In His Name, Bwana Asifiwe!!!

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The villagers greet us with song

Throughout our trip, from start to finish, the one thing that gave our group its strength was prayer. “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." - Matthew 18:20. We came together as a team and reached out to Kenya in His name. The five day visit to Kisumu was by far my most powerful experience. God not only worked through us, but worked on us. That is the beautiful thing about a mission trip. It strengthens your faith and touches your heart just as much as it does those you encounter.

The city of Kisumu (200 miles northwest of Nairobi) is the third largest in Kenya and rests along the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world (after Lake Superior in North America). This massive body of water is the chief reservoir of the Nile River and acts as a boundary between Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The team spent our nights in a secure facility just outside the city, in the hills that over look Kisumu and Lake Victoria. During the day, we took our ministry to the rural villages that lie outside of Kisumu. These visits were arranged by a local friend of IAA - Pastor Samson. The group was to visit three villages (1 each day) and on the fourth day split into groups and minister to five different churches (during their Sunday service).

Upon our arrival at the first village (way out in the bush), we were welcomed by the locals who greeted us with song (see the attached video). We began with our introductions and Tom followed with a sermon about the main events of the Bible. After his moving words, we divided the villagers into groups according to age and gender. In each group we focused on important topics such as sexual abstinence, AIDS prevention, The Word of God and most importantly Jesus Christ.

I was selected to work with the children (I guess since I am very much like one). But, that plan changed quickly when a serious issue came to Jane’s attention. During Tom’s sermon, we noticed a child sitting near the front that had major swelling on the entire left side of his face. After the groups split, Jane came to Debbie and me and asked us to have a look at the child. He stood there, face swollen like a melon, as a tear ran down his cheek. To our dismay, the cause of the deformity was simply an abscessed tooth. The child was an orphan being taken care of by his aunt. The problem was being ignored because of the lack of medical attention in the community and the lack of money. At this moment, Jane decided to expand the purpose of our outreach to include medical treatment. The child was sent to the dentist in the city for immediate attention- compliments of Into Abba’s Arms. Jane then pulled Debbie and me aside and asked if we were comfortable treating minor medical issues with the children in the community. We agreed that it was a great idea and had the local priest start rounding up patients one by one.

Debbie had attended nursing school but wasn't a practicing nurse, and as for me, I am only an EMT (but I have seen every episode of Grey’s Anatomy). This meant that Deb and I were glued to our new favorite book - “Where There Is No Doctor.” The patients came one by one, and as the news spread, a crowd formed. I treated the patients from the back of our van. Debbie fingered through the medical book for answers and wrote down the needed medications, dosages and treatment on a sheet of paper. We treated everything from scabies, worms, sores, boils, cuts, and respiratory infection (some coughing up blood). It was an amazing feeling holding a child’s little limbs, cleaning their wounds and giving them hope that everything was going to be fine. I remember at one point, there was a small girl covered in sores (one that covered the entire back of her ear - ripping the lower part of her lobe). I turned to Jane with concerns of my lack medical experience. I had never seen infections, boils or treated injuries like these. She replied to me, “Lift this up to God in prayer and ask him to work through you and give you the knowledge you need.” After she said that, I felt a comfortable calm, because I knew that God was with me and that I was doing everything I could to help these children.

After leaving the village, we went to a local pharmacy and Jane purchased enough medicine to treat three villages. One third of the medication was sent back to the village we had just left (w/ a list for the priest of all the patients and dosages needed) and the remainder was organized for the next two days. We now had medicine to treat scabies, malaria, infections, worms, colds and opened wounds. It surely was a blessing!

What a day, and what a start to our community outreach. Although I wasn’t involved with the group discussions or children’s games, I could tell from the stories and by their expressions that it was an amazing experience for everyone. The children were entertained by Billy’s balloon animals, billions of bubbles, Annette’s unpredictable flash paper, their new soccer balls and songs sung by the group. That night’s group discussion was full of both excitement and sorrow. The following morning we met on the hill overlooking Kisumu and joined together in prayer. The group circled, hand in hand, and each prayed over our efforts and over our team.

The second village we visited was further out and the conditions of the people were more severe. We gathered in their small, dirt-floored chapel to worship. Cameron delivered a sermon and we all prayed over the children. Following the service, we split into groups of three (along w/ translators) and went house to house throughout the village. This gave us the opportunity to see into the lives of the locals. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. As for my group (Debbie and Jen), we came across sickness in almost every home; some of which had AIDS. It is very sad when there is nothing you can do to help, although, they did enjoy our visit, pictures and prayers.

The day turned out great. The children loved the games and crafts, the adults soaked in every word and our medical clinic was much more organized (we saw twice the number of patients). Debbie and I took on some helpers from the group (Beth, Penny and Caleb), which made things flow smoother. At the end of the day, we all set back and sighed at a job well done. Our team had really grown close and our work together reflected it.

The third and final day of our village ministry was just as amazing as the others. Everything went similar, except this time Billy and I did the speaking. Billy preached and I gave my testimony. Everyone who knows me knows that the thing I fear the most is speaking in front of a crowd. I mentioned this to Jane, but she encouraged me to do so anyway. She told me to find my comfort zone and then to go way outside of it. Well, I did it and it wasn’t so bad.

Following my speaking debut, I went back to what I was comfortable doing - playing like I was a doctor. In order to see more patients, we split into pairs (Debbie and Caleb, Penny and I, w/ Cameron as a floater). We had some pretty rough cases that day (I actually had to scrape dried manure out of a hole in a lady's shin). We ended up having to send one man to the hospital because of a severely infected wound on his leg (that was huuuge). We again left behind a box full of medicine (and a patient list) with the priest, so he could distribute it to the people we had seen. He also had enough worm and scabies medicine to treat every child in the area.

The team departed from the village early to participate in a nearby funeral (friends of Pastor Samson). It was an honor. Our group was escorted in and sat down in front of the whole congregation. Tom gave a short sermon and delivered it beautifully. The group sang a song, paid our respects and thanked everyone for the invitation. It was a sad occasion, but at the same time it was interesting to see how different cultures handle death.

Sunday morning arrived and the team split into groups of three (five different churches around Kisumu). Each one of us had a chance to speak to the congregation, but only one member gave a sermon. I was joined by Beth and Jen. The church we visited was a small country chapel with dirt floors and a tin roof. After our introductions and some song, Beth delivered an excellent sermon. Beth is blessed with a vast knowledge of the scriptures and incorporates them into her message. After her sermon, I gave my testimony and Jen followed with some scripture and a prayer. It was all together a good experience.

Later that day, the group came together and shared our stories. Everyone was able to give their sermons except for Cameron (due to a misunderstanding), but this was a blessing in disguise. The guys were invited to join a men’s group that afternoon. This would give Cameron the opportunity to deliver the message he had on his heart. This turned out to be an experience none of us will forget.

That afternoon, the guys piled into the van and headed into the core of the city. As we carved through the narrow streets, it felt like every eye was on us. Kids were jumping onto the back of the van and their stares questioned why we were there. Finally we reached our destination - the home of a local pastor. We entered the home and were greeted by seven local Kenyans. After introductions, Cameron started in with what was on his heart. Now, I’m not going to go into detail about what all Cameron said, but simply say that God spoke through him that night. Over the next 45 minutes not a single word was spoken by the group. Cameron preached from his heart and did not pause for a second, but simply let God’s word flow through him - it was amazing (he is studying to be a preacher and a fine one he will be). That evening, it wasn’t seven Kenyans and five Americans coming together, but rather a group of twelve brothers in Christ (all equal in His eyes).

The following day was the group’s time to enjoy site-seeing and shopping in the market. This all went as planned up until till the point when we drove smack dab into the middle of a riot. Yeah, that’s right! As the group was driving from the market over to Lake Victoria, we came to a sudden stop at a traffic circle in the middle of town. Before we could get turned around and leave the area, a huge crowd of locals came storming down the streets. Sammy (our driver) calmly asked everyone to lock all of the doors and windows. By this time our van was being passed on all sides and the occasional person would give the van a good smack, followed by hooping and hollering. Lucky for us, the crowd was not too angry, but simply running amuck. After waiting a bit and a little police assistance, we made it to safety. Our other van was hit by a rock, but no one was injured. I must say it was a nice little rush. We found out later that the Kenyan president was in town and the rioters were not big fans. The situation was finally controlled by the military. It seemed like everyday we were in Kenya something horrible was reported in the news. We would check the newspapers whenever we had chance and always found stories of death and disaster. I soon realized that we Americans only hear bits and pieces of what really happens in third world countries. I guess I already knew that, but being here and reading about it in the local newspaper made it really sink in.

That night the team reminisced over the highlights of the trip and had us some good laughs and cries. Jane passed out funny little ribbons to acknowledge each person and their contribution. I was given the "New Big Brother" award, since I have grown so close to Kemble and Jen and constantly pester them - like a big brother should. It was their fault though. They keep calling me Jimmy, because every time I'm introduced by the translators they pronounce my name Jimmy. I'm not Jimmy!!!

Well, that about sums up our experience in Kisumu. I know I wrote a lot this time, but I just don't want to forget anything about this trip (make sure and check the second page of pictures). Thank you all for your kind comments and e-mails, it really means a lot. Hang around because it’s not quite over. Next we head into the Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve to have us a little safari - oh yeah! Take care and Bwana Asifiwe (Praise the Lord)!!!

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Comments

[Tyler Reid]

Jeremy, you are so good at capturing what really happened in Kenya and writing it down. It was nice to read your blogs and remember all the wonderful things that God did. Take care!