I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Reuben Gitau (1954)
“Never Leave Jesus”
When the Mau Mau guerrillas emerged in Kenya, Reuben and his wife refused to take the tribe’s oath of allegiance, and, in 1953, their house in Kagumwini was burnt down. Reuben, a school teacher and evangelist, and his family went to live with the Rev. Heshbon Gawai and his family. One Friday in April 1954 Reuben went to teach in the local school, and his wife went to meet him in the afternoon. At about 4pm a Mau Mau came and struck Reuben, who said, “Do what you must – I am ready to go to heaven.”
Other soldiers appeared and Reuben said to his wife, “Go home to the children. Train them well, and never leave Jesus!” The Mau Mau shot him, cut him with knives and left his body. Christians from his church came and buried Reuben; his wife and children were taken to live in Weithaga, where the church was able to look after them.
It pleases the Father that all fullness should be in Christ; therefore there is nothing but emptiness anywhere else.
W Gadsby (1773-1844)