Kisumu Adventure

Many of you know that over our spring break (a couple weeks ago) we took a trip to Kisumu (our future home Lord willing). Over all our trip went very well (both the journeys to and from as well as our time spent there). We wanted to brief you on a couple of the highlights from our trip.

The first and probably most exciting one was the progress made towards our future ministry there. One of the days we were there we went out to meet up with our friend Steven and his family (who had traveled with me in the car from Nairobi to Kisumu). While visiting with him (a fair distance outside of the town (aprox 40 miles) we met his extended family as well as some of the men he has been studying the Word of God with. I (Matt) got the chance to sit with Steven and two of his friends and share with them our vision for seeing a sound Bible teaching church planted in that area. They were so excited to hear the vision and are eager to be taught the word of God. They reiterated their desire to grow deep, and to understand God's word, especially so that they could also share that with others. They are already in the practice of doing home visits and witnessing to many people in there area, it's only that they don't have a place to fellowship in the Word of God that hasn't been polluted by doctrines of men and other things even worse. Also during this time Peg was able to share a little bit with Maureen (Steven's wife) who also showed an eager desire to be discipled and to grow in the Lord. We are excited that after we move there, this seems like a likely group of people to begin investing in (along with a few others who have also shown great interest in growing in the Word). And it is our desire that this could potentially be the beginnings of a church in Kisumu.

Another aspect of our time in Kisumu was making friendships and connections with the existing missionary community. We were blessed that almost every meal we had was shared with another family, couple, or group of people. We were so welcomed by the missionaries there and several also expressed a desire to have a "Bible Study", as they are hungry for more of the Word. So many of the couples blessed us and gave us some very helpful wisdom as we prepare to be long term missionaries there. Some of the couples we met had been living there for over a decade, and we found there experiences very helpful. Although we know that we've not been called to target and reach this group (as they are already believers) we do have a heart to encourage them and to spur one another on in the Word of God and the works to which He has called each of us. We also recognized the invaluable resource of having people near by who know your culture and background and can be there to help you through certain things that a national couldn't understand. We are praising the Lord for this new family in Kisumu.

Lastly, one of our major objectives in this last trip was to "begin" our house hunt. We knew that the practicalities of finding a place to live probably would mean that this trip wasn't going to secure a place for us, but non-the-less we did want to become more familiar with the different neighborhoods and areas. In searching and seeing several places, as well as getting a good idea on prices, we feel much better about our next visit, that we know what we are looking for. So although we didn't get a place yet, good progress was made in that direction.

Now we are in our 2nd term of school and although we've only had a little over a week of classes, they are already seeming to fly by. It feels like we have just arrived here in Kenya a little bit ago, and now our 6 months of school are winding down. This week we take our 3rd major test (mid-term) on Friday, and thus are preparing for that. We have been saying a lot lately how blessed this time has been to learn, adjust, befriend, grow in our understanding of culture, etc. We do feel so blessed by this time God has had us here in Limuru at school. And on the flip side of that, we are also excited and looking forward to what is ahead.

We have so much to praise the Lord for. Thank you for praying with us as we learn to do His will here!
- Matt for the P3