We’re the second World Race team Pastor Abraham has hosted
and he said he’s so excited that his family in Christ just continues to grow,
yay! He said God is allowing him to live up to his name – “the father of many
nations.â€� 🙂 The last team that was here did a lot of work within the school
systems, preaching, ministering, and counseling kids who have been victims of
abuse in different forms – so we’ll be doing that as well. I’m so excited!
There’s also the possibility that we’ll be visiting some orphanages (especially
one called Brittany’s Home of Grace since two of our teammates are named
Brittany and our contacts got a kick out of that), ministering to HIV/ AIDS
patients, doing ministry with the Massai tribe, preaching at church and other
related events, giving our testimonies to various members of the community,
fellowshipping with other believers in cell groups/ small groups within the
church, and basically anything else the Lord leads us to. I’m so excited to be
here and I feel incredibly blessed by the people around me.
(This is me preaching and Daniel – one of the members of the church – translating into Swahili for me)
We worshipped at the Deliverance Church of Isibania for the
first time yesterday and it was such a blessing! It’s a Pentecostal church, only
about a five minute walk from our house, and there was just such freedom in the
place. I’m amazed at all the beautiful voices, beautiful people, and beautiful
love of the Lord they have. I had the opportunity to PREACH at church during
the adult Sunday school time and from the comments I received I think it went
well – praise God for that! Thankfully the Lord spoke through me because His
words are way better than mine. 🙂 I talked about the cost of true
discipleship, what the Lord requires of us, and living a Spirit-led life; I
highlighted being in intimacy with Him, becoming familiar with His voice, and
following wherever He leads. I said we’re all missionaries… we just have
different mission fields; the great commission is for everyone. So yea, it went
well. Praise God! The Lord is continually growing me and allowing me to step
out in boldness and confidence in Him.
Daniel gave a sermon to the adults as well, Justin gave one
to the older kids, and Brittany P. gave one to the little kids. It’s exciting
to see how the Lord is moving within our new team and confirming His voice
among us. Unity in the body of Christ is key and I can see the Lord’s hand in
our new community already.
Some other
super exciting news is that Brittany Cox got
BAPTIZED yesterday in a Kenyan river!! YAY! It was so powerful to witness!
Pastor Abraham was planning on doing a few baptisms after the service and once
we got there she decided on the spot that she wanted to do it as well. It was a
blessed experience indeed… I’m so excited for her! A whole herd of cows, bulls,
goats, donkeys, and dogs tested the water for her before the baptism too… it
was amazing. They all came up to get a drink of water and then left just as
quickly; it was quite the scene… and I loved it. Welcome to Africa!
(Above is Pastor Abraham and his son Ronny at church; to the left is Brittany Cox about to be BAPTIZED by Pastor Abraham and some other members of the church, yay!)
After the baptisms we went back to our house for some lunch
and a small break and then headed out to different houses of people from the church
to have cell groups. This was basically a time to fellowship with members from
the community, share some food, some testimonies, some Bible goodness, and some
prayer. We all split up into different groups and Angela and I went to one
house for the afternoon; it was absolutely amazing. My heart felt so full of
love for these people the whole time we were there. Normally there are about
seven members in this particular cell group but not all of them could make it yesterday
for various reasons, so we ended up getting to know Michael and Grace (a young
couple) and another woman named Ann. They fed us chipati, bananas, and the best
chai tea I’ve ever had. We shared our stories, talked about the ways God has
redeemed our lives, and brought some encouraging scripture to the table. Then
we asked for prayer requests, prayed for one another, and closed the evening. It
was super powerful; my heart just deeply connected with these brothers and sisters
of faith. We talked about how encouraging it is for us to see how big the body
of Christ is and although we all come from different countries, backgrounds,
and cultures, we all have Christ in common and that instantly binds us
together. I felt so united to these people I had just met and it was clear that
this was only through the joint love of the Lord. Praise God for FAMILY all
over the world! I love it!
(The church crowd watching the baptisms!)
As we walked back to our house Angela and I started
daydreaming about just staying in Kenya and starting an orphanage or some other
type of ministry here. The best part was when we saw multiple people on the
street that we recognized from church; I love seeing friendly, welcoming faces
on the road and having them come up to me with a smile just to shake my hand. I
feel at home already and it’s only been a few days… there’s so much love here!
The culture is filled with generosity, hospitality, and joyful service to one
another and it’s truly refreshing and uplifting to be around. There is a strong
love of and TRUST in the Lord here as well and it’s awesome to see people who are
passionate about Him and what He’s doing in their lives, families, and
communities. Praise God for Kenya!
p.s. I’m currently in the back/ trunk of a taxi on my way to
Magori, the next town over, in order to use the internet café to post this
blog. It’s a traditional five-person taxi but there are currently eleven people
crammed into every possible space. I love it. Yup, I’m still procrastinating by
trying to finish this up last-minute, but I’m simply operating by “African time�
here… I fit in well. 🙂
p.p.s. I LOVE YOU ALL back home and am so grateful for you!
I hope all is well… please send me updates on your life as well and any prayer
requests you have. THANK YOU again! XOXOXOXO
The team at church! It looks like a Coke advertisement… they like to welcome their guests 🙂
LOVE 🙂
