Kenya - Video and Written Update

This is it, this is our last week doing ministry here in Kenya before we leave for debriefing in London.  It’s a bit hard to digest leaving as this place continues to grow to be “home” to many of us. However, we aren’t stopping or slowing down yet! We started ministry full steam ahead on Monday morning.

Monday, since we didn‘t have any schools to go to, we did street ministry to share the Gospel (utilizing our and the Kenya team‘s skill groups). We started by playing our music (in case the bus full of foreigners wasn’t enough to let people know we’re there) and going out to invite people back for the performance. After the performance, we go in groups of 2-3 to follow up with the people who have gathered.  As we partnered with our DICE Kenya team, we were able to reach many, to be the first stepping stones of potentially changed lives. Many received prayers for salvation, for healing, and even some encouraging conversations with those who believe and have a desire for more of Jesus. Although some of the students (on both teams) were a little nervous (the Kenyan team was in their own neighborhoods so it was definitely a step of courage for them to share with people they knew) they all jumped in and shared boldly. It was amazing to witness. Many lives have been impacted, encouraged, and changed as these students were faithful in “taking the initiative to share Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God!”

Tuesday was a greatly anticipated day because we were at the Christian Revival Centre with around 30 students to love on, to feed, and to dance with. This team loves the littles… and why wouldn’t they? The kids are soooo cute. And did I mention that it was ALL DAY? That’s right, we left bright and early in the morning to reach the school and didn’t leave till the sun was coming down. We were incredibly proud of the team for staying engaged the entire time, even though they were exhausted by the end. We danced, performed puppets, played games, prepared food the Kenyan way, and most importantly, got to pour out love onto very willing recipients. You may have seen in our quick video update that day and that Maurice mentioned that many of these students may only have that one meal that day, and many of them go to school so they could have food. That was a difficult concept for me the first time I heard it. But sitting there, watching as we piled food on their plates it brought a mix of feelings, what an honor it is to take the time to invest in each of these little ones and help prepare food for their tiny little bellies, and heartbreak that we can‘t do more. I speak for myself and our team, we are honored to be part of this day and give back what we’ve been so abundantly given.

Wednesday was a fun day! I’ve decided to label it, “Honor and High Jumps.” Sounds silly right? Yes! It’s just as silly as it sounds.

As we ventured out in the morning, our first stop was Pastor Albert’s house. It is deemed an honor when one is invited to the home of Pastor Albert and his wife, Pastor Mary, and that is exactly what our students were able to experience. We arrived at their home a little before lunch time and spent the next 3 hours asking and answering questions with Pastor Albert, as we sat on the floor and couches of their home, as Mary and a few of the women prepared the food. One thing that we’ve been very conscious of this summer is the amount of food that we waste, so Margaret made sure to go around and remind the team that they needed to eat what they were served (or find someone to eat it for them). However, it turned out to be completely unnecessary because almost the whole team went up for seconds. We are starting to get a taste for Kenyan food! The team also brought a gift for Pastor Albert and Mary for hosting us. We gave Pastor Albert, who loves to read, a Timothy Keller book, “The Reason for God“ and Pastor Mary, who Margaret noticed in church using lotion (we were trying to make the gifts personal), we gave a nice bottle of Bath & Bodyworks lotion (velvet sugar for those of you wondering. And don’t worry,  Margaret, Christine, and I made sure to smell every lotion in the store to be sure to pick out just the right one). With laughter, encouragement, and full bellies we said our goodbyes and hopped on the bus to our next adventure.

Bomas of Kenya

Bomas, a word meaning “villages,” is a place where people can learn about all the different tribes in Kenya. There are 47 tribes in Kenya, each with their own language, style of living, and unique traditions. Our time there started with us being seated in a large circular auditorium (with maybe a thousand other students on a school field trip), as we eagerly awaited the music and dancing to begin. And we were not disappointed. WOW! It was incredible. The dancers and musicians came out on stage, in full traditional Kenyan tribal attire, and performed celebratory dances of marriage, harvest, and hunting rituals of the eastern, southern, and coastal tribes of Kenya. As my friends in Minnesota would say, it was a “hoot and a half!” Not only did they perform for us, we also got to perform for them! That’s right, volunteers from the audience, Margaret, Morgan, Abby, and Andrew were invited at different times to go up on stage with the dancers!

I think one of our favorite moments was when one of the performers taught Andrew to jump high as part of the dance, and they were incredibly shocked by what they saw. Andrew impressively proved that “white men can jump” by leaping and soaring in the air like a gazelle. The audience was roaring!

After the performance, we were able to walk through 23 of the different tribe’s traditional housing (huts). Many “oo’s” and “ahh’s” were uttered by our students as they got to see how most of the tribes still live today.  It’s incredibly humbling and a beautifully simplistic way of living. As I sit here, I find myself reflecting and letting my mind wander (as many of the teams did on the 2-hour bus ride back to the hotel), what would our life be like with the simplicity of their lives?

Although Wednesday was a fun day, it also brought with it a bit of reality check as we passed the Kibera slum. The Kibera slum is the 2nd largest slum in the world (the largest slum is in Southern Africa). As we drove home to our hotel (our hotel which would be considered extremely “modest” by American standards, but pretty nice by Kenyan standards), we passed the Kibera slum, complete with the view of the downtown Nairobi skyscrapers in the background. I don’t believe we should feel guilty about our wealth, for God is a God of abundance, but it was really good to be reminded of how greatly blessed we are and why it’s good for us to give back.

Be sure to ask your student about this whole experience when they come home. I’m sure they would love to tell you all they learned, felt, smelt, and experienced this day (and all the unexpected wildlife (read baboons & warthogs) we saw.)

Thursday we stepped back into ministry. The plan was to do door-to-door prayer ministry (putting our teaching and discussions into practice) and after to go to another school. The prayer ministry was a big hit with the team. What is “door-to-door prayer ministry, you ask? Well, we met up with our DICE partners and split all 30 of us into 4 different groups, going in 4 directions knocking on doors, meeting people on the streets and market stalls, and asking people if/how we could pray for them. Today we wanted to be the healing and comforting hands of Jesus. Our focus was not to preach at them, but instead minister to them through prayer and petition (sharing Jesus doesn‘t always look like walking someone through a CWG). And really, when you have 8+ people surrounding you praying for healing, belief, truth, and encouragement how could you walk away unchanged?!

After an hour of prayer ministry, we loaded the bus for that evening’s school ministry. I’d like to say it was an impactful few hours, however, as is often heard in Africa, T.I.A. (this is Africa). Although in this case, it’s probably better described as T.I.M. “this is missions”. We were let into the school but left 10 minutes later (never leaving the bus) because the people in charge (who invited us to come) didn’t talk to the people in charge of the schedule, and we weren’t approved  to share that day. Hakuna Matata!! Those who experience ministry first hand know that not everything goes as planned, and that’s okay! Our students adjusted quickly as we then headed home and were given “O-time” to do their laundry, shower, take a nap, study for their scripture memorization test, and or play games together. They are doing fantastic, all. We’ve got a flexible, fun-loving group who love to hang out with each other and enjoy life!

Looking ahead in our schedule we continue to layout meal times, quiet times (devotions), d-group times (small group conversation and discussion groups), teaching times (various subjects from evangelism to forgiveness, from how to share the Gospel and how to keep away from gossip), that very important cleaning/laundry time, some chill time, and then ministry time! Will we know exactly what we are doing? Well, we have an idea… but T.I.M. and T.I.A.! Either way, we move forward, confident in the plans He has for us.

Over and Out!

On behalf of the Kenyan team,

Grace Horst

PS. Here are a few more notes from the team that Margaret started sharing last week.

“My favorite part of ministry is the joy in my heart after a physically tiring day, knowing that it’s not about me but God and the happiness from glorifying Him.” Abby

“Just to see [the people here] be so eager to hear about our faith, has been so encouraging. Their thirst to know about God has pushed and challenged me to dive deeper into God’s Word. And even though its only been a few weeks, I can already feel my relationship with Jesus and my faith growing.” Olivia

“This week, during street ministry, I was talking to these 5 guys who were much older than me. It felt a little weird at first, but I was reminded of how young the disciples of Jesus were, and all the people they shared with, who were all older than them and it helped me feel more comfortable talking, and 3 even received Christ that day.” Brad

“It’s been amazing for me to see the power of prayer in ministry. I love seeing the faces of the students when they realize that God loves them and that they can experience joy through Him.” Chelsea