Morning Worship: An Invigorating Experience

One thing that has truly impressed me here at Beacon of Hope is their morning worship. Devotions and worship begin EVERY morning at 8:00am sharp, gathering both the women working at Beacon and the entire staff there. What a great way to start the day! For us Americans, it means getting up early to make it to BOH on time (leaving Gracia Gardens at 7:00am and fighting Nairobi traffic for 45 minutes), but we wouldn't miss it.


The singing and clapping make the early rise worth it. We have enjoyed the call and response in Kiswahili, making it less obvious that we don't always know all the words. It's so evident that the women really connect with God during worship. They incorporate fantastic rhythms and a cappella voices, and they are kind enough to let us try to groove along with them. We shared some American worship songs as well, thanks to Kortney and Mike H. on the guitars.


Every morning a woman from Beacon, local pastor, or staff member shares a short devotional message at the end of the musical worship. Even our very own "Reverands" Barry and Mike A. have blessed us by giving their devotions, too, thanks to translators who are impressively fluent in both Kiswahili and English. The words seem more powerful when spoken at the slow pace necessitated by the need for translation to Swahili or English. We often find ourselves leaving morning worship wanting to slow our every morning down, connecting to God in this meaningful way.


What a wonderful tradtion these women are witnessing at Beacon of Hope; the staff and workers truly "walk and talk" their faith. It is refreshing to see an organization put God first in tangible and deliberate ways. In return, we see God working here so powerfully - and are so honored and blessed to be a part of it.