And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
As we reflect on Go Team Kenya 2023, we would love to invite you to come on this journey with us as we share and celebrate who God is and all that He has done!
With anticipation in the air we set off on our journey from Dubai with 18 teenagers and 8 leaders as parents waved and sent us off! We prayed, eagerly chatted about what lay ahead and of course, ate McDonald’s. Something that was very evident as we took these first steps was the sense of excitement in this team. We saw the willingness to step into the unknown, to be open to what God wants to do through us and we thank God for the passion that God has put in the hearts of these young people. We also thank God for a safe journey! Landing in Nairobi we received a warm welcome from our very own Pastor Daniel, Pastor Sam from Lulu Thamani and our dear friend Pastor Wamary from Nairobi Chapel before getting settled into our lodging for the night.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:1-2
Our first full day in Kenya started with a visit to Nairobi Chapel, attending the main service followed by the Blitz young adults service where we danced, we worshiped and enjoyed fellowship. Our sleepy teeangers were woken up with a joyful noise as we experienced worship and connected with brothers and sisters in a new context. We truly felt the warmth and the depth of this family of believers. Our teenagers who have been training in our youth music team also had an opportunity to lead worship through music in the young adults service, even singing in Swahili! We then took the road out to Namanga and safely arrived in Masai Eco Lodge for dinner and a bonfire in the peaceful outdoors celebrating all the stories of how God had been faithful to us as we began this adventure.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Cor 2:4-5
As we woke up to our first day in Namanga, there were a lot of nerves as we prepared to go out to the local community. For most of us, this was the first time that we had ever done this kind outreach and even with all our preparation, for many we feared the unknown and how we would find the words to say to share what we believe. And yet we chose to lean not into our own wisdom, but the Spirit of God. We started by meeting the pastors of the local community and our translators, split into smaller groups and walked out into the local terrain together, to share the gospel. Over the course of the day, across our different groups we worshiped Jesus with local tribesmen, built relationships spending time with families and we praise God for three women who gave their life to the Lord!
We spent the afternoon in discipleship groups at the local church as we broke off into a men’s group and women’s group. In the women’s group, each of our teenage girls took turns to share Scripture and their testimonies as we talked about what it means to walk in God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. At the end of our time together, we gave an opportunity for the women to receive Jesus and we give God praise for a beautiful older lady called Dorcas who committed her life to Jesus this very day as one of our girls prayed for her to welcome her to the family of God!
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
Matthew 10:7
Our outreach continued in a new community called Lebo, an area where a new church plant is being established. Once again we split into our groups to connect with families and preach the gospel. It was beautiful to see our teenagers, after spending their time diligently in preparation, take ownership of what they believe as they shared Scripture with confidence, shared their testimonies and boldly stepped out of their comfort zones to initiate conversations with new people. Once again we praise God for the story of a young man named Edward who gave his life to the Lord!
Following this we had a sweet time gathering with the local community at the new church plant that will start in two weeks. We spent some time worshiping together, including learning a new song of praise in the Maasai language before praying and blessing the new church together.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 19:14
Today was a little different than our previous days as we visited Kisapuk Primary School in the Inkiito community. After starting with teaching the kids the dance to “My Lighthouse,” the team split into groups, ready to teach and share a Bible story they all had prepared. The teens didn’t know what age group they’d be ministering to until that day, so it was awesome seeing how each team adjusted their stories for the classroom they were in, from smaller children through to teenagers.
After rounding up in the schools, we got ready to do some sports outreach in the local community. There was volleyball on one side, spikeball on the other, an intense match of football in the middle, and even an attempt at teaching the kids rugby! Everyone had so much fun playing with each other and getting to know the kids and teachers a bit more. We had a chance to share our stories with teachers, and got to hear some from the kids, as well as singing and reading the Bible together with the children on the sidelines of the matches!
As members of the local community gathered around to watch sports, Pastor Sam took us all through a bold and clear gospel presentation as we sat all together before the final match of the day. This was a beautiful picture as we saw children, teachers, pastors, women, older men and our team around the preached Word of God. We could not describe a more perfect moment for how the gospel brings us all together!
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
1 Corinthians 12:4-5
We were here on our final day in Namanga and we couldn’t believe how fast our time had flown by with these wonderful people. We started the day with a picturesque hike through the landscape to the water collection point. Pastor Joseph and Pastor Peter showed us where the water is collected for the community, giving us a deep understanding of the need for water and a nuanced understanding of how to pray and what can be done to provide for this need. After hiking to the church, we experienced a delightful afternoon with the people that we had grown so close to in the Inkiito community. Work began on installing the kitchen for the church as our teenagers rolled up their sleeves and got involved with digging holes, mixing cement and crushing rocks. Everyone enjoyed being involved as we worked side-by-side with the local members of the community. On the other side, some of us cooked with the Maasai women as we peeled potatoes, cut cabbage, fed children, cleaned plates and laughed and sang together and spent precious time building relationships.
We closed our time together with a thanksgiving service, worshiping as one body before thanking and blessing the local church. Tearful goodbyes were made as we ended our time together. While we had only a few days with this community, we deeply treasure our moments here and we truly saw, felt and experienced what it means to be one body – ministering together, laboring alongside, encouraging each other and above all loving another. We thank God for the heart of Jesus in this community and we ask that you join us in continuing to pray that the gospel would flourish here and that God would bless the amazing work being done here!
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now
Philippians 1:3-5
Another day of goodbyes was upon us as we started our day with thanking and blessing the hospitality staff of Masai Eco Lodge. These wonderful people served us and cared for us with so much heart and we feel so grateful for the love we received here. We were proud of our teenagers who took time to personally encourage and pray for each of the staff, even celebrating one of their birthdays together! We said our farewells and got on the road to head to Nairobi. After stopping for lunch, we visited the Giraffe Center to see some of our tall-necked friends!
After picking up some souvenirs, we spent the evening having a special dinner together with Pastor Daniel and Pastor Sam and our dear drivers – Laurence, Sam, David and Henry. Our drivers were not only an extension of our team on the ground, but were a part of our team as we labored together in partnership for the gospel! The teenagers built relationships with them throughout the week and these guys were always there – whether it was flawless problem-solving, navigating difficult terrain, singing along to worship music together in the vans or spending time in deep conversation, these men in particular were a true blessing to us and it felt only fitting to end our time together praising God and praying together.
An early start for our last day and a trip to Kenya would not be complete without a safari! After giving so much of themselves to love and serve those around them all week, it was a joy to see our teenagers relax and to take in the beauty of God’s creation. We spent the morning taking all of this in with giggles and awe-inspired moments before heading back to the hotel to celebrate the team’s birthday together. We enjoyed one last special time of fellowship before we said our goodbyes! A safe (and quiet!) journey back was had by all as we made our way home, ready to reflect on all that God has done in us and through us. After some hot showers and a few good night’s sleeps, we are restored and still in awe of our God and are eager to share all the wonderful ways we saw Him at work this week!
Of course, we could not possibly capture all of what we saw and experienced on this trip, but we hope that this encourages you and we would love to share more of our stories with you as we see you at church!
It is hard to express all of our gratitude, first of all to our Father in Heaven for giving us all this blessing of being a part of what He is doing in His Kingdom in Kenya.
Specifically, we want to take a special moment and thank God for:
As we continue to pray for Kenya and the people we worked alongside with and ministered to, here are a few specific ways that you can join us in praying.
During our time in Kenya, we visited and prayed together to bless a new church plant in the Lebo community. We are excited to report that the church has now had their first gathering and we continue to pray that God would strengthen the believers here and grow their reach as they engage the surrounding community.
We can also share that Bibles have been distributed throughout the local churches to empower ministry of the Word and we gave kids illustrated books about ‘The Story of Jesus Christ’. Additionally exercise books have been provided for the local school.
We are also delighted to be able to share that the kitchen we were working on during our time in the Inkiito community has been completed, uniting a whole community for good and directing them towards togetherness and truth. In our time on the trip, we worked alongside the local community to lay the foundation for the installation of the kitchen that will be a part of the church as they serve these families. It is truly a joy to see this work being finished and we pray that this will be a beautiful space of hospitality as this community grows.
We continue to pray for new believers that we saw come to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ during our trip and we celebrate stories like Edward’s…
Please join us in praying for these precious souls as well as those who heard the gospel preached but have yet to make a decision to follow Jesus, that their hearts would be open to believe!
To learn more about this ministry, you can follow Lulu Thamani to see how God is at work in these communities through leadership training, social development programs and community advocacy:
We thank God for the transformation we have seen in our own hearts as a team. A trip like this can be nothing less than life-changing and we would like to take a moment to share these testimonies with you from our teenagers and leaders…
During the trip one thing I learned is that God is not just someone up in the sky disconnected from us, but someone we can feel and talk to daily. Devotions in the morning and spending time alone with him gave me peace of mind and allowed me to spend the rest of the day in his presence. The Go Team trip to Kenya changed my perspective, and coming back I’ve changed the words I say, the music I listen to, how I react to certain situations, and most importantly my walk with Jesus. Coming back my greatest desire would be to have the same feeling of fulfillment from Kenya in Dubai – Adrian John
During and after the Go Team Kenya trip, I’ve learned that when I am actively looking and listening to God, temptation is easier to deal with. Reading my Bible and praying in the morning can make or break my day – Kaitlyn Kellogg
I learned that God can use me regardless in his own perfect way, not because of anything I do but because I’m willing to be used by my Father and Creator. He showed me those ways and the more I did it, it built my confidence in him because He truly wants my heart. This changed my perception to not measure myself or others by earthly measures for they count as nothing but as Christ does, a willing vessel for His glory – Jessica Gomes
Through GO Team Kenya we hope to build relationships and share the gospel with the people we meet there. We would be deeply encouraged if you could pray for us as our trip is built on a foundation of prayer.
– Pray for each of us to have compassion and bold hearts for Jesus
– Pray for the unity of the team
– Pray for us to share the beauty of who Jesus is and the gospel in all that we do
– Pray for the hearts of the children and families that we will be ministering to
– Pray for the logistics of the trip and for God’s provision for all that is needed
One method to bless GO Team with your support is to visit their booth in the lobby at all in-person services up until the trip.
Gifts that you can look forward to receiving as appreciation for your support include mugs, T-shirts, and caps, as well as jewelry created from the Maasi community.
You may also support us through our online portal by clicking here.
For more information please email youth@fellowshipdubai.com
