Being the hands and feet of Jesus w teams

Team from Cornerstone Nashville church.

There were two separate teams from the States that came this past week. The first team was a construction team. They persevered through the intense heat that is constant here but especially this time of year is the hottest while winter is raging on in North America. It was priceless for us to reconnect with 5 members of this team that had been here previously, but also so nice to meet new people. I wish I could relay that everything went seamlessly but that is not the case. The measurements were off on one of the footings and this was not discovered until after it was already standing up. Needless to say it fell down but thankfully nobody was injured. There was a discussion on how to rectify the problem and the building project continued. One of the team members ended up having a kidney stone on one of the days and was in excruciating pain. He was given an injectable pain medication and after 1 day of rest was able to join in again. This team not only brings a huge amount of delicious snacks from America and generously shares them, they also have a designated medical person to take care of the health and welfare of each person day in and day out. A big shout out to Lynn!

The second team came alongside our best friends and partners Amos and Grace. They are all part of the organization Dove ministries. This team was organized to serve as a mobile medical outreach to poor villages along the Tana River. There was usually over 200 patients who came to see a doctor during the 4 days they ministered, so it's very possible that 1,000 people received medical services in such a short amount of time. At the end of the last day, once all patients had been seen and everything was cleaned up, there was debriefing session. The question was raised- what could be done to improve for the next time. A portable EKG machine and portable Ultrasound was mentioned. This would bring more efficiency to people who need further testing and most likely would not make the effort to seek out a specialized doctor. There was another suggestion of having colored stickers made to show whose medicine belongs to who in a family with several children because of the illiteracy- people don't recognize the names that are written on the medicine. All in all the Love and kindness of the Jesus in everyone was poured out on this place. This was a successful outreach.

When short teams come they really bring a boost to our lives, including our daughters. They often take the time to listen to our stories about what God is doing in this desert, thorny region. This causes us to reflect once again of why are we living specifically here in the first place. I thought to take time to share the why's even though many people have followed up on our family for over a decade, it's still good to go back to the original vision to make sure we are still heading towards the same goal.

We refer to this place as Gtown because there is often a negative reputation that goes with the actual name. This town is predominantly Muslim. Muslims come from the line of Ishmael- Abraham's first born son- his Mother was Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian slave. Genesis 25:17-18 says, "Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And  THEY LIVED IN HOSTILITY toward all the tribes related to them." (Emphasis mine) Gtown contains 7 unreached people groups in the surrounding area. There are wealthy families who live here and own businesses. I (Bekah) have befriended 4 wives of business men, that fall in this category and make efforts to go visiting in their homes and consider them good friends. The majority of people who live in the outskirts of town are living in poverty. The farm is located here and has employed people from 3 unreached people groups. Jason dedicates so much of his time investing into the farm workers lives and has gotten to talk about Jesus and the Bible almost daily when he is there. 

 "An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance. The original Joshua Project editorial committee selected the criteria less than or equal to 2% Evangelical Christian and less than or equal to 5% Professing Christians."

 God has given us a burden to love and proclaim the gospel to the people in this North Eastern part of Kenya. God has also given this same burden to Kenyan missionaries who were not born in this region but received the calling to come move here and be a light in this dark place. As Christians we speak the truth of what scripture says and live our lives to bring glory to God. We strive to do these things in a contextual way so that it can be understood in this culture. Muslims most likely will never step foot in a church. We are able to be ambassadors of Christ through having medical clinics, bringing education through schools, meeting needs through community development and building friendships. We are not ashamed of the gospel. God provides access points for us to be His hands and His feet to the lost and no one is beyond His reach.

 The largest ethnicity in this area are the Cushitic tribe which are the Somali people. There is a smaller unreached people group here called the Warde which are also Cushitic and their mother tongue is Somali. Because of the large population of Somalis we can see how they greatly influence the rest of the Muslim tribes in this area. We also have 3 others smaller Cushitic tribes as well the Munyuyaya, the Orma, and the Wata. Lets just say some days the prophecies in Isaiah 18 about them being feared near and far and being aggressive are more true than other days.  They do have admirable qualities such as their dedication to their faith and to their immediate and extended family members. We can truly see the prophecy about people from the land of Cush come alive before our eyes as we live here.

Isaiah 18

"Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush, which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water.

Go swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.

All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains,  you will see it, and when the trumpet sounds, you will hear it. 

This is what the Lord says to me: "I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 

For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches.

 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter.

At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty

From a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, and aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers- 

The gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty. "

Building project underway.

The roof was finished up on the final day.

Dove medical team from Pennsylvania with medical staff and ministry workers from this area.

Jason translated for one of the nurses that came from the US.

Crafts on the mat with the kids and Grace.

There were so many babies to hold.