June 2017

As we woke up on our first Sunday in Kenya, I don’t think anyone was ready for the culture shock we were about to experience. The first worship service we visited met in a tin building that was hot and packed with energy. The people were dancing, the music was cranked to 11 and the speaker and translator were rapid firing across the mic. As one might guess, it took us a few minutes to acclimate to this new environment. Eventually we were joining in as best we could. We even caught a few people getting some iphone footage of us. After getting back to camp we decided  to visit the worship service that the camp staff held as a part of their ministry. Contrary to our prior experience, this service was quiet and intimate. The acoustic unplugged worship still got us up and moving in a way only Kenya can. Yet, It felt like such a personal connection with Jesus. This was such a refreshing time for the whole team. In one Sunday we were able to experience two very different worship services and see that Jesus is alive and well in Kenya.

It is hard to recap such an amazing experience in anything less than 2 hours and a camera full of pictures. However, the biggest take away that I have from this trip to Kenya We are all one body in Christ and it says in 1 Corinthians 12:26 “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Our first world blessings come with responsibility. After meeting so many amazing people, I now have faces to put with this call that God has given all of us. The blessings of God are meant to stretch and increase our faith, not make our comfort more comfortable. We have the opportunity to make a huge impact in the name of Jesus Christ. My prayer is simply that God would continue to use MOM and everyone involved in it, to work in ways that only God can and pour out his spirit all over the world.

-Kyle Zigweid, youth trip leader