Out of the Mouths of Babes

From the time our daughter Kendall was born she was at church.

We made it a priority that as a family we were in church.

•         When she was 10 months old we dedicated her to the Lord.

•         When she turned 1 we started disciplining her using scripture.

•         When she was 2 Joe and I went on our first mission trip.

•         At 3 she was memorizing scripture.

•         At 4 she was praying actively for those she loved when they were sick or needed prayer. Many times reminding us to pray for them.

I don’t say any of this to boast in us or in her for that matter. I say it to boast in the Lord. When Joe and I dedicated Kendall to the Lord in the spring of 2009, we took it seriously. We didn’t want to raise her in church but in Christ.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

The day before we left for Africa Kendall prayed to receive Christ. Joe told her she had to pray on her own and she did.

She did excellent traveling to Africa. The first couple weeks and over the first expedition Kendall was ready to go home. She wanted to eat garlic bread at Sonny’s, rangoons at Panda, quiche from Caffe Chocolat, sleep in her own bed, and play with her dog. It was a normal adjustment for an American kid. Life was drastically different for her. There were times she loved what we were doing and she would tell us bible stories while she sat in a tree. Then at other moments she would say absolutely nothing to anyone.

The adjustment has been slow. After the first month she stopped saying she wanted to go home. Now she just tells us everyone she misses. At the top of her list is our dog Gracie, her cousins, and her grandparents.

While we were in Sekute we watched as Kendall came out of her shell for the first time in a while. If you want to reach Kendall’s heart you do it through music. She just loves it. She doesn’t really discriminate to any music style, yet. If she can dance or sing to it she’s happy. We watched her open up as she led worship with our translator Concilia. Trying her best to pronounce all the Tsonga words.

Then in the last village of Manono, for our last bible study that day, Kendall shared the Gospel with 30 women and even more children from my lap. There are no words to describe that feeling. I only wish I had been able to record it for Joe. Telling him in words will never be enough.

•        At 5 she was sharing the Gospel in remote African villages and helping to lead worship. 

In case you feel we’re putting ourselves on a pedestal I’ll also share here that when Joe preached at the first Jesus film she whispered loudly for him to not preach too long. She’s a pastor’s daughter for certain…

I’m amazed at all that God has done with this precious girl in her short time on Earth. I am humbled that God chose us to be her parents. I can’t wait to see what God has for her. She is God’s girl.

When you share God’s Word with anyone it never returns void.

Love knows no bounds.

In His Love,

Jennis