Starfish and the Slums..

One day a young man was walking down the beach when he saw something strange in the distance. As he approached he noticed that a man was throwing something into the ocean. The closer he got he saw that the man was throwing star fish into the sea over and over again.

When he got close enough he noticed that the tide had washed hundreds of thousands of star fish onto the beach. They would be dried up by midday.

He shouted out to the man, "Sir what are you doing?"

The man replied, "I'm throwing these star fish in, they will die if I don't."

Shocked the young man answered "Surely you don't intend to throw all of them in? There are hundreds of thousands of star fish out here. It won't matter, there are too many of them."

The man stopped and without speaking picked up another star fish. He threw it into the ocean. He gazed for a moment at the young man and said, "It mattered to that one".

(this poem is taped up on the wall in New Life Home.)

Sometimes we get caught up in looking at Kenya, seeing the overwhelming need, knowing that so many people are starving, knowing that people are struggling to get through the drought and food crisis here, passing the beggars each day, seeing so many orphaned children…it can make you want to just throw your hands up in the air and give up. There’s no way we can help everybody anyway.

But, then we are reminded to look right in front of us, to the people we cross paths with who need our help, and realize that God has not placed us here to save the world, or Africa, or Kenya, or even Nairobi. God has placed a few people into our lives that we have come to love dearly, and has asked us to help them.

One example today. Mitumba Slum. There are so many things to be said about this place, not the least of which would be hauntingly beautiful kids, wearing tattered clothing, with bright smiles, but sad eyes. I spent the day in this slum today. I will be continuing to go there one or two days during the week, and then Trevor and I will keep going on Saturdays to help with a Bible Club and youth Bible study. So anyway, back to today. I went to help with the vitamins for the kids, to make sure all the kids were getting their vitamins and that they were taking them like they’re supposed to. That didn’t take long, so the rest of the day I helped wherever I was needed. What precious, precious kids. Every time I go there, my face just hurts from smiling so much!!
I sat in with a Standard 7 (grade 7) math class, which after the lessons were over I admitted to the kids that I had just learned as much or more than they had, as I had forgotten everything I ever knew about fractions!! (that may have been on purpose, as I hated fractions!!) They are such sweet kids.
I also helped with taking pictures of the kids for the sponsorship program, which I will be explaining more about (and which I am VERY excited about, by the way!!).
The rest of the day I just did little odds and ends, a lot of visiting (it’s the African way!! :) ), and talking about what the Lord is doing in the slums of Nairobi. I asked Pastor Shadrach some questions about the needs that they have, and how we or other people could help. You guys…they need so much. They rely on God to:
-feed 300 kids EVERY DAY
-provide school supplies
-be able to pay to send the high school kids to school
-be able to buy uniforms for the kids
-for medication and vitamins
-pay the teachers
-complete the home they are starting for those kids in the most desperate situations (about 30 right now), and then be able to properly care for them
-help when crises come up…like just this last week a fire raged through an area of Mitumba, and over 100 families, who already had so little, now have nothing.

…as you can see, the list is very overwhelming. And yet, when you listen to Pastor or his wife Violet speak, they are absolutely overflowing with joy at what the Lord has done, and are completely and fully confident that God will continue the good work that only HE has started.

They are looking for ideas on how to raise money so they can start to support themselves for some of these needs and also help the community surrounding them…some things they are already doing is recycling the garbage found in the slum to make “brickettes” (sp?)…a long, slow burning brick that they can sell at a cheap price to the people living in Mitumba, and are also trying to sell it to some of the supermarket chains. This business is now employing 17 families, who can put food on the table for their children. Wow!!!
Another thing they are doing is starting to look into making some crafts like jewellery and bags to sell to tourists and people in other countries.

The most recent thing they are working on is the sponsorship program that I mentioned before. They are really excited (as am I!!) to get this going, and to be able to link all their kids at the school with sponsors who will then provide the funds to give that child food, clothing, uniforms, school fees, plus the joy that it gives that particular child who knows that someone cares for HIM. Someone is willing to pay for HIS school fees. Someone loves him enough to send HIM a letter, maybe with a special treat. When he gets to high school, someone will pay for those expenses, so that HE can reach a higher level of education. This will also ease some of the burden on Pastor Shadrach and Violet if they have people willing to help out the kids in this way, and they can then continue to develop the school and children’s home and all the other things that they are still trying to maintain and develop…like getting a nurse to check the kids on a regular basis, training and hiring someone to make the uniforms for the kids (uniforms are mandatory for all school kids in Kenya), be able to put effort and funds into helping some of the needy families who live in Mitumba…oh the list could go on and on!! I know the idea of sponsoring a child is not new to any of you, and most of us already do sponsor at least one child. But this feels so incredibly personal to us…to hear these sad and awful stories of these kids lives directly, to see the sad eyes behind that smile, to know of the hurt and heartache…

Yes, there are a lot of needs in Mitumba slum, and I know I have barely even scratched the surface. If anyone feels that they would like to contribute to any of these needs mentioned, please let us know and we would love to tell you more. (but please don’t feel pressured…we just feel like we have a responsibility to get the word out and wanted to tell you about it.)
This place has a tight hold on our hearts already, and we feel so blessed to be able to be a part of God’s work there.

There are many other people that we have come to love and care for here in Nairobi, and I will elaborate more on that some other time. It’s so wonderful and encouraging to know that we can make a difference. You can make a difference to those you come into contact with. God is so powerful, and with Him working in our lives…other lives can and will be changed!! We have come to realize that it doesn’t matter where God has placed us. It only matters if we are willing to complete the task He has set before us, no matter what that may be.

The story in the beginning of this entry, about the starfish, really puts life into perspective. No matter where you are, if you are willing to let God take over, you can make a difference to one precious life.
~A

...

Hey all! I thought it was time to update you again…but I’m not exactly sure what updates to give you!! Life has settled into a bit of a routine again, which is good.

We have some friends staying with us this week…we mentioned them in November when they stayed with us then too. They are from Australia, and we have thoroughly enjoyed opening our home to them again. They brought another guy from their team to our house as well, so with three extra guys we have a full house! They cooked supper for us the other day, and invited two more friends over…so I was really outnumbered with six guys in the house!! But we have been so blessed by their company and presence here.

Tuesday evening we also had the opportunity to join a small group Bible study with young adults from our Church…and are so excited about it! We have been feeling anxious to get involved with Christians our own age, so have now joined this group of about 15-20 Kenyans in studying God’s word together. They are also wanting to get involved in some outreach as a group, and so we are looking forward to participating in that as well.

Oh, and do you remember Koros…a little boy who lives at New Life Home? He is the child who loves anyone with white skin, and so I have been spending quite a lot of time with him! Well…he is getting adopted!! This is really exciting, as he is so insecure, and so needy, and will THRIVE in a REAL home with his OWN parents!! And as I am very excited for him…the selfish part of me also feels some sadness at the thought “giving him up” and not seeing his sweet face once he leaves New Life Home…but I know that this is a WONDERFUL thing…the best thing that could happen to Koros!! And seeing him proudly hold the hands of his new mom and dad, his OWN parents…oh it was enough to make me cry. Adoption is such a beautiful thing. They are so blessed to be able to call this sweet child their own!! Praise God!!

So that’s basically what’s been happening here this last week…and now we are just anxiously awaiting the arrival of Wanda and Leona (Trevor’s sisters, for those of you who don’t know) the first week in February!! We have been counting down for quite awhile now, and we are now down to 2 weeks and 1 day!! YAY!!

Anyway, till next time when I have something to report…
~A

Just a Little Lunch Money...

Well, as we live in Africa, we seem to continually have experiences that remind us that we are most definitely NOT living in Canada!!!
Here is a story about one of those experiences…

...So last Saturday, Trevor and I were coming home from a conference. It was a home school conference that was a short drive out of the city, and Trevor had been asked to teach some of the junior high and high school kids some basic mechanic skills, like changing a tire, and checking the oil, things like that. These kids were mostly (or all) missionary kids, and Trevor did a really good job teaching them, and explaining some different concepts to them. It was a good experience for him, and was really appreciated by those at the conference. The retreat center where this conference was held was a beautiful location, and it was a beautiful warm sunny day to be outside!
Anyway, as we had to drive out of the city, we had to get through some police check stops. As we’ve mentioned about these stops earlier, they have blockades set up with spikes on them, so you have no choice but to slow down and stop if they wave you over to the side of the road. This always makes us nervous…not because we have done anything wrong, but because there is so much corruption in the police force, and anything can happen when you get pulled over. Well, just as Trevor was saying “I hope we don’t stopped”…we saw a police man waving us over. So, we sighed, and pulled over.
Trevor greeted the man in Kiswahili… ”Habari yako??” “Mzuri” was the reply. (How are you? Good.)
The police man asked for his driver’s license, which Trevor gave to him. The man held on to it, and then checked the insurance sticker. That was all good. He then walked to the back and asked Trevor to open the boot (trunk!). There are a few things they always check to make sure you have…a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and life saver triangles (the kind you set up if in a car accident or changing a tire by the side of the road). That was all there and in good shape. I was still sitting in the car, and just watching Trevor talk to the policeman outside. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but this is what happened…
The man was looking for something to be wrong with the car, and nothing was. He then told Trevor that we were driving too fast, and that we hadn’t slowed down when we saw the police check stop sign. Trevor said that yes, we had slowed down, because we were following a Land Rover that slowed down, and we had (obviously!!) done the same. The man then proceeded to say “no, you were going too fast, and you’re going to have to go to court.” Trevor asked him “really??” And the man replied with “yes, unless you give me a little lunch money. It’s been a slow day here, and I haven’t had any lunch.” Yes, he was asking Trevor for a bribe!!!! This is an extremely common occurrence, like I have mentioned before. So…what do we do. If we don’t give him a bribe (which we never intended to do, by the way), then that means that the police officer gets into our car with us (remember, they don’t have vehicles!) and drives with us to the police station, where we have to pay bail to go home, but they keep Trevor’s driver’s license. Then we would have to go to court, wait all day for our case to come up, plead guilty, pay the fine, and then get the driver’s license (and bail money!!) back. Not the end of the world, but a real hassle, especially when it’s all made up!!
So here’s the part where I get really proud of Trevor!! He told this man that he would just go to court. The man said “really?? How about you just pay me a little money?” Trevor replied with “actually, I would rather just go to court. You said I was driving too fast, so I’m sorry, and I’ll just go to court then. You said Monday, right?? I’ll be in court on Monday!”
This man was getting frustrated, because he knows that if he takes us to the police station, then he’ll miss out on all the other potential bribes he is going to get that day…after all, it’s still early afternoon!! There is still a lot of business out there!! So this dialogue went back and forth for awhile, with Trevor sounding so friendly and apologizing and sweetly offering to go to court, like he was invited to a birthday party or something!!! Paying a bribe wasn’t even an option, and we were at the mercy of this police officer. So the poor man finally got so frustrated, gave Trevor back his license, and told us to drive safely and have a nice day!!! It was one of those “are you serious??” kind of situations!! Aahhh…..yes.

OH… and today was PACKAGE DAY!!! We got our Christmas packages in the mail from our families, and it really made our day!! Thank you!!

And thank you to all of you who have been praying for us, and letting us know you are thinking about us!! We love hearing from you, whether it is through your comments on our blog, or by email, or by calling us on Skype...it means so much to us!!!

The Queen's English...

There are many words here that don’t always mean what we think they mean! Kenyan English is heavily influenced by the British…so sometimes we have to be careful how we say things, or we may not be understood!! English does not always seem to mean the same thing… Here are some of the differences:

What they say : What that means to us

Petrol : Gas
Gas : bottled gas for cooking
Paraffin : kerosene
To ring : to phone or call
To call : to visit
To queue : to make a line
Nappy : diaper
Torch : flashlight
Trolley : grocery cart
Flat : apartment
To let : for rent
Pudding : any kind of dessert
Chips : French fries
Crisps : potato chips
Serviette : napkin
Napkin : diaper
Football : soccer
Bonnet : hood of a car
Boot : trunk of a car
Spanner : wrench
Trousers : pants
Pants : underpants
Roundabout : traffic circle
Primary school : elementary school
Secondary school : high school
Chemist : pharmacy

And these next ones aren’t necessarily “British English“(or maybe they are??), but they are
said differently than what we’re used to :

Biscuit : cookie
Scone : biscuit
Mince : hamburger
Squash : fruit drink
Capsicum : green pepper
Courgettes : zucchini

So there’s a little English lesson…hope you learned something!! :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Hey everyone! We hope you all had a really great holiday, and good times spent with friends and family during this Christmas season.
Our Christmas was warm and sunny, and really didn’t feel a whole lot like Christmas! But the new experiences were good though, and we did enjoy them.

Christmas Eve was spent with some friends who live on our compound…we were invited to a campfire for the evening with them. Everyone brought appetizers, and we spent the evening outside, visiting, laughing, and eating lots of food!! The evening air was perfect…not blizzardy, not snowy, not cold and windy…just perfect!! :)

Trevor and I exchanged gifts with each other on Christmas morning…if we kept the blinds closed and couldn’t see the green grass outside, we could trick ourselves into thinking it felt normal!! We spent a nice morning together, then went to New Life Home to spend the afternoon with the kids and babies who live there. That was special…we really enjoyed it! The day before we had baked some cookies to bring to the ladies who work there, so they really appreciated that as well. It was nice to spread a little Christmas cheer to them, and to play with the wonderful kids who we have gotten to know and love there. All the kids each got a new teddy bear for Christmas, so that was neat, and made the holiday special for them too. Constantly we heard sounds of people singing “Happy Birthday Jesus” coming from the different rooms! We know that God knows and loves each of these precious children who live at New Life Home, and pray that He will indeed bless their little lives, and bring families who will love them as their own. They are all very, very special children, created by God for a purpose. Now that is an encouraging thought!!

That evening we were able to video skype with our families, which we were really happy about!! We missed them a lot, and so it was nice to be able to talk to them and see them, and share in their Christmas a little.

We also took a little holiday, and spent a few days at the Kenyan coast! We left early on Saturday, December 27th, and drove to the airport. The traffic at 5am is not enough to even speak of, and it was so refreshing to not have to deal with traffic jams! When we got to the ticket counter, we were very surprised to not have to show any ID…nothing!! They just took our e-tickets that we had printed off the computer, and took our luggage and gave us our boarding passes…good thing we really were Trevor and Andrea Wolfe!! And then they told me to just take my bag on the plane as a carryon…the one that I had packed to be checked in…so I had not been careful with what I had packed…so all in all it was a different airport experience! We were so tired, and slept most of the 1 hour flight to Mombasa. We walked off the plane, and immediately noticed the humid air that is so different from Nairobi. We collected our luggage, found the driver that was holding a paper with our names on it, and drove through the city of Mombasa to get to our hotel. Mombasa is much different from Nairobi, in that it is much slower paced, and the driving is not nearly as insane! People actually stop at the stoplights!! We were not used to that anymore!!
The resort was so beautiful…how can you go wrong when you have the Indian Ocean, pure white sand, lined with palm trees as your backdrop!??! We were amazed at the beauty of God’s creation yet again. We spent the next few days relaxing in the sun, taking walks along the beach, playing in the ocean, swimming in the pools, and eating delicious food! It was wonderful, despite the fact that I burned more than I have ever burned before!! Trevor didn’t really, because he was smarter than I and smothered his skin in sunscreen…something I should definitely have been more careful to do!! And I also got stung by some strange sea creature…not sure what it was, but my hand hurt for a few hours after that!! Oh well, it was all worth it!
We also spent time getting to know some of the people who worked at the hotel, and spent quite a bit of time with one security guard in particular. It was so nice to actually get to know the people, and learn a little more about the culture and get past just enjoying the beautiful resort. This man, Justin, told us that this wasn’t normal…typical tourists never really want to get to know the workers there, they don’t get past the “Jambo” greetings. (“Jambo” is the greeting in Kiswahili). He said he was so blessed and encouraged at the conversations we had together, and they way we got to know one another, and we were blessed in return.
One thing about Africa that is so different from Canada, is that no matter where you go, people on the street, or in this case, on the beach, always want to sell you stuff, or ask for stuff. Since it was a public beach, anyone was allowed on it, so it was difficult to walk along the beach without being surrounded by men who have been given the name “beach boys”, trying to sell us trips, boat rides, safaris, souvenirs, fruit, and any other number of things…it got a little frustrating and overwhelming after awhile! But it didn‘t take too long, and most of them figured out that we were not going to be buying anything, so they left us alone.
But all in all, we had a wonderful time, and discovered a new love for the Indian Ocean!! We decided that we are meant to live by the ocean, and think it would be a great idea to build a hut on the beach and live on fruit and fish forever!! No, just joking…but wouldn’t that be the life..?!?! :)

Today was spent at Nairobi Game Park…we had so much fun! We just borrowed a vehicle (the car we have here wouldn’t work too well, as it is so low and the roads are quite bumpy!!), and Trevor drove us around! We saw a lot of animals…giraffes, zebras, cape buffalo, ostriches, quite a few different kinds of deer, baboons, a hippo, turtles…it was so nice and relaxing just being out of the city and enjoying God’s creation in the warm sunshine. We brought a lunch, which we ate outside under the shelter of a tree. We kept looking for elephants and lions…and looked, and looked, and looked!! Four different times I thought I saw an elephant…once it was a deer, once an ostrich, once a rock and once a sign!! Sigh…! We know that they’re there, but we had no luck spotting them today. But we really enjoyed it anyway…what a great way to spend an afternoon!
After we were done driving around, we went to the animal orphanage, which is close to the entrance of the game park. They take in baby animals who have been left with no mothers, and feed and raise them. We finally got to see our lions there!! And they also have many other kinds of animals that they take care of. The coolest part was that one of the workers there offered to take us around…so he let us into the cages, and we were able to pet a lion, leopard and a cheetah!! It was so much fun!! As we were petting the cheetah, it started to purr, just like a regular house cat!! I want one now… :) (of course they wanted a little extra donation for that favour, but we didn’t mind. It was a lot of fun and worth it.)

Oh, and we also now share our house with two new creatures…lizards named Lizzie and Herbie. Lizzie is small and Herbie is tiny. At first, we didn’t know what to do with them when we saw them, and were kind of grossed out at the thought of having lizards in our house! But now, we’ve gotten to like them just a little, given them names, and think they are kind of cute!! They are also great because they eat the bugs and mosquitoes, which helps us out!!

Anyway, that’s a recap of our life these last few weeks…the holiday time has been great, and we have been able to see and experience new things. It has been nice to get out and do these different things, especially since we have been missing home this Christmas season, and missing our families a lot, so it helps to take our minds off of it! Trevor goes back to work at the TAM shop on January 5, so life will get back to normal then!! Till next time…
~A