Mission Trip July 2006
Trip to Kenya
3 members of our church are in Kenya on a mission trip sponsored by The Word FM and they will be there until July 29. We will be placing updates here on this page, but you can also read the "blogs from Kenya" on the Word FM website right from their main page linked here.
The updates on this page are from Dave Wetherill.
July 14
Hi everyone,
I just got back from dropping my ladies, Chelsea Wetherill, Terri Caton, and Liz Caton, off for a 15 day mission trip to Kenya. They take off at 12:40 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. They go through Detroit and then Amsterdam, and onto Nairobi. It’ll take about 24 hours to get there.
This was in our Church Bulletin recently.
There are 43 folks going from the local Christian Radio Station called “The Word FM.” It is ultimately sponsored by “World Ministries.” Also, they were able to collect the extra $ they needed as well, praise God!
I’m just asking that we keep them in prayer as they do our Lord’s work as He has called them to do. I’m also asking that they enjoy it, and that they are blessed, as well as, the Kenyan people they go minister to. For my daughter, Chelsea, this will be the longest stretch of time that she has been away from home, and I’m praying that she doesn’t get too homesick and will have just a wonderful time in the name of our Lord, as well as, for all of them. Terri and Liz are pros at this thing as they have both been to Ecuador twice on missions’ trips with this same group, and Terri has also been to Haiti on a mission trip.
Please keep all of them, and their mission God has called them to do, in prayer, and may they be safe and also come home safely, and may God Bless their work and those they come to work for.
In God’s Amazing Grace,
Dave Wetherill
Flights as tracked by Dave on 7/14 and 7/15
Flight: 1195
Date: Fri., July 14, 2006
Departs: Philadelphia-Int'l, PA ( PHL ) Arrives: Detroit-Wayne County Int'l, MI (DTW)
Gate: E6 Gate: A72
Scheduled: 12:40PM Scheduled: 2:27PM
Actual: 1:03PM Actual: 2:43PM
Aircraft: A319
Status: Arrived
Flight #2 ….Detroit to Amsterdam….
Flight: 40
Date: Fri., July 14, 2006
Departs: Detroit-Wayne County Int'l, MI (DTW) Arrives: Amsterdam-Schiphol, Netherlands (AMS)
Departure Date: July 14 Arrival Date: July 15
Gate: A30 Gate:
Scheduled: 4:05PM Scheduled: 5:55AM
Actual: 3:55PM Estimated: 5:30AM
Aircraft: A330-300
Status: Arrived
Leg #3….Amsterdam to Nairobi, Kenya….
Flight: 8565
Date: Sat., July 15, 2006
Departs: Amsterdam-Schiphol, Netherlands (AMS) Arrives: Nairobi-Int'l, Kenya ( NBO )
Gate: Gate:
Scheduled: 10:15AM Scheduled: 7:10PM
Actual: 10:25AM Actual: 7:24PM
Aircraft: 777
Note:
Delayed due to air traffic control constraints.
Status: Arrived
TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!
PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 15
Hi everyone,
I just got about a 5 minute phone call with Terri and Chelsea. Terri said they all made it safely and without any hitches. They are at the place they are staying at now and ready for bed. Chelsea said they are excited but dead tired. Tomorrow they get to go to worship and an outdoor air market. Terri and Chelsea think they can get emails if anyone wants to send any. Terri’s is tlcstork@mindspring.com and Chelsea’s is littlewethergrl@comcast.net. For Liz, you can send it to Terri in care of Liz.
How exciting, they made it. Praise God. Now they need to rest up for the days ahead.
Keep on praying,
Dave
July 16 - email from Terri - 3:25 am EDT (10:25 am)
Hey there, we are safe and sound. Off to church now and then an open
air market. It's in the 70's here and much colder than we are used to
up north!! Love you bunches and bunches. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Terri
(Will try to write more later.)
July 17 - email from Chelsea
Hey Dad,
How are you?!?! I have been getting your emails. i read them, and they are awesome! thanks for sending and updating everyone. It's pretty good here. The weather is colder than I expected. Yesterday we went to a church service and it was really neat! the people were so welcoming, and they all had a heart for God. I really enjoyed it, although it was hard staying awake, from being so tired. I'm going to have to head out, because i have to get to breakfast, but i will try and email maybe later today, I'm not sure though. its also hard becuase the computers are very slow, and there aren't that many, about 10 for 46 people. Well, i hope everyone at home is good. Tell everyone i said hi, and i'll talk to you all later!
Lots of Love,
Chelsea
July 17 - email from Terri
Hey everyone,
Well, here we are on Monday! Off to the work site today, finally.
Yesterday was Loooooong but really nice. We went to church (a 2 1/2
hour service ya know!) and then had lunch and a presentation of all the
heads of the church and various organizations. When we were finally
done at 4 pm we were all so tired that we didn't go out to the market.
Today, we will meet the orphans and start working. It is pretty cold
and raining here. The people are VERY nice. One of the things that
impressed us most is how this culture respects each other and has a high
regard for women and elders.
No time to write more. Will update when I can.
Thanks for all the prayers, we need them.
All God's blessings,
Terri
July 19 - email from Chelsea
Hey dad & everyone!
I want to start off and say thanks to everyone! all your prayers and emails are awesome! and i want to also let you know, i probably wont be returning too many emails personally, only because there is no time, speed, or computers to. but it is fun to read them, so you can keep sending them! just dont have attatchments or too long ones, just a quick note. anyway, oh my goodness. golly gee. africans are so amazing. well africa is too! sunday we went to a church, and there were hundreds of people there, all ready and willing to praise God. they had a small praise team of about 10, all singers, and one keyboardist. they praised Jesus like no other. it was so neat. Hey G-Reg, get this, they could even dance! they danced and did motions and just praised God! And it was okay to, it wasnt like oh,. they cant do that, that makes worship fun. it was so beautiful, and i know we probably still wont be able to do that here, but i just wanted to let you know. usually on almost every song, they had like one lead singer or whatever you call it. & it was a different person each time. that was really cool. then after the church service we had lunch prepared by a womens guild from the church. it was delicious, i must say. african food it pretty good. different, in some ways, but good. and then it was about 3:30 by that time becuase the service was very long. let me tell you. it started at 11:45, and ended at about 2:30! it was awesome though.
Then on monday, we went to work at the orphanage place. that was really cool. i was on painting, but we didnt paint. we scraped off concrete from railings and sanded, then whole entire day. thats what my group did anyways. we "pre-painted". everyone from the team got african names from the women. it was so cool. they actually took time to look at our names and pictures, and gave us each them by what they though would go. terri's was ciiku, pronounced chi-koo. it is the name of one of the 9 women who started the largest tribe. she's powerful. i got zawadi. my name meant gift of God. and Liz got syombua which means rain. they were cool.
Yesterday, that was another story. we went to the slums, & it was so depressing. we will have to show pictures when we get home. the kids were so happy to see us, and mothers too. we went into about 2 homes in there. they were all next to each other, and very small. they had almost nothing. but we prayed in each one we went to. one was a keeper of a small church i think, and the other we prayed for a womens children. then a drunk girl wanted to be born again through Jesus, and we prayed for her too. she knew what she was doing. we went to 2 slums and the other one we just drove through, which didnt seem so nice to me. because it was almost like we were touring it, like the people didnt care, but it just didnt feel right. this one was a little more high tech though. it was really cute. they had like a ton of shops there. even cute little hair salons. even a wawa! which means something, i forget in suahilli. (i dont know how to spell that!) it was adorable. we also went to a school. they have like class numbers instead of grades. like class 1, class 2, but i dont know how high they go. and they are each about 2 years, i think, but they can vary too. there are about 50-100 kids per class, and the man said that if they dont have that amount, which sometimes they get alittle under, the govt. may not let them stay. its very difficult for us to hear all this, and see it. its heartbreaking. finally, after all the eating a such, we went to a old people's home, and all the kids from the school( about 700) plus others, and old folks, came and joined all together. well, the old folks sat behind, but it was so neat. when they started, they had all the kids sitting together. there were many hundreds of them, over 700, like i said! mothers also came with their babies. first they all sang, and that was beautiful. you could definitely see Jesus beaming down from Heaven! then we gave out candy and some cookies, but it was so hard, becuase they all obviously wanted more, becuase i mean, they dont get any of that, but it was okay. that was how they were brought up. after they sang and got candy, we split them up into groups, and there were about 2 leaders(from our team) for each.some groups were smaller than others though. ours had about 40, and another had about 25 so it really did vary. we read the story of Jesus to them, had them make salvation bracelets, and had other small things for them to do. when we left there, we went to a restauant, called the Java House, and that was more normal food that we are used to. i got my favorite, steak! it was delicious. i was happy. finally we went back and just went to bed beucase we were all very tired and worn out.
alright, well i have to go now. thanks again for all the prayers and support. keep it up!
love from africa,
chelsea
July 19 Phone Call
Hi everyone,
I have another update. I was pleasantly surprised around lunch time today by a phone call from Kenya. The call came up as “unavailable” and that usually means it’s a call from the office. But this time, instead of someone from the office calling, it was my daughter Chelsea. I nearly freaked out. I am working at a store in New Jersey, so it was real easy for me to take this call.
The call came in at 11:49 am and we talked for 19 ½ minutes. Her voice was as clear as a blue sky. She told me they were back to work at the orphanage building today and now she is not only painting, but they broke up into another construction group and are now hauling dirt and cement. My little girl volunteered for that as well. Chelsea also told me that they were taking turns (about 10 missionaries at a time) spending time throughout the day with the orphan children.
And the last thing she told me before they went to dinner was they got to see a giraffe zoo. I asked her how many giraffes there were and she said a whole bunch. I asked her if there were any other animals there and she said there were some wild wart hogs. I told her that over in Arkansas they call them Razorbacks and these folks are pretty darn proud of them in Arkansas. In fact, they probably would have described the zoo as a Razorback zoo with some giraffes tagging along. How ‘bout them Razorbacks in Kenya? They must be all over the place. Some of my co-workers can also get psyched since there are Nittany Lions are all over the place too.
Well, then I got a chance to talk with Terri. She said she missed me BIG time and I told her the same. Terri said she was painting all day, but she said Chelsea was doing a great job and having fun hauling stuff around in the wheel barrow. She told me Chelsea is a real hard worker. That made a dad proud. I asked Terri what her favorite thing has been so far and she said working with the children, especially on Tuesday, when they went into the projects. I asked Terri what she thought Chelsea and Liz would say was their favorite things. She said Liz would definitely say, without a doubt, working and playing with the children. Liz is a natural with the kids and that is why she is there. The children have brought a big smile to Elizabeth’s face. Terri said Chelsea is taking everything in really well, and because she is a good worker, Chelsea might say the building of the orphanage could be her favorite, but she also loves being with the kids too.
Terri told me the climate was not what she would have expected over there. She said the temperatures were highs around 74 degrees and lows around 56 degrees and there are palm trees all over. I said to her, isn’t it winter time over there and she said yes. I said to her, isn’t that like Florida in the winter, and she said it was pretty close to that. I told her it has been extremely hot and humid all over the USA and that she could be thankful for 74 degrees and good sleeping temperatures of 56 degrees.
Chelsea and Terri both thanked all of you for your prayers and remembering them from back home. They have been keeping them going and can really feel them. The Lord is really opening up there eyes to a whole new world and they are loving it. They are also thanking you all for sending them emails. I sent them one of our brand new ecards that had the song “Indescribable” in it and they were able to open it. They can’t open pictures, but were able to open a card and what a really cool card that is. Dayspring has some really awesome ecards that you all can send each other and the price is right…..free……or you can go to you nearest Christian book, card and gift store and pick one up and bless someone today.
Thanks again for all of your prayers for my missionary gals in Kenya. God is good and God is great!
Hey, I wanted to share one more thing that I observed in the store I have been working in yesterday and today. On the wall of the lunch room, they have a poster that says, “CHOOSE JOY!” Underneath this crazy looking guy telling you to “CHOOSE JOY” is a bible verse that says, “They joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10. I can’t help but think how much JOY these missionary folks from Pennsylvania are bringing to the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Won’t you CHOOSE JOY today?
Take care everyone and God Bless you all,
Dave
July 20 email from Chelsea
HEYYYY EVERYONE! its thursday morning here in africa, and i want to start this time with a little song for my big brother davey boy!!!
happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear daveyyy
happy birthday to you!!!!!!
hey david, i hope that you have an awesome 19th birthday. have an even better one for me! i wish i were there to celebrate with you! have fun, & make it a good one! love your sistaaa chel.
& everyone, make sure you wish him well. (or i'll come find you) hahahahaha jk.
okay,. so yesterday, (wednesday) was another working day. i was supposed to have a pretty easy job, but smelly. i started off painting with terri and liz, (who didnt feel very well). terri and i were on like a balcony thinger, and i figured that we should start from the top down, so i started with the top railing, later to realize that i would have to lean over that, to get the outside, which meant i got paint everywhere on my shirt. oh well, what can you do? so anyway, after about an hour or so, we had a tea break. we have these before and after lunch. boy oh boy, they really feed you well, and i thought id be losing weight here. after tea break somebody wanted to switch with me, so i was doing hard labor. with about 10 other people i guess. somewhere around there. first we started a line where we passed wood to each other and then it was thrown into a huge pile, and then when we were done, we were shoveling earth into wheel barrows and taking down a little path thing and dumping it. we had to keep the wheelbarrows on a track that we made with like 2x4's. it was hard at first, but then it was good. i was one who took heavy wheelbarrows. so hopefully i'll come home with some bigggg guns! hahahha. well see about that. before we started shoveling, i was talking to a guy named kevin on the team who is doing worship for us, and he was telling me about one of the guys from africa who is helping us. this guys name is edward, he is 20 and he is a really cool guy. i met him actually on monday when he was carrying wood up the stairs, i had to help him. at first i was kind of nervous with him, you know, with a 20 year-old african boy.(not to worry dad)(& everyone else) but after i talked to kevin, i was like wow! this kid is really amazing. so kevin told me that he was talking to ed, and he is a christian. he said that he was working with us, like on the job getting paid.. he said that thats how he gets by. he said he does like 2 week jobs like that, and then until he finds another, he's looking for about 3 or 4 weeks, so it basically pays it self back, once he pays for food and all that stuff. and then kevin told me that he asked him if he had a girlfriend and ed said that its not a good place to find a girlfriend in kenya. he said that all the girls go like this ~~~~~~, like a squiggly line if you cant tell. thats what he showed me, and that ed only goes like this ______, in a straight line. i was like WOW! you dont really find that in many guys, even girls saying and doing that. most of the girls there that are my age are married and have children. if i lived there i probably would be too. but yea, i was thinking that was really neat.and then, he told me ed was a rapper! a christian rapper and that kevin was going to try and record him on hid computer! so later, when we were working, kevin actually hurt his shoulder. he said that he had hurt it before and now he thinks he did it again. its really bad, so please pray for him . he went to the hospital last night, and I’m not sure if he's even back yet. but he recorded him some, but he has to try and fix something for ed, because he didn’t have the right beat or something on his computer. but i was there listening to him, and he was so awesome. he was rapping about Jesus and stuff, and i was so amazed! anyway, that’s just one of the really neat, real people here.(young ones.) i mean, all the women, they are so awesome!
its really cool, because while we're here working, i mean, we came here, some of us anyway, thinking that we would you know, jump in, and like save the day, and finish the orphanage. but really, its not anything like that. first of all, we are never going to finish the orphanage, which at first was sort of upsetting, but now its really neat, seeing what we are actually doing. all those africans are so inspired by out hard work, that it makes them want to work even harder and finish the job. its like giving them a little gatorade. another thing is, that one of the women mentioned to someone, was that, there are many africans that as they are walking by, just stop and watch us work. this lady, from the womens guild, said that she thinks it will make other africans want to work too, and she thinks that it really will get finished quicker, and that there are going to be more africans ready and willing to help now, that the have seen us, fly 24 hours, pay a whole bunch of money, just to help them. when you think about it, money really is nothing. besides getting us here i mean. because we could have sent just all the money that it cost us to get here, and they could have used it, but it wouldn’t have impacted them as much as seeing us work, and getting to talk; and know us a little more. as well as boosting our faith in God. so there are really so many ways that i, and all of us here, are growing in Jesus Christ. i am just so thankful for being able to come. i mean, i remember when my dad asked me if i did want to come the first time, and i was like umm let me think about that...NO. i just really didn’t want to have anything to do with it, and i am ashamed that i though that, but at least i know now, that i did think about it and talk to others, and really realized that this is an amazing, once in a lifetime experience.
so after all the working, we went to a giraffe place, where they would come right up to you, and you could put a little piece of this treat in your mouth, in between your lips, and they had such long tongues, that they would eat it right out of your mouth! it was so cool! there were also warthogs there or something. they were funny.
well, that was my wednesday. and off to thursday here, another working day. i'll let you know how it goes later.
love to everybody!!!!!!!!!
chelsea!
xoxoxo
July 21 email from Chelsea
Hello. Hard work was the key today! (Thursday) We worked a totally full and long day! We got to the site probably at about 9 and then left around 6! I started off shoveling dirt, rocks, and soil (earth), but then i did the wheel barrow carrying thing again, b/c they only had a few people doing it. So i wheel barrowed some heavy loads, and terri and liz painted again. That must be hard with the fumes. After lunch i got to go to the orphanage to play with the kids for a while. Emily Ralph (the word fm morning show lady) has about 8 people go from 1-2, then about 3 people from 2-3 and another 3 from 3-. There are probably 9 kids that were there today. They range from 4-10 or 11 i think. They are so adorable. They played with bubbles, blow-up balls, balloons, and swung on the swings. They are so much fun! & love every minute they have with you. After i got back from the orphanage i worked up on the roof. Most people were up there. It's very hard to stand because they have metal bars going across the whole thing so there are holes and gaps and stuff. It's quite interesting. I'm most definitely sure that we don’t construct our roofs that way. So I worked on the roof the rest of the day. It was okay. I probably would rather have wheeled wheel barrels though, only because it’s hard to get around on the roof top. We had to work so long and hard today, b/c they want us to start pouring the cement today (Friday). When we left, we went back to the hotel, got showers, ate, & had our meeting. It was shorter today, only about 45 minutes. We had reflections on the day, and then worshipped. Reflections are a really important time, because we all get to talk together about what we did, and how we think things are going. We also talk about just anything we see going right or wrong. Nothing really wrong and just the amazement of what God is doing here in us, and in them.
Yesterday morning really brightened up my day though. It gave it an awesome start! Not that I was sad or anything, I just really enjoyed today's ride to site. When we ride the bus, you look out the windows, & everyone looks to see, you know, who's in there and things like that. Well, I wave to everyone, & it's just so heartwarming and fulfilling to see everyone's ear-to-ear smile, and of course they wave back. If you waved to people like that in the U.S. while you were in your car they'd be like ummmm, okay, you're stupid and weird. But Kenyan's just appreciate it so much. It's so hard to believe that we have so much "material stuff" compared to them, but yet they have the biggest Hearts for Jesus. It amazes me. They also do have so much time on them to talk to God and pray. Oh my goodness, the women from the women's guild have the most amazing prayers you will ever hear. They are so real, and it's like they know that God is listening and that He will respond. They just know what He is doing, and they have no doubts in Him. It's really awesome. One other really cool thing is how they introduce themselves. They start out with a Hello, but then they usually say "I am born again". Then their name comes, and they say something like "I'm a Christian, and I love the God. He is my savior. Praise the Lord!" That is just one of the neatest things. Can you imagine that happening in the United States?!?! I know that'd be really really neat!
By the way, Kevin is back! He was back 2 nights ago. I just didn't realize it. He is doing pretty well, but continue to pray for his shoulder. It does hurt him, and he can basically paint. But, he did play his guitar for worship last night which totally WOWED me.
Okay, off to another day of hard work. See you later, and have an awesome Friday!
Mucho Love,
Chelsea
P.S. Sorry if my spelling is off, and grammar too. David yelled at me for it, so I'm trying to do better. But there really is no time for proof reading.
P.S.S. thanks for all the emails! i love them!!! They make my morning!
July 22 Phone Call from Terri
Hi everyone,
I received a quickie call from Terri last night and also one this morning too. Terri’s calling card ran out, so she called me back this morning (our time) after a wonderful day they had in Kenya.
Here is Terri’s update that she phoned in to me:
In Friday night’s call, they worked the hardest day of them all. The goal was to get the roof on. They were hauling cement and rebar and painting all day long, because they had to get this done. They were either going to get it done on Friday or come back Saturday to finish it.
Terri also told me that she has been so pleased to see the Kenyan’s pray about everything. It is a tradition for them. The Kenyans and our missionaries have been praying before they start work as they dedicate the day and their accomplishments to Him. The women’s guild provides a break for tea every morning and afternoon and they pray. And they pray at lunch and also when they are finished their work at the end of each day. Terri said this Kenyan Mission Trip has had more praying than any other trip she has been on. This is a true testimony to our Lord from the Kenyans, their women’s guild, and our missionaries. These women even prayed about our missionaries’ new Kenyan names at the start of the week. Chelsea and Terri have commented about the enthusiasm of the women’s prayers. Our ladies have said these prayers have been so confident that the Lord will bless their work, and believing that anything will happen through Him. They pray with lots of praises before and after each sentence of the prayer. You can feel His Spirit with them as they pray. They are “Jazzed Up for Jesus!” Do you think this is what Paul talks about praying continually? I think so! I also think all of the prayers from back home are helping too. The closer we get to God, the more we feel His Spirit and Presence, His Blessings, and His Love, both for others and ourselves. Praise God!
So here is His answer to prayer. The roof is done!!! And it was done Friday night. Another Praise to God! Terri and Liz didn’t think they could look at another paint brush today, and Chelsea didn’t think she could haul another load of cement. Do you remember in one of Chelsea’s updates when she said she is going to come home with “big guns?” Well her guns were very tired. Maybe these “big guns” will help her to become a stronger softball pitcher for TYA and become a strong tuba player for the North Penn Marching Nights. I can’t wait to see these “big guns” of hers.
Terri told me to be sure I mention two things to the folks at home. Number 1, Terri says thank you for “Diane’s envelopes.” My sister, Diane, prepared envelopes with notes together from lots of friends and family. One note was to be opened at the beginning of each day. They were personalized notes to each of our ladies with encouragement and scripture in each one. The first one was to be opened when they got on the airplane and the rest were to be opened every morning there after. They so look forward to opening each one every morning, especially Liz. Terri told me Liz has hers all lined up on the coffee table ready for opening. So, thanks to all who joined in.
Number 2, Terri says, thank you for all of your prayers, support, and emails of encouragement from back home. Chelsea especially told me how helpful the emails and prayers have been. And just listen to their updates. The power of prayer, love, and support have been amazing.
The missionary team finished up the project at the orphanage (the roof) and so they got a chance to visit a few places and lay back a little and rest up their muscles. Today they visited a house that was special. If anyone has seen the movie, “Out of Africa,” the team got a chance to visit the house that this movie was based on.
The team visited 2 places of shopping. One was an open air market which was like a giant flea market complete with all kinds of folks trying to get your $ from your pocket into there’s. There was lots of chaos. The next shopping center they visited had a roof and was more like we are used to. It was sort of like a strip mall and they were able to get some neat stuff at both places.
The coolest place they visited today was an orphan zoo. There were all kinds of animals that come to this zoo as a small baby orphan. There were baboons swinging from vines, but their fav was the cheetahs. They could watch them play with a big red ball, hold them, feel them, and get licked by the cheetahs. They said when a cheetah purrs that it sounds like a growl, and oh, how they could they run. They looked so beautiful, and could run like the wind.
Here’s one more highlight of the day. When Terri called last night, she said they were so tired of Kenyan food. They had a yearning for a good old delicious pizza pie, so when she called back today, she told me they got their delicious pizza pie. They we so excited to have some food that they were used to.
Terri told me one more thing that has impressed her so much about these Christian Kenyans, especially the women’s guild, and Chelsea mentioned this in one of her updates, was how they introduce themselves. Terri said they introduce themselves with their names followed by “and I am saved by the blood of Jesus.” Both Terri and Chelsea said something like this, “can you imagine if we all said this in the USA?”
Some folks have made donations to this mission trip and there was some $ leftover. Let me tell you what the extra $ is going to provide. First of all, there is going to be a special dedication for this building on Monday. Please be in prayer with them. Second, the leftover $ has gone to purchase a pick up truck for the folks running this orphanage. I think that is pretty awesome. Let’s keep them in prayer on Monday as they dedicate this building and pick up truck for these folks in the name of the Lord. What an awesome day this will be.
And before I close, the team is splitting up and going to 3 different places to worship on Sunday. Our ladies are going with a group that is going to lead in praise and worship, and in true Kenyan style, each one takes a turn in leading (and don’t forget about the dancing). Oh, how I wish I could be there with or with out my trumpet. And I hope they bring excitement and their dance home to Lansdale and our church. Please say a prayer for them as they lead in worship. There worship services last about 3 hours. God Bless them!
Well, thats all for now. Enjoy your weekend and I hope you all are enjoying these “Kenyan updates from Terri, Chelsea, and Liz.
In God’s Amazing Grace (as my Brother Rod Ellis would say),
Dave and I too am saved by the blood of Jesus :-)
(that sounds pretty catchy)
July 23 email from Terri
Hello from Kenya!
Well, what a Sunday we had. We had such a long day yesterday. We lead the church services at three different churches. Liz and I went to Evergreen and did children's church with mostly kids from the slums. It was great fun. Then the 2 of us went to the Swahili service and did a presentation at the end. It was great! I finally introduced myself as Terri "and I am saved by the blood of Jesus!" The Kenyans loved it and I did too!!
Chelsea went to do the service with another Boys Home. We were then to meet at a certain place but our bus broke down. It took almost 2 hours to fix it. So...we formed a circle in the middle of the parking lot and sang praise songs!! It was great!! We then met the bus (the one Chelsea was on), drove another hour plus over horrible roads to the place where we donated the truck. We were so tired but the people we so happy to see us and then blown away by our gift. We stayed late into the night with them each singing praises and celebrating the love of Christ Jesus.
On the way to the last stop our bus saw a family of Giraffes just munching tree leaves about 100 yards from the side of the road! How cool is that?
Recently, in small group, we discussed our American assumption that poor people are unhappy. It was proven untrue when we were in the slums. The young man giving us the tour, who lives there, was very proud of his house. Also, a woman had just given birth 2 weeks ago and was proudly showing off her baby and house. Above the door to the house was a sign, "Christ is the head of this home."
Another comment I would make on their prayers are that they pray with confidence. There is a scripture about going boldly before the throne of God (sorry don't know the book/verse). The Kenyans are very bold before God.
Thank you to all of you for your prayers and e-mails. We could not accomplish this much without your support and especially prayers. We miss all of you at home and remember you in our prayers also.
Praise God for all His blessings!
From Kenya,
Terri
July 24 email from Terri
Hi again from Kenya,
Today we had a somewhat late sleep-in morning then headed to the Tumaini orphanage for a dedication ceremony. The Kenyans are very proper in their ceremonies and order of speakers. They value order and courtesy. After playing with the orphans and then having tea the ceremony lasted about 2 hours. They gave each of us a gift with our Kenyan names on them. They sang songs and we presented gifts to the children. After all this we had lunch. It was very hard to say goodbye and I think it was even harder on some of the Kenyans!
Now we have a bit of free time before dinner. We leave tomorrow at 6:45 am for our safari.
I wanted to share a few things about this area of Kenya. First of all, there are two main tribes here, the Agikuyu and Masai. The Masai are the largest tribe in this area of Kenya. I believe someone told me that there are about 42 tribes in Kenya. Yesterday we went into the interior of Kenya. We passed through a town called Machakos. This town used to be the trade center of E. Africa until the railroads came through. The area has many small mountains and the British decided they would move the center to Nairobi where it is flatter.
The children are amazing here. They all care for the younger ones without complaining. You will see both girls and boys with younger kids strapped to their backs or hips and they will take care of them for hours and hours. I really can't see our kids doing the same without a second thought!!
Lastly, I wanted to send you a song that we sang Sunday in the Swahili service.
NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS
First verse: What can wash away my sin?
Sioshwi dhambi zangu
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Bila damu yake Yesu
What can make me whole again?
Hapendezewi mungu
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Bila damu yake Yesu
Refrain: Oh precious is the flow
Heduna kebisa
That makes me white as snow
Dawa ya makosa
No other fount I know
Ya kufutakasa
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Ila damu yake Yesu
I won't write out all of the verses but the hymns and praises to our Lord are just as lovely in Swahili, Spanish, Creole, etc as English. God can be praised in ANY language!!!!!
Prayer requests:
Chelsea has a stomach ache
Our travels tomorrow
Safety on the game drives
Spredding our Christian faith even on the non-mission part of our trip
Safety on our travels back to Nairobi Thursday and home to the US Friday/Sat.
All God's blessings to each and every one of you,
Terri
July 26 email from Terri
Hi everyone! We are here in the Masimari area of Kenya on safari. I
must say that I didn't really expect there to be sooooo many animals!
What we have seen so far:
A lion and lioness on their honeymoom
two lioness and three cubs - so cute!
a bizillion wildabeasts
zebra
gazelles
impalas
jackels
herd dear
giraffes
lions and buzzards eating (yuck)
buffalo
hippos
lots of elephants
baboons
and much, much more!!! (sorry about the poor spelling of any of the
names)
The animals will sometimes be right by your car! We are having so much
fun and consider it a blessing that we were able to see this beautiful
part of the world God created.
The food is great and we are all feeling fine in that regard.
Chelsea is perfectly fine now. Thanks for your prayers.
We have a 5:30 am game drive tomorrow morning then are headed out back
to Nairobi then back to the States on Friday.
We love Kenya but are ready to see our family and friends (and our dog
Otis!)
God's blessing to you all,
Terri
We are sleeping in deluxe tents
July 27 email from Chelsea
HELLO PENNSYLVANIA & THE REST OF THE US!
Well, my trip has slowly been coming to an end, and I think I am ready to head home now. It's 5:45 pm here on Thursday, probably 10:45 am there. I have returned from the Serengeti and let me tell you, IT WAS GORGEOUS! There were so many animals that we saw. God’s creation is beautiful. Some of us here on the team felt guilty going for a 3-day and 2 night vacation. We (well, not me but some of the team) felt that we should have stayed and since we were there, done more for the kids and helped out more, giving them meals, or keep building, or whatever to help. But I really think that we needed it. To rest up, relax for the trip home, and really reflect, and react to everything God has shown us and done. Also, just seeing all of God’s creation, or, the part that we definitely don’t get to see at home was great! We say that we would do it at home, reflect that is, but really, most of us know that we probably wouldn’t.
But this trip has really grown me closer to God, and helped me see everything, from a different view...a different place and somewhere far and somewhere new. I hope that I continue my growth and sharing when I am home, and I hope that all of you will grow, somewhat, after hearing my, and of course, our, stories.
Love to all,
Chelsea
Trip Home Flight Details tracked by Dave
Here are the ladies flights tracked coming home:
Here is from Nairobi to Amsterdam..the first take off July 28th..
KL 0566 Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta Intl) to Amsterdam (Amsterdam Schiphol)
From/to Actual Status Details
Nairobi (Jomo Kenyatta Intl) 28 Jul 22:24 Departed
Amsterdam (Amsterdam Schiphol) 29 Jul 05:42 Arrived
And it landed safely.
Here is Amsterdam to Detroit..the second leg..July 29th.
Flight: 39
Date: Sat., July 29, 2006
Departs: Amsterdam-Schiphol, Netherlands (AMS) Arrives: Detroit-Wayne County Int'l, MI (DTW)
Gate: Gate: A54
Scheduled: 8:00AM Scheduled: 10:40AM
Actual: 8:07AM Actual: 10:17AM
Aircraft: A330-300
Note: Flight landed at 10:17AM but has not arrived gate.
Status: Landed
And this flight landed safely too..
And the final leg was from Detroit to Philly..on July 29th..
Flight: 1786
Date: Sat., July 29, 2006
Departs: Detroit-Wayne County Int'l, MI (DTW) Arrives: Philadelphia-Int'l, PA ( PHL )
Gate: A9 Gate: E2
Scheduled: 1:40PM Scheduled: 3:24PM
Actual: 2:00PM Actual: 3:44PM
Aircraft: DC9-50
Status: Arrived
And it was good!!!! Touchdown and the extra point.everyone was happy to be home!!!! Praise the Lord for a safe trip home!!!!! Thanks again for all your prayers. They appreciated them. And I felt blessed to be apart of their mission. Even though I wasn’t in Kenya, God helped me to feel close to them almost daily.
Last Update from Terri
Hello to all of you faithful readers of these updates!
The girls and I got home safely last night. Dave met us at the airport and I must say that we were very ready to be done traveling. At least half of our team was sick at one time or another. Some were very sick on the airplane and had to see the doctor at the Amsterdam airport. Everyone is expected to be well soon, praise God!!
We have so many memories from our trip to Kenya it is almost hard to know where to begin to explain. Everyone grew closer to God during our trip and we are so thankful to have had this opportunity.
Thank you so, so, much to all of you who prayed for us. We really could not have accomplished as much as we did without your support. I can't begin to express how much your support meant to us.
Yes, we did make it to church this morning! For any of you who have done this type of travel you know just how difficult a task that was!! However, when we were singing praise songs it was so meaningful that we just kept smiling and sharing private moments that related to our trip. Liz was so excited to be home with her family also. God was not only with us in Kenya but he came home with us too!!!! What a wonderful God we have!
When we were heading for home everyone had craving for American food. Liz wanted MacDonald’s, Chelsea wanted milk, and I wanted pizza!!
We will be having a team reunion in Aug. or Sept. to share pics and stories. All friends and family are invited. If anyone wants to go just let us know and we will give you the date/time.
Also, we are planning on doing a presentation at church in the near future. Stay tuned for when/where. We have so many GREAT pics and stories to tell. We hope you will want to share them with us.
Well, this mission trip is over and was very successful. The same team (Word FM and World Servants) are teaming up with Compassion International for a trip to (probably) Brazil next year. If anyone is interested just keep looking at the website wordfm.org and they will post the info as soon as it is finalized.
All God's blessings to each and every one of you,
Terri (Ciiku)
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