Kenya Testimonies 🇰🇪

Hello, Adam here! I pray that everyone is enjoying this holiday season. I have been missing you all and would love to hear about what is going on in your life and how we can pray for you – so please feel free to reach out to me on WhatsApp @ 814-232-1855 anytime. I pray that through these blog posts you can see how God is working in our lives and how He is working in these countries. I pray that it stirs your heart and mind to the reality and goodness of God.

For us, we finished our time in Kitale, Kenya working with Zoe Ministries on Nov 1st. We have been in Nairobi debriefing and receiving teachings ever since (which has been SO fruitful). Today, Saturday, we will bus to Uganda overnight with our new team!

It was so hard to the say goodbye to the Zoe staff because the team was so kind, trusting, and generous. We didn’t want to leave! There was so much good that happened in those 6-weeks that it would take many more blog posts to capture it all. So for now, I’d love to share three testimonies that impacted us greatly (and please feel free to reference our previous blog post for more details on these places):

#1: I will always remember our first time driving out to West Pokot. Beautiful vistas of rolling hills surrounding an African desert plateau with thorny trees and mud huts scattered throughout. To get to our designation, we had to dodge goats, sheep, and sometimes camels on the road! Our first visit was to help repair a broken water well and minister to the local tribe. We were greeted by a tribal song and dance as they surrounded our vehicle – their joy during hardship really inspired us. I got the opportunity to talk with the men, hear their stories, and share Biblical words of encouragement with them. The chief of the tribe shared that the women had to walk all day to find water and that the water is not always clean. He also asked for us to pray for a church to be built in the area. This church would be utilized for services and as a school for their kids. Afterwards, I helped repair the well, which was hard work but fun! We finished up and started to pump and pump. Many moments went by and I started to pray hard because they told us previously that it doesn’t always work as expected and that this well hasn’t worked in 15 years… Then suddenly, water flowed out! The community took turns pumping water and some kids were dancing in the basin! Now that the community has access to clean water, they will be able to focus on education, on growing crops, and on earning some extra income instead of spending all their time walking for water. Praise God!

#2: Later in West Pokot, we all were asked to prepare and preach on Baptisms to a new church in the area. All of us got to speak and it went really well. Bless the translators who helped us out! This same week, pastors and their churches from all across the area (and even one church in Uganda) were also preparing their congregations on Baptisms. Then that next week they held the Baptisms in the “Life River,” a main river sustaining that area. We got to observe and pray over those who were getting baptized! There was so much joy and singing as 51 people got baptized by their pastors! It was supposed to be 50 people baptized, but one girl, about 16 years old with a baby on her hip, saw what was going on and decided to give her life to Jesus there and then! The Zoe staff immediately got her contact information and connected her with a local pastor so that they can continue to disciple her. Praise God Again!

#3: One of Zoe’s main ministries is to help vulnerable children be reintegrated back into their families with support. Their kids are so precious and respectful. We had a lot of opportunities to lead group Bible studies, to eat gither (beans & maize) with them, to dance and sing with them, do crafts, and play soccer! While we were there it just so happened that Taylor, the owner of Zoe Ministries, visited for a couple days. We got to hear all about how Zoe came to be and how the staff has grown to be the loving group they are today! But one of the coolest opportunities was this… Logan Cooke, the kicker for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, had picked Zoe Ministries for the “NFL’s My Cause My Cleats” campaign since 2021 (My Cause My Cleats 2021 | Logan Cooke). This one special game is where players wear cleats that represent their chosen support cause and then will later be sold for auction and the funds go to that ministry! So guess what… This year, he sent his cleats to site to be painted by the kids and we were there! We were able to watch as they painted these shoes. Definitely try to see them on the field in December!

Thank you again for reading these blogs, we really hope you enjoy them. If there is anything you are curious about that we aren’t talking about, feel free to comment below! Before the race, Adrianna and I wanted to be able to experience all types of ministries over the course of the year to see if we are passionate about any specific service work. Little did we know, that God would bless us by having us experience 13 unique types of ministry work just in our first country!!! (Men, women, widows, teen moms, youths, babies, college ministry, farming, construction, well repairs, medical missions, teachings, and preachings!!) And what we realized was that the ministry work doesn’t matter as much as the people you are serving with.

Again, Zoe was such a blessing and I fully endorse them if you feel called to support a global ministry. Check out their site: zoemeanslife.org