After 2 months, 5 countries, 11 bus rides, 20 different missionaries, 75 churches, hundreds of children, and even more memories... I'm home. Danny, Justin, Jacob, and I each arrived to our respective homes around 1 am on Saturday morning. And boy is it good to be with loved ones again. Not that Danny and the guys weren't great to be with, but nothing can replace family. Before I finish this blog for the summer, I want to give you a synopsis of our last 2 weeks in Kenya.
When I left you last, we were in the beautiful country of Uganda. After a lovely time with the Tylers, we made our way back across the border to Kenya. It was quite the experience since we took Matatus (12 passenger vans that have been turned into 24 passenger vans ; )) for four hours, but we made it back. Our last week in Kitale was filled with church, ministry, and home visits. We spent a few days visiting some different street kid/orphan ministries interviewing their leaders and spending time with the kids. God is doing some great things through some faithful people for the street kids challenge. We visited a church and spent some time at the Church of Christ orphanage with our friends there.
After our initial visit with that orphanage in June, Danny and the other missionaries discovered a hole in the ministry there. The orphanage did an excellent job at taking care of the kids through high school, but when they reached 18 they graduated out of the childrens home. The problem is, a person does not stop being an orphan at age 18. We all (whether we like to admit it or not) need our parents well into our young adult years. These kids, especially the girls, are left vulnerable in society without someone to help them and guide them along. We decided to spend our last few days in Kitale going to these girls homes and talking with them. We asked about their hopes, dreams, and passions. We wrote down their general information and started coming up with a profile for each the girls so we can figure out how best to help them - whether it be getting them into a trade school or giving them a micro loan to help start a business. One of the biggest things we did in our visits was to simply tell them that they are still loved and that they are not forgotten - a message some of these girls don't hear very often. I was so blessed to meet these young ladies and to get to ease some of their pain.
After our time in Kitale, we took a bus back down to Nairobi through the oh-so-beautiful Riff Valley. After arriving, we spent a day downtown in some of the markets doing a bit of gift shopping. We had the chance to meet back up with the CMF interns and went with Bethany Stoller to a church in the Mathare Valley slums where she was sharing from the Word that week. This church was only 9 weeks old and had already grown out of one building and had the second one full. I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, God is doing some great things in the slums of Mathare Valley!
A few times over the summer, Danny made the comment that the nature of our trip and travels this summer allowed for us three students to enter deeper into the East African culture than is usually possible. We even had comments in our last days in Kitale about how well we interacted in our greetings. One older man made a surprised remark that he had never seen young wazungu (white people) eat like they were Africans, which considering some of the subtle cultural nuances is not as easy as it sounds. My point is, that after going so deep into the culture, it was necessary for us to take some time to debrief and prepare to enter back into Western society. We went to one of the coffee shops in the UN district and started to unpack and get ready to come back to the States.
Ironically, after spending two days of debriefing and reentry prep, we still had one ministry to interact with... and this one proved to be the most difficult of all. The day before we left Africa, we spent the Morning and early afternoon in Eastleigh - the Somalian district of Nairobi. We met with Larry and Holly Conway who are leading "Made in the streets" ministry. They go into some of the worst places in the streets and rescue kids from them by taking them to a home/detox center outside of Nairobi. At that home, the kids are then given food, shelter, education, and a lot of love... something many of them have never experienced. Most kids that are in the street end up there because of abusive homes. Some of the kids are simply dropped off one day and never have their parents return. All of them are really hurt. Most of them turn to addictive substances. We spent the morning walking through a place of indescribable suffering to some of their "Base camps"... which were really piles of trash that the street boys live on. We went and simply greeted and talked with some of the guys. Danny told a story to them. One of the other workers prayed when we were finished. The truth is, the boys (which were really young men 16-22) were so stoned they didn't really follow too much.
I had a really hard time when we were visiting these young men. I had seen some awful things over the summer and I had seen some pretty hopeless situations, but this was the worst. These boys were sitting/sleeping/sniffing on these huge trash heaps. Occasionally, one of them would start looking through a trash bag to find a piece of moldy bread or rotten meat to eat. They were so high. They were so lost. And the hardest thing was - I couldn't help them. I could do nothing to get these young men out of the situation they were in. But I could be there with them. I could sit on that trash heap and shake their hands. I could tell them that even though the rest of society has deemed you unworthy to even look at, there is still love to be had. That's all I could do... but in that moment, I was connected to Jesus more so than any in my life. When the high, dirty, smelly young man ran across the street and gave me a big hug before we left... and I embraced him fully back... I saw something about how Jesus loves us. Despite our filth. Despite the fact that we are stoned out of our mind because of the traps of sin. Despite the fact that we have condemned ourselves to a hopeless life and are metaphorically sleeping on a trash heap until death comes, Christ loves us (Romans 5). What a powerful image.
I know this is already getting long, but I want to express my deep and sincere gratitude to all of you who have supported me with prayer, finances, or encouragement. There is no way I could have made it through this summer without it. I am so grateful. I wish there were some way to express it fully, but the best I can do is to live my life in continued devotion to the one who hugs us in the trash heaps. I am so excited to see how God uses this summer as a piece of making me the person who He's dreamed me to be. These experiences will definitely play a big a role. Thank you so much, and I pray that you are as eager as I to see what God does in and through me as the days, months, and years continue. May God bless you abundantly as you continue in faithful devotion as well. What a great God we serve!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Tears and Traveling
(Written 7/10/09) I now greet you from the last of the East African countries we are visiting! We made it safely to Kitale last Friday via the night bus. It wasn't an awful ride, but I am sure happy we are done with all night travels. We spent the Fourth of July with some old friends of Danny who are becoming good friends of mine, Tom and Agnes, and boy was it memorable. We had some great reminders of your typical Independence Day, but with a good African twist. I had soda (Black Currant Fanta), corn (charcoal roasted), roasted meat (goat), and even fireworks (a lantern because the power went out). Surely a memorable experience.
On Tuesday, after a few days of church work and children's home visiting, we made our way to Mbale, Uganda with Shawn Tyler. I wrote earlier about Shawn and some of his work. He is quite a remarkable missionary and quite a remarkable man. We have stayed the last few days with him and his wife, Linda, at their home. They have been incredibly gracious hosts and have taught us so much from their lives and service.
Jacob, Justin, and I spent most of the morning and early afternoon on yesterday with Shawn going over some cultural training that was incredibly valuable. We talked first on an anthropological level about some of the basic truths and assumptions in an East African mindset as compared with the American mindset. It was cool to hear Shawn's cultural insights throughout his 28 years of missionary experience. He gave us some great general missionary priciples including some good team building advice. At a discipleship meeting we went to in a village on Wednesday, Shawn also gave us a document he has spent some time putting together comparing African and Western perspectives on money. Way cool. Way valuable.
As mentioned, we spent Wednesday out in a village not too far from Mbale. It was good to meet some of the local church leaders. There were about 40 leaders there from about 12 different churches. It was a blessing to bring some encouragement to them as they continue in their work. We spent yesterday afternoon visiting some of the other works here: Messiah Theological Institute, Good News Productions International (Mbale Branch), and the church here. Shawn had Jacob, Justin, and I teach at the youth meeting that night. We taught on temptations that American youth face. They were both surprized and encouraged to find out that we all struggle with some of the same things. This morning we visited one more work here (an AIDS orphans program) and interviewed and prayed for the leaders of that ministry. Such a great chance to interface with so many different ministries.
I want to share something that has been encouraging to me lately, but first I must give a little background. I have mentioned in an earlier posting that there have been a number of things that have been pretty difficult for me over the course of the last 6 weeks. The realities of the deception and lies that plague certain parts of this cultuer, the drunkenness that is so rampant, and the physical and emotional abuse by the powerdul in a hierarchical society that does not allow protection for the weak start to wear on the soul. Seeing the evils of human trafficking and the corruption of the UN and local governments that allow for it, hearing the voices of racism and the stories of lies, theft, and murder that caused that racism, and smelling the raw sewage that floods the walkways of the slums are sensory experiences that never leave. Poverty. Glue. AIDS. And sooo much more. I have shed many tears over the past few weeks as I try to embrace the pain of this suffering rather than running away from it. The other day as I was praying and journaling, I was reminded of an image presented in the book The Shack (I know... heresy...). The main character of the book walks into a room and is overwhelmed by memories of some deep pain in his life. As he starts to shed some tears, the character representing the Holy Spirit comes up to him and sweeps his tears into a tiny glass bottle. This character then explains to the man that she likes to collect tears. They are very valuable to her and are never forgotten or dismissed. The pain we go through is of incredible value to our loving God. He sees every pain and hurt and knows. The tears of our pain are never wasted. I am encouraged to think that God loves me way too much to let me go through some of this if it wasn't of some great purpose and value. My tears will be used by Him.
I wanted to share a bit of what I am learning with you, and I pray you may be encouraged by it. I ask for your continued prayers as the team and I finish our last two weeks strong. We have 7-8 ministries to interface with in the next days. We have a few more teaching sessions and a dozen or so more home visits that are very important. Pray that we will continue to look to Christ for strength as we are getting weary. Pray for our families as we are starting to really miss them. Pray for our saftey in travel and avoidance of police (they are more trouble than good here). Pray that I and the others may not stop learning or listening to what God has to teach us in these next days. Thank you so much for the encouragement many of you have given me over the past days. It has had an impact on me that you will never know, and that in turn has impacted so many on this side of the globe. Blessings.
On Tuesday, after a few days of church work and children's home visiting, we made our way to Mbale, Uganda with Shawn Tyler. I wrote earlier about Shawn and some of his work. He is quite a remarkable missionary and quite a remarkable man. We have stayed the last few days with him and his wife, Linda, at their home. They have been incredibly gracious hosts and have taught us so much from their lives and service.
Jacob, Justin, and I spent most of the morning and early afternoon on yesterday with Shawn going over some cultural training that was incredibly valuable. We talked first on an anthropological level about some of the basic truths and assumptions in an East African mindset as compared with the American mindset. It was cool to hear Shawn's cultural insights throughout his 28 years of missionary experience. He gave us some great general missionary priciples including some good team building advice. At a discipleship meeting we went to in a village on Wednesday, Shawn also gave us a document he has spent some time putting together comparing African and Western perspectives on money. Way cool. Way valuable.
As mentioned, we spent Wednesday out in a village not too far from Mbale. It was good to meet some of the local church leaders. There were about 40 leaders there from about 12 different churches. It was a blessing to bring some encouragement to them as they continue in their work. We spent yesterday afternoon visiting some of the other works here: Messiah Theological Institute, Good News Productions International (Mbale Branch), and the church here. Shawn had Jacob, Justin, and I teach at the youth meeting that night. We taught on temptations that American youth face. They were both surprized and encouraged to find out that we all struggle with some of the same things. This morning we visited one more work here (an AIDS orphans program) and interviewed and prayed for the leaders of that ministry. Such a great chance to interface with so many different ministries.
I want to share something that has been encouraging to me lately, but first I must give a little background. I have mentioned in an earlier posting that there have been a number of things that have been pretty difficult for me over the course of the last 6 weeks. The realities of the deception and lies that plague certain parts of this cultuer, the drunkenness that is so rampant, and the physical and emotional abuse by the powerdul in a hierarchical society that does not allow protection for the weak start to wear on the soul. Seeing the evils of human trafficking and the corruption of the UN and local governments that allow for it, hearing the voices of racism and the stories of lies, theft, and murder that caused that racism, and smelling the raw sewage that floods the walkways of the slums are sensory experiences that never leave. Poverty. Glue. AIDS. And sooo much more. I have shed many tears over the past few weeks as I try to embrace the pain of this suffering rather than running away from it. The other day as I was praying and journaling, I was reminded of an image presented in the book The Shack (I know... heresy...). The main character of the book walks into a room and is overwhelmed by memories of some deep pain in his life. As he starts to shed some tears, the character representing the Holy Spirit comes up to him and sweeps his tears into a tiny glass bottle. This character then explains to the man that she likes to collect tears. They are very valuable to her and are never forgotten or dismissed. The pain we go through is of incredible value to our loving God. He sees every pain and hurt and knows. The tears of our pain are never wasted. I am encouraged to think that God loves me way too much to let me go through some of this if it wasn't of some great purpose and value. My tears will be used by Him.
I wanted to share a bit of what I am learning with you, and I pray you may be encouraged by it. I ask for your continued prayers as the team and I finish our last two weeks strong. We have 7-8 ministries to interface with in the next days. We have a few more teaching sessions and a dozen or so more home visits that are very important. Pray that we will continue to look to Christ for strength as we are getting weary. Pray for our families as we are starting to really miss them. Pray for our saftey in travel and avoidance of police (they are more trouble than good here). Pray that I and the others may not stop learning or listening to what God has to teach us in these next days. Thank you so much for the encouragement many of you have given me over the past days. It has had an impact on me that you will never know, and that in turn has impacted so many on this side of the globe. Blessings.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Slums and Suffering
So it's been way longer than I wished since I've posted last. We've been in and out of internet abilities, so I haven't been able to get enough time. Even now, I'm going to have to be brief because of time, so I'll get to the chase.
I write you currently from Nairobi, Kenya. We made it safely to Lusaka, Zambia and back through Tanzania. Lusaka was a crazy experience. We stayed with some Afrikans (White) Zimbaweans who were absolutely wonderful. It in itself was an incredible cultural experience. We were able to accomplish what we needed for our refugee friend, though it did not happen exactly as we had planned. So many stories and experiences, but I must keep going. Thank you for your prayers for our saftey. Thank you for your prayers for our work. God was faithful and He will continue to be as we continue to see this refugee situation unfold.
Our trip back up through Tanzania was quite the adventure. We took a night bus from Lusaka and stayed the night in Mbeya. We were able to meet with a woman who runs a street boys ministry there and were incredibly blessed by her story and suggestions. God is working in some cool ways. I'll have to write later about that connection. We took a train from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam, where we stayed at the headquarters for the Catholic church in Tanzania. There were Nuns everywhere! It was kind of fun. We spent a day catching our breath there. We went out and walked through Dar and even went to the Beach! It was such a good experience. We stopped with some missionary friends in Arusha on our way back to Kenya.
On our way up to Kenya, we found out that we were going to be leading a VBS in a school in the slums of Mathare Valley. A bit of a shock at first, but a pleasant one. We set to work preparing a VBS for three days for the kids at Kosavo. We knew we were going to meet up with Bethany Stoller (a friend from school) and her team of interns, but only Beth was able to work with us. It was great to see her. Our first day we had planned for 80 kids. We got to the school and found out that there were 460! It was quite the shock! We adjusted our plans a little and ended up doing the VBS 3 times each day. We then went and did some house visits with the Social Workers from Mission of Hope International. It was an incredible chance to see the heart of one of the poorest places in the world. It's really hard to see such poverty. I can't even describe it. I'm still trying to process everything we saw. But no matter what I feel, God is good and He is faithful. He is doing some incredible things through the slums. Where darkness once reigned, there is now hope. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.
I wish I could write more, but for now I must go. We are leaving for Kitale tonight on a night bus. We'll be there til Tuesday and then we will head over to Uganda for a few days. Then we'll be back to Kitale for a week, then back to Nairobi for a few days. We have lots to do in these next days. I ask your prayers for us, that we may stay well and strong through some of the tough things we must face these next days. I've been pretty torn by what we've entered into these past weeks. It's really hard to see such suffering. It's even harder when you've resolved to enter into it so as to relieve it in ever such a slight way. I'll hopefully write more in a few days. 3 weeks left.
I write you currently from Nairobi, Kenya. We made it safely to Lusaka, Zambia and back through Tanzania. Lusaka was a crazy experience. We stayed with some Afrikans (White) Zimbaweans who were absolutely wonderful. It in itself was an incredible cultural experience. We were able to accomplish what we needed for our refugee friend, though it did not happen exactly as we had planned. So many stories and experiences, but I must keep going. Thank you for your prayers for our saftey. Thank you for your prayers for our work. God was faithful and He will continue to be as we continue to see this refugee situation unfold.
Our trip back up through Tanzania was quite the adventure. We took a night bus from Lusaka and stayed the night in Mbeya. We were able to meet with a woman who runs a street boys ministry there and were incredibly blessed by her story and suggestions. God is working in some cool ways. I'll have to write later about that connection. We took a train from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam, where we stayed at the headquarters for the Catholic church in Tanzania. There were Nuns everywhere! It was kind of fun. We spent a day catching our breath there. We went out and walked through Dar and even went to the Beach! It was such a good experience. We stopped with some missionary friends in Arusha on our way back to Kenya.
On our way up to Kenya, we found out that we were going to be leading a VBS in a school in the slums of Mathare Valley. A bit of a shock at first, but a pleasant one. We set to work preparing a VBS for three days for the kids at Kosavo. We knew we were going to meet up with Bethany Stoller (a friend from school) and her team of interns, but only Beth was able to work with us. It was great to see her. Our first day we had planned for 80 kids. We got to the school and found out that there were 460! It was quite the shock! We adjusted our plans a little and ended up doing the VBS 3 times each day. We then went and did some house visits with the Social Workers from Mission of Hope International. It was an incredible chance to see the heart of one of the poorest places in the world. It's really hard to see such poverty. I can't even describe it. I'm still trying to process everything we saw. But no matter what I feel, God is good and He is faithful. He is doing some incredible things through the slums. Where darkness once reigned, there is now hope. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.
I wish I could write more, but for now I must go. We are leaving for Kitale tonight on a night bus. We'll be there til Tuesday and then we will head over to Uganda for a few days. Then we'll be back to Kitale for a week, then back to Nairobi for a few days. We have lots to do in these next days. I ask your prayers for us, that we may stay well and strong through some of the tough things we must face these next days. I've been pretty torn by what we've entered into these past weeks. It's really hard to see such suffering. It's even harder when you've resolved to enter into it so as to relieve it in ever such a slight way. I'll hopefully write more in a few days. 3 weeks left.
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