After a month of unsuccessfully putting any pictures up, here is a photo blog that captures the essence of our month in Kenya. (If this first picture doesn’t make you want to read the whole thing, you’re crazy!) Enjoy!
We had the opportunity to visit several schools and orphanages, so we spent a lot of time speaking with children about how much God loves them. They taught us a thing or two as well, one of them being the importance of their prayers!
My favorite school experience was when we visited a school that was opened for the children who live in the slums nearby. We were driving into the school, and as soon as the gates opened, the kids saw our white faces and began jumping up and down, clapping their hands, and shouting, ‘wazungu’! (white people). About fifty children ran up to the car, waving their hands and shouting for us to get out and play. We spent the whole day with at least six kids by our side at all times, most of the time having them rubbing our arms (they were fascinated by the white color and the fact that we had arm hair!), playing with our watches, and pulling on our shirts. We left that school exhausted and completely grateful for our time there.
We spent about a week of ministry helping our host family settle into their new home. They moved in the day after we arrived and we took on the project of painting EVERY wall in the house! It was great team time and we finally did manage to paint white, blue, gold, yellow, purple, and green. It looks awesome!!
Dustin and I had the opportunity to eat real African bar-b-que one Sunday after church with Rev. Ayub and ‘Mama’, our hosts for the month. Notice in the picture there is a goat carcass in the window. You better believe that when we ordered, the man went and cut off a hunk of meat, threw it on the grill, and brought it to our table. And it was DELICIOUS!
Dustin and I had the chance one Sunday to hold a couple’s summit where all married couples in the church met to talk about marriage. Dustin did most of the talking, but we introduced small groups to them and how we do them in the States, along with talking about the five love languages and how beneficial they can be to your marriage. We had an amazing turn out with more than 40 couples anxious to get into community with other couples. This meeting was one of the highlights of my trip! We were blown away by the response and we know that God used us to plant the seed, now it’s time to watch it grow!
Our last day of ministry at Deliverance Church, a herd of sheep wandered into the yard and I knew this was the moment I’d been waiting for. I took my camera out in the yard and asked the shepherd if I could snap some pictures. He eagerly agreed, and even offered to catch a couple of the sheep to give me a good shot. Then yes, he let Dustin and I both hold them and it was awesome!! I love sheep!
Oh Dustin’s beard!!!
Okay, so by now, everyone knows how I feel about Dustin’s beard. Let’s just say it was time for it to go about six months ago. However, being in Africa, the kids LOVE his beard. When Dustin goes places, the kids shake his hand and immediately after their hand automatically goes for the beard. My favorite story of the month: We went to visit an orphanage to spend the day loving on kids and help teach class for the morning. When we arrived, all of the team had walked into the compound and were playing with children, blowing bubbles, playing chase, and having a good time when Dustin walked in. Several of the kids turned around to watch him walk in and one of the children, dead serious whispered, “Father Christmas!” The look of pure astonishment in his voice was priceless and I will never forget how excited he was to see Dustin walk in the doors. So because of moments like this, the beard stays.
We have had a wonderful month! Thanks for all your prayers and support. Next stop…Uganda!
