Travis' Observations After Only Four Days in Kenya

19-year old Travis arrived in Nairobi on Thursday evening for a 3-month stay in Kenya. It's his first time out of the United States. Please pray for him as he seeks God's will on where he is to plug in for ministry opportunities.

I've added a hotlink to his blogsite in the right-hand column. I hope you'll take a minute or two to see what his early observations are. Here is a brief excerpt to whet your appetite:

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"The last few days, I have felt more alone than ever. I have left everything I ever knew behind and am here in a whole different world that is so foreign to me. Though I fell torn, I feel like I have been awakened here.

I have met so many Kenyans who have faith that just blows me away. These people are so on fire for God despite what they go through. It puts America to shame. You can see happiness in them even when they have seen the worst of the worst. They have nothing, yet their faith is so real. It is tested daily by their trials and they persevere through so much more than the average American. They have scars emotionally and physically. They have been broken yet they give God honor for everything.

I ate lunch at a refugee friend’s house the other day. The typical house here is one room supported by scrap metal. They cook with a little fire and go to the bathroom in a hole. They have no electricity or water. They live on faith and nothing else. It makes my complaints sound so puny.

I have learned how pain can really draw you closer to God. He is the only one that can pick you back up and carry you on, heal your wounds, and mend you back to who He wants you to be. I don’t think God can use people until they have been hurt because it shows how useless they are without Him. As A.W. Tozer says, “It is doubtful the Lord will use a man greatly until He’s hurt him deeply.”

Yesterday, as I stood in church singing and praising with other Kenyans, it felt so much more lively. It’s like this fear of reverence towards God, a trembling that grasps your heart. The people here yearn so deeply to feel His presence and to be moved. They push ever hindrance aside and willingly live to honor Him."