AN AMERICAN WITNESSES REVIVAL IN THE SLUMS OF NAIROBI, pt 2.

NAIROBI, APRIL 11: THE SLUMS OF RUARAKA....

(To read pt 1, go here:https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/god-uses-american-bring-revival-slums-nairobi-pt-1-marica-nick-/)

Daniel, our driver, is an acknowledged Zen master at negotiating the demolition derby of Nairobi traffic. With sure hands and keen eyes, Daniel operates like an experienced brain surgeon that allows him to avoid other cars with not much more than the thickness of a piece of paper between our car and the one he just avoided (you think I'm kidding!!!). I liken him to a mongoose with lighting fast reflexes that avoid the cobra's strike with ease. We arrive at our destination, with a quarter mile walk thru the slums of Ruaraka just ahead of us.

I now have a chance to really "experience" the squalor of these slums. The smell is not as bad as you might imagine (but then again it's breezy and cool today - can't imagine what it's like when it's steamy and hot), but the filth is unbelievable and ubiquitous. Trash of all kind is strewn everywhere. The single lane "roads" (if you want to call them that - they are stretches of cavernous, sharply undulating hills and valleys filled with mud and a polluted flowing liquid that probably passed for water at some point) are impassable by any vehicle known to man, and constitute our walkways. Animals that once very likely resembled chickens and dogs roam these streets aimlessly, foraging for anything that might even remotely resemble food. War zones look better than this. Children run about in dirty clothes, and I wonder when the last time was that they had a bath...

I am the only white person in sight. A few of the small children are frightened by the mere sight of me, and actually scream and run away as if I'm some hideous monster. I imagine that I'm the first white person they have ever seen. Most look at me as if I'm some sort of novelty that is being paraded.

Pastor David and I reach the church to find a packed house waiting for us; the 1st service begins shortly afterward. Yet again, the worship is magnificent. These Christians WORSHIP! The exuberance and the joy are infectious; I can't help but join in. These smartly attractive people are pressed and dressed and can't wait to meet Jesus; for many, it's like Christmas morning. We sing loudly and dance with little inhibition. I wonder to myself: why aren't we like this here in America?

I preach my first sermon on forgiveness and how we will never enter the rest of God until we learn to forgive. It's obvious that the sermon has hit the mark. They break off into groups of 3 or 4 to pray. You can hear weeping and crying from various points around the room After 10 minutes we give an altar call for those who want prayer. About 2 dozen come forth and we pray over them. The first woman I pray over collapses in 5 seconds as I pray healing, blessing and the blood of Jesus over her. Men and women come forth and hold onto me as if they are holding a life preserver for dear life and weep and cry. The scene is absolutely overwhelming; I've never seen anything like it...

We go to lunch & Pastor David and his wife tell me how powerful it is. I'm exhausted and we haven't started the second service yet...

Second service is a repeat of the first. I preach on what it means to be a new creation in Christ. Again, it's obvious the sermon hits the mark. Many come forth for prayer and healing. 4:30 comes and were are done. God has shown up in a major way, and to Him be the power and the glory and the praise!

Tomorrow Last day of the Victorious Living Conference. How can God top this one, I wonder?