I was sitting in the front seat of a taxi recently (actually I was sharing the front seat with another girl:) and after introducing myself to our driver I mentioned that I thought his country was beautiful. His response was interesting. He said "Yes, but it is not reflective of us." I asked him to explain what he meant and he told me that the government and the state of Sierra Leone as it is right now does not really reflect what the people of Sierra Leone are like. I would have to say I agree with him.
Since then I have been thinking about how we represent ourselves to the world around us. I would hope I represent Jesus Christ well enough for people to know Him through my life. He is the only example I consider worthwhile to follow. I know there are so many times when I let myself obscure my reflection of Him. These are the things I need to work on. The more I see of the world, the more people I meet in it, and the more cultures I encounter, the more I am convinced that all I want and all I want people to see me being like is Jesus.
A few weeks ago I had the joy and privilege of spending a few hours talking with Clementine Tengue. Clementine has been with Mercy Ships in West Africa for about 14 years and currently leads the patient life ministry here. She is the one who counsels all the patients onboard. When someone is terminal Clementine has to tell them, if they are diagnosed with HIV she is the one who tells them, and when they need someone to talk to about surviving the war here she is the one who listens to them. She gets called down to the wards day and night and often over the weekends. Someone who did not have the strength of Christ as an example would quickly run out of energy beneath the weight of all this. Clementine, however, has Christ and that quickly becomes evident when talking with her. She overflows with a calm,peaceful joy. You can clearly see how much she loves the patients. Her example has prompted people to want to follow Christ themselves.
So Clementine is my prayer request that I am sending back to all of you. She has asked me to ask you all to pray for her because she knows that it is prayer that enables her to continue on every day. Pray that Clementine will continue to model Christ to people, that God will continue to direct her words and actions with hurting people, and please pray that she would be given a designated office to counsel patients in. Clementine has demonstrated Christ to me; I pray that I demonstrate Him to you:)
Isimbi Johanna
