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Chapels, Chapatis, and Cheetahs

Heather Zempel

Once again, we have just returned from the land of no internet access.  Here’s the quick version of what we’ve been doing for the past few days:

Wednesday
Half of the team remained at Basecamp EAST (East African School of Theology-- our home in Kenya) to participate in and help lead the EAST chapel service for the students.  Mungu Akipenda team leader Kristen Fagley rounded the troops on Wednesday morning to get them charged up for the day.  Then Lindsey Appiah took over to represent NCC at chapel. Caitlyn Eyth hit it out of the park as she shared her story of what God was doing in her life in Kenya.  Earwitnesses claim it was nothing short of a graduation speech.

Meanwhile, the NCC zone leaders, team leaders, and ministry leaders spent the morning and afternoon with the ICC staff to talk about multi-site and small groups.  Pat Thomas shared her wealth of wisdom and experience leading hospitality ministry in a multi-site context.  Kacey McGowan shared her contagious passion for the arts and compelling vision for the place where the church and the arts intersect.  Steph Modder hit a home run as she talked about worship ministry in a multi-site context (don’t let Steph tell you she’s not a public speaker-- she is amazing). 

Then, we did some discipleship/small group training and left them with a 150+ book small group library.  We enjoyed a great African lunch that day, and I finally got to eat my first chapatis since my LSU days. 

That night, we split into teams of 2 to visit ICC Caring Communities; that’s their version of small groups.  I personally witnessed one of the best displays of small group leadership ever as our leader David navigated some really tricky questions and rabbit trails.  It was also the best snacks I’ve ever had at a group.  Nathan and Heather Gonzales and Steph Modder visited a group that was multiplying, and Nathan was given the privilege of praying with and commissioning the new leaders.  The group visits were highlights for many of the people on our team.

Thursday/Friday
SAFARI!!!!  Wow.  I can’t even begin to describe this part of the trip.  Okay, it’s been difficult to describe ANY part of the trip.  But safari was...well...unbelievable.  Some people may question why we would “waste” our time going on safari on mission trip.  Or think us shallow.  Here’s my two cents:  I want this team to fall in love with this country so that their mission to Kenya lasts a lifetime and not just one week. If whipping across the Mara chasing cheetahs doesn’t make you fall in love with this country, then nothing will.  It was a worshipful experience as we thanked God over and over again for his creativity.  It bonded us as a team.  And it gave us all some much needed time to process what we’ve seen during this trip. 

So, we flew in very small planes from the Wilson Airport to the Kichwa Tembo tented camp at the Masai Mara where we were greeted by several pumbas (warthogs).  On the first day of game drive, we saw lions, elephants, cheetahs, topi, Thompson gazelles, and I can’t remember what else.  I am happy to report that Steph Modder was not eaten by a lion as she feared might happen.  Danielle Walker commented that Thursday was probably the most amazing day of her entire life.  We saw a cheetah go in for a kill.  The chase was exhilerating to watch, but the kill never happened.

Our “tents” came complete with warm water bottles for the beds (yes, beds), steaming water in the showers, and early morning coffee, tea, and hot chocolate delivery to the rooms.

Today, we rose early for another game drive and came really close to three different families of elephants.  We saw ostrich and hippos and giraffes.  We watched a hyena run across the plain with a carcass clenched between his teeth.  Words just can’t do it justice...at least not the words I currently have to wrap around this experience.  We’ll have to upload some pictures later. 

This afternoon, we bartered and bargained for souvenirs at the marketplace.  Ryan was much better at haggling over prices than me, and it turned into sport for him.  So we are bringing half the markeplace back, it seems.  It was surreal to sit in an open air food court in Nairobi and listen to the live Kenyan band cover Hotel California.

Now, half of our team is attending the weekly service of Journey campus ministry at the University of Nairobi.  The other half is practicing for “Portraits of Healing,” which they are performing during the Sunday services in collaboration with the ICC drama team.

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