Of Celebration, Goats, and Tooth in Advertising

Wow! What a blast! That seems to be the general consensus of the team as we hit this full week of ministry at full speed. First was our time with the Masii Christian Chapel Sunday morning (into afternoon!).  Being part of a time of corporate worship in another culture can be nothing short of amazing, and our experience was no exception. The warmth, the energy, the power and the excitement of worship and praise left us wanting more. Josh Chavez preached a powerful message (with the translating help of brother Stanley) and we immersed ourselves in Kenyan culture for a few hours. It's something we'll hold onto for a long, long time.

Today three worked on peoples' teeth while the rest of us loaded supplies and visited some of the kids sponsored by KACC and Parkcrest churches. It took all day to visit six homes- and we should have had my jeep for the roads errr, trails we took to get to our destinations. We met the families (usually grandparents) of these children, caregivers who have stepped up in the wake of the deaths of the kids' parents due to AIDS. And we saw happy, thriving environments where the challenges of raising a second generation has been offset by the joy of seeing God's hand working among them.


A couple of today's gems:
- Mary Flores made such a great impression on one of our visitations that she was bargained for by the family.  They decided they would give 36 goats in trade to have her remain with them! We told Mary that she should be honored, as this is a great deal to give on her behalf! A couple of our guys were pretty hungry in the moment, and the prospect of fresh goat meat (and lots of it) sounded good, but they decided it was still too little for the lone woman on our team!


- Daktari Ron Jurgensen (our dentist) was examining a woman who wanted two teeth pulled. As he looked into her mouth he immediately saw that there were actually three, side-by-side, that needed to come out. His translator, Esther, tried to tell that to the patient, but she insisted on only two. Ron, in his great compassion for relieving pain and problem, suggested to Esther that they go ahead and pull the three and tell her that they got the two...to which the patient said in clear English, I said I only wanted two pulled!  Ouch! Forgot that she just might understand English, and got busted big time! So two were pulled, if a bit sheepishly!


Thanks for prayers and support.  Much is happening, and much is yet to happen.  Pray that we hear God's voice and sense His direction as we serve these wonderful people. Right now, we feel like some of the most fortunate people in the world...and indeed we are.