No longer a goon

I wanted to take this time to give an update on our friend, Wycliffe.  Many of you may have read his story in our latest newsletter.  In case you didn’t catch it, here’s the condensed version.  Wycliffe was a drunk for many years.  In our men’s Bible study recently he told all the guys, “I was a goon.”  This meant that the local politicians would use him as hired muscle to start fights or riots at opponents’ rallies.  The politicians would also pay him to beat people up.  A few months ago, Tracy and I led Wycliffe to the Lord.  God freed him from his drinking and he turned his back on his old fighting ways.

Lately, Wycliffe has been working around the farm doing odd jobs and filling in as one of our relief soldiers.  He has been working as a community helper as well doing things like going around to homes and making sure the children have been vaccinated for measles.  He has also been hard at work fixing up his family’s compound.  With the money he has saved from not buying alcohol, he has been able to afford to build a new choo (outhouse) for his family and has surprised his wife with the construction of a new house.

In between all of this, he made time to build a new kitchen for our friend, Janus.  Janus is a mzee (elderly man) who was born blind.  He is one of the people that Mom, Dad, Tracy and I help support each month.  Janus came to us a few weeks ago and said his kitchen was falling apart, so we hired Wycliffe to build him a new one.  Last Thursday, all of us piled into Dad’s truck to go and pray over the newly finished kitchen.  While we were driving there, Wycliffe told us that his old politician boss had been calling him into town to disrupt political rallies and stir up trouble.  Wycliffe said, “I told them Jesus is my boss now and that I wouldn’t work for them anymore.” 

What an awesome testimony of a renewed life!  God is so good, not only to change Wycliffe’s life but to let us be a part of the change. 

A picture of Wycliffe in front of Janus' new kitchen

A picture of Mom, Dad & Janus in front of the kitchen