An amazing time in Kenya!

I wanted to thank all of you who prayed so much for us on our most recent trip to Kenya. Tyler and I had an amazing time on this journey! I always say it is one of the most difficult things to do but the most rewarding!

We had awesome grace on this trip and many blessings. The flights all came together just fine and we made it to Nairobi without a hitch. With a few hours of sleep on the plane (actually missed the Sahara desert this time) it was a joy to see our friends waiting for us at the airport. We took off into the streets of Nairobi and were made aware very quickly we are not in the West anymore! Besides driving on the "wrong" side of the road, we aren't even really sure where the road is! People scurrying all over, including right in front of the van, and lots of sounds, smells and sights to take in all at once. We stayed in a very nice "Kenyan" hotel the first night, which actually had a hot shower and breakfast for us! A very nice way to transition! The next day we took off across the Rift Valley toward our destination in Western Kenya with the Gussi people.

The drive in the valley (desert) is really rough and takes its toll on us road weary folks! Think of the worst road here in the US and take it further than that...and for many many miles...then you get the idea. We arrived in Kisii just fine later int he afternoon and made a few stops. And then headed out to the village of Sengera where the host family of Kennedy Mangara lives and where we will stay for the next week. It is fun to be greeted by everyone waiting for us there and all the children!!!

The next days are filled with a trip back into Kisii and then to Tabaka where they make the soapstone carvings. We have a church service most evenings at the compound where we are staying. Sunday is when all the churches connected to this network of churches come to the compound for a combined service. It is awesome to see the various choirs perform their worship dances and songs! Neil Thielke from our group speaks at each service.

We also start in on the big job of interviewing the 81 orphans and their caregivers for the ROCK project (Reach Out to Children of Kenya). We had an excellent team this year that kicked right in! Thank you Phil, Marci and Laura! We were able to have three interview stations most times going so we accomplished a big task in good time!

On Monday we began visiting the churches themselves and leading services each day. The only hitch I can even think of was one day of getting stuck in the mud and we all had to get out and help push! (Did I mention that the roads in the highlands of Kisiiland are even worse than the Rift Valley? Especially after the deluge of rain everyday!)

We saw God do some amazing things through prayer! No matter what your theological persuasion is it was amazing to see God dealing with such deep issues! We saw God healing and deliviering people from all sorts of issues! The commrodory on the team was incredible as we saught God for each need and He led us to pray for just the thing He had for them! By the end of the week the Spirit of freedom was incredible! To see people released from their pain, fears and strongholds and worshiping God freely was worth the entire trip! We truly have an awesome God!

I know I can go on and on about the things we did and saw on this trip but I will leave this to our times together and maybe future posts as the impact settles into my mind.

Thank you again for all your support and please remember to pray for the people of Kenya and Kisii!