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Being in Kenya was such a breath of fresh air. When we arrived at the Y base we were exhausted from our journey so we were given so much grace and a day to catch up on our rest. It was great to be around people with the same vision as our group, “to know God and to make Him known.” Not only did they share our heart, but they also shared many of the experiences that we had been through in the past four months.
Our first three days were spent helping around on the grounds. It was so cool to see how other bases are ran around the world especially in places such as in Africa. We cleared paths, cleaned toilets (African toilets), and helped out in the kitchen preparing meals. Those days were definitely gifts from God because in the evenings we had free time to be able to let our minds begin to process the first half of outreach. After that time of much needed reflection and work with our hands we started back into ministry time.
We spent one day in a small village splitting up into groups and going door to door. In Uganda we had had some difficult experiences with this type of evangelism, but this time it went so well and the whole team was encouraged by what was accomplished. Almost everyone we met was either a Catholic or Protestant. It was so nice to be able to sit down with fellow believers and encourage them in their faith. We were able to pray for families, lost loved ones, and for healing. That evening we gathered in one of the local churches to hold a seminar. We used that opportunity to sit down with the youth in the village and talk to them about the struggles they face being a teenager. Our team stepped outside of our normal approach to the youth and it ended up being such a God orchestrated night. The teens really opened up to us and shared their struggles and fears with us. It was great to be able to respond directly to their needs rather than just coming in and assuming to know what they needed. The next morning we held the Sunday service at the same church. It was really the first time that we had the opportunity to follow up on the relationships that we had been able to build. So often in Uganda we would visit schools and only have a couple of hours with them. The service was a typical African service which means that we arrived at around 9 and we didn’t finish until lunchtime which was around 1. During lunch we also had another chance to fellowship with the people of the village.
Jessica and Cheryl with their team
Speaking with the Youth
Monday was our day off. We attempted to go to an elephant orphanage, but when we arrived we found that they are only open to visitors from 11 to 12 and it was about 5 minutes after 12. We were extremely bummed, but Jess just spoke out that God must have something else in store for us. We ended up getting to go see animals at the Nairobi National Park. It was pretty much just a zoo, but God had a special treat waiting for us there. We were about a ¾ of the way through the park when we saw that the lion with his trainer. After talking to the man for a bit we asked if there were any baby lion cubs. He said yes but they were put up. Of course we asked him if there was any way we could see them. He left to find out and then he came back and told us to follow him. We were led back past the employees only gate to this little shed. As soon as we walked in Bethany was handed a baby lion cub! Each one of us got to hold the cub as we were told to hurry up and take pictures. It was very apparent that what we were getting to do was way outside of the park rules. After everyone had a chance to hold the cub one of the guys grabbed the cub and ran it back to where it was suppose to be. It was such a super secret mission and that was part of what made it so fun and exciting. We also had a chance to go into Nairobi and have some french fries and a coke which is always a treat. Cities in Africa are always stressful and hectic but all in all it was a good day off.
Surprise!!!
Simba!
Cuddle!
One other gift from God that we received was the first few days we were at the base we had the chance to go on mini safari walks where we were able to see gazelle, impalas, zebras, wildebeest at one time we saw a herd of 24 giraffe! God is so good to us!
Giraffe - Mini Safari
