This is where it all begins...

Hey – this is Courtney here – I am so excited to share with you all about our day today! So Mondays are very special days for Life in Abundance International. Every Monday each LIA staff member and volunteer in every country fast and pray for the organization, each other, partner churches, their country, and more. It was such a blessing to take part in this with our LIA Kenya friends. We got to see what the organization truly is about and from where they draw their strength and guidance. Our lovely friend Pamella shared with us that when Jesus called His disciples, he first called them to spend time with Him and He then sent them out to care for people and spread His word.

And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach... Mark 3:14

Thus, the ministry of LIA begins the week first with drawing close to Jesus and then scattering across East Africa to care for people and spread His word. We were blessed to spend most of the day in prayer and in song for the people and ministries of LIA, Kenya, the US, and all of Africa.

During a break towards the end of our prayer time I had a very cool experience. I walked down the street with our LIA friend Beth to meet some of her friends at another organization, Theovision International. Her friends were refugees from Somalia and they were working with this organization in order to create an audio bible in the mother tongue of those in Somalia. This is crucial for believers and nonbelievers there who can neither read nor understand English or Kiswahili. It was amazing to hear their stories and talk to them about helping them with their project over the next few months!

All in all today was a much needed day for our team of focusing on what is really important. It was so great joining LIA in giving thanks for what has been accomplished and requesting strength and wisdom for what is to come. We are so excited about our first week of work and are ready to go, especially after today! Please be in prayer for us as we tour the Kenyan health system this week and begin to learn how we will be able to be plugged in and used here. Pray also for the connections with the local church – we are really hoping to be able help out with their youth and teens. You all are awesome and we love you guys,

The Kenya Team

Side note – we are now learning two and three word Kiswahili phrases: Jina langu ni Courtney (My name is Courtney)!