Attending Ndabibi Church Opening or "Mom, When will church be finished?"

Yesterday, we attended the official dedication of a new church in Ndabibi (the "N" is silent).  Wow, what an experience!  We started by traveling 80 km (about 50 miles)  that took us 2 1/2 hours.  On the way we saw twiga (giraffes) and punda milia (zebras) and other animals.  Thank God for the Land Cruiser!  Here are some pictures of the animals:

Since we started at 7:30 in the morning, it was a treat for us to be able to see some cool animals.

We got there and they were already started with the service in the old mud hut.  Here is a picture of it:



It was packed!  The service was in Swahili mostly, but they said some in English.  The pastor was talking about how the Israelites made an exodus to their new home that God had prepared for them.  So, after that service, they walked to the village and back, inviting people to come on the way.  Then came the opening of the new building.  It was made of bricks that they had hand made with a brick machine.

By this time it was about 2 in the afternoon, and the kids were very hungry.  We had a little snack, sharing some cookies with the kids that were there.  They were fasinated with Sallie's hair and would come up to her and touch it.  She was OK with that and they were very gentle.  Our Swahili is not good enough yet to converse, but we could ask things like their names and ages.  But there were 3 languages being spoken: Kiswahili, Kukuyu, and Masi!  We were doomed!

(Above is a picture of Kevin in the striped shirt)

After this short break, we started the second service in the new building.  They were so excited!  It is a nice building and they were grateful.  The funds were raised in Canada by the Paneros (Dr. Dan and his wife Dita).  There was lots of singing.  The youth sang a song, then the masi women and men sang.  It was so cool to listen and watch them.  They wore very colorful outfits and lots of colorful beads.  The songs were rythmic and chant like.  Sallie enjoyed getting them on video.   Here is a video that Sallie took of them:

During that service, Dan spoke about how great it was to have a new building, but it is not really what this church is about.  It is about the people.  The church building could go away at any time, but it is the people that have the love of God and can show that love to others.

When that service was over, they started taking offerings.  They ask for each different group to come up and give in their turn (no pressure)!  Then they did an auction.  They had a chicken then a rooster.  Sallie bid on the chicken, but lost it.  So, she was bound and determined to get the rooster!  He was very handsome!  She was bidding against a few other people, then it came down to Dr. Dan and her.  When she said 1400 kenyan shillings (about $17) the crowd went wild.  They loved it!  She lost it to Dr. Dan at 1600 KSH (about $20), but after receiving the live chicken, he immediatly turned around and handed it to Sallie!  She didn't know what to do.  Dad helped her out!

She has named him "Bob."  She was crying when we told her she could not bring him home, but Pastor Joshua is going to take good care of Bob.

We then ate a wonderful meal, rice, potatoes, beans, tortillas, goat and chai to drink.  It was about 3:00 by then and we were all hungry.

We left soon after that. We saw more giraffes, zebras warthogs and impallas on the way home.

What an amazing day.  We all needed a shower because of the dust and dirt, but it was well worth it.  The people of AIC church Ndabibi have worked for over a year to get their new church done and we were honored to be a part of the opening ceremonies.

In His Hands,

Jullie T.