Day 9 (by Becky Hall & Chloe Snyder)

Today began very early; about 5:15 AM for most of us. We packed all of our things, loaded into our three “matatus” (vans), and began the five-hour journey to Masai Mara game preserve in southwest Kenya. A little ways into our ride, we came around a bend in the road to discover that we were on the side of a mountain and the view was spectacular. We made a stop to take pictures and found out that we were looking at the Great Rift Valley; you could see for miles. We left from there and started towards what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

Driving into the valley, we entered into the land of the Masai, a famous Kenyan tribe. The roads there were insane! Luke informed us that the Kenyans call our bumpy riding experience the “African massage.” After about an hour ride on these incredibly uneven roads, we all may have whiplash. Once we entered the park gates, and got past some of the Masai people selling their wares, we began to see all kinds of wild animals. We saw zebra, water buffalo, impala, warthogs, and many other animals before we even arrived at Fig Tree Tented Camp, our home for the night. It was a good start to our safari. We arrived at the camp just in time for lunch. The food was delicious, as it has been throughout this entire trip, and the rooms are amazing. Some of the rooms have a view of the river and we were all pleased to find out that we would be able to take hot showers; especially Luke, who could spike his hair without mousse. After not having water at Karina’s for a few days, this was a blessing. We left after eating to continue our game drive.

We split up into three vans again and opened the top of the vans where we were able to stand and see out. It was a rush racing across the open land looking for animals. We saw lots of giraffes, hundreds of zebra, and dozens of elephants. Later into our drive, we turned the corner to see hundreds of wildebeests. That number turned into thousands upon thousands and before we knew it, we were surrounded. This is the time of year in which millions of wildebeests migrate from Tanzania into Kenya. Our team had heard that they had entered Masai Mara this week and we were praying that we would be able to see this amazing spectacle. God definitely answered our prayers as we were able to ride straight through the middle of a huge herd of them; coming within feet of the close ones and being able to see others for miles. P.S. applications to join WAS (the Wildebeast Appreciation Society) are available from Daryl or Luke... Beauty IS the Beast!

We were also able to visit the Border Beacon, which marks the exact border between Kenya and Tanzania and had fun jumping from one country to the other. Then, an armed park ranger kindly took us down to the shores of the Mara River to see some huge crocodiles and hippos. A couple of monkeys (not Kim and Gwen) tried to break into our vans and steal our snacks. They had no fear; one walked right up to us and Daryl almost touched him. On the way back in, we came extremely close to many different kinds of animals. One giraffe came within ten feet of our van. On another occasion, we were able to see a very large leopard feasting on an impala in a tree. It was so close you could hear him ripping the meat apart. We also saw ostriches, impala, Thompson gazelles, and so many other marvelous creatures on our drive. As it grew darker, we watched the sunset over the expanse of the Serengeti plain. It truly was breathtaking! How glorious our God is! To see the things we saw today, how could people still not believe that there is an Almighty God?! Creation cries out to Him! This day was one that none of us will ever forget.

Tomorrow begins with another game drive, early in the morning, our 5-hour return drive to Nairobi, and a late-night flight departing from Kenya. Please continue to pray for us as we travel and excitedly make our way home. Everyone is doing well (praise the Lord!) and we can’t wait to be back in Dodge County and see you all Monday night!

Day 8 (by Julia Rogers)

We started off our day in two groups. One group would begin at the New Life Home Trust orphanage. (http://www.newlifehometrust.org/); with the other group spending some time at the village market. For lunch we would come together at the Village Market and then our two teams would swap venues.

The New Life Home Trust is a place that takes in unwanted babies and rears them in a Christian environment. The visit to the orphanage was very heartwarming. Founded in 1994 by Clive and Mary Beckenham, New Life Home Trust has grown from one home to seven homes in Kenya and continues to grow. There were a little over forty children ranging in ages from birth to three years, many of whom were born HIV positive. You could tell these children are very well taken care of and loved by the abundant staff. Our team members were welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed getting to hold and play with these beautiful children. It was difficult to leave these precious babies.

The time spent at the Village Market was an experience to say the least with bargaining being the name of the game. Most of our team members got the hang of bartering for marvelous hand-crafted items offered by the vendors. With some assistance from Pastor Wambua, Joab, and Ms. Emma, Chloe the youngest member of our group was ruthless in her hunt for great prices and left vendors shaking their heads in wonder. But probably the most interesting transaction was by Linda who got a picture frame for 500 schillings, a roll of toilet tissue, and an almost empty bottle of hand sanitizer.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to Lucky Summer in our last night of participating in the open-air crusade. Amid dark clouds, a few drops of rain, electrical problems in the form of interrupted lights and microphones, the Word of God was proclaimed. Mrs. Debbie and Ms. Emma both gave powerful testimonies, and even our own team sang one praise song, “How Great is our God,” on-stage in a'capela. Pastor Euticauls Wambua, without a microphone, finished the service with another amazing sermon from 2 Kings about Naman and God’s healing of his leprosy after washing seven times in the Jordan River. As the crusade finished for the night, our team was hit with bittersweet feelings…a sense of fulfillment in running the race that God had set before us but a deep sadness in leaving the Korogocho and Lucky Summer communities, its people, and especially its children for the last time. Friends, please keep these wonderful people in your prayers and please continue to pray for the crusade as it continues Saturday and Sunday night.

To wind up our night, our team, along with our friends, Pastor Wambua and family, Pastor Bosco, Pastor Peter, Principal Moses, and Wilson Maluki, went to Carnivore, a restaurant in Nairobi. Sampling many types of meat such as pork, chicken, lamb, ostrich, crocodile, and more, we had a great time eating and fellowshipping. And since Pam has a birthday on Sunday, the Carnivore staff brought out a sparkler topped cake and sang Happy Birthday with bongo drums and all.

Our team members are now all on the mend. Please continue to lift us up in your prayers, especially as we start the process of packing to come home. Tomorrow we head to Masai Mara for a two-day safari on the Serengeti Plain. We are very excited that the annual wildebeest migration at Masai Mara is coinciding with our visit!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support, physically, emotionally, and spiritually throughout our journey. We appreciate all of your comments as we read each and every one out loud, usually at breakfast. Asante sana! (thank you very much)

Day 7 (by Lori Denton)

We began the morning with a hearty Kenyan breakfast as always, however we were sad to learn that Daryl was sick; the devil hard at work, no doubt. We left “Dopey Smurf” a.k.a Daryl, back at the house to rest and recover. We arrived at the Baptist Chapel and was greeted by the preschool class. They sang beautiful praise songs. I am sure that our Father in Heaven was smiling. We made balloon animals for all the children and left crayons and stuffed animals for them to keep. They were very excited! Afterwards, we met in the church to break into groups for our evangelism visits. We set out with each group taking different sections of town. The people we met were very friendly and open to hearing the Word of God. We made about 50 visits total and had 16 salvations. God is good and faithful! We know that the angels have rejoiced right along with us today. Lunch and fellowship followed our visits. We have experienced wonderful meals this week. God bless the hands that have prepared them!

Pastor Wambua went to check on Daryl. We had prayed that God would heal him and He answered our prayer because he was able to join us around lunchtime. After lunch, we split up and half of the team went to visit with a child that the First Baptist youth group sponsors here in Kenya through Compassion International and the other half stayed at the church; I have heard they took a nap (what a nap is I don’t quite remember!) We arrived at a church/school where we were supposed to meet Leslie; the Compassion International child. We waited and waited; Kenyan time can be very long sometimes. As we waited, the school kids were let out for a break and swarmed the vans. Each one came to the window for a smile or a handshake. It’s amazing what the power of a touch means to these children. Chloe, Mike, Luke, and Daryl had to get out and get the kids all riled up at break. They all stood around Chloe chanting “how are you?” over and over. What a sight! Leslie and his mom arrived shortly after. Leslie was a little overwhelmed with all the gifts and cameras around. His mama was full of gratitude and the visit went well. They were given groceries and toys for the kids. It was an awesome experience!

Afterwards, we were off to the crusade where we performed a puppet show for the kids. They had a great time. Zack and Chloe both gave beautiful, touching testimonies followed by Daryl with a powerful message. No wonder the devil was trying to prevent him from preaching. Our God is much more powerful! More were saved at the crusade and we thank our Lord for touching the hearts of many Kenyans.

Pray for Pam as she is not feeling well. Pray for the Lord to touch and heal her body. Pray for the souls that were saved today and ask the Lord to send them other Christians to encourage them. We had many that voiced prayer concerns during our visits. Please ask the Lord to intervene on their behalf. Pray for us as we go to the orphanage tomorrow and again to the crusade. Ask the Lord to touch more hearts. We love you all and miss you but we feel the Lord giving us strength as you continually lift us up. Thank you.

Smooch to you and the kids Jared, I miss and love you! Be home soon!

Day 6 (by Zack and Debbie Mercer)

We praise God that He is allowing us to see His mighty power at work in Kenya. Our mission teams had another early start as we drove to the worksites. We have been blessed with weather that has allowed us to do our work with no interruptions. The construction team (Smurfs) have had overcast days which reduce the heat as they worked outside. By lunchtime, all painting was completed at the Baptist Chapel. Now the church stands out in the neighborhood with its newly painted Kenya-blue roof and trim. The construction team has been bragging about the variety of traditional African dishes that have been cooked for them by the cooks at the Baptist Chapel. Today they were treated to collards and sucumaweeki (boiled cornbread). Thanks to all of you who have prayed for this team’s safety. We rejoice that the job is done with no injuries. The Smurfs will continue to be blue for quite some time until the paint gradually wears off their bodies.

The VBS team heard shouts of joy from the children as we arrived today for our last day with them. We had mixed emotions. We were thankful to have met and interacted with as many wonderful people and students but leaving them was difficult for us. All of the students were given a bag today that included their crafts (decorated t-shirts, sun-catchers and their own picture in a foam frame), a bag of candy, a pack of crayons, a pencil, and a beanie baby. What joy in seeing the delight on the children’s faces as they opened their bags to discover the gifts. The excitement surpassed what we see in our own children when we celebrate Christmas. Pure joy! The teachers were presented bags also, which included t-shirts, candy, and markers for them. We received so many hugs. At the end of the day, the construction team was able to join us for the close of VBS. The students presented a program of songs and scripture as a gift to us and to let us know how much they appreciated us being with them.

After a 20 minute break to refresh ourselves at Karina Guest House, all 18 of us were driven by vans to Lucky Summer, for the second night of the crusades. This is another place hard to describe because of the filth and odor. The poverty is overwhelming as you see children with flip-flops and torn clothing. You can even see young girls carrying their baby siblings on their backs. People are cooking meals over small charcoal fires and many are coming to fill up water jugs at the local open spring. How they love to touch you, smile at you, and stand with you.

Many tracts were handed out tonight. The praise and worship was lively and we are learning from the Kenyans how to have some rhythm as we sing and dance with them. Becky and Ken spoke powerfully for the Lord as they gave their testimony to God’s saving grace that has transformed their lives. Luke preached an anointed sermon from Genesis about Abraham’s obedience to God and many more came forward for salvation tonight. We are moved by God’s presence and power as we see the people responding to the Good News. Hallelujah! Praise His name!

Tomorrow we need your prayers for our team as we stay together and do some street evangelism. May the Lord give us boldness in telling of His great love and saving power as we go door-to-door.

Pray for Chloe and Zack as they will be giving their testimonies at the Crusade. Pray for Daryl as he will be preaching. Pray that many who are lost will be saved. Pray for strength for us as many of us are drained emotionally and physically. We love hearing the encouraging words from home!

Day 5 (by Chloe Snyder & Michael Rogers)

-Well, today was yet another God-filled day in Nairobi! Our first night in the Karina Guest House was quite cozy and we woke up feeling WARM for the first time in 4 days. After a great breakfast we headed off to our worksites; the Baptist Chapel and the Youth Centre. Both teams hoped that today would run a little more smoothly than yesterday now that we knew what to expect.

-The youth centre team felt way more prepared now that we had a tentative schedule! We gave all of the kids a VBS t-shirt and helped them color the shirts. When we told the kids they could keep the shirts tears were brought to their eyes. It was amazing how something so small is so big to them. At the end of the day, we held a puppet show for all 280 kids. Boy did they enjoy it!! Even Pastor Wambua and Principal Moses were helping out with the puppets.

-The construction team (a.k.a. the "smurf" team) was able to almost finish painting The Baptist Chapel (roof, trim, doors, and exterior walls). They were also able to visit with the Baptist Chapel's preschool program. There were about 35 preschoolers and the team gave the children stuffed animal turtles and lollipops. They were sooooo happy to receive the gifts (the team was pretty excited to play with the kids as well!)

- After a great day at the worksite, we made a quick pit stop back to Karina before heading to the Baptist Chapel Crusade. With a great turn out, of hundreds of people, we enjoyed singing and dancing led by the praise team, testimonies from Michael and Lori, and preaching from Daryl. We also heard from co-pastor, Bosco, who translated, and Pastor Wambua. At the invitation call God rewarded our ministry when about 30 people came forward. What an amazing night worshipping the Lord!

Today has truly been a blessing from God. We will surely miss all the wonderful things that have happened thus far on this trip. All around it was a GREAT day! Please continue to comment on the blog and keep us in your prayers. Pray expecially for Luke, as he preaches at the Crusade tomorrow night and for Becky and Ken as they share their testimonies!

Day 4 (by Luke Carter)

We got started early today by checking out of Brackenhurst and checking into the Karina Guest House, which is much closer to the area where we are working. We were all very happy to find that the accommodations at the Karina Guest House are very nice.

-The VBS and construction teams got started today. After a crazy start, VBS went great! When we got to the youth centre we had to make the schedule for the day and try to organize all of the classes with over 280 kids in about 30 minutes. Needless to say, it was chaos for a little while but the Lord worked everything out and it flowed well.

-All of us on the VBS team were amazed at how great the kids are. They are much more disciplined than most American kids. Chloe and Gwen put crayons on a table in front of the three year old kids in their group but the kids would not even touch them until they had permission. The kids are very loving and love to just be near us and hold our hands.

-We are also seeing the extent of the poverty in this area as we minister at the youth centre with the Korogocho slum all around us and the Nairobi dump literally feet away. The kids are very grateful for everything that we give them. When Michael and I gave the kids their crayons and told them that they could keep them, the kids almost started crying and they clapped their hands and started shouting for joy.

-The VBS team served food to all of the kids for lunch. The kids love it when American teams come because they get better food and more food than normal. Today they had rice, cabbage, potatoes, and one piece of meat. A normal meal consists of rice or porridge.

-The construction team had a great day also as they worked on painting the roof at Baptist Chapel. Zack, Ken, Marilynn, Linda, and Daryl all climbed on top of the very slippery and very steep roof. The group had some close calls on the roof but thankfully none of them fell off. It is amazing that Linda was on crutches when we departed America and now she is not only off crutches, but she is climbing ladders and painting on a slippery roof! Praise God! The entire construction group worked very hard all day long painting and got much work done.

-At supper tonight, Doug and Laura Lee stopped by to visit and fellowship with us. The Lee's are IMB missionaries to Kenya and have lived in Tanzania and Kenya for the past 15 years. It was great to hear what God is doing in Kenya through IMB missionaries such as the Lee's. Please keep Doug and Laura in your prayers as they continue to minister in East Africa.

-Please continue to pray for the safety of the construction team as they work on the dangerous roof. Also, please continue to pray that God will work through the VBS and that lives will be changed! Finally, pray for the crusade that begins tomorrow night. Especially pray for Daryl as he will be bringing the message. Thank you VERY MUCH for your prayers!

Day 3 (by Kim Campbell)

We did experience some culture shock as we left the airport in Ghana. I know Daryl and Julia wrote about this experience, but I have not read that yet. Our introduction to Nairobi has been more gradual. Breckenhurst, our first place of lodging, is a beautiful place to begin our stay. The drive to Breckenhurst took us through some low and middle class areas.

As we prepare for VBS beginning on Monday, we have had to do some major reshuffling with the luggage. We repacked all the

ministry bags (17 in total) to make them more convenient for Monday morning. We are unable to go to the site of VBS until Monday morning. With so many hands, it only took a couple of hours to get it done.

Saturday night, we were all at dinner enjoying it just fine. Then Daryl comes up to our table. He asks how we have enjoyed the lamb. Honestly, we all thought it was roast. Chloe turned so white. We thought she was going to fall out of her chair. It surely was lamb. The sign was not put by the dish until we had gone through and gotten our plates. The lamb was good – it did not taste like chicken!

Our team members enjoy teasing each other. However we are learning that others around may not understand our teasing or know that it is just teasing. We are learning that we must watch the words that we say to each other.

Today, we attended church at Baptist Chapel. This is Pastor Wambua’s church. Daryl was the given 45 minutes to an hour to preach. (Watch out FBCE the next time Daryl is given the pulpit – he was on a roll!) The church service went from 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM, SS was before that. (So much for beating the other churches to Side Track or Flatline, I mean Flightline.) The church service was … WOW! The music was less than dull. One song lasted longer than 10 minutes with dancing in the aisle and more.

We have the afternoon to go over our VBS materials and to relax. Daryl and Luke will be preparing sermons for the crusades this week. The weather is much cooler than we expected, but we are not complaining. We are acclimating to the weather and to the time difference.
Please be in prayer for a few of our team members that have already been sick- Bonnie is better, but a couple of other team members are not doing well today.

Please also pray for the various unknowns in re. to VBS and construction, which start tomorrow.