Church in Kenya

We have had a powerful, beautiful day!  Impossible to believe this is our last night here.  I overheard Sydney Stewart saying " I am going to be so homesick for Kenya when I go home".  I think we are all feeling that, although a nice hot shower and clean towel/ bed will help ease us back home.  

Amazingly, after our crazy late day yesterday, all were up and dressed and ready to go this morning by 9 to get to church (except Lainey and Jake who were not feeling well). In sacrament meeting,  Bowen and Abi gave the most wonderful, spiritual talks.  Abi spoke about faith during difficulty and shared the story of "footprints", Bowen spoke on families and how we can each make a positive difference in our family.  After two of the Kenyans also spoke, our entire group and all of the Kenyan youth, stood and sang "A Child's Prayer".  AHHHH the room was ringing with their voices and radiating with their smiles.  They truly did all look like brothers and sisters!  Becca, Sydney, and Cal taught primary.  Brooke, Naomi, and Olive taught Young Women,  Jason and Jacob volunteered to run the nursery for the last hour so the nursery leaders could go to a combined meeting.  A woman in the ward had brought a bag of Chipati for our youth because she had been so impressed with them last week, (The Kenyan version of a homemade tortilla).  This was lucky, because the missionaries grabbed us to say there was a baptism of two converts taking place right after church, so our "starving" youth agreed to stay another hour.  Isaiah and Drage spoke, (they were phenomenal).  Of course after the meetings we were swarmed with members wanting to speak with our youth, get their email addresses etc.  I asked a few of them to help us find the house of the woman who was preparing our lunch.  We walked to this humble home, which was literally a 15' X 15' corrugated metal lean to.  All 33 of us, plus the 4 youth who accompanied us, and the Young Women's Pres., all piled into this room and sat around on the floor and bed.  She brought out two trays of the most delicious samosas and sandwiches for us.  When we had finished eating, we asked her to tell us her "story".  She had been a political activist in Zimbabwe.  She was torutured and burned, and fled to Kenya in 2009.  The Kenya government wanted all refugees to go home, but she would be killed because of her political activities.  She lives day to day making samosas and selling them on the street for  $.20 a piece. She is now married and has a 2 year old son.  She shared her conversion story and the spirit of her sweet words was palpable in this tiny humble home.  Brian left a blessing on her home, and we gave her an extra $100 with our payment for lunch.  She tearfully walked with us to the bus stop, and expressed how that simple monetary gift from us would change her life!

I am so grateful to share these amazing, sacred moments with your beautiful children.  They are a light to everyone they come in contact with.  They are ambassadors of everything that is good in the world, and Brian and I feel deeply humbled and blessed to be with them.  I am grateful for your prayers for our safety, they have been felt and provided a shield of protection throughout these 2 weeks.  If all goes well, you will not hear from me tomorrow night because we will be on a plane on our way home!  Fingers crossed.  Brian did point out that we all ate sandwiches with salad on them today,  that was probably rinsed in very unsanitary water......keep praying!

Mindy