June 12th

The people who went to the medical clinic yesterday got to switch with the other group to share the gospel with tribes today, and vice versa. We went to three different Massai tribes. The Massai people believe in God, but they do not know about Jesus. It was crazy to share the gospel with people who do not know who Jesus is. In America, it's rare that someone doesn't know about Jesus.

The first tribe we visited had several wives and their children. After two people from my group were spoke, one wife raised her hand and told us her story. When she was pregnant with the toddler she was holding, the doctors told her that she would have complications with her delivery and the baby would have problems. A group of missionaries visited her village back then and accepted Christ. She told them her problem and they prayed over her baby and told her that God was in control and that He would protect her child. When she gave birth to her son, what her doctors had told her did not come true and her baby was perfectly healthy! That lady shared with us that since the missionaries prayed over her and shared Christ with her she knew there was a God. However, she had not made the decision to accept Christ. She said that she wanted to take that next step and be saved. It was amazing to see that sometimes when you share Christ you do not get the feedback you are hoping for. Those missionaries have no idea what came from their faith and prayer. They planted a seed in this woman, and God used our group to water it. I was reminded that day that God is always working. How awesome that God revealed Himself to her in the way He did. After that woman shared, and we talked with other people, the whole tribe, including the men (which is not common) decided to accept Christ into their lives and be saved. WOW!

We visited two other villages and more people accepted Christ. We went to another village and no one was there, so we decided to walk around African terrain. 

On the way to the bush.

This whole tribe accepted Christ

Christie with the woman who shared her story.

On our mini hike, we saw Zebras. We got pretty close! 

Bishop James taking in God's beauty

June 11th

Today we split into two groups to serve. The first group went to different villages to share the gospel and meet people. After lunch they went to schools to spend time with the kids and share Jesus. The group I was in served at the medical clinic. I did not really know what to expect going into the clinic. I just knew that although I am not interested in the medical field, I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I really wanted to pray over patients if that was going to be allowed.

Ashley, Janae, Courtney, Keeley, and I before going to the clinic. 

Our sign says, "eager".

Top: Corey, Kristyn, Todd                                                  

Middle: Me, Courtney, Megan, Sierra, Janae, Christie

Bottom: Ashley, Keeley, Cara

Missing: Steven and Nikki

"We Are Chosen"

The Ewaso Ngiro Health Centre by Christian Missionary Fellowship

My team got split up into different rooms. I got to work with Dr. James. He takes people's HIV tests and gives them counseling about how to avoid HIV or how to live with it. This is a Christian organization, so it promotes abstinence until marriage. What is difficult is that the Massai Tribe promotes polygamy, so multiple sex partners means a higher risk.

Dr. James takes blood samples and drips them onto strips. These test strips determine if a patient is 

 negative or positive.

Dr. James told me that I was going to take a test. I held back and told him that I didn't want to make the patients feel uncomfortable with a stranger taking care of them. Also, I did not want to mess up either. Finally the doctor convinced me to take Ole Pere Mutarieu's test. I talk with the patient before hand, while James translated. After giving him the test, we found out that he tested negative! I was so relieved. Afterward, James and I prayed over Pere and it was a powerful moment. Ole Pere has one wife and he is 80 years old. I was a little bit shocked that there was someone a part of the Massai alive at such an old age. 

When the patients stopped coming in, James wanted to give me a HIV test. 

I tested negative! Woohoo!

Dr. James and I.

The team with all of the doctors we worked with. What a great day!

June 10th

Today we went to a church near Nairobi. The majority of the people in the church spoke Swahili, so the pastor spoke in that language while being translated to English. The Kenyans loved singing and dancing. It appeared that their favorite form of worship was dance. And, boy, did they have beautiful voices too. They wanted us to sing a song for them, so we sang "Our God" by Chris Tomlin.. we kind of butchered it. That's what happens when you don't practice. They probably were not very impressed. After the service, there was a time of prayer that I loved. The pastor had anyone who needed prayer to come forward, and we prayed over people in groups. I know how important prayer is. This moment reminded me of how my church at home has a time of prayer. People who want to give their life to Christ for the first time or need prayer come up at the end of every service we have. When prayer time was over we got to interact with the Kenyans. Since the church was celebrating their founding anniversary, there was a feast.

A pastor speaking with a translator

Todd speaking with a translator

A typical meal- goat, potatoes, rice

Coke is always an option- they love it!

Nikki and I at the feast

Corey, Sierra, Keeley, & Cara

June 9th

Today we finally landed in Nairobi. For some reason, I didn't expect Kenya to have much of a city. Nairobi reminded me of somewhere in Florida because of the palm trees, heat, and colorful buildings.

Missions of Hope lovingly provided transportation for us.

A beautiful home in Nairobi

We stayed in this villa.

Keeley and I had a room together. It was nice to have a bed after the long plane rides.

We took a trip to the slums, which is the poorest part of the city

Some Kenyans live in homes like these

Some children taking a stroll

All of the trash

I love the redeemed sign in the background

My team got to see the result of our church's 2010 Christmas offering being put towards a new school in Nairobi. Some men were working hard in the background while we were there.

Some people in the team decided to sponsor children. Cara got to meet her new little guy, James!

A little girl and her baby sister

June 8th

After a long flight, the team landed in London and had a 14 hour layover until we were to depart to Kenya. Instead of laying around the airport, we got to explore London a little bit. We toured the Windsor Castle for most of the day and then we returned to the airport and waited for our next flight.

The Windsor Castle

We stopped for coffee here... it was cold!

The team in front of the castle

A dream pic of mine.... with a guard!

London beauty

June 7th

The team met up at the church to go to the Indy airport. From the airport we would fly to JFK in New York and then to Heathrow in London. These flights were long and tiring. They were good for our team to get to know each other. My sleeping pills helped me get the rest needed. Other people on my team could not sleep and ended up staying awake the whole time.

Loading up one of the vehicles

My plane ticket!

Waiting around in the Indy Airport

When we arrived in NY, we could see the city!