VILLAGE VISIT #4 – OCTOBER 2009

Whirlwind — that is the one word I would choose to describe our recent visit to Kenya and Kager village. Myself, Doug Kyle, John McKenzie and Tony LeCount left Indy on October 16, spent a day in Nairobi, six days in Kager, two days in Nakuru and back to the States by October 26 — it was a whirlwind, but wow, was it worth it.  When I got back to the States, one of my friends asked me what we did while we were in Kager and my reply was, “We did a lot of BUILDING.” And then my friend asked, “What did you build?” and my reply was, “FRIENDSHIPS, TRUST AND TEAMWORK.” We thought the best way to share our experiences from our visit is to share our three greatest memories from the week.

John and Plister

John McKenzie

- Our nights of worship at Kager Vision Centre.  On Tuesday night when Bishop Christopher spoke, he came alive to me when he was speaking to his congregation. He showed me what it meant to “pastor” to people. On Thursday night he called the church  to go out and hold hands and pray. I found myself between two of the elderly ladies there holding hands and praying. I was moved so much in thinking of how God works and how small He can make a huge world feel when we get together in His Name. Even though I did not speak their language or know what they were praying about, I felt Christ’s love between the 3 of us and I was filled!

-  My visit to Plister’s home to deliver a solar lantern. She is a widow and grandmother taking care of her 8 grandchildren because all of her children had died. Her smile was infectious and her thankfulness was very humbling.

-  Our meeting with the JOY Kitchens women’s groups. I loved how they challenged each other in a healthy way and how they wanted to improve their “group” and expand it also. I loved seeing their faces when they received the JOY Kitchens T-shirts and Luo Bibles.

Doug and Joseph: Transportation

Doug Kyle

– One thing I was looking forward to on this trip was meeting my brother David Kayando and giving him a big hug.  After getting off the plane in Kisumu one of the first things I noticed was David standing behind the fence waiting on us.  As we waited for our luggage to come off the plane, my anticipation of finally meeting David and giving him a hug was building and it seemed like an eternity.

-  Seeing the JOY Kitchens women get their Luo Bibles.  Learning from Lin about the need for the women of JOY kitchens to have Bibles in their language was huge.  It seemed so simple, but something we had taken for granted.  So having the opportunity to hand out bibles to each of these women and see the look on their faces was priceless.  This was truly a GOD moment.  The joy and fire in some of the women’s eyes and smiles on their faces was amazing.

-  Spending most of the afternoon with John McKenzie building the first prototype smoke hood in Kager village was exciting.  Watching the village women accept it and embrace it was a wonderful sight.  The statistics about health issues from smoke are staggering and with this simple device we are making a profound difference.  I thank God for my brother John to work with and share ideas with and the God given talent to build things.

Tony and Caren: Health & Nutrition

Tony LeCount

-  One morning the Champions prayed for the Partners and Carolyn prayed for my wife, children and me by name.  She prayed the most beautiful prayer which brought me to tears. I will cherish this moment forever.

-  I really enjoyed the movie night in the newly renovated Jubilee Village Project Community Center.  We played Veggie Tales for around 75 children using a projector and laptop. I believe it was the first time many of the children had seen a movie.  Watching the eyes and the concentration of the children on the movie was priceless.

-  I was so moved delivering the solar lanterns to the elderly.  When the solar lantern was explained and demonstrated to each person, the smiles and excitement they shared were tremendous.

Ned and His Three Amigos

Ned Campbell

-  My afternoon home visit with Jayne the Seamstress in her home.  She showed me with great pride the school uniforms and beautiful dresses she was working on and shared that receiving a Kijiji Benki microloan is helping improve her family’s life.

-  Visiting each of primary schools and hearing the children sing and recite poetry.  There was one young girl at God Kado Primary School that passionately recited a poem about the scourge of HIV / AIDS across all of Africa – it made me realize that our uniform and shoe program is a tangible way we can share God’s love with Kager’s orphans

-  Our last night worshiping with the flock of Kager Vision Centre.  It was real cool to hear my three brothers share their testimony of what the week had meant to them, and it was a very powerful moment when the Bishop had us kneel and the people of Kager came behind us and anointed us with their prayers.