AfriKenya

Everything in Kenya is AMAZING!!!

2009-10-24T10:40:00.001-07:00

It has been a couple of days since our last post and we apologize for the delay. We have traveled away from Narobi and into the city of Eldoret, more specifically a village area called Kip Karen. It is absolutley beautiful here and it has, without a doubt, the most welcoming and honoring people on the face of the planet.

We arrived to a host of little angels singing welcoming songs to us. We were each given a rose and walked around a huge circle, taking the time to shake hands and introduce ourselves to every person at Empowering Lives Training Center. It is quite amazing what ELI has done here. God really has worked through them to breath new life into a struggling ecomony with teaching them new ways to farm and become successful. They have even implemented a new dairy cooling station which puts enormous amounts of money back into the struggling economy.

The team is doing extremely well and feels very blessed. We are welcomed with open arms anywhere we walk and the word "Karibu" has become common verbage for us. Walking down the street to the children's home you will be bombairded by children, that will rush up to you with arms flung out, embracing you in a matchless feeling of love and tenderness.

Daryl and Joe have had immense fun working along some local Kenyan masonaries. "Keying" the homes in the children's home. It is a form of stucco, that proves to be a hard technique to master.

The kid's have blessed us so much. It is truly amazing to see the amount of joy that radiates from their faces from a simple hello. They know scripture like it was taught to them by Dora The Explorer and there is little we can do to teach them anything they don't already know. We have taught them a few american worship songs, which they absolutley loved and have done our best to hug each and everyone of them for our supporters back home!

Raylene, Genevieve and Katie have been doing excellent with the women's conference and will post a thorough post about that soon!

Please keep praying for us, as Joe has already experienced a Kenyan 24 hour flu on Thursday. He was told to take 2000mg of an antiboitic within a 2 hour period by our lovely team mom Gen. However he was only suppose to take 1000mg throughout the whole day. Well that overdose must have been sent from God because he is well now and was out in full force on Friday.

We are thankful for your continued prayers!

Asante,

Kenya Team 2

Oh Happy Day!

2009-10-19T07:15:00.001-07:00

We've arrived in Nairobi, Kenya and have settled into our guest house. We will be here for two days before leaving for Eldoret, Kenya, then on to Kip Karen.

Today we were able to visit the largest slum in the world.

"SLUM: A heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor."

To try and describe the place would be literally impossible. With over a million people living in the slum, it goes without saying it is an incredibly busy and seems very chaotic on entry. With the rain falling here in Nairobi for the last couple days, the normally hard packed, dry, dusty dirt roads turned to mud. As we walked down a narrow corridor to one of the 400 schools located within the slum, it was very apparent that the joy of the Lord resonated within the walls. Every person you made eye contact with would light up with happiness. Even through the dirt, mud, and human feces the people appeared to be smiling, laughing and enjoying their day as they worked and walked about.

As we reached the school any preconceived notion about how a school was suppose to be, was thrown out the window. With wooden walls, held together by rope and tree branches, it was apparent the lack of government funding and appropriate materials were scarce. As we toured the school, going from classroom to classroom, greeting kids, hearing them greet us with song, and introducing ourselves and our puppet friend, it was easy to see how a child within these walls could easily be distracted, ignored or have a hard time learning anything. We learned that the entire school is now privately funded. The principle of the school informed us that the Kenyan government had given them some books in past years, but since 2007 there was no involvement what so ever.

They were adding on to the school as kids graduated to the next grade. We learned that they would need to add on another classroom before January, and it would cost the school about $5,000. The pastor/principle said they did not know where the funding was going to come from, but they were confident God would provide as he always had been faithful thus far. They currently had 9 classrooms, with three of them being preschool and the other 6 being a make shift 1st through 6th grade. The kids didn't seemed to be placed by age, but more by ability.

We were all taken aback by the lack of supplies and the ability the teachers had to over come those restrictions and still be able to teach the kids. Supplies are so scarce that kids were writing on one piece of paper, then erasing what they wrote, and writing on the same page again. Some kids were taking notes on colouring books, and most had no supplies at all.

We were then able to get all the kids together and tell them a story. We told them the story about Jesus multiplying the fish and the bread and related that to the fact that no matter how young you were, no matter where you came from, God could use you for miracles, as long as you give him everything you have. As Joe told the story to the kids, it was amazing that the kids were actually telling Joe what would happen next. The kids knew their scripture! It was a huge blessing to be taught by them!

Afterwards we were invited back to the Pastor Charles & his wife Rose's home for some lunch. We walked deeper into the slum to their home, which was very nice considering. They had a very nice living room with carpet and many couches. Rose had prepared a lunch of minced meat stew and a tortilla like flat bread that tasted incredible. It was very humbling to realize these people were bestowing a huge blessing on us by buying and preparing this meal for us. We were very grateful for their willingness to love on us.

Tomorrow we are going on a safari which will be an adventure, no doubt!

Current Prayer needs: Health, Travelling Mercies, and the continuous presence of the Lord as we minister!

Thank You,

Kenya Team 2!

Dubai Adventures!

2009-10-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

We made it!
First Stop: Dubai
The flight went well, so well in fact even Raylene survived! The food was interesting (Daryl had his favorite: Lamb) and we met some very interesting people on the flight. We met Mike, who was traveling with his two daughters, on his way to Sudan. He was born in Kenya, but worked in the USA. Small world eh?

Once we arrived in Dubai, we hurried to make our dinner reservation at the only 7 Star Hotel in the world, Burj Al Arab. It was breath taking and an experience we will not soon forget. The architecture alone left us all amazed and the food was absolutley incredible! (Joe enjoyed the most delicious dessert of his life!)

After that we toured the city with our taxi driver, Raja. He knew the city well and we were able to see the tallest building in the world, stick our feet in the Persian Gulf and enjoyed other popular attractions! The girls even got to discover what it feels like to live a day in the cutural attire of Dubai! For instance, when any of the women asked a question or commented on a situation, they were completely ignored. Joe would repeat the same question, in the same wording, and would be answered immediatley.

We are enjoying our blessed trip so far and are eager to get to Kenya to start serving!

Hope you enjoy our blog, be sure to forward it to friends and family. http://kenyateam2.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Daryl, Katie, Raylene, Genevieve, & Joe!

Team Leader - Daryl Bursch

2009-10-11T16:54:00.001-07:00

Being the Outreach Director here at Water of Life makes every day an exciting one. I love my job; however, even more find myself grateful for the calling God has placed on my life. For nearly 40 years my life has been about serving leaders and followers of the local church. Helping them grow in efficiency and effectiveness in their calling… and… this is still my calling today at Water of Life. The Outreach department is a daily motion and commotion of activity with the ultimate goal to serve others and reach others for Christ through the members of WOL church. We help members find ways to serve using their gifts to help others know and grow in Christ. Wow, what a great job I have.

Well, when it came to my attention that the Nigerian team would be moving for safety reasons to serving in Kenya it came back to me to lead the team. I was excited because God had done so many great things in and through our Kenya team #1 in July that it was an easy transition for me to lead this team. Once again, God has assembled a great team. Although this team has already experienced much Spiritual Warfare and outside obstacles they remain strongly planted in their calling to go and serve God in Africa. So we are obediently answering the call to go with a team which carries great Faith and a high level of expectation that God will indeed meet us, lead us and use us in Kenya.

I personally look forward to how God will use this time to grow my faith and strengthen His hold on my heart and life.

Pray for us and follow us on our great adventure with God to Kenya through this Blog.

Daryl Bursch Outreach Director

Team Member- Genevieve Shenton

2009-10-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

WOW! God is the great adventure of my life! As I write this my heart beats with the anticipation of this life changing experience. Africa has been in my heart for many years, and more specifically, Kenya. It amazes me that God never forgets our prayers and the desires of our hearts. I am so thankful for His faithfulness to fulfill His purpose in my life.

When our Nigeria team was postponed do to safety reasons, I knew that was no surprise to God. He always knew exactly where He wanted us to go! I have been called to the nations and have always said to the Lord I will go where you send me Father. I want to love people like Jesus! Use me Lord! I want to be led by the Holy Spirit to do the things You have called me to do! Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which are prepared in advance for us to do.

I will never forget when Glen Totten got back from Kenya. Glen, Judi Noble and I were talking about his trip at Water of Life, and my heart was breaking as he said there are 700,000 people in the slums in Nairobi. How is this possible, and what does something like that look like? I said Lord I want to go! My heart cries out to you the Living God… They need to know that you have not forgotten them… I want to see people as You see them Lord!

As I wrote in my support letter He is enlarging my heart and expanding my thought process about how I see Him! In my quiet time He said to me that I will go and I will experience love like never before… He is love. Our team will get to meet our brothers and sisters in Kenya. Our family in Africa. We get to experience a different culture. What an honor to hear their hearts, there testimonies, laugh with them, worship with them, cry with them and love the Lord with all of our hearts! Bwana asifiwe! That means Praise God in Swahili.

Thank you all for your support as we go on this most exciting journey with the Lord to Kenya! You are all a part of our team and we pray that He will move us is such a way that we will never be the same… Blessings to you!

Excited to be on the journey- Genevieve

Team Member - Katie Mueller

2009-10-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

My name is Katie Mueller. And I am a loved child of God. I give glory to God for even giving me the opportunities and talents to make a difference in this world. Honestly, without God's grace and forgiveness, I would be stuck in a mess, stuck in a rut, living in the past instead of moving forward and forward to be the person God sees me as and has created me to be.

My motivation for doing anything really comes from God's love. If that's serving friends in Skid Row, or going on missions around the world. I do it because I know its an opportunity to share the love God has shown me with others.

Man, life is hard out there for lots of people and I know life for me has been hard sometimes, and the reason I can get out of the hard parts of life is not because of my own strength, but because of God's strength and the strengths of others who surrounded me in those hard times.

I will travel all the way to Kenya, Africa, to bring a message of hope and life for people living in poverty or aids, I will go to South America to tell orphans that they are frickin awesome and there is a purpose for their lives. I will go anywhere in this world to tell people that they are loved. I know I can't make poverty history, or stop injustices in this world... but God CAN, and I know if I just keep trusting in Him, people's lives all over this world will start getting better.

To all those who read our team blog--you too are apart of this journey...when we pray together, GOD changes the world!

Team Member- Raylene Murphy

2009-10-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

Then I heard the LORD asking, “Whom shall I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?” And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8

In July of 2008, I felt this pull on my heart for Africa. It was then when I wrote in my journal, “LORD, I want to go to Nigeria.” Seven months later I would be on a WOL team. One week before leaving, the plan would change, and I would have to pull out. Although I was disappointed, I knew that GOD was in control and that HE had a reason for it. As the year progressed, WOL short term Mission Teams formed and moved forward. For me, I had resoloved that I would serve locally (Mexico) and maybe go overseas the following year.

With this in mind, Tom, (my husband) Nick, (my son) and I agreed to help the Missions Department with the Annual Fireworks Booth Fundraiser. For me, this was very exciting. I was thrilled to meet and volunteer with those who were committed to going overseas. Before long, I felt myself wanting to go. So my husband and I attended a team meeting for Cambodia and Thiland. Neither of these dates would work for me. However, as result of attending the meetings, Tom felt GOD tugging on his heart, so he joined the Cambodia team.

Then, in casual conversation, Genievieve Shenton mentioned that she was on a team for Nigeria. The dates would fit into my family’s schedule and my family was supportive. The best part of this story is that after saying yes, I found out that the team would be ministering to women.

After moving forward, our team learned that Nigeria was postponed, and that Kenya was an option. For me, I knew that the location did not matter. In Missionary work, things change. Indeed, One can almost always plan on changes in schedules.
I had said, LORD, send me in 2008, I still say, LORD send me. I will go. I will go and I will be your servant, I will be your hands, I will be your feet, and I will tell them about your faithfulness and your never ending love and acceptance. I want to love others like I have never loved others. I want to see others through Jesus’ eyes. I am excited about what GOD is doing in me and what he is going to do through me.

By the way, our Team is facilitating a Women’s Conference, “Women of Worth.” GOD is so good!

For me, the Mission trip has already started. I look forward to meeting my Kenyan sisters and brothers. I am so very excited about what GOD is going to do. I pray that our team would be totally surrendered and led by the Holy Spirit.

“For I am the LORD your GOD, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the LORD Almighty. And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely within my hand. I set all the stars in space and established the earth. I am the ONE who says to Israel, ‘You are mine!’”
Isaiah 51:15-16

Team Member - Joe Bartucca

2009-10-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

For this blog, we will go back in time, and be brought back to the present, all within the 10 minutes it takes you to read this.

In March of 2008, I was playing bass on worship team for Water of life. We were practicing for service and the worship leader, Chantel, had chosen the song “He Reigns” by The Newsboys. The very first line in the song reads: “It’s the sound of the redeemed, Rising from the African plains.” I had heard the song a thousand times, but actually playing it, and hearing the words sung in front of me, God started to work in my heart a love for Africa. Over the next year and a half I have been praying feverishly for an opportunity to go to Africa. A team would come up, and I would pray for God to open up doors, to no avail. I kept praying and hoping for a chance to go play with some African kids. I know its probably wrong of me to say this, but i have always had a heart for foreign kids. I just seem to like Chinese, African, & Indian kids more than white kids. I know, it sounds bad, but I think God has put a love for other nations kids in me for a reason.

Fast forward to September 22nd, 2009, My cell phone rings and its Santosh (another one of the worship leaders from Water of Life) on the other line. He asks if I am available to play on the following Sunday. It just so happens I have that morning off and would be absolutely delighted to. We start our set on Sunday morning, and Chantel was able to join us again, ironic as it turns out. Right before we are about to start our third service, the venue pastor walks up to us and says, “We are sending a team to Kenya, but are in desperate need of guys. They are leaving on October 16th through the 29th.” My heart started to race, and I pointed to myself. “Um, MEEEEE!!!!!!! I want to go! What do I have to do?” He advised me to hook up with Katie Mueller (Water of Life Outreach Assistant) to find out what needed to be done. I was excited, needless to say, but the possibility that I might be going to Africa still hadn't set in.

I found Katie in the hallway later that morning. She said I needed to have $500 in by 11:00 am Monday morning because she was going to buy the plane tickets that day. I didn’t have money for lunch, let alone $500 in 20 hours. I was disheartened but Katie reassured me if God wanted me to go he would make it happen. Right after she said that one of my friends came to me and asked what I was talking to Katie about. I explained the situation. Without hesitation he pulled out his check book and wrote me a check of support. I was reduced to tears. It was very apparent that God wanted me to go to Africa. In the next hour, I had received 4 text messages with people supporting me. In less than 70 minutes the $500 had been covered. Praise God!

There is a funny thing that happens when God begins to work in peoples lives like this. You don't really know quite how to react. Of course i was overwhelmed with joy and adrenaline still courses through my veins, but i had this strong sense to start hugging people and telling them Jesus was King! I found myself christianizing everything! Needless to say, i am so excited to see how God works over the next two weeks, and the two weeks that we are there. Pray for us!

-Joe