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by Erica Bohman
Who were the people who influenced your
spiritual life? Do you remember the Sunday
school teacher who made the Bible come alive,
the youth worker who took a personal interest
in your life, or the people who rejoiced with
you over your salvation and rejoiced again
when you led your first soul
to Christ? I, like every
Christian, am indebted to
so many others who have
influenced me. Since I grew
up on the mission field, most
of my spiritual influences
outside of my family were the
Kenyan Christians.

It was my Kenyan Sunday
school teacher whom I looked
forward to seeing every Sunday.

I loved the Swahili songs, the many Bible
stories, and the fact that she took time for me.

She was the first one I wanted to tell of my
salvation. One of my playmates growing up was the
daughter of our church secretary. As I grew
older, I got a burden to share the Gospel with
her. One Sunday afternoon, I asked her if I
could share some verses with her—and she
accepted Christ! I remember being awed by
the fact that God had used me to bring a soul to
Him and thrilled with the joy of those around
me who rejoiced with me and my friend.

I still remember learning memory verses in teen
class. I looked up to the teacher as an example,
12 BIMI WORLD
Number 2, 2019
and my peers encouraged me to a greater walk
of faith. Although my family traveled more
and more to start other churches in different
regions of Kenya, whenever we came back to
the already established churches, our Christian
family was always there, and their
testimonies ministered to me.

During my recent survey trip to
Kenya, I had the opportunity
to revisit the area I called home
for most of my life. What a joy
to reconnect with so many
who had an impact on my
life and to see how they are
still faithfully serving the
Lord and expanding their
ministries to different areas
and to different lives! Some had
moved to new regions, and other dear friends
had gone ahead to Glory. Remembering their
legacy of service to the Lord challenges me to
do more for Christ, and I can rejoice in the fact
that I will one day see them again!
In a special sense, I can say with Paul I am
[a] debtor (Romans 1:14). Much of who I am
is due to the Kenyan Christians who invested
in my life and due to Kenya—the country that
gave me my first taste of the ministry.

Now, as a missionary on deputation to Kenya,
I look forward to giving back to the country
that gave so much to me. While the Gospel has
transformed many lives in Kenya through the
works of missionaries and national Christians,