I was remembered in Kenya.
Since I have been in Kenya I have met so many awesome people. Beyond the people we do ministry with, there are many people we have come in contact with regularly in town. We have our friends Catherine, Tom, Linah, Robert, and others at Sisima, the coffee shop we frequent. We have Frances and Kioko and others who pick us up and take us home in their tuk tuks [frequently breaking the law and fitting all of us in on one ride]. We have the men whose Matatu [van/bus] we always seem to find a ride with. We have the people at the samosa and chips place that we go to probably at least once a week, Matthias and James, who not only know us by name, they also have our orders ready within minutes of walking in the door. Even down to which drinks go to which person [and this is the best and probably one of the busiest samosa places in town]. We have people selling things on the street who know us. It seems like Kenyans are quick to remember and do not easily forget. It makes me feel known. The fact that they remembered where I lived; that I ordered 1 samosa, ½ chips and a black currant fanta; that I prefer the black forest cake to the fudge cake. I can’t believe that people remember so easily here. Details.
Part of my ministry for the 8 weeks we have been in Kenya was to these people we encountered on a daily basis. I got to know them and pieces of their stories. I told them about my life and we talked about Jesus. It made me feel like I was at home and comfortable. It also reminded me that ministry is not only to the ones on the street, in the hospital, and the orphans. Please don’t get me wrong, I love getting to minister in the streets, hospitals, and orphanages, but this month also reminded me that there are people in coffee shops and offices and tuk tuks and shops who also are in need of the very same Jesus we are taking to the streets. Sure, it is easier to see the needs, maybe even easier to meet the needs of those whose needs are visible and right in your face, but the others need the love of Christ too. I honestly, with all of my heart, enjoyed letting our friends in Nakuru get to know me during our two months here. When I found out we got to stay for a second month I was ecstatic, not because the original ministry we were doing was riveting, but because it gave me a chance to extend the friendships and relationships that had been built in Kenya month 1.
I am so thankful for all of my friends in Nakuru. I am thankful for the stories I got to know and the relationships I got to build. I am thankful for the way that God moves so Linah can call me one of her close friends. I am thankful for God showing me how well I can be known by people who barely even know me, which in turn makes me realize how well and how much he knows and loves me.
Ministry in Nakuru was different for the second month. We went to a school that is also an orphanage and a women’s rescue home. We got to help some of the women make beautiful jewelry one day, we hung out with some kids, but mostly we worked in containers that get shipped over. Inside of the two containers we worked in were clothes upon clothes upon clothes. We sorted, folded, stacked, and restacked men’s, women’s, boys, girls, and baby clothes. We reorganized the entire boy/men’s container and if we had another week and a half we probably could have finished the girl/women’s container. We got to work with a new friend from Denmark named Morten. While many of the women on my team [Graceful Avalanche] worked with the street kids in Nakuru, I went with some of the women from the team we were with this month [Amani Warriors] to the orphanage to work in the containers. Kenya month 2 was a month of redemption for many of the people on my squad to view Kenya in a greater, more beautiful light. A lot of people on my squad have a heart to go back and start ministries in Kenya. They have some beautiful visions and I would suggest reading some of their blogs to see what God did in their hearts during the redemption of Kenya.
All that to wrap up our second month in Kenya. I felt known by the locals in a way I haven’t felt since being home and walking into my local Biggby where my friends work behind the counter and know my drink by heart [tall soy caramel marvel over ice… just in case you were wondering]. And Kenya was just a month of redemption all around. I will explain my version of redemption in Kenya in another blog. Hope all is well on the home front.
Much love,
-A
