So, I have less than a week here in Africa, and it's kind of weird to think that it's gone by so quickly. I feel sometimes like I've been here for a week and other times, especially when I'm peeing in a squatty potty, I feel like I've been here for years. Haha, seriously though, I have thoroughly enjoyed my month here, and I will miss Mpeketoni a lot.
We have come in contact with injustice in many ways though. Whether it is the high drinking rate, or how common it is for husbands to beat their wives and go to witchdoctors, or the apathy about a relationship with Christ in Kenya, all of it is disturbing in many ways.
Despite those factors about life here in Kenya, I see great hope for the country. We have come in contact with great men and women of God. People like our contact, Bishop Bisuru, or a pastor in a mud hut with a tin roof, or a widow in the market selling oranges, I see people with deeply rooted faith in Jesus. I'm confident that it will be people like them that will make a difference in Mpeketoni.
If someone asked me if this month was worth it, I would ask what he or she was trying to get out of it. If someone just wants a normal mission trip, only serving other people for a month, I would say nope, this isn't for you. If someone was looking for an opportunity to work on their heart for a month, receiving encouragement and challenges from a community of believers, with ministry on the side, then yes, this experience has most definitely been worth it. I have been tested and stripped away of the characteristics of my heart that are not of Christ. It's been a challenge, but it's been the most productive time I've had with the Lord in a long, long time.
Thanks AIM for the opportunity; it's been awesome.
It's been a pretty busy week here in Mpeketoni. We began last Thursday with an open-air revival in the middle of the market, and then continued on afterwards for a night revival at the church. It lasted from Thursday to Sunday night.
I never knew God would use my gift for worship the way he has this week. Along with two of my teammates playing guitars, I've been leading worship. And to be honest, even though I do it every Sunday at church, it's really different when you're all alone singing for half an hour. I was pretty nervous at first, wondering whether my voice sounded okay or not, but I think about a few time of leading, I'm completely comfortable with it. I really don't even think that hundreds of Africans are watching me, I just sing. And it's been awesome to see God's faithfulness in it all. It's also pretty crazy seeing people get saved here.
There was one woman who came to give her life to Christ and also had a terrible pain in her ears. So after listening to her pray to receive Christ, with tears streaming down her face, we prayed for the pain in her ears to subside. After we finished, she was jumping up and down, shaking her head with no pain in her ears. I feel like God was saying, "Duh, I'm going to heal her." It was still amazing though, and the woman now has a perfect testimony of God's great love for her. This is just one of the many small miracles that has happened here.
YES! we have malaria. Almost all of our team had it or still has it. One girl has typhoid and another is in the hospital now for parasites and stuff. Satan is definitely attacking the health of our team... it is a spiritual warfare, i know. Please keep my team and I in your prayers as we fight back. Jesus has already won the victory...so we know how this will end. Short blog because of internet issues but I wanted to give ya'll a quick update and some pictures!
"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you" John 14:18 favorite moment of the month.
this is where we sleep at night. eleven girls. on the floor. and somehow the bugs still find their way in the nets. "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" Matt. 19:14
I love you Dad! I love how you shaped my life and helped me grow into the woman I am today! I've been thinking about you a lot on this trip! I miss you very very much! My team created this little video and I hope you like it!
Here's how we worship God in Kenya. And we do it like this ALL DAY LONG. Yesterday might have been one of the greatest days of my life.
A group of missionaries came from Nairobi to do some ministry for the weekend and they. were. amazing. period. They just lit up the church. They held a concert yesterday after church so the day was just crazy dancing, joy, worship, and prayer!
The soles of my shoes gained an extra 3 inches on the walk home from the villages' secondary schoolâ€"in pouring, Kenyan rain through ankle-deep mud. The students laughed at us as they held our arms, supporting us when our Chacos slid all over the squishy road.
“You need shoes that hold your feet inside,” laughed one of the Kenyans.
“Whoa, those are the shoes that Jesus wore!” the girl on my right realized. The rest of the teens clicked their tongues in excitement (Kenyan thing) as they examined the hunks of mud that used to be my feet.
And I've grown to realize not only do I now understand how muddy and colorful Jesus' feet must have become (He didn't have Pampers Cool Breeze Baby Wipes), along how amazing a foot wash was back in Biblical times, but walking as an evangelist and disciple of Christ, we've encountered so many things that mirror the travels of the Big Twelve.
Spiritual warfare…it's real. Demon-possessed boys…exist. The Holy Spirit is living and breathing and real.
Our ministry involves hours a day of walking through corn fields with local Kenyan missionaries and stopping at each house along the way. “House” meaning anything from a mud hut to grass gazebo, some the size of my closet, some as big as my bathroom. Recently, we've been on the nicer side of town, and the houses have furniture and posters on the wall.
The best part has been meeting the people. Each family has a story, some that can be revealed just by taking the time to look in their eyes. At first, just spending half an hour in their homes and reading a Psalm didn't seem to be very effective. “But even just by walking by you make a difference,” Mama Joyce (our caretaker) told us. “They'll wonder where a white person is from, what you're doing here, and could be led to Jesus just because you took the time to smile.”
And the heavy feeling in some of the houses isn't just the heat. The second we start praying a drastic peace fills the house, one that I've never felt before in the States…because the devil hides so well there. Behind distractions, through so many things that blind our lives.
But here? A baby will physically shake when we pray over him. A look into the red eyes of a crippled boy will make you want to run.
However, each one of those encounters only serves as a miraculous sign to show that God is real. Healing a brain tumor, malaria, hopelessness…that wasn't me! And prophecy, speaking in tongues, the power of a spoken prayer really does work. The things that I used to scoff at and think that couldn't really be real is here, happening right before my eyes.
Just small little thoughts I've had as I walk in my Jesus shoes.
Want to get married in Kenya?You better have a dowry prepared! It is
socially unacceptable to be married without some type of gift suitable for the
bride's family.Often times it is
money but it could be 100 cows. This all depends on the bride's family and what
they expect for their daughter.Jonah says that 100 cows is about average.
1 mature cow = 10,000 shillings
10,000 shillings X 100 cows = 1,000,000
shillings
1 million shillings = about $13,000
I learned about dowries in school but I never
realized the reality of it.To get
married, it is required to have the money. If you want to marry without a
dowry, the couple has to run away or “steal” her from the family.Men will work for years to save enough
money to propose. Many times, Kenyan couples will not get married if they're
poor because they cannot afford a dowry.It is MUCH harder to make that amount of money here. In the US, we have
the choice on how much money we want to spend on the wedding but Africans,
unfortunately, do not.The good
thing is that the husband does not have the pay the entire amount at once which
makes it a little easier for the men.
When you become engaged, you wear the
engagement ring on your MIDDLE finger.Then at the wedding, the ring is moved to your ring finger.
Jonah and Jocenta, all star members of the
church choir, recently married in April.They dated secretly for one year.When you announce that you're a couple to the public, it is often
expected that you will be married.Therefore, couples date in private until they are sure they want to
marry each other.Then they were
engaged for 3 years before they were married.
I thought all of this was sooo interesting/beautiful/romantic and
wanted to share with everyone. <3
Bishop is truly an influential man.His life is completely dedicated to serving
God every single day.As you
get to know him and observe his lifestyle, it is obvious he is not connected to
any thing of this world.If he
were to lose everything he has right now, he would accept God has a bigger plan
for him and seek what his savior has next.In every way, Bishop lives for God and truly is free.
Every morning, Bishop wakes up at 2 am.From 2 - 3 am he studies his bible then
from 3 - 6 am he spends the time worshiping.He says, if he misses a morning, he misses his time with his
father.This dedication is
admirable and has continued this discipline since 1983.
He loves and never stops loving.He calls every one his
"daughter" or "son" and has compassion unlike no other.He takes special time to spend for
every person here and seeks to have a personal relationship with them. He provides guidance and tries to help us grow in our faith any way he can.
Every material possession he owns is viewed as
a gift from God.Although he does
not have many possessions, his family is doing well and all his children have
received the best education at Mpeketoni secondary school.
The bishop is so passionate about serving God
especially through evangelism. He is always reaching out to non-believers and
seeking to share the Gospel.Although the culture is more receptive to evangelism, he is very
enthusiastic about going door to door or open air sermons in the market.
There is so much to be said about this
man.He sets a great example of a
Christian and has truly served as an influence in my life.
This is pastor Joseph, his wife Mercy, and their 3 year old daughter Patience. We have been crashing at their house this month.
