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TRIP SUMMARY
FOR TEAM KENYA 2005
Written
by Minister Richard Coleman
The New
Birth team of 17, along with Ida Johnson
of California, left for Nairobi, Kenya
on July 20, 2005. Prior to our arrival
in Kenya, we had a 24-hour layover in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Theteam went
on a tour of Soweto, which included the
Hector Pieterson Museum and Nelson
Mandela’s former home.
On July 22nd,
the team took a Kenya Airways flight to
Nairobi, Kenya because South African Air
employees went on strike. After spending
the evening in Nairobi, the team left
for Nakuru on the 23rd. Upon
our arrival at the Rift Valley Sports
Club (our hotel), we had lunch and
attended a presentation designed to give
us a brief taste of Kenyan history and
culture. Several local actors later came
and performed an impromptu comedy,
celebrating the birthday of one of our
teammates, Barbara Winters.
On Sunday,
July 24th, I split the team
into 4 groups. Each one of the groups
went to one of 4 churches—AIC Shabab,
Agape, Christco, or Four Square. Team
members preached, sang, or gave a
testimony at the church services. Later
in the afternoon, four members of the
team attended a young adults fellowship
at AIC Shabab, where they ministered in
the form of a group panel.
The team
split into 3 groups on July 25th
and 26th and went to Lanet,
Langalanga, and Bondeni
hospitals/clinics. The 6 healthcare
professionals on the team worked with
local medical professionals to give free
medical consultation to approximately
5,000 people. Unfortunately, many of the
people were not able to afford the
medicine needed for their illnesses. The
average person makes less than $1 per
day. They’re so poor they can’t even
purchase a mosquito net. Due to the high
number of malaria cases, Chantell
Christopher was moved to purchase 150
mosquito nets, which were distributed
equally among all 3 of the clinics.
While the medical professionals did
check-ups, the other team members either
assisted with the clinics in non-medical
ways and/or did children’s ministry.
After work on July 25th, the
team attended a dinner hosted by the
mayor of Nakuru. The event included
dancers and drummers, music by a local
choir, speeches, food, and fellowship.
It was lots of fun.
July 27th
began with a morning safari and
breakfast. The safari was at the Lake
Nakuru National Park. Because of our
service to the community, the government
gave us a special rate at the park. We
saw monkeys, baboons, giraffes, rhinos,
flamingos, pelicans, and other kinds of
animals; but the lions were nowhere to
be found. Following safari, the team met
with the mayor of Nakuru in his office.
The team then went shopping in the local
market and drove back to Nairobi. Prior
to leaving, I presented the BEL Bondeni
Maternity Hospital with $800 to be used
for medicine. The money came from
revenue generated from the “New Birth”
lithographs (Roederick Vines’ artwork).
On July 28th
and 29th, the team worked
with local Kenyans and other
missionaries to vaccinate over 200 young
people at 2 different orphanages in
Nairobi. The first orphanage, called
Good Samaritan, is in Mathere, the
second largest slum area in Kenya. The
second orphanage is called Shangalia,
and it is a place dedicated toward
developing orphans in the arts. While
the healthcare workers gave shots, the
rest of the team did children’s ministry
and interacted with the orphanage staff.
Also, on the 29th, 3 team
members worked at St. Mary’s, a hospital
that is a model for the Bishop Eddie
Long Maternity Hospital. After ministry
on the 29th, the team went to
the famous Carnivore Restaurant and
sampled meats such as camel, crocodile,
and ostrich.
Prior to
taking a late afternoon flight to
Johannesburg, S. Africa, the team went
to Ngong Hills to visit Grace King’atua
and Adopt-A-Village In Africa. The team
presented hungry children and
grandmothers with corn meal at an
informal service. Then, we went to the
Adopt-A-Village In Africa headquarters,
where we ate lunch and shopped to
support the orphanages. We also left a
donation to purchase beans for the poor
children, who are protein deficient.
The team
arrived in Johannesburg, S. Africa on
the night of July 30th. The
following morning, the team split into 2
groups to minister at church services in
the townships. The first team went to
Pretoria, and the other went to Tembisa.
Both teams ministered through song,
preaching, prayer, and/or testimonies.
Following service, the Tembisa team
attended a large political event at a
soccer stadium and had the opportunity
to address the crowd. After a quick
lunch, the team raced to the airport and
waited in line for 3 hours, only to find
that the airline gave our seats away.
Two team members made the flight home.
The rest of us were sent to Birchwood
Executive Hotel, where we had a
wonderful stay. All expenses were paid
by South African Air. On August 1st,
the team spent the entire day at the
airport and caught the night flight back
to Atlanta. We arrived home on the
morning of August 2nd.
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