Hakuna mungu kama wewe

A few years ago, I think in 2011 or 2012, I was at an InterVarsity retreat. It was a while ago, so I do not remember which retreat or where it was but I remember hearing the song "Hakuna mungu kama wewe." We sang this in worship sessions. It is a Swahili song, and the title translates to "There's no God like you."I remember being in that worship time and having this deep desire to one day sing that song in Africa. Of course, at the time I had never been to Africa and had no plans to go.

But of course in 2013 I spent three months in Mozambique. In fact at that time I did hear that song when visiting a little country church one Sunday: but it was in the Makua language so sadly I could not sing along. But it brought me great joy at that time.
Now, I learned a lot when I was in Mozambique, but one of the things I learned, or thought I learned, was that working overseas, at least in the linguistics context, was not for me. This was neither a disappointing nor relieving conclusion for me. I just thought maybe I was meant to stay in the Maritimes. And that was alright with me.

But not even a year from when I arrived back from Mozambique, I went to Cameroon. I still can't believe how that happened. But without trying particularly hard, I landed back in sub-Saharan Africa. There in Cameroon, I saw national Bible translators and literacy workers do amazing things, and in my mind it was cemented: they don't need me here. It is most effective to stay at home.

So I threw myself into helping my home province of Nova Scotia. I studied Local Economic Development with the goal of somehow contributing towards the sustainable development of rural areas in Nova Scotia.

OK all this to say, I somehow ended up in Kenya today. I somehow ended up in the yard outside of our office, with my amazing Kenyan, Canadian, and Indian coworkers, singing "Hakuna mungu kama wewe" with 20 street youths from Nanyuki. And somehow I feel like this is it. Like years ago when I had that desire to be singing that song in Africa, like that was prophetic insight to this moment. Because there truly is no God like our God. Before we sang that song, a pastor was speaking to these youths. He was telling them they are fearfully and wonderfully made. He was telling them that God loves them. And you must know, these ones, they are among the most vulnerable and the most marginalized. They are some of the poorest people I have ever known. But to worship with them: that is heaven. That is what Jesus is talking about when he says "The Kingdom of God is at hand." This is the desire that God placed in my heart, some years ago. I cannot really express how beautiful and meaningful that moment was for me. Because though I cannot understand it, God somehow knew I would be here. He somehow wanted to give me this gift to see His Kingdom coming in this little corner of the world. And there are still so many problems. Hearing the stories from some of these youths, I again feel helpless. But at the same time I feel hopeful, because of our God. There is no-one like our God.