The Team gave an excellent report to a very excited group of family and friends tonight. The filled room better understood Africa as a result of our stories and had the chance to see how we came to love each and every YCT person we came in contact with. It is our heart to continue finding ways to support the YCT ministry and those who are leaders within it. Of all that happened during our trip, we were most impacted by the friendships with the YCT team.

To all our supporters & Great Adventure friends:
God is good, and so are our many friends. The Omaha Airport had "Record Number of People" at the arrival of the Africa GAMe/YCT Missions team. The Kenya team arrived back safely into Omaha at 10:00pm Saturday night. This was later than anticipated as we missed our flight in Chicago, but other than that the travel was calm and safe. Several team members are sick with colds so you can continue to pray for our health and a smooth transition back to the states. We also had the opportunity to share our faith with several fellow passengers from London to Chicago.

We will be giving a post trip report on Monday night at 7:00pm at 1316 Jones. Please join us to see pictures & to hear our stories!
The Kenya team

We came back from camp Wednesday last afternoon safe & sound, although the internet has been down & we have been unable to write. This will be our last posting until we see you in Omaha! Read on for the details about the last 6 days...

Greetings from the "Great Adventure Missionaries YCT Braska team," as we are called by Sammy! Oh, what an amazing 5 days it has been. I have just been blown away with the zeal for God these 280 youth have. When you talk to them they quote scripture right and left. I ended up singing with their worship team and even led one song. What an experience! George (who plays the piano) can just pick up a song and key in the middle of someone singing. even if he doesn&t know the song, he plays it well! We laughed so much and developed deeper relationships. We learned about some of the things they struggle with. Our role was to help administer the camp but primarily to invest in, love on, and encourage both the YCT leadership and youth and I think we did that. You will see it in our pictures and video. As hard as it was to adjust to this culture the first week, I have fallen in love with the people. A part of my heart will be left here. I look forward to seeing you all in a few days!
~Roseana

We just got back to the Mayfield. One difference from most American youth camps is that we only played games for about 2 hours of the day. The rest was used for worship, small group discussion, round table discussion, and tea. Most of the camps that I have been to in the USA only had 2 hours of "service", with the rest of it being devoted to games. Most of their food here is very bland according to our tastes. I guess we are spoiled with spices and sweeteners. ~Brad or "Brad (Bread) of Life

I really think the YCT has done a good thing in reaching out to the community with the camp and trying to help youth become committed to Christ. Although we started out a bit dazed and confused as to what was going on, we picked up and got in the game by the end. We supported one night with the dramas we prepared as well as gave testimonies and messages about the sketches (you know, skits with a meaning). Although no one ascended directly to heaven, I'm confident that God will bring good things from the camp. I've learned that although they don't have much, some either pretend that they have a lot or they wanted to be at their best here. The camp is a pretty big deal to them. But I've come to know that you have to really dig with many of them to find out what's going on. I know that God had several people there whom I was able to talk with and help them understand a few things about what's important. ~"My" Cook

Can I tell you personally just how charged camp was. There were some uncomfortable moments, like when Sammy asked me to give a message about 10 minutes prior to getting up in front of 300 young people! But again, God provided. I spoke twice during the event - AMAZING! And 35 people came down front and asked to be baptized!! WHAT! I spent the day in the pool, baptizing God's children! Tell me that isn't crazy. My black brothers here are amazing speakers - and I am humbled to speak on the same stage as some of these great preachers, but God's grace is sufficient = I survived!

My greatest prayers have been for our team, and those I am glad to say are being answered. They will not come home unchanged! ~"Pastor" Chad

Wow, I can't believe our time here is almost over. It really has gone by quickly. I mostly enjoyed getting to know the kids at the sports camp. Many of them really opened up to me and began sharing things about their past and how God has changed their lives. I also had the opportunity to pray with 2 people to accept Jesus Christ into their heart and see the joy that came from that decision. It will be very hard to leave tomorrow, the leadership team has been so welcoming and we have connected very well ~~Angie

The sports camp was an incredible experience for me. God really took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to face one of my biggest fears by allowing me to get up and speak (briefly) in front of 250 people. I was able to have some really deep conversations with a few of the girls in one on one situations and I believe that God was able to speak through me to them. The highlight of the camp experience was when I was able to pray with 2 of the kids and have them accept Jesus as their Savior. God is really changing me and working in my life. I know that I will come back home a changed person and that he is going to use this experience to help me be more effective in our ministry as well! ~~LeAnn

Wow! So much has happened since we last emailed. A little bit about camp: Seeing over 200 new faces was overwhelming for me because I felt like we were somewhat responsible for them, being leaders. Anyway, each day got better and toward the end I was sad to leave. It was most sad seeing how sad some of the kids were. They said things like "We will miss you so much", "When are you coming back?", "I don't have any friends like you here. You're my best friend". My favorite part was having one-on-one conversations with several of the girls, each of us sharing about what God has done in our lives. One girl shared with me something very tragic that happened to her at a very young age. After she opened up her heart to me, she said "Wow, I've never shared that with any of my friends". She needs so much healing and has many fears. Please pray for her. Only one day left! I am excited to come home and share so much more about everything that has happened. I believe God is transforming each one of us. He's helping me overcome one of my biggest fears-my fear of speaking in front of groups. I was able to get up in front of almost 300 people doing skits, sharing about my fears and how God is helping me, and being a judge in the talent show. Thanks for all your prayers and please pray for our plane ride home, that none of us get sick. Much Love!!! ~ Amber

We are still alive!! Camp was great!! The relationships that were formed and deep conversations were such a blessing!! My cabin of girls was so good at helping me feel right at home. The first day, I was a little nervous with not knowing what to expect and how I would be accepted. The girls could tell that I was nervous and they assured me that everything was going to be great. They did a wonderful job including me in conversations. I loved it!! It was so cool how when I told them that I wanted to get picture of each of them and prayer requests, they seemed to get all excited.

I can't believe that our time here is almost done. I am so sad! We have all day tomorrow here but then we leave. Please continue praying for us as we will be traveling on a plane for the next 30 hours. Thanks be to God that my health was good for the whole trip!! I love you all! ~Alissa

The Kenyans have such great faith! They trust God will take care of them. When I asked one Kenyan about how he manages in Kibera, he responded "It's God's life". We are planning for our day tomorrow. Pray that God will give us wisdom in this. ~Kevin

The team was truly amazing during camp. They really dug down deep and pushed on - I saw the attitudes of Philippians 2:1-18 being lived out.

Thursday & Friday we've continued to spend time with the yct leaders, and Friday morning we are hoping to buy a few souvenirs. We take off at midnight on Friday night, Kenya time and arrive in Omaha on Saturday at 6:13pm on United 5593 from Chicago. Pray for smooth travels (especially through London) and continued good health, as several people are battling colds. We also are still waiting to find out if we can recover one last bag from the airport tomorrow. ~Alicia

Well, we are off in the morning to camp. Oh please pray. We feel much better about the camp, but we sure know that there will be much that will happen unexpected. Sickness has taken out two people the last few days. Pray for our food and health during these last days! ~Chad

It's 9:23 pm Kenya time on the 18th. This trip has really taught me to be flexible. I had prayed to be pushed outside my comfort zone, and let me tell you, God answers prayers. I have learned a lot about the differences in culture here. Even though the people here don't have much they still deal with the same problems that we deal with in the states. Items like being faithful to God, relations with men and women, and other things that we also stumble with. The main difference is that over here they just don't have as much. So even though we are from different parts of the world we are the same. The sports camp is the next 5 days. Pray that we stay healthy and that make an impact on their lives. ~Brad

We have had a couple different opportunities to do some street evangelism. I first met one man and he was on the edge of becoming a Christian. We asked him if he wanted to say a prayer and he said yes, so Humphrey and I prayed with him to accept Christ into his life. Patrick and I then went out again today. I met 4 people and 3 of them were already believers and the forth one also wanted to accept Jesus into his heart. It has been pretty cool to see how God has been working. Kenyans are so willing to listen to you talk about Jesus. Thanks for all your prayers and support ~Angie

I'm really enjoying being back here in Kenya. The YCT has grown much since I was last here. They have grown both in numbers and in spiritual maturity. I am excited to be able to reconnect with some people I met last time such as Patrick and peter. It's good to see they have remained faithful to Christ and have become leaders in the YCT ministry. One of the challenges they face in evangelism here is that so many know some things about Jesus. If you ask them who he is, they will tell you they think he is the son of God. Then as Boblin instructed me, we really have to dig deeper to find out what that means and if they are living a changed life. I'm excited about the sports camp and hope that many of the youth will be encouraged, grow, and that some will be saved. The leadership team appreciated the clothes and the bags. Benson said after we gave him the bag that he had been praying for a new one as his was just about to break. anywho, I could write for another hour but these crazy missionaries are going to throw me off this computer. ~asante sana, bwana asifiwe ~Mike

Things have been going great for me. Praise God that I am still in good health. It has been really good to experience what it is like here. Talk about an eye opener! God has been working right and left. The unity of the team, I feel, has been great! Every night we have a debrief that we talk with one another about how the day went and so on and so forth. I have loved getting to know the people from YCT and learn their hearts. Today I got a chance to share Christ with a couple girls in Kibera and it was a really neat experience. ~ In His hands, Alissa

Well I am one of the lucky ones (along with Amber) that Chad was referring to in regard to being sick, but God has been faithful to me and I am starting to feel a little bit better. God is building confidence in me in my ability to share my faith and he has opened doors of opportunity to connect with a couple of the YCT girls. Please continue to pray for our health and that His will be done through us in the next 7 days. Thank you to all for your support and prayers! ~ LeAnn

I am so glad I am here but I miss home too. We have experienced a lot in these last few days. I was sick for a day and a half. Better now. At least I had someone to be sick with, Leann and I were sick at the same time. Even though we were sick, we still had fun and made each other laugh. Anyway, let me tell you about something that happened to Alicia. Yesterday while doing street evangelism she met a 19 year old girl who was familiar with the gospel but was not committed to Christ. Alicia shared with her what she needed to do to accept Christ. This morning Alicia was able to meet up with the same girl. This girl shared with Alicia that she is pregnant and considering abortion. She is so scared to tell her parents. She was also planning to go to college this fall. Please pray that this girl will accept Christ into her heart and make the right decision to keep her baby. Thank you! I love you! ~ Amber

Hi friends and family! I hope things are going well in your worlds. I so wish I could hear from you and share more about what God is doing, but there will be plenty of time for that in several days. The challenges here have been so much different than I could have ever expected, but thankfully, our physical safety is very much secure. The men on our team have taken such good care of us and the YCT men have always been around making sure things are ok. As others have mentioned, we walked the streets of Kibera today and shared the Gospel with many people. It was quite surprising the number of them that said they were Christians. I did get to share with one man how he can share Christ with his friends. It's unbelievable how much joy was brought to my heart through that experience. Tomorrow we start the camp. I am so encouraged by the depth of the relationship with Jesus that the YCT members have. We guess that about 40% of the youth will not know Christ, so please pray both for salvation as well as spiritual growth. Also please pray that we will have eyes to see where God desires to use us. Many blessings and all my love ~Roseana

Briefly - this morning we met with 4 or 5 of the YTC core leaders and went to see the elephants and rhinos at an animal "orphanage." We got to pet the baby elephants, which was very cool. Amber woke up ill and LeAnn became ill during the course of the morning - please continue to pray for the health of our team. This afternoon we went to visit the homes of several YTC members and pray for them - an amazing experience that was such a blessing to us. Then on our way back some of us had the opportunity to evangelize - Angie saw someone accept Christ! Praise the Lord! Drama practice was humbling as we realized their drama is actually a mini-play that they have been practicing since January that puts our skits to shame. Tomorrow will be a day of preparation for the camp that starts Saturday morning through Wednesday.

Tuesday morning we drove with the YTC leaders to the Nakuru National Park to have a Safari. We got there in the afternoon, and so not as many animals came out to greet us as if we had gone at the crack of dawn. We did see zebras, giraffes, a cheetah, rhinos, water buffalo, a million flamingos, and monkeys and baboons everywhere! A mother monkey chased Chad all the way back to our van. We then went to the hotel, which was nicer then we anticipated, but it was all that could be booked. A worship service ended the evening. Our team gathered at the end of our evening, exhausted and recognizing that culture shock was setting in.

Today we woke up and found ourselves sharing from about 9 am until 1 pm about the things God has called us to share! Was it perfect? No, but all of us came back encouraged we made ground in actually ministering. We spent the morning sharing our ministry goals, processes, and such with their leadership team. The two days together with the YTC leaders were a great opportunity to begin building friendships. Their leaders are very talented, and we are struggling to see across culture barriers and identify the ways in which we can contribute. Pray: -- that we continue to work as a team as we have already. --That our team leaders and the YTC core leaders can work together well. --That YCT and GAMe can work towards reaching the lost youth.

Here is our latest team update - we all were assigned a different subject to describe our first two days in Nairobi.

Brad - Travel (Friday - Saturday)

This was the longest trip most of us have ever been on. Before this trip I think the longest I had been on an airplane was maybe 4 to 4 ½ hours. The trip from Chicago to London was an 8 hour flight. We then transferred to Kenya Airways and that was another 9 hours. The time in the airports wasn&t that bad, although being in Heathrow was a nightmare. It was just a giant maze to me. The security restrictions forced people to get rid of food, books, chapstick, pens, and anything that the screener might feel was unnecessary. We did manage to get a set of cards through. To pass time, I mostly watched movies on both flights.

Amber - Lodging

Thanks to God, we are staying in a beautiful missionary guest house called the Mayfield. Very fancy. Lots of woodwork. Super glossy walls. There are bathrooms on each floor that we share. The rooms have beds, dressers, closets, sinks and mosquito nets that hang down at night over the beds all the way down to the floor. It sounds weird but it makes us feel like princesses, literally - well, the girls anyway. They serve well balanced delicious meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So far, we have been able to enjoy all the meals they have served. They are so kind when they wait on us at the table. They even make special food for the lactose intolerant people. We are so taken care of here.

LeAnn - Nairobi's Weather

The weather is beautiful here, so much better than what we left at home. Sunshine, warm to hot days, cool evenings. Beautiful. Tonight I went shopping for food for tomorrow's leadership retreat, so that was just like being at home!

Roseana - Sunday

Considering we arrived at the guest house at 1am on Sunday, the thought of attending church at 9 was not an exciting thought! The service lasted 4 hours and consisted of songs and preaching in both English and Swahili. Children and adults alike danced, sang, raised their hands, and received the Word of God. It was such a refreshing and joyful experience. At 6pm we walked through the Kibera slum to the YCT building where the youth led us in worship. Most of the songs were in English and we had an amazing time joining our hearts and voices in worship. I tried to record some of it so we can share it with you. I very much enjoyed it.

Alissa - Monday's tour of Kibera

Wow! We walked through the Kibera slum and it was very dirty. There was sewage running along all the roads right by the houses and trash everywhere. Sammy mentioned that Kibera is the largest slum in Africa. There are over a million people who live in a very small area. The houses are made of corrugated tin and mud. They are very small and crowded together. As we walked through, the children were all saying "How are you? How are you?" They wanted to shake our hands and they loved pictures being taken of them. I totally felt like a tourist as we walked through. As we were walking a girl from YCT by the name of Rozeina held my hand. That is a symbol of friendship. She was telling me that she considered me a friend. What a compliment!

Kevin - Monday&s tour Kibera

The smell of Kibera was overwhelming. It's so hard to believe that people live in a place like that. Narrow dirt alleys twist and turn everywhere. You are constantly watching your feet to know whether the ground is a foot higher or 3 steps lower, and also to be sure that where you step is dry and doesnt contain surprises. YCT leaders accompanied us throughout our "tour" and one of them showed us his house.

Angie - Monday afternoons Leadership Team Meeting

We met together with the YCT leadership team. Even though we just met them, I feel like we are becoming one unified leadership team. It has been very easy to talk with them. We have been able to connect in many of the same areas we face in ministry. I had the opportunity to talk with Florene about how our womens ministry works and some of the challenges that I face as a leader. We are taking their leadership team on a Retreat for the next 2 days. It was a surprise to them and they seemed very excited about going with us. Im looking forward to the opportunities God will give us to connect at a deeper level with each other.

Mike - YCT and GAMe similarities

As we've been talking with Sammy and YCT, we are finding that GAMe and YCT are very similar. The YCT focuses on the community that gets overlooked by most churches. GAMe focuses on singles, as we are often overlooked by churches. Another similarity is the kind of temptations people face. The YCT is well familiar with those who are driven by peer pressure, given to the party life, those who are torn between their desires and following God. They face a community where popping in and out of the group is common. Both of our ministries desire to see people hold firmly to Christ and to grow to a point where people see living for Christ as their life.

Alicia - 2 days of missing luggage and counting -

Normally when you go on a long trip they tell you to pack an extra change of clothes in your carry on. The bummer about that is that because we werent allowed carry ons through Heathrow (just a plastic ziplock bag) Kevin & I basically have nothing with us. No clothes, journal, bible, contacts, underwear- the great thing is that our team is graciously loaning and sharing with us, and we were able to dig through the good will clothes and find some extras.

Chad - Our Team

I am certain you all would be proud of the people you sent here. They have gone without sleep and have dealt with missed luggage, long walks and long days! The slums are more than a person can even understand while here. We struggle with seeing all that is here and understanding why? Some of us would just like to fix it all, but we can't. Pray that we would better understand YTC, and Kibera and how we can help.

In all this, God is good. He has not forsaken His children here, instead, they love Him even more then we do. That is clear everywhere we turn. These people are teaching us far more then we expected! Keep praying.

Until next time- (probably at least 2 days as we leave 7:30am on Tuesday for the retreat).

Karibu Kenya! (Welcome to Kenya)

Friends, we have arrived safely! Praise God! I can tell you it was not an easy trip, but it was safe. They took many of our food, books, and other personal items that we had carried on the plane once we arrived in London. Many flights had been cancelled, but we had no issues!

We did however lose 10 of our bags....pray for those to be found. Alicia and Kevin will be pretty stinky in a few days otherwise! (They lost their bags! )

Everyone is actually doing very well now. We all feel very good, even though it is midnight at home and we just got up to start our day!

Sammy and many others came and waited for 4 hours at the airport for us. They are so warm and welcoming! On the plane people said "oh, that's quite the mission to go to there". I think that really made it all set in for us.

God is good and we will be sharing more as we go! Blessings!