Slums, travelling, trains and team building

We started with breakfast in the hotel and devotions as a group on the hotel patio.

We are blessed that the Lin family brought their Ukulele and even prepared song sheets! 

Our prayer as a group is for God to open our eyes and hearts so that we can see Him and His work specifically in Kenya.  We desire that His Name is lifted high and glorified in all we do. 

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up

Shinin' in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

Please join us in praying Ephesian 1:17-20 that as a group, God will give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

We also had time as a group to practice our Canada presentations and the younger members demonstrated how to construct our cool snowflake arts and craft. 

Even though our plans were changed and we could not enter Kibera slums our MCF hosts explained the history of the slums and also took us on a tour around the periphery of the slums in the bus. 

Facts from Wikipedia: 

The average Kibera slum resident lives in extreme poverty, earning less than US$2 per day. Unemployment rates are high. 12% of the population are living with HIV. Cases of assault and rape are common. There are few schools, and most people cannot afford education for their children. Clean water is scarce. Diseases caused by poor hygiene are prevalent. A great majority living in the slum lack access to basic services, including electricity, running water, and medical care.

Mary, our MCF host, also shared that approximately 1 million residents live in a small area of 1X3km. The young members of our group were trying to imagine the vast contrast with our living conditions in Canada. We also learned that it was currently unsafe to enter Kibera because many of the unemployed youth have been paid to be part in the recent political protests. Our hearts were broken as we heard all the stories. 

Our host also shared stories of MCF social workers verifying the needs of children in extreme poverty in Kibera, rescuing them, and giving them food, shelter, and education at MCF. Many beneficiaries are now in university and plan to return to help their families still in poverty. 

As a team, we took a 5.5-hour train ride from Nairobi to Mombasa. We were very impressed with the security. Our bags were scanned 3 times and we even experienced the canine unit sniffing our luggage as we stood in a line. (sorry no pictures but it was quite the experience!) 

We arrived in Mombassa at 8:30 pm and we were shocked by the crowds as everyone poured out of the train. For many members, adults and youth it was their first encounter with the chaos of a train station. 

Thank you for your continual prayers for team unity.  Mealtimes, bus, and train rides have been a precious team-building time. We are grateful for the many conversations, stories, laughs, songs, and games shared. 

Our final 2 team members have arrived in Mombassa. They had some minor challenges at customs.  We are looking forward to reuniting with them tomorrow morning!

Thanksgiving for:

- a day of worship, safe travels and team building 

- safe travels for David and Vicky 

Prayer:

- for the Kenyan government to have wisdom how to address Kibera slums

- for the children and youth born into the slums 

- for the MCF social workers who work in the slums, for the protection and wisdom as they act as the hands and feet of God

- for continual protection and health of all team members 

- for continual team unity

- our first visit to Vipingo Day School were we will serve them lunch and interact with the students. Our youth (with amazing coaching from Ventura) have prepared a very informative presentation about Canada

- safe travels to Malindi