We Found Joy in Joska!!

Wow!! The bus, with Mary Kamau, came to pick us up early for the drive out to Joska. Joska is the boarding school for children in grades 5-8, about 700 of them, and over 95% of those children come from the slums in Nairobi. At Joska, these children recieve a wonderful education, housing, uniforms, spiritual upbringing and lots and lots of love. These kids are AMAZING. The worship at there church was amazing! The team was blown away by the amount of growth this ministry is experiencing. One of the highlights of our visit to Joska was meeting a very special young man name John. John was a Muslim student who made the decision to give his life to Christ - today!! Dennis was able to lead him, praying for him as he accepted Christ. We spent a very full day there, and the children said good-byes and there were many messages to bring home to their sponsors, and many well wishes and greetings being sent to Brandon Adams, former missionary from Mountain Christian to Kenya.

We were also blessed by being invited to Hope Missions International's founders home, Mary & Wallace Kamau. Their home, like their hearts, is a beautiful place. After a marvelous meal, they treated us to a movie - "One in a Million" - a documentary by John Schmidt, and the story of their son Baraka - a deaf orphan who has recieved nothing short of a miracle in his life. We encourage everyone to go to the CMF International website and order this heartwarming film, to get a glimpse into the life of the Kamau's, their son, and the beautiful children of the Mathare Valley.

Mathere Valley

Saturday- One word to describe today, spent in Mathare Valley (one of the world's largests slums, in Nairboi) is INTENSE. Intensity of so many levels. We went to the Hope Mission school and met with Mary and Wallace Kamau, the founders of the school. As our team leader, Dawny, puts it - "They are my heros". The school is an amazing place. They now serve over 4,300 children at multiple locations. There are over 300 people in there employ. We got to go into the classrooms, to see the library, to see the classrooms that are being built, and most importantly, to see the difference that this work is making in the lives of the children of Mathare. One the best moments occured when the team split in two and went with the social workers from the school to do home visits with the children. Pictures and words can't adaequately describe all the we saw and expereinced today. God bless Mary & Wallace, the folks at the school, the people of Mathare, and most especially, the precious children.

We Are In Kenya!!

Team Kenya has arrived safely in Kenya, Praise God!! We had a lovely "send off party" that met us in the parking lot of Mountain at 5 am on Thursday. Thanks to our drivers, Bill and Tom, for getting the team, and all of our luggage, to Dulles. Ethopian Airlines gets big kudos for a wonderful and safe flight. We are tired, but happily here at Grace House. After a quick bite, we managed to make it to Amanyi Aju, a beautiful oasis in the midst of the chaos of downtown Nairobi, to meet with Maggie (the manager) who gave us a tour of the facility, let us meet the ladies, and then led us to the shop so we could see their wares. Amanyi is a refuge for women, some Kenyan, some from surrounding countries, to come and learn a skill and become self sufficient. We then had time for tea at Grace House, and now the team is prepping our tools and equpiment for our first clinic, tomorrow, in Mathare Valley. We will be happy to see missionaries Mary and Wallace Kamau, and of course, the children at the school at Hope Missions International. We will try to post pictures as time, and technology, allow us.

Thanks to all for your continued prayers during this journey!

Less then 48 hours!

Departure is looming large for Team Kenya! Please continue to keep us in prayer, and be in prayer for our mission! Please pray for our team leaders (they will need patience with us!), for safety, and that we are in God's will. We thank everyone who has become a part of our ground team, supporting us here at home, and for all of the prayer warriors who continue to intercede on our behalf!

If you want to see where we will be, here is a google earth map:

http://travelingluck.com/Africa/Kenya/Rift+Valley/_198073_Ewaso+Ngiro.html#local_map

We hope to post a few messages from Kenya, as conditions and access to internet permit! Again, thanks to everyone!

Just a few more days until departure!

This has been an exciting few weeks for team Kenya! Sadly, one of our team mates, Reggie, will not be making the trip with us. We know that God has a plan for Reggie, and we all appreciated having the chance to get to know him - he is a wonderful man with a heart for the Lord. But joining us will be Dennis Curran! We are all excited about serving with Den, and know that his love of the Lord, devotion to being the "hands and feet", and his spunky spirit will be a great addition to our team.

We have been SO blessed with all of the donations and all of the prayers for our mission trip. THANK YOU EVERYONE!! It is just amazing how God places people in our path, and how He has touched the heart of so many with the willingness to give and to do. Our suitcases are so stuffed with medical supplies we barely have room for our clothes!

Please continue to pray that we are in His will. "Lord God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the world. Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help. Through us give hop to the hopeless, love to the unloved, peace to the troubled, and rest to the weary; through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." from the Lutheran Book of Worship