SAFARI !!

Well Friday morning Tahia and I were picked up from the Kamau's house to venture on a safari with some guests from Trader's Point Christian Church in Indiana. It took about 6 long hours of bumpy roads to get there but we finally made it to the Sopa Lodge in Masai Mara. It was absolutely beautiful! We were able to go on a short safari Friday afternoon, an all day trip on Saturday, and then a short one this morning on our way back to Nairobi. Overall, we got to see tons of birds, gazelle, impala, elephants, and buffalo. We even saw a few lions and two cheetahs! The only animals we didn't see were rhinos and leopards, but giraffes and hippos were definitely sighted :)

Another cool event was seeing a dance given by some of the Masai people. Their clothing is unique and beautiful. They wear red because it is easy to see at a distance and it also scares off the wild animals. if you research the Masai you will most likely come up with their popular traditional dance which includes a male competition of jumping. This dance is usually performed after weddings or a circumcision ritual. Supposedly, the boy who jumps the highest has the most girlfriends ;) Well I will let most of the pictures do the talking, but the weather was absolutely beautiful and not too hot! I wish you all could have been right there with me :)

And here is a funny one: After the Masai dance, Tahia and I introduced ourselves to one of the men and asked him questions concerning the dancing and really just questions about the Masai in general. Afterwards, we played pool with them! I think that is absolutely hilarious :)

So this weekend was a blast and an experience that not many people have the chance to take, so I am extremely grateful! Thank you so much for this opportunity and I pray you all enjoy your Sunday :) Praise God for his beautiful creation and his willingness to share it with us!

Born Again!

Today was extraordinary! I had the awesome opportunity to go out with some of the CHE workers to evangelize in Area 4A of Mathare. It took awhile to get there, but when we arrived we met up with another Missions of Hope CHE worker, Dan, who works in that specific area. We then split up into two groups and started walking around the neighborhood knocking on doors saying, "Hodi?" which means, "Can I come in?" Every house we went to welcomed us whole-heartedly!

We talked with a few people who said that they have gone to church before and were not saved. I went along with Timothy and Irene, both wonderful people who love Jesus tons! Those two mostly talked with the people in Swahili and shared the gospel with them with the help of the evang-a-cube. We spent a lot of time just getting to know the people and understanding their backgrounds and where they were currently in life.

Eventually, I got the chance to share the gospel and it was such a blessing that the house we entered belonged to a young man who knew English fairly well! His name is Chris and he told us that he just moved to Nairobi and was settling in. He is 26 and has been to church before but has not decided to accept Jesus as his personal savior. So I shared with him why I follow Christ and then went through the gospel with him. Timothy asked him some questions and just got to know him more and then Chris decided that he wanted to pray a prayer of confession and accept Jesus into his heart!! It was so amazing :) So we prayed together and got his information so that Dan would be able to contact him and follow up. Here is a picture of Chris (left), me and Timothy. 

It was obviously something you don't experience everyday, but I was inspired by Timothy and Irene's enthusiasm for people to hear about what has changed their lives and has given them hope for the future. I have gained more confidence in my knowledge of why exactly I believe and also just confidence in the fact that I can be a vessel for the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of others. It was honestly a sacred time. I mean think about it! You are witnessing someone decide that they are going to turn their lives around, and even if they only half-heartedly do it at the time, not really knowing what they are getting into haha, a relationship has been started and now has the capability to grow through the encouragement of other Christians! I hope that I get the chance to visit Chris and encourage him in his walk once more before I leave. Ah discipleship. So exciting and exactly what we are called to do :)

Vegetables in a Sack

Well today we went to Joska and were supposed to present on nutrition again, but there was yet another miscommunication, so we ended up just hanging out with the kids and listening to Wallace preach at their Wednesday night service. So sadly there is not much to say about today, but I do want to share about yesterday!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see Robert, a CHE worker, mobilize a group of women in Babadogo in order to construct some large sacks for growing vegetables. We first dug up some dirt from a specific location and then transported it on our backs to a compound where the sacks would be settled. These women worked really hard and were a fun bunch to get to know. Faith, the woman who is in a yellow shirt next to me also is learning how to sew at the Pangani center. She was super sweet! So shoveled dirt into these sacks and made about 5 trips each, then started constructing the sacks.

I was very impressed with the method they used. First they line the bottom of the sack with dirt and use a round, plastic container with the bottom cut out to form a pillar of rocks in the center. The rocks are not only for stability but also to make sure that the water reaches all the way to the bottom of the sack when poured in. The sacks really do need stability though because the ones they had before had fallen over. The people who live in the compound said it was because of the wind, but the women believe it is the watotos (children) playing on them.

So eventually we were able to make 4 large vegetable sacks where the women will be able to grow their own kale and use it daily. It was such a great experience and just shows that Missions of Hope is concerned not only with spiritual provision but also with providing the communities with helpful skills. The main purpose in me going to Babadogo was to listen to Robert teach a bible study for the community group there, but sadly people did not show up until I had to leave. We still had some good conversations though. Next time it will happen! And maybe after a couple of times in going, I will be able to teach a lesson :)

Well I hope you are all having a good week. This coming weekend I will be going on a safari, so pray that I don't get eaten by a lion or come down with malaria! Haha, just kidding! It will be a great time, and of course I will post pictures! Thank you so much for your continual prayers and I pray that God blesses you today :)

Just Another Day at the Hospital

Today was a great Monday :) It was warm and sunny, and I am feeling better! We made our way to the center and began to settle in right when we got there. I had to make some arrangements concerning the safari Tahia and I will be going on this upcoming weekend (!!!!), which we are super excited about. And when I got done figuring all that out, Leann asked me if I wanted to go to Kenyatta hospital to take care of a young boy with an infection on his leg. Of course I said yes :)

Here is James' story. We actually found out about him on Friday when one of the visitors told us that she had gone on home visit to meet James. When they walked in, he was lying there and had just woken up from a nap. They were actually checking on him because he had not been to school for a week. I guess about two years ago, James cut his leg on some rusty tin and ever since then his leg has gone back and forth from being infected. His mother had obviously not been very responsible in changing his dressings and giving him the antibiotic. Just imagine, having an infected cut for two years! So upon hearing that it was badly infected again, we worked along with Reginah to make sure he made it to the hospital today.

He could walk on it, but we decided to go to a different hospital where he would most likely get better care than if we were to go to Kenyatta. When we got to the clinic, we had a pull a few teeth to figure out what line to get into, but eventually we rested in the slowly moving line for skin patients. We waited awhile before being seen. Here is Leann sleeping haha. She doesn't know I posted this! :) But she shouldn't feel bad, because I fell asleep as well, just like this. I just happened to get a picture of her instead of me!

Anyway, we finally made it into a physician assistant's office and she made a point ask us all about America before even seeing James (a little frustrating) but we were nice since we wanted him to get seen. We got some prescriptions and an appointment for next Monday! Bwana Safiwe!

So James is on his way to recovery and I am so thankful. I cannot imagine being sick for that long and being 10 years old not having the ability to run around with friends. His brother Kevin though is another sad story. Leann was filling me in on a child she had been working with for a while before I came. Kevin is younger than James and has bad vision. So when he went to the hospital to get his eyes checked they gave him some eye drops to use every now and then. One day, some kids he was playing with took his eye drops from him and began fiddling around with the bottle. After some time, they teased him and told him he needed to come get his eye drops. Instead of using his real eye drops they switched it out with super glue and dropped that in his right eye. He is permanently blind now in that eye. When I heard that I was so extremely angry! I do not think the kids were students from Missions of Hope, but even so, I cannot believe children would do that. Kevin is doing better now, and he is on his way to getting glasses for his left eye. Please just keep these boys in  your prayers though! They could use the extra intercession.

Here is a picture of Leann, James, and I after we returned from the hospital. We were in the clinic getting some of his prescriptions. He was such a sweet and strong boy today. I know that he was in a lot of pain :( You can see the little yellow bandana he has wrapped around his wound. I know he would appreciate your prayers as he recovers.

Thank you so much for your prayers regarding my health also! I have felt much better today and I know it is because you have been supporting me in that. Love you all! Have a good rest of your day :)

Chilean in Kenya

Saturdays are so wonderful! Today we just relaxed and made plans to cook empanadas, a classic Chilean food. We wanted to make them before Tahia leaves because she only has about 2 weeks left. It was so much fun even though we made a mess! But what we did was chop up a whole bunch of vegetables: tomatoes, onions, zucchini, eggplant, green peppers, etc. And then we cooked some beef and made the dough to roll it all together. Pretty simple actually!

Well that was pretty much all I did today mainly because I wasn't feeling well. For some reason I am really nauseas :( So I slept alot today. I would appreciate your prayers because no one likes to be sick...

I hear a lot of you are enjoying some warmer weather which I bet is so nice considering the snow storms recently! I hope you all have a great day and thank you again for all your support!

Birthdays and Babadogo

Well today is Wallace's birthday, so we girls made a banana cake and surprised him at work today. We didn't have any candles so we just used matches as a replacement haha! We had to hide the cake from him and then ice it at the center when we got there. It was a lot of fun!



Haha I just realized the guy to the left of Wallace is giving a creepy smile! He isn't creepy though don't worry :) But I think Wallace had a good time. He has been really busy though since Mary is gone and I think he was in meetings all day :( He is such a busy man, but I guess that happens when you are the head of an organization! I really admire him and Mary for their faith in God's provision with this ministry. They are such great people who have put their whole lives into serving others.


Well today was another training session in Babadogo and Leann and I had the opportunity to tag along with Isabella to help her teach on family planning. I am extremely impressed with the community group at Babadogo. They have opened up so much and are truly concerned about the welfare of their neighborhood and surrounding community. Family Planning is actually a hot topic right now in Kenya. Obviously with the high rate of HIV infection and just the overall lack of knowledge related to contraceptives, pregnancy is claiming the lives of many women. People also just do not know that there are ways to prevent having so many children. Sadly, the other day when we were chatting with some students from Area II in Mathare, we were astonished to find out that only a week ago a young girl died from complications with a home-performed abortion. There are so many misconceptions concerning what protects you from getting pregnant or contracting STD's/HIV and what does not have that capability. So we spent almost 2 hours informing the group and then discussing their opinions and questions.

It was absolutely fascinating watching Isabella interact with the men and women of this particular CHE group. She is just so real and down-to-earth. She is not afraid to share her life experiences and then listen as they describe their struggles and questions. I just learned the other day while talking to her that she has had a hard time recently as well. She has two children but is a single parent. Isabella was actually married for 13 years before deciding to separate from her husband. In Kenya, it is socially unacceptable to divorce and only tolerated after the woman has tried anything and everything to work through the problems. Plus it is always the woman's fault. So for Isabella to leave her husband must have been tremendously difficult. And as a result she believes in the New Testament teaching of not remarrying after separation because it would be considered adultery, unless her husband were to die. Wow! Marriage is so different in the US! She is an incredibly strong woman who's faith is refreshingly inspirational. At the end of the meeting she made sure to let the group know that she is available any time for them, whether they have questions or want to learn about something specific. The sincerity in her voice was enough to assure someone of her dedication to the Kingdom. Ah, such great people!

I desire to be open and vulnerable with people even if they have the capability to tear me to shreds in the process. Isn't that what love is all about? Isn't that what God does with us everyday? There is something freeing in the act of vulnerability...

America in the Eyes of a Kenyan

Well it has been raining the past few days and I have been thinking it is still the dry season, but I was corrected today by my friend Esther. She said that now we are in the rainy season and what stinks about that is the rain sometimes prevents us from going places in the slums. As you can see from this picture, the roads and pathways get extremely muddy and it makes our plans change (more than they already do haha). Like today we were supposed to go back to Joska, but since the road out there was most likely pure mush, the drivers did not want to risk getting their vehicles stuck. So instead, Leann and I followed Isabella to Area II of Mathare in order to do some training on prejudice and judging. 

Time here is so different, and since we were planning on teaching a younger crowd, it was expected they wouldn't be on time. So we waited around for awhile and eventually will have to come back tomorrow to complete the training! While waiting though, the three of us had a great conversation with one of the young leaders, Teddy. We were just talking about life and then he started asking Leann and I about America. He was amazed to find out that we have thieves and that people murder other people. He was under the impression there are policeman everywhere and that prevents crime from happening. I admitted to him that yes we have a stronger police force than Kenya, but we still have corrupt cops and people will still commit crimes even if we have more "protection". 

He also said Kenyans believe that when one moves to America, they instantly become rich. I told him that we have poor people in America too, and a majority of the rich people have had to work hard to get where they are. It is not just handed to them. I was starting to get very frustrated by all the lies that have been thrown at these people, making them think they are so inferior to us. He was honestly shocked that people steal in America and we explained to him that we are no different than Kenyans. We have bad people too! We are all the same...human. But what broke my heart the most was when he said, "I have heard people say, 'I would rather be a dog in America, than a human in Kenya.'" And his response to that was, "I tell them,' Be grateful that you are waking up in the morning and that you have a job! You are healthy. Live where God has put you today!'" 

His comments only reinforce what I have been reading in Walking with the Poor. Myers explains many causes of poverty, but what I want to focus on is the mental causes. The identity of the poor, how they view themselves, is marred. Because they see what the non-poor possess and the fact that they lack those things automatically drives a specific negative thought process. The begin to tell themselves the lies like "Yes, I am uneducated, dirty, lazy, and powerless." Eventually, if not corrected, they live their lives like that. Ugh! It makes me so frustrated how Satan has such a tight grip on their mindset! They are just as capable as any non-poor person!

Finally, I want to share a quote from Myers' book that gave me a new perspective and reminded me of some of life's dangers. He states, "It seems as if having too much is as bad for us as having too little. too little food makes us weak and susceptible to disease; too much food makes us overweight and susceptible to heart disease and cancer. The water in the Third World is dirty and bad for our health; the water in the West is bad for our health because it is increasingly polluted with chemicals. The poor have inadequate housing; the non-poor are often slaves to their houses" (89). This is why it is so important for us to pray Proverbs 30:8-9 which says,

Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who

is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God.

What have you cluttered your life with, things that make you forget how much you actually need the Lord? I know I have some de-cluttering to do! Thank you all for being supportive and reading through my blogs :) I hope that you are still enjoying them. Thank you also for your continued prayers; I truly appreciate them! Love you all, and praying for you as well!

The Rongai Clinic

Today was yet another rainy day in what is supposed to be the dry season of Kenya! The red mud seems to flow from the most unlikely places. But today, besides the extreme traffic caused by the rain, was a great day. Leann and I took off for a town outside Nairobi to go visit a friend, Brenda, who works for Beacon of Hope. She is a nurse working at a clinic in Rongai. We pulled into the compound and was fascinated by how developed their facilities are! Brenda says that Mondays at their clinic are usually busy but today was not for some reason. They have a couple of departments including a VCT which counsels HIV positive patients and does testing for 50 shillings (about $.50). We got a tour of the clinic and the rest of the compound and was given a little introduction to the 6 year old organization which has grown extremely fast! They are a Christian-based organization mainly supported by churches in the States.

So we followed Brenda around and got to see her lance an eye-cyst which was not too bad haha. We also got to see their impressive pharmacy and lab. After meeting pretty much the whole staff, we were led to the VCT and asked if we could be tested for HIV! The reason we decided to do this is because if we are encouraging others to visit a VCT and get tested then we should be willing to do so as well. So we each paid 50 shillings, went into a counseling room together and got our fingers pricked. The test is fairly simple. They take some blood, stick it on a strip and if there is one line you are negative; two lines positive. After waiting in anticipation, with 99.99999% certainty we were not positive, we received our results: each with one single line! Bwana Safiwe...this VCT sees hundreds of HIV positive patients and is truly a blessing for those people and their families.









The last half of our visit there at Beacon of Hope was spent in the lab. Leann has some experience doing lab work and Jared, the technician allowed us to watch him perform urine analysis, whole blood tests, typhoid testing, and ulcer testing. He would draw the blood from patients who needed testing and then eventually gave us permission to test for certain conditions! Here is a picture of Leann looking at a slide of a TB positive patient. Here is also a picture of Jared giving us instructions. It was so much fun learning about how the machines work and what the results indicate! I realized how much I don't really know, but it was a great experience.
I am still praying about my future including nursing. The past couple of days I have been looking into maybe community health as a possible future career...but we will see. Thank you so much so for continual prayers! God is doing great things and I can't express how grateful I am to have this opportunity :) Sending much love to you all the way from Kenya!

The Gift of Sight

Today was a very long day, but also a great experience. One of the departments that social work at Missions of Hope deals with is medical consultations for children at the local hospitals. Today I had the opportunity to tag along with Reginah and Leann to take three kids to Kikuyu Hospital in order to get their eyes checked. The three children that went today were Wycliffe, Gladys, and Joseph. Wycliffe just needed glasses, Gladys has had runny eyes ever since birth, and Joseph has one eye that turns out to the side slightly.

So we got to the center and made our way to catch a mutatu to the center of the city where we got a bus. After about 45 mins we made it to Kikuyu Hospital which is outdoor buildings connected by covered walkways. I guess that this hospital is much nicer than the ones directly in Nairobi according to Leann. We were there all day, in and out of consultation rooms which were not private. I took care of Joseph and there was only one time when we saw a doctor just the two of us. In between consultations though Leann and I taught the kids how to play Go Fish and War. They had a blast! Eventually the children were finished and we were told that Joseph and Gladys will have to come back next Wednesday to see specialists.

It is definitely a blessing that the children were even able to see a doctor because Missions of Hope does not currently have a budget for this kind of service, but it is a massive need since the clinic at Pangani can only do so much. Leann is actually working on setting up a position at Missions of Hope so that someone will be in charge of taking care of these special cases and raising support for it.

Throughout the whole day I was thanking God for our healthcare system back home, or at least the kind of healthcare I have been so extremely blessed to receive my whole life. When I needed glasses, I had the insurance and the accessibility to a great optometrist. I was also able to get in and out rapidly and then receive my glasses within two weeks. I know that many people even in America have not experienced the kind of service I have, but still our healthcare system is so much more organized and protective. We should be very grateful!

Ugh and another thing we should be grateful for is the fact that even though our country struggles with air pollution, it is not even close to how terrible it is here in Africa! First of all there are no regulations on the emissions of cars and trucks, and although many in Africa walk instead of drive, the trucks use so much fuel and emit black smoke every time they accelerate :( We were riding home in a mutatu and by the time we got off, I wiped something from my face and saw that my hand was covered in dirt! Leann and I were making fun of it while waiting in traffic for about and hour and we took pictures with this extra mask she had in her purse.

Well God has shown me a lot today and I pray that he reveals to you the little blessings he has showered upon your life as well. There is so much we don't even realize!

Jesus in the Slums

Today has been absolutely amazing! It started out a little slow because we were trying to get Mary ready to leave since she is flying to America tonight, but once afternoon rolled around everything was sent into high gear. I have been waiting all week to get the chance to participate in "Bring the Light" which is an evangelism tool that the CHE workers use when speaking to people in their homes in Mathare. Finally this afternoon I was able to go along and it was awesome!

We went to two homes and at the first one Leann shared the gospel with the evange-a-cube which is a cube that tells the story of the gospel as you twist and turn it. Here is a picture of it. The cube seems a little cheesy, but it has had so much success in the slums for the sole purpose as a visual aid to the story you are telling them relationally. The first home we visited Leann shared the gospel and I listened intently so that I might be able to do it at the next house. But along with sharing the gospel, we ask people if they would like to have more light in their homes by cutting into the tin and adding a fiber glass sheet to let more light in. We then use this as an illustration to show that when Jesus comes into our lives he lets in the light and shines into the darkness. He brings hope to our lives and joy to what was before despondence.

It was a super hot day today and the houses we visited were so dark and extremely humid inside. After praying with one woman and her child, we moved on to the next house and it was my turn to share the gospel. I was honestly really nervous because I have never done anything like that before. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit though and Irene's (a CHE worker) graceful translation skills :) I shared with a young girl named Jen who allowed me to hold her 5 month old baby Maureen in her hot, cramped little home. Jen is just 20 years old (my age!) and as we got to know her a little better she revealed to us that her husband is not saved and usually comes home drunk. When he is home, he beats her. But even through this all she realized the hope she could have in Jesus and she desperately wanted it. So we prayed with her and she accepted Christ into her life! Here is a picture of Jen, baby Maureen, and I.

Eventually we had to leave the two and head back to the center, but we made sure to give her information about local churches and let her know that we will be visiting her soon. It was such a great experience! Here is a picture of Leann, Irene and I. And as you can tell from my embarrassingly glistening pitt, we just came out of Jen's home :) Prayers for her right now would be greatly appreciated. Pray that she would hold strong and persevere through the rough times coming ahead for her. This is a precious time and although Jesus will be working on her heart, Satan will be trying to dissuade her as well. Pray also for baby Maureen and Jen's husband Nicholas that he might be saved as well. What a great day! Bwana Safiwe?

Pedicures and Weaves

Today was so much fun! We had the opportunity to take a little girl's day since Mary is leaving for the States on Thursday. She needed to get her hair done anyway so the three girls (Leann, Tahia, and I) tagged along and got manicures and pedicures. The salons here in Africa are similar to the ones in the States but they do not have the primo chairs that massage you while your feet enjoy a small jacuzzi fantasy.

We knew that Mary would probably take all morning to have her hair done, but we never figured to be there all day! There were so many women there all getting their hair done and it was seriously fascinating. Until I got here to Africa I never understood weaves or the whole process in which a black woman has to go through to do her hair. It is so cool though how they can completely change their hairstyle every six weeks. One time it will be really long braids and the next it will be a cute bob.

At one point, all three of us were getting our pedicures and of course Tahia is Chilean so she is olive toned, and Leann is tan, but when I pulled up my jeans, Milkah the girl doing my toenails, exclaimed, "Oh, an original muzungu! You are sooo white!" Haha! Thank you Milkah. Another funny thing happened too. We were waiting for Mary to get back from some errands so she could finish her hair and somehow all three of us found ourselves sitting at the shampoo stations with our heads back asleep! I totally woke up with my mouth open and I am sure I snored at least once! Mary said we were quite a sight when she walked in :)

Towards the end of the afternoon we were seriously rushing to get out of the salon since a team was coming to the house to have dinner. So Mary had three women braiding her hair at one point! Here is a picture of it. What they do it tightly braid the real hair close to the scalp and then use a needle and black thread to weave in whatever hairstyle the woman wants. Like I said, it's fascinating!

Well other than a relaxing girl's day, I mainly just drove through traffic. It was nice to spend time chatting with everyone and experiencing some new cultural insights as well. Tomorrow is another day of adventure!

Thank you so much for your continual prayers! I am so blessed to have you supporting me and encouraging me through your comments and e-mails. Keep them coming :) Blessings on your day!

Mysterious Turds and Looking Through the Eyes of God

Oh Sunday. What a great day for new life experiences. Yesterday, after returning from church everyone, except Mary and Wallace, unassumingly entered the house. I followed behind everyone since I had to lock up the car and as I walked through the hallway I looked up to see people huddling around the base of the stairs speaking excitedly. I peered over some heads and saw what was causing all the commotion. A turd! And a few stairs above it was another one. There was an animal in the house! We slowly ascended the stairwell, anticipation building with each step and then quickly scattered to investigate each room. Victory shouted, "It's in my room!" At first we didn't believe him but when we walked toward his room he motioned for me to crouch down and look under his bed. I couldn't really see anything but decided to shake a bag underneath his bed to see if it brought about any movement. Something scratched the floor and started jumping around and everyone began to scream and scatter yet again to their respective rooms!

 I then switched into action mode and asked Wuangere (the house keeper) to bring me a broom. I waltzed into the room,  opened the balcony door and glanced to see a 25lb monkey  hovering in the corner of Victory's top-bunk. Freaky! Eventually we were able to get the monkey out of the window, but the excitement and laughter was quite refreshing. I have to say, I have never experienced such an intruder in my house before and honestly I don't think it will happen again since Mary found out haha. Oh what an event! Wish I had gotten a picture ;)

Well yesterday I also had the opportunity to play some ultimate frisbee with a bunch of muzungus at a high school outside of town. I had never really played before except in PE but that obviously doesn't count because after about 5 mins I was totally out of breath! Ultimate Frisbee involves a ton of running! The group meets every Sunday afternoon though so I think we are going to go back and hopefully I can work on my skills :)

I've been thinking a lot about my many perspectives on the aspects of life. One of them has to do with the fact that worry and bad attitudes waste so much time! Being in Kenya and realizing the short time that I have here has opened my eyes to the fact that time is precious and one's attitude is extremely important whether you are on an internship you have been dreaming about for ages or just going through everyday activities. We aren't promised tomorrow anyway, right? Why allow my fears or negative thoughts dictate how I spend today? It is kind of like this hill that I have been trying to tackle since arriving in Kenya. Leann and I usually run every morning and there is this giant hill (at least in my mind) that is challenging, but it is just a stinking hill and there have been times when I have let it overpower me! A hill? I mean come on! Anyway, emotions and worries aren't physically tangible but they are quite similar to a hill. Are we going to allow them to overpower us? I hope not, because we only have today...

Another perspective on life I have been pondering was brought up in reading Walking with the Poor by Bryant Myers. First of all, his book is about transformational development or holistic ministry involving the poor. He brings up a good point when he says, "The impact of the fall is on both the individual and the social system, and so the impact of the gospel of the Kingdom must be on both" (49). There are two extremes to missions, that of bringing the gospel only through word and that of bringing the gospel only through deed. The first consists of those missionaries whose primary focus is on saving the individual soul and doing nothing about the institution that both affects and is affected by the individual. The second is the opposite having the primary focus being on clinical problems of the institution that affects the individual. It is like humanitarian aid. But the fall in Genesis 3 impacted both. So when we think of any ministry, but especially that involving the poor in underdeveloped countries, a Christian's call is to the individual and the institution. 

Finally, I was convicted again about my perspective on the poor in the world. It has become so much more real since I have it right in front of me. But Myers states, "We may forget that the poor are not an abstraction but rather a group of human beings who have names, who are made in the image of God, whose hairs are numbered, ad for whom Jesus died" (57). Americans especially have the tendency to see a problem and want to fix it, but in the process we also forget that we are dealing with people just like us whether the stigmas of "dirty, uneducated, lazy, hopeless, superstitious, ineffective, etc." are true or not. We are not gods who have come to save the helpless, but complete and utter equals in the eyes of God. I have come to hate the fact that the Africans I meet sometimes put me on a pedestal because I am white and from America. The little kids stare in awe and reach out to touch my skin like I am some foreign god. I want to exclaim, "I am no different from you! Do you realize how precious you are; how you are just like me?" God: loving the individual and the institution. I pray everyday that I can see people how sees them and love them how he loves them. I pray that for you too. 

Lost in Paradise

Today was great! Leann, Tahia, and I made our way to the center for their half-day. Our plan was to show the movie Facing the Giants to some of the classes, but when we got there the power was out. So we had to be creative and come up with something else to teach the kids. We decided to put on a skit illustrated the parable of the Ten Minas found in Luke 19. The three of us pulled that together and then thought of the idea to have to kids break up into groups and display their talents for everyone to see. It was super fun!




The kids had a great time too, especially the older ones. Pretty much all of them incorporated dancing into their little performances, and the rest of the kids would cheer and spaz out. God used our improvisation somehow though because they got the meaning behind the story in the end!

After hanging out at the center for awhile, we made our way to one of the muzungu (white person) hubs called Village Market and got some lunch. Later in the afternoon though we ventured out once again to a place called Paradise Lost which claimed to have camel rides, caves, and waterfalls. The place was a little sketch at first just because it took forever to get there on the bad Kenyan roads, but once there it was a blast. The camel rides looked disappointing, but the caves and waterfalls were beautiful! We enjoyed the opportunity to explore and see more of the geographical side of Kenya. Here is Tahia about to mount on her first camel ride. And below is me sitting on a big rock (pretty obvious I guess haha). But it really was beautiful, and cheap!

Anyway, today was a blessed day. God is good, and he is faithful beyond anything I know I could ever imagine! He answers our prayers and gives us strength when we grow weary. He is our Shepherd, who carries us (Ps. 40). I hope you all are enjoying your Saturday, and I encourage you today to stop and think about those many times when God has pulled you through and showered his grace on you. Praise God for great friends and family!

Together We Can Achieve More!

Today was very humbling and eye-opening. Around 10 o'clock, after being driven to the center by a driver, we made our way to Babadogo by mutatu. All the trash, and probably more, was still there from when I saw it on Monday, and even though it was very overwhelming we were ready to get to work! We met up with the CHE group, slapped on some gloves and masks and started clearing out the main trench that flows down the center of the community.

Elias, the chairman of the CHE group and also the community was telling me that they have really seen an improvement since Missions of Hope came to the area. Before they were doing some community work, but when Robert, a CHE worker, came teaching them about Jesus and important health practices, things started to turn around more quickly. The Missions of Hope presence has only been there for a year so things are just now getting into full swing.

I was so impressed with the group members because they show so much dedication to their community and they do it joyfully. We carried off so many loads of trash...it was unbelievable! God is definitely working there and I am very thankful to have been able to work alongside them in their pursuit of a more hopeful life serving Jesus. We are all brothers and sisters anyway, and because of that connection we need to encourage each other and they encouraged me today more than they know!

Well, a little update on the KBG (van)...it has been fixed! And, it is not going to cost as much as I had thought it would! Yay! Asante Mungu (Thank you God)! I also got back into the driver's seat today to redeem my skills haha. So today has been both challenging and fulfilling. I hope and pray your days will be the same as well! Thank you for your prayers concerning the van, but also for your prayers in general. I can feel them, and God is teaching me so many things!

An Accident

Let me just say, today was rough. It started out a little rocky just because of some more stomach issues, but then we all got into the car to take the kids to school and head to the center. I was driving and as I backed out of Dave's school I couldn't really see out the back window...well I hit a tree and shattered the back window. I felt sooo bad and started crying of course. So we had to go back home and catch a ride with Wallace and Mary in order to get the older kids to school on time. But on the way there, we ran out of gas and the kids were even more late! We finally made it to the center around 10 a.m.

I felt terrible about the window and Mary and Wallace could tell that I was really upset. They were so good about it though and said that they aren't even worried. They were just praising God that it wasn't an accident where anyone got hurt. I told them that I plan to pay for it, so hopefully it won't cost too much to fix!

We also were planning on going to Joska today, but when we got to the center we were told it wasn't going to work. So the rest of the day we tried to find things to do. Eventually I made my way to the clinic and was introduced to a young mother and her son "Lucky Boy". He was coming in to see Lillian (the nurse) to get his bandages changed. We found out later that this little boy had been accidentally knocked into a coal stove resulting in burns up his side and right arm. The old bandages were extremely hard to get off because they were sticking to the new skin that had formed. So for about an hour five of us women were trying to hold him down as he screamed at the top of his poor little lungs! After I'm sure what seemed like forever to Lucky Boy, Lillian had him all cleaned up and ready to go. It was my first experience as a somewhat "nurse" and I was glad to be able to bring comfort to him. Hopefully in the future I will get more chances to help out and gain some insight into the nursing realm.

Tomorrow is a community clean-up, or at least that is the plan :) Things keep changing on me! I know that if it does work out, tomorrow is going to be a challenge. I don't think anyone really likes picking up piles of year old trash and mush. But someone has got to give these people hope and Jesus has called me to do just that! Light of the world, right? :) I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day and for those of you who are stuck in that serious snowstorm, be safe and relish in your day off! Thank you all for your prayers and support. I could not be here without you!

Sunburns and Pregancy

Well it has been a couple of days since I have written so I need to catch you up on some things! Sunday was very relaxing. We went to the international church at Rosslyn, which is the private school the kids go to. Then we went swimming in the pool that is there at the school. I put sunscreen on, but of course it didn't matter. I got burned and instead of looking like an especially white, white-person I look like a red, white-person! Oh well, maybe I will get some color :)

Yesterday though was a good day. I was not sure what I was going to be doing at the center because my orientation ended on Friday in the education department, but I was glad to hear that Leann and I would be following Isabella, a CHE worker, to one of the centers for a community training meeting. We walked to Juja road and caught a mutatu to the Babadogo center. Once getting off the mutatu we walked for awhile and I took in all the sights, sounds, and smells. Babadogo is one of the newer centers and it is noticeably different than Area 1 in Mathare. Missions of Hope has been in Area 1 for awhile and you can tell that the area is much cleaner. But in Babadogo, trash is piled high...everywhere! And the smell is terrible. I really wish I had a better camera, but this little girl is walking through piles of trash. I thought I took more pictures, but I guess not. It is something you have to experience in real life anyway...

So we finally made it to the Babadogo center and walked in as Robert, another CHE worker, was teaching the group about diarrhea. Once he was done, Leann and I performed a skit that Isabella had asked us to do. It was on the misconceptions people have about breastfeeding. I played the pregnant mother! It was a little awkward talking about breastfeeding, but I learned a lot about how nutritional it is. The women have been told that formula is better for babies, but it is so expensive here and the CHE workers want to correct the misconceptions. I really enjoyed getting to know the CHE group at Babadogo. They all want to see change in the community and express their concern and dedication by how much they are doing already. Leann, Tahia, and I will be returning there in Thursday to do a community clean-up day where we go around cleaning out trash from the trenches. The things that need to be done in that area are so overwhelming, but we have to start somewhere! Here is picture of the group at Babadogo surrounding their tomato, spinach, and sukuma plants.

Today Leann, Tahia, and I prepared for a presentation on nutrition that we will present to the children at Joska tomorrow. I am looking forward to that and I really enjoyed learning about nutrition as we worked on the powerpoint. Nutrition interests me, and I'm thinking it might be something I pursue in the future...we will see!

Well I was reading in Ecclesiastes 4 this morning and I was immediately encouraged to work harder when I read the first verse. It says, "I saw the tears of the oppressed - and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors - and they have no comforter" (4:1b). This verse gives me motivation to keep working even when the task is not desirable (like cleaning out the trenches). There is no one to be the voice of the poor and oppressed. They have no comforter because we do not go to the dirty and scary places of the world spreading God's Light through our words and actions. I have relished in the opportunity to serve so frequently! Keep teaching me God!