Kenya, Africa
I have been staying at Milimani
Backpackers Hostel for about 2.5 weeks now. Mike and Noe, the other 2
squad leaders, our logistics girl, Jesse, and I stayed back for a few
days of rest after busting our tails during debrief. On Friday, June
4th, Mike, Jesse and I were scheduled
to leave for Mpeketoni Lamu, which is 14 hours away from Nairobi.
That morning, Jesse woke up feeling super sick. Needless to say, we
did not go. We took Jesse to the hospital twice thinking her symptoms
indicated she had malaria. Wrong. No such results and as of late, she
has made a complete turn around.
After the first couple of days, we
realized that this hostel is our ministry for the remainder of our
stay. We have all had some pretty rockin’ conversations with other
backpackers and especially the staff. One of the conversations I have
had, was with Patricia, the owner of the hostel, hearing her story
and the story of this hostel. Let me tell you:
Patricia first worked at another hostel
for 4 years. At first, she loved working there, then at some point,
it became draining. She would tell God that it was time to move on-
that hostel business was not her calling, but God would continue
sending her back. Due to a series of circumstances, she got to the
point where she didn’t know what to do next. One day, she ran into
the son of the man who owned the property where Milimani Backpackers
Hostel now stands. The son informed her that he and his father have
been looking for her. She went and met with the owner only to find
out that he wanted her to take over the hostel- all she needed to do
was fill out an application and put down how much she was willing to
pay. All she had was enough for one month’s rent and one month’s
deposit. That’s it. The other’s looking at buying the hostel could
afford to pay anywhere between 6 months to 1 year’s rent.
She didn’t put too much stock into it-
thinking it was a long shot. She went to West Africa for a prayer
meeting/ conference for a few days. Upon her return, she ran into the
owner’s son. He told her to hurry to the hostel because they wanted
her to sign the contract and take over. She was shocked.
Her first day of being the new owner
was cleaning day. They swept and cleaned everything, all the while
rejoicing in the Lord. They didn’t have anything- no office
furniture, no bedroom furniture, no guests. Then one day, 2 pilots
from Russia walked up wanting to go on safari with their company.
Patricia brought them into the lobby, sat them on the floor (since
there was no furniture) and began discussing plans for the safari.
The next guest they had was a woman from Finland who prophesied over
the hostel claiming it was going to be a place for God. Shortly after
she left, 2 men from West Africa called and prophesied that the
hostel would be a place to house missionaries- and that’s when she
got the email from the World Race.
For almost 3 years now, Milimani Backpackers Hostel has
been a place of love, hospitality, friendship, and encouragement for
many world race squads.
Photo shoot with 2 of the most amazing staff girls: Mari and Ruth
