Now that we are back on American soil, a number of us realized that we never shared with you how our time was spent the last couple days in Kitale. Our apologies!
One of the most memorable days for me was Friday….baptism day!!! If you’ve been reading our blogs throughout our trip, we’ve spent a number of days with six beautiful women at the Neema project. One of the days we spent some time sharing testimonies of the work God has done in our lives and discussed what it meant to be baptized. Faith shared that the resurrection of Jesus Christ and our belief in Him is that what saves us (1 Peter 3:21). Peter describes baptism as the pledge of a commitment to Christ. Andrea, Steph and five Neema girls decided that they wanted to be baptized.
So that Friday, we left around 9 in a matatu to drive to the outskirts of Kitale to perform the baptisms. It’s proved to be somewhat challenging to even find a place to do this. Yes, this is Kenya’s rainy, winter season but the country has suffered this season in drought conditions. Thanks to Ann, we were able to find a small creek/river outside of Kitale. We met the matatu with Ann, Janet, JoAn, Joyce and the Neema girls along the way so that our driver could follow.
Once we got into the park, we headed for the creek. It was not a far distance away and somewhat secluded. Daniel had given us a heads up that we may draw a crowd. At the water’s edge, the only person that I saw was a man perched up in a large tree. By the end, we had a good number of onlookers. It’s amazing to just see baptisms in this setting. I was baptized in 8th grade in my church’s baptism pool. But this was like bible times!!! I can just picture John walking down a clay dirt road to the Jordan to baptize Jesus.
BUT, Jesus did not stop there. He gave instructions to his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
Stephanie was the first to get baptized.
….then Andrea
….Olivia
….Catherine
….Rebekah
….Matrin
….& Sharon!
This transformation was just astounding to see on the face of each woman who came up out of the water. The overflowing joy and energy was Spirit-filled, and we took that right back into Kitale with us to celebrate!
Where else would we celebrate but Boulevard Restaurant?!?! It was a picture… “Table for 24, please!” I got the privilege to sit by Olivia and we enjoyed our chicken and chips together. The hardest part to the day was when we had to say goodbye. We had spent four solid days with these gals (Joyce, Janet and JoAn included) and I feel like we have so much to look forward to in the coming year(s). One point that Phil (pastor at Providence) reminded our church body of this week was we can be life givers through intercession. Romans 8:26-27 states, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” We can intercede for these Kenyan women through the power of prayer…and when we need help, don’t hesitate to call on His Spirit. He promised His Spirit and He is faithful!
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