Hello from Kenya...

Kids eating lunch at the IDP camp. We brought a bunch of food and they cooked a huge meal for the entire community plus all of the workers (over 1000 people). Keep in mind there's only an outdoor kitchen which consists of a tent where the ladies hold vegetables in their laps to peel and cut and cook everything over an open fire. The kids, especially, were thrilled to see the food!

These pictures are all from the day we spent at the IDP camp almost two weeks ago helping them build homes. This is one in the earlier stages. We were able to complete 5 homes that day.
Another house under construction.

Celebrating with the residents after the work was done.

. While this camp was incredibly clean (compared to many of the villages we visited), it was infested with flies and most of the children were covered with flies (especially around the nose, mouth, and ears). We gave them huge bags of vitamins (probably 50-60 pounds) to help with malnutrition and also all of the used clothes that we brought

Another week has flown by and we just have 3 days left before returning home. We’ve had a wonderful week focusing on the children’s centre. We’ve hosted 3 groups of kids so far and had a great time with all of them. They have been so well-mannered and well-behaved. Each night, we take the group to Brackenhurst (the Baptist retreat center where we stayed in 2007) for dinner (chicken fingers and French fries!) and then to our house for games, movies, and a sleep over. In the morning, we’ve been cooking pancakes and scrambled eggs, and I’ve been amazed at how much these little kids can eat! More than an adult man would in our culture! It’s been great to be able to spend time with them one-on-one and get to know them better. Saturday night we have the last group coming – a group of older girls.

Wednesday night we hosted the staff who work for the family whose house we’re borrowing and their families for dinner. It was great to meet their spouses and children and to be able to fellowship and share a meal together. Mama Joan (housekeeper) was so funny – she kept wanting to serve and help and we had to force her to sit and be taken care of. She even wanted us to leave all of the dishes for her to wash the next morning (which of course we didn’t!). Geoffrey (our guard) was hilarious eating spaghetti and was so proud that he mastered it and eventually succeeded in “beating” the noodles and cleaning his plate.

Thursday morning, we did Care for Aids home visits – this was an amazing experience. We visited two HIV positive clients in their homes and talked together. I’ve already written about Care for Aids and what they do, but it was really meaningful to see it in action in the homes of their clients. Two days each week, they hold “clinic” where the clients come to a central location (usually a community church) for counseling and medical care. The other three days, the Care for Aids staff do home visits. They manage to visit each client at least once a month at home where they can assess their living conditions (especially cleanliness and hygiene to avoid infections) and just spend time together. We visited with Jane (whose husband died of AIDS in 2002). We spent time in her small home and had tea and mandazi (fried doughnuts) together. Her brother told us that in American culture we let people know before we come over and tell them how many people to expect. In Kenya, people just show up and the hosts are happy to share whatever they have with them (all Care for Aids home visits are unannounced so they can truly assess living conditions without pretense). We also visited Frederick who I met a few weeks ago at the clinic (and may have blogged about him – can’t remember!). He was a member of the mungiki (a very violent Kenyan cult) when he was hospitalized with multiple infections for almost a year and a half. He found out that he was HIV positive while in the hospital and his wife took his daughters and left him when she learned of his status. The mungiki don’t allow members to leave under the threat of death. When we were here in 2007, the mungiki had slaughtered and beheaded several people in a nearby village called Banana and posted their heads on spears outside their homes – these were people who had offended them in some way. Anyway, Frederick’s former friends threatened to kill him and he told them that they were no longer his family since they hadn’t visited him during his long illness or offered any kind of assistance and that if they were going to kill him they should just go ahead and do it (they chose not to). He is now a man of tremendous faith and courage. He is very open and honest with his positive HIV status which is highly unusual here where people are discriminated against and stigmatized for this. All in all – it was a very moving experience to meet these people and talk with them about their faith and their lives. They are living “positively” with HIV/AIDS on a continent where 4500 people die every day of the disease.

This will likely be my last post before returning home. We’ll spend most of Saturday at the LCC playing with the kids. Anna and I are planning a time of fellowship and bible study with the “moms” and teachers from both branches of the LCC – that should be fun. Sunday we’ll have church and fellowship with some of the young adults from the community – as well as packing and organizing. Monday is our day for goodbyes – we have a few things left to distribute and lots of people to say goodbye to… we’ll head to the airport mid-afternoon. We have a long (and somewhat miserable) journey home with a 21 hour layover in Dubai so we won’t return home until Wednesday. I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

What a week!

It's been an incredibly busy but rewarding week. After recovering from our trip to Egypt, we jumped head first into "Mississippi Day" on Saturday where we had around 250 kids for a giant field day. We painted faces, applied tatoos, blew bubbles, flew kites, and painted nails. The kids loved it. Other than a good sunburn, I enjoyed it too. After the field day, we went back to the LCC and had a Kenyan feast. I couldn't believe how much the kids ate. Everyone had a plate piled high with mukimo (mashed potatoes, corn, and peas), beef stew, pilau (rice with vegetables and beef) and chipattis (Kenyan bread - like a thick tortilla). They even lined up for seconds since there was food leftover. The final event was handing out the shoes and jackets. This was total insanity (as it always is!). We had about 8 volunteers trying the shoes on the kids to make sure they fit and writing their names in their jackets. Imagine how long it takes for 250 kids to be fitted with new shoes. But the end result was wonderful - they were all able to wear home a new pair of sturdy school shoes and a waterproof jacket. They were so happy. Sunday morning, all of the kids wore their new shoes and matching jackets to church. All in all, I think Mississippi Day was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who helped gather and prepare the items to send to entertain the kids and for all of you who helped fundraise for the shoes and jackets. These kids really celebrate Mississippi and are so thankful for everything that we do for them.

Monday, we went to the IDP camp to help them build houses - it was an incredible experience. They are such hard working and appreciative people. Anna had the great idea to bring the leftover materials from Mississippi Day and put on a similar event for the kids at the camp. It was amazing - these kids had never seen kites or nail polish or face paint. At first, they were a little reluctant but as soon as we showed them their painted faces in the mirror, they giggled and wanted more paint. Even their teacher asked to have her face painted so she could be like her kids. It was a very sweet way to pass a couple of hours. They cooked a huge community lunch and then went back to work building. Around 4, they stopped to "celebrate" with us - they sang songs of worship to a beautiful drum beat and then there was a time of prayer and a brief service. I felt like we'd made hundreds of new friends. It was very eye opening as well. Their camp is located in a dry desert area and the wind blew all day, covering us with fine dust. The kids were covered in flies even though the camp was quite clean (cleaner than most of the villages near us). They rely on God to provide their every need. We were able to provide several trunks of clothing, school supplies, vitamins, and other needed items which was great. I have pictures to post but the internet is incredibly slow and refuses to load them. Hopefully I can post them later in the week.

On Tuesday, the rest of the group left for safari (they'll be back Friday) leaving Lauren and I on our own. We've had a great time so far... Tuesday we shopped some in Nairobi and had lunch at a Western mall and did a little grocery shopping. In the afternoon we went to the LCC and played with the kids and helped the moms cook supper. Wednesday, we went to Limuru with our friend Anastasia to the used clothing market and produce market. We came home with bags of fruits and vegetables for only about $7 US (I estimate it would have cost me around $50 at home for all that we bought). The afternoon was also spent at the LCC. That seems to be the pattern we'll follow. Lauren played soccer with the kids while I helped the moms clean and chop secuma (like a collard green) for supper. This morning we stayed home to take care of our own housework and now are at the Global Connections Farm where we have internet access. We're headed to the LCC in about an hour and then to Patrick and Anastasia's house for supper tonight.

The electricity has been hit and miss for the past week (which is why I'm so late in getting this posted). We'd been warned about the unreliable electricity, but for our first month, we didn't have any problem at all. For the past week, however, it's been out every day... sometimes for an hour or two and sometimes for the entire day.

We realized today that we only have about 12 days left here. It's really flown by and we'll be sad to leave. Thanks to everyone at home for your thoughts and prayers. We're having a wonderful (and very memorable) time!

Back in Kenya...

The market in Alexandria.

This is on our way back into Cairo from Alexandria (about 3 1/2 hours north on the Mediterrean). From here, you can see how near the pyramids the city of Cairo is. It was strange to drive through traffic with the pyramids looming in the background!

The Mediterrean Sea - we had about an hour and a half to relax at the beach in Alexandria after a long drive and several historical site visits. It was very comfortable - mid-80's with a great breeze. We were surprised, though, at the trash on the beach. There were no trash cans and the beach was full of candy wrappers and coke cans - it was pretty nasty. Directly across the Mediterrean from Alexandria is Greece - that's where we really wanted to go but couldn't manage that trip in just a day.

We arrived back in Kenya around 5 a.m. on Wednesday and pretty much slept the rest of the day after flying through the night. On Thursday, we went to Nairobi to the elephant orphanage. I saw this place featured about a year ago on a Saturday morning Jack Hanna wildlife show and have wanted to visit ever since. It was wonderful! They currently have 21 orphaned elephants ranging from 1 month to 2 years and one baby black rhino. All but one baby elephant were orphaned by poaching which apparently is on the rise due to the reopening of the ivory trade. They raise these elephants, teach them how to be "wild" and begin reintroduing them to wild herds in the national game park when they're around 3 years old. Here you can see Lauren petting one that's around 3 months old.

The baby black rhino. He was pretty naughty... wouldn't stay with his keeper and ended up trampling a few of us when he made an escape attempt. He's around 3 months old as well.

Feeding time... imagine our surprise to learn that human soy-based infant formula is the closest to elephant milk and what they feed to the babies. As the guide said, "it's hard to milk a wild elephant."

The Roman Theatre in Alexandria (just discovered 10 years ago when a man tore down his house and began digging a foundation for a new one). Alexandria was much nicer than Cairo... cleaner and less Arabic. It was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman culture and became the capitol of the country when Alexander the Great invaded. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the catacombs we visited (that was quite an experience - a huge mausoleum carved into solid limestone inside a mountain... a little creepy but fascinating). When the Greeks and Romans entered Egypt, the cultures began to mix. Greeks and Romans began to be mummified and worshipped some of the pharonic gods but also kept many of their own traditional symbols, gods, and beliefs. The catacombs were a crazy mix of Greek, Roman, and Pharonic history.

Today part of the group went to Nairobi to the Masai Market. Some of stayed at home and organized supplies for tomorrow - Mississippi Day! We'll have about 30 volunteers and close to 300 kids for a giant "field day" with kite flying, bubbles, jump rope, tatoos, face painting, fingernail/toe nail painting, and more. It's topped off with a huge meal with meat (a rarity for these kids) and then we distribute the shoes and coats that we fundraised for before leaving the US. It should be a great day. The rest of the team arrived while I was in Egypt and are enjoying Kenya along with us. Sunday, I'll visit a Kikuyu (tribal) church with my good friend Anastasia. Monday, we head to the IDP camp for build houses and deliver food. It should be a very special few days for us.

Inside a tomb in a pyramid at Saqqara.

The Sphinx and the Great Pyramid at Giza

In front of the Sphinx (we're quite a ways from the Sphinx in this photo

so it looks much smaller than it actually is...)

Lauren holding a pyramid in the palm of her hand :)

The Hanging Church (approximately 230 AD) - called this because it has no foundation.

It's a true architectural miracle!

Riding camels near the Great Pyramids at Giza.

Egypt sidetrip...

Greetings from Egypt! Lauren and I have had 4 great days in Egypt so far. It's VERY different here... a little hard to explain. First, the country is 85% muslim and very Arabic. Most don't speak English, so that's been a struggle for us when we're not with a guide. We've been very fortunate with our guide, Azza, who speaks excellent English and is a progressive Muslim woman who has been fun to be with. We spent the first day resting at the hotel (we flew through the night and arrived mid-morning). On Saturday, we visited pyramids and tombs at Saqqara (the oldest in Egypt - around 4500 years old) and the great pyramids at Giza (where the sphinx is located). Highlights of the day for us were the camel ride into the desert around the pyramids at Giza and the trip into one of the pyramid tombs at Saqqara. I'm a little claustrophobic so that part was a real challenge... you have to climb down into the pyramid where the overhead height is only about 3 1/2 feet (so yes, you have to hunch way over). The only places you could stand were inside the burial chambers. It was neat but was a relief to get back to the surface! Sunday, we toured the Egyptian Museum which contains over 140,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts including the treasure of King Tut's tomb. I had really looked forward to this but it ended up being somewhat miserable because this is the height of summer and the place IS NOT AIR CONDITIONED!!! I couldn't believe it. It was close to 100 degrees inside and packed with tourists. We managed to last for about 2 hours but were exhausted and sweaty when we finished. After that, we toured several churches. Our two favorites were the Hanging Church which was built after Mark (one of Christ's 12 disciples) spread the gospel to this part of the world. He was here around 60 AD and the church was completed around 230 AD by descendants of his converts. It was absolutely amazing. We were also impressed by a nearby site, "The Holy Crypt" where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus stayed when they left home under Herrod's rule to keep Jesus safe as a young boy. No pictures were allowed here. The night was capped off by a dinner cruise on the Nile River with excellent Egyptian food and a great show including belly dancing and other traditional Egyptian dancing. The amount of history here is amazing, and they've done a good job of preserving very ancient artifacts. It's hard to fathom something that is 4500 years old - the Egyptians were definitely an impressive people. They had baskets, tools, furniture, pottery, and even blown glass. Seeing reproductions of their rooms wasn't so different from being in a modern home. Today we had the day "on our own" which meant we hung out at the hotel. We had planned to get out and explore the city but ran into a few complications... first, the city is huge (over 30 million people) and slums are mixed with commercial areas, so there's no real shopping, and while they say it is very safe, it doesn't always feel that way to us. Also, everything is in Arabic and we definitely feel that we are in a foreign country here. Finally, it's been uncomfortable the few times we've been out without a guide because Lauren is causing quite a stir. Apparently, whatever "look" Egyptian men go for, she has in excess! And here, they see marriage to an American as a way out. Also, Muslim men here are allowed to marry up to 4 wives and marriage between a 16 year old and 40 year old is not uncommon. Last night our guide said, "I have met many foreigners and Americans, but I have never seen anyone as beautiful as your daughter." Today, we walked down the street to eat at McDonald's (which after 3 weeks of African food was AMAZING!) and the attention really embarassed Lauren. We decided it was more fun (and comfortable!) to hang out in the hotel, watch the limited English TV, and use the Internet. Tomorrow, we leave early in the morning to drive 2 hours north to Alexandria (founded by Alexander the Great) to hang out on the beach of the Mediterrean Sea and explore Greek culture. Then, we fly home to Kenya at 11 p.m. And yes... we'll have a guide and driver the whole time!

While we have enjoyed this trip (and it is definitely one of those "once in a lifetime" things) we miss Kenya tremendously and are looking forward to returning for three more weeks before heading home to the US in mid-August.

Here are volunteers organizing the "leftovers" at Pat's Feeding Program Wednesday. Those little piles are what about 70 people waited in line to receive (for 3 hours or so).

Lauren and Karen helping do laundry during a Care for Aids home visit.

Lauren on a Care for Aids home visit.



Highlight of the day... petting a cheetah at the safari walk.

Me with the cheetah (right after she sniffed my jugular!)

These are the water tanks that the Red Cross provided to the IDP camp we visited. Almost 900 people have to share the water from these 3 tanks.

IDP Camp (this is one of the structures that needs walls to make a home)

IDP Camp

Gorgeous view from the IDP camp

One of the completed homes.

Inside the $450 school at the IDP Camp

So this afternoon (Wednesday) Lauren and I had the opportunity to visit the IDP (internally displaced persons) camp about an hour away from Limuru in the Rift Valley. I’m a little at a loss for how to describe the whole experience. I’ll start with the facts and then share my thoughts/impressions. First, this “village” consists of 145 families who were displaced about 18 months ago due to extreme violence between tribes after a very heated presidential election. These people were professional people who owned property but were completely uprooted under the threat of death. It’s a long and complicated story but in a nutshell there are 42 different tribes in Kenya and there are areas that are traditionally one tribe or another. In the past 50 years or so, the tribes have begun to relocate and intermingle (which is a good thing). When tribal violence breaks out, however, the neighbor who was your friend but is from a different tribe becomes your enemy and the minority tribes are run out by the dominant ones. This is a recurring theme in Kenya and across Africa. So, back to the IDP camp… there were tens of thousands of people displaced after the election and the government and Red Cross set up tent camps. Then, each family received a small amount of money (about $450) to be used to relocate. This small amount, however, couldn’t begin to replace the home and belongings they left behind (and it’s still not safe to return). This group had the amazing idea that if many families would pool their money together, they could afford land and ultimately build homes. 145 families agreed to do this and they purchased 17 ½ acres of land giving each family a 50 x 100 plot. Initially, they placed their tents on their plots, but recently donors have come forward to help pay for structures. 51 homes were built and the families used a lottery system to determine who would receive a home. Let me clarify here – the homes are tin roofs with four corner posts and a center beam. They build stick frames for walls and use a mud made of dirt and water to create walls. Next, another donor paid to have 55 of the roof/corner post structures built. These can’t be used as homes yet because there are no walls. A donor from the US has agreed to pay for the materials to build the walls and on July 27th, we’re bringing a truckload of materials and a bus of volunteers to spend a day working alongside the community to complete these 55 homes. Here’s the staggering part to me… each home will only cost between $40 and $50 to complete and will get entire families out of the tents in which they’ve been living for 18 months. Amazing, isn’t it? They’ve also built a school building that is roughly twice the size of the homes – the cost was about $450. That’s for a school with 2 rooms and desks. The other hard thing to experience today was the limited resources that these people have. There is no welfare system in Kenya, so they literally have no income at this time (remember, these are hard-working people who had homes and gainful employment before the violence). Today, they’d been without water for 2 days. Even when they have water in their community tanks, they are rationed to 3 liters per day – this is for drinking, washing, cooking, laundry, and even watering livestock (many have goats and chickens). I would imagine that most of us use 3 liters of water just brushing our teeth at night or flushing the toilet one time. They have gardens but not nearly enough land to generate enough food for the 900 or so people who live there, so they have to rely on well-wishers for food. We’re hoping to be able to bring huge sacks of beans and maize (field corn) with us when we go back on the 27th.

Okay, so here are my impressions… these are proud people in need of help who have banded together to form a community. At no time did I feel pressured to give or as if I was being taken advantage of. They were simply sharing with us their needs and trusting God to take care of them. They (as are most Kenyans I’ve met) people of tremendous faith in God, and their focus is on living a Godly life that centers around community and fellowship with other believers. Their leader, Christina, had a lot of questions for me about the US. Since 80% of Kenyans are Christian, she assumed the US was that way as well. When I explained to her that it was not, she asked if Kenyan preachers came to the US as missionaries, would Americans accept the gospel. Wow – what a question. It was hard (and disheartening) to explain to her that while most Americans have heard the gospel and believe in God, many don’t rely on God or choose to live Godly lives because they worship other gods such as money, success, or self. Those are precious commodities to give up to allow Christ to lead our lives. Here, where people are dependent upon God to meet their basic daily needs, it seems easier in many ways to live a Christian life. I could go on and on about this, but you get the basic idea. We are so spoiled – it’s rare that we have to ask God for anything, so we learn to rely on self rather than on Him as we were designed to do. I haven’t figured out what to do with all of this in my own life or how to make this fit with my own practices, but I think it’s an important thing to think about.

Tomorrow is a big day for us… we’re loading up the 41 boarders and a crew of volunteers and taking a field trip to Nairobi to do a walking safari and visit the giraffe manor. The girls packed lunches for 50 tonight (including 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches per person, chips, cookies, bananas, and drinks – the kids will think it’s a feast!). Thanks so much to the individual who is making this trip possible – you know who you are – we love you and wish you were here to share it with us!. After the field trip, it’s home to shower and pack for Egypt. We’re being picked up at 1:00 a.m. to head to Nairobi to catch our flight. We arrive at 9:30 Friday morning and have the day to rest and explore Cairo on our own. Our tour starts Saturday morning when we’ll visit the great pyramids at Giza and many other landmarks. We have 2 days of fully scheduled tours and 2 more days on our own. We return home to Kenya in the wee hours of the morning on the 22nd. By that time, the rest of our small team will have arrived from Mississippi to be here through the end of the month.

One thing I forgot to mention is that we hosted another family for dinner at the volunteer house Tuesday night. Jane (who is in charge of laundry at the main branch of the LCC) came with her husband, 6 children, and 1 grandchild. Although their English wasn’t great and there were some awkward moments, it was a wonderful evening. I love Anna’s idea of sharing meals with the staff and getting to know their families. We also give them an opportunity to share prayer requests and spend some time in prayer together. It’s beautiful to hear them pray in their native tongue. Even though we can’t understand the specifics, their spirit of humbleness and worship comes through loud and clear.

Thanks again for your prayers. I can’t wait to share more pictures and stories with you after I get home. It’s often hard to find time for email and blogging but I so want to share this experience with you. I hope that any of you who feel led to do something like this will jump at the opportunity and work to make it happen. It really puts things in perspective… which is a great but difficult thing.

P.S. Just now getting internet access... today (Thursday) was also a GREAT day - we took the boarders on a safari walk and to the giraffe manor where they were able to feed a giraffe. Lauren and I were able to get our picture taken with a cheetah at the safari walk.

Still loving life in Kenya...

Monday we went to Care for Aids, a relatively new organization aimed at meeting the needs of local people who are HIV positive. (http://www.careforaids.org/). They have branches in three villages now. In each village, 2 days each week are dedicated as clinic days where the clients come to a local church for counseling, medical treatment, and fellowship. I love their three-phase approach. Each client begins with about 20 minutes of spiritual counseling where a pastor shares the Word of God with them and talks about what is going on in their lives and offers prayer. Then, they move to the next station where a medical staff person checks on their medicine regime and nutrition. The clients keep a journal listing every meal and times/amounts of medicines taken. The other three days a week, CfA staff members make home visits to fellowship with clients and to check their homes for sanitation. It is an unbelievable program. Yesterday, part of the team went on home visits and said they were amazing. Here, people are shunned for disclosing that they are HIV positive so they are especially honored to have guests in their homes. The team helped peel potatoes and wash clothes.

We also visited the Amani Center - a wonderful program near Nairobi that employs refugee women from all over Africa to make purses, jewelry, clothing, and quilts to export to the US and sell. It was great to hear their stories, tour their factory, and see what they create.

One highlight was passing out pillowcases Sunday night at the Children's Centre. My kids from the Governor's School program this summer made beautiful pillowcases for all of the 41 boarders who live full time at the children's centre. The kids loved them and we took pictures of each child holding his/her pillowcase.

This morning we helped with Pat's Feeding Program. Pat Dixson is a white Kenyan who runs a feeding program for the elderly and people with HIV. When we were here in 2007, she was serving almost 200 families. Now she is up to 300. It is really an unbelievable undertaking. These people walk (many for hours) to receive a handout every two weeks. The handout is small... about 2 pounds of corn, 2 pounds of maize, 2 pounds of ground corn, 1 pound of rice, and 2 pounds of dried beans (along with a little salt, a box of matches, and a stick of vegetable fat). It took us about an hour and a half to pass out all of the food. Then, Pat locked the door and we took the leftovers (a few bags of each) and lined them up on a food sack. She went and counted how many people were waiting in line outside (these are people who are not part of her feeding program but who walked and waited in case there were leftovers) and let more in. Each person received one item. This went on until everything was gone - unfortunately there were still people lined up who didn't receive anything. Pat runs this program for $3000 per month or $10 per family per month. For these people who are in very desperate situations, her program is keeping them alive.

This afternoon, Lauren and I are visiting the IDP (internally displaced persons) Camp about an hour away. When Kenya held a presidential election in December of 2007, a great deal of violence broke out and many people were displaced from their homes. This is one of the camps where they ended up. Our team is planning to return on the 27th to put walls up in about 50 homes. A donor paid to have basic structures (roof and four corner posts) built but they have no walls whatsoever. We can put up the four exterior walls for about $40 per home. They've asked that instead of just paying for it, that we come and work beside them. This is something we're all looking forward to.

Lauren and I leave late tomorrow night for Egypt. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures in the next few days. Love to all!

X-Ray equipment at Nazareth Hospital.

Sonogram equipment in the maternity ward at Nazareth Hospital.

Clothes drying - Kenya style.

Lauren with her "favorite" guy, Trevor.

Francis and Jane and their family (our first Kenyan dinner guests!)

I’m at a loss for how to start this journal entry. We just spent a most wonderful and humbling evening hosting a local Kenyan family for dinner. Francis and Jane both work for the children’s centre and they have five children of their own. Anna had the amazing idea to cook and serve dinner to the employees of the children’s centre and their families while we are here so we could fellowship with them one-on-one outside of work and get to know their families. Since there are many employees, we decided to go in order of who has worked at the centre the longest and get to as many of them as possible on this trip. Tonight was our first dinner party and it was amazing. We were able to eat together, talk about life, learn about their family, and pray together. It was absolutely beautiful!

It has been a whirlwind week. We visited many new places and have been incredibly busy (which is why I’m just now finding time to update my blog!). Here are a few of the highlights… the Baby Centre – they currently have 4 babies (ages 4 months – 2 years) who were abandoned at birth. They are constantly getting new babies and adopting them out. We heard several success stories of international adoptions and read letters from adoptive parents. They speak primarily English to the babies so they will learn the language and find it easier to transition to their adoptive homes. We spent a couple of hours playing with them – it got much easier as time went on and they got used to us and started talking more. Part of the group was able to tour a local hospital (Lauren went with that group) and hear about their needs.

Pat Dixson (who runs the elderly feeding program) also sponsors ten small struggling elementary schools where she fundraises to pay the salaries of teachers. It’s really amazing… without her, these kids wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn. Friday morning the group visited one of her schools to see what kind of needs there were (Lauren wasn’t feeling well so we stayed home). From their descriptions, it was absolutely amazing to see kids having school in a church… writing on a pew (as a desk) while sitting on an overturned pew. I’m struck again on this trip how much education is valued here – so much more than at home. Kids are desperate to go to school and while public education is provided through 8th grade, the fees charged for uniforms and books are often unaffordable for many families. On this trip, I’ve been surprised to learn that in a third world country, the kids are far ahead of our kids at home. I saw a class of 6 year olds that were doing double digit subtraction including “fill in the blank” type problems like ___ - 9 = 8. I couldn’t believe that these tiny kids were doing that level of math, especially kids who would be labeled as “disadvantaged” in the US.

We’ve spent much of our time at the children’s centre – that’s where the girls always want to go! Being here for an extended period of time is allowing everyone to form closer relationships with the kids. We’re also getting to spend a lot of time with the 41 boarders who live there full time. Some of you will remember the 2 girls who captured my heart when we were here 2 years ago, Anne and Catherine. They live in area villages and came to the centre for meals. When I came in January, there was a teacher strike so schools were out of session and the kids were at home. I was able to see Catherine one time at the centre (and found it very surprising and humbling that she didn’t remember me AT ALL when I’d thought she was sadly missing me all this time!). On a different day (still on the January trip) we were walking through a local village when I spotted Anne. She ran up and hugged me (my confidence restored!) and we spent about 30 minutes together. When I had to leave, she started to cry. I explained that I’d be coming back in July with Lauren and staying for a longer time. Well, this week, Anne showed up at the centre to see me (she goes to school a good distance away at a school that has a feeding program so while the centre still provides her school fees, she doesn’t come there at all for meals anymore). We spent a couple of hours together just sitting and talking. At one point, she cried a little and said, “when you told me you were coming back, I didn’t believe you. Now I feel bad.” It was really sweet. We drove her back to the village and gave her my bag of snacks out of my back pack. (not sure what she’ll think of fiber one bars and fruit snacks!), I’m sure we’ll get to see her more while we are here.

I also had a breakthrough with John Kahera, the godchild that Lauren and I write to at the centre. We’ve been writing to him for six months or so but this was our first time to meet him. I had been envisioning this joyful meeting and instantly bonding and spending lots of time together. Instead, John was incredibly bashful and didn’t want anything to do with either of us! Let me give you a little background on John… when he was 3 years old, he was found wandering the streets in Nairobi. He didn’t know his parents’ names or where he lived. It’s unclear if he was lost or if he had been dumped off. They ran his photo and story on the local television stations, but no one ever came forward to claim him. Anyway, he ended up in a government-run institution (not a pretty place, from what I hear). He was there for a good while when a friend/sponsor of the children’s centre from Florida visited the institution and was drawn to him. She was able to get him moved to the centre over a year ago. John is now 6 years old, loves soccer, and does very well in school, but like I said is very shy and has no family whatsoever. He is also adorable. Whenever he sees us, he hides, runs off, or just completely ignores our overtures. Today when we arrived, they were posing for a group photo and I was making faces at him (still being ignored). When the photo was over, I just went over to him and grabbed him in a big hug while he just stood there tolerating me. I talked to him for a few minutes while he covered his eyes with his hands. All of a sudden, he said, “let’s go watch tv,” grabbed my hand and walked me to the boys room where they were all gathered in front of a small television set. I sat down, he crawled up in my lap, and we enjoyed some great time together. After that, we jumped rope, played basketball (with a soccer ball) and just “hung out” together. It was great!

We’ve had great opportunities for evening fellowship with great people this week. I’ve already mentioned tonight’s dinner, but there have been other great meals shared around a fire. Last night, a father and son team from Florida came to dinner at our house with AB Puckett and Will Porter (both with Global Connections) to kind of “debrief” everything that they’re seeing this week while they’re here (it’s their first trip) and to enjoy each other’s company. Earlier in the week a huge group of us (about 15 Mzungu – white people) ate at Patrick and Anastasia’s house (Patrick’s the centre director and his wife Ana is a great friend of mine). It was fantastic. The people here are very oriented around fellowship, community, and breaking bread together. Patrick told us that we were making history in his family – they had never had such a large group for dinner! Tonight, Francis also said that this was an historical event for his family – to be invited to fellowship with us outside of work and to share a meal together is a very important event here.

Tomorrow, Lauren and I were going to go to a Kikuyu (the dominant tribe in Kenya) church service with Anastasia but she had to postpone it until we get back from Egypt since she is expecting guests tomorrow and has to miss church to cook for them. We’ve decided to surprise her and show up in the morning to help her with the cooking and enjoy her company. I’m looking forward to that! Our own kind of church service!

There have been so many lessons for me on this trip – patience and flexibility still continue to be major lessons as well as seeking to understand others (even those who are different from me!). Also “loosening up” and just having fun enjoying life is another lesson I’m learning. I’m also thinking more and more about the wasteful lifestyles that we lead. I’ve never been a “green” person, but this experience is turning me into one. Here, they have a hard time disposing of trash so as much is recycled as is possible. We have a compost can that ends up in the garden, a basket for everything burnable (used to start fires) and a trash can for anything that can’t be reused, composted, or burned. I can’t get over how little trash we’re producing while we are here, even though we’re doing a lot of cooking. It’s challenged me to think of how I can do better about this at home. I’ve also been struck (as I was in 2007) at how far a small amount of money goes here for people subsisting on $1-$2 per day. Today, we bought bananas from a street vendor and paid 5 shillings apiece for them (about 6 cents).

I’ve written a lot and hope I haven’t rambled on. I’ll try to do better about posting more often. We’re living in a complete bubble with no television, internet, or news of any kind. I’m finding more and more that I enjoy it and that it’s a chore to go somewhere to check email and post to my blog! Lauren and I leave late Thursday night to spend 5 days in Egypt. I’ll bring my computer but don’t know what kind of internet access I’ll have. I’ll try to find time to post more pictures before then (and definitely after we see the great pyramids at Giza!).

Hope everyone is doing well at home. Thanks so much for the prayers and warm thoughts. We are definitely feeling those daily as we walk through this amazing experience! Mungu yu mwema! (God is so good!).

P.S. I wrote this last night at the house and am just now connecting to the internet. I spent a WONDERFUL morning with Anastasia at her house learning how to cook mandazi (Kenyan donuts) over a charcoal fire. Yum!

Photos

Here's Lauren playing with the kids at the K-Branch of the Limuru Children's Centre (located in Kamarithu - a village near Limuru).

Shoe Fittings at the Children's Centre. I think this one is definitely ready for new shoes! I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but thanks to the donations and support of many of you, we're able to purchase new shoes for all 250+ kids served by the LCC. And, after our meeting at the shoe factory, it looks like we'll be able to afford the best quality shoes for the kids (around $15 US per pair). These will be worn every day and will hold up for 3 years or so as long as they don't outgrow them. These kids walk LONG distances to and from school every day and wear out shoes quickly. Fitting them for shoes was an incredible humbling experience!

Fitting kids for shoes....

Worn out shoes - ready to be replaced.

The market in Limuru where we buy produce.

Lentils, corn, and beans for sale at the Limuru market.

Kids at the LCC being nosy (watching us fit for shoes). I was doing duty as the gatekeeper :)

These pictures are from our work on Monday measuring kids at the K-Branch which is the newer (about 2 1/2 years old) branch of the Limuru Children's Centre. They currently serve over 90 pre-schoolers providing 2 meals each day and classroom instruction in a safe and loving environment. It's a tiny space but amazing what all they can accomplish with what they have. When we came in 2007, they were only serving around 40 kids. When they accept kids into the program, they commit to paying their school fees once they start primary school (I think it's around $250 per year for books and uniforms), so that limits how many kids they can serve. Thanks to sponsors, donors, and major fundraising efforts, they've more than doubled the children they're able to serve in the past two years.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we visited Sister Sandra (a nun from Malta) who runs a vocational school for girls where they learn sewing, tailoring, knitting (including knitting machines) to eventually seek employment in a factory. She also has an orphanage serving about 60 kids. Her property was donated by monks, but she has to constantly fundraise and find income sources to support her work. She's a lovely lady who we really enjoyed talking with. A company from Holland is donating 5 knitting machines and training for her staff, so she'll soon have a mini-factory onsite to be able to offer employment to some of her graduates. They'll be producing sweaters for school uniforms. In the afternoon, we went to the main branch of the Limuru Children's Centre and measured another 150 kids or so for shoes. We're nearly finished with the shoe fittings.

Today (Wednesday), we're meeting with Pat Dixson (who runs Pat's Feeding program - providing food twice each month to approximately 300 elderly, widows, and people living with AIDS). We'll be helping with her feeding program on the 15th and hope to work with some of the 10 schools that she supports. This afternoon, a small group (Anna, Karen, and Lauren) are going with AB to visit a local hospital while the rest of our group will either go to a baby centre to rock babies or to Cheshire, the home for the disabled to work with their residents. Tonight, we've been invited to our friends (Patrick and Anastasia) home for dinner and are looking forward to a traditional Kenyan meal.

We continue to stay busy but enjoy our down time together in the evenings. Everyone is healthy, rested, and well (although not necessarily clean!). Please keep us in your prayers!

One of the girls at the K-Branch of the Limuru Children's Centre.

The exterior of the K-Branch including the Jesus mural painted by the 2008 team and the dining room addition we built in 2007.

Driving in Kenya...

So today was my first day of REAL Kenyan driving - by this I mean going the actual speed limit instead of crawling along like a granny. I even passed donkey carts and matatu's (public vans) in curves and on hills! We spent the day measuring kids' feet to buy new shoes. The 7 of us plus Maureen (Patrick's grown daughter who works at the LCC) and Ben (the shoe salesman) crowded into our van and headed to the K-Branch (the smaller, newer branch of the children's center) and measured the feet of about 70 children. Then, we had to drive to area elementary schools to track down the rest of the children to get their shoe sizes. The schools are in the middle of nowhere with TERRIBLE roads. At one point I thought we were going to tip over (so did everyone else in the van).

At the public schools, you would have thought we were rock stars the way they acted when we pulled in. They surrounded our van and for those who were brave enough to get out, they were immediately encircled by huge groups (hundred!) of kids all saying "How are you?" It was quite fun. One even asked me if I was Kikuyu (a local tribe here) after I tried out my limited Swahili on him.

We also were fortunate enough this morning to meet a retired school teacher from Louisiana who runs a baby orphanage. She has 4 babies there right now and we happen to have 4 teenage girls with us, so we're hoping to get by there in the morning to hold babies. In the afternoon we're heading back out to measure feet. We still have about 150 kids left to measure. We were running a little short on money to purchase the best quality shoes and were blessed by a donor who made up the difference. God is really amazing in how He works everything together!

Keep the prayers coming - especially as my driving continues to improve!

Our first week...

Our first week has been wonderful. It's Sunday afternoon here, around 3:00 p.m. (we're 8 hours later than Mississippi). We went to Tigoni Fellowship Church this morning where the children from the LCC (children's center) attend. We were also able to see friends there from previous trips which was great. Kelvin and Reagan (they've served as translators on past trips) came over to our house for lunch and several hours of great conversation around the fire. They're both 23 years old and grew up together - they are absolutely hilarious and know WAY too much about America through Facebook, movies, and tv.

The rest of the week was busy with visits to the children's center every day (the girls especially like spending long hours there). On Friday, Karen, Anna, and Patrick's wife, Anastasia and I went into Limuru to run several errands. Anastasia took us through the local outdoor market where we bought fresh peas, corn, carrots, potatoes, etc... It was amazing how inexpensive everything was (and much fresher than what we buy in our grocery stores at home). We also went to the local grocery store for the rest of our purchases. It's interesting to me how much more natural all of the food is here - you can't find processed foods at all and very few canned goods and sugary products. We're definitely eating healthier here than at home. I'm finding the culture to be much more environmentally friendly here as well, at least in the community where we're staying. Disposing of trash is a problem, so there is very little packaging used and everything that can be recycled is - I'm finding that between burning, composting, and recycling we're producing an amazingly small amount of trash for five people sharing a home.

Speaking of home, our living situation is absolutely ideal. We've been able to rent the home of missionary friends while they are in the US. They're also allowing us to use their car which has been a huge convenience. They have an amazing staff - Mama Joan cooks and cleans for us, Jacob is the caretaker outside and builds wonderful fires, and Geoffrey is our guard who spends each evening outside patrolling around the house. We feel safe and well cared for.

We were able to have dinner with Pat Dixson who runs the feeding program for the elderly and people with AIDS. She also sponsors several small, poor elementary schools. We look forward to visiting several of her schools in the next week or so. We were also able to visit Cheshire - a home for the mentally and physically disabled. We've been invited back to work one-on-one with several of their residents on learning their letters and beginning to read. We packed lots of pencils and colored pencils to share with Pat's schools and will also bring some to Cheshire where they literally have no supplies at all for teaching and learning.

So far, the major lesson God has had for me has been patience - patience with people, with getting things done (Kenya time works much differently than US!), and patience with differences. I think these are all important lessons for me to learn and hopefully be able to transfer to my home, work, and relationships when I get home (many of you will be glad to hear this!).

Amazingly, for three women and four teenage girls, we're all getting along remarkably well and having a wonderful time together. We look forward to measuring the kids' feet for new shoes this week and whatever else is in store for us. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers for us!

Jambo! Greetings from Kenya. We arrived here safely (but a little jet lagged) early the morning of July 1 (yesterday). After shopping for groceries and settling into our new home (which is GREAT, by the way) we were able to visit the main branch of the Limuru Children’s Centre and visit with the boarders as they arrived home from school. The children seem to be doing really well. We met the six newer arrivals and everyone fell in love with the youngest boarder, Jen, who is 4 years old and absolutely adorable. After playing with the kids and catching up with Patrick, Maureen, and the house moms, we went to AB’s farm for dinner. There are currently close to 20 people staying at the volunteer house including a group of college kids from England. They were fun to talk to and Lauren has almost mastered the British accent. We had an early night – everyone was in bed by 9 – and were able to sleep in some this morning to catch up on our rest. We’re getting ready to head back to the Children’s Centre to eat lunch with the kids and help the moms prepare supper.

A couple of things to be thankful for… HOT WATER! Here, there are small hot water tanks that we have to turn off and on. You seriously have to plan for a shower. An hour and a half before you shower you have to turn on the hot water heater – then quickly take a shower so the person behind you has hot water for their shower. HEAT – it’s chilly here right now (their winter) and there’s no heat. We’re learning to bundle up during the day and sleep under mountains of blankets at night. Coming from nearly 100 degree temperatures in the deep south hasn’t helped our tolerance for the cold.

We have a fantastic house “mom” – Joan- who comes each day to take care of us. She’s super sweet. We’re so thankful to the Davis family for sharing their home with us. We’re beginning to feel at home already. Even getting used to driving on the left side of the road (better watch out when we get home!).

Hope all is well with each you. We’re excited to be able to share our adventure with you!

Hugs from Kenya,

Kate

We leave for Kenya in 4 days. I just finished up with Governor's School, and Lauren and I are headed to the farm in a couple of hours to rest and spend time with David (after living in a dorm on campus for the past 3 weeks!). We'll be doing laundry and packing Saturday and will enjoy Sunday and Monday together as a family before Lauren and I leave Monday night.

We will be missing a valuable member of our team, Linda, who will not be able to go with this year as planned. She will be GREATLY missed.

In May, our team did a fundraiser to provide funds to purchase jackets and shoes for all of the children served by the Limuru Children's Center. We're bringing nearly 300 jackets with us as well as all of the supplies to measure the children's feet and order shoes when we get to Kenya. Fortunately, there is a shoe factory near where we are staying, and we'll be able to purchase shoes there at quite a savings. To those of you who contributed to this effort, thank you so much for making this possible. Removing their worn out shoes and replacing them with brand new shoes was one of the most moving experiences I had when we went in 2007.

To others who have sent contributions to be used as God leads us - thank you for that. I am blown away be the generosity and love that people have shown. While our team is much smaller, we are able to bring suitcases full of relief supplies - clothing, shoes, vitamins, etc... - and things like colored pencils and other supplies for schools that lack the basics. My Governor's School kids did an amazing job of decorating pillowcases for the boarders who live full-time at the orphanage. Those 40+ kids will certainly feel special and loved when they see what teenagers from the US made for them. We're also bringing supplies for "fun" and will plan more than one party day with the kids while we are there. Of course, we're bringing many letters and special items that people have sent for specific purposes. The kids at the LCC love their connection to the US.

Thanks again for all of you who have offered to pray for us while we are there. Your enthusiasm, interest, and support mean so much to us. Hopefully, my next post will be from Kenya!

Getting Ready...

We leave 10 days from now. I'm having a hard time believing this is really going to happen. We were originally scheduled to leave on June 30th but Delta cancelled that flight (they couldn't get US Homeland Security approval to stop in Dakar, Senegal for refueling), and they've rebooked us on the 29th instead. Now, we're flying from Columbus, Mississippi to Atlanta, Georgia to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and finally to Nairobi, Kenya where we will arrive tired (and probably smelly!) on July 1.

This will be a different trip than we made in 2009. First, it's completely unscheduled - meaning that while we have an idea of what we'll be doing, we really haven't planned anything in advance. I think this will be a great way to do as we feel led and to spend time where we feel we are most needed. We have our own transportation (get to drive on the wrong side of the road!) which makes it a very flexible situation. The second main difference is that instead of going as primarily tourists on a guided trip and staying at a retreat center, it will be more like living there. We've rented a home and car from missionary friends and will be living in a village called Tigoni. We're also staying for nearly 6 weeks.

We're a small team this time. The main group is 3 women and 4 teenage girls. Another lady will be joining us a couple of weeks in and then there is a group of 4 scheduled to come for 2 weeks while we are there. The others are going on safari in the Masai Mara (Serengeti Plains) for a side trip. Lauren and I decided to fly to Egypt to visit the pyramids at Giza. We have a 5 day tour package and will be staying on the Nile River in Cairo. Lauren can't wait to ride camels around the pyramids. I've promised to join her.

My 2009 Governor's School scholars are helping with a major project for this trip. We're making pillowcases for each of the 42 orphans who live at the Limuru Children's Center. They're also writing letters and many want to become permanent pen pals. This is an awesome opportunity for kids on both sides of the world to learn about each other and to develop friendships.

Some of the projects we know we'll be engaged in are the Limuru Children's Centre, Care for Aids, Pat's Feeding Program, Sister Sandra's (vocational programs for young women), and a handicapped center. More information about many of these programs can be found on the Global Connections website: www.globalconnectionsonline.org. I learned so much from my previous trips to Kenya and can't wait to see what lessons and experiences are in store for us this time.

You can help us by sending up prayers in our name... for health, security/protection, and wisdom to be sure we're doing what we're called to do. I also hope for great relationships to be developed both among our team members and with our friends in Kenya.

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