It’s the end of day 2 here in Central America serving alongside amazing people. This morning we all woke up bright and early and enjoyed worship and a devotional time led by Hazel, Cassidy, and a wonderful intern we’ll call C. After eating breakfast and taking in the breathtaking views of the Laguna and nearby Volcano we all headed out to our work site for the first time in the community.
Hector and Will worked on their handyman skills at the trade school.
Jerome and Peter taught PE and played soccer with kids at a local elementary school.
Jill and Jessica got a haircut today at the social work site as they ministered to young women.
Hailey and Sandia taught children how to speak English at the education site
Roosmarie and Hazel helped minister to locals at the health clinic.
And Cassidy, helped women start small businesses at the micro-finance site.
Today was truly an eye-opening experience for all of us and I can say that we all feel like the Lord is moving through us and around us.
We send you greetings from East Africa. Our team is all strong and healthy and we are enjoying every moment here. Thank you so much for praying. We are learning Swahili from our friends and each day is full of exciting experiences and building relationships with the locals. Some of our highlights from the last two days are home visits, evening devotions with the children, serving at a hospice, and touring the ministries hospital.
In small groups, we visited the homes of former ministry guests who are now home recovering. Deb, Kayden, Ryan, and Kathleen visited a man who is paralyzed but after experiencing the hope of Jesus has now returned as a teacher for children at the hospice. The team was able to pray and share with him and his wife which was inspiring for them all.
Meanwhile, Bella, Hannah, Alyssa, and Chloe spent time playing and caring for the children, many of whom have cerebral palsy. They helped feed the guests, play, and sing Swahili songs for hours. Daniel, Joshua, and Titus went out to work on the large shamba (field) with a local farmer. They planted over 30 rows of green onions and black nightshade (similar to kale), a vegetable that we boiled and ate that night for dinner. The food here is amazing and so flavorful. They bring a new dish each day which becomes our new “favorite” and we leave full and satisfied. We stop for a chai multiple times a day And linger in rich conversations with the village leaders.
Last night we had the joy of attending weekly devotions with the children who board at the school (many of who come from the local slum). Their strong, beautiful voices could be heard from the road. We entered the small assembly hall packed to the brim with sweet faces singing with all their might. We worshiped together in both languages and Deb shared a powerful message about the armor of God. The team left so inspired by the faith of the children. We came to serve, but truly we were the ones blessed.
Today we traveled by Land Rover through the rolling green hills to the city to visit the ministry hospital with our field worker. Our team was in awe immediately when we stepped out as it felt like we were in a botanical garden, not a hospital compound. In contrast to typical crowded African hospitals, this place was designed with wide windows, beautiful garden views, spacious rooms, and top-of-the-line care. We saw construction for a Ronald Macdonald-type house for terminally ill children that will be finished in September. The team gathered in the chapel and sang alongside hospital staff and children with cancer who had just gotten out of radiation therapy. Daniel led us in singing “He knows my name…He sees each tear that falls And hears me when I call” and they asked us to pray. While mamas stood behind their precious kids’ wheelchairs we called on our God and prayed for peace. It’s difficult to put into words the spirit in the room.
Believe it or not, the day ended with us hiking through a rain forest with our guides, seeing monkeys swinging through the trees, and having a garden tea party overlooking the breathtakingly beautiful lush countryside. We are being well taken care of and welcomed beautifully with African hospitality.
Thank you for your prayers and support. We are sensing God guide each step of the way and are learning so much. We love and miss you. Love, Your East Africa Team
Devotions at Brook of Faith School, where we will lead VBS this coming week.Walking the paths of our village every day!Have a “Chai Picnic” on the beautiful land of one of our host families. We walked through the forest here and saw monkeys!
Sorry for the long wait for our first full update! Here are some highlights from our journey to East Africa and the last few days of ministry. After a long journey, 4 flights, and 21 cumulative hours in the air, we arrived in our village safely! We are so happy to be here.
Upon arrival, we were greeted with an amazing “welcome ceremony,” which included singing, ribbon cutting, flowers given to each team member, and the ceremonial planting of an Avocado tree to commemorate our coming. D. Gluck’s son Titus had the honor of cutting the ribbon as we entered the Hospice facility. After this amazing welcome, we traveled to our guesthouse to settle and rest after our long journey.
These past 2 days have been filled with rich experiences. A few moments that especially stood out to our team included:
On Tuesday, we had the amazing honor of visiting the room of a girl with cerebral palsy. Despite her condition, her smile was contagious enough to light up the room. She LOVED music, and told a staff member she was sad to miss our singing in another part of the hospital. After playing a few songs around her hospital bed, the nurses asked if she wanted one more song… Without hesitation, and through labored speech, she said “TWO!” with a wide grin on her face. We sang “How He Loves” and an old spiritual called “Oh the Blood of Jesus”, after which there was not a dry eye in the house. We went away moved and blessed by her faith and joy!
On Tuesday night, we celebrated the birthdays of two of our own team members as well as one of our local friends here in the village. The night started out with a dinner that was a taste of home but with an East African spin. A special dessert of lemon cake, brownies, and ice cream (a rarity in the East African region) was then prepared for us and all of the singles in the room were required to dance in a circle around the honored people to the beat of a traditional East African song. After dessert, while fellowshipping in the living room, the village bishop proceeded to christen us with our own Kalenjin names based on the circumstances around our births (which is a great honor for visitors). The names given to us were:
• Daniel – Arap Bett (born when the sun is high and the cows are out) • Alyssa – Nebo Arap Bett (wife of Arap Bett) • Deb – Chepasis (twin, one made into two) • Kayden – Jepkoech (born in the stir of the day; rushhour) • Ryan – Kip Rono (born when the sun is going down and the sheep are coming home) • Kathleen – Mrs. Rono (wife of Kip Rono) • Bella – Cherop (born during the rainy season) • Hannah – Chebett (born when the sun is high, many activities happening) • JD – Kip Kemboi (born in the middle of the night) • Titus – Kip Leting (came into the world quickly, a surprise) • Chloe (Jep Korir) – (born when the sun is just below the horizon)
We look forward to continuing our ministry each morning and afternoon at the hospice care facility when we are doing home visits, and while we put on VBS next week for students.
Tutaonana! (See you later!), The East African team!
Riding Shuttle at Frankfurt Airport
Our last flight across the country!
Titus Gluck cutting the ribbon as we enter the Hospice Care Facility
Team planting an avocado tree to commemorate our visit.
Touring the ministry site – this is their new prayer chapel.
There’s always time for Chai!
Chai time – Pt. 2.
Riding in the ministry “Ambulance”, African style.
Hi Family and Friends! After many hours of travel, we arrived, got settled, and began our first full day of ministry! We can’t wait to share what God is doing all around us. We will update again soon 🙂
