Hey! Hey! Hey!👋🏽How’s it going today?Much do much say?Doing great I pray..🎉🎊It’s December!! 🎄🎅🏾
💃🏾 Yaaaaaayyy! 💃🏾
Lyrical Mandy is in the building! 🙌🏽
I can drop a few bars you know … just check the intro 😎…
🎶 [cue in the beatboxing].🎶
I like words (Yes, liking words is a thing! 😜) and you may have noticed the constant use of alliteration as a stylistic device in my blog post titles. There has been something about the letter ‘K’ of late; it started off with Kathryn Kaptures and here we are with Keen on Kami.
Today, we are looking into the life of one amazing woman; Jean Mukami Kionga a.k.a Kami…. and let me start by saying that this lady is hot! 🔥 Whew! I mean, look at her:
Don’t be fooled folks; Kami is more than just a pretty face! She is the founder of ‘Her Butterfly Effect‘ platform, a dotting wife, loving mother and so much more!
Kami recently got featured on Sheila Mwanyigha’s Live out Loud and is causing ripples in the teenage-girl empowerment sphere… but before she herself blossomed into a butterfly; Kami went through an extensive caterpillar phase. Kami did it all; the drinking, the sex, the partying. Kami’s been through it all too; teenage pregnancy, self-esteem issues, relationships; you name it.. and here she is to tell the tale.
So buckle up folks; the story’s just getting started …
🔸Tell us a little about yourself..
I am a woman under grace. Loved and Favoured so much by God.
I am passionate about the lives of young girls which is why I started the ‘Her Butterfly Effect‘ platform.
I am a wife of one very handsome and amazing guy called Steve and I am a mother to two awesome beings..Asher who is 14 and Zoe who is 1.
I am a little obsessed with cupcakes and stationery…the cuter the better.
I am a little obsessed with cupcakes and stationery…the cuter the better.
🔸When did you get born again and what were your reasons for accepting Christ in your life?
I got born again as a little girl just by virtue of being raised in a Christian home but I didn’t really understand it then. As an adult I made a conscious decision and I got born again in 2014. I had accepted Christ many times but I was not following Him. 2014 was the year I said enough is enough….Lord, I will follow you no matter what…and since then no matter what…I haven’t looked back.
🔸Describe your pre-salvation persona.
Before salvation (let’s use 2014)….while in university and before my son was born…I was all about clubbing, parties and drinking. I thought that’s what you had to do to enjoy life and I kept friends that encouraged it. After I had my son I was wiser but still wasn’t including God in everything I was doing.
I may not have been clubbing as much but drinking became a struggle and I would drink even when I was alone in my house no matter what time it was. I was still engaging in premarital sex and didn’t really see anything wrong with it.
🔸What changed when you got born again? How did the change come about?
I noticed I started to value what God valued . I think this came about because of spending time reading His word and prayer. Whereas before I would fall asleep 2 minutes into reading the Bible, I was now engrossed in it and wanting to carry my Bible everywhere I went. This didn’t happen automatically; I had to ask God to give me the desire for His word. So as I kept reading and spending time with Him, certain things I would do started just feeling wrong. I guess you could say my conscience was alive once more.
A lot changed but not overnight. With the drinking, I had to ask God to help me stop….and He did. I all of a sudden felt like I could say no to a drink, I now didn’t have to stock bottles in my house, I didn’t have that insatiable desire for it anymore. With the sex, I re-committed myself to God and together with my partner; we decided to wait until marriage. That was a hard one…but imagine God is faithful…but of course we also have a part to play….there were some steps I had to take also. God will help you definitely, but there is also what we have to do.
I also used to be such an angry person. I felt at times I just couldn’t handle the anger and spending time especially in worship helped me mellow out. I just wasn’t angry anymore….I don’t mean that I won’t get upset now….but there used to be this anger deep inside of me that I would carry…..that went away.
So much has changed, my thinking has changed, my desires have changed, my dreams have changed.
So yes, my life changed a whole lot.
🔸What do you know now that you wish you knew then as a new believer?
I wish I knew that once God forgives you there is no more condemnation. Early on I had a very hard time believing that God had forgiven some of the horrible things I had done.
I would walk in so much condemnation and regret always asking God to forgive me again at every opportunity….it was tiring really….I felt I had to earn it…like how can it just be free like that???
So I wasted a lot of time in that phase. I know now that when I repent and I am sincere…He forgives me. He wipes the slate clean. Yes I might have to endure the consequences of my choices but He has forgiven me.
🔸What misconceptions of salvation would you like to demystify?
People think salvation is boring. I have heard people say, let me enjoy life first then I will give my life to God. I think such people have been exposed to a lot of religion and not to God Himself.
When you have a personal relationship with God it’s just exciting. He has such awesome plans for your life that sometimes you even wonder how you’re going to accomplish them…then you realise He just needs you to say yes and He does everything else. There definitely isn’t a dull moment with Him.
Another misconception is that once you get born again your life should automatically be perfect because God has to do what you ask and want. This is so funny to me. One has to realise that God isn’t a genie where we rub a dab and make three wishes. God is God….like let that just sink in for a minute.
We don’t tell God what to do, He tells us what to do. When you get born again and submit your will to His, pray that His desires become your desires, that way when you pray…He is also in agreement with your prayer and answers it.
🔸What is your area of calling and how do you serve God with your gifts/skills/talents?
At the moment I am running a program called Her Butterfly Effect. It is a program for young girls. In August 2018, we launched The Princess Diaries Program under Her Butterfly Effect. It is targeted at teen girls. It is a safe space where we have candid conversations with them. We talk about Sex, self love and esteem, peer pressure and identity, image and grooming. We do this through role plays, games, videos, presentations and talks.
I believe we need young girls who are informed so that they make the right choices in life. I got pregnant as a teen and it was very hard…so I don’t want that to happen to any other teens.
So far it has been received well by the girls. We have a really good time.
🔸Had you ever reached a point where you wanted to turn back to your former (pre-salvation) lifestyle?
No matter what I am going through, I have never wanted to go back. I would rather face my challenge with God than face it alone. Of course there are times where you even question if God is there in your situation. Those are the times I just hold onto His Word ….if He has said He will never leave me nor forsake me …it is at such times I hold onto that word even though I don’t feel it.
🔸What’s your highlight(s) thus far after getting born again?
My highlight has been the peace I experience. God knows me so well…..so when I go to Him in tears of pain, or frustration…there’s a peace He gives me….like Kami it’s going to be okay. Definitely peace.
🔸How would you describe God from your personal standpoint?
I can’t properly articulate that…..but God is everything to me. He is my best friend…the first person I tell what’s going on, the one I share my joys with, the one I vent to…..that kinda friend.
He is my Father…..he admonishes me when I am wrong and encourages me when things are tough….and praises me when I get it…and blesses me even when I don’t deserve it and loves me just…..just coz I’m me.
🔸What would you tell someone who is ‘scared’ of getting born again because of what they’ve seen or heard?
Being born again is a personal thing. No one should make you do it .. it’s something you decide for yourself. It is not about what you have seen or heard because every relationship is different. Go to God and mould your relationship with Him alone. It’s like so many marriages out there really suck….but there are some beautiful ones also. When you decide to get married, other people’s marriages shouldn’t be what you base your marriage on…..you are different from them and will decide and work for the kind of marriage you want. It’s the same with being born again.
Know God for yourself. It is the best decision you will ever make.
🔸Parting shot?
I have seen God do things in my life that I know I would never have accomplished on my own. Trust Him, it is not easy, especially because we like to control everything that is happening in our lives but if you do….He will cause all things to work together for your good.
Watch Kami’s Live Out Loud interview below:
What a testimony of God’s doing in Kami’s life! I am both blessed and inspired by her story! I believe that you are too…
So if you think your life is a mess; I’d like to tell you that God turns every mess into a mess-age and every test into a test-imony… Just like Kami!
Be encouraged.
God loves you so much!
XO,
That Lady.
#SpreadTheGospel 
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