Back Home

It is not easy to summarize a three week adventure like this one. Ann Husk did a great job (in our last post) emphasizing how every member of the team stepped up to challenges they were faced with and represented Christ well with both word and deed. I am very proud of the team God ordained for this good work.

Our team dug holes, harvested crops, played soccer, taught computer skills, led Vacation Bible School, tutored kids, spoke in local schools, helped with family chores, hosted World Cup parties, put on women seminars, challenged youth to stay sexually pure, furnished the local resource center with books for the community and local pastors, took part in Sunday Worship, and were blessed beyond comprehension. The things we came to "do" no doubt had an impact on those in the village but they were nothing in comparison to the relationships that were built. By living life with those in the village we gained credibility that enabled us to share truth and encouragement to listening ears. Every member of the team can share specific "God sightings" that were taking place each day. It was both humbling and exhilarating to have Him work through us.

We are all grateful for the opportunity we had to truly partner with the work of our E-Free missionaries. We did not go to Kenya and build a grand church building; instead we came along side them to help build God's Church in Kenya. It is reassuring to know that the work God did while we were there began long before we arrived and will continue as He leads Dan and Emily forward.

Thank you for the prayers given on behalf of our team. We ask that you consider continuing to lift up the Okalls and their work in Kenya before our King.

Pastor Bill

----------------------

Click here to hear the Mission Report given on July 4th presented by the Team!

From Ann Husk

The students and leaders are working on debriefing questions so I thought I would take this opportunity to update our blog. We arrived safely in Nairobi last night and will be leaving for the airport in a couple hours. Ann wrote the following post several days ago but we have not had a chance to post it until now. Hope you enjoy – and we look forward to see you all soon! Pastor Bill


Jambo from the village of Kondenge!

Around here I am known as Mama Stephen. He seems to be fine with the association, and it is a name I wear proudly! Actually I would be proud to be called Mama Mark, Matt, Nathan, Ashley, Caitlin, Leah & Lily. You would all be proud of the work they have done here in Kenya. They have represented E-Free well. As you may have noticed from previous blog entries, the words 'schedule' and 'plan' are non-existent. The team has had to be flexible and willing to step up to whatever challenges are thrown their way. When we need volunteers, they step right up. They have built relationships, preached the Gospel, loved on children, lived in primitive conditions, eaten strange food, shared their testimonies in front of large groups of school children... They may be out of their comfort zone, but you would never know it. I am so proud of the way they have stayed true to our memory verse from Philippians 2:1-18, especially “Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure...” For those of you supporting us financially and /or prayerfully, please know that your gift is being blessed and multiplied!

My prayer leading up to the trip was 'Lord you are big enough for this'. For the past two weeks my prayer has become: Lord show me how big you are!” He has been so faithful! I had three opportunities to share my life with the village ladies and to share from God's word concerning God's love for them and Biblical principles of marriage. With Polygamy very common here, and many of the women not welcomed at their own dinner table, this was no easy task. But God showed me how big He is by the overwhelming response I've received from the whole community. The feedback is clearly disproportionate to my own 'performance'. Only God! They have made me feel so loved and accepted as a part of their community. They are proudly wearing the headscarves I presented to them. (Thanks Sabrina and Home Sweet Home!) The last time I spoke was at the African Inland Church at Ndori that was a three mile walk along the edge of the plateau to a small church on a bluff. Kelsey and I went together, along with Pastor Isaiah. While waiting for my translator to arrive, we enjoyed an amazing overlook with a waterfall close enough to hear. I even saw a monkey in the distance flying through the trees. This third session presented a new challenge in that the men were present. I warned them ahead of time about my topic, and praise God that the leadership recognized the need for the men to hear it.

There are a few things that will be forever etched in my mind from our time here... like the crowds of children crowding anyone with a camera, washing dishes out in the yard with chickens battling for scraps, waking up to roosters – very early, the orchestra of goats, chickens, birds and cows that follow, the taste of Irish potatoes and cabbage and Mandazi, the view of Lake Victoria from the cliffs, Harmon's smile, the huge blue sky and the stars at night... and on and on and on!

There is so much I could share on this last day in the village, but to be honest, I really want to spend my last hours here with my host family as much as possible. Ashley and I have come to love them all very much. They have welcomed us as their own, and we have been blessed to share life with them. The time has slipped away too fast. Our new Kenyan friends began to grieve our departure after only a few days here. They keep saying “We will be so sad when The Visitors leave.'' We will be sad as well, but we are so anxious to be back with our families and to tell you all more of our trip.

(To Ruth, Nancy, and - above all – Mark...Thank you. Your prayers are powerful and effective!)

Hey guys! It's Ashley Achieng.. yep, that's my Luo name. It's based on the time of day that you were born. The people here are so nice, they made us a part of their family. There's a ton of people in my family, I'm not really sure who all actually stays in my house but I know the people that I've seen around my house. There's Mama Audrey and Mama Leah. They're both extremely sweet but Mama Leah doesn't speak much English. It's clear that she is really happy that we are staying with her. Clinton is 15, Audrey is 12, Austin is 10 and Hamon is 5. Hamon has the most adorable smile I have ever seen. I'm going to miss him so much. Austin is super smart. He was telling me all about the different Nilots and I had no idea what he was talking about. But it was cool so see how much the kids here are learning. Audrey is soft spoken but so sweet, she's opened up a lot more that I thought she would over these two weeks. I can't imagine only having one week here, I'm so glad that we have two weeks here.

Everyone here is so welcoming and kind. I thought that the warm welcome might wear off after a little time but everyone is still amazingly sweet. Every time you pass anyone on the street you stop and shake their hand and say “Habari” which is “How are you?” in Kiswahili. The kids are super respectful, they normally don't talk while others are talking. They are good sports, there's no arguing during football. The talent is ridiculous, they all whoop our butts in football..and running..and pretty much anything else we try to do. Except for cards. Nathan and Mark and I taught some kids Egyptian Rat Screw and Dutch Blitz. They've gotten better and it's a ton of fun. I've gotten close to a lot of the kids here like Nelly, Mandela, George, David, Carol, Nancy, and Junior..just to name a few. I've also gotten a few marriage offers. ;) I was talking to a man and he said that he wanted me to find a husband here so that I would stay and be like Emily. He wanted me to bring my friends and family back to Kenya with me too. I said okay..what's the dowry looking like? 30 cows? Hahah just kidding, I'll be home soon. Caitlin and Stephen have also gotten some marriage offers. Gotta love the Americans. ;) We've been doing a VBS for the kids and I've been surprised at how well its been going. The kids have really picked up the songs. I've written the lyrics to Everlasting Love and Undignified at least twice. All the kids sing “oo oo oo, oo oo oo oo” I realize that doesn't make sense because there's no tune that I can type but I'm sure you get the picture. I taught the lesson two different times. Once about teamwork and the other about who God is. They went well, at least I thought so. We had to have someone translate for us but I think we all got used to it. Nathan and I had the opportunity yesterday to go to a school that was down the mountain/clift. The hike was a little tricky but we had good guides: Seth and Milton. They are funny guys. We talked about our testimony and why they should stay in school. The hike back up was so tiring but worth it.

We've gotten some free time and we have made a band. Strictly Clearance is the name. It's me, Stephen (he does the background music), Matt (plays guitar and sings), and Tyler (improves songs – its pretty awesome). We have so much fun, our team has grown closer. Now I know that Caitlin is scared of Chickens..did you know that chickens can't walk without moving their heads? Yeah..it's weird to have chickens around all the time. Im pretty impressed with how well she's doing thought ;) Leah is drawing a sketch for each day we have been here. It's such a good idea, the drawings are amaizing. I realized that Marks a softie..He's cute with the little kids. Nathan's growing a beard and he has “beard to beard communication” with Tyler. Lillianna Rose (yes, that's her new nickname, for me and Leah at least) got her hair french braided: its was awesome. Stephen's getting ready to race some Kenyans right now, I wish him luck – those Kenyans are fast. I have learned that Matt. Loves. Butter. Oh my goodness, I've never seen someone eat a fork-full of butter until yesterday. The girls made spaghetti and garlic toast yesterday for lunch. It took two hours! But it tasted amazing. So Matt's gonna talk now but please continue to pray for us: for hearts to serve, to reach, and to grow people in Jesus Christ. I love and miss you all.

Ash :)

Jambo everyone! (Hello in Kiswahili). I am in Africa and it is absolutely amazing! I never thought I would be here. If you had asked me in the middle of my Sophomore year if I had any interest in going to Kenya, I probably would have said no. Now that I am here and have experienced many amazing God moments. The journey here was a crazy one as well. I didn't get much sleep on the plane so when we arrived in Narobi I was totally wiped. I want to go into more detail but I won't cause I know it will take a hour to read. Instead I will share some more profound stories. First I want to say, Mom, I miss your cooking soooooooooosososososososososososo much! Like its ridiculous! The food here is amazing, but I miss chicken and wine sauce! Mainly we have rice and potatoes. Sides are eggs with tomatoes and also cabbage. I've never thought it would try cabbage but I did!!!! Don't believe me? Fine! I have been a wonderful sport about the food if you ask me. I try everything put in front of me. Stephen and I try everything together. We count down 3-2-1 then put it in our mouth. I thought I wasn't going to be able to room with Stephen but we ended up in the “Real Kenyan Adventure” together. Most everyone else has electricity and some even have a TV! Now that may sound absolutely crazy but its a luxury here. Our house's frame is bamboo sticks and then the walls are dried mud. Its the homiest thing I have ever slept in. Yeah it has its disadvantages but its so awesome. There are 4 houses in our compound and there is ours which is the smallest, the main house where we eat, a living house, and a kitchen house. We have a cat but no one ever pets it. Its main job is to kill rats and snakes that come into the house. Also, chickens come into the house and they're more welcome than the cat sometimes. Everyday has been interesting for me. I've had a push from God through someone or something for everyday to keep me going. I don't have my journal with me right now but I have all the people and all the things that have helped me through this journey. The battery is low so I will end here. Thank you for everyone praying and I will be home soon! (P.S. Thanks Briana, Josh and Ryan for the letters and thanks Zack and Lauren for the pictures).

I miss you and love you all so much!

Matt
~be the change you wish to see in the world~

Hello again! It's around 1 p.m. here in Kenya. It's been a busy couple of weeks, but we cannot believe that we head home in four-ish days. We miss you all, but at the same time we love it here and can't fully imagine leaving all of these wonderful, beautiful people. You've probably heard before, but we could not feel more at home. Everyone here is so welcoming! They are amazingly loving.

Anyway, lately we've been in between VBS programs. This left us with more free time with our families and with each other. The kick-off of the World Cup has kept us up a little later, but the party atmosphere has provided the energy we lack. We had a lot of fun and it's been great to strengthen the relationships with our families, new friends, and team members. Today we start VBS up again, this time for the older kids, so no more late nights and face painting. We'll be starting computer classes and tutoring again too, now that the kids are back at school. They were off for the weekend, and only have a third of a school day today. We're not really sure how you have a third of a school day, but apparently it's possible.

Yesterday we went to church again. We weren't so tired so it was almost possible to pay attention. :) Just kidding. Church here is very different then at home. There's no real start time – we're on Kenyan time which is essentially show up whenever you're ready. Various people from the community said a few things, praising God, lifting prayer requests, and introducing us again. Throughout the service people led us in Luo hymns, which are translated from traditional English hymns. They don't tend to use hymns we know in English though, so we just hum or clap a long. A few of us tried to read the Luo, if we happen to be near someone who has a hymnal. The adult choir, the kids choir, and the young adult choir all led two or three songs each as well. We led three songs. There were short scripture readings and speeches and prayers mixed in between all of these songs. Then the verses Pastor Bill was preaching on were read in English and Luo. Someone else delivered a short speech. Another hymn was sung. And then Pastor Bill spoke with a translator. We sang another hymn and took offereing. Then someone prayed and we were “dismissed” which means we went outside to talk to everyone. It's very rude to leave then, so it might as well be part of the service. It's a unique experience and lasts a long time. It would be completely wonderful, except way too many people are shoved onto wooden benches in a very warm room. But if you can fight off the warmth and discomfort you will be truly blessed.

That's really all I have to say right now. We hope you all are doing well and don't miss us too much. It was fun to see the kids at Eastbay Adventure Camp via Skype yesterday. Please continue to pray for our ministry and health and that we would get home safely. Please also pray that good-byes won't be too difficult. These people have essentially adopted us, and it will be hard to leave them without any garuntee of seeing them again, even though we're getting ready to come home.

~Leah

Hey everybody!! This is Lily speaking. I'm excited for all you readers. I'm sure you love hearing from all of us and how we're doing.

I'm wondering how my family and friends are doing also. I MISS YOU SO MUCH! Seriously! (Nat: are you Miss IL yet????? I really have totally forgotten the date of Miss IL, so I have no idea. Haha. Oops. But anyway-----)

So...There's just so much to tell, that it's hard to know where to begin. Explaining this trip and trying to do it justice is an overwhelming task!! :P But I'll try my best! I've really been learning a lot on this trip, about the culture and stuff, and also with God.

I'll start with describing what our home is like. It's me and Leah who live with the Ndeges.

There are quite a few family members that are around. There is Mama Deborah, and Baba Silus, who are the mother and father of the family. They are wonderful. So welcoming, warm, and caring people. Baba doesn't talk excessively, he is a soft spoken man, but is very intelligent and curious. Mama is very motherly, and it's no secret that she adores us. The reason she hasn't talked excessively is because of the language barrier. Her english isn't as good. But we still communicate, it's cool. (Me and Leah have been learning Luo, the local dialect, and I must say we're learning rapidly. :] it's so fun. Best way to learn a language is to live there: it's true. )

Joash is the the eldest son and he's a teacher in a different village close by, so he's only around at certain times. There's also Nelly, Esther, Quele, Helen, and little Dorothy. Beatrice is one of the neighbors that's also around a lot. I COULD go into detail about each one of these amazing people that i've gotton to know. But that would take too long. It's hilarious because at nights or in the early morning I just am so delusional!! I think i'm thinking clearly, but then later I think back and realize how incoherent I was. So last night, Joash requested that Leah and I write down 10 english vocab words that aren't used often, plus their definition, so he can learn more too. Once I was finished with that, it was about 11:30 ish, and for some reason I just started writing/rambling.....I wrote everyone's name and described them with many....adjectives.....I then proceeded to the living room and placed the papers on the table for Joash to get in the morning before work, and went to bed. HAHA, wow. (I entertain myself, making fun of the weird things I do while i'm incoherent.)

More generally though, I'm so grateful for the relationships that i'm building with my host family. (And making a lot of friends with people from other families in the village also, of course) It's incredible how close we've gotten in just an amount of days. I'm not kidding when I say that I feel like I am a part of their family. What's more is that I actually AM apart of their family. A few days ago, Mama said this speech thing that Joash translated for us. She was basically saying that Leah and I are now considered one of them now. I had a hard time not losing it, I had tears in my eyes. What a blessing my family is to us, and us to them. Tyler was talking in one of our team meetings about how one of the reasons we are here, is to refresh each other's hearts and be encouragements to each other. I agree. I feel so blessed to be apart of what God is doing here, in these people. I feel so thankful to be used by God here.

Chores are very interesting. We wash dishes every morning. There are 2 buckets of water, one is soapy from the bar soap that is used to clean about everything. And the other is the rinsing bucket. The wash towel things are pretty raggedy but they get the job done. We lay the clean dishes on a metal structure to dry. This is all outside, by the way, next to the kitchen.

Washing clothes is interesting. There are about 3 big plastic basins of water. We soak the clothes in one, then move them to the soapy basin and hand wash them, and then rinse and squeeze in the 3^rd basin. We clip them on the clothesline to dry in the sun. :D

Food preparation: Takes a while, because everything has to be made from scratch basically......I feel like i'll either let someone else describe that, or explain in more detail later, because i've been blogging for a while now.

One more thing though, it's been a lot of fun teaching some of the young adults how to type, and about computers.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for: health, that we'd continue to do our best at following what the Holy Spirit wants us to do, and that we'd continue to bond with our families and friends here in Kenya.

Until later,

Love you all,

Lily Sherer

Flexibility is always important when serving oversees – it is most definitely true here in Kenya.

On Thursday Kelsey gave a challenging devotion at a local women's fellowship and Ann taught the first part of her series. Both went great! Ann however had her second talk bumped and will be doing part two on Sunday. The latest praise is that students in the village were given an unexpected three day weekend this week. So we changed plans for the youth as well. Today we taught the youth ultimate frisbee, sang some songs and then divided the group according to age. The young ones where given the planned vbs material and the older ones received our first challenge about remaining sexually pure. The children and youth are very attentive and eager to learn. We were also able to project the World Cup on the side of a building tonight and everyone enjoyed great fellowship together. Things are going well at this half way point in our trip. Stephen Husk is the only team member how has gotten sick and he is feeling much better already! Here are a couple short notes from Caitlin and Nathan (written yesterday).

6/10/10

So many of you may be wondering, what exactly are we doing about 8,000 miles away in Kenya? So far most of our team activities revolve around the children in the village. Everyday this week we have been meeting in the field across from Dan Okall's house to host a VBS for kids younger than 1^st grade. We spend about 30 minutes playing football (soccer) with them. They run circles around us, literally. Most of us are pretty much lacking in Kenyan football skills, except for maybe Tyler (Nathan thinks he's good though). After the kids are all tired and worn out from soccer we start a VBS lesson. On Tuesday, Ashley taught about teamwork. Wednesday, Nathan taught on perseverance. Today, Ashley and I taught about strategy/God's plan. Teaching has been a little difficult because the kids are too young to know English yet. Our good friends, Seth, Milton, and Joseph have been kindly translating everything for us. As far as we know, we're doing a pretty good job. Our latest VBS task is having them memorize part of 1^st Corinthians 9:24- 25 “run in such a way as to get the prize”. When the lesson is finished, Matt, Ashley, Stephen, Nathan and I lead worship songs. We have taught them to sing “Everlasting Love”, “Every Move I Make”, and “Undignified” with motions. They might be better at football than us, but I think we're better dancers... maybe. At 5:00 pm half of us go to Dan's to teach computer skills to the high school students and older and the other half go to the resource center to tutor kids up to 2^nd grade. Mark, Stephen, Jay, Lily and Leah have been teaching computers while Nathan, Matt, Ashley, Tyler, Kelsey, Ann, Bill and I have been at the resource center. We have found that all the kids are quick learners and very intelligent. Then at 7:00 pm the kids 3^rd grade and up come to the resource center to be tutored and to work on their homework.

-Caitlin Raines

Hey hey hey, this is Coffey bringing you the word of the day! So as much as we have been doing, there has been quite a bit of fun going on, and we thought it would be a good idea to enlighten you all. To start, Caitlin has a trait that has become very legendary on this trip, her fear of birds-- there are many chickens running everywhere! She has a tendency to jump and become startled when a chicken runs out in front of her. We all do miss everybody at home, and other things. I personally miss having more than three meals a day, but as Tyler said, the food here is good! Everybody shares a room with somebody else, but Mark and I have to share a bed, Bill and Tyler think it's very cute. Mark randomly spasmatically jumps in his sleep. Moving on, something that all of us enjoy is seeing the stars. Out here we get to see so many of them, and we can see the milky way glow! It's so beautiful! We also got to go to the cliff where the plateau ends, it's so incredible! When I went out there the sun was about to set but there was a break in the sky right above Lake Victoria, so while everything was sort of gloomy, the lake was golden and glowing! The way of life here is very different, I'm not used to having to drink things that are not water, so far I've had tea, milk, and coke... I can't wait to go back to water... Anyhow, the life is much slower, Matt and I were talking earlier and we decided that when we get home we are going to promise to hang out with people at about 3 and not show up until 5:30 and while they are calling us trying to get a hold of us we just won't have our phones, it's very peaceful not having to deal with them for a while even though they can be convenient. As for learning the language, Ashley knows the most Swahili and I the most Luo. I taught my family how to teach the formalities of their language, I was surprised to find how easy their language is, there are no irregular verbs, there is only one type of verb conjugation, and there is no subjunctive! Here is the present tense conjugation:

I... A__________ We... Wa_______
You... I__________ They... Gi________
He/She... O__________ for example, ringo means to run

Aringo- I run
Iringo- You run
Oringo- he/she run
Waringo- We run
Giringo- they run

-Nathan Ghantous

By Stephen Husk

Thank you all for your prayers – at this point our entire team remains healthy. Praise God! The days are long and the students and leaders are all kept very busy – pray for good rest at night and that everyone would remember how close we are to the equator and stay hydrated :)

Our schedule has slightly changed since our last post. Ann will now be teaching Thursday and Friday and the students will be teaching about purity Sunday after church. These will be great opportunities!

I will let Stephen Husk fill you in on how tutoring and VBS has been going:

On Tuesday we began our children soccer (football) VBS, and our tutoring program. We were very skeptical on how we could teach children who could not understand us but we trusted God and so far the VBS has gone very well. We began VBS with football. The people here have played soccer since a very young age and they are very good. We don't have to take it easy on them because many are better than we are. Unlike many American children they don't cry if they lose or if the ball is taken from them, they are good sports. It is very fun to play with them and build relationships with them. We yell Beet (I dont know how its spelled but that's how it is pronounced) to get them to come to us.

For our lesson, one of us speaks in English and one of the older boys (18-22 years old) translates in Luo. Our first day Milton and Seth translated for us. Milton and Seth are good friends and very good hosts. They enjoy teaching us their language as well as giving us tours of the area. Me and Matt have become very good friends with them and I'm sure the others have as well. We have many stories with them but I wont go into those now. Anyways, Milton and Seth were a gift from God because they are strong Christians and they are very good with the kids. They also know English very well. Ashley taught the first lesson on teamwork. Milton and Seth helped explain to the children how using your God given talents together accomplishes a lot. It reminded me a lot of our mission team and how we are all very gifted in many ways, and we are accomplishing much here in Kenya. The second lesson was taught by Nathan about perseverance. Habakuk translated this time with help from Seth and Milton. It is amazing how these young adults care enough about their village to volunteer their time helping us teach the kids. They could be doing other things but they came to our rescue without us even asking.

The children love our music. We have taught them “Everlasting Love” and “Every Move I Make”. They cant understand what we are singing but they love the motions and they understand the concept. Whenever we jump up and down the children laugh and jump and scream. It really refreshes my soul to see the kids so happy.

Tutoring is also a fun experience. We are teaching the young adults how to type. They know nothing about these computers, but they are so excited to learn. Milton and Seth came into our house yesterday night for dinner and Seth said Milton had been practicing as they did night guard duty. He made such a funny impression and the whole family laughed until tears came. It was a great moment. Anyways the young adults are anxious to learn and very patient with us.

Finally I will explain a little of how Matt, Jay, and I are living. We are staying with a family called the Ogal's. They have welcomed us into their family as their family and we love them. Our living is without electricity, dirt floors, and mud walls. It is an interesting experience. Today we washed clothes manually and it was very difficult for us to do. Agatha (our host) says she does it for 4 hours. We are very impressed at how strong their backs are, we get tired after several minutes! We love our family, and I have found their way of living difficult but refreshing. There life is much more simple than ours and there are much less distractions. The family has shown us the love of Jesus every day and I'm learning so much from them.

And right now I am typing this blog as Tom Odhiambo sits next to me. I have just met him today and he is excellent at typing. He is a good friend and I hope to see him more this week. The people here are amazing and I cant wait to share the many great stories when I return home!

Your prayers are working, so keep it up!!

In Christ,

Stephen Husk

We are here!!

WE ARE FINALLY HERE!

Sorry for the LONG entry – we are trying to fit several days into one post. I will try to back up a bit and catch you up to speed. In the future we will also have students include personal stories about their experiences.

Friday we got up early, had breakfast in our hotel, and took the shuttle back to the airport. Again we had no issues through security and our flight left on-time. Most of us got plenty of rest the night before so we all tried our best to stay awake on the flight to help our bodies adjust to the time change. It was Kelsey's Birthday so I asked the other passengers to join us in singing happy birthday to her and we celebrated some where over Egypt. She had the privilege to spend her birthday in Switzerland and Kenya all in the same day!

After a nice continental breakfast in the guest house we loaded our 26+ bags on the roof of our new 25 passenger bus and headed for the village. Driving through the city in Nairobi was eye opening and as we traveled we passed a motorcade for the Vice President of Kenya, Klonzo. Police Cars, armed guards and his car with two flags in the front – very cool! It was overcast but the views along the way were beautiful. It is much more mountainous and green here than I expected. We stopped a couple places along the way to look at a sea of pink flamingos in a distant lake. Again we took a break to talk to the workers in the tea fields on the mountain sides – they explained to us what they do to make their living. Dan spent time playing in similar fields as a child.

We found a wonderful place for lunch where we had traditional Kenyan cuisine – Mokimo (mashed potatoes with pumpkinn leaves), cabichi (cooked cabage), kuku fry (fried chicken), nyama (beef stew), pilau (flavored rice), sukuma wiki (kale), and chapati (flat bread) and for beverages we had Mango and passion fruit juices and local soda pop. After eating we had about 2 hours left in our journey “home.” As we approached the plateau everyone was very excited. We drove up the small dirt road to the village. This road was not designed for a vehicle the size of our bus but we forged on. We came to a very uneven part of the road that was full of water. As the bus tried to drive through, the rear axle became high centered and we where stuck! This provided our team with a great introduction to the Kenyan culture as children and adults alike came to help. After an hour of working in the mud and with the help of many others we pushed the bus out of the mud onto dry ground. Now we only had 10 minutes to the village.

We arrived at Dan's parents home and were welcomed by many people in the village. Before unloading the bus we all went inside for a welcome and introductions followed by a prayer lead by the village pastor. After this we unloaded the bus and came inside once more for tea and fellowship. We then were each assigned our guest homes. Each assignment was strategic with the host family and team members. Members are with people who are good matches with the host to encourage ministry opportunities.

Ann and Ashley are with the Oyoo family. Kelsey and Caitlin are with Ogutu family . Leah and Lily are with the Ndege family. Matt, Stephen and Jay are with Ogal family. Mark and Nathan are with the Moto family. And Tyler and Bill are with the Bhoup family. All of the families are incredibly hospitable. They truly consider it a privilege for us to be staying with them in their homes. People come from all around to meet and greet us. Please continue to pray for each team member and the families with whom we are staying. Each host family goes far beyond those living in there home and we are having the opportunity to invest in and learn from many people!

We are coming to find that there may not be a “typical” day while we are here. But here is a picture of most days (without the many variations):

• Wake up with your family and help with family chores which consist of fetching water, washing dishes making breakfast, milking the cow, moving the goats and cows to new grazing areas and more.

• Have breakfast and tea.

• Spend time learning the customs and traditions including learning to speak a little Swahili and Luo with your families

• Going to the market

• Playing soccer or frisbee

• Having lunch with your host family @ around 1 or 2 pm

• Team meeting and Devotion time

• Soccer and VBS

• Resource Center With youth – tutoring children and youth

• Dinner with Host Family @ around 7 or 8 pm

• Fellowship

In addition to our routine days in the village, were the students will be working with the children and youth, we will also be conducting several other special events during our stay.

• On Thursday the 10^th from 9am to 10am we will be participating in a House Fellowship meeting.

• Friday June 12^th is the first day of Ann Husks two day Women's seminar.

• On Saturday the 13^th we will host three Seminars at the local church: Part Two for the women seminar, a challenge for the men to use there gifts, and student led discussion with the youth on the importance of purity.

• On Sunday June 13^th Pastor Bill will be a guest speaker to share a message at church and Matt, Ashley, Caitlin and Stephen will lead some worship.

• On Monday the 14^th and Thursday the 17^th Pastor Bill will meet with local Pastors for discussion and training.

• On Tuesday the 15^th will be another women's conference at another nearby church.

• The World Cup begins this weekend and we hope to incorporate outreach opportunities by utilizing our projector system.

I will stop now and give Tyler a chance to share some personal reflections from the trip. Thanks for taking the time to read and lift us up in prayer!

We attended the Africa Inland Church on Sunday morning. The church was filled with eager dark faces ready to worship our shared Lord. The singing was wonderful. The church had a choir of adults and a choir of children. Both sang worship songs in Swahili and in the local tribal tongue called Lou. Our little group was asked to come up before the congregation and sing a song. We chose Amazing Grace and Lord We Lift Your Name On High. We were greeted by warm applause as we finished singing. Pastor Bill was asked to share a few words before the preachers message. A translator helped him share 1 Peter 4 8-10 with the congregation. Verse 9 reads, “offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”. This verse is one that the Kenyans take to heart and live out so fully. I am deeply humbled by their ability to share so fully with us from so little. Each family reaches deep into their hearts and pockets to fulfill the Lords command. I am almost moved to tears at every meal and at every showing of kindness. Our group will learn so much from experiencing this example of Christ like selflessness, hopefully, we will be able to follow the Kenyans example half as well as they live it.

I was able to have a very neat Monday morning. One of the young ladies we live with, Dorothy, took me to the nearby market to purchase tomatoes and a green lentil called ndengu. Pronounced, na-dang-ewe. After making our purchases Dorothy and I walked to her fathers workplace. He is employed as a security guard at st. Philemon girls school. I expected to sit with him for a moment and return to the home to help Dorothy cook dinner. Instead William took me on a tour of the school introducing me to each adult. I was actually able to visit the Principals office without being sent there! The principal treated me as an honored guest. I was welcomed into the office to take tea and bread with the principal and James, a member of the school board. In my short time here I have deducted that all Kenyans are raised from birth to try and make foreigners come into their homes and offices and drink tea until they burst! I sat with her and she quizzed me about the education system in the USA. I know almost nothing about the educational system in the USA! Fortunately I know much about making up facts about our education system. I was once again humbled by the immediate friendship and open acceptance these people show me. I wish each of you could have this experience!

Siku njema,

Tyler James Wrezinski

PS: the food is so good here!
PPS: Linda please take all my pants to the tailor and have him let out an inch!