This is a blog two friends and I wrote while in Kenya...
Jambo and karibu (Hello and welcome) from Sarah 'Diesel' Denning, Stephanie 'Mama Reb' Rebis, and Jon 'The Bucket' Roberts. We speak on behalf of our ENTIRE team (whose nicknames we cannot all fit in here) as they all lie sleeping after a long day of spontaneous zebra, baboon, warthog, and gazelle encounters. As we are nearing the end of our first week here in Kijabe, we have already seen our mighty Father begin to work in the lives of our team and the village of Kijabe. Before we left for Kenya we were told that there was a great need for rain in Kijabe. There had been a drought for four months leaving food prices high and many people hungry. When we arrived, Pastor Simon, our host here, once again expressed the great need for rain. Our prayers and concerns were so numerous at first that we often forgot about the rain. Wednesday night our group came together with the intention of praying for rain, knowing that God would bless Kijabe when we were faithful in prayer. At the same time adjusting to Kijabe proved difficult for the team and we began to lose our focus and unity that we built at training camp. As we grew more faithful in our prayer we began to feel more aware of the lack of unity within our team. It was Friday night when we came together to discuss all that was building up inside. As the Holy Spirit moved within our group and began to reinforce the bonds of love that form our family, we heard a soft rattle on the tin roof. God proved Himself faithful once again by bringing our team closer together and blessing Kijabe with rain for the first time in four months. We all ran outside and began to praise God in the rain for His constant provision and everlasting love for His children. When we stopped to take it all in, we could hear the children at the nearby school also outside, rejoicing in the rain. It was a night we will not forget as God answered the prayers of our hearts and the cries of His people. God is sooo good...the rain has not stopped and we can hear it right now! Of course this means mosquitoes, but we are willing to deal with it. =)
Yesu Anakupenda, tutaonana!
(Jesus loves you, see ya later!)
A picture of the answer to our prayers...rain =)
Hakuna Matata
This past fall (Sep.-Dec.) I spent my time in Kenya serving God and His people. =)
Monday: This is my class I taught with my friend Megan. We would do lots of memory verses, Bible scavenger hunts, and writing. They are the best!
Tuesday: Our team would travel an hour in bus to a tribal village where we would walk from boma (hut) to boma doing house visits (talking about Jesus, praying, encouraging, etc.)
Wednesday: There was a hospital in Kijabe (the town we stayed) and we would visit the patients to encourage and pray with them. The last month I was able to work in their Dental Clinic. They had me doing so much hands on stuff it was crazy...not an experience that I would get in the US. This is my leader, Angie, she was nice enough to let me clean her teeth! =)
Thursday: This was our day off with every other week being communication day. On that day we would travel to Nairobi to email family & friends. On the non-communication days we would hang out with the locals.
Friday: Walking an hour through the woods in skirts and flip-flops to Old Kijabe Town was our Friday. Once we arrived we would teach at more schools or do more house visits. The kids there don't have as much hair so they LOVE to pet white people (and I love to be pet). =)
Saturday: Either doing house visits in Kijabe, or going down to the Great Rift Valley where we would visit IDP Camps (Internally Displaced People). These people have been living in tents for the past 2 years, most of them with no jobs. Our team was able to bring them food, encouragement for the adults, and fun & games for the kids.
Kibera Slum: Our last week in Kenya we visited Kibera; Africa's second largest slum. It was so crazy the amount of people living there. Very eye opening for our group.
Baby Orphanage: Our last week we also visited a baby orphanage where our duty was to strictly love the kids! What an amazing job description.
