Week #2 in Isibania, Kenya. We have spent most of this week traveling to schools in the area and putting on programs for the students. On a normal day, we will be free to prepare content in the morning and then visit a school in the afternoon. We generally will have between one and two hours to speak to a room full (or lawn full) of students, usually ranging from ages fourteen to eighteen. This entails one or two of us giving personal testimonies and then one person delivering a full message from scripture.
For quite some time, I have dreaded the ministry we will be doing in Africa, knowing that it was primarily marked by preaching. I have always been sure that I, personally, function much better relating to a person one-on-one rather than speaking in front of a room full of people. I have looked forward to ministering to orphans, counseling women affected by sex slavery, or even assisting in construction as part of my ministry. But preaching? No thanks. However, I’ve been surprised by how much I have enjoyed speaking in front of large groups of students this week. I’m learning just how life-filling it is to stand up in front of a room full of people and simply tell them true things. I have something to say to these students- I have stories of God’s faithfulness to share with them. I genuinely want them to know that they are loved beyond comprehension and that they can rest secure in that truth. They need to know that trials will come in their lives, but that, through the work of the Holy Spirit, those trials can produce fruit instead of death. I want them to believe that intimacy with a loving God is possible, and it can change them. I love to tell them these things.
I also love how willing these students are to listen. On Saturday, we held a youth rally at Deliverance Church Isibania and I was amazed at how attentively over one hundred African students listened and participated with us from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. A common saying around here, that I have found to be true, is that “Americans have the watch, but Africans have the time…”. They take time to listen, and I love it.
On Sundays, we are presented with even more speaking opportunities. This past Sunday, I found myself teaching a Sunday school lesson to a group of eight through fifteen year olds. I taught them that, despite their young age, God can do miraculous things through them…just look at the stories of David, Daniel, Mary and Joseph, and many others. The kids excitedly told me about the big dreams that they have for their own lives. One little girl, Rose, told me that her life dream was to “sing before [her] Lord”- how beautiful! Sunday school is a blast. After a short break on Sunday afternoons, our team splits off in pairs to lead home fellowship groups on Sunday evenings. Jenny and I work together to lead the Ebenezer cell group. It really is a highlight in my week to gather with a small group of believers in a home and sing praises, pray together, and have another opportunity to teach from the Word.
Jenny and I with our Sunday Night Home Fellowship group
We have about a week and a half left here in Kenya. From my understanding, we will spend most of the following days returning to the schools that we have preached at and performing “follow-up” sessions- primarily marked by one-on-one counseling with the students. Then, on October 1st, we will travel to Jinja, Uganda in order to meet the rest of our squad and raft the Nile River!!!!!!!!
As always, thank you all for your continued prayers. As you pray for me here in Kenya, please also lift up a couple of my squad mates in other parts of the country who have become very ill (presumably with malaria). Although internet access is limited, I will be posting updates as soon as possible!
with love, Angela
P.S.- yes, I have a weave in my hair. I figured, I’m in Africa, why not?
