Happy 4th of July!

It's strange not being home for the 4th of July. Normally I would be heading to the Lemkuil's house and then somewhere for fireworks. Hello to everyone there! Even though I didn't really celebrate the 4th of July, today was my best day in Nairobi so far.

Gordon and I began the day by going to his church, Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC). I loved it. The time of worship was amazing. They sang many songs I knew in English and a few songs in Swahili. My favorite Swahili song is called "bwana yesu nakupenda." (I love Jesus). The church is huge. We sat on the balcony. It was really neat to look down and see everyone dancing and rejoicing. Then during communion, the choir sang up beat gospel songs. I am used to quiet, contemplative songs, which is definitely appropriate. But, this was neat too. It was a celebration of victory over death through Christ. I loved it. Then the pastor began his first in a series of sermons on the family. He said we need to invite Jesus into our families and all life situations, have faith that He can accomplish great things even when it doesn't seem like it, live in obedience to the Word of God, work as a team and seek to bring glory to God in everything we do. It was great.

After church, we went to Gordon's sister's house. Her name is Liz and she has an adorable son, Jake. Liz cooked a wonderful meal for us (mashed potatoes - with bananas inside!, sakuma wiki and beef) and we watched a movie. Then on our way home, we decided to walk around the town since it was still light out. We saw the location of the bomb blast that went off almost 12 years ago at the American Embassy. They have constructed a nice memorial park where it occurred.



We walked around and went to one of the tallest buildings in Nairobi. It's 30 stories high and you can take an elevator to the top where there is a great view of the city. Since it was evening, it didn't appear we would be able to go to the top. There was no one there. After using the bathrooms, we explored the building to see if we could find a way up. Gordon found a badge on the floor that said "Guest" so he put it on hoping it would help us. He asked a worker how we get to the top and he showed us the right elevator (the previous one we tried didn't work) and told us how to get there. Once we reached the top, it was dark and empty. However, the door was unlocked so up we went. The view was breathtaking. I loved being up there all alone. After taking pictures and enjoying the scenery, we walked around a little more before heading home.



(Gordon with the "guest" badge in the first elevator we tried)





Today was the best day. I think it's because it reminded me of being home. Even though I wasn't with my friends and family, I did get to experience a little bit of that here. Church was joyful, hanging out with Gordon's family was comfortable and exploring Nairobi and sneaking onto the roof was something my friends and I would have done. It was such a nice day and I thank God for it.