The Local Ministry
Hello friends, Mambo! This is Brayden Freidhoff and Jada Garner. Today we joined our friends at the Bucket Outreach ministry in the Kiberan slum. This community based organization led, run, and managed by Kenyans distributes buckets and water filters to the community. The buckets are used as a ministry for the work of Jesus in our lives, and the impact of the ministry in Kibera has been a plethora of salvations and renewed health. The Bucket Outreach ministry is the gold standard of global health initiatives: Long-term, community-based, effective, and intentional.
We watched as members of the organization instructed a group on use and maintenance of filters. We watched in smaller groups as they conducted interviews with individuals who had received filters. Part of the interview includes a discussion about what they had heard about Jesus. These people were highly receptive to the Gospel, and we witnessed numerous salvations today. We had the opportunity to share stories to the group as we waited for lunch, and each person to share told of the beautiful things they had seen.
We ate lunch of rice and cabbage at the Bucket Ministry. Some of us had never eaten cabbage before today. After lunch we split into groups of two and visited individuals in their homes who had previously received buckets from the ministry. We shadowed workers as they conducted follow-up interviews with mixed success. Some individuals had not used their filter much, but for others the effect had been transformational. Brayden and Patrick met a man whose entire family no longer suffered from diarrhea. He spoke almost no English, but gratitude is the same in every language, and it was evident in his smiles.
After serving the Bucket Ministry the group returned to Grace House Resort for tea time. The quality of Kenyan tea has been so great that some of us may become lifelong drinkers–the coffee even more so. After Tea we ate at Big Square for the fourth and final time. Some of us have eaten four pizzas in the last four days. We played Uno and Euchre as we waited for our food, and then most of the group ate at Coldstone Creamery after the dinner.
When we returned to Grace House for the night, we met as a group for testimonies. Tyler, Alex, Brayden, and Jada gave their testimonies as the rest of the group shared love with them. This group has become incredibly close through the uniting forces of service and transparency. There are now more inside jokes than everyone can keep track of. We are honored to be serving, and look forward to our last day of work in the slums tomorrow.