Hey everybody!
 
Thank you to everyone who has emailed me in the past week.  I haven't been able to email for quite a while and this is my last time before I leave Kenya!  My email is having problems, so I couldn't reply to you (Colin, Amy, Mom and Dad, etc).  I apologize, but I'll see some of you in about 2 days. 
 
It is hard to believe that my time here is finished.  I'm getting on a plan tomorrow night at 10:45 pm.   Today is our day off, so we came to Village Market, which is kind of like an open-air shopping mall with a large market on the roof.  I'm about to head up there to do some fierce bargaining.  I'm doing my best to get interesting gifts for all of you! 
 
Thanks for all of your prayers regarding my opportunity to preach on Sunday.   God really calmed my heart in the days and hours before my sermon.  He gave me peace about it and really allowed me to speak from my heart and allow Him to speak through me.  I actually ended up preaching twice on Sunday morning: once in the English/youth service (in English) and again in the main service (through a translator).  It was nice to have a practice run in the smaller youth service.  But, I learned that preaching through a translator is much more difficult than just speaking slowly in English.  It was much more difficult to maintain a cohesive flow of thought through a translator.  In addition, the sermon is twice as long when 2 languages are used.  It probably took 50 mins in the main service, which corresponds to about 25 mins of actual English sermon time.  The congregation really seemed to be attentive and many people said they were encouraged by the message.  The pastor congratulated me on my exegesis of the passage, so my couple of Bible college classes really paid off.  It was a wonderful learning experience...both the sermon preparation and delivery.  This was a great step of faith and God was faithful, as He always is. 
 
In the past few days, I've been saying goodbye to the nationals and trying to maintain focus on ministry even as my thoughts turn toward home.  It is hard to leave early, as the rest of team is still going strong.  They have a little over 2 weeks remaining.  I've done alot of football (soccer) ministry in Kibera this week.  We usually play for about an hour with the street kids and then share a brief message and pray for them.  Some of them follow us back to the church and we invite them to come on Sunday.  The field is all dirt and full of rocks.  There is also a "choo" (outhouse) right in the middle of the field, which makes for interesting tactics.  The occassional sewage puddle keeps us on our toes.  On Tuesday, one of street kids asked us to pray that he would find a new pair of shoes.  Yesterday, he was with us again and I gave him my tennis shoes.  I told him to believe that God is real and cares about Him.   The street kids were amazed that a "mzungu" (white person) would give a gift to a street kid.  They are the untouchables or lepers of Kenyan society.  Even residents of the slum don't want to touch them.
 
Well, time for me sign off for the last time from Kenya.  I'd love to share my experiences with all of you when I return.  Please ask me any questions that you have.  I feel like I've just scratched the service in this blog...there is so much more to tell.  God has revealed Himself in amazing ways through this trip and I hope you have been blessed by reading it.  Thanks for your prayer and financial support.
 
Grace and peace,
Mark