray for each one.
I’m not concerned with numbers when it comes to spiritual matters. And I have no way of knowing if these people actually got 
saved. That is between them and God. Our job is to plant and water seeds. It is God’s job to bring the increase. We do our best. God does the rest.
All of a sudden, the sky gets dark. I can tell that the rain is going to come down within 5 or 10 minutes. We quickly pack up our things and are about to pull away when a lady comes up to our vehicle with a small baby in her arms. She explains that the child has epilepsy. I get out of the car and pray for her and the baby. Then we leave. As soon as we reach the pastor’s house and I walk inside the door, it starts raining in droves. It’s the beginning of the rainy season here in Kenya. Many people are rejoicing. Their crops desperately need this rain.
After we eat, I break out a board game I brought with me from the USA called Dixit. It is an interactive, social game and the six of us who are playing it laugh and carry on. I have learned a lot about the culture of Kenya during my time here. Now I am introducing a little bit of mine. Playing board games that require social interaction is something we do a lot of at my home in the USA.
Then it’s time for bed. Tomorrow will be my second and last day in Manyala.
Now we know that all things God works for the good of those who love him, even to those who are the called ones, in accordance with his purpose,
Romans 8:28 REV
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:6 REV