First Full Day in Kenya

Truly what a blessing and honor it is to be in Kenya and to work with Life in Abundance. Last night we arrived at the beautiful and welcoming LIA guesthouse. Graciously, Holly gave us a brief orientation of the guesthouse and how things work, which was awesome, we would be lost without her. We all got settled into our living areas and crashed into our beds. This morning some of us woke up thinking “Where am I?”, but once we were all up and had some breakfast in our bellies (a few of us tried these mini-bananas, they were delicious) and Sam led us in a morning devotion, we were ready to start our day. Holly led us from the guesthouse down a few blocks and corners to the LIA: Kenya office. It was actually “freezing” for Kenya this morning, but still warmer than the U.S. so we were happy. One very important thing we learned was to be careful while walking sidewalks because Kenyan drivers can get pretty aggressive, especially in the rain Holly warned us.

Upon arriving at the Kenya office our friend Gus greeted and introduced us to the Kenyan staff, who are wonderful, and started off the meeting. We opened by singing some hymns acapella, which was a different experience because usually in the U.S. meetings don’t start off with singing, but it was awesome. Then Gus led us in a devotion from 1 Corithians: 12 talking about the church as a body and how all believers are part of the body and brothers and sisters in Christ. During the meeting we discussed schedules, finances and saw a slideshow of some of the areas we will be working in and got very motivated, all while enjoying cups of delicious Kenyan tea. We said goodbye to our friends for the day and began walking to a lunch at a food court called Prestige.

Before we went to lunch, Holly walked us through what a normal Kenyan market looks like, which is where many different booths are set up with fruits and vegetables and other goods. Right next-door was this food court with a variety of restaurants to choose from, such as Ethiopian, Kenyan, American, Chinese and more. It was very interesting because different persons who worked at the different food areas would come up to you and offer their menu, not like in the states where we go and order from the register. Nicole chose a dish called Ingeri (traditional Ethiopian mixed plate) but it was huge and some of use had never seen that dish, so that was cool. Molly “RayRay” ate some samosas from the Kenyan restaurant and Molly Russell ate some good ole cheese pizza, the rest of us added even more variety to the table. Then we continued our adventure into the supermarket to get ideas for meals for the next week or so. Jacob picked us up and we paid a visit to the LIA, International office and had a brief meet-and-greet with the staff members there. Everyone here has been so hospitable and kind, we are very grateful for the community we have entered and the opportunities the LIA is providing for us to grow in Jesus and serve others.

After the quick meeting with the international staff, we had the opportunity and privilege of meeting with an LIA team member who is running a medical clinic in Sudan. Hearing his stories of trial and success was extremely encouraging, and his heart for God and the patients was very moving. We prayed for him briefly and were on our way.

Exhausted and nodding in and out of consciousness, we made our way back to the Kenya office to pick up a few more items for the team. On our way out of the parking lot we got a flat tire and had to walk back to the guesthouse. Luckily it wasn’t too far, and everyone but Katie and Sam crashed for a few hours. We made our first dinner tonight: spaghetti, (delicious) Kenyan chapatti bread, tomato sauce and a fruit salad. Chapati is very similar to naan or flat bread. Then we shared more about our lives and our stories of how we came to be apart of Mi2, laughed, cried, and had a bit of time for devotionals/ quiet time. All in all a very wonderful and productive day, we are so thankful to be here.

-LIA Mi2: Kenya Interns