TRIP TIMELINE
Friday - Visiting and doing ministry in the Kibira slum in Nairobi, partnering with Pastor Timothy. Serving food to some of the poorest kids in the slum.
Saturday - Ministry to the widows in the community. Singing, dancing, sharing and showing the love of Jesus to the outcasts of society.
Sunday - Sunday church and spending time the the children at the orphanage.
Monday - Visiting 5 widows as we started building outhouses, replacing new roofs on some home and building a new home for one of the poorest widows. Our goal was to show God's love and proclaim that Jesus is the reason why we are doing this for the outcasts in the community. Amazing women that we are serving. Then visiting the local public school playing with over 500 kids.
We truly have an amazing team! - Randy Stensgard
Having never done anything like this in my life, naturally I came into this trip a little apprehensive. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the country, the culture, and most certainly the people. To take such a great leap of faith and go on a journey across the world required a great stretching of my faith. From financial issues at home to passport problems, there were no shortages of roadblocks along the way. So far, I can tell you all that it has been more than worth everything that I had to go through and sacrifice to be here. I came with the intention to minister and bless the Kenyan people and I feel like instead I have been ministered to and blessed abundantly more by them. Their love for life and for one another has shown me what is truly important. The gratefulness that everyone here has for us and for one another has been humbling and awe-inspiring. Each new experience has been better than the last, and in the middle of it all God’s Holy Spirit has been guiding and directing the entire team to new relationships and new realizations. I cant wait to see what God is going to do in and through us in the rest of out time here. - Chad Burns
Hello there my dear friends,
It is so wonderful to be here. These people are so full of the love of Jesus and joy. We have so much to learn from them. They may not have much in worldly stuff, they have found riches in the Love of God.
They sing and worship with such enthusiasm. Wish you could be here. I know you are covering us with your prayers. Thank you so much. God is working here. Love you all. - Pam Anderson
Jambo from Kenya!
We are so very thankful for all of your love and support. Our children have been amazing on this trip...even with the time changes, the many hours of travel, the people who LOVE to touch, hug, and hold hands, the visit to the Kibira slums, and so many other new things...they have been truly amazing!
Today was a truly special day for me. God started bringing feminine hygiene issues to my heart a few months ago and through a series of, what can only be explained as, Holy Spirit directed moments, a plan came together. With the wonderful support from so many of you at home, our team was able to provide training and bring along 150 kits to give to the girls here. We were uncertain about how many girls would show up and were beginning to wonder if we needed to go other places to deliver these kits. Around 1:30pm today, the daughters and granddaughters of the widows began coming...a few at a time, and by the time we started, there were 71 girls, ages 8 – 20 and 4 older women ready to listen, learn and receive. After the training, Rachael, my new Kenyan sister here who helps run the ministry to the widows and their children here, said she really thought it would be best to give each girl 2 kits. So...if you are following that math...we had EXACTLY enough kits for each person who came!! Our God is so good! A huge thank you to Kathy in Colorado and Days for Girls New Hope, MN for your loving preparation of each kit for each of these precious girls. As the girls were receiving the kits, they were commenting on what a huge help this is going to be for them. We feel so grateful for God’s guidance, your support and how this whole thing came together. I have a feeling you have not heard the last from me on this issue...there are many, many girls who need this help...and the girls in Kibira are on my heart!! - Melody
Last night is a night that had a huge impact on me. In the boys’ dorm every night, the kids sing, praise God and share devotions. The voices, enthusiasm, and focus on God from these kids brought me to tears. Last night, the devotion was on being appreciative for everything. In the eyes of an American, it would seem that these were kids that do not have a lot. They do not have families, material possessions. It was so apparent to me that what they do have, love, connection with each other, an awareness of the preciousness for others, far outweighs the things as an American we place high value on. I was further blown away after the singing and devotions were over. All the children walked down to the hut of one of our teammates who wasn’t feeling well. It was dark, they gathered outside her hut and sang songs asking God for healing and praying for her. I walked through the dark with the kids and Douglas, a 13 year old boy walked with me, offered to carry my water bottle, and explained how God is able to heal illness. This whole thing me to tears. Needless to say, I woke up with puffy eyes!! Everyday seems to be filled with new adventures. I’m excited to see what tomorrow will bring :) - Dawn Holmquist
We go on mission trips to bless others, show them the love we have been showed from our loving Father. I was the one that was blessed last night, I was not feeling well and was prayed over by our team. Which was overwhelming and wonderful. A big part of the orphanage is a nightly worship service, it is what helps hold the children together . I experienced this the night before ,the love for Jesus and each other that night was so powerful. It was the children from the orphanage that came the night I wasn’t feeling well to pray for me!! I still don’t have words to explain the love I felt, it was far beyond what I would have thought I would experience. I have been blessed beyond something measurable in words, but we know our God is big!!!!
Louann Beal
Today we all experienced a new adventure...the piki piki ride! They are motorcycle taxis and a common way folks get around. Most of the team hopped on the back of our own piki piki to head out to visit a few sights where we are having work done for a few families in great need. What a wild ride it was!! The roads here are horrible! To say they are bumpy is an understatement; all dirt and rocks. There is no real rhyme nor reason to the traffic flow and helmets are used to decorate your motorcycle not to be worn on your head. We looked like a renegade band of bikers for Jesus! These piki piki’s drove us to the home of a family that is having a new home being build by Love for Kenya. These folks have 4 children and live in a small dirt hut that they share with their goats and chickens. The roof is so bad that it had to be replaced but the structure was so week it would crumble under a new roof. So, we have hired local laborers to build the new, larger and safer home. The next homes we visited are having new outhouses built by Love for Kenya again by local folks. The hole in the ground is 30 feet deep and is hand dug by a smaller man sitting 30 feet down chiseling away at the dirt. When he is done for the day they pull him up by a rope! The widows are so appreciative and it is just so wonderful to see their faces light up as we pray for them and share that Jesus loves them and is making this all happen! - Molly Moore
