The Seventh Day

I have written a little about the weather, a little about the lack of electricity and a little about the traffic but what makes Kenya truly a unique place is the people. Tim and I went to church this morning at Agape Fellowship Madaraka. This is the headquarters for Agape Fellowship throughout Kenya. We went to church and we had church and, as Pastor Jerry always says, it is better to have church than to be in church. The members of Agape truly love God and each other. They welcomed Tim and I as a member of the family returning home after a long trip. Most Kenyans are open, inviting, friendly and generous. They love visitors and guests and will go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome. The family of believers at Agape takes this to a whole new level. They have always made us feel like we are part of their family.

Kenyans also know how to have church. The Agape church was holding an annual event called Outback this weekend. Outback is a weekend camping retreat focused on parents and teens. One parent spends the weekend with one of their teen age children camping and worshipping God. Outback is similar to Family Camp with more of a focus on bringing teens and parents closer to each other and God. One of the guest speakers at Outback delivered the sermon at the main Agape service on Sunday. He was a past from Tanzania that had travelled 27 hours by car to be at Agape for the weekend. He spoke on the love of God and the healing power of the Spirit. It was a great service and a great message. I was challenged by both the message and the commitment of the speaker and members of the congregation.

I am always amazed at the people of Kenya and how they are so open, free and committed to the will of the Father. Many Kenyans live in conditions we would not be able to tolerate and endure hardships we would find unbearable and they continue to show the love of God to everyone they meet. We are blessed with so much in America and still find reasons to grumble, complain and focus on our own problems. God gave his only son for us that we might know Him and His love. If we truly know the love of God we should also love on another, in fact Jesus said it was by our love for each other that we would be known as a people who loved God. Our brothers and sisters here in Kenya are a living example of this commandment. They are using whatever resources they have available to them to help each other, welcome the stranger at their gate and reach out to unreached people, even when the unreached consider them to be their enemies. I am humbled and honored to have an opportunity to work with them in the work God is doing.