It's 2:30a Friday morning Seattle time. It feels weird to be back home. Part of me is still in Kenya mode (it's 12:20p today there). There was ice in my water; can I drink it? If I don't finish my meal, can I give the rest to someone I meet? What happened to all the diesal, dirt and wild driving? A 2 lane road in Nairobi means 2 cars, a bus, a motorcycle and bicycle can fit and manuever through. Throw in a half dozen pedistrians for good measure. Lines on the road are optional. No one hawking their wares at street corners and during "rush hour" traffic. Usually only the motorcycle drivers had helmets, and their passengers were out of luck. Where did the mosquitos go? What about the grazing cow (very skinny, with bones showing through their hide) on the meridian strips and along the roadside?

The Lord got us all home safely, most of the luggage arriving (I think the Yenokidas are missing one, and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow), smooth flights, and pretty good health. A few of us got respiratory bugs, and a few of us got the stomach bug (is it a 1, 2, or 3??). No injuries. So many answers to prayers.

It was great to see the welcoming crowd of family and friends at Seatac. The youth made the adults very sweet cards of appreciation. It was us old guys who were blessed by the youth over and over again. There were hugs and smiles and "see you real soon!" as we said goodbyes until Sunday or sooner. Indoor plumbing and drinking water from the tap are awesome gifts!

Thank you, Cindy, for being a wonderful team leader. You took such good care of us, we didn't have to worry about anything. Thanks, Dan, for being her wonderful support, and for your comic relief. Thank you, Trenton and Erika, for leading the youth, and consequently, the adults as well (we're all think we're younger than we are). Thank you, Barb, for your photographic and electronic talents, recording events so others can see what we saw. You also have an evangelistic heart and planted seeds whereever we went. You're awesome! Thank you, Heather, for your tender spirit and heart, making us cry alongside you, tears of faith, hope and love. Thank you, youth, for being amazing team members and leaders. You set the bar for trying new things successfully. I didn't hear anyone complain. Your parents should be very proud of all you accomplished with the Lord. The Lord grew you guys in our short 2 weeks together. It was a blessing for me to witness your growth and stepping out in faith. Thank you family and friends, for your loving support and prayers while we were in Kenya. It was a great experience to serve there.

I'm still sleepy, so I'll finish my thoughts when I'm more coherent. Forgive me if the grammer doesn't make sense. For now, thank you all again. Bwana asifiwe! Mungu mu mwema!

Mzungu Anna.

Anna.

Our time is speeding by-it's Friday already. Today we went to Amani ya juu, a women's sewing ministry/company, where they employ women to sew projects for sale internationally. I bought a wallet from them last year. We heard from some of the women how they were able to move out of the slum and provide for their family. Praise God!

We also visited New Life Orphanage, an AIDS orphanage, but not all the babies have AIDS. We held and played with the children for just a short time. I fed a little guy, about a year old, then took him outside with the rest of the children to play in the yard. I tried to put him down a couple of times and he threw his body on the ground and cried. Looked like a 2 year old act to me. I picked him up again and gave him a ride on a toy, then helped him go down the slide. I prayed over him, and sang Jesus Loves Me to him a couple of times before we had to leave. It was sad to leave him. I cried. I hope he remembers that Jesus does love him. It is my hope. It is my prayer. Amen.

Catching up on the mission trip so far

My turn to blog. So much has happened since we arrived here 4 days ago after 2 very long days travelling. You can see from the blogs of the team what an adventure it's been. A prayer request I had given people before we left was to pray for smooth flights and all our luggage to arrive safe and sound. The Lord answered both wonderfully.

Another request was for help leading the worship concerts. I had not led worship before and felt very inadequate, which was probably right where I needed to be for the Lord to really work. I had to fully trust the Lord to lead the worship sets. On Saturday at the Comido School as we were having trouble with the equipment, I asked the Lord for help. Help me, Jesus! We had a shakey start, but the Lord came through, and the concert went well. It was a worshipful, Spirit filled time. Then on Sunday we participated at the Kayaba Free Baptist Church. After Sunday an service some of us set up the equipment for our worship concert while others served lunch to the people. I was so glad to play guitar with Bekah, as she started the songs I wasn't confident in. It's been a blast leading worship together as a team. When a djembe wasn't available, Daniel played rhythm on an ice cooler and a microphone. Several of our youth have joined in as vocalists and instrumentalists, and sound wonderful, even making up hand motions to songs and doing them with enthusiasm. It sounded fantastic! The Holy Spirit moved in the church, filling that simple building with the treasures of worship. God is very cool. I also shared my faith story during the concert.

Our theme song is "A New Hallelujia", and people sing it with enthusiasm, especially the 3rd verse. Steven made our song books and our team shirts with a cool design with the song. Very cool.

Today we went to the Made On The Streets Community Center. We participated in a homeless women's bible study, helped care for their children, painted their common area, and visited homeless teenage boys at corner "bases". These youth live on the street corner high on glue, the usual drug because it is cheap, readily available and helps curb their constant hunger. We walked to these bases with Moses, Anthony and Kennedy. Anthony and Kennedy were just like the youth we were visiting, but were saved off the streets by the community center, and now they help get other boys off the street. They have the street smarts to keep us safe as we walked around. It was a privilege getting to know them. As we met the youth, they were very respectful, and introduced themselves to us, and we to them. It took a little getting used to shaking hands or fist bumping them, yet I know that was what I needed to do. I remembered Jesus did not hold back in reaching out to people. He didn't require them to wash their hands or fix their lives before He spent time with them. I was glad to meet them and work with Anthony, Kennedy and Moses. I did wash my hands later. :) Right before we left, our youth taught Anthony and Kennedy Ultimate Ninja, and they had a blast!

Tomorrow will be a full day as we head up to "The Farm" where the boys who are rehabbed off the street are housed, schooled, trained, some for 4 years. We will be putting on another concert, helping with projects, and our youth will put on a drama they have been rehearsing hard on. It will be a great time.

It's been a good mission trip. We've had different opportunities to serve with Mike and Trish Hyodo in different ministries. It's also been good getting to know the team, both the youth and other old folks. God is good, and I look forward to the rest of our time together. I do miss my family very much, and wish they were here with me. Lord willing, Rebecca will make it to Kauai without any problems. Praying so.

Bwana asifiwe! Praise the Lord.

Anna.

T minus 36 hours

We started the day being commissioned at both services. It's amazing being prayed for by the whole church. We spent the rest of day sorting, packing, unpacking, reorganizing, weighing luggages, practicing singing, eating lunch, and just getting ready. It feels like we're packing for Africa! Pray for all the details. Pray for the flights's details too. I get motion sickness so smooth flights would be a godsend. P
Pray for our families we leave behind too. Here we come!