Last Day

After our visit to the IDP camp and return to Nairobi, the rains started. There are really only two seasons at the equator, rainy and dry. There are two rainy seasons, long and short. These are the long rains. It will rain almost daily from now until late April, if all goes well. A country like Kenya that is so dependent on it's own agriculture, is highly dependent on the rains. Pray that the rains are good; millions of lives hang in the balance. Bad rains mean fewer crops, fewer crops means not enough food, and prices skyrocket.

Yesterday when we got into Nairobi, we went to the Village Market where there is a Maasai Market every Friday. There, hundreds of artisan vendors hawk their wares to tourists and ex-pats. If you have ever been to a market day in Mexico, its similar. Hawkers approach you with lines like "Just here, suh!" and "What country, you?". Susie loves it, she can negotiate for hours and never get tired, I hate it. I'd rather just pay their price and move on but you can't do that. It offends them somehow if you don't argue about the price. I'll never understand that.

We had planned to go to the Safari Park Hotel for their famous dinner show, but traffic was not with us. We spent two and one half hours stuck in traffic just to get to the hotel. By the time we were unloaded and in our rooms, only the Java House was open. So we had our fix for the day and went to bed.

Today we enjoyed a fine breakfast at the Grace House Hotel, and set out to see the sights of Nairobi. Francis Mbuvi took us to a place where we could look into Kibera Slum, the largest in Africa. Its estimated that over one million people live there, with another half million in the Muthare slum across town. In all, almost half the population of Nairobi live in these slums were life and drugs are cheap, and running water and hope are scarce. Francis runs the Made In The Streets ministry that helps a few dozen kids escape the slums each year. It's a drop in the bucket, but it brings the world one step closer to redemption and so it's a work of the Lord.

Downtown and the important buildings of the capital city were our next destination. We saw the parliament building, Uhuru (freedom) park, and the site of the old US embassy which was bombed in 1997. We also managed to find another Maasai market, much to my regret. But first, we needed to find a cho (restroom).

We found one that we had to pay to use a couple of blocks from the market. While we were there, a drunk man approached Rick to ask for money. That's a hard call to make, when you are a compassionate man like Rick. He looked to Maureen for guidance and she said, "Well, he's drunk." That settled it in her mind, but I could still feel Rick struggle. In the end, the beggar lost focus and wandered away and we set out to spend two hours and countless shillings arguing with the hawkers once again. Good call, Rick.

Later, we went to the Sarit center for a late lunch. They have a food court with several choices, all of them sub standard, but edible. We wondered around until it was time to head to the sweltering Nairobi airport and here we sit, stewing in in our own juices, waiting for 11:30 to put Kenya behind us.

In all it was a great trip. My fellow travelers were patient and kind to each other and all those we encountered. They were truly ambassadors of God to some weary people. You may find it foolish to spend thousands of dollars just to fly to a third world country and love on some people you don't know and will never see again, but it's worth it. The Kenyans know at the money comes from God through our church, and they are grateful. But when we come to them, after traveling so far, they see it as an extravagant gift. They are moved to tears and God is glorified.

God puts people just where they need to be, at just the right time. It's impossible to know all the future ramifications of this trip on the lives of our people and the Kenyans, but God knows. We were allowed to see a few glimpses, though. Here is one story of God's provision:

Gina Martin, rape victim counselor, and GCR member, almost didn't make the trip at all. A mysterious delay in her passport had all of us on the edge of our seats until the day before we left, but she made it. She sat with her daughter Taylor in the back of the WBS LandCruiser.

Simon Karanja, WBS followup worker, and father also had challenges leading up to the trip, but we didn't know it until later. His youngest son, who is 13, was attacked and raped by a neighbor three days before joining us in Nairobi for the trip. He said nothing about the attack, but I noticed that he was strangely subdued. He too, sat in the back of the WBS LandCruiser.

During polite conversation he asked Gina what she did in the US. She told him, and the flood gates opened. He told her about the attack and their dealings with the attacker and the criminal justice system in Kenya. She listened patiently as she has done countless times. He didn't know how to be there for his son, but Gina did.

We thought we were only going to see orphanages, but God had bigger plans. He felt the pain of one of his faithful servants, and put him in a van next to one of the few people in the entire world who was trained to help him, without any of us knowing it. Thats how BIG our God is, people. Big enough to see every hurt and provide just what we need.

We have seen Him show off his amazing power in Kenya many times, in highly visible and awesome ways. But sometimes it's those one-on-one encounters with another traveler though this life that shows us just how big He really is. If that's the only thing we learned from this trip, it was worth it.

Kikitemo IDP

This morning we went to visit our friends at Kikitemo IDP cap.  These folks are some of the nicest people I have ever met.  They are all innocent victims of the post-election violence that happened here in 2008.  They were living in the Eldoret area when tribal based violence was incited by the winners and losers of the election.  Many of them are widows, having lost their husbands in the violence.  There are also many orphans and aged people among them.  Our WBS worker, John Kariuki has been ministering to them, baptizing them, and helping them organize a church.

Their leader is Grace, and boy does she live up to her name.  She is a woman who is filled with the Spirit, listening for God’s word in everything she does.  Her faith and that of her fellow widows has held these people together for three years, through some of the most unimaginable horrors and extreme poverty.  I’m working on a video of her story, I’ll post it when I can.

We were last here in November, and there have been a number of changes.  We had left behind money for them to buy mattresses and shoes for the kids.  We have also sent money for goats and a cow, and sewing machines.  When we arrived, the old ladies were sewing repairs in garments for money, weaving baskets, and making jewelry.  These folks aren’t interested in just taking our money, they want to use it to better their lives. They built a new hut for the sewing machines and basket weaving operation.  They also took our goat money and used it to join a project sponsored by the local university to raise 10 goats for milk and profit.  Smart.

After seeing their camp, we joined them at their church, where they had been busy as well.  A short fence surrounded the wooden pews and a flagstone floor served as a stage.  God provided the roof, in the form of two trees.  Their church has grown since we were last here.  They have reached out to the surrounding camps and many now are Christians, inspired by the amazing way God has protected these people.

We worshiped with them for about an hour and afterward saw a drama put on by the kids.  Some of them are very talented.  Parting was difficult, since they really wanted to sing and dance in thanksgiving before God.  They drew us in and what should have taken a few minutes to say goodbye, took another hour.  Time well spent, since we got a photo of a GCR elder dancing!

Kenya 2011 Spring Kikitemo

After we left, we stopped at the Delamere again and ate a light lunch.  Now we are headed to Nairobi to drop off Simon, and shop before we head to the Safari Park Hotel for their famous dinner show.  I’m writing this post from the van on the Nairobi highway.  If you know my penchant for motion sickness, you know what a miracle that is!  I’ll write more about our shopping adventures tomorrow, so that’s all for now.

Kericho and Nakuru

As we wrapped up our last night at the tea hotel, we took our coffee and chai outside on the patio.  The air was fresh with the smell of the day’s rains, and it was a little chilly, especially for the Kenyans.  We sang a few songs in English and Maureen, Risper, and Francis sang some in Swahili while I hummed a bass line.  It was a great feeling as our group began to gel and really express their feelings about all we have seen.

The next morning we slept a little later than the day before (some slept later than others, wink, wink) because our destination was nearby.  Kericho feeding station was the site of our biggest surprise on the last trip, in the size of the crowd.  There were at least six-hundred last year so we did not know what to expect this time.  There were not as many people this year, but the energy was just as high. I’m not sure why I feel this way, but something about this place just feels good.  I discussed this feeling with Rick Bratholomee and he agreed.  Sometimes you can just tell when a group of people are somehow blessed by God.

Francis Chepkwony is our worker at Kericho, and although he is from a different tribe from a long way away, he has definitely won the trust of the people here.  He also seems to be a capable leader, as he kept control of the crowds, kept us on schedule, and had all of his property looking fine.  The municipal water pipe that we sent the money for just this month was already in and working and the new livestock projects were in great shape.  The cow already had a calf, and was producing milk for the orphans.

Kenya Spring 2011 Kericho

The kids sang for us, we blessed the widows with their gifts, met the church members, and ate lunch all in the record time of two hours.  They wanted us to stay longer but we had decided to try to see the Nakuru Game Park this afternoon, so by a little after noon, we were on the road to Nakuru.

I visited this national park on my very first trip to Kenya in 2008, but our driver at that time did not know the park well, and I was a little disappointed.  This time our new driver, Oching was much better.  He drives tours into this park all the time, and knows it like the back of his hand.  He also had a radio that the drivers use to cooperate on wildlife sightings.  We saw flamingos, (there are literally millions), pelicans, rhinos, and even a lion or two.  

The best part was definitely the stop at the baboon cliff overlook.  This is a picnic area high on a cliff looking out over the entire park.  The view was stunning. While we were distracted by the view, the baboons made their appearance, raiding Susie’s snack bag inside the van!  There is a blurry picture of the thieves caught red handed in the album below.  Later Rick tried to see how close he could get to one of them.  He got pretty close, about 2 feet away.  There are some great pics of it.

Kenya 2011 Spring Nakuru Game Park

We were all very tired when we finished the park and made it safely to our new favorite hotel, the Stem Hotel in Nakuru.  Dinner was buffet, good and fast, and now we are preparing for bed.  Tomorrow we visit the IDP camp and then into Nairobi for some fun and shopping before we head home Saturday night.  Blessings on all of you who are keeping up with this blog, comment if you can.

Dirubi and Lee McGraw by Gina Martin

Today's excursions took us to 2 orphanages - Lee McGraw & Dirubi- which was about a 1.5 hour trip one-way.  The sights to see were plenty.  The streets were lined with vendors who were selling every type of vegetation imaginable which they had most likely grown on their own little patch of land.  Donkeys, goats, & chickens mingled freely among the people alongside the streets.  Mothers were carrying babies in slings on their backs.  There was even a child who could not have been older than 5 helping her mother by carrying what must of been her younger sibling in a sling on her back.  White economy vans that serve as taxis had passengers that jumped on & off with the van still in motion.  Soon, we came upon a mama pig & her piglet eating out of a pile of garbage in the middle of the street, undeterred by the hustle & bustle of people around them.  As we zipped down a narrow 2 lane road with no shoulder, school children scurried alongside the road.  They were close enough that they could extend their arm & touch the vehicles as they blast by.  Cows are left to wander around freely to graze like deer.  I'm told that when their owner beckons them, the cattle recognize their owner's voice & return to him.  So do the loose donkeys.  Cattle in Texas can't compete with these!

As we drove by the people, they stared in disbelief at the sight of white people.  Even the cows seemed to stare with bewilderment at this novelty.  As we continued down the road, Mauryn, little Johnathan, & Rispa serenade us along our journey with praise songs sung in Swahili.  I was pleased to see my 15 year old daughter remove the earphones from her ears to listen to the rich, harmonious singing and with absolutely no prompting from me!

Our first stop is the Lee McGraw Orphanage.  What a nice facility.  The kids sang several songs to us in English.  Wow!  Here is a short video of the kids singing:

 
John Bartholomee took some time to play frisbee with the kids.  A young orphan by the name of John shyly introduced himself to me.  He said he was 12 years old.  I found out later that he lost both of his parents to AIDS when he was 6.  He very quietly & politely asked me if he could follow me around.  He reminded me so much of my boy, Garrett, back home.  I wanted to take him home with me.  As we pulled away, I was surprised at the tears that began to flow from my eyes.  Even more surprising was the fact that I could not get them to stop flowing for what had to be at least 5 minutes.  A few minutes later, we stopped at the Dirubi Orphanage.  We placed goodies on the kids' beds - candy, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, pens, & Linda Denton's beanie babies which were a big hit with the kids.  Most of the children would collect the goodies off of their bed & place them in their box.  This box is about 2x2x3.  Everything each child owns is kept in this box.  Their only possessions.

Outside, Taylor & John both played frisbee with many of the kids.  I was fortunate enough to play volleyball with about 20 girls.  Our net was a line of jackets that they laid on the ground to divide sides.  In my conversations with a handful of these girls, they wanted to know what American kids were like.  What did they study in school?  What extra activities did they do?  They asked me to sing for them.  Where was Kent Rogers when I needed him?!  The only song I could think of was "Jesus Loves Me".  Surprisingly, they did not know this one.  After teaching it to them, I then taught them how to do the signing with the words!   They were all smiles learning that.  Through our conversation, one beautiful girl asked me how my palms were different from hers.  Other than the obvious color difference, I could not think of anything.  She proceeded to tell me how mine was smart & hers was not; how mine was beautiful & hers was not.  As if white people are better than black people.  Oh, how my heart hurt to hear that.  Who told her these lies?  Satan, of course.  Why do we believe satan's lies?  I had the opportunity to tell her, "We share the same heavenly Father.  That means my Father is your Father.  He's also your Father.  That makes us family.  We are sisters."   I so badly wanted every girl there to believe that.  I wondered how deep Satan has embedded his lies, & would she ever be able to believe the truth - God's truth?

As we drove back to our hotel, I had many thoughts run thru my mind.  These orphans had lots of genuine joy in their smiles.  Was this confirmation that with the simplicity of life there is joy to be had?  I think of what life must be like for these people.  I go there in my imagination (having just my family without all the extra stuff that we Americans have so much of).  I think I could be happy if all I had was my family & nothing  else.  I have been so richly blessed that I have never had to truly be put to this test.  These people live it as their reality.  Each day is a daily struggle for survival.  They wake up each day wondering IF they will eat this day.  Do I ever really, truly have any right to complain or want for anything?  Have I ever awakened & wondered IF I was going to eat this day?  Never.  Have I ever wanted for something & not gotten it?  I can only think of 1 thing - when I was a child, I wanted a rock polisher which I never got.  Big deal, huh?  These children do not have any use for such trivial things.  Their objective is to get through today - alive - so they can have a chance to get through tomorrow.  Can I truthfully say I've ever had to do without?  Definitely not.  How many times have I been given so much yet I have continued to ask God to do more?  Countless times.  I pray to God each night with my children & tell God how grateful I am for all that He does for us.  I ask him to help us not take any of it for granted.  When I look at the gratefulness on these children's faces & I reflect on my own gratefulness, I can't help but feel ashamed. Who is truly thankful?  I think the answer is painfully obvious.

From Tim:  Below are today's pictures.  Thank you Gina for sharing your heart.  Its impossible to not be touched by what you see here, but not everyone will admit it, as you so artfully have done here.  Be blessed.

Kenya 2011 Spring Dirubi / Lee McGraw

Muhoroni by John Bartholomee

This morning at 8, in the Tea Hotel where we are staying, we all ate breakfast before traveling to the orphanage at Muhuroni.  For the first time I got to enjoy one of the small bananas that they have and grow here in Kenya.  Unlike the large bananas that I’ve eaten all of my life in the United States, these bananas were exceptionally sweet.  After our delicious breakfast, we began our journey to the beautiful orphanage at Muhuroni.  Along the way we witnessed some of the incredible landscape that exists here in Kenya.  We saw tall acacia trees, mountains, valleys, and green sugar cane fields.  The Kenyans here have expressed to us that it is now Kenya’s dry season and that we should come back when it is more alive and green.  But to our group, from the flat and yellow land of Midland, Texas, Kenya is the one of the most green, beautiful places we have ever been.  God’s handiwork is clearly manifest through this place.  Everything I have seen here is strong evidence of the awesome God we serve.  Nothing else and no one else could have created all of this. (Romans 1:20)

After about an hour and a half of driving we finally reached the orphanage at Muhuroni.  The orphanage is surrounded by sugar cane fields, with mountains visible in the distance.  We were greeted by some people from the local church in Muhuroni and the 4 widows that take care of the 60 children in the orphanage.  Thomas, who oversees the work going on in multiple orphanages and feeding stations, gave us a tour of the Muhuroni orphanage.  After this we gathered in orphanage’s dining hall to speak with the people and give them the very exciting news that we are going to begin building a feeding station on land right next to the orphanage.  This new feeding station, once it is built, will provide food for 50 more children and a place for 2 more widows to serve them.  Isn’t our God awesome? This will allow 50 children not to starve in the streets or worry where there next meal is coming from.  After telling the people from the local church and the widows about the new feeding station, they were very happy and grateful for God’s provision.  Once this was done, the widows started cooking lunch.  While they were doing this, our entire group placed candy and little stuffed animals on each one of the orphan’s beds.  We also brought out 2 soccer balls and a Frisbee to give them. 

See pics of today's activities here:

Kenya 2011 spring Muhoroni

It’s always a joy to see the smiles on the kid’s faces after they receive these.  I was so happy to be able to spend some time with several of the children throwing the Frisbee.  It is amazing to me that these kids are so accepting, loving, and joyful despite the difficult life that they have endured.  After spending some time with the kids, we all went inside for lunch.  We ate chicken, beef, chapati (a type of tortilla), and several other items.  Then, we gathered the 4 widows that serve the children at the orphanage, and Pam Hicks gave them each gifts.  They were overwhelmed and very thankful for their special gifts.  Soon after this, we began our travel back to the Tea Hotel where we are staying until Thursday.  On our way back we made a quick stop at a large grocery store called Uchumi.  While we were inside, it started pouring down rain and our entire group had to run in the rain to our 2 vehicles.  After this we arrived at the hotel where we have spent the rest of the day.

Something that has really stuck with me from the visits to the orphanages is that, though these children do not have much, they are so grateful for what they do have.  In America we have so much wealth, and in many cases, we hoard it.  We have large houses, closets full of clothes and things we don’t use, abundant amounts of food that we waste, and an endless list of luxuries that we spend so much money on.  We are never content with what we have.  Many Kenyans, on the other hand, have almost nothing and live with the continual reminder that they may not survive another day.  There is such a huge need in the world, and it is our duty and obligation as the Church, to provide for these needs.

The purpose of the church is to be a loving community of God that supports and gives to those brothers and sisters who have a need.  In the book of Acts, there are multiple examples of what Jesus intended the church to be.  Speaking of the Church, the book of Acts states, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”(Acts 2:44-45)  Also, we are told throughout the New Testament and Old Testament in over a hundred different verses to take care of the poor, widows, and orphans.  It is essential for us that are rich, to give to those who are poor.  I have been so convicted over this trip on the amount of money that I spend on myself and my wants, when my brothers and my sisters in other countries are dying because I am not doing what Jesus calls me to do.  The 7 or 8 dollars I spend on lunch at Chickfila or Rosa’s could be used to provide food for an orphan for almost a month.

After seeing the children here, my heart has been broken because of the suffering that these children have gone through.  But the light of Jesus still shines in these children and widows!  As the body of Christ we must continue to do works like this to change lives forever for the kingdom of God.  The amazing part of all this is that when we give of our money to feed these widows and orphans, we are not only doing what Jesus calls us to do, but are part of God’s redeeming and transformative power here on Earth.

I have been so blessed to be able to come on this trip to spend time with these widows and orphans.  God has opened my eyes to help me see things that I wouldn’t have seen unless I had been able to come here.  I am amazed at the life-changing work that is going on here in Kenya.  I’m so excited and blessed to be a part of it.  Thank you for all of your prayers.  God Bless.

                                                                                John Bartholomee                            

                 

  

Londiani and Chesyliot

I will confess that when I first heard about this orphans work, I was not very impressed.  The whole concept of taking care of someone else, on the other side of the world, no less, didn’t really fascinate me.  Now, it’s a good thing, no one can argue with that but exciting?  Not really.  My world was technology, and what good are orphans to technology.  Boy did I have it wrong.  What changed?  I came here, to Kenya.  It doesn’t matter what your pre-conceived notions are of Africa, a hungry child pulling on YOUR pants leg is gonna change you.

Now days one of my favorite things to do is to bring newbies, people who have never been here, and watch their faces as they get it.  Today was awesome for me, as I watched some new friends and old friends share the joy of really being the hands and feet of Christ.  

After breakfast, we set out for Londiani orphanage.  This place has always been one of my favorites because my first trip to Kenya is when we saw this site for the first time.  David Koech is our worker here and he’s doing a fine job.  The kids look good and the facility is in good shape, too.  They have recently added a feeding station here, so now they are feeding 52 orphans in addition to housing and providing full care for 75.   David walked us around the site, and the newbies got to see firsthand what orphanages are like.

This week is “final exam” week for the students, so not many of the orphans were there.  But some small ones were there so we met with them, the church members, and orphanage staff.  They sang some songs for us and recited poetry.  They truly are happy to see us when we come.  They made us a typical meal of beef stew, rice, and beans.  After the meal, some of our people went to plant candy and gifts on the beds of the orphans so they would be there when they came home from school, and Pam Hicks gathered the widows to reveal her gifts for them.

Pam has a real heart for widows.  At home she spends a lot of her time mentoring new widows, so when she heard that we were using widows to care for the children in Kenya, she knew she had to come.  Pam solicited the help of her LifeGroup at GCR to help her make special gifts for all the widows.  For each one, they made an apron with personalized embroidery, and stuffed the pockets with special gifts like note pads, pens, and a thank you card with some cash.  The widows had no idea what was coming, and you should have seen their faces light up when they saw the gifts.  Pam explained the significance of everything and showed pictures of her friends who had helped prepare the gifts and prayed over them.  It was amazing.

Soon it was time to go, so we set out for Chesyliot Feeding Station, just a few kilometers away.  This feeding station, opened early last year, is run by Richard Koech, David’s brother.  Richard is a really sharp guy and his place looked terrific.  Pam repeated the gift routine with the widows, (more astonished ladies), and then they had some gifts for us.  Rick received a traditional Kenyan lunch basket, made for a midday lump of ugali for a man working in the fields.  Peter, Pam, Taylor and Gina got gourds, hollowed out to make a kind of canteen that is used to carry milk to wash down the ugaili.

Soon we were headed home, or rather to Kericho and the Tea Hotel.  We will be here for the next several days, visiting the nearby orphanages.  Tonight we were joined by Thomas Alwala, our worker who helped start the orphanage work and who operated the next three orphanages we will visit.  Alfayo Bodi, another one of our orphanage leaders has joined us as well, and we will use this opportunity to work in some meetings about the leadership of the work with Simon Karanja and Maureen.  Here are some great pics taken by Susie and my son, Peter.

Kenya 2011 Spring Londiani / Chesyliot

Tomorrow we will be in Muhuroni to make a special announcement of great importance for this orphanage.  I’ve asked John Bartholomee, one of our fellow travelers to write the blog tomorrow, so you’ll be in for a treat.  Blessings…

First Day

We arrived in Kenya on-time and with all our bags. Having experienced some of the other ways to arrive, this is the preferred way. We met a nice lady at the immigration desk who was a WBS student when she was in secondary school. It is cool t know how far reaching this ministry is in Kenyan society.
After an easy drive in the Made in the Streets bus to Kamulu, we split up into our respective rooms and turned in for the night.  When you are sleeping in a strange place for the first time, it can be a little disorienting. Throw in the very long flights, the strange beds, the farm sounds mixed with highway traffic, and it's downright weird. But our travelers are all real troopers, with no complaints about the accommodations.
This morning, Maureen treated us to a breakfast of bread, mondazi, fried eggs, and chai. It was awesome. Then it was time for church.
Their church is at the made in the streets learning center. Francis Mbuvi taught the bible class, which was group discussion. We split up and were in groups with former street kids, which makes for some very different answers to the discussion questions. Eye opening for sure.
Later we met Oching, our driver for the second van this week. He is a Kalinjin from Kisumu with two kids. His English is good so I'm looking forward to getting to know him.
After a quick stop at the Nakumat (Kenyan WalMart), we were on the road to Nakuru. We arrived without incident at our new hotel, The Stem Hotel. Usually we stay at the Kunste, but we were looking for a place with bigger rooms and a little quieter. The new place seems nice so far. Right now we are sitting in the hotel restaurant, waiting for our food. I can tell that I'll be asleep soon, so I'm blogging from my iPhone. Kinda rude to be ignoring everyone while I appear to be playing a video game, but oh well. Check out these few pics:

Kenya 2011 Spring First Day

Be blessed.

UPDATE:  The meal was excellent, and the service was first rate, a very pleasant surprise!

Let's Do It Again!

Tomorrow, we leave again for Kenya.  This time, my wife Susie and my son Peter will be going with me.  Also, we will be taking GCR Elder Rick Bartholomee and his son John. Also joining us will be Pamela Hicks, and Gina Martin along with her daughter, Taylor.

We will be visiting our friends at the Kikitemo IDP camp, as well as our orphanages at Dirubi, Lee McGraw, Londiani, and Muhuroni.  We will also see our feeding stations at Kericho and Chesyliot. 

I have a feeling that something special may happen on this trip.  Based on the number of challenges that we have had in the preparations, makes me think that Satan is particularly interested in seeing our trip fail.  But we will not fail.  God is with us, and as long as the airline cooperates, we will be fine.  Check in here daily for updates and tp her the amazing stories from our latest adventures in Kenya.