Reflections on Nairobi Outreach
Jesus Atencio, one of the brothers from the fellowship here, wrote this about his recent missions trip to Africa:These are only a few words of the wonderful and great experience it is when a group of 15 believers from different parts of the United States set their hearts to work side by side with the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in all of us and the people we got to touch with during the Mission Trip to Nairobi, Kenya Africa for the weeks of August 10th through the 24th, 2006. Psalm 16:11 says, "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
The best way I can describe this mission trip to Nairobi and maybe the mission field over all in just a few words is that it is a walk of faith and total submission and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. Before this wonderful mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya (Africa), God spoke to me through His word in James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Also, in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." Therefore, as ambassador of Christ, these scriptures describe every believer as a letter from God Himself and for this mission trip to teach the Gospel by words and in actions and help the needy, this includes the little ones and the widows. So then, when people see our life as we proclaim the good news to others, let them see that it is not by our own ambition or our strength but by God’s and through the Holy Spirit. We are His letter written not by human hands but through His Spirit. That will set direction in our life, in our constant walk with the Spirit and in search of our Lord’s will and heart. That molds my character to be more gentle and sensitive to other’s needs. Also, to strive to become a humble person, not better than others but to embrace everyone with love, specially the less fortunate ones. Only then, will I be more effective for the Lord’s Kingdom to share with the lost in this world to receive God’s word, and to encourage others to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
When I dedicated my time completely to the Lord for those 2 weeks, day and night, removing myself from my comfort zone in a totally different environment and culture only focusing on God’s will, I noticed the Lord through the Holy Spirit reveals so many blessing to me and the members of the team. We also, received many fruits of the Spirit with peace, spiritual growth, purpose and direction in ministries during and after the mission trip. I allowed the Lord to touch me in a personal way by giving total submission to Him. At times there were so many blessings passing by that I was in awe. I was only able to capture a few in a journal at the end of each day. There were many blessings happening at times and at other times as fast as I took a breath. Sometimes I felt the joy of the Lord, at others you see the humble hearts of the brothers in Christ, at other times you feel the pain of the lost, the loss of hope of some people, loss of family members on others. Some times the Lord let me see the tears on people's heart, the pain that they face day in and day out. So the Lord gave us in our hearts the gift and empowered us to share with them through Jesus Christ-His word, to alleviate any pain by giving them hope, faith and direction, and let them use the word of God where they can find strength and know His will.
The Lord revealed and let me see miracles and the joy that comes after His blessings touch their Hearts. I experienced the joy and peace of brotherly kindness. A relationship with our Lord through the body of Christ (His Church) it is pure and honest joy.
I was told by a brother in Christ that just came back from Nairobi, "to have great expectations from the Lord because He is going to do great things there to the people and on you." And let me tell you, it was a trip of a life time. Starting with the first day, on the way to Nairobi, at London, there were over 20 people arrested because terrorist planted liquid bombs in 7 planes. But, on my way to the airport I heard the news, but I didn’t want to be like Peter and sink in the water (once Jesus Christ asked him to step out of the boat and walk on water) and I just had to step in faith and focus on the goal that the Lord has set for us. We arrived in Nairobi, Kenya safely but for must of us on the team the luggage were missing and they were misplaced somewhere in the world for a couple of days but we understood that we could not do anything more but wait. Something else that helped us was knowing that we were there to serve the Lord and He is the great provider. We prayed not just for the luggage but most of all, for the days ahead and the mission that Christ set for us, that He will strengthen us and for the lives that He will touch through us. I felt that all the commotion on the first day was a wakeup call and a reminder for us not to rely on our own strength but a reminder that the Lord is in control. It was part of growing in faith knowing that God will provide all our needs.
We had the privilege of working with the orphans at S.O.D.A. (Support Orphans and Destitute Academy). It is located at Kibera. It is the second largest and poorest slum in Africa. There were only a few children attending the orphanage due to over crowding. There were a little over 200 children in the orphanage that were being taken care of out of thousands of fatherless children in the city of Nairobi. It was a blessing to be there to see the gentleness and humbleness that the kids had. They were little angels. We had the opportunity to teach the story of Jonah during the VBS (vacation bible school) at SODA for those 3 days in Kibera. Everything went very well even though we started the first day without our luggage and materials for the class. We all had faith that the Lord would provide a way to do His work and He did provide. Also, the Lord blessed us with a great VBS leader that made a great difference. The team was divided in different groups of two’s and different classrooms depending on the age group. Teaching VBS was a totally new experience for me that I really loved. My class was composed mostly of 8-9 years old kids. At the end of VBS, we told the kids the reason why Jesus came here from Heaven and the sacrifice that He did on the cross for you and for me. It was so beautiful to see how kids prayed to God and wanted to receive Christ in their lives.
Early in the week, we had a great experience and how beautiful it was when we went to share the good news with the neighborhood behind the church at Ngando. We went with a guitar and a drum singing songs of worship with the team (Isaiah 52:7) "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!". We proclaimed the Gospel on the street and 2 people accepted Christ and were saved. We distributed flyers and invited everyone to come for the monthly Freedom for Christ concert (free concert) at the Calvary Chapel Nairobi, where Pastor Dave Zavala will be delivering a great message and inviting people to receive Christ. The loveliest experience we had is when a lot of children surrounded us and wanted to hold our hands and wanted affection and love. So they hold our hands all the way to church and we reminded them to come back to church with their families on Sunday.
What a blessing it was to visit the families in N’Gando, Satellite, Kawangware, and in Kibera. It was a great time to fellowship in a more comfortable atmosphere for them at their own homes by sharing their struggles and problems, praying and opening the bible with them. I saw the word of God – Christ giving the comfort, faith, peace, love, joy and the fruits of the Spirit that He promised. I saw many miracles and blessings that only the Lord was able to provide to them. Some of the many blessing that the Lord revealed to me were: a baby being healed of malaria, food and clothes the Lord provided and the best blessing of the hope, faith and love that Jesus Christ gives daily when we come to Him.
It is beyond words the place where they live. The smell on the streets, the dirt every where and how poor human beings live without electricity and running water. The burning of garbage and lack of hygiene became a total different world. At the other side of the coin, Kenya is a beautiful country with gentle and lovely people, with a very strong culture and scenic land with very red soil. It took me a couple of days to get over this overwhelming way of life and the feelings that I had for them under those conditions. I felt that the Lord changed my heart every day. Then, I saw what the Lord wanted for me to see without feeling sorry or pity for them, but God is demonstrating His love through them.
Another day, we had an opportunity to work in construction with brothers in Christ at Calvary Chapel Nairobi. This was another wonderful time to serve the Lord. It was really comfortable working with the team; it was a great time to be with brothers and sisters in the Lord and a great opportunity working and to getting to know each other. I feel that it is my home church away from home.
Every evening coming back from the mission field, the team sat down back in the apartment and we had a few minutes for a daily debrief. I enjoyed sharing with others what the Lord revealed to me and I was able to express the spiritual growth during the mission trip. Also, I was able to listen to the team, how they felt and their spiritual growth. It was a great time to release stress daily from an overwhelming day. Also, every morning we had a daily devotional time where we were fed the word of God, spent time in prayer, and in meditation and planning what the Lord wanted to teach us and the work for that day.
Before I went to Nairobi, the Lord put in my heart the ministry to support the orphans and all the children in Christ at Nairobi by providing them with bibles with the help, support and blessings from our brothers at Calvary Chapel Kendall. Now, I want to continue that ministry that Christ has set up to support the children to grow spiritually at Nairobi, and the children’s ministry here at Kendall as well. I pray daily for the brothers and sisters of Calvary Chapel Nairobi and the team members of the mission trip. I was able to collect many of their email addresses in order to keep in contact with them.
The world seems so small and our Lord Jesus Christ so big. I could find a brother a few minutes a way from my house back in Miami or at the other side of the world. I felt that we were the same in Christ here in the US or in Kenya. So, if someone asks me, what church do I go to? I will have to say, I attend Calvary Chapel Nairobi and Kendall. But the truth is that I belong to a bigger body of believers that the Lord calls the "Church", not built by men but by Jesus Christ.
The trip went above and beyond my expectation. The Lord gave me and showed me the ministries that He wants me to work in and the spiritual growth that is beyond words. And if anyone asks me about going on a mission trip, I would tell them that if you really want to grow spiritually, you can not pass up the opportunity and the experience of a mission trip such as this. It is a great way to grow spiritually, find the ministry that the Lord wants you to work in and get in touch with the Lord in a completely new way. At the same token, you grow 100 times more as you bless others and work in the mission field.
I can’t wait to take another trip and work for the Lord. How wonderful, awesome and beautiful it is working for the Lord so the people can glorify God. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." – Matthew 5:14-16
Following His Lead,
Jesus Angel Atencio
2 Corinthians 3:2-3
Here are more pictures of the Mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya (Africa). Click or copy and paste on the link below:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jesus.atencio
posted by Calvary Kendall Missions @ 9:24 PM
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