It’s hard to believe that I only have less than one week left here in Kenya. Things are beginning to wind down, but the past two weeks have been filled with craziness! It’s hard to even recall everything that has happened, but I will do my best to recap!
Two weeks ago our team divided into two groups to accompany students from East Africa School of Theology on a mission to the Rendille tribe. The entire mission was spread over 6 different locations, and our Convoy team participated in helping with two of the sites: Marsibit and Merille. I ended up with the team heading to Merille, an extremely hot and dry place near the border of Ethiopia. The entire mission’s purpose was to evangelize the Rendille and Samburu tribes living in Northern Kenya. These tribes have been considered “unreached.” These are extremely tribal people groups who have combined supposed Jewish heritage and practices with Animistic rituals, a very odd mix. Although many of these villages are considered Muslim, many of the people do not actually practice Islam because they refused to pray with their faces to the ground due to their belief in God. They actually stopped Islam from spreading southward through Africa. However, they are in desperate need of Christ. Many of them had never even heard of Jesus.
So, 6 of us left two Fridays ago to head to Merille with some of the Kenyan East students on their bus. On the way, we stopped to eat dinner at a very sketchy town. It was muddy, dark, raining, and hard to see. After dinner, a few other girls and I got a little behind because when we came out of the bathroom the others had already left. On our way back to the bus, I was suddenly grabbed from behind near a dark alleyway, and a man ripped my camera off of my shoulders and took off with it. I was extremely frightened and my arm hurt where he had grabbed me. This did not make for a good start on the mission, to say the least! I was very shaken up at the fact that someone was able to grab me out of nowhere so quickly, but I thank God that all he took was my camera. Unfortunately, he wasn’t caught and my camera was long gone. Thankfully, I had backed up my pictures on my computer the night before. I was pretty discouraged after this and actually wanted to go back to Nairobi, but God had me press on toward the mission.
We spent the night at a place called Isiolo on the floor of a classroom. The next day, we drove the rest of the way to Merille. In all, the trip was about 8-9 hours or so. In Merille, we stayed in one of the villagers’ compound, but due to room restrictions, we decided it was best to stay in one of our tents outside. So, for the next 10 days, 5 of us girls slept in a tent outside in 100+ temperature! The conditions for the 10 days were by far the toughest I believe I’ve ever dealt with. Not to mention I wasn’t feeling well throughout the week, so I had a very tough time. It is only by God’s grace I made it through the mission. The days were long and hard, and honestly, I felt very emotionally and physically exhausted. But, the Lord’s purpose was accomplished regardless of our weaknesses! The mission was truly amazing, and I'm so thankful I was given the opportunity to play a small part in it.
We spent each day doing door-to-door (or really hut-to-hut!) evangelism, afternoon crusades in the town square, and revival services out in the bush at night. Every day, numbers and numbers of these villagers and bush people received Christ as their Savior! At the end of the 10 days, 480 people in Merille had made a decision to follow Christ. It’s hard to even recollect all of the incredible testimonies and stories that occurred throughout the 10 days. God moved in such a powerful way in an area in desperate need of His grace, mercy, and provision. These people were so receptive to the Gospel that we were amazed. God had obviously prepared the way ahead for us.
The Rendille culture is full of problems and hindrances. The rural and ancient practices of the tribe have bred oppressive traditions that are considered normal for them. Many of the people dressed in tribal garb (some of the women wore no tops but necklaces) and the teenage boys (called Moran) live in the bush for a number of years until time for marriage. We saw 9 year olds married off to older men and children with diseases all over. Women are very oppressed in the area and are often raped and unwillingly circumcised. Also, the town square was full of orphaned street children with no one to take care of them. It was an area of such poverty that I felt ashamed of everything I own. We are praying for a medical team, feeding program, etc. to do more work in this area.
However, in the midst of all of the incredible problems, the people were filled with such warmth, joy, and friendliness. The kids were wonderful, and they always wanted to join in singing and dancing for Jesus. Also, many of the adults were so kind and generous, even when some of them had never seen white people before. The language barrier was often a problem, but thankfully, the East students’ Swahili was a lot closer to the Rendille language than English! Also, we were often able to use interpreters. I was blessed to receive a few different gifts throughout the week from people in the village who are so in need. It was incredibly humbling.
One night, I was asked to preach the revival service. I talked about Daniel and the Lions Den and how he wasn’t afraid to trust in God and obey Him, even when his culture and those around him said otherwise. It was kind of a cool experience using an interpreter! In this culture, it is extremely rare for a man to ever respond to a woman; however, as soon as I finished the message, one of the oldest men in the village came down and stood at the front, along with another gentleman (one of our interpreters). When I asked if he knew Jesus, he said to the interpreter that he wanted to. Praise the Lord! The interpreter also recommitted his life to Christ, along with another elderly lady in the village. Also, many of the children asked for prayer for boldness to stand up for God and follow Christ even when their culture is full of things that would as them to do otherwise. God is moving in that village in ways that are beyond us!! It would take me pages and pages to tell all of the many incredible things that happened in the 10 days we were there. We witnessed so many salvations, healings, miracles, etc. These people were truly hungry for the Lord. I was able to tell many, many people about Christ and lead them in the salvation prayer in the 10 days-children and adults alike who had never even heard the name of Jesus. It was truly a humbling experience-I had never been around anything like it. Similar to Gibatu, it was incredible to sit under the stars and African sky at night singing songs to Jesus with children in the middle of the bush….wow, I can’t even begin to try to explain everything we witnessed in such an incredible native and tribal area. At the end of the mission with all 6 teams combined, over 3,000 people came to Christ in these tribes. Can you believe that? Now, these people have officially moved from being an “unreached” people group to “reached.” Praise the Lord!!!
Last Sunday night, we left Merille to drive half the way stopping back in Isiolo to spend the night. Even though I was exhausted and ready to relax, it was extremely difficult to leave the people of Merille (especially the children) as well as the Kenyan ministers and students we had partnered with throughout the 10 days. Later that night in Isiolo, I began vomiting over and over again. All of a sudden, I developed an extremely high fever with aches and chills all over. I seriously felt deathly ill! By the next day, it was decided I needed to go to the clinic in Isiolo. A blood test was given and the results showed that I had Malaria!! I was amazed since I have taken every precaution possible to prevent developing Malaria; however, there is never 100% chance of not getting it. Apparently, I was bit a couple of weeks ago (which would explain why I was feeling so weak throughout my time in Merille), but the main effects didn’t hit me until later on! So, I was given extremely good medication (which only cost $5!!) and within a few hours, I felt a million times better. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever felt that sick in my life. But, thanks to God and the incredible medicine, I felt so much better by the next day that I couldn’t believe it! I rode the rest of the way back to Nairobi with the chancellor of East, missionary Jeff Nelson, and a few others. Thankfully, the rest of this week has consisted of vacation, so I’ve been able to recover well from the Malaria.
We went on a 3 day safari to the Masai Mara (one of the Seven Wonders of the World!!), and saw pretty much every animal native to Africa! It was absolutely breathtaking. We stayed at a resort camp in tents with beds and bathrooms, and drove out 4 different times on safaris all over the Mara. I couldn’t believe how close we were able to get to all of the animals in the wild. Thankfully, Bryan (the missionary overseeing us here) allowed me to borrow his extremely nice camera on the safari. The pictures were amazing! We walked with elephants, parked in the middle of a lion pride, and even saw a cheetah kill a gazelle at dusk! We probably saw at least 30 different animals up close totally in the wild. It was amazing!! Plus, we even got to cross into Tanzania for a minute!
Last night, we left on an overnight sleeper train to Mombasa on the coast, which is where we currently are. Unfortunately, on the 12-hour train ride, several of our teams’ cabins were robbed and many valuable items were stolen right out of their beds. We couldn’t believe it. The enemy is seriously fighting hard to keep us discouraged here, but God is victorious! Even with being robbed and developing Malaria, I have seen God’s hand so incredibly strong at work these past few weeks that I feel overwhelmed with gratefulness. He has blessed me in so many ways and also provided opportunities here I never dreamed possible. No matter what challenges come my way, I’m standing on the Lord’s promises and constantly seeing His hand.
We will be here in Mombasa for a few more days, then we will head back to Nairobi to prepare for the conclusion to our mission here. We will spend Wednesday partnering with Dusty Feet (which began in Springfield and is now based out of Kenya), an organization developed to fight human trafficking here in Africa. We will follow them through Mathare Valley, one of the poorest slums in the world and their home base. I don’t know if I’m prepared for what we will see there. We saw many street kids on the way to Merille, orphans who huff glue in order to keep themselves from focusing on their hunger. It was probably the most painful thing I’ve ever seen. I’m praying for God to emotionally prepare me for what we are going to see in Mathare. Apparently, it’s 10x that difficult. It’s full of street kids high on substances and fighting for survival, even as young as 3 and 4 years old. Dusty Feet will show us what they do in Mathare as we follow their footsteps. We will also visit one of the slum’s Feeding Program later in the day.
On Thursday, we pack and prepare to fly out on Friday night. Wow, less than a week away. I can’t believe everything God has done here in Kenya and in our lives….man. God is amazing!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Words Can't Even Describe....
Wow, it’s hard to even explain the amazing opportunities and experiences I’ve been blessed to be a part of throughout the last week. Some of the plans regarding our team’s journey to Sombo in Northern Kenya ended up changing a little, and only five of us ended up getting to go: Sandy, Heidi, Kisha, Shannon, & myself. Heidi, Kisha, and Shannon stayed in the village of Sombo while Sandy and I went to Gabatu (an extremely remote village 6 miles away from Sombo through the bush, desert, and river beds. We left a day later than planned and made the six hour drive in the STL Land Rover with our awesome driver, Wilson. On the way, we got to see some of the incredibly beautiful mountainous landscape of Northern Kenya. We also had some crazy experiences on our journey, including one flat tire (which caused us to break down in the middle of the desert) as well as hitting a 5-foot tall stork and shattering the passenger window! Hope that bird’s ok! As we got closer to our destination near the Somolian border, the terrain became extremely sandy and dry. About one hour before reaching the village, we turned off the main road and went through the bush to reach the village. Sombo is an extremely remote place in the middle of nowhere., and some missionaries have started a school for the village children in the area. Some walk many, many miles every day to get to the school. Most everyone is of Muslim heritage and some are Somolians who have migrated over the border. The teachers are able to share about Christian religion in the school, which is the first any one in these unreached people groups have been able to hear about Jesus Christ. Most of the people there are folk Muslims, meaning that they do not actually practice Islam as we know. It’s more of a family heritage religion. Many are illiterate and do not even have a copy of the Koran. There is still much opposition to the Gospel; however, the teachers and missionaries are definitely making inroads in the community as they provide proper education to these people who are so thankful to be able to learn English and other regular subjects. The conditions in Sombo are extremely rural and rustic, so you can imagine the village Sandy and I stayed in 6 miles away!
Sandy and I were taken by some of the missionaries to Gibatu where we were warmly greeted by the tribal Wata people of the village. The Wata people are exactly what you expect as a tribe. They live in mud and grass huts and basically have extremely little resources. The children carry machetes and the people eat very little. They drink water straight from the river and many of them are scattered throughout the desert and back in the bush, which looks like a jungle! Nobody but a very few selection of people speak some scattered English. Most of them don’t even speak Swahili, Kenya’s official language. They speak Wata, their native tribal language. They are all of Muslim descent and no nothing of the world we know of. There is no electricity, no running water, and many of them have never traveled outside of their village. It’s a completely different world. I’d never seen anything like it. However, this world is SO beautiful. Regardless of the fact that we are Christians and some of the few white people (Mzungus) they’ve ever seen, they greeted us with such warmth and friendliness that I couldn’t believe it. The children danced and sang, and the people were all excited to shake our hands and show us their home.
There is one missionary in the village of Gabatu named Mary. Mary is a Kenyan missionary from Nairobi who now lives full-time in this village. She is the only person there who is not a member of the Wata tribe. Sandy and I received the opportunity to stay in Mary’s mud home for the next five days and share in her incredible ministry. She came to the village to start a school for the children in Gabatu who are either too young or physically unable to travel the six miles to school in Sombo (mainly ages 2-9ish). These kids have a little mud building with no floor except the sand where Mary teaches them English and songs five days a week. It took her a while to convince the people of the village to allow their kids to come to school, but she has been making great progress. She now has 52 kids who regularly attend!! When she came to Gabatu this past June, the children didn’t know any language except Wata. But, in six months time, she has taught them a good bit of Swahili as well as a little English. They have learned many basic colors and numbers, as well as their ABC’s. She uses rocks on the ground as a blackboard. It’s amazing everything she has accomplished! She has taught them many songs in English, which they eagerly dance and sing to. Every one of the songs is about Jesus! Therefore, she is ministering to the community in ways they don’t even realize at this time. The kids sing and dance with such joy. They love to sing worship songs about Jesus and show us their native tribal dances with grunting and jumping as well. They are known to break out into drumming, dancing, and singing both inside the classroom and outside as well, even the 2 year olds! All ages love music in the tribe. Therefore, it’s an excellent tool to bring Christ into the village. Mary has also had the opportunity to visit the 40 huts in the community and make relationships with many of the parents, regardless of the language barrier. The love she has shown them is building bridges between herself and the Wata world.
Each day, Sandy and I were able to help Mary in the classroom. I can’t even explain what an amazing time it was. The kids waited outside for us each morning hours early just waiting to shake our hands and welcome us into their little school. They are extremely eager to learn, whether they are two years or nine years old. Because of their community-based ways, many of the older kids help the younger children. All of the kids participated in everything and they treated us with great respect. We were able to build on many of the things Mary has been teaching and even incorporate some tools of our own. Sandy and I used UNO cards to show colors and numbers and we brought some posters to teach more English words and animals. The kids loved it! Many of these things they had never seen before. I also got to teach them a few new songs such as “This Little Light of Mine” and “Father Abraham” to name a couple. Mary told us that many of the kids came to her with great surprise and said in Wata “Teacher Mary, these Mzungus sit on the dirt just like we do.” We were so humbled to show these beautiful children the love of God.
It’s really hard to explain how incredible these children are. Almost every one of the children has ringworm all over as well as sores and many only receive one meal a day; however, they are the sweetest and most joyful children I’ve ever encountered. They loved on us and showered us with affection, both inside and outside of the classroom. I really enjoyed playing with the kids! They laughed so hard as I tried to do their tribal dances with them. I also loved showing them videos and pictures of themselves. Two days, I followed a few of them back through the bush to the river. Most of the village is very desert-like; however, as you get closer to the river, you travel through what looks like a jungle/rainforest, and it’s absolutely gorgeous! I followed the kids as they used their machetes to cut through the bush and herd their sheep and cattle through the trees and greenery. As you walk through the bush, you might see fire from a place where charcoal is being made, anthills, animals, kids peering through the bushes, and people sleeping under and protecting their mango trees. It’s truly another world. Two days in a row I was able to see crocodiles and hippos in the river. The kids laughed as we snapped pictures of their beautiful land. Each day the sunset was an incredible orange, yellow, and red over the landscape. As night would fall, I would sit under the overwhelming starry sky with no light but a beautiful fire in the cool night breeze and marvel at God’s beauty. Through the darkness, you could hear kids laughing and animals making noise. Sometimes we would eat in the mud house by a single oil lamp and discuss things of God and sometimes we chose to eat outside and sing worship songs under the night sky. The conversation with Sandy, Mary, and myself was always incredible. It was amazing to soak in God for the week with no worldly distractions or amenities. I didn’t shower in five days, except for two bucket baths. Every night I would search for bugs and other rodents with my flashlight as I would prepare to lay on the ground just hoping no scorpions, mice, or lizards (all things I saw by my bed!) would bite me in my sleep! The heat was indescribable and quite hard to endure; however, God protected us and sustained us as He always does.
I was intimated at first at the idea of being alone and unprotected in an unreached tribal village; however, God gave me such peace as soon as I entered the village. There was only one episode in which I felt a little uneasy (a long story involving some of the people trying to sell us some things for way too much money), but thankfully it was handled by a visiting missionary and ended up being ok. We had a couple of visitors throughout the week, including Mary’s supporting pastor (a very well-known senior pastor of a large church in Nairobi) and the director of the missions school she graduated from. Sandy and I made incredible relationships and attachments with the people in the village, especially one Wata family in particular. The Harun family helps Mary at her house. Arron guarded us every evening for the entire night, laying by the fire and making sure no one came near our mudhouse. Halima helps Mary with many of her meals and other tasks. This beautiful family has six children, three who attend Sombo and three who attend Mary’s school in the village. Normally, a Wata man can have up to four wives and choose to send his wives back if they cannot build a house or cook properly; however, Arron chose only to have Halima as his wife. He loves and leads his family in a way that is rare to find in the Wata lifestyle. The Harun family understands a very little bit of English; therefore, we were able to communicate with them some throughout the week as they ate and spent time with us. They are a beautiful and joyous family that we believe has an amazing future in the Lord. The last day we were in the village, Arron and Halima prayed with us to accept Christ into their hearts-the first converts in the village. I couldn’t even begin to describe this moment. Even though they couldn’t understand much of what we were saying, we really believe Jesus is revealing Himself to them as they continue to learn more from Mary about the Gospel. We also had a visitor named Lucy from Nairobi (one of Mary’s friends) who prayed with a man hiding back in the bush who decided to accept Christ. He said that he had been afraid of persecution but wanted to learn more about Jesus. It’s so amazing that God gave us the opportunity to witness three conversions in an unreached village which had never heard of the name of Jesus Christ. The enemy is fighting it hard. For instance, as soon as Arron and Halima prayed, their donkey began running after their children trying to run them down. Great opposition and attacks of the enemy exist in an area where demonic forces have been present; however, God is greater than the attempts of Satan. Christ will win, and we believe that these are only beginning inroads of a great transformation in the village of Gabatu. Many of the people aren’t even aware of what’s happening. Mary overheard a lady singing “My God is so Good,” one of the songs that she taught the children. The lady most likely doesn’t even understand the English words she is singing; however, the people are infiltrating the presence of God into their community. One lady even came secretively to pray with Mary to Jesus to ask for help with some health problems. She came back and told Mary that Jesus is real. Praise the Lord!! He is entering this place. Some of the children are also hearing about the Gospel from Sombo in the Christian and Religious education class. Even though they have not seen real conversion in Sombo, the kids are still expressing curiosity and bringing it back to their families in the villages. For instance, 12-year old Abdisalaam (one of Arron and Halima’s children) wrote “Jesus, loves very very, wonderful, wonderful word” on the blackboard in the village school with a smile. We were amazed. On the last day, Sandy shared with our village students a little cube that tells the story of Jesus on it. They sat in awe as Mary translated the Gospel story to them. Abdisalaam nodded with a smile. We truly believe that he has some kind of inner understanding of Christ and that God has a very special plan for him. We had to present the message as somewhat of a story rather than an evangelistic message for safety reasons, but we believe that regardless of ,the language barrier the kids gained somewhat of an understanding of what’s going on. God is incredible.
Mary needs help there. She needs someone to go back and help her teach so that she has more freedom to minister to and teach the adults as well and get some rest and relief. The heat is draining, and the place in general (as wonderful as it is) is hard for her mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally being there alone. The spiritual attacks are there, and the place is as rustic as it can be. But, the Lord is present. I have to go back someday. These people are hungry for the Gospel. They are also in need of many things such as food and clean water. It broke my heart to see children drinking dark brown water with pieces of things in it from the river. It also broke my heart for them to come to school with their plates hoping we would put food in it for them and having nothing to give. We gave all the snacks we brought to one family whose kids are so incredibly hungry that their bones are visible. We were told that Mary’s home church in Nairobi is hoping to send a medical team to put on a clinic for these people, which we are very thankful for. Even though they seem to be making it ok, many people have visible diseases and are in need of medical treatment they have never had. As we left the village, I cried my eyes out. I was so sad to leave these people, and they were incredibly sad to see us go. Arron apparently didn’t understand we were leaving and he was devastated when he found out. It broke my heart. Even though this was one of the most challenging experiences, it was absolutely one of the most incredible. Words can’t even express…I feel like I left a piece of my heart in that village. What beautiful people they are…Being a part of this experience was so overwhelming. I’m incredibly thankful and grateful to the Lord that He provided me the opportunity to play a small part as a vessel in His plan for this village. I can’t even think too much about the children right now or I tear up. Thankfully, I have many great videos and pictures to show people back home in remind them to pray for the people of Gabatu (and hopefully come to Kenya to minister to them as well! )
When we returned back to Nairobi, the rest of the group left for two nights to Olontoko to help the Masai tribe with some projects. Unfortunately because of logistical issues, the five of us weren’t able to go. The Suswe trip was cancelled as well. But, we will hopefully have the chance in a couple of weeks to go back to Olontoko as a whole team. The five of us who went to Sombo and Gabatu stayed in Nairobi and helped with the kick-off of a medical clinic opened by Nairobi Christian Center (one of the A/G churches here). We passed out rice packets to the patients and made great friends with a few Kenyan young people from the church. I feel like I’ve learned a lot more Swahili recently, especially last week out of necessity! I know very little, but I’m hoping to gather more and more in our remaining three 3 weeks here.
Throughout this week, we have been working here in Nairobi with our fuel briquette presses, the Convoy logo sign, and preparation to camp for ten days at a mission to another unreached people group in Marsibit. Part of our group will be coming back early and the rest will stay for the remaining five days. We will be paired with students from the East Africa School of Theology under the direction of Jeff Nelson. Our team will be spread out over six different locations in areas where the Rendille tribe is located. These Rendille people have syncretized their religious practices, mixing Jewish rituals with animism. East Africa School of Theology has already evangelized some of the area, as well as built a few churches; however, 1500 more converts are needed for the place to be considered a reached people group. We will be doing door-to-door (or really hut-to-hut!) evangelism throughout the mornings, open air meetings in the afternoons, and holding evangelistic services at nighttime throughout the region. Our conditions will likely be extremely rustic and rural again in this area, but we are praying for a mighty move of God to sweep over the Rendille tribe. Please pray for us as we allow the Holy Spirit to minister to these unreached people. After we return from the Rendille mission and work a few more days here on the compound in Nairobi, we hope to retreat in Mombasa in celebration of Thanksgiving weekend! Thank you so much again for your support, encouragement, and prayers.
God is amazing!
Sandy and I were taken by some of the missionaries to Gibatu where we were warmly greeted by the tribal Wata people of the village. The Wata people are exactly what you expect as a tribe. They live in mud and grass huts and basically have extremely little resources. The children carry machetes and the people eat very little. They drink water straight from the river and many of them are scattered throughout the desert and back in the bush, which looks like a jungle! Nobody but a very few selection of people speak some scattered English. Most of them don’t even speak Swahili, Kenya’s official language. They speak Wata, their native tribal language. They are all of Muslim descent and no nothing of the world we know of. There is no electricity, no running water, and many of them have never traveled outside of their village. It’s a completely different world. I’d never seen anything like it. However, this world is SO beautiful. Regardless of the fact that we are Christians and some of the few white people (Mzungus) they’ve ever seen, they greeted us with such warmth and friendliness that I couldn’t believe it. The children danced and sang, and the people were all excited to shake our hands and show us their home.
There is one missionary in the village of Gabatu named Mary. Mary is a Kenyan missionary from Nairobi who now lives full-time in this village. She is the only person there who is not a member of the Wata tribe. Sandy and I received the opportunity to stay in Mary’s mud home for the next five days and share in her incredible ministry. She came to the village to start a school for the children in Gabatu who are either too young or physically unable to travel the six miles to school in Sombo (mainly ages 2-9ish). These kids have a little mud building with no floor except the sand where Mary teaches them English and songs five days a week. It took her a while to convince the people of the village to allow their kids to come to school, but she has been making great progress. She now has 52 kids who regularly attend!! When she came to Gabatu this past June, the children didn’t know any language except Wata. But, in six months time, she has taught them a good bit of Swahili as well as a little English. They have learned many basic colors and numbers, as well as their ABC’s. She uses rocks on the ground as a blackboard. It’s amazing everything she has accomplished! She has taught them many songs in English, which they eagerly dance and sing to. Every one of the songs is about Jesus! Therefore, she is ministering to the community in ways they don’t even realize at this time. The kids sing and dance with such joy. They love to sing worship songs about Jesus and show us their native tribal dances with grunting and jumping as well. They are known to break out into drumming, dancing, and singing both inside the classroom and outside as well, even the 2 year olds! All ages love music in the tribe. Therefore, it’s an excellent tool to bring Christ into the village. Mary has also had the opportunity to visit the 40 huts in the community and make relationships with many of the parents, regardless of the language barrier. The love she has shown them is building bridges between herself and the Wata world.
Each day, Sandy and I were able to help Mary in the classroom. I can’t even explain what an amazing time it was. The kids waited outside for us each morning hours early just waiting to shake our hands and welcome us into their little school. They are extremely eager to learn, whether they are two years or nine years old. Because of their community-based ways, many of the older kids help the younger children. All of the kids participated in everything and they treated us with great respect. We were able to build on many of the things Mary has been teaching and even incorporate some tools of our own. Sandy and I used UNO cards to show colors and numbers and we brought some posters to teach more English words and animals. The kids loved it! Many of these things they had never seen before. I also got to teach them a few new songs such as “This Little Light of Mine” and “Father Abraham” to name a couple. Mary told us that many of the kids came to her with great surprise and said in Wata “Teacher Mary, these Mzungus sit on the dirt just like we do.” We were so humbled to show these beautiful children the love of God.
It’s really hard to explain how incredible these children are. Almost every one of the children has ringworm all over as well as sores and many only receive one meal a day; however, they are the sweetest and most joyful children I’ve ever encountered. They loved on us and showered us with affection, both inside and outside of the classroom. I really enjoyed playing with the kids! They laughed so hard as I tried to do their tribal dances with them. I also loved showing them videos and pictures of themselves. Two days, I followed a few of them back through the bush to the river. Most of the village is very desert-like; however, as you get closer to the river, you travel through what looks like a jungle/rainforest, and it’s absolutely gorgeous! I followed the kids as they used their machetes to cut through the bush and herd their sheep and cattle through the trees and greenery. As you walk through the bush, you might see fire from a place where charcoal is being made, anthills, animals, kids peering through the bushes, and people sleeping under and protecting their mango trees. It’s truly another world. Two days in a row I was able to see crocodiles and hippos in the river. The kids laughed as we snapped pictures of their beautiful land. Each day the sunset was an incredible orange, yellow, and red over the landscape. As night would fall, I would sit under the overwhelming starry sky with no light but a beautiful fire in the cool night breeze and marvel at God’s beauty. Through the darkness, you could hear kids laughing and animals making noise. Sometimes we would eat in the mud house by a single oil lamp and discuss things of God and sometimes we chose to eat outside and sing worship songs under the night sky. The conversation with Sandy, Mary, and myself was always incredible. It was amazing to soak in God for the week with no worldly distractions or amenities. I didn’t shower in five days, except for two bucket baths. Every night I would search for bugs and other rodents with my flashlight as I would prepare to lay on the ground just hoping no scorpions, mice, or lizards (all things I saw by my bed!) would bite me in my sleep! The heat was indescribable and quite hard to endure; however, God protected us and sustained us as He always does.
I was intimated at first at the idea of being alone and unprotected in an unreached tribal village; however, God gave me such peace as soon as I entered the village. There was only one episode in which I felt a little uneasy (a long story involving some of the people trying to sell us some things for way too much money), but thankfully it was handled by a visiting missionary and ended up being ok. We had a couple of visitors throughout the week, including Mary’s supporting pastor (a very well-known senior pastor of a large church in Nairobi) and the director of the missions school she graduated from. Sandy and I made incredible relationships and attachments with the people in the village, especially one Wata family in particular. The Harun family helps Mary at her house. Arron guarded us every evening for the entire night, laying by the fire and making sure no one came near our mudhouse. Halima helps Mary with many of her meals and other tasks. This beautiful family has six children, three who attend Sombo and three who attend Mary’s school in the village. Normally, a Wata man can have up to four wives and choose to send his wives back if they cannot build a house or cook properly; however, Arron chose only to have Halima as his wife. He loves and leads his family in a way that is rare to find in the Wata lifestyle. The Harun family understands a very little bit of English; therefore, we were able to communicate with them some throughout the week as they ate and spent time with us. They are a beautiful and joyous family that we believe has an amazing future in the Lord. The last day we were in the village, Arron and Halima prayed with us to accept Christ into their hearts-the first converts in the village. I couldn’t even begin to describe this moment. Even though they couldn’t understand much of what we were saying, we really believe Jesus is revealing Himself to them as they continue to learn more from Mary about the Gospel. We also had a visitor named Lucy from Nairobi (one of Mary’s friends) who prayed with a man hiding back in the bush who decided to accept Christ. He said that he had been afraid of persecution but wanted to learn more about Jesus. It’s so amazing that God gave us the opportunity to witness three conversions in an unreached village which had never heard of the name of Jesus Christ. The enemy is fighting it hard. For instance, as soon as Arron and Halima prayed, their donkey began running after their children trying to run them down. Great opposition and attacks of the enemy exist in an area where demonic forces have been present; however, God is greater than the attempts of Satan. Christ will win, and we believe that these are only beginning inroads of a great transformation in the village of Gabatu. Many of the people aren’t even aware of what’s happening. Mary overheard a lady singing “My God is so Good,” one of the songs that she taught the children. The lady most likely doesn’t even understand the English words she is singing; however, the people are infiltrating the presence of God into their community. One lady even came secretively to pray with Mary to Jesus to ask for help with some health problems. She came back and told Mary that Jesus is real. Praise the Lord!! He is entering this place. Some of the children are also hearing about the Gospel from Sombo in the Christian and Religious education class. Even though they have not seen real conversion in Sombo, the kids are still expressing curiosity and bringing it back to their families in the villages. For instance, 12-year old Abdisalaam (one of Arron and Halima’s children) wrote “Jesus, loves very very, wonderful, wonderful word” on the blackboard in the village school with a smile. We were amazed. On the last day, Sandy shared with our village students a little cube that tells the story of Jesus on it. They sat in awe as Mary translated the Gospel story to them. Abdisalaam nodded with a smile. We truly believe that he has some kind of inner understanding of Christ and that God has a very special plan for him. We had to present the message as somewhat of a story rather than an evangelistic message for safety reasons, but we believe that regardless of ,the language barrier the kids gained somewhat of an understanding of what’s going on. God is incredible.
Mary needs help there. She needs someone to go back and help her teach so that she has more freedom to minister to and teach the adults as well and get some rest and relief. The heat is draining, and the place in general (as wonderful as it is) is hard for her mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally being there alone. The spiritual attacks are there, and the place is as rustic as it can be. But, the Lord is present. I have to go back someday. These people are hungry for the Gospel. They are also in need of many things such as food and clean water. It broke my heart to see children drinking dark brown water with pieces of things in it from the river. It also broke my heart for them to come to school with their plates hoping we would put food in it for them and having nothing to give. We gave all the snacks we brought to one family whose kids are so incredibly hungry that their bones are visible. We were told that Mary’s home church in Nairobi is hoping to send a medical team to put on a clinic for these people, which we are very thankful for. Even though they seem to be making it ok, many people have visible diseases and are in need of medical treatment they have never had. As we left the village, I cried my eyes out. I was so sad to leave these people, and they were incredibly sad to see us go. Arron apparently didn’t understand we were leaving and he was devastated when he found out. It broke my heart. Even though this was one of the most challenging experiences, it was absolutely one of the most incredible. Words can’t even express…I feel like I left a piece of my heart in that village. What beautiful people they are…Being a part of this experience was so overwhelming. I’m incredibly thankful and grateful to the Lord that He provided me the opportunity to play a small part as a vessel in His plan for this village. I can’t even think too much about the children right now or I tear up. Thankfully, I have many great videos and pictures to show people back home in remind them to pray for the people of Gabatu (and hopefully come to Kenya to minister to them as well! )
When we returned back to Nairobi, the rest of the group left for two nights to Olontoko to help the Masai tribe with some projects. Unfortunately because of logistical issues, the five of us weren’t able to go. The Suswe trip was cancelled as well. But, we will hopefully have the chance in a couple of weeks to go back to Olontoko as a whole team. The five of us who went to Sombo and Gabatu stayed in Nairobi and helped with the kick-off of a medical clinic opened by Nairobi Christian Center (one of the A/G churches here). We passed out rice packets to the patients and made great friends with a few Kenyan young people from the church. I feel like I’ve learned a lot more Swahili recently, especially last week out of necessity! I know very little, but I’m hoping to gather more and more in our remaining three 3 weeks here.
Throughout this week, we have been working here in Nairobi with our fuel briquette presses, the Convoy logo sign, and preparation to camp for ten days at a mission to another unreached people group in Marsibit. Part of our group will be coming back early and the rest will stay for the remaining five days. We will be paired with students from the East Africa School of Theology under the direction of Jeff Nelson. Our team will be spread out over six different locations in areas where the Rendille tribe is located. These Rendille people have syncretized their religious practices, mixing Jewish rituals with animism. East Africa School of Theology has already evangelized some of the area, as well as built a few churches; however, 1500 more converts are needed for the place to be considered a reached people group. We will be doing door-to-door (or really hut-to-hut!) evangelism throughout the mornings, open air meetings in the afternoons, and holding evangelistic services at nighttime throughout the region. Our conditions will likely be extremely rustic and rural again in this area, but we are praying for a mighty move of God to sweep over the Rendille tribe. Please pray for us as we allow the Holy Spirit to minister to these unreached people. After we return from the Rendille mission and work a few more days here on the compound in Nairobi, we hope to retreat in Mombasa in celebration of Thanksgiving weekend! Thank you so much again for your support, encouragement, and prayers.
God is amazing!
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