Kenya Dig It!?

Two Weeks In Under Two Minutes

2011-07-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

We were given the opportunity to share a piece of our trip with the "big church" at Mariners.

Here's one of my favorite stories...
Hopefully, more to come!

kenya from Luke St. Hilaire on Vimeo.

This Show Is Over Say Goodbye

2011-07-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we made our rounds to say goodbye.
We began in town: Soy's, Kitale 2000, Transmatt and Alakara for lunch. (One last round of chips kuku before heading back to America.)

From there, we went to Oasis to say goodbye to the boys that live there.
We took two rolls of Polaroid film in about 15 minutes and then another 100+ photos on the digital camera (with promises to print and send them.)

We were intending to stay for 20 minutes. We stayed for almost two hours.
Just hanging around...talking, laughing, crying and taking pictures.

Charles took a Geography test while we were there.

On Friday night, Ryanne had given P.I.G. a Polaroid of each of us.
When we went to see their room (P.I.G, Etao, and John), we found our pictures already taped up on the wall (surrounded by football articles and drawings).

I look like a giant compared to Ryanne...
but I'm still so flattered that it's hanging!

This is what Etao would look like with blonde hair.

We said some tear-filled goodbyes and walked home.
We found a few Oasis kids outside waiting for friends, so we talked with them for a few minutes.
Ran inside, ate a quick lunch, washed our hands and faces, grabbed Baby Bre and walked to the Girl's House for many, many photos and some more laughs.

We came home, quickly, changed clothes, uploaded photos and went to dinner with Ben and Christine. They are such incredible hosts--they already have a team of 13 sleeping at their place, so what's two more, right? We talked with the team from The World Race, prayed as a group and then they brought us home.

Some LNT (Late Night Toast) with Bre, Kyley and Dorsa...and I was ready for bed.

This morning we woke up to say goodbye to many of the team members before they went to church and we left for the airport.

As I waited for all of these photos to load, Steve and I took a picture to commemorate the 48 hours we were together in Kitale. He said, "Hurry and take this so I can make some eggs and tuna." (Gross.)

Ryanne and I are eating one last bowl of green grams (and toast) before Dan picks us up for the airport. Kitale to Nairobi. Lunch in Nairobi with the Kenyan-half of our team. Nairobi to London. London to LAX...

I don't know that I'm ever ready to leave Kitale...but I have about 30 hours of travel to prepare my heart to be back in America. Hopefully it won't be too long before I get to post on this blog again!

It's Friday, I'm In Love

2011-07-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, we headed over to Oasis...our eyes already filled with tears at the thought of having to say goodbye.

We walked from classroom to classroom, taking photos and saying goodbyes through chokes of tears.

Class One

Class Four

Class Three

A group from Overlake Church visiting Class Three

Naomi washing dishes

Bridget teaching Class One

Class Two

Ailona reading a book to Class Two

At break, we took individual pictures...said individual goodbyes...said "Nakupenda" (I love you) about 300 times.

Etao kept saying, "I have things to say, but I won't because it makes me feel sick."
Watching Etao tear-up never failed to make me cry.

At 10:30, we said goodbye (with lots of tears) and jumped in the car to make some visits to secondary schools. I knew this would be one of the most difficult afternoons, since these are some of my favorite boys. It's hard enough to see them for only a few nights in a year, but to see them for less than 15 minutes in a year just killed me.

First stop: Moses and Kevin at Kamusinde Secondary School (about an hour from Kitale)
They called the boys to the office, but didn't tell them why...Moses' face of shock and excitement was the best. The two women in the office, watching the two of us be SUPER excited to see each other, were laughing at us.

Moses

Kevin

The man in the office told us that they were in class, so we had to be brief. Geoffrey said, "Why don't you walk them out to the car to say goodbye, I want to talk to the Deputy Principal for a few minutes." (Such a good Geoffrey, buying us time.)

We sat outside for another 10-15 minutes...and I cried a few times, thinking of having to say goodbye.
Ryanne brought her Polaroid camera and took one of me with each of the boys. They were so excited to keep a photo from our visit.

We got back in the car...and I cried down the road, already missing Moses.

About 20 minutes later, we were at Kabuyefwe, to visit Steward, Edwin and Paul.
The teacher that met us was kinda mean and almost didn't let us see the boys (even though it was lunchtime). He told us no one was allowed to have visitors unless it was visiting day.

Once again, brilliant Geoffrey to the rescue. "They came all the way from America to see the boys they support."

So, he went to get them. But, of course, told us we had to keep it brief.

Steward

Paul

Edwin

All three boys

With Geoffrey

We took Polaroids and gave them gifts (sugar, bread, drinking chocolate, soap and toilet paper).
It was so hard to see the boys for such a short time, but I would rather see them for a few minutes than not see them at all.

A quick lunch at home and then we walked over to Oasis to help prep for the party.
There are 22 boys that sleep at the Centre. The boys eat each night, but there's not always enough food to go around. So last night, there was a feast: chapati, chicken, potatoes, rice and soda.

There was a kitchen filled with people prepping for hours.

This giant pot of chicken and potatoes...they were stirring it with a big giant wooden spoon (that made me want to sing "Cheer Up Charlie" everytime they pulled it out).
The chickens were freshly killed, so their heads and feet were still in the kitchen.

Chapati for 27

P.I.G. and Etao hanging out, waiting for dinner

Ryanne keeping everyone entertained...

Manu and Kevin

The boys set the church as a GIANT dining room

How cute is this kid?

The kitchen got more and more smokey

Boy band?

Charlotte really wanted to help prepare the chapati...
so we gave her a little bit of dough to play with

I'm not very domestic, so I lost interest in helping in the kitchen after an hour or so...
So I headed outside to take a bunch of pictures and hang out with the boys.

We moved inside to watch a movie as we waited for dinner to be served.
Mr. Bean's Holiday was a big hit (not much dialogue, which was great for the smaller boys).
Charlotte, who was uninterested in being my friend this week, crawled up on my lap to watch the movie and then fell asleep. I looked over to get Ryanne's attention and said, "Victory!"
Around 7:30, the food was ready. Onesmus and Jane served up the dishes (piled high with rice and chapati!)

The boys lined up, smallest to biggest, to receive their plates and then headed back inside to the church to grab a soda, pray and eat.

Onesmus and his niece, Charlotte

Our HUGE dinner party

I want to have dinner with this little boy everyday

After dinner, we finished the movie and took some Polaroids.
P.I.G and Etao were having trouble being serious.
One final surprise: new shirts and sandals for everyone!
Geoffrey organized them by-size, to help with distribution.
The boys lined-up, smallest first, to get their presents.
Once everything was given out (and sizes exchanged to fit), we took some pictures.

We prayed over the boys (I cried, of course) and then helped to clean up the room. (Surprisingly efficient for a room of teenage boys!)

I couldn't say goodbye...so I just said "See you tomorrow" and we'll have to go by to say "see ya" this afternoon. I'm definitely not ready for that.

Just a few places to visit today...a few more souvenirs to purchase...
And then, dinner with Ben and Christine.

We fly out tomorrow...
Not sure I'm ready to leave...but, I'm assuming you knew that.

Oh Happy Day

2011-07-15T04:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday was an exciting day in Kitale.
We walked to Oasis with a group of friends and, since there was a teacher in every classroom, we were able to sit in the office for a bit and get to know each other.
Once it was time for break, we all went out to hang around, play games and take pictures.

Dylan and his boys

Jade, Emily and Torie

Cassie

Matt was hanging out with Korode

I spent some time with the "bigger boys" who live at the Centre

Charles

Ero

P.I.G.

Kabiru, Charles and P.I.G.

Michael too

We said our goodbyes and went home for lunch. Everyone was home, so it was an eventful hour or so. Doug Fields and his friend, Morgan, came in to town, so we talked for a bit...and then Geoffrey came to pick us up to go shopping in town.

We picked Charlotte from school and, after a few minutes, she even wanted to sit with us in the backseat.
We stopped by the GigaByte for some milkshakes

We couldn't stop watching Charlotte; she was so cute...and such a mess!
After spending quite a bit of money in town, (for a party we're throwing tonight--pictures to come!) we went for a dinner party with Mr and Mrs. 2000. (They own the bookshop in town.)

Mrs. 2000 (Deepah) said she made the food "not so spicy" for us since she knows "you people don't like that". I helped cut some vegetables for side dishes.
We had to take a few pictures of the kitchen
And the INCREDIBLY organized pantry. He said, "If town closed down, we would be okay for two months!"

We were really excited

The food was a little too spicy for our baby mouths, but they added a little lemon to help us out. They even served roasted ground nuts and ice cream for dessert.

Pradip, Me, Ryanne and Deepah

We came home to a houseful of people, but I was a little too tired to really engage.
Instead, I loaded some photos and listened as Ryanne and Cody talked with Matt and Michelle.
We're having a lot of fun, but not getting much sleep, so I was in bed and totally asleep by 10:15.

New Beginnings And Beginnings Of The End

2011-07-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning was the first day of school for four of our favorites!
They stopped by our compound to get dressed and then be walked to school. (I just realized how strange it is that their mothers didn't want to come see their first day of school...)

Celinah and JenniferSarah helping Esther

Sammy and Torie helping Lucy

Torie was so proud of her

Jason helping Esther with her tie

Jade could not stop squealing with excitement about Celinah's clean white socks

Torie showing Lucy how beautiful she looks

Dylan and Torie were trying to create some energy in the room...
It was all Beyonce for an hour (beginning with "Pretty Girl")

Jason wouldn't let Esther put clean socks on dirty feet

Bananas for breakfast

They sent the girls off to take entrance exams and a large group of us went to Oasis of Hope for the morning.

Ryanne brought bubbles

And she was a hit with stickers

After lunch and a nap, Ryanne, Baby Brea and I went over to Discover to Recover.

Churchill (Chachi)

I was really excited to see Benja! The car pulled up, I looked out the window and saw him. He had a huge smile on his face. I said, "Do you know me?" His smile got bigger. I said, "What's my name?" He said, "Alice!"

And then he snuggled with me the rest of the time I was there...oh man, I love this kid.

Benja talked the entire time (in Swahili, of course). He is number one in his class and it was pretty obvious by the way he was reading the tags on our backpacks (Ryanne's full name) and doing Math problems on the back of the book.

Ryanne showing pictures from the safari

Brea with Naomi and Sylvia

Benja stole the tube of bubbles I brought and the rest of the kids were excited to jump around and pop them.
Andrew lives there now, too. He had a huge smile on his face as he told me about how well he's doing in school, about his sister and then asked about Ange.

As we were leaving, I was searching for Derrick to say goodbye, but he was nowhere to be found. When we came around the corner, there he was! With a huge water-filled jerry can on his head.

Derrick

We left Discover and walked across the street to House 2; the only Oasis of Hope Group Home we had yet to visit. Many of the boys are now in High School, so there were only five there for dinner...but that was enough to entertain us!

Evans

Patrick

Two of the three kittens (one is named "Millionaire")

John

Patrick and Brea

Ryanne and I helped Evans and Abby (Robert's wife) roll the chapati
Ryanne's actually become pretty good at it this week!

Abby

There was no electricity, but often that makes for a better photoshoot...

Joseph came home after his school football game
I love that big white smile!

Bram was with him too...
he was a little embarrassed when I commented on his "beard"

The white girls danced while the Kenyans rapped

And then took "in the dark" pictures

Ryanne showcased some dance moves we learned from the Nairobi teammates

We made Evans a beard of chapati flour...
but the flash was turned off, so the photo looks like he's a ghost

Evans and Joseph

Joseph

Brea and John's famous pose

Andrew stopped by to take some photos with the posters in the living room

All five boys: Bram, Joseph, Patrick, Evans and John

The stickers were just as big of a hit here as they were at Oasis

Joseph

John

We sang "Forever" by Chris Brown and danced around the living room

Dinner took a little longer than we had anticipated, so we ended up scarfing down plates of green grams and chapati. I told the girls, it felt like I was in an eating competition. It was super delicious, so I would like to have enjoyed it a little more...but, charcoal only cooks so quickly.

When Dan dropped us at home, the team was sitting around a fire, singing worship songs with Jason. We grabbed some chairs and jumped in. The night ended with "How He Loves", one of my favorites...

Only a few days left...we're playing the stupid "last ____" game...which I really don't enjoy.
It usually leads to a lot of tears.
Here we go (again).

A Tuesday And It's Overcast...

2011-07-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

We are part of a 30-person group on the compound right now. The Biemecks (a family of six, here for at least two years), a group of five college students (Jason, Cody, Jade, Michelle and Dylan, here for seven months), Sammy (Samantha, who has just begun her one year here) and about 20 college students who are here for the summer.

There's never a dull moment around here.

As I drank a giant cup of coffee this morning and helped to wash the dishes (it was my turn), Ryanne played "Go Fish" with the Biemeck kids. (She's really loved having small kids around again, it's helping to ease her homesick heart--missing her brother and sister.)
Then we walked to Oasis...for another day.
I continued the process of inputting profiles and photos of the new kids, while Ryanne attempted to teach Math to Class One. (She decided to admit defeat and lead an art project instead.)

During break, there were a lot of monkeys in the trees.

Followed by a chorus of "Alice, take my picture!"
Sammy

Lohman

Kabiru

Sammy and Brian

Hezekiah

Ryanne painted nails

Joy

Etao came in to grab some chalk, but I couldn't let him leave without a picture.
Dang, I love that kid.

Ryanne and I left for an in-town adventure: lunch at Lilian's! (a favorite of past teams)
We ate mokimo (corn and beans in mashed potatoes), chapati and meat stew...and drank Cokes from the bottle.

After lunch, we wandered through town, making our visits: first Mr. Soy (for a Snickers bar and Twix) and then The Kitale 2000 bookstore (to say hello...and then was invited to dinner on Thursday!)

The plan was to come home for a quick nap, iron some recently washed clothes and then go to Gilgal, where we'd be picked up by Ben and Christine and taken for dinner at their house. But plans changed...Ben and Christine had a meeting to attend, so we stayed home for the afternoon.

And now, we're sitting in a crowded living room, each on our own Facebook pages, waiting for group Bible Studies to begin. (Oh, and Torie and Cathy are trying to convince me to sing "People Get Ready"...hilarious)

Let's Hear It For The Boy(s)

2011-07-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

Eager to be back at Oasis on Monday morning, Ryanne and I left before the rest of the house and walked over to the compound.

Just in time for parade

Then I stood with Etao for a while. He thought I was staying through August and got a little misty-eyed when he heard we are leaving on Sunday. His tears, of course, made me cry...so we just stood, holding hands, in silence. I love him.

Ryanne and Etao

P.I.G.

Manu and Joseph did interviews for the newer kids

David

Christine

Augustus, Dorsa and Jennifer

Nancy

Hezekiah and Lohman

Peter

Njoki

Sammy

Joel (Korode: pronounced "Core-oh-day")

Hezekiah, Sammy, and Brian

We ran ran in to Cyril on the way home

We had arranged to visit the Boys House 3 for dinner.

David

Joseph

Phabius

David and Phabius

Ryanne rolling chapati with Caroline

John, Kamau, Phabius and Wiki

Wiki

Kamau and Phabius

John

Mama Caroline

David

John

Crazy faces
Kamau, John, David and Enoch

Ajix stopped by to pick up a school book

Ovito

Caroline made so much food. She even made green grams for me and Ryanne. (The boys only wanted to eat chapati and meat.)
We laughed so hard. We sang lots of songs. They rapped for me.
They named players from the Lakers and told me they are friends. (Kobe Bryant gave Wiki a watch.) Once again, we left so full we could hardly move.

Seriously, I love this place.

So Happy Together

2011-07-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

Ryanne and I woke up Sunday morning excited to travel to Kitale.
The taxi driver picked us up from the hotel and one prop plane flight later, we were there!

Howie came and got us from the airstrip and we met his family and the Saddleback team (about 30 people) for lunch in town.

Isaiah ordered fish, which came with the eyeballs

Ryanne and I ran to the grocery store and then came home to unload some dirty clothes (which, thankfully, we don't have to hand wash ourselves!) before heading for dinner at the Oasis Girl's House.

They were so happy to open their home to us! We rolled and ate chapati and green grams (my favorite!), some potatoes and rice...and, of course, sodas. We danced, sang, played Concentration (they were calling it Conservation) and took a ton of photos (until the battery ran out).

Ryanne and Christine

Alice

Ryanne and I rolling chapati for dinner

Alice and Sarah with the puppies

Rael and Hellen with their sodas

Alice's dance moves

Dorcas showing off the bedroom

And the puppies (again)

Christine, Sarah and Hellen

We had so much fun with the girls.
And ate until we could hardly move.

When we came home, the team was hanging out in the living room, so we sat and laughed for a few hours before bed.

Only 15 hours in and I'm already reminded why I love this place so much.

Say Goodbye...

2011-07-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

Our final day in Nairobi began SUPER early with breakfast, packing up and then a safari.
We saw animals. There are no pictures of them here...

Josh was equally as interested in the drive as I was

After our game drive and a big lunch, we met our Kenya team members in town and went shopping at the Maasai market. I'm sure the vendors are excited when they see a bus filled with American teenagers unload at the gate.

Show me what you bought today!

We had a few hours to kill between shopping and the flight, so we headed back to the hotel and played card games, painted nails and relaxed.

Preparing to say goodbye to new friends

Ezekiel came to pick us up...our last ride with him, so we had to take a few photos.

On the way to the airport

Pastor Frank saying "It's the last time we'll be together"

Unloading the bags...and then the tears began

Lots of hugs...lots of tears

I had to (literally) drag a few of the Kenyans away from the Americans...no one was ready to say goodbye.
Ryanne and I stayed behind for another week in Kitale.
It's MUCH easier to get back on the bus with friends than to say goodbye at the gate!

They dropped us at the hotel, with a promise to join us for lunch on the way back from Kitale next Sunday. We are so happy to be here, but also excited to see them again!

The Second Of Two Days Our Van Was Stuck In The Mud

2011-07-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday (our last full day in Kitale), we slept in a bit (45 minutes, which is a lot for our typical routine) and then headed over to Sister Freda's Cottage Hospital.

In addition to the hospital, the grounds include a girl's school, a pre-school, a small farm and a nursing school. We broke up in to a few groups and wandered to different pieces of the compound.

Jason jumped in and lead a round of "Nyama, Nyama, Nyama"
he yells "Meat, meat, meat" and the kids yell "meat"
then he yells an animal and, if you eat it, the kids yell meat.
anyone who yells for 'not meat' (cat or snake) has to go in the center

Jason and the Saddleback team were there for the morning, too. We performed a few numbers for Boaz. (Grace rapped for him...clearly the best part of his day!)

Marvin and Cindy sang their song

Sly held Isaiah for a long, long time

The team circled around to speak to and hear the story of an old woman from a local slum

Nikki and Isaiah chatted on top of the van

Oh, and then we watched a pig slaughter

Grace spent over an hour with Boaz

He loved this picture

After lunch, we headed out to visit the homes of Oasis of Hope children that live in Shimo la Tewa slums. Our bus pulled in to the neighborhood and, of course, it began to POUR rain. We made a quick announcement: anyone who wanted to get off the bus and come to the visits, would be doing so in the rain...and, since it was his/her own decision, no complaining was allowed. Anyone else was welcome to stay in the bus, without fear of judgment or frustration.

20 of our 28 team members jumped off the bus, ready to visit homes.

See how hard it was raining?

I could do home visits in Shimo every day for the rest of my life.

BP, Geoffrey, Manu...soaked, but ready to go!

Colin, Sly and Nikki went to the first home

Tyler, Grace and Daizy joined them for the second

For the third, we had to run down a huge hill and jump over a spontaneous rushing river. Josh, Tyler and Harry made the visit while Cindy, Juddy and I waited on the other side of the "river" (where Josh lost his Rainbow sandal).

Josh walked barefoot for the rest of the trek.
Gross...and dangerous...he is also the only one who slipped and fell.

After ten or twelve homes, we found out that the bus had tried to go around and meet us at Shimo Primary School, but had gotten stuck (yes, for the second day in a row!) in the mud. So, the team of 8 was stuck inside...just sitting there...and we had to walk the rest of the way.

No problem for us. We were having a great time!

Collecting dozens of children along the way...

Crossing the Shimo bridge

We visited a total of 20 families, giving maize flour, laundry soap, tea and sugar to each home. The rain cleared up and it was a beautiful (muddy) walk to the closest Oasis Group Home to see the kids, but also to give us some time to wait for the bus to be towed out of the ditch.

Oasis Boys House 3

Oasis Girl's House

Pastor Frank called as we were leaving the girl's house. He told us the bus had been towed out, but was now stuck behind a car that was stuck in the mud. Awesome.

We'd now been in Shimo (and they'd been trapped in the bus) for five hours.
Our half of the team LOVED it. We walked (and laughed) all the way back to the Kitale Club.
As a thank you for the LONG, LONG day, we invited Manu, Geoffrey and Charlotte to stay for dinner. We arrived around 7 and the bus-half of our group made it in around 7:30...not too bad.
As we walked back to our rooms, we were told that one of our girls had fainted and hit her head on the way down. We went and found her, asked her some questions (and called Amy, a nurse) and figured out she had a concussion.

A crazy end to a crazy day, but the bus was unstuck, we made it to Nairobi and she made it home just fine...

The First Of Two Days Our Van Was Stuck In The Mud

2011-07-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Initially, we were meant to spend our entire Wednesday in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Camp, but when we found out that the visit would only take the afternoon, we happily arranged a third and final team visit to Oasis of Hope.

Many of our team members had fallen in love, each with a specific child from Oasis. They cheered when they heard we were returning the next morning. Several had gifts to bring to their special kid.

Connor brought a new shirtBP was ready for another football match

The rest of the team began a HUGE circle of games. (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes; Twonga, Twonga; and a Swahili game that may have been called Malia Ngombe: striped cow)

P.I.G and Etau jumped out of the football game to dance in the middle with Ryanne

And, of course, we took hundreds of pictures

Lohman and his protein-packed snack (termites)

After break, the American students went in to teach in the classrooms (no small feat, considering it's difficult to corral 50 kindergartners even when you speak the same language!) while the Kenyan students interviewed the newer kids to help compile the profiles.

I interrupted to take a picture with Sammy, because, have you seen these dimples?

The older Oasis kids have written and recorded a few songs. (I'm hoping to bring home a CD--and one for you, too, Lydia!) They spent the afternoon rehearsing one that was written by P.I.G and Etau (two of my favorites!)

We headed back to the Kitale Club for lunch (grilled cheese and french fries--yum!) and relaxed for about twenty minutes as we waited to depart for Bosnia. Formerly an IDP camp begun as a response to the 1992 tribal clashes in Mt. Elgon, it became a permanent community shortly thereafter. I had visited with Pastor Steve when I moved here in 2008, but hadn't been back since.

I casually mentioned to BP, when we loaded in the bus, that the last time we were in Bosnia, the vans got stuck in the mud and we had to walk the rest of the way, carrying the gifts we'd brought. He laughed and said, "What if that happens today?" and we just went on.

Fast forward 30 minutes and our bus was stuck in the mud. I mean, really stuck. As in, everybody-out-of-the-car-climb-through-the-driver's-door-boys-take-off-your-socks-and-shoes-and-get-ready-to-push stuck.

The boys pushed...and pushed...and rocked the van...and waded through mud...and yelled instructions at one another.

While the girls laughed...and took photos...and took bets on which boy would fall in the mud first. (Turns out, we guessed correctly: Tyler and Connor walked away pretty filthy.)

Finally, the man who lived in the home near where we were stuck, ran to his house to get a machete and some wooden planks. Somehow, those three tools got us out of the mud.

And yet, our driver wasn't interested in trying his luck on the next road...so, once again, we piled the gifts on our heads and wandered in to the camp.
The community (or those that were around--others had gone to work on a farm for the day) gathered in the church as we introduced ourselves and presented our gifts (again, never arrive empty-handed). We had brought a small bag of salt for each family, which, at first, seemed meaningless...of all of the things to bring: salt?

But then Christine explained. There are only a few families that are chosen to work on the farm each day, so they load up in the back of a lorry (a large truck) and head to the farms where they pick crops row-by-row. Most of the time, they receive ten shillings per row and they are not allowed to pick more than ten rows in a day. For those of you who have trouble with Math, that is 100 shillings per day. (At the current exchange rate, that's about $1.10) The bags of salt that we purchased for each of the 135 families in the Bosnia community cost around 96 shillings each. So, we gave them salt--worth an entire day's labor--something we really didn't know, but are so happy to have provided.

Bryan prayed over the community

The children sang a song for us

and then we gave out the bags of salt

We went outside to take a photo of our team, with the community and then break in to groups to visit homes and pray over families.

This woman was insistent that BP come to her house

The two homes we visited:

This girl thought Cindy was her long-lost sister from Bungoma. Cindy was caught off-guard, but then realized that it couldn't be true, since she'd never been to Bungoma.
This is Rosaline. She and I have a photo together from 2008, so we had to take another! Isn't she beautiful?
As we waited for the other groups to return, Nikki started a game of ring-around-the-rosie. The kids loved it and tons of moms stood around watching their kids be loved on.

These boys thought Connor was a famous soccer player

We said our goodbyes and began the muddy trek back to the bus. To get there, we had to navigate the puddles that had trapped our bus in the first place (I lost my shoe in the mud and Daisy, from our team, had to sift through a pile to find it!)

Brian had injured his knee on Tuesday afternoon, so Josh helped him through the mud

We were supposed to stop at an orphanage that had been started for the orphaned children of Bosnia, but since we were all barefoot (our driver would not allow us to enter the bus with such muddy shoes), it looked like rain (again), and the road was equally as sketchy as the last, we sent a few of the boys running (literally) to drop off the gifts and pass on our greetings.

Caked in mud and filled with stories from the afternoon, we returned to the Kitale Club for quick "showers" (the boys found a leaky water container and used it to wash off) and dinner. We met for debrief and then called it a night...

Bryan and I mentioned, again, what a great team this is!

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old. One Is Silver And The Other Gold

2011-07-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday morning, we woke up early so we could have some extended quiet time. This was the first time that we had a full 30-minutes in our schedule to spend in silence with Jesus.
With a little bit more calm in our hearts, we made our second trip to Oasis of Hope.

Harry and I were dressed as twins (not on purpose).The students loved the walk on the first morning, so we walked again...and then, when we arrived, they jumped right in: chopping firewood, washing dishes, teaching classes, running exercises, playing tons of games during break.

We broke out the bubbles

And found a parachute that was left behind by the Saddleback HSM team

After a lunch at the Kitale Club (and a beautiful view of the trees we planted), we visited Gilgal Secondary School.
Originally begun as a school filled with students from a local IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp, it is now filled with students from the IDP camp, local slum, or families that can not afford school fees.

Through gifts from friends, they have found this beautiful pieces of property, which now holds the classrooms, dorms, kitchen, a church and an home for the orphans of the community.

My mother (and Pastor Steve) always said "never visit someone's house empty-handed", so we brought a giant bag of maize, which they said would be enough for four days of food.
This is Christine, who founded the school with her husband, Ben.

Our students challenged theirs to a game of volleyball.
We lost. (Even with our driver's help!)

It began to rain (surprise, surprise), so we ran in to the church for cover.

The storm was short-lived, so we came back out to continue playing...and a dance battle started. (That's normal, right?)

A few minutes before we were meant to leave, the Form 4 students returned from a day of test prep. These are the students I've known since they were in Form 1, so it was so fun to finally know some names!

Milennia and Edwin

It had been a really long, but really fun day.
We loaded on the bus and headed back to the club for dinner and debrief.

We have some sharp students on our team. There were a lot of really great questions and some incredible, tangible ways they heard God's voice and saw His faithfulness during the day.

I love this place...and I'm pretty sure our team fell in love with it, too.

Oh, It's So Nice To Be Home...

2011-07-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

In effort to catch up on the last week...
We brought our team from Nairobi to Kitale (a 7-hour van ride) on Sunday after church.
On Monday morning, we walked to Oasis of Hope, a drop-in center for children.There are typically about 100 children each day. Many of the children come from homes in local slums where parents are as good as absent and other children actually live on the streets of Kitale due to extreme circumstances at home (abuse, neglect, lack of food, or even death).

They come in the morning for tea and bread, receive basic education/literacy skills, spend an hour or so playing, have a healthy lunch and then go back home or to the streets.

We arrived in time for "parade" (raising the flag, singing the national anthem and a prayer to begin the week).
And then said hello to many of the kids that we love!

At break, we painted nails and played a huge (competitive) game of football (soccer).

We headed back inside, in to the church, to introduce the teams, sing songs together and watch an Oasis girls dance performance.

After lunch, we attempted to visit homes in the local slum: Shimo la Tewa, but we were rained out. We sat in the bus for almost an hour, waiting for it to let up, but it just rained harder and harder.

We ended the evening by sharing several life stories...and then sent the students to bed early.
Ready for another day!

I Kissed A Giraffe And I Liked It

2011-07-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a rough day. I mean, it was an incredible day, but it was emotionally draining and mentally overwhelming.

So, today, we took it easy.

After breakfast and morning devotion, we split the group in half: the girls returned to Chamarecc (where we built desks and stitched clothing on Wednesday) while the boys went to Transform Kenya's office for the Boys to Men mentoring program. (Oh, how much I want to make a "End of the Road" or "Water Runs Dry" joke, but I can't come up with one quickly enough. Bummer.)

The boys were a little jealous that we were re-visiting friends...
they wanted to stay behind.

We played some games

Danced

Evidently, put on quite a show for the neighbors

On the way to pick up the boys, we also picked up this gem of a toy.

We regrouped at lunchtime and headed out to feed giraffe at the Karan Giraffe Center.

The day quickly became focused on lots of photos and LOTS of photo-bombing (when someone jumps in to the background...oh, you'll see what I mean.)

Tyler

Brian

Colin

Tyler

Grace (on her first try...she was a little freaked out)

Sly

Brian

Ryanne

Da-Chen

Michelle

Tyler

Dida hated it

This team loves each other.
Three different team members have already mentioned that they don't want to leave their new friends; they already know they will cry when they have to say goodbye at the airport, they don't know how people could do this over and over again...and there's still a week to go! I love how they love each other!

We leave for Kitale after church tomorrow.
I can't wait...mostly because I love Kitale, but also because it means I get to cross something off of my 30 Things List!

I'm not sure about the internet situation at our hotel in Kitale, so this blog may be dark for a few days. (Parents, we'll do our best to keep you updated via the Facebook group!)

I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy

2011-07-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure any of us knew what to expect as we piled in to the bus this morning. To be fair, I'm not sure any explanation of what was to come would have prepared us for what we experienced.

One of our team members from Mavuno, Brian, had visited Joy Valley Children's Home last year when he took some mattresses, donated by his mother, who had heard about it through her co-worker. Brian's heart was broken (in a second, you'll see why), and he has returned several times since. Today, we were able to join him.

Tyler's face shows how we felt
when we were given a tour of the place

When we arrived, we were welcomed by Pastor Jarrod, the founder and caretaker of the centre. He shared his story with us: a story of hitting rock bottom (he shared that he had been declared dead and came back to life while in a mortuary), finding Jesus and now one of bringing love, healing and restoration to local "orphans" (who have no parental care) and "total orphans" (whose parents have passed away).

Brian with Pastor Jarrod

Pastor Jarrod shared a brief history of the centre as he gave us a tour. Most of our group missed large portions of the story because we were so caught up in the previous chunks.

Walking out to this view, where, we were told, the over 100 orphans that sleep in the centre use the shower and toilet, was too much to take in, nod and carry on.

Church each Sunday

The final piece of the tour (and the most shaking for many of the students) were the dormitories. Over 50 children (ages 3-18) sleep in each of the two dorms. The 50+ boys share around 10 bunks--three to a bed (six to a bunk). The girls have a similar situation, leaving around 14 to sleep on the floor. Our team, of course, had a difficult time accepting these numbers.

We took a collective deep breath and went to work.

Chopping firewood for the kitchen

Hand-washing clothes

"Teaching" the classes

And, of course, playing with the children

Ryanne, Nikki and Rachael (from last year's team) painted hundreds of fingernails.

Can you see them hiding in that crowd?

Several team members were handed shovels and asked to clean up the riverbed.

In effort to keep our team focused on the tasks and not distracted by playing photographer, I wandered around taking pictures of everyone. In the back of my brain, I knew this was my way to avoid fully engaging with where we were and what we were seeing. I have seen situations similar to this on previous trips, but this was the first time I could visibly see the discomfort, confusion and brokenness on the faces of our team.

Participating in that experience and helping to guide students through are two completely different things...and God knew I was going to need a push when it came to participating at this centre. It came in the form of two twelve-year old girls who invited me to play a game, take a picture and stand next to them as we watched the others run around. They had no idea that they were bringing me back to reality, making an "easy-out" impossible. In hindsight, I probably should have said thank you a second time.

Syprose and Halima

The students from Joy Valley had prepared a special show for us, so we closed our time on the make-shift soccer field.

Dancing Americans while we waited to begin the performance

The girls from Joy Valley Centre danced for us

Then invited us to dance with them
Pastor Frank

Pastor Daniel

The crowd that grew and grew as the show went on:
neighborhood children and mothers came out to join in on the fun

After the dancing, they did a skit

Then Connor thanked them for allowing us to come visit and prayed for the Centre, staff and children. I was so proud of him: he was composed and articulate, his prayer so deep and thoughtful.
We walked quietly back to the van, hungry, sunburned and unsure of how to express everything we were feeling...at least, for the time being.

A lunch stop at a local food court became a photo opportunity.

We spent the afternoon souvenir shopping at Bawa La Tumaini (a Frontline ministry through Mavuno Church), which was a perfect contrast to the heavy morning we'd had. You can read about Bawa here or visit the website.

I'm fairly certain that everyone in the group purchased gifts for every member of their family...and some even bought gifts for every friend they'd ever had.

After a little time to relax and a big dinner, it was time to debrief the day.

The emotional honesty was beautiful. To hear the students attempt to articulate frustration or confusion, encouragement and faith, was a great launch in to a discussion on poverty and our human lack of shalom (complete peace).

We finished the meeting with two stories...but based on the yelling and laughing I've heard in the last hour or so, I'm guessing the evening didn't end there.

First Kings, First Commitments and the First Lady

2011-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

This morning, our devotion time was centered around 1 Kings 19:11-14. Reading a story of God's appearing to Elijah in a gentle whisper was the perfect preparation for today's activities.

Team Bus pre-dance party

Marvin and Cindy

Pastor Daniel and Nikki

Ryanne and Tyler

Connor and Jaya

Team Bus mid-dance party

The team spent the morning at New Life Home Trust. The house was started 17 years ago, by a British couple, as a response to the large number of abandoned and/or malnourished babies in Nairobi. Over the years they have cared for thousands of children, many of whom have been reunified with their families or adopted in to new homes.

There are currently 50 babies (ages three and under) living in the center we visited today, with an additional ten (ages 4 and above) living in a nearby group home and attending school.

We were not there to do anything out-of-the-ordinary for their Thursday. Instead, we came to help with the typical daily routine. Of course, while we awaited our assignments, we took some pictures:

The team

Jaya

Jason

Jaya and Daisy

Cindy and Ryanne

Ryanne, Nikki and BP
not sure what they are laughing at, but I love this picture

Dida

Michelle, Jaya, Daisy and Shareen

Grace

Grace and Sly

The girls were split in to two groups: crawlers and toddlers. We walked in to a room filled with sleeping babies and were each handed a child. Our only responsibility for the morning was to care for that baby.

Daisy

Juddy

Michelle and Moses
(who "only likes white people", according to the staff)

Angus: the best one

ShiroShareen

Cindy

Ryanne and Nikki

While the girls pulled wagons and pushed swings, the boys mopped, swept and scrubbed.

Connor and TylerJosh and Pastor Daniel

Dida

Jason, Connor and Harry

The boys finished their clean-up pretty quickly and could not pass up the chance to play with the babies...which was nice, because I am pretty sure the girls were ready to pass them off by then (you know: tired arms, a little baby barf on your shirt, a full diaper--all of the reasons you'd give a cute baby to someone else!)

Tyler

Pastor Daniel

Juddy

Da-Chen

Emmanuel and baby Emmanuel

BP and Tyler played toy cars with this boy for at least 20 minutes.
BP would put the car on the boy's head and say "where is it?"
the kid was so excited about the other cars,
he never noticed one was almost constantly missing

Pastor Frank

Before we left, we fed the babies lunch. I opted for photographer at this point; having already been spit-up on, I wasn't really in the mood to have spaghetti on me, too.

Sly and Nikki feed their babies

Nikki

When I went to check on the boys,
I found them eating chips and hanging out...
smart move, if you ask me.

A nice, long lunch with a swinging bench...
The perfect setting for a "what's God teaching you?" conversation

After lunch, Pastor Frank had arranged for us to "take over" a chapel-esque meeting at Riara Girl's Secondary School. The American-side of the team had little understanding of what this would be, but we were well-rested after an easier morning, and ready to jump in.

Jaya, Jason and Josh

Brian teaching Nikki some dance moves
(so entertaining for the rest of us!)

We were seated as Guests of Honor in a room of about 250 teenage girls

The Worship Team (DJ and dancers) from Mavuno's Teens Konnekt program kicked off the time with some amazing dance moves. We tried to dance along. (Really great video to come)

Two of our team members, Marvin and Cindy,
performed a rap song written by Marvin.

Proud team members taking video of their friends singing

Michelle shared her story

We ended the service with a time of prayer. Pastor Frank invited the girls to be prayed over by one of our team members. There are few things more intimidating than praying for someone you probably will not see again. There are also few times when it is more necessary to listen to God's gentle whisper. (Previous thoughts on this here.)

During tonight's debrief, a few of our students shared about the anxiety they felt heading in to this time of prayer: fears of praying aloud, fear of praying for a stranger, fear of praying for a peer. They shared, with humility, the moment of handing it over to God; saying "I'm willing" and, with joy, the moment that God showed up. Two of our team members were able to lead students to Jesus tonight. What a memorable evening...and what a tangible experience of God's faithfulness.

I can't believe we are only three days in to the trip.
I love the pace of time right now...there are so many more places to go...and so many more stories to create and share.

But for now, I'll leave you with this little girl:

I said, "What's your name?"
She said, "Michelle Obama."

Just so awesome.

Your First Two Days in Nairobi

2011-06-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

About ten times today, I thought to myself, "I love working with high school students."

What an amazing (read: filled with events, stories, laughter...and a little sleep) first few days we've had. After twenty-something hours of travel (and a few tears of anticipation--mostly from me), we landed in Nairobi. We waited in the line to get our visas and ended up as the last in the room! Watching high school students talk to a Kenyan government official might be one of my favorite things; smiling at the camera, asking which page the stamp will go on, talking to one another instead of to the man...I loved it.

We walked down to baggage claim (every bag made it!) and out to the arrivals gate where we were greeted by the pastors and student leaders from Mavuno! We shook hands, hugged, squealed with excitement (also mostly me) as we headed out to our team bus.

A quick stop at the hotel (for showers, but no naps) we jumped back in to the team bus to meet the rest of our team for lunch!

The food court at the local shopping mall had no idea what the afternoon would hold for them. 24 teenagers talking, laughing and even singing as strangers became friends.

Nikki telling Pastor Daniel that she is an excellent singer...
When he asked her to sing for him, she said,
"Oh, I need to warm up, I'll sing later!"
Rearranging chairs to sit next to their Kenyan partner

About a dozen (buy one get one free) pizzas later, we were off. This time, the bus was FULL of both students and conversation.

Our first group stop was the Ex-Cans meeting at Mavuno Church. Each year, the Form 4 (the equivalent of senior year) students "sit for" (take) their National Exams (KCSE) in December. Those who sit for these exams are referred to as candidates. In the nine months between sitting for the exam and enrolling in University, they are considered "Ex-Candidates" and Mavuno has a weekly meeting for those students. (Because of the Kenyan accent, most of the American students thought we were attending an Ex-Cons meeting!)

We played a few games to help learn names
and help alleviate some of the nervousness or pressures
of making conversation in a room of strangers.

We then split in to three groups for the skit time.

Group One:

Group Two:

Group Three:
whose skit was more of a movie, length-wise.

Since we were now about 10-hours in to the day following our super long travel, it was no surprise when a few of us fell asleep during the meeting. A brief nap later, we headed out to our first team dinner.

It had to be some place really delicious to make it worth getting out of bed, so we headed to the Java House. It was a little chilly outside, but the food was good...and the boys had milkshakes; the best in Nairobi!

Colin, Josh, Pastor Daniel, Harry and Dida

Connor, Tyler, Jason, Tyler, Emmanuel
Sly, Brian and Da-Chen (back of the head, unknown)

Back at the hotel, we had two team members share their stories, spent some time writing in our journals and then shared what we'd experienced.

I love the moments on this trip when there are no "Kenyans think like this" or "Americans feel this way", but there is simply "Every teenager..." Last night, it was so interesting to hear many of the students that shared begin with, "I was so nervous to meet you...what if you didn't like me? What if I didn't fit in?" and then end with sentences like, "I felt accepted and cared for and heard. I no longer have to be afraid of whether or not you want to know me...because I already feel like you do!"

What an amazing end to our first day!

Day two began early, but with about nine hours of sleep, we were fresh and ready to go!

Far table: Connor and Tyler with Pastor Frank
Near table: Jaya, Nikki, Sly and Ryanne

Harry and Tyler with Dida.
Michelle, Emmanuel, Grace and Shareen

After breakfast, (omelets, fresh fruit and some really tasty coffee) we headed out for our morning devotion. BP read through 1 Samuel and gave us time to journal.

Inside the team bus.
To pass the time in traffic, Grace rapped for us
(the Kenyans rated it a 2 out of 10).
Video to come, hopefully!

We made a brief appearance at the Mavuno Church staff meeting where we sang with the staff, introduced the team and were commissioned by one of the pastors.

Can you tell how much the team loves each other already?
Five minutes of down-time and, of course,
it's spent taking pictures together.

Worshiping God through song:
Trading My Sorrows

We spent the remainder of the day at Chamarrecc Primary school in a local slum. Last year, we resurfaced a school down the street. Today, we rebuilt benches, fixed some holes in the roof, stitched torn school uniforms, covered school books, hammered down the sharper edges of aluminum siding to prevent injuries (or more torn uniforms), and ran around playing a lot of games with children from the community.

School children who, for some reason,
shouted "Chapati" as I took the picture

Tyler and Dida with their "babies"

Bench building

Jason and his hammer

Tyler and Brian

The seamstresses

New book covers

Da-Chen and his friends
(each of whom received about eleven piggy back rides this afternoon)

Grace and her crew of dancers

Marvin fixing the aluminum siding

Colin, Connor, Dida and Josh
who did not stop working all afternoon!
(Dida had to make-up for the time I caught him sleeping during the work project last year!)

It was a long, but productive day...and it wasn't over yet!
We were having dinner guests.
With fast showers and a change of clothes, we sat down to dinner with the heads of several Frontline Initiatives from Mavuno Church. (We're visiting each of them this week, so I'll explain more about them as there are pictures to show and stories to tell.)

To keep everyone from falling asleep, we kicked-off our meeting with a brief dance party.

Oh, and then did affirmations, journal time and sharing standing up...just to be sure no one missed out on what God is doing in the hearts of their team members!

God is moving. God is speaking.
I know that minds are spinning and hearts are breaking...
I'm not sure I can express how excited I am to experience first-hand all that God will do on this trip and in this team.

More to come...

HSM Kenya 2011 Prayer Itinerary* | June 26-July 10

2011-06-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

DAYS 1 & 2 (Sunday, June 26 & Monday, June 27):

Travel (LA to London, London to Nairobi)

Pray for safe travel. Pray for health. For rest. For emotional and mental preparation.

DAY 3 (Tuesday, June 28):

Arrive in Nairobi. Meet our Kenyan team members.

Team time. Visit the Teens program at Mavuno.

Pray that our bodies and minds would be energized and ready to jump in. Pray for ease and comfort with our new team members. Pray for guards to be let down, for nerves to be set aside…for our two teams to be united as one…quickly.

DAY 4 (Wednesday, June 29):

Primary School project.

Pray for the hearts of our team members as they enter in to their first experience of a slum. Pray that we are able to show God’s love through games, laughter, and connection. Pray that we would be intentional about learning names and stories, not simply taking photos with kids.

DAY 5 (Thursday, June 30):

Visit to Boys/Girls Mavuno organizations

Pray that our team would be participants and not allow fears to keep us from engaging. Pray that we would be open to hearing God’s voice. Pray that we would have prayerful hearts as we interact with the people.

DAY 6 (Friday, July 1):

Visits to two Mavuno Organizations

Pray for moments of silence and stillness in which our team can speak to God and listen to His voice. Pray for clear minds that are able to articulate what they are thinking and feeling. Pray for the team to receive and hold the emotions of one another gently and with humility.

DAY 7 (Saturday, July 2):

Nairobi Game Drive & High School visit

Pray for this morning off to be refreshing. Pray that our hours of experiencing God’s creation and beauty would be time that our hearts and minds are at rest. Pray for our evening at the secondary school. Pray for God to move. Pray for lives to be changed. Pray for the leaders today—as they try to balance listening to what God is teaching them and helping students hear from God, too.

DAY 8 (Sunday, July 3):

Mavuno services & Travel to Kitale

Pray for our hearts to celebrate God at church this morning. Pray that we would be reminded of how big God is, but also how close God is. Pray that we would be able to share all that God has done in and through our team so far. Pray for rest on the long van ride. Pray that we might listen to God’s voice as we sit for hours.

DAY 9 (Monday, July 4):

Oasis of Hope, Shimo Slums & Blanket drop

Pray for our first day in a new town. Pray that as we spend our morning with street kids, that God’s love would be evident to each child we come in contact with. Pray that as we visit homes in the slums that we would see where God is at work. That we would pray, with faith, for God’s protection and provision. Pray that as we place blankets on sleeping street kids, that we would pray for their safety, their health, for them to know God’s love. And, pray that we would turn to God as our hearts are broken for what we experience.

Day 10 (Tuesday, July 5):

Oasis Day 2 & Gilgal Secondary

Pray for our hearts as we see many of the children who received blankets. Pray that we might have moments to explain how much God loves them. Pray for moments of laughter, of play, of true—safe—childhood for the children we are with. Pray that as we visit the Secondary school, God might remind us that teenagers are the same all over the world.

DAY 11 (Wednesday, July 6):

Visit IDP Camp

Pray that we might have renewed energy and excitement as we enter the final few days of the trip. Pray for team unity and peace as emotions are high and patience gets thinner. Pray for the people of the Displaced Persons Camp. Pray that we might be a reminder of God’s love and peace and provision.

DAY 12 (Thursday, July 7):

Mobile Medical Clinic

Pray for lots of patients to show up to the clinic. Pray that we would be watching and helping in the midst of a crowd of people. Pray that our eyes would be open as we watch the gentle care of the doctors and nurses. Pray that our faces would be filled with love and hope…with God’s love and hope.

DAY 13: (Friday, July 8):

Travel to Nairobi & Debrief night

Pray for our travel back to Nairobi. Pray that God would be at work in our hearts and minds in those hours of silence. Pray for rest. Pray that we would begin to process all that we’ve seen, learned and heard over the week; that we might be able to articulate it and prepare to return home to share with our families and friends.

DAYS 14 & 15 (Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10):

Team Time, Debrief & Depart NBO 11:45pm

Pray for our final day to be one of laughter and rejoicing in new friendships. Pray for our hearts that will feel broken as we leave our new team members. Pray for safe travel. For health. For our reentry in to America. Pray that we would be (even somewhat) prepared to try to explain all that we’ve experienced to those who supported us from home.

* Please keep in mind that we are entering in to the trip with hopes that this is our set schedule, but as we are guests of another church, we will be flexible with each day’s agenda.

Dear Kenya, I Will Love You Forever

2011-03-03T01:02:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's 1am in California.
No, I'm not in Kenya.
I wish I were.

I'm here, in Orange County, reading the rough drafts of support letters written by the high school students that will be going to Kenya with us this summer.

Nine students total.
For seven of them, this will be a first-time trip.
Two will be returning as student leaders.
One began her very own Kenya blog for this trip.

I love it already.
You can read it here.

Reading her blog doesn't make me wish any less that I were in Kenya right now...it just reminds me that God is very clearly at work in Newport Beach, too.

It Really Is A Very Small World

2010-10-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while sitting in a planning meeting for Kenya 2011 (!!), Christian (a Kenyan who works in Outreach at Mariners) and I sang part of the Kenyan National Anthem (I only know the words to the first few lines).

After the meeting ended, David (a Ugandan man who is interning in Outreach) asked how long I'd been in Kenya and where I'd stayed.

When I said, "Kitale", he said "Oh, that's where my wife comes from."

I said, "Really?! I love Kitale!"

He said, "Yes, her first church was there...Deliverance Church. With Pastor Moses."

What a really, really small world...

Dance 'Til You Drop

2010-08-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

When our team was in Nairobi, we were part of a music video filming.
Well, the video was released this week and, according to some, it is already Number 1 in Kenya.
Here it is.

To Everything, There Is A Season

2010-07-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

I was fairly convinced that, during this trip to Kenya, God would unveil the next stage of my life.
I had a really beautiful plan in my head (an internship at Mavuno Church which would help to launch a ministry that would, eventually, spread across the continent, eradicating human trafficking and child prostitution in Africa) and assumed He would say, "Yep. That's it."

But we all know that's not how it works.

Instead, I arrived in Nairobi, ready to meet with the director of interns at Mavuno Church. I had expected to have a brief conversation and then hear him say, "Oh, we've been waiting to start something like this, but didn't know where to begin." (Not that I have all of the answers, mind you. But God is a big God...)

But that wasn't what he said.

I assumed I had misheard God. I assumed that the internship was still the next step, but that I had been prepared to hear something that had been born from my hopes, not from God's voice. So I moved forward with those conversations, but never really found peace with the thought of that next step. Still, I continued to shrug-off those feelings, attributing them to the fact that, if I were to live in Kenya, I would ultimately want to live in Kitale...but continued to feel like that was selfish; I should want to be where God wants and I could sacrifice and live in Nairobi...it's still the same country!

But then I was quiet.
Long enough to hear God.

(what follows is the Reader's Digest version of a 2-week conversation between me and God...little future plans...beautiful resolution. This may not mean anything to you. If that's frustrating or confusing, then I'm sorry. But I had to write this down...all the better to remember the journey.)

The internship is not the next step.
--Well, then what is?
(silence)

Be present where I have you, for now.
Do not be counting down the days until you get to be somewhere else.
--But wait...what does that mean?

You have things to learn before you can take these next steps...
--But what if I learn them quickly? Wait. Does this mean I'll never be in Kenya?

Stop. Trust me.
As you are faithful to me, I will be faithful to you.

I have no idea what's next.
But I am really enjoying the constant signs of God's faithfulness.

I Love Peter

2010-07-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is my desktop background right now...and every time I look at it, it makes me smile.
And breathe a short sigh of homesickness for Kitale.