Strother Family

I have an answer to prayer to share: 3 of the Christian farm workers (secret believers) came to start studying the Bible last week! We have remained hopeful that this would pick up again in God's timing. We know there will still be many bumps in the road but we rejoice in this victory. 

We had Bobby and Jessi Strother and their 3 eldest boys come to visit us. Jason, Jessi, and Bobby were all apart of Southside Baptist Church's youth group (in Suffolk, Virginia) back in the day. What a sweet time we had ministering together here on Gtown soil. Here are some memories we made together:

Spent the day at the farm on clinic day.

Played baseball in our compound 

Guys sat in on the Bible study with farmworkers 

Went out for juice and henna with Jessi

Helped clean out the mud from Z school office ( in the village that had to live in an IDP camp- the villagers are in the process of rebuilding their huts)

Celebrated Simeon's 16th birthday with an Escape Room

Had house church= Jason led worship Bobby preached (after all he is a Pastor)

Went searching for giraffes- found (chased) one

Acted out a Bible story and did a craft at 2 local schools 

Played all sorts of games

Lots of deep conversations 

Priceless time spent

Without further ado I wanted my girls to write their perspective of this visit so please scroll down to hear their hearts.

Toilet paper roll animals for the kids. 

Triage on the left. Crafts on the right.

                                                  

hi yall this is your favorite Witt just incase you don't know who that is it's me Samara to be honest this isn't really my thing I usually don't write to a bunch of people but I felt like God wanted me to you probably already know that the Strothers came and that I loved it I know that the memories we made with them were my favorites they made me laugh alot and I feel like I gained three brothers who I can always count on as you can see in the picture above they played a lot of games with us now evey time I play this game I will think of them they have only been gone for three days and I already wish they never left  but one thing I know is that God brought them in our lives for a reason and I will never forget it 

My honey and me- and Samara

School students await to hear the Bible story

Yes indeed that is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing next to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Jason is introducing us to the school..

Hey this is Charis. Having the Strother Family here was so much Fun! It was cool to see another Christian Family with similar values as our family. What really stood out to me was-how good they were with kids. Personally I really love kids, so seeing other teenagers who were not afraid to play with kids and have fun with them, was different than what I have seen before. One of the things that we did when the Strother Family was here was, we went to a school that's owned by one of my parents close friends. We acted out the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and then we did the furnace craft wich you can see below. After we finished the craft we just played with the kids and showed them that they matter, and that they are loved. As much as I would want to say that the Strother Family impacted the school kids lives...I will have to say that I know they have impacted my life, and that I will always remember their trip here.

Cutting out Shadarac, Meshach, and Abendago.

Here is the fiery furnace made on a lunch bag- we cut up the pieces for hours on Sunay afternoon in preparation for Monday. 

Titus running to third base which is our old kitchen cabinet door.

Nevaeh hits the baseball. 

Jessi, Grace, and I. 

Heyyy there yall, this is Nevaeh! Living in this Muslim culture for my entire life it makes it so easy to say that all guys don't care. Don't care about your personality or what you enjoy, don't care about serving others because what else are wives for. In Islam men are seen as better then women,., and they act like it. Having a group of spirit filled boys visit for a week was so refreshing. They cared about what we all had to say and they served the community. To me they showed that not everyone is the same, that some people really do truly care. They cared about each and every child, they worked to the hardest of their ability, and they were quick to offer help in any and every way they could. I cherished every moment together and I hope I will remember this trip for the rest of my life. ABOVE: Simeon interacting with a boy from a local school. 

Hey its me Righteous! Life here has a set routine. My present day consists of focusing on school. I was overjoyed to hear that the Strother Family was heading our way for more than one reason if I may say. It was awesome to get to do things that we don't normally do because the Strothers were here. I didn't realize how after this visit I would never forget it. The Strother Family is truly special it means so much to me that they came all the way to this side of the world to visit us and it was the Strother boy's first overseas travel! The Strother boys were some of the best guy friends I could ask for and I am so glad that we can still stay in touch! I am blessed to know the Strother's! One awesome thing that brings me joy is while we are serving Jesus in Kenya the Strother also are faithfully serving Jesus in South Carolina and that is truly amazing!!!

Elijah immediately engages the children as he enters the room by giving them high fives.

Z school on their opening day. We had cleaned the school office a few days prior and were delighted to see 10 students enrolled and hope more will join.