So, we've been here 6 weeks now. This is the longest we have ever been in Kenya. Today, I have some sort of stomach bug. So while the team is out delivering water filters, I am at home taking care of a few things.
You know how when you don't feel well you want your Mom? Well, today is that kind of day. I don't feel well, I am a little tired and I am so far away from home.
Today was the very first day that I thought that perhaps I really could not do this forever. But as soon as I was feeling a little better, that went away.
The adjustment is harder than I thought it would be. I see everything here differently now. It's real and not far away. I now see that for every little sweet face I see, there is a teenager boy or girl who readily snatches a pencil from the younger children.
I see now that I am going to be asked for money from someone at least 3 times per day.
I know I cannot help everyone.
I wonder why some of my most difficult days are caused by Kenyan adults who have some sort of power.
But then I went to my daily devotion and it said( from Jesus Calling.."Rest with me a while. You have journeyed up a steep, rugged path in recent days. The way ahead is shrouded in uncertainty. ...Trust that I will equip you fully for whatever awaits you on your journey."
I need to adjust on His time.... This is not easy. But I am surely where God wants me to be. I thank God every day for Len who has been a great source of strength.
I am not counting the days until we come home. I am looking forward to the next few months. I just ask for prayers for days like this.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
New Experiences
This week we have a team of 30 young people and adults. We are working in a nearby area where nearly 400 families live. These families live in very poor conditions and are victims of the tribal clashes from 2007. We had a wonderful worship service on Sunday. Our South Carolina friends have made many new friends.
After the church service we had a feast for everyone. There were nearly 160 people there. These people did not know that we were giving them lunch and did not know that they would be receiving cooking fat and maize meal. We worshipped for nearly 3 hours. I will try to post some video later, but for now I will post pictures of our friends meeting new friends .
In addition, we had communion on Sunday. This is a rare event in the Kenyan UMC, and for many, both adults and young people, this was their very first communion.
After the church service we had a feast for everyone. There were nearly 160 people there. These people did not know that we were giving them lunch and did not know that they would be receiving cooking fat and maize meal. We worshipped for nearly 3 hours. I will try to post some video later, but for now I will post pictures of our friends meeting new friends .
In addition, we had communion on Sunday. This is a rare event in the Kenyan UMC, and for many, both adults and young people, this was their very first communion.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Women's conference
Chat and I participated in a women's conference today. There wer nearly 40 women from near and far who came for the conference. Some women traveled an hour or more... partially by foot, partially on the back of a bike and finally on a matatu ( van that holds 11-14 people) They were young, they were old. Many carried babies on their backs.
Evelyn is the women's leader for Kenya. She spoke on intamacy with God. She also talked about tribalism and that it has no place in a Christian's life.I wish I could give you a great synopsis of all that was said today, but I could not give it credit. Other women spoke about the differences between men and women and how we deal with that. We could have been in America. But I wondered how many would have traveled that far and under the same circumstances if we had been in America.
It was incredibly funny too that Len and Bill and Peter made and served our lunch today. They could not believe that a man would /could and serve that way.
In the afternoon, we introduced the ladies to BINGO. What a hoot! At first it took a bit. Every time the ladies got one they screamed BINGO so we went on a little more about the idea of 5 in a row. We played in teams of two. There were two shoshu ( grandmothers) who were a HOOT. Everyone was laughing because they were so joyful and just having the best time.
Chat ended the day talking about how important it is to be a unit. That we are powerful by ourselves because the Holy Spirit gives us that power. But if we work together, we can accomplish much more.
My personal favorite part of the day was when the ladies washed their hands for lunch. Traditionally, when you go to a Kenyan home, a bowl is brought to you with soap, and then the Mama of the house poors water while you sit and wash your hands. Today, while nearly 40 women came through, my job was to poor that water over their hands. I looked straight at their hands ... praying a prayer of blessing over each hand. There were old hands, soft hands, wounded hands. There were small hands and large hands. I will remember each of those hands for a very long time. Bless them all....
Evelyn is the women's leader for Kenya. She spoke on intamacy with God. She also talked about tribalism and that it has no place in a Christian's life.I wish I could give you a great synopsis of all that was said today, but I could not give it credit. Other women spoke about the differences between men and women and how we deal with that. We could have been in America. But I wondered how many would have traveled that far and under the same circumstances if we had been in America.
It was incredibly funny too that Len and Bill and Peter made and served our lunch today. They could not believe that a man would /could and serve that way.
In the afternoon, we introduced the ladies to BINGO. What a hoot! At first it took a bit. Every time the ladies got one they screamed BINGO so we went on a little more about the idea of 5 in a row. We played in teams of two. There were two shoshu ( grandmothers) who were a HOOT. Everyone was laughing because they were so joyful and just having the best time.
Chat ended the day talking about how important it is to be a unit. That we are powerful by ourselves because the Holy Spirit gives us that power. But if we work together, we can accomplish much more.
My personal favorite part of the day was when the ladies washed their hands for lunch. Traditionally, when you go to a Kenyan home, a bowl is brought to you with soap, and then the Mama of the house poors water while you sit and wash your hands. Today, while nearly 40 women came through, my job was to poor that water over their hands. I looked straight at their hands ... praying a prayer of blessing over each hand. There were old hands, soft hands, wounded hands. There were small hands and large hands. I will remember each of those hands for a very long time. Bless them all....
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Birds
I am not a birder. But you'd have to be blind not to just be in awe of the birds here.
I'll try to send as many photos as possible of the different varieties.
Yellow finches are everywhere. Fire Finches are around as well but they are very small... I don't yet have really great picture of them.
Here's just a few for today.
I'll try to send as many photos as possible of the different varieties.
Yellow finches are everywhere. Fire Finches are around as well but they are very small... I don't yet have really great picture of them.
Here's just a few for today.
Eagle Watch
On Sunday, the massacres began. On Saturday we had 31 chicks. Now there are twenty eight. On Sunday a big hawk/eagle swooped down and plucked up one of the chicks and carried it away. That was at about 4:30 PM. On Monday, at precisely 4:30 the eagle/hawk do the very same thing. On Tuesday, we thought we were smart and went outside at 4:15 ish and stood watch until 5:00 PM. Clearly we had won.
At 6:30 on Tuesday night... he struck again. So tomorrow Len, Bill and Sam are building a big chicken house. But today we stood watch... and all the chicks are safe.
We find this funny. But chicks can be sold for 300 ks. Three hundred kenya shilling is what many people make in THREE days. So while we giggle over our vigilance, someone in a place very near to us would have lost three days pay.
At 6:30 on Tuesday night... he struck again. So tomorrow Len, Bill and Sam are building a big chicken house. But today we stood watch... and all the chicks are safe.
We find this funny. But chicks can be sold for 300 ks. Three hundred kenya shilling is what many people make in THREE days. So while we giggle over our vigilance, someone in a place very near to us would have lost three days pay.
Second pic is after Len got really serious about the eagle and "went Masai " on him
Sunday, June 10, 2012
The gift of prophecy
People sometimes think that "prophecy" means to predict (foretell) what will happen in the future. Actually, the simple gift of prophecy is essentially forthtelling; it is a ministry to make people better and more useful Christians now. Prophecy in the New Testament church carries no prediction with it whatsoever, for "he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (I Corinthians 14:3). Notice that there is no mention of the word prediction here.
Persons with the gift of prophecy are not fortune tellers. I met a lady pastor today who had the gift of prophesy.
I met Pastor Joyce at a church that was not as far away as the last church, but was by far more difficult to reach. But that church was filled... with young people.
Pastor Joyce was quiet and had a beautiful round face and a very big smile. She greeted us warmly and I felt drawn to her in some way.
Then we all went in to the service. That would be the THREE hour service. A three hour service without a single sermon until the end. There were several very long periods of praise songs. It is customary in the churches we have visited to have a song played while everyone prays aloud. And there is plenty of time for everyone to pray as long as they wish. Prayers of thanksgiving and praise and prayers for healing and other things as well.
It was during that first song that Pastor Joyce began to pray in a way I have not seen someone pray in a long time. She quietly got up, knelt in front of her plastic chair and prayed and wept and prayed and wept. It was not a show... it was heartfelt prayer.
There were introductions and more songs. Then pastor Chris asked everyone to get up out of their plastic chairs and stack them to the side of this mud hut we were worshipping in. Most ladies removed their shoes. There were two drums and two pieces of iron that served as a kind of triangle. And for one hour we danced and sang and jumped for the Lord.
And that's when Pastor Joyce went into some kind of trance. She moved into the congregation spinning and turning and speaking in a language I did not understand, but it was not an unknown language to the congregation. She did this to the point of nearly passing out.
Near the end of the song she came to the front where we were. I was on the end, and she came all the way down, she threw her head back and I thought she was going to pass out. Instead, when I went to hold her and keep her from falling, she grabbed my shirt and spoke intently to me in either Swahili or Kikuyu. The pastors told me that she had said that I was surrounded by angels. She said that there was something special in me that was not of my own doing but of God... and I was just amazed.
Is there a part of me which thinks she was just a little coocoo... yep. But my Lord tells me that he gave some people this gift. She asked absolutely nothing of me but confirmed over and over that I was being blessed by God and that I would be protected.
I will still wrestle with these gifts. But in my heart, I know Pastor Joyce was right. And I sat in my chair and wept.
Persons with the gift of prophecy are not fortune tellers. I met a lady pastor today who had the gift of prophesy.
I met Pastor Joyce at a church that was not as far away as the last church, but was by far more difficult to reach. But that church was filled... with young people.
Pastor Joyce was quiet and had a beautiful round face and a very big smile. She greeted us warmly and I felt drawn to her in some way.
Then we all went in to the service. That would be the THREE hour service. A three hour service without a single sermon until the end. There were several very long periods of praise songs. It is customary in the churches we have visited to have a song played while everyone prays aloud. And there is plenty of time for everyone to pray as long as they wish. Prayers of thanksgiving and praise and prayers for healing and other things as well.
It was during that first song that Pastor Joyce began to pray in a way I have not seen someone pray in a long time. She quietly got up, knelt in front of her plastic chair and prayed and wept and prayed and wept. It was not a show... it was heartfelt prayer.
There were introductions and more songs. Then pastor Chris asked everyone to get up out of their plastic chairs and stack them to the side of this mud hut we were worshipping in. Most ladies removed their shoes. There were two drums and two pieces of iron that served as a kind of triangle. And for one hour we danced and sang and jumped for the Lord.
And that's when Pastor Joyce went into some kind of trance. She moved into the congregation spinning and turning and speaking in a language I did not understand, but it was not an unknown language to the congregation. She did this to the point of nearly passing out.
Near the end of the song she came to the front where we were. I was on the end, and she came all the way down, she threw her head back and I thought she was going to pass out. Instead, when I went to hold her and keep her from falling, she grabbed my shirt and spoke intently to me in either Swahili or Kikuyu. The pastors told me that she had said that I was surrounded by angels. She said that there was something special in me that was not of my own doing but of God... and I was just amazed.
Is there a part of me which thinks she was just a little coocoo... yep. But my Lord tells me that he gave some people this gift. She asked absolutely nothing of me but confirmed over and over that I was being blessed by God and that I would be protected.
I will still wrestle with these gifts. But in my heart, I know Pastor Joyce was right. And I sat in my chair and wept.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The non natives are restless
Tomorrow we are off to Nairobi to pick up Bill and Chat. First thing in the morning, we will be delivering 10 water filters to an HIV/AIDS community. That will be a great help to them and will truly change their lives.
In the meantime, the non natives ( Len and Seth) are clearly restless. First they decided to pull out Ngaroiya's bow and arrows and his "knocker." They examined the barbs on the arrow and determined that they would indeed hurt if they impaled you. The second thing they found out was that the "bow" was somewhat flimsy and when shot, the arrows had little force or flight. Of course, these are not professionals. If Ngaroiya ever gets here in daylight, perhaps he will give them a lesson.
After that part of their entertainment, they moved on to how one might scale the wall around the compound. Seth thought he probably could without causing too much damage to him or to the wall. Len thinks he'd just push the entire wall down. For those of you who have visited this continent, this will be quite familiar. These lovely shards of glass are placed on the tops of walls to deter thieves.
In the meantime, the non natives ( Len and Seth) are clearly restless. First they decided to pull out Ngaroiya's bow and arrows and his "knocker." They examined the barbs on the arrow and determined that they would indeed hurt if they impaled you. The second thing they found out was that the "bow" was somewhat flimsy and when shot, the arrows had little force or flight. Of course, these are not professionals. If Ngaroiya ever gets here in daylight, perhaps he will give them a lesson.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Sponsors... it really matters
Today was visiting day at St. Gabriel's school. Peter's daughter and nephew go there. It is a boarding school, so there are special days when family can come and visit them.
We started preparation very early this morning.
Miriam and Mama Chico prepared beef, chicken, rice, chapati, oranges, sodas and Len made Mandazi ( a bit like a doughnut)
This is Miriam. She is Mama Chico's sister and mother to Timothy.
Mama Chico is Charity , Harnox and Mephis' Mama. She is also Mama to the five girls now sponsored by dear friends and servants in the US.
In 2008, when we first came to Kenya, Lois and Grace were always at the clinic. They smiled and were inquisitive. We saw them again in 2009 and then again in 2010. We finally spent enough time there and teammates started to notice that these two young girls were not going to school. We started looking for them and figuring out their home situation. The mother is a widow. She is not able to send them to school. Several team members volunteered to help with their schooling as well as a dear friend of ours. Now Lois and Grace are not only in school, but in boarding school. They are happy and bright eyed and we are so thankful to God for allowing us to find them. There was another girl, Elizabeth, who was a bit more difficult to find because she was still living in an IDP camp. But we found her and now they are all in school. It's amazing to think what a difference this weill make in their lives. I can already see the difference in their faces.
Thank you to all of you who are helping to make a difference. I hope these pictures give you some indication of our commitment to them. We visit on parents' day. We make sure they have enough supplies. We take them snacks, Mama Chico and her family include them as their own. Bwana Asifewe...Praise God.
We started preparation very early this morning.
Miriam and Mama Chico prepared beef, chicken, rice, chapati, oranges, sodas and Len made Mandazi ( a bit like a doughnut)
Mama Chico is Charity , Harnox and Mephis' Mama. She is also Mama to the five girls now sponsored by dear friends and servants in the US.
Thank you to all of you who are helping to make a difference. I hope these pictures give you some indication of our commitment to them. We visit on parents' day. We make sure they have enough supplies. We take them snacks, Mama Chico and her family include them as their own. Bwana Asifewe...Praise God.
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