It is so hard to even know where to start! This was the greatest trip ever! I took 11 recent high school grads (recent as in they graduated the day before we left), three of their dads, one of their grandmas, my dad, and my friend BJ. I was so proud of our entire team. They were such troopers! We flew through London to Nairobi, Kenya.
When we landed, we jumped into a couple of vans and hoped they knew where they were going. We finally arrived at Brackenhurst in Limuru, Kenya at around 12:30 am. Even at night it was beautiful. Brackenhurst is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. The flower gardens are phenomenal. the hydrangea were bigger than my head. Crazy! The staff there had held our dinner and there we sat at 1 am eating. The next morning we got up and headed into Nairobi to find out what our assignment would be. We were all shocked and a little frightened when we found out that we would be spending the week in the slums of Nairobi. We were also shocked to hear that this is what the people of Nairobi, even the ones who live in these areas, call this area. It was absolutely the worst poverty I have ever seen! We worked with a church called Huruma Baptist Church. The pastor there is a man by the name of Pastor John. He is a kind and excitable man. 
My interpreter was a girl by the name of Lorraine. She is a great girl. She is 18 years old and loves the Lord with all of her heart. She lives with her mom, a hairdresser, and her 4 siblings. One of these pictures was taken at her house. It is me, Lorraine, and her oldest brother. She sleeps on that loveseat every night. There was a coffee table touching our knees. That is where her mom sleeps. The curtain behind us hides the bed. Her four siblings share the bed. Their entire house was about 8 x 12. She told me that when her mom comes home from a day of work where the shop has been slow with few customers, they put the kids to bed early so that they don't think about the fact that they have no food. It was a heartbreaking situation! This was the only place I have ever been where I felt a sense of helplessness. It will take nothing less than a miracle of God for this country to ever florish. This is a picture of the courtyard outside of Lorraine's house. Each house has one of these courtyards with 4 to 8 houses coming off of it. It is a shared area where they cook, wash clothes, socialize, etc... As for our assignment... we were to go, with our individual interpreters, and share the gospel door-to-door. It was kind of scary at first, but by day two, most of us were getting into the swing of things. After three days, almost 50 people had prayed to receive Christ. Almost everyone on our team had the opporunity to pray with someone to receive Christ. Lorraine was a little spitfire. I have no idea what all she said, but she was going and going like a little Energizer Bunny. I would say a sentence or two and then she would talk for 10-15 minutes...haha!
Getting to know our interpreters
Out on the streets, going door-to-door
Woshiping at Huruma Baptist Church
At the church where we were meeting, they have a daycare that meets everyday. These kids are so cute. They are between the ages of 3 and 4 and they are so well behaved. Every morning they would greet us with a loud, excited, "How are you?" They all wanted to shake our hands. They were so cute. They sat in on some of our meetings, where some of the preachers would speak for an hour, and they would sit quietly without moving a bit. When we would sing, they would dance and clap. I think we all wanted to bring them home with us!
These pictures are from a school where one of our greatest experiences took place. Kirk Shockley, one of our team members, set up an appointment for several of us to go to a school and share with the individual classrooms. Five students and three adults went and shared with grades K5-8. I got to share with the 8th graders. They were quite impressive. It is amazing how much effort they put into education when most of them have so little to look forward to. After each class was finished, they invited the eight of us to come and share with the high school. There were about 60 students in what they call Form 1-4 (the same as our grades 9-12). Two of the students shared their testimonies. Then I shared my testimony and Kirk and Howard followed me. I have never heard a clearer presentation of the gospel than what Kirk shared that day. On our way out, one of the teachers, a University student who volunteers his time, stopped Kirk and told him that he wasn't a Christian, but that he was touched by what Kirk had shared. They talked for a minute longer and then exchanged email addresses. The next day, the young man, Bernard, emailed Kirk and told him that that evening he had prayed to receive Christ. It didn't stop there! He had contacted his University and requested a two week absence, which they granted. He was on his way back to his village, to share the good news of Christ among his people. We can't wait to see what God is going to do through Bernard. Please keep him in your prayers!
These are pictures from one of the other schools that we visited in Nairobi.
Ralphie bust'n a move for the kiddos!
