Transcription:

Emily: Welcome to the 4:18 Podcast. God is moving through partners, pastors, and entrepreneurs to break the chains of poverty in African countries. This podcast shares the untold stories of what God is doing in Africa and testifies to the power of Jesus as described in Luke 4:18, which says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind.” 

Today, we welcome you to a conversation with two key leaders of Possibilities Africa, Martin Simiyu and Doug Reed. If you’re listening, we are so grateful you’re joining us for a conversation that we are praying will ultimately lift high the name of Jesus, give God all the glory, and lead our hearts to align more with His. Martin, how do you keep God at the center of this? You mentioned that, and I’m just curious what that looks like for you and your teams in different countries. And Doug, I’d love to hear what you have to share from the USA side too, but what does that look like in your role as a leader? 

Martin: Good question, good question. So one of the things I remember a few years back when we were starting, we would go out into the communities, and at that time I had two gentlemen. This is in somewhere between 2007, 2008, 2010, that period of time. And I will go out to the communities and we’ll always bring our Bibles. And as we… We meet people that are coming to hear about Possibilities Africa. We will put our Bibles on the table. We will start with prayer, and then we’ll share some scripture. And it was very different because many other organizations that go to these communities, they really never bring the Bible to the table. And so that very act of just starting with the Word of God. has been very instrumental in helping us to maintain the focus, to make the main things the main things. I think the other thing that is also critical for us has been that we encourage our team members to be committed to our church, to be fellowshipping in our church, to be growing and involved in our church, so that our own spiritual maturity is happening, that we are not out there talking to people about growing when we are not growing. So all of as people who work with Possibilities Africa and at Possibilities Africa are actively involved in our church and growing spiritually. You have to have a church for men and be able to grow. We regularly meet as our teams to pray. In most of our meetings, we meet and pray and hear scripture and so on. 

But I think the critical part of it, which is really something I have said, and so just to repeat it, is that all our training at Possibilities Africa starts with the Word of God and ends with the Word of God. Because we believe that the Bible has the principles for life. Whether you’re thinking about raising children or growing your family, whether you’re thinking about economic productivity and improving in how you run your financial affairs, whether you’re thinking about bringing more people into the kingdom, evangelism and discipleship. All of them are anchored in the Word of God. So the Word of God has been central to us. And I am grateful that I had the privilege of going to schools that taught the Word of God here in Kenya, Pan-Africa Christian University, where I did my theology, Bible and theology, went to Moody Bible Institute that are very, very solid in the teaching of the Word of God, and went to Biola University, which is also very strong in the Word of God. 

So we have used the Word of God to make sure that it is the one that draws us to God, because you really can’t go to God in any other way. You go to God by opening scripture and understanding what He says about Himself, and what He says about you, and what He says about the world that He has created, and what He says about the ministry that you are doing. It is all centered around the Word of God as it were. I think one of the things we keep reminding ourselves and I was sharing this last week with the pastors that were in our training this past week. I was answering the question to them, why is Possibilities Africa doing this with you? And I told them that it is not just about showing them the way to get out of a history of poverty and challenges but it’s also so that their lives may glorify God. Because in the ultimate, everything that we do needs to bring glory to God. And therefore we teach people, how do you live according to the Word of God so that you can bring glory to God? 

Emily: That’s great. Do you have anything you want to add, Doug? 

Doug: Well, for me, I need to be in the Word daily. And so there’s just such an important part for me, to ground me into the truths of God’s sovereignty. So, you know, I have a tendency to be anxious about, okay, this or that and when I’m in God’s word daily, it just grounds me to realize that no, God’s in control. God has this. And when I’m not, I notice it in my life. I don’t have the peace. And so I just found out that that’s something that I have to do and even in regards to my position here with Possibilities Africa USA, one of our goals in the next three years is to double the number of countries we’re in, which is super exciting and think about how many more people we could impact with the gospel and micro businesses and things like that. 

But also then there’s this responsibility of how are we going to fund that? And so that’s part of my job is to share with people and see who would want to be a part of this financially. And that can bring some stress, but ultimately I have to come back to God’s Word and realize that, no, this is God’s ministry and I get to be a part of it, but it’s not, the burden’s not on me. And it’s not like, oh, it’s all about what I do. It’s really the Holy Spirit working in people’s lives. I get the opportunity to share what God’s doing, which is super fun, but ultimately it relies on God. And so I just have to keep reminding myself of that, that God’s got this. I mean, he’s taken it for 20 years. And, you know, like, I’d love to have Martin share more of his story of his life and how he’s came in. There’s really no explanation other than God’s blessing on what Martin and his team is doing, because it’s not really humanly possible to impact as many people that they have without God doing what God’s done. And so I think keeping coming back to that, just that realization. And so, yeah, to be grounded in God’s Word daily reminds me of that. 

And throughout history, I mean, reading through the Old Testament now, reading through the Bible this year, but in the Old Testament, and just to see how God is faithful throughout the generations, just gives me hope that He’s going to be faithful for me as well. 

Emily: You mentioned God’s sovereignty at the beginning. What does that mean to you? 

Doug: I think it just brings an overall peace, knowing that whatever comes, whatever good thing or struggle, realizing that God is in it and going to use that somehow to bring glory to Himself, even in the tragedies of life, and realizing that this earth, this today, isn’t all there is, that there’s an eternity. I think we have to realize that God wants us to trust in Him today. And there’s–it’s not just all about eternity because He’s where we get our strength today. But then the hope of that–you know, for eternity, we’re going to be with Jesus. And so I think to look at the good things in life and the trials of life, but through that lens of God’s sovereignty and that, okay, God is working out his plan. I can only see a little bit of it. and that I trust him in the rest of it. 

Emily: Yeah, that’s so good. I love that. That’s awesome. We’ll take a moment to open the Bible at the table. Martin, you mentioned that, and there are a couple of scriptures that came to mind as I was preparing for this podcast, but they connect really well to what you both just shared. And the first one is John 14:12-14, which reads, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing and they will do even greater things than these because I’m going to the Father and I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.”

Those are Jesus’s words in John 14 and as I was reading about the history of Possibilities Africa, I specifically thought about how amazing it is, Martin, that you started in your home village. That was the very first place that you did a cow project. So you go there guided by God and seeking God. And then I just see this in connection to Luke 4:16-24, which includes the verse that is the heart, mission, and name of this podcast. And that scripture reads, “He went to Nazareth where he had been brought up and on the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue as was his custom. He stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and they were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked. Jesus said to them, ‘Surely you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ‘Truly I tell you, he continued, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.’”

This is the word of the Lord. As I read that, I was just thinking we cannot discount the power and glory of God to enable you Martin to go to your hometown and start something that is now ultimately giving them Jesus. By doing that, it’s a work of setting the oppressed free, opening the eyes of the blind, proclaiming good news to the poor across several countries in Africa. And this beginning of the organization encompasses the name Possibilities Africa, and Jesus says that no prophet is accepted in this hometown. And yet because Jesus has promised that whoever believes will do even greater things, we get to witness God do the impossible. So, Martin, I’d love to hear who this God is, who’s opened doors for you. If any specific stories come to mind as you kind of hear either of those passages and then, Doug, if you have anything you want to add from your time, that’d be great, too. 

Martin: Yeah, so thank you. Thank you for those scriptures and just what they teach us. I think the one thing that I had mentioned, Emily, that you also referenced in one of the scriptures, is that even when Jesus is talking about the ability for the disciples and the apostles to do things that Christ did, or even do greater things than what happened during the days of Christ, he makes it clear, is that so that the Father may be glorified. And so really, I think that one of the things that you think about when you think about the ministry that we do at Possibilities Africa and the Word of God and the Christian ministry in general is that everything is centered around a God who is sovereign, a God who is jealous, a God who wants His glory, and we do everything for His glory. So that is really for me the first picture of who this God is. He’s a sovereign God, He’s a jealous God, He’s a God who above him there is no other, there is no comparison with Him. And I think part of it is just to understand that in the picture of God, regardless of who we are and what we do, that we are all connected as instruments of glory to Him. And I think that is important to me. 

But I think the other thing really that comes out for me is just understanding that this God is the same one who has said that when we go out to serve him, he will be with us until the end of the age. He will not leave us. He will not forsake us. He will be with us in that journey of ministry. So he’s a very present God. He’s a faithfully present God. That wherever you go, whether it’s in your hometown or whether it is any other place where there are ministry challenges that you experience, you have that assurance that Jesus left with his disciples when he gave them the great commission and said, “I will be with you until the end of the age.” And of course, the name of this God really being that “I am” you know, Jesus said “I am” and God revealed to Moses that “I am who I am.” And so he’s that very present God, Immanuel, God with us. And so that understanding carries you through ministry to know that you’re not alone, that the God of the universe, the sovereign God, the God who was there yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and forever, that God is with you. 

I think for me the fact, reality is to always understand that as much as God has invited us into this work, that in essence, it is Him who is working in us and through us. That in our obedience to be with this God, in this kingdom business that we realize that it is God who is working in us and through us. I am always encouraged by the scripture in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, I think about 6 to 8, where there is this question between Paul and Apollos and people are wondering, which one of you is the greatest minister here? You guys, you seem so gifted, but which one of you is the greatest minister? You know, who is doing the greatest work? And Paul, I think, brings it out very clearly when he’s saying, “I planted, Apollo’s watered, but God causes the increase.” 

Now, you realize that in ministry, there are things that we can do in service to the work of God, but we can’t cause the increase. We can’t cause the results to happen. We can’t cause the growth to happen. It’s like being a parent. You can do all you can for your child to raise them and teach them, but you cannot make them to do the things that they need to do. It takes the hand of God to cause the increase. So who is this God to me? This God to me is a God who is present in his work, who equips his servants, but again, who honors the work of his servants by making that work grow. And I keep reminding myself that It is not my place to change people’s lives. It is not my place to make people do anything. It is my place to show to these people their God, the God of the Bible, and the truth about this God. And that when they know and embrace this God, that He Himself will work in them, cause the increase, and bring the change that is needed in their lives. 

But I will also testify and say that over the years, I have found this God to be a God of hope, to be a God that you can faithfully depend on, to be a God that has a promise, a covenant-keeping God. I mean, the journey for me, when you move from one place to another and you’re not sure what tomorrow holds, sometimes all you have to hold on is the promise that God has said, I am leading you and I’m calling you to do this. And I have seen that in my life when I left Africa to go to the U.S. to study, or when I left the U.S. to come back here in Africa to serve God, to set up Possibilities Africa. When we started this ministry way back, we had friends that were praying with us and standing with us. But in particular, my friend Merrell McIlwain, who has been on our board of Possibilities Africa for a long time, it was really largely for a long, long time just, you know, us trusting God between myself and Merrell and saying, okay, so where do we then get transport? Where do we then get this? And God will provide in some very wonderful, small, but very big ways. And that small seed that was planted at that time, God has been nurturing it and causing the increase. And so we’ve seen a faithful God, we’ve seen a God that gives people hope, and we’ve seen a God that is dependable and trusting.

Emily: That’s so good. So many attributes of God in there that just ministered to me, Martin. 

Doug: I’ll just kind of echo what Martin said there. I think it’s just so fascinating to think about, you know, the village that Martin grew up in and just how God has used him. And then, you know, we have 22 staff in East Africa and many of the same stories of just average ordinary people, or even my life. I think, you know, I’m a farm boy that grew up, you know, the youngest of six kids and I don’t have all this talent to bring to the table. And I think that’s maybe all of us in some ways, but then, cool thing is who gets the glory out of that is God. It’s not, it’s not me. It’s not Martin. It’s not our team. It’s God doing work through and in us, but ultimately it’s Him that’s causing the fruit. And you think of the thousands of people who are impacted throughout Africa. Because of that, it’s nothing short of a miracle of God. 

Emily: With that, I would love to hear who comes to mind when you think of a favorite testimony of holistic transformation through what God is doing in Possibilities Africa. 

Martin: There are so many people I’m trying to think of who to pick and where to start. I think, since you said this is the first podcast, I will probably go back to an old story that we did several years ago. Myself and Merrell did this story. We had come into a community, again, back in my village, and we had begun with a cow project, just helping people get a cow so that they can provide for their own lives. We followed up a story of a gentleman called Joseph, who was not really a pastor but an active leader in a church and who was also battling diabetes, he was very poor, and he was among the first people who received the cow from Possibilities Africa way back when we were doing the cow project before we evolved the ministry to be more holistic and so on. 

But the big story there is that Joseph–when he learned the things that we were teaching at that time, he embraced them and put them in practice, and we saw him move his family from a very poor status to a status where they had a few cows that they were relying on to provide for their needs. And out of that, he was able to take his children to school and one of the children went on to college and became a teacher. And unfortunately, just before he became a teacher, Joseph passed on, he died. But the transformative story there is that this young man and the family of Joseph, because of that seed that was planted, they embraced a new reality and approach to life that has drawn them close to God in the church. And their lives have continued to grow and improve, even though their father died long time ago. 

But… The seed that was planted that Joseph embraced at that time. It is a seed that continued to work in his family even after he has died. And for me, I think the transformative story there is that it takes the Word of God. It takes that picture of showing people that your change and your transformation are aligned to the truth of God. So that even when Martin is out of the picture, even when Joseph, the man I’m talking about is out of the picture, the children and the generation that come after him will continue to experience the goodness of the Lord and the transformation that comes with that. So that when I go back to the village and I run across any of the families of Joseph now, they look back and they say, thank you for doing this for our dad, because if this did not happen, we would not know where our lives are. But the thing they are referring to is not just the fact that Joseph received a cow, and that through that cow, he changed the economic status of his life. But they are referring to the fact that with that cow, there were lessons that were biblically driven on how you need to rely on God, depend on God, not just for eternity, but even for life now as you transform your life. So that will probably be a quick story that I will share right now, Emily, but if time will allow, we will dig into stories from seven countries and several communities, and we just don’t have time to go story to story. 

Doug: I think for me, there’s a gentleman that we met, his name was Pastor Richard, and just a great personality, but he shared his story that when prior to meeting Martin and going through our training, that he was a pastor of a church and enjoyed that, but he was so poor that his children, they couldn’t go to school because he didn’t have the proper uniform. And he said he couldn’t even feed them properly. And so, you know, when you pastor a church in such poverty area, there’s not much money that comes in the offering plate. And so… He said if there wasn’t much that came in on Sunday, he’d go visit people on Monday and Tuesday, but it wasn’t like they were holding out on him. They just didn’t have anything. I mean, when you live on less than $2 a day, you just don’t have a lot of money and so he said, eventually he just became bitter at God because he knew that God wanted him to be a pastor and yet he couldn’t feed his family properly. But he went to some of the training that Martin did and Martin said, well, what skill or resource do you have or what would you like to do or what could you do to produce an income to support your family? 

And so he took out a loan and he bought a cow and then he bought a second cow and he sold the milk and then he planted a garden and sell the produce. And so he said, after that, he could feed his family and send his kids to school and still not wealthy. I mean, when we sat in his living room, he only had a light bulb–his one light bulb in his living room. But as I look back on that, he said after that, he could just be a pastor. So, you know, he could disciple people, he could share the gospel. I mean, I think of, you know, like if there was a pastor here in the United States that loved God and wanted to tell people and teaching every Sunday and yet couldn’t feed his family properly or send them to school, I think we would do something about that. I mean, that’s like, wow, yeah, we need to encourage that. And so I think through the loans that he was able to take and then pay back, and then that money was put back out. 

But just his story, I mean, it’s just, it’s one story. He now has grandchildren and he was just so, I don’t know, there’s just a joy inside of him. I said, still not wealthy, I mean, they still cook all their meals over an open fire outside. So he’s not wealthy, but he was just content that God has taken care of his needs. So then he could just be a pastor.

Emily: That’s so powerful. Both of those stories have awesome generational impact as well. That’s pretty incredible. Did you have anything either of you wanted to add? 

Martin: Yeah, no, I think this have been very good questions, Emily. They help us to reflect on what God is doing. They help us to remember why we are doing what we are doing. My understanding keeps growing to know that the God that we serve is the God of the universe. He’s interested with every corner of the universe and most important, he’s interested in people, his most prized creation that he gave his son, Jesus Christ, to die for. And I think that we have a challenge and an opportunity to bring the truth of this God to the people that He created. And that truth of God, I think, the design that God has put there for us is really through the church, through the ministry of pastors, through the ministry of evangelists, through the ministry of people that God has called to be able to serve a community, a specific community, in a specific location. That the church then can become the agent of change and transformation but the Word of God can become the foundation of life and the practice of faith and practice. And so for Possibilities Africa, we believe that we don’t want to plant churches directly. We believe that we don’t want to necessarily go out and take over what the pastors are doing. But we believe that these pastors that are doing the work of God in these communities–that they are who God will use to extend his love to his people for whom his son, Jesus Christ died. And that we can contribute by building into this men of God so that they can serve God, so they can serve the people. And 20 years have been an exciting journey where we are seeing thousands of people that are being reached by these pastors. We have a vision to reach most countries in Africa and bring on many pastors. And if we can keep touching pastors who then touch lives, we are excited about what the future holds for Africa and for the kingdom of God.

Emily: And that’s a wrap. We’ll be back for more soon! Thanks for listening.