Before I tell you about the church service we attended let me tell you about our trip to Nakuru (on our way to Joseck’s).
Before reaching Nakuru we saw baboon’s on the side of the road!
Upon reaching Nakuru to visit our friend Ben (we work with Ben in his ministry of helping those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS) we had lunch together.
Ben introduced us to Ivy. What an inspiration this young woman is!
I asked Ivy’s permission to post her story and she was more than happy to grant it to me. Ivy is HIV positive from birth. She is so open and honest about her status that she now goes to secondary schools to talk about overcoming the stigma of living with HIV/AIDS. Ivy has young people tell her “since I have HIV why should I take my meds, I’ll die anyway?” She has a way of connecting with them and being an inspiration so they can see that living with a positive status is not a death sentence.
Ivy is animated as she talks with us, she looks you in the eye and tells you, without an ounce of shame or embarrassment, “I am HIV positive but I’m doing something with my life.” What is that ‘something’? Ivy wants to be trained as an HIV/AIDS counselor. What’s stopping her? Cost. It will cost $500 to go through the course (this includes the shopping she’ll need) and while she waits for funding she continues volunteering with Ben in the slums. She is an encouragement to any young person she meets. If you are interested in helping Ivy, please go to our donate page to donate (write “Ivy” in the comment section).
After leaving Ben and Ivy we went out to the car to find a flat tire. Ugh, this was not in the plans! But flexibility is our keyword while in Kenya 🙂 From this picture I hope you can see why we had a flat! They attempted to sew the hole in the tire. We thank God it didn’t blow while we were driving!
After a couple of hours of tire stuff we left Nakuru. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful, although it did rain a lot. We finally arrived at Joseck’s around 9pm…it was a very long day!
Ok, now for today, Sunday. We visited Revival Worship Church and enjoyed the fellowship immensely!
Daren with Bishop Norbertus (Daren had presented the bishop with a study Bible earlier in the meeting).
Ryan listens to Victor (youth leader) as he describes the struggles and challenges working with the youth in Kenya. Remember, most of the high school kids board at school (three months at school then one month of holiday) so they are only at their home church for about 3 weeks
Daren took notes while he listened to the Outreach/Missions leader, Home Bible Church (small groups) leader and Pastor Benard on leadership training at the church.
Daren also presented the church (here with Pastor Benard) with DVD sermons translated into Swahili.
Bishop Norbertus (between Chuck and Daren) is a humble servant of God and you can see the love he has for the church.
On the water tank for all to see….Jesus loves you!
Picture time with the youth group.
Chuck introduces Pastors Daren and Ryan.
The offering….Pastor Benard said it looked like the offering was ready for eating!
This little one walked right up to me and sat on my lap! I think I’m in love 🙂
Ryan shares pictures of his family with the youth group. Such a considerate group of kids!
As Ryan listens to the youth group you can see the condition of the classrooms. Behind him is the teen group.
Ryan addresses the teens.
Daren and Ryan with Joseck (far right) along with Pastor Benard (holding his daughter) and his wife and Bishop Norbertus with his wife Reverend Prisca.
It was pretty cool to see how similar this church and our home church is. They were so open about the struggles and their prayers for the church. They trust in God and His love is evident in the congregation and the leaders.
Ok, I know I posted this photo yesterday but now I have to show you how it’s really done!
So here’s Ryan standing perfectly still. He didn’t walk around with this box on his head and it was on there for, oh 10 seconds! Women in Kenya can carry all sorts of things on their heads AND walk with them!
Thank you everyone for your prayers. Tomorrow we visit the medical clinic and meet with the C4KK volunteers who do such good work repairing roofs, fixing walls and so much more!
Your continued prayers are appreciated and please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly supporter of this ministry. The work we do and how much we are able to do depends on provision from God and I know He works through His people.
As they say in Kenya:
God is good
all the time
and that is His nature.
Mungu akubariki (God bless).