We arrived at St. Phillips church about mid-day on our day with Bishop Matolo. It was out in the country on a plain, very different from the hillside churches we had visited early that morning. The congregation was led by Rev. Daniel Mutuku, a very friendly and humble man of God who welcomed us with open arms.

We took a small tour of their land where we saw little plots set aside for farming. The church family has started farming and selling various vegetables to sell to help support the building of the church. They want to be able to build a new roof, pour new concrete floors and build an altar. We prayed with them as they blessed the first fruit of their crop.

During this time the beautiful ladies of the church brought us tea and bread. They told us that the Bible says “Visitors do not visit without the church wiping the dust from their feet.”

Our next stop while exploring Muchakos, Kenya was to this quaint little church off an old dirt rode (well, I guess they were all off of old dirt roads…)

This was another of the many churches that met in what they called a “temporary building” made of mud, rocks and sticks and baked in the Kenyan sun. They had already drawn up plans though to build a stronger and bigger church, one that would hold more people and stand through the tests of weather and time.

These wonderful people are still raising funds to be able to build a more permanent structure. If you would like to donate towards this cause, please send a check payable to Bedouins Inernational (to our temporary New York address: Attn: Jessi Lambert, 408 W 129th St Apt 9, New York, NY 10027). Please write “Bishop Matolo” in the memo and we will make sure it gets put in the right hands.

CITYPULSE is a collaborative art project that uses music, photos, videos and other creative media to capture different cities around the world – their structures, people, culture and so on. We found out about them a few months ago when they asked Stephen if they could use some of photos from the Bedouins trip to Haiti in 2008. They came out with a beautiful book in March that features photos of Haiti from different photographers. Their goal was to show the true beauty of Haiti pre-earthquake. I think they succeeded.

You can take a look a the book here and purchase a copy here. All proceeds go towards helping the survivors of the 2009 earthquake.

Finally getting a chance to go through some of these photos from Kenya!

Meet Bishop Matolo. When Jessi and I finished our project with KIINI in Kenya we had a few days left at the tail end of our trip and used them to tag up with one of the CEC’s (Charismatic Episcopal Church) local bishops to photograph his diocese. I did a similar project during my last trip to Kenya in the western part of the country, so it was very interesting to see the similarities and differences in this, a more central and eastern area of Kenya.

We spent the day traveling all over Biship Matolo’s diocese and visiting several of his churches and local projects. The community there is so incredible. They work hard, and they work together.

The following are some of my favorite photos from the first place we visited with him. Each little church and congregation had its own little story. This first church was still in its “temporary” state; they are hoping to build a full size church with enough seating for the whole community.

This past trip to Kenya, Jessi and I got to spend the last few days of our trip with Bishop Matolo of the CEC.  I’ve just recently gotten to open those photos up and look through them (wedding season + working at the church in NYC has really slowed me down this summer).  Here’s a screen shot of some of what is coming up soon.  The stuff is looking great and the story is awesome…a church thriving in the heart of Kenya with some really wonderful support from the States!  More on it soon…here’s a teaser and a reminder…we’re still here and we’re still telling stories…stay tuned!