Back in Kenya!!! THE FIRST WEEK!

Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains

                    are the feet of those who bring good news

                    who proclaim peace,

                    who bring good tidings,

                    who proclaim salvation,

                    who say to Zion, 

                    "Your God reigns!"

We are back in Kenya with a small team of Rob Frechette, a pastor, and Abby Hayman, a young woman who is considering mission work in her future.  We are so excited to be back among our Kenyan friends and in this country that we love.  We are going to try to take you on a quick tour through our days week by week.  We left the U.S. on February 16, arrived in Kenya on February 17, and hit the ground running.  The day that I started this blog we were sort of stuck in the house because it rained all night and during the morning.  We made a mad dash to the center to take some of the girls who are home for a short break and slid our way back home.  We can't go back out until the roads dry, so it is the equivalent of a "snow day"!  We all laughed at this analogy because Abby was homeschooled and she said she had never had a snow day.  I told her, "Nobody else could EVER say that they had a snow day in Kenya!"  Or maybe we should call it a mud day!

Our idea is to take you on a virtual mission trip.  It will be a whirlwind journey!  Here we go!

February 18

We spent our first day holding church with the girls and babies at the center.  What a joy to be back with them again...and how the babies have grown.  Pretty soon we will have to call them children and not babies.

Rob preaching our Sunday service.

The girls and Abby bonded very quickly.  They enjoy hearing about her life in the U.S. and how she lives for God.

Abby loves the babies and the babies love her.  She is teaching them English words!  They also like her hair...a LOT!

February 19

One year ago Rob started holding a bible study online through What'sApp with a group of young Kenyan pastors and church leaders.  When I think about the dedication and concentration it takes to hold a bible study through a text-like format (for teacher and students alike), it is totally an amazing feat.  Certificates are very important in Kenya, so we had a presentation ceremony.  It was a joy to see him meet these men and women face to face. 

And Abby connected with the younger students right away!

February 20

We did home visits in the area of the pastors that Rob taught. We saw a total of four widows and families.  We gave them food and supplies but how blessed we were to spend time with them.

First were Ruth and Grace.  They were so full of the love of the Lord, it radiated from their faces.  The advice they gave Abby was so profound, that we are going to arrange for them to share their stories with the girls at the center.  They told Abby to walk closely with God and to not participate in what most young people do, to love her husband and stay devoted to him.  The also told her to choose wisely when it comes to a husband.  

Next was Idis and Lydia.  Idis has a problem with her legs from an old injury and isn't able to work.  Lydia was an applicant to be at the rescue center but we have an age limit and she exceeded it.  She also has two small babies.  We brought gifts of food for all of the people we visited and shared the gospel.  We had a long talk with Lydia.  She shared how hard it is for her to go to church.  We were sympathetic with her fears but invited her to church on Sunday.  We promised we would sit with her to make her feel comfortable.

Next we visited Peter and his wife Ann.  Peter is extremely weak and has contractures of his hands and feet.  But look at Ann's face.  They have come through hard times, with Peter being an alcoholic before he came to be a brother in Christ.  They are running the good race and the joy shows on Ann's face.  Abby summed it up perfectly, "These people have nothing, but their joy in the Lord is so much more than ours."  This is a lesson we can all learn from.

February 21

In all the ceremony, you have to have a day of pure fun and today was it.  We had a VBS for the young ones at the center.  This is a trailer.  If you want to see the full film, see me when I get home.

Our first story was the story of Zacchaeus, complete with a visit from the two men themselves.  

The babies were asking, "Is that Ken?"  What a fun time!  We were all asking Ken, "Why are you walking that way?"  He said, "I have to be shorter than Jesus!"

Next we taught them the Zacchaeus song. 

They were a bit young but with some one on one attention, they got some of the moves though they still used their word, Zakayo, for his name.

Next we shared the story of Willie the Woolly Worm.  

It's a great story using the colors of the worm to share the gospel.  It is a story that Abby's mom shared with her and she shared with me.  Abby made Willie and brought him all the way to Kenya from South Carolina.  Willie mesmerized the kids.  He had a little accident (actually, he was accidentally beheaded by Florah) but is all recovered and ready to share his story again.

February 22

On Thursday, Rob and Ken went to a conference at Shalom Baptist Church for pastors and church leaders in the Makutano area.

 Rob teaching 32 pastors and church leaders on "Doing Church".

While Rob and Ken did seminars, Abby and I had the job of taking sick babies to clinic.  With 17 babies spending all day together, there are lots of trips to the clinic.

Waiting to see the doctor, which turned out to be a nurse.

This is NOT Vinnie's happy face.

If you ever come on a mission trip and a baby has to have an injection...run away before Florah does.  I have done this twice now.  She lets you hold them during the bad times and then tries to take them to "make everything better"!  

An order of chips (french fries) makes everything better.  This is only the second time in their lives they have had french fries.

February 23

Friday, Ken and Rob were in Rob's second seminar.  Same topic different location.  This time they were at Kingdom Destiny Church in Wyumiririe and had 46 in attendance.

Notice the change of attire.  I little too hot for the coat and tie.

While they were in seminar, Abby and I did the weekly shopping for the center.

This is our local market.  Every Friday, a trip is made for beans, fruits, and vegetables.

All the girls are home for a short break.  So we spent good times with them but Abby was a special hit with the babies!

February 24

This is one of the highlights of this trip.  I will write more about the challenges of Kenyan young people and marriage in a later blog, but for today...we had a WEDDING!!!!!!  Our guard Francis, who has been with us since before the Rescue Center formally opened was married to his fiancé Purity.  Marriage is something that Ken and I teach on a lot here in Kenya.  It was our first ever Kenyan wedding.  Francis is like a son to us so we were honored and proud to be their best couple.  We pray that their example of a covenant relationship that binds them together in eyes of God will be an inspiration for others to find out how this works biblically. Kenya is a "you come we stay" culture and needs much prayer in this area for the sake of the family unit

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Also, during the wedding, Abby stepped out in faith to do something she has never done before.  She taught a class for a group of youth on holiness.  This may seem like a little step of faith to you, but Abby doesn't like speaking in public.  She put her trust in God, stepped out in His power and did a great job.  Rob went with her as Ken and I stayed at the wedding as our duty required.  We didn't get to hear her but were told she did an excellent job.

This concludes the first week of your virtual mission trip.  There is much more to come!  Please pray for all the people we have met and shared with as well as all the decisions that we must make.  

Blessings to you all (as the lights just went out again)!