Please login to continue
Having Trouble Logging In?
Reset your password
Don't have an account?
Sign Up Now!
Register for a Free Account
Name
Email
Choose Password
Confirm Password

Your account has been created!

Meeting at Flora Hostel

Meeting at Flora Hostel

APRIL 12, 2021    |    3  MINUTE  READ
MARJORIE CAMPBELL, FORMER GLOBAL WORKER TO KENYA


When circumstances are challenging and it appears that everything is going wrong, it’s easy to think that God isn’t active in our lives. We doubt Him and wonder why He doesn’t make our paths smoother. Marjorie Campbell, a WGM global worker on her way to serve in Kenya, discovered that God was at work in her life—and the lives of others through her—even when it appeared nothing was going the way it should. This article was originally published in the 1985 issue of The Call to Prayer. It has been adapted for the blog.

Everything seemed to have gone wrong. I was in deputation meetings longer than I was supposed to have been. My support wasn’t all in, but it was decided I must start language school in September anyway. Then when I arrived, the guesthouse at language school had no room for me!

It was recommended that a hostel might be a place for me to stay. So I came to the Flora Hostel—a guesthouse run by Italian nuns.

A current picture of Flora Hostel and the church at the hostel

A current picture of Flora Hostel (right) and the church at the hostel (left).

It was mid-term, and the other students were leaving, but because of an error at my bank, I had no funds to go out of the city. I was really disappointed, and I prayed that God would keep me from having a bad attitude.

I wasn’t the only one for whom things were going wrong. William Leigh,* an Englishman on his way to Malawi for vacation, arrived at the airport in Nairobi and discovered his ticket ended here. Now what was he to do? William explained his predicament to a woman on the streets of Nairobi and asked if she knew a good place to stay. This woman suggested the Flora Hostel.

So, William and I met—the weekend I had wanted to go away. From the beginning, it was apparent that William was searching for something, but he had been living a life ruled by materialism and instant gratification of his desires and was on the fringe of drug abuse. He had gone to Sunday school as a child, but that had been almost thirty years ago. William was now far from God, but the Holy Spirit hadn’t given up on him.

Throughout the weekend and into the next week, I had opportunities to talk with William about Christ, and God gave me special wisdom in answering his questions. When William returned to England, he took with him a Bible I’d given him and promised to think about this “new way.”

A photo of a man reading a Bible

For seven days, William had heard of Christ’s love and His power to forgive, but now what? My Sunday school class of teens prayed with me for him. Seven months later, a man from our church who was visiting England was able to meet William, and he returned to tell us that William was a transformed man.

Recently, a woman from William’s church was here in Nairobi. She told me of two prostitutes who were saved through William’s witness, and she said that he is a vibrant witness in his community.

Through this, I learned that God is in control! What seemed like a series of mistakes turned out to be God’s timing. He had been speaking to William even when he had no desire to know Christ, and He had been faithful to give me the words when I needed them.

My Sunday school class also learned. After knowing of William’s salvation, one of my girls said, “I didn’t know that we could pray here in Kenya, and God could answer prayer in England; now I know He can.”

Editor’s note: In a letter from Marjorie shortly before this article was originally published, we received word that William’s wife was saved in October 1984, and their marriage was restored.

*name changed for security

ACTION STEPS

PRAY: If you’re facing circumstances that seem chaotic or uncertain, lift your concerns to the Lord. Ask Him to show you how He’s working and to use your situation for good.

GIVE: You never know when your support can help a global worker have divine appointments like Marjorie and William’s. Invest in a global worker today and make an impact that can help grow the kingdom exponentially.


Author Bio: Rev. Marjorie Campbell knew she was called to be a missionary at the age of fourteen. She spent more than fifteen years of her life serving in Kenya and Uganda through youth and pastoral ministries before she passed away in December 2001.

More Stories

Support a Missionary
Global Impact Fund
Advancing the Great Commission through your partnership.