Myers Park UMC Senior Trip June 2018

A team of seniors in high school from Myers Park United Methodist team came in for their first visit to Kenya towards the end of June. The students all voted unanimously to go to Kenya for their “senior pilgrimage” and were excited after meeting with Paul and Steven in March in Charlotte, NC to partner with our pastors this summer.

First, they traveled into Kibera slum—the largest slum in Africa—to meet with Anthony who is a pastor in a growing church there. Anthony shared his story with the kids, and told about how the church building they sat in used to be a pub where he would get drunk every single night. Now, the church has so many attendees on Sunday, many are poured out into the streets outside the building. He said that Kibera can look like a Godless place, but God is with them and is working through their ministry there. They have so much hope for the future. Pastor Anthony shared, “I only hope that one day when I am in the depths of the valley of the shadow of death, I will say, ‘But, I have hope, because I know my God is still with me.’”

From Anthony’s church, the team went to visit a preschool to play with some of the 40 plus children in the small 10 by 10 room. They sang, played games, and left to a chorus of waving and “bye! bye! bye!”

Over the weekend the students had the opportunity to visit Paul and Martha at Strong Tower, play with the kids, and create photo frames for the kids to keep of themselves. There were smiles everywhere atop the hill overlooking Lake Naivasha, and by the time the team climbed into the big red bus to leave, everyone was pretty tired out from all the fun and excitement. On Sunday, they joined for worship at Paul and Martha’s church and youth pastor Lauren Stines shared a moving message on knowing your name.

On Monday, the team was very excited to visit Pastor Catherine and her church in Maasai land.  When Catherine’s church first started, her services were held underneath a tree. But now, through funding provided by Myer’s Park UMC, Catherine is able to continue the long process of building a new church. When the team first got to the church, they were greeted by the Masai women who were in full dress dancing and singing down the road. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight. The only time this group had ever seen Masai women dressed in their traditional Masai dress was on safaris for tourist attractions, but this was real. The songs they sang, the way they dress, is truthfully still apart of their culture and the team felt so fortunate and blessed by the Lord to be a part of it. You can hear some of this singing here: https://youtu.be/q_Ft_27QI9M

The team also got to taste a bit of Kenyan tourism as they visited the elephant orphanage, Amani Ajuu, Kazuri Bead Factory, the Ngong hills (where they encountered a herd of buffalo!), and on safari. Still, by the time the team was getting ready to leave, they all agreed that Camp Chemi Chemi now felt like their Kenyan home! To read more from each of the students, you can visit their trip blog.