Project Kenya
May 25—June 4, 2007
A team of 22 NCCers are making the journey to Nairobi, Kenya to work with Pastor Chip Block and International Christian Centre. We will lead discipleship, small group, and leadership training for their young adults ministry and we will work with their worship and drama teams to do arts evangelism. Our primary mission is rooted in Luke 10:27—to love God and love others.
Latest From the Journal
Daily Challenge 7: Teamwork
Heather Zempel · May 31, 2007 · 9:00 AM
This entry is identical to the Daily Devotional Challenge that Team Kenya is using during their trip. It is a study on the 10 Core Values of International Christian Center.
WE VALUE TEAM WORK
Scripture Meditations
Philippians 2:2-5
Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Ephesians 4:16
He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Journal Questions
- What is the hardest part about being on this team? What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of this team?
- In what areas is your team “agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose?” Where are those things not happening?
- What part of the Body of Christ are you? What function are you serving on this team? What functions are other people serving? How can you help the other parts grow?
Actions
Some suggestions for putting it into practice today:
- Talk with your teammates about how well your team is functioning. Where do you fit together well? What areas need some work?
- “Take an interest in others”- spend 5 minutes talking with another person about their story, their interests, their concerns, their dreams, what they love, etc. Don’t talk about yourself.
- Reflect on your team name with your teammates. How has your team reflected that name during this trip?
Daily Challenge 6: Each Individual
Heather Zempel · May 30, 2007 · 9:00 AM
This entry is identical to the Daily Devotional Challenge that Team Kenya is using during their trip. It is a study on the 10 Core Values of International Christian Center.
WE VALUE EACH INDIVIDUAL
Scripture Meditations
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Journal Questions
- We are made in the image of God. How does that affect your identity?
- “We are God’s masterpiece.” Have you ever thought of God as an artist? What does your particular masterpiece look like? What colors? What form? What medium?
Actions
Some suggestions for putting it into practice today:
- As you minister to people today, view them as bearers of the image of God. Think about how it affects the way you minister, the way you think of God, and the way you think of others.
- Encourage someone (someone not on the team) today in a very specific way that highlights and appreciates their individuality and the unique way in which God has created them.
- Be aware of the colors, smells, shapes, sounds, and textures of the world that artist God has created.
- In teams, share with one another the unique gifts and passions that each individual brings to the community.
Journey
Heather Zempel · May 29, 2007 · 9:52 AM
We spent last night with the Journey campus ministry at the University of Nairobi. They are in the process of starting up small groups, so the Hills and Gonzaleses came along to share their wisdom on making disciples and multiplying leaders. Between Kim Hill’s slip of the tongue (I’ve been sworn to secrecy; you’ll have to ask her!) and the captivating Gonzales skit, I think we held their attention. Hopefully, we helped get them excited and expand their vision for reaching their campus and discipling it through small groups. Kristen, Pat, Danielle, Theresa, and Tanny were able to bring ideas and creativity, as well.
Here’s the weird thing. Journey has 300 students involved. Only 50 are women. That’s about the opposite of our 18/4 team ratio of women to men.
Please pray for Gibson and his team as they reach out to these future leaders of Kenya.
The Return to Eastleigh
nathan. · May 29, 2007 · 9:32 AM
Our Monday morning in Eastleigh was so shocking that, I think many of us had mixed feelings returning there on Tuesday morning. We knew it would be emotionally draining, but we also knew God wasn’t through with us there yet. This time we visited two more schools to deliver the Book of Hope. I had a whole range of experiences from singing our national anthem with James in front of a group of fifth graders, to helping Steph and Ryan navigate serious questions about sex, HIV, and AIDS with a class of 12th graders. It’s truly amazing the access that God has granted us and the influence he has given us while we are here. Your prayers are necessary as our days are filled with countless conversations and numerous new relationships.
But once again, our worlds were rocked. To end the morning, we split into pairs for home visits. We started at Pastor Vincent’s school and were paired with two students who led us into the slums to their house (with a teacher also escorting us). The conditions are really beyond description, but our goal was to share the love of God and hope with the parents of these students. When Heather and I were finished visiting our family, we expected to see Lindsey A. and James outside to walk to the next home. When they were already gone, we embarked on our own trip to find them. I pray that I never forget that walk. Our two young friends running, guiding us through the second largest slum in all of Africa, with Heather and I following behind. The sounds, the smells, the pictures are unforgettable. (Since I know family and friends are reading this, we did find James and Lindsay eventually, safe and sound of course.) On our way out, Heather and my hearts paused as we saw a young boy, crying, laying on a trash heap. I think we was just throwing a tantrum, but that image will always be with me.
Obama vs. Hill
Heather Zempel · May 29, 2007 · 9:30 AM
While the general consensus may be that Obama is king of Kenya, our amazing bus driver and theological school student John believes that Brian Hill is destined to be king of Kenya.
Barack Obama is King
nathan. · May 29, 2007 · 9:28 AM
He may be running for President of the United States, but Barack Obama is king in Kenya. No matter where we go, or what economic class, people love to talk about politics and Barack Obama. It’s amazing that when we go into the schools and ask for questions at the end of our presentation, the first question is almost always about Barack Obama. He is a role model for so many of these students, and his success in America could have a profound impact on an entire generation of Kenyans.
Daily Challenge 5: The Work of the Holy Spirit
Heather Zempel · May 29, 2007 · 9:00 AM
This entry is identical to the Daily Devotional Challenge that Team Kenya is using during their trip. It is a study on the 10 Core Values of International Christian Center.
WE VALUE THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Scripture Meditations
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Galatians 5:22-25
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
Journal Questions
- Have you ever had an Acts 2 Pentecost experience?
- What fruit of the Spirit is abundant in your life? What fruit do you need the Spirit to cultivate more in your life?
- Have you ever experienced any of the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians? Which ones? Which gifts scare you? Which gifts interest you?
Actions
Some suggestions for putting it into practice today:
1. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. Ask him for opportunities to use specific gifts.
2. Talk with your team members about the Holy Spirit and share your answers to the journal questions.
Whiplash
Heather Zempel · May 29, 2007 · 8:59 AM
Nathan just gave you the rundown on yesterday, and I thought I’d throw in a couple of personal reflections. I suppose the primary feeling I experienced yesterday can be characterized by the word whiplash. I realize now that Nathan just used that word to describe the day, as well. Twelve of us dug ourselves out of bed before the break of day to hang out with some professionals—businessmen and women, engineers, accountants, entrepreneurs, etc. Brian Hill knocked it out of the park with his reflections on being an influential businessman and Christ-follower in the marketplace. It felt just like we were hanging out with NCCers—people with similar backgrounds, experiences, and dreams. We met Kenyans who had friends and family in DC.
From there, we went directly to the Eastleigh slums, where we saw poverty that went beyond anything I can possibly begin to describe. It seems trite and cliché to even try to wrap words around the mess that we saw. We held orphans and made them laugh. We prayed with children who are HIV positive. We listened to children living in complete squalor sing with a joy I’ve rarely seen.
Whiplash. From one end of the economic and sociological spectrum to the extreme opposite end. Two worlds co-existing in the same small space near Nairobi.
And yeah, it was also whiplash to try to stand in front of the young professionals breakfast with any credibility after spewing my Pop-tart out the window of the bus on the drive there.
A Monday Morning to Remember
nathan. · May 29, 2007 · 8:58 AM
Monday morning was one of the most unforgettable mornings of my entire life.
Half of our team woke up at 6am to head into the town center for a Professionals Breakfast, sponsored by |CC, at a hotel. Heather Z. did a great job talking about Daniel (particularly since she threw up outside the bus window on the way there) and Brian Hill gave an amazing talk about character and integrity in the marketplace. But the ability to connect and have conversations with the professionals was awesome. It helped me understand the diversity of the people of Nairobi. Among our new friends at Heather and my table were a dentist, an investor, a woman from WorldVision, and a great guy named Alan who has his own film-making and post-production company. It’s just great to know that no matter what continent, we all struggle and strive to live out our faith in the marketplace.
What came next was nothing short of cultural whiplash. We got back on the bus, met with the rest of our team, and headed into the slums of Nairobi (known as EastLeigh). Our mission was to take the Book of Hope into a school, with the help of our new Kenyan brother Eric. We got off the bus and started walking with our boxes of books, with most of us puzzled because nothing looked even remotely like a school amidst the shacks. Finally, we made a left and walked through a brief alley and into the school. What we found were dark, musty, concrete rooms filled to the brim with smiling faces. The conditions wouldn’t even be fit for an American jail, yet these students were anxious to learn and happy we were there. We did our presentations and handed out books, but I know we were the ones forever changed.
We finished out our morning at the church/school headed up by Pastor Vincent (which is also an extension of ICC). But before I got there, Eric pulled me aside and said he needed me to pray with a man wanted to receive Jesus. Of course, I thought it was something I should probably do. :) So I walked around behind our bus, stood over a stream of raw sewage, and prayed with Patrick (known as a pretty bad guy in the neighborhood) to receive Christ. It all happened so fast and it’s still surreal, but it shows what God can do if you just make yourself available.
At the school, we were met with more bright and smiling faces and were treated to a presentation where they sang songs and recited memory verses for us. We have plenty of pictures and video that we’ll try and post as soon as we can. Words simply do not do justice to our experiences thus far. But we at least wanted to give you all a taste of what we’re. Your prayers are appreciated, needed, and working!!!
Back Online
Heather Zempel · May 29, 2007 · 8:55 AM
We are back online for a few moments here at International Christian Center. We’ve spent the past two days largely in the slums away from internet access. Now, our team gearing up to head to the streets to do drama and pass out fliers to invite people to church, while Nathan and I commandeered a couple of ICC computers in order to catch you up on our adventures. Here’s a quick run-down on what we’ve experienced over the past 48 hours.
Sunday afternoon: Visited the Giraffe Park, fed giraffes and saw warthogs
Monday morning: A subset of our team went to the ICC- sponsored young professionals breakfast at the Panafric Hotel
Monday afternoon: Visited the Eastleigh slums. Did Book of Hope presentations at two schools and visited the Baraka Chrisitan Center church that Pastor Vincent planted.
Monday night: Half of the team passed out fliers invited people to our drama presentations this weekend. The other half met with the Journey ministry of the University of Nairobi to train their leaders in small group ministry, leadership, and discipleship
Tuesday morning: Visited two schools to make Book of Hope presentations. Visited the homes of children who attend the Baraka Christian School.
Now: It sounds like our entire team is singing to “Light of the World” from Godspell. I guess they are gearing up for street ministry tonight.
Later tonight: Our team will participate in a special prayer service for people needing healing, and our drama team will rehearse with the drama team from ICC.