Bwana Asifiwe!

I awoke Sunday, June 17 with anticipation. Today we were going to see Mathare for the first time. As we drove closer to the Valley you could visibly see the income level decrease. I knew we were close because the trash heaps were bigger, people were dressed poorer, the smells became stronger, the dirt more evident. Suddenly Alex pulled into a dirt area and there we were staring at Mathare Worship Center. Two images coincide in my mind from the first sight of MWC. One is of the church building itself, I did not expect the size of it. The second image is of Virginia, wearing a burgundy dress and a sash that told me she was an usher for the day. As we began to walk towards the main entrance of the church Virginia greeted me and leaned in for a hug. I will never forget her gentle spirit and quiet smile.

And then the most amazing thing happened, the dirt and the smells disappeared and I found myself walking into my home church yet I was an ocean away from Colorado Springs.

I feel honored that I was allowed to enter into worship with my sister church. It was a powerful experience. I honestly was holding no expectations for the day, I had determined in my heart to not expect anything so God could be honored, even in my worship. We entered into the sanctuary of the church and were greeted warmly. The service has many different parts to it and each one was so universal! This is the day that the universal parts of life and the Body of Christ really started to sink in and weave themselves into the fabric of my thinking. Pastor Edward was preaching a message to the youth that I needed to hear! Pastor Karau spoke a message to the adults that prompted me to take notes for reflection later on. The time of prayer opened my heart and eyes to another facet of praying together as a fellowship. Our time of worship made me realize that the mountain and the valley had come together to lift high the King of Kings, it was beautiful to look around me and see hands, white and black, raised together in praise to the God of all. Pastor Isam gave the main message that day and it all blended together so beautifully. I had the sense of home. I honestly forgot I was halfway across the world.

One story of the service that I want to share. It is a story of our worlds impacting each other. We had talked many times about the demeanor of the Kenyan people. They are a warm people but stoic until you know them. Pastor and Mama are not like this as much, everyone received hugs from them upon arrival. They know how "huggy" we are in America! So we were prepared for handshakes, warm smiles, and soft eyes. It is natural for me to hug and so I had prepared myself to not give in to that instinct. I wanted them to make the first move and feel comfortable with me. When Virginia leaned in and hugged me I was surprised. And then I looked around and saw other church members hugging our team members! During Pastor Edward's greeting he had everyone greet each other with handshakes but then he said he would like everyone to greet each other again with hugs like "our American friends did when they arrived here this morning"! So everyone laughed and started hugging one another in greeting. I imagine God must have smiled at this. Here were his kids loving on each other despite language barriers and cultural differences. It was beautiful.

After the service Pastor took us to the roof, which we hope will one day be enclosed as a third floor. From the roof you could see the valley spread out. Rows and rows of tightly packed metal roofs with 6 inches in between for sunshine to squeeze through if it could. Off in the distance smoke still rose from a recent uprising fire. We looked down and there were kids staring up at us waving. Any direction you looked you saw the poverty and yet here we were standing on the roof of a lighthouse in the valley. Mathare Worship Center is LIFE and brings life to those who reside in that slum. I was humbled, moved, challenged, and overwhelmed at the realizations seeping into my heart and mind. On the surface this appeared to be a place of certain death but I was looking around me and seeing life, both birthed and restored.

In 1 Kings 20:28 it says this, "The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD.' " As I worshipped that Sunday with my brothers and sisters in Christ I witnessed the God of the hills and the valleys, he is moving in mighty ways and bringing deliverance in both places. He is the God of ALL.

I went to sleep that night with a new and growing impression on my heart, in fact on my life. And it would only grow more and drive deeper into my spirit as we worked throughout the week with the church. I felt like I had experienced the Body of Christ in living color for the first time. And I didn't know that in my heart I had viewed church in black, white, and grey prior to June 17. Our first Sunday at MWC introduced color into my thinking. I watched color enter in as God crashed through all boundaries. He crossed over all cultures, all skin tones, all languages. His truth is the same no matter the time zone or continent. What a rich, deep place we all have to turn to, whether we reside in Kenya or Colorado Springs or elsewhere in the world, the word of God is for us no matter where we are at physically.


The front of Mathare Worship Center. They hold a health clinic during the week, among several other organizations and ministries! The very top of the picture is the roof currently. One day the church hopes to enclose it and make it a third floor to expand the ministry.


Worship on Sunday, June 17

Pastor Edward worshipping. He is fantastic, in part because he would explain to us what the song was saying and meant in Kiswahili. He is Pastor Karau's right arm.

The worship was powerful and very God-focused.

Parts of worship were so much like home that I forgot where I was a lot of the time!

The kids prepared a song and dance that they performed that Sunday.

Pastor teaching the adult Bible Study before the church service began.

Pastor Isam teaching for the main service. His message proved God's word is universal, it is for all peoples.

Dominique translating for Isam, he did a great job. I found myself listening to him and feeling like he was the one actually preaching the message! He and Isam worked well together that Sunday.

"....from the mountains to the valleys hear our praises rise to You, from the heavens to the nations hear our singing fill the air...." (Hear Our Praises by Hillsong)

(Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, CO - seen from the rooftop of Calvary Worship Center)

"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." (Psalm 126:2-3 NIV)

(Mathare Valley Slum in Nairobi, Kenya - seen from the rooftop of Mathare Worship Center)

Yes, God is the God of the mountains and the valleys!

Bwana Asifiwe - Praise the Lord!