Another
day gone by and my trip experience is getting more and more emotional and
intense. Today, we had the opportunity to lead a Vacation Bible School, and
take a walk around the community and visit homes and their owners. In VBS we
worked with the youngest kids in Pangani, which was both exhausting and
wonderful. The VBS program that we did was called Passport Awareness, which is
the same program that we did during Glocal Impact Celebration week at Mountain. The Mountain team
was split into 6 groups, representing the countries of China, England, India,
USA, and Philippines along with a game room.
To my surprise, the VBS was extremely emotional. The children that came to our room were had absolutely nothing, but yet were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. The children were absolutely blown away by the smallest things. I gave a little boy a tiny sticker and he responded by giggling uncontrollably and then running up and hugging me. When the children first entered the room, their eyes widened at the sight of posters and simple tissue paper decorations. They ate their small snack of powdery milk and a handful of cookies with such happiness, that my eyes filled with tears. All of them asked me the most adorable questions, most of them were about how old I was and what my favorite color was. By the time the kids finally left, after every last one of them gave me a hug, I was an emotional wreck. Even though the kids were years and years younger than everyone on the team, we could all learn a lot through their gratefulness for what they have.
To my surprise, the VBS was extremely emotional. The children that came to our room were had absolutely nothing, but yet were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. The children were absolutely blown away by the smallest things. I gave a little boy a tiny sticker and he responded by giggling uncontrollably and then running up and hugging me. When the children first entered the room, their eyes widened at the sight of posters and simple tissue paper decorations. They ate their small snack of powdery milk and a handful of cookies with such happiness, that my eyes filled with tears. All of them asked me the most adorable questions, most of them were about how old I was and what my favorite color was. By the time the kids finally left, after every last one of them gave me a hug, I was an emotional wreck. Even though the kids were years and years younger than everyone on the team, we could all learn a lot through their gratefulness for what they have.
After
our VBS, the Mountain team split into 3 groups and went into the slums. Even
though it as we had been down there yesterday, the sight still took everyone’s
breathe away. If you have never been to the slums of Mathare Valley, I don’t
think you can imagine it. Previous to coming to Kenya, I thought I knew what it
would be like since I had seen pictures. Nope. The “streets” are dirt, narrow
and full of raw sewage. In order to not step in the polluted and dirty water,
you must hop from dry dirt to dry dirt. There is the sight of people who have
abused drugs, and animals such as chickens, cats, and dogs run wild. Everyone
is outside their houses. However, despite this, the majority of the children
and adults are smiling and waving.
As my group walked the slum of Pangani, children ran up to us, gave us big hugs, and asked us, “How are you?” My group had the privilege to enter 2 young woman’s homes, and share the gospel through the Evangecube. I was able to share the gospel and pray with the second of the two women, and that was such a blessing. Although none of the women committed their lives to Christ then, it was still a blessing. However, one of the biggest surprises occurred when we left the house of the second woman. We walked by an older man who asked us if we could give him a bible. We had none with us, but we were able to convince him to come to church with us on Sunday, and he allowed us to pray for him. Who knows? Maybe he will begin a walk with Christ because of it.
As my group walked the slum of Pangani, children ran up to us, gave us big hugs, and asked us, “How are you?” My group had the privilege to enter 2 young woman’s homes, and share the gospel through the Evangecube. I was able to share the gospel and pray with the second of the two women, and that was such a blessing. Although none of the women committed their lives to Christ then, it was still a blessing. However, one of the biggest surprises occurred when we left the house of the second woman. We walked by an older man who asked us if we could give him a bible. We had none with us, but we were able to convince him to come to church with us on Sunday, and he allowed us to pray for him. Who knows? Maybe he will begin a walk with Christ because of it.
Tonight
was especially fun, as we went to a restaurant called The Carnivore. It was
exciting, with traditional African performances and unusual food to try such as
crocodile. It was definitely a bonding experience with the rest of the team.
Today was an amazing day and I cannot wait to have yet another amazing day
tomorrow in Nairobi, Kenya.
-- Maggie Schepleng for the Kenya Team
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