Oh Happy Day! Newsletter article

Imagine if you will, the melody of songs filling the air, children, squealing and giggling with delight, decorated with radiant smiles from ear to ear, all jumping and dancing as though they were on the verge of bursting with energy and excitement.

This was the scene that followed the service teams from community to community, as they gave out gifts to the children for our Christmas in Kenya project. It was a week of constant celebration as two cultures came together to exchange Christmas traditions, and to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

This was a unique service trip, in that, throughout the week, the team traveled to several 410 Bridge communities, including Kiu, Ngaamba, Joska, Kwambekeny and Havilla Children’s Home to celebrate and distribute gifts. Our Kenyan staff and partners also distributed gifts to the communities of Karima and Karogoto.

This trip had a unique team, because the majority of them were youth from St. Marks Church. In the past, these youth have raised money for 410 Bridge projects, and were ready to personally connect and serve with the people of Kenya during the Christmas season.

"It was both an eye-opening and humbling experience for our youth. They were amazed at how little the people had, but how much joy they possessed," said Jarm Turner, Youth Pastor at St. Marks.

As the team arrived in each community, they were welcomed with a song and dance performance. In return, The 410 Bridge team sang Christmas carols, and performed the Christmas story, complete with a nativity scene and costumes for each character of the story. The community children dressed up in the costumes, and as the story was read aloud, when a character was introduced, the child dressed as that character would come out for the audience.

"The children got such a thrill out of seeing their friends dressed up as characters from the Christmas story, like Mary and Joseph, and the Wise men. The whole community was excited to see us perform for them," said Steve Smith.

For the gift distributions, one of the 410 Bridge team members dressed up as Santa Claus. The children were overjoyed by this surprise, and most of them referred to him as "Father Christmas". The children received a school backpack with sweets, cookies, pens and pencils, a geometry set, juice box and exercise books inside.

All that could be heard as the children open their gifts were squeals of excitement and joy. It was a sight to behold, and the team members were in awe just soaking up all the happiness overflowing from the children.

What was quite unexpected was how excited the kids got over receiving a backpack. Most children get excited over sweets and toys, but the children in Kwambakenya were most happy about the backpacks. The children normally carry their schoolbooks in paper bags that get them dirty and wet during rainy season, so these backpacks were a treasured gift.

In the community of Joska, the team walked through different areas of the village distributing gifts to the children. Families eagerly greeted the team outside their homesteads, where they got to personally interact and share with one another. One elderly woman said to the team, "This is something that no other organization has done in our community; we are so happy and wish you would continue with such plans every Christmas!"

In Ngaamba, the team also walked through visiting with families and distributing gifts. They were in this community on a Sunday, and got to experience a glimpse of heaven as they worshipped God with their Kenyan friends at the Anglican Church of Kenya. Pastors from ten churches throughout the community united for one large service with music and dancing filling the air with worship. Most of the team members had never experienced a traditional African worship service, which included singing and dancing down the aisles.

"I was amazed to witness this unified worship service. It showed how much work the staff has done to build bridges between the church and the community. Getting to see God work during that service was such a blessing," said Jarm.

Thanks to all those who participated in the Christmas in Kenya project, there were many smiles and laughs on Christmas Day. These children were able to experience the spirit of giving through the people who opened their hearts to them, and allowed them to enjoy being a kid on Christmas.