I don’t think i’ve stopped smiling since arriving in Kenya. (well, after i recovered from my jet-lag coma at least). I knew I was going to love the change from Asia, but I didn’t realize how much I would fall in love with Africa so soon. We are definitely not in the bush this month. We are on the outskirts of Nairobi working with a church that is definitely much larger than my home church in the States. We are living in the pastor’s house which reminds me of a farm house in America, complete with corn, a cow, and chickens. We are even blessed with an oven and a microwave, two things that we have not seen much of the past 4 months. We don’t, however, currently have running water so I am definitely learning to never take that for granted. Showers are scarce and my hair is almost perpetually dirty, but hey it wouldn’t be the world race if it was any other way. Kenya’s national language is English which makes things so much easier, however they were colonized by the British so there are slight differences and obviously our accents are different, so we have had a few language barriers so far. (one being the night we wanted 5 hot chocolates to go from a restaurant and ended up with 5 hot dogs in a bag. the night guards at the church got hot dogs for dinner as a result.)
Our ministry this month is going to look like a variety of things. This week so far we have been going into apartment buildings around the church and going door-to-door telling people about Jesus and inviting them to church. This is a new experience for me and one more way God is pulling me out of my comfort zones. Kenya is like 80something% Christian which is an amazingly high percentage. So, in our door-to-door outings Michelle and I experienced a variety of results. Some were not at home or did answer the door, some told us they did not have time to talk to we gave them a flyer and told them we would love to see them at church. Michelle was able to begin sharing the gospel with two ladies, but when we she got to about the 4th spiritual law the lady did not want to hear anymore. But we also met about 5 Christian ladies over the two days that invited us into their homes and were very grateful when we offered to pray for them. I loved being able to talk to each of these ladies and find out a little about their lives and just pray with them. I believe that God is beginning to really reveal to me that one of the desires of my heart is to disciple girls and women in the States when I get home. And who knows where else that might lead in my future, but I’m so excited that God is using this trip to slowly show me more of my passions that I had not discovered before and revealing to me things he chose to save until now.
Well, it turns out there is going to be a presidential election in Tanzania the month we were supposed to be there which means our route has changed in order to keep our safety in check. Apparently elections in Africa can get quite violent and it is especially dangerous for a Mzungu (white person) to be there. So therefore we will now be going to Rwanda in February and Uganda in March. I am pretty excited about this route change, and would appreciate prayers for this new country we are now going to be going to.
I love being surrounded by these African men and women at this church who passionately love Jesus. I have so much to learn from them and I am definitely going to be grown and stretched this month. Internet is a little scarce here so updates will come when possible, so thank you for all your prayers and support!
the church we are working with- Deliverance Church Langata
