Habari! And greetings brothers and sisters from Kenya. As promised, I wanted to share with you a bit about all that our Team has been up to as we prepare for the INUA Graduation on Friday, September 5th.
After arriving late on Friday afternoon, we have seen a lot and celebrated even more. After arriving in Nairobi, we went to a local fish hatchery and picked up the 1,000 baby tilapia fish that will be at the IATEC farm and will help produce fertilizer through fish farming. After meeting the INUA staff for dinner we rested after 34 hours of straight travel. On Saturday, we were lucky enough to go to Nakuru for a Safari through the National Park and I made friends with a Giraffe. On Saturday, we met the new GMF (Global Missions Fellow) from Ghana named Nick and heard about how he will bless the INUA youth for the next two years while being a mentor to them.
On Sunday, I experienced joy like no other while worshipping at Trinity United Methodist Church through singing, clapping, dancing, prayer, testimonies and the spoken Word. I was privileged to preach and can say that the Joy of the Lord is in this place! We ended the day at the farm that has been planned for and prayed over for almost 10 years. What an incredible property and potential that this place has for the Longonot community and its surrounding areas. We met the “Fabulous Four” Jane, Phyllis, Sentry and Paul and they were proud to show us around and share all of their knowledge and pride from what they had built together.
The following day on Monday we hit the ground running and met with four neighborhoods back at Trinity United Methodist Church. We met the graduating youth from neighborhoods in Zone 1: Pipeline, Kyoto, Industrial and Service Site. We met mechanics, barbers, electrical engineers, cooks and hair dressers. We visited a few of the INUA alumni and the graduates that are already working and owning their own businesses. We were thankful to distribute two new toothbrushes to each graduate and do a life skills training video on Dental Hygiene thanks to Dr. Jim Flatley.
On Tuesday, we visited two more neighborhoods and connected with more of the graduates. The first neighborhood in the morning was Mirera and they have their team meetings in Sanctuary UMC, a tiny blue church in the middle of a neighborhood that you can only get to on dirt roads. These graduates had made beautiful necklaces and bracelets as their Team project, and they were proud to show us their work, and we were privileged to buy some and support their efforts. We visited one graduate’s business in that neighborhood where she makes chips (fries), choma and chipati as a hospitality student. And then we stopped on the side of the freeway and had a picnic lunch with the INUA Staff. The final stop of the day was in the Longonot neighborhood which is closest to the farm. This is a new neighborhood and the first cycle that these youth have participated in and while they were shy and quiet, they were so proud of all of the work they had done. We met in the Chief’s Office (like a mayor’s office, but this structure is tribal) and we heard some prayers, some worship and some hopes that these youth have for their futures.
I have seen God so much over these last five days, there is not enough time to tell you all of the ways. But I will say that I see God most through the joy of these youth who have encountered Jesus through this program. Many of them spoke of their faith, their hope, their promise of a new life or new possibilities and every single youth I talked to shared their thanks for all of you who have written letters or supported them with prayers. I am privileged to be one of your pastors and thankful that I have had a chance to learn more about the work of INUA Partners in Hope.
We will have a lot more to share when we return back home, but for now, pray for all of the details surrounding Friday’s graduation as well as the youth who we are here to celebrate. Please submit any questions you have about INUA, IATEC, the graduation or the trip overall to racheld@fumcwp.org
Uende Salama (Go with Peace)!