Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit Pastor Paul and the Kayaba Free Baptist Church in the South B slum. The team has visited this church the past 3 years, and has seen the needs of the people there. They were impressed with Pastor Paul’s faith and his vision to grow this church in the middle of the slum. The first team chose to use mission funds to purchase land to build a small building. Last year’s team funded the expansion of the building, purchasing plastic chairs for the church and helping them cement the floors.
It was such a blessing to return to Kayaba this year, to witness the joy in the people’s faces at seeing many of the team again, and to share a day of worship and fellowship. It was exciting to hear how the new building has given them the opportunity to expand their congregation and provide a “haven” in the middle of the slum. You could sense their pride as Trenton was asked to dedicate the new altar to the Lord.
Then Mike asked each team member to share something about themselves and why they felt called to be a part of this team. Having to get on stage and share in front of a group of people, without preparation, is out of the comfort zone for most of our team, but the Holy Spirit was definitely leading. Everyone shared, in their own unique way, how much they had been blessed by the people there, how impressed they were with their faith and commitment to the Lord, and how joyful it was to worship together.
Even though we provided a food outreach for the community, this was the most meaningful part of the day. Having the team share their love, encouragement, and prayers for the people seemed to offer more encouragement and hope than the meal. It has been such a blessing to watch our relationship with the Kayaba Free Baptist Church grow, and realize we truly have sisters and brothers in Christ living halfway across the world. I know our team will leave Kenya with Pastor Paul and the people of the Kayaba Free Baptist Church, firmly implanted in our hearts and prayers…
Mungu aku bariki (God Bless you!)
Heather
(Front row) Erika Yenokida, Garrett Lee, Cindy Ko, Rebekah Ogimachi, Brenden Fong, Josh Chinn, (Second row) Kristine Fu, Dakota Chenoweth, Matt Sekijima, Heather Nakamura, Renee Wong, Nicole Okada, (Back row) Trenton Yenokida, Steve Lee, Dan Ko, Bob Sandefur, John Herburger, Jesse Sandefur, Shawn Terasaki
No comments:
Post a Comment