Travelling the distance of approximately 2,300 kilometres (on a straight-line/air) from Botswana to Kenya is not just a geographical exercise; it is a full-blown act of faith. It involves suitcases, border stamps, flight connections, prayer points, and that quiet inner conversation where you say, “Lord, if this is You, please make it obvious.”
So when a publisher–author of over 40 books, Dr. Onkeme Letshwiti decides to make that journey, you already know this is not tourism. This is obedience with a boarding pass.
Having connected to ACABA through the Botswana–Zimbabwe Secretary General, Dr. Daniel S Matematema, Dr. Onkeme arrived in Kenya carrying more than luggage. He came with expectation. Four books in African Christian Authors Book Award – ACABA. One conviction in his heart: surely one of these will find favour.
And Heaven, it seems, was listening.
When I later caught up with him to understand what was happening in that sacred moment—when Fire in the Pulpit was announced—I expected a calm, professorial response. What I got instead was raw, human, beautifully honest faith.
This is what he said:
“𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑡—𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓—𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒, 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑗𝑜𝑦. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑢𝑡.”
I love that part about rehearsing how to receive the award.
Because that is faith in its most practical form. Not loud. Not dramatic. Just quietly expectant. Preparing your heart for a possibility only God can confirm.
And that is how God often works—through moments that look small to the world but echo loudly in eternity. Through steps that feel ordinary but are loaded with obedience. Through journeys that begin with “Let me just go and see” and end with “Surely the Lord was in this place.”
As Eugene H. Peterson reminds us in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, discipleship is not about speed; it is about faithfulness. And Dr. Onkeme keeps walking. Keeps writing. Keeps showing up. Keeps believing that when God lights a fire in the pulpit, it is meant to warm nations.
Sometimes, all it takes is one obedient journey—x kilometres long—to remind us that obedience, when sustained, always finds its moment.
