RAIN IS COMING! Kay Keith Peebles 7/26/2019 19.24
It was our eighth mission trip to Kenya and the first night of the open air meetings. Many times we had been to Karatina in the Mount Kenya area and loved doing the open air meetings. We were familiar with the process of how the church did their open air meetings in the busiest part of town. The purpose was to go to the center of where all the people would be congregated. The street was lined with permanent and temporary shops, chemists, butcher shops, matatu (bus) stations, and restaurants. People crisscrossed the street carrying bundles they had purchased on their way home from work.
The worship team began singing and dancing, filling the air with worship and praise. The excitement would draw the children first, many of which belonged to the shop owners close by. They would play with toys they made out of discarded items like old bicycle tires, sticks or CD disks. The noise of horns and busy traffic also filled the air while goats and chickens strolled by looking for a free meal. Three or four of the town drunks stumbled by enjoying the opportunity to dance to the music. Everyone had their reasons for being there but no one expected what was going to happen. My husband and I had prayed for months for the meetings, as did the Kenyan church and our church back home. We all had an excitement and expectation for the Lord to be there, but we had no idea exactly what He was going to do.
The red sandy dust typical of the region, was stirred up by the heavy traffic. It was especially thick because they had not had rain for months. Crops were drying up, specifically their main staple which they call maize (corn). The drought had reached a dangerous level and the government was discussing the need to import maize to feed the people. Normally, that time of year was their rainy season. Early mornings were usually cool and very damp requiring one to wear a light jacket. The streets would be muddy until the sun rose to its height at late morning. This time it was unseasonably warm and there was no thick dew in the air and on the roads, which kept the dust under control. Instead, we could taste the red dust that coated everything outside. We could feel the oppression as we began our 100-yard walk to the meeting.
My husband was going to preach the first open air message but he asked me to open the meeting. On the drive from our hotel I was asking the Lord what He wanted me to say. He gave me specific instructions and I felt confident I had heard clearly as we arrived at the meeting. The music continued for thirty more minutes or so and then a few people were called forward to give testimonies of what the Lord had done in their lives. Several of the local pastors also encouraged the people. Our local Bishop and dear friend came forward to introduce my husband and I. He then handed me the microphone.
Out of my mouth came the words the Lord had told me to say. “I have not come here to represent the state of Georgia or the United States of America where I live. I have also not come as a representative of the church we belong to in the U.S. I am here to represent the Kingdom of the Most High God, the Lord Jesus Christ who is the One True God. He is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Let us welcome the King of Glory into Karatina tonight. If you are a believer and love the Lord, join me in a victory shout as the King of Glory comes into the city of Karatina.” I counted to 3 and everyone shouted to the top of their lungs inviting Him to come. I then introduced my husband and handed the microphone to him.
He preached a great message, “I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life” and people gave their lives to Jesus that evening. We then left for the church to do a revival meeting. It was a great day. Saturday, we had the same schedule but my husband did the introduction and I preached the open air. The presence of God was evident in all the meetings and many people were touched. Sunday morning we each preached a service in the church; one took the early service and the other the late one. We went to lunch and prepared for the last open air meeting Sunday afternoon.
While eating lunch we received a call that another church had taken our spot in the open air and we would have to move to another location. We prayed that the Lord would intervene in some way. We didn’t want the enemy to steal our meeting but we were not going to fight with another church for our spot. We waited believing the Lord would redeem the situation somehow and He did! The Lord fought for us. The phone rang again and we were told the shopkeepers that surrounded the area told the other church they were not welcome, our group was supposed to be at that spot to do our last open air. They made them pack up their equipment and leave. It was the Lord because He had been working on a plan all weekend and none of us knew what it was. We needed that same spot so that He could complete the miracle on behalf of the people.
My husband was going to preach the final open air meeting and I was to do the introduction. The Lord began to speak to me as we walked over to the location for the open air. I was amazed at what He wanted me to say. I knew I was putting my faith on the line. Was I clearly hearing Him, and believing in His ability to do what He said He would do? I weighed the consequences and knew that if I didn’t say what He told me to say, there would be no miracle. I had heard story after story of signs and wonders the Lord has done beyond the testimonies in the Bible but I had never been a part of one of this magnitude. My mind said “Who am I,” but that was not the right question. It was not about me, it was all about the Lord and what He wanted to do. All He needed was a willing volunteer to obey His instructions. The question became “Will I do what He told me to do”? His words to me were “Be bold”! I knew I had to step out way beyond my comfort zone and proclaim to the people what He said He would do. After all, “faith without works is dead”. James 2:17.
When the praise and worship had concluded and all the testimonies had been given, the mike was handed to me. The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” When the Lord spoke to me what He wanted me to say, He gave me the gift of faith that I was hearing His voice and He would do what I proclaimed to the people. At that point, I was more afraid of failing Him than being a failure myself.
I stood before the people and proclaimed His words: “Friday evening you welcomed Me into the gates of your city, into the place of commerce, business, and government. You gave a shout of victory and welcome to the One True God, the Most High God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the King of Glory and it pleased Me. Because you have invited Me into your city, I have come in. You have been in drought and there is no forecast of rain. I am sending rain to you. You did not ask Me for a sign but I am giving you one. The rain shall be a sign to those who do not believe in Me that I AM the God Who controls the wind and the rain and there is no God besides Me.”
My husband then preached his powerful message entitled, “Jesus Rides Above the Storms” and more souls were saved. We danced and sang in celebration a little longer and then left. We ate dinner with dear friends that night and on the way back to the hotel it began to sprinkle. Both of us were very tired from a big weekend of meetings and three services that day. We sank into bed and slept peacefully all night long. When we got up in the morning we were astonished. It had rained in the night and big potholes in the road were full of water. It rained Monday night also. Wednesday we drove to Kagio to minister in a High School and then to Nairobi for an overnight ministry at Kimbo Church for All Nations. We then returned to Kagio on Thursday evening for an open air. During our drive back we were contacted by our Bishop that they had a very good rain in Karatina on Wednesday. He told us people had been calling him all day reporting that the prophecy was being fulfilled just as the Lord had said.
As of Saturday evening, the rains were still coming. Dry and desperate crops were receiving the drink they needed to fully ripen and produce a harvest. More importantly, the people of Karatina were challenged by their faith. Those who believed in Jesus as Lord and God, Creator and King of all Kings were amazed. Their faith was confirmed and they had a deeper understanding of the love of God and the power of God. Those who did not believe in Jesus, the One True God were faced with a dilemma. They heard the bold declarations of Who He is and what He would do and they could not deny that it rained. He did what He said He would do. It was a powerful sign that Jesus still controls the wind and the rain and there is no other god besides Him.
My husband and I saw many more amazing things the Lord did on this mission trip which we will share in the weeks to come. The Lord has continually proven who He is to us but on this trip, the God of the Book of Acts became very close and personal. We experienced signs and wonders and literally lived out the fact that He does confirm His word with signs and wonders.
The time of the Great Harvest has begun and the Lord will use anyone who is willing to believe Him, His Word and His power to fulfill all He calls us to do.
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am [a]undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin [b]purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Whether it is in our local city or halfway across the world, the Lord is calling those who will trust in Him to lead and guide them, to fulfill the Great Commission to bring in the end-time Harvest! He will do what He says He will do. All we have to do is dare to believe the Rain is Coming!
