It's funny; whenever it's time for me to share about my mission trip to Kenya and what God did there I am at a loss for words. Words can't really paint the whole picture, anyhow. People say that others will never understand until they go themselves, that's the truth. I'll give you the best I can do and pray that God fills in the gaps for you to know a little more what He's doing in Kenya... and in me.
About a year ago I heard at church (one of my churches) that a team was going to be sent to Africa the summer of 2012. I knew instantly that I was supposed to go. I had always wanted to go to Africa, but there was just something inside me (the Holy Spirit) that made it feel so right. I couldn't imagine not going! I expressed my interest right away to my friend, the youth pastor, and I got the okay a few months later to be on the team. I was so excited and thankful and I tried to fund raise. The experience was going to cost $3,500! Being the second mission trip of the year I had to put off focusing on it while working on Mexico. It was going to be very different since none of my close friends would be there; I also was going to be the only unmarried, younger female. I didn't know most of the team super well, and I knew that God would teach me new things and grow me in different areas. There was a lot of work that went into being able to go... but most of it was on His end. He takes care of me and provides EVERY time He calls.
For the month or so beforehand I had a strange feeling like I didn't even want to go! It was crazy because I had been looking forward to it for some time, but I had a lot going on at work and felt like I didn't want to be away from "real life" for so long. But at the same time I KNEW that those feelings were an attack and that the Lord was going to use me and show me amazing things in Nairobi. So I went. :) We served in the Mathare Valley in Nairobi Kenya. This is one of the oldest and worst slums. It's only 3mi by 1mi and contains more than 800,000 people! Mathare is split into ten "smaller" communities with about 80,000 in each. We spent a little time in Pangani where we did orientation and Joska where we had church on Sunday. Most of our time, though, was spent in Mabatini.
When we got to the airport, despite the long lines of missions groups waiting to get into the country, we were all excited (and VERY tired). The tricky part was collecting luggage... we lost two suitcases from the group... a friend's and MINE!!! It was the craziest. I had a blast with it, though, and felt like a "real missionary" when i had to wear the same skirt four days in a row. Thankfully, I did pack the skirt and an extra shirt in my carry-on. I loved everything about being there, though. The food was great, the people fantastic, and God the BEST. And time seemed to go by so quickly. By the time I got my suitcase I was definitely ready for it, but it didn't feel like it was as long as it really was.
Monday - Friday we were blessed to be able to do a Vacation Bible School in the Mabatini school. I got to teach the Bible lesson with two other amazing people. One is an artist so he drew all of our visuals on the chalk board as I told the lesson. Then our third teacher would do a review with the children. With 448 students in the school we had about 90 kiddos in each group!! I lost my voice by the end of the week, and it didn't really help that I had to yell over the music class that was right below our classroom! God totally got me through. It was interesting that I had to learn to slow down. If you know me personally, you know that I can speak quite quickly. For the two younger classes I had to speak slowly for the translators. Then for the other three groups I had to really focus on my speed because the kids just had me to listen to. The children at the schools are all so very hungry to learn and grow; it's really quite inspiring. They have scriptures memorized and know facts very well. Everyone wanted to answer when a question was asked. They truly are beautiful. I loved teaching them each day more about how: God Listens! God Provides! God Forgives! God Protects! God Rules!
Each day after VBS we would go out into the community of Mabatini and do home visits. We worked with the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) group and did a project called "Bring the Light." It was beautiful. We would split up into groups so as to not overwhelm each home and to cover more ground. The great thing is that the Lord was with each group. We would go into the homes, the small, dark, crammed homes made of tin, and we would just love on the people living there. Each group also had social workers from the schools and CHE workers to help translate where needed and get us started. They would find out if the person(s) we were to speak with was (were) born again believers, simply church goers, or had nothing to do with any of it. From there we'd decide where to take the conversation. If they were born again we would go straight to talking about health and encourage them in their walk. We educated people on HIV, malaria, and clean water - bringing them the light of health education into their lives. If the person was not born again, though, we would go right to the heart of the matter, the Gospel. Using evangecubes we got to share Jesus (I was blessed to be able to do this three times!) When this happened we brought real Light to them. The while we were in their homes straining to see with no natural light there was a CHE worker on the roof cutting a hole in the tin roof to be replaced by clear plastic bringing physical light into their lives. It was a very touching time and I was blessed to see two women come into the kingdom that week through Bring the Light. One was quite pregnant, had two older kids, and her husband was a drunk that didn't help as much as he should. I saw a light in her and she was so overjoyed when she finally decided to give her life to the Lord. I will never forget the beauty that radiated from her.
Time for a shameless plug: Sponsorship.
There is just something so mysterious about sending money to help a kid that we've never seen. But I've seen them. I had heard stories of how badly they need our assistance, but I never guessed that it was as bad as reality. My heart went out to every kid. They had torn sweaters, worn shoes, and little school supplies. But they were so very thankful for what they did have. It was always interesting seeing them after school when they were out of their uniforms in their mismatched, dusty, old street clothes. I knew by Tuesday morning that I HAD TO sponsor a kid. I told the woman in charge that I wanted a kid where there was a need, not giving any kind of specifics. I had one by that evening. A 5 year old little boy named Michael from MABATINI! AND I was able to meet and spend time with him Wednesday afternoon. I fell in love with that boy. And he came to love me, too, really, ask anyone! I can't wait to watch him grow up. God is good, and He definitely uses child sponsorship. One day when we were asking the children what they were thankful for one boy stood up and proudly said, "our sponsors." Don't wonder how you will afford it, just step out in faith and sponsor a child.
As you can tell I had a very blessed time in Mabatini. Those children stole my heart. I WILL go back someday (hopefully soon.) It was pretty cool, though, that we got two days at the end of the trip to decompress and just bask in the beauty of the Lord. We went on safari in Masa Mara and were able to see all kinds of fun animals and simply be thankful for who the Creator is and all that He has given to us. There's no way we can ever repay Him for all that He has given, is giving, and will give. And He's okay with that. That's the beauty of love. God loves us, and you better believe I LOVE HIM!
