Whims Kenya Update September 2023
Tanner and I have returned after spending almost three weeks in Kenya.
We covered a lot of ground and enjoyed being with the team from Manee Kenya as we put on a soccer camp at Mercy and Caring Children's Home in Kitale, visited discipleship groups, participated in the 14th Equip to Serve graduation, met with Pastors from Rwanda, the Congo, Tanzania and Uganda who were part of the 2 year zoom class, spoke at an ABC church in Nairobi and joined a discipleship training conference at the Navigators headquarters in Nairobi.
A day after landing in Kenya our team drove over 10 hours to Kitale to join a group from Calvary Chapels in BC who were working at the Mercy and Caring Children's home. Our team had planned a weekend soccer camp including a mini-world cup on Sunday after church. We handed out jersey kits donated by Langley United Soccer Association and Tanner organized 6 stations, for the 110 kids that attended, to rotate through. We shared a devotion after the camp on looking at God's monuments from the life of Joshua. This was the title of the VBS that the Calvary Chapel team was running during the following week. I didn't know that but God always has things well organized. On Sunday the mini-world cup was split into three age divisions and trophies were given to the winning teams. Monday, Tanner shared at the youth night about what it's like being a Christian in Canada, the youth were surprised by the lack of freedom and attacks on Christians that are faced in Canada. We also shared the bridge illustration and invited the youth to make Jesus a priority in their lives. We left Tuesday, leaving soccer balls, cones and pinnies, behind as a donation to the children's home and made the long trek back to Machakos where we would be staying the remainder of the trip.
Once in Machakos we began visiting discipleship groups in different churches between 1 hour and 3 hours away. We spent the days in training, quizzing them on their memory verses and having competitions on explaining things like the wheel illustration and bridge diagram. Prizes were handed out, very important in Kenya, songs were sung together and a great time of fellowship.
On August 26th was the 14th annual ETS graduation with 148 graduates. It is a 5 hour celebration of the hard work these disciples have made and an encouragement to pass on what they have learned to others. It is a handing over of the baton to be not just disciples but disciple makers. During Covid an on-line class was started including Pastors from surrounding nations including Rwanda, the Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. This was the first time to meet in person and we had a great time of fellowship as we ate together and discussed the expansion plans for their countries in making disciples.
For our last days after the graduation we visited an ABC Church in Nairobi and I spoke on lessons in waiting on God from Nehemiah Chapter 1 and 2 after church we attended a sports camp for youth of the ABC churches. Tanner and I were interviewed by the local news team and we donated jerseys and soccer balls for the winning teams. You can watch the news clip here:
During our last week we visited some existing discipleship classes who have just started ETS training and then spent the last two days in Nairobi. Part of that was joining a discipleship training led by Ed Hickey from Calvary Chapel in Abbotsford at the Navigators headquarters in Nairobi.
You can view more photos and videos from our trip at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Da4GQ1t9XCJwJKxb6
Thank-you for continuing this journey with our family, this was an amazing trip with lots of highlights.
A personal family prayer request is that we are looking for a place to rent for our 20 year old son in the lower mainland. If you have any leads please let us know.
Until all are discipled,
Travis & Jennifer Whims
