I would like to
thank you, my church family, for your prayers during my
recent mission trip to Kenya. It was both a joyful and a
difficult trip and I could feel your prayer support daily.
For those of you who don’t know, I was
blessed to be able to travel with ten others, through MOST
Ministries, to Kenya for two weeks in September. While
there, we worked with the Evangelical Church of Kenya on
their AIDS education program. As you probably know, AIDS is
epidemic in Africa and the people living with HIV and AIDS
are often ostracized. The ELCK is working very hard to
change that and I was honored to be able to help with that
effort.
Our task in Kenya was two-fold. First, we
conducted a survey of people’s knowledge and attitudes about
people living with HIV/AIDS. This assessment tool will be
used to structure the ELCK’s program to help those living
with AIDS. We surveyed 260 people, some HIV+, some negative.
Many of the questions were very difficult to ask as well as
to answer I am sure. It was heart wrenching at times and I
pray that the church’s program will help change the many
negative, misinformed attitudes some have.
Our second focus was teaching nutrition
for people living with AIDS. Unfortunately, many people in
Kenya are very poor so we tried to teach proper nutrition
using the resources they have available. It was a challenge,
but I think we accomplished the goal and the people were
extremely grateful. They were very open, honest, kind and
downright funny. We shared some laughs as we tried to teach
each other! I tried to tell some from the Masaii tribe that
they need to cook their meat thoroughly to avoid bacteria
when all they have eaten is raw meat, milk and blood for how
many years? They thought I was crazy! I believe I learned as
much as I taught on this trip.
This trip really was an amazing journey!
We traveled over 1900 kilometers through one of the most
beautiful countries I have ever seen, on roads that rivaled
some Cedar Point rides! Many of those we taught were church
leaders. They will be sharing what they learned with 24 of
the 42 tribes of Kenya, totaling tens of thousands of
people. I have no doubt that God put this whole trip
together. I personally saw God’s hand at work time after
time on this trip, and what an awesome God He is!!!! I
continue to thank Him for this opportunity, and again I
thank you for your support!
