A Collision of Prayer
How intersecting prayers funded a water tank and started our ministry in Kenya
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Thanks to the cliché “no prayer is too big or too small” - a phrase circulated through many church circles - just about any prayer is within the limit. Some, however, found that limit pushed on a Monday night as Jeanette asked her ladies’ Bible study, again, to continue praying for her request: the “right” tenant for the soon-to-be-vacant side of her duplex. “Too small” or not, her prayer was about to be echoed by about 20 faithful midwestern women.
Meanwhile, another woman, Mary, was praying too, but with no knowledge of Jeanette’s request. Instead, she was praying for a young man named Jamleck (JJ for short). Belonging to the same church family in Kenya, Mary had watched JJ grow up. She saw JJ as he, like all the children, learned to manage jigger infestations and two-mile treks for water along with all the other day-to-day activities of going to school. Despite the inevitable setbacks of schooling in a facility without access to clean water, Mary among others from JJ’s church family couldn’t help but notice that JJ was full of potential.
Jeanette (front row, green shirt) and her church’s Ladies’ Bible Study
A photo of Mary, the woman who prays faithfully for JJ
Backed by prayers, funds from his family and pooled-together church donations, JJ was sent off to the U.S. for a bachelor’s degree. His community knew a U.S. collegiate education was a particularly high price to pay, but the thinking was that JJ would return back to Kenya with a greater ability to help and develop his community, an investment well worth it.
Within a few years, JJ had finished his education, begun a new job in the U.S. and started a family. With intent to return to Kenya, he maintained his home-ties and helped in any way he could. He could usually spare enough of his own paycheck to help with small-scale causes, but soon, a need too great for even his U.S. salary arose: funds to support a water tank for his former grade school, Kiangochi Primary.
“When we wait on the Lord in prayer, all of heaven moves into action.”
Around this time, JJ’s employer asked him to transfer to Peoria, a midwestern, river-sided city. Before making the decision, JJ devoted time to fasting and prayer regarding this unexpected move. After feeling that yes, indeed, the Lord was prompting him to go, he made his decision and began his move to Peoria, Illinois. JJ would soon find out that this move would be about more than just work.
As JJ looked for a place to live, he heard about a soon-to-be-vacant duplex from a local pastor. JJ liked the small, yet charming building he saw bordering a peaceful, forested area of Central Illinois. About to move out, the pastor connected JJ with the owner, Richard Scheuermann, husband to Jeanette. With this new connection, Jeanette and her praying friends were about to witness the start of a new partnership that would soon well up into something beyond all expectation.
A few weeks after the move-in, Richard stopped by to unload a mower for JJ. If you know Richard personally, you won’t be surprised to hear that the two quickly found themselves immersed in conversation. Having heard JJ mention something about Kenya, Richard asked to hear more, which led up to the two discussing JJ’s intent to sponsor the tank for Kiangochi. Knowing he could close the gap, Richard offered to finance the remainder of the tank.
To Richard’s surprise, he along with his oldest daughter, Jenni, her husband Tom, their daughters Kayley and Krista and a family from Ohio were able to come to the tank’s commissioning celebration in Kenya! Richard recalls thinking of his being able to visit East Africa as a “shocker” and a great blessing. Below are some pictures taken at the Kiangochi Primary water tank’s commissioning.
Sixty-nine tanks (and counting) later, it’s tempting to leave the story at “and the rest is history.” (Because, frankly, it is.) But before leaving you with that, try pausing to take a step back 10+ years into the shoes of Jeanette, praying for the “right” tenant. Or perhaps you could step back 20+ years into the headspace of Mary, praying for the life of an African school-boy. Imagine what they might think then if someone told them that their collision of prayers would result in a partnership sparking a new move of God in Kenya. It might have been beyond their view, but not beyond their faith - the faith they put in God through prayer.
If you would like to be a part of the work God is doing around the world, and perhaps venture a “collision” of your own, then you know what to do…
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”