Ritchie's African Life: Two Awesome Years

On Sunday, August 5, Victory World Outreach of Nairobi celebrated their 2^nd anniversary. Leading up to the event was the slaughtering of three sheep on Saturday. For the Kenyans, it is a privilege to slaughter sheep or goats. That privilege was mine with the first sheep. If you are reading this and know me, you know that I have never slaughtered anything and I have never been hunting, so this was foreign to me. The only part that I had in the slaughter was that I cut the throat of the first sheep. It was a strange and intense moment. I felt sick to my stomach for a long time after that. One man even asked me if I enjoyed slaughtering the sheep. I don’t understand how that can be enjoyable, but to each his own. Later during the day, many women came to the church to help prepare the food. They made chapati, mashed potatoes with peas and corn (maize), rice, ugali, and sheep stew with potatoes and carrots. It was a large undertaking.

Sunday was awesome. It was a packed house – over 400 people were there. Pastor Paul preached a great sermon and people’s lives were changed by the power of God. After service, we ate the yummy food and fellowshipped. Then around 3 pm, we started up again with baptisms. I was able to help baptize people in the water with another man from the church. We baptized a total of 7 people. Then the festivities continued with songs from the many tribes and countries that are represented in the church. Of the more than 40 tribes in Kenya, there were 16 tribes that are at the church. The kingdom of God knows no bounds.

We ended the day with a look back at the growth of the church. Emily created a DVD of the church from its beginning up until now. It was amazing to see the change and the growth. God is really doing a work in Africa and I am so blessed to be able to be a part of it.

Please continue to pray for the church in Nairobi.