Awesome Day!

The Lord blessed us with an awesome day today! Before we arrived I had asked Lorna if we could meet Bishop Obare on this visit. We hadn't been able on previous trips. Bishop Walter Obare is the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya (ELCK). He is just like our Synodical President. Since we have been doing so much work here, I thought it would be a good idea to meet. However, Lorna surprised us by arranging for us to worship at his home congregation near Kisii. We drove for about an hour and then departed the main road. Lorna, who was sitting up front with the driver turned to us and said, "That is the end of the good road." As we turned onto the red muddy road we realized this was going to get interesting. It was reminiscent of our trip to the Masai Mara (Remember that Pastor Luke?) ! As we journeyed up this very muddy road, we all prayed that we wouldn't get stuck. We drove all the way to the top of mountain, but when we arrived at the gate leading up another hill to the church, we had to get out and walk. Being many miles and many dirt roads away from a hospital, everyone was concerned for my footing. Dave was kind enough to lend an elbow to an old lady in sandals! Yes, sandals because we were in skirts and going to church. Bisphop Obare greeted us at the top and welcomed us to his "real" home where he was born and grew up on the top of a mountain. He sat and talked to us so long church started a half an hour late!

When we went into the church, Dave and Rockie were surprised when they were directed to sit on the left with all the men. The women and children all sat on the right. Sounds like a former Lutheran tradition! The worship was wonderful and we sang "Rock of Ages" in Luo, Dcs. Lorna's language.We shared the Lord's Supper in the common with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and as one American pastor once said after visiting Kenya, "There's a lot of humanity in that cup." What a blessing to worship in oneness so far from home!

After the service we shared a greeting outside the church and the Bishop took Dave and I around and showed us the compound, then we all returned to his home and his wife Eunice served us lunch. Before we could leave Bishop told us about an African tradition that guests are not allowed to leave until the hostess allows it. With the rain coming, Lorna had asked if could be excused, so we made our way back to the van and down the mountain. This was indeed a very special day for the team and especially for me as a deaconess.

Thanks for all your prayers. God is listening. Love to all at home. Dcs. Linda

Kenya and East Africa News

What's going on in Kenya and East Africa? Here are two news sources that provide stories you usually won't see in American news outlets.

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation provides news and information specific to, you guessed it, Kenya, along with some stories about other parts of Africa.

The East African covers the region as a whole, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and other countries.

Take a look!

Travel to Nairobi

Two of the most frequently asked questions are "how are we going" and "how long does it take to get there?" So, here's our itinerary.

Tomorrow we fly to Amsterdam on Northwest Airlines, leaving at 5:45PM and arriving the next morning. We have a brief layover and then depart for Nairobi at 10:15AM, on KLM, arriving around 7:30PM Kenya time, which is one hour ahead of Europe. Altogether about 16 hours of air travel.

St. John's Partnership with Friends of Mercy to Minister to Children in Kenya

The Partnership

Friends of Mercy is very thankful for this opportunity to work together with our brothers and sisters at St. John. Partnerships are the way to get things done, especially when following through with God's Word to "the ends of the earth." You might want to take a look at our web site (here) to learn about what Pastor Galik, Elizabeth, and Kirk will learn about. Please feel free to e-mail me and ask any questions that you might have about our upcoming trip.

Kenya and AIDS Orphans and FGM

Our goal in Kenya is to work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to assist the weakest victims of HIV/AIDS, the children left behind. Most parents are dying by the time they are 30 years old. Sibling families are formed, where the 11-18 year old brother or sister steps in as a "parent" figure to the younger children.

FGM is a terrible rite still practiced by the Masai tribe. I suggest you take a look at FoM's website here to learn about the details of exactly what it is. Our goal is to build a compound called the Entito Rescue Center which will be a girls boarding school for 500 young girls.

Check back often for more information and updates by the whole team!

Thanks again for allowing Friends of Mercy to serve our Lord through St. John.

Pastor Mark Sell

If we don't do something...

HIV/AIDS

By 2010, an estimated 15.7 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will have lost at least one parent due to AIDS. Even where HIV prevalence stabilizes or begins to decline, the number of orphans will continue to grow or at least remain high for years, reflecting the time lag between HIV infection and death.

In Kenya, according to UNAIDS, in 2005 there were 1.1 million orphans due to AIDS. This crisis impacts entire communities as they struggle to respond to the needs of these children, who suffer physical, emotional, educational, and sociological impacts.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya ministers to these orphans and to the families and communities mobilizing to provide them with care. We seek to partner with the ELCK to fund and support a project, perhaps a community-based orphanage, over a five year time frame.

Poverty

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is a city of 3 million inhabitants. Some 60% are packed into slums, which comprise only 5% of Nairobi's land mass. The biggest and poorest slum in Nairobi, and in fact in all of Africa, is Kibera, with a population of over 1 million. A BBC reports describes it as "600 acres of mud and filth, with a brown stream running through the middle."

The ELCK has a church in Kibera where the living Word is preached and people without hope hear of a Savior.

Just barely scratching the surface, these statistics and descriptions of a humanitarian crisis inform and influence our calling. Because at the end of the day, if don't do something people will die. We can do some-thing, and therefore we go to Kenya to find out what that is.

Welcome!

Welcome to the St. John Lutheran Church Ends of the Earth blog! Here we will be posting information related to our upcoming trip to Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya, October 16 - 26 2007, to conduct fact-finding and relationship-building toward the goal of establishing ongoing support for at-risk children. We will be working closely with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to identify an area we can partner with over a long term committment. Our trusted guide and advisor is Pastor Mark Sell from Friends of Mercy. He has a blog too, right here.

Our Lord has already laid our path in Kenya, and we pray through Christ that He will make it known to us as we journey to the ends of the earth! Acts 1:8

Check back often for more!