We've really been enjoying being able to give a bit more time to praying for the Pokot people over the last few days. When we were praying the other night we felt that God was speaking Zephaniah 3:14-20 over the Pokot people, especially the women. Please join us on praying that God will release them into the freedom he has for them at this time.
In other news, Connie preached a great sermon on freedom from strongholds at the conference of a local church here today and will also be preaching tomorrow and on Friday. Half of the team went to support her, while the other half visited the families of children whose education is supported through YWAM. They heard many sad stories but enjoyed being able to share with the families and were touched by the warm welcome they received.
With only two full days left before we leave for Pokot, we're excited, but there's many practical things that still need to be arranged. The weight of most of this falls on Joram, one of the staff here, so please remember him in your prayers. He has three boys under five, so you can imagine life is very busy.
One major prayer request for the Pokot people is for rain. Apparently it is very dry there, and people are starving for lack of food. Partly because of this we're expecting lots of adults, mothers in particular, to be joining us for the camp. Praise God who is able to meet all our needs!
We're also really excited that we're going to be able to partner with a pastor who wants to plant a church in the Pokot in our third week there. It's so good to know that we'll be able to leave those who respond to the gospel with someone who can continue to disciple them when we're gone.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Today we visited another church and had one of our strangest cultural experiences yet: a vegetable auction in the middle of the service!
The auction actually made a lot of sense as the vegetables had been given as a gift to the church and the proceeds went to the offering.
We led the Sunday school, shared a few songs and testimonies, preached and were blessed by a delicious lunch. We then led the youth service outside under a tree and had fun admiring the stunning views (the church was on top of a hill) and playing with the kids, one of whom has followed us home!
We were really encouraged that many of the kids prayed in response to hearing the gospel in Sunday school and that the church was so welcoming to us, inviting us to return when we come back from West Pokot. One young man came straight up to the front to receive prayer after Connie's preach on intimacy with God and we were able to pray with others in their seats.
Yesterday we attended a memorial service for a Somali Kenyan believer who was shot because of his faith last year. It was amazing to hear his wife and sons speaking and be reminded of the sure and certain hope that we have. It was also amazing to meet some Muslim-background believers and seekers, hear their testimonies and pray for them.
We led the Sunday school, shared a few songs and testimonies, preached and were blessed by a delicious lunch. We then led the youth service outside under a tree and had fun admiring the stunning views (the church was on top of a hill) and playing with the kids, one of whom has followed us home!
We were really encouraged that many of the kids prayed in response to hearing the gospel in Sunday school and that the church was so welcoming to us, inviting us to return when we come back from West Pokot. One young man came straight up to the front to receive prayer after Connie's preach on intimacy with God and we were able to pray with others in their seats.
Yesterday we attended a memorial service for a Somali Kenyan believer who was shot because of his faith last year. It was amazing to hear his wife and sons speaking and be reminded of the sure and certain hope that we have. It was also amazing to meet some Muslim-background believers and seekers, hear their testimonies and pray for them.
Pool, kids and shepherds
If Jesus was in Makatano, our nearby town, where would he hang out? Perhaps he'd be at the pool tables and with the kids during the day and up on the hills with the farmers at night.
Akira reports:
Thursday was wildly fun!!! One of the pastors from the church we have been working with took us to a few places were young men play pool, gamble and drink all day.
It was amazing to have the attention of all the men who were there. They stopped and gathered together and we got to share the gospel with them all :) The response was amazing -many guys surrender their lives to Christ and repented. It was so evident even while sharing the gospel that the Holy Spirit doing something. We also had a few people share their testimonies and got to chat to the guys individually afterwards.
The pastor was very encouraged and said we have now made a platform from him to go there to disciple them. GOD IS GOOD.
We were invited to a school during our evangelism the day before so on Thursday afternoon we went to share with ~200 children and teachers. It was really fun and the children loved it.
Thursday night was even more fun: we walked about 3km to a nearby farm and shared the gospel around a campfire with all the labours there. We did some songs and drank sweet tea under the stars:) A lot of the men responded and we got to pray with them.
It's so humbling and so much fun being used as a clay jar for Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4v7
Akira reports:
Thursday was wildly fun!!! One of the pastors from the church we have been working with took us to a few places were young men play pool, gamble and drink all day.
It was amazing to have the attention of all the men who were there. They stopped and gathered together and we got to share the gospel with them all :) The response was amazing -many guys surrender their lives to Christ and repented. It was so evident even while sharing the gospel that the Holy Spirit doing something. We also had a few people share their testimonies and got to chat to the guys individually afterwards.
The pastor was very encouraged and said we have now made a platform from him to go there to disciple them. GOD IS GOOD.
We were invited to a school during our evangelism the day before so on Thursday afternoon we went to share with ~200 children and teachers. It was really fun and the children loved it.
Thursday night was even more fun: we walked about 3km to a nearby farm and shared the gospel around a campfire with all the labours there. We did some songs and drank sweet tea under the stars:) A lot of the men responded and we got to pray with them.
It's so humbling and so much fun being used as a clay jar for Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4v7
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Musungu in matatu
The last few days have provided plenty of opportunity to experience Kenya's roads. We've become used to picking up Matatu (minivan buses decorated -and driven -according to the owners' personal tastes) at the nearby junction. Here we are in the reggae-blaring discomobile that we caught on our way back from Nairobi yesterday.
Nairobi was actually a fairly different experience from what we'd been expecting (shopping for tents took a long time and we didn't get to explore as much as we'd hoped), but I think we were all struck by the myriad of faces we saw there and I found it interesting to get a glimpse of an African city. Boraza, the base leader here, described Kenya as a country of contrasts and we could see how the young educated people of Nairobi have very different needs to the tribal people we will meet in West Pokot.
Our journey back from an orphanage today reminded us of that upcoming trip as our Matatu chose to take the bumpiest back road I've ever seen in order to avoid a police checkpoint. The actual orphanage itself was delightful. We spent the morning playing with some of the sweetest girls (aged ~3-11) I've ever met. They were fascinated by our 'musungu' (white person) hair and soon got over their initial shyness, playing with us in the garden and singing us songs in the house. Some of our team helped out with practical tasks and Lukas told the story of Zacchaeus. The highlight was of our visit was probably several girls praying to invite Jesus into their lives after Connie shared how she'd found an everlasting loving father in God after loosing her biological dad at an early age. It was heartbreaking to think what these lovely girls (some of them so tiny) must have been through, but at the same time, as I cuddled them and told them how beautiful they were, I felt peace knowing the depth of security and love that God offers them. This evening we sung 'even what the enemy meant for evil, he turns it for our good.' This is my prayer for those girls.
Nairobi was actually a fairly different experience from what we'd been expecting (shopping for tents took a long time and we didn't get to explore as much as we'd hoped), but I think we were all struck by the myriad of faces we saw there and I found it interesting to get a glimpse of an African city. Boraza, the base leader here, described Kenya as a country of contrasts and we could see how the young educated people of Nairobi have very different needs to the tribal people we will meet in West Pokot.
Our journey back from an orphanage today reminded us of that upcoming trip as our Matatu chose to take the bumpiest back road I've ever seen in order to avoid a police checkpoint. The actual orphanage itself was delightful. We spent the morning playing with some of the sweetest girls (aged ~3-11) I've ever met. They were fascinated by our 'musungu' (white person) hair and soon got over their initial shyness, playing with us in the garden and singing us songs in the house. Some of our team helped out with practical tasks and Lukas told the story of Zacchaeus. The highlight was of our visit was probably several girls praying to invite Jesus into their lives after Connie shared how she'd found an everlasting loving father in God after loosing her biological dad at an early age. It was heartbreaking to think what these lovely girls (some of them so tiny) must have been through, but at the same time, as I cuddled them and told them how beautiful they were, I felt peace knowing the depth of security and love that God offers them. This evening we sung 'even what the enemy meant for evil, he turns it for our good.' This is my prayer for those girls.
Friday, 4 April 2014
End of our third full day here and we finally have all our luggage. When we first arrived in Nairobi, Chris and Lukas's bags were missing. Thankfully, they had enough bits and bobs between them to survive the first day (I think Chris used the parachute we'd brought for kids games as a sleeping bag) and both bags arrived in our local town yesterday. For various frustrating reasons we weren't able to pick up Chris's bag until this afternoon, but he thanked God for it this morning in faith, and sure enough it was here by dinner time.
The ride into town to collect the bag certainly sounds eventful: both Chris and Lukas say the roads here are crazier than India and white people seem to attract a lot of attention.
We spent today doing work duties around the base again, had a great team Bible study and planned our outreach for the weekend. We're hosting a football tournament for some local guys here tomorrow at which we'll do a few skits, Tiara will share her testimony and Akira will give a gospel message. Then on Sunday we'll have our first experience of African church. Connie's preaching and the rest of us are leading other parts of the sermon and Sunday school.
The ride into town to collect the bag certainly sounds eventful: both Chris and Lukas say the roads here are crazier than India and white people seem to attract a lot of attention.
We spent today doing work duties around the base again, had a great team Bible study and planned our outreach for the weekend. We're hosting a football tournament for some local guys here tomorrow at which we'll do a few skits, Tiara will share her testimony and Akira will give a gospel message. Then on Sunday we'll have our first experience of African church. Connie's preaching and the rest of us are leading other parts of the sermon and Sunday school.
Thursday, 3 April 2014
Giraffes in our backyard
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| Our dorm room |
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| Five minutes walk out the back of the base |
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