August 11th
The day started for me at 5:30am with the sounds of a rooster crowing. I suppose to some this is a good sound knowing there will be eggs on the table but for me, someone who doesn't sleep well, I thought he could've waited another hour. I laid in bed meditating on Gods word where Jesus told Peter we would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. I thought about my life and the number of times I denied knowing Jesus by me wanting to serve myself and not Jesus. But I remind myself how Jesus says he will never leave or forsake us. Well, I am starting to hear others stir so up I go for the start of another day blessed by God.
Before breakfast, a short tour was given of the five acres here at the children home. The home is self contained, powered completely by solar. It has a well that is 300 meters deep, this well also provides water to numerous homes in the area. They grow numerous crops, have a cow, chickens, and of course my friend the rooster. Pictures of the land you can see below, however there isn't one of the rooster... I think he's hiding from me. We were provided a warm, delicious breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, fresh pineapple, and toast. To drink we had tea, most people here do not drink coffee but rather tea. I tried two types of tea, one seemed like a tea you can get in America but the other was a traditional Kenyan tea that was made with a blend of milk. The quest continues for my first cup of Kenyan coffee.
We left for church, which was about an hour drive from the children home. We passed thousands of people walking. Kenya is a country that relies on walking as their mode of transportation. We arrived at Bathesda Baptist Church just in time to hear Pastor Michael teach on atonement. There were roughly 20 people in attendance to start but grew to about 40 by the end of the lesson. I thought maybe the road for them to get here was harder for them, unlike us in the states where a little rain prevents us from driving in our climate controlled vehicles. After the lesson we were greeted warmly by numerous members of the congregation. The main service started with us singing in English a couple hymns from psalms I've never heard sung before. Pastor Tim did a great job preaching Psalms 23. After the message, to my surprise, they sang in their native language Swahili one of my favorite songs, what a friend we have in Jesus. After the service, unlike in America, most people stayed to fellowship and we were served a delicious lunch consisting of rice, mixed vegetables, and cabbage salad. The afternoon service started at 3:30pm roughly 60-70 people stayed compared to the 100 that was at the morning service. Pastor Scott shared the afternoon message from Luke 13:6-8, which basically states repent or perish.
Our journey back to the children home seemed longer with much traffic and congestion of people. Once back we were served another delicious meal consisting of chicken, fried potatoes, and mixed vegetables. After a nice conversation with Alice, jet lag started setting in. It was time for a shower and a good night sleep. I certainly hope the rooster plans on sleeping in.
