Habari yenu?

First of all, thank you to everyone who has encouraged me about preaching this coming Sunday. I am much less nervous after doing some preparations. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power. He asks for my availability, not my ability. I will be available for Him service on Sunday....that's the best I can offer. A special thanks to Mt.Zion for praying and emailing. You have been a great encouragement as a church should be. Here's a brief run-down of what I've done since last post:


Fri, 7/2
We had a 4th of July party at NEGST (where we stay) for the nationals. We served them hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, juice, and watermelon. A buffet is entirely foreign to them, so they had to learn that before learning how to eat a hamburger. We also player soccer, volleyball, and had a huge watermelon seed spitting contest.

Sat, 7/3
First day of safari! We drove 5 hrs to our camp site within the game reserve, Maasai Mara. The resort is in a bend of the Mara River, so we could see and hear hippos throughout the day and night. We went on an evening game drive and saw many animals, plus and spectacular sunset.

Sun, 7/4
Safari day 2! Up before the sun and tea was delivered to our tent! We were greeted by the sun as we sat next to a huge male elephant. A great day in the bush. At the end of the day, we went on foot to see 3 white rhinos. I got a picture sitting 3 feet away from it! Pretty scary but really fun. On the whole, I think we saw every major African animal (lion, cheetah, leopard, elephant, giraffe, etc).

Mon, 7/5
A great day in Kibera of teaching in the morning and playing soccer in the afternoon. This was the first day of using soccer to minister to the street children in the slum. It is a really natural way to start relationships and invite kids to the church.

Tues, 7/6
Stayed home all day to prepare for preaching on Sunday. I'm preaching on John 15:1-11, in case you want to check it out. Ironically, I really need to abide in Christ in the days leading up to the sermon.

Wed, 7/7
Door-to-door evangelism in Kawangware, which was really rewarding. The Kenyans are extremely hospitable and polite. They are also very "churched," giving them a good knowledge of religion, but rarely of God. People know about God, but they don't know Him. Shared the Gospel with 2 young men, who really seemed interested in knowing what it means to be "saved." Everyone here says they are saved, but very few even understand why that word is used. Check out John 3:16-18 and Romans 10:9-10 to see what I shared with the guys.

OK, that's enough for now. In the next post, I'll give a report on my first sermon.

Mark