Spotlight On Joy ... by Sandra Graham

“Be bold in prayer!” Grace Veronica punctuates her encouragement with an expansive smile. Her enthusiasm energizes the church group she leads in prayer every month, now sitting around her in folding chairs. “We have a big God. Ask Him for big things!” Behind her, the communion table set with bread and wine for sharing after prayer time, emphasizes her point about a God who gives.

Afterward, Grace accepts my invitation for breakfast to tell me her story. As we sit in a neighborhood brunch spot with our coffee refilled and warmed, she unfolds the details of her journey as an African transplant to an American church. Smiles and easy laughter intersperse her narrative but seem discordant with the story she reveals. The tones of her Swahili accent sound melodic. Her beaded earrings jingle in rhythm with her cadence. Yet, in contrast to the pretty picture, she paints a self-portrait of adversity. The assurance she displays today results from overcoming challenges in the past.

Grace embodies unconventional boldness as she brings ministry from Africa to an American church. Scholars might label her a “reverse missionary” (a term used for evangelists from former mission fields). As of 2020, 85% of Africans identify as Christian, compared to 64% of Americans—revealing a faith in decline. Grace infuses her African fervor at Summit Church Orlando, where she leads in prayer and discipleship development. Summit’s pastor met Grace while partnering with a sister church in Africa, inviting her to inspire his congregation with a different perspective and fuel church planting.

Grace arrived in Florida supported by a theology degree from Northwestern Christian University in Kenya and graduate training from Nairobi Chapel. Before coming to Orlando, her participation in a three-year leadership program, Kinara (the Swahili word for “beacon”). When asked to describe her passion, she pauses a moment in thought, placing a hand on her chest in an unconscious gesture. “I want to share the great love of Christ and my journey with Him. I want to train more leaders for Christ’s mission and plant more churches.” Her hand then pats gently for emphasis as she continues with another big smile, “And I always want to work myself out of a job!”

The strong faith Grace brings to her American ministry developed from troubles that began in early childhood. The first blow came from her father, who abandoned Grace and her twin brother during Christmas time. Her mother tried to explain, “He already has another family.” Financial struggles ensued, and the threesome depended upon the charity of others for survival. They wandered from home to home, often returning to her grandmother. Her mother strained to provide the necessities for her children to attend school.

Naturally smart, Grace found a haven in education and attended classes whenever she could. When preparing for critical placement exams, Grace pleaded to move closer to the high school to study. She felt swallowed up by the daily chores of her grandmother’s rural village of Kimandiro. The essential tasks of a third-world country devoured her days with gathering firewood and fetching water. She had little energy left over at night to study and scarce paraffin for lamps. Her mother relented and made arrangements for Grace to stay with a couple near the school, but troubles persisted. One day, when Grace took a break from her studies to eat lunch, intense pain and stomach distress seized her. Left alone, she crawled from the house to the outside toilet, collapsing on the dirt path—helpless until discovered by a neighbor. “Her mother dumped her on us,” Grace overheard her host whispering to a friend. “I tried to poison her, but she’s still here!”

The events of Grace’s life seem to echo a biblical theme. The handsome and talented Joseph, betrayed by his brothers into slavery, entered a door into adversity lasting for decades. Pointing to God’s hand of faithfulness at work behind the scenes, he later tells his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done…” (Genesis 50:20 NIV). God developed faith and strength in Grace through her difficult experiences, as he did for Joseph. God built her courage to trust his purposes at work through her hardships.

Abandonment by Grace’s father prepared her heart to receive the gospel. Grace explains, “My mother comforted me by telling me that God would never leave me.” At ten years old, when gathering firewood in the forest one afternoon, she met a group of evangelists who told her the story of Jesus. “I knew I could trust God as a father who would never leave me. I prayed and pledged my heart to him.” The need to depend on others, as her mother scraped for school fees and supplies, taught Grace gratitude for essentials and the ability to live a transient lifestyle. When almost succumbing to poison in pursuit of her education, she learned perseverance through the worst circumstances. God’s protection and provision developed boldness in Grace through every difficult circumstance, preparing her to enter a new country and trust a new host family. In her ministry, Grace addresses the topic of finding joy through affliction with a credibility earned from experience. Preaching online for Nairobi Chapel in 2020, she says, “Sometimes as Christians, we have a sense of entitlement, that we should avoid pain. We believe success and prosperity imply a godly life.” Grace learned to wait as God works through trials. She explained that difficulties provide tools for God to use in making us better. She encouraged her audience, “The Lord watches over you! Trust in Him. Trust the process.” She points to prayer as the fuel for perseverance.

Now, at 34 years old, she expects obstacles to occur in her pathway. She prepares her way with prayer. After receiving the invitation to leave her home country and join Summit’s staff, she prayed: “Work out my steps.” Her Orlando journey started off with a frightening detention by immigration at the airport, but she knew prayer went ahead of her. After release from questioning, she then braved the next anxiety of placing herself at the mercy of strangers—a new host family—triggering trauma from her past. Even as an adult, she still found herself wondering, “Will they like me?”

Her American family embrace her, as she embraces God’s unexpected pathway. Grace presses ahead, longing for people to experience the power of prayer and faith in the daily presence of God. When Grace tells her story, her joy in the goodness God intends through trials always carries the spotlight.

Sandra Graham

Sandra attends Dallas Theological Seminary pursuing her Master’s Degree. With two children in frigid-weather colleges, she and her husband enjoy sunny skies in Central Florida. Trips to Disney, cruise travel, reading classics, and watching cooking shows fill Sandra’s leisure time between classes. Taking advantage of the empty-nest season of life, Sandra hopes to encourage others through stories of God’s goodness and faithfulness.