Come Hear and See this Sunday!!!

You can come hear and see all about the mission trip this Sunday in our Sunday School class The Journey at Liberty Square...we meet at 9:45am in room 214C upstairs!  I will be showing a slide show of the pictures and sharing the many stories from the trip!  They are also planning on showing a couple pictures in the 10:45am service I think.  EVERYONE is welcome so come on!!!

Mega Crusade!

 Kenya Police Band

 The parade into Ndenderu

 Oh when the saints, go marching in...

 Our Banner!

 Part of the over 10,000 who came to see what was going on

 Me speaking to the crowd with my much needed interpreter!

 100's of lives saved!!

 Some of our new brothers and sisters in Christ!

Free Eye Clinic and Glasses!

Top: Ophthalmologist who provided the free eye exams and the 500 pairs of glasses we brought from the US that were donated by the Lions Club!

Bottom: We love and appreciate all these donated glasses! 

We are Second! Thank you I Am Second for the donations!

Mission Team Picture

This was our mission team from L-R: Mary from Missouri, Penny, Richard, me (Leslie) and Pastor George

Pictures!

I am working on the pictures from the trip but wanted to share a couple with you today...hope you enjoy!


Food we donated to the children's orphanage along with some of the 99 children who live here!

Day's Thirteen and Fourteen...HOME sweet HOME!!

We finally made it home!!  Thank you for all your prayers, God granted us a safe and successful mission trip!  I hope to get pictures up soon on the blog and on Facebook.  Jet lag has already kicked in (brain is not working) so I am heading to bed very soon (it's around 3:30 am in Kenya right now and we were on a plane for almost 20 hours today).  The flights were good, the plane food was terrible!! 

Please keep following the blog until I am able to share the pictures and updated Mission 2 Kenya information!

God Bless!

Leslie / Shiro

Please keep the family and friends of Justin Sollohub in your thoughts and prayers.  Justin was one of my best guy friends in college and like a little brother to me.  He was shot yesterday while on duty as a police officer in Anniston, AL, he was only 27 years old.  Thanks and God Bless all those who serve and protect us!

Day Twelve... Shopping and Church!

Today was another free day (our last full day in Nairobi) so we spent it shopping in downtown at the City Market and I bought a lot of things, most of which are made out of lime stone so I am not sure how my suitcase is going to pass the 50 lb restriction!  After a lunch of chicken and chips (fries) at one of Mary and Milka's favorite places (and this place had car tags from different US states on the wall so being the tourist and only mzungo in the place, I got my picture made with the GA tag!)  we then headed to Gara which is a street market on the outside of the city for some more shopping.  I only bought a couple of things there because its like a huge yard sale of used stuff so I didn't really want to buy anything used.  After shopping, we headed to the church for the fellowship service but when we got there, they had decorated the old church with tables and threw us an appreciation dinner!  It was so thoughtful and everything looked so nice, everything but me because I had no idea we were doing this so I was in jeans and my braves t-shirt with my hair in a pony tail...but I did explain when I got the microphone that we had been shopping and riding the matatu all day long so they just laughed!  They gave me a present and they gave me one for my dad and my mum (mom) since they supported me coming on this mission trip!  I thought that was so sweet and just represents the kind of people that are here in Kenya, everything was so heart felt and it makes it even harder to leave tomorrow.  But I do really miss my family and friends and I can't wait to get back to where everybody speaks the same language (so I can understand) and where there is a mixture of people and I don't stand out and get stared at like I am an alien! 

We have a late flight Wednesday night to Amsterdam and then we get our connecting flight to Atlanta.  I should be home around 2pm Thursday.  Then I am leaving with the family to head to the beach for a couple of days for family vacation...I am going to be one very tired world traveler!!  PLEASE keep us in your prayers for traveling mercies as we fly over 18 hours home. 

I will try and post pictures on here and on Facebook when I get home...no promises though as there are so many.

God Bless!

Leslie / Shiro

Day Eleven... Safari Walk and Shopping!

Today was a free day for us since we only have a couple of days left before we have to leave so Mary and another girl from the youth group at church took me to the Nairobi safari walk and it was beautiful!  You walk on this path through the Nairobi national forest and you get to see all kinds of animals living in the wild!  We even got to see a lion come straight up to the glass overlook within inches of our faces!  Then we went to the local shopping mall (which is brand new and has a KFC in it but it hasn't opened yet) to get some lunch at the food court.  After that we took a matatu out of the city to the wholesale market to buy some things for me to bring home.  I got all kinds of good stuff for very cheap!  After shopping we came back to the hotel for dinner and then I went to my room and watched a movie on TV.  So today was just a relaxing free day here in Kenya for us and tomorrow will be the same except we have a seminar at the church in the afternoon in which I will be leading the youth group in my last lesson on life while I am here.  I am really going to miss all the wonderful people I have met, but we will be able to keep in touch via email and facebook!! 

We received some wonderful news yesterday morning that after we left the crusade (we have to leave early for security purposes) a flood of people came down to the alter to be saved!!! So now the number is in the hundreds!!!!  PRAISE GOD!!!!!

Please keep my friend Rachel's grandmother in your prayers, she has had 2 heart attacks in the last couple of days and last night they only gave her about another 24 hours to live.  We know she will be going to a better place and suffering no longer but loosing a loved one is never easy for any of us.  So please pray for this family and God will comfort them with love and strength.

I hope you are enjoying following this blog...I only have a couple of days left but we are working on a new Mission 2 Kenya website that will have a blog, videos, and pictures from this trip and many more to come!  Also, please start praying and see if God would want you to come with us next year!  He will make the way if He wants you to come!

I hope you have a blessed day and that you seek Him first today and everyday of your life!  We were created to serve Him and that should be our main purpose while we are on this earth!

God Bless,

Leslie / Shiro

Day Ten... Mega Crusade!!! Lives Saved!!!

Wow!!! Words cannot express what all I have experienced today at the Crusade!  I can't wait to share the pictures with you!  We started with church this morning and while Pastor Richard was preaching, I had the opportunity of teaching the children in children's church the song Our God by Chris Tomlin.  There were probably 150-200 kids in there and they caught on and learned the words very fast...they even created movements for the main chorus!  I played the song off my iPhone and I actually sang it into the microphone (for those of you who have heard me sing, you know it was not good but the kids loved it)! They had a great time this morning and I am going to burn that song (plus some more popular praise and worship songs) onto a CD and mail it with copies of the words to Pastor George for them to use in the future.  After church, we marched in a parade lead by the Kenyan Police Band to the main stage for the crusade.  People were coming out of everywhere to see what the music was all about and most of them ending up following us to the crusade and staying to hear the music and preaching!  I don't know the exact number of people who attended (and probably never will) but it was well over the expected 10,000 people!!  When they brought us up on stage to introduce us, I could not believe how many people were there!  We left around 3 to go ea  t lunch (traditional Kenyan food) and when we got back, the crowd was even larger!  They had a lot of local Christian music artist who performed and then Pastor Richard did the preaching.  After he was done, Pastor George gave an alter call and people started coming from all around to be saved.  While I was on stage standing next to Pastor George, God kept telling me I needed to speak so after a while of fighting Him, I gave in and asked for the microphone (I still can't believe I had the courage to do that but it was just God speaking through me).  I told the crowd (remember over 10,000 of them) that although I have a different skin color than they do, God is still the same to me as He is to them.  And that if they don't know Him as their personal Lord and Savior then if they die, they will go to hell because none of us are promised tomorrow.  I also told them to make sure He is always first in their lives and to not leave empty, but to come to the front and get full of God!  It was so awesome and the more I spoke, the more confident I became and the smaller the crowd seemed to me.  I give God all the glory for speaking through me and giving me the courage to step up and spread the gospel!  I don't know the exact number yet of lives saved but I would say it was well over 50!  Praise God!!  You could just feel His presence all over that place!  One man even fell out in the Spirit! 

Be ready to see some pictures when I get home, I think I have almost 8,000 or that is what my camera says!

I hope you had a blessed Lord's day!  Goodnight from Kenya!

Leslie ~ Shiro

Day Nine... Children's Orphanage and Crusade!

Today we started off with breakfast at the hotel and then a little shopping in downtown Nairobi.  I bought 2 skirt suits (everyone here dresses up and I mean everyone, the men wear suits and ties, the women skirt or pants suits all the time, def not what they portray on TV as they have more fashion/classy style here than in the US and my long dresses and flip flops made me feel very underdressed) but it took us forever to find a store with my size because I guess all the women here are a size 8.  In each store (and there are millions of tiny stores along the streets) all the women say the same thing, "I got your size" then you hold it up and it's way too big for you!  But I give them props for being so persistent in trying to sell their products.  And nothing is labeled with a price really so you have to bargain on what you are going to pay for it, which I can't do because I don't speak Swahili so Penny did it for me.  We then had lunch at the hotel with Pastor George and while we were eating he received a phone call saying they were airing a clip from the free eye clinic on the 12:00 news!  So we had the waitress turn it on and sure enough there we were (and I was chewing gum and smiling HUGE on the Kenyan public television station!!)  We are going to get a copy of it to bring home but they also filmed us today at the orphanage and tomorrow at the crusade to play on the news also...so I am now a "super star" in Kenya...ha ha!!  After lunch we picked up the food supplies for the orphanage and then took it to them.  There are 99 kids living at this home and they were all so nice and happy.  They really appreciated the food supplies we brought them (with the money you guys donated...Thank You!) and were happy to see new faces of visitors.  I wish we had more time with them but we were pressed because of the crusade so we only had time to tour the facility (which was very nice, the German's sponsor this orphanage so it was very clean and has had a lot of money poured into it).  The children are usually picked out of the community by local women from a church group or brought in by the government.  One little boy I met named Stephen was just recently picked up on the streets of Kambul as his parents didn't want him so they forced him to live on the streets and someone reported him for eating out of the garbage. 4 of the kids in this home are HIV positive and they have no parents because their parents died from AIDS.  This facility is equipped with a nice medical clinic in which doctors fly in from Germany every week to check the kids and local patients in the area.  They also treat the kids with HIV because the medicine is very expensive.

After the orphanage we went straight to the crusade at about 5 and it was already packed and been underway since around 2.  The youth band was singing and performing for the crowd (they love to dance) and of course everyone stared when they saw the white person walk up.  The kids all ran up and stood in front of me the entire night with their eyes wide and mouths open as they had never seen a white person before.  The praise and worship music was great and everyone in the crowd was up dancing and praising God.  There had to be at least a couple thousand people there tonight which is a great turn out for a Saturday night especially for the location in which the crusade was held.  The stage was in the middle of town surrounded on all sides by drinking bars. There was one drunk man that almost pulled Pastor George off the stage so security had to come in and get him (and don't worry, I have my own personal security guard with me at all times so I am very secure).  The only people that try to get around me are the kids, they want to touch my skin, my hair because it's so different.  Pastor Richard preached tonight and we had a couple people accept Christ as their Lord and Savior! 

Praise the Lord!  Bwana Asifiwe!

Tomorrow we have church at 10 then the Mega Crusade starts around 12.  We will leave the church with the Kenyan Police Band leading us as we march around just like they did in Jericho ending at the stage in downtown Ndenderu!  My words don't give it justice so I can't wait to share all the 1,000's of pictures I have with you!  A guy named Benjamin (yes, they all have an African name and an American name) has been the best paparazzi for me!  Which is great because a lot of times the people get uncomfortable when the mzungu takes their picture!


It's time for bed, I am exhausted and the biggest day is ahead of us tomorrow!  Please keep us in your prayers as we wrap up this crusade!

Your Sister in Christ,

Leslie / Shiro

Day Eight... Ladies Conference!

Today I got the chance to attend a ladies conference in the Maasia land (they are one of the oldest pastoral people in southern Kenya).  It was very neat to attend this conference and be around other women who have hearts after God.  The topics they discussed are things we as women in the US deal with daily too.  Marriage, children, money and our relationship with God.  I took a lot of notes as they spoke in English and Swahili so I could understand and I spoke to them for a couple of minutes on how God created us all differently (especially me and my white skin) but ultimately God created us all for the same reason, to serve Him and to spread His gospel.  They were all very nice to me and treated me as their own.  We ate lunch with them (traditional Kenyan meal) and then attended the afternoon session which a lady from North Carolina spoke at (she is originally from Kenya though so I was the only white person there again) then we left there to go to the crusade in Ndenderu.  But because the conference was so far out in the countryside, it took us about an hour and half drive to get back to Ndenderu so we missed the first night of the crusade but we did get to see the large crowd that came out which they said was one of the largest for the first night of a crusade and it was a Friday night!  So Praise God that was awesome!  And we were told 10 people gave their lives to the Lord and later gave their testimonies to the crowd!  So God is at work here in East Africa moving among His people and preparing them for the End Times.

Tomorrow, we are going to the childrens orphange and then we have the second night of the crusade starting around 4pm.  The weather is very nice, just like fall in America as the days are in the 60's and the nights are cooler in the 50's. 

There are A LOT of differences in our cultures and some of them I am struggeling with.  I feel very isolated at times as I don't understand the language and 99% of the time, it's in their mother language which I def don't understand.  The next mission trip God calls me on I will def bring a friend with me so I am not the only one getting all the stares and feeling so alone.  But this has def been a great experience and I am expecting to see God work in a mighty way the next couple of days!  I can't wait to share the stories and testimonies of the lives that are changed!

Hope you have a blessed day!

Leslie / Shiro

Day Seven... Free Medical Clinic!

Today has been a very long day...started bright and early around 6:30 and just now getting settled into the hotel room in Nairobi at 11pm.  But today was very awesome in that soooo many people showed up not only to receive free medical check-up and supplies but to also volunteer!  We saw over 1,000 patients for all types of treatment including eyes and blood pressure check-ups.  We were also able to give out some free medications to those in need.  I tried to help in the doctors area by directing the patients but most of them were elderly so they are not used to seeing a white person, much less understand my southern English so I ended up hanging out with the youth group checking people in and taking LOTS of pictures!  They love my cameras and have used up both memory cards...I have to delete a lot tonight in order to take more this weekend and I am going to have to buy a new memory card soon.  The patients were so very appreciative of everything we did for them today and they were receptive of the Word they heard while they waited for the clinic to begin this morning.  The clinic lasted pretty much all day and we left the church around 7.  They even gave me a name tag that said "Shiro" so everyone knew who I was!  We are now checked into the hotel in downtown Nairobi so hopefully no dogs barking or roosters crowing at 3am tonight!  I found Joyce Meyers on TV when I got in my room so I was sooo excited!  This is the first time I have watched TV in days. 

Tomorrow, we were supposed to go to the children's orphange but because of time, we are going to plan on going another day before we leave so we can spend more time with the children and be able to take them groceries and supplies.  So now me and Penny are going to a womens conference tomorrow morning with one of her friends and it is in an area where the tribal people live (? I am not really sure how you spell it but I will find out tomorrow, they are the ones who live far out away from the city in very rural areas and have all the colorful beading around their necks).  I saw pictures of these people in the museum so I am excited to actually get to meet them!  And yes I will take lots of pictures if they allow me.  One thing about Kenya is there are a lot of restrictions on what or who you can take pictures of so a lot of things I will just have in my permanent memory.

I am working on a lesson for the youth about vision and life in general and I am going to use these scriputres...enjoy!

"I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and He is the judge." John 8:50  If Jesus can spread the gospel without seeking the glory for Himself, then why can't we? Pride.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God." 1 Corn 10:31 God's Will and His plan for your life.

Our God is an Awesome God!

Leslie ~ Shiro/ Chiro (you can spell it either way)

Day Six...African Animals!!

Today was our last free day so we headed to the city of Nairobi early this morning (of course after our tea or coffee and fresh banana from the tree outside).  We had about an hour to waste so we went to the city market and looked around at all the items they have for sale.  Most of the shops have the same "tourists" items but 3 times higher than the prices we were told at the wholesale market yesterday so we are going to wait and go back there Monday or Tuesday to do our shopping.  I did get Gray a t-shirt (it's his 1st birthday today!!) for 500 shillings which is about $5.55 I think so that is not too bad.  Me and Mary walked all through Nairobi and went to the sight of the bombing on the American Embassy in 1998...they have a nice memorial park built where the building used to be.  After shopping, we met up at the Marble Arch Hotel which is where we will be staying starting tomorrow night, it’s really nice and they gave us a great deal.  We then headed out of the city to the Nairobi National Park and Animal Orphanage.  On the way, we stopped for lunch and I saw a KFC!!  I got so excited as I thought we could eat there but it wasn't opened yet, still under construction.  So we had pizza instead...and the pepperoni's here are very different than ours at home...not sure what kind of meat these were but they were ok.  After pizza I got a vanilla ice cream cone for 90 shillings and it was actually really good, kind of a mix between ice cream and yogurt probably made from goat milk.  Then we arrived at the animal orphanage and we got to see all kinds of African animals including lions, tigers, cheetahs, monkeys, birds, zebra, giraffe, water buffalo, and many more.  I took lots of pictures but they are in cages so it was hard to get a good shot :(  We were pushed for time since today is Wednesday and we had church starting at 4 but we are hoping to get to go back on Monday and do that walking safari which is where you get to walk through the park and see the animals roaming around in nature.

Tonight's service at church is called Fellowship and they had a guest Pastor preaching to encourage and pray for the Crusade which starts tomorrow morning at 8.  He preached in his mother language which was interpreted into Swahili so I didn't understand either one but I think his message was on Goliath.  Then Ms. Penny spoke out of 1 Samuel 30 where God tells David to pursue on.  It was very encouraging and many people came to the alter to pray for healing and restoration.  After church we saw how they were going to set everything up for the medical camp tomorrow then we stopped by the village market for to-go food (I got a hamburger which was labeled "just like McDonalds" but it was not) and then came home.  It's been a long day but tomorrow will be even longer.  We have to leave here at 7:30am (12:30am your time) to head to the church.  They are expecting over 10,000 people to come tomorrow for the free medical and eye clinic so please keep us in your prayers...we are going to need it!  We want to send a HUGE Thank You to Ken Day and Nick Spratlen from Marietta Baptist Church/ The Lions Club who have donated 500 pairs of glasses which we will be able to give out for free to people in need tomorrow!  We also picked up some free medications like antibiotics and blood pressure medicine from UCL pharmacy in Kikuyu town and they are willing to make donations for future medical camps!  These are a true blessing as most of the people here cannot afford eye care or medications so they never get to see a doctor or get any type of medical care or supplies! I am sure I will have lots of pictures and stories from tomorrow's first day of the Crusade!  God is sooooo good!

Hakuna Matata! ~ leave a comment if you know what that means and where you have heard it before :)

Leslie / Chiro

Happy Birthday Gray! Your sisser LOVES you!!!

Day Five...A Day in the City!

Today was a free day in the city of Nairobi.  I had a girl from the youth group named Mary who was my guide and she took me everywhere!  We started off with a walk through the main shopping streets so we could window shop but trying to navigate through the millions (and I am not exaggerating) of people is very hard.  I have NEVER seen so many people in my life!  You can not look around and not see people.  And most are walking or working selling stuff on the side of the street.  We ate lunch at a place across the street from the city park and I had a chicken wrap and chips (french fries) with Kenyan tomato sauce (ketchup).  It's a light red color, about the same as the inside of a tomato, kinda jelly in texture but really good!  I will def be bringing some of this home.  Then we walked around some more and hopped on a Matatu (public taxi bus) that took us to the Nairobi museum (and should I even tell you I was the only white person on the bus, all 4 times we rode one today and they listen to american rap music). The museum was full of Kenya's history and even included a live snake park!  Then we got on another type of public transportation called Manygus (bigger bus) and headed to a wholesale market where I got to see how they make shoes and flip-flops!  And they are the cute beaded ones everyone is wearing back at home...and they are super cheap so I plan on bringing back a couple pairs!  After walking around the market, and being asked several times if they can shake hands with the white person (I was the only white person out here since it was a small town outside the city), we headed back to Nairobi to meet up with everyone else for dinner.  We ate at the Village Market which is close to the American Embassy so there were a lot more American's eating in there.  We had chinease which was a good change from the Kenyan traditional food we have been eating everyday since we got here. 

Tonight we are preparing our lessons for the Mega Crusade which will start Thursday with the free medical camp (and they are now expecting more than 10,000 people to come since they have been announcing it on most of the radio stations in Nairobi...we heard it tonight and they said Pastor Richard Mungia from the United States, Georgia will be preaching...it was cool to hear it!)  Tomorrow is our last free day so we are going to the Nairobi animal orphange to see all the African animals...I am very excited since I love animals! 

Keep the comments coming...I am so glad so many people are enjoying this blog!  I can't wait to blog after the Crusade and tell you how God is working over here.  I will tell you that on every public transportation vehicle, there is some form of Scripture giving God the glory, honor and praise!  Some say God is Able, Glory be to God, With God all things are possible, etc.  It's really neat to see God being exhaulted in so many places!

Oh yeah, I am also starting to learn the currency ($) here...it's very different than ours...$1 is like 100 shillings here and the hardest part is figuring out the cash (I freak out when I have to pay with a 1000 bill but that is not really a lot of US dollars) but I am learing and I did buy stuff today on my own!  And I went to a cyber cafe today for the first time!

Goodnight / Usiku Mwema

Leslie/ Chiro

Day Four...A Dirt Road Ride in the Country!

Today was a very relaxed day since yesterday was so busy.  I hung around the house this morning and actually ate my first ever fresh sugar cane from the front yard!  It was very good...you just suck the juice out and then spit the rest of the stuff out (kinda like the inside of bamboo).  And I got to meet the goats where our milk has been coming from! The baby goats are so cute!  Then in the afternoon we went way out in the country to Penny's brothers house for a BBQ.  They brought me back pizza from the city so that was my first encounter with goat meat pizza and it was actually really and the orange Fanta was fantastic...so much better than the ones we have back home, not really sure what they do but it has a lot more flavor!  We passed pineapple fields (Dole and Del Monte and for some reason I thought pineapples grew on trees... man was I wrong, they grow in the ground).  The farther out in the country we got, the more  animals we saw.  I saw donkeys, goats, cows and dogs just walking around alone and when we got to their house, they had a whole farm of animals!  And you know I love animals but these are not like our animals, they are not pets at all.  They are all raised to sell or eat and the dogs are raised as guard dogs so you can't pet them.  We had the traditional Kenyan feast of rice, goat and pea stew, cabbage, carrot salad, fresh chicken (as in it was killed 2 hours before we ate it), and then finally BBQ which is roasted goat that you eat like we eat beef ribs just not as much meat.  Everything was very good and everyone was so friendly and treated me just like family.  They wanted me to talk so the children could hear my accent.  One thing that sticks out to me about every family gathering that we attend is that God is the center of the family and they give Him all the thanks, honor and praise for everything they have.  The blessings and prayers are so touching and you can see the love they have for God.  One thing I have learned is at the end of prayers you say grace which is:

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more." Amen.

I would LOVE it if all my family, church family and friends would learn and start saying this at the end of your prayers...it is beautful especially when everyone is saying it in unisone! 

Bye-Bye for now / Kwaheri Ya Kuonana

Leslie / Chiro

Picture

This is a picture of me and some of the youth showing off our I Am Second bracelets...they all had them on yesterday at church and were so proud to be wearing them. I can't wait to hear story of how they used them to witness to others as they went back home into their individual communities.

I hope you have a blessed day! .

Les

Day Three...It Is ALL About God!

Today has been ALL about God...the way the Sabbath should be!  I wish we as Americans worshiped the Lord the way the Kenyan's do...all day long!  We started today at a local coffee house so I could have a little something "American" for a change.  I had a ham and mushroom omelet, toast, sausage, and coffee...Kenyan coffee def beats Starbucks!  Then we headed to church around 11 for service.  They took us in to meet the children and for some of them, I was the first white person they had ever seen.  They just stared at me with big eyes but later came up to me wanting to touch my skin and hair and get their picture made with me...I def stand out over here!  Then we went into the main church and because the power was off, they had to run everything off a generator, which doesn't require a lot of power, just a couple lights, speakers, keyboard and microphones.  No big screens or light displays here!  The praise and worship music was very good, the whole church joins in dancing and singing to the Lord!  They sang some songs in English but they are older so I hope to teach them some new stuff like Chris Tomlin's Our God while I am here...I let Pastor George listen to it on my iPod and he loved it  but I have to find someone to sing it for me since God didn't bless me with the gift of singing!  After the singing, Pastor Richard preached on Lazarus out of John 11 and everyone seemed to relate to the message that we can be "asleep" but God can wake us up!  It was a very powerful message followed by a very powerful alter call and the Holy Spirit was all over the place.  There were people falling out in the Spirit everywhere, not like anything I have seen at home but the Spirit was so powerful you could feel His presence all around.  This lasted for a couple of hours and then we went down stairs and ate lunch (the chicken that I saw the youth group plucking and preparing the night before).  It was very good being that fresh as everything here is organic with no chemicals.  Plus they don't process or freeze anything.  So instead of me loosing weight on this trip, I think I have gained.  After church we split up to do the seminars, I was with the youth and Pastor Richard and Penny held a marriage seminar.  There is another missionary here from Missouri named Mary (she is originally from Kenya but moved to the US to be a nurse) so she and I gave the youth a perspective of how things are different between the youth in the US and Kenya.  They had A LOT of questions!  And I think we talked about Facebook for about 30 mins...it has just became popular over here but already they are having issues with people (usually older men) creating fake accounts to lure young girls into meeting them so I talked about how they could use it as a witnessing tool and how to always be cautious when using the Internet especially social websites because there are dangerous people out there.  We also talked about guarding our eyes and ears so that we filter what we take in because what goes in, is going to come out in words and actions.  The youth here are already so firmly rooted in the Lord and they live for Him, it's amazing and I am so proud of them!  They are so respectful and you can feel the passion they have in their hearts to do what is right by God (if only I could bottle that passion up and bring it back home with me)!  After the seminar's we stopped by some friends house for a baptism celebration.  We ate a "bite" and this time I got to try roasted or BBQ goat and it was very good!  Also had tea which tea is hot milk and water, then you drop the tea bag in, add 2 spoon fulls of sugar and drink!  I am getting pretty good at making my own tea, coffee and hot chocolate at night!  And yes I am bringing some of each one home...by the time I leave I will be addicted to them since we drink them every day.

It is now 11:15pm here so time for bed.  Not sure what the plans are for tomorrow but I am sure it will be a great day here in Kenya!  I talked to my family tonight and that was very hard for me since I miss them all so much...especially hearing Gray in the background saying "Hey".  But I am here doing the Lord's work and sometimes He calls us into uncomfortable situations but in the end, He will bless you and change you and that makes it all worth the sacrifice.

Praise the Lord! / Bwana Asifiwe

Leslie / Chiro (my new Kenyan name)   

PS. Thanks for the comments!! I love reading them!  See the ones from yesterday if you are having a problem leaving one!

Day Two...On The Road Again!

Today, we were in the car a lot but I got to see a lot of Kenya.  We started out in the city of Nairobi and it was very packed with people shopping on their day off.  There are street markets everywhere with tons of things to buy like shoes, clothes, food, etc.  The traffic was terrible, it took us hours just to get through and the round about are something everyone needs to experience to know what stressful driving is like, I could stick my finger out the window and touch the car beside us...I don't think I will complain about the traffic on I-75 anymore!  We then headed out to the country side to visit with some of Penny's family and I got to see a lot of the coffee and tea plantations in Kiambu and Lemur.  I also got to witness a Kenyan pre-wedding celebration with a traditional feast of food (which we have for just about every meal) including a new dish to me Mukimo (mixture of green peas, mashed potatoes and corn...looked a lot like guacamole). I also got to eat "chips" today which are french fries (haven't had the ketchup yet but looking forward to it) and my first taste of sausage...it was really good!!  We also had some fresh passion fruit in the car while we were waiting in the traffic in Nairobi...it was good but very sour.  After the wedding celebration, we headed to the church for service and I got to speak to the youth but because of the traffic delays today and the wedding celebration we had to attend, we were running short on time so I will be speaking at the youth crusade tomorrow afternoon also.  This will be when I give my testimony and talk to them about the pressures of life as a teenager/young adult.  Most of them are in the age range of 17-26 so a lot have just graduated HS and are heading to college and looking for jobs.  I did start the I Am Second theme tonight and gave them the bracelets...they loved them!  Like the teenagers in America, they wear all kinds of the rubber bracelets here too and they were so thrilled to be able to use this one as a witnessing tool for Christ.  They love to dance here so I am going to have to work on my rhythm and dance moves...I def dance like a white person!  Even Pastor George broke it down on stage tonight!  He is such a great Pastor and on fire for God...reminds me a lot of Pastor King as he is also young and much anointed.  God is doing great things in this church and using them for the community here.  Our main crusade kicks off next Thursday with the free medical camp and then the crusade goes from the 19th to the 21st.  The name of the church we are serving at is Ambassadors for Christ Church and the main theme for this crusade comes from Matthew 11:28-30.  On Friday we are going to visit the Mai Mahout & Mother Mercy Orphanage so I am very excited about that!  We are also going to the animal orphanage so I can't wait to see all the African animals...but wish the roosters would stop crowing at 3am!!  

I will have to wait until I get home to upload the pictures but we are taking a lot. 

That is all for today...thank you again for all your support and prayers!  Remember to leave a comment so we can read it!  

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30  (When I read this verse, I can hear the man speaking off the video That's My God...if you haven't seen it, please look it up on YouTube...it's awesome!)

God Bless! / Mungu Akubarku! 

Leslie

Day One...We Made It!

So sorry I didn't get to blog yesterday...our flight from Amsterdam was delayed an hour so we didn't land in Nairobi until after 9pm.  Just so you know what I did on the flights, I watched about 6-8 movies.  After we retrieved our bags and got stuck in airport traffic, it was around 1am before we arrived at the home we are staying at for a couple of days.  Upon arrival at the house, we were served with a full Kenyan meal and hot tea.  I have become a fan of the tea as we are served it in every home/church that we visit and you must finish it all to show you appreciated it.  I am still struggling from jet lag as my body thinks it is on east coast time.  I woke up kinda late this morning and lucky me missed the hot shower because by the time I got up, the power was shut off to preserve due to the drought.  So I took a cold shower (coldest water ever), got dressed and we headed out for the day.  Our first stop was in Nairobi and the city very crowded.  People here walk A LOT so you don't see the obesity like you do in the States.  And riding in the car was very scary at first because everything is done opposite of us (steering wheel and driving lane is on the right) and there are basically no rules of the road so you just zoom around everywhere...we are lucky that our driver is a police officer so he is very good at driving on these roads.  Most are not paved either and there is a lot of construction so I feel like I need to be in a big truck with mud tires because there are holes in the road everywhere!  We then went to a very popular market (mall) in Nairobi to buy the Internet card and I saw more tourist just like me...a lot of people from India here.  After that we went to the church for a praise and worship service and it was very good!  The singing sounded just like angels in Heaven, I couldn't understand the words as it was sung in their local language but I just closed my eyes and took it all in.  You could feel the presence of the Lord all around us as we humbly brought ourselves before Him, together as one even though some of us don't speak the same language, we are still all brothers and sisters in Christ.  One thing that has really stuck out to me in my short time here, is how loving, friendly and kind everyone is to you.  It's like you are family even though you just met.  And the respect level they have for each other, including husbands and wives is like nothing I have ever witnessed in the US.  After the church service we had another "bite" (full Kenyan meal) with the freshiest chicken I have ever tasted and it included mango juice (it was really good Maxwell but thick like you said it would be).  Then we came home to work on our lessons for tomorrow and the blog!

Tomorrow, Richard and Penny are teaching a marriage class at the church and I will be teaching the youth.  Please pray for me as I am very nervous, the most people I have ever taught were about 60 women in the jail
and they are expecting over 200 tomorrow!! And I have to talk slow, it's hard for them to understand my English because my accent is so thick.  But I am learning some Swahili and so far haven't had any trouble communicating.  I will have an interpreter with me at all times but I have to speak for about 45 minutes...which is a long time for me!  I am trusting and believing that God will show up and speak through me, I know He will He does it everytime! 

It's 10:50pm here so I am heading to bed (we are 7 hours ahead of you).  Thank you for all your support and prayers, we def feel them over here!! 

Goodnight / Usiku Mwema

Leslie

Only 2 More Days!!

As we are preparing to leave this Wednesday, I personally have been praying that God would prepare me mentally, physically but mainly spiritually for this trip. I don't know what to expect but I am going expecting GREAT things! I am praying that God will reveal Himself to me in a new way, a fresh "awakening" of my Spirit and that I will have a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit, seeing signs and miracles in East Africa where the people are so hungry and on fire for God!  May I be a blessing to them in some way, however God chooses to use me but I know in my heart that I will be the one blessed and changed from this trip.  People keep telling me to have fun on my vacation but to me this is not a vacation, it's a once in a lifetime chance to step out in Faith and follow the call God has laid on my heart to serve Him. He is my only heart’s desire and I want nothing more than to be used by Him. For those of you who know me personally, you know that I love to go to the Blue Ridge Mountains to trout fish because that is where I feel the closest to God, but I have a feeling that during this trip, that is going to change and I will be the closest to Him that I have ever been.  I can't explain the excitement that I am feeling right now and how I can't wait to share the details with you daily! I want you to feel like you are right there with us, spreading the Gospel and serving Him!  I hope that you enjoy this blog (it will be my only form of communication for 2 ½ weeks) so please leave comments for us to read while we are gone!  Thank you for all the prayers and support!! 

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in ALL the world as a witness to ALL the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

In His Service,

Leslie

I am Second

Have you heard about the I am Second movement?  If not, then I am happy and excited to share it to you!  From their website www.iamsecond.com:  I am Second is a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others. Actors. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Drug addicts. Your next-door neighbor. People like you. The authentic stories on iamsecond.com provide insight into dealing with typical struggles of everyday living. These are stories that give hope to the lonely and the hurting, help from destructive lifestyles, and inspiration to the unfulfilled. You’ll discover people who’ve tried to go it alone and have failed. Find the hope, peace, and fulfillment they have found. Be Second.

Take the time to check out their website (http://www.iamsecond.com/) and watch the videos...there are TONS of famous people of all ages giving their testimonies and saying why they are second!  And check them out on Facebook and download the free app on your iPhone or iPad....then share and spread the movement and let the whole world know that…You are Second!   

This will be the theme of my lesson for the youth group in Kenya.  I was blessed with a response directly from the administrative assistant to the VP from I am Second and they are sending me 50 bracelets and a t-shirt to use as ministry tools!  As a thank you, I am going to send them pictures of the Kenyan youth wearing the bracelets along with a testimony from my trip.  God is so awesome in bringing everything together for this lesson!  I am still working on the lesson for the single adults but hope to come up with something soon that deals with everyday life issues...probably use something from my own life experience and maybe add some Joyce Meyer!  Please pray that God would lay on my heart what He would like me to teach the single adults.

Are you second??  Why don't you leave a comment here stating why you are second and what awesome things God has done in your life!!  Maybe you will inspire someone else in their walk with God, to stand up and say I am Second!

Are You All In For Jesus?!?

Last night Pastor King taught on being "all in" for Jesus out of Luke 9:57-62 (I am going to use The Message translation for this blog).  In this passage, Jesus spoke of 3 men who said "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go" but they each had some sort of excuse as to why they couldn't immediately follow Him.  The first man had the motive of thinking it is going to be an easy road but Jesus is quick to tell him in verse 58, "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know". Through this Scripture, we learn that Jesus thrives in uncomfortable places, not the Ritz Carlton.  Are you willing to "rough it" for Jesus?  To go places that are NOT comfortable to reach His people?

The second man Jesus talks about has misplaced priorities.  He tells Jesus that he will follow him BUT "first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's funeral (vs. 59)."  Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God's kingdom (vs. 60)!"  So this man wanted to bury his father first, probably to inherit money, land, etc. that would be coming to him before he would follow Jesus. But what he didn't realize is Jesus is not going to be second to anyone or anything.  He is ALWAYS FIRST and He doesn't wait on anyone.  Nothing in your life should ever come before Jesus, not your family, money, work, worldly possessions, etc.  Those can be good things but they can also come between you and Jesus so you have to be careful how you prioritize the things in your life.  Are you willing to make Jesus FIRST in your life and to put everyone and everything second?  Do you live by the motto "I Am Second, Jesus is First"? Do people see this in your life?

The third man said "I'm ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home" (vs. 61).  And Jesus responded in verse 62 "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."  So this guy was being hesitant, wanting to go home and probably say goodbye to his family but Jesus was quick to tell him NO because His call to us is more important than anything on our own agenda.  Are you willing to drop everything and follow the call Jesus has placed on your life?  How can you sow good seeds for Christ if you are constantly looking around and backwards at the things in your life (family, friends, job, etc.)? The purposes of God are more important than anything else in your life but are you willing to "deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23)"? 

So we can learn from these three men the following things that can keep us from being "All In" for Jesus:

1. Wrong Motives
2. Misplaced Priorities
3. Hesitation/ Procrastination

No matter what you lose, what others think about you, are you willing to be totally ALL In For JESUS?!?

Drought in East Africa

Please keep the people in East Africa in your prayers as they are dealing with one of the worst droughts in over 60 years.  According to the news, tens of thousands of people have already starved to death in Somalia and thousands are streaming across the borders to Ethiopia and Kenya daily.  Because there hasn't been any rain, produce is not growing and there is no water to drink.  Hopefully, we will be able to assist with some of these victims when we go to Kenya in August.  Not only do I pray that we can assist them with physical water needs, but also the thirsts of the Spirit that come from God's Word as He is our fountain of living water! 

I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Isaiah 6:8 Send Me!

As I was reading in the word for today devotional, the key verse yesterday was Isaiah 6:8 "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? Then I said Here am I! Send me."  In this verse, Isaiah answered the call of God to go and tell the people and this really spoke to me as that is what I feel the call on my life is too.  One sentence that stuck to me like glue from this devotional was "God has only one reason for filling you with His Spirit, that's to pour you out in service to others."  God doesn't instruct us to just get filled with His Spirit and keep it all to ourselves.  He commands us to spread the gospel and to share what we learn and experience with others.  One thing I have learned over the last couple of years of growing with the Lord is that when something impacts me, changes me, blesses me, I want to share it and spread it so that others may be impacted, changed and blessed too!  It's like I get a fire inside of me, burning rapidly to be spread to others, if only they could catch a small spark that would start the flame burning inside of them!  That is part of the reason I want to share this blog with so many others...God is so amazing and has a purpose for each and everyone of us and if we seek Him, He will lead and guide you to fulfill the purpose He has empowered you for!  He will change you and make you into a new creation: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17!  All it takes is you believing in your heart that Jesus Christ died for YOU, to save you from your sins and that He was raised from the dead and is alive today in Heaven!  According to Romans 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." We are ALL born into sin and given the choice to believe in Jesus or not but until we confess with our heart and our mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord of our life, we will not experience the love and blessings God longs to give us.  Jesus died so that we could have a personal relationship with the Father, not a religion and it is so important that we take advantage of that relationship.  So if you haven't experienced that personal relationship with Jesus, I highly encourage you to start today!  It has changed my life (I am a new person created in His image) and you can be too!  And trust me, He has a purpose for you too and just maybe it will be to say "Send Me" too!

Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Just an update on where I am with the mission trip to Kenya.  The dates have been pushed back due to some unexpected circumstances but we are leaving on August 10^th returning on August 25^th.  I am going on this trip with a husband and wife team from my church who are natives of Kenya and who started the 501C ministry, Mission2Kenya.  We will be ministering to all age groups in several villages around Nairobi and I will be in charge of leading the youth group and single adults.  I plan on using the theme I Am Second to teach them that we are second, God is first!  We are also hosting a free medical and eye clinic which is something they host every year and is a lot of times the only medical treatment these people receive because it is free.

As my time nears for this trip, I am still in financial need to cover the cost of the trip and the supplies we need to carry over to these people.  Items that we will take with us include things like medications, bicycles for the ministers in far out villages, non-perishable items, Bibles, etc.  I am asking my family and friends to please pray and see what God would lay on your heart to sow into His kingdom works.  Any amount small or large would help greatly in spreading the gospel and God’s love to people in need.  I am trusting and believing that God is going to use me in a mighty way to minister to His people through my testimony and His living Word.  I know this is going to be a life changing experience and I can’t wait to share it with you!

 

In His Service,

Leslie Perkins

54 Ryles Road

Cartersville, GA 30120

770-655-6164

leszta5@yahoo.com

The Call

So on my first blog I thought I would tell you about the call God laid on my heart to go to Kenya.  I have always felt a desire in my heart to go to Africa and serve Him and the way this opportunity happened was def a God thing!  I had been looking around the Internet for a mission trip to Africa and I signed up to go on one with a group from GA but after investigating it, decided that was not the best option for me as I would have to travel alone.  So at the same time I was making that decision, my mom called me and told me that she had ran into a lady at church who just came up to her talking about a mission trip to Kenya that Pastor Mungai and his wife Penny were going to be taking.  They were opening it up to anybody who felt the call to go and since my mom knew of my desire to go to Africa, she and I both felt like this was God's perfect timing for me.  So in April I decided to join the Pastor and his wife on this mission trip.  Originally it was scheduled for May but due to some unexpected circumstances the trip was pushed back to August.  So here I am preparing to leave Aug 10 returning on Aug 25th.  I don't really know what all to expect out of this mission trip but from my past experience, I know I will go trying to be a blessing to others but in reality they will bless me!  Please keep me in your prayers as I seek God to prepare my heart, mind and soul for this trip.  I know that He has a great plan for me according to Jerm 29:11!

God Bless!
Les