Back in Kenya!!! Week Two

Here we go!  Travel with us virtually through week two on mission here in Kenya!  We start on Sunday morning!

February 25

Today Rob preached on 1 John at two different churches!  What a day!

First service at Kingdom Destiny Church in Makutano with Reverend David Gikonyo.

Second service at God Seekers Fellowship in Wiyumiririe with Bishop Charles Wachira.

It was a full, touching and FUNNY Sunday.  Rob preached at the first church and we made a quick exit to get to the next church on time.  If you read the story on THE FIRST WEEK, you met Lydia as we visited in her home.  When we walked into church and sat down up front, Abby spotted Lydia right away.  She went down and sat with her as we promised.

Before church was officially over, there was a fundraiser for the completion of a permanent latrine in the church compound.  Not something you hear about often in the U.S. but the equivalent of a bathroom renovation.  Lots of things were put up for auction.  One thing that was brought to the auction block was a duck...well a duck and a goose... but for this story we are only going to discuss the duck.  One of the participants in Abby's class on Saturday bought the duck for her.

This is the face of a girl who may have never touched a duck before, had no choice in the matter and was a good sport through the whole thing (though I am not sure she ACTUALLY touched it).  We won't mention the stuff she had to avoid stepping in.  Ducks and geese get a little nervous when brought into church.

Next, there were prayer requests.  Several people requested prayer.  One of the things I LOVE about church in Kenya, is that you are led to to be bold.  As people were requesting prayer, I sensed in a way that only God can lead you to that Lydia had a request.  Nobody thinks twice if you get up and move around, so I went to her and asked if she had a prayer request.  To my total shock, she said, "I want to pray for salvation."  Praise God!  It is what every missionary wants to hear.  We are so thankful that God let this team be a a vessel to share the gospel with her.  Please pray for Lydia as she begins her new walk in faith.  She lives a hard life and she will need to be bathed in prayer.

Abby welcoming Lydia as a sister in Christ.

Also, on Sunday, Ken and I got to continue our duties as the Best Couple for Francis and Purity.  We were in charge of all the gifts that were brought to the wedding and reception.  On the day that is set before the wedding, the Best Couple bring the gifts to the newly married couple's home and the Best Couple get to open the gifts and show them to the couple.  What fun!  This couple asked for blessings upon all those who gifted them and were very thankful for each and every gift.

In Francis and Purity's home after opening their wedding gifts with baby Aiden in attendance. The gifts are displayed in the background.

While we were at Francis'  home, Rob and Abby stayed behind at the center.  Abby showed the kids some of her soccer moves.  

Abby is quite an accomplished soccer player so the Kenyan kids finally had some American competition.

Monday, February 26

Today, was the day we had set aside for a safari.  Rob did not want to go as he wanted to do street evangelism and visiting with the Boda Boda (Motorcycle drivers) at the Boda Boda shed in town.  So while Abby and I traveled to Ol Pejeta reserve for a day off, Ken and Rob went into Wiyumiririe and did evangelism.

Ken and Rob were in Wiyumiririe at 8:00 a.m. for street evangelism.  Florah got calls while we were on the road that it was a good message.

Then they went to visit with the Boda Boda guys.  

Meanwhile:

Abby and I went on safari.  We didn't see the usual amount of animals but did see four out of the big five.  However, since Rob and Ken stayed behind we took two special guests with us...Florah and her son Moffatt!

Abby and Moffatt enjoying the view.

Florah and I enjoying the wind in our faces.

One of the highlights of the trip were the elephants.  They came so close to the safari truck that it felt as if you could reach out and touch them.  It was a whole family.  Moffatt was so scared that he hid behind Abby for protection.

We left the park relatively early, so we decided to go to one of the girl's schools to surprise her.  This is Carolyn.  Nothing can make your heart sing like one of the girls coming into the office and saying, "Mummy!" and giving you a huge hug.  The second best part of the day for me.

The best part of the day was when we got home and Abby decided she wanted to extend her stay.  We found her a flight on the next Tuesday.  We were honored and happy because no-one has ever extended their stay before (in spite of only barely warm showers and bugs that she LOVED...not) and the girls at the center were ecstatic.

Tuesday, February 27

Today, is one of my favorite days of all.  We make home visits with the chief of the area where the center is located.  They are usually heartbreaking days but today was a mixture of heartbreak and joy.

Our first stop was a young woman who delivered twins about 1 - 1 1/2 years ago.  When the father realized that he had two babies to care for, he just disappeared.  That put this lady in a very vulnerable position.  She had two babies to care for so is unable to go out and do the casual labor jobs that most in the area would do.

The heartbreak is that there is little or nothing that we can do.  We took food for her and prayed for her.  She was very thankful!  We pray that her situation changes.

The next visit made up for the sadness of the first.  We visited a lady who was so very happy and full of life that you felt you had walked into a bit of paradise, even thought the surroundings were far from perfect, She was bubbling over with joy but her story was not always happy.  She told us that she had been diagnosed with stomach cancer.  She spent four months in bed in a hospital receiving chemotherapy.  She said she never got out of bed for the whole four months.  When we arrived she came out and hugged each one of us and was smiling and joyful during the whole visit.  She shared much but we go back to Abby's observation during our first home visits..."These people are so happy in spite of the fact that they have so little."

 We were all so uplifted that we talked about her all during that evening.  She wanted to keep Abby as her daughter but we refused with love.

Next we visited a house that we visited back in August.  The lady who lives there is mentally unstable and has been since her husband died.  Last time, she verbally chased us away.  This time she just refused to come out of the house.  We left food with the lady who takes care of her.  Once again, leaving food is all we can do along with prayer.

Next was the truly heartbreaking visit.  These three children were found in the compound of their grandmother's home with a neighbor watching over them.  The mother, whose situation can be only guessed at, would have a baby and then bring it to the grandmother and just leave it.  There is not a school close enough for these children to attend.  The only hope is that the community is trying to build an early childhood development center on government land nearby.  A fundraiser will be held and we will have to follow up on the outcome.  We found that the children had not eaten all day long so we all took all the crackers out of our bags and gave them to these three kids.  I don't mind telling you that i hate the sound of people crunching food.  It causes all sorts of trouble in our home because Ken LOVES crunchy foods, but as I sat talking with these kids and they were crunching the crackers right beside of me...it was the MOST BEAUTIFUL sound I had ever heard.  That change of heart did not continue as we went home and Ken started crunching but I was able to rejoice in crunching for a short period!

Finally, we came to our last visit!

And it was something we could help with.  Meet Veronica.  We visited a grandmother whose granddaughter was left with her by her mother.  She had only been there a few weeks.  The chief spoke with the local school who agreed to take her (and it's close enough for her to walk!).  We will make the visits to arrange a proper transfer for her and then possibly find a boarding school for her.  She gets good grades and can go far.  We took her to school that very day!   Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring her.

We finally allowed Abby to ride a Boda Boda this day.  She enjoyed it and I ended up being jealous.  The Boda Boda went easily down the muddy roads.  We, however, got stuck and had to push the car out.  Just one of our many car stories.  Happens every trip!

Wednesday, February 28

This is the day before Rob's departure.  We took our traditional trip to the equator for shopping for gifts for those we left behind and to see the equator experiment.

We went to the center for Rob to say goodbye to the girls and then an early day back home for him to pack...

AND maybe some last minute preaching or just male bonding before Ken was left with two women in the house and a center full of 30 girls!

Thursday, February 29

We all gathered at our house for Rob's farewell.  The girls who were coming in from their respective boarding schools, Bishop Mbarire, who set up all the conferences for Rob and helps him with the online bible study, some of Rob's students and our guard/driver, Francis.

Francis started this tradition.  Before any team or Ken and I leave, we have to have a group photo.  Usually it's one of his famous selfies, but there were too many of us this time.

Also...

Abby's duck was delivered to be taken to the center.  It may be just me but I think the duck is growing on her.  I think she actually touched it this time!

After our farewells, we drove Rob to meet a driver in Nyeri for his trip to the airport.  We then picked up Caroline, one of our boarding school girls and brought her back to the center.

As happens when Abby is around the girls, the bonding begins immediately.

Friday, March 1

With all the girls home for a short break, we began teaching a class called Beauty in Marriage and Singleness.  The girls have many questions about relationships and we thought, since they attended the wedding of Francis and Purity, it would be a good time to teach an in depth class about God's plan for marriage and singleness.  We had a great session with the girls writing down amazing answers to some very in-depth questions

The girls praying after the class.

Then we all took a walk to their secondary school.  It is about a 30 minute walk the usual way and a 20 minute walk using a short cut.  This is such a fun time with the girls.  They walk with you at different times and talk with you.  We get to learn a lot just by taking a walk.

This is Susan proudly showing Ken her classroom and desk.

Saturday, March 2

Another afternoon class, Marriage and Singleness, Part 2.  Then an early night after a full week

Abby loves the babies and the babies LOVE her.

That concludes week two of Back in Kenya!  Watch for the opportunity to travel with us through Week 3!.