Our stay in Kenya is almost over. This week my team worked with the church members of Koinonia Baptist Church in Ruwaka. It takes about 30 minutes riding in a matatu and about 50 shillings to get there from Brackenhurst.

The matatu rides are very interesting. The vans are only made for about 11-14 passengers, but we manage to squeeze in a lot more. One day our matatu driver pulled over, and the conductor grabbed some branches from the side of the road. He put the branches on the matatu, and we had no idea why. It turns out that the police were pulling people over on the road ahead, looking for bribes. The branches show that a matatu is private, and private matatus are not hassled as much by the police.

We met a lot of Christians around Koinonia when we did our door-to-door evangelism. A few were also saved. However, we were also frustrated when we met people who heard the truth but did not want to accept the free gift of salvation. There was one group of people who we talked to for quite some time. We told them the story of how God created the world, but sin separates us from God. Yet God loves us so much he made a way for us to be with Him. That way is Jesus Christ. We told them how Jesus had died a cruel death on the cross. We told them how Jesus rose from the dead and destroyed our sins. We told them how Jesus had changed our lives. But they still did not want to know the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. It’s mind blowing.

One day we went to pray for the family of a pastor who had been kidnapped. The pastor had been walking one evening last weekend, and someone had taken him, bound him, and blindfolded him. We prayed for the family and gave them encouragement. We learned that the pastor had returned safely later that day.

Last night our group had a worship service here at Brackenhurst. We sang several songs and shared prayer for all the people we have met during our time here. I really felt the power of the Holy Spirit moving in me. I felt a strength that I’ve never felt before, like I could do anything because I had Christ living in me. This is my first trip to do door-to-door evangelism. I’d never thought of myself as an evangelist before this trip. Now I know the joy that comes with sharing the word of God.

Before our worship service came to an end, the group prayed over my fiancé and me. Then we all had cake!

Today I went back to Koinonia Baptist Church, but not for evangelism. I learned how to make our favorite Kenyan food: chipati. Chipati is very much like a tortilla, but thicker and greasier. It’s made with warm water, salt, flour and oil. The Kenyans cook the chipati over a charcoal fire in a jiko, which is a little mobile clay fire pit about a foot in diameter. I bought a jiko for 120 shillings, which is a little less than $2 USD.

Then I walked with a couple other girls to Kiambethu Farm, where an older couple live. They are British heritage, but they’ve lived in Kenya for nearly all their lives. They live in a 1930s-circa house in a old part of the forest. They have about nine dogs who love to bark at the monkeys.

Tomorrow is our last day in Kenya. Most of us will go to the graduation at Kenya Baptist Theological College, which is a sister campus to Wayland Baptist University. The graduation ceremony lasts several hours, but I hear it's really nice!

We made the 10-hour trip back to Brackenhurst yesterday. We spent the entire past week working in Mombasa on the coast of Kenya. We stayed at the Anglican Church of Kenya guest house. The rooms had windows that did not close, so we had a lot of little critters running around in our rooms. But we slept in mosquito nets at night, which kept us all bug-free. It was also very warm and humid there, so we were all longing for the cool temperatures of Nairobi.

There is a large Muslim population in Mombasa, and so every morning around five you can hear the call to prayer – then you could also catch the call to prayer several times a day. It was interesting to hear. Overall, the people seemed very friendly, but we were told we would not be able to visit any mosques because the Muslims were very anti-American.

Others were excited to learn that we were American. As one pastor told us, the Kenyans are very happy that Americans have elected Obama as president. (If you didn’t already know, Obama’s father was Kenyan.)

We set up the medical camp at Ushindi Baptist Church, which is a huge church able to seat 10,000 people. Ushindi also has about 15 extensions in different areas of Mombasa. My evangelism team worked for a couple of days around Ushindi’s church in the Freretown slum. We would work all morning, and then Al would preach during the lunchtime service. Al preached for an hour the first day.

The Kenyans came to evangelize with us to interpret. By the end of the week, they were also working on their own to bring people to Christ. We also prayed over a lot of sick people. I remember several who said they had been saved, but then “backslide” into their old ways of life. So we offered encouragement for those.

I remember talking to one Muslim man about the differences in Christianity and Islam. We share some of the same beliefs, such as there is one God. But Muslims do not believe in the Trinity, nor that Jesus was the Son of God or that he died on the cross. They do respect Jesus, but only as a prophet.

We talked to a lot of people going door to door, and I also remember one young man who was born again and whose parents were dead. He needed encouragement, and so we read to him from the Bible. He started to cry a little, and I felt such empathy for him.

The Kenyans would work with us until about 3 p.m., when we would finally stop for lunch. They then took us to someone’s home to feed us rice, beans, ugali and stew. It was good, filling food – and they always made sure we were full.

After lunch/dinner, we would go to a street corner or a little outlet somewhere and set up speakers, microphones and a keyboard for our outreach. They would sing praise songs, dance and pray, and then Al would preach for a little while. On Thursday night I danced with the Kenyan girls, and afterwards the pastor told me how impressed everyone was that I could dance like an African!

We would get back around 8 p.m. every night, dog tired and ready for bed. But every other night we would have a large group meeting to share our experiences. It’s really a touching time when everyone can reflect on the day. My boyfriend of about 2 ½ years is also on this trip with me, and he spoke to the group on Thursday night. He was telling everyone about the successes of the music team. Then he said that there was a question many of the Kenyans ask us but we refuse to answer. He had a very serious demeanor, and we were all wondering what he was talking about. Then he began to move to the center of the room, and we all thought we were in for a lecture. But he stopped in front of me and knelt down on one knee. He pulled out a little white box with a ring in it and said that the question was, “Will you marry me?” I started to cry because I was so excited and happy. We got it all on tape! That was probably the most excited thing that happened to me, personally.

Because we had worked so hard, we decided we needed a little break. So on Friday afternoon we spent several hours on the beach. The sands were clean and white, and the water was fairly warm. It was the perfect end to a week of exhausting work.

Friday night before we left, the pastors that had worked with the evangelism team brought us presents. They got each of the evangelists a bag of Kenyan tea and some wood carvings of a Masai man and woman. It was such a wonderful gesture of thanks for our work, but I believe we were more blessed to serve them.

We are halfway through our week in Mombasa. It is hot here! We have been out evangelizing all day in different slums and communities, and I do not have good Internet access here so I will have to make this short. Our work here is harder, in some ways, because there are many more Muslims here who do not want to hear about Jesus. But there are some who are longing for freedom in Jesus Christ, and you can see it in their faces when we do outreach programs outside in the evenings. We are also very impressed with the Kenyans' style of worship. We went to a Baptist church here, and they sure can dance! It is nothing like the United States. They all sing and dance and clap to praise God. It is very heartwarming.

Pray for the people in Mombasa.

Leading people to Christ

We have been working hard all week. On Tuesday the medical team saw more than 200 people. My team, the evangelism team, walked part of the way to Karanjee, which is about 4 or 5 miles from Brackenhurst. We finally caught a matatu to take us to Karanjee, where we had to walk up another road to get to Imani Baptist Church. We weren’t certain where the church was located, so we wandered around for awhile before we found it.

When we arrived at the church grounds, there were more than 100 people waiting to see the doctor. We met with the associate pastor, Shadrack, who found interpreters for us. My interpreter was named James, and I think he took a liking to me. We went around and introduced ourselves to the people waiting for the doctor. We then asked if they had any prayer requests, prayed for them and then gave them a word of encouragement from the Bible. We gave away a few Bibles in the morning, but we quickly ran out. Many people asked for the Bibles, and they were disappointed to learn that we did not have anymore.

I also sang a few songs with the children who were waiting there. They were a little shy at first, but soon they sat closer to me, and they began petting my hair. They had not been so close to a white person before, and they were very curious! They also like to have their picture taken.

In the afternoon we walked to a nearby slum called Misiri, which is the Swahili name for Egypt. The slum was home to James, who is Kikuyu. James taught me several words in the Kikuyu language, but I only remember how to say hello. He showed us around, and we bought some fries from some ladies. The Kenyans call them chips. We gave the fries to some children following us. The children laugh when they see us, and they say, “How are you?” over and over again. We got to know some of Misiri, and I talked for a while with an older woman who knew English. It was hard to understand her English, but it was pretty clear that she wanted to come to America with me.

We did not eat lunch, and so we were all very hungry by 3 p.m. I told James, “Nataka chakula,” which means, “I want food.” Then I asked him if he had eaten yet today, and he said no. Then I felt bad for wanting food.

We went back to Karanjee on Wednesday and ministered to the people waiting outside the church. Then we headed out into the community. We met a couple of ladies outside a shop, and we stopped to talk to them. One lady, named Jane Rose, was not a Christian, and she had only heard part of the good news. My friend Whitney and I told her the story of Jesus, and then told her that to be saved and set free from sin, she had to believe in her heart that Jesus is her personal savior, and then she had to say so with her mouth. We asked her if she wanted to be saved. She said yes, and Whitney lead her in prayer.

Then Shadrack led us to a housing unit, where several people were saved, including an entire family. I met a lady named Mary, and she let me hold her infant while my friend Al talked to her about accepting Christ. At first she did not want to, but he asked why, why not today? After talking a long while, he lead her in prayer to accept Christ. As she was praying, she began to cry, and it was touching. But I was glad she finally accepted, because the baby was getting heavy!

Then we met two young ladies who lived together. Their names were Margaret and Elizabeth. I talked to them about accepting Christ, and they said they wanted to become saved. So I lead them in prayer to ask Jesus to come into their hearts. That was the first time I had ever lead anyone to profess his or her belief in Christ. It was a good feeling.

Then Margaret and Elizabeth offered to cook for me. It’s rude to say no, so I agreed, even though I wasn’t very hungry. They made me some hot chocolate, and then they scrambled some eggs. James buttered some bread for me. He held the bread in his hands, which I could tell hadn’t been washed in a while. I said a little prayer to God to keep me healthy. Then the girls made me a scrambled egg sandwich, which was actually very good. We talked for a while, and I showed them pictures of my family and friends.

Then we went next door, where the other members of my team had led a man named Antony to Christ. He also offered us hot chocolate and two pieces of bread. I had eaten a big breakfast that morning thinking I would go hungry again, but now I was stuffed!

After we prayed with everyone, we went back to Misiri. We visited an orphanage for a few minutes, and it was sad to see so many needy children. I also met James mother. She wanted to cook porridge for us, but the sun was starting to set and we had to be back before sunset. We had to refuse, which I’m sure was very rude.

We went back to the church and said goodbye to our friends. Shadrack had given his Bible away and had reminded me that I had promised we would get him another. We didn’t have anymore, so I gave him mine. I’m without a Bible now, but my brother was very happy.

Today, Thursday, we changed locations. We drove about 20-30 minutes to another slum called Gachie. This is supposedly the most dangerous slum in all of Kenya, so our leader hired armed guards to protect the church while we were there.

There were children gathered at the church, and we played with them for a while. Then we left all our valuables at the church and went out into the community. The pastor of Gachie West, Pastor John, lead us to another apartment complex just adjacent to the church. We met two ladies, Aida and Janet, who had prayer requests. We went to Aida’s home and gave them encouragement with the Bible. Both were Christians, but both had been out of work for a long time. Aida’s mother-in-law had taken her children, and she lived with her husband in a dying marriage. She said they lived more like brother and sister instead of husband and wife. We prayed for both of them.

We ate lunch in a home nearby. We had delicious stew and potatoes, as well as some bread that looked much like tortillas. Then at 2 p.m. we attended a baby dedication ceremony at Gachie West church. Dr. Shaw led the ceremony, and several of our team members sang songs. The baby is a beautiful little girl called Phyllis – named after an influential woman from my hometown.

(From Monday)

We were ready to get off the plane. We left from Dallas early Saturday morning, and we didn’t arrive in Kenya until early Monday morning. We almost didn’t make onto our first plane. We arrived at DFW at 6 a.m. and promptly got in line to check in. They had one attendant at the computer, and the going was slow. Our plane was scheduled to leave at 8 a.m., and at 7:55 there were still nine of us in line. Thankfully, they held the plane – and miraculously, we made it to our next destination on time thanks to the wind, and thanks to God.

We spent 12 hours in the airport in Accra, Ghana. Some men were handing out little flags to passerby, and I picked one up. It had a picture of the Obamas on it. We had to stay inside the airport the entire 12 hours. During that time, many of us slept, ate, played hacky sack and played cards. We also made a friend, a little boy named Christopher. After a while he got a little rambunctious, so we were glad to get checked in and go through security.

It was about 5:30 a.m. in Nairobi when we landed. We picked up all 60-something bags and headed through customs – which was basically walking through the doors to go outside.

We filled two matatus with our luggage and rode through Nairobi on a bus. We were delighted to see huge storks nesting in the trees in town. Their wingspan must have been about six feet. They were huge!

It took about an hour to get to Limuru and to Brackenhurst, the Christian Conference Center. Once we got out of the city, everything was very green, and there were tea farms stretching over the hillside. Brackenhurst is very pretty and pedicured. There are so many flowers here! We will stay here for the entire week.

We were all exhausted from sleepless travel, but the medical team still went out and worked at a clinic for about an hour and a half. One team member, Justin, is on the water purification team, but he decided to tag along with the medical team. He brought $200 in donations that had been collected to give to a needy church, or some other worthy cause. It must have been in God’s plans, because the medical team ran out of medical supplies. They used the $200 to buy more medications. They saw 40 patients at the clinic today, and used half of all the supplies. They are planning to see 400 people on Tuesday. They don’t think the supplies will last more than two hours.

If you are interested in donating any money to the medical clinic, send me an e-mail at ikeyda@hotmail.com.

The rest of us got to rest today. We ate breakfast: toast, sausage, eggs and fruit. Then I went back to the room and took a nap for a couple hours. The water heater had plenty of time to heat up, so I had a nice hot shower. Then I went walking around Brackenhurst. I met up with Jess, who was taking pictures, and we headed down to the classrooms of the Kenya Baptist Theological College to see the students take tea time. But before we saw the students, we met up with some other team members who were headed into Limuru to buy cell phones and some anti-malaria medicine.

We took a matatu into the city, and that was an interesting and fun experience. They crowed as many people into the van as possible. And whenever a new person would get on, they would make the children move to the back. It took about 15-20 minutes to get into the heart of the city, where we met our friends at the market. It was kind of dirty there, but people were pretty friendly.

We also saw a Kenyan use a bike tire as a hula hoop! We had a lot of fun exploring the city before heading back to the Brackenhurst compound. We had dinner and then met for a group meeting. It’s surprisingly cool here, and I have to wear a sweater and a jacket outside to keep warm. So it was nice to sit for a while in front of the fireplace here.

Tomorrow our teams spread out through the area and begin work. I am part of the evangelization/home visitation team, and we meet at 8 a.m., so I’d better go to bed! Good night!

One More Day

Today I received a packet in the mail about the new child I am sponsoring through World Vision. Her name is Regina, and she is seven years old. I chose her because she lives in Kenya. This way I will have a connection with Kenya, even after I've come home. I will be able to write her letters, and she can write back to me. My monthly donations will be pooled with others to improve the community she lives in. Maybe I can make a small difference in her life. If you'd like to learn more about sponsoring a child through World Vision, visit www.worldvision.org.

Tomorrow we catch a plane to Dallas. Then on Saturday morning we will begin our long journey, and we should arrive in Nairobi early Monday morning. I have packed my personal suitcase to the brim, even though we are only staying three weeks! But many of the clothes I will be wearing were donated, and I will be leaving them in Kenya when our trip comes to an end. I should have plenty of room for souvenirs. :)

I have packed a second suitcase full of clothing for the children in Kenya. I also have many more bags of clothing that were donated from my church family and my coworkers. At one point today, I felt like I was having a baby shower with all the clothes in my living room!

I am amazed at how much people want to help those in need. God has laid it in our hearts to love one another.

1 John 4:11
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

I am counting down the days to our departure. We leave Plainview on Friday and head to Dallas-Fort Worth, where we will begin our journey at 7 a.m. Saturday, July 4. I will miss the Independence Day fireworks, but I'm sure there will be plenty of "fireworks" in my heart. I'm so excited for this three-week trip to Kenya!

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for our safety, and pray for the people we will be meeting on our journey — that God would work through us to touch their hearts. And finally, remember that everything you do can be a prayer, whether it's changing a dirty diaper or washing dishes. I heard this neat prayer at catechist training today:

Thank God for dirty dishes —
They have a tale to tell.
While others are going hungry,
We are eating very well.