We can smell it! Can you smell it? We feel it! Can you feel it?
What is IT, you ask?? It’s the RAIN!! God has sent the rains! For those of you who do not understand why this is so exciting, it is because this beautiful country of Kenya has been in desperate need of rain for so long. Everything is dry. People are starving for lack of food. Fires are breaking out. Kenya is suffering. Last year during the rainy season…it didn’t rain. So the people of Kenya have been praying and praying urgently…and God has answered those prayers! We were driving home from Mitumba today when we saw it start, and left our windows open to feel the wet drops on our arms and faces. The streets were wet and shiny, people had their umbrellas up, it’s almost like there was a rejoicing in the air. The matatus were extra busy today, and every matatu stop seemed to be extra crowded. It was fun to be out and experience it. Another season is starting.
Please pray with us that much more of this blessed rain is on it’s way!!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Fear and Hope
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.“ Psalm 56:3
Fear. I was struggling with this topic for the next Wednesday morning lesson at the school. How do I really bring this across to kids who have very legitimate and huge fears. (not that other kids don’t have legitimate fears, but I’m talking about a kid who has no parents and nobody to take care of him in comparison to a kid with loving parents and security and safety). What do I say? How can I help them? But even through feeling so scared to present this to them, I felt peace and conviction that this was to be the topic. So Trevor and I prayed about it, and I prepared a lesson on fear.
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” This was the memory verse I gave them. I told them that I knew it was short, and very simple to learn. But also that it was so important for them to remember and understand. WHEN I am afraid. Not IF I am afraid, but WHEN. God knows their fears, He understands their pain, their worries, their trouble. And He is telling them that WHEN they are afraid, they can trust in HIM!!
We went through the lesson, and I could feel God working. He gave me words that I had not prepared. He gave the children attentive ears and hearts to hear and understand. They had so much to write in their journals again, and I pray that they will truly look to God as their source of hope and strength in their times of suffering and fear.
Oh to understand what these children go through. We will never truly understand…we have not grown up in a slum. We have not grown up seeing our parents die of AIDS. We have not grown up with abuse being part of everyday life. We have not seen our neighbours killed before us. We have not seen our mothers prostitute themselves just to put one more meal on the table. We have not known starvation. We will never truly understand. But we are praying that God will open our eyes and our hearts to see the suffering. To feel with our whole being what they are trying to show us. To understand.
After the lesson was over, I spent a lot of time bandaging wounds and cuts upstairs in the clinic. And boy was there ever lots of kids who needed attention!! Some of them were so scared to let me clean and bandage their scrapes, but it was so much fun to just talk with them first, get them to feel comfortable, get a small smile or laugh out of them and gain their trust so that they know that I will not hurt them, but I only want to help. The first four girls that I helped were in the Standard (grade) 2 class, and saw it as their responsibility to look for other kids who needed a band-aid or who had a tummy ache! And when they brought them up to me, then saw it as their duty to become my “nurses” and assist wherever they could! It was quite funny!! And so cute!
After school was over I walked over to the Home/orphanage with some of the girls who now live there. I think this was the highlight of my day! I spent time with the girls, took pictures of them on their be
ds with their new (to them) teddy bears, took silly group pictures to
gether, and just gave them the attention that they so badly lack and crave. The kids in the home range in ages from 3-17. We had so much fun, and I completely lost track of time until Trevor called me to see where I was …it was already 6:30 pm and almost dark out! (I am always home from Mitumba by five pm or earlier!!) So I called Pastor Shadrach, who had also lost track of time (!) and we left the slum shortly after that. As I was walking through the passageways of the slum to get back to the school from the Home, I met several kids that I knew from the school…and all looked so surprised to see me there that late! “Teacher!!” (with a surprised tone!) It was neat for me to see life there, not just the school aspect of it. Girls getting their hair braided in the alleyways. Kids carrying their little brothers or sisters. Man I love those kids!!
It was about 7:30 pm when I got home…and I was so tired, but felt so happy. God is so good. We have this amazing privilege to get to know these amazing kids and pray that God will use us to shine even the faintest glimmer of hope into their lives and help point the way to a deeper relationship with Christ. It is such an honour.
I want to leave you with a quote…written by a boy in the standard 7 class:
“The only one who is able to rescue me from the suffering is God.”
Oh how true.
Fear. I was struggling with this topic for the next Wednesday morning lesson at the school. How do I really bring this across to kids who have very legitimate and huge fears. (not that other kids don’t have legitimate fears, but I’m talking about a kid who has no parents and nobody to take care of him in comparison to a kid with loving parents and security and safety). What do I say? How can I help them? But even through feeling so scared to present this to them, I felt peace and conviction that this was to be the topic. So Trevor and I prayed about it, and I prepared a lesson on fear.
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” This was the memory verse I gave them. I told them that I knew it was short, and very simple to learn. But also that it was so important for them to remember and understand. WHEN I am afraid. Not IF I am afraid, but WHEN. God knows their fears, He understands their pain, their worries, their trouble. And He is telling them that WHEN they are afraid, they can trust in HIM!!
We went through the lesson, and I could feel God working. He gave me words that I had not prepared. He gave the children attentive ears and hearts to hear and understand. They had so much to write in their journals again, and I pray that they will truly look to God as their source of hope and strength in their times of suffering and fear.
Oh to understand what these children go through. We will never truly understand…we have not grown up in a slum. We have not grown up seeing our parents die of AIDS. We have not grown up with abuse being part of everyday life. We have not seen our neighbours killed before us. We have not seen our mothers prostitute themselves just to put one more meal on the table. We have not known starvation. We will never truly understand. But we are praying that God will open our eyes and our hearts to see the suffering. To feel with our whole being what they are trying to show us. To understand.
After the lesson was over, I spent a lot of time bandaging wounds and cuts upstairs in the clinic. And boy was there ever lots of kids who needed attention!! Some of them were so scared to let me clean and bandage their scrapes, but it was so much fun to just talk with them first, get them to feel comfortable, get a small smile or laugh out of them and gain their trust so that they know that I will not hurt them, but I only want to help. The first four girls that I helped were in the Standard (grade) 2 class, and saw it as their responsibility to look for other kids who needed a band-aid or who had a tummy ache! And when they brought them up to me, then saw it as their duty to become my “nurses” and assist wherever they could! It was quite funny!! And so cute!
After school was over I walked over to the Home/orphanage with some of the girls who now live there. I think this was the highlight of my day! I spent time with the girls, took pictures of them on their be
ds with their new (to them) teddy bears, took silly group pictures to
gether, and just gave them the attention that they so badly lack and crave. The kids in the home range in ages from 3-17. We had so much fun, and I completely lost track of time until Trevor called me to see where I was …it was already 6:30 pm and almost dark out! (I am always home from Mitumba by five pm or earlier!!) So I called Pastor Shadrach, who had also lost track of time (!) and we left the slum shortly after that. As I was walking through the passageways of the slum to get back to the school from the Home, I met several kids that I knew from the school…and all looked so surprised to see me there that late! “Teacher!!” (with a surprised tone!) It was neat for me to see life there, not just the school aspect of it. Girls getting their hair braided in the alleyways. Kids carrying their little brothers or sisters. Man I love those kids!!It was about 7:30 pm when I got home…and I was so tired, but felt so happy. God is so good. We have this amazing privilege to get to know these amazing kids and pray that God will use us to shine even the faintest glimmer of hope into their lives and help point the way to a deeper relationship with Christ. It is such an honour.
I want to leave you with a quote…written by a boy in the standard 7 class:
“The only one who is able to rescue me from the suffering is God.”
Oh how true.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Emotional
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31: 8-9
Emotional. Sad. Heartbroken. This is how we feel.
We cannot fathom what so many people here have gone through, what their memories consist of, the pain that lies in their past. But we have a command to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. To defend the rights of the poor and needy.
We cannot fathom what so many people here have gone through, what their memories consist of, the pain that lies in their past. But we have a command to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. To defend the rights of the poor and needy.
On Wednesday I taught the older grades in Mitumba (about 50 kids). My lesson was about everybody having a story. How God has redeemed them, and wants to use their life for His Honour and Glory. I encouraged them to write down their stories…look for ways that God has helped them, look for ways that He brought them “out of the mud and the mire“…based on these verses in Psalms 40:1-3, which say:
“I waited patiently for the Lord;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
Out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
And gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
A hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
And put their trust in the Lord.”
(which I also gave them as memory verses.) I gave them their notebooks and pencils…and oh did they write. The room was completely silent, except for the sound of pencils on paper. I started to pray for them silently…knowing that this was difficult for a lot of them. My eyes welled up with tears, thinking about these beautiful children and youth that we have come to love so much, who have such painful and heartbreaking stories. When our time was up, and I had collected all the notebooks and pencils, many of the children were very quiet. Perhaps the memories were too much. But a few of them gathered around me to visit for a few minutes, make sure I was not leaving yet, and make sure I would come to their class before the end of the day! I sneaked in a few hugs and told them how very much I had missed them, since we had been away the week before.
Later on that morning, I was asked to organize and file the paperwork for all the children who have been admitted in the home. I agreed heartily, but did not realize that this would be an emotional task as well. You see, in this paperwork I had to make sure that their deceased parents death certificates were in with their admittance forms, and that there were reasons for the child being admitted in the home. Reasons like “we have no money and cannot support this child.” “her parents have both died and she has no one to care for her” “he gets beaten by his step-mother” “this child is all alone”…and so on. These are names that I recognize, children that we know, faces that we love. My mind does not want to comprehend these stories. It can’t. I just want to scream “IT’S NOT FAIR!!!” And no, it’s not fair. But let me tell you, God has NOT forgotten about these children!!! He is working in their lives and in their hearts, and is bringing others to Himself through their stories! He is changing their families. His work in Mitumba slum is not finished!! Praise Him!!
I will leave you with a few excerpts from their written assignments…these are the some of the
stories from the children in a small African slum…
“When I was a young boy I did not know many things. At the time we lived in my grandma and grandfather’s farm. There were many witch wizards or witch doctors in the compound. The witch doctors were having bad manners. They put for us many devils things. When I was coming from school I saw many men coming to kill me and burn me with fire. And I was very young. I was only five years. I believe in Jesus that one day He will help me and not to see things like this that the witch doctors has brought to me……..When I will be a big person I will preach his good and his kindness and words. I would like to be a pastor. Thank you.” - written by a boy in the Standard 5 class.
“It was last year but one in the year two thousand and seven. It was during the elections where everyone was going to choose whom he or she wants. The people voted for many days. When the results were announced for the president, some people who had voted or someone else started fighting the others. People were chased out of their houses and their houses with everything were burnt. Me and my family were one of these who were chased away. We slept out for some few days then we came here in Nairobi to my uncle’s house. We used to pray everyday and one day God answered our prayers. So we really thank God for what He done for us and we will continue to praise Him all the days of our lives.” -written by a girl in the Standard 7 class who is now being admitted into the home because her mother cannot provide for her.
“When I was small I didn’t know God as my personal saviour. When my mother died I was very small like a baby. Even me I didn’t seen my mother with my eye. One day when I grow up my brothers told me that our mother has died. That time I prayed to God. I asked Him that God who is in Heaven I pray that God give me another mother who can take care for me. Please Father can you take care for me. After that I known God to be my personal saviour. When I was going to Church the Pastor Shadrach prayed for me. Even now I pray to God to help me. When I was in the Church I prayed to God to give me strength. Even now God has done for me many things that I will never forget again.” -written by a young girl in the Standard 5 class.
“I want you to pray for my school, my parents, my teachers, the sick, the pupils in REM school and me. We will pray for you even if you are not with us every time.
When I was a young child I did not listen to my parents, my teachers and others older than me. The time I got saved I was helping my friends in the work and the old people like fetching for them water. I was now going to Church and I know how to pray and I can read a Bible now. The Lord is good because He is guiding you and us. And pray for our pastor Shadrach everywhere he goes. And pray for our village. May God bless you! From your lovely friend.” -written by a boy in the standard 7 class.
“In my life I have saw many things happened. I have saw the light of Jesus Christ. When I was young I didn’t know who is God. I didn’t even want to go to Church but now I have saw the light of Jesus Christ in my life.
My parents died and they leave me alone with my sisters. And I didn’t know what to do but only thing I do is I prayed and prayed all the time and God saved me. Now I am saved. I know the Word of God and God continued to work in my life.
Many things had happened to me, many temptation and all things, but the only thing I asked God is to protect and guide me all the time and protect me.” -written by a boy in Standard 7 who is being admitted into the home.
“I was born in 1994 in Nairobi. When I was born I was an HIV positive. I didn’t sleep in house because my parents chased me away. The problem is that I was not sleeping in a house I was sleeping out. I do not eat well cause my family has no money for buying for food….
My life is really hard even now because I am HIV positive and we do not have money for helping me in having medicine. The medicine cost a lot of money and my parent do not have money to provide for me….
God has changed my life because I know that in Christ we have faith and believe for He has done many things in my life…” -written by a boy in the Standard 6 class who lives on his own.
Please, please pray for these dear children. Life is so difficult in the slum. I have struggled with if I should even write these stories down, but this way you have a better idea of what to pray for, and some of the situations that these kids face on a regular basis.
**I left out their names for privacy, and changed some of the spelling mistakes so that it would be easier to read and understand.**
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Just Sitting By the Side of the Road...
I called Trevor a couple days ago to see how his day was going…and he said “I’m just sitting here by the side of the road…”
This was the story…
Trevor and Steven had just picked up a vehicle from another shop where they were getting the alternator repaired. From there they were going to use it to deliver a different vehicle to the welding shop. On the way they started smelling a burning belt, so at the next intersection they turned onto a smaller side road to check out what was happening because they saw smoke coming out of the hood.
That’s when they realized that the alternator that had just been repaired at the other shop had seized up. So…Trevor left Steven with the cell phone to call a tow truck, while he went on to deliver the other vehicle to the welding shop.
Trevor then got a ride back with the owner of the welding shop to where the vehicle was broken down to wait with Steven for the tow truck. They sat under a tree. Steven grabbed a big rock that he had found and dragged it under a tree to sit in the shade. Trevor cleared the thorns to make a spot to sit on the ground.
As they were sitting there, Trevor was thinking “we often see people sitting beside the road, in the shade...and we wonder what they’re doing and why they’re just sitting there” and that was them this time…just sitting there...people looking at them as they drove by…matatu drivers wondering if they needed a ride somewhere. As they were waiting, they started getting less and less shade as the sun was moving…and they started getting warmer and warmer, sitting there in their coveralls.
They must have called the towing company 6 times and every time they said they were only a few minutes away…two and a half hours from when they first called was when the tow truck actually showed up!!! *sigh*…
So basically what was supposed to take a half hour to pick up the one vehicle and bring the other vehicle to the welding shop ended up taking at least half the day instead. Such is many a day in the life of Trevor the Mechanic… :o)
(by the way…he is going to be the most patient person EVER when our year here is over…!!) {grin}
This was the story…
Trevor and Steven had just picked up a vehicle from another shop where they were getting the alternator repaired. From there they were going to use it to deliver a different vehicle to the welding shop. On the way they started smelling a burning belt, so at the next intersection they turned onto a smaller side road to check out what was happening because they saw smoke coming out of the hood.
That’s when they realized that the alternator that had just been repaired at the other shop had seized up. So…Trevor left Steven with the cell phone to call a tow truck, while he went on to deliver the other vehicle to the welding shop.
Trevor then got a ride back with the owner of the welding shop to where the vehicle was broken down to wait with Steven for the tow truck. They sat under a tree. Steven grabbed a big rock that he had found and dragged it under a tree to sit in the shade. Trevor cleared the thorns to make a spot to sit on the ground.
As they were sitting there, Trevor was thinking “we often see people sitting beside the road, in the shade...and we wonder what they’re doing and why they’re just sitting there” and that was them this time…just sitting there...people looking at them as they drove by…matatu drivers wondering if they needed a ride somewhere. As they were waiting, they started getting less and less shade as the sun was moving…and they started getting warmer and warmer, sitting there in their coveralls.
They must have called the towing company 6 times and every time they said they were only a few minutes away…two and a half hours from when they first called was when the tow truck actually showed up!!! *sigh*…
So basically what was supposed to take a half hour to pick up the one vehicle and bring the other vehicle to the welding shop ended up taking at least half the day instead. Such is many a day in the life of Trevor the Mechanic… :o)
(by the way…he is going to be the most patient person EVER when our year here is over…!!) {grin}
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
VERMOX
“VERMOX is indicated for the mass treatment of single or mixed gastrointestinal infestations by Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm); Trichuris trichiura (whipworm); Ascaris lumbricoides (large roundworm); Ancylostorna duodenale, Necator americanus (hookworm).
In patients living in heavily endemic areas, regular treatment with VERMOX will substantially reduce the overall wormload and keep it well below the level of clinical significance.” *
**as read on the package insert**
Oh yes…we are being de-wormed. Isn’t it great??! I especially love the part about the “overall wormload”…
Monday, March 16, 2009
Amo
Boniface Amo (we call him Amo) is a fourteen year old boy who lives in the slum. He is an orphan.
{Last Saturday, we went to Mitumba like we do every Saturday to have Bible Study with the youth. (our b
rother-in-law Joe was also able to come with us, so that was great!) We had been gone all week, so because we had not had time to prepare a lesson, we decided to teach them the books of the Bible (in song form), and also play a game of Pictionary. We weren’t sure how the game would go, or if they would enjoy it, and were very pleasantly surprised by the excitement and group involvement!! It was a great time!! We had about 38 youth there!!! (let’s just say that the schoolroom was VERY crowded and VERY loud!!) }
Anyway, after all of this, Pastor Shadrach wanted to show Joe around the school, and bring him to the home that has been started for the orphan children in the most desperate need. The home has now admitted about 15 kids, and it was great to see blankets on the beds, and laundry hanging out to dry…it looks like a home.
Now, back to Amo. We went into the boys room, and saw someone on the bed in the far corner, under a blanket. Pastor called out to see who it was, and it was Amo. He asked if everything was alright, and why he would be there in his bed in the middle of the afternoon when all of his friends were out playing football in the field. Do you know why he was there??? It almost broke my heart. Amo has never had his own bed before. Never. His parents abandoned him when he was very young, and he has always just slept out in the corridors of the slum, or wherever he could find a place to lay his head. He has been on his own. The reason he was in his new bed in the middle of the afternoon was just because he loves having a place to call his own. He has a blanket, a mattress and a pillow. He has safety. He has new parents who are looking out for him. He has a place to put his clothes. He has a home. Looking at him and at his smile and contented look on his face was priceless. Here was a boy who looked like he had been given the world.
I love it.
{Last Saturday, we went to Mitumba like we do every Saturday to have Bible Study with the youth. (our b
rother-in-law Joe was also able to come with us, so that was great!) We had been gone all week, so because we had not had time to prepare a lesson, we decided to teach them the books of the Bible (in song form), and also play a game of Pictionary. We weren’t sure how the game would go, or if they would enjoy it, and were very pleasantly surprised by the excitement and group involvement!! It was a great time!! We had about 38 youth there!!! (let’s just say that the schoolroom was VERY crowded and VERY loud!!) }Anyway, after all of this, Pastor Shadrach wanted to show Joe around the school, and bring him to the home that has been started for the orphan children in the most desperate need. The home has now admitted about 15 kids, and it was great to see blankets on the beds, and laundry hanging out to dry…it looks like a home.
Now, back to Amo. We went into the boys room, and saw someone on the bed in the far corner, under a blanket. Pastor called out to see who it was, and it was Amo. He asked if everything was alright, and why he would be there in his bed in the middle of the afternoon when all of his friends were out playing football in the field. Do you know why he was there??? It almost broke my heart. Amo has never had his own bed before. Never. His parents abandoned him when he was very young, and he has always just slept out in the corridors of the slum, or wherever he could find a place to lay his head. He has been on his own. The reason he was in his new bed in the middle of the afternoon was just because he loves having a place to call his own. He has a blanket, a mattress and a pillow. He has safety. He has new parents who are looking out for him. He has a place to put his clothes. He has a home. Looking at him and at his smile and contented look on his face was priceless. Here was a boy who looked like he had been given the world.
I love it.
Land Rovers in the Desert...
You know you’re in the hot, dry, desert of Northern Kenya when:
1) you enter your guest room and notice that there are no blankets on the bed because you won’t need them…there is no need for a blanket when the air is stifling hot, even at night.
2) in order to sleep at night, you drape a soaking wet towel over your body to keep cool.
3) you put a soaking wet sock over your water bottle to cool the water inside…apparently in order for the water on the sock to evaporate, it needs heat, so it draws the heat from the water inside the bottle…and…WALA…cool water!! A nice change from having to drink it at bath water temperature!!! :o)
4) you don’t wait until evening to shower…the water is just too warm at that point, and you want to have as cool/cold a shower as you can.
5) when eating ice-cream, you have to eat it IMMEDIATELY as soon as you take it out of the freezer, as it will turn into liquid within 10 minutes or less.
6) the lorries (trucks) only go at night, as the day time sun is too hot for the tires, making them burst.
7) you can hear the hyenas laughing at you during the night-time hours, sometimes really close by.
8) the winds are always going strong…blowing your hair all over the place, blowing skirts all over the place, blowing dust and sand in your eyes and onto your always sweaty skin…and while the wind is a comfort, it is also a hot wind which feels like somebody has turned on a hair dryer, turned it onto the highest heat setting, and is blowing it on your already over-heating body.
9) at night, you have to use a torch to light the way, not just because it’s dark out, but because the scorpions come out at night.
One of the coolest parts about our journey in Kenya these past six months has been all the amazing places we’ve been able to see first hand, and all the amazing people we’ve met in these different places, and sometimes having to take a step back and say “are we REALLY doing this??? Is this REALLY our life right now??” It’s pretty incredible.
Last week was one of those weeks again. We had the privilege of going to a desert village in Northern Kenya, called Kalacha. Trevor was asked to help out with fixing some vehicles while the missionaries serving the nomadic peoples of Northern Kenya got together for a prayer conference.
We flew there with AIM Air on Monday afternoon on a small Cessna 206...most of us on the flight had our sick sacs handy…good times!! But we landed safely on the small dirt airstrip, and were welcomed by the hot desert winds, and by the warm welcome of the missionaries there.
The week was spent with about 20-30 wonderful people who are living in these remote villages…and let me tell you, we have so much to learn from them!! It was so great hearing so many stories about what God is doing, and to also hear about the struggles and trials and be able to pray for them.
Trevor spent most of his time working on three different Land Rovers. Being able to help and serve other people in this way has been awesome. He also had the chance to get to know some of the Gabbra men who worked together with him in fixing these vehicles, which is always so good.
One of our highlights of our time in Kalacha was going on a prayer walk through the village. We all split up into four different groups, and spread out throughout the village, all going in a different direction. With the desert wind blowing constantly and sometimes so forceful that it nearly knocked us down, we meandered through our section of Kalacha…praying for the Gabbra people, praying over certain huts, praying as we walked past the mosque, praying for those who have come to know the Lord…and through all of this, stopping to greet the people we walked past, stopping to ask questions of Scott, the leader of our group who lives in Kalacha. We walked through small groups of round huts, covered in bright cloth, past little kids smiling and waving at the wazungu (white people), stopped to greet traditional mamas, wearing the traditional Gabbra garb, stopped under the shade of an acacia tree to get a bit of relief from the sun constantly beating down on us. This village of Kalacha NEEDS our prayers. There has been much spiritual warfare happening, especially these last few weeks. God is working, but the devil is throwing out much opposition.
There is a Swahili proverb that says this:
“Dalili ya mvua mawingu.” Which, in English, means “Clouds are the sign of rain”.
The clouds of trouble and hardship and opposition are overhead…but the missionaries see it as a sign of the rain that will come shortly after that. The rains of blessing and breakthrough in God’s work!! The rain is coming! God’s work will NOT be stopped!! But please pray for them in this time of “clouds overhead”, as the devil is working overtime to try to discourage them, and bring discourse and strife among the people.
Another highlight for us was Thursday night…we got to go out into the Chalbi desert to eat our picnic supper
, watch the sun go down, and the moon come up. Absolutely one of those moments where we felt so incredibly privileged to be here in Africa. To be out in the desert, and see nothing but dry, cracked sand no matter where you look. The sun is directly overhead, and at this time of year, is as close and as direct as it will ever be. You feel so small, standing there…just one small speck in the vastness that is the desert. It. Was. Amazing. God is so creative…even in just this small country of Kenya, He has made so many dif
ferent landscapes and climates and unbelievable wonders!! It thrills me that we get to see and experience it!
We stayed out there until it was long dark…sheltered from the wind by the caravan of Land Rovers and Land Cruisers, watched the stars, sang songs of praise and worship to our Lord, and just enjoyed one another’s company. Most of the group (especially those with young kids) decided to go back to the village, but a few of us weren’t ready to leave quite yet, so we stayed out there awhile longer…until the village dog that was with us started intently staring out into the dark, it’s hair standing on end, agitated, growling. We shone the torch out in
to the nothingness…and could not see what was bothering the dog. We waited awhile and the dog wouldn’t calm down, so we decided that we needed to go before something attacked us and we were sorry!! There are many hyenas around in the area, and we knew that we didn’t want to be sitting around outside if it were to come close. So we threw everything into the back of the Land Cruiser (including the dog) and threw ourselves in {word to the wise…this can and will cause bruises!!! :o
)} and drove off into the night, back to the village. It was quite the adventure.
We are very thankful for opportunities to go up-country like this. It has opened our eyes to the different things that are happening here in Kenya, and also to the different tribes that call this country their home. Thank you so much to all of you who have made this possible for us. Thank you for your prayers. Again…we depend on them. We love you and miss you all so much.
1) you enter your guest room and notice that there are no blankets on the bed because you won’t need them…there is no need for a blanket when the air is stifling hot, even at night.
2) in order to sleep at night, you drape a soaking wet towel over your body to keep cool.
3) you put a soaking wet sock over your water bottle to cool the water inside…apparently in order for the water on the sock to evaporate, it needs heat, so it draws the heat from the water inside the bottle…and…WALA…cool water!! A nice change from having to drink it at bath water temperature!!! :o)
4) you don’t wait until evening to shower…the water is just too warm at that point, and you want to have as cool/cold a shower as you can.
5) when eating ice-cream, you have to eat it IMMEDIATELY as soon as you take it out of the freezer, as it will turn into liquid within 10 minutes or less.
6) the lorries (trucks) only go at night, as the day time sun is too hot for the tires, making them burst.
7) you can hear the hyenas laughing at you during the night-time hours, sometimes really close by.
8) the winds are always going strong…blowing your hair all over the place, blowing skirts all over the place, blowing dust and sand in your eyes and onto your always sweaty skin…and while the wind is a comfort, it is also a hot wind which feels like somebody has turned on a hair dryer, turned it onto the highest heat setting, and is blowing it on your already over-heating body.
9) at night, you have to use a torch to light the way, not just because it’s dark out, but because the scorpions come out at night.
One of the coolest parts about our journey in Kenya these past six months has been all the amazing places we’ve been able to see first hand, and all the amazing people we’ve met in these different places, and sometimes having to take a step back and say “are we REALLY doing this??? Is this REALLY our life right now??” It’s pretty incredible.
Last week was one of those weeks again. We had the privilege of going to a desert village in Northern Kenya, called Kalacha. Trevor was asked to help out with fixing some vehicles while the missionaries serving the nomadic peoples of Northern Kenya got together for a prayer conference.
We flew there with AIM Air on Monday afternoon on a small Cessna 206...most of us on the flight had our sick sacs handy…good times!! But we landed safely on the small dirt airstrip, and were welcomed by the hot desert winds, and by the warm welcome of the missionaries there.
The week was spent with about 20-30 wonderful people who are living in these remote villages…and let me tell you, we have so much to learn from them!! It was so great hearing so many stories about what God is doing, and to also hear about the struggles and trials and be able to pray for them.
Trevor spent most of his time working on three different Land Rovers. Being able to help and serve other people in this way has been awesome. He also had the chance to get to know some of the Gabbra men who worked together with him in fixing these vehicles, which is always so good.
One of our highlights of our time in Kalacha was going on a prayer walk through the village. We all split up into four different groups, and spread out throughout the village, all going in a different direction. With the desert wind blowing constantly and sometimes so forceful that it nearly knocked us down, we meandered through our section of Kalacha…praying for the Gabbra people, praying over certain huts, praying as we walked past the mosque, praying for those who have come to know the Lord…and through all of this, stopping to greet the people we walked past, stopping to ask questions of Scott, the leader of our group who lives in Kalacha. We walked through small groups of round huts, covered in bright cloth, past little kids smiling and waving at the wazungu (white people), stopped to greet traditional mamas, wearing the traditional Gabbra garb, stopped under the shade of an acacia tree to get a bit of relief from the sun constantly beating down on us. This village of Kalacha NEEDS our prayers. There has been much spiritual warfare happening, especially these last few weeks. God is working, but the devil is throwing out much opposition.
There is a Swahili proverb that says this:
“Dalili ya mvua mawingu.” Which, in English, means “Clouds are the sign of rain”.
The clouds of trouble and hardship and opposition are overhead…but the missionaries see it as a sign of the rain that will come shortly after that. The rains of blessing and breakthrough in God’s work!! The rain is coming! God’s work will NOT be stopped!! But please pray for them in this time of “clouds overhead”, as the devil is working overtime to try to discourage them, and bring discourse and strife among the people.
Another highlight for us was Thursday night…we got to go out into the Chalbi desert to eat our picnic supper
, watch the sun go down, and the moon come up. Absolutely one of those moments where we felt so incredibly privileged to be here in Africa. To be out in the desert, and see nothing but dry, cracked sand no matter where you look. The sun is directly overhead, and at this time of year, is as close and as direct as it will ever be. You feel so small, standing there…just one small speck in the vastness that is the desert. It. Was. Amazing. God is so creative…even in just this small country of Kenya, He has made so many dif
ferent landscapes and climates and unbelievable wonders!! It thrills me that we get to see and experience it!We stayed out there until it was long dark…sheltered from the wind by the caravan of Land Rovers and Land Cruisers, watched the stars, sang songs of praise and worship to our Lord, and just enjoyed one another’s company. Most of the group (especially those with young kids) decided to go back to the village, but a few of us weren’t ready to leave quite yet, so we stayed out there awhile longer…until the village dog that was with us started intently staring out into the dark, it’s hair standing on end, agitated, growling. We shone the torch out in
to the nothingness…and could not see what was bothering the dog. We waited awhile and the dog wouldn’t calm down, so we decided that we needed to go before something attacked us and we were sorry!! There are many hyenas around in the area, and we knew that we didn’t want to be sitting around outside if it were to come close. So we threw everything into the back of the Land Cruiser (including the dog) and threw ourselves in {word to the wise…this can and will cause bruises!!! :o
)} and drove off into the night, back to the village. It was quite the adventure.We are very thankful for opportunities to go up-country like this. It has opened our eyes to the different things that are happening here in Kenya, and also to the different tribes that call this country their home. Thank you so much to all of you who have made this possible for us. Thank you for your prayers. Again…we depend on them. We love you and miss you all so much.
Monday, March 9, 2009
A Quick Update
Hello All!
Just to let you know that we are on our way to a village in the Chalbi Desert, in Northern Kenya today, called Kalacha. Trevor is going to be working on some vehicles there, and I get to go along for the ride! :o) We are flying there with AIM Air this afternoon, and will return on Friday afternoon. We will update you on how things go there when we come back.
Please pray for us as we go...
*pray for safety
*pray for Trevor as he works on vehicles there, that he would be able to fix them properly and really help the missionaries who live in these remote, Northern villages.
*pray for our health...it's VERY hot up there!!
Thank you so much for your prayers...we depend on them!
Oh, and for those of you who did not know, my brother-in-law, Joe, is in Kenya right now too!! He arrived here in Nairobi on Saturday morning, and then we sent him off to a village called Lokichogio on Sunday! He is here, helping AIM build a hangar up there...so we have been very thrilled to be able to spend a little bit of time with him!! Pray for him too, as they are also working in a lot of heat. Pray that they would be able to get their project done, and that things would go well on the job site.
Thank you!! :o)
Just to let you know that we are on our way to a village in the Chalbi Desert, in Northern Kenya today, called Kalacha. Trevor is going to be working on some vehicles there, and I get to go along for the ride! :o) We are flying there with AIM Air this afternoon, and will return on Friday afternoon. We will update you on how things go there when we come back.
Please pray for us as we go...
*pray for safety
*pray for Trevor as he works on vehicles there, that he would be able to fix them properly and really help the missionaries who live in these remote, Northern villages.
*pray for our health...it's VERY hot up there!!
Thank you so much for your prayers...we depend on them!
Oh, and for those of you who did not know, my brother-in-law, Joe, is in Kenya right now too!! He arrived here in Nairobi on Saturday morning, and then we sent him off to a village called Lokichogio on Sunday! He is here, helping AIM build a hangar up there...so we have been very thrilled to be able to spend a little bit of time with him!! Pray for him too, as they are also working in a lot of heat. Pray that they would be able to get their project done, and that things would go well on the job site.
Thank you!! :o)
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