When Avezi Kilemi got married in his home country, Kenya, this past August, Lois Knight and her husband, Curtis, were able to attend the wedding. Virtually, that is. Because of the ongoing pandemic, Kilemi and his new wife, Caroline, set up a way to stream their wedding, which meant Knight could watch it from her home in Idaho, USA. 

Knight sponsored Kilemi for 12 years through Nazarene child sponsorship, until he graduated from high school. Nearly a decade after formal sponsorship ended, they only recently reconnected. “I was overjoyed to be reconnected with Avezi,” Knight says. She had wondered so many things about his life—had he made it to university? How was his father’s church going? Did he still want to become a missionary? 

Yes, is the answer to the last question. Right now, Kilemi works as a teacher, something he has
a great passion for, he says. Ultimately, though, his goal is still to become a missionary, either exclusively or through another profession like teaching. 

“This is because I have a burden for winning souls for Christ and transforming lives,” he says. “... I believe the greatest transformation is realized when one receives Christ as Lord and Savior.”

During sponsorship, the two exchanged letters throughout the year. Kilemi remembers that Knight used to include photos of her children and grandchildren. Still, communicating with someone you have never met in person doesn’t always give the fullest picture. That’s part of what made the wedding livestream so special, Knight explains. “As I corresponded both before and now, it is hard to get enough information to truly know the environment and the person,” Knight says. “Just being able to see both Avezi and Caroline was a great help in knowing them.” 

Other than the weeks during Kilemi’s honeymoon, the two have been sending messages back and forth regularly since reconnecting in April.  

“Reconnecting with her was one of my greatest joys this year,” Kilemi says. 

This story taken from NCM Magazine. Read online here.