Praising the Lord Kenyan Style

Praise the Lord! Today that was all that we did. Kiria has eight churches. We broke into 3 smaller groups to attend a church service. It was a very moving experience. Our service was began with an hour of singing. All of the people were full of energy and enthusiasm. They sang and danced the entire time! Our group was able to introduce ourselves and our fearless leader, Khari, gave a great message. After we finished our intro/talk we headed back to our seats. The church members totally called us out for not singing a song for them. We gathered our wits and sang them two songs on the fly. Katie was amazing and was sloop on this song with a chorus of "sha-nananananana sha-nananananana, sha-nananananana sha-nananananana." They loved this so much! I think they had us sing the song 10 more times today. After shanana-ing they sent us to the kitchen to make chapiti (delicious tortilla like food) and Chai tea (black tea, milk, and sugar) while the pastor talked about local issues and announcements. It was a blast, minus he smoke in the eyes. The girls that were cooking were ages 13 to 16 and they loved how awkward we were making the food, but loved our shanana song. Wow they live that song. We went back into church for about an hour long sermon which was translated for us. It was wiper interesting that even though these people seem to have such different needs/issues the sermon totally applied to me. Kenya is coming up on a national election in March. The pastor spoke of the candidate and their true intentions. Candidates truly rooted in Christ are the ones that should be elected; these officials will help to develop the country. The pastor also spoke of apathy. That it is extremely important for the congregation to vote. After the sermon we ate chpiti and drank tea with the elders. Khari performed a couple magic tricks, which they were enthralled with. He then taught the tricks to the elders. It was hilarious to see the awe in their eyes. Crusade. Time!!!! All of the churches in Kiria came together for a mass worship. What a moving experience. Every team member had three children minimum hanging off of them. We sang, danced, and listened to the word. Our team sang a couple American songs with a quick message. I was amazed how engaged all of the children were all day. Not one complaint. I was touched by how welcome the community continues to make me (and the team) feel. I am moved how Jesus has touched my heart here in Africa. Today was a very emotional day for me.