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.