Jambo from Kenya! Week Four

So much has happened over the last 5 days! I feel so blessed and also burdened from my experiences with Wilshire Baptist church.

The interns and our driver left Nairobi with the team's luggage from Wilshire. We drove about 10 1/2 hours to the very western border of Kenya. Busia is located about 6 miles from the border of Uganda. The further we drove away from Nairobi, I could not help but feel as though I was traveling backwards in time. We saw many women carrying huge loads of firewood on their heads, donkeys pulling loads of fish and even shepherds wearing the traditional tribal dress. Along the drive we saw zebras, monkeys, baboons and the Rift Valley. How wonderful is God's creation! I felt like I was inside National Geographic.

The team from Wilshire came to do a Vacation Bible School with the foster children in Busia and also to hold a medical clinic. Jeff Jones and Lyndee from Buckner lead the trip. I was so thankful that our team of three could accompany them. I was not sure what to expect. Everything looked so different from Nairobi. The people were even more shocked to see "mazungus" (white people) in their home.

The VBS was a blast. The kids were so much fun. I loved singing songs, playing games, learning scripture verses and just spending time with the children. I am continually amazed at their joyful smiles. The nurses in the group even came and provided AIDS education for the children. That was very interesting because most of these children's parents died of AIDS. Some of their questions were heartbreaking.

We had the opportunity to go to church on Sunday morning in a tiny village called Mudoma (?) where the medical clinic was taking place. It was raining that morning pretty steadily. I was amazed that some of the people we passed on the dirt road in the rain arrived later at church. I shook hands with one woman who was slowly walking with a large walking stick that must have been 80 years old. The church was held underneath a few tents that were placed together. Hundreds of people were gathered under and outside of the tents in the rain. All of the foster children (orphans) with Buckner came to church. I had the priveledge of holding Rosemary in my lap during the service. The pastor from Wilshire spoke on Jesus feeding the 5 thousand. What an excellent reminder that God meets everyone of these peoples needs. He knows the deepest parts of their heart.

Later on Sunday, the medical team began to work. The day before, over 500 people were registered. The team was truly incredible. The doctor and three nurses did not even stop to take any kind of lunch break. The need is overwhelming. So many people walked hours by foot to be seen by the doctor. There were huge crowds of people surrounding the tent. In the beginning, I just did anything I could to help with crowd control. Later I was called to help lead the children in songs. Michael, Tom (the missions coordinator) and I sang for over one hour. All of the people gathered to hear and attempt to sing praise songs. It was a really neat outreach ministry. I was reminded of the verse in the Bible that says "silver and gold have I not, but what I have I will bring to you." That was my prayer the entire day. I was open to any way that the Lord could use me. The most difficult part of the trip was when the pastor George and I decided to set up an area for prayer. I had mothers come to me with their very sick infants and just hand them to me with tears. All I could do was hold the children, cry beside them and pray to Jesus the true healer and author of life. I prayed for over a hundred people the afternoon. I saw so many terrible things: skin diseases, muscle pains, swollen legs, huge cysts, people with malaria and people starving. At the end of the day, the medicine ran out. Not everyone was attended to, but over 350 patients were seen by the doctor/nurses and provided medicine. AMAZING! It would be easy to get discouraged, but God is good all the time and all the time God is good. I have to trust him to provide like he promises in scripture for the sparrows.

Bwana Asifiwe...Praise the Lord,
Becky