Carol Peirce thoughts on Kenya

                  Upon arriving in Nairobi, it was comforting to see the smiling face of “papa” John Crews greeting us at the airport!  The next morning we began our mission with a visit to the Salvation Army compound on the edge of Kibera slum, where several hundred kids were waiting to meet with us and worship.  I definitely choked back tears (deciding that tears would do no one any good – but smiles would!) as I entered the chapel and saw all of the children singing and praising God.  What a blessing they were to see.  It was my first look at the poverty, and some illness, that are everyday life for these kids. 

                  On Monday our team arrived at the campus and we began registration for Teen Camp.  As I registered the different teens, I prayed that God would send the ones to me that He wanted in my small group.  My group of 6 girls were: Eunice, Eurelia, Anastasia, Maureen, Centrin, and Doris.  At first Centrin wouldn’t stop holding my hand and clinging to my side.  Then as the week went on and she made friends and got comfortable, she was all over the place and rarely clinging to me!  Many of the girls were very quiet and shy, as was the local adult mentor, Beatrice.  I later learned from Beatrice that we were the first white people she had ever met.  I learned to take my time with the girls, and allow them the time to connect with me.

                  For the afternoon sessions with all of the girls, I did the teaching on Forgiveness and Reconciliation.  Of course, my dilemma before I even arrived was, “Who am I to teach these kids, who have lost so much, on forgiveness?”  But I felt the Lord clearly say to me, “My word is true for everyone.”  He just wanted me to teach them His truth, and leave the results to Him.  In the Wednesday session, one of our leaders shared her personal story of pain and forgiveness.  Her openness and vulnerability opened up their hearts to also begin sharing their stories.  As we sat outside in the grass in a big circle, the circle got closer and closer together as we listened to girls sharing.  One of the girls shared that she wasn’t sure she would even have a home to go home to after camp, after being repeatedly abandoned and rejected by relatives.  Another girl told of abandonment, rape, incest, beatings, and more abandonment.  You could have heard a pin drop.  There was an incredible period of time when, as a whole, we just all wept together and released our sorrow and pain.  It was like a wave of sorrow.  This went on for a while as we allowed the girls to take time to just weep together.  Afterwards many of the girls met one- on -one with the leaders, privately shared their own stories, and the leaders prayed for them.  There was a beautiful move of the Holy Spirit in that session, and we believe that it was the start of healing for many of these girls.  

                  On mission trips, you are not always sure if you made a difference, if lives were changed, or if people grew closer to God as a result.  I may not know how many people were impacted by this Teen Camp, but I do know one thing for sure:  some were.  Some were.  I could see it in their faces – and I read it in their private notes to us.  It was a privilege and an honor to meet with the children of Kenya.  They made a difference to me, my life was changed, and I grew closer to God.  Wow, who were the missionaries? 

                  I’ll close with a note from one of the girls: “Lord, I want to say that I love you for your care and for giving us food and for the dream.  Sometimes we can call you our father and I love you.  Lord, don’t forget me because I love you.  I want you to take me to a place where I can eat and have fun.  Lord, I can’t leave you and you don’t leave me.  I thank you father.”

Final thoughts from Rachel Jewett

I was blessed to have the opportunity to return to Kenya for the second time this year.  And once again, God opened my eyes to a group of people who seek Him for everything and find so much comfort in knowing that He is walking with them every step of the way.  

At the camp the second week, we split up into all guys and all girls, and tried to offer insight on forgiveness and reconciliation.  God began breaking down walls that these teenage girls have built up for so many years around their hearts.  As girls began to share pieces of their life stories about being raped, abused, not having money for school, and being homeless, I looked around and the entire group of girls were crying.  They could ALL relate.  They were able to see that they weren't alone.  The walls were coming down.  Finally.  We weren't able to fix anything.  We weren't able to say anything to make their situations better.  All we could do was pray.  And honestly, I think that's all they were looking for from us.  They just wanted someone to listen, and someone to pray.  We gave them the opportunity the next day to begin to forgive the people in their lives who have hurt them.  They spread out and began to pray for the strength to do this.  It

 was amazing to see each of them take steps towards healing.

It's so easy to come back and get into our daily routines, and get caught up in the things of "our" world.  As they left on Friday, several came up and said to me, "Please don't forget me.  Please pray for me and my family."  

I pray I don't forget.  I pray that their stories and their faces never leave my mind.  And I pray that their circumstances and struggles will be a reminder of God's faithfulness as He continues to care for His people.

Final thoughts from the Wegner family

Sam’s new hope

            The thing that struck me the most about the teens I met in Kenya was how similar they were to my friends in the States. I spent most of my time trying to get to know the girls. Like most girls, they liked to sit around, talk, do their nails, and sing and dance.  Needless to say, we got along pretty well together. However, it wasn’t until I found what life was like for them back home that I realized that they were truly more alone than most American girls. Many of these girls have only one parent, if any. Those who are orphans usually have younger siblings that they have to take care of and provide for. Many girls I talked to move from house to house because they have no direct family to take care of them anymore. The people they live with don’t really care about them and view them as just another mouth to feed. As a result, they live such lonely lives because they can’t find anyone to love them. As my time with them drew to  a close, I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to my family and friends in Texas while these girls would be returning to lives filled with loneliness and hopelessness in Kibera. I felt so helpless, but then Christ reminded me of who He is. He reminded me that He is Father to the fatherless. He loves these girls so much more than I ever could and He has a specific plan for each and every one of them. With this knowledge, I continue to pray with hope for my sisters in Kenya because I know that God is watching them.

Delisa’s Reflections

                One of the things that was encouraging to me, was the teens hope  and joy in the Lord.   Like Samantha said,  so many of these kids live in desperate situations, but they still have joy and hope in who God is .   One of my favorite things at camp was to hear the teens sing.   They love to sing!! They have motions for every song and it is like an aerobic workout every song service.    You can hear their joy, but also their cry for God and His provision in just about every song that they sing.   It is very moving and powerful.   

               One of the very special  things that we got to do at one of the first church services at camp was to give each teen  their own New Testament.   With each Bible that we gave, we got to pray with each teen.  One of the boys that I gave a Bible to, to take home, smiled and said, “Now when I go to bed, I can read it and have peace and not be afraid.”  It is very hard to pray without crying after hearing that.

                An unexpected blessing of the trip, was God helping me understand more of my own boys culture.  Even though Kenya and Ethiopia are two different countries, there are a lot of similarities.  Sometimes I felt like I was watching my own kids.  It also reminded me of and encouraged me in our call to adopt David, Sammy and Karissa.  God’s plan is perfect and wonderful, and it is truly amazing to follow Him step by step.

Josiah’s Perspective

            It’s hard to sum up everything that went on in the trip. But I think that the most memorable thing that happened was the many talks I had with the Kenyans during the teen week. Before we left for Kenya, I had expected the Kenyan teens to be so different from the teens in America. But the more I talked and hung out with them the more I realized how similar we were. Sure our culture and circumstances were different, but yet I was still able to relate to them. I was still able to talk about personal struggles I had as a teen in America and they were still able to relate as teens in Kenya. It made me think about things with a new perspective. Now when I think about the poverty and injustice being done in Kenya, I realize that these people are not so different but instead are just like me. They need someone to love them. They need to be valued.

            One other thing I got to do while I was there was talk to a Kenyan named Chris. Chris lead the worship for the kids and youth and also did a lot of other random things. He is by far the most high energy person I have ever met. During the teen camp he would come into the room were I was staying every night and just talk to me for like an hour.  It was kind of funny because I was always exhausted and just about ready to collapse at the end of the day and he would come by my room, open the door, and just sit down right beside me and start talking. But I’m glad he did. It was very encouraging to me and I will never forget some of the stuff he said, especially one thing in particular. One night I asked him if he was ever tired and how he had so much energy. He told me that he was tired a lot, but when he is, he prays to God for energy and God always gives it to him. He said he wanted to go all out for God while he was on the earth. He wanted to live the extreme Christian life. One where every second is spent trying to bring God glory. When you are living a life driven by that purpose, how can you let being tired stop you? This was very convicting to me since most of the time all I want to do after I wake up is eat and then go back to bed. It made me realize that time on this earth really is short and I need to spend it wisely by living for God every single second.

Final Thanks

              Thank you so much for sending us to Kenya and for praying for us while we were there.  As a mom, it was amazing to be there ministering beside  Sam and Josiah.  It is a memory that I will not forget.  The people of Africa are capturing more and more of our hearts.  God is doing some wonderful things in Kenya and  the church there.  But the need is so great, especially among the teens, AIDS widows and children  of Kibera.  Please pray for the mentors and the ministries that work with these precious people every day.   Please also pray that we will walk closer  and closer with Jesus and follow wherever He leads us. 

In Christ,

Delisa, Samantha and Josiah