Digo!

    This past week we were blessed to get to minister to the Digo people at the coast with our students we have been discipling. Our team numbered 21 people! The students arrived early Monday morning, so we had all day to get to know each other and introduce the beach to them. I taught 7.5 people to swim (still working on Amos..), gathered shells, walked to the reef during low tide, played speed Uno competitions, dinner, showers and bed!
      The next two days we got up around 6:30 am, breakfast and Jesus time, and packed the car full of people for our 45 minute ride to the village. We worked with a IMB missionary there named Michael. He took us to the village and introduced us to Pastor Stanley, who leads the only house church in the village. This village is settled right in the middle of the Shimba Hills and has one Mosque where Muslims come to worship. We walked from house to house sharing with these people. Thanks to God, most of them welcomed us and believed what we said. God just did so many amazing things and we witnessed miracles!
       
     Days 3 and 4 were spent in Mombasa doing urban outreach. Our teams of 3 set out all over the city, where we would let the Spirit lead us to people who we could share with. Very few turned us away. The first day my team was a part of 4 people coming to have a relationship with Jesus, one of which was a Muslim man. Praise the Lord! For the two days God reached 200 with the Gospel, and 20 people came to know him personally! 6 of them were from a cousin faith. I hope you are as amazed at our Lord as I am!

This is Mombasa town at the round-about. The yellow thing is called a Tuk Tuk. Me team rode these to another part of town during our urban outreach days.

 Irene and Ester on the beach!

 Moses, our Massai night guard..

 Me and Joy. She is such a sweet heart!

 The crew eating dinner outside...It was waaay cooler out there..

 Emmanuel, Amos, and Nicolas

 Roy, Frank, and Irene.

 George, Ester, and Vincent. The guys are roommates at Kenyatta University where Vincent has big a "big brother" to a bunch of other guys. They hope to start a house church in there one tiny room apartment. George came to know Jesus within the last year and this was his first mission trip.

 Joy is a Sunday School teacher for kids at a local church in Nairobi. She is 28 and a great big sister to me!

 Photo bombed by Frankie Frank! Amos and me didn't know what was coming!

 Late night speed Uno competition. Thing definitely got heated! (Just look at our faces and the sweat rolling! It was soo hot..)  This is Freddie, Emmanuel, Chad, and me.
                                                                                               "Is it my turn? Too bad!!"

It was done to me and this guy: Freddie. I was talking big since I won the last 4 games... He beat me by two cards in the last round. I am still pretty sure he cheated. Here they are interviewing the "champion". I love how Nicolas is using his elbow for a news camera and everyone else using there phones. Freddie was making us all laugh with his "humble bragging".

 On the way to the village the next day!

 Joy, me and Kasey!

 At the house church, getting ready to set out.

 One of our teams! Kasey, Vincent, Amy, and Jonathan.

 My team! We walked from House to house (really hut to hut) asking to come in and tell stories of what Jesus has done for us. Our main witnessing stories: C2C (Creation to Church), and our personal testimonies.

Funny stories about these girls: We walked by them as they smiled and waved at us. After I rounded the corner, I noticed one of them peaking. So when they weren't looking I ran back and stuck my head back around the corner and surprised them. I apparently scared them pretty bad, because they ran away with terrified looks, but then started laughing. They were still hesitant when we were going to take the picture! After that they seemed to follow us around the village, and my friends started calling me, "Mama". 

 This sweet family was excited to hear what we had to say. They invited us into the shade and sit on their hand-woven mat.

 This is my wonderful team! Pastor Patrick, who lives in the village, Washington, Joy, and Ester. The Shimba Hills are behind us.

 This is the village chiefs house. He has welcomed us to his village and was so thankful for us coming! We were actually listening to the Presidential inauguration on the old-school radio. which was held next door to our compound in Nairobi! God was protecting us for sure!

 The house church tripled in size with just our team. We shared testimonies, sang songs, and prayed over people.

       One woman accepted Christ, and asked us to pray for her addiction to tobacco. She said she had an evil spirit in her that would wake her up in the middle of the night with an intense craving for tobacco. She would go anywhere in the middle of the night to find some. When we prayed with her, she poured the tobacco she had on the ground right in front of us. THE NEXT DAY we visited her, she said she felt like a whole new person and the evil spirit left her! Praise God!!!
            We also prayed over a grandmother's foot, that it would be healed since she couldn't walk very well. THE  NEXT DAY we visited her, her foot was completely healed! I know it happened because we believed in the POWER of prayer and the POWER of the Gospel!
      And last but not least, we prayed over little Janet, who has been having seizers. (I think that has also affected them disciplining her... She slapped Kayla accross the face twice when she was holding her during church. Everyone else thought it was funny.. including me! You should have seen her face!) I was afraid she would slap me while I was holding her praying! 

 Me and Irene! I was cracking up watching people run from the mangos falling off the tree in front of us... Those things could knock someone OUT!

 Emmanuel joined the group..

 And then Nic and Freddie...

 Every night we got to Skype the church in the states who were sponsoring our trip. The timing work our great because as we would finish our day, they would met and pray for us and the next day. This is what we call a "virtual mission trip". Instead of spending $3,000 to send an American over for two weeks to a land where they don't speak the language, WHY don't we use that $3,000 to sponsor students to go reach their people using their native language?!

 We were also cracking up, because when some of the guys tried to Skype they said they couldn't see their faces because they were too dark! So we had to put flashlights on their faces so they could see them... LOL And of course, when I talked with them they said they couldn't see me either so all my brothers said, "Ah!  She's too dark too!"

 And MORE Uno...

 The group!

 The guys (give or take a few more..) Amos, Roy, Freddie, Chad, Emmanuel, Vincent, and George! All these guys are awesome and blessed us in so many ways!

 Being crazy! Showing their "muscles"...

 Day 2 in the village, doing follow ups and delivering water filters...

 Washington explaining how it works...

 Homemade weights Joy is trying out!

 They weren't THAT heavy...

 Little Janet!

 The guys were so precious with her...

 Me and my sister Joy!

 Freddie!! ("Hey you know what SWAG stands for, Freddie? Saved With Amazing Grace.")

 Beach girls!

 The crew on the way to lunch...

 I felt like I was back in Texas...

 Vincent!

 Surfer dude?

 Beach Boys

 Chasing them waves!

 I think we spent something like 4-5 hours in the water...

 Amos! And of course Nic's foot...

 "Oh! I want in the picture too!" -Everyone

 They LOVE having their pictures taken...

 Emmanuel was having fun!

 Freddie! I think we decided he was my twin...

 George and Ester!

 It burns!!! (I love this picture..)

 Sudi!! (Or Shudi to some of us!) showing me how he can swim... It's funny that his arms don't leave that position. His legs do all the work!

 Pastor Kenos joined us for the day. (He is the youth pastor at Kahawa West.) He was actually prepping for a mission trip with some Americans at the coast the next week!

Sand war! It got pretty intense everyone running down the beach throwing it at each other. I had sand in my hair for 4 more days...Thanks Freddie. -__-

 Then they were trying to baptize me... Vincent suggested just to "shove her under the next wave."

 But they never did dunk me!

 Day 3 and 4 of ministry: Urban outreach. We split up into teams of 3 (including a local pastor/teacher). We were sent all over town, but my team went to Tononoka. (I love to say it!)
         This is Mombasa town at the round-about. The yellow thing is called a Tuk Tuk.

 After a couple hours we would return and boast about what the Lord did!

 This is inside a Tuk Tuk. I was soo excited to get to ride in these on the way to and from Tononoka.

 My team: Amos and Pastor Jonathan.

 (Why don't Africans smile in pictures?!) Jonathan story is incredible. It will bring tears to your eyes. He is such an inspiration and encourager.  

 Amos!

 Another part of any mission trip: see who plays the best "lets-see-how-many-people-i-can-get-into-my-car". We managed to fit 11 people in a 5 seated car!

 Supporting Kenya!

After ministry during the morning and afternoon we were all so thankful to cool off in the pool!

 Frank, Joy, Emily Jo, and me!

 Sudi! Sudi! Sudi!

 I think he is still scared of water...

 Irene! she is so precious.

 Chad- a member of our student team of 8 people. He is CRAZY!

 Nicholas!

 Chicken Fight! -Kenyan style

 My awesome supervisor Chris..

 David and Goliath...

 For some reason this reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean...

 argh.....

 Breath holding competition...

 Down to two!

 Winner!!!!

 Chris and Amos. Adorable.

  When we got home we found this on our door! It made our whole day, considering it took us 10 hours instead of 8 to get home. Plus most of us were sick, AND had no food to eat while stuck in traffic for 2 hours straight. Oh well!

Looking back over the week, I realized I learned a lot. A lot about life, a lot about people, and a lot about who my God is. He is incredible. While we were sharing, I felt so inadequate of being there, talking to these people who knew nothing about my life nor me knowing anything about theirs. I had no idea what they were saying, what they were feeling or where they were coming from. I didn't know how to pray or what to say. The language barrier was difficult. It was soo hot and humid and we ran out of water while walking through the hills. Oh, and the bugs biting you.. But despite all of that, God was walking right in front of me. Like a dad who holds his daughter's hand, leading her to show off what he is doing, God was holding my hand, helping me. When I got tired of walking, he picked me up and carried me. That was why I was there. That is why I am here. (On earth!) To share with everyone I meet what he has done, for me and for them. 

The verse that kept me going was this:

"For I have not come to baptize, but to preach the Gospel- not with words of human wisdom lest the cross be emptied of it's power."-1 Corinthians 1:17

I kept telling myself: I didn't come here to save people. I didn't come here to show off how well I can speak. I didn't come here so people can praise me for what I have done. I came here to preach the Gospel with my words and my actions. I am here to trust God with the results. His word is sharper than any double edge sword. HE is the ONE who SAVES people. NOT ME. My job is to step out in faith, and expect great things of God.

That has changed my life. I pray for you, dear friend, that you will grasp this too. That Jesus is passionate about you and he wants you to be passionate about him. Our love and passion for God should just ooze out of our mouth and hands! Our heart has to be right with him so that he can use us to glorify him. 

"Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!"