Kenya Blog 
 

Below is the expected schedule for the Kenya team, and in each section there has been added updates that we received from them.  Thank you for your prayers!

The Kenya team has written about the highlights of their trip.  You can read them here.

Wednesday, the 13th 

Flight departs 2:11pm. Route is Charlotte, Chicago, Amsterdam, Nairobi.

They are off!

At 11:30 this morning, the big blue bus pulled out with the 13 team members.  Please pray for safe traveling the next few days.

Thursday, the 14th 

Forced 12 hour layover in Amsterdam.  Possibly visit the Corrie ten Boom house, Anne Frank house, and the Rembrandt Museum.

En Route

"Trip is going well so far. Although our flight from Chicago to Amsterdam had us spread all over the plane, Jeff, Joy, and Gerry had significant spiritual conversations with the people sitting next to them.

Amsterdam was wonderful. We had two helpful guides (Peter and Anton) who really made it possible. We were able to visit the Corrie ten Boom house and took a tour of the canals of Amsterdam.

Everyone is very tired. Pray that we will get sleep on the overnight flight to Kenya. We leave in a few minutes and arrive at 6:30am Kenya time.

Otherwise everything is going well. We are excited to get to Kenya."

Bret

6/14/07  2:36 PM eastern

Friday, the 15th 

Arrive 6:30 am.  We will be staying at the Wycliffe Center (BTL).  Tour Nairobi.  Introduced to the New Life homes we will be serving at.  Adjust to the 8 hours of jet lag.  We will have culture and language presentations from translators.

They've Arrived!

"We have arrived in Kenya. God blessed us with a fairly empty flight, so most of us were able to share 3 seats among 2 people. The majority of us got about 4 hours of sleep on the flight from Amsterdam to Kenya.

We didn’t have any problems at immigrations, and weren’t even stopped at customs. Praise God.

We arrived at BTL and unpacked. We had our first Kenyan tea (chi) and prepared to leave. Ester was feeling dizzy (due to hardly having any sleep at all over the past two days, so she opted to stay and sleep). She is feeling much better.

I took the rest of the team around to keep them up and busy. We got stuck in major traffic, but we got to see and experience a bit of life in Kenya. We went to the "Giraffe Center" where we got to feed giraffes up on an elevated plat form- eye to eye. Many team members chose to hold the feed in their month and let the giraffes lick the food off them… pretty gross in my opinion. We visited a few other places of interest and then came back to BTL for a brief nap.

We are just about to head to New Life to visit the orphans and get oriented. We will be meeting up with Meredith Abernathy (an MK in Kenya who is about to furlough with her family at JAARS). Meredith will be joining our team while we are in Kenya.

So far I have confirmed all of our plans for the rest of our time here and everything seems to be falling in place nicely.

Here’s some messages back home from the team:

Jenny- Mom, don’t forget to feed the fish. I love you guys (parents). Oh, and I kissed a giraffe!

Claire- Kenya reminds me of the Philippines. I hope you’re doing well (parents)

Ester- I took a nap and am feeling much better.

Joy- I love you (parents). Mom, happy B-day. Happy Father’s day to Alex and daddy. Oh, and I got you presents! But Karen, I didn’t get your chocolate yet.

Jerry- I wish you were here. Lot’s of people have asked about you. See you in 13 days. I love you very much.

Helen Marie- I love Africa and I’m not coming home!"

(Be sure to look at the newest pictures in the album)

Saturday, the 16th 

New Life Home - caring for orphans 2 and younger, many of whom are HIV positive.  Painting a laundry room.  Doing a mini VBS with 10 orphans ages 5-12.

Working Hard

Last night (Friday) we met the Pruits and learned about the ministry of New Life Homes.  They house up to 50 children below the age of 2 that are abandoned… most HIV positive.  The facility is amazing as it has its own ICU.

We returned to BTL for dinner.  After dinner we had a Kenyan named Henry share his testimony of how God used his horrible life situations and really turned him around.  It impressed upon our team how important it is to minister to these young ones and to have hope for them.

Last night I told everyone to be in bed by 10:30, but I think everyone was asleep by 9:45!  We were a tired group, and we woke up refreshed today (Saturday). We split into two groups today, some spending time with the babies at New Life, and the other 7 at “The Ark.”  The Ark is a part of the Ministry of New Life. It’s about a block away.  Children who are not adopted by age 2 will be placed in a home like this and taken care of in a preeminent foster care type setting.  At the Ark the team did a modified VBS with the 10 children there (ages 3-7).  Riah did a great job teaching about how even “broken vessels” can be used by God.

The entire team has done an excellent job really diving right into the ministry and taking the initiative.  The Pruits commented that they were touched at how they eagerly they cleaned up the after meal messes (food was everywhere!).

We started painting the laundry facility this afternoon.  Progress was faster than expected.

Most of the team is still feeling the results of jet lag.  Pray for a good rest tonight is we will come back early tomorrow morning (Sunday) to help out.  (Although many Kenyans come and volunteer throughout the week, Sunday morning there are hardly any volunteers since most go to church).  So we plan to be here at 8am to help feed the kids and get them ready for the day.

Pray for: More energy tomorrow.  A continued willingness to pour love into these kids.  Praise that our ministry has been appreciated and welcomed.

Sunday, the 17th 

Same shedule as Saturday.

Sunday Afternoon

"We had a long team meeting last night to process all that we are doing at New Life.  It is emotionally difficult for all of us to pour our love into kids and know that we will have to say goodbye tomorrow (Monday).  We questioned weather it was worth doing since we know it will be hard on the kids.  But Lee (Admin Director at New Life) told us that even though it will be hard on the kids, the kids that get the one on one attention (spoiling) develop better in the long run.  We were encouraged by that.

Today we found out that they took in a new baby.  The mom was 14 and unable to keep the baby due to cultural shunning.  At 24 hour old, the baby was brought to New Life.  Weighing 2.5kg, little Bret (as he has been named) is going to spend a few day in the ICU here before joining the others.  Fortunately, he was born HIV negative.  Still, he is without parents, so we need to pray for adoption parents.

Mary, an infant here, was taken home for the day.  Her future parents were allowed to take her home as part of the process of adoption.  We were glad to see that the children are being adopted, but it was hard to let her go (especially for Riah) since we had grown attached to her

in just a day.

VBS at the Ark went better today.  Joy taught about the armor of God.  They decorated frisbees that said "The World's Best Dad." It was explained that even though they don't have a dad, that God is the BEST dad in the world.  Then they had the fun experience of teaching the kids how to throw the frisbees.  The kids at the Ark are extremely excited about our "field trip" tomorrow to go see the animals.

The team went to an open market and had a real cultural experience.  Learning how to barter came easy for some... for others, the learned how to pay way to much! 

Prayers:  Ann Marie (missionary here at New Life) is down sick today.  Pray for a quick return to health. 

Majority of us are doing well on our sleep, but now we are battling emotional drain from pouring love into these precious kids.  Our team has already shed many tears over these kids.

Praise- for continued health on the team.  That each day we have had opportunities to minister in the name of Christ and continue to be a positive witness for him.  Praise that the Pruits continue to be encouraged by the right heart of our team."

Parents, be sure to read the "Notes to Dads" page and email a short response to  mike_matheson@sil.org by Monday evening, and he will forward them on.

06/17/2007 09:51 AM

Monday, the 18th 

Meet with Merci and her mother (World Vision Child the youth group sponsors).  Take her and the older New Life Children to the Nairobi Animal orphanage.  Take children to the pool.  Say our goodbyes to New Life Home.

Monday Update

"Today we had a bitter sweet day. We picked up the 10 children from the Ark and took them to the Kenya Wildlife animal orphanage and safari walk. We also picked up Mercy (The girl the youth group supports through World Vision) with her mother and baby sister.

The children (and our team) had a wonderful time looking at the animals. One of the girls from the Ark is blind, but we were given the opportunity to pet some cheetahs that were raised by hand. Although she wasn’t able to enjoy looking at the animals, it was a special treat for her.

We had a long day with the children, and many of them fell asleep on the bus on the way home. Mercy and her mom said they really appreciated the opportunity to come to Nairobi and really enjoyed their time at the park. We gave her a doll to remember us with, which she really loved.

When we dropped of the children at the Ark, there were many tears… both from the children, the foster moms, and our team. We really built some special bonds and were asked to come again. We were able to leave them with a HUGE box of markers, crayons, and glue.

Right now the team is back at the New Life Home saying goodbye to the infants and toddlers. This is our last time at New Life, and it has really impacted the team deeply. Jerry, in particular, is praying about how God might be directing his future as a result. Many of us have children we want to take home.

We were able to leave the home with about 50 bibs, training pants, and plastic pants to go over their cloth diapers. We were also able to help them get a good start on painting their laundry room, and paid for all the supplies needed to complete the project.

While the team was doing all of this, Jerry was able to meet up with many of the men he worked with while he was in Kenya many years ago. We look forward to hearing about his time.

Praise: For being able to meet our World Vision child Mercy and her mom (and baby sister). For the fun time we had with the children today looking at the animals. Everyone appears to have adjusted to the time change.

Prayer: 2 students on the team drank from a water fountain without thinking... pray for health especially as we have a long trip tomorrow. Pray for so many precious children here that need to be adopted. For the team to receive the maximum benefit from the presentation tomorrow by Wycliffe translators."

No new pictures -- Bret has tried, but it hasn't worked.  He will try again Tuesday.  Parents, be sure to get your short notes to your kids to Mike_matheson@sil.org by Monday evening.

Tuesday, the 19th 

Morning:  BTL missionaries will give us a cultural and language presentation.  Bible Translators will share with us about their ministry. 

Afternoon:  Depart for Narok (3 hours West of Nairobi).  We will be sleeping on the floors at the Narok Church of Christ.

Narok Bound

We spent the morning at BTL going over who BTL is and the work they are doing in East Africa. We had an anthropologist tell us about cultural difference being in Kenya. A translator named Vincent form Pokomo talked to us about how the translator work through all the processes to complete his translation project. Florence talked to us about literacy and how it needs to be done so as the Bible is completed people can know how to read it.

We left BTL around 12:30 for our trip to Narok. The road has been worked on but it needs a lot of work to make it smooth. We arrive after 6:00 PM to the house we are staying at in Narok. We had supper prepared and it seemed everyone enjoyed the meal of rice, beef stew with potatoes, carrots, peas, and onions, and also there were chapatis. We youth enjoyed the meal and everyone seemed to have a good night sleep.

Wednesday, the 20th 

VBS with street boys (about 20) and the church’s preschool children  (over 100).

In Narok

Today, we arrived at the church and school where Bret worked many years ago. Bret had fun meeting old friends and meeting new friends as well. The school had 130 primary age children and 146 pre-school age children. The youth first played with the pre-school children and enjoyed doing bubbles and having the children chase after the bubbles.

After the pre-school they worked with the primary age children doing three different sessions, one for craft where Laura, Jenny, Josiah, and Clara taught the children about the cross and what Jesus did for them and then they worked on a scratch the cross craft. The second area was teaching the children American songs, like: Jesus Loves Me, Deep and Wide, King of the Jungle, and a couple others, this was led by Sarah and help came from Abby, Helen Marie, and Joy. The last Bible studies, Riah leaded the Bible and did a really great job. She had help with this from Jeff and Ester.

During the play time each of the youth played games or sang with the children. Jeff did exercises (jumping, push-ups, and running). He also was being used like an elephant to herd the children around. Ester and Josiah played football with so many children, not sure how they did this in the room they had and the many children that played along. Riah, Joy, and Abby played red light and the children seemed to enjoy leading a game.

What was fun for me was watching the Kenyan children teach our youth how to sing Swahili songs and play Kenyan games. The youth had so much fun playing with each child. Another thing was watching the children touch the skin and hair of the youth, our hair is so fine and they just wanted to touch it and see how it felt.

Pray requests: That each of us will be used by God to see each person grow closer to Him. That we will be lighthouses for our Lord and Savior. That as we come back tomorrow we would be all that God wants us to be as we minister to children and adults.

Praises: That God has been before us in all things and He has led us to every possible ministry. He has been so faithful and loving to us. Thanks for praying we really need it as God moves in us and teaches all of us more about Him.

Thursday, 21st 

Same as Wednesday.

Leading VBS

Wednesday evening we lead part of the prayer service at the church. Jeff, Joy, and Laura shared their testimonies (which were translated). They each did a wonderful job and the people were encouraged. We also did the chair skit which made the people laugh Jeff especially did a great job considering the chair was cumbersome to use for the skit. We sang some songs for them and they sang some traditional songs for us. Jerry preached that night on Acts 2 and it was really well received.

Wednesday night we had dinner at the home of the street boys. Just a few small rooms is the home of about 14 street boys. We hope to hear their stories of how their lives have changed since being accepted into the program. Some have lived on the streets so long and sniffed glue that they didn’t even know their names or how old they were when they were rescued from the street.

Thursday morning we did another VBS with the school children. Laura taught about how Christians should be known by their fruit. She did a great job and the students understood it and learned their memory verse well (though the reward of candy may have been a motivating factor). Claire led a craft that included decorating a Frisbee (which many didn’t know how to use). On the Frisbee is it said "World’s Greatest Dad." We taught them that God was the greatest dad we could ever hope for. Joy, Sarah, and many others had a fun time leading songs with the children. Josiah (an MK Bret worked with in Kenya) has been a excellent addition in our ministry at Narok. His guitar playing has helped blessed the children and our team during worship times.

This afternoon we had an assembly where all the children (about 350) gathered together and sang songs for us. They sang a song that they received an award for in a singing competition, and our group really enjoyed the singing and chorography. Afterwards we gave the school 3 balls, about 500 colored markers, 800 crayons, many bottles of glue, and a big bag of candy to enjoy after their end of term exams.

Mid afternoon we divided into four teams and headed out to lead home Bible studies. Jeff, Jerry, Ester, and Bret lead the studies at each of the homes. Most of the teams had opportunity to share their testimonies. The church is struggling with getting people to read their Bible and to do discipleship. The children’s program however, is excellent.

We had dinner last night with church leaders from the Narok church. It was a good time of fellowship. They said they really appreciated our team and welcomed us to come again soon… and to stay longer. They also presented some request for keyboard, speakers, and to help them build more classrooms. Everyone on the team really enjoyed the ministry and saw the presence of God in the schools especially.

We will be heading to the Oletukat "bush" to do evangelistic teaching among several Maasai villages the next couple of days. This will likely be our last communication until at least Sunday (when we return from the "bush"), but more likely until Wednesday (when we return to Nairobi). The main village we will be going to (Enkorika) was a place that believed that God lived in a nearby cave, and so they called the cave "the house of God." When Bret was here years ago he got permission from the chief to go inside the cave and show that God did not live there. As a result, they change the name of the cave (since they realized that God did not live there) and shortly after, a church began. The village church has been growing, but they continue to struggle with their traditional religious beliefs.

Praises: Today when we were doing a craft we were worried we wouldn’t have enough. However at the last class, we had EXACTLY enough for everyone! The school has expressed great appreciation for our ministry and the children have received the gospel message well… even some who come from Muslim and Hindu families. For the students who have really embraced the ministry here. We had a good team time and it has helped bring back our unity.

Prayers: Safe travel in the "bush." That the team will get adequate rest in the Maasai homes which have goats living inside them and are smoky, dusty, and lots of bugs. :) Pray for all the teachings we have prepared that they will be translated well and culturally appropriate. A few people on the team are suffering from various minor sicknesses and pains. Bret in particular is almost losing his voice. Nothing that has stopped them from participating.

<Be sure to read notes from the students here>

Friday, the 22nd 

Travel to the “bush” East of Narok to minister to rural Maasai villages.  We will do VBS and an evangelistic teaching to support the growing churches.  Sleeping will be in traditional Maasai home. 

Home Team - 1   Goats - 0

We arrive in a remote village called Enkorika Friday afternoon. We were warmly greeted by both church and non church members… in such a way that even our translators were baffled. Many times in this area the evangelists had been chased away.

We broke into 3 teaching groups (men, women, and children). Jeff taught the first lesson to the men on the curse of the Law. The Holy Spirit really worked through his message and got even the old men engaged in a deep discussion afterwards. Ester (followed by Shelly, Claire, and another) taught the women. Ester’s lesson/testimony really impacted the Maasai women. Bret taught the children (ages 4 and down).

After lunch (which included a slaughtered goat) we spent a lot of time in the village and talking with the people.

The team did an excellent job sleeping in tough conditions. The Maasai were touched that we wanted to stay with them in their homes and really brought us into the culture. That night Jerry, Bret, and Jeff were invited to the senior elder’s home for dinner and tea. We learned about culture and were able to challenge him to accept God into their culture. By the end, when it came to the place where he would put a request to us for help, instead of asking for a school or a clinic like he initially was leaning, he asked us to help them finish building the church. This was a MAJOR break through.

Saturday, the 23rd 

Large Evangelistic meeting.  Goats will be slaughtered, and villagers will walk from miles around to hear us preach about Christ.

Home Team - 2  Goats - 0

Jerry taught this morning and it was well received. Bret then presented money to the church and challenged them to contribute from their heart to finish the project. A male bull (a year’s salary), and 4 goats were contributed. They now had enough to build a very nice church.

Saturday afternoon we went to another village. They had started teaching earlier in the day on their own. Jerry taught and it was well received. Another goat was slaughtered for our dinner. We enjoyed staying in the homes of James and Jacob (Bret’s dear Maasai friends).

Sunday, the 24th 

Lead the church service in Oletukat village.  After church, depart for 6 hour ride to the Maasai Mara Game Park for debriefing.

Attending Church

Sunday we attended church at Oletukat… a very strong church that has planted numerous churches among the Maasai. We enjoyed worshiping with them. Many of the students shared testimonies. Jerry taught about discipleship which really encouraged the men. Bret taught from 2 Corinthians about being ambassadors for Christ. Jeff and other did the chair skit, and Sarah and Laura were asked to lead a song in Maasai they had learned the night before. The church received us warmly and was impressed how well we embraced the culture. They said they had never heard teaching like that before and were well encouraged. We as a team were encouraged by their faith and sincere worship.

Sunday afternoon we drove to the Maasai Mara game park. God blessed us by being able to connect up with a couple of Bret’s old friends who explained to the drivers that the place they were going had moved. When we arrived, the accommodations were not as promised. Although adequate for us, we decided to move to another camp the next day.

Monday, the 25th 

Debriefing and safari at the Maasai Mara Game Park. 

Debriefing and Rest

Viewing animals was a wonderful down time from the busy ministry schedule we had just finished. The grass was high, but we still were able to see many of God’s beautiful creatures. Best of all was a hot shower after 3 days of being in a Maasai village without one.

Tuesday, the 26th 

Return to Nairobi- a 6-8 hour drive on rough roads.  Sleep at BTL.

Traveling

Tuesday returning to Nairobi went smoothly. The rain made the road very slippery, but the drivers kept control of the car and really impressed us with their skills.

Tuesday night we arrived at BTL to have dinner and start repacking our bags for leaving. We had more team debrief including the presentation of certificates signed by Jim Akovenko certifying that they were Missionaries.

Wednesday, the 27th 

Depart Nairobi at 11:10am.  Route will be Amsterdam, Chicago, to Charlotte.

Heading Home

Today is Wednesday morning. We leave for the airport at 8am. Flight departs at 11:10 and we arrive in Amsterdam in the evening where we will sleep at a YWAM youth hostel.

Praises: For general good health of team members, for amazing ministry time among the Maasai, for God’s amazing creative abilities, for safe travel, for hot showers, for God-ordained meetings.

Prayers: Safety today as we travel back. Baggage problems that may arise.

PARENTS, please remember to pick up your kids at the airport on Thursday night!

In Amsterdam

We arrived in Amsterdam and found our youth hostel without any major problems. It's run by YWAM, and is a neat ministry.

We'll sleep here tonight and head to the airport for two final legs tomorrow after breakfast. Many are sad to leave Kenya, but all are happy to be heading home.

We look forward to greeting our family and friends at the airport in Charlotte Thursday evening.

Praise -- safe travel thus far. Empty flight to stretch out in.

Prayer -- Sarah is feeling very unwell. Stomach issues. Pray that she will be better for flying tomorrow.

<Be sure to visit the Notes From Students page for highlights from their trip>

Thursday, the 28th 

Arrive at Charlotte at 6:30pm, and go to bed!

And they are home!

Pray that they recover quickly.  I hope to have some pictures up soon! 

Team Highlights and Letters 
 

The Kenya team has written about the highlights of their trip.  You can read them here.