Park day

Going to a park doesn’t seem like that big of deal to us, but to these children who never leave the slum, it’s a BIG DEAL! To watch them touch grass for the first time and be able to run around a play in a big open field without any worries was such a blessing.  With 310 children we kept very busy!

While most of the team played Awana games I stayed aside to watch everyone’s backpacks. A little girl who was about three years old hopped into my lap and sat there the whole time. She hardly spoke any English, the only thing I got out of her was her name, which is Grace.  Luckily my middle name is Grace so it would be easy to remember.  Although we couldn’t communicate much she was instantly my best friend or as she would say it “rafiki”. 

This is one of the other little girls, she didn’t come to me, but there was something about her that I couldn’t resist. She had a sad look on her face almost the whole time we were at the park and was very shy.  Her name is Mercy and she is beautiful! I started asking about her family and she told me she has a little brother and her mother she lives with, although it might not sound like a bad situation, knowing how the single woman live in the slum is heartbreaking. They always have to worry about being taken out of their homes, beaten and rapped. It is something that is a reality for them on a daily basis. Mercy didn’t tell me much about her story, but the look in her eyes was very sad. When I sat down next to her she instantly laid her head down on my lap, I started rubbing her back and she started to doze off. Everywhere I went after that she was right by my side holding my hand until it was time to go.

                                                    Mercy is the one in the bottom middle 

I cannot even imagine what these kids have to go through every single day. Walking through their living conditions for one day was completely draining for me both physically and mentally.  I don’t know how, but they have hope! Hope that brings them so much joy! It is a true testament of God’s faithfulness.  God is doing some amazing things here in Kenya, if I had the time to write them all down I would. 

Please continue to pray for the team! 

                                                      Overlooking Nairobi, Kenya

We made it!

We landed in Nairobi at about 9:15 last night, after arriving at the guest house we got all settled in and got a good nights rest! Everyone is excited to see Kenya in the day light since it was hard to see anything on the drive from the airport.
Today we will be heading into the heart of the Kibera slum, which is one of the biggest slums in the world. Pray for the team today as walking through the slum, and seeing all the over whelming poverty can be hard to take in. As Thomas told us last night, "One day in the slum feels like twenty."
The school we will be visiting has 310 children that I'm sure will swarm us (sounds scary, but it's fun.) We will be putting on a skit for them along with doing crafts and I'm sure we'll be doing plenty of singing.

Please comtinue to pray for everyone! Today will be a long draining day

The journey has begun!

“We are in Amsterdam. First blog post whoo!” – Charles Fast

We are going to Kenya!  This morning the Kenya team said goodbye to our loved ones; took a step of faith, and are going on a journey of a lifetime. 

Leading up to the trip all of our supply suitcases kept coming out over the 50lb limit, mainly because we are taking a ton of books. We spent hours rearranging them until finally they were just barley under the weight limit. When we got to Seattle and started checking in the bags almost every single one of them was over weight… normally for an overweight bag they charge around $150-$300 each. So with about 15 of them that adds up quick! The lady checking us in let every single one of them go as they were.  This trip is already off to a great start!

We just got off of a wonderful 9 hour flight where we got lots of pretzels, peanuts, stale bread, what tasted like a microwaved TV dinner and a surprisingly good brownie.  Now we are in Amsterdam! Although it probably sounds more exciting then it actually is. Everyone is doing well and in good health.  After our layover here we will be boarding the plane that will take us to Nairobi, Kenya!

Prayer Requests:

·      `For safe travels

·      `Good health

·      `That every single person on the team will have a willing heart

·      `God will be preparing the hearts of the people we will be ministering to

·      `For all of our friends and family at home to be safe and healthy