Magengo Monthly

Greetings from a continent far far away. This is a message from your African VTI team.

Please excuse us from the long delay in a blog post. Plans changed and we have found ourselves in an exciting, challenging, and new setting. Far away from any internet signal or beach-side resorts, we are in the village of Majengo, about 1 hour outside of Mombasa. After some culture shock from being placed in the African village lifestyle, the team is finding home among the people here.
A list of some new experiences...
50 foot waterfalls....no water though.
Wonderful mountain hikes....14km long.
Goats, chickens, cats, dogs, cows!....and all their waste as well.
Restful night sleeps....with mosquito nets of course!
Shark for dinner....and sometimes fish heads.
If you asked us the first night we came here, we were definitely nervous. God made a change in the program and is absolutely pushing us beyond our comfort zones. Six inch millipedes included. Yet, ask us now, and we will give a different answer. Despite sickness or tiredness, we are loving the people and the scenery too. Pastor Shoka, the leader of African Inland Church Majengo, has billeted us out to wonderful families that have been treating us very well....with much helpings of food.
Some Kenyan cuisine includes....
As fore-mentioned, rice with whole fish
Rice with chicken
Rice with beans
Just beans
Lentils with a hint of dust
Chipatis
Mandazis
Donuts for breakfast
And of course, Chai
The past week, along with eating the above meals, we stumbled through the language and got by with just saying “Hujambo” (hello) but now we are getting into the “groove” of Majengo. Some, like Terry and Brianna, are learning quite a bit of Swahili, and of the Duruma language, the tribe that lives here. Over the weekend or the 24th-26th, we are having a “busy” schedule to those who will read this later, or if we post it late.

Friday the 24th – we will be heading into Mombassa for our day off. Shopping for supplies, touring some sites and of course some Fanta hunts are all on the list.

Saturday the 25th – we will be entertaining kids supported by Compassion International. Seeing the other side of Compassion, the effect of people's support, is uplifting and is awesome to be a part of it. After that, we will be helping with a crusade/revival that has the potential to be many hours long.

Sunday the 26th – Of course, Sunday is church day and here is no different. Here, a church service is a far cry from a Canadian one but we are enjoying the energy we see in the gatherings here. There is also a youth rally on Sunday, where we will be doing our VTI “Rescue” program. We haven't had a chance to do it in Majengo so, we are, to put it in Jesse's words, “jacked” to do it.


Please pray for each of these days; for protection in the city, the Holy Spirit's presence to be felt here and for energy to do each item.
Other prayer requests
· For the health and well-being of the team
· Creativity, for we have many kids to entertain. Though, just staring at us seems to be entertaining to them.
· Spiritual wisdom; the team has been learning much from the people and time here, so understanding of all that God is teaching us would be appreciated.

Praise prayers
-- Safety while here; no malaria, swine flu or other weird diseases have affected us.
-- The hospitality of the families we are in has been overwhelming. We are very cared for by them.
-- Unity within the team; we are simply growing tighter and tighter together. Our team times have really fortified the team and has helped us lift each other up, with encouragement and prayer..

We hope to see you all soon as the date to come home is closer and closer each day. Until then, we thank you for your prayers and support for us. Internet high-five!!

God bless,
From the very distant VTI team

Interesting Fact: We drove in the 3th and 4th lane of a 2 lane highway the other day. (How we love thee, matatu taxi)