The next day we went into Kitui. Our first stop was a grocery store where we used money donated by YAFers and other Hopefuls (designated for orphans) to buy groceries for the Kitui Baby home. We had been advised to give food rather than money because staff may think that money was personal gifts for them. The groceries included three 25 kg bags of rice, baby cereal, milk, sugar, oil and biscuits.
Our second stop was for lunch at the home of an Indian Muslim family. This family had been friends of the Johnsons for a long time. They showed us warm hospitality. We could see the good relationship that they had and their respect for each other. Rev Johnson had told us earlier that when sharing the gospel with Muslims it should always be one-on-one, not in a group setting so this was a time for building relationships.
Our third and final stop for the day was the Kitui Baby home. They currently have 47 children between the ages of 1 month and 5 years. After they reach 5 they move to the Mulango Children’s home if they cannot go to a parent or guardian. Most of them come to the home in the first place because they have been dumped. At the home, these babies and young children are well cared for. They have a daily routine including meals, devotions, learning time and play time. On the Lord’s Day the 4 and 5 year olds are taken to Sunday School at the local African Inland Church.
Over the next three days some members of the team were able to go on Gideon runs, handing out New Testaments (with Psalms and Proverbs) to school children. The first group that went out travelled quite far and was gone for about 12 hours, from morning until evening. The next day we just took a short walk to the school near the mission property. On the third day four schools were visited including a rather new one that was an adventure to find. That day about 950 New Testaments were given. One morning Jackson (the Gideon) joined us for breakfast and shared how he and Rev Johnson had met. It was wonderful to hear how God had brought them together and how from that day they had partnered to give out God’s word.
We were also invited to teach English to the grade 8 class of Kilivi Primary School, a lesson each day for a week. The module for the week was on sea voyages so we were able to tie in Paul’s missionary journeys and trip to Rome. When we went for the Friday morning devotions (PPI – Program of Pastor Instruction), it was a joy to see that the children had brought the New Testaments to school and that they eagerly looked up the passage which was mentioned for the lesson of the day to read it for themselves.
Some of the American ladies in the team organised special tea parties for the girls in Bethel and Tumaini technical schools. We helped with preparations for these events. Much thought had gone into these and Valerie gave a devotional talk on the theme “My cup runneth over”. The aim was to encourage the girls and to make them feel special. Another tea party was held on Saturday for the pastors wives, while their husbands attended a Pastors conference at Isovya IPC.
For our second Lord’s Day some of the team travelled by car, others by motorbike and the rest attended Isovya. Rev Johnson preached in Isovya with Rev Mwangangi translating. They worked so well together with Rev Mwangangi mirroring gestures as well as translating almost simultaneously. Before the service, the congregation heard that one of the elderly ladies of the church, Grace, had been bitten by a snake on the way there. An elder accompanied her to seek medical attention and people gave to help pay for it. Thankfully she was able to get treated in time and some of the team was able to visit her before we returned to Nairobi.
The last couple of days before leaving the bush were spent visiting people and preparing to leave. The ladies who hosted the tea party were hosted to a tea party held by the girls of Tumaini at Sister Francisca’s house. Some team members also visited a couple of the local pastors. On the last Tuesday morning we were invited to devotions at Bethel Bible and Technical school and each of us was given the opportunity to share something. We gave testimonies and shared favourite verses from God’s word. Later on the sewing machines which had been bought and assembled were presented to the school.
While in Nairobi we stayed at the Mayfields Christian Guest House. This is a ministry of African Inland Missions. We were able to meet different missionaries, some who were refugees from fighting in South Sudan, others returning from furlough and on their way back to their mission fields. It was interesting to hear about the different types of work they did. One couple worked among Muslims, another couple helped with drilling wells, there was a couple from a Bible college. There were some who worked on Bible translation, a man who helped with ongoing training and equipping of pastors, and also a lady (herself a widow) working with helping other widows. One couple was starting up Cross Fit as a way of building relationships.
On our final Lord’s Day in Kenya we attended the worship service at the Bible College of East Africa (BCEA). It was held in a combination of Swahili and English. The sermon was on Ephesians 5:14-16 and titled “Let’s Wake Up!” Pastor Renny exhorted us to awake to 1) our spiritual responsibilities, 2) the challenge of the Devil and 3) to opportunities to do good.  After the service we met Miss Eun-Young Bai, a young Korean missionary that our Ladies Fellowship supports. She shared how part of a recent love gift that we sent was used to hold a special lunch for the elderly in the campus church. It was used to cook their lunch and buy them some gifts. We also met Rev Kim Kyung Soo, principal of BCEA and he shared with us about the work in Nairobi, as well as Tanzania, Rwanda and among the Massai people.
We are thankful that we were able to go and be a part of the work there for a couple of weeks. The time felt too short. It was good to see how God has been working there, bringing more students to the school, raising up new churches and wise leaders. We are also thankful that we were able to learn from the life experiences of others on the team.
Sis Purdee Yeo

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