Today our kids our kids were in four schools and did a street concert—we estimate over 7000 people heard the gospel (conservatively) because of their boldness and hard work. We are excited about all that God did today and we are so incredibly proud of our students. And we are all tired.
I’ve asked our seniors to take over the blog today and share whatever they wanted. So without further ado, here’s what they had to say:
Yesterday, seeing the 2,400 children in the elementary school we visited, screaming cheers at us while we sang for them was something I can’t put into words. Gods presence was so strong in that building that I just couldn’t keep the smile from my face! After we sang, we got the chance to visit and speak in the classrooms. Four senior girls, including myself, and 67 children, it was chaos to say the least. After a lot of questions about our white skin and blonde hair, we shared the gospel with them and watched as almost half the class prayed the prayer with us to accept Christ into their lives. God is moving in such strong ways here in Nairobi, and I can’t wait to see what the next eight have to offer! -Rachel Post
Yesterday we sang in an area where the people did their shopping. While we were singing, lots of people stopped to watch what we were doing! After we sang, we went out into the crowd and got to share the gospel with the people standing around. It was kind of nerve wracking at first, but in the end being able to share our testimonies with the people was an overall amazing experience. God is definitely apparent in this trip and I can’t wait to see what else we have in store! – Rebecca Dieudonne
My favorite part of this trip so far has been the “door to door” street evangelism. I’ve gotten to have numerous great conversations with people just outside of their homes or stores just getting to know them, building relationships and sharing the Gospel and what the name of Jesus has done for me. With a few, I’ve even had the opportunity to offer that to them and so far two of them have prayed that very prayer out loud with me right on the street. This experience has been so humbling and God has been pouring into me each day to continue to have the ability and energy to pour into the people of Kenya. These people are so willing to listen and eager for the hope Christ offers and I can’t wait to see what’s to come. – Chloe Ellis
There is no other way to start this other than to say that God is Good. HE is SOVEREIGN. As I begin to write this, I cannot find the words to describe just how much the Lord is moving in Kenya. He is finding His ways to whisper into the hearts of His people, and is radically showing the heights and depths of His great love. At the same time, it is incredibly easy to go into each day falling into step with your humanly desires. It is easy to say you are tired. It is easy to say you want to go back each night. Yet, He has not called us to this life of comfort. He has called us to a life worthy of the Great Commission. My favorite part of this has been seeing the Lord’s hand is honoring our discomfort. Seeing just how many boundaries can be pushed in the holy and precious name of the Jehovah. As we go to sleep each night, I can fall asleep grateful and knowing that the I AM is being glorified, and that is the strength that is going to carry us into the next week. -Emma Perry
To say we hit the ground running is an understatement. We’ve been rolling since we got here. I personally have had about 20 or so gospel conversations. Last night Emma and I struck up conversation with a lady named Naomi and when we asked her what she thought it took to get to heaven she enthusiastically answered “A relationship with Jesus! You have to love him and trust him with your life!” When we told her that was exactly why we were here she encouraged us and told us it’s an amazing thing to see young people spreading the love of Jesus. We worked and worked yesterday and to have that conversation was so encouraging and absolute proof that God is here and working in big ways. I have had a lot of good conversations but this one is by far my favorite. We have big expectations for the rest of the trip and are excited to see what God has in store – Kaitlyn Davis
So far God has already blown my expectations out of the water. I have felt so humbled and blessed to sing to each group of people we encounter. I love seeing how God touches them through the songs we sing. Oh, and people are always very pleasantly surprised that we can sing in Swahili! I also love performing a spoken word piece about God being a strong tour and our hope no matter what we go through and the first night we had a concert I was actually pretty nervous but God spoke through me; His Holy Spirit gives me a confidence to boldly speak. It has been amazing to see how and know that God is using all our our different spiritual gifts and talents for His glory. I have loved meeting and talking to people during street evangelism these past few days. The first day here, I was able to have a gospel conversation with 2 boys near the Nairobi gospel center. They were hesitant to accepting Jesus at first because they didn’t know what their friends would think of them and they thought they couldn’t have fun in life anymore, but after a little more conversation they decided to give their lives to Christ. It was the perfect and most encouraging way to start the week. 🙂 We have been working so so hard and I can see how dedicated the team is. It’s the most rewarding feeling to lay our heads down at night and know we lived out our true purpose to our full ability. — Mia Nelson
The Lord has moved so much in my life this week. Being in Kenya for my first ever and last ever mission trip with Radiate Students I have experienced the Lord move in many ways. The people in Kenya are by far the nicest people I’ve ever met. Being able to sing these songs in the areas that we have so far this week and getting to see all the different reactions of people has honestly been so heartwarming. The work that we have been doing to prepare for this trip has really paid off and God has been with us the entire time. I’ve been able to share my story with many people and they have been so impacted but that impact isn’t me it’s the Lord. This trip has absolutely amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. What a blessing we have to be here in Kenya and live for the Lord in his kingdom. To God be the glory. -Hannah Dohse
Hello Burnt Hickory! This is Lauren Nixon and Kenya is my third international mission trip with Radiate Students. For the past three days our group has been going into churches and schools and streets to perform and do street evangelism. On behalf of every person on this trip it’s safe to say that the people of Kenya are overwhelmingly welcoming. They are so joyful and full of songs and dancing, especially the kids. So far we have shared the gospel with roughly 8,000 people in the past two days at schools and on the streets. I have personally been able to lead 40+ people to Christ in the schools and on the streets. I’m having so much fun learning about the culture and learning the language of Swahili, and we’ve also learned a good bit of dances. We have so many more people to meet and we are so thankful for all of the prayers that have been headed our way! Keep praying the God moves in unimaginable ways! -Lauren Nixon
Hello Burnt Hickory! This is Audrey Knowles. I’m a graduated senior this trip, and I have had the opportunity to be a part of the past two international trips. I was in England in 2014 and Dominica in 2016, and I’m overwhelmed by the way God has blown my expectations from those past trips out of the water. The Lord is moving in incredible ways already three days in. We have had the opportunity to present the gospel to a conservative estimate of around 8,000 people in the past two days, and there have been so many who have accepted Christ. I have been amazed by the boldness and willingness of our younger students to share their faith with strangers. With each conversation they had they grew in confidence; it has been incredible to see them going from being hesitant to strike up a conversation with a stranger to stopping every person on the street that they saw. Our presentation has gone from performing songs for an audience to worshiping an audience of one. It’s been amazing to see the transformation our group is undergoing as God works in our hearts. It has also been incredible to spend time with the Kenyan people; they are the kindest, most welcoming group! Continue to pray for the work God is doing here! All of Radiate sends love back home! Audrey Knowles
This is Chase Jones, and this is my third international mission with Radiate student ministry. We are working so hard to share the love of Christ with the people of Kenya, regardless of age or status. This trip has been a whole different experience than any other trip that I have ever been on. We are reaching out into the community so intensely and sharing the love of Christ on a scale that is almost unimaginable. In past trips we have also relied much more heavily on our singing abilities, where on this trip our evangelism is so much more related to our own personal relationship with Christ. I have seen hearts changed and eyes opened, both in the people of Kenya and in our own group. Doing something like this brings out the heart for Christ in all of us, and we will be forever changed because of it. We are all so grateful for the opportunity to share our hearts with everyone we come in contact with.
Specific prayer request for day 4 on the ground:
Tomorrow we are heading to the slums. Please pray that God’s words would flow where ours fail. Pray that our emotions would not get in the way of us sharing the greatest gift of hope that can be found in this world. Pray that God through us can change lives and that he will continue to work in the lives of our students as well.