Back in Kenya: A Reminder of Why We Go
Our Kenya trip is underway, and after our first three days here, I’m already reminded of why coming back to this country is so important to me.
We started Sunday morning early with a game drive through Nairobi National Park. Apparently, it must have been rhino day because we saw more than 10 rhinos both black and white. It was an incredible way to begin the trip and an awesome experience to share with our guests from Easthaven Baptist Church and Germantown Baptist Church.
After the safari, we sat down for our first meal together in Kenya. Everyone jumped right into traditional Kenyan food—chicken, beef, chapati, ugali, and plenty of other things to try.
From there, we boarded a flight from Nairobi to Eldoret and then drove about an hour and a half to Kitale, the area where The Filter Project works. By the time we arrived, everyone was completely exhausted from the travel. Dinner didn’t stand a chance. We checked into the hotel and everyone pretty much went straight to bed.
Monday: Back With the Team
Monday morning started with breakfast at the hotel, which can always be an experience in itself. Alongside the normal breakfast foods were chicken wings, drumsticks, and even hot beef bone broth. I decided to stick with the eggs.
After breakfast, we traveled to Sabwani and met up with our Kenyan missionary and leadership team at the church we are currently working out of.
There is something special about being back together with this team.
We sang, worshiped the Lord together, and I shared a short message called “Finishing the Race.” Afterward, each of our American guests partnered with members of our Kenyan missionary team, and we headed into the community to begin follow-ups.
Follow-ups are one of the most important parts of the TFP model. We don’t simply distribute a filter and disappear. Our missionaries return to the homes, check on the families, make sure the filter is being used correctly, build relationships, and most importantly, continue sharing the gospel.
Over Monday and Tuesday, our teams completed roughly 100 follow-ups.
And throughout those visits, we saw people respond to the gospel and make decisions to follow Christ.
Hospitality With So Little
One of the things that has really stood out to our guests is the hospitality of the Kenyan people.
Many of the families we visit have very little by American standards. Yet over and over again, they want to share what they have with us.
During our follow-ups, families have offered us chai tea, fruit, bread, and other food from their homes.
There is something humbling about sitting inside the home of someone who has so little and watching them eagerly share it with a group of visitors.
It has reminded me again how incredibly blessed we are in America and how easy it can be to take those blessings for granted.
Tuesday: More Follow-Ups and a Special Connection
On Tuesday, we switched missionary teams and headed back out for another day of follow-ups.
One visit was especially meaningful to me.
Several weeks ago, our Kenyan media team filmed the story of a woman named Jacqueline. She shared her testimony about coming to Christ and her desire to be baptized. We shared her story on TFP’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
Today, I actually got to meet Jacqueline in person.
Even better, I had the opportunity to sit with her and participate in her follow-up.
There was something really special about seeing her story through a camera from thousands of miles away and then sitting face-to-face with her in her home here in Kenya.
Those are the moments that make all of this real.
We ended the day back at the church. There is a school across the road, and the Easthaven team brought jump ropes and soccer balls for the children. One of the ladies from Easthaven also brought a puppet and used it to share the gospel with the kids.
Watching our guests jump in and love on these children has been another highlight of the trip.
And sometimes ministry here gives you stories you simply couldn’t plan.
One of the Easthaven team members, Peter, was sitting in a home during a follow-up this evening talking with a woman who was holding her baby.
As they were talking, she began nursing her child.
Then two chickens casually walked into the house.
And as if Peter didn’t already have enough distractions, the family cow stuck its head toward the doorway, stared directly at him, and began mooing loudly into the house.
Welcome to follow-ups in Kenya.
But through the baby, the chickens, the cow, and everything else going on around them, the gospel was shared.
And that woman gave her life to Christ.
That is what this week is about.
Recharging the Battery
For me personally, coming back to Kenya feels a little like recharging my battery.
Running TFP back home means fundraising, meetings, asking people to give, solving problems, making decisions, and carrying the responsibilities that come with leading this ministry.
Sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get burned out.
Then I come back here.
I walk alongside our missionaries. I sit inside the homes of the families we serve. I watch someone hear the gospel. I see the fruit of what God has allowed this ministry to become.
And I remember why we do it.
These trips rejuvenate me and give me fresh energy to go back home and keep telling the story, raising support, and pushing forward.
More than anything, these first few days have reminded me of God’s faithfulness.
He has been incredibly faithful to TFP over these past two years. He has been faithful to our missionaries. He has been faithful to provide the resources. And He continues to open doors that we never could have opened ourselves.
Thursday is going to be a special day.
We are preparing for what our team is calling a Mega Baptism, and we are praying and believing that more than 50 people will publicly profess their faith through baptism.
Thursday will also bring another milestone for The Filter Project as we prepare to distribute our 10,000th filter.
I’ll save that story for the next update.
For now, please continue praying for our American guests and our Kenyan missionary team. Pray for health, safety, strength, and endurance. Pray for the people we will meet over the next several days. And especially pray for those preparing to take the next step of obedience through baptism.
And to every person who has prayed, given, supported, encouraged, or shared the story of The Filter Project thank you.
You are part of what God is doing here.
We are simply grateful that He allows us to be part of it.
