From Planes to Rains!

Day 1 – Posted by Katie Moser

Traffic on a Kenyan Saturday. Standstill!

It’s been about 48 hours since we left Memphis and it feels like it’s been about a week.  We’ve been through about 18 hours of plane time plus a few more hours of waiting in lines, waiting to board and exit planes, and rain.  And by a few hours I mean A LOT.  But we made it safe and sound and relatively healthy (minus a few motion sicknesses here and there) and that’s all we can ask for!  We were told that we brought the rain with us and that is good luck so we’ll take it!  After a good night’s rest we were ready to take on our first full day.  It started with a cool post rain breeze with the sun shining through our windows and a delightful Kenyan breakfast.  That included some of the best bananas this side of heaven.  It was nice to just have a slow morning to readjust and rejuvenate.  We headed into town for lunch at the Java House which is our little slice of America right here in Nairobi.  Delicious food and even better coffee and desserts!  Then we were on our way to our first task on the schedule. 

Taking Notes!

Dad (Jeff) was teaching a business conference to Pastor Harrison’s church in the slum of Nairobi.  The team got their first real dose of Kenyan life and chaos as we sat in traffic for two hours… not our idea of effective ministry.  But it was a good chance to see the bustling city and smell the lovely smells.  And by lovely I mean yucky.  But hey, it’s part of the experience.  Some of the team are still soaking in the sights they saw today and trying to make sense of it all.  It can be a bit of a culture shock on the first day.  So many sights and smells to take in.  But I digress…  Dad did a great job at the conference teaching the basic principles of business.  This may not seem very important to us but to a Kenyan, it is life saving.  Dad is a businessman so this is right up his alley.  I could tell he was loving it.  I was just trying to figure out what the gross net something or other was 😉  But he knew what he was talking about!  And the church members were SOAKING it in.  Taking notes furiously.  Then the rain came.  And rain plus Kenyan tin roofs are not a good combination.  Did that stop dad?  Nope.  He just kept going even louder.  I like to say he went into “preacher” mode.  They listened even more intently.  I prayed for the rain to stop.  It didn’t.  But dad just kept going.  And they kept listening and talking notes.  Then wouldn’t you know it as soon as he stopped for question and answer time, the rain stopped.  It really was perfect timing.  He switched from “preacher” mode to “teacher’ mode.   For those who know him, teaching is his strength.  Because the rain stopped, he was able to basically have an open and honest conversation

Teaching, trying to be heard over the rain

time.  That was where he really thrived.  So I guess even though the rain was annoying, it stopped at just the right time.  Also during the conference two of our girls, Heather and Ashleigh, were able to spend some time with the kids in the church.  They came back with sweet stories of playing with, singing with, and loving on some kids.  I’m not going to lie, I was a bit jealous!  Tomorrow is a full day at Pastor Amos and Miriam’s church.  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m downright giddy to see them tomorrow.  They have become some our closest friends and family really in our ministry in Kenya.  We’ll get to dedicate their new tent church tomorrow which is such an answer to many prayers. 

Thank you all for your prayers for us.  We can feel them!!   I’m sending love from the whole team.  We love you all and miss you dearly!!