Saturday, May 19th was going to be a big day.
Team Wellspring was scheduled to lead a crusade at The Well of Jacob Church. Yes, I said a CRUSADE! However, a slight, last-minute change in our plans was made on Friday night when a small stomach bug crept up on 5 of our 7 team members.
It was up to Ash and I to lead the crusade. A CRUSADE!!
Thankfully, we called in the reinforcements, also known as our Squad Leaders. Thomas, Kayla and “Papa” (as Ryan is referred to by all the Kenyans in our church) agreed to help us out, despite such late notice. We each spent the rest of Friday night buried in our Bibles, searching and praying for a Word to share with the many Kenyan church-goers that would be attending the crusade.
(To give credit where credit is due: Thank you, 500 Days of Summer for inspiration behind this blog)
Our Expectations for the Crusade:
8:30am– Arrive at Well of Jacob. Church members are crowded around the temporary stage set up outside the church, ready for the Holy Spirit to show up.
9:00am– The Crusade begins!!! The children will perform a rehearsed dance to a Swahili worship song to kick things off.
9:30am– The local Kenyan pastors introduce themselves.
9:45am– Worship continues, with plenty of shouts, clapping and dancing. A homemade drum is involved.
10:15am– The World Racers are introduced. I am the first to preach.
10:45am– Ash shares her sermon.
11:30am– Pastor Evans recaps our sermons and we worship with thanksgiving together in Swahili.
12:00pm– Lunch break. We go back to the house for a meal of chai, chapati, rice, cabbage and beans.
2:00pm– We return to the church. The crowd at the church has increased, filling the entire property. We worship joyfully to the Lord in Swahili.
3:00pm– Papa brings the Word.
3:30pm– Kayla shares her sermon.
4:00pm– Thomas preaches.
4:30pm– Pastor Kimani recaps their sermons. Then, he proceeds preach his own message from God, filled with the Spirit.
5:30pm– We worship together in Swahili, with a couple of English verses thrown in.
5:57pm– Shouts of praises to God rise up from Well of Jacob, as we express our gratitude for the day.
6:00pm– Bishop Jeffrey closes us in prayer. We return home.
What actually happened at the Crusade:
10:23am– Esther shows up to the house to drive us to Well of Jacob.
10:37am –The five of us arrive. A temporary stage is set up outside the church with numerous church members nearby.
10:40am– I realize the majority of the church members I see are children under the age of 5.
10:45am– We play tag and take pictures with the children. With them all gathered around me after a few silly
pictures, I lead them in a few songs. Eventually everyone joins in!
11:15am– Everyone crowds inside of the tiny church. The crowd has grown to include teenagers and adults.
11:20am– Testimony/Sharing time begins! We worship in Swahili together.
11:45am– Maasai warriors dance to the worship music in traditional Maasai clothing, jumping and yelling in traditional Maasai custom.
12:00pm – I share a sermon that include a portion of my testimony and the importance of sharing the Gospel, even when it is uncomfortable.
12:45pm– Ash preaches on being a genuine believer and how appearances aren’t everything.
1:30pm– Pastor Kimani recaps our sermons and we pray together before being dismissed.
1:40pm– Lunch time. We eat rice, cabbage and beans and drink chai. No chapati 🙁
2:30pm– We convince Esther we need to make an “emergency” trip to the grocery store to pick up ice-cream. She senses the urgency in our voices and we drive to the local Nakumatt.
3:00pm– We arrive back at Well of Jacob. The crowd has increased significantly, and we all squeeze into the church.
3:15pm– We praise God in Swahili. The Maasai jump and shout.
3:45pm– Papa preaches about ministering to the lost and broken. (His first time to preach EVER!)
4:14pm – Kayla shares a Word about continuing to walk in faith in the hard times.
4:45pm– The CRUSADE BEGINS! (Which means everyone moves outside and gathers around the outdoor stage)
5:00pm– The children perform a rehearsed dance, followed by the Maasai jumping to worship songs.
5:30pm– Thomas begins to preach.
5:31pm– The clouds darken to a deep shade of …black.
5:37pm – A light sprinkle sprays the crowd.
5:41pm–Heavy raindrops plop on people’s head and the sound equipment. The crowd scatters.
5:56pm– We find ourselves in the shelter of the church. As the sound equipment is set up, we (the mzungu) sing a couple of unrehearsed English worship songs.
6:07pm– Thomas continues to preach. A little child crawls in my lap and falls asleep.
6:18pm– The rain falls heavily on the tin roof. We strain to hear Thomas and the translator over the chorus of raindrops on the tin roof.
6:23pm– The weather outside can be classified as a torrential downpour. A leak in the roof reveals itself directly above my seat.
7:15pm– We sing a short song of praise and thanksgiving to God. The rains outside have stopped.
7:30pm– We say our good-byes and squeeze our 6 damp bodies into the small Toyota.
7:32pm– We realize the car is stuck in the mud. The boys get out to push.
7:33pm – Everyone gets out to push.
7:35pm– The 2WD Toyota lunges forward. SUCCESS!
7:37pm– We hit the road.
7:40pm– Pedestrians frantically tap on our window, warning us the road is flooded up ahead. They point the
opposite way for a detour.
7:46pm– We bounce and slide along the muddy street. Prayers against getting stuck are spoken aloud.
7:57pm– Another road is flooded. We take a recommended detour.
8:08pm– We are warned again of flooding. This time, we chance it.
8:19pm– The “road” we are driving on appears to resemble a small, muddy river. The water gushes over rocks and ditches. I spot a 3ft waterfall (seriously) coming off the upper gutter of the street.
8:24pm– You can hear the water rushing by us as the car bounces up and down ditches, potholes, rocks and miniature rapids.
8:27pm – Banko jokingly makes the comment, "It's like we're carving the Nile River!"
8:30pm– The little Toyota lurches forward, slamming Kayla and Banko’s heads on the roof. The car turned slightly to the side, allowing water to come in through the bottom of the door. YIKES!
8:31pm– A miracle of God happens, and our car crawls up and out of the ditch. Kayla and Banko rub their heads.
8:42pm– We spot the paved road up ahead….we are almost to freedom!
8:48pm– FREEDOM!
9:02pm– Ash and I dropped off at the end of our road…it’s too muddy to risk getting stuck. (Which is hard to believe after what we just experienced.)
9:06pm– My foot sinks deep into a mud puddle. I didn’t see it because I lost my headlamp last month.
9:17pm– Ash and I burst into the living room of Ann’s house, thankful to be home!
9:23pm– We join the rest of the girls in supper: rice, lintels, soup and cabbage. YUM!
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Proverbs 27:1
