Reflections on the eve of our next mission trip to Nairobi

Well, the time has finally come to finish packing tonight and leave tomorrow morning for our next vision clinic in Nairobi.  We will be helping our friends at the Lutheran Church in the slum of Kawangware plant a new congregation nearby at a place called Waithaka.  Our team will consist of myself, Ralph Genz and Dora Tamez, who is joining us for the first time.  Ralph will be going on his 15th trip and this one will my 16th, so Dora will be in good hands.

You might ask yourself how we expect to conduct a vision clinic with only three muzungus, which is the Swahili word for white person.  We are blessed to have experienced volunteers from Kawangware including Pastor James and my friend and fellow photographer Barrack as well as others that have served with us before.  There are also folks in the new congregation, including our friend Joyce, that have worked with us over the years. Finally, we will be joined by both Gloria, a nurse and missionary we have been blessed to share the Gospel with many times and our evangelist, John Karanja, who has been involved during previous clinics in 25 or more people a day coming to faith in Christ,  We have a superstar team and I am really looking forward to serving everyone the Lord sends to us this time.

As I ran errands and was finishing packing today, I took some time out today and stopped by Redeemer.  I saw all three Pastors at one time or another and Pastor Kevin and Pastor Landon prayed with me over our team for a safe and effective mission.  What a blessing!  I was also there to pick up a card from a women's Bible study that Catherine had addressed about a Rescue Center that our partner church, Trinity Lutheran Church in Kelin, Texas, is instrumental in setting up.  The center takes care of young women fleeing female genital mutilation, arranged marriages and other tribal practices that have been outlawed in Kenya, but that still exist in the areas Trinity has served.  Here is a picture of the ladies with the card I'm going to deliver to Catherine.

Hi Catherine!!!

Finally, our itinerary over the next couple of days has us flying from Austin to New York tomorrow morning, then from New York's JFK Airport to London Heathrow overnight.  We have a very tight connection to make in London before flying to Nairobi and arriving around 8:30 pm Friday night local time.  Please pray for travel  mercies and that the Holy Spirit would open the hearts and minds of the people to the saving message of the Gospel that we will bring to the clinic.  More to follow as time permits and as I have access to the Internet.  Blessings everybody!