Ninakupenda Kenya...

 

These past two weeks I had the incredible opportunity to go to Kenya with the non-profit organization Just One Africa. We brought clean water filters to provide a solution for the clean water crisis. Not only did we end up distributing around 400ish water filters(Praise God!) but we also did so much more than that. I just wanted to take some time this morning to put words to what I was feeling inside as I reflect on what God has done.

You can't tell, but my heart is broken and full at the same time and I am crying over this note so bear with me as I unload my heart to you these next few minutes. I am blessed to be where God wants me right now and continuing to walk in His calling and plan, but we have had quite the deep conversations and struggles about leaving. I am not one to show my emotions when it comes to pain, but I pray this pain and joy from all I have seen births something that glorifies God for the days to come.

 

First thing is first: packing for a trip that you've never been on before is near impossible. If I was to do it again I would pack half the stuff and bring a lot more soap. I got so used to not doing my hair that I still refuse to do more than put it in a bun this morning.  If it was good enough for the Kenyans to see me in then it's definitely good enough for the Georgians. And also when bringing over 30, 50lb boxes to Kenya, do not even doubt that God will come through in customs because He always comes through. Always.

 

Now this will be a long post and I will say Praise the Lord way more than you will want to read, but I think that phrase sums up a lot of the trip. Bwana Asifewe(Praise the Lord).

 

The first experience I had in Kenya and with Kenyans was a little boy who was with a chaplain that helped us get all the boxes from the baggage claim to the bus. He was a boy with such a great smile and he blessed me with hugs that I needed after the 24+ hours with an hour of sleep and lots of airplanes. He also gave me a yellow pages book. I still have that book and I pray it lasts forever so I can remember Elioud.

 I then got to meet our driver.  Little did I know at this time, he is the best driver in the whole world. He also protected our items in the bus like they were his own and has the sweetest heart for children and his fellow people. Alex made my morning every morning with asking "Sistah Sistah how did you sleep?" And as I would respond and ask him it was always "Thank you thank you, I slept well". He is a modern day superhero and I pray the Lord blessed him abundantly for all he did for our team.

 This seems a bit off topic, but I'm just writing as my mind unloads, but the Kenyan sky is SO BIG. It was breathtaking at all moments. The animals there could not even compare to the vastness of the sky. I felt I could see even a fraction of how big God is from that sky and I have never seen that before. I miss that Sky.

 The stars. The clouds. The mountains. All so big.

 Anyways back on topic, picking out experiences in order. Next we went to the Mayfield Guest House and we saw all sorts of missionaries and there is such a peace. What a blessing to stay there my first night in Nairobi and experience the prayers that cover that spot.

 From Nairobi we drove to Amboseli and a school called Lenkai. Lenkai Chrisitian School is run by the amazing John and Dorcas Parit. They gave me my first taste of Kenyan ceremony, community, love, faith, and worship. This school houses boarding children, local children, and rescued children. I will discuss more of them later. But for now let's finish the school part and say what I did there. We got there and instantly there were echoes of "How are you?" And "I am Fine". It seemed strange at first but it quickly became the sweetest sound to my ears. I sit here crying because I know I will not here it in the proper English in a Kenyan accent for a while. 

 

We played games like Mingo(Mingle) and got so many hugs over the next few days. We were blessed with songs and shown how we should really worship in the Spirit. We were blessed with meals and Maasai jewelry and blankets. We were told stories that shocked us and shown love that cannot be replaced ever.  We were shown nearby villages that seem to live in the past but have so much more than we could ever buy because they have love and joy and community that you cannot purchase. We learned that love has no language or color. Love is God and love is universal.

 

 In the villages we learned that children are the same everywhere. We met this one little girl that was so helpful with the filters but spoke no English at all. She was a servant and had a smile that melts any hard heart. We gave water filters and saw that lives would indeed change with them. They're water was dirty and filled with cow poop and bugs, yet they drank it. And they smiled anyways. So this is a new chance at life for so many. And God is a God of new chances so I know it will not return void.

 Back to the rescue center we loved on the girls. From the boarder girls to the rescue girls there were smiles and love. The rescue girls and boys come from world of child brides, 12 year old mothers, and a place where albinos are sold for parts in other countries because they are seen as mistakes. Esther is seen to the left, is one of the rescue girls with such a big smile.  Lillian is above on the right, she was married off and now has been rescued and can be a normal 14 year old learning crocheting and running and laughing.

What we learned is yet again that God is good. Faithful. Big. A healer. And that love comes from God and God has no boundaries for His love.

 We saw chains be broken and futures restored. We saw community. We saw love.

 The Maasai are my favorites. I want to be them. They are beautiful people with community that we do not know in America. They blessed us with meals and prayers and songs. They gave us so much chai tea(thanks for drinking mine Jules) and killed cows and goats for our meal. It was an honor to be in their villages and learn some of their language(thanks James. You saved us with that translation page).

 On a translation point, most Kenyans we met can speak and read both Kiswahili and English. Isn't that incredible?? They are so smart. Some Maasai speak Maasai plus the other two. And they think mzungu's are smart. We do not even compare.

 For times sake I will move on to the trip to Kisumu and Bondo.

 

 

We drove through the Great Rift Valley. It was so vast. So beautiful. So something God would make.

 Anyways, we arrived in Kisumu at a school/church and did a medical clinic and gave our maize. I met a woman named Mama Phoebe that was responsible for all we would do the next few days. She is an incredible woman that I was honored to meet. Every "Bless you" was so sincere. We served so many people and I got to asks questions and do paper work with families to see how their kids are doing. My translator got sick of my spelling of names and took my pen :). I met families that because of clean water and school their families were all healthy. I met families who only had two kids left. I met a mom desperately trying to stay alive with HIV as she lost her older two to Aids and her younger two were sick as well.

I saw desperation. But I saw Hope. I saw God in each person's face. He was there. He is always there.

 We then went to a slum in Kisumu. Not the biggest in Kenya but still covered in a spirit of pain, bondage, despair, and hopelessness. We went to houses and saw where they lived. Mud and sewage in their water supply. Flies buzzing around their food and them only having that to eat. Pigs and goats and chickens going to the bathroom everywhere. We walked in houses made of mud that were the size of two of my closets put together. It was a culture shock. It made me angry that people live this way when America has so much. Every homeless person can get water in America and food at places. These people had nothing. Parents lose their kids there. Men are drunk. People are sick. Darkness covers people's lives

 But God.

We prayed for people in their houses. Anointed the huts with oil. Saw Jesus break chains.

 We saw a lady who's legs were so greatly infected that they looked like they were dead. She couldn't walk, had to hit the flies away from laying eggs on them and was in so much pain. We prayed for her and brought her food and necessities. We made plans for someone to get her help.

 We saw her walking up to the altar to accept Jesus Sunday. We prayed over her. She is still healing but my God is a healer. Pamela, may the Lord heal you inside and out and bless you and keep you. May you see a miracle and tell everyone.

 After leaving the slums and the school we drove to Bondo.

 This is where my heart would come alive.

Some backstory, I came to Kenya after having a dream of a child in a field that came to me and said"who is God?" And I replied, "God is our father who loves us" and the child replied "I do not know what a father is". Some of my team members were in that dream. I had it confirmed by many people the day I woke up from the dream that it was from God by the things they just "coincidently" spoke of. I had my mom tell the Churchills we were going that day. I'm so glad God showed me that because....

 I saw the field in real life. It was at Salem Orphanage in Bondo. The field in the dream was in fact the same field I would walk on months later.

God is good.
I felt peace there like I had never had. I met amazing people and children.

 

 I met a young girl and boy who quickly became my Kenya babies. Michael(Michelle) and Bravin.

Michael was sitting all alone so I walked up to her the first night and after tickles and sweets she scooted closer and the language barrier meant nothing to God. She ended up on my lap and then on my hand or near me for the next few days. She fell asleep on me and we learned English together. She is so smart and so beautiful. She taught me how to balance my water bottle on my head.  My heart broke to leave her there knowing she could not understand that she would not see me for a year. I'm sure she was waiting for me the next few days. I'm praying this next year as she learns English in school that God blesses her. Her future is changed because of Salem.

You see I got to hear her story from Mama Phoebe. Both her parents died of HIV and she was left with a stranger to care for her. Both those parents died or left and she was found in January in the Slums and brought to Salem with two of the neighbors boys. She is an HIV child and at 6 she has seen more pain than I have ever seen or could imagine. But God, He had a plan for the pain. She now is full of smiles and giggles. She's goofy and never fails to make people laugh or smile with that beautiful smile and her gorgeous eyes.

She leads the younger boys. Bravin and Junior are so sweet and follow her. She is a leader and is being healed for God's glory. I love my girl.

 I met so many other children at Salem. I sang with them and worshipped with them. We ate lollipops together and got so many hugs and danced.

I met baby Ashley, a baby we had been praying for that was rescued from the slums last summer, after much bribery with sweets she let me hold her and then she fell asleep on me. I was in heaven holding that baby and telling her she was loved and chosen.

From Scovia to Katie, there was love everywhere. My heart was left with so many of them, it would take weeks to discuss all of the amazing people and futures that are being changed at Salem and that changed my life and heart.  Scovia is pictured below on the left.

 

 I met Lucy. My sister. My heart. She and her sister Terésa have smiles that can melt even the hardest hearts and the best personalities. They are full of love, joy, leadership, and Jesus. They put up with our small group talks about purity and instead of moving away from the subject they jumped in and were leaders of the group.

 Lucy became my buddy. She and I sang worship songs and learned new ones. You have never heard "Ever Be" by Bethel until you have heard it in Kenya with little voices singing it with all their hearts. Lucy has a heart for Worship and a heart for learning. She is the smartest and will go far.  I cannot wait to see her again and to see where God leads her. To the left are Lucy and Naomi :) Us singing is on the right.

 

 She and Scovia gave me dance lessons. I said I was bad when they tried to pull me in and she said "you'll never get better if you don't have the courage to try". That advice from the 11 year old will stay with me in all things forever.

She can dance, sing, learn and lead. All of them will change the world someday, I just know it.

Saying Goodbye to her  and the others ripped out my heart. She called me big sister in tears and she truly is my sister in my heart. I could say so much more about this special, strong girl who God took from seeing both parents murdered to now singing and dancing with joy, but my heart just can't find the words for how much I love her and how much I want to say. Katie and I left her with making a "Lucy Sandwhich", pictured on the right. I will leave it at Thank you God for putting Lucy in my life and I love you Lucy so very much. You are a world changer.

 God knew I needed to meet Michael, Bravin, Lucy, Scovia, Terésa, Mama Pheobe, and everyone else at Salem.

He knew the Kenyans would teach this Worship leader what Worship really is.
He knew that I would find a big piece of my heart that He had left there for me to find.
He knew that I would feel His Heartbeat so much stronger at that farm on Lake Victoria.

 He knew everything on this trip would happen to me. That my heart would break, mend, heal, battle, struggle and have joy. I am always amazed and He is never surprised.

 I saw maize multiplied several times from enough to feed 70 people maximum to three scoops of maize for over 150 widows.

 

I prayed over a woman with my mother  and she was delivered from demons, came up and screamed Jesus is Lord.

 I saw people healed.

 I saw people and led people to Jesus.

 I made a community for myself with a team that I did life with constantly for days. For a girl who used to be afraid of community and can be a lone wolf, the encouragement and love I found in these people is something special. They can never even begin to know how much they mean to me. It was an honor to get to know them, laugh with them, pray with them, and just do life in Kenya together.

 

(Teresa and Swift pictured right)

I struggled with God on how staying forever was not what He wanted for me even if I felt at home there, but that I would go back many many times to find my heart pieces left there over and over. It may not be my calling to live there forever but it is a home for me that I will go to, bring my future family to, and let it change my heart over and over.

 Missions is now a huge part of my heart.

 I met Jesus there. I saw Him in faces. In the sky. In the mountains and rifts. In the animals. In the wind. In the giraffes and elephants. In the children and adults. In the tribes and the cities. In the red soil.

 I felt God in Kenya. I feel Him here. God is the same in all countries. For that I am eternally thankful.

 Love has no language, color, or mold. No country.

 Love has no limits and no future is bound to your past.

 That is what I learned so far in reflection on my trip to Kenya. There is so much more I can write about, like elephant orphanages and ceremonies but I will save that for later. As I continue reflecting I will think of more things to write I'm sure.

 

 

                                     For now I will leave you with this:God is love and love is real.

 

 

                                                       Bwana Asifewe. Praise the Lord. Amen.