Back Safe and Sound!

[Joanna Park]

HABARI! (How are you?)

Our team arrived safely to the States 4 days ago, and we have come back with so many lessons, blessings, and convictions. 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for making this trip possible! 

The missionary that our church partners with for this mission trip is Holistic Missions for All Nations (H.M.A.N), so  traveled around to various church (supported, and planted by H.M.A.N), staying about 2-4 days at each location. During our time at these locations, we went around to the community, spreading the gospel, inviting them to the church, visiting the surrounding schools, open air presentations at the markets, and having revivals at the church to end the day. 

At one of the open air presentation: at the open airs, we usually presented our dances, skits, testimony, and songs, as well as the gospel message presentation to end with a call to the crowd of people to accept Jesus into their hearts. There were times when many people came out wanting to accept Jesus into their hearts, or to recommit their lives to God. Then there were times when no one would come out, and all we could do was pray for them from afar.

Singing with the kids! The kids in Africa are adorable beyond words!! Many times they ran up to us just for a shy handshake, and ran away. For most of them, we are the first foreigners they have ever seen. 

One of the boarding school we presented to... The primary to high school teachers of Kenya are on strike, so seeing these many kids was actually not easy. Many times we visited schools with over 600 students, but only 60 would be present, because the teachers called them to come out because we were coming to visit them. 

(We got to wash our hair!! But our hairs were so greasy that the shampoo did not lather, and slid right off...eek, but we actually got to wash our hair about 3 times when we were on the field)

Our last few days were back at the base, where we were the support the teachers team for the (Nursery) Teachers Training School -- this was their third year of having the program. It was really heartwarming to see how these teachers really valued the limited materials they were getting to help them become better teachers not only knowledge wise, but in their faith, as they teach the kids about the gospel as well.

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If I were to say just one lesson that I learned from this trip, it is that my faith, my relationship with God should be CONSISTENT no matter where I am, what language is being spoken, my attitude, and so on. And I know that my life is drastically different than the life that I got to live momentarily in Kenya, but my heart, and my commitment to living out a faithful life should not change.

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I know this email is very simple, and does not cover nearly enough of what happened in Kenya, but I did not want to exhaust you all with information overload.

Please email me if you would like to hear more in detail, or have any questions! I will be more than happy to share more with you!

ASANTE SANA !!!!!!!!

(Thank you very much)

Buena Asifiwe (Praise God),

Joanna Park