Highlights Live

Jambo everyone-

I feel lke the past week has been a blur of water bottles, goulash, and rocky roads. Our drinking habits as well as our tooth-brushing duties are relegated to bottled water only, and thus we have probably been through enough plastic to make a “greener” man quite unhappy. The food in this region always consists of some sort of goulash; and by that i mean a mixture of rice, beans, cabbage, and some sort of pea/carrot/goat meat mixture. It’s safe to say that soy sauce has become as rare and as valuable as gold in these parts. We have had more Americanized meals for breakfast and dinner for the most part, but lunch is always a consistent foreign carbo-load. The roads here are uncomfortable to say the least. Please pray for our team on the road. They have been rocky, but nonetheless God has been faithful in giving us traveling mercies and seeing us through safely to all of our destinations (although we both depart and arrive on what here is called “Kenyan time,” usually about 15 mins-1 hour late).

We have been to numerous churches, and greeted numerous Presbyterians here. They are very welcoming, and are also in the business of very lengthy “greeting meetings.” Sometimes it can take 2 hours just to say hello and meet their clerks of session, financial officers, elders, pastors, etc. It has been a blessing to “show up” and strengthen our partnership with them, and it is apparent that they are very grateful we have come to spend time with them. Apart from church gatherings, and a LOT (and I mean lot…at least 3 per day) of tea times, we have been spending time at local orphanages doing work projects and relational ministry/games with the kids. The students are loving spending time with the children, and many of there hearts have been touched and challenged by both the poverty and joy that that have seen here. I am enjoying learning from the Kenyan youth here; more about their culture, and more about their Christianity. I have been asking many of them what drew them to the God of the Bible, and their answers are both profound and strikingly similar to your average US student. We are heading out again tomorrow to a boys home for the next several days, and I have no doubt our students and leaders will continue to be challenged by the ministry to be done there. Our medical team has been a stellar crew as well, and although I have not been very involved with them, they have been serving steadfastly and seeing hundreds of patients a day at local clinics. We are looking forward to our time on safari in the Masai Mara next week, as it will be a good time to Sabbath and see another “wilder” side of Africa.

We feel as though we have been going and going non-stop, and still have a long ways to go on this trip; so we are praying that the Lord renews our strength. Chipotle has been mentioned daily since we stepped onto the airplane at LAX, and there was talk today of a Disneyland trip when we return home. There is no doubt we are all missing home and its comforts very much, but we look forward to being faithful in these last days of our mission, and we are praying for safe travel in the south of Kenya for the next week, and in returning to the US a week from tomorrow!

Also, in case you are wondering, the Kenyan referendum has passed and has not been an “issue” whatsoever. The pulse of the country as far as I can tell is excited at this historic moment, and looking forward to its prosperous future. We feel very safe, and we can all continue to be praying that this continues to be the case. We look forward to seeing you all very soon!!

Grace and Peace,

-Tim

I just spoke with Tim Burnette and the Kenya Team is doing great working with orphans, painting dorm rooms, speaking at churches and learning about medical needs in that country. The new constitution is winning overwhelmingly and there is a wonderful calm throughout the country with relatively few incidents. The Team is safe, healthy and being used as God’s representatives to our sisters and brothers in Kenya.

Thanks for your prayers and concerns.

You can send an encouraging note to the Team by emailing missiontrip@sapres.org

Tim Yee