Habari” to all!! (That is “Hi, how are you??”)
Sharon, Daniel and I want to say hello to you all and first of all thank you all who are praying for us as we slowly but surely made our way to begin serving in Nyahururu, Kenya!
I arrived in Nairobi, safe and sounHabari” to all!! (That is “Hi, how are you??”)
Sharon, Daniel and I want to say hello to you all and first of all thank you all who are praying for us as we slowly but surely made our way to begin serving in Nyahururu, Kenya!
I arrived in Nairobi, safe and sound on Wednesday evening and was pretty tired from the traveling, but feeling well. I got to the guesthouse by 10:00 pm and had a good rest that night. I spent most of Thursday with a friend here, in Nairobi… we went to the Nairobi National Museum (sparked some good discussion about evolution vs. creation as one other their main exhibits is the evolution of man, which began in Kenya, of course!!), enjoyed some lunch and did some shopping for a few items I needed but just didn’t have room for in my luggage! I was back at the guesthouse by 4:00 and proceeded to re-pack and prepare for Sharon’s arrival early Friday morning.
In the meantime, Sharon and Daniel had left on Monday evening and were enjoying a two day stop in Cairo, Egypt. They really enjoyed their stay there. They had a wonderful guide who took them to see many sights… the pyramids and sphynx, of course, they “did” the camel ride, and she also took them to some of the less “touristy” sights that many don’t see. They also enjoyed trying some of the local cuisine… which Sharon really liked… Daniel, I think, tolerated it from what I understand!!! He IS a trooper!!
The first thing they mentioned though was the extreme heat and humidity… which I hear, is just like home this week! Sharon said it was over 45 degrees, plus the humidity… which surprised me… I always thought Egypt, being a desert and all, would be dry (?)… not so, I guess! They were both very relieved to be here now… the climate here is near perfect for those of us who don’t enjoy the extreme heat! 70-80 during the day, 50-60 at night… the nights are cooler this year, but it is very refreshing and nice for sleeping.
I didn’t sleep for even ONE MINUTE on Thursday night/Friday morning!! I think I was just too excited… for Sharon and Daniel arriving, for getting up to Nyahururu to see everyone there… I don’t know.. but one thing I did know… which kept me from getting discouraged as I laid awake there… I would sleep REALLY well the next night!!!! (Which we all did last night, I’m happy to say, now that we are finally here!!!)
Our driver, Mwengi arrived at the guesthouse with Sharon and Daniel just after 7:00 am. A quick stop at the Nairobi Java House on the way out of town (Much as I hate to admit it, I really needed a strong cup of coffee!!!!) and we were on our way! We enjoyed a good trip up. Sharon and Daniel slept most of the way. They had also been up all night as they had been flying overnight from Egypt. We arrived in Nyahururu just after 11:00 and began to get settled in.
We met John Mathenge the head teacher at the PACE Academy and the leader of the camp we are helping to run this week. He and some of the other teachers who will be serving as camp leaders, met with us to go over all the details for camp, which will start tomorrow afternoon (Sunday). We had a good meeting. Mathenge is very organized and had a schedule for the week all planned out hour by hour! God laid on his heart last year, to take this camp to another level by taking the children who are used to coming to camp to learn and be “entertained” for a week, out to serve others. We will spend three days in an area about 3 hours north of Nyahururu, serving a community of mostly Pokott and Samburu people. We are setting up camp in a local school, which is where, I understand we will be sleeping and taking meals, and doing most of our activities outdoors closer to the center of “town.” The town, as it was described to us, is more like a trading center as most of the people that live in this area are nomadic and spend most of their time away with their flocks and herds of animals. It will be interesting, to be sure, to see another part of the country and get to meet and know people who live a very different lifestyle than us and even the Kenyans in our area… who are predominently Kikuyu.
We are taking 40-50 children, aged 5 years to 12 years, on this mission. We will all be helping to build a home for a Pastor and his wife who currently have a church of 10 people who are serving in this very remote place. We trust it will be a great encouragement for this couple as well as the church there, to have us all come to serve them in this way. We are praying for God to bring us all together in unity to work well and efficiently to complete the build in 3 days, as well as have a lot of opportunity for the children we are bringing to interact with the local children. We are told we could have as many as 200 local children join us for activites… only 200????? (Apparently, and I have seen it happen in other places… when visitors come and something “unusual” is going on in a place like this… EVERYONE comes out to see… word gets out and around… more people come… word gets out to the next town… then they come…) Whew…
So, if the Lord lays it on your heart, please pray for Sharon and I and the other leaders, as we plan, that we can come up with games, crafts and activities that will be able to accommodate & include all who potentially will come. We’ve had “training” in being flexible… it will be time to exercise our flexibility and patience to be sure!!
We are very excited to see all that God will do in the lives of the 40+ children we are preparing and taking on this mission and of course in this lives of those were are serving in this little church congregation and the surrounding community. There is great potential for outreach here to many different people… children and adults. We are trusting God to keep us from being overwhelmed by the potential scope of this project and to just humbly be obedient in the small parts each of us will be called by Him to minister to. The other day, I was led to read again 1Corinthians 12:12-26 and was reminded of this very thing. Each of us who will go out, will act as a part of the body. God will give us each a small part… only He knows how all those parts will work together to glorify Him and move His plan forward for what we are doing! It is wonderful to think of how He will be working through all of us… each child, each “leader,” each person who comes alongside to help even as we are there… God has a much bigger plan for this week than we even know and we may never see all the fruit, but trust that as we each function obediently as our part of the whole body, people will be drawn closer to God through the work of Christ in each of us.
We look forward to what we will be able to see, and will keep praying that hearts will continue to be moved towards God, long after this week is over. We will also be praying for this church and for this Pastor who has been so committed to his little flock of 10… as they are blessed by the love of Christ though our brothers and sisters here, we trust they will be encouraged be open to the work of Christ being manifest in each of their lives. Oh, the possibilities… when we have the God of heaven and earth bringing people together for His glory and to show people His love and hope for this life and for eternity!!
We are so thankful to be a part of this. God is certainly moving in this place. There are many, many things going on here… and every time we come we are encouraged to see that God’s work is being accomplished more and more by the local church and people here.
Please continue to pray for us as we wrap up plans for camp, that God will lead Sharon and I and the other “activity” leaders to use the resources we have been given well to accommodate as many people as will be led to join us this week. Please pray to for our continued safety and health as we travel to a new place… and for an extra measure of energy, strength, patience and endurance for what is promising to be long, longs days filled with projects, lessons, activities and (we hope) time for one on one discussions as we are led to them. God is good!!!! We are grateful for all the measure of protection He has already afforded us, the rest He has allowed us in His time and for the friends He has reunited us with again! We have already experienced so much answer to pray and many unexpected blessings along the way! We sense His love and presence continually… thank you to all who are praying these things on our behalf… we are so grateful!!
We hope all of our friends and family at “home” are having a blessed weekend to. We are praying that you are enduring the heat without too much trouble and are encouraged that it is only temporary! We will be in touch again when we have a chance… though it may not be for another week or so as we anticipate a very busy week with no access to communication. So know that we are in His good hands… and we will be looking forward to having many good and encouraging stories to tell when we return.
We pray you know Christ’s very real presence, peace and joy!!
In His service,
Love,
Sheryl, Sharon and Daniel on Wednesday evening and was pretty tired from the traveling, but feeling well. I got to the guesthouse by 10:00 pm and had a good rest that night. I spent most of Thursday with a friend here, in Nairobi… we went to the Nairobi National Museum (sparked some good discussion about evolution vs. creation as one other their main exhibits is the evolution of man, which began in Kenya, of course!!), enjoyed some lunch and did some shopping for a few items I needed but just didn’t have room for in my luggage! I was back at the guesthouse by 4:00 and proceeded to re-pack and prepare for Sharon’s arrival early Friday morning.
In the meantime, Sharon and Daniel had left on Monday evening and were enjoying a two day stop in Cairo, Egypt. They really enjoyed their stay there. They had a wonderful guide who took them to see many sights… the pyramids and sphynx, of course, they “did” the camel ride, and she also took them to some of the less “touristy” sights that many don’t see. They also enjoyed trying some of the local cuisine… which Sharon really liked… Daniel, I think, tolerated it from what I understand!!! He IS a trooper!!
The first thing they mentioned though was the extreme heat and humidity… which I hear, is just like home this week! Sharon said it was over 45 degrees, plus the humidity… which surprised me… I always thought Egypt, being a desert and all, would be dry (?)… not so, I guess! They were both very relieved to be here now… the climate here is near perfect for those of us who don’t enjoy the extreme heat! 70-80 during the day, 50-60 at night… the nights are cooler this year, but it is very refreshing and nice for sleeping.
I didn’t sleep for even ONE MINUTE on Thursday night/Friday morning!! I think I was just too excited… for Sharon and Daniel arriving, for getting up to Nyahururu to see everyone there… I don’t know.. but one thing I did know… which kept me from getting discouraged as I laid awake there… I would sleep REALLY well the next night!!!! (Which we all did last night, I’m happy to say, now that we are finally here!!!)
Our driver, Mwengi arrived at the guesthouse with Sharon and Daniel just after 7:00 am. A quick stop at the Nairobi Java House on the way out of town (Much as I hate to admit it, I really needed a strong cup of coffee!!!!) and we were on our way! We enjoyed a good trip up. Sharon and Daniel slept most of the way. They had also been up all night as they had been flying overnight from Egypt. We arrived in Nyahururu just after 11:00 and began to get settled in.
We met John Mathenge the head teacher at the PACE Academy and the leader of the camp we are helping to run this week. He and some of the other teachers who will be serving as camp leaders, met with us to go over all the details for camp, which will start tomorrow afternoon (Sunday). We had a good meeting. Mathenge is very organized and had a schedule for the week all planned out hour by hour! God laid on his heart last year, to take this camp to another level by taking the children who are used to coming to camp to learn and be “entertained” for a week, out to serve others. We will spend three days in an area about 3 hours north of Nyahururu, serving a community of mostly Pokott and Samburu people. We are setting up camp in a local school, which is where, I understand we will be sleeping and taking meals, and doing most of our activities outdoors closer to the center of “town.” The town, as it was described to us, is more like a trading center as most of the people that live in this area are nomadic and spend most of their time away with their flocks and herds of animals. It will be interesting, to be sure, to see another part of the country and get to meet and know people who live a very different lifestyle than us and even the Kenyans in our area… who are predominently Kikuyu.
We are taking 40-50 children, aged 5 years to 12 years, on this mission. We will all be helping to build a home for a Pastor and his wife who currently have a church of 10 people who are serving in this very remote place. We trust it will be a great encouragement for this couple as well as the church there, to have us all come to serve them in this way. We are praying for God to bring us all together in unity to work well and efficiently to complete the build in 3 days, as well as have a lot of opportunity for the children we are bringing to interact with the local children. We are told we could have as many as 200 local children join us for activites… only 200????? (Apparently, and I have seen it happen in other places… when visitors come and something “unusual” is going on in a place like this… EVERYONE comes out to see… word gets out and around… more people come… word gets out to the next town… then they come…) Whew…
So, if the Lord lays it on your heart, please pray for Sharon and I and the other leaders, as we plan, that we can come up with games, crafts and activities that will be able to accommodate & include all who potentially will come. We’ve had “training” in being flexible… it will be time to exercise our flexibility and patience to be sure!!
We are very excited to see all that God will do in the lives of the 40+ children we are preparing and taking on this mission and of course in this lives of those were are serving in this little church congregation and the surrounding community. There is great potential for outreach here to many different people… children and adults. We are trusting God to keep us from being overwhelmed by the potential scope of this project and to just humbly be obedient in the small parts each of us will be called by Him to minister to. The other day, I was led to read again 1Corinthians 12:12-26 and was reminded of this very thing. Each of us who will go out, will act as a part of the body. God will give us each a small part… only He knows how all those parts will work together to glorify Him and move His plan forward for what we are doing! It is wonderful to think of how He will be working through all of us… each child, each “leader,” each person who comes alongside to help even as we are there… God has a much bigger plan for this week than we even know and we may never see all the fruit, but trust that as we each function obediently as our part of the whole body, people will be drawn closer to God through the work of Christ in each of us.
We look forward to what we will be able to see, and will keep praying that hearts will continue to be moved towards God, long after this week is over. We will also be praying for this church and for this Pastor who has been so committed to his little flock of 10… as they are blessed by the love of Christ though our brothers and sisters here, we trust they will be encouraged be open to the work of Christ being manifest in each of their lives. Oh, the possibilities… when we have the God of heaven and earth bringing people together for His glory and to show people His love and hope for this life and for eternity!!
We are so thankful to be a part of this. God is certainly moving in this place. There are many, many things going on here… and every time we come we are encouraged to see that God’s work is being accomplished more and more by the local church and people here.
Please continue to pray for us as we wrap up plans for camp, that God will lead Sharon and I and the other “activity” leaders to use the resources we have been given well to accommodate as many people as will be led to join us this week. Please pray to for our continued safety and health as we travel to a new place… and for an extra measure of energy, strength, patience and endurance for what is promising to be long, longs days filled with projects, lessons, activities and (we hope) time for one on one discussions as we are led to them. God is good!!!! We are grateful for all the measure of protection He has already afforded us, the rest He has allowed us in His time and for the friends He has reunited us with again! We have already experienced so much answer to pray and many unexpected blessings along the way! We sense His love and presence continually… thank you to all who are praying these things on our behalf… we are so grateful!!
We hope all of our friends and family at “home” are having a blessed weekend to. We are praying that you are enduring the heat without too much trouble and are encouraged that it is only temporary! We will be in touch again when we have a chance… though it may not be for another week or so as we anticipate a very busy week with no access to communication. So know that we are in His good hands… and we will be looking forward to having many good and encouraging stories to tell when we return.
We pray you know Christ’s very real presence, peace and joy!!
In His service,
Love,
Sheryl, Sharon and Daniel
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