Discovery Church is one of our faith community partners, an incredible family in Broomfield. Kelly Little joined a group of “Discoverers” (I just made that up) on a trip to Kenya. She wrote about this experience for us

What an amazing country, what amazing people, what an amazing trip!  Just 7 days in Matopeni, Kenya changed 6 American lives.  7 days of witnessing the dire circumstance of life for the majority of the people living in Matopeni and the surrounding area.  7 days of witnessing the incredible joy, hope and spirit of the people who call this part of the globe home.

Our church, Discovery Christian Church has been partnered with The 1010 Project, as well as with Fred and Alice Afwai through their Candlelight Ministries in Matopeni for several years now.  Discovery Church considers Candlelight Church our sister church, so when we began to plan for a mission trip to Kenya we knew that it would be a special time for all involved, but we really didn’t know what to expect.

Each time we have heard Fred speak, whether at our church in Broomfield, CO or at a 1010 Project function we have been repeatedly touched and inspired to travel to Kenya.  But it was not until we rode down a bumpy Nairobi road into the slum of Matopeni that we began to understand why it is so important to know the people of Kenya.

Perhaps the reason we could never get a handle on what to expect on our trip is because Matopeni is a completely different world than Broomfield, CO. But in the end it was not the differences in the landscape or living conditions that made the impact but the differences in the people in Matopeni. We had a hope to go to Kenya and dig in to get to know the people who were part of Fred and Alice’s lives.   We wanted to serve alongside them.

We arrived in Kenya and placed ourselves in the hands of Fred and Alice to serve their community under their guidance and leadership.  Our pastor spent the week teaching and learning with the Candlelight Ministry pastors and several pastors from Uganda and Kibera slum.  We brought with us 6 donated laptop computers so that we could teach computer classes to men, women and children in the area.  We worked side-by-side with students and teachers at Candlelight School to encourage and support them in their work.  We held a women’s empowerment seminar where we spoke with some local women and encouraged them in their personal struggles.  We held a business seminar to pass on whatever knowledge we could of running a small business in the short period of time that we were there.  We were always striving to teach and to learn about their challenges and to encourage them.

And here is where we found what makes the people of Matopeni different.  The people we met were not overwhelmed or concerned with their daily struggles and challenges.  Rather they were optimistic and excited about their future! They lived in the moment and allowed themselves to fully embrace the joy and excitement of the day.  They were anxious to learn and be educated and excited to put their new knowledge to work.  We met so many people who wanted to be successful so that they could build up others and give back to their community.  And we were saddened by the reality of the hurdles they must overcome to do this simple thing.  There is simply a lack of opportunity and resources.  These two things we have plenty of here in America, such abundance that we have become almost complacent about it.

I feel that in the end we learned a lot from the Kenyans about hopefulness and happiness and celebrating the joy of today.  And our love for the Kenyan culture has grown ten times since witnessing it for ourselves for the first time.  This trip has truly inspired us to remember our friends in Kenya and to do anything we can to further their country’s growth.  Because we know with the proper resources, and a friendship to offer encouragement there is no bounds to what they can accomplish!