Day 5 - With John Kisia and Beacon of Hope

Another big and hectic day here in Kenya. We're heading home tomorrow night and I think everyone is pretty worn out. The sun has been hot, the emotions intense after seeing so many things... but it has been amazing.

I traveled with the team today to minister with Pastor John Kisia in a church planting effort. We did street evangelism in a rural area called Thicke (pronounced Thicka). Basically, two of us went with two to three translators and spent time sharing the gospel and inviting those who listened to attend a service at 2 pm. But you have to understand this is not a church as you imagine it. In the middle of the field, on land paid for by the day, a temporary tent holding maybe 15 chairs has been erected. At 2 pm we worship with about 10 people. We sing Swahili songs, have one of our team members share a testimony and another a short message. And it is amazing worship. This Sunday, the new church plant will launch its first service.

Our other team today traveled back to Beacon of Hope. They set out in the morning to do home visits to HIV positive patients. This was apparently a very draining time as they met woman after woman affected by this disease. Our teams were able to hear the stories of these believers and clients of Beacon of Hope as well as praying with them. The impact was great as they met a woman with an infant named Rebecca. Rebecca is six months old, but looks like she is only a newborn one month old. She was tested for HIV and found negative, but the nurse from Beacon of Hope (Grace, who is also HIV positive) believes that the test misread as the baby was too young. She believes the mother is breastfeeding the baby and has passed the disease on.

You can imagine the weight of these situations as our team's hearts continue to be broken for the people of Kenya.

It has been an amazing time seeing God's work and praying for wisdom day by day. But the mood has also changed and we want you to be aware that the intent of this team is not merely to let this be one week. These adults and students are dreaming up dreams and laying out ideas of how to continue to make an impact here in Nairobi. We are hopeful the people of the churches supporting this trip, as well as the families, will be willing to rise up and continue God's work here.