This month of ministry was absolutely wonderful. It was the first time a team from the Race has been in Oloolaimutia, Masai Mara, Kenya. We worked alongside Pastor Samuel, serving at the school, Mara Shinners, going to Minyatas and sharing the message of Love. We also were involved in Deliverance Church, attending worship on Sundays and sharing messages and fellowship with the youth on Friday night Revivals.
My favorite part about the month was when we would attend the school and assist the teachers. I worked with Madame Mary in the Middle Baby Class. There were 42 students between the ages of 3-6. They were learning English, Kiswahili and math when I was assisting her. I would assist by grading the workbooks and teaching the children songs. Over the short 3 weeks of being there, many relationships were built. The teachers were very hospitable and would invite us to their homes for lunches or chai in the evenings. I learned a lot about hospitality this month and how to serve others out of a love for loving people.
On Market Days, every Tuesday, there are a whole bunch of cattle that are passing through from kilometers and kilometers away, some every from Tanzania (only 15km away from where we lived)! They would bring them to sell, trade and to buy from others. Along with the cattle came a lot of visitors: flies. We were not a fan of them, but Michael became really good at slapping them. On Market Days our team would split up into 3 groups and being involved in the different ministries. Some would work at the school while others went to the market with Pastor to help buy fruits and vegetables for the week. It ended up being more like a game of “Where’s Waldo?” because he would be really hard to find in the group of Masai. Others would work at the clinic that had free vaccinations on Tuesdays. There would be so many women coming with their children to be weighed and to be vaccinated. It was precious being able to hold all the little babes and not so precious hearing them all cry as they got their shots. It was a lot of fun being able to be involved in a little bit of everything during the 3 weeks.
Ministry was really short and the month flew by. It was a really dry month and so there was dust everywhere. But when it rained, it just created mud and was so messy. I preferred the dusty days because I would think of the song, “Beautiful Things” by Gungor. There has been so much growth in Oloolaimutia since it first came into existence 16 years ago. Pastor Samuel has done a lot of things for the town and is hoping for more growth, especially as others come to have a relationship with Christ.
My prayer is to one-day return and to see the Love of Jesus exploding in this town. It is so beautiful and I want people to come to worship the Creator, not the creation. It was absolutely stunning where we lived. The sunrises, the sunset, running alongside wildebeest, listening to the cries of creation throughout the early morning hours and being able to see God’s presence in this area.
It is true; God really does make beautiful things out of dust. He created each one of us. He showed our team another part of His character through the colorful culture of the Masai people. They worship and love in a way that we do not. It was beautiful being able to worship and love alongside the Masai people as we are one Body in Christ.
