We’ve been working hard in Kibera the past few weeks, and the fruit of it is all is amazing. God continues to break into the hearts of the people we meet in our door-to-door evangelism, our outreaches, and people we randomly meet on the street.
Last Saturday we had our first open-air outreach. We preformed a couple of dramas, shared some testimonies, and Gary presented the Gospel. The location was quite strategic. One of our pastors had recently started a church near this area of Kibera and it was known for the many bars that edged the so-called “street.” In the middle of the muck and mire of this area, Laura got face-down in the dirt to preform the drama, we kicked up dirt dancing for the Lord with a man from the Masaii tribe, an
d Gary shouted in the microphone the story of Jesus Christ.
Lots of kids showed up at first, but as we got into the dramas lots of adults stopped to watch as well. Many of the men were drunk, evident by the blood-shot eyes and slurred Swahilli. God did amazing things though, and many people accepted Christ, young and old. All of us in the crowd kept talking it up to find out who was a Christian and who wasn’t. It amazes me that so many are like, “No I don’t know Jesus but I’d like to!” That hasn’t happened on this trip and it’s so refreshing. We went home celebrating th e work of the Lord in Kibera.
On Sunday we had planned to go to a baptism service, but Paul had been asked to preach at Pastor Jackson’s church. Because the church was so small only a few of us could go. I volunteered to go with Paul to the church. He did a great job preaching through James 2, but was cut a little short because
of time. The guest before him was supposed to read the Scripture verse for the day and instead he got up and preached for an hour! It was in Swahilli and I don’t even know if the Scripture and his impromptu sermon went together! It was quite the moment of hilarity.
When I got home I found out that an 11 year old boy named James that had been visiting us and hanging out at our house got baptised too. He had only went to follow us to church, but Pastor Timothy changed his mind once he got there. That was a happy moment because James is my good Kenyan friend.
On Monday we took the day off, but it wasn’t really a day off. It was Jessica Friske’s birthday so we spent the whole day partying with her and capped it off with a big party at the house with our Canadian friends. It was a swing-dance party (lessons taught by Gary and Katherine!). We all had a blast celebrating our friend, one another, and the good times in Kenya.
Another day this week we went out to a school with Lillian. It’s a small building, partitioned off into classrooms. I got to sit in on a Class 4 lesson. It was basically a review o f their math skills. It’s been a while since I’ve thought through fractions and shapes. The kids were very eager to answer the questions and were very sm
art. This particular school was really neat because they have a garden attached to the schoolyard. Everyday after the regular classes end, the students go to the garden to learn about the environment. Each student has a tree planted there and all the trees together form the shape of Kenya. It’s refreshing to see these kids learning how to take care of their land and air.
Many of the kids there are orphans, and after our tour of the school we walked to their new home. Just recently they have acquired a giant house and lots of land down the road from the school to house the orphans. It was so nice to see that these kids have a good home and place to stay. They preformed lots of dances for us and showed off their skills. We led them in some songs and were blessed to be with them for the day.
Pastor Timothy took us on a walking tour of Kibera to see the parts of town we haven’t been in yet. He pointed out the places he has discipleship centers, businesses really, and the n took us to the school that is affilated with his church. When we got there we got to feed all the kids lunch.
They are so precious and cute, and they were also very hungry! We really got to see the lifestyle of the people in Kibera. They even have to pay rent for their shacks and for every single bucket of dirty water they need. It really opened our eyes to the needs and what to pray for here in Kibera.
I have been sick the past couple of days and have missed out on some of the door-to-door evangelism, and the second open-air outreach. The reports are great though. People continue to get saved and the Lord is working on hearts to the left and to the right. The FYM’s arrive here this week, and we hope to help get ready for them. Their leaders are already here. Pastor Timothy wants to take us around to do some door-to-door some more and we continually have visitors who just want to sit and talk about Jesus, life, and everything inbetween. It’s a blessed time in Kenya that’s for sure!
