Surprise! The trip has started! It’s been a crazy adventure with trusting Jesus as our Kenya team heads to Africa. The original plan was to leave at noon on Wednesday, but Delta cancelled the flight’s yesterday (Tuesday) before the snow storm even started in Minnesota! The trip leader and LFK President, Randy, had to rebook 22 flights with our travel agent for a new departure within 6 hours. 6 HOURS! We had to divide our team in half. 11 team members left at 7:30pm and 11 team members at 10:30pm flying to 2 different connecting spots in Europe. It was a scramble as everyone had to get off work or out of school early then totally rearrange their plans to leave one day early! People had to get Covid tests done, pack their 3 bags, get to the airport in 2 1/2 hours, get checked in and ready to fly out! Travel agent did an amazing job of rebooking 22 people in a very short amount of time to make the flights, but not enough seats on one flight, so 2 different flights and different airlines. It was a great day of trusting Jesus, being flexible, and taking on adaptable, flexible leadership. One team went to Paris and the other to Amsterdam for connections. God has incredible things in store for the team plus they now get a bonus day in Kenya!
Nov '22 Missions Trip #8
Happy Thanksgiving from Kenya, Africa.! We celebrated with all the children at the orphanage. We didn’t have traditional turkey, but did enjoy grilled mbuzi (goat). Unleashing Hope on Thanksgiving in Kenya to 2 widows by having the locals build new outhouses for these amazing women, transforming peoples lives through meeting desperate felt needs. We love spending time in this community serving people!
Nov '22 Missions Trip #7
Emotionally hard day today as we went to visit a young girl (Sandra) that that we visited 4 years ago and has been sick and not able to walk or leave her bed for 10 years. Discovered little Sandra passed away in June (last picture). We prayed for the mother and discovered her husband had died 2 years ago and that her 2 year old little boy was very very sick, Brought them to our medical clinic to help the little boy thrive again. Praying for healing.
Nov '22 Missions Trip #6
Today, we received a goat as a gift! The public school gave our Love For Kenya team a goat to take home for dinner as a thank you from the 453 local school children and their teachers. The school principal honored Love For Kenya and Plymouth Covenant Church because we supported 5 classroom renovations, 30 new outhouses, and a renovation of the teacher building. What a wonderful surprise and celebration!
Additionally, we got to spend time specifically honoring each of the staff that work so hard at Shangilia Children’s Home plus had some fun with balloons!
Nov '22 Missions Trip #5
Today was an amazing day spent with the 115 widows of the community! There was singing and dancing with everyone enjoying each other’s company. Stacy and Kendra shared their powerful testimonies. We then celebrated Thanksgiving early to let them know how thankful we are for them and that they are deeply loved. It was a delicious meal and time of fellowship together! Can you guess all the foods that we served?
Nov '22 Missions Trip #4
We had a fantastic time loving on the incredible children at Shangilia orphanage!
We had a wonderful time worshipping with our brothers and sisters at Oasis of Joy Church.
These 6 girls gave there lives to Jesus today! Praise God!
We were at a Kenyan wedding on Saturday. Pastor Kefa and Lonika’s son, Godwill got married! Great celebration!
The rest of our team has made it to Kenya! They had a wonderful time visiting with Pastor Timothy.
Nov '22 Missions Trip #3
What a wonderful day of connecting with the widows! There was dancing, singing, rejoicing, and prayer as it has been almost 3 years since we saw our friends.
Nov '22 Missions Trip #2
Randy, Michelle, & Beth enjoyed quality time with the Kenyan Board, widows, and children at Shangilia Children’s Home. The rest of the team is on the way!
Love for Kenya and unleashing hope from Plymouth Covenant Church I’ll provide 30 new out houses for 600 children at a local public school, Randy was able to visit the school today and see the project firsthand. This made one of the biggest impacts in the community has Love for Kenya w was able to help provide this. Randy was able to point the school officials all back to Jesus, who has provided this for the school.
Love for Kenya, and unleashing hope through Plymouth Covenant Church‘s able to help provide funding for a local public school to renovate five classrooms that were condemned by the government. Because of this great project children are now able to use these five new classrooms. And it’s made a huge impact in the community for Jesus Christ. The public school in the community are giving praise to love for KENYA for this amazing gift, which opens up the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation.
This garden of hope was created by the children at shangilia orphanage, left for Kenya children. This was done during Covid as a place of refuge, to pray, and to find hope during the midst of the pandemic.
Nov '22 Missions Trip #1
Our team is excited to serve with our Love for Kenya ministries and leaders who are serving the widows, orphans, and poorest members of their society. Helping to create hope for the day and dreams for the future. It has been multiple years since we have been able to lead a team to Kenya so our friends eagerly await our arrival!
Top 3 Focus Areas:
1. Ministry to the Widows
2. Ministry in the Community
3. Ministry to the Orphans & Staff
5 Main Objectives:
1. Listening Prayer
2. Share our faith
3. Build meaningful relationships
4. Meet felt needs
5. Debrief and respond
Join us on our journey as we share with you the amazing things God is doing on and through this trip. Thank you for your prayers and support for the transformation experience in Kenya, Africa.
Day #1
After our adventuresome travel, we visited Pastor Timothy, a Love For Kenya partner, in the Kibera Slum, which is the world’s largest and densest slum (1 million people in 1 square mile). We celebrated the kindergartener’s graduation to 1st grade at Calvary School. It was amazing to see them all and be a part of this special time.
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Mission Trip #9
It was a bitter sweet last day at Shangilia Children’s Home. There was a wonderful surprise birthday party for Randy Stensgard from all the kids and staff. After saying our good byes, we flew to Nairobi and tomorrow 5 of us will do the 1 day Safari and the other 10 will do the 3 day Massai Mara Safari. God showed up in so many amazing ways this trip. Please make sure you ask people on our team how God showed up and read our newsletter next month.
Special Note from Randy:
This will be the last post till we get home. Thank you for praying for our team and trip! If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child at Shangilia Children’s Home with Love For Kenya, please contact Randy at Randy@plymouthcovenant.org. We have 12 children that are in need of monthly sponsorship.
Mission Trip #8
Today was the day of unleashing hope to 115 widows! They all received food, a blanket, and a mattress. The widows are so poor that they are just trying to survive day to day and are considered the outcasts in the culture. They were so filled with joy and hope from these gifts! As the widows were going to their homes and walking through the community with the mattresses, the people in the village were saying, “Thank you for helping the poorest of the poor, God is really shining through you! Thank you for helping our community (rough translation).” If you can imagine many of these widows are caring for little children, they and the child might be sleeping in the dirt floor in a mud house or if they have a bed, the mattress is shredded or falling apart as they are all made of foam. It was truly an amazing experience for all of us!
Mission Trip #7
Where do we even begin? It has been such a great week of ministry and relationship building! This morning a truck showed up with 115 mattresses and 115 blankets in preparation to give to the widows tomorrow at their weekly meeting at Shangilia. After unloading everything we ventured out to numerous existing projects including:
We went back to spend time with 8 year old Sandra and her family bringing food.
We went back to 80 year old Sophina’s, finished her outhouse and bath house. She is blind, so we were able to show her how to navigate everything. She was so filled with joy that she teared up!
We finished up 2 more outhouses for the widows, Gladys and Nifrida.
We started building a new home for the widow, Rhoda. We hired locals to do the bulk of the labor as a way to give back to the community, but we (tried) helping by mudding the walls!
We also began construction on a 4th outhouse project for the widow, Catherine.
MISSION TRIP #6
The outhouses are almost finished for the widows. We hire the locals to do the work, as they know how to build Kenyan style and there is an 80% unemployment rate in the community. Additionally you can see that we started to build a new home for the widow, Catherine.
We have been unleashing hope on little Sandra who is 8 years old and has been in bed sick for 5 years. She cannot move, walk, or talk. Last year during our listening prayer, God spoke to us about stopping by her house as we had never met this family before. When we arrived, the mother said God spoke to her a month before we arrived and said God was sending us to see her and her sick daughter. We were able to care for little Sandra. This year, God spoke to the team to go back and visit little Sandra. We are seeing God unleash hope in her as we provide bedding, medical care, etc. and pray that God would bring healing to her.
Mission Trip #5
What a full day of awesome ministry! We got to send 4 of our graduates back off to college. Additionally, we began the first of four outhouse projects, the first being for Sophina who was overjoyed and felt so blessed. In the afternoon, we headed to the local Ideleri school to play games, share about the love of Jesus through Vacation Bible School, and visit the children from Shangilia in their school environment.
Mission Trip #4
The team had a wonderful day spent at Shangilia Children’s Home playing with the children and attending the local church. Pictured below are their Kenyan huts that are powered by solar energy and setup with bunk beds.
Mission Trip 2020: #3
The team had a wonderful day of rest and fellowship with the children and staff of Shangilia Children’s Home. They played games, sang songs, told stories, and had so much fun together!
Mission Trip 2020: #2
The team had a wonderful time in Kibera Slums connecting with Pastor Timothy and the children at the local school. You can see them laughing, dancing, and serving food in one of the poorest places in Africa.
The team went from Kibera to Shangilia children’s Home and got to meet the widows of the community! This vibrant group of woman are part of our SEDA ministry and get together to encourage each other each week. Look at the joy and fun that everyone is having in these pictures!
One of the projects that the team will work on this week is to build an outhouse for 80 year old widow Sophina. She is blind and is in desperate need of a new outhouse as you can see how dangerous her current setup is with numerous sharp edges and disrepair. The team took piki pikis to go check out the site and had quite the adventure bumping along their journey!
Mission Trip 2020 #1
LOVE FOR KENYA Mission Trip 2020… Our team is excited to serve with our Love for Kenya ministries and leaders who are serving the widows, orphans, and poorest members of their society. Helping to create hope for the day and dreams for the future.
Imagine traveling to Kenya, Africa to make a difference in the lives of children, widows, and the poorest of the poor. Our team will have that opportunity to make a huge impact by loving on small children at an orphanage, caring for the outcast in society, the widows, coming along side a teacher in a local public school, encouraging staff at the orphanage, and showing love to the incredible people in the local village. Imagine our team bringing hope to the hopeless and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Here are the…
TOP 3 FOCUS AREA’S FOR THIS TRIP:
1. Ministry to the Widows
2. Ministry in the Community
3. Ministry to the Orphans & Staff
5 Main Objectives in Kenya, Africa:
1. Listening Prayer
2. Share our faith
3. Build meaningful relationships
4. Meet felt needs
5. Debrief and respond
OUR TEAM:
Randy Stensgard
Reid Johnson
Alex Macalena Jr
Roger Ruhr
Tiffany Felty
Randy Pate
Mary Pate
Isabella Peterson
Dave Gust
Scott Johnson
Beth Waters
Samuel Gust
Isabelle Vorderbruggen
Anna Long
Jace Long
Join us on our journey as we share with you the amazing things God is doing on and through this trip. Thank you for your prayers and support for the transformation experience in Kenya, Africa.
BLOG DATES: January 17-25, 2020 (Dates we will have new content and updates)
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Jan. 16 – Kibira Slum ministry with Pastor Timothy & Arrive at Love For Kenya – Shangilia Orphanage
Friday, January 17 - Shangilia Orphanage
Widow’s Ministry from 10:00am - Noon
FOOD FOR THE WIDOWS – Give to the widows with Randy’s Team
Orientation & Settling into our new home for the week (after the widows ministry)
Saturday, January 18 – Ministry with Love for Kenya - Shangilia Orphanage staff and children
Sunday, Jan. 19 – CHURCH service & Ministry Day at Shangilia Orphanage
Church at Oasis of Joy Church
Afternoon with the children of Shangilia Orphanage
Monday, Jan. 20 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Orphanage and the community
MORNING MINISTRY
7:00 – Wake up
7:30 - Devotions
8:00am – Breakfast
8:45 – Debrief from the previous day
9:30 - Visit ministry sites of the widows – Where we will do outhouses and new homes
9:30am – Noon - Main Ministry options: Listening Prayer, prayer walks, meeting felt needs, Sharing your faith, building meaningful relationships
AFTERNOON MINISTRY: 2:00 – 5:00pm
Ministry in the community/widows, public school, Staff at Shangilia or where the Lord directs
EVENING MINISTRY:
5:00 – 6:00pm - Ministry to the children at Shangilia Orphanage
6:00 – 7:00pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Worship and devotions with the children
8:00 – 10:00 – Free time
Tuesday, Jan. 21 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Orphanage and the community
MORNING MINISTRY
7:00 – Wake up
7:30 - Devotions
8:00am – Breakfast
8:45 – Debrief from the previous day
9:30am – Noon - Main Ministry options: Listening Prayer, prayer walks, meeting felt needs, Sharing your faith, building meaningful relationships
AFTERNOON MINISTRY: 2:00 – 5:00pm
Ministry in the community/widows, public school, Staff at Shangilia or where the Lord directs
EVENING MINISTRY:
5:00 – 6:00pm - Ministry to the children at Shangilia Orphanage
6:00 – 7:00pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Worship and devotions with the children
8:00 – 10:00 – Free time
Wednesday, Jan. 22 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Orphanage and the community
MORNING MINISTRY
7:00 – Wake up
7:30 - Devotions
8:00am – Breakfast
8:45 – Debrief from the previous day
9:30am – Help build new house for one of the widows
AFTERNOON MINISTRY: 2:00 – 5:00pm
Ministry in the community/widows, public school, Staff at Shangilia or where the Lord directs
EVENING MINISTRY:
5:00 – 6:00pm - Ministry to the children at Shangilia Orphanage
6:00 – 7:00pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Worship and devotions with the children
8:00 – 10:00 – Free time
Thursday, Jan. 23 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Orphanage and the community
MORNING MINISTRY
7:00 – Wake up
7:30 - Devotions
8:00am – Breakfast
8:45 – Debrief from the previous day
9:00am – Noon – WIDOW’S MINISTRY – Food, Mattresses & Blankets
USA Team, help widows with thir mattresses to their homes
LUNCH 1:30 – 2:30pm
Afternoon ministry
EVENING MINISTRY:
5:00 – 6:00pm - Ministry to the children at Shangilia Orphanage
6:00 – 7:00pm - Dinner
7:00pm - Evening Talent Show at orphanage – Say our good byes
Friday, Jan. 24 – Ministry Day at Shangilia Orphanage and the community
Randy’s Birthday
Final afternoon at Shangilia Orphanage – Packing up and saying goodbye
Arrive in Nairobi
Saturday, Jan. 25 – Safari Day
Nairobi National Park
Massai Mara National Park
Sunday, Jan. 26 – Part of the Team arrives in USA – Home
Tuesday, Jan. 28 – Part of the team arrives in USA – Home (Massai Mara Safari team)
January Missions Trip Post #10
The team headed back to Nairobi and visited our ministry partner, Pastor Timothy in Kibera Slums. It was an eye opening experience and caused an overflow of love for the people that live in much different conditions than we do in America. They got to serve food, tour the area, and worship at Calvary Church. 17 people gave their lives at the church service - praise God!
