Amazing Community

This morning we drove to the rural village of Kabarak.  This village had lots of problems with alcoholism and prostitution, but about a year ago All Nations Church, the church in Nakuru that Joe and Molly are a part of, planted a church in Kabarak.  The church building that was constructed not only serves as a place of worship but also as a nursery school and a community center.  The church has become the heart of the village and the transformation has been remarkable.

As a rural community they rely on agriculture to survive.  The last couple of years have been very dry, and this year again the rainy season has been short.  Crops are failing and many of the people in the village are hungry.

We arrived and went into the church building where about 40 children under the age of 6 and 40 adults had gathered.  We were welcomed warmly, and a group of the children sang a song for us.  By the way, you know you’re in a rural church when you glance outside and see cows strolling two feet away from the window.  Anyways…

It’s difficult for children to pay attention when they’re hungry, so next we had snack time.  We passed out little packages of cookies they called “biscuits.”

Jennifer then led the children in a craft and Bible lesson.  She had the children break into 5 small groups, and some of the “mamas” helped the children make bead bracelets.  They each got a string and put on a gold bead, followed by a back bead, a red bead, a white bead, and finally a green bead.  When every child had a bracelet on their wrist they returned to their seats.  Jennifer then used the colors to tell the children (and adults) the gospel message. Gold represents the streets of gold in heaven, black is for our sin, red represents Jesus’ blood shed or us on the cross, white is for forgiveness, and green represents our continued growth in Christ.

It was a wonderful lesson!  I am so proud of Jennifer for organizing and teaching it.

After that we distributed dehydrated food, flour, and matches to all of the adults who were there.  It was received with gratitude and will be a tremendous help to these people who have so little.  We also gave the young men a couple soccer balls and an air pump.  Later when Isaac, one of the elders, was speaking he admonished the young men saying, “You did not receive these balls so you can play and start fights like they do in other places.  You received these balls reach other young men with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  When these balls have worn out we want to see many souls saved because of them.”  I thought that was pretty cool.

After the distribution of food, we had a time of singing.  All we had was one drum and our voices but it was the best worship I’ve experienced in a long time.  Not because of the quality of the music (though the singing was good) but because everyone in the room was full of joy and that joy was being expressed freely in their faces, by clapping their hands, and by singing to the Lord without concern for how well they sang or what the people around them might think.

That was followed by a time of speaking and mutual encouragement.  Bishop Jothom, who is pastor of Joe and Molly’s church and oversees the church in Kabarak, thanked us for being there.  Isaac, one of the elders of the church spoke and encouraged each one of us individually.  Molly, Jennifer, and I each spoke words of gratitude and encouragement to the people of the village.  Victor closed by praying for everyone.

With all due respect to brothers and sisters back in my home church whom I love dearly, the entire experience was perhaps the most wonderful expression of Christian worship and community I have ever experienced.  There was worship and signing, scripture and prayer, hugs and fellowship, sharing of resources, young and old, black and white.  The Holy Spirit spoke through many to many.  It was absolutely beautiful!

When it was over, we went to visit a young mother in the village who has a little girl with a cleft pallet.  We are hoping that she will be able to have surgery to correct the problem, but in order to have the surgery she must be healthy and at least 6 kg (13 pounds).  Because of the scarcity of food and the difficulty this baby girl has eating, at 13 months old she weighs only 5 kg (11 pounds).  We talked with here mother, encouraged her, and gave her some extra food so she could try to help her daughter gain weight.

We returned to Joe and Molly’s house in the late afternoon and had some down time to rest before dinner.

Dinner – Kenya Style

We had Victor and his wife Mary, Daniel, his wife Nora and 4 year old son David over for an authentic Kenyan dinner.  Mary made a beef stew and sukamawiki, which is kind of like collard greens.  We also had Ugali, which is maize flower poured into boiling water and stirred until it’s the consistency of mashed potatoes, and Chapate, which is a corn flatbread.

The food was delicious!  And I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Daniel, Victor, and their family’s better.  We also talked about how life in Kenya compares with life in the U.S. – schools, taxes, government corruption, and more.  I’ve said before that Daniel and Victor are wonderful brothers in Christ, but today I also call them my friends.  I will be praying for them and communicating with them often after we return home.  Heck, they’re already my Facebook friends!

Samuel

On a more serious note, do you remember Dorcus’s son, Samuel, who we met at the hospital Tuesday afternoon?  He was in the advances stages of AIDS and when we first invited him to accept Jesus as his savior he said, “The day after tomorrow,” but after more conversation and prayer he had a change of heart and received Christ.

We just got word that he died at 11 AM this morning – the day after tomorrow.

I don’t know if there are words to describe the strange mix of emotions I’m feeling right now.  I’m so sad for Dorcus, who is the most wonderful sister in Christ you could ever meet and has been through so much hardship.  I am so joyful for Samuel who is now AIDS-free and with his Savior.  I am in complete awe of the way our loving God orchestrated the events of the last 2 days to bring this prodigal son home.

Day 5: The Beautiful and the Not So Beautiful <– Kenya 2009 –> Day 7: Safari