Day 12: Off to Weru

Today started at 4:45 AM when a bunch of us woke up to send off some of our teammates who had early departures. Some of them would have to travel 12+ hours just to reach their ministry assignment location. Those of us whose destinations were closer would depart later that morning. Around 9 AM, the rest of us boarded our buses and proceeded to the bus station where we said our final goodbyes to our teammates. Pastor Mwiti, Dylan, and I eventually found our transportation and we were off to Weru.

The ride to Weru isn't bad at all. It takes less than 5 hours to reach Weru and the roads are paved. Upon arrival to a staging area near Weru, the three of us got rides on motorbikes to reach our host family's house.

I was definitely just taking it all in as I walked through the family's gate. That day, it was overcast and it turns out it had been raining earlier which doesn't happen too often. Since we were in a mountainous area, the air was really crisp and the terrain was really green and lush. I was sort of excited to explore the family's "shamba", or farm, but there would be time for that later.

After we entered the house, we met Doris, our host grandmother. We would be staying with her and her three grandchildren. Since theirs is a host culture, Doris invited us in and served us a late lunch and chai. Pastor then showed me and Dylan the room we would be staying in and gave us some time to relax before showing us the church where he serves at. I'll talk about the church in my next entry.

Later that night after dinner, Pastor led a time of devotions. As he spoke on Romans 12, I couldn't help but be a little surprised. Firstly, I rarely do devotions back in the U.S., let alone with a group of people. Secondly, Pastor spoke with a sense of conviction and passion that I had previously not seen in him (granted, I had only known him for about a day or so). All the same, that time of devotions really spoke to me on several levels.

After devotions, Dylan and I retired to our room where we journaled with a lamp between us (no electricity!). I was excited for the ministry we would be doing but all the same, but 3 weeks of living and serving in a rural area seemed like forever. I still wasn't sure what to expect from being in Weru, but Dylan and I were here now, and we were ready to let God work through us so that others might be blessed and our hearts might be changed.