The Trip - Day 2

We had another awesome day today. The team split into three groups and each group attended service at a different church. Mike L. and Joel went to church at Githurai. The Agape Fellowship Center Githurai church was the first church AFC planted outside the main church at Madaraka. The team from Living Hope that travelled to Kenya in 1999 helped plant the church and participated in the first service at Githurai. Mike W. and Tony went to AFC Kasarani to attend services. The Living Hope team that came to Kenya in 2005 helped plant the church at Kasarani. It was good to go back to the places we helped get off the ground to visit with our other families and renew our relationships. Attending services at Githurai and Kasarani also allowed us to see how the churches are doing and what we might be able to do on future trips to help our children along. I referred to the churches at Githurai and Kasarani as our children because when a church in Kenya plants another church they refer to the new church as their child. We helped with planting the churches so they are our children too. You probably didn’t know we had children in Kenya but now you do. The remainder of the team attended services at the main AFC church in Madaraka. A group from AFC Madaraka will be travelling with us for the remainder of the trip. Bishop Kabachia conducted a commissioning service for the combined team from Living Hope and AFC Madaraka. Everyone is excited to be travelling and working together. The Bible tells us we are called to be one body just as there is one God, one Spirit, on hope and one salvation. Working alongside Kenyans to build relationships and reach out to the unreached people of Kenya is an awesome example of how the unity in Christ can impact the world and our community at home. We are all excited for the remainder of the trip.

Following church services we all met at the guest house for lunch and some relaxation. Church services here in Kenya are three hours or more. The teams were very involved in the services in all three locations. We spoke, held Bible studies, met with the youth, men’s and women’s groups and performed the sermons at the main service. It felt good to rest in the presence of the Lord after such a busy morning. The team, our team and the Madaraka , had dinner and a time of fellowship at AFC Madaraka this evening. From the number and volume of conversations and laughing during and after the meal I would say the dinner was a great experience for everyone. This is a great opportunity to begin to form the friendships that will grow over the next week as we serve together.

Everyone here is happy and healthy. We, along with the churches here, are praying for all of you. Please continue to pray for us. God has already done so much to bless us but there is still much work to do. With your prayers and God’s blessing I know we can accomplish what would seem impossible to us. We love you and pray that God will keep you and bless you until we are together again.