New Fronel School CRE

On Friday I taught another CRE at New Fronel School. I taught Genesis chapter 4.

We started the class off with some singing & dancing. I worked with my interpreters Bernard & Michael a.k.a. Kibe. Calvary Chapel Nairobi has been blessed with several young men who have huge hearts for children; in fact the children’s ministry has more men serving than women. They have such a desire to see these children grow up in the Lord because they know that they’re the future of Kenya. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such gifted men be able to capture the attention of children like these men can. I’m learning a lot from them & I’m finding myself being drawn into their vision as well. God has been giving me a heart for children & I’m enjoying every minute I get to work with them.

After every lesson I like to quiz the students on what I just taught them & on the Gospel as well. It’s such a joy to hear children of all ages explain the Gospel. The boy below could explain the entire story of Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel. He was nervous at first but was able to pull through it. We celebrated by pretending to pop open a Coke & drink it.
 

 

This little guy is Brandon. He's quite the trouble-maker but he's adorable! From the first day he met me he started calling me Jackie Chan...now every time I see him we give each other karate chops!

CRE's!



Glad Tidings School-going over the rule to "raise your hand"

We started teaching CRE (Christian Religious Education) at the schools in the slums this week. This has probably been the most enjoyable thing I’ve done here. For whatever reason God has given me a huge desire to work with children here, which is so unlike me. On Thursday I taught at Glad Tidings School in Ngando. I’m teaching the book of John to a class of about 30 students ages 8-10. I was sharing the Gospel with these students & teaching about John the Baptist. We start every class with cute Worship songs, prayer & then repeating the rules. "No pushing, no pinching, no shouting & raise your hand to answer if you know the answer.

Apollos trying very hard to explain the Gospel



This girl was trying to explain who John the Baptist was.

Going around the class asking students how one is to be born again, I was getting many different answers from them. Some said when you are baptized you are saved; others said when you go to church, or when you confess your sins. There are so many misconceptions about salvation in Kenya & it is apparent that the misconceptions have even started at childhood. Some students said that Jesus was an angel or that He was only the Son of God. After my teaching & correcting their misconceptions a several children were able to repeat the lesson I had just taught; they were absorbing more than I thought… praise God!  
One little girl new the entire Gospel & the entire first chapter of John. She got a special treat for that one! You’ll notice the children standing up on the side of the school room; that’s because they don’t have enough desks for every student to sit down.

Teaching John chapter 1

Simply Being Available

“God is looking for availability not ability”. That’s a statement that I’ve held on to since I first heard it. That statement is proving to be true in my life right now. My constant prayer here has been that God would empty me of myself & fill me with Him in order to use me for His purposes. Since we’ve been involved in ministry here the pattern of my life has been that I get chosen to do things I have zero experience in or am uncomfortable doing. First it was teaching a Bible study at the hair salon, and then doing a VBS, praying with the women at the Rabuna Fi ministry, and today it happened again…twice. First, this morning we went to a school in Kibera slum to teach CRE (Christian Religion Education). Our church has the privilege of supplying the teachers for the CRE’s and next week we’ll be taking over the teaching to give the current teachers a break. Today was to be an observation day only. As of this morning I had only taught the Bible twice in my life and only once to children; so I felt observation was necessary. However God didn’t think so.  

School in Kibera

 As soon as I walked in to the shabby school room Freddy tells me that I’m teaching. My response was, “No I’m not, I was told not until next week.” Freddy says, “That’s ok you can do it just teach them any story from the Bible,” with a big smile on his face. In a rather stern voice I replied, “No I’m not teaching today I’ve never done this before, I don’t know any stories to teach”.  After a few minutes of conversing back in forth like this and pleading with him not to make me teach, I was on the verge of tears because I was so frustrated and nervous. I could not believe what was happening and I seriously considered walking out. All I could think was “you’ve got to be kidding me!” I started praying and at that point I realized that this was probably the Lord trying to grow me. Really God…why?!? I was pleading to God to help me and I prayed that if I was going to teach He would have to empower me to do it because I had nothing to give. So I decided I needed to step up to the challenge because I will never grow if I shy away. I apologized to Freddy and told him that I would teach if he wanted me to but he would have to help me out. I taught “The Good Samaritan” parable because it was the only one I was familiar with having just taught it at the VBS; Freddy chimed when I needed him to. I finished up with praying for the kids it was over before I knew it. Walking out of the school house I couldn’t help but laugh because of what the Lord had just done to me.

Women's Ministry Bible study

Then, later on in the afternoon I taught 1 John 2:1-15. I shared a little of my testimony about how I used to live with a boyfriend but once I became a Christian I decided to live the way God commands us to. As I mentioned before, about 90% of the women in this ministry live with their boyfriends. I finished my study about a 1/2 hr. early and I was a little nervous because I didn’t know what else to do to fill the time. I asked if there were any questions and thankfully a lady asked me advice on how to get out of a “come in stay” (having a live-in boyfriend) situation. All I could do was explain to her how I was able to get out of my situation but I knew they were going to have a hard time receiving my advice because of the cultural differences. Of course she explained that it’s not that easy for them because they have children, no job, and other cultural issues. I couldn’t argue with her because the reality is I don’t have it as hard as them. But still, culture is no excuse because God’s Word supersedes culture. I found myself again empty of anything I could give and I once again absolutely had to rely on the Lord to work through me. And He did, as well as through my sisters Anna-Marie and Christina. We ended up having a long discussion regarding the issue of “come in stay” relationships. I felt the women received it well and left the study somewhat encouraged to possibly take the step of faith to change their living situation. Again, God proved to me that He is faithful. I’m starting to come to the understanding that God is answering my prayer of being emptied of myself so that I have to rely on Him. Naseima (Arie’s wife) told me just last night that God has me exactly where He wants me; in absolute reliance on Him. She said that’s the only time when God can do His full work in us and through us and it’s awesome when we allow Him to do that. It is awesome!

Oh yeah, today I was also volunteered by Natasha to play the djembe drum for the worship team, just because…you know… I’ve never played it before! Whatever you have for me Lord!



Natasha & me during worship practice



Rabuna Fi Women's Ministry

Rabuna Fi is an income generating project that Far Reaching Ministries has for women in Kenya, Uganda & Sudan. Women make jewelry, purses & shawls to be sold in the US. The women here in Nairobi make shawls & are paid per shawl that is completed. They come in Tues-Sat from 2pm-5pm & start out with an hour long Bible study, followed by two hours of sewing. After so many hours of sewing they are given a certificate they can take to tailoring shops in town to find employment. Because of the economic down-turn, Rubuna Fi has lost quite a bit of financial support & is unable to pay the women much money so they are still in need of an additional source of income. Each day the women study a different book of the Bible. We three girls will be teaching the book of 1 John.

Today the Lord totally met me where I needed Him. After the teachings we three girls are split up into different areas of help. One takes care of the kids, one passes out the thread & sequins as needed, & the other prays with the women separately. Initially, I’m sad to say, I did not want to pray with the women. For whatever reason I was intimidate by it. I’ve had a hard time connecting with the women here & I just felt uncomfortable spending one on one time with them. I was doing everything I could to avoid it but God would not let me get away from it! So of course I was chosen to do the thing that was most stretching for me. But God was so faithful to give me everything I needed to minister to these women. Turns out I was able to connect with them in more ways than I thought I could. All the women I sat with are living with their boyfriends. The culture here in Kenya is to have a common-stay marriage which is comparable to common-law marriage in the States. The women refer to their live-in boyfriends as their husbands. So if you ask a lady if she is married you have to clarify if the marriage is legal or common-stay. To make matters worse, all the men are non-believers. Because I was once in a long-term relationship & lived with a boyfriend for many years I was able to share my story with them. All the ladies were shocked that I once lived like them. I shared with them that once I became born again I was convicted to no longer remain in a living situation that was unpleasing to God & I encouraged them to do the same. But in Kenya that’s easier said than done. All the women know they’re living in sin but because they struggle financially, living with their “husbands” means they can pay rent, pay school fees for their children, & eat. Our goal is to help these women get to the point where they have enough faith that God will provide for them if they live a life pleasing to Him.

I was so delighted with my time spent with each one of the ladies. Being able to relate to them in some areas & pray with them has brought us closer & I know it has allowed them to trust me more. At the end of the day I couldn’t help but praise God for being faithful to equip me to do what He called me to do for that day.

Building a Future

Today I was asked to join Chris and Jamie in a meeting with 27 ladies wanting to start their own businesses. Chris, being the visionary that he is has come up with a few business ideas for these ladies to develop in order to provide for their families & change the community of the slum they live in. Most of the women are single mothers that were once involved in the church but have recently stopped attending. They’re embarrassed to come to church because they’ve had children out of wedlock. I was delighted to be part of this project because of my previous experience in building a business. I know first hand how difficult it is start a business; long hours, hard work before you see a profit, dealing with difficult people, wanting to give up everyday. I never would have thought God would have used my business experience to help women in Africa. Our meeting was in the common African office…outside in the grass! They shared their desire of starting their own business to change their future & their children’s futures. I was so impressed with their vision & organization. A few of the ideas that were brought up are selling kerosene, charcoal, & chips (fries) to the children at school during lunch time. Each lady decided which item she desires to sell & in the next few days she has the responsibility to do research on start up costs. I was given the task of writing the business proposal to present to local companies to raise the capital needed to start the business. The thing that excites me about working with this project is that it was originally the ladies idea. This isn’t some idea that some American came up with. 

The women have appointed their own leaders, treasurer, & secretary. If any woman wants to join the project she has to invest $100 Shillings to start; that way she is more likely to work hard & follow through. For the remainder of my time here in Nairobi I’ll be meeting with the ladies on Thursday mornings to assist them in their business needs, encourage them to persevere, & disciple them. Because these women are currently not attending church our desire is to keep them growing in their relationship with God as much as we can. Each meeting will start out with prayer & devotion. Our goal is to not get too involved in running this business, but rather, we want the ladies to take ownership. We’ll simply be there to offer advice & support.  It’s so easy for the Africans to depend on the Americans to do things for them, but because we Americans will one day be gone they need to have a business they can sustain on their own.


Business leaders

Please pray that God will provide the finances for start-up costs & that He will open doors for these ladies to sell products. Please pray that He will use my experience to guide them along.

Super-na-tu-ral! Super-na-tu-ral!

Super-na-tu-ral! Super-na-tu-ral! That’s the song that has been in my head since Sunday. This past Sunday afternoon we put on a Back to School VBS for the children in Nando. It was my first experience being part of a VBS & I was incredibly blessed by it. We’ve been working with the children’s ministry leaders (Chris, Wallace, & Nicholas) for the past month planning for this VBS. Because we didn’t have the finances to fund the VBS ourselves we did a car wash in our neighborhood to raise funds. I never would have thought that I would be doing a car wash in Africa to raise funds. I think the neighbors really enjoyed watching 3 muzungu girls washing cars! Praise God, we ended up raising 3,100 Shillings (roughly $47) to purchase juice, biscuits, & prizes for the children.

Car Wash Fund Raiser with Chris

Chris is a guy in his late 20’s that is a leader in the children’s ministry here at church. He is extremely gifted in working with children & he is quite the visionary. He lives in Nando slum & has a huge heart for the poor children in Kenya. I believe a few years ago an American girl worked with Chris here in Nairobi & she fell in love with him. He was offered an internship at her church in America & possibly had the opportunity to marry her & live in the States. For most African men that offer would have been a dream come true but Chris turned it down because he felt so strongly that God was calling him to stay here in Kenya to work with the children in the slums. I couldn’t believe that any African would have turned down a chance to live in the States & marry an American. I can’t say that if I was in his shoes I would have made the same decision. Chris is truly one of a kind. His desire is to share the love of Christ with children; he even goes to such extremes as sleeping in the streets with the “street kids” to love them like Jesus. When we got to Kenya, Chris & the youth were in the Bush on a mission trip. He raised his own support from the Natives here & was able to go on a 10 day mission to share the Gospel in an unreached area of Kenya. Arie & others at church spoke very highly of him, so we were excited to meet him. But upon meeting Chris for the first time I didn’t think there was anything special about him. In fact I was a little disappointed in my first impression because he seemed very immature & silly to me. He was always joking around, arriving late to our meetings, we couldn’t take him seriously & every time we tried to practice our drama skit or plan out the crafts he would put off the task at hand. To say the least we were a little worried about working with him. But I figured he’d done this before so I trusted that he knew what he was doing.

Well come Sunday afternoon he proved himself alright. At the start of the program the kids were running around crazy but as soon as he jumped on stage and started leading the kids in dances, all eyes were on him. The kids were mesmerized with Chris’ electric personality & staring at him like he was a celebrity! It was precious. Somehow I was pulled up on stage too as part of the performance group. I was definitely out of my comfort zone at first having to dance in front of all these kids. I’ve never worked with children in the past & I didn’t think that I even had the heart to. But I tell you, as I was up there dancing, singing, seeing the kids screaming, smiling, dancing, having a grand ol’ time, I was lit on fire inside!  

Me & Wallace quizing on study

After the worship we broke up into groups by age range to do the teaching & craft. I taught ages 7-8 with Wallace my translator. We taught the Good Samaritan story & memory verse 1 John 4:20.

Doing crafts

 After serving the snacks we gathered back around the stage & performed our Good Samaritan skit. Christina was the injured man, Anna-Marie & Jamie were the robbers & I was the narrator. Our skit had a Kenyan flair to it as we changed the nationalities of the characters to represent different Kenyan tribes. There is a bit of tribalism in Kenya so we were trying to convey the message that Jesus calls us to care for all people even if they belong to a different tribe.

Good Samaritan skit

Christina, Jamie, Anna-Marie

After the skit we did a puppet show, memory verse quiz & then closed out with prayer groups & more dancing.



Puppet show with Wallace & Chris




Me & Chris quizing the crowd



Anna-Marie & the kids

Being my first VBS I was very pleased with the turn out. Chris came through, the youth were a big help & overall I had the sweetest time dancing, high-fiving, & watching the kids enjoy themselves. A few times tears of joy were welling up in my eyes as I was looking at big smiles in the crowd below me. What a joy it was to be able to provide these sweet children an opportunity to learn the Word of God & escape their hard lives in the slums for a few hours. I’m not sure who was more blessed the kids or me.

It was a long day of serving the children but it was the best day I’ve had so far since I’ve been here in Nairobi. God is doing a work on my heart towards children & I can’t wait to work with Chris & the other leaders again on the next event! I feel like this VBS broke down some walls that were up towards the Kenyans that I’m working with. It has been a little challenging working out the cultural differences. But working together in this event has brought us to a new level of friendship. It has also brought me to a new level of appreciation towards my time here in Kenya. Just a few days ago I was fighting a bit of homesickness because I’ve been so bored. I haven’t been seeing my days here as a gift from the Lord. Today the Lord opened my eyes to what I’ve been missing. I thank Him for allowing me to be part of this special day. I know there are many more to come!

Raising up Men of God

I haven’t been blogging much because the reality is there hasn’t been much going on.  We arrived in Kenya at the start of the Holiday season & pretty much everything shuts down for Holiday in Kenya, so it has been extremely slow here.  I feel like all this down time has been more of a struggle for me than my time in Murrieta overloaded with studying & homework. While all the others are enjoying relaxing & taking it easy, I’m going crazy because I am so bored.  The only experience of mission work I’ve had is a fast paced twelve hour day one, so that's what I was expecting when I arrived here.  The reality is, long-term mission life isn’t quite like that.  It has its busy seasons & slow seasons.  Arie is trying to teach us that being a missionary is simply Christianity in a different cultural setting.  It is the same ministry & the same God as in America only we’re under more stress because of the cultural differences.  By nature I’m a busy-body, I thrive with having too much on my plate running around from place to place.  I’m just at a stage in my life where a crazy schedule works well for me.  I’m young, single, no children, so I’m enjoying it while I can.  Only having to prepare for one Bible study every few weeks & some days not even leaving the house is really stretching me.  It seems like the only ministry work I’m doing is within my team and I’m coming to a point where I’m wondering what I’m doing here.  In this mental struggle I’m realizing that God is teaching me that my only motivation to be a missionary in Africa should be to serve Him; because when things aren’t going the way I would like them to, knowing that I’m working for the Lord & following His will is the only thing that will sustain me. 

Because I feel like being here with several Americans is causing me to miss out on the experience of being immersed in the culture, Arie has challenged me to take the step of setting up meetings with the Kenyans to engage with them & learn how to do things on my own not depending on others to schedule an event for us.  So I excepted his challenge & yesterday we learned how to take a Matatu (taxi van) to the church.  Riding a matatu is quite an experience & requires a bit of training for muzungus (white people).  The rides are fast, bumpy, music blaring, people sitting on laps, pick-pocketers, drivers fighting over you to ride their taxi…it’s crazy but so exciting at the same time!

Today we served at a men’s luncheon at the church.  Arie’s deep desire as well as Far Reaching’s, is to raise up strong Godly men in the church.  In Kenya, like America, Godly men are lacking.  Most are caught up in worldly pleasures; they aren’t willing to go to the ends of the Earth & lay down their life down for the Gospel.  There are single mothers everywhere because the man who fathered their children are off with other women or getting drunk.  Today’s message was geared towards fathers being the head of the household & raising their children in a Godly manner.  To our pleasant surprise 22 men showed up & a few of them even brought their sons along. 

Pastor Arie teaching

We ladies cooked & served them lunch after the teaching; I finally felt like I was somewhat part of the culture. This morning we had to leave the house at 7am to get to church by 8am to start cooking.  We have to walk about a mile to the first matatu stop, then change matatus 3 times before we get to the church.  We cooked sukuma wiki (which is like a spinach leaf) with beef & ugali (maize flour).  We had a great time cooking with the ladies. 

Cleaning & cutting sumuka wiki

I was able to make an entire pot of ugali on my own…you’d have to try it yourself to understand what feat that is.  The ladies said I was fit to be an African wife. You pour the ugali flour into a huge pot of water & almost immediately it turns into a play doh like substance.  You stir it continuously & as you’re stirring it becomes tougher & tougher to stir, I had to put my entire body into it…the Kenyan women can do it with one hand!  They are some tough women!

Making ugali



The finished project

 

Women's Bible Study

On Tuesday I taught the Bible for the first time ever. We’re teaching the book of Colossians to some women at hair saloon in Kibera (the world’s 2^nd largest slum). A missionary from New Zealand used to teach to them but she went back home 2 yrs ago & ever since then these women have been praying for someone else to teach them the Word. We’ve been given the opportunity to teach these women while we are here in Nairobi. This week I taught Ch.1:15-29; I’m proof that God will use the foolish! I was able to share my testimony with them and was able to explain how one is able to be born again. Like the Colossian church, the Kenyan church has many misconceptions about Christ & how one can obtain salvation. Some believe that a pastor has to lead them into the sinner’s prayer or that they have to pay to receive salvation. I was able to share with them the true Gospel & encourage them to read the Bible so they won’t be caught up in false doctrines. It was a true blessing to teach these ladies. I never would have thought God would have chosen me to teach, mostly because I'm learning the Bible right along with them.

Trust me they're excited...straight faces are a cultural thing.