Thursday to Saturday update – Deb and Deenie safely arrived in Nairobi and got checked into the hotel, later joined by Jeremy. They left early Saturday morning for Kisumu and have since been resting at their hotel in Bumala, meeting up with Langfords. They will have each spoken at different churches on Sunday. Both Deb and Deenie have felt the positive effects of your prayers. Thank you.
Deb arriving at Kisumu airport
Hotel in Nairobi
This year our team includes Pamellah. Jeremy and Pamellah met several years ago when he used one of her Air BnB residences on a previous mission trip. They connected, and their shared heart for Kenya and God’s mission led her to join the team this year.
A key way that our team can be supported whilst in Kenya is through prayer. We have set up a prayer-only email list HERE. This is where we will send out and share more specific prayer requests for and from the team whilst they are away.
Every few days we will also share prayer points here.
June 8th – 12th Prayer points
This week we had past team members answer the question – What was your favourite food?
This week we had past team members answer the question – How did you pay for Kenya?
As we count down the last few weeks before our 2023 Missions team heads to Kenya, we asked past team members to share their experiences. Here they answer the question – What made you think of going to Kenya?
Introducing the 2023 team that is heading to Kenya in June.
During a recent GVCF Sunday service, we had an exciting Missions update for our church community. Including details of the upcoming trip to Kenya, how our community can be involved and stay updated with what is happening. You can watch the presentation brought by Deenie below. Stay tuned as we count down the weeks until our team leaves for Kenya.
Habari asubuhi (good morning).
We have once again come to the end of a conference. It was a very powerful time and God really spoke. Not only to the church leaders but to Jeremy and myself as well. I think my biggest takeaway from this week is that God really is good. He provides us with all we need. The last 4 days have been an incredible example of the joy to be had in Christ despite ‘trials of many kinds’. It puts a whole new perspective on Jesus’ teaching on ‘don’t worry about tomorrow… for today has enough trouble of its own’, when you don’t even know where tomorrow’s meal will come from. Yet, they will still sing, they will still dance, because they know the God they worship is the God who provides.
Take the Busian widows for example. We had the chance of meeting this fantastic group of ladies, who shared their stories of how they (try to) make a living. Combining the little Shillings they have, each year they plough and sow a one-acre block of maize. However the combination of months of drought coupled with months of torrential rain, the crop rarely yields anything profitable. Yet they still meet once a month, pray together, support each other, and thank God for what he has done. Pretty inspiring stuff.
We met with more Bible students, who were very grateful for the financial support they received in order to complete their studies. I would like to pass on their gratitude to GVCF, Parramatta Church and Bethany CF, Your giving is not in vain.
There was a touching moment at the end of the conference where a ladies’ prayer group gave us a few hand-made gifts, accompanied with a live performance from all the women at the conference. Didn’t have a clue what they were singing about but it sounded good.
Jeremy called himself a Mamma.
But then had a great chance to pray for a drunkard who was brought by a friend just as Jeremy was teaching on victory and alcohol. He then prayed with his friend for Salvation. His name was Victor.
There is a legendary 90+ yr. old great grandfather named Josiah who dances like a Maasai Mara tribesman (he has spent 30 years ministering to them so it makes sense).
I really thank God for the opportunity I’ve had to go on this trip. It’s a real privilege to be able to experience these things and learn so much at a young age. And thank you for your prayerful support. Jeremy and I were reflecting yesterday that the smoothness of this wouldn’t have happened without the ‘prayers of the saints’.
Tomorrow we’re having a little rest, then our last church service on Sunday. Please pray God will use this opportunity to speak and encourage, and that we can finish this trip strong. Also that the Bwana (Lord) will make a way for these widows to secure a stable income.
Blessings.
‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds’ James 2:1
Nina langu ni Samweli”. (Introducing myself at this morning’s session. Everyone laughed at me)
Today (Tuesday) we began the West Busia Pastors’ Fellowship Conference 2022. Pretty much we are doing the same thing as last week, but about 40km north. It has already been so much fun! Everyone welcomed us into the church with singing and dancing, and have made a real effort to get to know us.
We had a great weekend climbing the prayer mountain and eating more peanuts. On Sunday we spoke at a couple of local churches again and shared meals and fellowshipped afterwards. Kenyan church really is the best.
Since being here, I’ve realised the average Bible literacy amongst church members in Kenya is very high. Even though we have access to more resources in Aus, I feel they have a really rich understanding of the stories in the gospel. I wonder if part of the reason may be that their lifestyle and culture is very similar to that of Jesus’ time. And so many of his teachings and parables may relate to them in more familiar ways than perhaps the West. For example, this area is full of impoverished fishermen, hand-sowing farmers, yoked oxen, shepherds, cripples and the demon-possessed. Of course, we have this in Australia, but it is rare for a great number of them to all be in the same place, “living to survive”, under the corrupt leadership of the ‘Romans’. We drove past a market yesterday and literally saw a lady separating the chaff from the grain. Anyway, just a thought.
Today’s sessions went really well. Jeremy’s style of teaching works really well to inspire and encourage the church leaders to consider a vision for themselves and change the perhaps colonial mindset that Mzungu (white man) are here to provide all the solutions. God is into empowering the poor and downtrodden. They have been very interactive seminars – see pics – and it is so encouraging to hear testimonies from those God is ministering to. Bwana Asifiwe.
Jeremy called pastor Nelson a vegetable.
Restaurant food always comes glad-wrapped.
Hope everyone is enjoying winter. It was 26 today, quite pleasant actually. The trip is going very smoothly, thank you for all your prayers and support. Please pray that if there are things about this culture (and ours too) that God is wanting to change, that people will be open to accepting the truth bombs Jeremy is dropping all over the region.
Blessings.
‘Then he [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed…”’ Matthew 13:3.
