30 Jul 2007

Thursday, July 26 - Saturday, July 28:

While I will come back to Monday-Wednesday later, here is the last blog I will write before going back to the States. The rest will be updates as soon as I get a chance when I get back.

Mombasa! Pirates Beach! Camel Rides!
It has been said that through enduring the journey, the destination is made even sweeter. Well, that was the case with us after driving through the night on Africa's version of a charter bus, accompanied by a flat tire in the middle of the night, only to arrive at one of the most fun and beautiful destinations of our trip - the Indian Ocean!
We arrived around 6:00am to our beach side "resort," actually a guest house called Maristellas fro the Catholic Order that Father Kizito and Shallom House are connected to. Upon arrival we walked up and down the beach while the sun was rising over the ocean, this to pass time while our rooms were being made (another couple was leaving the same morning we arrived). After getting back to our house the five of us students took a nap (4-6 hours long) while the other four went into the city to buy tickets for the return bus ride and to visit Fort Jesus, a historic Fort connected with the Turks and Portuguese that is in the shape of Jesus.
Those who went into the city said (adding to what we noticed coming into town that morning) that Mombasa is much different from Nairobi, having a large Muslim population making it much more diverse than the very Christians Nairobi. Then after I woke up around 2 in the afternoon, our group got a small lunch (cereal with milk! and PB&J!) and then took a cab a few miles down the road to the public beach - Pirates Cove!
The beach was great. Getting there during high tide, we were able to swim in the cool but manageable water and soak up the 70 degree sun (we looked and saw that it is going to be in the 90s in Chicago - but for us 70 was warm). This felt great after being in the cooler "winter" of Nairobi where there is only an hour or two of sun every day and it would often get into the 50s in the morning and at night. We were also able to take a camel ride for $1.50 (100 shillings) and a glass bottom boat/snorkeling tour for $3.00! The camel ride was sweet and though I only saw the tail of a small fish while snorkeling (much different from my last snorkeling experience in the Bahamas), This Is Africa, and besides, we were able to sit on the top of the boat which was great. The other negatives were that I got a huge headache from swallowing 3 gulps of salt water (bad snorkeling equipment) and Amy (a girl from our group) got a decent size cut on her leg from the coral. After the boat ride we just hung out on the beach, throwing the Frisbee around, drinking Coke and Fanta, and eating chips and ice cream. It was cool too when the tide went down and the water line went way down, making the beach much larger.
After the beach we took a Mutatu back to the guest house (the Mutatu, a 15 passenger van, was what seemed to be "pimp my ride Kenya," as it had purple lights flashing at our feet and sweet interior seating and padding on the walls and roof) to get dinner. The two house caretakers made us dinner- fish and delicious spaghetti, and we had bought and made guacamole and bought ice cream for a desert. Then for the best part of the day - worship! Sitting in a circle on our deck overlooking the ocean, we sang nearly every song in our song book (containing 28 songs) and finished by doing a popcorn prayer with the waves crashing in the background. God was truly present in our worship.
The next morning we all woke up early to catch the sunrise for the second morning in a row and then packed/ate breakfast/showered before getting into cabs that took us to the bus stop. The bus ride back seemed much longer and bumpier than the way there, probably because most of us did not sleep much on the way back to Nairobi. On returning to Nairobi around 7:00pm, we had dinner and then went to bed early so to rise early the next day for church.

Pictures of Kenya (Part II)

Tuesday, July 25th: Trip to Lake Nakuru











Wednesday, July 26th: Trip to City Center


(Me and our guide Peter shaking hands - the USA bracelet was given to our group by another guide David as a gift - his friend makes them)

Thursday, July 27th: AIDS Orphanage


(This is a picture of Paul, Paul, and Paul - two friends that I got to know while at the AIDS Orphanage)

27 Jul 2007

Karibu (Welcome)!
While I am still a little behind with my journaling, here are a few more installments from my trip. We are leaving tonight for Mombasa - a city on the coast of Kenya - for two days so I won't be able to give updates for a few days, but you can look forward to some more thoughts from Kenya soon. The end of our trip is soon and coming, and I am looking forward to coming home to see family and friends.

Friday, July 20th:
On Friday we spent the day visiting World Relief and their projects in Nairobi. 7 of the 10 of our team members are involved with World Relief in the States, doing relocation of refugees, so it seemed appropriate to visit the organization in Kenya. Interestingly enough, World Relief Kenya had little to do with refugees and a lot to do with those suffering from HIV/AIDS. For part of our visit we split into three small groups and visited a number of individuals around Nairobi with HIV/AIDS. My group, Becca, Dorothy, and I visited a 12 year old girl named Esther.
Esther lives in a fairly nice house with her grandmother, younger sister, and older sister. Her mom died of HIV in 2000 and she later discovered that she also had the infection. We learned that earlier in the week she had gone in for 56 shots (doing this once a month) as part of her treatment. We also learned that she is too weak to even walk 1.5 miles to and from school every day, so for the last two weeks she has not been able to go to school (she is in the 4th grade). Their hope is that she can go to a boarding school for HIV positive children where she can get the treatment, care, and education she needs. Apart from her infection, Esther is an amazing girl. She has a beautiful smile (even though she is very shy) and she loves what other kids in Kenya love - football, drawing, church, Sunday school, her family, and animals - hens, goats, and cows. She wants to go to beauty school some day and be a hair dresser like her older sister. I will pray for Esther and the 500 other men and women with this terrible disease connected with World Relief in Kenya, a disease that is terrorizing Africa (6,500 people die every day in Africa from AIDS; 150,000 every month - this equal to the number of people that died in the Tsunami).
After these visits we had tea and Mandazi at the HIV testing office, and headed to the offices of Youth For Christ Kenya. Here we met and learned a lot about a group of ten 18-24 year-olds who have traveled to over 90 secondary schools (high schools) teaching abstinence, character education, and faithfulness in marriage as a way to prevent HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancy. This group being partnered with World Relief (and thus our visit), YFC also sends evangelism teams and Discipleship teams all over Kenya to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. May the Lord Bless their work.

Saturday, July 21st:
On Saturday we sat in on two 2 hour sessions on Peace and Development Talks in Africa. They were lectures from two adults connected with Peace Point, an organization connected with Shalom House. One of the speakers was a guy named Michael who was one of the founders of Shalom House and the Koinonia Projects along with Father Kizito back in the mid 1990's. It was great to hear (and take notes - if anyone is interested in these just let me know) an African perspective on the conflicts and solutions to those conflicts (political, social, and religious) going on in Africa. There has been a lot of fall out since the colonizing of Africa, and things are very complicated; the church has a huge role and opportunity that it can either improve or add to the current problems. The lectures were encouraging in that many churches and individuals have been active in bringing peace, justice, and equality to the people here.
Following the lectures we walked (our first time walking in the slums directly next to Shalom House) to a football (soccer) game that one of our guides places on though he did not play in this game. It was one of two professional soccer teams in Nairobi that often travels around Africa and Europe to play games. The team we were cheering for lost but it was a great way to spend a Saturday evening just sitting as a group watching a game. The weather was also perfect for the occasion.

Sunday, July 22nd:
A day with the boys at Tone La Maji.
We began our day attending the Swahili service and part of the English (though mostly Swahili) service at the Catholic Church next door. We often hear the choir practicing during the week and after wandering over last week to talk with some of the youth who were practicing a dance, decided to check it out. The first service was packed and much more what I expected an African church service to be than last weeks trip to Nairobi Chapel. The youth (younger youth) had a large role in the service, dancing down the isle numerous times during the service. It was great to see how many people were involved in the service and how joyful everyone was towards worship. I'm sure God was pleased with their hearts and approach to worship.
Following church/mass we drove back into the countryside to spend the afternoon at Tone La Maji, one of the Kononia projects started by Michael and Father Kizito. Having only visited for a short time earlier in our trip, this trip provided more time for us to get to know the boys.
The boy I connected with, and whose story I will tell in conjunction with the story of Tone La Maji (meaning "Drop of Water"), is Kevin. Kevin is an 11 year old boy who, like most boys at the home, could not be fully supported by his parents in the slums (he has two brothers and two sisters). It was this lack of family support and love that makes him and the other boys connect immediately to strangers and visitors, always wanting to hold hands and stay close by their new friends. Kevin loved "football" (soccer) and one day wants to do it professionally. Upon arriving we were immediately introduced to Kevin's soccer skills (he is only 11 and yet amazing at juggling a soccer ball). The cool thing about going to the home on the weekend rather than during the week is that we have more time time to spend with the boys (they don't get back from school until 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon on weekdays), and the weekend is when the soccer tournaments are. This particular Sunday there was a tournament for the 17-and-under team from Tone La Maji. The home has 60 boys and four soccer teams - divided into U-17 and U-14 for the talented and soccer-knowledgeable boys, and U-13 and U-12 for the boys who are less skillful and knowledgeable.
After spending some time with the boys, and for me with Kevin at their dormitory area, we all headed up to the ground (what the boys call the soccer field) to watch a match between Tone La Maji's U-17 team and a team from a town down the road. The game was played on the most beautiful, scenic, and soccer worthy field I have ever seen in my life (I have watched and played soccer my whole life and have never seen anything like this). As for the field itself, instead of chalk or painted lines, the lines were simply dug out of the dirt - all the appropriate measurements, and the goal posts were nothing more than three thick sticks placed together in the appropriate dimensions - these with no nets and yet as sturdy as medal posts. The ground was mostly dirt with some patches of grass and did have four orange cones, one at each corner as visual markings. As for the officials, it was the coach of Tone La Maji (a volunteer from the Republic of Congo) and coordinator of the tournament, that refereed both afternoon games (there was one game before it) and the funniest thing was that the line judge was a kid with a stick that had a pair of red soccer shorts tied to it that served as the flag. As for the players, they had surprisingly nice jersey tops (probably donated by outside donors) and though most had shin guards, socks, and shoes, there were some from every team that simply played barefoot. The goalie uniforms were not as official as they were long sleeve shirts and pants that were simply a part of the boys wardrobe. Needless to say, these uniforms and the field allowed for a fun and competitive game of soccer.
Adding the the makeup of the game itself was the scenery and the fans. The field was set out on a very large flat area next to a road, surrounded on one side by large mountains and the other by a green and forest-filled river valley. In addition, as its fan base, Tone La Maji had the remaining 45 boys who were not on the U-17 team, the ten from our group plus three guides, and the full time volunteers at the home. It was a community endeavor. And while the older boys played the game, we got to hang out with and interact with the younger boys - me with Kevin and some of his friends. One thing that every boy and girl we have interacted with loves is our cameras. Once they figure the cameras out they love taking pictures and videos of themselves, them and us together, and their friends. Kevin and his friends particularly liked taking videos of themselves rapping (in Swahili so I didn't know what they were saying). They were also totally into their "brothers" who were playing the game. Both halves Kevin and I sat on the side of the opposing teams goalie, to be at the forefront of any goal scored by Tone La Maji. When a goal was scored (only one by Tone La Maji) the fans would all join the team members in running hysterically to the corner cone and do a little dance while screaming and yelling. I did get a video of this which captures it the best I could.
As for Kevin, he, like Esau is someone I would like to sponsor and keep in touch with if the opportunity presented itself (if I haven't said it already, they have sponsorship of $30 a month available in Germany and Italy, but not yet in America). Being cold at the soccer game, I gave Kevin my long sleeve shirt, but had to take it back before we left because we are not allowed to give things to the children (for two reasons - 1) that if we give to one kid the others will then ask for things or be upset, 2) that we want the house and administrators themselves to give the kids our presents so the kids look highly upon their home and "parents" rather than become dependent or hopeful toward outsiders). The one main need Kevin has is football shoes because he has the same shoes for school, home, and soccer. Maybe I'll have a chance to help while here or after going back home.
Following the football game we had tea and cookies with the boys in their dining hall which turned into a minor dance party and time to exchange thank-yous and gifts between us and them (we gave the boys 8 soccer balls to share amongst themselves).
After Tone La Maji (and a hard yet fun departure - hard because we were attached to the kids; fun because it was night and our group had our own little dance party on our bus while leaving) we went back to Shalom House and had a second entertaining show from the local African drum and dance group. We were supposed to have a drug and dance lesson following the show but during the show 15 Italians (also staying at Shalom) came in so there were to many people for a lesson.

23 Jul 2007

Since Anita House and another Koinonia House for Streetboys that same night (it was a short visit - beautiful countryside/ river side location but I will write more about it after our next visit) we have been very busy and without a chance to write or send e-mails. In order to catch up on our time here in Kenya, I will write summaries of each day since the 14th of July.

Sunday, July 15th:
On Sunday we attended Nairobi Chapel for church, attempted to go to an orphanage called Happy Life (we ended up going to a gospel benefit concert for the kids - a little awkward to be honest), and then after dinner got a live performance from an amazing local drum and dance group. The church was definitely a challenging experience. Supposedly one of the fastest growing churches in Africa (and currently going through a huge relocation process to a tent - yes tent - that holds around 3,500 people) the church reminded me of my church back home that also recently went through a relocation process. While walking to the church (about a mile down the road from where we are staying) one of the guides Newton told me that this was a rich persons church (and Mizungu - white persons), noticable by the fact that there were so many cars parked outside the church (most of the cities residents don't have cars but instead walk and take public transportation - even bicycles are to expensive for most of them). So though the church is similar to mine back home (the only way to get to mine is by car), in the context of our visits to the slums and homes for street children this last week, it hurt to see a church that was negatively considered the rich person's church. After entering the tent (a big one, yet smaller than the one they are moving to on September 2nd) things only got more challenging to process. In the bulletin there was a flyer for a golf outing fundraiser for the new church (again only the very rich people know how to or even play golf), and had little mention of any service organizations or projects to the poor. The service and songs were very Americanized with big screens and American songs, and the sermon, though based around faith the God answers prayer, was very materialistic in nature and on the verge of a prosperity gospel. While I trust and pray that God works through this local body of believers, the experience challenged me to challenge myself and the rest of the body of Christ (now and while a pastor) to be more sensitive to and active with the poor and needy.

Monday, July 16th:
Monday was a day of even new experiences. We spent the day visiting an organization that served refugees all over the city of Nairobi. Included in this visit was their headquarters where a man named Father Eugene oversees training courses in hairdressing, beauty, and information technology, a bread shop, a thrift store for refugees, and a restaurant run by refugees. In the morning, after arriving, Father Eugene took us to an apartment complex for about 8 refugee families, and in the afternoon we went to a place where they make prosthetics and crutches for war torn and diseased persons.

Tuesday, July 17th - Thursday, July 19th:
Safari! Tuesday was the first of a three day journey to the western part of Kenya called Masai Mara. While the focus of our trip is obviously the community and church projects in Nairobi, it would have been hard to come to Kenya and not see the wildlife, landscape, and tribal people that make Kenya and Africa so unique. Tuesday afternoon, after driving 6 hours on the bumpiest and yet most scenic road I have ever been on, we went on a short game run at the National Park (1500 square kilometers) and then found our campsite (tents that believe it or not had a toilet and shower in them). On Wednesday we did an all day game run starting at 6:30am followed by a campfire with smores! and traditional Masai dancers and storytelling. Then on Thursday we did another morning game run, visited a Masai village, and traveled 6 hours back to Nairobi and Shalom House on the same bumpy road.
The animals were great! We were able to see zebras, elephants, giraffes, aarons, buffalo, hippos, baboons, gazelle, vultures, lions, jackels, and much more! It was Wednesday morning when we saw 10 lions (mostly female - they are the ones who do the hunting) eating a zebra they had killed earlier that morning. Because they were so occupied with their breakfast, our bus along with 10-15 others were able to get within 10 feet of the lions. The coolest part was went one of the few male lions, in order to protect the others, slowely approached our bus when Lori left the door open too long to take a picture. There was no danger for us but we got some sweet pictures.
The other amazing experience on our Safari was learning about and interacting with the Masai. One in particular was named Amos. His story is similar to all the others. Amos lives in the village as one of the many male warriors (meaning he was already circumcised between age 13-20). The village has around 75 members living in 15 huts made of cow dung and situated in a circle surrounded by a fence made of sticks to keep animals out. They own around 175 cattle that all stay in their camp at night. Their diet consists of milk, blood, and meat - the milk coming straight from the cows every morning (sometimes even directly into their mouths - it is better this way), the blood from the cows necks (poked once every 2 weeks), and the meat from goats and cows. Instead of money, the number of cows show how wealthy a person or a family is. Also, the chief often has 5 or more wives and rotates living in a different hut every night, and is able to get more wives by having more cows. Amos' friend Patrick told me that they practice Catholicism (probably coming from the the missionaries running their schools) and the Kenyan government requires one child from each family to go to primary school. The Masai are also nomadic. They will not live in one place for more than 10 years and the men often take the herds miles away during the day to find good grass for the cattle to graze on - always returning by sun down. The women stay back with the children and make the huts as well as make jewelry. In addition to all this, traditional Masai dancing is common, they showed us how to make fire with two types of wood, and they supposedly are very healthy, never having to go to the hospital.
This whole journey took place in the Rift Valley, a BEAUTIFUL valley surrounded by mountains that stretch from somewhere in Tanzania all the way up into Egypt. This is the place both scientists and theologians agree on as being the beginning of humans, and provided sites that were both breathtaking and left our group speachless. No camera or words could ever come close to describing the landscape. God knew what he was doing in creating Adam and Eve in this place!

16 Jul 2007

Following a long, challenging, and spirit-filled day at Mother Teresa and Kivuli, the next day took us to two other Koinonia projects for street children. Following suit with William, Humphry, and Essau, the Annita House (a home for 40 street-girls located in rural Kenya outside of Nairobi) introduced me to Gracia and Esther. For the sake of time, I will stick with describing Esther. Both girls were great (Gracia loved it when I spun her around by her arms or held her upside down over my shoulder) my encounter with Esther was one of grace and mercy. First for mercy - not getting what I deserved. During our time at Annita House we got to help make Chipotie ( a type of bread looking like a thin tortilla soft-shell), tour their facilities, and just play. Some of the play activities included jump rope, football (soccer), playing with beach balls we blew up, dancing, and swinging. One particular time I was pushing two girls on the swings - Esther and another girl. The other girl being quite an experienced swinger, Esther was not as coordinated (at the time I was unsure why). In pushing them, I pushed Esther to0 high and she fell, hitting her back and head fairly hard on the ground. Though trying to be a comfort myself, it too 10 minutes of Dorothy (one of the girls in our group) holding her before she calmed down. The hardest thing other than her crying was the sad and quite stares of the other girls (just 4 out of the 40) around when it happened. And to make the situation worse, I found out later that this 8 year old girl Esther was mostly blind and very limited in her seeing abilities. (This became very clear after finding out while watching her play and interact with us and the other girls). Deserving to not be allowed to play with the girls anymore, the only punishment I got was guilt and a tough (but loving) response from Dorothy. Even one of the staff from Shalom house, in talking with him later, told me that for the girls falling off the swing was like falling off a bike - it is part of the learning process. Though not agreeing with him fully, even he did not give me the shame and punishment I deserved.
But while the mercy was undeserved, the grace - receiving what I didn't deserve - was even better. Looking for a way to make up with Esther, I decided to be her beach ball partner after we helped blow them up for the girls. This was an amazing experience while I watched her catch it on faith that I would throw it to her arms and watch her retrieve the ball based off the sound of where it hit the ground. Needless to say I think she liked me after all and I grew to love who God created her to be, and appreciate the grace of getting to continue to play and interact with her and the other girls - even after my foolish mistake.
Outside of these games I got to make a fool out of myself dancing (if you have seen me dance you understand), climb two trees (one a thorny tree) to retrieve balls that were stuck, plant flowers with the group, see the youngest girl (3 and a half) pee on the dirt while planting flowers (she did not have diapers), and eat some wonderful food the girls had made. All in all it was a great experience and I hope we can go back before the trip is over.

Pictures of Kenya (Part I)

These are some pictures from our trip so far. Because picture taking is limited in the slums and homes for street children, I must get them from those who took them, so they will be up sometime later when I get a chance. I hope you enjoy these now though.


This is a mural from the Kenya Youth For Christ organization building, an organization that in partnership with World Vision has sent groups of 18-24 year olds into over 90 high schools in Kenya to talk about abstinence and character development in order to prevent HIV and unplanned pregnancy. It was a great experience.

These are zebras from the Safari we went on. We also saw lions, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, hippos, jackels, baboons, gazelle, and many other types of animals. The lions (10 of them were) all eating a zebra like this one, pictures that I will put up later when I get access to them.

This is a kid from the Masai Village in Western Kenya that captured my heart. He had flies all over his face and raw skin under his nose from them residing on him so much. The Masai had an amazing culture and this kid will surely grow up into a great warrior.

This is a typical Masai hut made out of cow dung and sticks (very stable) with some of the older women sitting around outside it. This particular village had 75 people and 175 cattle.

These are some of the Masai women performing a dance for our group after entering the village. The girls from our group later joined them for the end of their dance.

Me, Patrick (the Masai guy), and a lions neck that Patrick had killed and wore as a trophy of his accomplishment - the most highly regarded accomplishment in the Masai culture.

This was one of the dances the Masai men performed for us before entering their village. The Masai take turns jumping and whoever jumps the highest gets the most women - I later tried my luck at this too - though was not as strong in the calf region.

At one of the Koinonia projects, they have a wood shop where men like this carve out beautiful carvings that they sell at fair trade shops. The carving on the left is an example of what this man had done.

This is me with my two new friends Victor and Newton (our guides from Shalom House) and my new authentic African shirt. The picture was taken at a organization that makes prosthetics for men, women, and children that lost limbs through war, disease, or lack of medicine.

This is me feeding Betty and Laura - not my mom and sister but two Giraffes from the Giraffe house we visited earlier in the trip. These are an amazing animal!

Alright, I know this is disgusting, but an amazing site none the less. This was taken of a young elephant at a home for orphaned elephants that one day will be put back in the wild but were separated from their parents due to poaching for their parents tusks and ivory. If you can avoid buying ivory, please do, as it endangers elephants like these.

13 Jul 2007

Yesterday was a day of rest; and a day of surprises.
Not because it was planned that way but because as Leonardo Decaprio says in the movie Blood Diamond: "This Is Africa." In the morning Rick and Desiree spent 4 hours at 3 different banks trying to take money out of their credit card - this allowed the rest of us to sleep in until 10:00am! Desiree said that it was not until George (the manager of Shalom House - much like Paul in Hotel Rwanda) saw a friend at the third bank who was able to write a note saying he knew Desiree and Rick for 10 years that any bank would trust giving them such a large sum of money. But again, This Is Africa, and things work a little differently around here. The next complication came after lunch (as well as spending some time at the internet cafe - about $1 an hour) when our desired plans fell through. We wanted to spend a day and a half at a place called Happy Life, an orphanage that another student from North Central worked at for a few months. The problem was that even though we finally heard back from the orphanage, we had no directions to the place (there are no addresses around here, only street names). So we went with plan B which took us on a Safari Walk at a National Park in Nairobi which was the African version of a zoo. On the walk we were able to see both normal and albino zebras, wildabeasts, buffaloes, ostriches, monkeys, impallas, wart hogs (yes Katie, pumas), cheetas, a rhino (weighing 2 tons - as much as a car!), orks (one with only one horn - at first I thought it was a real unicorn), crocodiles, hippos, and a beautiful river valley running up into the National Park. The one disappointment was that the Lion was hiding in the woods, but on a positive note we had a guide taking us around (unlike an American zoo) and tell us about all the animals. We finished our time there with a soda at the restaurant.
Though the day did not remedy any deep discussions during our devotional, we still managed to talk for a few hours into the night. While the night before warranted a discussion of Matthew 6 and what we can do as individuals to help those in need, last nights conversation revolved around the church and its role in helping those in need as told by Paul in 2 Corinthians 8. It was a very encouraging conversation, realizing that both individual and community transformation can occur when Christ's body (the church) is both working together in unity and persistently fighting the inequality of resources amongst local churches in the greater body. A statistic was quoted that if every Christian in America alone gave 10% of their salary (tithe) an extra 120 billion dollars could be raised and it would only take 80 billion to rid of poverty. That is also assuming that churches gave at least 66% of that extra tithe money to the poor (most churches don't even give 10% outside their church to the poor). While the numbers sound great, the only way any of this is possible is for the American church to first see their place in the global church and for small steps to be taken both individually and as the church to tithe to the church/poor. Amidst all this great conversation I really wanted to spend some quality time at the end in prayer, but the prayer was keep short and my heart unsettled. It may have been better to keep it light because today was a very full and intense day spiritually.
After devotions two surprises awaited us in our Block B, 3rd Floor, Room Two living quarters. The key was locked in the room for the second time this week (though last time we found the maintenance who had a spare key, this time was at 11:30pm so we had to pick the lock with one of Dan's credit cards. The second surprise (not a pleasant one at that) was that somehow our code on the safe in our room (having all our passports and money) got changed accidentally so we couldn't get into the safe. Today we discovered that it isn't a huge problem (*we have got in since writing this) to get it open but our prayer is that it was our mistake when reentering the code to close it rather than someone trying to break in.
Finally, I'd like to describe two of the members from our group. The first is Lori, a 40 year old kindergarten teacher that lives in Aurora and teachers in the Western Suburbs. She has an amazing spirit and really has a servant's heart. Yesterday she even took the time to do some of our laundry. She has been on other missions trips before to Haiti and goes to CCC for church with Rick and Desiree. We learned from the conversation last night that she just started going to church again five years ago (this coming after 17 years of not going since growing up in a catholic church) and really cherishes her renewed relationship with the Lord. Though still being hesitant to pray in public, she always has something good to say and is an amazing Christ-like figure with all the children we have come in contact with on the trip.
The second group member I'll briefly talk about is Josh. Josh is 27 years old and is Dan and Rick Guzman's step-brother (son of their step-mom's previous marriage). He lives in Chicago and works in the theatrical arena, performing in plays and "anything he can find." He really has a pretty quiet and non-expressive personality, but often breaks out a joke or hilarious comment that keeps us on our toes. He's also got a low voice and the most chest hair I have ever seen. Because he lives in the theater world and the people he associates with he does not consider himself a religious person and I from what I know Christian. But he is so open to it - and displays God's love with every African we meet - especially the children who tend to cling to him because he is so tall and white. I am stoked that he was able to join us on our trip and despite only being with us for two of the three weeks, I hope I can get to know him more and pray this trip may change his life.
Until later, enjoy what you have in America, and keep praying for me and the group when you get a chance. Thanks and God Bless.

12 Jul 2007

We went to the Kibera slums yesterday. After a three hour conversation/ devotional last night we still came up confused on the question of what we could do. Yes, some great ideas were thrown out, strategies from other Christian advocates for the poor and other books we have read, but the question still lingered. It wasn't until I got back to my room though that I realized we can do nothing with our own strength and mind power. The only hope is God working through us, despite us, or waiting so that His glory may be even more in the future.
I know this sounds without hope, but it is really where all the hope lies, and not until we understand this can anything, or has anything been done.
I definitely know God used our group yesterday. We took a four hour tour of the slums yesterday, a place not much bigger than Central Park in New York City but with a population of 800,000 to 1 million people. We toured with a native run community development organization called KISCODEP (Kibera Slums Community Development Program), a program providing internet literacy courses (on two very old commuters) as well as gives micro-loans of around $30-80 to families in Kibera to start small businesses. Some of the businesses we visited included a jewelry making business (making necklasses and bracelets out of cow bones), a laundry business, a pharmacy, and two schools. These were scattered all over the Kibera area. These business men and women make up a 100 person community working together to improve their lives and their kids lives for the future. It was their pressence with us in this place (about 10 of them came with us all through the community) that allowed us to have the experience we did. Because we were with these people everyone befriended us - including the children who would all say "How are you?" over and over and then proceed to run up to us and shake our hands. The many pictures we got cannot come close to describing the experience we had. These people, people living on less than $1 a day for the whole family (that is if they had a family - some were orphans) exibited more joy, more love, and more devotion to God than I may have ever seen in my life.
As has become a daily endevor so far, I'd like to share the stories of two people I met in Kibera. The first was a lady named Teresa. Teresa is 28 years old and has grown up in Kibera her whole life. She has a husband and a 5 year old daughter named Anne. Teresa works at a pharmacy in the slums that has been financed from the micro-loans. She has an amazing spirit and her generosity led her to buy both me and Lori (another lady on our trip) a necklass from the shop financed by the community development program. Also, after asking to keep the pictures of my parents and siblings, she gave both Lori and I some pictures of her and her family. Again, such great generosity and love. On the back of one of the pictures it said some of her hobbies included Bible study, singing in the choir (our friendship started after I complimented her on a solo she sang during one of two songs the ladies sung us on arriving), netball, listening to gospel music, and helping in the community. I hope our friendship can continue.
Another individual that I spent less time with but was touched just as much by was an eight year old child named Ester. She was one of the twelve children form the first school we visited that met in a room not much bigger than my room back home at my parents house. The walls were paper over mud and the floor mud with only a small tarp over it where the kids sat and a few benches where we all sat. After introducing ourselves, Dan and Rick got their guitars out and we began asking if the children knew any songs. With the ABC's written on the chalk board, Kate aked if they knew the ABC song. Responding different from what we expected, the teacher sent one child, we would find out later named Esther, to the board to recite her ABC's - and she did it flawlessly. The remainder of our time there (singing other songs and looking at jewelry the class has made), Esther went back and forth to the chalkboard (when sitting on the floor next to Kate - or on my knee later) and wrote down each letter in upper and lower case followed by a word starting with that letter. As Lori, a kindergarten teacher from our group, said, this little girl was like a sponge and had a passion for learning. Before leaving (this coming after the kids received their daily porage) we were able to pray for the school and the teacher (by this time the area pastor, Pastor Ken, came in and prayed with us - he would later commend and encourage me after I told him I was training to be a pastor) and I got to hold Esther's hand. While holding her hand I looked into her beautiful face and saw her smile over and over - a face I took to be Jesus' smiling down over us as we prayed in that "poor" yet very "rich" area.
The last thought I'd like to note about our experience yesterday was part of the prayer the Pastor prayed prior to leaving the slums. His prayer was one of forgiveness for the theifs and evil people in the slums that so often give it it's image and cause fear from outsiders, protection over us from these people while we were in Nairobi and on our trip, and awareness that there are people in that community that are striving for a better Kibera and that love the Lord and visitors with their heart, mind, and souls. I know after visiting that their suffering only brings them closer to the crucified Christ and their hope a real hope that will be fullfilled in Christ's second coming, but is also fulfilled now in their joy and relationship with Him and with each other. May our prayer for America be the same as theirs for Kibera, and our love for God and others the same and as real as well. Come Lord Jesus Come!

10 Jul 2007

Today I was able to see God in three forms - Nature, A Priest, and Worship.
We were able to learn about and see 8 young orphaned elephants, an animal that is very smart and is actually a pretty playful animal. God was made real through the elephant. We were also able to go to a giraffe house where we got to pet, feed, and even kiss (a little wierd I know) a giraffe. This is an amazing animal , possibly one of my personal favorites (and one that God put a lot of thought and detail into). The ones we interacted with were one of three types in Kenya and were distinguished by their white stockings- not having patches or color below their knees. It was also funny that two of them (with whom I got my picture with) were named Betty and Laura. Again, an amazing animal, and one in which God was made real through. Finally, we went to a colonial style home (Karen Blixen home - author of Out of Africa) and there saw one of the most amazing flowers I have ever seen. It had three different flowers in one and looked like a boquet of flowers that God beautifully placed together. God was made real through these flowers.
The second way I saw God today was through the priest who started Shalom House, a man originally from Italy of great faith and Godly character, having been in Africa for the last 30 years. His expertise and knowledge of wholistic community development, and I mean development rather than betterment, was unmatched and spectacular. And what's more is that I could see Jesus' face in his, hear Jesus' voice in his, and sense Jesus' love for the people here in his. I'm not sure anything else in the world could compel him to do what he has done except the grace, power, and love of God himself. He was a great example of Christ and a saint with a humble heart (and white beard). God, and his Son Jesus, were made real through this man.
Finally, I saw God and sensed his Spirit through our worship tonight. The songs (7-8 of them) were a delight I'm sure to God's ears due to great guitarists (Rick and Dan Guzman), young voices, and hearts seeking God's face. The conversation and scripture reading was very representative of our La Spiaza group at Wheaton First Baptist and drew out many revelations of Christ from Romans 12. The prayer was also God honnoring and I'm excited to see where our devotions go in the next three weeks (and pray they may bring God glory, transform our hearts, renew our minds, change our lives, and spur us on to good works in Christ Jesus - as well as bring salvation to Josh (a non-Christian on our trip).
Before closing with the priest's story, I want to mention the connection I made while driving thorugh the rich gated communities of Karen today (and our projected plans tomorrow) to the parable in the gospels of Lazarus and the rich man in his own gated house - though realizing I will probably come back to this later in the week I must note Dan's comment that we live at home on the side of the rich man.
Let me now tell what I remember of the Priest's story. Growing up in Italy, he moved to Kenya 30 years ago, initially working with two other priests in a rural community in Kenya. He told how important the first 3 years were because most city and slum dwellers relate to or find identity in their rural tribal roots and families.
He then found himself in a very poor area (again in a smaller town) that was beyond the semitary at the edge of town where he was alone. Here he opened his home (not done when with the two priests) which provided a great connection to the community and outlet for ministry to the poor (calling his project Koinonia Project and inviting 8-10 Africans to live in community with him like Mother Teresa did).
Some time after that he was called, agaist his will, to the slums of Nairobi. Since then he has helped found 5 homes for street children (Koinonia Projects) housing 260 children, two schools in central Sudan, the Shalom House, and other social entrepreneurship initiatives. He was again a true disciple of Jesus Christ and living example of Jesus himself (definitely offering his body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord - Rom 12:1).

9 Jul 2007

After two days of travel (from O'hare to Heathrow, London and then Heathrow to Nairobi, Kenya) we finally made it to the Shalom House where we will be stationed for the next three weeks. Dan Guzman and I are both missing a bag (me my donations bag and he his clothes bag), but we are not that worried and are trusting that God will take care of everything. I'm just glad everybody else's stuff came in ok.
I think the best way to journal the next couple of weeks will be to tell people's stories that I meet. Today I met David. David is employed by Shalom House and from what I understand will be taking us around the next couple of weeks. He had a yellow Track and Field jacket on when we first saw him at the airport so I was able to connect right away. David is 26 years old and is originally from Tanzania (the country south of Kenya). His sister (16), Aunt, and Grandmother still live in Tanzania but his parents passed away in an auto accident a while back. Though not a runner like his shirt says, he is a futbol (soccer) player, and a good one from what it sounds like (plays offensive midfielder). He is on a team from Nairobi that travels all over Africa and Europe and on the drive from the airport he pointed out the stadium in Nairobi that he plays most of his games in. David did not have the money to go to University (because of his parents sudden death) but he wants to one day be self-employed with his own touring business. He'd also like to go to the States sometime but it is really hard to get a Visa. I told him about my family, my girlfriend, and my plans to be a pastor, and he told me that if I ever came back after becoming a pastor that I had to come find him and preach to him. I hope that our lives may be able to minister to each other (and Jesus through us) the next couple weeks.
I saw Jesus today standing on a street corner on the way to Shalom House from the airport. Just a child, ragged and worn, starring into my eyes as we drove by. I hope to find Jesus in many places during my time here and maybe, just maybe be able to be Jesus to others too. May the Lord bless and keep us during our stay here. And may the eyes of my heart be opened wide!