Grace`s Testimony

Grace`s testimony is really about her mother.
Her mother married when she was 18. In Kenya, children are very important. After 1 year people start asking. "So? Where`s the baby?" After 2 years, if the woman has not conceived, then the husband can take a second wife. Grace`s mother was barren for 10 years.
As a woman of faith, she refused to try any alternative methods, which all included some sort of witchcraft. her family pressured her. Her husband`s family pressured her. But her testimony was this: if you trust in God you don`t help Him. You either trust God or you don`t. For 10 years she was persecuted and rejected by both sides of the family. After waiting for 9 years to take a second wife, her husband`s sisters brought a wife to him and he took her and she conceived a son.
At the same time, after such a long time, Grace`s mother conceived a son. One year after her first child was born, she bore a second son. Then, every two years she had a child until her house was filled with 10 children! Now the whole village talks about what God has done for her.
When God opened her womb, He showed her in visions that her children would be very bright and she told God that she would send them all to school. Many in Kenya don`t go to school past the 8th grade because it is expensive. To send 10 children through high school and college would take a very wealthy family. On a teacher`s salary and with great faith Grace`s mother has succeeded in doing what she told God she would do.
When it was time for Grace to go to college, she thought that she had the money coming from a particular source. At the last minute, the plan collapsed and she had no money to enter. You must have the money the day you attend class. If you miss class the first day, you have to wait until next year. Grace came to her mother in tears. "Stop crying. God will provide." Her mother started going door to door, asking neighbors and telling them the situation. I don`t know if Grace was able to go to school that year or not, but her mother`s response is what really stayed with her. Grace is now working on her PhD at Niigata University - her focus is lukemia research.
Grace said that her mother talks about God constantly. You can`t stop her from sharing the Gospel, and at home she diligently spends time worshiping God and praying. When she introduces herself she says "Hello. My name is Beatrice. I am a born again Christian. I love God." Her children jokingly say that it is part of her name.

This whole testimony was shared over dinner with Sayaka`s non-believing parents sitting at the table with us. They were enthralled by her story and were asking questions about Kenya and how her mother is doing now. We had really good conversation. After that we sang worship songs and Sayaka`s parents were clapping and smiling. I posted pictures on a previous blog post. We had a great time together. I know that God was working in Sayaka`s parents. Pray for them! The dad`s name is Kyoshi and the mom`s name is Masako.