This is an overdue blog of my time in Pökoot, Kenya (pronounced poe-coat). The remote tribe my team had the wonderful privilege of visiting back in September. It is probably one of the longest blogs I have written and spent the most time on. With that said, I humbly ask that if you are reading this, you read it in its entirety. I have added pictures that both my friend, Anna Holzberger and fellow Squad-mate, Colby took on their cameras. This way, you get the visual of what I’m talking about.
My hope is to bring awareness of what exists beyond the comforts of our country. In the lands of forgotten deserts, cold tundra, and those areas we “dare to step into because we will get killed”. On almost every continent there are unreached people groups and some have no knowledge there is a world that exists beyond themselves. Let alone God. Their culture and traditions are far different than we could ever fathom.
As believers, it is our duty to go to these unreached people groups and share the Gospel with them, be in prayer for them, to fight for what is right with and for them, not to shame them for their ignorance or lack of what is beyond their world, and more importantly, to love them just as God does.
Jesus is clear in his command: Go to ALL nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Not just the one you like, the one you prefer, or the one that will put a check on your bucket list. Are you willing to die for what you put your hope in? Are you willing to say yes if He calls you to an unreached tribe? I can say yes after this experience I’m about to share with you and I hope you fellow brother or sister by the end of this blog, you will say yes too.
After reading, if you have any questions or need further clarification on anything please reach out to me via e-mail ([email protected]), in person when I’m home, or FB messenger.
This tribe, its people, and Pastor Samson’s family are very near and dear to my heart. God willing, I would love to go back and possibly live there with Pastor Samson and his family (more on that later).
Flashback to 2005. I’m 12 years old.
My Dad is downstairs watching TV. I’m upstairs having a relaxing “me day.” I go to see what he is doing since I haven’t seen him in awhile. I decide to join him on the couch. He’s flipping through the channels and we are having some small talk about plans for the rest of the week. We finally decide to watch HGTV house hunters. We talk about which house we like and the things about the house we don’t really prefer. Then Dad changes the TV to the National Geographic channel. Having no interest in watching, I get up from the couch and kindly say, “Okay, I’m going to go with mom to the store.” Dad encourages me to stay, “Oh come on! It’s a very interesting show, you will learn something new today.” I moan and groan about how I don’t want to watch anymore meerkats popping through their hole and how a lion hunts for his food. He insists I wait and see what comes on. I give in and sit back down on the couch, “Okay just 10 minutes.” The screen changes from a commercial break and on the screen are people are jumping and dancing, singing in a different language. Some people are naked and other’s have limited clothing on their body. I learn about their culture and how they live. I learn about their traditions and how they hunt for their food. A complete upside down world that I will never get to experience or see myself. I leave in awe and amazement, with SO many questions wishing I could experience that one day but knowing full well I will never get that opportunity. (haha)
For the past 3 years the Lord has highlighted Kenya for me. I tried to go to Kisumu back in 2016 with my best friend, Caitlyn and her grandparents. God quickly closed that door and I was so upset. I was mad and angry. I didn’t understand why God was closing the door because I truly felt that was where He was leading me. But it wasn’t my timing. Looking back, I can clearly see the signs He was giving me.
Isn’t that what happens though? Our vision gets blurred because we chase after what we want, when we want it, and are determined to get it no matter the cost. There’s nothing wrong having that kind of dedication.. but it is when what we are chasing after, isn’t aligned with God’s will or His perfect timing. I convinced myself the time was now. But it wasn’t. I was too blind to see what he had for me in the now because I was too focused on the future.
Fast forward to 2018, (a very long story short) I looked up the routes for the WorldRace 2019 and I had the peace I didn’t have when I was pursuing Kenya in 2016. The only reason I chose this route of countries was because of Kenya. It was the only route that was going there. I clicked the button, applied, got accepted, fundraised, and made it.
Fast forward again to August 2019, entering the land the Lord had promised me. A faithful and loving God who does not withhold any good thing from His children. Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing.”
My co-ed team was with the guys team for the month of September in a small town called Kaptagat which is about 8 hours east of Nairobi. The first week we were there, we hosted a Pastor’s Conference with over 100 men and women who are in leadership positions of their church or pursuing a leadership position in the future. Kristen, one of my friends and leaders suggested to our host David that we would love to go to the different villages around the area and get to know the culture and traditions. He did not hesitate and on the last day of the Pastor’s conference, David announced to ALL of the leaders that attended, “If you are wanting this team to come and visit your village we would work it out to come.”
Pastor Samson was one of the men that reached out and invited our group to go to Pökoot. A remote village 8 hours from where we were staying, 4 hours from the main road and another 3 to the nearest town. Pastor Samson and his family are from Kenya and are missionaries in Pökoot. (How beautiful!) I was ecstatic but also kind of in denial what we were about to go do. We packed our tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and a few days worth of clothes. Our host David gathered the food, water, and other things we needed. We took 3 cars. A van that fit 8 (the most American van I’ve been in since January, it had A/C y’all!), a caravan truck with the back open that fit 11, and the truck with all the supplies that fit 5. We were so excited because we had no idea what to expect. All we knew was that we would be there for a full day, no electricity and no service, completely stripped away from our comforts.
We had a beautiful drive the sun was out, sky picture perfect blue, and the air was so crisp and fresh. For most of the ride, I sat in the back of the caravan on the floor with a mattress with about 9 other people. It was a very humbling experience. No matter where you sat, you were touching someone with your foot, hand, back, or head. It was hot, you were sweating in e v e r y area of your body because there was no air flow. But hey, it was worth it! We chose to sing songs, tell stories, share songs, worship, and tell our testimony (some of which I’ve never heard).
The back of the caravan.
This is what most of our views looked like from the back of the caravan. We left the flaps open to see the, *cue Dixie Chicks* wide open spaces.
Stopping for a food & water break.
When we arrived, I couldn’t get out the back of the car fast enough. I didn’t even bother getting my stuff together or my shoes on. I was instantly overwhelmed with tears in my eyes. The P koot tribe was greeting us with one of their songs. The 12 year old girl who thought she would never get to experience what she had seen on TV years ago, was happening right before her eyes. The faithfulness of God was overwhelming for me in this moment.
I went and greeted them and shook each of their hands and gave them each a hug. Crossing cultural norms. In Africa, it is not always appropriate to give hugs. But I try to anyway, it’s my way of showing love.
The building with the porch is where Pastor Samson and his family stay. He has a wife and two beautiful children who are just so wonderful!
After the greeting, we set up our tents before it got too dark. I found the little kitchen area outside and helped the women chop the cabbage for dinner.
That little wooden hut was where I sat with a few ladies shredding cabbage. The fire is what they use to cook the food.
The women would laugh because I’m sure they were thinking, “Who is this crazy white girl sitting with us?” But I didn’t care, I didn’t want to waste a single minute of my time there despite how tired I was. I just love the way they do things differently to accomplish the same task. I was eventually pulled away from the kitchen to eat the food they prepared for us. Meanwhile, the ground was filling up with people who walked for hours to see us. We ate some of the best food I had that month I can still taste it. We then had a church service, with some of their worship, dancing, and jumping. Oh it was so fun! Then there was a short message given from our host to the people about how we came to love and through our love our mission and hope is that you would see Christ’s love above all. Amen!! I went to bed that night so thankful and humbled.
The next morning we woke up and had a quick breakfast. We all met up under the tree for fellowship.
It might look small, but the inside is big enough to fit about 100 people.
During the fellowship I decided to dance with the women.
Then Donna, one of the missionaries from Virginia was apart of our team. She did a beautiful illustration using hand panting in front of the people using paint and explained the creation story. It was powerful!!
Traditional Pökoot women. These women have most likely been circumcised. Pastor Samson explained after Donna’s presentation that if a young girl goes to school she is less likely to get circumcised. She is getting an education and will hopefully help support her family.
In the afternoon before lunch, we went to one of the leaders of the church and visited his home. He has 3 wives and several children. He has a lotttttt of goats, herding dogs and puppies, and camels. Each wife lives in one hut with the children of that wife. One of his wives just had a baby and only women are allowed to see her after the baby is born because she is considered unclean.
A walk to the leader’s land. In the distance you can see the 3 different huts where his wives live.
You can see one of the wives sitting on the bench breastfeeding their baby.
Newborn baby in this photo he was 9 days old!
One of her daughters.
I know you’re reading this probably thinking how crazy this is! Trust me I thought the same thing. I was uncomfortable and if I’m being honest I was judging the man. Instead of sitting in my judgement, I walked up to Ben and asked him about it. My team had the same questions to our host David and a few others who were informative. Their response to this was to not add anymore wives than he already has. If you tell the man to choose one, he leaves the other two to fend for themselves with her children. It was still unsettling to me, but it’s their culture and tradition. How can we bridge the gap of what the word says and culture/tradition says? Prayer. Our prayer while we were there was that the hearts of the tribe would change and eyes be fixed on Jesus.
We broke up into different ministries after coming back from visiting the elders home.
Ben, John, Colby, and Will were with the men and they were able to share with them the Prodigal Son story. There was a 3-way translation!! English to Swahili then Swahili to Pökoot. They also answered a lot of questions they had about Christianity.
Em, Jake, and Nate were with the children passing out balloons and soccer balls.
Haha this was so much fun because:
1. They had never seen balloons or soccer balls. Their faces were LIT up in amazement and wonder.
but 2. There were thorns EVERYWHERE. The Trees, the ground, off in the distance no matter where you kicked the ball, it went into a thorn bush. Needless to say the balls were done zoe within 5 minutes because of the thorns.
Then there was women’s ministry. There was another team with 3 young girls from Florida who became apart of our team and they taught on hygiene for women and teenagers, passed out feminine products (that are reusable!), tooth brushes and toothpaste! How exciting!!
Anna, Terril, and Reaves teaching the women and young girls of the tribe on feminine hygiene.
This sweet one followed me for most of the day. This was us during the hygiene talk. I wish I remembered her name, but she will forever be in my heart.
Under this canopy is where we had all of our meals and where men’s ministry was held. Looking off into the distance is a gorgeous view. The grass leading up to the canopy is where we held our gatherings and church services with the people of the tribe.
Some Pökoot men taking a moment to rest. I wonder what they were talking and thinking about.
During our lunch we learned more about the culture and that they still do circumcision to the young teenage girls and it broke our hearts. We were filled with righteous anger and wanted to fix the what we just had heard. But who are we to tell them what they’ve been doing for generations and years that is tradition is wrong? We don’t even know them, Pastor Samson and his family have only been there for a little over a year. They’re teaching them the stories of the Bible, from beginning to end. We realized very quickly that in order to bring awareness, first you establish trust and a relationship. It is our job to love, and through loving, our hope is that they will come to know the Lord, and have the Holy Spirit convict. It is not my job to judge, but I can still hurt for those girls and pray for the elders of the tribe.
After our tour of their home, we went back to the little village had some lunch, and went on a hike up on a hill to watch the sunset before dinner.
One of my favorite photos of the year, I want this blown up on a canvas.
The kids followed us up the hill and wanted a photo with us. 🙂
You cannot beat these views.
This is an aerial view of what the mission site looks like. The people that came to visit us walked anywhere from 1-7 hours to get to this place. They live deep in the land and you can’t see where their huts are if you are passing through the stony road.
We ended the night with a worship service and a sermon given by one of the Kenyan ladies that came with our group. But it didn’t end there! We were given one of their tribes headbands which means they have welcomed us into their community. How humbling and thoughtful. It was beautiful. I would post pictures here for this but they all came out blurry because it was so dark.
We woke up at 5am the next morning packed up all of our stuff and headed out. The beautiful tribe gave us their farewell song and my heart exploded again.
More traditional Pökoot women
As I was writing this blog, tears filled my eyes. The faithfulness of our Father. 12 year old me had no idea that I would have this experience. 12 year old me had no idea that the Lord would put a place in the desert lands of Kenya, a tribe that lives 8 hours away from civilization. 12 year old me had no idea that the life and plans I had envisioned for myself would be flipped upside down and swept away because of this experience. 26 year old me had no idea that the desires of my heart would change over the span of 72 hours.
During our time there, Pastor Samson approached me and extended me an invitation. Anytime I want to come back to visit, I just to let him know and He will make work. He told me if I wanted a church group, family, or friends to come.. everyone is welcome.
Little did he know the next month in Ethiopia, the Lord would reveal a vision to me through HopEthiopia that would indeed include Pökoot Kenya. Stay tuned for a blog coming soon about that vision the Lord gave me.
Prayer requests:
For Pastor Samson and his family. Pastor is currently pursuing more education and leadership training. For their eyes to be continued fixed on Jesus. The Holy Spirit would continue to dwell among them richly as they share the Good News with the people of the tribe.
The Pökoot people. That their eyes would be awakened to the One True King. For the Holy Spirit to convict them of anything that is not of God they are practicing.
Their land. About a year ago, they were under attack by another tribe trying to take their land. They were able to protect themselves and fight against the intruders. Vegetation in their land for God to literally change the soil to make a way for edible foods to take root. Because they are in the desert, it makes it nearly impossible for anything to grow besides what is common to that climate. For it to rain more on their land.
The elders and leaders of the tribe. That they would know the Lord and lead from a biblical view, leading their people through storms and making wise decisions that come only from the Lord.
It means so much to me that you read this blog. Thank you for following me on my journey.
