EVERY SOUL NEEDS
a good stretch
Every soul needs a good stretching now and then. At least that is what I tried to tell myself on the steps of a Kenyan home. When Ruth, the
Joy Village Program Coordinator, gathered us all into the main foyer of the Joy Village living room, you could hear a pin drop. Six American women and four Kenyan mamas stood in a semicircle, waiting and wondering what was about to take place. “You will be spending the night with one of the mamas and her children,” Ruth said. “This way you can immerse yourself in their lives. See their ministry and spend time with their family before going on our weekend retreat together. I think this time will benefit each one of us greatly.”
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One of our greatest missions on this long journey to Kenya was to spend time with these remarkable Kenyan mamas and treat them with their first “women’s retreat,” where they could rest and receive strong, restorative teaching that would strengthen them for the incredibly hard job they face every single day. Ruth’s idea seemed like a good one. Our highest priority and deepest desire was to connect and cultivate long-lasting relationships. I was so in, or at least I thought I was. One by one, she introduced us to our mama. “Janell, you will be with Mama Elizabeth,” Ruth said. “She’s up in her apartment — the Love House.” Each separate family apartment within the Joy Village complex bears the name of one of the fruits of the Spirit — a beautiful handmade inscription hangs over the frame of the front door.
When My Soul Was Stirred Ruth’s plan took me by surprise. I wasn’t prepared to spend
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