We had a squad debrief in Nairobi for the first 5 days where the teams were able to take some days to recharge coming out of Asia. It’s a relaxing time for them but a very busy time for me. Debriefs offer me the chance to push them in any way that I can. It’s such a joy to be able to do that. As squad leaders, we have the opportunity to sit down with the teams, have individual conversations, encourage team leaders. and preach to the entire squad. It’s a unique opportunity for all of us to be together and a time that must be taken advantage of for the health of all the individuals and teams on the squad. It’s great work, but it can quickly wipe you out.After taking a couple needed days of rest, I joined the teams in Kitale in NW Kenya and just completed a great first day of ministry. A local pastor wanted Team Tabitha (the team I’m with for the next couple days) to bless some of 
his church members by visiting them and praying for them. He also wanted us to stop and share about Christ with some of the people who don’t know him. We spent the whole day walking from village to village on “paths” through cornfields and along the red dirt roads. It was wonderful. We had kids running to the road and then following us around all day because of the novelty of having white people (“muzungu, muzungu!!!”) around, and of course, there were many people who wanted to talk about Obama. However, the opportunities we had to minister to the people are certainly what I’ll remember most. As you might guess, 
most of the homes we visited are very primitive and the living conditions are extremely humble. Many homes have their frames built with sticks filled in with red mud to make the walls. My favorite quote of the day was from one of the members of the church who wanted to hear more about America. I told him about it and asked him if he ever wanted to visit. He said “yes” but then followed that up by saying “however, it’s much easier for me to get to heaven than it ever would be to get America”. Probably true.
We prayed for God’s provision as many families struggle to get by. We prayed for many orphans and a couple widows. We were also able to pray alongside two people who began their relationship with the Lord today and one more who recommitted herself to following Christ. Of course, we are delighted to be a part of this and would never even think to ask for anything in return for our work. However, it’s just not the Africa way to not give us a gift to say thank you! So, not only did we get to be a part of some great spiritual things, we also returned home with 2 fresh eggs, around 50 bananas, and 2 birds. What? Yes, two live birds. My friend Alycia was given a turkey, and I was given a duck. Oh my goodness, I wish you could have seen our faces when they told us. I was honored knowing it was a significant possession for them to give, but my thoughts immediately turned to the assumption that they were going to want me to kill it right there on the spot. Oh boy. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Instead, they became just two more members of our ministry group for the next two hours. 
