Kenya - Update #3

Each day we learn more and more of the African culture.  Last night we went to the midweek church service.  The church is downtown on the third floor.  It is difficult to describe the downtown experience.  It is the craziest driving I have ever been a part of with vehicles, motorcycles, and people everywhere.  Don spoke at church and was a huge encouragement to the people who came out.  We met a young man named Joseph is Kenyan and works for the church.  He ended up spending the day with us as we went to Mwangaza Africa International Mission.

Mwangaza is a an orphanage and school but also has a farm with cows, chickens, and sheep.  They grow food for themselves and the community.  We were able to share during their devotion time.  They sung us a Swahili song which was amazing.  Then we attempted to sing some songs with them, myself and Amy shared a testimony, and Daniel Thomas shared a short message with them.  After that we got a tour of the grounds and heard the vision for where they want to go.  In the afternoon we were able to spend time playing with the kids.  They loved playing red rover, climbing all over us guys, and getting their picture taken.  We got to talk with many of them and hear their stories and find out their passions.  Below is a picture of Boyi who says he wants to be a pastor.

Please be in prayer for us as we discuss how we individually and us as a church can partner with Mwangaza in the future.  They have a great philosophy in how they operate their orphanage.  They have two homes with two house parents which are families who live with the orphans.  Ideally they would have 12 orphans per house but they are overcrowded with 16 in one and 17 in the other.  They would like to build 2 more homes ASAP.

Thoughts for the day:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thankfulness and joy are abundant among the children we met today.  Their singing and prayers were passionate and you could tell they loved God.  These kids get the will of God much more than I do at times.  Having little allows them to be thankful for so much more.  They don't have a sense of entitlement, they are just so happy to be loved.  My prayer is the I would live out the will of God as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells me to.

Kenya - Update #2

Yesterday we made the 6 hour journey from Nairobi to the Samaritan's Purse compound where Nate & Stephanie Thomas live.  Along the journey we got to first hand experience of the Kenyan culture.  For instance, alongside the road it was normal to see donkeys, cows, goats, zebras, baboons, men peeing, speed bump fruit salesmen, and much more.

We spent the evening getting settled in and then had dinner with the Thomas family.  It just so happened to be their son Ben's 15th birthday so we got to celebrate with them which meant cake and ice cream!  We were excited to finally be with them and they were really excited to see some faces that they knew.

Today (Thursday) Kyle had to leave at 5:45am to go ride along on a Samaritan's Purse mission to South Sudan.  I guess when you are an airplane mechanic you get certain perks.  He got to serve as the 3rd crew member on a DC3 plane and got to see two refugee camps, one which had over 100,000 refugees.  The rest of the group spent the day helping a Kenyan man named Reuben.  He has been blind since the age of 3 but God has done a tremendous work in his life.  Reuben had the opportunity to study with Ravi Zaccharias in the USA and now has an Apologetics and Radio ministry called Word of Truth.  Mark was able to help him with some IT issues at the radio station and Sadie was put to work with her interior design skills to help them better lay out the space.  The rest of us fixed a swing and got most of the library reorganized.  We ended the day by Reuben making us some traditional Kenyan Chi and singing worship songs.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

During my time in Kenya I have decided to really dig into 1 Thessalonians.  As I began this morning I couldn't help but be struck by the three things Paul remembers before God about the Thessalonians.  My prayer is that these things would be a legacy of my life.

Work of Faith: that my life would be evident of faithfulness to God and dependence upon Him.

Labor of Love: an unconditional love towards people that often times leaves me weary & tired.

Steadfastness of Hope: to remain, stand, and endure through the trials of life with a hope unshaken.

- reorganizing the library