Exquisite Eldoret

haha.. that is the teacher in me.. using alliteration when I can. :)

But truly, truly, Eldoret has spoiled us so much this week.
Saying goodbye in Kitale was super hard. We had really come to love Pastor John and his family. But we exchanged a lot of contact information, and already have talked with them. Even now, I am emailing from Kitale - Lilian and I left Eldoret very early this morning to take the matatu here. And though we are enjoying the lavish luxuries in Eldoret, we do very much still miss all of the children. It's so quiet!!

Anyway, we got to the church in Eldoret last Tuesday morning and were in shock with how amazing it was. We are staying at a huge church, on an amazing compound, with a huge grassy field, a beautiful river next to a rock wall (it looks like the wall in the recent movie "The Secret Life of Bees"), and even a basketball court! It is beautiful!
Even more amazing is when we got inside. Hardwood floors! Real windows! Doors! Mirrors! Electricity! Toilets!
And the best is that they have hot showers. I almost cried. haha. I haven't had a hot shower standing up since I have been home. (Do not be alarmed - we just have bathed in a bucket, that's all.) It is a bit different since the water is not heated with a water heater - the water is heated over the fire and then put into the system. So the times to take a shower are limited if you want hot water... but still.. to have hot water coming out of a shower faucet over the head - it really is a luxury! We also celebrated Judy and Martin's 31st wedding anniversary and had cake and yogurt!!! I was so excited!

When we arrived and were amidst such luxury, the only thing I could do was worship. So I sat down and immediately turned to this passage in the Bible, from the book of Ephesians. The writer, Paul, is writing about the riches we have in Jesus Christ, that He took us from the depths of sin and death to His riches. There is no comparison, but somehow, going from cow dung floors to hot showers reminded me of His riches.
"Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

Aside from the physical luxuries, we also had a pretty quiet week. We did ministry in Baharini, which is a little suburb of Eldoret, and rode on the crazy matatu's to get there. There are a lot of speed bumps, and the roads are not in such good condition anyway. And, I think I blogged about this before, but the matatu's themselves are jam packed with people - the norm is to have over 20 people in this vehicle that was supposed to have 14. The whole bumpy and crowded ride makes the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland seem like a cakewalk. ha.
Anyway, back to the ministry in Baharini. On the first day, we met with a pastor in the area and really spent a lot of time crying out with him with all of the issues going on in that area. Eldoret was a really hot area in the post election riots last year. Actually we found out that over 3,000 people were killed at that time. On the second day being there, we experienced so much of the Lord's favor, as we met with one guy and listened as he struggled with being hurt by people in the church. We eventually got his contact information so we could help him find a church, and then the very next place we went to "happened" to be a pastor of a church in the exact same village! It was amazing! We were so excited. Other groups experienced God healing a guy with a broken rib, and another baby with malaria. It was good to see.
We also did ministry in the area of the church, which is called Sirikwa. It was also very exciting to see the Lord move. A few people also came to play soccer later on Saturday. :) I couldn't keep up with the Kenyan boys, but it was still fun. :)

Sunday was another lavish day as we did ministry in two churches, and then had an amazing lunch at the pastor's house. The pastor and his wife are originally from Chicago, and their oldest daughter went to school at Berkeley!! GO BEARS!! I was so excited because when we went in their house, he changed into his Berkeley shirt. haha. :) Pastor Rick and Carole have been in Kenya for over 30 years - it was really neat to hear their story and what God has called for them to do. They said that they are not really missionaries - they still want to be missionaries - but right now they are pastoring that church and God has good plans for them. Last year, they said they were hosting about 100 people during the riots, and it was a really crazy time. I loved their stories.
Anyway, it was such a nice home - we sat on a carpet in front of a fireplace!! And saw a washing machine for the first time being in Kenya. We walked in the bathroom with no shoes, and there was an American style kitchen. Then they gave us an amazing lunch with salad!!! raisins! raw carrots! pineapples! and the chicken was really good too.. (we have had chicken here - it is actually a high form of hospitality to kill a chicken for guests - but usually it is really tough meat. This was the first time it was tender.). And then they gave us cake and ice cream and chocolate syrup! Martin and I enjoyed doing the dishes in the sink with hot water too. :)
We were so blessed. It was so close to home, yet still far as the most important of all - the people - were not there. As much as I love my Kenyan friends, there is no place like home. Anyway, we were so thankful and so spoiled. Again I think of the riches of His grace and how it feels to go from such death to such abundance of life that Jesus wants to give.

As I sit here, I have again been blessed. I went with Lilian to see the field of dreams that God has given her and her fiancee Dalton. It is amazing. They have a piece of land that they want to develop for their children's home. Such vision! We had another amazing lunch provided by the hospitable people who sold the land to Dalton. They made us mokimo, which is mashed potatoes with beans and corn. yum!! Again I am "nemasheba" which means, "I'm full." I feel like I have been saying a lot of that lately. haha. I am full in multiple ways!! so, so blessed.

Next week we will have some different things in store. Tomorrow we are headed to a rehab center for street kids, then the next day we are going to the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps, and then the following day we are going to a juvenile prison. I will be speaking there, so you can pray for that! thanks!