Day 33: Hello and Goodbye

Saying goodbye, from left to right: Pastor Mwiti, Dylan, Edith, Salame, Betty, and Doris (our host grandmother)
Our home for 3 weeks

Dylan and I woke up at 6 AM so that we could say goodbye to the kids (Mweti, Mercy, and Kevin) before they left for school. Those kids are tough; they didn't cry or do anything like that as we said goodbye to them. As Dylan and I packed our stuff, Betty, Salame, and Edith came over to our host family's house one more time to hang out with us. To say that this day was bittersweet is a huge understatement. On one hand, we were finally going back to Nairobi where we would have running water, electricity, internet, etc. We would see our teammates in a matter of hours. Yet, I think Dylan and I both knew that Weru would always have a special place in our hearts.

Pastor Mwiti was actually going to accompany us to Nairobi, because his wife and children live there. Dylan and I were pretty stoked about this because this meant spending one more day with the man we had gotten to know so well over the past 3 weeks. So as the three of us got on motorbikes to head to the local matatu stop, I couldn't help but glance back at the sights which had become so familiar to me. The family's house. The church, Weru Worship Centre. The long dirt road. As we rode away and Doris, Betty, Edith, and Salame faded from sight, I knew in my heart that it would be a longshot for me to see these people ever again. This was definitely the hardest goodbye I have ever had in my life. I had come to love Weru and its people and it saddened my heart knowing I would probably never see or talk to these brothers and sisters of mine ever again.

Pastor Mwiti took me and Dylan to his home in Nairobi to meet his second wife (his first one sadly past away a few years earlier) and two of his other children, Bernise and Dennis. After hanging at his apartment for a couple of hours, we finally left for Little Sister's Spiritual Centre, where we would reunited with our teammates.

What a reunion it was. I can't even describe the feeling as ministry pairs trickled in from their journeys from all over Kenya. You know that scene in the last Lord of the Rings movie when Frodo wakes up after destroying the rind to find the surviving members of the Fellowship standing over his bedside? Remember all the laughter and joy they shared? I guess our reunion was kind of like that haha. It was so awesome to hug each other and begin to share stories about how God worked in and through us. When at last the last pair (Mike and Josh) arrived, something just felt right. There we were: a bunch of American college students who had all been in the middle of nowhere in Kenya doing ministry and learning what it means to follow God to whatever end and finally, we were all together again.

Like everything else in life, we must move on. Though I said goodbye to Weru and its people, it was time to continue to see what God had to show me for the rest of the GP. It was time to be in community with my friends from the GP again. Now was the semi-hard part (like any other spiritual experience): I had to take what God had shown me in Weru and not forget. Never, ever forget.

Day 32: Adventures in Mt. Kenya and the Last Supper (in Weru, that is)

Our day started at 4:44 AM when Dylan and I woke up to get ready for our safari into Mt. Kenya. We would be journeying to the mountain with Pastor Mwiti and two church members, Betty and Edith. To start our day, we met our two guides and the driver of our jeep. Now, believe me when I say that the 1.5 hour drive to the park entrance in the absolute worst drive I have ever been in. It was the most bumpy, stop-and-go, nausea-inducing car, sitting-on-a-mental-bench, would-give-anything-for-paved-roads ride I have ever been in. Once we gained admittance into the national park, we hiked for a good 5-6 hours (at an altitude of about 2 miles over sea level). In terms of sightseeing, we saw these caves, a waterfall, and other stuff. To be honest, the most interesting thing that we saw was a leopard from really far away with Dylan's binoculars. While hiking, I did have a chance to really reflect on what God had shown me the past few weeks and I really resolved to trust in Him to continue to work in my life.

By the time we got back home (after another crappy 1.5 hour car ride back down the mountain), Dylan and I were absolutely beat. I just wanted to sit down and relax before some church members arrived for a dinner party to celebrate our last night in Weru. It was dark by the time the car pulled in front of our family's gates so imagine my surprise when I get out of the car to see the smiling faces of Mweti, Mercy, Kevin, Brian, and all the other kids of church members. When I entered through the house doors, Javan, Moredi, Lydia, Salame, and a bunch of other church members were already there cooking a feast. I was dead tired but I told myself that whatever strength I had left was going to give to these people and kids I had come to love. After dinner, all the church members present gave Dylan and me encouragement and blessings. Dylan and I each then said our words of goodbye and then we prayed for Weru and the community they have there.

Saying goodbye to all the people and kids there was one of the toughest things I have done. I really love the people of Weru and in my heart, I know that I may never see any of them ever again. I was blessed not only to be able to minister to them but to also have received so much ministering as well. I will never forget my time in Weru, a small rural area in Kenya, halfway across the world, for it was there that God revealed Himself to me like never before in my life.

Pastor Mwiti and I chilling at Mt. Kenya

Dylan with Kevin (the youngest grandchild of our host grandmother, left) and Naphtali (Pastor Mwiti's son, right) at our farewell party

Our host grandmother, Doris, preparing food for the party

Day 31: The Countdown

I don't know about Dylan but by now, I was feeling a certain sadness in my heart knowing that my 3 weeks in Weru were almost up. It was Monday, so Dylan and I woke up early to go to Motiguru school for the last time. Pastor wanted to take me and Dylan to nearby Mt. Kenya on Tuesday and so this was the last time Dylan and I would see our school kids. In the morning we said goodbye to our GP friends, but it wasn't that hard because we knew we would see them in a couple of days. So Dylan and I taught/helped at Motiguru one final time before saying our goodbyes to the kids and taking the mandatory pictures with them. I don't know what to say about those kids; they will never experience material richness. Most will only ever know Weru and the surrounding countryside. Most will probably end up tending to their families' lands and growing coffee beans, chai leaves, bananas, etc. Yet those kids are so pure in heart; they're not spoiled American children who grow up with a sense of entitlement. These are kids who stick leaves onto sticks and then run around watching the leaf spin on the stick as the air rushes past the makeshift toy.

Later on that day, Dylan and I helped Pastor Mwiti plant a garden by the church. We planted a bunch of seedlings into the dirt that will hopefully become fullgrown plants soon. Dylan and I felt really happy doing this task, because we felt we were leaving something permanent behind in Weru. We felt this was our mark on Weru; physical evidence that we had lived there for a few weeks and that we had come to love the place. We suggested the name "Garden of Uz" to Pastor, because we read Job together during our time in Weru.

Finally, at night, Edith invited us over to eat dinner with her and her spunky daughter Makena. Dylan and I had really come to respect Edith and how she poured out her heart into the church and into the community. We were really blessed to have known her and we were excited that she and Betty would be joining us the next day for our expedition into Mt. Kenya.

Our time in Weru was up quite yet, but all the same, my heart was heavy because even though I had never lived without electricity and running water for so long, there is something very "human" and "spiritual" about living in these conditions. Life just seems more "real." I don't know how to explain it. Don't get me wrong, I would take clean bathrooms, spiderless rooms, and a nice soft bed any day over Weru; however, it's just so different living life in Weru where not everything is handed to people on silver platters. Here, people have to survive but they find so much joy doing it.

We taught the kids how to play "sharks and minnows" and they loved it. Of course, they didn't know what the heck sharks or minnows were so they called it "1-2-3!", because that's the count for when they had to start running to avoid me and Dylan.

The garden we worked on with Pastor

Pastor Mwiti and Dylan hard at work

Day 30: A Story I'd Rather Not Tell

Today was one of the most blessed Sundays of my life. There's so many stories to tell that I don'teven know where to begin. So I guess I'll start with the one I'm most ashamed of.

As I've mentioned before, Dylan and I had been preaching and giving messages at Weru but I had not yet given a message at the main Sunday service, which over 200 people attend. I had been preparing a message on Philippians 2 about love and how true love requires sacrifice. To our surprise, Dylan and I really came to love speaking, whether to a church congregation, fellowship, or family, because we felt that God could really minister to people through us. But like many things in my life, my pride quickly enters the picture and corrupts my heart. So I was really looking forward to giving the message at the main service on this Sunday, because...well, it was my turn. Dylan had spoken at the main service the week before and so I assumed that I would be speaking on this Sunday. For those of you who know me well, imagine what internal struggles I had when Pastors Mwiti and Karau decided that Nathan would be speaking at the main service and that I would be preaching at the evening service...again. For those of you who don't know me quite as well, let's just say I wasn't happy and leave it at that.

The previous night, as I looked over the message I had prepared on love, I felt both really ashamed that I was actually bitter towards Nathan and also really angry because I felt I was entitled to give a sermon at the main service. Heck, Weru was my assignment right? Nathan was our guest was he not? How could he just stroll into my neighborhood (so to speak) and be given the honor of preaching at the main service? It sounds really prideful, stupid, and slightly ridiculous, but this was honestly what was going through my head.

Then I thought about my message and its core theme. True love requires sacrifice. Of course, God wouldn't let my anger and bitterness win over His plan. Once my shame began to set in, I heard some simple questions: What's your message about? Do you live it out? As I talked through my struggles with Dylan, I realized how hypocritical it would be of me to give a message about love when I couldn't even love my teammate and brother Nathan. It wasn't his fault at all. He didn't ask to give the message. He was simply serving in whatever way the Pastors asked. In the same way, I realized that I had to serve in whatever way God asked. I had to put aside my pride and desire for glory and simply serve. Serve in whatever way brings God the most glory. Ironically enough, Nathan told me he would be preaching on Philippians 2 and humility. God does indeed have a sense of humor.

Fast forward to Sunday and we the GP team simply served in whatever way we were asked. Pastor Karau, Rich, Jackie, and Paula went to Mpuri to preach and to minister to that branch. The rest of us (Dylan, Nathan, Melissa, Katie, and I) remained to teach Sunday School and to preach. At the end of the evening service, those of us in Weru were given the opportunity to lay our hands on people and to pray over them. I don't know exactly what spiritual things transpired that day but I know that God worked in amazing ways through everyone who served. I know in my heart that people in Weru and Mpuri were served and that the Holy Spirit met them.

As for me, I was blessed to be able to serve. I did another thing I'm terrible at and apologized to Nathan for wronging him and he was so gracious to me. Like our GP director Brian said: Sometimes God brings us all the way across the world to teach us something. To show me something. That day, I learned so much about pride, humility, and servanthood. Because as much I meant for people to be blessed by my message about love, I probably learned more about love and sacrifice from my own message than I could have ever predicted.

Dylan and I addressing the congregation of Weru Worship Centre one last time

Nathan and I chilling with some kids