Kenya has a rich spiritual mixture. Not only are there Christian churches of many stripes, but also mosques like this one in Nairobi.

Dedication of the Shalom Christian Center was an all day affair, with speakers from three continents. Jenny brings greetings from Calvary Chapel Petaluma.

Tom met with pastor Solomon, bringing needed vision and partnership from his church in Petaluma.

Our last Sunday in Kenya meant saying goodbye to new friends. Wayne offers best wishes to Dr. Nyamo and his family in Kehancha.

Relaunching the Merced Express after two weeks of repairs required all hands. We proved the team could pray and bail water at the same time, multitasking our way back to the mainland port of Mbita.

Donna sets up and demonstrates an inexpensive solar cooker (made from waste cartons and aluminum foil). Cooking fuel has become scarce after years of drought, and people were very enthusiastic about using the cookers to make food and pasteurize water.

Children of Shalom Christian Center on Mfangano Island are many of them AIDS orphans. Mfangano is terribly pressed with HIV/AIDS infection, running upwards of 40% among the adult population. Pastor Felix has pulled together a board from 20+ churches to address the needs of the orphans left behind.

Everywhere we went Shay could gather a crowd of children for Bible classes and a game. She also helped in the clinics, calming childrens' fears.

Jim leads a group of pastors in an introduction to the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, a Bible cross reference tool. Letting Scripture illuminate Scripture is key to good interpretation.

Monika inspects a well with Joseph Gesiri. The Zao project out of North Carolina has been digging wells and capping springs in western Kenya and Tanzania to bring good water to many villages. Water and sanitation are the best medicine.

Our medical clinics are run in cooperation with Kenyan medical staff. Here Dr. Justus Nandi consults with a patient and nurse. The clinics are run at local churches, and the pastor meets everyone who comes. When we've gone, he will be their continuity of care.

Marcee comforting a child at clinic. Many of the children associate clinics with getting shots, and were in need of a smile.

Making our way to Mfangano Island with the team from Kehancha. Many of them had never been in a boat of any kind before this. Their prayers were earnest and effectual. It was a lovely trip with a great sunset. We reached landfall after dark.

Esau, Pastor Nashon and Ron ready to brave the passage to Mfangano.

Justin and Dr. Nyamohanga arrive at clinic ready for anything. By the end of the day they had seen everything.

Don assisting Samuel making a lumber cut. Samuel took on the power saw as a personal mission. There were no serious injuries in the whole construction project. Bwana asifiwe! Praise the LORD!

Vince, Thomas, Daniel and Ron cutting lumber for the church benches at Shalom Christian Center on Mfangano Island. The power saw is running on gas generator. There are power poles but no power on the island.

Amanda Price teaches an impromptu class on birthing calves at the Wednesday cattle auction in Kehancha.

Pictures from Kenya

Allan and Pastor Isaac greet the congregation at Kehancha.

Home again

We made it back to SF. Life seems so different here now. Thank you for all your prayers, the trip was powerful, life changing for us and hopefully for some of the people we met. We will be in church on Sunday, come and ask us questions, we would love to tell you about it.
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In England

We made it safely to London and have arrived at the hotel. We will leave tomorrow morning for our last track home.
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At the airport

After a great night sleep, we are at the airport, ready for the 8 hour flight to London. Thank you for all your prayers. We are all healthy and looking forward to come to share our experiences.

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Narok

We arrived safely at the Seasons hotel. The trip was beautiful and we were amazed at God's creativity. Tomorrow we will make our track to Nirobi. Donna is feeling much better. Thank you for your prayers.

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On the way to Emurutoto

As we approach the last days of our travel we saw Simon and the school, picked up Eunice (senior chairman's wife). Donna has been sick the 24 hours, please pray for her recovery,
We will not have internet coverage for the next couple of days.
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Thoughts on our mission trip

This post is submitted by Amanda:

 

The work is done, and we have begun our long, slow trek towards home.  I think every person in our group has said "When I get home, I'm gonna…" usually involving long, hot showers or air conditioning.

 

I've been thinking, and discussing, a lot about just what makes an effective mission trip.  It is hard in my mind to justify spending such a large amount of money on something that is sometimes little more than a working vacation.

 

First, while every trip has a goal, reaching that goal is not always the most important thing.  If, say, you build a beautiful church, but don't have love or show love to the people you are building it for, how have you really served God?  And if building that church is your only goal, you could have just sent money for local workers to build it.

 

Mission trips should be about relationships.  I think the most important relationship is with the local pastor, because they will be doing the follow-up after you have left.  It's great to have people come to the Lord, but if they don't have a way (or know of a way) to grow from there, the opportunity may be lost.

 

As a veterinarian, I have been trying to determine what the follow-up to my seminars should be.  The two pastors are not farmers, and veterinarians are rare. (There is one veterinarian on Mfangano Island, and there are no cars.)  I have decided that the best method of follow-up is to provide a library on livestock rearing to the two pastors, as well as regular updates that they can pass on to their members and other pastors.

 

Third, I think mission trips should strive to have an impact long after we have left.  I am conflicted on the effectiveness of our medical clinics.  On the one hand, you have to meet peoples' physical needs before you can meet their spiritual ones.  On the other hand, there will be sick people on Mfangano Island tomorrow, and we won't be there to help.  So the clinic itself is a temporary impact.

 

Where the clinics are most effective, however, is that we can do Bible, life skills, and even veterinary training in our "waiting room."  I could have brought a bunch of veterinary supplies and said, "I'm a vet, show me your sick animals."  But without a teaching component, what lasting impact would I have?  Plus, how would I know what drugs or supplies to bring without knowing what their issues are?  So, I chose to stick to teaching.  I taught about calvings at each seminar, but the most valuable part to me, and hopefully to them, is when I just asked for questions.  I learned so much about their needs and concerns, and I hope I taught them a few things.

 

So, with my rules above, was this an effective mission trip for me?  Well, my goal was to simply learn their needs and resources, so that I knew what role I could play.  I never ended up using the few veterinary supplies I brought (except for turning my latex gloves into balloons for the children that were crying).  I can't say that I built my relationship that well with the local pastors, mostly because they are not farmers.  But, I think that by providing them with a library, and building relationships with their members and other local pastors, I can have a lasting impact.  I see that Pastor Solomon has a projector, and I'm hoping to provide short animal health training videos that they can show.  This will allow him to take this information to the many communities that he helps minister to.

 

Please pray for safe travels home for our group and the Kenyans that assisted us, continuing relationships with the people here, and that our presence and teachings here have a lasting impact.  Pray for the Church in Kenya and the educational system to lift up the Kenyans so that they can meet these needs themselves.