It was wonderful to be able to worship with the parents and children that we had been developing relationships with during the week and also to enjoy their wonderfully sunny and cheery church building on the front of the property. The praise and worship was already underway when we arrived so we quickly grabbed some seats and joined in. Little did we know that they were just getting warmed up!
Joyce (House 1 Mom) and Edwin (House 4 Dad) leading worship...
After a few songs, everyone stood and started clearing the chairs from the back half of the church. It wasn't long before everyone migrated to the open space and began dancing and singing with more energy and fervor.
While more conservative worship (what I am used to and comfortable with) is no less meaningful or worshipful than dancing in the aisles, the passion and excitement in their praise of the Lord was powerful. God's presence was evident in the room as they sang loudly to the One who has given them so much and rescued and restored their lives. What joy filled my heart to be worshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ in Africa. We may be geographically far apart, but our hearts are connected in such a way that made the bond with them so close. This service was certainly one of the highlights from my trip.
I absolutely loved their praise songs. I would like to have brought home recorded versions of them all. One of my favorites was "Double Double" and this is the closest I can find...
This song is based on Isaiah 61:7...
Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
Our team prepared three songs to sing during the service. While our singing and dancing was quiet and reserved compared to that of our African friends and none of us could particularly sing on key, we enjoyed sharing with them.
We happened to be at Mattaw during a very exciting and transitional time for the Huffman family (pictured below). Even though Bud & Kimberly view all of the children at Mattaw as their own, they have adopted 3 boys into their own family who live off of the Mattaw property with them (near the Karibuni lodge).
Their oldest son, Caleb (our driver on the first day from the airport to Kitale), had recently been accepted into college in the states! He would live with Bud's parents in Texas and start at a community college there for the fall semester. The Huffmans had spent most of our first week there trying to get him ready for his big move, which is why we had not see them all that much.
We were blessed to have been a part of the church service where they charged Caleb and prayed over him before he left the next day for Texas. It was a very special time to witness. When they prayed for Caleb, everyone laid their hands on him and all prayed out loud at the same time. We all loved Caleb...he is so good natured and always smiling...so we were sad to see him go yet so excited for this wonderful opportunity for him.
In addition to the hour of worship, our singing, and praying for Caleb, the service included sharing from the Word (from one of the house Dad's, Kim, and Bud!), a group of the children reciting memorized bible verses, and then a time of prayer for anyone who wanted to come forward. It was so wonderful to attend this service that the 3 hours flew by!
Even though the only time we spent at Mattaw this day was for church, we still managed to squeeze in some lovin' on the kiddos. By this point, we were having a hard time leaving them each day.
The view looking out from the church doors towards the houses
After church, we made sure to make the most of the opportunity of us looking clean and nice to get a group picture in front of Mattaw's entrance.
And here are some individual pictures of the families/groups that were on our team. I cannot express how much God blessed me with an amazing group to travel with on my first international mission trip. The diverse make up of our group was a gift as we all came from different seasons of life yet were united together in our love for serving others and being a small part of God's work in Kitale, Kenya. Our team was made up of a family, a widow, a mother/daughter, a married older couple, a family of 3 generations (parents, son, and 2 grandsons), and me.
How fitting that on the seventh day of our trip, we went to church and then rested. The rest that day was especially needed after all of the dancing we did during the church service. Bud joked with us after the service and said, "I bet you didn't expect to get a workout today!"
But before we rested, our entire team went out to lunch with the Huffman family and a few others/friends from the states who happened to be visiting and helping at Mattaw at the same time we were. This was our first experience eating outside of our lodge or Mattaw.
Sizzling chicken and sizzling beef were some of the menu favorites. When they came out a-sizzlin', I likened this dish to fajitas in the states. There was one distinct difference...sizzling chicken and sizzling beef in Africa do NOT stop sizzlin'!
The entire room was filled with "sizzle" so much so that we had to open all of the windows. It was hard to see our friends at the end of the table! Even though I had confidence in the Huffman's choice of restaurants because this was their home, the warnings of all the foods to avoid (and the consequences if you weren't careful) kept echoing in my head. I played it safe and only had rice and maybe a bite of the meat. I didn't think it was worth risking having any stomach issues.
One last shot of the Huffman family after our lunch together before Caleb (in the blue polo) departed for his big adventure in the states
After an enjoyable lunch, the team headed back to Karibuni for an afternoon of free time. Even though I didn't want to miss any fun time with the team, I knew that rest was needed so I took a nap for a couple of hours. Then we finished off the day with a light dinner (since we had a late and big lunch) and some games. Most of the team would congregate in the living room after dinner and divide up into smaller groups to play card games. It was always a nice way to finish the day.
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