Tony Jones Personal Testimony

When I talk with people about Hope Africa Ministries, or when they see the pictures hanging in my office, one of the questions that I get asked most often is “How did you decide to go to Kenya?” The truth is, I didn’t. In fact, I decided not to go to Kenya.

When I heard that my church, Christ Church, was planning an exploratory mission trip to Africa for the Fall of 2007, I decided to attend an informational meeting. I’m interested in missions generally, and I’d always thought it would be kind of neat to go to on safari in Africa. So, I decided to go check it out. After the meeting, there were several problems. First, there were more people interested than there were spots on the team. Second, it was going to be expensive. And third, the dates of the trip just didn’t work. I spent some time trying to move conflicts around, but even ignoring the other two problems, I just couldn’t figure out a way to get the trip on the calendar. I talked to my wife about it and told her that while I was generally interested in joining a trip to Africa at some point, it would probably be several years down the road, once they had specific projects underway. I told her that I had decided that this was not the trip for me. I told her I would call our Pastor and tell him to take me off the list of interested people. I even wrote on my To Do list - Call Pastor John.

But, before I called Pastor John, he called me. He told me that if I wanted it, there was a slot on the team for me. I hung up the phone without telling him that I had decided not to go. Then, literally in the next half hour, all of the scheduling conflicts were resolved. I couldn’t get it done before, but suddenly they just all worked out. I remember talking to two close friends at work about an hour after getting the call and telling them - “I think I’m going to Kenya.” The problem of funding the trip was resolved by supplementing my payment with donations from friends and family.

I tell people that sometimes God leads me gently. But, sometimes when I am missing His message, God really just hits me over the head to make sure that I understand. This was one of those times. It became clear to me very quickly that I was supposed to go on the trip. At the time I didn’t know why, I just understood that He wanted me to go. It was a living example of Proverbs 19:21 - “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (NIV)

The rest, as they say, is history. Once people listen to me talk about my experiences in Kenya, or after they ask me about a picture in my office, or when I tell them about Hope Africa Ministries, they never ask me why I’m interested or why I am going back. They never question the connection, or my passion for this mission. As I said at the top, they just want to know how I got involved and how it got started. The answer is that it is not a decision that I made at all, it is a decision that God made.