03.16.10 - as promised another Africa blog SUNDAY morning

Sunday morning, Brian and Devo introduce themselves and are interpreted into Swahili to the congregation of over 600 people.

Worship was loud and joyful. Click here to see a video of some of the kids dancing.

Bishop John brings one of the students forward whose parents were killed in the election violence.

Second time preaching a sermon and I preached to a church of 600 in Kenya. I brought a simple message of God's love for them and their authority as sons and daughters of Christ. I also encouraged them to dream big dreams because we were all reaping the fruit of John Okinda's big dream.

Brian blows bubbles with some of the kids after the service.

Heather and Arielle are asked by the students to sing the US National Anthem... the students respond by singing theirs. Click here to hear them sing it.

Jess serves some of the female leaders in the church cookies. I will let Jess write a blurb about what she experienced here and post it soon.

While Jess and Anne were talking to the female leaders, Brian, Dave and I were talking to the pastors.

I was utterly humbled by this group of pastors. When I asked them to articulate their struggles as pastors someone stood up and said that their main struggles were as follows...

1. Our congregations are made up or orphans and widows 2. They have not eaten and do not have money for food 3. They do not have clean water

The group was so hopeful and I reminded them that without the supernatural intervention of God nothing would change. If Jesus could turn water into wine and He said that we would do greater things then maybe we need to be using our authority to be turning dirty water into clean water. A bold thing to say but it flew out of my mouth.

The group really wanted ownership of what they were doing and were not just looking for handouts. They were so grateful for the things that we were assisting them with but desperately wanted to become self sustaining. We were handed a micro-finance proposal.

While we were there we were able to buy them 3 acres of land with a river running through it which will start them in agriculture so that they can be self sustaining.

During this pastors meeting is when I first started to feel sick... I left this meeting to go to the bathroom and it was all down hill from there...

I'll post more soon and promise to leave all of the graphic sick stories out of it.

Take some time after reading this to pray for the pastors and church in Kenya.

JIM baker

P.S - leave COMMENTS!