Steeves' Summary #32: Five Loaves and Two Fish May 2006

The day has come!

“Feed my Lambs” has visited 68 needy homes in the community over a two month period. The aged, widowed, and orphans were given blankets, food parcels, and words of encouragement. The people visited in the community also received an invitation to attend a special Sunday service at the Matathia First Baptist Church on May 21st. The big question was, “who will attend and how many?”

Mike and I arrived at the church early and there were very few people in sight. The main action was going on behind the church where the women were washing brand new dishes for the church meal while others were cooking beef in sufurias over an open fire. As I waited for the church service to start I made myself useful by joining the ladies washing dishes. Within what seemed like a short period of time, and ladies and I could hear singing and praying through the church walls. The sound was getting louder and louder by the minute. Curiosity got the best of me and it was time for me to check how many people had come to the service. Knowing there were only 30 church members who attended on a regular Sunday, I was so pleased to find out that every bench was full! As I entered the church, streams of people continued to come into the church. It wasn't long before people began to line up against the back wall of the church, while others piled outside in the church doorway.

The morning service consisted of three and a half hours of singing, dancing, drums, testimonies, prayer, sermons, and skits performed by the different age groups. Mike and I joined the “Feed My Lambs” group in a skit and song about Jesus healing the crippled beggar. What courage it took to sing in Swahili in front of the crowd that knew the language well! I was asked to share about how the blanket project started, and Mike gave the message on “The body of Christ.” One of the pastors translated into Kikuyu as we spoke.

A highlight was seeing the old feeble man we had visited in the community sitting in the second row of the church. On our visit, we found out he had given up on anything related to church due to his negative relations with the men of his church. His children tried to get him back into the church many times but he refused to go...until May 21^st. His son, who was one of the elders in this church, was shocked to find his strong-willed father sitting in the front of the church. I saw many smiles from the old man during the service, and I do believe he will be back!

After many songs, skits, and speakers, the time came to serve the meal of rice and beef. Heaping plates of food were being served. People found a place on the grass to sit to have their meal. There seemed to be an endless supply of food being scooped out of the sufurias. What did run out early were the 150 plates! The children, being used to eating out of their hands, did just that without any complaints. It cost 6000 shillings ($100 Canadian) to feed 250+ people that day. Just like the crowd of five thousand who ate the five loaves and two fish, every single person who attended was fed and they were all satisfied. I have been told that this was the first time many of them had ever experienced a meal as part of a Sunday church service. They were very appreciative and are looking forward to the next special Sunday service on June 18th.

It is because of your gifts to us that we have been able to support this project, both the distribution of food and blankets, and the special meal.

You can see more photos of this great day here.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Bernadine, Michael, Julianne and Evan

	Michael and Bernadine Steeves P.O. Box 80 Kijabe, Kenya 00220 phone: 011-254-20-3246-101 cell phone: 011-254-735-317094 steeves@kijabe.org  www.kijabe.org
	Africa Inland Mission 1641 Victoria Park Ave. Scarborough, ON M1R 1P8 (877) 407-6077 (Toll Free) www.aimcanada.org