Watching God change lives in Kenya....mostly mine

Well, I guess I haven’t been a good blogger since I haven’t even been on. Thankfully everyone else has kept you up to date and Erika has written for us. Here are some of the highlights from what we have done so far…..
Day 1: we held babies and cried a lot as we looked into their eyes and knew the difficult lives ahead for them.
Day 2: Erika told an amazing bible story at the Nest Orphanage. Then we did VBS songs and crafts.
Day 3: We visited our first slum today. I felt equal amounts of anger and sadness as we walked through the area and saw the conditions that people lived in. I had to fight back tears as we listened to some of our brothers and sisters share about their faith despite the struggles in life they face. Kids swarmed around us and cried out Mzungu (foreigner). Our first concert and evangelistic time was powerful. About 25 youth and children gave their life to Christ.
Day 4: We visited a Church and did their Sunday service today. All I have to say is that they preach and pray differently. One of the pastors who came and visited was louder without the microphone than with it. This was the longest prayer time I have ever seen. I thought it was going to end four or five different times….but it didn’t.
Day 5: At “Made in the streets”, some of us went and visited the bases where the street kids lived. Some were completely stoned (from sniffing glue). They were filthy and the area was filled with flies and trash. Some even lived on top of the huge trash piles, picking food from it, and using it to keep warm. At the two bases we visited one of the things that stuck out to me was how polite they were. We would each take turns introducing ourselves and sharing a word of encouragement. Then…each of them would take time to introduce themselves. We shared the gospel message with them and then closed in prayer. They were respectful and courteous.
Three young men travelled with us. Anthony, Kennedy, and Moses who were all street kids at one time made us feel completely safe. They used to run the streets and looked exactly like the youth we visited. If you saw them now you would not believe it. (we’ll post pics) But then the message of the gospel transformed them…and things are different. You should hear Anthony preach…it is amazing. Larry, the missionary (Texan who speaks fluent Swahili) who won’t go out in the streets without one of these guys made a comment that is appropriate…”who says that God doesn’t do miracles”.
Trenton