It has been the most rewarding experience I have had. We are, of course very busy, so it is difficult to email everyone as planned. We would love to have been doing the blog everyday but time doesn't permit. We are however doing some wonderful things for the Lord. The need here is so overwhelming, we must find a way to come again and do some more. It is not enough to leave here and not followup. I do hope you let us come back and continue the work we want to do. I truly feel that this is someting we should continue. I know that I certainly will.
The team is doing well. You would be so proud of us. I know that God is pleased! Please send our love and thanks to everyone for their prayers.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Update #2 from Barb
Just an update, we physically dug holes in the dirt, move 40 pound bricks, and saw lumber for a slum church, to build a class room. We laid 80 pound concrete slabs to make a walk way for the dental clinic at another slum church. In the city we painted 4 rooms of a dental clinic. Those were the physical projects.
We visit an orphanage and did arts and crafts with them. Gee, when you think of kids in the orphanages you feel kind of bad,usually. Man... any kid in an orphanage is considered lucky in my eyes. It's somewhat clean, they get fed and clothed, loving attention and an education. Compared with the kids in the slums. I really think the slums are as close to being in HELL that I would want to be. I won't describe it too much because I don't have the time right now but I'll describe it in my reflection blog later.
Yesterday, we visited a halfway house for children waiting for the mothers that are jail. We held and fed snot nose babies. Again, clean surroundings care and loved. Some of the circumstances are heartbreaking. There was this one little girl that was there, because her father raped her when she was 3 months old. She had to have surgery to stitch up her wounds. Her father went to jail. Sick, just sick.
I was holding a baby named Jeff. The caretakers thought he might be depressed. I held him for a long time, even making him smile. But what do you know, he felt so comfortable he peed all over me. :(
It was pretty cool going to a slum school and feeding the kids. We fed around 300 kids for lunch one day maze and beans. They did a program for us singing, dancing, and a skit. We felt like rock starts afterwards all the kids swarming us trying to shake our hands. I stood up on a bench so I could shake hands with more of them. Kevin and Dan started to jump up and down and had the kids do it too. It was kind of chaotic and crazy. I'll have to show you the video later on the blog. I plan to do my own reflection blog page later.
Praise God! 12 more people stepped over the line! We went to a church in the slums, this was deep in the slums. Our intentions were to show the Jesus film but Mike forgot the speaker for the projector. There were 200 people jammed into this shack of a church. We had to squeeze through a maze of alleys of tin shacks with open sewers. Trying to being careful not to slip and fall into the muck! The people in the church were worshiping in Swahili for a longtime waiting for the Jesus film. When Pastor Mike decided not to show the film, we just winged it. Doing a short messages, then introducing our team. We all said our names and something about ourselves. When I got up I yelled, "GOD IS GOOD!" The crowd would reply, "ALL THE TIME! Again, GOD IS GOOD!" The crowd would repeat, "ALL THE TIME!" Did that a couple of times. I yelled "Jesus Loves You!" With both hands in the air. I took off my camera and held it in the air and shouted," I'm taking pictures to show the world to help bring back missionaries to help you and share the LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST! They cheer! After everyone shared Jo Ann gave her testimony and then Kevin did an Alter call. 12 people came up and were saved! Praise God!
We then feed the crowd rice, beans and some kind of meat. Basically it was chili and rice. It was some party! A party in the slums and everyone loved us! By the time it was time to go it was dark. It was different walking through the dark alleys, we had a little sense of security because most of the people knew we were there to help them.
We visit an orphanage and did arts and crafts with them. Gee, when you think of kids in the orphanages you feel kind of bad,usually. Man... any kid in an orphanage is considered lucky in my eyes. It's somewhat clean, they get fed and clothed, loving attention and an education. Compared with the kids in the slums. I really think the slums are as close to being in HELL that I would want to be. I won't describe it too much because I don't have the time right now but I'll describe it in my reflection blog later.
Yesterday, we visited a halfway house for children waiting for the mothers that are jail. We held and fed snot nose babies. Again, clean surroundings care and loved. Some of the circumstances are heartbreaking. There was this one little girl that was there, because her father raped her when she was 3 months old. She had to have surgery to stitch up her wounds. Her father went to jail. Sick, just sick.
I was holding a baby named Jeff. The caretakers thought he might be depressed. I held him for a long time, even making him smile. But what do you know, he felt so comfortable he peed all over me. :(
It was pretty cool going to a slum school and feeding the kids. We fed around 300 kids for lunch one day maze and beans. They did a program for us singing, dancing, and a skit. We felt like rock starts afterwards all the kids swarming us trying to shake our hands. I stood up on a bench so I could shake hands with more of them. Kevin and Dan started to jump up and down and had the kids do it too. It was kind of chaotic and crazy. I'll have to show you the video later on the blog. I plan to do my own reflection blog page later.
Praise God! 12 more people stepped over the line! We went to a church in the slums, this was deep in the slums. Our intentions were to show the Jesus film but Mike forgot the speaker for the projector. There were 200 people jammed into this shack of a church. We had to squeeze through a maze of alleys of tin shacks with open sewers. Trying to being careful not to slip and fall into the muck! The people in the church were worshiping in Swahili for a longtime waiting for the Jesus film. When Pastor Mike decided not to show the film, we just winged it. Doing a short messages, then introducing our team. We all said our names and something about ourselves. When I got up I yelled, "GOD IS GOOD!" The crowd would reply, "ALL THE TIME! Again, GOD IS GOOD!" The crowd would repeat, "ALL THE TIME!" Did that a couple of times. I yelled "Jesus Loves You!" With both hands in the air. I took off my camera and held it in the air and shouted," I'm taking pictures to show the world to help bring back missionaries to help you and share the LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST! They cheer! After everyone shared Jo Ann gave her testimony and then Kevin did an Alter call. 12 people came up and were saved! Praise God!
We then feed the crowd rice, beans and some kind of meat. Basically it was chili and rice. It was some party! A party in the slums and everyone loved us! By the time it was time to go it was dark. It was different walking through the dark alleys, we had a little sense of security because most of the people knew we were there to help them.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Update from Dan
Wow, can't believe how fast the time is going here. We have been soooo busy. Many days we have gotten up at 7am and didn't return until after 9pm. Today is Sunday 9/14/08 at 8am, so we finally have a late day. We will be going to a church service at 11am, since it will be our last day to spend with the local people, please pray that our sharing of Gods' love through Christ will plant and/or nurture seeds.
I would like to share a few highlights, since this might be our last chance to be near a computer for the 4 days -
Upon our arrival on 9/6 we visited an orphanage(The Nest). What an awesome experience we had spending time with the children, singing and playing games. Of course their welcome of songs put our one song to shame(we sang Jesus -O, to the tune of Bingo......weak!!!) It was awesome to see the love the caretakers had for the children, but more special was there love for God!
On 9/7 we went to a worship service at the Karura church. This is the church the Hyodo family regularly attend. This was a spirit filled worship of about 50 minutes of praise songs then a very good message done in english. Songs included Open the Eyes of My Heart, Only a God Like You, and some worshipful songs in Kiswahili....praise God!
The first few days included construction(building a classroom, placing 80lb cement tiles around a dental office) and painting projects which tired me out...once during a message at the Amref site I was referred to as elderly, when being compared with Kevin!
9/10 at the Amref medical dental outreach we sat in on a small worship service of about 40+ people and had 8 people give their life to Christ. WOWWEEE, this was exciting! I had the privilege of witnessing and praying to 2 people....very emotional to be entrusted by God to help people take this big step...God is
Gooood......allll the time! .....even half way around the world...
On 9/11 we visited the WMI Bible School/Comido school in the Kwan-Jenga slum. this required a 20+ minute walk through the slums with everyone wearing knee high rubber boots. We thought the smell and every thing around was bad, but Mike told us we would be visiting worst slums in the next few days!!!
This was a well organized school, with all the different classes singing or entertaining us with dancing and drama. At the end has we were leaving all the kids wanted to hug or just touch our hands, it was a very moving experience. The best part was when Kevin and I almost created a near riot as we were surrounded by what seemed like over a hundred kids and we had them all jumping up and down whooping wildly and the kids all grabbing at us!!! I don't think the school director was very happy about this, but I know the kids,Kevin and I were enjoying the moment.
While we we were serving lunch to the school children, it was very disheartening to see a boy hanging on the barb wired fence surrounding the school. He was looking very sad as the school children were getting food. It was very ironic that this school was for the poor and for a cost about $3/month they can get an education and meals, but there are many children that are too poor to get into the poor school.
I would like to share a few highlights, since this might be our last chance to be near a computer for the 4 days -
Upon our arrival on 9/6 we visited an orphanage(The Nest). What an awesome experience we had spending time with the children, singing and playing games. Of course their welcome of songs put our one song to shame(we sang Jesus -O, to the tune of Bingo......weak!!!) It was awesome to see the love the caretakers had for the children, but more special was there love for God!
On 9/7 we went to a worship service at the Karura church. This is the church the Hyodo family regularly attend. This was a spirit filled worship of about 50 minutes of praise songs then a very good message done in english. Songs included Open the Eyes of My Heart, Only a God Like You, and some worshipful songs in Kiswahili....praise God!
The first few days included construction(building a classroom, placing 80lb cement tiles around a dental office) and painting projects which tired me out...once during a message at the Amref site I was referred to as elderly, when being compared with Kevin!
9/10 at the Amref medical dental outreach we sat in on a small worship service of about 40+ people and had 8 people give their life to Christ. WOWWEEE, this was exciting! I had the privilege of witnessing and praying to 2 people....very emotional to be entrusted by God to help people take this big step...God is
Gooood......allll the time! .....even half way around the world...
On 9/11 we visited the WMI Bible School/Comido school in the Kwan-Jenga slum. this required a 20+ minute walk through the slums with everyone wearing knee high rubber boots. We thought the smell and every thing around was bad, but Mike told us we would be visiting worst slums in the next few days!!!
This was a well organized school, with all the different classes singing or entertaining us with dancing and drama. At the end has we were leaving all the kids wanted to hug or just touch our hands, it was a very moving experience. The best part was when Kevin and I almost created a near riot as we were surrounded by what seemed like over a hundred kids and we had them all jumping up and down whooping wildly and the kids all grabbing at us!!! I don't think the school director was very happy about this, but I know the kids,Kevin and I were enjoying the moment.
While we we were serving lunch to the school children, it was very disheartening to see a boy hanging on the barb wired fence surrounding the school. He was looking very sad as the school children were getting food. It was very ironic that this school was for the poor and for a cost about $3/month they can get an education and meals, but there are many children that are too poor to get into the poor school.
We have taken many many pictures and have many stories about the slums, but we will not be able to duplicate the AROMA(as Kevin says Odoriferous-ness)!!! We are all looking forward to sharing our experiences with all of you.
I would like to thank Lighthouse for sponsoring us on this mission trip and entrusting us to spread Gods' word around the world. Also, many many thanks to those who have supported us financially and through your many prayers.
See you all in a week.
In Christ, Dan
Week #1 Update from Barb on 9/10
Yes, we have been very busy. Praise God! Eight people excepted Christ today. There was a free medical dental ministry at this small church (it was a tent) about 40 people came into the service while hundreds of people were waiting for medical or dental treatment. They had a one man worship team, then a pastor gave his message and a alter call. Seven people raised their hands to receive Christ. The pastor pointed them out and said go pray with them. I prayed with two people. I got very emotional! Okay.... I would say a few tears rolled out of my eyes! Hugging these two welcoming them into the Kingdom.
Later, Jo Ann and I walked around and passed out tracks to the people sitting around waiting for medical / dental treatment. Soon after, a man came up to Dan and wanted to know what to do with the track. Dan asked him if he knew what it meant and basically walked him over the line. Dan got all emotional too! The man said he came because he heard that there was going to be a American Doctor there and wanted to check it out. Praise God! I think a lot of seeds were planted today because a lot of people were reading the tracks!
There were over a hundred people that received dental care from the little Nairobi dental office. Poor Cindy she worked so hard on filling teeth. Two days ago, Cindy got poked by a dental instrument. In the states it is a big deal, the dental professional is suppose to take some kind of medicine within 24 hours, etc. She's a little worried because she doesn't know the history of the patient and being in Africa, there is a chance of AIDS but the odds are nothing will happen. Please pray for her protection anyway.
We are going to be walking to the school through the slums tomorrow. We went out and bought rubber boots for the walk. Mike thinks we will be walking in deep mud mixed with poop! He said for us to watch out for flying toilets? Meaning people poop in plastic bags then throw them through the air to get rid of them!
Please pray for Dan, too. I think he's coming down with something. His throat hurts and he's very tired. I'm pretty tired too.... I think being on the go so much is catching up with me too. I had to sleep in the van for awhile today.
Later, Jo Ann and I walked around and passed out tracks to the people sitting around waiting for medical / dental treatment. Soon after, a man came up to Dan and wanted to know what to do with the track. Dan asked him if he knew what it meant and basically walked him over the line. Dan got all emotional too! The man said he came because he heard that there was going to be a American Doctor there and wanted to check it out. Praise God! I think a lot of seeds were planted today because a lot of people were reading the tracks!
There were over a hundred people that received dental care from the little Nairobi dental office. Poor Cindy she worked so hard on filling teeth. Two days ago, Cindy got poked by a dental instrument. In the states it is a big deal, the dental professional is suppose to take some kind of medicine within 24 hours, etc. She's a little worried because she doesn't know the history of the patient and being in Africa, there is a chance of AIDS but the odds are nothing will happen. Please pray for her protection anyway.
We are going to be walking to the school through the slums tomorrow. We went out and bought rubber boots for the walk. Mike thinks we will be walking in deep mud mixed with poop! He said for us to watch out for flying toilets? Meaning people poop in plastic bags then throw them through the air to get rid of them!
Please pray for Dan, too. I think he's coming down with something. His throat hurts and he's very tired. I'm pretty tired too.... I think being on the go so much is catching up with me too. I had to sleep in the van for awhile today.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Jambo! Habari!
Greetings and salutations to our beloved at Lighthouse! We arrived in Kenya 2 days ago after roughly 24 hours of travel with little hassle from customs with all of our luggage. We were all very jet lagged, but extremely excited at the same time to carry out God's purpose for us during our short stay here! Here is a recap of our first day:
Saturday 9/6:
We landed in Nairobi at 7am from our 4 hour layover in London ready to start our mission. Our first task: take a nap. All of us were quite jet lagged because none of us could get a good night's rest in the confined space of the airplane. We received our Kenya visas, got through customs, and proceeded directly to the Methodist Guest House where we are staying for the majority of our trip. After cleaning up and experiencing "authentic" Kenyan food for the first time, we ventured off to The Nest orphanage to visit kids (from babies up to 15 years old). Our plan was to bless the children with song, crafts, and candy, but we were completely blown away by the hearts of these kids and their caretakers. Once we arrived at the orphanage, the kids all gathered together and performed a song and dance to greet us! Looking around the compound, we noticed that the favor of God is all over this orphanage - from the caretakers to the numerous visitors that they have received in the past. We sang a song to the kids (think Bingo tune with Jesus in place of B-I-N-G-O), shared the gospel via a "jelly bean prayer" pamphlet and jelly beans, and a craft project that was made up of making a cross necklace with a wooden cross and beads. These kids were so excited to have people there to spend time with them and it touched all of our hearts when it was time for us to leave. It's safe to say that we didn't want to leave so soon, and that the kids blessed us so much with their hearts of gratitude and love.
With that said, la la salama. We won't be blogging everyday, but will do so as often as we can. Keep praying for us please!
Saturday 9/6:
We landed in Nairobi at 7am from our 4 hour layover in London ready to start our mission. Our first task: take a nap. All of us were quite jet lagged because none of us could get a good night's rest in the confined space of the airplane. We received our Kenya visas, got through customs, and proceeded directly to the Methodist Guest House where we are staying for the majority of our trip. After cleaning up and experiencing "authentic" Kenyan food for the first time, we ventured off to The Nest orphanage to visit kids (from babies up to 15 years old). Our plan was to bless the children with song, crafts, and candy, but we were completely blown away by the hearts of these kids and their caretakers. Once we arrived at the orphanage, the kids all gathered together and performed a song and dance to greet us! Looking around the compound, we noticed that the favor of God is all over this orphanage - from the caretakers to the numerous visitors that they have received in the past. We sang a song to the kids (think Bingo tune with Jesus in place of B-I-N-G-O), shared the gospel via a "jelly bean prayer" pamphlet and jelly beans, and a craft project that was made up of making a cross necklace with a wooden cross and beads. These kids were so excited to have people there to spend time with them and it touched all of our hearts when it was time for us to leave. It's safe to say that we didn't want to leave so soon, and that the kids blessed us so much with their hearts of gratitude and love.
With that said, la la salama. We won't be blogging everyday, but will do so as often as we can. Keep praying for us please!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Leaving for Kenya
[Thank you to Al for setting up this blogsite for the Kenya Team!]
"We're off to Kenya!"
All six members (Cindy & Dan, Barb, JoAnn, Novelette and Kevin) made it to the airpot with THIRTEEN pieces of check-in luggage--and every single one weighted 50.5 lbs!! (The limit per piece is 50 lbs, with a fee of $50 for each piece 51-70 lbs). Each suitcase originally weighted 49-52 lbs so the team quickly switched a few slippers and toothbrushes here and there. At the ticketing counter every suitcase showed a weight of 51 lbs--but the woman at the counter was nice and let them all go. In the end she said, "God bless you!" so the team figured she was a Christ-follower and knew they were on a mission trip to bless the people of Kenya.
Right away God gave the team much grace! And they totally were at the very LIMIT of what they could take, with each suitcase filled with medical supplies, toothbrushes, children's clothes, etc.We were able to pray and then the team went smoothly through security. Hopefully they'll be able to access this blogsite and keep us posted on their trip.
May God watch over you all!---P Nancy
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tenative Schedule
9/4 Flight to London
9/5 Flight to Nairobi
9/6 Orphanage visit
9/7 Church service and construction project
9/8 Dental outreach and painting project
9/9 Dental outreach and evangelism
9/10 Dental outreach and evangelism
9/11 WMI Bible school and Commido school visit
9/12 Visit Mathare Slum and Mcedo School
9/13 Construction project and evangelism meeting
9/14 Church service
9/15 Depart for Maasai Mara tribal visit and safari
9/16 Tribal visit and safari
9/17 Travel to Nairobi and fly to London
9/18 Fly home to Seattle
9/5 Flight to Nairobi
9/6 Orphanage visit
9/7 Church service and construction project
9/8 Dental outreach and painting project
9/9 Dental outreach and evangelism
9/10 Dental outreach and evangelism
9/11 WMI Bible school and Commido school visit
9/12 Visit Mathare Slum and Mcedo School
9/13 Construction project and evangelism meeting
9/14 Church service
9/15 Depart for Maasai Mara tribal visit and safari
9/16 Tribal visit and safari
9/17 Travel to Nairobi and fly to London
9/18 Fly home to Seattle
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