Recuperating Missionaries See Two Million Reasons to Return to Kenya
Even in midst of trials, Eloise Bergen remembered she needed to laugh: "God had been teaching me how to laugh when there was nothing funny for the last three years and I knew the joy of the Lord would be my strength."
(British Columbia)—Many remember the elderly Canadian missionaries to Kenya, John and Eloise Bergen, who were severely beaten in their home near Nairobi last July and forced to return to Canada. Now, according to a CTV News report, the couple explains why they want to return to the mission field in Kenya. (Photo: CTV.ca)
"We have about two million reasons why we need to go back, and that's because we have two million orphans in Kenya alone," John said. 'These are children who have no chance, no future, many times no food."
According to the report, the two credit their faith for allowing them to survive their ordeal. John, who miraculously survived the attack, said he prayed as he was being beaten, as did his wife. Said Eloise, recalling when she was driving herself and her husband to the hospital: "After I got through that first gate, I remembered something. I remembered that I needed to laugh. God had been teaching me how to laugh when there was nothing funny for the last three years and I knew the joy of the Lord would be my strength."
The Bergen's also spoke about the necessity and power of forgiveness. "If we don't forgive, then it's like poison in our own systems," said Eloise. "We're just like an emotional slave to the people who have hurt us."
