God in Kiserian

hello everyone! i miss you all so much! chris, there have been so many things that make me think of you and i’m so excited for when i get to see you again. i like you. i miss you. mom, there have been several times i would like to give you a hug. i’m really looking forward to when we can have mother-daughter time. dad, i can hardly wait to tell you about everything and my dreams and goals. caroline, i think about you and miss you so much and i hope to see you soon after i get back. sarah, laura and wes, i’m probably going to have to come stay with each of you for a few days because i miss you and i love you and i want to know how you all are doing with the new life changes. grandparents, i hope you are well! honey and isabelle, i miss you both and our frosty nights! we don’t get much ice cream here.

ok, so last week we ministered in a city called kiserian. the church we’ve been working with wanted to start a new branch in an abandoned church lot there. we cleaned it up using machetes to cut grass (don’t ever take lawn mowers for granted, whether they are push or riding), moving tons of rocks by hand and tearing down the old church building to get started on a new one. we did some evangelism and invited people to the first service of “ICC Kiserian.” a man from the masai tribe came and talked with some guys in our group every day we were there. his name is isaiah (pronounced ee SI uh). he is a believer and even invited our whole group to his home to meet his family and have a meal. we drove through beautiful, mountainous countryside to get there. it was in the middle of nowhere. the houses were very small and made of cow poo. it was so dark inside with only a tiny hole for a window to vent the smoke in the kitchen. isaiah has two wives and twelve children. they were all so welcoming. they didn’t speak english or swahili, but we had an awesome translator who knew all three languages. the flies were ridiculous. the children were used to them, so they had many on their faces, mainly near their eyes, nose and mouth. i played guitar and sang and the children were very curious. precious. we drank hot tea and ate chapattis (like a thick tortilla, one of my favorite kenyan foods) with beans, potatoes and cole slaw. they don’t hug, so our hellos and goodbyes consisted of handshakes with the adults and us laying our hands on the heads of the children, like a blessing.

thank you for praying for boldness! the Lord has answered! i was able to speak with quite a few people in kiserian and even got to share the gospel with a muslim teenager who was staying at the hostel we’re staying in. praise God! please pray for mahmud, that he will come to know Jesus and maybe even be used to lead other muslims to the Lord. God has also been showing me what it means to trust Him. anything can happen in this life, but He remains. what freedom to surrender! my worry, my insecurity, my life. please pray that God will grace me with compassion for humanity, especially the lost. i don’t want to do things just because i’m told. i want to have passion and i haven’t felt it much. we plan on continuing ministering in kiserian. please pray for the children there. many are homeless and orphaned and are definitely not being brought up well. they are hungry literally and so in need of love. my hope is that the church that will be built may also be used as a free school so these children can learn and get at least a few meals each week.

some random thoughts:

i have used a few “squatty potties” and let me just say, toilets are a blessing.

kenyans’ teeth are whiter than their eyes.

i can count to 29 in swahili and my new friend sam is teaching me songs.

oh! and the title of my last blog, “mambo,” means “hello.” apparently jambo is an old thing and isn’t used very often anymore.

much love to you all!