Kayla Balangue

Team East Africa A landed safely in California on Tuesday afternoon! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for this team throughout their journey. It is clear that the Lord was answering prayers throughout their trip and we know they would not have had this experience without your faithful support.

Please continue to be praying for the East Africa A team as they re-enter the US and experience jet lag and reverse culture shock. Pray that they remain encouraged by their time in East Africa and that their faith would be strengthened even as they return to their regular rhythms and routines.

Make sure to ask your team member about their experience and how you can be praying for them and supporting them specifically! We thank you all!

Hey all!! As our trip comes to a close, we are making the best of each and every moment that is left. Here is a break down of how our week ended. 😄

Thursday was a full day of serving at the hospice, VBS, and a visit with friends. After breakfast at our outreach host family’s place we walked a couple of miles on the red dirt roads to the hospice. The Gluck family left for a home visit with a pastor friend and the others were there helping out in any way possible ie. cooking, playing with kids, home visits, talking with guests there, and worship. The afternoon we served over 230 kids during VBS at Brook of Faith. We focused on the fruit of the spirit: goodness and told ‘The Good Samaritan’ story. One of our favorite moments was singing the song, “I thank God”- the spirit was electric and hearing kids singing at the top of their lungs gave us chills. After VBS the teachers graciously invited us to stay for chai tea. Later that night we were invited over to a ELI pastor’s home where his wife made the most amazing African food! She must have spent the entire day cooking. In fact the outreach team saw her at the market early that same morning. At dinner the family shared of their long relationship with D.Gluck and appreciation for his heart to serve in any capacity. 

Friday was our last day in the village. With our departure upon us,  the morning was somber and a bit frantic as we prepared for our last day of VBS & goodbyes. We had created so many memories, friends, and saw into a world we didn’t understand before. And now we feel apart of the village especially with our new names given by the bishop (mentioned in a previous update). The hospice put on a worship filled ceremony which involved singing, special messages from the people we worked alongside, and a ceremonial Eastern African send-off. The ladies were wrapped in a long skirt with beautiful prints on them, bracelets, and a small gift. And the gents were dressed in an off the shoulder gown and were given bracelets and a smalll gift as well. Next was VBS but we had a special time planned for the kiddos. The story for that day was Jesus’ crucifixion to represent LOVE as the fruit of the spirit. After all worshipping together the team split in their groups and stations. Hannah, Deb, Daniel and Titus rotated with their teams that they had bonded with through the week. Ryan at the Games station played soccer, volleyball, frisbee, and hand claps. Music station sang an original Gluck family song J.D. taught them about peace. For craft station with Chloe and Kathleen the kids filled a cross with colorful tissue paper, a prayer, and their names in it. And the snack station with Mama G. had American fruit snacks.  The kids’ big surprise was that they each got their photo taken with a Polaroid camera by Kayden and Bella! It was a joy to see when they found out they were able to take the photo home. VBS ended with a heart felt goodbye from the school staff and kids, followed by a big group photos and of course, chai tea. Later that night our field workers and their families (most are village elders and leaders) and the team got together for our last meal their in the village. We shared stories, memories, and lots of laughs together. The time ended with final thank you’s from everyone in the room. The field workers shared how encouraging our team was to them especially after a couple years of COVID isolation. You could feel the love, respect, and honor each of us had for one another. The byes were tough and there were many tears. But as our neighbors here say, tutaonana tena! (See you again!) if not here on earth then in heaven when we all meet again. 🥰

It was difficult to leave Saturday morning but our drivers had arrived to take us to our Safari/ debrief. We drove for 5 hours through the beautiful countryside and watched the landscape change from jungle to mountains, savannahs and cities. We even got to stop for a quick picture at the equator!  We arrived safely to our beautiful safari lodge and were blown away by the food and luxury of this place. After a late lunch we loaded our vans with pop top roofs and stood up inside eager to see the animals (it felt like we were in Jurassic park!). Our field workers had encouraged us to now soak up the beauty of the land and African animals after experiencing God’s beauty among the people. 

With wide open eyes and big smiles we discovered a pride of lionesses and cubs, awkward but graceful giraffes, mysterious and huge hippos, rare black and white rhinos, entertaining baboons, uniquely striped zebras, and thousands of pink flamingos lining the lake. We took a lot of pictures but we know they won’t quite do it justice. The lyrics from a song we had sung with the hospice chaplain a day before rang truer now, “oh lord my God- when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made…thy power throughout the universe displayed. How Great thou art!” 

Sunday (Happy Father’s Day to all our amazing dads!) we took a couple game drives to see more animals and also had some intentional group time to prepare ourselves for going home. We talked about the stories we’ll share and how we’ll try to capture this experience in words. We have learned and experienced so much. THANK YOU in advance for those of you who will listen and provide safe places for us to share!  Using our Swahili we had interacted with the staff at our safari lodge and they were so impressed that they invited us to join them for their staff church fellowship time. It was so sweet to worship together as brothers and sisters of God. The “William Jessup choir” sang “people from every nation and tongue- from generation to generation- we worship you!” and the Gluck guys joined a staff member keyboard player as the band. We ended the evening with a delicious dinner and some team time praying and talking about our re-entry to the US in a few days. 

We are now on the road on our way to Nairobi and in a few hours or so we’ll be boarding our first flight to come home. Please pray for safe journeys, stable stomachs and peace as we anticipate our long travels home. 

We can’t express our thanks enough for how you’ve prayed for us, supported us, and for the ways you’ll help us process as we get home. You are a significant part of this kingdom experience and we are looking forward to returning home with you soon. 🤗

Mungu awabariki 🙌🏼- God bless you

-East Africa team

Ham Jambo! Harbi Zenu?

(Hey everyone! How are you all?)

We have some fun updates for you today!! Our week started out with a big thunder storm where lightening struck a transformer. It ended up knocking out not only our electricity, but most of the village’s as well. Just today the transformer was fix and our power is restored! After cold showers, walking around in the dark and preserving water, we now have a stronger appreciation for the immense hospitality our hosts have shown us! *UPDATE: after we got done writing this update, the power went out again so, we weren’t able to send anything out. The irony!! 😄

Yesterday night and last Wednesday, the team got the chance to go to a Bible study called “Fellowship” with the community. Around 7pm, the people in the village gather at a different house every week to worship and hear a message from the pastor or another church leader under the stars. Our team got the chance to lead the people in a couple of English worship songs as well as participate in Swahili songs. During each devotional time, the people have made us feel so welcomed with their warm smiles, hand shakes, and of course, chai. What stood out to me during this time was the unity I felt in the group. There is no “us” and “them,” there is only the brothers and sisters in Christ, Bwana Sifiwe! (Praise the Lord!)

Overall, VBS has been a huge success, and the number of children in attendance has swelled as more neighbors hear about it. Our VBS theme is Fruit of the Spirit. Our time starts with worship and a Bible story then the students split into four groups of 60+ kids and rotate through stations. The stations are: Craft, Snack, Games, and Music. Yesterday was a challenging day. Many of the children are impoverished, and try to steal extra snacks and crafts. Seeing children steal because they don’t know when their family at home will get another meal was heartbreaking. Today, VBS went much smoother as we purchased additional snacks to adjust for the influx of children. Like most of our ministry, VBS has been bittersweet. We get to witness both he hope and joy that these children have in Christ, but we also see firsthand the pain and trauma that poverty brings. As we prepare for our final day of the program, we are praying for strength and endurance. 

On Tuesday morning, some team members (Bella, Hannah, Joshua and Titus)  went on a home visit. On the drive there, a lady from the outreach team gave them some information about background of the family. She explained that there was a single mom living with three children with special needs. One had autism, one had Down Syndrome and the last one had dwarfism. Upon arrival, the mom greeted the team with the biggest smile and had some chai ready. The the mom shared of how hard it has been for her to work and provide for the family while still taking care of the children. Also how difficult it is to provide her children with the right treatment… The team had the opportunity to worship and pray over the family.  Since Bella works with children that have special needs, she was able to give the mom some advice on how to best support the children and their development. The mom was a great inspiration for the team to continue to trust God even during such hard times! 

Again, thank you for your support and prayers during this time. We can’t wait to send more updates about our adventures. 

Love,

East African Team