Day 1 began with very repetitive, loud, and intentional banging. It took many texts, missed FaceTime calls, and two people pounding our door for us to wake up and realize I had set an alarm, but had not adjusted the time zone in my phone and had slept an hour and a half past our intended wake up. I was greeted with smiles and laughter from the team, who while eager to begin the day and get to the activities planned, we’re very understanding of my mistake and allowed me to eat breakfast anyway.
We spent the first part of the day in Nairobi, getting a tour of the city from Andrew who introduced us to all of his friends. We toured the memorial gardens built on the site of the 1998 bombing on the US Embassy, we toured the inside of Kenyan Parliament, and spent time doing home visits in the “slum” neighborhoods. All of the people we met were kind and invited us into their homes. Our team split up into 4 groups and spent time in multiple homes which all told the same story of people who had just enough to live, one bed for the family of 4-6 people, and no running water or power. The family I spent time with shared 2 couches, a twin size mattress, and a tea hutch in a space smaller than an average bedroom. What stood out was their testimony of faith, the siblings we talked to spoke of their upbringing in the church, going every single Sunday for worship, and raising their younger siblings in the faith. Their desire to raise others in the faith was a great encouragement and challenge especially in these homes that are surrounded by trash and septic runoff.
The rest of day 1 was spent in a bus on the way up to the Onelife base where we will be through the end of next week. Praising the Lord for safe travel to and through the country with all our bags. Prayer for the campers and the team as we gear up for camp and begin getting our supplies, games, and lessons sorted.
-Kyle
We spent the first part of the day in Nairobi, getting a tour of the city from Andrew who introduced us to all of his friends. We toured the memorial gardens built on the site of the 1998 bombing on the US Embassy, we toured the inside of Kenyan Parliament, and spent time doing home visits in the “slum” neighborhoods. All of the people we met were kind and invited us into their homes. Our team split up into 4 groups and spent time in multiple homes which all told the same story of people who had just enough to live, one bed for the family of 4-6 people, and no running water or power. The family I spent time with shared 2 couches, a twin size mattress, and a tea hutch in a space smaller than an average bedroom. What stood out was their testimony of faith, the siblings we talked to spoke of their upbringing in the church, going every single Sunday for worship, and raising their younger siblings in the faith. Their desire to raise others in the faith was a great encouragement and challenge especially in these homes that are surrounded by trash and septic runoff.
The rest of day 1 was spent in a bus on the way up to the Onelife base where we will be through the end of next week. Praising the Lord for safe travel to and through the country with all our bags. Prayer for the campers and the team as we gear up for camp and begin getting our supplies, games, and lessons sorted.
-Kyle