![\"kuyokwa\"](\"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/Kuyokwa.jpg\")
<\/a>Pastor Donald Kuyokwa<\/p><\/div>\n
I witnessed this last week when I met Donald Kuyokwa, a 60-year-old Pentecostal Holiness pastor who has done more on his shoestring budget than some American denominations do in a year.<\/p>\n
A retired teacher, Kuyokwa and his wife live on a $200 monthly pension. THEY raised their eight children in a three-bedroom house with a corrugated iron roof and concrete floors. Their toilet is outside.<\/p>\n
Kuyokwa’s small congregation in the village of Misuku collects an average of 600 kwacha every week. That comes to about 83 cents. Yet the pastor has planted four branch churches in the past 16 years, relying mostly on the strength of his legs to walk long distances.<\/p>\n
A few years ago the lanky pastor decided to target the village of Chikando, which is located in northern Malawi near the border of Tanzania. There are no roads to Chikando, only a rocky path through a dense forest. It takes Kuyokwa six hours to make the hike.<\/p>\n
No one in Chikando had heard of Jesus when he visited the first time. The people worship spirits and rely on the superstitious magic of witchdoctors to help them grow rice. Young girls suffer horrible abuse and are forced to marry when they are barely teenagers. Polygamy is common.<\/p>\n
But slowly people began to convert to Jesus as a result of the pastor’s visits. Today the congregation has built a church with a grass roof. They use kerosene lamps during worship services because Chikando, like most of Malawi, doesn’t have electricity.<\/p>\n
“At first we were threatened by witches,” Kuyokwa told me of his missionary adventure. But today a growing group of first-generation believers worship Christ. They have renounced their animistic and polygamous traditions.<\/p>\n
Pastor Kuyokwa walks to Chikando twice a month. In the past he rode a motorcycle, but it fell into disrepair. He can’t ride a bicycle because the footpath has too many steep hills. So he buys cheap tennis shoes until they wear out, then he buys another pair.<\/p>\n
He really doesn’t mind the walk, but he’s a bit nervous about the huge pythons that lurk in the forest. “I have heard that pythons have eaten people on that path,” the pastor told me. “But God has always protected us.”<\/p>\n
This man’s courage and commitment challenged me to the core after I heard his story. How could someone his age walk so far twice a month to reach a village that few people\u2014even Malawians\u2014know about? Why would a man care about a place that is so remote it has no telephone signal?<\/p>\n
Kuyokwa says he gets his inspiration from the apostle Paul in the Bible. “Paul went to places where no one had taken the gospel,” he says. “Evangelists don’t visit my area. They only go to the big cities.”<\/p>\n
I was also struck by this man’s bright smile. Supernatural joy obviously sustains him. He’s one of the poorest people I’ve ever met, and he has never known suburban comforts such as air conditioning, indoor plumbing, hot showers or television. He doesn’t even own a car.<\/p>\n
But when I asked him what makes him happy, Kuyokwa didn’t even pause to answer. He smiled again and said: “I’m looking beyond this life. I want to meet Jesus. That’s what keeps me encouraged.”<\/p>\n
And what keeps him motivated to keep reaching these forgotten people? “No one had heard of Jesus in these areas before we came, so it is always exciting when the people decide to follow Him,” he says, noting that no white person has ever visited Chikando.<\/p>\n
I had to do some serious soul-searching after my conversation with this humble hero. Could I smile like Pastor Kuyokwa if I didn’t have access to hot water or a wi-fi signal? Would I spend my own money to evangelize a village if I only made $200 a month?<\/p>\n
Most of us have no idea how much the poorest Christians in the world sacrifice to obey the Great Commission. There are many anonymous champions like Pastor Kuyokowa walking miles through jungles and across mountains and deserts to take God’s Word to the ends of the Earth. They throw their entire widow’s mite into the offering basket for missions while we dig out a few dollars from our bank accounts.<\/p>\n
Jesus said: “For to whom much is given, of him much shall be required” (Luke 12:48). Our blessings come with responsibility. We shouldn’t feel guilty that we are blessed, but we can’t forget that we have been blessed to be a blessing to others. Let’s use our abundance not to enrich ourselves but to finish the task Jesus gave us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By J. Lee Grady<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Article originally featured in Charisma Magazine<\/a>,\u00a0posted with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,284],"tags":[180,36,323,347,322],"class_list":{"0":"post-1052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-phpp","9":"tag-180","10":"tag-lee-grady","11":"tag-people-of-promise","12":"tag-phpp","13":"tag-place-of-hope","14":"entry"},"title_es":"Como un pastor africano Humble sacudi\u00f3 mi mundo","content_es":"En Malawi, uno de los pa\u00edses m\u00e1s pobres del mundo, los cristianos sufren de una grave falta de recursos. Pero eso no les impide compartir su fe o la plantaci\u00f3n de iglesias. De hecho, su sacrificio de todo coraz\u00f3n a veces pone esfuerzos evangel\u00edsticos bien financiados de los Estados Unidos a la verg\u00fcenza. Fui testigo de esta \u00faltima semana cuando conoc\u00ed a Donald Kuyokwa, un hombre de 60 a\u00f1os de edad, pastor pentecostal Santidad que ha hecho m\u00e1s en su presupuesto reducido que algunas denominaciones americanas hacen en un a\u00f1o. Una maestra jubilada, Kuyokwa y su esposa viven en una pensi\u00f3n mensual de $ 200. Criaron a sus ocho hijos en una casa de tres dormitorios con un techo de zinc y pisos de concreto. Su inodoro est\u00e1 fuera. peque\u00f1a congregaci\u00f3n de Kuyokwa en el pueblo de Misuku recoge un promedio de 600 kwacha todas las semanas. Esto resulta en unos 83 centavos de d\u00f3lar. Sin embargo, el pastor ha plantado cuatro iglesias filiales en los \u00faltimos 16 a\u00f1os, bas\u00e1ndose sobre todo en la fuerza de sus piernas para caminar largas distancias. Hace algunos a\u00f1os el pastor desgarbado, decidi\u00f3 centrarse en la localidad de Chikando, que se encuentra en el norte de Malawi cerca de la frontera de Tanzania. No hay caminos a Chikando, solamente un camino rocoso a trav\u00e9s de un bosque denso. Se necesita Kuyokwa seis horas para hacer la caminata. Nadie en Chikando hablar de Jes\u00fas cuando visit\u00f3 por primera vez. Las personas adoran a los esp\u00edritus y se basan en la magia supersticiosa de los brujos para ayudarles a crecer arroz. Las chicas j\u00f3venes sufren abuso horrible y se ven obligadas a casarse cuando son apenas adolescentes. La poligamia es com\u00fan. Pero poco a poco la gente comenz\u00f3 a convertir a Jes\u00fas como resultado de las visitas del pastor. Hoy en d\u00eda la congregaci\u00f3n ha construido una iglesia con techo de paja. Ellos usan l\u00e1mparas de queroseno durante los servicios de culto porque Chikando, como la mayor\u00eda de Malawi, no tiene electricidad. \"Al principio fuimos amenazados por las brujas,\" Kuyokwa me dijo de su aventura misionera. Pero hoy en d\u00eda un creciente grupo de creyentes de primera generaci\u00f3n adoran a Cristo. Han renunciado a sus tradiciones animistas y pol\u00edgamos. Pastor Kuyokwa camina hacia Chikando dos veces al mes. En el pasado se mont\u00f3 una motocicleta, pero cay\u00f3 en mal estado. \u00c9l no puede andar en bicicleta, porque el sendero tiene demasiadas colinas escarpadas. As\u00ed que compra zapatillas de tenis baratas hasta que se desgastan, a continuaci\u00f3n, se compra otro par. Realmente no le importa el paseo, pero es un poco nervioso acerca de las enormes pitones que se esconden en el bosque. \"He o\u00eddo que las pitones han comido la gente en ese camino\", el pastor me dijo. \"Pero Dios siempre nos ha protegido\". valor y el compromiso de este hombre me desafiaron al n\u00facleo despu\u00e9s de escuchar su historia. \u00bfC\u00f3mo podr\u00eda alguien de su edad a pie hasta el momento dos veces al mes para llegar a un pueblo que pocas personas -incluso de Malawi saber respecto? \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 un hombre se preocupan por un lugar que es tan remoto que no tiene se\u00f1al telef\u00f3nica? Kuyokwa dice que recibe su inspiraci\u00f3n del ap\u00f3stol Pablo en la Biblia. \"Pablo fue a lugares donde nadie hab\u00eda tomado el Evangelio\", dice. \"Evangelistas no visitan mi \u00e1rea. Ellos s\u00f3lo van a las grandes ciudades.\" Tambi\u00e9n me ha sorprendido por la sonrisa brillante de este hombre. alegr\u00eda sobrenatural, obviamente, lo sostiene. Es uno de los m\u00e1s pobres que he conocido, y que nunca ha conocido suburbanas comodidades como aire acondicionado, agua corriente, duchas de agua caliente o la televisi\u00f3n. Ni siquiera tiene coche. Pero cuando le pregunt\u00e9 lo que lo hace feliz, Kuyokwa ni siquiera se detuvo a contestar. Volvi\u00f3 a sonre\u00edr y dijo: \".. Estoy mirando m\u00e1s all\u00e1 de esta vida que quiero para encontrarse con Jes\u00fas Eso es lo que me mantiene animado.\" Y lo que lo mantiene motivado para seguir alcanzando estos pueblos olvidados? \"Nadie hab\u00eda o\u00eddo hablar de Jes\u00fas en estas \u00e1reas antes de venir, por lo que siempre es emocionante cuando las personas deciden seguirle\", dice, se\u00f1alando que ning\u00fan blanco ha visitado alguna vez Chikando. Ten\u00eda que hacer un serio examen de conciencia despu\u00e9s de mi conversaci\u00f3n con este humilde h\u00e9roe. Que pod\u00eda sonre\u00edr como Pastor Kuyokwa si yo no ten\u00eda acceso a agua caliente o una se\u00f1al de wi-fi? Me gustar\u00eda pasar mi propio dinero para evangelizar a un pueblo si s\u00f3lo hice $ 200 al mes? La mayor\u00eda de nosotros no tiene idea de lo que los cristianos m\u00e1s pobres del mundo el sacrificio de obediencia a la Gran Comisi\u00f3n. Hay muchos campeones an\u00f3nimos como Pastor Kuyokowa millas caminando a trav\u00e9s de selvas y desiertos a trav\u00e9s de monta\u00f1as y tomar la Palabra de Dios hasta los confines de la Tierra. Lanzan \u00e1caro su totalidad de la viuda en el platillo de la ofrenda para las misiones, mientras que cavar unos pocos d\u00f3lares de nuestras cuentas bancarias. Jes\u00fas dijo: \"Porque a quien se haya dado mucho, mucho le ser\u00e1 requerido\" (Lucas 12:48). Nuestras bendiciones vienen con responsabilidad. No hay que sentirse culpable de que somos bendecidos, pero no podemos olvidar que hemos sido bendecidos para ser una bendici\u00f3n para otros. Vamos a usar nuestra abundancia no para enriquecer a nosotros mismos, sino para terminar la tarea que Jes\u00fas nos dio. Por<\/strong> el art\u00edculo de J. Lee Grady<\/strong> aparecido originalmente en revista Carisma<\/a> .","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/10\/Kuyokwa-e1476721584613.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-gY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}