“He came back armed with a machete” – a missionary moment

“One Saturday morning, I went to the market as usual to buy some groceries, and as I was tying the stuff onto the motorbike, I noticed a scuffle. Two young men were harassing and assaulting another young man. People tried to intervene, and I joined in to see if we could stop the duo from harassing the other young man.

They kept at it for some time, hurling insults and hitting the helpless fellow. Then one of them left, and he came back armed with a machete. I tried to intervene again, but they were hell-bent on harming the young man.

In a split-second, the victim quickly made away with his motorbike leaving the rest of us behind. Being the most vocal, the assailants turned on me. I was hit once with the machete on the left hand as I tried to keep him from hitting my head. I knew I had to flee. We took off, me running for my life and him hot on my heels, baying for my blood.

I ducked in between the cars due to the heavy traffic. I stumbled and fell twice, enabling him to get to me. He hit me twice on my thighs. Everything fell out of my pocket, and surprisingly the young men took a 20 Kenyan shilling coin, leaving my smartphone that lay right next to it.

I was now on the ground, in the middle of Garissa town, panting and reliving the last few minutes, staring down at my bleeding arm and torn trouser. A crowd started building up around me, asking what had just happened. I could not speak. My mind was racing and my breath heavy. Suddenly, a bulb lit in my head – this is an excellent opportunity to share the gospel!

I quickly regained my composure and related the events to the crowd, which was now concerned. This was the second time I had drawn a fully attentive crowd in Garissa. I shared with them about Jesus’ teaching on the blessedness of peacemakers.

This incident reminded me of the several instances where they almost stoned our Saviour and Lord but could not do it, simply because it was not yet his time (John 8:20). It gave me the confidence to know that no harm befalls us except as the Lord may allow for his glory.”

Read the whole article at https://afrigo.org/stor…/missionary-profile-joseph-otieno/

Representative image by Freepik