Sunday worship and fellowship

Celebration!  This is what worship is here in Kenya, a true celebration!  We attended worship at the NPC Karen church, beautifully led in worship by a great worship team and choir.  You truly felt the joy of the Lord!  Four of the CA team did a wonderful job of sharing a special song, and Samantha sang a beautiful solo to add to the worship.  One of the pastors shared an encouraging message on the miraculous nature of our God, reminding us of the miracle of New Birth.  The church was beginning their VBS this week and had a “preview” during the service.  The stage was filled with children dancing, singing, waving banners, and even some Kenyan Cowboys!!  We certainly felt at home when a group of boys wearing cowboy hats and red bandanas took the stage!  They were expecting over 1,000 children for their VBS!

It is always such a treat and blessing to be invited into someone’s home where we work.  Judy and Richard Mbugua always have a revolving door at their house; it is constantly filled with people, and their hospitality knows no end.  They not only invited our entire team for lunch, but also all the pastors of the church, ministry leaders with PACWA and Homecare workers.  We also had the joy of having three of our dear Masai women join us for lunch, share some scriptures in their language, and sing some of their own worship songs.  These are beautiful women!  With their head and necks heavily decorated with their amazing bead work, brightly colored dresses, they are truly stunning.  These women represent the group of women in Masailand ministered to by PACWA, ones we had the joy to visit last year.  They have never had the chance to go to school, but now they have two schools for the women so that they can read and write in their own language as well as learning math and even some English.   You can sense their pride and gratitude as they read aloud.  Now they can go to the market and not worry about being cheated; they now know how to count.  The director of this outreach updated us on “our goats,”  I know many of you have donated goats for the AIDS widows and needy families here.  The project seems to be exceeding expectations!  They have already been able to share many new “kids” with other needy families, and with the Masai as well.  The bee project continues, and all the families are so thankful for the way these projects have helped their families.  Goats and bees can truly change lives!

Before ending our day, we took a quick walk through the “walking safari” at the Nairobi Game Park.  This is like a zoo, but with the feel of the natural habitat of the animals.  We got to see a number of antelope, water buffalo, cape buffalo, hyenas, an amazing leopard, monkeys, as well as zebras, a rhino and various animals native to this area.  We had two treats during our walk; we got there just as the lions were to be fed.  Our guide took us to the side of the enclosure so that we could watch the male and female lion as they were given what appeared to be a side of beef.  The ROAR of the lions as they anticipated their dinner was shattering!  It was quite a sight to see them tear into the meat; they are fed an average 20+ lbs. of meat a day and still look pretty lean.  One of our daring team mates happened to be near the fence as one of the lions swished their tail, and he was able to actually touch the lion’s tail.  Another close encounter with the felines, the grand finale, was actually getting to pet a cheetah!  This was a grown cheetah, uncaged, and untethered.  We had petted a pair of cheetahs last year when we were here.  It’s amazing to actually feel the “motor” of their purring, the courseness of their coat and see their spots and beautiful markings “up close and personal.”  One of the gals on our team had had a dream of being able to touch a big cat; she got her wish!!  Mason, the 7 yr. old from CA, got a real kick out of being able to pet a real cheetah.  He’ll be the envy of all his friends back home!

It was now for TX group to pack up and move to the Pan African Christian University campus to prepare for the teen camp.  We had a wonderful weekend and now had to change gears for yet another camp week, all in need of renewed energy!