In July and August 2007, 3 teams from GRX went to Kahawa Sukari, near Nairobi, Kenya. Team members were from GRX Sunnyvale, GRX San Francisco, KidZone, and Creative Arts Ministry. Some were on their first short-term mission trip. Everyone learned that we had family half a world away because we are part of one church and worship one God.
I feel extremely fortunate to have been part of one of those teams. We were immediately welcomed into the homes and communities of Deliverance Church, GRX’s partner church in Kenya. We didn’t need to know Swahili to be lifted up by the praise and dancing on Sunday morning. There were also no words when we went to the Mathare slums, the orphanage, or neighborhoods where people appeared to have nothing.
I expected sadness and even hopelessness. Yes, our hearts were broken and my team cried many times. But our tears were also because we saw God so clearly so many times; in the innocence of the children, the dedication of the church in serving the people financially and spiritually, and most of all, continuing to have faith.
Gary Sun, GRX’s Worship Director, will continue to lead the Kenya committee and communicate with our partners in Kenya including Pastor Wang’ombe of Deliverance Church. Another potential partner is Pastor Karau who introduced the GRX teams to the Mathare slums. Pastor Karau and his church provide a childcare center, a worship center, and a clinic to the Mathare slum area. Pastor Karau and his family also personally adopt 10 orphans who have lost their parents through AIDS or poverty into their home with the help of care staff. Pastor Karau and his Mathare Worship Center are in a partnership with an American organization called Hope’s Promise at http://www.hopespromise.com/kenya_projects.html
Possible involvement for GRX Unstoppable includes expanding the orphanage by buying existing land or additional land. There are many day to day physical and emotional needs we could provide for the children too. Further planning will take place in April with possible visitors from Kenya.
Please pray for stability and safety in Kenya. Presidential elections were held December 27th and since then, violence and tribal rivalries have shattered this once peaceful country. President Mwai Kibaki was declared the close winner over opposition leader Reila Odinga in a widely declared flawed election. Over 300 people have been killed in ethnic rivalries including children and the elderly that tried to find sanctuary in a church.
2008 summer mission teams will be dependent upon the situation in Kenya.
~Update from 01-07-08
GrX is partnering with Deliverance Church in Kahawa Sukari, Nairobi, Kenya to create a school and comprehensive health care facility serving vulnerable children, orphans, and the greater community. This project will address all three major issues in Kenya by providing for the needs of those affected by AIDS, educating an emerging generation for full participation in society and the world, and breaking the cycle of poverty.
Deliverance church has established a separate faith-based non-profit organization to facilitate outreach in their community - the Kahawa Sukari Outreach and Development Initiative (KODI). We will be partnering with the church through this organization and working towards the development of our common vision. Along with two other short-term mission teams (CAM and Kidzone), we are sending a KODI team this summer to meet with their team and jointly create an action plan for the next two years.
There is a State Department Travel Warning for Kenya. Please pray for the safety and wellbeing of the GrX mission teams.
~Update from 07-20-07
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