My Name is Marilyn and I am a Believer in Jesus Christ

Sunday was our third day of ministry. The team split into four groups and went to different churches. I had the privilege of teaching Sunday School and sharing in worship at one of those churches. The Sunday School class began with the children singing and reading scripture. Each child praised Jesus before sharing.

When the time came for me to teach, my heart was full and I was more than excited to teach about Jesus calming the sea from Mark 4:30-41. I told the children about the tremendous power of our great big God. I told them that even a tiny bit of faith was enough as long as that faith is in Jesus. I said that when we have Jesus in our life we will still go through hard times but we will not go alone. Jesus will be with us in those hard times just like He was with the disciples on the boat. Then we learned the songs "With Jesus In Your Boat" and "My God is So Big." We sang loud with all the motions.

The teacher asked if they had any questions for me and the children responded in Swahili. Shock mixed with confusion flooded my mind when she turned to me and said "They want to know if you are a believer in Jesus Christ."

You see, it is the practiced habit of Christians in Kenya to introduce themselves and voice praise to Jesus before speaking about anything else. Over and over again I had heard the Kenyan believers offer heartfelt praise. The children who shared at school and church did so only after voicing a praise to our great God. In the ladies' group, they introduced themselves and told about their families, but only after praising Jesus. A woman came up to me after the service at Athi River and eagerly reached for my hand. Her face revealed the impact of what her words would tell me. "I love Jesus!" was all she said.

Hearing these praises blessed me tremendously. I loved the openness and the eagerness to confess such an important part of who one is in Christ. But it never occurred to me to do the same. In America we make assumptions about whether or not someone is a believer by what they do or maybe by what they do not do. I have at times wondered what would be the worse scenario: To think someone is not a believer who in fact is, or to think someone is a believer who in fact is not. We have been guilty of doing both. Even still, while I was sharing about Jesus (something I was "doing" that might indicate I was a believer) the children wondered if I knew Him. I was hit with a fresh understanding that just because a person talks about Jesus does not mean they know Jesus.

"Oh sweet children!" I said "Yes! I am a believer in Jesus Christ!" They listened intently while I told them this time, not about Jesus and the disciples, but about Jesus and me. 

In case you did not know, I want to state clearly, just as the Kenyans do: 

"My name is Marilyn and I am a believer in Jesus Christ."