Cross-Culture Ministry in Kenya, Part Eight

We were invited to attend youth day Lwanda Lutheran Church. Lwanda means "rock" in Luo. It was fantastic. This small congregation has a youth choir of 45 kids and they sing in 4-part harmony. They were excellent. They put on a skit for us and we all enjoyed each other very much.

We stayed in the home of one of the members and went to church the next day. I preached to a standing room only crowd. It was so full that the children had to sit in chancel for the sermon. In fact, all of them could not get in and many young people were literally hanging in the windows so they could be a part of the service. The youth choir sang. I have never seen such enthusiasm from so many young people. They are on fire for their Lord and His church.

The women of the church cooked two huge pots of beans on wood fire outside on the lawn of the church. The children were fed. They turned every other pew around to face each other and the kids were served the beans in bowls. About every three kids had a bowl of beans in from of them and they all ate out of the same bowl with their hands. For many of those kids, I have to wonder when their hands have last seen a bar of soap.

For our lunch, we were invited to another member's home. His daughter is the soloist in the youth choir and his son just graduated from high school and will be entering the seminary of the ELCK in the January. Their school year runs for the calendar year.

After we finished eating, David says "Jim, have you looked outside yet?" I turned to look out the window and saw the compound filled with about 150 children, all of them orphans. I think I have a little idea of what Jesus experienced as the crowds continued to press in on him. Word has gotten out that we are helping orphans and they are showing up in bigger numbers everywhere we go. We broke them into groups and took their pictures and sent them on their way. We left for Kisumu, overwhelmed with the number of orphans there are. I forgot to mention that is it about a 5 km walk from the main road to this congregation.

Our host gave us a fat rooster and two big stalks of bananas to take home with us. The stalks of bananas were so heavy it took two people to carry them. Traveling on a crowded matatu with a rooster is an interesting experience. Sean had the privilege of holding the rooster. The feet are tied together and the wings tied back so the rooster is immobilized.

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