The Imagine Network

Wrapping up a blessed time at Mattaw

Today was filled with blessings.  In the morning I worked with the guys joining rebar together with wire to make a support for the building they are working on in Mattaw.  It was enjoyable to spend time with them in a relaxed setting.  It is very peaceful out on the Mattaw property.
 
We had an early afternoon rain shower just after lunch.  The medical team and the other ladies of the team spent the rest of the afternoon bathing and taking pictures of the children.  They were so happy to have nice smelling raspberry lotion rubbed on them.  They were all grins by picture time.  Some of the children were so excited about the bath that they just started getting ready to get in.  It was such a tremendous blessing to see them feeling so refreshed and good about themselves.  The medical team also worked very diligently, teaching proper hygiene and making physical assessments of the children for medical records.  God used a serious time of health and hygiene and turned it into blessings!  Our God is so good!
 
All of the ladies just loved spending this time with them.  We enjoyed this day so much, and it will be one of my favorite memories from this trip.  We will be heading back to Nairobi in the morning and winding down for our trip home to the States.  God bless you all and thank you for your prayers!  I'll keep you posted until our final departure.
 
Blessings,
 
Angela

Mission trip update - please pray!

Hello Everyone!
 
The days have been tiring....  We have been working at Mattaw, but today we went to the Baby House and held different children.  We took baby hats knitted by our Senior Ladies.  They were so proud of those hats.  One little girl, who has been there since 3 days old, usually doesn't warm up to visitors.  She is 5 years old now.  When we first arrived she wasn't too anxious to see us or have anything to do with us.  Before we left we passed out the hats.  She was one of the last ones to let us put a hat on her head.  She walked with us all the way to the van.  Her parents said this was a big deal for her to walk with us as we were leaving.  So I was not only blessed by our visit but that this child finally warmed up to us.  The parents said this must be a special moment to her.  So I'd like to say thank you and pass blessings to the Senior Ladies who knitted all those hats last year.  We made it to the Baby House this year, and they loved the hats.  So thank you, thank you, thank you!
 
We had lunch with the children of Mattaw at the Funny Farm.  It's a place where mutated animals live...let me just say that it wasn't funny.  The children enjoyed the time we spent there, especially walking through the jungle trail and looking at the animals.  On a whole we had a very good time together.  The children love to be loved on.  More blessings.
 
On another note...please be praying for the health of our team.  We have all been exposed to the active TB virus.  Pray for God's protection over us.  One person already has malaria from a mosquito bite.  I'm going in the morning to get a malaria test for myself.  We are all exhausted.  We have one more day in Mattaw and will head back to Nairobi on Friday.  We will be finishing construction and taking pictures of the children tomorrow.
 
God's many blessings to you all for your obedience and love by covering us in prayer.  To God be the glory!
 
HIS,
 
Angela

Sunday summary

We were everywhere on Sunday! We had four teams in four different locations. The ladies were in Kitale, the youth and women were in Mathare, the medical team in Kiserian and Scott, Marcus and Mark were in Kibera.

 

Marcus preached in Kibera and 3 people came to know Christ. I preached in Kiserian (2 Damaged Men; David and Peter) and how God restored them. A man I met on Saturday had come to church Sunday and he came up to speak with me afterwards. He said “thank you; this is the first time someone told me I wasn’t damaged and had worth”. This was one of those moments that I had to choke back the tears. I am happy I did not have to say more than “Thank you”.

 

As of today, 6 people have come to know the Lord. We are blessed beyond belief.                                                      

 

Charles R. "Bob" Smith

 

Hello Everyone!
 
Yesterday the teams visited different  churches for Sunday worship.  Marcus preached a message in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya.  Bob delivered a message at Global Worship Center, and another team visited a church in Huruma.
 
Each group was blessed to share Sunday Worship with the different area partners we have been working with on this trip.  A powerful message was delivered at the church in Huruma. I truly enjoyed the worship time and so did the youth.  Each person was challenged to truly worship God during this time.  The pastor preached that the Lord calls us to worship Him...we come to prepare our hearts for a Word from the Lord.  They offered up music and prayer as a time to praise God as well as worship Him.  This church is an outspoken one, challenging you to admit where you are before the Lord...challenging you to admit that things are not okay or all right...challenging you to admit your spiritual poverty and need of Jesus...challenging you to go to the Lord with your burdens.  When you are expecting your pastor or your friend to always be available for you when you need someone and they are not, then what?  Simple:  God is waiting to hear from you.  God wants to talk to you.  God wants you to seek Him not just earnestly, but more earnestly...just as Jesus did in the garden before his betrayal and crucifixion. 
 
I was amazed at the number of people who went forward for prayer...submitting to the challenge of coming face to face with God, admitting that they are not okay or all right.  One of the ladies we visited during the week also came to the church.  She went forward during the altar call and gave her life to Christ.  Very Powerful!
 
Today we are in Kitale with Bud and Kim Huffman.  We visited Mattaw today and were blessed to see the children in the home.  There are a total of 20 children and 2 sets of house parents living between the 2 homes.  The children are so friendly and happy.  They sang to us and recited Scripture...more blessings!
 
There were many different opportunities for service here.  Helping wash clothes...we are completely spoiled in the US. The clothes are literally scrubbed with a brush in soapy water, rinsed and wrung out by hand, and hung on a line to dry.  It was a great time for me to bond with one of the aunties of Mattaw (Constance).  The youth worked really hard laying a brick wall and fixing things around the homes.  They also played soccer with the kids.  The children are so happy and so beautiful.  Loving on them was the best part!  You can check out more on: http://huffmansinkenya.blogspot.com.
 
Overall, everyone is doing well.  We face new challenges everyday, but my prayer is we deliver unto the Lord what He has called us to do here.  Please join me in praying more earnestly for our hearts and lives to be changed, renewed, and restored all to the glory of our God and King!
 
HIS,
 
Angela

 

Saturday's youth rally and deep thoughts from Angela

Hello Everyone!
 
Friday was just as overwhelming as the day before.  I almost had a meltdown at lunch.  I tried to focus on other things to give my heart and mind time to accept all that we had experienced.  I don't have the words to describe or explain what we saw or heard.  They minimize the experience of being there in the homes.  My heart was breaking over not having the answers to their questions...the ones to meet physical needs.  We pointed them towards Christ and prayed for them.  Kim's team visited a woman dying of AIDS...she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior.
 
I have asked myself, "What does God have in store for Kenya and His people?"  I know He has plans for them...He promises them a hope and a future...just as He has for me, and our lives are so different.  Our struggles are so different, yet we serve the same God.  He loves us the same.  Just as I have no concrete answer for this...I look at His people here.  They are strong and courageous in their faith...and it's a God-given faith.  I think in some ways this gift of His faith is much stronger and abundantly more evident in His Kenya children than I have witnessed while living in the US my entire life.  They are a God-fearing and God loving people.  I have been blessed.
 
Today Marcus delivered an incredible message on peer pressure and temptation among today's youth.  It was powerful. Mark shared the importance of accountability among teens and gave a personal testimony about his relationship with Marcus.  The youth could definitely relate, and they benefitted from his words.  The students did a skit that the Kenyan youth found funny.  You can imagine how it went with Mark, Jon, Zane, and John.  Scott shared an impressive testimony from his life as well as a message about remaining pure until marriage.  I was blessed to see God use some of the youngest members of our team in such an incredible way.
 
I am blessed to have you all on this journey with me.  I'll write again before we leave for Kitale.  God bless you all!
 
HIS,
 
Angela

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Below is an entry from Lindsay S.  Suheily, Bethany, and her arrived in Kitale today.

 

So far I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what we experienced yesterday in Kibera [Africa's largest slum; approx. 1 million people].  As we gathered for breakfast yesterday, Bob shared that it was very likely that we would be experiencing the "shadow of darkness" during our time.  Even now, I'm not entirely sure if that is what I felt in Kibera.  Even though there was a "shadow of darkness" of the people living in such poverty that they went daily to search for food and a way for their family to make money, God's marvelous light was clearly visible and at work in the people that we met.  Bethany, Suheily, and I went with the youth team to Kibera, while the other half of the ministry went to another slum (see Angela and Bob's reflections).  We were ushered into the GARA (Global AIDS Response Agency) facility and met with the chants of the young children "How are you, How are you?" which is one of the most joyous and beautiful sounds I've heard thus far on the trip.  We went into the church/school room where a pastor was giving a powerful message about loving and caring for your neighbor.  The work of GARA is to equip local villagers with HIV/AIDS education and teach them to share it with those around them in hopes to slow the spread of it in Kibera. 

 

We were greeted with warm smiles and firm and loving handshakes.  Truly the people that we have met so far are the most welcoming and loving people I have ever experienced.

 

    After a few of us spoke to the group, we were broken into two teams, one that stayed and had a discussion (see Mark's entry), and my team who went to do house visits.  We were warmly welcomed into about 6 homes of people involved in GARA.  They wanted to share with us what their lives are like.  We met both large and small families, each with a similar request, pray that God would bless their families, help them to make money to provide for their families, and that God would provide protection to them.  In each house we were met with the reality of the severity of their poverty.  They pay 800 shillings a month [~ $11 US] to live in a one-room mud hut with a tin roof.  Many of the families divided their one room into two with a sheet in the middle so they would have both a living room and bedroom.  Despite the difficulties they faced, they were able to praise God for what they had and knew, in a way that I have never had to experience, what it is like to trust God for EVERYTHING.

 

     I was deeply encouraged by a beautiful woman we met.  Her husband passed away 10 years ago from HIV and she is positive but is able to take the ARV medication to keep her moderately healthy.  She has 5 children and lives in a one-room shack.  Despite her difficulties in providing for her own children, she takes care of 2 orphans whose parents died of HIV.  To make money, she washes clothing for people for a small fee.  She asked us to pray for her family and that I would not forget her when I left.  Please join me in praying for her...we'll call her Ana.

 

    After we returned to the center to begin our half of the session, our group entered the discussion that Mark mentioned in his note.  I overheard a woman behind me making a comment after the woman questioned why she wasn't healed from HIV after she accepted Christ.  The woman kept repeating "it's your faith, you're not healed because of your faith."  It broke my heart for two reasons, first of all I would never want anyone to doubt the power of their faith in Christ because they haven't been healed by a disease that is plaguing the world.  Second of all, I questioned my own faith.  Do I even believe that God still heals? I know that HIV is a world problem and that it isn't going away, but for them to believe, without a doubt that God could and would remove it from them...that really challenged my faith.

 

    Please continue to pray for those of us here in Kenya.  Today Suheily, Bethany, and I will be going to Kitale to work with Bud and Kim at Mattaw.  The rest of the team will continue their work here in Nairobi until they reunite with us in Mattaw on Monday.  Please pray that God would continue to break the hearts of His servants as we work with the believers here in Kenya.  Praise be to God for what we have already experienced, I know I am already changed.

 

Bwana asifiwe~Lindsay