Today we had the opportunity to love on, encourage, sing, and dance with 150 amazing women. Abby, Keli and Tirzah shared their testimony to this group of widows in a powerful time of praise and worship. The widows are the outcasts of the society, so it was special to show God’s love in a tangible way!
The team safely arrived in Kenya late on Thursday night! It was an uneventful trip, which is always good news when traveling internationally. The team spent a wonderful day of ministry on Friday in Kibera Slums (one of the largest slums in the world) serving with Pastor Timothy. They played and prayed with the children, served meals, and connected with the community. It was a powerful day to begin the missions trip!
Today was our last day before we head back to the US. It was such a special time with our friends in Kenya, so there were many tears shed and fond goodbyes. We enjoyed a time of fellowship and blessing before jumping onto the van. A fun adventure was visiting the equator at Gambogi on our way to the airport. Thank you for your prayer and support on our trip!
Another amazing day with our friends in Kenya! We got to have a special Thanksgiving meal with the widows and their children. Additionally, we were able to do prayer walks through the community, which included blessing a new baby and visiting Reverend Patrick’s home. Bonus, somebody may have got a special haircut :)
It was another special day in Kenya! A few of the highlights include: gifts for staff, praying with 18 AWANA kids going to camp, building projects, mudding, devotions, & home visits. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Today was a special Sunday filled with worship and a wonderful dedication ceremony for the new gate at the Oasis of Joy church. Afterwards we were able to play games with balloons and enjoy fun with the children. Tonight will be a time of devotion and sabbath.
It was a wonderful day of gun and games at Shangilia Children’s Home with the AWANA program. We also had a powerful time of worship and devotions with the children. As a bonus, a few members of our team were able to help in the kitchen and you can see them making French fries below.
We had a wonderful time of ministry today at Shangilia Children’s Home! We spent time with the Widows ministry (SEDA) in a special time of worship and devotions. Additionally, we began construction on a outhouse for a widow. Finally, we visited and prayed with a widow who's child recently died.
The team had a wonderful time visiting Pastor Timothy and the ministry at Kibera Slums! The poverty was quite heart wrenching, but the joy and love was pervasive. The team had a chance to gift them with Bibles and pray for the work God is doing.
** The team is off! The team arrived at the hotel at 1:00 am after successful flights. They had a chance to get blessed before they headed out at BCC. God was already moving as they met a new friend from Somalia, Abdi, at the airport and were able to pray for him.
We are very excited for our friends from Buffalo Covenant Church to go visit Kenya for their 2024 Missions Trip! We have a great team headed out and we can’t wait to see how God uses them.
BCC KENYA TRIP NOVEMBER 19-29, 2024
PROPOSED DAILY ITINERARY
Tuesday, Nov. 19
• 2:00 pm -- Meet at BCC for prayer and departure
• 3:00 pm -- Arrive at MSP for group check in
• 6:35 pm -- Depart for Nairobi on Delta 162
________________________________________
Wednesday, Nov. 20
• 10:00 am -- Arrive Amsterdam
• 11:35 am -- Depart Amsterdam on Delta 9585 / KLM
• 10:00 pm -- Arrive Nairobi, Kenya, Customs, etc.
• 11:00 pm -- Go to Hotel 67 Airport for the evening
________________________________________
Thursday, Nov. 21
• 8:00 am -- Buffet breakfast at the hotel
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting and prayer
• 9:00 am -- Depart for Kibera and Pastor Timothy (9AM-1PM)
• 1:00 pm -- Depart Kibera for lunch (Pizza and Chicken)
• 3:00 pm -- Arrive at airport Kenya Airways flight (5:25 pm KQ670R)
• 6:15 pm -- Arrive in Kisumu
• 6:20 pm -- Pick up at Airport: Alex, Rachel, Francis, and others
• 7:00 pm -- Arrive at Shangilia Family Impact- Settle in the Huts
• 7:30 pm -- Dinner time. No Devotion after dinner to allow visitors to rest.
________________________________________
Friday, Nov. 22 – Shangilia Family Impact – Orientation & Ministry to the Widows
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief time
•10:00 am -- Widows Ministry (10am-- 12pm)
•12:30 pm -- Lunch
• 2:00 pm -- Orientation & Tour of the Campus
• 3:30 pm -- Visit to Widows Projects
• 6:00 pm -- Dinner
• 7:00 pm -- Worship and Devotions—BCC Team Leads
________________________________________
Saturday, Nov. 23 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Family Impact and the Community
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief time
• 9:45 am -- Time with Shangilia Staff and Kids (9:45am- 11:45am)
•12:30 pm -- Lunch
• 2:30 pm -- Afternoon with the Children at Shangilia – AWANA
• 6:00 pm -- Dinner
• 7:00 pm -- Worship and Devotions—BCC Team Leads
________________________________________
Sunday, Nov. 24 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Family Impact and the Community
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief time
• 9:45 am -- Leave for Oasis of Joy Church – BCC Team Sharing
•12:30 pm – Lunch
• 2:00 pm -- Free Time with Kids (Soccer games/Balloons)
• 6:00 pm -- Dinner
• 7:00 pm -- Worship and Devotions—BCC Team Leads
Monday, Nov. 25 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Family Impact and the Community
• 7:30 am -- Say goodbye and pray with the Awana group leaving for Honor Camp in Eldoret
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief time
• 9:00 am -- Meet with staff & building relationships
•12:30 pm -- Lunch
• 2:00 pm -- Mudding the Widows' House & Prayer Walk
• 6:00 pm -- Dinner
• 7:00 pm -- Worship and Devotions—BCC Team Leads
________________________________________
Tuesday, Nov. 26 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Family Impact and the Community
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief time
• 9:30 am -- Ministry in the Community/Widows or Where the Lord Directs (9:30am – 12pm)
•12:30 pm -- Lunch
• 2:00 pm -- THANKSGIVING DAY with all the Momas. Devotional by BCC Team
• 6:00 pm -- Dinner
• 7:00 pm -- Worship and Devotions—BCC Team Leads
________________________________________
Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Family Impact and the Community
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief time
• 9:30 am -- Ministry at Shangilia and Community, Prayer walks, Home visits
•12:30 pm -- Lunch
• 2:00 pm -- Ministry to the Children at Shangilia
• 6:00 pm -- Thanksgiving Dinner & Celebration with the Children and Staff at Shangilia
• 7:00 pm -- Talent Show!
________________________________________
Thursday, Nov. 28 – Shangilia Departure Day
• 7:00 am -- Pack up all luggage
• 8:00 am -- Breakfast
• 8:30 am -- Team meeting, prayer and debrief
• 9:00 am -- Final moments with kids
•11:00 am -- BCC will have lunch early before departure
•12:00 pm -- Leave Shangilia for Kisumu Airport
• 1:00 pm -- Arrive at Kisumu Airport
• 3:05 pm -- Depart Kenya Airways flight (KQ657R)
• 4:00 pm -- Pickup by Obed, Dinner, and debrief
• 8:00 pm -- Return to Airport
•11:59 pm -- Departure for Amsterdam (Delta DL9389)
_______________________________________
Friday, Nov. 29 – Continue Home
• 7:10 am -- Arrive in Amsterdam
•10:35 am -- Depart for Minneapolis on Delta DL 161
•12:55 pm -- Arrive in Minneapolis
• 2:00 pm -- Pickup at airport for return to BCC
________________________________________
What a wonderful last day of ministry on our trip. Thank you for all your prayers and support for our team while they were in Kenya. Today was spent loving the widows through building strong relationships and meeting felt needs. We were able to give each of the 130 widows new mattresses, blankets, pillows, mosquito nets, and food to help bless them. Additionally, the projects on the homes and outhouses were completed. There are countless stories of interactions and ways that God showed up through each of these amazing mamas. There was a wonderful time of prayer, worship, singing, and dancing all together with Liz sharing her testimony! Emotions were high as the Spirit was moving and you could see the impact in all of these widow’s eyes.
Today we get a double update as the WiFi was struggling yesterday. Tuesday was an amazing day of ministry with visiting 2 schools. One of the schools, Vegetse Primary School, has the team building 16 outhouses and it has opened the opportunity to show Gods love is a practical way. We also went the the Ideleri Primary and high school to connect with students. Additionally, this evening Randall felt led to his friend Vincent’s home whom he led to Christ 4 years ago, and since he has shared the gospel with his wife Christine whom then gave her life to Christ, what an amazing bigger story! We’re also loving on the kids at Shangilia Orphanage each evening. The worship and sharing every night has been amazing!
Wednesday was spent visiting the medical clinic and the church Sunday school projects. Today we went back to the Ideleri High School and when we got there, the principal asked if we would share the gospel with all 672 students. Julie did an amazing testimony that captivated everyone’s attention. Pastor Randy also shared his testimony and shared the gospel and over 400+ students gave their lives to Christ! Praise God! God is moving! Thank you for praying for our team! Big day tomorrow as it’s our last full day here at the orphanage with the widows ministry and ministry in the community.
What a wonderful day of ministry! We have three main highlights today:
Dedication of the construction of the new Sunday School classes at Oasis of Joy Church. Missions team member, Alex, was able to dedicate the new building as the elder of our team.
Spent special time with the Widows ministry, singing and dancing, including sharing a testimony and a devotional. Additionally, we were able to provide food for the widows to take home.
The mudding of the new house for the widow Tufrosa. It was such a fun experience and wonderful way of showing God’s love in a practical way.
What a wonderful day of service and ministry! We began the day with an amazing time of ministry at Oasis of Joy Church. Pastor Joel preached while Char and Julie shared their testimony. This led to a great afternoon with all the children at Shangilia Orphanage. The team setup prayer partners with all the children to get to know them better. We shared stories, laughed together, and enjoyed quality time while building great relationships. Additionally, we also did the “Undie 500”, Christa on our team had kids at her dance studio donate over 500 underwear for the orphanage fulfilling a great basic need.
We spent a wonderful time at the Shangilia Children’s Home today. Today was all about meeting real needs and showing real love to those that need it most! On this trip, we will be serving 5 widows: Ruth, Tufrosa, Ronica, Beatrice, and Pricilla with basic needs, which includes 3 outhouses and 2 homes being built. We are hiring local people to do all the work. Additionally, we are helping support the efforts of 16 outhouses being built at a local public school. We are sharing the love of Jesus everywhere we go! We also ran a fantastic AWANA children’s program at the orphanage and were able to bring 80 new children from the local public school that don’t know Jesus. Finally, we attended a funeral for one of our beloved widows who recently passed away. What a wonderful day of ministry and service to the community of our friends in Kenya!
The team has arrived safely in Kenya! They hit the ground running by spending the day in Kibera Slum (1 million people in 1 square mile). They met our ministry partner, Pastor Timothy, at his Calvary School. The team had the opportunity to serve lunch to the children then lots of fun signing and dancing together. Next stop is Shangilia Children’s Home!
The team is off! We are so exited for the wonderful trip they have ahead and are thankful for all that God will do while they are in Kenya. We are sad to share that Mary Pate was unable to join due to sickness and she will be missed. Below is a picture of the team in addition to the high level trip details. We will post every day or two to keep you updated with pictures and stories!
The team got to spend an extra day in Kibera in the transit back to the US. They got to witness an amazing seminary graduation, a wedding, and spend quality time with Pastor Timothy’s church family. We are thankful for this ministry partner and opportunity!
The team had a wonderful last day spending time in the community and enjoying the talents of all the children. Here are more great pics from spending time with the widows and blessing them with food.
Today was a really special day for the team. They got to present every child with a new Bible at Shangilia Children’s Home. They capped off the night with a fun talent show hearing beautiful songs and all sorts of goofy talents! They also got to go pray over the completed widow’s homes praying blessings over them. It was a time of great rejoicing and encouragement all around.
