New Experiences Every Day

Back in Java House for my regular Thursday visit.  This coming week will mark one month of being here.  God has really blessed me with some amazing experiences so far.  It's times like when I'm riding through the Kenyan countryside that I really think of how blessed I am to see and experience the things I'm seeing and to meet the people I've met.  It's sobering to realize that these experiences will only be fully known and understood by me, but this has made me value and look forward to the remaining time I have here in Kenya.  In reality, we all have our own experiences, and whether they are in Africa or in an American suburb, they are uniquely ours and full of value.  Take some time to appreciate the things you are experiencing today.

I have begun to help lead worship with some of the other young adults in our church.  We meet every Saturday afternoon for practice as well as Sunday morning before the services.  Last week I played some guitar with the worship team, and I was able to share a song from back home during the offering.  Many of the songs we sing are in Swahili, and while I cannot understand a lot of our worship, it is humbling to remember that worship is not about us or how it makes us feel; worship is about us glorifying God, and my lack of understanding of the words in a song I'm helping to play does not keep God from being glorified.  This doesn't keep me from serving God and glorifying Him either!  

On Sunday afternoon I was able to meet up with the Kroenings.  They are a missionary family who have been in Africa for over 20 years, and their daughter goes to school with me at Houghton.  I had a nice time meeting them, and it was cool to see where my friend grew up.

On Tuesday I ended up traveling upcountry to bring some supplies to a house Stanley is building.  We loaded up the lorry (like a small moving truck) with packs of tiles, and some other stuff and hopped in front to head to the house.  We then shoveled a bunch of cow duck (manure...I think that's what they called it) into the back of the lorry and brought it to Stanley's village.  I got to spend some time with the kids there; I very well may have been the first white person most of them had ever seen. While at first it's easy to feel like a celebrity, you soon begin to feel like a rare animal breed.  Nevertheless, it was really cool to spend time with these kids.  They were always smiling and laughing, and we had a lot of fun by simply throwing a rock and stick around.

Yesterday I met my friend Joshua in town to go up to a school just outside Nairobi.  Joshua grew up in Mombasa and is a theology student in Nairobi.  He also works for Word of Life ministry, which is why he and a few other guys were going to Rungiri High School.  We met up and arrived at the school to find out that the other guys got stuck in traffic, so I ended up speaking to a bunch of the students (I was able to use the same thing I used for the Masii Girls School the week before).  Joshua and I went to lunch and then he showed me a nearby orphanage.  We then hopped on the back of a motorbike and had the driver take us a few miles to the Word of Life compound.  After visiting I got back on a matatu by myself and managed to get to the center of Nairobi where I got off and found another matatu to take me back to South B where I live.  It was a busy day but full of great experiences!

Life still has its challenges, but I am learning a lot about myself and God every day.  He is working through me and in me and I have a lot to be thankful for.

-Pray for God to continue building meaningful relationships here

-Pray for strength and courage to take the steps of faith God wants me to take as he works in my life     and as he uses me to minister to others

-"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden       with Christ in God." Pray that these words from Colossians 3:2-3 would become a reality for me,       the church in Kenya and the students with whom I shared these verses.