Why Go Far?

Well, we have now been in Kenya for three weeks and it has been quite a time. God has been gracious and people have been staying pretty healthy. Two of my team members, Jacob and Rachel, have picked up a bit of cough, so if you could hold them up in prayer that would be wonderful. This week was the week that Pastor Imbumi told us that we would “fall like dominoes” because we started to go out into the community of Kibera. By God’s grace we have not fallen, but I must admit that after two days of visiting people in the community, I was thoroughly exhausted emotionally. On Tuesday we visited a woman who was in the AIDS support group and her husband who is almost blind form Meningitis. I really don’t know how to describe the size of their house...probably the best way of saying it would be that the largest bathroom in our house is significantly larger than their entire house. It was amazing to talk to the husband and hear him say that he could not come to church because sometimes he falls into the ditches in Kibera and can’t get out because his legs are very poor, but he is hoping that he will regain strength so that he can come to church again. We will continue to visit him and his wife for the remainder of our time here. This coming Saturday we are going to be doing vacation Bible school in Kibera, which we are expecting 200-300 kids for, so that will be a nice case of insanity. Also, I am preparing to preach the sermon on Sunday. I will be preaching on James 1:22-25, talking about knowing and applying God’s Word, expounding on the Law of Liberty and bringing it back to the Gospel. Christ’s temptation in the wilderness, the parable of the sower and the sermon on the mount are some of the texts that I will be using for expanding upon. Please pray that the VBS will be beneficial for the children, as well as fun, and that God will open my mouth to speak his Word on Sunday. Hope all is well state-side!

God is Faithful

Hello everyone,

Things in Kenya continue to go very well. We are continually blessed by the people that we encounter here, so much so that I feel like I am the one being served and they are the servants. However, by God’s grace, we have been able to be a part of many good things that, I believe, have been glorifying to our Father. It is very difficult to begin to describe all that is going on here or the emotions that come with those experiences, so I will just relate a story of God’s faithfulness that we were able to witness while being here.

At the church that we go to in Kibera there are many children. In fact, the majority of the congregation is children and many do not come to church with their parents; they simply come, which has boggled my American mind. Two of these children are named Alfonz and Wilkens (I hope that I spelled their names right). Wilkens comes from a home in Kibera where his stepmother is very abusive. Child abuse in Kibera, both physical and sexual, is unfortunately common in Kibera and it leads to a plethora of problems. One day, Wilkens could not take the abuse any longer, so he decided with Alfonz to try to get from Kibera to the compound where our intern team was staying. Our compound is located outside Kisiera (once again, pardon my spelling errors). The boys made it all the way to Kisiera and then lost their way. Please bear in mind that these kids are only nine years old and the distance from Kibera to Kisiera is just shy of 20 miles! At that point they were picked up by the police and held till the parents came to pick them up. By the time we arrived, Alfonz had already been taken back to Kibera, but Wilkens parents did not come by the time we arrived. We would have taken Wilkens back to the compound with us, but custody belongs to the parents, so we were unable to take him back with us for the night. He stayed overnight at a shelter for children and apparently was absolutely loved by the workers and other children there. They actually said that they were sad to see him leave. The father came to pick up Wilkens the next day, but they would not give up Wilkens without the stepmother there and she was not willing to come. So, through a bunch of work by the Pastor, his wife and other members of the congregation, custody has been obtained for Wilkens. He is now is part of the Pastor’s family and will be dearly loved, receive an education and grow up freed from the bonds of Kibera slum. God is so good! We have been able to see him the past two days and he is a wonderful child. I am excited for what God will do in his life! 

First Week!

Hello all!

It is officially the week-iversary of our internship here in Kenya. Everything has gone very smoothly thus far and we have begun to have a bit of routine. We have done a variety of jobs so far and learned an incredible amount from the people here. Kenya is a beautiful country with warm and welcoming people, especially in the church community. We have gone to the Kibera slum a couple times already, once for church and another time to help with teaching classes and to assist at an AIDS support group in the church in Kibera. The worship at the Kibera church is incredible and very humbling as we consider the challenges that the people of Kibera face. I really do not know how to describe it. Besides going to Kibera, we have also been to a girls’ home for girls who have been taken out of really bad, usually very abusive situations. The girls there are really fun to be around and have a great sense of humor as they continuously laugh with, or usually at, us interns. We also have been able to help with some construction and landscaping around the compound where we are staying, which has been a nice way to be of service to the people that we are living with. Usually, it feels like the people are serving us because of their open hearts and hospitality. Please continue to keep the team in your prayers as we are starting to see some very challenging sites when we interact with the children of Kibera and other communities and come to know there stories. Also, please pray for the church in Kibera as the people seek to bring God’s Word to the people there.