Made it to Nairobi

Jambo! Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya! We finally arrived last night (Sat), waited through visa lines and a dizzying survey of the luggage conveyor belt as we retrieved our bags. Alas, five bags did not arrive four from the Colorado Springs group, so after reporting the missing bags, we finally boarded the bus and arrived at the guesthouse. It didn’t take much to encourage everyone to find their rooms and “crash” after many hours of travel.

There’s nothing like a good shower and a good night’s sleep! One of the great joys of any team trip is worshiping with our brothers and sisters, and today was no exception. We joined in the exuberant worship at our ministry partner’s home church, and we do mean exuberant!! Whether it was in English or Swahili, the words were all in praise to the Lord and the Spirit was alive and present. It was the perfect introduction to Kenya to sing, pray, and take part in the Lord’s Supper with our Kenyan family. As one team member put it, it was “extravagant worship” and certainly set the tone for our time here. It was also a joy to have one of our young team members, Caitlyn, sing in the worship service. The song she chose, “Let Your Light Shine,” “just happened” to coincide with the current theme for the church and flowed beautifully with the message. So neat to see God in all the details!

As an added treat, we were invited to a youth concert at another church where our intern Brittany has been involved during her stay in Nairobi. The room was filled with not only very expressive youth, but even little toddlers who enjoyed the worship just as much as the youth and loved joining the stage with the worship leaders. Though we didn’t understand much of the words, other than Yesu, there was no doubt about the meaning of the words. It’s quite something to experience Christian Kenyan rap!! You can just imagine the dancing, singing, and joyful participation of everyone there. The team joined right in with little hesitation.

We’re anxious to begin the day camp tomorrow; we’ll leave bright and early to set everything up and welcome the 100+ children to the Homecare Fellowship Center. We’ll start with rousing worship, Bible lesson, games and crafts. A very full day! The late afternoons will be spent with a team of local volunteers who have been working with the children and youth of Kibera. They are young adults who have selflessly volunteered to invest in these young people and are eager to learn how to do that more effectively. We look forward to our time with them as we share, pray, and learn from one another.

The journey has just begun! Please do pray for each team member that they will feel comfortable and relaxed here and allow the Lord to freely flow through them to minister to everyone they will have contact with during our stay, as well as for health and safety. Pray for each child who will be at camp this week, and for our local partners who have such a passion to reach the next Kenyan generation for Christ. Praise, too, that three of the bags were delivered today, so we’re praying for the other two to come soon. Most importantly, pray that in every detail, God will be glorified!