From Laredo, Texas via Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and Bolivia and now in Florida, Sister (Tasoni) Demiana’s Journey is one of absolute dedication to those who are disadvantaged. As millions of mothers celebrated mother’s day around the globe, there are mothers who celebrate the calling to international spiritual motherhood. She is an example of sisters who have been a great blessing to orphans in Kenya.
In 1999, sister Demiana was part of the Catholic Church. “I did not know what God was calling to do in life, however, one day while attending a church service in Laredo, Texas, a lady friend of mine came close to me and proclaimed a prophetic word on my life.”
Sister Demiana’s friend said, “You are going to suffer, and you will speak to many nations.” Those words scared her greatly. Then in 2000, she says she experienced a conversion where Christ became personal to her. Christ became her redeemer. A voice came upon her and asked her, “are you ready to die for Christ?” It is after this in the year 2000 that she moved from Catholic faith to join the Coptic Church.
After experiencing redemption and moving to the new faith and fellowship, things begun to happen to her. The words of her friend begun to come alive and the service to Christ became actuated. From Laredo, Texas, sister became obedient to the call of Christ and through that obedience; she has seen the hand of Christ take her to many nations. She has ministered as a head of schools in Egypt; spend 6 years in Kenya working with street children (see video featured on Kenya Media below). She has also served in South Africa and Bolivia. In Bolivia she saw a man walking in the street next to the school where she was the head teacher. She stopped to speak with him. The children in the school saw her and were shocked that she was speaking to this homeless man.
This conversation brought her back to the life of Christ. “We forget that Christ was homeless too.” Sister says with a heart of concern. She referred me to the words in Isaiah 53:2-5
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
As we finished our conversation, it is clear to me that though she did not have the calling to be a wife and a mother of her own children, she has had the joy of serving as a spiritual mother to thousands of children who are abandoned, rejected, and neglected by many. In Nairobi, sister served under the Coptic Church in Kenya. She was a mother to children who had nowhere to go. “It is hard work and you suffer enough on their behalf. But the joy of serving the least of these on behalf of our Lord who also suffered and died on the cross for us has the greatest spiritual rewards.” Sister Demiana concluded.
The ministry of sister Demiana reminds us of the power of prophetic word: words spoken that are consistent with the call of Christ. As sister said, it is not the prophetic word that is important; rather, it is the obedience of those to whom the words are spoken. And in her case, she rejoices that Christ has given her grace to fulfill the word in obedience as she continues to serve Christ in many nations.
By Teddy Njoroge Kamau (PhD)
HTBluff Associates
Diaspora Messenger Senior Columnist
Please refer to her work:
The Power of Prophetic Word: Sister Demiana’s journey through Kenya to Florida.
