Hey there. Larry here, the traveling Kenyan Lizard. I hopped in Shawna's van yesterday on the way back from safari. I thought her shrieks meant she liked me but then the driver tried grabbing me. I made V line for the back of the van as he attempted to spray me with some human spray....
Anyway, I camped out in the luggage back there and when bags got transferred around I hopped in Martha Costa's bag. What an adventure we have had! I have no idea what happened but I flew from Kenya to London with Martha and thought it was time to make my grand appearance at the security line in London. It was quite a sight let me tell you!
So much attention for little ol' me. They put me in a plastic bag with holes in it so I could breath and a second Crossway group came upon me sitting behind the ticket desk. They had been in my van as well, so I started jogging in my bag to say hi to them. Well, the bag flipped over and the ticket ladies started to scream.
One of them said to the male worker "Be a man and pick that lizard in the bag up!" He wouldn't do it. Imagine a big guy like that scared of little old me? Anyway, Rachel came behind the counter and set things right and even took some pictures of me. I feel like such a star!
I was glad to hear the employees say they would just check me over for any diseases and if all is good then I am going to be let go. I don't know if that means i'm being deported back to Kenya or if I get to stay here in England. It has been quite an adventure.
The Crossway team as you may have gathered are in London. All safe and sound and ready for the last leg of the trip home.
God Bless,
Larry the Kenya Lizard
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
On Our Way Home
We have just returned from our safari and are sitting in Mary and Wallace Kamau's home preparing to head to the airport.
We had a fantastic couple of days seeing God's glorious creations....from giraffes, to lions, rhinos, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, wildabeasts, gazelles, elephants, cheetahs, leopards, and a whole host of smaller animals. Some of the favorites....
1. A pack of cheetahs (rare) and one jumped on the hood of a vehicle of other tourists in an open air vehicle. Talk about an experience there! One lady in that vehicle just lost it afterward. FYI, it is mating season in Kenya and the cheetahs proved it right in front of us!
2. Elephants running over the hill disturbing the sleep of 2 male lions. We now know who the real kings are as the lions were quick to hop up, run between our vehicles, and head into the bushes.
3. Leopard sleeping on a tree limb at least 40 feet above the ground. It was the first leopard pastor had seen and this is his 4th safari (same comment on the Rhino).
4. One van did not see the Rhino but that van saw a male lion eating a small zebra for dinner. Yum, yum.
5. A pack of 20 lions on our first trip out...what was neat is a large herd of wildabeasts was nearby and the scent of the lions had them completely skittish. They were sprinting back and forth and it was quite a site to see.
6. Our fisherman story for the safari....we witnessed 3 female lions stalking a herd of Zebras. One of the lions was no more than 25 yards from one of the zebras with the rest of the Zebras in a pack 50 to 100 yards away. We saw the lions start their crawl toward their prey....but they called off the attack. Probably because there were about 60 vehicles that were crowding around to watch and some (amazingly) got between the lions and their prey. That's when the lions retreated and I'm sure they eventually ate that morning in peace. So close to seeing the 'big one' but it got away. The Zebras love us tourists! LOL
We will be taking off from Kenya at about 5pm Boston time Wednesday and will be landing just shy of 24 hours later (after a long layover in London).
Please pray for safe travels. We'll see you soon!
The 2011 Kenya Team
We had a fantastic couple of days seeing God's glorious creations....from giraffes, to lions, rhinos, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, wildabeasts, gazelles, elephants, cheetahs, leopards, and a whole host of smaller animals. Some of the favorites....
1. A pack of cheetahs (rare) and one jumped on the hood of a vehicle of other tourists in an open air vehicle. Talk about an experience there! One lady in that vehicle just lost it afterward. FYI, it is mating season in Kenya and the cheetahs proved it right in front of us!
2. Elephants running over the hill disturbing the sleep of 2 male lions. We now know who the real kings are as the lions were quick to hop up, run between our vehicles, and head into the bushes.
3. Leopard sleeping on a tree limb at least 40 feet above the ground. It was the first leopard pastor had seen and this is his 4th safari (same comment on the Rhino).
4. One van did not see the Rhino but that van saw a male lion eating a small zebra for dinner. Yum, yum.
5. A pack of 20 lions on our first trip out...what was neat is a large herd of wildabeasts was nearby and the scent of the lions had them completely skittish. They were sprinting back and forth and it was quite a site to see.
6. Our fisherman story for the safari....we witnessed 3 female lions stalking a herd of Zebras. One of the lions was no more than 25 yards from one of the zebras with the rest of the Zebras in a pack 50 to 100 yards away. We saw the lions start their crawl toward their prey....but they called off the attack. Probably because there were about 60 vehicles that were crowding around to watch and some (amazingly) got between the lions and their prey. That's when the lions retreated and I'm sure they eventually ate that morning in peace. So close to seeing the 'big one' but it got away. The Zebras love us tourists! LOL
We will be taking off from Kenya at about 5pm Boston time Wednesday and will be landing just shy of 24 hours later (after a long layover in London).
Please pray for safe travels. We'll see you soon!
The 2011 Kenya Team
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Last Days in Methare Valley
Saturday was a blur of activity from final community visits to connecting with sponsored kids, and a final 3 Little Pigs show (which over 1000 students ended up seeing this week). We met back at the school for lunch and the kids had a wonderful show prepared for us. Even the goats from the community wanted to get a peek (as well as a duck and of course kids from around the area). There were touching speeches, thoughtful gifts, singing, reciting memory verses (Bible Verses), drums, and dancing (including all of us!) Very nice way to end our week with genuine appreciation shown and expressed from both groups to each other.
One interesting thing about this celebration was the cake. It was a normal sheet cake...the kind you would buy at a store for a kids birthday cake. Yet somehow that little cake fed about 250 people. It was like a little miracle right in front of us....'the feeding of the 250!'
We spent the evening at an Ethiopian Restaurant and I think the overall feedback was 'nice cultural experience' (some loved the food, others were so so on it). We did learn that it is not a great idea to order Ethiopian coffee at the end of a meal. It literally took about an hour to cook and we ended up with about a shot glass worth of java at the end of it. But the company was great and the stories were flowing.
Because we got back so late, guess what sermon we got to hear Sunday morning from Pastor Ron? You guessed it! Ephesians 3:20 Immeasurably More! We were all just praying the other day to be able to hear it again (NOT!) Ron says he had something from Luke 14 prepared (cough, cough....) but he felt a prompting to do the Immeasurably More sermon again because it fits this group of people better.
Ok, we gave him a break tonight after much razzing. We had been joking about it before service and when he started in with Ephesians 3:20, we all seriously thought he was just pulling a fast one on us and would head off in a different direction after a minute or two. Nope. We all knew he was serious when we heard about Stacy telling the kids to exceed expectations....and how homework assignments, book reports, etc needed to exceed expectations. And off he went (with us reciting the sermon word for word along with him). Who would have thought THAT?
We have a new hand signal for pastor. Make an 'ok' sign with both of your hands. With your right hand hold it parallel to the ground, over your right breast. Spread your fingers and imagine that you are looking at yourself....those 3 fingers look like and 'E' (as in Ephesians). The left hand just have a regular 'ok' sign with the 3 fingers pointing up near the left breast and that is the '3' (as in Ephesians 3) It's a cool little sign and we hope to see you all with the new 'pastor salute' when the bus rolls into the parking lot Thursday.
Church was wonderful this morning. The Kenyan pastor had us all get up and mix together so no one was sitting next to someone they knew. Great thing to do and we experienced a high energy, singing, and dancing service. The kids from our school had our costumes and performed the 3 Little Pigs skit as a part of the service (really cute) and one of the head teachers read Matthew 7:24 just as our team had done and talked about building our lives upon the rock of Jesus Christ (see second video from a couple of days ago)
There were some touching moments as a girl who was a favorite from a previous Crossway trip showed up at church this morning and one of the sponsored kids was at the church after service. He was so excited to see his sponsors one last time. I have to wonder if he heard that our group was going to be there this morning and purposefully came or if it really was just a lucky coincidence. Either way, it was a wonderful moment for child and sponsors.
We spent the afternoon at the market and relaxing. We also started an exercise where we listed our 10 favorite moments from the trip and 10 not so favorite / challenging moments. This exercise formed the basis of our team meeting tonight. I think we all enjoyed hearing about each other's favorite moments. Perhaps in a later note some of those stories will be shared (some were relayed throughout the week in this blog).
This will be the last post until we are back in the States. We are heading out to our safari early Monday morning. We will be out until Wednesday morning and then head back to Mary and Wallace Kamau's home Wednesday early evening before heading to the airport for our 1145pm flight. We will be home Thursday late afternoon.
Please continue to pray for our health and well being.
God Bless,
The 2011 Kenya Team
One interesting thing about this celebration was the cake. It was a normal sheet cake...the kind you would buy at a store for a kids birthday cake. Yet somehow that little cake fed about 250 people. It was like a little miracle right in front of us....'the feeding of the 250!'
We spent the evening at an Ethiopian Restaurant and I think the overall feedback was 'nice cultural experience' (some loved the food, others were so so on it). We did learn that it is not a great idea to order Ethiopian coffee at the end of a meal. It literally took about an hour to cook and we ended up with about a shot glass worth of java at the end of it. But the company was great and the stories were flowing.
Because we got back so late, guess what sermon we got to hear Sunday morning from Pastor Ron? You guessed it! Ephesians 3:20 Immeasurably More! We were all just praying the other day to be able to hear it again (NOT!) Ron says he had something from Luke 14 prepared (cough, cough....) but he felt a prompting to do the Immeasurably More sermon again because it fits this group of people better.
Ok, we gave him a break tonight after much razzing. We had been joking about it before service and when he started in with Ephesians 3:20, we all seriously thought he was just pulling a fast one on us and would head off in a different direction after a minute or two. Nope. We all knew he was serious when we heard about Stacy telling the kids to exceed expectations....and how homework assignments, book reports, etc needed to exceed expectations. And off he went (with us reciting the sermon word for word along with him). Who would have thought THAT?
We have a new hand signal for pastor. Make an 'ok' sign with both of your hands. With your right hand hold it parallel to the ground, over your right breast. Spread your fingers and imagine that you are looking at yourself....those 3 fingers look like and 'E' (as in Ephesians). The left hand just have a regular 'ok' sign with the 3 fingers pointing up near the left breast and that is the '3' (as in Ephesians 3) It's a cool little sign and we hope to see you all with the new 'pastor salute' when the bus rolls into the parking lot Thursday.
Church was wonderful this morning. The Kenyan pastor had us all get up and mix together so no one was sitting next to someone they knew. Great thing to do and we experienced a high energy, singing, and dancing service. The kids from our school had our costumes and performed the 3 Little Pigs skit as a part of the service (really cute) and one of the head teachers read Matthew 7:24 just as our team had done and talked about building our lives upon the rock of Jesus Christ (see second video from a couple of days ago)
There were some touching moments as a girl who was a favorite from a previous Crossway trip showed up at church this morning and one of the sponsored kids was at the church after service. He was so excited to see his sponsors one last time. I have to wonder if he heard that our group was going to be there this morning and purposefully came or if it really was just a lucky coincidence. Either way, it was a wonderful moment for child and sponsors.
We spent the afternoon at the market and relaxing. We also started an exercise where we listed our 10 favorite moments from the trip and 10 not so favorite / challenging moments. This exercise formed the basis of our team meeting tonight. I think we all enjoyed hearing about each other's favorite moments. Perhaps in a later note some of those stories will be shared (some were relayed throughout the week in this blog).
This will be the last post until we are back in the States. We are heading out to our safari early Monday morning. We will be out until Wednesday morning and then head back to Mary and Wallace Kamau's home Wednesday early evening before heading to the airport for our 1145pm flight. We will be home Thursday late afternoon.
Please continue to pray for our health and well being.
God Bless,
The 2011 Kenya Team
Saturday, July 9, 2011
All About Joska
Joska was WOW! (The word wow has taken on a new meaning for me here--not only can I now give someone a wow, but it has become an adjective to describe something that is excellent and exciting and good). We arrived at Joska on Tuesday late morning and returned to the team and Narobi last night in the late afternoon. The time flew by, as we knew it would, and it was hard to say goodbye as we prepared to board the van. Even now, my mind and heart are full of Joska and it is hard to know where to begin...
A rough start...After arrriving and getting settled into our room, we had lunch and then went to meet with the teachers of Joska. This was something that we had been eagerly anticipating--to finally sit face to face and talk about what it means to teach and to begin to build a partnership. The teachers had divided up into two groups: Math/Science and English. We dropped Beth off with the M/S group and then Kerri and I went to meet with the English teachers. This was the first of my many surprises re: expectations and reality. We walked into the room and 12-15 teachers were seated in the desks. They looked tired and serious. We began with introductions and then started asking some basic questions...the tricky part was, they just stared back at us. A conversation I had with my sister came to mind and I changed directions. I went to the board and made a happy and a frustrated face on the board and then asked them each to think about and prepare to share one reason that they loved teaching and one challenge they faced. Next, we started going around the room (as I called on them by name) and shared our thoughts and the ice melted. Their love for their students and their desire for them to learn and to grow (both intellectually, individually and spiritually) shown through each response. Relationships were central to all that they did and the greatest joy was tied to the biggest frustration--when a teacher was able to reach a student who had given up and accepted failure and the joy that came when that student not only learned, but that the student was changed and gained self confidence and a stronger belief in themselves.
Our new home...We found we quickly settled into the rhythm of life at Joska. We stayed in a pair of small rooms in the teachers quarters. Each room contained two twin beds and two plastic "patio" chairs and not much extra space. This space would typically house two teachers. Each morning, we took our 5 gallon pail and empty margarine tub and walked down the outside walkway to a small "bathroom"--a 4x4 tin room with a drain in the cement floor. Typically it was in the 50's and we learned too that if we didn't allow time for water to cool, we would get scalded. And our day began with a enjoyable and refreshing "dip and pour" style shower. We adjusted too to using a latrine style toilet and remembering to stop by the room on the way to pick up toilet paper and then going to yet another space to use a the sink (going to the bathroom required 4 stops...).
We ate our meals in a conference room and typically we were joined by 3-5 Kenyans. The food was somewhat the same, but we found that overall, we enjoyed it and worried what the scale would say when we returned to the states. We quickly looked forward to the home fries and Kenyan style donuts as well as the rice, cabbage and various "stews". We also quickly embraced the tradition of taking tea--in the morning between breakfast and lunch and again late afternoon.
The people...Overall, the adults and young people at Joska were amazing. They welcomed us into their classroom and their lives. Their love for God and for the life He had called them to was clearly seen. Their were three groups of people that our time was split between: the students, the teachers and the head teachers/leadership. As I anticipated coming to Joska, I imagined that most of my time with the adults would be academic in nature and then I would spend time with the kids hanging out. It was interesting to see how God led us and that much of our free time was spent with the teacher leadership and how we poured into their lives by just spending time together.
Ben is the head teacher at Joska and was our primary host. He made sure that everything was arranged/scheduled each day and that we had what we needed. At times this scheduling was a bit of a dance b/c we all were perhaps a bit too accommodating so it too a bit of effort to sort it all out (but we did and it went wonderfully). We ate most of our meals with Ben and he became a dear friend. We had many conversations about education, our lives as teachers and culture in general. WE laughed a lot and teased and became at home with one another. James, the assistant head teacher, also spent a lot of time with us in the board room and became to close to our hearts as well. James was often quiet and reflective, but his passion for life, the students, learning and language was captivating and we were continually blessed by both.
Virginia is the student that I sponsor at Joska. We met on Sunday and have the amazing opportunity to see each other every day this past week. Virginia is in grade seven (7 blue) and wants to be a plane doctor (missionary doctor). I cannot count the number of times I would catch her out of the corner of my eye watching me through out the day. She was shy and it took time for her to begin to open up to me, and although I learned many things about her life, there is so much more that I hope to learn about her life. She told me about her family and and how her mother and sister have a small vegetable business in Kosovo (area of Mathare) and that her brother is a carpenter. I also got to spend time with her younger sister who was also at Joska. When I asked if it was hard to come to Joska so young, she smiled and acknowledge that it was tough, but that it was good and that they needed to learn to be independent so that they would be successful in the future. When it was time to go, she gave me a letter that was filled with love and the presence of God... Meeting Virginia and getting to share a week with her was one of the most humbling experience of my time here--that God would allow me to be part of her life and that he would give us the gift of a week together still brings tears.
Often in the evenings, after we had finished dinner, we would go and visit the classrooms where the students were studying. We would sit and chat with them and show them the pictures from home. They would ask us questions about our schools and our lives. They would show us the work they were doing and at times ask us to help on difficult questions. I learned quickly, these kids are sharp and some of the questions were embarrassingly beyond me. When that happened, we would work through the question (they did most of the work) or they would do the question and then teach us how to do it.
In the classroom...On Wednesday, we observed a variety of classrooms and then on Thursday we got the opportunity to teach. Observing the teachers was inspiring. Although they rely heavily on repetition and memorization, they were animated and the students were engaged (taking notes and asking questions). They knew their materials well and they strove to impart knowledge to their students. One of the most striking differences we noticed was how motivated and focused the students were. They had a goal--to pass the exam and go to high school (which is 119 days from today) and they knew that they had to work hard to achieve their goal. They had ownership of not only their education, but of their futures, and it was amazing to observe and be a part of this.
Beth brought an experiment that showed how HIV can infect a community (she will have to explain that better later on better than I can here). The activity illustrated that through only 3 exposures, a 2/3's of a community can become infected. When we were talking about it later, she commented on how it hit her that probably every student had a relative or close friend who had HIV, in contrast to her students at home who had only heard about the disease. She was also able to do a number of hands on activities that related directly to the curriculum. I had the opportunity to work with each 8th grade class and teach poetry. Typically, they work with more formal composition writing so poetry was a good change of pace. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to engage them, but everything worked out well. I taught a variety of different poems (1 to each class) and after we had worked through the poem, they wrote their own and then a few from each class would share them. It was so neat to see them sit and write, working to capture their own experience and then hearing a piece of their story. As I was leaving yesterday, Eunice and James (teachers) game me copies the students had made of most of the poems written. I have not read through them, but I know that I will be blessed and amazed (and I will try to share a few on here as well in the future).
As I am going to be late for the bus as it is, it is time for me wrap up. There is so much more to share, but I will close with a quote I read in my journal on the day we traveled to Joska: "THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS A HUMAN BEING FULLY ALIVE". God's glory is all over Joska--in the students and the teachers, in the worship times and in the learning. His presence can be seen in each face and as you listen to all that is taking place. I thought often of the verse from Jeremiah--I know the plan's I have for you...for a hope and a future. Amazing things are taking place there. Joska is in each of our hearts. Joska was WOW.
A rough start...After arrriving and getting settled into our room, we had lunch and then went to meet with the teachers of Joska. This was something that we had been eagerly anticipating--to finally sit face to face and talk about what it means to teach and to begin to build a partnership. The teachers had divided up into two groups: Math/Science and English. We dropped Beth off with the M/S group and then Kerri and I went to meet with the English teachers. This was the first of my many surprises re: expectations and reality. We walked into the room and 12-15 teachers were seated in the desks. They looked tired and serious. We began with introductions and then started asking some basic questions...the tricky part was, they just stared back at us. A conversation I had with my sister came to mind and I changed directions. I went to the board and made a happy and a frustrated face on the board and then asked them each to think about and prepare to share one reason that they loved teaching and one challenge they faced. Next, we started going around the room (as I called on them by name) and shared our thoughts and the ice melted. Their love for their students and their desire for them to learn and to grow (both intellectually, individually and spiritually) shown through each response. Relationships were central to all that they did and the greatest joy was tied to the biggest frustration--when a teacher was able to reach a student who had given up and accepted failure and the joy that came when that student not only learned, but that the student was changed and gained self confidence and a stronger belief in themselves.
Our new home...We found we quickly settled into the rhythm of life at Joska. We stayed in a pair of small rooms in the teachers quarters. Each room contained two twin beds and two plastic "patio" chairs and not much extra space. This space would typically house two teachers. Each morning, we took our 5 gallon pail and empty margarine tub and walked down the outside walkway to a small "bathroom"--a 4x4 tin room with a drain in the cement floor. Typically it was in the 50's and we learned too that if we didn't allow time for water to cool, we would get scalded. And our day began with a enjoyable and refreshing "dip and pour" style shower. We adjusted too to using a latrine style toilet and remembering to stop by the room on the way to pick up toilet paper and then going to yet another space to use a the sink (going to the bathroom required 4 stops...).
We ate our meals in a conference room and typically we were joined by 3-5 Kenyans. The food was somewhat the same, but we found that overall, we enjoyed it and worried what the scale would say when we returned to the states. We quickly looked forward to the home fries and Kenyan style donuts as well as the rice, cabbage and various "stews". We also quickly embraced the tradition of taking tea--in the morning between breakfast and lunch and again late afternoon.
The people...Overall, the adults and young people at Joska were amazing. They welcomed us into their classroom and their lives. Their love for God and for the life He had called them to was clearly seen. Their were three groups of people that our time was split between: the students, the teachers and the head teachers/leadership. As I anticipated coming to Joska, I imagined that most of my time with the adults would be academic in nature and then I would spend time with the kids hanging out. It was interesting to see how God led us and that much of our free time was spent with the teacher leadership and how we poured into their lives by just spending time together.
Ben is the head teacher at Joska and was our primary host. He made sure that everything was arranged/scheduled each day and that we had what we needed. At times this scheduling was a bit of a dance b/c we all were perhaps a bit too accommodating so it too a bit of effort to sort it all out (but we did and it went wonderfully). We ate most of our meals with Ben and he became a dear friend. We had many conversations about education, our lives as teachers and culture in general. WE laughed a lot and teased and became at home with one another. James, the assistant head teacher, also spent a lot of time with us in the board room and became to close to our hearts as well. James was often quiet and reflective, but his passion for life, the students, learning and language was captivating and we were continually blessed by both.
Virginia is the student that I sponsor at Joska. We met on Sunday and have the amazing opportunity to see each other every day this past week. Virginia is in grade seven (7 blue) and wants to be a plane doctor (missionary doctor). I cannot count the number of times I would catch her out of the corner of my eye watching me through out the day. She was shy and it took time for her to begin to open up to me, and although I learned many things about her life, there is so much more that I hope to learn about her life. She told me about her family and and how her mother and sister have a small vegetable business in Kosovo (area of Mathare) and that her brother is a carpenter. I also got to spend time with her younger sister who was also at Joska. When I asked if it was hard to come to Joska so young, she smiled and acknowledge that it was tough, but that it was good and that they needed to learn to be independent so that they would be successful in the future. When it was time to go, she gave me a letter that was filled with love and the presence of God... Meeting Virginia and getting to share a week with her was one of the most humbling experience of my time here--that God would allow me to be part of her life and that he would give us the gift of a week together still brings tears.
Often in the evenings, after we had finished dinner, we would go and visit the classrooms where the students were studying. We would sit and chat with them and show them the pictures from home. They would ask us questions about our schools and our lives. They would show us the work they were doing and at times ask us to help on difficult questions. I learned quickly, these kids are sharp and some of the questions were embarrassingly beyond me. When that happened, we would work through the question (they did most of the work) or they would do the question and then teach us how to do it.
In the classroom...On Wednesday, we observed a variety of classrooms and then on Thursday we got the opportunity to teach. Observing the teachers was inspiring. Although they rely heavily on repetition and memorization, they were animated and the students were engaged (taking notes and asking questions). They knew their materials well and they strove to impart knowledge to their students. One of the most striking differences we noticed was how motivated and focused the students were. They had a goal--to pass the exam and go to high school (which is 119 days from today) and they knew that they had to work hard to achieve their goal. They had ownership of not only their education, but of their futures, and it was amazing to observe and be a part of this.
Beth brought an experiment that showed how HIV can infect a community (she will have to explain that better later on better than I can here). The activity illustrated that through only 3 exposures, a 2/3's of a community can become infected. When we were talking about it later, she commented on how it hit her that probably every student had a relative or close friend who had HIV, in contrast to her students at home who had only heard about the disease. She was also able to do a number of hands on activities that related directly to the curriculum. I had the opportunity to work with each 8th grade class and teach poetry. Typically, they work with more formal composition writing so poetry was a good change of pace. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to engage them, but everything worked out well. I taught a variety of different poems (1 to each class) and after we had worked through the poem, they wrote their own and then a few from each class would share them. It was so neat to see them sit and write, working to capture their own experience and then hearing a piece of their story. As I was leaving yesterday, Eunice and James (teachers) game me copies the students had made of most of the poems written. I have not read through them, but I know that I will be blessed and amazed (and I will try to share a few on here as well in the future).
As I am going to be late for the bus as it is, it is time for me wrap up. There is so much more to share, but I will close with a quote I read in my journal on the day we traveled to Joska: "THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS A HUMAN BEING FULLY ALIVE". God's glory is all over Joska--in the students and the teachers, in the worship times and in the learning. His presence can be seen in each face and as you listen to all that is taking place. I thought often of the verse from Jeremiah--I know the plan's I have for you...for a hope and a future. Amazing things are taking place there. Joska is in each of our hearts. Joska was WOW.
All About Joska
Joska was WOW! (The word wow has taken on a new meaning for me here--not only can I now give someone a wow, but it has become an adjective to describe something that is excellent and exciting and good). We arrived at Joska on Tuesday late morning and returned to the team and Narobi last night in the late afternoon. The time flew by, as we knew it would, and it was hard to say goodbye as we prepared to board the van. Even now, my mind and heart are full of Joska and it is hard to know where to begin...
A rough start...After arrriving and getting settled into our room, we had lunch and then went to meet with the teachers of Joska. This was something that we had been eagerly anticipating--to finally sit face to face and talk about what it means to teach and to begin to build a partnership. The teachers had divided up into two groups: Math/Science and English. We dropped Beth off with the M/S group and then Kerri and I went to meet with the English teachers. This was the first of my many surprises re: expectations and reality. We walked into the room and 12-15 teachers were seated in the desks. They looked tired and serious. We began with introductions and then started asking some basic questions...the tricky part was, they just stared back at us. A conversation I had with my sister came to mind and I changed directions. I went to the board and made a happy and a frustrated face on the board and then asked them each to think about and prepare to share one reason that they loved teaching and one challenge they faced. Next, we started going around the room (as I called on them by name) and shared our thoughts and the ice melted. Their love for their students and their desire for them to learn and to grow (both intellectually, individually and spiritually) shown through each response. Relationships were central to all that they did and the greatest joy was tied to the biggest frustration--when a teacher was able to reach a student who had given up and accepted failure and the joy that came when that student not only learned, but that the student was changed and gained self confidence and a stronger belief in themselves.
Our new home...We found we quickly settled into the rhythm of life at Joska. We stayed in a pair of small rooms in the teachers quarters. Each room contained two twin beds and two plastic "patio" chairs and not much extra space. This space would typically house two teachers. Each morning, we took our 5 gallon pail and empty margarine tub and walked down the outside walkway to a small "bathroom"--a 4x4 tin room with a drain in the cement floor. Typically it was in the 50's and we learned too that if we didn't allow time for water to cool, we would get scalded. And our day began with a enjoyable and refreshing "dip and pour" style shower. We adjusted too to using a latrine style toilet and remembering to stop by the room on the way to pick up toilet paper and then going to yet another space to use a the sink (going to the bathroom required 4 stops...).
We ate our meals in a conference room and typically we were joined by 3-5 Kenyans. The food was somewhat the same, but we found that overall, we enjoyed it and worried what the scale would say when we returned to the states. We quickly looked forward to the home fries and Kenyan style donuts as well as the rice, cabbage and various "stews". We also quickly embraced the tradition of taking tea--in the morning between breakfast and lunch and again late afternoon.
The people...Overall, the adults and young people at Joska were amazing. They welcomed us into their classroom and their lives. Their love for God and for the life He had called them to was clearly seen. Their were three groups of people that our time was split between: the students, the teachers and the head teachers/leadership. As I anticipated coming to Joska, I imagined that most of my time with the adults would be academic in nature and then I would spend time with the kids hanging out. It was interesting to see how God led us and that much of our free time was spent with the teacher leadership and how we poured into their lives by just spending time together.
Ben is the head teacher at Joska and was our primary host. He made sure that everything was arranged/scheduled each day and that we had what we needed. At times this scheduling was a bit of a dance b/c we all were perhaps a bit too accommodating so it too a bit of effort to sort it all out (but we did and it went wonderfully). We ate most of our meals with Ben and he became a dear friend. We had many conversations about education, our lives as teachers and culture in general. WE laughed a lot and teased and became at home with one another. James, the assistant head teacher, also spent a lot of time with us in the board room and became to close to our hearts as well. James was often quiet and reflective, but his passion for life, the students, learning and language was captivating and we were continually blessed by both.
Virginia is the student that I sponsor at Joska. We met on Sunday and have the amazing opportunity to see each other every day this past week. Virginia is in grade seven (7 blue) and wants to be a plane doctor (missionary doctor). I cannot count the number of times I would catch her out of the corner of my eye watching me through out the day. She was shy and it took time for her to begin to open up to me, and although I learned many things about her life, there is so much more that I hope to learn about her life. She told me about her family and and how her mother and sister have a small vegetable business in Kosovo (area of Mathare) and that her brother is a carpenter. I also got to spend time with her younger sister who was also at Joska. When I asked if it was hard to come to Joska so young, she smiled and acknowledge that it was tough, but that it was good and that they needed to learn to be independent so that they would be successful in the future. When it was time to go, she gave me a letter that was filled with love and the presence of God... Meeting Virginia and getting to share a week with her was one of the most humbling experience of my time here--that God would allow me to be part of her life and that he would give us the gift of a week together still brings tears.
Often in the evenings, after we had finished dinner, we would go and visit the classrooms where the students were studying. We would sit and chat with them and show them the pictures from home. They would ask us questions about our schools and our lives. They would show us the work they were doing and at times ask us to help on difficult questions. I learned quickly, these kids are sharp and some of the questions were embarrassingly beyond me. When that happened, we would work through the question (they did most of the work) or they would do the question and then teach us how to do it.
In the classroom...On Wednesday, we observed a variety of classrooms and then on Thursday we got the opportunity to teach. Observing the teachers was inspiring. Although they rely heavily on repetition and memorization, they were animated and the students were engaged (taking notes and asking questions). They knew their materials well and they strove to impart knowledge to their students. One of the most striking differences we noticed was how motivated and focused the students were. They had a goal--to pass the exam and go to high school (which is 119 days from today) and they knew that they had to work hard to achieve their goal. They had ownership of not only their education, but of their futures, and it was amazing to observe and be a part of this.
Beth brought an experiment that showed how HIV can infect a community (she will have to explain that better later on better than I can here). The activity illustrated that through only 3 exposures, a 2/3's of a community can become infected. When we were talking about it later, she commented on how it hit her that probably every student had a relative or close friend who had HIV, in contrast to her students at home who had only heard about the disease. She was also able to do a number of hands on activities that related directly to the curriculum. I had the opportunity to work with each 8th grade class and teach poetry. Typically, they work with more formal composition writing so poetry was a good change of pace. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to engage them, but everything worked out well. I taught a variety of different poems (1 to each class) and after we had worked through the poem, they wrote their own and then a few from each class would share them. It was so neat to see them sit and write, working to capture their own experience and then hearing a piece of their story. As I was leaving yesterday, Eunice and James (teachers) game me copies the students had made of most of the poems written. I have not read through them, but I know that I will be blessed and amazed (and I will try to share a few on here as well in the future).
As I am going to be late for the bus as it is, it is time for me wrap up. There is so much more to share, but I will close with a quote I read in my journal on the day we traveled to Joska: "THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS A HUMAN BEING FULLY ALIVE". God's glory is all over Joska--in the students and the teachers, in the worship times and in the learning. His presence can be seen in each face and as you listen to all that is taking place. I thought often of the verse from Jeremiah--I know the plan's I have for you...for a hope and a future. Amazing things are taking place there. Joska is in each of our hearts. Joska was WOW.
A rough start...After arrriving and getting settled into our room, we had lunch and then went to meet with the teachers of Joska. This was something that we had been eagerly anticipating--to finally sit face to face and talk about what it means to teach and to begin to build a partnership. The teachers had divided up into two groups: Math/Science and English. We dropped Beth off with the M/S group and then Kerri and I went to meet with the English teachers. This was the first of my many surprises re: expectations and reality. We walked into the room and 12-15 teachers were seated in the desks. They looked tired and serious. We began with introductions and then started asking some basic questions...the tricky part was, they just stared back at us. A conversation I had with my sister came to mind and I changed directions. I went to the board and made a happy and a frustrated face on the board and then asked them each to think about and prepare to share one reason that they loved teaching and one challenge they faced. Next, we started going around the room (as I called on them by name) and shared our thoughts and the ice melted. Their love for their students and their desire for them to learn and to grow (both intellectually, individually and spiritually) shown through each response. Relationships were central to all that they did and the greatest joy was tied to the biggest frustration--when a teacher was able to reach a student who had given up and accepted failure and the joy that came when that student not only learned, but that the student was changed and gained self confidence and a stronger belief in themselves.
Our new home...We found we quickly settled into the rhythm of life at Joska. We stayed in a pair of small rooms in the teachers quarters. Each room contained two twin beds and two plastic "patio" chairs and not much extra space. This space would typically house two teachers. Each morning, we took our 5 gallon pail and empty margarine tub and walked down the outside walkway to a small "bathroom"--a 4x4 tin room with a drain in the cement floor. Typically it was in the 50's and we learned too that if we didn't allow time for water to cool, we would get scalded. And our day began with a enjoyable and refreshing "dip and pour" style shower. We adjusted too to using a latrine style toilet and remembering to stop by the room on the way to pick up toilet paper and then going to yet another space to use a the sink (going to the bathroom required 4 stops...).
We ate our meals in a conference room and typically we were joined by 3-5 Kenyans. The food was somewhat the same, but we found that overall, we enjoyed it and worried what the scale would say when we returned to the states. We quickly looked forward to the home fries and Kenyan style donuts as well as the rice, cabbage and various "stews". We also quickly embraced the tradition of taking tea--in the morning between breakfast and lunch and again late afternoon.
The people...Overall, the adults and young people at Joska were amazing. They welcomed us into their classroom and their lives. Their love for God and for the life He had called them to was clearly seen. Their were three groups of people that our time was split between: the students, the teachers and the head teachers/leadership. As I anticipated coming to Joska, I imagined that most of my time with the adults would be academic in nature and then I would spend time with the kids hanging out. It was interesting to see how God led us and that much of our free time was spent with the teacher leadership and how we poured into their lives by just spending time together.
Ben is the head teacher at Joska and was our primary host. He made sure that everything was arranged/scheduled each day and that we had what we needed. At times this scheduling was a bit of a dance b/c we all were perhaps a bit too accommodating so it too a bit of effort to sort it all out (but we did and it went wonderfully). We ate most of our meals with Ben and he became a dear friend. We had many conversations about education, our lives as teachers and culture in general. WE laughed a lot and teased and became at home with one another. James, the assistant head teacher, also spent a lot of time with us in the board room and became to close to our hearts as well. James was often quiet and reflective, but his passion for life, the students, learning and language was captivating and we were continually blessed by both.
Virginia is the student that I sponsor at Joska. We met on Sunday and have the amazing opportunity to see each other every day this past week. Virginia is in grade seven (7 blue) and wants to be a plane doctor (missionary doctor). I cannot count the number of times I would catch her out of the corner of my eye watching me through out the day. She was shy and it took time for her to begin to open up to me, and although I learned many things about her life, there is so much more that I hope to learn about her life. She told me about her family and and how her mother and sister have a small vegetable business in Kosovo (area of Mathare) and that her brother is a carpenter. I also got to spend time with her younger sister who was also at Joska. When I asked if it was hard to come to Joska so young, she smiled and acknowledge that it was tough, but that it was good and that they needed to learn to be independent so that they would be successful in the future. When it was time to go, she gave me a letter that was filled with love and the presence of God... Meeting Virginia and getting to share a week with her was one of the most humbling experience of my time here--that God would allow me to be part of her life and that he would give us the gift of a week together still brings tears.
Often in the evenings, after we had finished dinner, we would go and visit the classrooms where the students were studying. We would sit and chat with them and show them the pictures from home. They would ask us questions about our schools and our lives. They would show us the work they were doing and at times ask us to help on difficult questions. I learned quickly, these kids are sharp and some of the questions were embarrassingly beyond me. When that happened, we would work through the question (they did most of the work) or they would do the question and then teach us how to do it.
In the classroom...On Wednesday, we observed a variety of classrooms and then on Thursday we got the opportunity to teach. Observing the teachers was inspiring. Although they rely heavily on repetition and memorization, they were animated and the students were engaged (taking notes and asking questions). They knew their materials well and they strove to impart knowledge to their students. One of the most striking differences we noticed was how motivated and focused the students were. They had a goal--to pass the exam and go to high school (which is 119 days from today) and they knew that they had to work hard to achieve their goal. They had ownership of not only their education, but of their futures, and it was amazing to observe and be a part of this.
Beth brought an experiment that showed how HIV can infect a community (she will have to explain that better later on better than I can here). The activity illustrated that through only 3 exposures, a 2/3's of a community can become infected. When we were talking about it later, she commented on how it hit her that probably every student had a relative or close friend who had HIV, in contrast to her students at home who had only heard about the disease. She was also able to do a number of hands on activities that related directly to the curriculum. I had the opportunity to work with each 8th grade class and teach poetry. Typically, they work with more formal composition writing so poetry was a good change of pace. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to engage them, but everything worked out well. I taught a variety of different poems (1 to each class) and after we had worked through the poem, they wrote their own and then a few from each class would share them. It was so neat to see them sit and write, working to capture their own experience and then hearing a piece of their story. As I was leaving yesterday, Eunice and James (teachers) game me copies the students had made of most of the poems written. I have not read through them, but I know that I will be blessed and amazed (and I will try to share a few on here as well in the future).
As I am going to be late for the bus as it is, it is time for me wrap up. There is so much more to share, but I will close with a quote I read in my journal on the day we traveled to Joska: "THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS A HUMAN BEING FULLY ALIVE". God's glory is all over Joska--in the students and the teachers, in the worship times and in the learning. His presence can be seen in each face and as you listen to all that is taking place. I thought often of the verse from Jeremiah--I know the plan's I have for you...for a hope and a future. Amazing things are taking place there. Joska is in each of our hearts. Joska was WOW.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Quick Update: Three Little Pigs, and Joska Teachers Return!
The 3 Little Pigs went on tour today with 3 performances in two different Area 2 schools. Click below for the performance....
I just found the upload from one of our team members with Rachel doing the Bible Study that ties in with the 3 Little Pigs Skit. I love this as she talks about the kids building their lives on a strong foundation of Jesus. (Rachel) "You are building your lives on..." (Kids) "JESUS!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHzGldsBYuo&feature=relmfu
Our teachers from Joska are back with us! We didn't realize they are trail blazers as very, very few people have ever gone out to Joska for an extended stay. Their stories were awesome, and they will be posting first thing in the morning here in Kenya (midnight or later back in the States).
Mungu Bariki (God Bless),
The 2011 Kenya Team
Thursday, July 7, 2011
So, CrossWay Walks Into a Bar... and Rufus is saved!
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| One of these things is not like the other.... |
Best Teacher Print Out on Wall Award goes to the Kenyan teacher who posted an English lesson on her youngsters wall that reads 'The fat man has an ass' We Americans just couldn't stop chuckling at this sign. Of course, the teacher is talking about a donkey but it is still just a hilarious sentence.
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Bondeni School with mostly 3rd to 5th grades. |
This might be the most creative building in the valley for maximizing use of land space at a cost efficient price. The internal structure is welded steel on a concrete slab with the walls being the 'tin' There are at least 16 classrooms + 2 offices in this building. The primary teachers at this school over the course of the week have been Jim (practically on faculty now and ready to teach the finer points of Kenyan soil), Martha, and Melissa. Each are in this picture heading to 'work' the other day along with Rachel who was teaching at another Bondeni school. They are running electricity into this building in the weeks following our departure.
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"Conference Room" along with the 'Levitation Ladies" (see yesterday's post) meeting with community CHE members today. |
CHE committee members are volunteers from the community that spread the CHE message, including the message of Christ. Shauna and Lois spoke with 20 of these CHE members today about how to identify disabilities and what to do once they find one. Another awesome meeting! Now, what ISN'T obvious about this room is that....
#1 it is in the middle of one of the toughest neighborhoods in Area 2
#2 the ceilings are 20 feet high and it will hold 100 people (cramped though it may be)
#3 the CHE group raises money to fund its operations by bringing in a large screen TV into this room and selling tickets for 20 shillings (about 25cents) to come in and watch soccer games etc. Pretty creative....
Best Long Term Impact of Crossway in the Valley Sighting goes to Brian noticing in a home visit today a scar on a little girls head. He asked the social worker to ask the mother about it and she said it was consistently bleeding but she got it all fixed at a clinic that came to the area. A few more questions led to the realization that this little girl went for treatment to the clinic Crossway setup on one of our previous trips to Kenya.
Best Short Term Impact of Crossway in the Valley Sighting goes to Joanne and Rachel (in two completely separate instances), both of whom had kids in the slum call out their names as they were walking by (not near the school) with the kids wanting 'Teacher Joanne' and 'Teacher Rachel' to meet their moms. Both Mothers were so grateful and these were special moments for our two team members.
And since I just mentioned Joanne, her "Weapon Of Choice for the Day" were drumsticks (yes, I'm serious) which she used as a part of a musical part of her lesson. She did report, however, that today she taught at a school in Kosovo (another part of the valley) and the kids were better behaved. In other words, instead of whacking each other completely upside the head with these drumsticks, the kids just poked each other now and again. We all love Joanne but we are sure she has a secret cache somewhere....
The 'You Wouldn't Believe It if It Happened in a Movie' Award goes to Juan who with the help of the Holy Spirit brought a man to Christ in a bar with 8 people drinking essentially moonshine. This was such an awesome moment to witness. We were in a separate shanty doing the 'bring the light' program where a little sky light is put in the roof. It makes a huge difference in these dark homes, and we witness to community members while this is going on.
Well, while we were witnessing to one woman, this other lady barged into her home and insisted we come to her place next. We agreed to do so not realizing that 'her place' around the corner was a bar. Obviously, Missions of Hope isn't in the business of putting skylights in bars or promoting such businesses at all. But our social worker felt God was calling us into this place for a reason so we introduced ourselves and sat down. There were 8 people in the 'bar' which was essentially a large table. The alcohol was being served in 'cups' that were literally soup cans (that kind of shape and material).
Juan did such an awesome job and at the end of the EvangiCube asked if anyone was prepared to accept Christ. And to pretty much everyone's surprise, one man said he wanted to accept Christ right then and there! So, he switched seats with the person who had been sitting next to Juan....and as everyone else drank their alcohol, Juan led him through the prayer of salvation where this man, Rufus, confessed his sins in this bar and verbally proclaimed Jesus was his Savior. I mean I wanted to stand up and cheer. It was just awesome.
We then asked if we could pray for him and if he had any specific prayers. Only then did he say he wanted to talk to us in private. As we were getting up to leave the other bar patrons said 'Hey, you just paid for your drink, stay and drink it!' And Rufus said, "No, I don't want it. I'm done with it" Praise God! We then left the bar (without putting the skylight in) and prayed with Rufus. Honored to be a part of God's fingerprint as His fingerprint was certainly all over this event.
Second favorite moment of the day came in a home visit while working with John M. Our hostess, Rose, had 4 or 5 kids and they were young. The 3 year old girl was such a cutie with huge eyes, big smile, and pig tails in a little white dress. As we did our health training and witnessing, this little one decided she really liked John. She backed into him between his legs, gently took one arm and wrapped it around her and then did the same with the other. She then proceeded to play with his fingers periodically looking up at him with a huge smile and not looking back down until he would smile at her. I told him he had become her John Doll. Tis hard to explain but it was just one of those sweet, quiet moments that was nice to witness.
Other events reported from the day:
Martha noticing that kids can come in very early to the school just to talk and unload about things that happened the previous night. This allows them to unburden their minds and be ready for learning.
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Skit at Area 2 school. Jon F as Goldilocks? Yup. (and Brian as baby bear to boot)
Kym Scott's powerful testimony of what it meant to her to see 20 black men from a community coming together to help children....and in this case disabled children.
Jon F not skipping a beat as he was witnessing to a woman when a baby started crying and momma did what momma's do the world around to quiet their babies.
Rachel learning in the CHE training meeting that being small is not a disability....she's just different.
Mike reported that he happily did nothing all morning. Way to go Mike!
Dinner at Pastor Oliver and Edna's home. Oliver is in Germany for a 4 year assignment and Edna is the leader of Christian education for the entire Missions of Hope Organization. She was such a gracious hostess.
Finally, it was a pleasure to drop by Jim's 5th grade class at Bondeni (the 3 story building). He was teaching them using shapes where they would take this 7 piece set of shapes and form different patterns / forms with them. At the end of his lesson he started reading Psalm 139:14 as a tie in to making / shaping / forming:
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
And as he started to read it, the entire class recited it back to him as he was reading. Don't think that would happen in the States but it goes to show the Christian education these students are receiving. They have a memory verse each week in the lower grades and out at Joska that increases to 1 verse a day. They are building God's Word and truth into their everyday lives to call upon when needed.
Please continue to pray for the health of the team. While no one missed today's work, there are a lot of queezy stomachs on the team right now.
God Bless,
The 2011 Kenya Team
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hope for Disabilities & The Rock of Jesus Christ!
Joanne's Weapon of Choice for the Day: Rubber Bands (if you don't understand this, read yesterday's blog on the winner of the 'American With Good Intentions...but Not So Much' Award).
The 'So Happy We Are Going to Levitate Home From Kenya' Award is being shared by Lois and Shauna. Anyone who has been around CrossWay for more than a few visits knows this church has a heart for those living with disabilities. Lois and Shauna have a call on their hearts from Christ for the disabled and they are having a PROFOUND impact with the Missions of Hope staff in #1 understanding the disabled (something the staff is thirsting to know and were moved to tears today with joy in finally getting expert advice on this topic) and ultimately #2 this will lead to tremendously different actions and treatment for the disabled.
In Kenya, having a disability is akin to having a big SCARLET A stamped on you and your family. Unfortunately, shame is the word most used to describe disability as many here believe that those who have disabilities are cursed or being punished for something they or their family have done. There are horror stories of kids being killed due to their disability or being tied up or chained so they cannot leave a room and embarrass their family. We have heard stories of abuse by criminals who force the physically disabled to beg for money (as some do feel sorry for them) and then stealing that money at the end of the day leaving the disabled destitute, used, and depressed.
There is no 'special education' in Kenyan schools. The only place we have been told about for the disabled is more of a babysitting service than any kind of education service. Lois and Shawna are floating around here with satisfied smiles on their faces because they truly feel that for the first time in Kenya there will be an organization (Missions of Hope) who cares for the disabled and educates them with a focus on 'Functional Life Skills' (something the staff kept repeating over and over almost with glee) versus attempting to educate them to pass the 8th Grade test to get into high school (the goal for every other student).
The key is learning how to evaluate the abilities of those with disabilities and creating goals around those abilities (similar to an IEP in the United States). Those who are mentally fine will still focus on academic aptitude while those who are clearly challenged mentally will focus on functional life skills. Lois and Shawna started the day at the main office evaluating 16 kids the social workers brought in. This allowed them to see what the social workers are working with, show the social workers what to look for and how to create plans for the future for different kinds of disabilities. They then worked with the Community Health workers as well.
This second meeting happened in what they referred to as 'a conference room in the middle of the slum with CHE trainers who were mostly 25 year old men' Something about the vision of this low lit room made of steel sheets in the middle of the slum with 10 black men and 2 white ladies is awesome....why? Because this is the meeting where our ladies moved these men to tears. These men want so much to help these people in their community...they just didn't know how until today. They were moved to tears of thanks and joy! They asked so many questions and left with their first answers in how to move forward and empower disabled members of their community.
This little seed planted today will continue to be watered the rest of this week and I'm sure there will be follow up after our team has left Kenya. Everything I have seen about this organization tells me they will engage this problem with a fervor and in a relatively short amount of time fruit will result.
In other news....
The THREE LITTLE PIGS and the BIG BAD WOLF visited the Area 2 school. Now this was fun with Rachel (narrator), Sunny, Brian, Melissa (the piggies) and Andrew (the big bad wolf) acting out this story in 2 'packed house, standing room only' performances during the day. We tried to upload the video tonight but it is just too big and the internet connection too slow. The long and the short of it....the kids absolutely LOVED this performance. They were just laughing and laughing and cheering throughout the performance. My favorite part was at the end after Andrew went howling off the stage after being burned in the boiling water and the piggies danced with glee....Rachel came back on the stage and read Mathew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Rachel said "You are building your life on a strong foundation, the rock of Jesus Christ! Who are you building your foundation on? (Kids all yell: "JESUS!") It's a STRONG foundation....what kind of foundation? (Kids YELL "A STRONG foundation!"). Awesome moment. Worth the whole trip for me.
For the rest of the afternoon as Andrew walked around the school he would have kids howling at him, huffing and puffing etc. Hilarious. We are considering taking this to the big time with shows in other areas of the Valley later in the week....and since we will be internationally recognized, perhaps converting this classic into a replacement for 'Cats' called 'Ham' or something like that.
You can probably tell we have no fun on this team. None. It is all serious work here.....Ha!
Fortunately there were no breastfeeding conversions for Christ today...or at least none reported (see yesterday's first paragraph if you don't know what that means). But in all seriousness, 8 people came to Christ today during our home visits in the community. What I love about Missions of Hope is that they have planted churches in the community and partnered with other churches right in the slum. There is no 'notch in the belt' mentality with this organization. They are simply deeply committed to Christ and acting as his feet and hands in this impoverished community today. In other words, there is follow up with these individuals. Their names and phone numbers are taken (unbelievably, a majority of them have cell phones....in Kenya it is cheap as the one doing the calling is the one charged so they can receive calls nearly for free and the monthly fee is nominal). Pastors and volunteers from the church in their area follow up with them. Social workers and CHE trainers from Missions of Hope continue to follow up with them.
Sometimes (as with many Americans) it takes a while for full commitment to come about. But the seeds are constantly being planted, watered, and tended. Planted, watered, and tended. We all have been so very impressed with the Missions of Hope Staff. They are young, talented, and incredibly committed to the mission of this organization.
This includes the teachers who are so open to new ideas and eager to learn. Rachel taught an impromptu music class today and the teacher asked her to write everything down after class so he could continue to implement not only the songs taught but also the methods used. The kids learned a song that involved a 'round' where one group started singing and then another group sang the same song a verse later. They had never done this (including the teachers!) and they loved it. Brian and Sunny engaged the kids over at the Kosovo site with dancing and singing. Melissa and Jim taught classes at the Bondeni site while Nancy and Joanne, the teacher with weapons, :) taught at the primary Area 2 school. Even Andrew got into the act as Rachel roped him in to a pre-K class where he acted as a hat salesman and monkey (Story: Caps for Sale). Goofy, yes, but the kids (and the teacher) loved it.
I know Martha was teaching all day as well.... as were the teachers out at Joska, though I don't have a specific report from them (apologies if I left anyone out!).
Our team asks for prayers for health for the entire team. Mark and Gail had stomach bugs this morning and stayed at the Grace House today. Fortunately they felt fine by the afternoon and ate 'normal' dinners with us this evening. Other team members were not feeling so great at different parts of the day. We have important work yet to do and ask for your prayers.
God Bless,
The 2011 Kenya Team
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Laughs, Learning, and Lending
Quote of the day from Pastor Ron after telling the team a woman accepted Christ after his Evangicube presentation and promptly pulled out her breast and started breastfeeding her baby "Well, I said God would put us in some interesting situations and we would have to go with the flow. I'm looking forward to doing it again!" You can imagine the laughter and razzing in the room after that one. (note: people who were with him in the home noted that he couldn't stop looking at the floor and even the top of his head was red....LOL)
And the 'American With Good Intentions...but Not So Much' Award goes to Joanne who taught a group of 2nd graders today. I need to amend what I wrote yesterday about the kids being amazingly studious. They are when the teacher is teaching and certainly were when we were first introduced to them. But Joanne was relaying to the team that the kids are really rough with each other if there is any down time (which isn't overly surprising given the environment they have grown up in). Then she proceeded to tell us about how she had the kids do an activity with scissors. Well, none of these 2nd graders had ever used scissors before! So, she taught them how to use scissors and proceeded with her lesson. To which a team member comment 'Hey way to go Joanne....the kids are beating each other up and you give them sharp objects to play with!' Another good laugh for all.
Day 5 saw Beth, Sarah, and Kerri head up to Joska for the rest of the week to work with the 6th-8th graders that we met on Sunday. They reported they arrived safely and spent the afternoon meeting with teachers and getting ready to teach the rest of the week.
The morning began with a surprise as kids welcomed the teachers with song and dance saying "I want to be your friend." Their faces lit up with excitement as they saw us draw near. A few people joined them in the dance: first Rachel, then Lois, then Melissa. It was such a joyful welcome.
Rachel taught a second grade class in village two today (she thanks you for the prayers by the way). The students first sang a song on the days of the week. Then, "teacher Rachel" taught the class with her constant enthusiasm (despite the fact that she and the other teachers stayed up late working on lesson plans!). First, Rachel introduced the letter "B" by teaching the kids songs. She taught the kids about the "at" word family with several projects and songs as well. She also educated them on how to use percussion instruments in those songs. Then, Rachel and Sunny read The Cat in the Hat to the children. Later, Rachel used cubes (that connect like legos) to educate the children on addition and subtraction. The children had not used cubes like that before, so it was so exciting for them! The class was such a blessing to be a part of, and Rachel will continue to teach other kids this week.
We had a full day of Teaching in Area 2!
The morning began with a surprise as kids welcomed the teachers with song and dance saying "I want to be your friend." Their faces lit up with excitement as they saw us draw near. A few people joined them in the dance: first Rachel, then Lois, then Melissa. It was such a joyful welcome.
Rachel taught a second grade class in village two today (she thanks you for the prayers by the way). The students first sang a song on the days of the week. Then, "teacher Rachel" taught the class with her constant enthusiasm (despite the fact that she and the other teachers stayed up late working on lesson plans!). First, Rachel introduced the letter "B" by teaching the kids songs. She taught the kids about the "at" word family with several projects and songs as well. She also educated them on how to use percussion instruments in those songs. Then, Rachel and Sunny read The Cat in the Hat to the children. Later, Rachel used cubes (that connect like legos) to educate the children on addition and subtraction. The children had not used cubes like that before, so it was so exciting for them! The class was such a blessing to be a part of, and Rachel will continue to teach other kids this week.
Jim got a laugh tonight after reporting that he had a prepared an English lesson, showed up at the 5th grade class and the teacher wanted him to lead the class in a study of Kenya soil types. He deftly sidestepped that class and was able to teach his prepared lessons a number of times today. Those who know Jim may be shocked at this news....he went to work in a button down shirt AND a tie today. Teachers reported that the sleeves were buttoned and the tie tight at the beginning of the day. By mid morning the sleeves were a bit rolled up and the tie was a little looser. After lunch, the sleeves were up to the elbow with the tie noticeably loose and by the end of the day the tie was half off with half the shirt untucked.
Sunny and Martha gave a presentation to the K-2nd graders (nearly 200 strong) on the story 'Stone Soup' which was a big hit with the kids. They tied in the lesson with the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with cleverly made fish and loaves that multiplied.....cool visual with an awestruck audience.
Meanwhile, Mark 'the Magician' Green wowed the kids with his science demonstration where he literally puts a skewer through a blown up balloon without popping it. Who knew our elders were soooooo talented? Perhaps we can get him to do that during church service someday. His lesson tie in with the kids was 'With God, nothing is impossible'...tis a lesson they won't soon forget.
About half the team spent the day with the Business Development team and left completely impressed with the vision of this program as well as its implementation. The key principle to remember as you read this part of the blog is the Missions of Hope mission statement:
"We share Christ's love in seeking to restore hope to individuals in the disadvantaged communities through spiritual, social, physical, and economic development."
We have talked quite a bit in these notes about the education aspect of the organization and how that will pay huge dividends in these kids lives and their family's lives 10-20 years down the road. But the organization focuses on the 'here and now' as well through their community health education AND their business development services.
The business development group is simply amazing. In one part of this division, they take recommendations from social workers and CHE trainers concerning the most desperate families in the valley. These families are often single mother homes or homes led by individuals who have AIDS. The skills development program started just in the past couple of years. One focuses on jewelry making (what they call 'bead' work) and knitting. 74 individuals have graduated through this 6 month training program and are now earning incomes sufficient to cover expenses. All of the jewelry the team bought the past few days was made by these individuals.
In addition, 65 individuals have graduated from the Sewing course with 32 more in classes now. Orders for dresses etc are made while missionaries like us are here but the primary work these individuals focus on are repairs for community members as well as making uniforms for the 5700+ kids in Missions of Hope schools. Brilliant! The organization farms out their orders to people they have trained inside the community they are serving!
There are growing waiting lists to go through these programs, but what I found most interesting is that they focus on the most desperate cases. It is working and these families are experiencing economic hope in the here and now.
But the most amazing part of the business development division is the microfinance process they have set up. Started in 2005, this program makes small loans to small business owners in the community. Through the end of 2010 they had loaned out 57,000,000 shillings (around $675,000) and about half of that volume happened in just the last year. First loans range in size from $60 up to $250. Once the business owner pays that back (usually in 3 months to 6 months) then their 2nd, 3rd, 4th loans etc can be larger. Last year they loaned out 30,000,000 shillings and every shilling was paid back. In the history of the program only 177,000 shillings have NOT been paid back (and that was solely due to some political strife and violence that happened in 2008). That means this organization has a default rate of 0.31% Perhaps some of our banks could learn a few lessons from them.
The key is that to get a loan the business owner has to join a business group (10 to 30 other business owners), go through and 8 week training program through Missions of Hope, and a 2 Day intensive workshop at the end which reviews what they have learned in the 8 weeks. The program focuses on integrity, Christian principles, business planning, marketing, book keeping, saving, etc. Here is the key (and why every loan is basically repaid)....when a member of the group gets a loan, the ENTIRE group is on the hook for the loan if it is not repaid. Group members draft their own constitution on the rules for their group (so they have ownership of the group), elect leaders including a treasurer, and must have weekly group meetings where the Missions of Hope loan officer continues to train and collects the weekly savings + loan repayments (actually, the treasurer goes to the bank and makes the deposit for the group and the deposit receipt is given to the loan officer at the meeting....this avoids the loan officer having to walk through the slum with a lot of cash). The office then checks the receipt with the deposits and balances accounts.
Group members are accountable to one another. In fact YOU CANNOT GET A LOAN unless the GROUP approves the loan! That is only fair if the group is on the hook for the loan if someone fails to pay. It is the ultimate in peer pressure and it works! For example, if a business owner show a lack of integrity, starts drinking, falls away from Christian principles, fails to show up for weekly meetings etc then the group will not approve a loan for that business. This entire program is not only improving the economic outlook for the community but provides a powerful incentive to live a life of integrity.
This program had a slow start but is now accelerating quickly. The organization is very close to having enough capital to be able to become a regional bank (which has some benefits). In addition, they are just about to GO LIVE with a website which will allow anyone in our congregation to sponsor business owners and fund their loans. I know for some sponsoring a child for a year of education has stretched some budgets but with this program you can give as little as $20 to partially fund a loan. When that loan is repaid, you will be notified at the 25%, 50%, 75% and fully repaid levels. The money will then stay with Missions of Hope and be loaned out to other businesses. So, it is a donation (and yes, it is tax deductible). More details later but today we saw the website, saw the stories of the business people who are requesting loans etc. All I can say is this online donation program is going to be a game changer and inject millions of dollars into this community that never would have otherwise been there.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers....and if you have a moment, leave us a comment.
God Bless,
The 2011 Kenya Team
Monday, July 4, 2011
A Day at Village Two and Maria & Sophia's Stories
Day 4...our first full day in the field.
It will be a bit more difficult as the week progresses to update all that is going on as we are now splitting into different groups.
This morning the teachers arose early leaving Grace House at 630am to be at the Area 2 School before they started the day. It was well worth the early morning as the kids (grades k-2 at this school) were just precious. They start in their classrooms and were very eager to meet us. It is odd walking into these classrooms with these little ones and seeing that the teacher is in COMPLETE and TOTAL control of the classroom. Whatever teacher says, these kids do.
They all assembled outside, sang the Kenyan national song (in both Swahili and in English), sang songs about Jesus, and then listened to a Bible lesson. The teacher read from the Bible and then explained what she had just read to make sure the kids fully understood (speaking in both English and Swahili as not all the kids know how to speak English fluently). Then it was back to their classrooms to start the day.
Our team felt a little bad for the kindergarteners as they were combined with another class to free up a room where the Crossway team was hosted throughout the day. What that meant is that 56 little bodies were crammed into 1 little room....and Rachel Scott gets to teach that room tomorrow how to read. LOL! She is a music teacher by trade but if anyone can pull it off, we are sure Rachel can! She said tonight that Ron had asked us to be open to God's calling but she wasn't quite expecting this. Please pray for her ;)
As the teachers started working with their classes in the morning, many other team members were trained in using 'cubes' to teach community members about AIDS, Malaria, and Jesus. We also learned how to purify water using a Recyclable PETE #1 bottle. We then went out in the community with CHE trainers and social workers and most visited 3-4 homes.
The list of stories and experiences are too numerous to list here, but here are a few discussed tonight:
1. God challenging us to present his message using the evangicube. The more we did it, the more comfortable we became.
2. The utter respect the social workers and CHE trainers have in the community. People WANT them to come into their homes and speak with them.
3. Witnessing the love of Christ poured out in one on one interactions with community members (see first blog post about Mary Kamau's vision of focusing on relationships, not numbers). We saw that in real time today and it is so powerful what is going on. It is also so powerful how we end each meeting praying for specific things the host or hostess has asked us to pray for.
4. One man asking very direct and sincere questions about AIDS
5. 2 businessmen who make shoes in their home to make money and send it 'up country' asking the social worker to write down all the team members names so THEY could pray for US. So touching...
6. A Muslim woman who just lost her baby a few weeks ago telling us that she will go to church. The social worker said he has worked with this woman many, many times and today was the first time she has ever said 'yes' to attending church
7. A woman accepting Christ today for the first time when a team member went through the Evangicube with her....and then wanting the team to present Christ to her brother.
8 And a story about the disabled that touched the entire team:
God is so powerfully at work through this organization and in this community. Something VERY interesting that we talked about tonight. When we walked through AREA 1 on Saturday, I think many of us were surprised at how 'normal' it seemed. You couldn't feel the desperation as many of us expected.
That changed today. AREA 2 is VERY different. It has a totally different feel to it particularly one area around the 3rd-5th grade school where alcohol brewing dominates and witchcraft is practiced. But even in other parts of Area 2, there was defintely an uncomfortable, harsh feeling boiling under the surface.
We had dinner tonight at Mary and Wallace Kamau's home (founders of Missions of Hope) and Wallace talked about when they opened Joska there were some kids who had spiritual moments where they would shake uncontrollably. They would have to pray over the kids and cast out demons that were tormenting them. When he researched where these kids lived, almost all of them came from this area where witchcraft is practice.
Someone pointed out as well that Missions of Hope has been in AREA 1 for ELEVEN YEARS while they have only been in AREA 2 for 2 1/2 years. The kids in Area 1 know that there is a way out. The community as a whole knows there is hope and all I can say is the contrast between the two areas is significant. Wallace and Mary said, "We are confident that God will do the same thing in Area 2."
Those who had been to the Area 2 school before were shocked at how it has grown. They have added 3 classrooms since last year as well as a kitchen since the first mission trip in 2009. Missions of Hope has purchased what looks like a large block of land and will be building a 5 story permanent structure just below where the Area 2 school now stands.
Tomorrow we bid farewell to the junior high teachers who will be leaving us and working out at Joska from Tuesday until Friday. The elementary school teachers are heading back to Area 2 to teach classes and show different techniques for teaching (the school teachers here are hungry for new ideas and open to learning new things). In addition, a team will be spending the day with the microfinance part of the organization.
Please continue to pray for our team and for Missions of Hope as well as for Mary and Wallace. This note is long and it is getting late....but know that we had a really amazing dinner at their home, heard about how they came to Christ, how they came together, and how they have built this organization. It is a story with God stamped all over it, they give him all the credit, and I hope someday millions will be impacted for Christ due to their work.
The Kenya 2011 Team
It will be a bit more difficult as the week progresses to update all that is going on as we are now splitting into different groups.
This morning the teachers arose early leaving Grace House at 630am to be at the Area 2 School before they started the day. It was well worth the early morning as the kids (grades k-2 at this school) were just precious. They start in their classrooms and were very eager to meet us. It is odd walking into these classrooms with these little ones and seeing that the teacher is in COMPLETE and TOTAL control of the classroom. Whatever teacher says, these kids do.
They all assembled outside, sang the Kenyan national song (in both Swahili and in English), sang songs about Jesus, and then listened to a Bible lesson. The teacher read from the Bible and then explained what she had just read to make sure the kids fully understood (speaking in both English and Swahili as not all the kids know how to speak English fluently). Then it was back to their classrooms to start the day.
Our team felt a little bad for the kindergarteners as they were combined with another class to free up a room where the Crossway team was hosted throughout the day. What that meant is that 56 little bodies were crammed into 1 little room....and Rachel Scott gets to teach that room tomorrow how to read. LOL! She is a music teacher by trade but if anyone can pull it off, we are sure Rachel can! She said tonight that Ron had asked us to be open to God's calling but she wasn't quite expecting this. Please pray for her ;)
As the teachers started working with their classes in the morning, many other team members were trained in using 'cubes' to teach community members about AIDS, Malaria, and Jesus. We also learned how to purify water using a Recyclable PETE #1 bottle. We then went out in the community with CHE trainers and social workers and most visited 3-4 homes.
The list of stories and experiences are too numerous to list here, but here are a few discussed tonight:
1. God challenging us to present his message using the evangicube. The more we did it, the more comfortable we became.
2. The utter respect the social workers and CHE trainers have in the community. People WANT them to come into their homes and speak with them.
3. Witnessing the love of Christ poured out in one on one interactions with community members (see first blog post about Mary Kamau's vision of focusing on relationships, not numbers). We saw that in real time today and it is so powerful what is going on. It is also so powerful how we end each meeting praying for specific things the host or hostess has asked us to pray for.
4. One man asking very direct and sincere questions about AIDS
5. 2 businessmen who make shoes in their home to make money and send it 'up country' asking the social worker to write down all the team members names so THEY could pray for US. So touching...
6. A Muslim woman who just lost her baby a few weeks ago telling us that she will go to church. The social worker said he has worked with this woman many, many times and today was the first time she has ever said 'yes' to attending church
7. A woman accepting Christ today for the first time when a team member went through the Evangicube with her....and then wanting the team to present Christ to her brother.
8 And a story about the disabled that touched the entire team:
After the morning ceremony, Shawna (myself), Lois, Sunny, Steven and Kym went into village two and Bondeni to make a few home visits with Isabella, a CHE social worker. The families we were visiting all had a child with a disability. As we trudged through garbage, walked wobbly, plank bridges spanning a flowing, green watered, garbage river, squeezed between tin shanties and ducked under drying clothes we found the home of Maria.
Maria is currently 13 years old and has severe disabilities. Her joints are stiff with her hands turned in and her ankles point straight. She can not talk nor feed herself. She must be lifted and carried and force fed. Often when feeding her, her caretakers use three fingers under her chin to force it down her throat. This often chokes her. While we were there, Maria had multiple minor seizures. She responded to her cheek being stroked and her name, but that response was just an eye movement.
If this doesn't sound bad enough, remember how we got to her "house". I write house in quotations because this was a tin shanty consisting of space equivalent to 4 adult bodies standing by 2 adult bodies standing with room for a tiny 2 foot square table in the middle. In addition to Maria two smaller children lived there.
Continuing her story, Maria's parents died when she was 2 from HIV. Her grandma was taking care of her but at age 5, Maria had malaria. She was misdiagnosed and treated with a strong medication administered by her uncle into her spine. A large scar and all these disabilities were the result. After a few years caring for her grand daughter, Maria's grandmother decided that she didn't want to deal with her any more and consulted Maria's aunt to "burry this body". Thank the Lord Maria's aunt wouldn't let this happen. I could not imagine suffering the way Maria has and then being buried alive.
I can not count the number of times we were choked up by hearing these stories. What tops it all off though, is the faith of Maria's aunt and Isabella. Isabella is incredible and dedicates her life to the Mathare Valley and families of children with disabilities. She believes that children with disabilities do not have disabled souls. Isabella feels that Maria has a special relationship with the Lord. Isabella thinks every time someone shows Maria love, Maria reports back to God because the Bible says what you do for the least of them you do for me. What powerful and hopeful thinking! I cannot imagine a more challenging life.
From there we we went to another home in Bondeni. The epicenter of illegal alcohol brewing in the city. The shift as we walked from one slum area into the next was huge. Drunk bodies passed out in various uncomfortable positions dotted the ground. The stench of alcohol mixed with the garbage was overpowering, yet the children were still smiling running and eagerly greeting us with a chorus of, "Hi, how are you?" Amazing.
When we reached Sophia's house it was comparably larger than Maria's but we had to jump over a one foot garbage stream to get to it. Sophia was playing outside in the garbage. She is 6 years old and appears to have Autism. Sophia is incredibly loved by her grandmother who calls her, her last born. Sophia has been able to get special services which help but are becoming too costly for her grandma. While this story is somewhat more positive the most amazing thing was how happy Sophia's grandmother was to meet us. She wanted to hear about us and tell us how much God will bless us. The happiness the team had to be able to tell this incredible, God fearing woman, how awesome she was, really pulled on our heart strings. The smile she had showed how much she meant it! What amazing things God can do! We are all looking forward to helping Isabella advocate for these special children. Hopefully with time we can help illuminate the stigma that is bestowed upon these families and show that God does love them and didn't make a mistake in creating them! He made them perfect!
God is so powerfully at work through this organization and in this community. Something VERY interesting that we talked about tonight. When we walked through AREA 1 on Saturday, I think many of us were surprised at how 'normal' it seemed. You couldn't feel the desperation as many of us expected.
That changed today. AREA 2 is VERY different. It has a totally different feel to it particularly one area around the 3rd-5th grade school where alcohol brewing dominates and witchcraft is practiced. But even in other parts of Area 2, there was defintely an uncomfortable, harsh feeling boiling under the surface.
We had dinner tonight at Mary and Wallace Kamau's home (founders of Missions of Hope) and Wallace talked about when they opened Joska there were some kids who had spiritual moments where they would shake uncontrollably. They would have to pray over the kids and cast out demons that were tormenting them. When he researched where these kids lived, almost all of them came from this area where witchcraft is practice.
Someone pointed out as well that Missions of Hope has been in AREA 1 for ELEVEN YEARS while they have only been in AREA 2 for 2 1/2 years. The kids in Area 1 know that there is a way out. The community as a whole knows there is hope and all I can say is the contrast between the two areas is significant. Wallace and Mary said, "We are confident that God will do the same thing in Area 2."
Those who had been to the Area 2 school before were shocked at how it has grown. They have added 3 classrooms since last year as well as a kitchen since the first mission trip in 2009. Missions of Hope has purchased what looks like a large block of land and will be building a 5 story permanent structure just below where the Area 2 school now stands.
Tomorrow we bid farewell to the junior high teachers who will be leaving us and working out at Joska from Tuesday until Friday. The elementary school teachers are heading back to Area 2 to teach classes and show different techniques for teaching (the school teachers here are hungry for new ideas and open to learning new things). In addition, a team will be spending the day with the microfinance part of the organization.
Please continue to pray for our team and for Missions of Hope as well as for Mary and Wallace. This note is long and it is getting late....but know that we had a really amazing dinner at their home, heard about how they came to Christ, how they came together, and how they have built this organization. It is a story with God stamped all over it, they give him all the credit, and I hope someday millions will be impacted for Christ due to their work.
The Kenya 2011 Team
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Ebrahim's Story & A Day at Joska
My name is Ebrahim. I am 27 years old and grew up in the slums of the Mathare Valley. This is my story...
I spent my childhood in Village 1 right next to the river. My 'house' is no longer there as each year it would get washed away with the floods and we would rebuild it. Since we no longer live there, it is
no longer there.
I come from a family of 7. We lived in a 1 room tin shanty. No privacy. No bathroom....we went in the backyard and the river. We lived in community and it is all we knew. I didn't know how poor I was. I didn't know I lived in a slum. I had a happy and joyous childhood until the age of 9.
My parents died of AIDS that year and my family scattered. My older brothers fell into drugs and crime to get by as do many kids in slum. We had no role models at the time. I knew of no one who had made it out of the slum. When you are a child and you see people with nice clothes and television sets and nice women....you want to be like them. The pressure is intense to be like them. They are the
criminals. They are the drug dealers.
I wanted respect. I acted tough even though I didn't like fighting. You had to to survive. I was succumbing to the pressue and started down the path my brothers had followed.
But God saved me. He saved me through Compassion International who sponsored me through grade school and into the 8th grade. I worked in a hotel during these years to earn some money and would eat at the hotel and then study. I took the 8th grade national exam to get into high school and passed! But I didn't have enough money to go to high school, so I repeated 8th grade again....passed the exam again....and still didn't have enough money.
To keep my Compassion sponsorship, I went back to the 7th grade just to stay in school and give myself time to work and save money for high school and finally I achieved my goal. I graduated high school and got a Leadership Development Program scholarship from Compassion to
attend college.
I graduated with my degree, have worked with Compassion International in the United States and in Kenya and now mentor young people from the slums in Kenya. They know me in Village 1. They know it can be done...that there is another way out that doesn't involve a life of crime.
And now through Missions of Hope, the schools are right there in the community. The middle school is available for 6-8 grades and as long as they pass the high school exam, these kids can go to high school and on to college. By the grace of God this is all happening right here and right now......
============================================
Ebrahim spoke to our group tonight after we spent the day at the boarding school (grade 6-8) in Joska. There are over 600 students in Joska and after experiencing their world and hearing Ebrahim's story I
realized the tsunami that is building from the Missions of Hope program. The oldest child from the Missions of Hope schools is in the 2nd year of high school. It will be 6 more years before the first
college graduates enter the work force....
But then the tsunami will continue to build and pour out across this country. Young men and women who are on fire for Christ, who know their lives have been changed by his love, who have experienced his grace in a way we Americans for the most part cannot imagine.
These college graduates 10 and 20 years from now will the leaders of Kenya, the doctors, the businessmen and women, politicians, social workers, pastors.
That future, that vision is being built right now with the seeds being planted for God's growing in the years to come.
We attended church today with all these students at Joska. Their chuch is about as wide as 1 section of seats in our church and about 50 yards long. Including our group and some staff in attendance there
were nearly 700 people crammed into this little structure. Think high energy, dancing and moving even though there was no space to do so! The student leaders were fantastic and we even got to hear Pastor Ron's Immeasurably More sermon again!
To be fair, he adapted it to Kenya and did a fantastic job. I think he might like preaching at Joska more often because (and I'm being serious here), he would say a Bible verse from Ephesians....and you would hear 600+ Bibles opening and shuffling to the correct page. He would ask rhetorical questions and they would answer! And as Ron pointed out they were taking notes while we were sleeping. ;) But all joking aside, it was a great experience and we felt so welcomed.
After the service we toured the Joska facilities and it is really amazing how the facilities have grown since our first visit here 3 years ago. They are close to finishing a large mult-purpose space which will hold all students for meals (they currently eat in their classrooms) and will be used for worship services. They have added green houses to grow their own vegetables, have large chicken huts both for meat and for eggs, and will soon have 3 large pools full of fish.
They have built their first permanent dorm structure. The first floor is complete and houses many students but the way they built it will allow for expansion up to 5 floors. There are still temporary dormitories as well. While these 'dorms' with triple bunk beds lined up wall to wall would seem like a tough place to live, for these kids it is like the Taj Mahal. For most, it is the first bed they have
ever slept in.
The best way to describe these kids is happy, engaged, and hopeful. Read carefully through this schedule as you think about that last sentence:
5:00 WAKE UP
5:30 Clean up duty in the dorms for some students while others are in class
6:00 All kids in classroom for individual study.
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Devotional time (kids memorize 1 Bible verse each day in
addition to their Bible reading. They are then tested on those
memorized verses for weeks to come, not just during the week they
memorize a set of verses)
8:00-4:00 CLASS TIME (includes 2 small breaks, 2 longer breaks and lunch)
4:00-6:00 Free time (mostly playing sports / games)
6:00-8:00 Individual Study in classroom. Dinner is served to 6th
grade a bit after 7pm and they are in bed a little after 8pm. The
older kids have dinner at 8pm in their classrooms and then have lights
out at 10pm.
This is their schedule most days. Even today, Sunday, they completed worship service and went back to their classrooms for individual study and lunch before spending their time with us.
I can imagine kids in America reading this schedule and thinking 'how can they possibly be happy' But they are. They know the alternative is the slum, alcohol, drugs, crime, violence,.death, and destruction. They are happy. And they are fully committed to Christ. It is an inspiring place to be and our favorite time was the hour we just got to break into smaller groups, talk to the children, ask them
questions, and answer their questions.
One final comment...as I stood in front of the church looking out over these 600+ children the thought crossed my mind 'Wow, look at this inspiring worship...these are the children of the slum!' and God quickly changed that thought to 'No, these are not children of the slum, these are My Children....these are Children of an Almighty God who saves and will do immeasurably more than we could ever imagine.'
Amen.
The Kenya 2011 Team
I spent my childhood in Village 1 right next to the river. My 'house' is no longer there as each year it would get washed away with the floods and we would rebuild it. Since we no longer live there, it is
no longer there.
I come from a family of 7. We lived in a 1 room tin shanty. No privacy. No bathroom....we went in the backyard and the river. We lived in community and it is all we knew. I didn't know how poor I was. I didn't know I lived in a slum. I had a happy and joyous childhood until the age of 9.
My parents died of AIDS that year and my family scattered. My older brothers fell into drugs and crime to get by as do many kids in slum. We had no role models at the time. I knew of no one who had made it out of the slum. When you are a child and you see people with nice clothes and television sets and nice women....you want to be like them. The pressure is intense to be like them. They are the
criminals. They are the drug dealers.
I wanted respect. I acted tough even though I didn't like fighting. You had to to survive. I was succumbing to the pressue and started down the path my brothers had followed.
But God saved me. He saved me through Compassion International who sponsored me through grade school and into the 8th grade. I worked in a hotel during these years to earn some money and would eat at the hotel and then study. I took the 8th grade national exam to get into high school and passed! But I didn't have enough money to go to high school, so I repeated 8th grade again....passed the exam again....and still didn't have enough money.
To keep my Compassion sponsorship, I went back to the 7th grade just to stay in school and give myself time to work and save money for high school and finally I achieved my goal. I graduated high school and got a Leadership Development Program scholarship from Compassion to
attend college.
I graduated with my degree, have worked with Compassion International in the United States and in Kenya and now mentor young people from the slums in Kenya. They know me in Village 1. They know it can be done...that there is another way out that doesn't involve a life of crime.
And now through Missions of Hope, the schools are right there in the community. The middle school is available for 6-8 grades and as long as they pass the high school exam, these kids can go to high school and on to college. By the grace of God this is all happening right here and right now......
============================================
Ebrahim spoke to our group tonight after we spent the day at the boarding school (grade 6-8) in Joska. There are over 600 students in Joska and after experiencing their world and hearing Ebrahim's story I
realized the tsunami that is building from the Missions of Hope program. The oldest child from the Missions of Hope schools is in the 2nd year of high school. It will be 6 more years before the first
college graduates enter the work force....
But then the tsunami will continue to build and pour out across this country. Young men and women who are on fire for Christ, who know their lives have been changed by his love, who have experienced his grace in a way we Americans for the most part cannot imagine.
These college graduates 10 and 20 years from now will the leaders of Kenya, the doctors, the businessmen and women, politicians, social workers, pastors.
That future, that vision is being built right now with the seeds being planted for God's growing in the years to come.
We attended church today with all these students at Joska. Their chuch is about as wide as 1 section of seats in our church and about 50 yards long. Including our group and some staff in attendance there
were nearly 700 people crammed into this little structure. Think high energy, dancing and moving even though there was no space to do so! The student leaders were fantastic and we even got to hear Pastor Ron's Immeasurably More sermon again!
To be fair, he adapted it to Kenya and did a fantastic job. I think he might like preaching at Joska more often because (and I'm being serious here), he would say a Bible verse from Ephesians....and you would hear 600+ Bibles opening and shuffling to the correct page. He would ask rhetorical questions and they would answer! And as Ron pointed out they were taking notes while we were sleeping. ;) But all joking aside, it was a great experience and we felt so welcomed.
After the service we toured the Joska facilities and it is really amazing how the facilities have grown since our first visit here 3 years ago. They are close to finishing a large mult-purpose space which will hold all students for meals (they currently eat in their classrooms) and will be used for worship services. They have added green houses to grow their own vegetables, have large chicken huts both for meat and for eggs, and will soon have 3 large pools full of fish.
They have built their first permanent dorm structure. The first floor is complete and houses many students but the way they built it will allow for expansion up to 5 floors. There are still temporary dormitories as well. While these 'dorms' with triple bunk beds lined up wall to wall would seem like a tough place to live, for these kids it is like the Taj Mahal. For most, it is the first bed they have
ever slept in.
The best way to describe these kids is happy, engaged, and hopeful. Read carefully through this schedule as you think about that last sentence:
5:00 WAKE UP
5:30 Clean up duty in the dorms for some students while others are in class
6:00 All kids in classroom for individual study.
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Devotional time (kids memorize 1 Bible verse each day in
addition to their Bible reading. They are then tested on those
memorized verses for weeks to come, not just during the week they
memorize a set of verses)
8:00-4:00 CLASS TIME (includes 2 small breaks, 2 longer breaks and lunch)
4:00-6:00 Free time (mostly playing sports / games)
6:00-8:00 Individual Study in classroom. Dinner is served to 6th
grade a bit after 7pm and they are in bed a little after 8pm. The
older kids have dinner at 8pm in their classrooms and then have lights
out at 10pm.
This is their schedule most days. Even today, Sunday, they completed worship service and went back to their classrooms for individual study and lunch before spending their time with us.
I can imagine kids in America reading this schedule and thinking 'how can they possibly be happy' But they are. They know the alternative is the slum, alcohol, drugs, crime, violence,.death, and destruction. They are happy. And they are fully committed to Christ. It is an inspiring place to be and our favorite time was the hour we just got to break into smaller groups, talk to the children, ask them
questions, and answer their questions.
One final comment...as I stood in front of the church looking out over these 600+ children the thought crossed my mind 'Wow, look at this inspiring worship...these are the children of the slum!' and God quickly changed that thought to 'No, these are not children of the slum, these are My Children....these are Children of an Almighty God who saves and will do immeasurably more than we could ever imagine.'
Amen.
The Kenya 2011 Team
Saturday, July 2, 2011
First Impressions of Mathare and Missions of Hope
Day 2 was orientation day (Day 1 being arrival day). We spent the day at the Pangani Center which is a growing 5 story headquarters building + school + training facility + small shopping center which is located just on the edge of the Area 1 Mathare Valley Slum. Our group is 24 strong and we attended this orientation with a group from Boulder CO who have 13 people here.
We got to the orientation room and waited. Wasn't a bad wait as we all chatted with one another but we learned early on that Kenya runs on event time not on 'specific' timetables as in the States. When the event started, we had chai / tea + mendazi and then Mary and Wallace Kamau gave an inspiring history of the organization they have built as God's partners here on earth.
Their vision was to impact the Mathare Valley community with the entry point being the children. God placed this on their hearts 11 years ago....educate the children in the slum and that will open the doors to the parents and eventually the community as a whole. This is exactly what has happened. From their first school of 50 students, they have grown over the past 11 years to now service 5725 students including a fully owned Middle School / Boarding School outside Nairobi in Joska. Mary stated that typically only about 50% of students in regular schools pass the national exam which allows them to go on to high school. Of the nearly 150 students in the past two years who have taken the exam in Joska ALL of them passed this high schools exam. In other words, the education they are receiving is not only Christian based but is also creating highly capable students who are moving on to high school. Eventually these students will go to college, graduate, and become leaders of the nation. Their goal is to build their OWN high school and we have no doubt that will happen in the years to come. This year they are continuing to build elementary schools in other areas of the slum itself.
Mary and Wallace partnered with CMF International and introduced Community Health Evangelism (CHE) programs throughout the community. CHE is a strategy for holistic ministry focusing on the physical health and well being of the community but also the spiritual needs. CHE trainers enter the community and assist with health needs and recruit community members to assist in teaching their neighbors. As physical needs are met, spiritual needs are addressed and the gospel of Christ is presented by both the trainers and the volunteers. Interestingly, the primary volunteers in the community are the parents of those who are being educated at the Missions of Hope schools.
I got the thinking about this and realized that the numbers being helped and touched by God through this organization is far, far more than the 5700 students. The program impacts parents. It impacts neighbors. We learned about the small businesses being formed and funded through this organization. The goal is self sustanence not hand outs. The exact number is not known but is growing exponentially and we can say without question, this organization our church is supporting and the 400 teachers / employees / social workers / CHE trainers are on fire for Christ.
We broke into small groups of 3-4 and entered the Area 1 community where 80,000 people live in sewage lined streets in shacks of tin. Each group had a social worker or CHE trainer as a leader and they helped orient us to life in the slum. The kids LOVE having their pictures taken though most adults are more reserved. The kids can be resourceful making soccer balls out of bunched up trash bags and twine. The kids will come alongside you and just hold your hand and walk with you. There were heartbreaking scenes we witnessed showing the brutality of being a kid in the slums as well as the sadness of little little ones (less than 2 years old) walking alone in the middle of the slum.
Each small group entered at least 1 home. The home my group entered was 10 feet by 10 feet with 1 bed. Mary, the mother, has been dealing with a sickness but is very proud of her son Anthony who is attending one of the Missions of Hope schools. I was most impressed with our social worker and how he spoke to this family. Mary Kamau had talked in our orientation about how it isn't about the numbers of people....it is about the relationships formed, one by one. We were so impressed with the obvious care and compassion the CHE trainers and social workers had for those they were working with. Specifically in this home, the social worker spoke to young Anthony as a young man who was going to 'do great things' When we asked what his favorite subject was in school he said 'The Christian training' and when we asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he said without hesitation....'A Pastor'
Interestingly, Anthony is in a photograph taken 2 years ago by the Crossway team and was displayed at on posters at our church. We have been praying for this little boy and we are happy to report wonderful progress in his life.
We returned to the Pangani center for lunch and a tour of the center itself. All the teachers for the Methare Valley Missions of Hope schools were at a training session today and they will be working with our teachers throughout this week. We took a tour of the rest of the building including the pharmacy / clinic, the new water well which has been drilled in the past month (which will ultimately provide water for the center, schools, and community), classrooms for the kids, office space for missions of hope, training center for groups who teaches women over the course of 6 months to sew....then sends them home with their own sewing maching to generate income for their families (it's working with 69 graduates so far and more to come), and they had a shop where missionaries like us can order clothes to be made while we are here or purchase jewelry made by other small business owners who are connected with Missions of Hope (many are parents of kids who develop skills through their connection with Missions of Hope). We bought a lot of stuff this afternoon....sorry to give away any potential Christmas / Birthday present ideas....
A number of team members spoke with Mary as others were shopping with questions about difficulties in dealing with government (has been a problem but now they have solid contacts the city council which has helped). When asked what is the greatest challenge she has, her answer was 'training and keeping quality staff.' She has very motivated workers but as they get married and start having families she cannot pay them enough to support their growing families. Her workers are torn as they believe in the work but also must take care of their families. So, it is a constant struggle for her to develop leaders to lead the organization. Please pray for God to send this orgnization leaders who will continue to expand what has already been started.
Tomorrow we are off to Joska to tour that area (the boarding school) and attend church services there. Off to bed as it is an early morning tomorrow.....
God Bless,
The Kenya 2011 Team
We got to the orientation room and waited. Wasn't a bad wait as we all chatted with one another but we learned early on that Kenya runs on event time not on 'specific' timetables as in the States. When the event started, we had chai / tea + mendazi and then Mary and Wallace Kamau gave an inspiring history of the organization they have built as God's partners here on earth.
Their vision was to impact the Mathare Valley community with the entry point being the children. God placed this on their hearts 11 years ago....educate the children in the slum and that will open the doors to the parents and eventually the community as a whole. This is exactly what has happened. From their first school of 50 students, they have grown over the past 11 years to now service 5725 students including a fully owned Middle School / Boarding School outside Nairobi in Joska. Mary stated that typically only about 50% of students in regular schools pass the national exam which allows them to go on to high school. Of the nearly 150 students in the past two years who have taken the exam in Joska ALL of them passed this high schools exam. In other words, the education they are receiving is not only Christian based but is also creating highly capable students who are moving on to high school. Eventually these students will go to college, graduate, and become leaders of the nation. Their goal is to build their OWN high school and we have no doubt that will happen in the years to come. This year they are continuing to build elementary schools in other areas of the slum itself.
Mary and Wallace partnered with CMF International and introduced Community Health Evangelism (CHE) programs throughout the community. CHE is a strategy for holistic ministry focusing on the physical health and well being of the community but also the spiritual needs. CHE trainers enter the community and assist with health needs and recruit community members to assist in teaching their neighbors. As physical needs are met, spiritual needs are addressed and the gospel of Christ is presented by both the trainers and the volunteers. Interestingly, the primary volunteers in the community are the parents of those who are being educated at the Missions of Hope schools.
I got the thinking about this and realized that the numbers being helped and touched by God through this organization is far, far more than the 5700 students. The program impacts parents. It impacts neighbors. We learned about the small businesses being formed and funded through this organization. The goal is self sustanence not hand outs. The exact number is not known but is growing exponentially and we can say without question, this organization our church is supporting and the 400 teachers / employees / social workers / CHE trainers are on fire for Christ.
We broke into small groups of 3-4 and entered the Area 1 community where 80,000 people live in sewage lined streets in shacks of tin. Each group had a social worker or CHE trainer as a leader and they helped orient us to life in the slum. The kids LOVE having their pictures taken though most adults are more reserved. The kids can be resourceful making soccer balls out of bunched up trash bags and twine. The kids will come alongside you and just hold your hand and walk with you. There were heartbreaking scenes we witnessed showing the brutality of being a kid in the slums as well as the sadness of little little ones (less than 2 years old) walking alone in the middle of the slum.
Each small group entered at least 1 home. The home my group entered was 10 feet by 10 feet with 1 bed. Mary, the mother, has been dealing with a sickness but is very proud of her son Anthony who is attending one of the Missions of Hope schools. I was most impressed with our social worker and how he spoke to this family. Mary Kamau had talked in our orientation about how it isn't about the numbers of people....it is about the relationships formed, one by one. We were so impressed with the obvious care and compassion the CHE trainers and social workers had for those they were working with. Specifically in this home, the social worker spoke to young Anthony as a young man who was going to 'do great things' When we asked what his favorite subject was in school he said 'The Christian training' and when we asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he said without hesitation....'A Pastor'
Interestingly, Anthony is in a photograph taken 2 years ago by the Crossway team and was displayed at on posters at our church. We have been praying for this little boy and we are happy to report wonderful progress in his life.
We returned to the Pangani center for lunch and a tour of the center itself. All the teachers for the Methare Valley Missions of Hope schools were at a training session today and they will be working with our teachers throughout this week. We took a tour of the rest of the building including the pharmacy / clinic, the new water well which has been drilled in the past month (which will ultimately provide water for the center, schools, and community), classrooms for the kids, office space for missions of hope, training center for groups who teaches women over the course of 6 months to sew....then sends them home with their own sewing maching to generate income for their families (it's working with 69 graduates so far and more to come), and they had a shop where missionaries like us can order clothes to be made while we are here or purchase jewelry made by other small business owners who are connected with Missions of Hope (many are parents of kids who develop skills through their connection with Missions of Hope). We bought a lot of stuff this afternoon....sorry to give away any potential Christmas / Birthday present ideas....
A number of team members spoke with Mary as others were shopping with questions about difficulties in dealing with government (has been a problem but now they have solid contacts the city council which has helped). When asked what is the greatest challenge she has, her answer was 'training and keeping quality staff.' She has very motivated workers but as they get married and start having families she cannot pay them enough to support their growing families. Her workers are torn as they believe in the work but also must take care of their families. So, it is a constant struggle for her to develop leaders to lead the organization. Please pray for God to send this orgnization leaders who will continue to expand what has already been started.
Tomorrow we are off to Joska to tour that area (the boarding school) and attend church services there. Off to bed as it is an early morning tomorrow.....
God Bless,
The Kenya 2011 Team
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