specifically what our team is doing. Thank you so much for all of your
blind prayers, and I hope this gives you a little more clarity of how
to pray and encourage us.*
For the next two months we are living in Nairobi and walking into Kibera (the slums) six days a week. The students have off Saturdays, but other than that they spend their mornings and afternoons in Kibera. We have several different ministries set up within the slums. Mornings–Monday through Friday–the group is split into three set ministries–Monica’s Preschool, New Adventures Primary School (NAPS), and a women’s HIV group. We all regroup at the AIM House for lunch and a bit of relaxation before heading back out into the community. Afternoons look different from day to day. Mondays we do “Ask the Lord” (ATL) as a full team; Tuesdays and Fridays the team is again split into three set ministries–Bible Study/Alpha Program, Detention Center, and the Kibera Community Youth Programme (KCYP); Wednesdays and Thursdays we are split nearly in half to do Door-to-Door with our respective churches; Sundays we attend two different churches then regroup at the AIM house to minister for the rest of the afternoon.
We start our days with breakfast together at 7:30am, then individual quiet time from 7:45am-8:45pm. The NAPS group has to leave at this point in order to walk to the school by 9:30am. The other two morning groups don’t have to leave the team house until 9:30am, so their quiet time is a bit more flexible. From there they spend the majority of their day in Kibera. Typically the team leaves the slums between 4pm and 5pm and have some free time before dinner at 6:30pm. Then after the dishes are all done we have intentional team time. That looks different from night to night depending on the needs of the group. Sometimes we have a time of worship together through music or prayer, other times we may just hang out and play games; there will be discipleship teachings weekly; sharing timelines/life stories; debrief; etc.
For as much of a night owl as I am, I am pretty much exhausted by 10pm and try to get into bed by 11pm–which is often impossible because we are “available” at all times. As I mentioned, my main ministry is to the team. I knew when I was offered one of the leadership positions that I would not always be able to participate directly in the community ministries, but I am for sure being stretched.
So many of our team members came into this with tons of damage, lies, deep secrets or shame, and broken pasts resting on their shoulders. I am by no means an expert, and God knows I have my own share of weight to hand over daily, 
but we hope to be able to minister to the team through our own openness and vulnerability. Our goal as leaders is to be able to disciple and encourage them as they seek the Lord in their own lives so that they in turn can be effective in their ministries. Just to give you an idea of some of the things we have faced so far as leaders: disunity, things from their past (rape, molestation, witnessing murder, shame over same-sex experimentation, sexual relationships), anger against “the church,” admitted authority issues (hate or deep anger toward a parent), adoption/fostering (feelings of neglect), death of a parent, sibling, or close friend, pre-existing health issues (brain cancer; persisting concussion symptoms), and nearly half of our team has been sick already. This is just what I can think of right now, but there are so many more. Praise God because we have already seen a lot of freedom take place.
So along with being available to the team to minister to them, talk things out, help them process, pray, etc. we also have logistics to take care of so that things can function. Grocery shopping, making charts (chores, ministries, menus, etc), and handling finances, just to name a few. All of this can be pretty draining, as I have quickly found out, so I have needed to secure more time with the Lord, which has pulled me away from some of the some of the morning ministry. Please pray against exhaustion and against guilt to feel like I always have to “do” ministry at the expense “being” with God.
HIV group: The remaining five team members meet with a Christian woman named Consolata each morning. She has set up a make-shift shop off of a day-care within slums. There she assembles and sells beaded jewelry in order make an income for her family. While Consolata is our main contact point here, but there are actually eleven women that are a part of this group. They have been ostracized by the community because of their HIV status, in spite of the fact that the majority have been infected by their husbands (who are now mostly deceased). Our team is helping through fellowship with the ladies, encouraging them in their walks with the Lord, making signs to help promote the “shop,” and even helping make some of the jewelry. They are bringing new design ideas and will start to incorporate some other items like scarves, hats, and gloves–cold season is approaching.
AIM House: This is an AIM funded orphanage that supports twelve children with nine currently living in the facility, and two volunteer ladies managing it. It is right off the main road in the slums and is our lunch location since the children are at school during that time. On Sundays we spend the afternoon as a team investing into the children–playing futbol, drawing, and generally getting to know them and letting them know they are loved. They are all middle-school age, so it is pretty easy for the team to connect with them. Since our team more than doubles the amount of kids, I actually spend more of my time investing into the two ladies, and letting them know they are cared about as well.
ATL: “Ask the Lord” is a common AIM saying and activity. The idea behind this is that we spend a ton of time telling God what’s on our minds, but spend little to no time listening to what He has to say to us. So basically, we gather together at the AIM House and spend intentional time praying (as individuals), and asking God to speak to us. We ask for our thoughts and voices to be silenced as well as the distractions around us, and intently listen for God’s voice. After a few minutes we discuss if we heard any particular words or saw any images or colors. Then we spend a few more minutes asking God for confirmation. From there, we head out into the community following anything the Lord shared with us. This week one of the girls felt like she saw the word “Guardian” on a sign and the color blue; another thought she heard “mosque” and saw white. We’ve never noticed anything with the word “Guardian” anywhere, so we headed over to the main mosque in Kibera. We basically hung out there for a while chatting with the locals. A few of us were invited into homes and spent some time praying with the people. Wouldn’t you believe, though, right before we left a few of them got into a good conversation with this guy right around the corner–on a street we’ve never walked down. After about twenty minutes of talking they noticed a small chalk-board with a list and the words “Guardian Angel” on the wall right behind them. It was surrounded by blue corrugated tin. So that made a pretty big impact on us. God is amazing!
Bible Study/Alpha Program: Five of our team members will be helping to lead a Bible study on Tuesdays and an Alpha Program on Fridays in the slums. I have not been able to visit this yet, but from what they relayed, there were about three ladies and two men, plus a whole ton of children at the Bible study this week. After spending some time sharing their hearts, they went around and the Kenyans shared a bit of their testimony. Each one of them started off by saying, “I am a born-again Christian” and then sharing all of these horrible things they have had to endure, and were still praising God in spite of. When they got to one of the last ladies, she was so touched by what she had heard–the faith in their stories–that she said, “I am not a born-again Christian, but I would like to be.” Our team members were able to present the gospel story of salvation and lead her to the Lord. Praise God!!! She (Brian) is now committed to coming to the study weekly to grow in her understanding of Christ and the Bible. Today is their first day visiting the Alpha Program. Alpha is a program developed for new believers or those interested in learning more about the Christian walk–basically it brings the basics to the table.
Detention Center: AIM found out about the existence of this center only two years ago. Boys ranging from eight to eighteen are brought in from the streets to be “taken care of.” Unfortunately, it is not a Christian facility, and there has been a lot of abuse and neglect there. It has only just begun to get better within the last few years. Twelve of our team members, as well as a few translators visit here twice a week to spend intentional time with the boys by getting to know them, hearing their stories, playing games, praying for them, and giving them hope by sharing the love of our Lord. A few will also be ministering to the staff there in hopes of sharing Christ with them, in order to help change the environment these boys live in. I have not had an opportunity to visit the detention center yet, but the stories our team has brought back have been heart-breaking. Many of the boys want to go home but are not allowed or don’t know where their homes are because they have been on the streets for so long. Though there is much these boys need, and our team-members often feel completely helpless, the only thing that is eternal is a hope in and relationship with Christ. Pray for the staff to recognize their need for Jesus, for the boys to be able to with-stand the ill-treatment, and that the center would be overwhelmed by the love of the Lord.
KCYP: Five of our team members go here twice a week to assist the staff in various ways. Though they help foster good morals and values, they are a “non-religious” program that helps develop further education. It is not a professional institution or certificate program, but they offer free workshops to the youth–18-35– in drama, music, and various trades. Basically, they look for professionals or those with a great knowledge in a certain field, then set up a training workshop where they share their skill or intellect. Our team will be involved by helping professionalize their center, developing administrative skills, helping with basic computer assistance, teaching dramas or workshops, creating a library system from their stacks of books, and many other things. I met with them this week and am really excited about the opportunities available. Though they may not be able to openly share the gospel message–because many of the youth are muslim–pray that Jesus will be evident through the work they do and the love they show.
Door-to-Door: Because of the size of our team–25 including the three leaders–we have split into two set groups in order to attend two different churches in the slums. On Sundays Adrienne takes twelve team members to the Blue House Church; I take the other ten to Word Impact; Jason is floating between the two. Just in the two weeks we have attended I have been incredibly blessed by what God has shared through the bible study, worship, and message…and am selfishly convinced that some of the things shared were specifically for me, or at least what our team was dealing with. During the week we spend two days doing door-to-door with our respective churches. Each church group splits into smaller teams and goes out into the community with a translator to get to know the un-churched, develop relationships with them, and encourage them to attend. Yesterday both churches were able to lead someone to the Lord, and they will now be attending that particular church. Awesome stuff!!!
