Finally, an Update From Kenya

So first off, I would like to apologize to everyone who is reading this and to everyone who isn't because they have checked my blog soooo many times and are finally fed up with there being nothing new. It was definitely not my intention to be in Kenya for three weeks without a single blog post telling how the trip is going and updating people on my life and where God is and what not. I hope all reading this can forgive me for not being diligent in what I said I would be doing while I was here in Kenya. I am making it my goal to write at least once a week, and more when I find the time and energy to do such. With that being said, lets move on the the stuff you have been waiting to see for weeks.

To say the last few weeks of my life has been crazy would be an understatement. In fact, I am not sure how to express my last two weeks to someone without jumping from one point to another, going from thought to thought, and not taking thirty different sidetracks before getting to the end of a thought. Just to give you an idea as a reader I am going to do something they told me in my public education to never do: use a long, probably fragmented, run on sentance that will most likely make not a lot of sense and seem crazy and unorthodox, but afterall, that is the point.

So in the last two weeks I have been dumped into a new culture, tried to learn a new language, learned how to use public transportation, met new people, traveled to another part of kenya, tried goat intestines, met new people, walked 400 miles (or so it seems), moved in to a guest house, loved on some kids, met new people, won a basketball game, visited the slums, witnessed a mosquito attack, learned how to cook, been hustled, swam at the beach, met new people, been pet like a dog, kicked a cat (oops), walked 400 more miles, crammed into a matatu with 25 other people (supposed to have a max of 14), had a slumber party, hit on by prostitutes (one of which gave us her number), painted some rooms, taught Kenyans how to play BS, met new people, and slept (a little). Just a little hectic and jam packed.

Add all that together and you get a wicked awesome place with some of the most incredible people you will ever meet, a place that you will fall in love with just as fast as you fell in love with Lucy Ricardo. At least that is how I feel.

Kenya is incredible to say the least. What makes Kenya special to me though is the people, the relationships. Notice in my long sentance I put 'met new people' like a hundred times. That was completely intentional. The reason meeting new people is in there so much is because out of everything we have done, all the adventures we have been on, all the things we have learned, meeting new people and building relationships is what has been the most impactful thing to me. Not what I expected.

I am a very relational person and I should have guessed that the people would be the best part about this trip. That is not what I had in mind, however, coming into it. That is not where I had invisioned God being the most present. I, probably like a lot of people going on a mission  trip for the first time, thought the service we would be providing to help would be the purpose for God bringing me here. As I look back on the last few weeks, that is not at all I am here. God is doing something much bigger, something that will last much longer than the paint on the school walls.

It is very exciting to me to see where these relationships go over the next few weeks while we are here and even after we go home. I have been extremely blessed to have met so many great people and my hope and prayer is that I can inspire and impact them just as much as they have done for me.

Orange Walls

It was a room no bigger than a small bedroom. No lights, just the outside light coming thru the door. No plush seats, just small wooden benches. No bathroom to be seen anywhere. Nothing fancy. Just a room painted orange.

Many of us might look at such a room and deem it as boring, lacking character, nothing to be had, nothing to be gained. Probably a place we would not invite our friends to or a place to host a party. A place so simple we probably wouldn’t take it if it was offered to us.

Now lets add something to this room. 75 people. 75 people that love God and want to praise him. 75 people that have the desire to learn more about Him, develop their relationship with him, grow closer to Him. 75 people that many would say get it. Lets add the church to this room.

So many people forget, so many Christians forget, what the church is. I forget what the church is. The church is not some fancy building with a state of the art sound system. The church is not that room you walk into with plush maroon seats, all of which contain hymnals, and spend an hour or two once a week. The church is not an organization or a business that makes money. The church is not 4 walls, 10 walls, or 180,000 walls. So what is the church?

As one examines what the church is, it is important to know where the term comes from. The word church is translated from the Greek word ekklesia. The literal translation of ekklesia is assembly or congregation. Beyond that, it generally held the connotation that is was a select group or people, generally called together, for a particular cause or purpose. Ok, so now that we know where the word comes from, what is the church?

Ephesians 1:22-23 is very explicit about what the church is, what this assembly is. Paul makes it very clear. “22And he put all things under his (referring to Jesus) feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” The assembly of the body of Christ who find fulfillment in Him, and Him alone, that is what the church is. 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us anyone who drinks the one spirit is a part of this body, and that no one is prohibited from partaking. The church is the body of Christ.

Such a simple concept often gets lost in the elaborateness of our modern churches with light shows and huge bands, stained glass windows and big steeples, coffee and doughnuts, and the desire to do more than be a manifestation of God’s love and mercy.

It was in a room no bigger than a small bedroom that I was blessed to witness a church. Never before have I been a part of a church so simple and pure desiring only to praise God for what He has given us and show others around his glory.

Waking up this morning I had no idea that God would use this day to impact me in such a profound way. We joined Inspiration Centre in the Mathare Slums. Walking in to this room I found myself in a state of shock, not quite sure what to think. A tiny room, small benches, an old beat up drum set, and 75 people; not what I expected the church to be. To be brutally honest, my expectations were low. How could God use such a small place to reach me on this day? As is often the case when I put God in a box, He revelaed Himself in unimaginable ways. Never before have I been a part of a group so full of joy, so ready to praise him, so ready to grow closer to him. It was truly incredible to see people with the only thing they own being to clothes on their back thanking Him for another day to praise him. They get it.

It’s not about the size. It’s not about what is contains. It’s not about the colors of the walls. It’s about the hearts that fill the room.