Week Two in Nakuru, Kenya

This is the second week for us in Kenya. It is quickly coming to a close. This is Friday night here and there are so many things that have gone on here the past week and a half I can scarcely remember it all. I will try to touch on the most important parts.

Driving from Nairobi to Nakuru is a wonderful trip now. A few years ago it was a torturous trip that would take 6 hours or more. Now it takes 2-3 hours on nicely paved roads. We landed here on Wednesday night of the 27^th of June and spent the evening at a hotel, ate breakfast in the morning , visited a Massii market, had a coffee and proceeded on our way. Arriving in Nakuru on Thursday the 28^th was a home coming experience. Old friends and surroundings made us feel very welcome. We unpacked and made ourselves to home. We were tired and needed a rest from the trip over here.

The weekend found us meeting with missionaries both on Friday and Saturday. We met several couples and singles at another missionary’s house on the edge of town Friday afternoon and evening. One couple that was of much interest was a couple from Denmark. They have been here 16 years and built several programs for helping women in crisis, children without the ability to care for themselves, a school and several other works to help with the people of Nakuru.  Others there are all involved in working for God’s interest in those disadvantaged in Nakuru and the surrounding area.

Saturday we met with another couple and their children, several adopted indigenous children and a variety of animals. They live in a larger type house on the north side of Nakuru. We fellowshipped, played games, and ate goat meat and chicken buffet, outside under the Kenyan sky. Zach was able to make friends and spend the night there with Andrew, a boy very near his age. Johnny and Kate were the hosts and some of the Kingdom hikers came along with us. Very fun and we returned Sunday to pick up Zach after the gathering.

Monday July 2nd was shopping day. We fix our meals as a household here and got the essentials for meals through the week. A trip to the bank was in order as well since we did not have Kenyan Shillings for our expenses here. Kenyan shillings are about 83KSH to $1US exchange rate. The rate changes multiple times a day and so you are never sure what exact rate you are getting that day. None-the-less, prices are very cheap here. So your shillings go a long way.

Tuesday we visited an Assemblies of God pastor’s conference and met several of the pastors we meet with on Wednesday there. We also met others we have never seen before. It was a real good networking time for making acquaintances and starting friendships. A man and his wife from Holland were there and Matthew (the husband) gave a great message about marriages. He is actually from the Nashville area and moved to Europe where he met his wife and become a missionary there.

Wednesday we met a man (Jacque) that was at the first missionary meeting the week before at Guava. That’s the local Muzungu (white man) hangout and coffee shop. We went from there to our Wednesday pastors meeting with about 18 Nakuru pastors. Masala tea and fruit drinks later, we met up with the rest of the crew and worked our way home. Noah, George and I went out to talk some more and make some plans for the church. 

That night we met with the clan leaders and elders to develop a plan for pledges, offerings and financial needs of the church. It was a very productive meeting as each member discussed their concerns about being too attached to us. They want to find a way to be self-sustaining. We are like a father to them and want to see them mature as sons of God to care and love each other. We also want to help them take over the responsibility to finance their regular needs. It will take some time to get there.

Poli poli

Thursday the kids went to the fair. Abba rent to a pastors conference in Rhonda and I trained Simon and Elkana on the I-See program. We have 200 glasses to start with and the boys did great at learning what to do as opticians of sorts. This is not a replacement for an actual eye exam, but it does take the same level of care for those with special needs and those who are unable to afford and eye doctor and glasses. These glasses will sell for about 1000KSH (shillings) and will be able to help man who are here in the slum areas. We will do another training next week and include Christine in our training.

Today, July 6th, we went to visit the Danish Mission work that Lief and Suzanna Madsen started 16 years ago. It is amazing the work that they have done there. Several hundred children eat their meals and go to school there every day as well as women who are in crisis are given a safe place to stay and care for their needs. Many have babies and they work at crafts and trades that can help them get started in a new life. We went to the dentist office outside of Nakuru, at a Catholic medical facility, to help Nikki with what to do about her infected wisdom tooth. They we kind enough to pull it out and send her on her way within a couple hours.

Coming home, after we ate a late lunch, we found everyone tired and ready for rest. We had a late dinner tonight and settled down to write blogs and letters.

The one thing that stands out to us is the way God is opening doors for us to walk through. After 4 years of visiting and learning the culture, meeting friends, learning to gain trust and the love of those here in the church, God has started to spread us out to the rest of Nakuru. Pastors and many other missionaries have become our friends and fellow workers. We are in the midst of a large network of Christian workers here that all have their hearts planted in Kenya. We are expecting God to do even greater things in the next few weeks to set the stage for the next time we are here.

Please pray for us that we will not miss anything God is directing towards. Pray that God will give us boldness to share the life of the kingdom with everyone he directs us to and pray that God will protect us and keep us in His perfect will. There are still many financial needs for the church here and the community around us. God keeps putting those needs in front of us. We ask that you consider helping us with some of those needs if possible.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end of this long letter. We are appreciative of all you are doing by praying and contributing to the work of God’s children here in Kenya. May God bless you and keep you in his peace.