Stories from Kenya

As a junior in college, I began to think about what I would do after graduation. I worked hard to complete my degree in four years and the thought of graduate school overwhelmed me at the time. That spring, I went on a short term mission trip with a college ministry team to Belize. During that week, I felt that God showed me that I had something to offer and I began to pray about serving in missions short term. I contacted a missions agency and began the process of interviewing. My first thought was that I should go to a Spanish speaking country, because I studied Spanish in school. Over the course of several weeks, God literally shut the door on the Spanish speaking countries I was considering, so I was back to square one. That summer, in 2000, I visited my aunt and uncle in Botswana. There, my world was completely rocked after meeting many AIDS orphans and hearing their stories. The missions agency told me that they had just started working with orphans in Kenya and I quickly decided that was where I wanted to go. Spanish wouldn't get me far in Kenya, but I was excited for the opportunity to return to Africa and work with orphans.

The plan was that I was going to serve with another American woman and we would spend several months working in an orphanage in rural Kenya. She had just graduated from high school, and I had just graduated from college. We purchased plane tickets, began raising support, and went through training. A few weeks before our planned departure, we got word that plans were changing. We could not go to the rural area right away and would need to spend some time in Nairobi. The missions agency called a Kenyan pastor in Nairobi and asked if he could help find work for us and a place for us to stay. He told them that we could live with his family and he would find work for us. The pastor was Imbumi Makuku. We arrived in Kenya in August 2001. Pastor Imbumi and his wife Martha welcomed us into their home. They taught us about their country and culture. They listened to us, when we were homesick or needed to process hard things we had seen. They took care of us and encouraged us. They became family.

I had traveled internationally and had seen poverty and difficult things, but nothing had prepared me for serving in the slums of Nairobi. We worked with women who were dying of AIDS. We worked with children who had been severly abused and mistreated. We worked with people who were forgotten and just needed people to hear their stories and love them.

While we were living with the Makukus, Imbumi shared with us that he felt that God was putting it on his heart to plant a church in Kibera. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and the second largest in the world. It is approximately one square mile and there are nearly 1 million people living there. No paved roads, no running water, no electricity. In the spring of 2002, Imbumi started Kibera Reformed Presbyterian Church. I had the opportunity to spend the summer of 2002 in Kenya and spent much of this time in Kibera with the Makukus. It was amazing to experience this new church, that Imbumi had been thinking and praying about starting while I was living with his family. Over the years, I've been blessed to return to Kenya several times to serve with the Makukus.

Through my time and experiences in Kenya, God has taught me so much about myself, my faith, what it means to serve Him, and God's heart for mercy and justice.

I wanted to share about Kenya for a couple reasons. One, is that the Makuku family is coming to visit this week! I haven't seen them in a couple years and am so excited to have time with them.

Second, I am going to Kenya this summer, with a group from my church to serve with the Makukus in Kibera. I am thrilled to be returning to Kenya, and introducing my church to my Kenya church family, who is so special to me. As I prepare to return to Kenya, and reflect on previous time there, I hope to share more stories about Kenya- about the people and experiences that have inspired me and taught me more about myself and my faith.