Trevor and Andrea

Life

2010-01-29T08:44:00.003+03:00

As you may have guessed, this adjustment back to our "Canadian" lives has been more difficult than we anticipated. There is only so much you can do to prepare for the changes and then you just have to jump in and let it hit you. And we feel like we've been hit hard.

The guilt of our prosperous lifestyle and rich country threatens to overwhelm us many days. The separation from the place where we feel needed threatens to take over our emotions and cause us to feel upset, hurt, frustrated and alone. We feel alienated from this place that used to be our home; like we don’t belong anymore.

We miss Kenya. Every day. All the time.

And yet we are trying to figure out how we are supposed to adjust to this life here. How we are supposed to get “back to normal”. How to balance our two lives.

This analogy, given to us by an older, wiser and more seasoned missionary ;-) has helped us through this process:

“You come from the land of square heads and then you go and live in the land of the round heads. Over time, some of your square angles get rounded off some and you become more of an octagon head. Even though you become more rounded, though, you will still always be a bit square. But when you come back into the land of the square heads, you don't exactly fit any more either. Thus is the saga of a missionary who loves being where God had called him. Never totally square again and never totally round either, but with a broader perspective than ever.”

Enlightening, isn’t it?! It sure was for us!!

We have moved back into our own home, which has been very nice. Trevor has started a new job, working at a John Deere dealership in La Crete, fixing farm machinery. It has been a definite challenge for him, but he is very thankful to have found work. Other than this, we have been spending time with family and friends and are grateful to be able to see them so often now. Life is slowly taking on a new normal and we are slowly learning to stop fighting the changes.

You may be wondering what our plans are for the future…well here it is. We are still looking towards getting back to Kenya as soon as we can, as full-term missionaries with AIM. There are mountains of paperwork to climb first, however, and a lot of things that have to fall into place before that can happen. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of that as soon as we have more to report. For now, though, please keep praying for us in this tedious process. Our hearts can hardly wait to be back in Kenya.

Quote..

2010-01-29T00:28:00.001+03:00

“…I became a seriously disturbed woman.

I believe God is searching for men and women who will allow Him to disturb them by making them truly see the world in which we live - so disturbed that they will be compelled to do something about what they see.

Most of us have grown up in a culture that promotes precisely the opposite approach. We refuse to talk about the painful subjects - child prostitution, poverty, injustice, ethnic hatred, environmental destruction, HIV/AIDS.

But if we’re not disturbed by the world in which we live, we will be consumed with the trivial, the insignificant, and the temporary. We will spend our days pursuing all the wrong goals, living by the wrong measurement of success, evaluating our legacy by the wrong standard…”

[Kay Warren]

Two Worlds

2010-01-27T08:52:00.001+03:00

Sparkly snow. Cold air. Rosy cheeks.
Mud. Garbage. Tears.

Laughter. Warm conversation. Family.
Tears. Fighting. Broken homes.

Christmas tree. Wrapped presents. Snow globes.
Crowded homes. No money. No room.

Turkey dinner. Apple cider. Full stomachs.
Ugali? Beans? Hungry bellies.

Thick snow.
Torrential rains.

Dry house.
Flooded homes.

Happiness.
Heartache.

Canada.
Mitumba.

Our Christmas.
Christmas in the slum.

Why does this picture seem so wrong? Why is this so unfair? Why are some so blessed, while others struggle for survival?

Hard questions. Hard questions that don’t have immediate answers.

Our kids suffered during the Christmas season, while we enjoyed wealth and warmth. Our kids had to deal with abuse, drunkenness and fighting, while we dealt with too many gifts and too much food.

Fair?

I don’t think so.

Think about it.

Let it bother you.

And let it change you.

On Being Back...

2009-12-22T02:45:00.008+03:00

How does it feel to be back?

I can’t even count the number of times we have been asked this question. How does it feel to be back?

And I can’t even count the number of times that I have not known how to answer.

I don’t know.

It is a very confusing topic to us right now. Our hearts are heavy and filled with so many contradictions. We don’t even know how we feel about anything.

But, let me backtrack a little and fill you in on the last few days or so before we left Kenya:

When I think about leaving, all that fills my head is suitcases, packing, and a very messy house. Overwhelming doesn’t even begin to describe it. Organization is not my strongpoint (well, let’s be honest, it’s not even a point at all in my life!!) and so I didn’t even know where to begin when it came to packing up our last year’s belongings. I am so thankful for Trevor, who basically saved the day. No exaggeration. I had to just leave the house a few times as my wandering from room to room forgetting what I was doing the second before wasn’t helping, and I would come home to him having done so much work and organized everything. He really did most of the work when it came to packing up our stuff, while my head and heart and emotions were a mess. He’s the best!!

Our cell group and friends had a goodbye bash for us the night before we left. It was so great!! We played games…spoons, dutch blitz, charades to name a few!!…ate so much pizza and nyama choma (bbq-d meat), prayed together, had a time of sharing, and laughed endlessly at the words they wrote on our shirts to remember them. It was also the night we got officially named! Yes, that’s right, we now have Kenyan names!! Trevor is Mutuku. It is a Kamba name, meaning “born at night”…which he wasn’t, but the name was thought of at night.. =) My name is Kerubo. It is a Kisii name, meaning “talkative, noisy”…appropriate??! =)
We already miss all these friends so dearly and think about constantly. We love them so much.

Add many last minute shopping trips, meetings and goodbyes with friends, more packing, errands, more market trips, more goodbyes, tears and more tears, and you have a bit of a picture of our last week in Kenya. Ugh.
Many of our friends took us to the airport on Wednesday night. Have I mentioned how great our friends are??!! For real. They helped us with all our things and we said goodbye to them as we waited in line at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Saks, Dann, Benjy, Gerald, Mwendwa (Franklin!), Stella, Mimie, and James…thank you SO MUCH. You blessed us more than I can say.

Now we know that when the airport’s runway lights aren’t working, that means that there will be definite delays! Haha. We waited at JKIA for about six hours until they had that fixed, so instead of the plane leaving at 11:30 pm, it left at about 4:30 am. We also know that cold hard airport floors shouldn’t be conducive to sleeping, but when you are emotionally exhausted and have not slept for the past few weeks, the cold, hard airport floor can feel like a nice comfy bed and you may have to be poked and pinched to be woken up when the wait is over!! =)
We slept so much of the way home…if felt like any time we sat for any length of time, both of us would instantly fall asleep. Our travels home felt so short, which was a blessing.

Trevor’s parents, and his brother Ryan were at the airport in Edmonton, waiting eagerly for us to arrive. They came equipped with our winter coats for the cold weather! It was really nice to see them, although the weather felt rather shocking. Temperatures of -40 Celsius, when having just come from +30 Celsius, is not very comfortable!!! But we are surviving…

And now. We left Kenya twelve days ago. And it feels like twelve weeks. Maybe even twelve months. Our hearts are longing for Kenya. Aching. Yesterday I said to Trevor, “Today I can’t think about Kenya. Not at all. It just hurts too much.” Physically hurts. There is no doubt that we left our hearts in Kenya. And that it feels so confusing to be here, in Canada.

So how does it feel?

How does it feel to be back?

It’s hard right now. While we have loved reuniting with our loved ones, visiting, spending time together, it has been bittersweet. I have been told that this is normal to feel this way, and I find some comfort in that. To know that these feelings are normal, and even expected. To know that when we can’t even describe how we are feeling and what our hearts are going through, that that is ok. To have that permission to feel a little confused as we find our way into our new normal. That it is normal to bump into a few walls, fall down a few times (or many times), hit a few obstacles as we find our footing.

There is a definite positive side to being in Canada right now though. It’s the fact that we are home with our families for Christmas, which is such a blessing! It has helped with the transition back into this way of life, and we are thankful that we get to be here during this season.

So. That is how we feel. That is where our hearts are at. We know that God has much to teach us as we go through this time, through this season, through these struggles. He is in control. {and we are thankful that He is!!}

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

{Ecclesiastes 3:1-8}

In the Meantime...

2009-12-15T01:30:00.003+03:00

Until I process my thoughts enough to write another blog about how we're doing now that we're back in Canada, enjoy a short video clip featuring our kids from Mitumba!!

I taught the Bible class for Classes 4-7 every Wednesday, and here is the class singing "That's Why I Praise You"...

How I miss them...

(more updates about our life to come soon...I promise.)

Goodbye with a Promise

2009-12-05T19:16:00.003+03:00

Yesterday was a heartbreaking day. We had to finally say goodbye to our Mitumba youth. It was an evening filled with tears, promises to pray for one another, cries to come back soon, and many, many hugs. It was horrible. It left us physically and emotionally spent, wondering if we had any tears left to cry, and questioning our sanity in leaving this place that we love.

God uses many things to encourage us, though, and one of those things was the story you are about to read below. It was written yesterday by a dear friend of ours, specifically for us. Please read it.

Goodbye. This has got to be the rudest oxymoron in the history of ironies. We do well with good-mornings, good-afternoons, good-evenings...but goodbyes? What kind of wicked word-guru invented that word? What’s so good about saying bye? “Good-riddance” is a more appropriate term when the world is better off when the one leaving leaves. But what if you don’t want them to leave; and they too don’t want to leave, yet circumstances (read “life”) demand their departure?

He looks at the confused faces around him, shadows of despair clouding each face in the room, and his heart begins to feel like lead. He doesn’t know what else to add, they don't understand the words he speaks. Still, they fix their eyes on him, questioning eyes, hungry gazes, expectant faces.... sadly realizing that the worst is about to happen. The one that they had been living for was leaving. Three years is enough time to cement stubborn bonds. One by one, he looks at their scared faces, huddled together like wet kittens, listening to his words of encouragement, his parting words; and as his glance falls on each face, floodgates of memories fill up his mind, welling up his eyes, and drowning his heart with grief...
He turns to see rugged Peter clenching his fists and biting his lips, determined not to believe any word he says. He looks at Peter and a tear streaks a cold-wet-road down his cheek. He remembers the first day he met him...

It was at the Galilean sea-shore; young Simon-Peter was a resourceful, hardworking fisherman and husband. He remembers how the first thing he noticed about Peter was his determined face and his white-knuckled hands hoisting up the sail alongside his more quiet and reserved brother Andrew. He remembers that moment so vividly for it was these features; this innocent bravery, this rugged loyalty and this unrestrained passion that led Him to tell him the words, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"(Matt 4:19)

Now, he was going to leave behind the one who left behind everything for his ministry. He was going to leave poor Peter all alone. It breaks His heart because he knows that an unrestrained Peter is bound to make so many "careless" mistakes. He wishes he could stay forever on earth, if only to hold Peter's leash and save his life.

Then he turns to scan the rest of the faces in the room, there’s no rest in those faces. He notices that sweet and innocent John is not leaning against him today. He has moved away tonight, it's almost like, well, like he feels he should learn to keep his distance early, because soon, their best friend and teacher will no longer be with them. John is a sentimental guy, and so he does what comes easy for him, he lets his tears flow. Several times before, he's cried upon Christ's shoulders, most recently, beside his mother at Calvary as Christ hung dead, but tonight marks the first of many nights when his tears will be soaked by the cold-hungry-bare-earth. Jesus can't bear to look anymore into the hunched form of his beloved disciple.

So he moves on to the other faces, scared faces, doubting faces, confused faces, shaken faces, discouraged faces, shattered faces... He looks at them and his heart is moved to leave them a promise, one that will sustain them until his awaited return

"I will send you a helper," he chokes out these six words as an introduction to the eternal promise.

John 14:16-19 ; "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live."

Andrea, Trevor; Let these words of Christ comfort you as you leave for home next week, but above this, let them comfort everyone you leave behind.. that BECAUSE ANDREA & TREVOR LIVE, WE TOO CAN LIVE. Because Andrea & Trevor continue to pray, we too can be comforted. Because Andrea & Trevor continue to minister to their God, He will continue to minister to us. Don't cry, and even if you have to leave. Don't stop living. GOD BLESS YOU.

[ Trevor and Andrea Wolfe are African Inland Missionaries and friends who've been staying in Kenya for a little over a year and serving in the Slums of mitumba- Nairobi west among other places. They've been my friends for over 2 months now and members of our BS. Let's pray for them as they leave for Home: Canada ]

Cornell Ngare - 2009

...

2009-12-01T13:55:00.003+03:00

Saying goodbye really hurts. It's awful. It's painful. It's heartwrenching.

And yet the pain of saying goodbye means something. It means that there is something and someone to say goodbye to. It means that hearts have connected. It means relationships have been built. It means that we have allowed Kenya to take hold of our hearts.

So in theory, this is a good thing. The pain is a positive sign. But it hurts. A lot.

I'm finding myself withdrawing these days. Letting go already. Not letting myself get hurt. Not allowing myself to care or to cry. Not letting my heart feel what it needs to feel. Not allowing the pain to have any part in this process.

I know that we need to go through the full process of grieving and letting go. We need to feel. We need to hurt. We need to cry. We need to mourn. We need to let go.

We have eight short days left in Africa. Please pray for us. Please pray for our hearts.

Many things have been happening here lately and I will try to update you on those as soon as I can. But i just needed to let you know where we are at with all of this letting go business.

And if you were to ask any of our friends here what we all really think of us leaving Kenya?? The answer you would get is "SHOBOSH!!"

I will explain that one in person for you when we see you...!! :)

Time

2009-11-23T18:18:00.002+03:00

Life as we know it is about to change drastically. We only have 16 days left in Kenya. 16 days. That doesn't even sound right, or seem real. We are having a really difficult time with this...it is so hard to think about leaving this home.

There are so many things we are trying to do to make the most of our time...and yet no matter how hard we try we can't change the fact that it is almost over. The goodbyes are looming ahead of us and we can't avoid that. Change is coming.

Kenya to Canada.

Big city to small town.

Compound living to our own yard.

Hot weather to Canadian winter.

Minority to majority.

Ministry to "regular jobs".

New friends to old friends.

Life is changing. And I don't deal with change very well. This is going to be a tough one. We would really value your prayers for us, especially during these next few weeks as we start letting go. My heart almost feels like it's in mourning...even though we are planning on returning to Kenya as soon as we can, this chapter is still closing. And you know that quote that says "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"?? Well, I'm crying because it's over. Just so you know!

Family and friends, we are still really looking forward to spending a lot of time with you and catching up and just being together and especially being home for Christmas...we just have to deal with all the goodbyes here before we can really think about the hellos to come.

Thanks for letting me vent. More to come, I'm sure. : )

A Message From Elly

2009-11-17T00:10:00.004+03:00

First of all…we just want to thank those of you who so generously gave to Elly and his sons. The support and concern you showed was overwhelming, and we are just so grateful.

Last week we went to visit Elly and Timothy and Wesley in their home in Kawangware. We hadn’t been there since Violet passed away, and it was quite difficult to go, to be honest. But we knew that we needed to and really wanted to see the boys again. Elly and his sons met us at the road and walked beside our car as we drove into the slum. We parked the car at the usual spot and greeted the boys, who both welcomed us with shy smiles.

Walking through the door of their small home was difficult. Their place has lost it’s life and it’s depressing without Violet there. But Elly has been doing his best to continue to give his sons the best life possible and he is trying so hard. We bought some treats for Wesley and Timothy, and it was so much fun to see them peek into the bag, then close it. Peek into the bag, then close it. Over and over again! They are such sweet boys!! And they have grown so much since we saw them last!! We admired their school work and perused through their test scores and other work that they’ve done. Elly told us the story again about losing Violet and explained the many hardships he has faced since that day. Life has been very cruel.

But you guys, Elly is so incredibly thankful for the financial support you have shown him. He said to tell you that he feels so blessed that you helped him, even though most of you have never even met him. This money will help get him back on his feet and hopefully help him make a new start for him and his sons. He is so thankful for your prayers, and has asked that you continue upholding his family in prayer.

I wish I could better communicate his humble thankfulness, but just know that you have indeed been more of a blessing than you’ll ever fully realize. Thank you for allowing God to use you in this awesome way! You have Elly’s deepest gratitude!!

May God bless you.

Kenyan Wedding!

2009-11-16T23:10:00.001+03:00

If you are needing a pick-me-up, something to cheer your heart, or just something to make you really happy…attend a Kenyan wedding!!

We were invited to our first wedding in Kenya! Two good friends of ours, James and Mimie, got married on November 7. It was an incredible day and such a joy to witness their commitment to each other! It was at All Saints Cathedral…a place popular for weddings…there were 3 weddings that day!

James and Mimie’s wedding was supposed to start at 2:00 pm. When we got there, the other couple from the previous wedding was just leaving the Church and taking pictures outside with all their guests still present. So we waited outside with a bunch of our friends until we could start entering the Church. It was about 2:30 when we sat down. Then, much to our surprise, the decorating started! Many people were running around with candles and tulle, aisle runners and flowers, ribbon and bows! So we were entertained as we sat, waiting for the wedding to actually begin! And it should also be noted that even though the decorating was incredibly rushed and frantic, the Church was so beautiful when they were done!!

The ceremony was quite similar to the wedding ceremonies we are used to at home. The most notable difference was that it was just much longer, almost 2 hours long. (It began about 3 pm, and was finished about 5 pm). But other than that, it was really not so different. It was beautiful and very moving to witness.

The reception was held at a place called the Jockey Club…a night reception at an outdoor venue with many white tents covered in white lights…you can imagine the beauty!! We feasted on so much food…a whole lot of nyama choma (bbq meat!) and other great food! The dancing began when James and Mimie got there…it was fun, fun, fun!! All the ladies went to meet them when they arrived and “danced them in” to the reception, complete with traditional songs…it was so great! The party got started and the dancing never ended…well except when the electricity failed and we lost all lights and music for awhile!! It wouldn’t be Kenya without that though…haha!

All in all, it was such an amazing day and we felt so blessed to be there with them. Now we’re excited for the next wedding coming up on Saturday…! =)

Esther

2009-11-02T14:37:00.004+03:00

I always know when Esther has something important to say. Before she even says it, I know. I know because she takes so long to say it. Typically she is funny, always singing, and always has something to say. But when there’s something really important on her heart, she gets silent.

Esther is twelve years old. Her story is one of heartache and fear. Yet the heartache and fear don’t just live in her past, they live in her present. Every day, she deals with unimaginable hurt and abuse. It was in September when she first opened up to me about her life. And it was in September that I felt my heart start to get cynical, because I felt that there so little I could do for this girl.

You see, when I first met Esther, her eyes were bright. There was laughter in her voice. She was a sweet little girl. But slowly, I began to notice changes in her. At first, it was just that she didn’t seem to sing and laugh as much as she used to. Then it was that her eyes failed to meet mine when we would talk. And her smile completely disappeared. Then it seemed as though these changes in her spirit were physically affecting her body. Her hair seemed dull. Always unkempt. Her skin seemed to get discoloured. Her eyes lost all life. Something was very, very wrong.

I would ask her. She wouldn’t talk. Before I really knew her, I assumed that it was that she didn’t want to tell me, and so I didn’t push her. But one day, I decided that I would sit with her as long as it took for her to open her heart and let me see the pain residing there. So we sat. In silence. Complete silence.

Finally I asked her if she wanted to go back to the school and play. She shook her head no. So we sat in silence again. After many minutes, she said, “I want to talk to you.” But she didn’t talk. And so we sat. I prayed for God to be with this child and her struggles and to give her the courage to speak. Haltingly, she told her story. Piece by piece. Event by awful event.

Since that day in September, Esther and I have been best buds. There is a mutual understanding between us that I know what’s going on in her life and that I am ready to listen whenever she needs to talk. But in my heart, since that day, I have felt like I completely let her down. Because there is so little I can do for her. There is so little I can do to change her situation. I have told the people who need to be told about it, and there is so little that they can do as well. For many reasons (that I can’t divulge), for now, she has to be left in this situation she deals with every day. And it kills me.

I pray for her. I hang out with her. I sit in her home with her. I sing with her. I laugh with her. I talk with her. I listen to her. I hug her. I tell her I love her. And I felt like I was doing NOTHING. Because this child is suffering. And I felt like I was standing by and letting it happen.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I was sitting in her home with her and her younger sister. It was after school and I went to go hang out with them. They wanted to sing songs for me and I readily agreed to listen. So I sat there beside Esther on the hard couch. I waved at the many little children who were peeking through the lacy curtain that serves as a door to this humble home. My feet were resting on the mud floor. My eyes squinted in the dark trying to see Esther’s sister sitting on the bed. My ears were filled with the sounds of these two sisters singing praise songs to the Lord. And I was praying in my heart. Praying for God’s spirit to fill this home. Praying for peace. Praying for all evil to flee. Praying for transformation. Pleading with God. Realizing the power of fervent prayer added to the simple faith of two girls who were filling this home with the name of Jesus.

I was sick on the weekend, and so I didn’t see her again until the following Wednesday. As soon as she saw me, she excitedly came to me and said “Andrea, I have some good news!” I immediately wanted to know, but she wanted to wait until after school to tell me. But her eyes were bright and full of life. And I knew it had to be good, because this girl had life again.

After school came. We walked out of the slum and into the field area. She was silent, but brimming with excitement. And I waited for her to talk. She held my hand. Stroked my fingers. Wanted to talk, but didn’t. And so I continued to wait.

“Do you remember what you said to me last week?” she asked me after many minutes. I say a lot of things {grin} so I didn’t know what she was referring to.

“You told me that you were praying for me,” she reminded me. “And do you know that after last week, nothing bad has happened to me??!” {she explained the details which I don’t want to share on here, but our prayers were answered VERY significantly!!}

I don’t know if my smile has ever been bigger or more genuine after hearing her say those words! I threw my arms around her and we rejoiced together that God had answered our prayers!

“I had a dream about you last week,” she said. “I dreamed that you were really sick and that I prayed for you, and God healed you. Then the next day I heard that you actually were sick, so I prayed for God to heal you and I told everyone that I knew you would be here today because God is going to heal you! And then I saw you today!! Andrea, I always pray for you.”

God was showing both of us the amazing power of prayer! We hugged and danced and laughed together. What a privilege to be a part of this girl’s happiness, and for our God to show both of us how great and mighty He is! This has cemented our relationship like nothing else.

I learned a lesson that day. A lesson about the greatness of our God. A lesson about the intense LOVE He has for His children. But most significantly, a lesson about how when I feel as though I am not doing anything, when I feel like I am “just” praying, that my prayers are going to the ALMIGHTY GOD! That I am not going to the president. I am not going to the chief. I am not going to any parent. I am going to GOD! The only One who is in complete control. And that He hears my prayers. Even when my faith is so weak, He shows me that He cares. He shows me that he heard my cry. And He answered.

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
To my God I cried for help.
From His temple He heard my voice,
And my cry to Him reached His ears.

Psalm 18:6

The Lord is near to all who call on Him;
To all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him;
He also hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 145:18-19

Two today!

2009-10-26T16:36:00.002+03:00

Yes, that's right!

Two new entries in one day :-)
('Reality.' and 'The Story. The Tapestry. The Beauty.')

Consider leaving a comment, shooting us an email (ta.wolfe@hotmail.com), writing us on Facebook, whichever way you wanna do it...let us know if you are reading this blog! We would REALLY appreciate it.. (and while you're at it...let us know what you think of it...what is happening in your life...what God is teaching you...anything!)

It is always so encouraging to hear from you, and to know who we are speaking to through our blog.

=)

And something to make you think:

"Where your talents and the needs of the world cross lies your calling." {Aristotle}

Reality.

2009-10-26T16:25:00.002+03:00

What is your reality?

Let me tell you about someone else’s reality. A lot of someones, actually.

Reality for a group of class 7 boys. A free HIV/AIDS clinic comes to the slum. You can get tested. You can know your status. Scary thought when you really don’t know what the outcome will be. When you know that there is a possibility that you are HIV+.

I walked into the class 7 room to see a bunch of boys holding yellow cards and discussing something amongst each other in Kiswahili. They each excitedly held out their cards to me and said “I’m negative!!” The joy. If I could express to you the joy in their voices. And on their faces. “I’m negative!!”

One boy told me that this is the fourth time he has gotten tested. “And I’m still negative Andrea!”

Another boy said that this was his very first time. “And I tested negative, Andrea!!”

I told each of them how happy I was for them. It was an exciting occasion for these.

But what about those who’s result wasn’t what they wanted to hear” To see on their yellow card “HIV+”?? What about those? Their reality will be the fact that they now have to live with this awful disease. They now have to live with the shame. With the disgrace. What about their reality?

There is a small boy in the nursery class. His name is John. He is six years old. He has AIDS. John is so sick. They fear he is in the last stages. He barely eats. His father refuses to take care of him. His mother passed away a few months ago. John is dying. What about his reality? He did nothing to deserve getting this killing disease. He was just born. Born to die. We all are, but not like this. It is difficult to even look at this boy. It is as though his spirit has already left. It is as though he has lost any will to live. It is as though this tiny little six year old boy has given up on life. What about his reality?

What about the two boys in class 6? Born with this disease. Having experienced much discrimination and disgrace already in their young lives, they know what it means to be shunned. To be unwanted. To be unloved. Because of a disease they did nothing to contract. What is going to become of them? What about their reality?

What about those girls who get raped? Many by people in their own family. What about them?? Getting abused is awful enough, but what about when the attack gives them a disease? A disease like AIDS? Their lives have been forever altered. Their future has been forever changed. What about their reality?

Think about your reality.

Think about the reality of these children in this slum.

Please, please remember to pray for them.

The Story. The Tapestry. The Beauty.

2009-10-26T15:37:00.009+03:00

It is August 2002. Trevor and I meet for the first time at Eagles Nest Bible Camp. We have both worked at this camp before, but this is the first time our paths have crossed. We see in each other a love for kids and for ministry. Our friendship begins.

And the tapestry has been started.

Jump ahead 3 years to May 14, 2005. We commit our lives to each other in marriage, not having any idea what God has in store for us. We are giddy and happy and so excited for what the future holds. Meanwhile, God has orchestrated our lives to fit together for purposes we could not have imagined.

It is now a few months after our wedding day. It is Missions Conference weekend in our Church. God speaks to both our hearts, and we commit to God “Wherever. Whenever. Whatever.” We don’t really have a clue as to what this will mean. But we say that we are willing to do whatever He may ask of us.

Unknown to us, He is constantly working on this tapestry, weaving the details in ways that only make sense to Him.

It is January of 2006. A Kenyan family has started attending our Church, and they are talking about taking a group of people back to Kenya with them to help in an orphanage. We wonder “is this what God spoke to us about??” We are so excited, and join the group.

Now, September, 2006. We have spent three weeks in an orphanage in Kenya. We loved deeply and completely. We also hurt deeply and completely. Something happens in both of our hearts during that time and we sense a strong assurance that we will be back. We just don’t know how or when or where.

And God is still working.

Missions Conference 2006. God has a way of using these weekends to speak to us, we realize. After a particular Sunday night session, God reveals to us His call in our lives to over-seas missions. We are scared, terrified, frightened, excited. This is it.

It is a few months later. Seven months, to be exact. May 2007. We apply with Africa Inland Mission. We say that we are looking into going to Africa for maybe three months. Or maybe six. We have an interview and our provincial mobilizer asks us if we would consider going for a year. A whole year? We pray about it. And agree. Still not knowing what we will be doing. Or even what country we will be going to. But we are excited.

We have months of waiting. Of paperwork. And applications. Stuff we don’t enjoy doing at all. We are tempted to give up and just stay home. But God doesn’t let us. And so we press on.

Missions conference 2007. We are encouraged to give our all to Christ. Our whole lives. Our whole being. It is just the encouragement we need to keep going.

November 2007 we hear about a possible placement in Nairobi, Kenya. Trevor working as a mechanic. I could get involved in youth ministry. It sounds so great. (even though we don’t want to live in the city, we think we could do it for a year..)

It is December 2007 and Kenya has elections. The following months leave Kenya in turmoil and trouble. They call it “post-election violence”. AIM calls it “possibly unsafe for you to come to Kenya at this time”. We are confused. We felt so much peace to come to Nairobi. What are we supposed to do? We tell AIM that we would still like to come to Nairobi if it is at all possible. Please just let us come. And so they do.

It is September 10, 2008. We leave home. We leave family. It is hard. We begin to wonder what we got ourselves into. We don’t know if we are cut out for this.

The next couple of months are so hard. I don’t have a placement. I don’t have very much love for Kenya. I am so disappointed. Trevor, meanwhile, loves his new job. He gets into his ministry very quickly. He find fulfilment. He feels like he could do this forever. I can’t wait for our year to be done. Little do we know how He is using this to teach us and create intricacies and designs which will only be beautiful later. At this point, we feel like this is a mess. We are a mess.

It is January 2009. We have survived our first Christmas away from home. Away from our country. And something changes. January brings about new life in our hearts and attitudes. It is like we have changed. Especially me. I get involved in ministry in the slum. I see a bit of God’s heart for the children living there. And my heart breaks. And my attitude changes. I can start to see why Trevor wants to do this forever.

We continue to get asked if we are coming back to Kenya after our year commitment is over. We say we don’t know. We say that it’s a tough decision. We say that God hasn’t shown us yet. But deep in our hearts, we know the answer. How could we not come back? But the thought is just so scary to say out loud. So we don’t.

It is June. Trevor gets asked officially if we will consider coming back to Kenya full time. It still sounds so scary to talk about. Such a big commitment. Such a drastic decision. But we know. We’ve known the answer all along. God has been preparing our hearts for so many years and we’ve just been too afraid to take the next step. To follow him completely. To run after Him wholeheartedly. We have been so afraid. So we decide to say yes. It is so scary. It is so exciting. It is so overwhelming. And yet it is so peaceful.

And we are given a glimpse of the beautiful, intricate work God is making of our lives. And it amazes us.

It is the day after our big decision. Satan comes after us. He discourages us. He frightens us. He tires us. He bombards us with doubts. With questions. With petty things that cause us to fight and disagree. He threatens disunity in our marriage. He discourages us in our ministries. We realize what this is and ask people to pray for us. The funny thing is that the very things that satan is trying to use to destroy us are the very things that make us want to be strong. To hold to our decision. To keep our eyes on Christ, no matter the cost. But this battle goes on for months. And we are a mess.

We decide to extend our year commitment by three months. We feel that God is not finished with us in Kenya. We need to stay longer.

It is July. And August. And September. While we are still struggling, we have peace. God is bringing new friends into our lives. God brings us closer to our cell group where we meet with Kenyan friends our age and discuss the Word of God. God gives us a Church family. Not just a Church. But a family. In the midst of the storm, God calms the waves.

And now. It is October. 2009. We have grown to love Kenya. We have grown to deeply love the Kenyan people. We have made very close friendships. We have fallen in love with our ministries. We feel fulfilment. We feel contentment. We feel that we are home. We both do. God has done different things in our hearts, but our stories are intertwined. We are at the same place.

Trevor has built strong, deep ties with his Kenyan co-workers. He has given new life to the shop. He has put his heart into it. Sweat. Blood. Tears. And has seen results. The difference is noticeable. The vision is sparked. The future is bright. The excitement is high. It is more than just a repair shop. It is a place of relationships. It is a place of restoration, but not just on vehicles. It is a place of great potential. It is God’s work. And Trevor is His more-than-willing vessel. It is exciting.

Mitumba slum. The place I have lost my heart. It may be with the girl who has lost her parents who now calls me Mom. It may be with the boy who is HIV+ and struggles every day. It may be with all the youth who inspire me with their questions and commitment. It may be with that little baby who begs for me to hold him. It may be with all those kids who’s parents abuse them every day. It may be with the kids who don’t have enough food to eat. The truth is, each of these and more holds my heart. And I don’t even want it back. I love this place. My heart loves this place. But my heart is also broken by this place.

Now. Only six weeks left. We feel a sense of panic. It feels wrong. We can’t be leaving yet. It’s too soon. We love it here. We are meant to be here. This is where we belong. And yet we know that the same God who has orchestrated our lives from the beginning, the God who sorted out all the problems, the One who showed us His plan piece by piece, the One who not only sees the big picture and gives us a small glimpse of it, but who also takes care of meeting the smallest of our needs….HE is the One who is in control!! He is the One who understands. He is the One who will bring us back to Kenya in His time. He knows! And it is in this that we find peace.

It is in Him that we find peace.

This tapestry God is creating is far from finished. And at many times looks far from beautiful. From where we sit, it looks like a mess. Like it doesn’t make sense. But God in His grace has allowed us a glimpse a time or two. Just a glimpse. He is creating beauty out of our mess. He is creating loveliness out of our confusion. He is creating splendour out of our pain. He is the Master Designer.

It is in Him that we become beautiful.

Rain in Kenya

2009-10-21T09:15:00.003+03:00

Growing up on a farm, I got to experience the need for certain weather. Needing rain for the crops. Needing sunshine so the crops would dry. Praying for the snow to hold off for only a few more days so that the fields could be cleared. Knowing that nasty weather could cause the newborn calves to die (or at least freeze off their tails and ears).

And yet, there was never a time where the weather caused us to starve. Or go without food for any length of time. Or caused our animals to starve. There was never a time where we needed rain for our very survival. Nobody in my family ever died for lack of rain. None of my neighbors ever suffered to the point of not being able to feed their children because of a drought. Do you get what I'm saying? To pray for rain because your survival, and the survival of your family and animals depends on it. To be desperate. To need it.

Kenya has been crying for rain. Kenya and her people have been suffering. Kenya's people have been dying. There are some places, especially in northern Kenya, where all the goats and sheep have died a long time ago, and now the camels are starting to go. When the camels start to die, you know there is an intense lack of rain. Lack of rain= lack of food. It's a terrible problem.

But...God has been answering the cries for help, and we have been receiving wonderful, wonderful rain! It is finally raining in Kenya!! There is just something about the joy on people's faces when the rains come. Such a direct answer to prayer! Please continue to pray for rain all over Kenya...not all of Kenya is receiving this blessing yet.

On that note as well though...we are also expecting to experience an El Nino to strike Kenya sometime soon. This would not be a good thing. Words like: torrential rains. flooding. washing away the topsoil. evacuations. drowning. These words are being used to describe the effects that this El Nino could have on Kenya. So please pray for "good" rain in healthy doses. People still talk about the last El Nino that hit Kenya, and it was a terrible time. So we need your prayers.

We are learning what it means to truly rely on God...and what it means to truly praise Him. Our God is mighty!! He is Mighty to Save.

Everyone needs compassion

A love that's never failing, let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour, the hope of nations

Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures, fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in, and now I surrender, I surrender

Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave

Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave

Shine Your light and let the whole world see, we're singing
For the glory of the risen King, Jesus
Shine Your light and let the whole world see, we're singing
For the glory of the risen King
{Hillsong}

The Trip

2009-10-13T13:24:00.010+03:00

Where to begin? It’s been a long time, and feels even longer since I last wrote here. I have realized a few things about myself these last few weeks, one of them being the fact that even though I do not consider myself a planner or organizer, I do need preparation time. I always thought I was more of a “spur-of-the-moment” kinda girl than I actually am.

Leaving Kenya so quickly was rough. We felt as though we were in a fog for a good portion of our time in Canada. It’s like we were in a different place physically, but our minds and hearts couldn’t quite catch up. One day we were doing the “Kenya thing” and the next we were on a plane bound for the North American continent. Strange, strange feeling. One I wouldn’t recommend.

We were really thankful that we made the decision to go home for Bobbi’s funeral, regardless of how strange it felt to be leaving Kenya. It felt like the right decision, and the chance to spend time with her family and the rest of my family, just remembering her, made it worth it. She was such a special person, and my childhood memories are filled with hilarious events and times of exaggerated imaginations with Bobbi. We had so many good times…my life was definitely sweeter because of her. The funeral and memorial services were hard, though. It made the events of the past week hit home. It was reality. Bobbi was really gone. I hate it. And yet I know that she is with Jesus. I know that her life here on earth was but a shadow of the life she has now. I know that she is Home. And yet it still hurts to have lost her here. Please continue to pray for her husband, Justin, and her parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. She was deeply loved and is now deeply mourned by those who loved her most.

The rest of our time in Canada involved a lot of visiting with friends and family and a lot of eating of really good food! It was a good time of catching up and ended up being a time of refreshing in our hearts. We needed a break more than we even realized and God used this unexpected trip home to give us that. It also turned out that we were able to be home for our niece Halle and nephew Hosea’s birthdays, which was also really special. We had a lot of fun with different people, having coffee, hunting, an early Thanksgiving meal, visiting until the early morning hours, laughing, crying, and just enjoying the people that we love so much. And by the way…Canada is colder than we remembered…we have become complete wimps and consistently complained about the -2`C weather…!! =)

Trevor and I with our nieces, Makena and Halle

...and with our niece Samala, and nephews Jorrell and Hosea

Loramie (sis), Rea (sis-in-law), Anj (sis-in-law) and I

However, even with thoroughly enjoying the family, friends, food and fall season at home, we were ready to come back to Kenya. (and not just because of the warmth, either, although it sure helped!) We were really missing our friends, Kenya home, ministries, and just life here in Nairobi and most of all just knew that our purpose here in Kenya wasn‘t finished and we needed to get back to our normal life.
So on Thursday, October 8, our adventure back to Kenya began…

Seriously. Who ever said adventure was a good thing? We had one of “those” travelling experiences that make you just wanna say “are you SERIOUS??!” What a trip.

Every one of our flights was delayed. Every. Single. One. The first from Grande Prairie to Edmonton was delayed because of the weather. (we were home for the first snow storm of the year…yay!) So we waited in the GP airport for at least an hour. Then our next flight from Edmonton to London was rather nightmarish. We had boarded the plane, and were waiting to take off. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Till the captain made an announcement about the plane experiencing left engine failure. And that the mechanics were checking it out. Nothing like already being on a plane and realizing that you really are putting your life in these mechanics {hopefully} capable hands!! So we waited some more, only to be told that this was NOT something they could fix now and we would have to de-plane and wait for another plane to be brought in from Vancouver. Next departure time being 2:30 am. Awesome.

We were a little worried about not making our next connection from London to Nairobi, but thought, well, if this plane leaves on time, then that gives us a little over an hour in London, and we COULD make it. So we used our meal vouchers from the airline and had a nice meal at Chili’s and hung out in the airport for the next four hours.

But, you guessed it, another complication. We had boarded the second plane of the day in Edmonton. And waited to take off. And waited. And waited. And waited. Till the captain made another announcement “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we seem to be having another unusual problem with this aircraft…” wow. Seriously. Something about a problem with not having enough fuel to get all the way to London…

After a long few hour wait sitting in the airplane, we finally were able to take off. We arrived in London in time to see our next connection take off without us. Awesome. Too much confusion later, we ended up in a hotel in London for the night.

Welcome to rainy London...

waiting for the train at London Heathrow Airport

The next morning we took a bus back to London Heathrow, then a train to our terminal. After we had boarded our plane….oh yeah, another delay. This time it was something to do with the runway. The lady sitting next to me, after I told her about our previous flight issues, said “then this is your fault. It’s something about you that’s making this plane delayed too. You’re bad luck.” Thanks, lady. That makes me feel so much better.

But we arrived safely in Nairobi, which in itself felt like a miracle after the frustrating experiences of the last few days! 10:00 pm Saturday night was a welcome time!! Hello Kenya! But the “bad luck” didn’t end with coming to Kenya, apparently. Our luggage decided to stay in London. Of course! We just had to laugh. Seriously. It would have been too good to be true had something actually gone right!! We did all the necessary paperwork at the baggage claim, and then had two wonderful friends come and pick us up at the airport. Thanks Saks and Dann!! =)

So now…Trevor’s bag has arrived…and mine is still who-knows-where! I’m trying to have a good attitude about it. It’s just stuff. Just possessions. Nothing that really matters. (do you hear my trying to convince myself?! Ha) but really, God has been showing me a lot of things in the last few days and making me realize what is truly important. So I’m trying to see it from His perspective.

We are now trying to get over jet-lag and enjoying the wonderful Nairobi weather!! It’s been so good to see all our friends again and get back into “Africa-mode”. More updates to come soon.

God is good.

When the Unexpected Happens...

2009-09-22T18:22:00.003+03:00

We are leaving Kenya for two weeks to go back to Canada for a visit.

My (Andrea) cousin Bobbi passed away unexpectedly on Monday. We really felt like we needed to go home and spend time with family and be there for her funeral. This is so hard for me to deal with and to even imagine that it's really happening. She and I grew up together and have SO many memories. I have been in a state of shock ever since we got the news.

This all feels so strange and it's hard to just go with it...we had not planned on leaving Kenya for another couple of months, and now have been frantically planning our visit home in a very short time. But we do feel peace that this is the right thing for us to do, and we are thankful that we are able to make this work. Thanks so much to our families for helping us out in this way.

Please pray for Bobbi's family as they go through this tremendously difficult time. Pray for her husband, Justin, as this is something nobody should ever have to go through. They need your support. So please remember them in prayer.

Pray for us too, as we fly out of Nairobi tomorrow morning, and land in Grande Prairie on Thursday afternoon. Pray for safety and for good flights and transitions.

Above all, please just pray that God would be glorified in this situation.

Thank you.

Mark

2009-09-18T20:55:00.004+03:00

Trevor and Mark

Benedicto, Rueben, Mark, Trevor and Steven

The TAM shop will be seeing some changes in the near future...

Mark, the young man from Sudan who has been working with Trevor and the other men in the shop, has received his Refugee Resettlement documents and will be leaving Kenya on Tuesday and moving to Missouri, USA.

This is something that he has been working towards for a long time, and he is really looking forward to starting this new chapter of his life. While Trevor is excited for him, he will also really miss working with him every day.

We know that Mark has a bright future ahead of him, and know that he will be a blessing to anyone he will meet, no matter where he goes.

Please remember Mark in your prayers...life as he knows it is about to drastically change. He is quite nervous and apprehensive about all the adjustments that come with moving to a new country. But we know that he will be okay...he has already persevered through so much hardship and has worked harder than anyone else we know to get to where he is today. He has an incredible story and God has seen him through many obstacles.

So, we will say goodbye to Mark for now. It will be sad, and he will be greatly missed. But who knows when and where we may see him again...this may call for a trip to Missouri when we get back to North America...did someone say "road trip"??? :-)

When Children Suffer

2009-09-16T23:15:00.003+03:00

Lately we have had to deal with many issues with the kids in Mitumba. More and more difficult situations are coming to light. More and more kids and youth are disclosing information about their lives. We are having to listen to stories of abuse. Beatings. Kids fearing for their lives because their step-mothers are trying to kill them. Kids running away to get away from the abuse. All kinds of atrocities that kids should never have to go through. And through it all, we are having to encourage them and point them to Christ while at the same time we ourselves sometimes question why God is allowing these things to happen to these precious ones.

This morning I was reading “Safely Home” by Randy Alcorn. If you have not read this book…read it! It is about the persecuted Church, and focuses on China. It brought me to tears, as it does every time I read it. It also gave me some perspective on God’s heart for His people, and in this case, children specifically. I want to leave you with an excerpt from the book:

The King drew them into the surface of His vast mind, that they could see what He saw - children abandoned and living on streets, abducted, beaten, molested, cut to pieces by men dressed in white, exterminated by human pesticides.
“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones,” the King said, projecting His voice toward the dark world so loudly it was heard on earth as thunder. “For I tell you that their angels in heaven always behold the face of My Father.”

The King pointed to a church custodian yelling at children unauthorized to play on the swings and chasing them away. “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
The King spoke to people out for Sunday dinner after church, who turned away from the street children. “Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

Then He watched a man and a woman taking children off the streets, bringing them into a building, giving them a warm meal and a cot and safe refuge, and telling them about their Master. On the other side of the planet, in Africa, He watched His people caring for children born with AIDS, many of them orphans now, or soon to be.
The King nodded His approval. “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me.”
He watched His people give children a warm bath, read stories to them, hug them, and laugh with them. He smiled broadly. “Thank you,” the King whispered, “for doing this to Me.”

He looked now at men plotting and stalking and taking pictures of children, doing to them the unthinkable. He looked at men herding frightened little girls together and selling them to foreigners. He looked at the men in white coats, driving beautiful cars purchased by the blood of children. He looked at those who inflicted the suffering. His eyes smoldered.
“I made these children. I took them into my arms, put my hands on them, and blessed them. And yet you scorn them, use them for your gain, treat them as disposable. It would be better for you to have a millstone tied around your neck and be thrown into the sea than to face what I will surely do to you.”

He looked now at others who turned their heads from the children, too busy to share a meal, a blanket, or a pay check. They did little or nothing to help the children, and he regarded their failure to help as the inflicting of harm. “To you who look the other way, saying My children are not your concern: Repent! For it is I you have turned away from. I will not forget.”

He gazed at another group of people, those watching out for and reaching out to and helping the children. He said simply, “Well done. Your reward shall be great.”
The King watched the children again, though the men knew He had never stopped watching them. For a moment He smiled, then laughed; then suddenly He saw something else. Tears flowed from His eyes; then they burned with blistering heat.
“Many on earth look away from the children,” said Li Tong to Fu Liko. “But the eyes of heaven never look away from them. Never.”

We truly believe that God knows what is happening to these kids. We believe that it hurts His heart when they suffer. We believe that it makes Him angry when they get abused and mistreated by people they are supposed to be able to trust.

Knowing this somehow gives us hope. Even realizing that it doesn’t mean their situations will change, but knowing that the Father knows. He has not turned His face away. He knows. And one day, He will make it right.

Please pray for our kids. They are suffering greatly.

Brothers

2009-09-16T21:06:00.003+03:00

Duke and Michael.

The younger boy is the one who was lost for those few months, and who is now back with his family in Mitumba.

Michael

This family still really needs your prayers. Even though Michael is back, his mother is still not stable, and is still on medication. Just the other day, Duke came screaming into the school courtyard...his mother was allowing someone else to beat him. While we are so thankful that Michael was found and is home, he is still not always safe. Please pray for these young boys.

Could You Help?

2009-09-11T23:05:00.005+03:00

I want you to imagine something with me.

Imagine that you live on a farm. Imagine that you have worked hard from the time you were young, gone to school for awhile as a child, but then could never finish school because of the work and too many school fees for your parents to pay.

Imagine that you marry. But as you are still struggling, you don’t have enough money to pay the dowry required by your fiancé’s family. You are still allowed to marry her, granted that you will pay the dowry at a later date.

Now imagine that you move to the city. You don’t enjoy the city or have any desire to live there, but because of the difficulties in making a living on your farm, you have no choice. When you get to the city, you move to a slum. You find yourself a tiny, one room house made of iron sheets, surrounded by thousands of other houses just like this one. A lot of danger and difficulty comes with moving to a place like this, but you can’t afford anything else, because even with this incredibly small and awful place, you still have to pay rent.

You and your wife have two children. Boys. With both of those births come many complications and you nearly lose your wife both times. Your relationship becomes strained and a wall goes up between you after these difficult years and your relationship never fully recovers.

During this time, you are struggling to make a living to feed your family. You find a good job…but a good job for an uneducated person still won’t make ends meet. You make 550 shillings a day. About $9. So some days there just is no money for food. Yet you struggle to give your children the best life possible. You vow that they will go to school so that they can have a better chance. You promise them that they will get the things that you never had. They will get an education. They will make it. They will prosper. And so you fight. And you struggle. School fees are so expensive. And there are the uniforms to pay for. The school supplies to buy.

Imagine now that your wife gets sick. So sick. Her body is weak and frail. She is only in her mid thirties and yet she does not have the energy to get out of bed. She cannot make food for the family. So you work even harder to get extra money for the medical expenses. You worry. You pray.

It’s Christmas Eve, 2008. You nearly lose your wife. You spend the Christmas holidays in the hospital. She doesn’t die, but is still so very sick. Your boys are constantly worried. Especially the younger one, who is only three. He doesn’t understand why his mama is so different and why she does not even have the strength to speak to him.

The months go on. Your hope begins to grow as your wife is regaining her strength day by day. The medications seems to be working. You begin to make plans as a family for your future. The sun seems to be shining on you again. You begin to dream of a better life. You decide to move your family back to the country. Back to the farm. You want to raise your boys close to your family. You want them to learn skills that they will not learn living in a slum in the city. You work hard.

It’s July 2009. Your wife’s health has suddenly taken a turn for the worse again. You spend more money on hospital bills and ask people to pray. She will get better, you are sure of it. After all, she did before.

It’s Wednesday, July 29. Your wife has died. You don’t understand. Why?? Why me??
You begin the process of laying your wife’s body to rest. You have no money for all these things. It costs so much money. People rally around to help. You have to find a coffin. Something not too expensive. So you barter on a price.
You have to find a vehicle to transport your wife’s body back to her home in the country. This too, is so expensive.
You have to provide food for everyone who comes to the funeral. And not just a little bit of something for people to snack on. But good food. A lot of it. Including costly food like meat.

Imagine that during this time of grief and mourning, your wife’s family is not supportive of you. In fact, they actually come to your house and steal your things. They steal your camera that you were using to make extra money as you were learning photography. They steal your wife’s clothing. They steal your boys’ clothing. They even steal their school uniforms. They take whatever money your wife had before she died. They take all your ID.

They claim that it is all rightfully theirs. And yet, during all these years of struggle for you and your wife, they were never there to help. Even though they lived in the city, they never cared enough to even come to your house. Your father in law has now insisted that you also pay the dowry. The dowry that you could not afford before you got married. It is a lot. Money plus animals.

You now have to decide what you are going to do. How will you continue to make a living to provide for your children? How will you be there for your boys when you have to work? How will you make it? What is best for your boys?

Your boys miss their mother. They don’t understand. They ask for her everyday. You have begun to tell them that she will be here tomorrow, just so that you can see them happy again. But you know that you can’t keep up those stories forever. You don’t know how to break their hearts all over again.

How will you pay for your kids schooling? How will you pay someone to come to the house to cook and clean and be home when your boys come home from school, the things your wife used to do? What about when your children get sick? You have no extra money. None. There is no savings account. Or that extra money tucked away for emergencies. There is no money. What will you do when the unexpected things happen? And there is still that dowry to pay.

I am asking you to imagine these things with me because they are real. This is Elly’s story. You remember hearing about him in previous months? He works on our compound as a gardener. We have grown to love him and his family throughout our time in Kenya.

I looked into his bloodshot eyes, shiny with tears, as he asked me for help this afternoon.

“I tried so hard to save Violet’s life,” he told me brokenly. “I tried so hard.”

“I have some questions I want to ask God at the final judgement. I have a lot of questions for Him. Why me? After all my years of struggle, after all the things we’ve gone through…now death? Now you take my wife? We had plans! Is this a punishment? Because if it is, it feels like it is just too harsh.”

Elly needs your prayers. His two sons, Wesley and Timothy, need your prayers. I cannot even explain to you the look in his eyes. Hopelessness. Defeat. Despair.

I don’t want to have you read this story and just think that it is a story that is supposed to tear at your heartstrings. Because yes, I hope that it makes you feel for this family. But I want you to realize that this is real. This is LIFE for a widower and his children. He is only thirty-five years of age. His sons are age six and three.

If by reading this story you feel that you could and should help financially, please send us an email at ta.wolfe@hotmail.com. We have an account that you could put money into and we can access it here and give it to Elly. Any amount would be so much appreciated.

Please, this dear family needs us to stand behind them. They need us.

"I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end
His word declares this truth:
That we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place will be no more
We’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day we’ll hold on to You always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel you’re walking on your own
But there has never been a step where you’ve walked out all alone

Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
‘Cause joy and peace He brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting

I can’t wait until that day where the very One I’ve lived for always
Will wipe away the sorrow that I’ve faced
To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery
This is why, this is why I sing

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place will be no more
We’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day we’ll hold on to You always "

{There Will Be A Day. Jeremy Camp}

Eternity in Our Hearts

2009-09-05T02:30:00.005+03:00

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

Sometimes we get a glimpse of eternity. You know. When you realize that you were made for something more. When you can see beyond the day-to-day. When God speaks something so incredible into your heart, and you see. You realize. You are awestruck by knowing that God is doing something! It’s like you can see past the earthly things, the mundane things, the temporal things…and you get a glimpse of the bigger picture. And it makes you think about Heaven. And what it will be like. And you are not satisfied with what used to satisfy you. The material things. The secular things. The things of this world.

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world. {CS Lewis}

We have been studying Ecclesiastes with our cell group from our Church. God has been teaching us a lot through this study…and we are only on Chapter 3!
Trevor was asked to lead the chai time devotions this past Wednesday at the hangar. (Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, someone will lead the devotion time for everyone who works at the AIM hangar.) Trevor talked about this verse, Ecclesiastes 3:11...and he used this story of what happened to me this week as an example:

It was on Monday. I needed to go to the store and had a random collection of things going through my head as I was getting ready to go. One of those things was wondering if I would see any street kids on my walk. This is something that happens frequently and we often don’t quite know what the correct response should be when we are confronted by dirty children holding out their hands to us and begging for money. This sounds like the answer should be easy. Just give them something. But it’s not that simple when you get to know the problems with this “solution”…and as terrible as this will sound, we have also gotten so used to seeing this that it becomes “normal” and our hearts have started to become calloused. Lately though, I’ve been challenged to really, truly and seriously be God’s hands and feet to those I meet, especially these kids. We often compare them to our kids in the slum, knowing that many of our kids have had experience with this sort of lifestyle…and for us, that makes it personal. These kids need to know that someone cares, and we have felt convicted to be that someone who cares.

Back to the story. Before I left the house, I put half a loaf of bread in my purse. It felt funny to do that, but for some reason (yes, I know that it was God!!) I thought I might have use for it on my walk. I put on my sunglasses, and started on my way.

I was not so far from the store after walking about ten minutes, when I saw them. Two boys. Coming my way. Bedraggled. Grubby. Hands palm up. In my face.

“Madam, please give us something. Madam, please.” My first instinct? I wanted to continue walking. I really wanted to. Then I remembered. I remembered!! “Andrea, what is your correct response to this situation? Don’t you have bread in your purse for this exact reason??”
Oh right. Okay.

I stopped. Took off my sunglasses. Smiled at them. They stared at me.

“Jina lako ni nani?” What is your name?
“James.”
And to the other boy...”Jina lako ni nani?”
“Joel.”
They are still staring at me. Not sure what to think.

I reach my hand in my purse and take out the bread. I make eye contact with each of them, and hand over the bread. In the process, I drop an object that had fallen out of my purse. Both of them immediately said “Oh sorry!” as I bend down to pick it up. I smile at their concern.

They take the bread that I give them, look at me and say “Thank you”.

I say “Karibu”. (you’re welcome.)

They slowly leave, and so do I. We both look back at each other as we walk away. And smile.

I continue on. Go to the store. Do what I came to do. Buy what I need to buy. But all along I am thinking about two boys named James and Joel. Who are they? How old are they? Are they brothers? Why are they on the street? I buy another loaf of bread, the Supa Loaf brand. Just in case.

As I head back home, arms full with my Nakumatt bags, I see something out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head and see two boys running my way. James and Joel?? Yes, it is them. My first thought was that they were back to beg for more stuff. But no.

James caught up to me first.

“Madam, you asked us our names, but you never told us your name!!”

Seriously?? This kid came up to me to ask me my name?? Not to ask me for anything? My heart has started to melt.

“My name is Andrea!” They ask me to repeat it, so I do.

They try it out. “Andrea.”

I start to visit with them. I ask them how old they are, (they are 11, and 12), if they are brothers (they are), if they go to school (they do) and other things. We smile and laugh and talk excitedly. They ask if I remember their names, and when I say “You are James and you are Joel” they both smile and nod. I ask them if they will remember my name the next time they see me….

…And they say “You will come back? We will see you tomorrow??”

Seriously, God, what are You doing to my heart???

The look on these dirty boys’ faces, the light in their eyes, the connection my heart made with theirs was almost more than I could take. Eternity. Right here.

I was made for this. And I was made for so much more.

“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

We were made for more. Even though God has set eternity into our hearts, we still cannot fathom what He has done. We can’t. But we know. We KNOW that we were made for more than the things we often live for. The earthly. The temporal.

It’s when we get these glimpses of what God is doing. Of what God can do with a heart fully yielded to Him. A picture of the difference we can make. Of what life is really about. A glimpse of what He has called us to. A glimpse of eternity.

We know that we are made of different stuff than when we began.

But we also know that we were made for more.

Eternity in our hearts.

The Lost Has Been Found!

2009-09-03T20:35:00.001+03:00

I first have to say that we can NEVER underestimate the power of God!! We have been reminded of His sovereignty and His greatness this week!

Do you remember me telling you about the little boy, Michael, who was taken by his mother who had a mental breakdown and couldn’t remember where she took him? That happened in June, and we had completely given up hope of ever finding him.

Well, you know where this story is going, right?? HE IS BACK!! And completely unharmed and healthy!

Here’s the story of his return, as it was told to us:

His mother, Betty, hadn’t given up on finding him, and for some reason (I don’t know all the details) had gone to another lady who has been praying about this situation. This lady told Betty that God had revealed to her that Michael was in another slum and that they should go there to look for him. So Betty went to this place…and found that her son has been taken care of by a lady there! She had kept him healthy, and even took him to school (and exclaimed about how well he has been doing there, and what a bright boy he is!) Isn’t that incredible??!!

All this time, God has been using this lady to take care of little Michael. And after two months, He brought him back to his family. God knew where he was all along and never stopped taking care of him. Seriously amazing.

It gives me chills just to think about it.

What a privilege it is to serve a God who not only holds the whole world in His hands, but who cares about a lost little boy from the slum.

A Little Bit of Everything...Including the Weather!

2009-08-25T12:17:00.009+03:00

I thought it was time to give you another general update on how things are going here. It’s unbelievable to think that we should be going home next week, as our first departure date was set for August 31. We are very thankful for the extra three months that we have here in Kenya (although we have been talking about home a lot these days and are really looking forward to seeing all of you again!!). Needless to say, we are filled with mixed emotions most days!

Life at the hangar seems to be slowly getting back to “normal”, although it will never be the same as it was before the crash. AIM AIR voluntarily grounded all their planes after the crash on August 1st in an effort to be there for the Toews and Williams families and to be able to properly assess what needed to be done. Last week they started flying again, although the investigations about what happened are still on-going. Please pray for AIM AIR and all the things they have to deal with.
The memorial service that we had for Ryan Williams on August 15th was another beautiful and God-honouring service. God has been giving so much grace and strength to Dawn and it has been so evident in her testimony. Dawn and her kids, and Tiffany and her kids really need your prayers as they work on plans for what they are going to do and make big decisions about their future. There will be long dark days ahead for them, but we know that God can and will sustain them. They have been such a testimony to us all.

The weather here seems to be finally warming up some. I don’t even know if I mentioned it before, but July and August are the coldest months of the year in Kenya. We have been experiencing Kenyan winter! And you may laugh and say that surely it can’t get very cold, but I’m here to tell you that it does! Many days we left the house in the morning wearing thick sweaters, socks and shoes, scarf (for me!), and shivering like crazy! The houses here are not insulated and heated like the ones at home, which also makes a huge difference. But…I think that the air is finally warming up, which I am very thankful for!
Kenya is still going through a severe drought. There has been an intense lack of rain, and Kenya’s people are suffering. Many areas have people are dying from starvation. Many animals have been dying. The ground is dying. Kenya is suffering. There is a severe food shortage in many parts of Kenya as well. Please pray for rain for Kenya. It is not the rainy season right now, but God can still make it rain!
Oh…and we are also on a power rationing schedule. Yeah it’s great. Monday, Wednesday and Fridays the power goes off at 6:00 am and comes back on at 6:00 pm. The other half of the city is off on the other three days, and Sunday is a no-rationing day. It’s been something to get used to and quite frustrating at times…but the good thing is that at least we can prepare for it because of the schedule. The reason for this power rationing is because most, if not all, of the power for the city is produced by hydro-electric dams, and because of the lack of rain we’ve been having, the water levels in the river have been too low for the hydro-electric dams to produce enough power for everyone to have electricity at the same time. Add our water rationing to that, and we’ve been having to conserve and save and plan a whole lot more than we’re used to.

Trevor’s work at the TAM shop is never ending, it seems. One of these days I want him to write a blog entry about his days at the shop and the things he deals with…so wait for that! =) There is only so much that I can write about that, as I am not there to see what actually goes on during his days. He does have someone now to help him with paperwork and the administration side of things, which has been really nice for him. The days that he actually gets to put on his coveralls and get his hands dirty are the days that he is happiest! =)

The kids in Mitumba are on a school break right now. The school terms are different here than they are in Canada…the school year starts in January, with the first term being January, February and March. April is a break. Then the second term is May, June, and July. And August is a break. Then the third and last term is September, October and November, and December is a break. But during their breaks, they have what’s called “tuition” (for the higher classes). Tuition is basically just extra work, maybe kind of like summer school, or tutoring. These kids work so hard, I tell ya! It’s crazy sometimes to see how much pressure is put on them in school. So right now they have tuition. The days that I go to Mitumba, I still work in the clinic, but I’m not as busy there as there are less kids around. I’ve actually really enjoyed this slower time in Mitumba, as I have been able to spend a lot of time hanging out with them, having lots of time to talk about their lives, visiting them in their homes, having some of the young girls teach me how to make Kenyan food like ugali, playing crazy tag through the slum corridors with some of the older boys (dangerous, don’t try this at home!! Ha)…it actually is really fun, trying to avoid the sharp iron sheets that make up the walls for the houses, trying to not trip on the uneven ground, swerving around the crazy corners, trying to not slip on all the garbage and other “stuff” on the ground, attempting to not get lost in the maze of slum houses…it’s a riot! And all the while having the mamas and little babies watching this game, and I’m sure thinking “what a crazy mzungu!” It was so much fun! But seriously, though, I’ve had a lot of time for good conversation and meaningful encounters with the youth during this more relaxed time of holiday…something I’m so thankful for. They are continually teaching me so much about their lives and their hearts, and God has really been using them to change me.
The Youth Bible Studies in Mitumba have also been going really well. I’ll give last week as an example. We split up the boys and the girls. Trevor and the guys talked about relationships, temptations in relationships and the different struggles that guys go through. He ended the study with telling them the story of our relationship, which they LOVED! I wish I could have been there! =) He said that they were so interested in hearing about it, and were so involved in the story. It was a time where they were really able to bond together as guys and so good for the youth to get to know Trevor better and connect with him on another level. Lately there had been some of the oldest youth boys that weren’t coming on a regular basis, but on Saturday most, of not all, were there! What an exciting time. Being able to help them, encourage them, be real and honest with them, and stand with them in the struggles and temptations they face every day.
During this time, I met with the girls. We talked about the importance of bonding together and standing together as girls. We read the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet, and I used that illustration of Jesus serving His friends in this lowly way as an example to us to serve our friends. I brought out the bucket of water as the girls all looked at me with questions in their eyes! I told them that today, we would wash each others feet. We would serve each other. Then I brought out the yummy-smelling foot scrub and lotions and pink and purple nail polish and said that we would also make ourselves look and smell pretty! Their faces immediately lit up and they began to talk excitedly amongst themselves! It was such a nice time of “girly-ness” and having fun and bonding. After I had told them what we were going to do, immediately “my girl”, the girl in the previous blog entry, came to me and whispered in my ear “Andrea, I want to wash your feet.” My heart melted. What a girl. The funny thing was that after most of the girls were done and Trevor’s Bible study was finished too, the boys came to our classroom to see what we were doing. A few of them came in and sat down in the chair and wanted to wash their feet using the pretty foot scrub and lotion! It was so funny! But what took the cake was that they also wanted to paint their fingernails using the hot pink nail polish…I drew the line with painting ONE of their nails each…! We love our crazy fun youth!

So…that’s a bit of a glimpse of what our life consists of these days. We are doing well, for the most part, and trying to make the most of every opportunity, knowing that our time left in this beautiful country is quickly coming to an end. (for now!)
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, and to those of you who have left us notes of encouragement and let us know that you are thinking of us and praying for us. It means so much to us, more that I can even say. You have helped us through these past few months of difficulty and we thank God for you and pray that He will bless you abundantly for supporting us so faithfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

We love you!

Searching for His Goodness

2009-08-20T08:08:00.005+03:00

“I think she killed my mother,” she said to me.

Although the conversation didn't start there..

We were hanging out one afternoon in the clinic in the slum. She was troubled. I knew just by looking at her. I asked her how she was, and she answered, “Fine.” I knew she wasn’t fine, so I pressed. “Are you really fine?” “Yes.”

“Are you happy?”

Silence.

Then came the torrent. The waves. The overwhelming story.

“I hate my aunt. She tried to take me away again.”

I just nodded.

“I live with my grandmother. Last Friday my aunt came to the house when my grandmother was at the job and she tried to take me away. I ran away and hid in the game park all day until I knew she was gone.”

I just nodded. And the story kept going.

“I used to live with my aunt after my mother died. She would abuse me. One time she hit me so hard she broke the broom stick.”

My eyes have now started burning.

“She would take me to the witch. The witch would tell her to beat me. And so she did. Do you see my scars here?”

She pointed to her legs. Big ugly scars. I nodded that yes, I saw them.

“My aunt did this. I have many more on my back. Twenty one in total.”

It is getting to be too much for me to hear. My girl, telling me her story so calmly. And yet not calmly as I see the fear in her eyes and the tenseness in her body.

“I think my aunt killed my mother.”

I repeated this sentence back to her, not sure I heard right.

She told me the story of the day her mother died…and in her eyes and in her remembrance, she is sure that it was her aunt who killed her mother.

“I remember that day.” she says. “I hate my aunt for what she has done to me.”

I reach for the tissue as my tears have no choice but to fall. And still my girl keeps talking.

“I am fearful. I don’t know what my aunt will do to me. I don’t know if and when she will come back to try to take me away from my grandmother.”

“One time she tried to make me be a prostitute, you know. But I bit her arm to get away and then I ran.”

I tell her that I am glad she ran away.

She looks at me, as if aware for the first time that I am there. So lost in her own memories.

“I should be in Form 1, you know. *(form 1 is like grade 9). But I am in class 6. After my mother died, my aunt kept taking me out of school and so I kept having to repeat the years. Some days I did not even go to school. I should be in Form 1.”

I hear the frustration and pain in her voice. She sounds like a small child. Hurt. Sad. Alone.

“My grandmother is old. I don’t know if she will die soon. And then I will have no place to go. I will have nobody to look after me. I don’t know what I will do.”

At this point I feel helpless to know how to help my girl. I tell her I love her. She looks at me, and says “Me too.”

I try to encourage her, but my words seem so trite. So useless in the face of her fear and suffering. We talk for a few minutes and I see a smile on her face.

“Let’s go now.” she says. She is done talking.

I wipe my tears and reach for her. She comes willingly and lets me hold her. I repeated my earlier words.

“I love you my girl.”
“I love you too.”

And she calls me “Mommy”.

We walk down the steps of the clinic, and to the field where we run around and act silly and twirl like little girls. Her walls have come back up and she has pushed the vulnerability back inside. And it’s okay. Because she knows that I know. And she knows that I care.

Another story. Another child. Another life lived in fear and pain. Another reason to pray and plead with our Father in Heaven to help these dear ones. Another opportunity to trust in His goodness.

Because we KNOW He is good. Sometimes, though, when we see pain like this, when we see lives being torn apart, when we see people that we love who are hurting, our hearts just don’t quite believe it. And we just have to trust that we KNOW that He is good and ask Him to help our hearts believe it too. Because it is true. He is GOOD.

Some would say that You can not be found
And some would say that You are far away
But I know You’re the God who lives in me
And I know You will always have my heart

‘Cause You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
You are good

You are the only one
You are the one that I desire
You are the only one my King.
You are the only one
You are the one that I desire
You are the only one my King
{Jeff Deyo}

“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Psalm 100:5

Willing Hearts

2009-08-18T16:20:00.014+03:00

Often it starts by being willing.

That’s what we’ve come to see as true anyway. It’s when we are willing to step out. Out of our comfort zone. Out of our “world”. Out of what is easy. That’s when the biggest blessings are found.

Sunday was a baptism service in Mitumba. The week prior was a difficult one for us, with attending two memorial services and dealing with the grief that comes along with that. These kinds of times are emotionally draining, as we all know. We were looking forward to having a quiet Sunday…going to our Church here, which we love, and then spending the rest of the day at home, or walking, or whatever, but just being together and not having to give of ourselves at all. One of our youth, Rueben (who also works at the TAM shop with Trevor), came to the memorial service for Ryan Williams with us on Saturday morning. It was there that he mentioned that he would really like it if we came to Mitumba for Church the following day.

My first instinct was to say, “Thanks for the invitation, but no thanks. I know what kind of a day that will be, and I just don’t feel like it.”

But…..Trevor and I talked about it, and while we were both feeling that way, we also both felt like we needed to go to Mitumba. So…(reluctantly, I must admit) we said yes.

Rueben’s smile as we parked our car at the slum on Sunday morning did it for me. His face was completely lit up, and his eyes were happy. Really, really happy. He hurried to the car, and immediately gave us hugs and said “You came!!” Yes Rueben, we came. I felt guilt at my bad attitude the day before, and felt truly thankful that we decided to come.

It had only been a week since we saw our youth, but it felt like so much longer! Hugs were given all around, genuine smiles on all our faces…it felt like we were home. Home with our youth that we love so much. Aahhh…we came. And my heart felt happy.

We were asked to be “spiritual parents” for some of the youth. This means that at the baptism, we hold their towels for them, help them out of the water, and carry their things for them. In the long run, it means that we commit to be there for them, to follow up with them their decision made to follow Christ, and be a mentor to them. It is an honour to be asked.

Trevor was asked to be Derek’s spiritual father, and I was asked to be spiritual mother to three girls : Alice, Jane G. and Jane N. It was so great to be so directly involved in this special day (something we were not expecting).

Trevor and Derek

My "daughters" and I: Alice Barongo, Jane Gathoni and Jane Ndinda

The actual baptism service was like something out of a movie played in fast-forward! It was so quick, unorganized, people everywhere, and included me running around like a chicken with her head cut off! Let me explain!! =)

We were waiting in the Pastor’s office with all the baptism candidates. We didn’t know the order of who was first, second, and so on, and there were people everywhere. And it was loud! So we would wait until all of a sudden we would hear “Andrea!! Alice is next! She’s already out there! You have to go!” So I would push my way through the crowd of scared candidates who were terrified at the thought of getting dunked in the C-O-L-D water, give hugs where necessary, all while trying to get through with Alice’s towel so I could be ready for when she needed me. I got there, helped her dry off somewhat, hurriedly walked with her to the classroom where she could change, and then rushed back to the office, where I heard again “Andrea!! Jane Ndinda is out there! Hurry!!” So, I followed the same process all over again…rushed out to the baptism pool, helped her dry off, hurried to the classroom, and then back to the office…where, you guessed it, a third shouting of “Hurry up Andrea!!” By this time I’m a little stressed, and by my third round out of the Church with the third girl, the teachers are laughing at me, as it seems that all I’m doing is running laps from the office to the Church to the classroom and back again! Good times! After my three girls were through, I was able to help all the girls who were getting changed by getting their things them, getting water so they could wash their feet, and so on. I missed most of the actual baptism, but was thankful to be able to help the girls in these ways.

Trevor was able to relax a little more as he only had Derek to help. There were less boys getting baptized and so each “father” got only one boy. He was able to spend more time just being there instead of rushing around.

Both of us felt truly blessed in the roles we got to play in being there for our youth. God is so good.

The congregation watching the baptism!! =)

After the baptism part of the service was over, we sat through a graduation for six adults who have gone through a Bible study and faithfully completed the requirements of the ten week course. From there we listened to the message, and then participated in Communion.
I should mention that we were sitting in the front, with the preacher shouting into the mic directly in front of us, and the speakers turned up on high volume directly behind us. Needless to say the service felt long and we left with pounding headaches! Oh well, it was okay. We didn’t get out of Church until close to 4 pm (so the service felt long for good reason!!)…where we were then treated to sodas and cake from the Bible study graduates. From there we were given a big lunch of ugali and stew and interesting conversation with the Pastors.

The last thing on the list of events for the day was to spend some time in Mama Kamau’s house. Mama Kamau is the mother of one of our youth, Kamau. She asked if we could come to her house to pray with her family, and celebrate Kamau’s recovery from his circumcision surgery. This was one of my favourite parts of the day. I love being able to walk through the slum, greet the women, hug the children, smile at curious neighbours who are wondering why we are there, and just continually learn more about slum life. I always wonder why we enjoy being there so much. It is a dirty place. It is a smelly place. It is a depressing place. And yet, when we are there, we are so content. We love the people of Mitumba so much. We love spending time with them. We especially love being invited into their humble homes made of iron sheets and being able to just be there with them.

We spent some time encouraging them, praying with them and accepting the sodas that they had for us to drink. It was a sweet time of fellowship. Mama Kamau was one of the ladies who just graduated from the Bible Study course, and I am looking forward to see the spiritual growth in her life, and the transformation of her family.

Mama Kamau, Kamau and I

The sun was beginning it’s descent as we left Mama Kamau’s home and made our way back to the Church. We leave feeling thankful that we decided to come to Mitumba for the day. We are thankful that we were willing. We are thankful for the public commitments made to Christ, and for the growth that is happening in this small Church in this small slum. We are thankful that God is continually teaching us more and more and allowing us these amazing opportunities. We are thankful.

Birthday Party!

2009-08-13T22:46:00.005+03:00

On August 1st we had the privilege of being invited to Steven’s (one of the men who works in the TAM shop with Trevor) daughter’s birthday party! Her name is Pauline, and she just turned 2 years old.

It was a really full day for us…we went to Mitumba in the morning for our youth Bible study, had to leave there early much to the chagrin of the youth, went to buy a birthday present for Pauline, then went to meet Steven at the matatu stop so he could show us the way to his house. We realized once we started driving down narrow, rough roads that we never would have found it on our own!

Steven and his brother got into our car, and the first thing he said when asked how he was, was, “I’m good. Well not so good, but good.” We weren’t sure what he meant, but then he pointed to his face. The whole right side of his face was bruised, cut up and swollen. He told us that he had gotten beat up on his way home the night before…a group of thieves jumped him and managed to steal his money and flashlight, but Steven fought them off to keep his leatherman tool. Just another reminder of where we live, and the dangers faced by people here everyday. Sobering.

It was wonderful to meet Marcy, Steven’s wife, and also Steven’s mother and sister, along with some nieces and nephews. We spent time visiting, and eating so much food that they had prepared. Being the honoured guests in a Kenyan home will always leave you feeling so incredibly welcomed and unworthy of all the special attention, and will also leave your stomach very, very satisfied!! =)

Pauline was so scared of us, and felt very overwhelmed with all the attention lavished on her! She kept a very close eye on us, and would peek at us from the safety of her mother’s arms. We hope that the next time we see her, she’ll maybe remember us a little and not be so terrified of our white skin!

Marcy helping Pauline blow out the candles.

One thing that really struck me was listening to Steven’s mother pray before we ate our meal. Her voice broke as she thanked God for the food, and prayed for all those who do not have food in this country…the most heartfelt thanks for food that I have possibly ever experienced. A lesson for me to be so much more thankful for the blessing of food, something that I so often just take for granted.

Steven's mom outside of the house.

August 1st also marked the day of the AIM AIR crash. We first heard about it at Steven’s house, but didn’t realize that it was one of our planes until later on that evening.

Like I said, August 1st was a really full day…not just in events but emotionally as well.

As we left Steven and Marcy’s house, Marcy gave me a hug and said “Please come again when we can spend more time together. Please. You are welcome anytime.”

Here in Kenya, friends are not hard to find. It’s just a matter of stepping out of your comfort zone a little and accepting invitations like this one. You are guaranteed to leave feeling like you made a life-long friend. What a privilege.

“And I think that’s what our world is desperately in need of - lovers. People who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned with.”
{Shane Claiborne}

Scars

2009-08-13T14:21:00.002+03:00

“To be alive at all is to have scars.”
{John Steinbeck}

Scars.

They come from wounds. Wounds that hurt. Wounds that bleed.

Scars.

Heal. Fade over time. But stay as remembrance of the hurt.

Scars.

Tell a story. Show that you have not stayed in your safe bubble. But you have lived.

To be alive at all is to have scars.

I feel as though this year has left our hearts covered in scars. We have been wounded. We have been hurt. But thankfully the wounds don’t stay fresh and bleeding. They heal. They turn into scars. And it is through these times that we can look at our scars and see how God used those times of hurt and pain to change us. They serve as a remembrance of God’s greatness. Of Him revealing Himself through those times of darkness.

We would not trade this year in Kenya for anything. We would not trade the difficult days for easier ones. We would not change it even if we had the chance. We are alive. We have lived. We have scars. We have wounds that we know will heal and will fade with time. God is not finished with us yet.

Please continue to keep us and the AIM family in your prayers. We attended the memorial service for Frank Toews on Tuesday afternoon. It was the most beautiful memorial service and celebration of a life well lived, and a tribute to a man who served the Lord with all his heart. What a blessing it was for us to be there. It was such a God-honouring service. Tiffany and her kids need your prayers as they face the days ahead and make a lot of decisions. Their wounds are still fresh.

We have another memorial service to attend. We will remember Ryan’s life and his service to the Lord on Saturday. Continue to keep Dawn and her four kids in your prayers. God has already been working in their lives in amazing ways, and given them divine peace that we know can only come from Him.

I know this blog has been heavy lately. But it is a reflection of our past few months. Life has felt heavy. Sometimes it feels like it is too much. God is working in our hearts through it all, though, and is continually doing great things.

All we have to do is look at the scars we have accumulated throughout this past year to know that God is in the business of changing lives and is showing us how to live. Truly live. To live, and to hurt, and to bleed, and to heal. And through it all being able to see our great God at work.

Thank You Lord for our scars.

I'll Be Found In YOU...

2009-08-07T23:11:00.002+03:00

It is with great sadness and confusion that I bring you some more news.

Ryan Williams, the AIM AIR mechanic who was also on that airplane that crashed, has gone Home. Home to Heaven. He was suffering from severe burns and internal injuries, and had been medi-vaced to Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday to a burn unit there. Upon assessing him there, they realized that his injuries were more severe than originally hoped.

This morning we got a text message just saying “Pray for Ryan now!”. And then this afternoon we got the news that he had passed away.

It’s too much. It’s all too much. To think about these two amazing families, doing so much and serving the Lord, now having to deal with this, and having to live the rest of their lives without a husband and a father…to know that God could have saved both Frank and Ryan, and yet didn’t…to not be able to understand the purpose behind all of this…it’s just too much.

Serving the Lord comes with a price. We all know this. All of us have had to pay one price or another…for some it may be getting ridiculed, for some it may be changing friends, for some it may be moving away, for some it may be leaving family…and then for some it is paying the ultimate price here on earth. We do not grieve for Ryan and for Frank. We know where they are. We know that Heaven is our home, and not this earth. We know that they are happy and whole.

They are with their Maker!

They are with JESUS!

They are HOME!!!

We know this. And yet we grieve with those who are left behind. We grieve for Dawn (Ryan’s wife) and for Tiffany (Frank’s wife). We grieve for the loss of their dreams. We grieve for the loss of their lives as complete families. We are so sad with them.

Pray for Dawn Williams, and her kids, Caleb, Levi, Seth and Chloe.

Pray for Tiffany Toews, and her kids, Aline, Tabitha, Teagan and Lowen.

Pray for the AIM family.

Please pray. It’s going to be a long, long road.

Walking, stumbling, on these shadow feet.
Toward home, a land that I’ve never seen.
I am changing, less and less asleep.
Made of different stuff than when I began.
And I have sensed it all along.
Fast approaching is the day…

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standing.
When the sky rolls back and the mountains fall on their knees.
When time and space are through, I’ll be found in You.

There’s distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
But I’ve heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

You make all things new

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in You
{brooke fraser}

Frank and Ryan...see you guys on the other side. We’ll miss you.

With Heavy Hearts...

2009-08-04T10:56:00.001+03:00

The AIM family is grieving right now. On Saturday, August 1, at approximately 2:30 pm Nairobi time, a Cessna 206 owned by AIM AIR crashed into some apartment buildings here in Nairobi. On board were the pilot, an AIM missionary, a mechanic, also an AIM missionary, and two passengers who were on board to film Kibera slum.

The pilot, Frank Toews, did not survive the crash and went home to be with the Lord. The mechanic, Ryan Williams, is in the hospital with severe injuries including burns, a broken hip, crushed pelvis, and other fractures. One of the photojournalists is also in the hospital, and the other one was able to get out of the plane in time and only had a few cuts and scrapes.

These families need your prayers. We don’t know the cause of the crash and won’t even begin to speculate and would ask you to do the same. What we know is that we need to pray for the Toews family…Frank left behind his wife and four young children, and also for the Williams family…Ryan has a very long road of recovery ahead of him…pray for his healing, as well as for his wife and four children as they deal with this difficult time.

Please also pray for the photojournalists that were on the flight. Pray for God’s will to be done in their lives and for God to work in their hearts.

We don’t understand why something like this had to happen, but we rest in the fact that God is in control. We know that God is good. And we know that God hears our prayers. So please pray.

If you want to see news footage, you can go online and check out “airplane crash Nairobi”.

Valleys of Sorrow

2009-07-30T08:18:00.005+03:00

We received some devastating news yesterday.

I was teaching the Bible class for the older grades in Mitumba yesterday when I noticed that I had received a text message. When i was finished teaching, I opened the message to read it. It was from Elly. He works on our compound, and we have gotten to know him and his wife, Violet, and their two boys, Wesley and Timothy over the past months. His message just said, "HI MY WIFE IS DEAD".

Violet has died. We can hardly believe it. She has been so sick for many months, but the last time we saw her she was regaining her strength and seemed to be on the road to a full recovery. Then a few weeks ago Elly sent a message saying that she was sick again and to please pray for her.
And now she has died.

We are so sad for this family. Our hearts are breaking for Elly, and for his two young boys. We cannot even begin to imagine the pain they are going through and the struggles they are facing. We want to do everything we can, but it seems like nothing will be enough. We cannot bring Violet back. But what we can do is pray. And we can ask you to pray. So please, please, overwhelm Heaven with prayers for this young family. They need it.

There was a song playing in my head all day yesterday as I spent time alone in the clinic, processing the news. God used it to speak to me, and to give me hope and assurance of His love:

You have led me to the sadness
I have carried this pain
All my back bruised and nearly broken
I'm crying out to You

I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy

When death like a gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek your face

But I fear you aren't listening
Because there are no words
Just the stillness and the hunger
For a faith that is yours

I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy

Alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia

While we wait for rescue
With our eyes tightly shut
Face to the ground using our hands
To cover the fatal cut

Though the pain is an ocean
Tossing us around, around, around
You have calmed greater waters
Higher mountains have come down
(Jars of Clay)

May Elly experience rivers of joy after being led through this valley of sorrow by our mighty God. May he know that our God is in control, and that He has NOT forgotten about him and his sons. May he have full assurance that God is able to calm these waters and tear down these mountains. May he feel God's comfort, His presence, and His never-ending love. May he find peace in the midst of this valley of sorrow.

"The LORD is faithful to all His promises

and loving toward all He has made.
The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You,
and You give them their food at the proper time.
You open Your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways
and loving toward all He has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on Him,
to all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love Him,
but all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise His holy name
for ever and ever."

Psalm 145:13-21

Happiness Is...

2009-07-24T22:35:00.015+03:00

...the irresistibly cute face of Isack Njoroge!!

...playing in the sand.

...an intense Kenyan football game!!

...getting your football game interrupted by a herd of Masai cows! :)

...dancing with Beth Pauline!!

...two of the giggliest girls named Kaleche and Sarah!!

...beautiful feet.

...playing "old maid"!

...taking kids for rides in the car!

...leaving the slum as the sun is setting...

...faces covered in flour :)

...a full plate of food to satisfy hungry little bellies!

...making a sad little boy smile.

This is what happiness is. This, and much, much more.

A Lost Boy

2009-07-23T09:16:00.001+03:00

I am writing this today to ask you to pray.

There is a boy named Michael. He is in the nursery class in the REM school in Mitumba, about three or four years old. He has a brother, Duke, who is also in the nursery class, who is about five years old. We know Duke well.

Their mother went crazy a few weeks ago. She seemed to lose her mind, and took her two sons away from Mitumba. Duke was afraid that he was going to get beat, and so he ran away, back to their home in the slum. But Michael stayed with his mother.

Somewhere along the way, she lost Michael.

She was found alone by police officers, and taken to a mental hospital. After some time, when she had responded to the medication and taken control of her mind and senses again, she remembered that Michael had been with her.

They went looking for him immediately, but were not able to find him. The problem is that she can't remember where she left him. She can't even remember where she was or what she was doing. She has no recollection of that time.

She is distraught. Her small son is out there somewhere. He has still not been found.

All of us are praying that God will do a miracle. It has been a couple of weeks, and so humanly speaking, we know what the probable outcome is. It doesn't seem possible that he will be found. But we also know that if God cares for the sparrow, how much more does he care for a precious little boy???

Please pray for Michael. And for Duke. And for their mother.

"What is the price of two sparrows-one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows."

Matthew 10:29-31

A Conversation and a Broken Heart

2009-07-21T01:24:00.002+03:00

She prayed a prayer this morning.

It went something like this…”God, break my heart with the things that break Yours.” She meant it, but she doesn’t always believe that the things she prays for really matter. She knows that God hears, but sometimes He seems far away. It’s been one of those months for her. A dry spell.
She also prayed for new eyes to see. For intentional meetings. For just one conversation with just one child. For her day to have meaning and purpose.

She works in the slum. A slum that she has grown to love. Not the slum itself, but the life it contains. The children who call it home.
She also works in the clinic, in the slum. She’s not a nurse or a doctor, you know. She just has two hands and is willing to use them. She wants to be used. She needs to be used.

There is a certain boy. He is fourteen years old. He always comes to the clinic. This day was no exception. Most times, he is not actually sick. He does not actually have a broken arm, even though he says he does. He does not have a broken leg, even though he says he does. He has no gaping wounds, even though he is convinced that he is in a life and death situation. He is just craving attention. He is craving love. He is craving someone to make sure he is okay, and to care if he is not.

He showed her his arm. Said it was paining. She could not see any evidence of wounds or anything like it. But she sensed that there was something more to his pain. Not pain in his arm, but pain in his heart. So she took time. There were no other kids needing attention. Just this boy.

She asked him a question. “How was your day yesterday?” A simple question. His answer? “Not good.”
“Do you want to tell me about it? Why was it not good?”
“I didn’t eat.” Said matter-of-factly.

She was quiet. Gave him time to gather his thoughts.

"The days that I don’t eat…I don’t like those days.”

She looked in his eyes, encouraging him to continue.

“When I come to school, at least I get lunch those days. I am okay those days. But on holidays, then there are many days when I don’t eat. Even today, when I go home, I will go to bed without eating any supper. But at least I had lunch today.”

This boy lives on his own. He is HIV+. He was kicked out of his home by his father. When he is given some food, he cooks it on his own. He knows that he likes to cook rice because rice will stay for a few days before going bad. He likes rice. He also knows that food is expensive, and that if you don’t have money, you don’t have food. He knows what it is like to not have food.

“I live by myself” he told her, even though she already knew this. “My father kicked me out of the house. My father is a drunkard. He drinks alcohol. Every day.”

“Alcohol changes people, doesn’t it?” she asked him quietly.

“Yes.” he says. He looks down at her hand, still rubbing his wrist.

Their conversation is interrupted by two giggly girls in standard three. She looks at these two girls and smiles. They are so silly.

But her conversation with the boy is over. He says ‘thank you’ to her for fixing his arm. Even though she didn’t really do anything. She’s pretty sure it’s the talk that helped more than anything to do with his arm. But she touches his arm and says ‘you are very welcome’ and tells him to come back if his arms starts to hurt again. Even though they both know that his arm was okay to begin with.

He gets the weigh scale from on top of the storage cupboard. He weighs himself. So do the two giggly girls. They are about nine years old. They each weigh more than him. He is a fourteen year old boy. But you would never know it to look at him.

He says ‘thank you’ again, and goes back to class.

She can’t stop thinking. About her own selfish heart. Her own petty problems. The things that frustrate her or make her have a bad day. But she has never been hungry. She has never gone through anything like what this boy goes through every day. She has no idea what it’s like to truly suffer. She has never suffered.

She wants to make a difference. She wants to help. She wants to be that somebody who will turn it around for him. She wants to. And yet she is wondering if any of it even matters. She feels helpless. Hopeless. Numb. Tired.

But she knows one thing: God answered her prayer today. He broke her heart. He gave her new eyes. He gave her that one conversation with that one kid. She knows that He did it for a reason. And she is ready to do whatever it takes.

This person is me. This broken heart is mine. I am ready to do whatever it takes.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. ~James 1:27

To Market, To Market...

2009-07-14T22:09:00.000+03:00

Oh the markets! We love them! It always proves to be interesting and sometimes challenging experience!!

Let me paint you a picture…

You’re walking down the road. Well, on the sidewalk, really. Cars and brightly painted matatus fly by. You trip on some potholes. Many people are walking in the same direction as you, but many people are also walking in the opposite direction, making for people everywhere.

From all around, you can hear a cacophony of sounds. Horns blaring. The sounds of buses, cars, matatus driving at break-neck speeds. People speaking in Swahili. The shop vendors calling you over. “Hello sister!! Hello brother!!” “Fiiiiifty bob, fifty bob, fifty bob…” “Looking is free!!” “jeans?? Skinny jeans??” (for some reason, that one is quite popular!! And NO, I don’t want skinny jeans!! Ha!) “I give you GOOD price!!” The sounds of roosters and chickens also greet your ears. You may get lucky and hear a street preacher, yelling at an unnatural decibel. The sound of the call to prayer from the mosque in the background.

And the smells! Let’s not forget the smells. Where do I begin??? Some are pleasant…like the smell of food cooking…but other smells are not so pleasant…like exhaust fumes and sewer and chickens…

So you continue walking, looking down at the sidewalk to view the selection of clothes, sunglasses, bananas, shoes, sugarcane, and anything else you can think of to buy! The destination is a market called Toi Market…basically just a used clothes market. You walk through a small opening in between tarps and makeshift stalls. Again, people, people everywhere! In one stall you might find jeans. Jeans, upon jeans, upon jeans!! Another stall might advertise shirts. Another one dress pants. Another shoes. Another underwear! =) And in another one you can buy all your fruit and vegetables! How handy is that!?! =)

If it’s jeans you want, you duck into one of the number of stalls that sells them. The shop keeper will either ask your size, or just guess your size, oftentimes being dead on! You duck behind a makeshift fitting room…which is just a sheet draped across a corner…fun, fun! =)

You decide on a price…and of course, the price that is started with is not the set price, so skilful bartering is involved, made more interesting by the number of shop vendors that have had a bit too much to drink that afternoon…again, good times!

As you leave the stall, happy with your purchase, make sure you are careful where you step…in between the mud, sharp rocks, sticks, and any other number of random pieces of garbage, it is quite easy to trip and fall…

Many street children also frequent markets like this one…hoping for a few shillings or some food. If between all this other stuff you were able to forget where you were, seeing the street kids will never let you forget. It is sobering and disheartening, making you think about your role and purpose, and always trying to decide the right thing to do.

One experience I had with buying a pair of shoes was funny…I saw a pair that I liked and so tried one of the shoes on. (the other wasn’t there…oftentimes they are not set out together to prevent theft…) Anyway, I liked the shoe and it fit. I had begun bartering on the price, when I asked if I could try on the other shoe. The man didn’t want to let me. I insisted that I needed to try on both, or I would not be buying. He insisted that I did not need to try on both. I just stood there and looked at him….so he THREW the shoe down at my feet…where I realized that first of all, it was BROKEN! I called him on this, and he said that no, it would still be just fine. Just to show him that it wasn‘t fine, I put it on my foot…where I then realized that it wasn’t even the same size!! He was mad that I realized this, and I laughed at him, telling him I didn’t know how he could try to sell a broken shoe to me, and not just that, but a pair of shoes that were different sizes! He walked away, mad…I walked away, laughing! Good times at Toi Market…!!

So….that wraps up a typical trip to the market…we’ll never be able to buy a pair of jeans or any other piece of clothing at a set price anymore!! Look out Canadian clothing stores…Andrea and Trevor are back in December… =)

Getting Hit by a Lorry...and Other Forms of Nairobi Fun...

2009-07-04T17:19:00.003+03:00

So….the next big news is….

We are not coming home August 31 after all! We have been given an extension of 3 months…so our return date has been changed to December 10!
We are very excited about this, and are so glad for the way this will allow us to continue in our life and ministries here for a little while longer. (and glad that we will still be home for Christmas!)

Thank you all so much for all your prayers on our behalf these last few weeks. God has answered them tremendously, and we are doing much better. We are very thankful to all of you for your faithful prayer support, and feel so blessed that you stood with us during this difficult time.

Another big thing that happened was that we got into a traffic accident last Saturday. Now we feel properly initiated into Nairobi…=) Ha, no, but it could have been so much worse than it was, and nobody got hurt. A lorry (big truck, for those of you confused by the word “lorry”!!) hit the vehicle that we were driving as we were coming out of a round-about (traffic circle =) ), on our way home from Mitumba. The lorry hit the passenger side door where I was sitting, and the window shattered all over me. Other than that, nobody got hurt at all. The events following were quite frustrating…think about corrupted police officers, bribes, being wrongfully accused…I don’t really want to write the details on here, we’ll save that story for when we talk to you in person! =) But it was cause for some stress (especially for Trevor) and a long day. We made it through, though, and are back to a normal life!

One of “our” boys, Amo, had heard about this accident, but hadn’t been told any details. He assumed then that it meant that we had died, and nobody told him otherwise! He said to me, later, “Andrea, I thought you had been killed, and I wanted to just kill myself!” He spent that night not sleeping, just praying for a miracle. The following Monday he waited to see me, but I didn’t come. (with all the chaos with our accident, it ended up being a busy day on Monday, so I had told Pastor that I would not be able to make it to Mitumba, but he had not informed the students why I was not there…) So Amo figured that all was lost, and that it was really true that we were gone. This poor boy had worried for four days. When I came to the slum on Wednesday, Amo came up to the clinic and said “Andrea! You’re here!!” And then proceeded to tell me the story of what he thought had happened. Oh I felt so bad for him. He stayed up in the clinic with me for a big part of the day, just spending time with me, looking at me, touching my arm every once in awhile…

It reminded me of the great responsibility we have to these youth. The way they depend on us and look up to us makes me realize that we need to do right by them. We need to make sure we are there for them. To love them the way they don’t get loved by anyone else. We love, love, love these precious kids, and it has become very evident these last few weeks that the feeling is mutual. After hearing about our accident, we got calls and texts from different youth, and one of the boys showed up at our Church the next day to make sure we were okay. What amazing kids. Amazing, amazing kids. We have been so blessed.

Other than all that…life has settled into a bit more of a regular routine again. Trevor being as busy as ever at work again, but able to enjoy it again these days! Benedicto has been gone all week…he went up-country to visit his wife and children in Kakamega, and to work in his shamba (garden/fields) before the rains stop. Mark is still working on being re-settled in the US, which seems to be going really well. He has had quite a few successful interviews and has high hopes to be able to go to America soon. Steven has invited us to his daughter’s 2-year birthday party in August! We are really looking forward to this! And Rueben continues to show up faithfully every morning, even when he has a really bad toothache! Trevor has been really blessed to be able to work with these four men. They are all really excited and thankful that we are able to extend our stay and that we are planning to come back to Kenya.

I have been still enjoying going to Mitumba…and I’ve had some good times playing football with the boys, singing silly songs with the girls, visiting with them whenever I have the chance, sitting in on the debates that the older classes have been having, cleaning many bloody wounds and wrapping sprained hands, teaching the Bible class, and loving on little Marcy! =) Life is good.

I told them the other day that we are able to stay until December…you should have heard the cheers, and whooping and hollering! It was so cute! They were so happy, and so are we! Like I said…life is good!

We are so thankful to God for all He has done!

In a War

2009-06-23T11:00:00.008+03:00

Big News!

We have come to the realization and decision that God is calling us back to Kenya full term. It has not been an easy decision, but one that He has been revealing to us, and shown us in so many clearer-than-clear ways that this is where He wants us to be. We feel peace that this is right. And we are very excited about coming back to this beautiful land that we have grown to love so much.

The thing is…as soon as we made this decision, life got hard. I mean confusing. Painful. Emotional. Stressful. Strange. Discouraging.

Hard.

I mentioned something about this in the last post, but the reason I am writing about it again is because I am asking you, begging you, pleading for you to PRAY for us.

Right now.

Please.

We still know with all our hearts that God is asking us to come back. That is too clear for us to doubt. But satan has literally been working over-time to cause us to give up. A thought that is not too far from the surface many days. The timing is no coincidence. We know this. And we are not giving up. We are ready to fight. But we need your prayers. For every aspect of our lives.

I know that this is personal and a lot of information to put on a blog like this, but we feel that you need honesty. So that’s what we’re giving you. We hope that when you read this, you stop whatever else you’re doing and pray for us. God is fighting for us, this we know. We just need enough strength and courage to persevere.

Strength and Courage.

"The Adventure I call you to may not be easy, but you will never journey alone."

--The King, in "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"

Roller Coaster Ride

2009-06-20T18:12:00.005+03:00

We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.
--Billy Graham

Hmmm…so we’ve been a little quiet on our blog these last few weeks. It’s sometimes hard to know what to write about or how to say things…and I’ve felt a little like I’ve lost my ability to communicate. To say that these last few weeks have been hard may be a little bit of an understatement. We have felt quite stressed and burdened. We have been struggling in quite a few areas, and to be completely honest with you, feel as though we are under attack. We know that this is not coincidence feeling this way at the same time as making some crucial decisions about our future, and are praying for clarity and peace from God. We would appreciate your prayers for us in this regard as well. We will let you know as to some of the decisions we are making as soon as we can.

Other than that…life has been busier than ever. It is so hard to keep up sometimes!

I’ll start with Trevor’s work at the TAM shop…he is always busy. Always, always, always! He is trying to learn and figure out how to manage all the work that has to be done and balance all his responsibilities properly. It has been quite stressful for him.
An exciting thing that has happened, though, is that Rueben (from Mitumba) has started working at the TAM shop with Trevor full time! He is working as an attachment, which is like work experience. This has been so good for both Rueben and Trevor! Rueben has really been thriving and learning so much, and is starting to really see that his life has meaning and purpose. God can use anybody, no matter their circumstances!! And Trevor is a really good teacher, and is able to now start helping Rueben and teach him mechanics, the same way he has been helping Mark. God is really working and doing great things!!

Life in Mitumba is busy, but really good. The kids keep me on my toes, that’s for sure! I am falling more and more in love with them every time I see them though. I am so excited to be getting to know a few new older girls on a deeper level. The other day, I was there late because I was waiting for Pastor Shadrach to be ready to leave. It was the greatest time! I was able to just hang out in the field with a bunch of the youth and kids…not do anything in particular, but just be there. I love those days. One of our boys, Cosmas, said “Andrea, today you are not leaving. Today you will stay here with us. Pastor can go home, but he needs to leave you here!”

On Saturday I also had the chance to visit some girls in their homes. One young girl, Mary, asked me if I would like to come and meet her mom. I immediately agreed, of course, and got to see where Mary and her brother Wilson live, and meet their mom. On our way back from her house, another girl, Maureen, asked if I would like to see her home as well. I spent some time in Maureen’s home and visited with her step-mother. I love opportunities like this. To not just be an outsider. But to get to know their families. To see their homes. To be there. Really be there. To be a familiar face. Not just a mzungu face.

I always get a couple youth and kids who just hang out in the clinic with me, they are not sick, they just want to be there. Kevin has proclaimed himself as my bodyguard. That’s why he’s there. Dennis has proclaimed himself as my son, that’s why he’s there. And Fridah just says “I like spending time with you, but I don’t know why!!” ha that made me laugh!! : )

There’s a little girl, Marcy. She started coming around last week…it was the first time I remember seeing her anyway. She’s about 2 or 3 years old…and the absolute cutest little girl I have ever seen! For some reason, she took to me right away, and since then I have not been able to leave her sight. I carried her everywhere with me on Friday and Saturday…if I needed to put her down for whatever reason, I immediately heard “MZUNGU!!” coming from her mouth in quite the irritated tone! It about broke my heart, though, when we were leaving on Saturday afternoon. I obviously needed to leave her there…and her cry and tears were almost too much for me to handle. She wasn’t mad. She wasn’t irritated. She was so, so sad. She stared at me with her beautiful eyes full of tears, using the bottom of her little pink dress to wipe her face. Oh, my heart. One of our boys said “Andrea, just take her with you.” Oh how I wished that I could.

I have fallen in love with little Marcy.

Oh, and I also celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago! Since I had never celebrated my birthday in Kenya before, it was kind of a momentous event! Ha. =) My birthday fell on a Sunday (June 7). You know, I’m really not a big fan of being sang to. Especially in large groups of people! But…you guessed it. That’s what happened. Our church always does this thing where they bring all the kids up to the front and pray for them before they go to children’s church. And they always ask if any of them had a birthday this week. Well…as soon as that was asked, a bunch of our friends all pointed to me and said “it’s Andrea’s birthday!!!” so I had the whole Church sing to me…it was great. Actually I didn’t mind too much : )
Some sweet friends of ours, Richard and Lesly, invited us over for that evening. It was such a great time for us. WE have LOVED getting to know more people our age, and getting to know friends on a deeper level. We feel so blessed.

This weekend we have had visitors!! Our friends, Craig and Ruthie, and their friend from Rwanda, came to visit! It’s been so great to be able to talk about our lives, since we’re going through many of the same things and same emotions and making the same decisions! It has been wonderful!!

Wow, this has been the most random update EVER! Sorry…I’ll get back to my regular updating soon, but for now, this is what you get! Ha.

Please continue praying for us here in Nairobi. Change is coming in our lives, and we feel slightly like we’re on a crazy roller coaster. Roller coasters can be fun, but they can also be scary when you can’t see where the next turn is coming from. We can’t see around the corner right now, and it’s hard! But God is so good, and we have felt His presence and peace in the midst of all the unknowns.

I’ll update again soon…I promise! =)

:)

2009-06-05T15:53:00.004+03:00

This guy was on the roof of our house a little while ago...

He kind of scares me! I'm paranoid that he'll wander into the house sometime when i have the doors open! But we haven't seen him since...

The Real Us...

2009-05-30T19:28:00.002+03:00

I thought it was time to give you an update on us. Our lives. Our thoughts. Our feelings. Where we are at. Let me warn you though…it’s all a mess in this head of mine! So only continue reading if you’re ready for it! :-)

So. What is going on in the minds and thoughts of Trevor and Andrea?? Good question! I guess the biggest question is…what are we doing when our year here is done…only three months away! We would LOVE to know the answer to this question! (if any of you happen to know the answer, then by all means, let us know! :-) )

There are many days where we miss home. There are many days where we would like nothing better than to go visit family spontaneously, to hang out with our friends, to just be home. Many days!

But, the flipside is, that most days we love it here. Most days we feel so incredibly blessed that God brought us here. That we get to be living this life here in Kenya. Our way of thinking has been so challenged by being here. We look at life differently. We look at ourselves differently. We look at our purpose and passion differently. We have changed.

We would often like to go back to our other “normal” life. But God has “wrecked” our life. He messed it all up. He wrecked our thinking. And then He put it back together again, only better. He had a plan all along, but needed to change us. And He is still changing us, day by day. Change is hard! But necessary and good all at the same time. We feel that we can never be the same again. And that’s hard too.

But is God calling us to come back to Kenya with our changed minds and hearts??…or to stay home and do whatever work He has called us to do there? That is the question of the hour, my friends. Actually, more like the question of the year!

Today Trevor and I were talking about our life. We were talking about what God is doing. About where we see our lives going from here. Trevor LOVES what he does here. He finds such fulfilment in his work and ministry. It isn’t just an ordinary mechanic job. So many days, God gives him a glimpse of the big picture. And that is so rewarding! And I have fallen in love with the kids and youth that I have gotten to know. I love them. I can’t stand the thought of leaving them. We are making some wonderful Kenyan friends here, and hate the thought of saying goodbye and not being able to cultivate these relationships.

We are feeling fulfilled. We are feeling needed.

So. We have been asked to come back. Seriously asked. Formally asked. We need your prayers! We don’t want to base any decision on feelings. Or on how the day goes. Or on the pressure to come back or to stay home. Or on anything superficial. We want to know what God is asking of us. We need your prayers. We need wisdom. There are some really awesome opportunities for Trevor if we do come back to Kenya. We just need to base all our decisions on God and His desire for our lives.

Please, please, would you pray with us?

Funerals and Grief

2009-05-28T15:49:00.004+03:00

The thunder was cracking overhead and the rain was coming down loudly on the mabati (tin) roof. The dreary weather found me sitting in a humble home in Mitumba slum yesterday afternoon. I had come with Violet and Rodgers, George, and Jacqueline, some of the teachers, to pray with Vincent’s family. This is the family that lost their eldest daughter, Rebecca, at a mere 21 years of age, due to being electrocuted by a live wire.

I don’t know what I expected to find. Wailing? Tears of anguish and grief? Torn clothes? Weeping? I found none of those things, however. Instead, I found myself being welcomed into their dark, inconceivably small home, and a place made on the sofa for me to sit down. I found a beautiful woman, a mother, with sad eyes, clasping her hands in front of her, looking lost, and yet smiling at us at the same time. Appreciative that we had come to visit and pray with them.

We also came to present some money to them that had been raised on behalf of the youth, the church, the teachers, us, and a few other people. Money that will be used for the funeral expenses, and the costs of bringing the body of their daughter up-country to lay her to rest. She passed away almost two weeks ago. They have still not had the funeral because the costs are so high, and for a family living in a slum, it is an insurmountable task to come up with that kind of money. So they wait. They try to get the money. People fundraise. Communities come together. And the money comes in, slowly by slowly. They are travelling up-country to Kisii, which means that they have to hire a vehicle to transport the body, plus raise all the money for all of the relatives to travel that distance. And that’s not considering food and everything else needed for the funeral. It is a terrible worry that comes hand-in-hand with dealing with the death of a loved one.
I have been told that sometimes the funerals don’t happen for three months. Three months after a husband, father, daughter, mother…someone they love…dies and they can finally put them to rest and try to move on with their lives. Three months of worry. Three months of only one thing on their mind. Three months of continual grief. Three months of attempting to raise enough money to bury their dead. It is so sad.

We thank God that Vincent’s family was able to raise all the money they needed, and are travelling to Kisii today to have the funeral.

After our time of praying with the family, we left the house and walked through a maze of small dwellings, walking in the rain, dodging sewer waste flowing freely, stepping over unknown garbage, over a rickety foot bridge made of sticks, ducking under laundry hanging to dry, but was now getting wet all over again with the coming of the rain, passed little babies wearing next to nothing and crawling around in the dirt and mud, greeted mamas sitting in the doorways of their houses….all the while trying not to slip and fall on the slippery rocks and uneven trails.

What a place.

Violet said something while we were sitting in Vincent’s mother’s home that stuck with me… “All we can do is leave them in the hands of the Almighty God. We can pray and encourage them, then we just have to leave them with the Lord.” This is true, and yet it is still so hard. We just know that they are going to be going through some terrible grief today and for the next few days, weeks, months, and pray for God to sustain them, and to reveal Himself to them.

God is good. We know He is.

Something else happened in Mitumba on Tuesday night. Lately, there has been a shortage of water in Mitumba. So when there is water, people will be lining up to get as much water as they can, while they have the chance. So on Tuesday night, a mother was going to go get water. She left her sleeping baby (about 1 year old) in the house, with a kerosene lantern burning. When she returned with her containers full, she found that her baby had woken up, crawled over, and must have tipped the lantern, which caught fire. The baby had burned to death before the mother even got back to her house.

Tragedies. Senseless tragedies. Oh how we ache for these people. Life is so hard.

Blog Overload! =)

2009-05-20T16:49:00.002+03:00

Yes, there are a few new blog entries again, posted all on the same day! It just works out better that way these days!

Anniversary
Please Pray
Our names
Darkness

Happy Reading =)

Darkness

2009-05-20T15:18:00.010+03:00

Spiritual darkness, that is. Mitumba slum is filled with it. We don’t even know the extent of it, and can sometimes forget what a dark place it is. We get caught up in playing with the kids, in hanging out with the youth, in having wonderful Bible studies with them, that we can forget that in most of the slum, EVIL seems to reign.

I was talking to Violet the other day (Pastor Shadrach’s wife). She told me about a lot of awful things that are happening in the slum. So many people are practicing witchcraft. So many people are demon-possessed. Satan has a tight hold on many, many people living in Mitumba. People are sacrificing their children (literally) for demon worship. There is so much more that I don’t even want to write. But it is scary.

Adults are coming to Shadrach and Violet and to the teachers who teach in the school there. Adults who are dealing with witchcraft and demon possession, but want out. Adults who cannot handle being controlled by the devil and are searching for the truth.

Mitumba slum needs your prayers. The teachers and pastors who are trying to help need your prayers. We need your prayers as we spend much time in this slum. Pray for God’s hand of protection, not just physically but especially spiritually. Pray for the children who are growing up in this environment.

God is doing a great work, but it does not come without opposition. The darkness is being lifted in some places, but in others, the fight against evil is much more violent. We know that God is more powerful, and that in the end He WILL REIGN. But in the meantime, we need to struggle, to pray, to fight for what is good and true and right.

I am reminded of the words to a song that Chris Tomlin sings:

What can take a dying man, and raise him up to life again?
What can heal the wounded soul?
What can make us white as snow?
What can fill the emptiness?
What can mend our brokenness?
Brokenness

Mighty, awesome, wonderful
Is the holy cross.
Where the Lamb laid down His life, to lift us from the fall.
Mighty is the power of the cross.

What restores our faith in God?
What reveals the Father’s love?
What can lead the wayward home?
What can melt a heart of stone?
What can free the guilty ones?
What can save and overcome?
Overcome

Mighty, awesome, wonderful.
Is the holy cross.
Where the Lamb laid down His life, to lift us from the fall.
Mighty is the power of the cross.

Thank You for the Cross.

Our Names...

2009-05-20T15:08:00.000+03:00

…are apparently not the easiest names to have if you live in Kenya! We hadn’t ever given much thought to our names before, that they were strange, or difficult to say, but now we know that they are. (we blame our parents for this! =) )

Let’s start with Trevor’s name. A typical introduction conversation might go like this:

“My name is Trevor.”
“What?”
“Trevor.”
“WHAT?”
“TREVOR.”
“Travel?”
“No, Trevor.”
“Driver?”
“No, TREVOR.”
“Trouble??”
“No, T r e v o r.” (said slowly.)
“what?”
“Treva.” (Trevor, resigning himself to his new name, rolling the ‘r’, leaving off the final ‘r‘)
“OH, Treva!!” (with a smile!)

He has been called Driver, Trouble, and Travel on many an occasion! The name written on his coveralls says “Terror”! So now he finally has just resigned himself to always introducing himself as “Treva” to those he meets…it’s much easier that way!! =)
At the airport in Mombasa, one of the guards there asked to see our tickets. Trevor showed him the paper, and he looked at Trevor’s name. “Trevor Wolfe? That’s your name???” Trevor said yes it was. The guard handed the paper back…”that’s a funny name” with a look of I don’t know, disgust (??) on his face.
His name has given us many a confused look, and many a confusing conversation!

And what about my name? Well, turns out that my name is easy to say. That’s not the problem. They say it “An-drAYa”, like the Spanish way of saying it. It sounds really nice. No the problem is that Andrea is a Swahili name. It’s Swahili for Andrew!
We were in our first up-country Church in Kurungu (in October). Nobody speaks English, they all speak the Samburu language. We had to stand up to introduce ourselves, and when I said my name, EVERYBODY started laughing!! EVERYBODY! I looked around with a confused look on my face, wondering what I had said that was so funny! It was then that I was told that I have a man’s name. And since then, there have been many times where I have introduced myself, and a Good Samaritan will whisper to me “Did you know that you have a man’s name???” Yes, yes I know!

When we were in Kakamega for Easter, Benedicto’s wife, Nancy didn’t call me by my name all weekend. I didn’t think too much of it, until the last evening, when she asked me about my name again. I told her it was Andrea. She said “that’s what I thought you said the first day, but I was sure I misunderstood you and didn’t want to call you by a man’s name! I didn’t want to offend you!”

So that’s the story. Trevor and Andrea are not ideal names to have here in Kenya! We’re thinking of changing our names. Maybe to Peter and Jane. Those are very common names here, and would make for much easier introductions! I guess it wouldn’t be as interesting though… maybe we‘ll keep Trevor and Andrea. This way nobody will forget us! =)

Please Pray

2009-05-20T14:07:00.005+03:00

Last Saturday, it finally happened. After telling the girls in my Bible study week after week that I am here for them, that if they need to talk, they can come talk to me, and all that, it finally happened.

Now I have gotten to know these kids really well already, but an actual “heart-to-heart” is different. I really want to get to know their hearts. To know who they really are. To know how their lives have gotten to this point.

So after our Bible study was over (and by the way, we have been splitting up the guys and girls for Bible Study, and been going through some more sensitive issues with them. Topics like HIV/AIDS, sex, relationships, their bodies, and things like that. It has been really great, and both groups have opened up and asked many questions and we have been able to have many great discussions with them!!!), so anyway, after it was over, I was getting ready to leave the classroom. There was one girl left, and to be honest I didn’t even know her name. She hasn’t come very often, and usually disappears quickly after the study. She asked me if we could talk. I immediately put down my books and purse, and agreed. So we sat down, and she just spilled her story. I don’t feel like I should give any details, especially since she has felt so betrayed by everyone in her life already, and does not feel like she can trust anyone. But I just want you to know that this girl needs prayer. She is in a lot of trouble and bondage. She feels like she is at the end, and I think talking to me was kind of a last resort.

Alice and I

So we talked (or should I say she talked, and I listened) for a long time. I prayed for her. We were both crying. I asked her if I could be her friend. She looked at me for awhile, and then said “yes”. As we got up to leave, she wiped the tears from her face, and asked if she could hug me. Umm, YES! I’m thinking, “girl, I can’t have a heart-to-heart with you like this and then NOT hug you!” It was a wonderful moment, and I know that God brought her into my life for a reason, but I feel so incredibly inadequate to know how to help her. I am asking you to pray. Please, please pray. Pray for Alice. Pray for me as I talk to her. Pray for our meetings together. Pray for God’s spirit to surround this sweet girl. Pray that God would give her courage to do what is right. Pray for her family. PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. We need you to join us in this.

One of our youth, Vinny (Vincent), is in need of prayer right now as well. On Sunday, his older sister was killed. She was electrocuted by the illegal electricity that many people in the slums are stealing, and don’t know that the wire is live. She died instantly after touching this wire.
Please pray for Vinny and his family. Vinny is a believer, and takes leadership with the youth. Please pray that he would turn to God in this time of trouble, and that he would find God to be faithful and true, and learn to trust Him more.

Tragedies like this happen frequently in the slum, it seems. These youth and kids have to deal with horrible things on a regular basis. It’s not right, and it’s not fair.

We are reading a book right now that we got from Marcus and Marilyn in a care package called “Holding on to your Faith Even When God Doesn’t Make Sense” by Dr. James Dobson. Please pray that God will use this book to teach us, and use to it help us help the youth.

Asante sana. (Thank you very much).

Anniversary!!

2009-05-20T13:41:00.002+03:00

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on May 14th! I know to many of you, 4 years of marriage isn’t a lot, and you probably think we’re just babies, just starting out! But for us, it felt like a big thing! 4 years!

As we thought back to our wedding day 4 years ago, we feel like so much has changed. We would not have expected that we would be living in Africa. I don’t think we expected that we would change so much. Because we do feel like we are so different from the Trevor and Andrea that committed their lives to each other on May 14, 2005. We have “grown-up” in a lot of ways. We look at the world differently. We look at our future differently. We love each other so much more. We understand each other so much more. We have gone through difficult days together. And we are better for it.

Who knows what the future has in store for us in these next 4 or 40 years?? We know that God knows, and are excited for what He has planned for our lives. It’s an adventure that we love being on, knowing that we are just along for the ride!

Happy Anniversary Trevor!! I love you!

...

2009-05-16T16:41:00.003+03:00

I have finally managed to put up some pictures for some of the previous blog entries...just so you know! =) We hope these pictures will give you an even better idea of what our lives look like here in Nairobi, Kenya.

Thank you to those of you who have done such an amazing job keeping in touch with us...it means so much to us! And please, for those who have been keeping up with our blog, feel free to leave us comments to let us know you are reading this...we really enjoy getting feedback from all of you who are reading this, supporting us, praying for us, and just keeping up with our lives! It means a lot to us!

Talk to you soon...

Thankfulness

2009-05-08T21:38:00.009+03:00

{Since we have had very sporadic internet connections lately, I have been blogging offline, and so now I have numerous entries to post at once! This entry, Thankfulness, is 1 of 7 new entries. Please read oldest to newest, starting first with:
7) The Beautiful Maasai Mara
6) Camp!!
5) Fun Things!
4) Bibles and Tools
3) Elly and Violet
2) Wednesday, May 6, 2009
And then lastly, this entry,
1) Thankfulness

I know it’s a lot, so you can read them bit by bit, maybe one a day, or all at once if you’re sure you’re up for it!! :o) }

How thankful are you? What do you see as an answer to prayer? How different are your wants and your needs? Are you thankful for food? For water?

These are some of the questions that have been running through our minds lately. The kids and youth in Mitumba challenge us so much in the way we think, and we have been pondering the way we see life, and in the things we see as valuable. How thankful are we really?

Trevor and I prepared a lesson the other day on the Good Samaritan for me to present to the grades 4-7 during their Pastoral class. My challenge for their writing assignment was to think of a time when someone has helped them, has been kind to them, maybe shown them love even when they did not deserve it…basically when they experienced the love of a Good Samaritan in their own life.
I was wondering if it would be difficult for them to come up with something or to think of something so quickly. But no, they all started writing immediately.

Reading their journal entries later brought tears to my eyes. I have SO many lessons to learn from these kids who are growing up in this awful slum environment. Lessons about thankfulness. Lessons about trusting God for my every need. Lessons about remembering the kindness I have received from my “neighbour”.
Please take the time to read a few of these journal entries:

“A day that I had been helped and loved with my neighbour, is the day that I came to REM school where Teacher Violet helped me by sponsoring me to live in her own home that she had built by her own money. I thank GOD for He has touched Teacher Violet’s heart to take care of me because I am an orphan.”
-written by a 14 year old boy who lives in the Home.

“When our school was opened first day I went to school. I was lonely but there was a boy who came near me and he asked me if I was lacking of stationeries. Oh! I wondered how the boy knew that I was lacking of pencils. He help me with everything that I needed and I thanked him for it. From that time until now he is my best friend and we normally share things we get, example like books and other things. When the time he is in trouble I offered myself to help him, same to me when I am in temptation he always saved me.”
-written by a 14 year old boy

“One day my neighbour with food…when my mother is not having money to buy food that neighbour gives me food even when my neighbour is not having anything. When we have we can give him. I love my neighbour so much and thank you teacher Andrea to give me Bible, may my God bless you. I love you with all my heart and soul. Thank you teacher Andrea may God bless.” -written by a 12 year old girl

“The day that I was helped with my neighbour was Date 1st March 2009. She helped me with some water to drink. We was not having any food or water, even we was not having money in our house. When my neighbour helped me I pray. Sometimes if my neighbour doesn’t have anything we help her with some food. We love our neighbour as we love ourselves.”
-written by a girl in the Standard 4 class

“One day my mother was sick and my father was far away from home. Then in that house there is nothing that you can eat so I ask my mother that what are we going to cook today? And then my mother told me go and tell anybody to help you with anything that we can have to eat. Then I took my bag. At Mitumba I was to see Pastor coming with his car. When Pastor saw me he told me that carry some fruit first and then when I finished he was giving me a packet of milk and some tomatoes and one flour. On that day I was so surprised.”
-written by a 15 year old boy.

“The day I was coming from hospital to home and it was night and I could not see well because it was so dark. As I was on my way home I fell in a hole and I had no one to save me, so I decided to stay there until the help comes to get me from the hole. But the surprising thing the good Samaritan like the one we hear in the Bible had heard me shouting and seeking for help. Help! Help! Help!
He came near the hole and flashed me with a torch and he tried his best to save. The end of one minute he had saved me and I am alive today. I don’t know still for tomorrow.”
-written by a boy in the Standard 7 class

“One day I was very hungry because I did not eat any food. I am very weak so I choose to sleep down on the floor. Another woman came and told me to wake up so that she can buy for me food. When I woke up she buy for me food and brought it for me to eat. I was so happy to see that woman helping me with food and she was not even my friend. I woke up and thanked the woman. From that day I know that neighbours are so good and I love them so much.”
-written by a girl in the Standard 6 class

“When I was coming from school I was not having a pencil to do work and one boy give me a pencil. I thank God because of His beloved.”
-written by a boy in the Standard 4 class

“One day I did not have a pen when the teacher was in class. Everybody was having a pen but me only did not have a pen. The class teacher Mr. Mark was a kind teacher. When he saw me he asked why I am not writing like the others. I told him my problem, that I did not have a pen. Then he asked that do someone have two pens to help me, but nobody answered. Then he have me ten shillings to buy a pen. I told him thank you, also I said thank you to God.”
-written by a boy in the standard 5 class

“One day my neighbour help me when I was in the house and my mother was caning (beating) me but my neighbour helped me. He tell my mother that to cane the child is wrong. That day was on Sunday when we want to come to Church that day. I feel happy and I thank my neighbour but that day was my first day to be helped by my neighbour.”
-written by a boy in the Standard 5 class

“When I was young, my mother send me to the shop. At that time I didn’t know the way to follow. I just started to walk everywhere. I got a good Samaritan and I asked him the right way to follow and he took me where I was supposed to be. When I reached home I thanked my God and that man for God had used him to show me the way. I became very happy that day and from that time I know God more than the other day.”
-written by a boy in the Standard 7 class, who has since been orphaned.

“One day I was a bad boy. I was stealing things of other people but one day they catch me and took me in the prison. When I was in prison I remembered one thing and that is if you trust in God He will help you the way He helped Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego.
When I trusted Him the time I was in prison, He heard my prayers and helped me and I got out of the prison. I thanked Him for what He has done for me. I became a good person and I stop stealing things of people!”
-written by a boy in the Standard 6 class

These are just a sampling of the stories that these children and youth wrote. Reading them put me to shame…to be so incredibly thankful for a pen. To know how it feels to not have food or water, and to see how God answered their prayers. To remember these events, and to thank God for helping them. To use these times in their life to grow closer to God, and know Him more.
So I want to ask you again. How thankful are you? Do you remember the ways God has answered your prayers? How often do we confuse our needs with our wants?

Let’s learn from these kids living in Mitumba slum. Let’s not forget those answers to prayer. Let’s be thankful for the abundance that we have, especially when so many people are struggling to survive.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:1-5

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

2009-05-08T21:31:00.003+03:00

Last Wednesday was such a fun and rewarding day for both Trevor and I! I can’t wait to tell you about it!

First of all…about Trevor’s day! At our last Bible study in Mitumba, he was talking to one of the older boys, Reuben, who is 18 years old. Reuben wants to be a mechanic and has been going to school for it. He really looks up to Trevor, and mentioned that he would love to see where Trevor works and what he does. Trevor then said that Reuben was welcome to come to the TAM shop to spend the day with him sometime in the following week. Reuben immediately jumped at the chance, and they made arrangements for Wednesday. This was an exciting thing for us…things seem to be going to the next level in our ministries, and this really was a great opportunity, and brought the two main ministries that Trevor is involved in together!

It was a really awesome day for both Trevor and Reuben! Trevor was able to show him around the shop and hangar, show him all the planes and the cool things that are happening there. Reuben was amazed at all that they were doing there! (keep in mind that Mitumba is within sight of the Wilson Airport, and the planes fly right over top of the slum every day, but most people in the slum will never see what Reuben saw yesterday!!) Reuben was able to take part in the chai and devotion time that they have at AIM every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and thoroughly enjoyed that as well. Trevor introduced him to Steven, Benedicto, Mark, and Steve Harding (another missionary who is helping in the TAM shop for a few months) who all completely welcomed Reuben into the shop and made him feel really great. He was able to do some work alongside Steven for the day…later when asked about what he did, he was so proud, and was talking about the work that he had helped with… “WE did this.” and “this is what was needed on this vehicle and so WE did that…” and so on. He looked like he was on cloud nine!! He also said later that he had learned more working with Trevor and the other guys that day than he has in all his schooling yet. Trevor invited him to come back for the rest of the week, which he immediately agreed to do! What an exciting opportunity! Please pray for Trevor’s relationship with Reuben, that this will just be the start of the ways in which he can help him. I love how God uses opportunities of all kinds to help those in need, and if we just make use of those opportunities, we will be so blessed in return!

Trevor and Reuben

While Trevor was busy at the shop, I was having a great day as well!! It was opening day for the new school term, so I went to lead the Pastoral class that I lead on Wednesdays. I had missed the kids so much, and was so glad to go! After that class was done, I worked in the clinic for a few hours, bandaging many, many cuts, scrapes, and other bloody messes! I must say that that is one of my favourite times during the day…I just love the chance to help in such a practical way and take care of these precious ones.
I spent quite a bit of time with the class sixes as well…they are a very rambunctious group of kids, who are known as the “notorious class”!! But they have stolen my heart! I now have another name to add to the list of Teacher, Pastor, and Doctor in the slum. The kids in class six have now adopted me as their Mama. And they will fight over me, and have become quite the protective group of kids! To Stephen, I am “Mama Stephen”. To Amo, I am “Mama Amo”. To Kamau, I am just “Mommy”. It really breaks my heart…these boys are all 14 years old, and are all true orphans with no mama. They are looking for that mother-figure in their life, and have decided that I will be it. I spent a lot of time with all of the 6’s, and made sure to tell all of them how very much I love them, and how beautiful they are, and that God has created them for a purpose. They asked me if I liked Kenya, and I answered that I liked Kenya very much. They asked if I wanted to go back to Canada, and I said that I was not looking forward to going home because that means that I have to leave them. Their next question was said in a hesitant tone… “because you love us??” And I said “yes, because Trevor and I love all of you so much.” That response got cheering from the class, and I heard a couple of them say “they love us!!!” in an excited tone. And boy, do we ever.
They all spent time styling my hair…I had about 8 pairs of hands all over my head, making braids, examining the color, feeling the smoothness, or just plain rubbing until I had a frizzy mess!!! It was hilarious! Amo said to me “when God made your hair, he blessed it. When God made my hair, He cursed it.” I took his face in my hands, and told him that God had NOT made a mistake, and that He has made him a beautiful creation. That our hair was just different, and that’s because God is creative. One is not better than the other. It was just sobering for me to spend that time with them and to hear some of the comments from these sweet, sweet kids.

Amo and I

Stephen and I

So there’s another look into our lives and ministries here in Nairobi. We have said before that if we were to come back to Africa, we would not want to live in Nairobi…but then we look at the people around us, and the ministries that we are involved in and feeling so fulfilled in, and may have to take that statement back. We love what we do here. We love the people here. We feel like our hearts are so involved, and the ministries are so amazing that it’s worth the busyness of the city life and the irritating traffic and the reality of always having to live behind walls and gates and locked doors and barred windows. We need wisdom.

We are absolutely dreading the thought of leaving these dear ones. Please pray for us in our last four months here. Pray that God will show us what to do, and that He will give us peace in the leaving process that is coming up far too soon.

Elly and Violet

2009-05-08T21:28:00.002+03:00

One last thing I want to tell you about Mom and Dad’s time here in Kenya was the chance we had to go to Elly’s house again. If you remember from previous blogs, Elly works on our compound as a gardener, and Trevor and I have gotten to know him and his family, and have taken the opportunities to help them whenever we can.
We drove to Kawangware, the slum here in Nairobi where Elly and his family live. He and his wife, Violet, and their two sons, Wesley and Timothy, welcomed us enthusiastically, and we walked through the corridors of the slum and entered their home. One of the first things I noticed was a picture that they had enlarged and framed and put up on the mabati (tin) wall. It was a picture of Trevor and I, holding Wesley and Timothy. They have also made another one to take to their up-country home to show their families. What a humbling feeling it gave us to see that.

They served us delicious chai, and we had the chance to visit with them for a few hours. What a wonderful family! I had mentioned in one of the blog posts from February how sick Violet has been since last year. I am happy to tell you that she has improved so much, and does not look nearly so frail and sickly as she did the last time we saw her!! She is now able to cook and take care of their children…the only thing that she still has trouble with is lifting heavy things as she is still gaining her strength back slowly. We were so happy to see her looking so much better!

Something that Elly has been mentioning to us for awhile, and something he mentioned again when we were at his house, is that he is looking for someone to sponsor his youngest son, Timothy for his school fees. He has a sponsor for Wesley, but needs one for Timothy. Both boys go to a private school (the thing you do if you value education for your children here…the government/public schools are not good for many different reasons.), and so there are many costs involved. Elly would like for someone to pay for the school fees, then Elly covers the costs of books, uniforms, and food for the day. If you are interested in helping out with this, please let us know and we will give you more information on this. There is no pressure, and we do not want anyone to feel like they have to, but we just told Elly that we would get the word out and see what happens.

Visiting with Elly and Violet and their children is always a joy, and we always leave feeling so blessed and encouraged. I was glad that my parents got to meet the rest of Elly’s family and get a better idea of some of the challenges of a family trying to make it here in Nairobi.

So as you can see, we were able to show my parents a lot of things during their 2 ½ weeks here in Kenya. Besides doing these things that I have already written about, we enjoyed going out for meals at different places, for Chinese food, Indian food, good old Java House, and a new place that we went to for an early birthday lunch for Dad, called The Simba Saloon. (not an actual saloon, don’t worry!)
We also enjoyed taking them to different markets and introducing them to the wonderful world of bartering!
It was nice, too, to take them to our Church here and introduce them to some of our new friends.
We spent a morning at New Life Home as well, and enjoyed spending time with some adorable babies and toddlers! Even Dad got to feed a little boy, which he was not expecting! :o) It was a good time!

Saying goodbye to them at the airport was a little more difficult than I had anticipated, but we are okay! We are still not wanting to go back to Canada yet, it’s just that goodbyes are never fun. We are very thankful that we had as much time with them as we did, and were able to share a part of our lives here with them. Now it’s back to normal life (well as “normal” as life gets here in Kenya!), but we are thankful for that too, and looking forward to making the most of the rest of our time here.

Bibles and Tools

2009-05-08T21:24:00.004+03:00

One of the great things about being a missionary and serving in a foreign country is the amazing support of friends, family and Churches at home. We see so many needs out here that are impossible for us to fill financially, and it’s been so cool to see how the Family of God works together to fill those different needs. We have mentioned different things through our blog and other communication with friends and family, and through that God has worked in people’s hearts and lives to give of what they have to help people out here in Kenya.

One of those things was the tools that my parents brought out here for the men that work with Trevor in the TAM shop. Family, friends and Churches from home put money together, and this was one of the ways they were able to help out. These tools have been such a tremendous blessing to Benedicto, Mark, and Steven, and have been able to go a long way in helping them earn a living and support their families. They are so appreciative of the gifts of these tools, and will never forget that our family and friends care about them in this way. So on behalf of Steven, Benedicto, and Mark…thank you to all who have supported this project!!

Dad giving Mark his tools.

Benedicto

Trevor with Mark and Steven

The group - Me, Steven, Trevor, Benedicto, Dad, Mark, and Mom

A couple of months ago, after one of our youth Bible studies in the slum, Trevor and I really sensed the need for all our youth to have their own Bible. They are so hungry for the Word of God, and hungry for truth, and yet only a handful have their own Bible. They want to grow in the Lord, and yet it’s very difficult when they can’t read His Word on a regular basis. Our Bible study group has been growing by leaps and bounds…we started with an average of about 20 youth, and at our last Bible study we had 52 youth come! So we felt like this was another project that we could not do on our own financially, and would be another great way for people at home to be able to help out if they felt led to do so.
Two days before our Saturday study in Mitumba, we went to the Bible Society of Kenya with my parents to purchase the Bibles. We looked through different styles and study Bibles, and decided on a simple NIV study Bible, and with the money sent by supporters at home, purchased 64 Bibles. It was an exciting day!!
The following Saturday we brought the boxes filled with Bibles to Mitumba. We asked some of the youth boys to carry them from the vehicle to the classroom. On the way, one of the boxes that one of the boys was carrying fell apart and some of the Bibles fell out onto the muddy ground. They hurriedly picked them up, and I could sense that the word was being passed along to everyone who had not seen what was in the boxes! Excited voices speaking in Swahili were all we heard for awhile, and our surprise was not a surprise anymore! It was pretty funny!! One of our youth, Dennis, carefully wiped all the Bibles that had gotten dirty, his face all smiles. We had all the youth come up one by one and wrote each of their names in their own Bibles and presented it to them. We then had a study on the importance of Bible reading, and then went through the different study features in these particular Bibles so that they know how to use them and how to best use the resources that this study Bible has to offer.
They have been praying for their own Bibles for a long time, and now their prayers have been answered!! These youth are so thankful! One of the teachers told me this last week that last Sunday in Church, some of the youth had gone up and testified about how God answered their prayers in this way and that they finally had their own copy of the Word of God! Please pray with us that God would continue to help these youth to be diligent in their study and reading of God’s Word, and that they would grow in their relationship with the Lord!

I want you to hear their thankfulness from Dennis’ perspective. He is one of our youth who is very dear to our hearts.

“One day I was looking for the person who can help me with a Bible. I prayed for many days but I didn’t lose my hope. One Saturday it was on 2nd of May at 10:25 I saw my teacher with some boxes. I didn’t know what was inside, then she told us that “Help me carry this box to youth.” Without wasting time we carried until where she told us. We sung, when we finished singing she told us that “everybody to come and write his name or hers inside this book.” I was the sixth to write my name then she gave me a Bible. I prayed that day and I thank God because He answered my prayer. That day I was very happy.”

So on behalf of the youth in Mitumba slum, thank you so much to all of you who have supported this project! And also a huge thank you to so, so many of you who have helped out in so many ways…By giving finances, by asking about specific needs and then filling them, by praying, by encouraging, by sending us, by being concerned, by showing your love for us and for the people out here that you have never even met. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Asante Sana!! (Thank you very much!)

You are making a bigger difference than you may ever know.

Fun Things!

2009-05-08T21:22:00.007+03:00

1. Amani Ya Juu. It means “Higher Peace” in Kiswahili. It is also the name of a center that employs sixty-two women from different countries in Africa, most of whom have fled due to violence and war in their own countries. These women are able to work here to feed their families and earn a living, while learning about the word of God and having the opportunity to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful place.

The work they do is mostly sewing…making clothing, quilts, wall hangings, purses, dolls, among many other things!! And it’s beautiful stuff!! They also dye and print the fabrics and have a warehouse area where they export their products. They have shops there where you can purchase items to help support them, and also a café where they serve delicious food. We spent a good part of the day there, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! It’s really nice to be able to know where the money you spend is going, and to come home with a beautiful purchase in the process!

Eating outside at the cafe.

2. We took another trip out of the city, and that was north to Central Province, close to a town called Nanyuki. We went to a place called the Trout Tree Restaurant that we had heard a lot about. It started out on an interesting note, though. The day before, we heard some things about some unrest and violence happening in one of the towns that we would have to drive through in order to get to our destination. There is a gang here in Kenya called the MUNG1K1, that wreak terror and havoc anywhere they go. They had killed a bunch of people in this town the week before, so there was now a heavy police presence in the area. But since we had not heard any more recent activity, and were advised by some friends of ours that it would probably be okay, as long as we left before it got dark, we decided to go anyway.

The restaurant is so cool…it’s in a huge tree! You feel kind of like Swiss Family Robinson! They specialize in trout (hence the name!) and you can see all the ponds they have for the trout that they catch for you as you order! It was a really neat experience, and we’d like to go again sometime! We saw black and white colobus monkeys and little hyrax things (with really beady eyes!) that hang out around the restaurant and grounds.

The area is so beautiful too…on one side, you can see the Aberdare Mountain Range, and on the other side you have a view of Mount Kenya (well, a clouded over view, but still, it’s Mount Kenya!!). It was really neat to see.

From there it was only a few minutes drive to the sign where it tells you that you are on the Equator, so we had to go there too! We spent some time shopping at the curio shops there (or should I say Mom and Dad shopped there! They got a lot of cool stuff!!). We had to wait out an insane rainstorm there…it turned the parking lot into a lake within minutes! The shopkeepers set out chairs in their shops for us as we waited, until Trevor decided to brave the downpour and go get the vehicle!
Another interesting day, with no sign of the violence or gang anywhere…praise God!

Camp!!

2009-05-08T19:50:00.009+03:00

The school terms here in Kenya run on a different schedule than they do at home. Kids are in school from January to March, then they have the month of April off. Then it’s back to school from May to July, with August having no school. Then it’s the last three months of school from September to November, and December being the last month off. During the months of holidays in April, August, and December, a lot of the kids go to camps. We got to go to the camp that the kids from Mitumba slum went to! It was great! Pastor Shadrach asked us to come for a day to speak to the youth during one of their sessions. It happened to be during the time that Mom and Dad were here, so they got to come along…it was actually their first chance to meet the youth and kids from Mitumba.

The kids spent the week at a high school (which is also a boarding school) in Ngong Hills, which is close to Ngong town. (which is also not far from where we live!). One of the things that struck us the most about seeing the youth/kids at the camp, away from the slum, is that you would never picture them as growing up and living in a slum. They are such beautiful young people, so incredibly well-mannered, so welcoming and inviting, with futures so bright it’s almost blinding! Their environment does not determine who they become!! Their past does not determine their future!! It just really rang true all over again, that the possibilities for these youth are endless. They have hope in Jesus Christ, they are getting a good education, they are being counselled and encouraged in the Lord, they are gaining courage and confidence. They have had to work so hard, they have come so far, and will have to continue working harder than many people to get past the many obstacles in their life, and to not let their past determine who they are going to become. But it is happening!! Aahh I get goosebumps just thinking about it! :o)

Going to camp is such an incredible highlight for them. They get to leave the slum, ride on a bus (which is a novelty!), and spend the week sleeping in dorms, eating great food, learning more about God, sing and dance, play a ton of games, and just get renewed and refreshed. When we arrived on a Thursday, they were all so hyper and excited and I don’t think that the smiles ever left their faces!!

The topic that we were given to speak about was “Friends and Peer Pressure”. We had touched on these topics before during our youth Bible studies, but were able to go into a bit more depth at the camp. We really enjoyed the chance to speak to them. What we did not realize was that after our session was over, the youth would be given a chance to write down questions and we would have to go up immediately and answer them with no time for preparation or research! It was slightly scary, and I have to say, I was a little relieved when our time was up and they had to save some of the questions for another day! They have so many questions, though, and I am so glad they are getting good and safe places to ask them and have them answered from the Word of God.

The rest of our time there was spent just hanging out with the youth, watching their games and relays, taking pictures of them, catching crickets, running around, playing basketball and all sorts of other fun stuff. We joined them for the meals of ugali, sukuma wiki, and stew, which was Mom and Dad’s first chance to try Kenyan food!

We had a really great time (but were scolded by some of the youth that we did not come for the whole week! We are hoping that we can spend more time at the camp with them in August..). I think seeing them in a different environment, out of the slum, helped us to understand them better, and see who they really are. We are finding that our hearts are getting more and more attached to these youth, which makes the thought of leaving them unbearable. We love them so much.

The Beautiful Maasai Mara

2009-05-08T17:16:00.019+03:00

Wow, so much to say about our last few weeks! We had a great time with my parents and were able to cram a lot of events and visiting into our 2 ½ weeks with them! It was so nice to be able to sit in the same room and talk and laugh, and also to be able to experience fun things together. It’s amazing how easy it is to take quality time together for granted until it’s not an option anymore! It really was such a fun thing for us to have family here again. There were definitely a few highlights of their time here, so I will elaborate on those.

We all splurged a little, and went on a safari to the Maasai Mara for the weekend! Trevor and I hadn’t been there since our trip to Kenya in 2006, and Mom and Dad had never been on a safari of any kind, so it was well worth it! We hired a safari company to pick us up at our house, drive us there, and also do the game drives for us. Our driver, Jackson, was here at 6:30 am Friday morning, and off we went!
It was Mom and Dad’s first trip out of Nairobi, so they got to see The Great Rift Valley and other parts of the beautiful Kenyan countryside as we drove about five hours to get to our Lodge. We stayed at the Sarova Mara, which is a tented camp in the Maasai Mara…and if by the word tented you think small tent, no lights, outhouses, camping…think again! These are luxury tents, with running water and flushing toilets! The coolest surprise was when we got there and got treated like royalty with hot moist cloths to wipe our dusty hands and faces after the drive, and were given fresh passion juice to drink…they said they were very happy to inform us that they upgraded us to the Club Tents!!! It was great! Two men carried all our bags and we followed them, past the swimming pool, past beautiful groomed trees and shrubs, on a bridge over a small lake, past the tents we thought we were going to be staying in, and straight into the doors of our amazing tents with a gorgeous view of the Mara!! Oh wow!! It was incredible! It was like staying in the best room in a fancy hotel, except here, we look out the windows and see trees and birds, and we walk out of our doors and see the endless Maasai Mara!

So, after exploring our tents and freshening up, we went for lunch, which was the first of many delicious meals there, and then started our first game drive at 4:00 pm.

We are in our rainy season here in Kenya, which is wonderful…except when you’re talking about going on a safari, then it can be not-so-wonderful! Jackson (our driver) said a few times “let’s just hope for the best” when talking about what animals we were going to see. If it’s just so rainy, then the animals don’t come out much, it can be hard to find them, and visibility is poor. We were feeling a little worried…coming all this way and paying all this money, and mom and dad’s only safari, and then not seeing very much and just hoping for the best??? But we didn’t say anything to them and just prayed! :o)

Our first game drive was incredible…so many animals were out! Zebras, Cape buffalo, lots of elephants (and a few baby elephants!!!), a lion, a leopard (!!) lying in a tree, tons of cools birds, more and more and more elephants…and we ended the game drive with a view of the sun setting on the African landscape. Perfect. We came back in time to have supper, and talk about our awesome first day!
The next morning started early, with a game drive at 6:30 am, after a cup of hot chai. To be out in the middle of the Maasai Mara as it’s waking up is amazing. The sun rising, sending a fiery glow on all the trees and animals, feeling the cool air on your face, and just being able to enjoy God’s wonderful creation is something that can hardly be explained. We love Africa.
Giraffes were the highlight of our morning. We saw a mama giraffe with her baby…so cool! Along with that we saw ostriches, hyenas (so funny-looking!!), all kinds of deer, buffalo, and more giraffes!
We returned from our morning game drive in time for a scrumptious breakfast, and some time in the sun to warm up!! We had a relaxing afternoon, time to explore the lodge grounds, time to sleep, and time just to hang out.

Our evening game drive also held some exciting promises for us…we saw all of the animals we’d already seen, plus warthog after warthog, after warthog!! What interesting creatures…have you seen them run before?? Their tails go straight up like an antenna…it’s hilarious!! But the best part about this Saturday evening game drive was seeing a whole pride of lions!! Unreal! They were eating a zebra in the bush, and we got to see the male lion fighting with another lion…it was awesome! After that we also saw hippos in a river, and over forty baboons! Add to that another captivating African sunset, and you have a pretty perfect day!

Sunday morning. Our last morning game drive before we had to start the drive back to Nairobi. We saw a few of the animals that we had seen the previous game drives, but the best part was seeing three cheetahs relaxing in the bush!
The scary saying of “let’s just hope for the best”, turned into “we saw ALL the animals except the rhino!!” Our weather was absolutely perfect, our days were filled with exciting things, we saw God’s magnificent creation up-close and personal…what a weekend!! It was as close to perfect as you can get!

The Maasai Mara…you just have to experience it!

Recent News..

2009-04-18T14:32:00.005+03:00

We have been so busy these last few weeks...with going away for Easter, regular busy life, and moving into a new house! The house we were staying in was only temporary until the missionaries who usually live there came back from Home Assignment...so last week we moved into a new house! It's on a neighbouring compound, so we still have the same neighbourhood, which we are glad for. So...we moved from (half of) this:

to (half of) this:

Yes, it's MUCH smaller, but we prefer it and are feeling more at home there than we ever did at the other place! It's "cozy"!!

And on to even more exciting news....my parents are coming to Africa TODAY!!! We are so thrilled and can't wait to see them! It should be a good 2 1/2 weeks with them! So if I don't blog for awhile it's just because we're too busy having FUN!! :o)

I also want to let you all know how very much we appreciate all of you...you have no idea how much your encouragement, support, comments, prayers, and everything else means to us. We have felt so incredibly blessed having you as a part of our team and want you to know how much we love you!
We have also figured out a system for checking our emails as well, so please feel free to email us at either one of our email accounts...we would love to hear how you are doing and what is going on in your lives. Being so far away causes us to feel quite disconnected with home and friends, so we would really appreciate hearing from you!! Thank you again for being such wonderful friends! We could NOT be here without YOU!!

Easter...In a Mud House

2009-04-15T20:26:00.009+03:00

**now updated with pictures!**

One of the greatest ways you can honour your Kenyan friends is to accept an invitation to visit them in their up-country home. Many Kenyans live here in Nairobi just so they can have a job and make some money to support their families who live up-country. One of Trevor’s friends and co-workers, Benedicto, lives in Nairobi, in Kibera Slum, but his wife and five children live in Western Kenya, in a place called Kakamega. So Benedicto goes home as often as he can, and invited us to spend Easter with him and his family in their up-country home. We accepted his invitation without hesitation, but we felt nervousness and apprehension along with excitement. Even though we have made quite a few trips up-country already, this was the first time we would not be staying with a missionary family.

What a weekend we had! I wish I could bring each of you to a place like that! In order for you to really know what it’s like, you need to be able to smell the air, to walk on the soil, to hear the voices in other languages, to taste the food, to shake all the hands, to see the vast and beautiful landscape…put all of your five senses in gear at the same time and EXPERIENCE it! Close your eyes and try to imagine all of what I will try to describe to you (while you read, of course!! :o) )

The first step was to pack up the vehicle for the drive out there. We borrowed a Pajero from some friends of ours, and went to their house on Friday morning to load it up. And loaded it was!! We had extra passengers besides us and Benedicto…we gave a ride to Benedicto’s cousin, and also to Sammy (another one of Trevor’s co-workers), and Sammy’s son. Benedicto was bringing a lot of stuff home to his family…we had a table, a gas cooker, a mattress, a couple jerry cans, a bike for his children and numerous other items strapped to the top of the vehicle!! And that’s not mentioning all the stuff and bags we crammed into the inside of the vehicle!! By the time we were ready to leave, we looked like a matatu! But we all stuffed ourselves in, and were ready for the long drive.

Our full vehicle! Benedicto, his cousin Matthias, Sammy's son and Sammy! Good times were had by all!! :o)

There is something amazing about driving through Kenya. It’s almost like God has taken scenery, climate, and landscape from many different extremes, and placed them in one country! The trip was many things, but it was NOT boring! There is so much to see. The distance is only about 400 km, but we drove through the Rift Valley escarpment, to thick forests of tall and mighty trees, to a barren landscape with Yellow Fever trees, to vast lands dotted with Acacia trees, to lush farmlands and rolling hills in the Rift Valley, to green, green, green tea plantations, to Lake Victoria in the distance, to more rolling farmland with mountainous horizons…are you getting the picture??? All this, in 400 km! Over and over again, Trevor or I would have to comment on how unbelievable Kenya is! I should also mention that this trip took us close to 9 hours…! We would often stop to buy fruit or vegetables from vendors along the road, so as you can imagine, the vehicle got more and more crowded the farther we drove! We passed some Internally Displaced People camps…people who are still not settled from the post-election violence in early 2008. We also saw some reconstruction happening in different towns where they are trying to rebuild from the destruction that the violence caused. It was quite the drive.

One of the markets that we stopped at to buy fruit and vegetables.

So, after dropping our other passengers at their destinations, we arrived in Kakamega after dark. We had to stop along the side of the road a few times so Benedicto could buy a few more things…and that’s when we realized that we would be quite the spectacle all weekend! It was like a message had been sent that the wazungu (white people) were in town, and people flocked to our vehicle, pointed at us, pressed their faces and hands to the windows to get a better look. (remember, it’s dark out already, and we are in a place completely unknown to us, so I felt a bit nervous!) But at last, we finally arrived at Benedicto’s home. It was then that we knew we would have a wonderful time. As soon as we drove onto his yard and parked the vehicle in front of his small mud house in the shelter of banana trees, his wife, Nancy, and children Jacob (14), Anna (12), Daniel (9), Joseph (5), and Glarene (2), came out to meet us, shook our hands and with beautiful smiles on their faces welcomed us and expressed over and over again how happy they were that we came to their home. We felt overwhelmed with the display of immediate hospitality. The kids were giddy with excitement to see their dad, and to see these white people!

We walked into the dimly lit house and tried to mentally adjust that this is where we would be staying for the next few days. In a mud house. I looked off to my right and saw a Bible open on the table with a lit candle beside it. To my left I saw chairs and couches covered in white and flowery doily-like fabric, specifically laid out to make the home as pretty as possible for us. We were asked to sit down, and were immediately brought hot chai and bread. After we had finished that, I whispered to Trevor that I was glad that Nancy had not prepared a huge meal for us because it was already so late and it would have been a lot of work. Just after I finished saying that, Nancy and the kids started bringing out dish after dish after dish of food! It was unbelievable!! She had made chapati, ugali, sukuma wiki, stew, chicken, potatoes, and salad…I’m telling you that you have never seen such giving and warm hospitality until you have been to Kenya! We were given their master bedroom for the weekend…this is how our time in western Kenya began.

Benedicto and Nancy's house. Mud walls and a mud floor, with a mabati (tin) roof.

The "shower" building...another interesting experience!

A view of the house and other buildings...

There is so much we could tell you about this experience, but I’ll just try and touch on the highlights. We had so much fun with the kids throughout the weekend…they LOVE to laugh, and we just had a great time getting to know them. It was also great for us to see Benedicto with his family and to see where he comes from, and to understand his life a little bit better. He is so proud of his home and shamba (garden, or farm). He has about two acres where he has planted maize, tea and some cassava. He has also planted many trees around his home and yard, making it a beautiful place. Wouldn’t you like to have bananas and pineapple growing in your yard??! :o) Benedicto has started a tradition of asking visitors and special people in his life to plant a tree in his yard. Trevor planted a tree there Sunday morning, “Trevor’s Tree”. Benedicto wants his family to always have a memory of us being there, and for us to have left something at his home. We will always have that connection.

Trevor planting a tree in the yard. (with Benedicto beside him and a neighbour, Boniface, looking on.)

Saturday we explored the area and were finally able to see it in the daylight! Kakamega receives a lot of rain, and it was evident in the trees and grass and fields! The colours were intoxicating…the unbelievable green vegetation meeting with the deep red dirt and the stunning blue sky…we LOVED it there! There were people everywhere, many carrying firewood on their heads, many on bikes (bodas) and motorbikes (boda bodas), which are used as taxis, many carrying water, many selling fresh fruit and vegetables. As soon as anyone saw us, we heard the excited sound of “MZUNGU!!” We would wave, they would laugh. Yes, quite the spectacle we were. And the climate in that area is so nice…the mornings are quite cool, the afternoons get nice and warm, and it rains a lot. So nice…

Benedicto bought sugarcane for all of us to chew on…again, another interesting experience! You should all try it. :o) Chew and spit, chew and spit…
(the picture is of Joseph, Daniel and Anna, chewing on sugar cane in the vehicle!)

We spent quite a few hours on Saturday at Kakamega Forest, one of the last remaining natural forests in Kenya, and the only rainforest. What a beautiful place! We saw monkeys and birds and amazing trees and greenery. It was so nice to spend the time with Benedicto and his family. Hiking and climbing are quite the feat if you are wearing a wrap-around skirt that has issues staying “wrapped around”…!!

All throughout the weekend, people were constantly stopping by the house for chai and a visit. A lot of them came to see Benedicto and welcome him home, and a lot of them also came because they heard there were wazungu staying there. We spent a lot of time just sitting outside with a bunch of the local people, many of them being Benedicto’s neighbours, listening while they spoke in their mother tongue, Luhya. Often we would all sit together in silence…but to our Kenyan friends, that was time well spent.

We loved Western Kenya…the beauty, the culture, the people, the climate…often Trevor or I would comment…”I wish we lived here!” We know that God placed us in Nairobi for the time being and are okay with that…but we still wish we lived there! :o) Maybe one day…

Benedicto's wife Nancy with their youngest daughter, Glarene, in the kitchen.

Benedict's two youngest children, Joseph and Glarene, using the crate as a wagon and having the greatest time!!

Hanging out with the kids.

I also have to tell you about our time in Church on Sunday. We were heartily welcomed into Church (are you seeing a pattern here of welcoming and hospitality??!) and given the front row seat. The service was all in Kiswahili and Kiluhya. We were asked to share a few words with the Church, and Benedicto translated. After that though…are you ready for this??…they asked Trevor to share the message! That’s right! My Trevor is a preacher! :o) He did a wonderful job, and God really gave him words to speak. Later an old man with no teeth came up to Trevor and shook his hand and said “You have been called.” He asked Trevor to come preach again one day, and repeated “You have been called!”
The Church service was longer than we are used to…we arrived at about 10:30 am and didn’t leave until after 3:00 pm! Many people went up to share or read scripture or preach or sing. We were constantly watched and everything we did was noticed, which is quite unnerving after awhile! Such is being a mzungu up-country!

We learned a lot over this Easter weekend…it was unlike any Easter we have had before, and we felt blessed more than we can explain. To be treated like royalty by a wonderful African family living in a small mud house, to have Nancy make so much food for us, to have her heat up water every morning and every evening so we could have a “shower”, to have the children bring chairs outside so we could sit down (constantly!), to have them wash our vehicle the morning we left, to have Anna, Benedicto’s oldest daughter, wash my very dirty feet and sandals, to be given the best room in the house to sleep in, to hear them say over and over again how happy they were to have us in their home…I could go on and on, but you get the point. Such selflessness and joyful servanthood should be a lesson to all of us.

Anna washing my feet...

All of us together in front of their house (along with a few other neighbours..)

As we were saying goodbye, seeing little Joseph’s tear-filled eyes brought a lump to my throat. We were sad to leave them, and they were sad to see us go. They will be forever in our hearts…we will never forget them.

Finally!

2009-04-04T14:07:00.006+03:00

So you may notice some changes to this blog...I have been trying unsuccessfully to make these changes for a long time with much frustration...So today I came to the TAM shop with Trevor and the internet is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G here!! :o)

Since the internet connection is so fast I also decided to put up a few more pictures of our lives here...so enjoy!!

Trevor with Benedicto, Steven and Mark at the TAM shop.

Mark

Benedicto

Trevor and Steven

A typical lunch at the school in Mitumba slum. It is only by God's grace and the concern of His people that they can provide this kind of nutritious food to the kids!!

One of "our" girls, Rose, getting her hair done in the corridors of the slum.

The girls who live in the Home, proudly displaying their teddy bears!

Piles and piles of garbage litter the slum and surrounding area...and the ever-present goats picking through it. Usually you can also find kids looking through the trash and playing on the piles.

Trevor with one of the youth, Evans. After the Bible Study was over Evans had some more questions for Trevor so they spent some time talking and reading the Bible together.

Some of the girls in my youth Bible study.

Amo (a boy I wrote about in a previous post)

Hanging out at Java House with our brother-in-law Joe when he came to Kenya!

It's Here!

2009-03-28T21:08:00.001+03:00

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!!

Fear and Hope

2009-03-27T17:49:00.004+03:00

“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 beds with their new (to them) teddy bears, took silly group pictures together, 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.

Emotional

2009-03-20T17:44:00.004+03:00

“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.

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.**

Just Sitting By the Side of the Road...

2009-03-19T15:23:00.005+03:00

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}

VERMOX

2009-03-18T21:50:00.003+03:00

“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”…

Amo

2009-03-16T16:57:00.004+03:00

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 brother-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...

2009-03-16T16:11:00.009+03:00

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 different 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 into 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.

A Quick Update

2009-03-09T09:30:00.002+03:00

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 Call Me Doctor...

2009-02-26T20:10:00.005+03:00

That was me today. I often get called Teacher, but today I was Doctor. :o)
I spent the day in Mitumba Slum again today, and here is what I did:

Gave all the kids multi-vitamins.

De-wormed about 100 kids.

Cleaned and bandaged a profusely bleeding cut.

Cleaned and bandaged numerous small cuts and scrapes.

Gave a child medication for an amoeba problem.

Cleaned and medicated a scraped up face.

Helped another child suffering from swollen glands and infection.

All this, and much, much more!! :o)

It was quite the day!! I really enjoyed it, as when the children come up to the clinic for help, that gives me some individual time with them, to talk with them, and make them feel important. I love it. And I love them. And yes, I have explained to Pastor that I am not trained in any medical field, but then he reminds me that neither is anyone else there, and somebody has to do it. So I am willing. (there is also a doctor on call whom we can call for advice and help, so that is really good.)

I will be doing a lot more of this in the future. Pastor and Violet also asked me today if I would be willing to take all the Class 4, 5, and 6’s (about 50 kids) on Wednesday mornings, and have discussions with them on different topics relevant to their age group, whether it be simple things like cleanliness (how to keep yourself clean), changing bodies, puberty…(all these things are so important as a lot of them don’t have parents or anyone who cares enough to explain some of these things to them.) The topics may also range to spiritual things, studying the Bible, being strong in the Lord…so I am very excited about this, as I welcome any chance I have to get to know these youth!! I wish you could all meet them. It would change your life, as it has changed ours.

Another interesting thing happened to me today at the slum. I was up in the clinic, doing some organizing there, when all of a sudden I heard a sound like gunshots (but not quite as loud), and people yelling and screaming loudly! I was a little uneasy, so I decided to just stay up there behind closed doors (I was the only mzungu (white person) in the slum, and figured that down in the chaos was probably NOT the best place for me!!). I was trying to hear what was going on, but everyone was just speaking Kiswahili, so it left me with no clue. I looked outside, and saw the corridors CROWDED with people, but still had no idea what had happened. Later, I found out that there was a group of electricians coming to do some wiring (btw, lately, many people in the slum have been stealing everyone else’s wiring for electricity, because it is expensive. But through that, people have also been getting shocked and killed by the live wires)…anyway, the electricians came with security…three policemen with rifles similar to AK-47’s, (which is common for anyone coming to the slum to come with some form of security). Some people living in the slum (for some reason unknown to us), starting throwing rocks at these electricians and policemen, intending to stone them. The policemen, however, had brought tear gas, and used it on the people…and thus the gun shot noise I heard!! This brought chaos, and everyone running in separate directions. Crazy!! But it was effective enough to stop the rock-throwing and bring about some sort of peace. But Pastor told me that if the electricians had not brought security with them, there is a good chance that they would have been killed today, or at least very badly injured. Such is life in a slum.

Oh, and on another note…an update on Trevor’s life :o). He has been SOO busy at the shop these days again, especially since taking a few days off when his sisters were visiting, so the work all piled up!! But another awesome praise item is that he is getting such great feedback from people…everyone is so happy that he is here, and are so thankful that he takes the time to help them and answer their questions. Just the other day he got two Java House (our favourite place!!) gift certificates from a customer, just to say thank you!! Steven, Benedicto and Mark are dreading him leaving in August, and are praying continually that we will return soon. There have been many jokes and threats to tie Trevor to his desk, or to the shop…or to tear up his passport so he has no choice but to stay! :o) Their relationship is really, really cool, and it is so great to see how God brought Trevor to the TAM shop at just the right time. It is amazing. We are so thankful for what HE has done.

Here is a quote I came across the other day…it’s a secular quote, but has made me think a lot lately.

"Don't ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman

YAY for Family!!

2009-02-23T21:07:00.008+03:00

WARNING…This will be a long update!! A lot seems to have happened over the past two weeks, so if you’re up for it, grab a cup of coffee (or a bag of chocolate chips), sit back, and enjoy! :o)

So, we just spent the last 13 days with Trevor’s sisters!! It was a busy, busy time with them, but definitely well worth it!! Here are some of the highlights…

1) First of all…we had so much fun going to go get them at the airport…waiting, waiting, watching for them to come down the stairs, waiting some more, making bets to see what time we would see them…(I guessed 10:15 pm, and Trevor guessed 10:20 pm…and they came down the stairs at about 10:17 pm!!!)…then when we FINALLY saw them I held up my sign that said “Karibuni Kenya, Leona and Wanda” (which means Welcome to Kenya, Leona and Wanda)…but in my excitement I held it up upside down…! There were happy tears, of course, and excited talking, and lots of hugging…it was so much fun to see family again!! They brought us soooooo much stuff..we were quite overwhelmed with it all!!! The first thing they brought out of their suitcases was….Tim Horton’s Timbits!!! Can you believe it?!?! And pickles, and cheese, and chocolate chips (wow, were there ever chocolate chips!!!), and other chocolate, and cards and pictures from friends and family at home, and many, many other gifts and necessity items…we felt so incredibly blessed!! Thank you so much to all of you who sent stuff along with them for us! You made us feel so loved! :o) And another thing that was so exciting was that they brought a bunch of tools for the guys at the shop, which was such an amazing blessing for Steven, Mark, and Benedicto to receive. And after all our plans to get to bed early so that they could get over jet lag and adjust to Kenyan time…it obviously didn’t happen!! We all had too much to talk about :o)

2) We went on a few day safaris…safaris are so much fun!! The first one was driving down through the Great Rift Valley to a place called Crescent Island, on the shores of Lake Naivasha, near the town of Naivasha. It was a lot of fun…no vehicles are allowed on the Island (well it’s a peninsula now, but still called Crescent Island!) so we walked around, through groups of deer, close to giraffes, wildebeests, and zebras…the only warning we were given was “just make sure you stay far from the buffalo”…!!! It was HOT that day…and we all burnt! But a good time was had by all!

The next day we decided to go to Nairobi Game Park, which is just a short drive from where we live. It was even better than we expected, with the drive starting out with seeing a whole herd of Cape buffalo…then, right before lunch time…seeing a group of about eight lions, feasting on a zebra, right beside the road!!! Incredible!! We were in awe, and stayed there to watch for at least 45 minutes. We were so close that we could smell the blood, and hear the crunching and eating noises, and the growls coming from a lion's mouth. There was a huge male in the group as well…it was seriously amazing!!
We then stopped to have lunch outside at a picnic site…where we were joined by a group of feisty and aggressive baboons determined to steal our food!!! No joke! First just one of them came out of nowhere, jumped up on our picnic table, and grabbed our backpack! We were all feeling stunned, and couldn’t really move for a few seconds…what do you do with a huge baboon that looks and smells nasty, and has your stuff??!? We scared him enough that he dropped the backpack (thankfully, because it had important things like KEYS in it!!), and just stole our bag of fruit instead. That we could deal with. In this entire time of panic and confusion, all I could think about was wanting a picture, so I’m holding my purse, camera case, lunch kit, and at the same time, trying to take a picture of the baboon stealing our stuff…but couldn’t figure out why my camera wasn’t working…(it was turned off :o)…I apparently can’t think under pressure!!) . Not long after we had calmed down somewhat and put our stuff back down…we were surrounded by a whole huge group of baboons, all trying to get our stuff!! Good thing the park warden was there and had already given Trevor a stick, so we kept Trevor busy with “Trevor, there’s one here!!!” “Trevor, behind you!!” “Trevor, there’s one on the table!!” “Trevor, over here!! Trevor, over there!” Oh…and all of this through almost uncontrollable laughter…really, you should have been there!! It was hilarious!! Trevor got a few good whacks in though, and scared them away enough for us to get to our vehicle. We are just glad that none of them attacked us though…it has been known to happen...these are vicious creatures. But it was a really fun day, and made for some really good memories. :o)

3) For the past few months, our gardener, Elly, has wanted us to come visit him and his family in their home, but his wife has been so sick since November (with TB, typhoid, malaria, pneumonia..!!) so we have had to just wait till she felt well enough for company. Well, it turned out that we could go and visit now, when Leona and Wanda were here in Kenya! It was such a great time. They live in a slum area…in a tiny, one room mabati (tin) house, with their two young sons, Wesley, who is almost six, and Timothy, who is three years old. They welcomed us in so warmly, and served us chai. This was our first time meeting Violet, his wife, and even though she is getting well, “pole pole” (Swahili, pronounced “po-lay, po-lay, meaning “slowly by slowly“, in English), she didn’t even resemble the pictures that we saw of her, taken before she got sick. She was so thin and frail, and yet so incredibly happy to have visitors! The Kenyan hospitality is amazing. Elly and Violet have so few material possessions, and so many struggles in their life, and yet the joy in their eyes, and the true warmth of the welcome we received was real. We have so much to learn from them.

4) We were also able to bring Leona and Wanda to Mitumba slum quite a few times...to meet Pastor Shadrach and Violet, and to spend time with the kids there. I had also mentioned to Pastor that if the new clinic that they’re setting up would be ready by then, then to please put us to work in organizing it!! So Leona, Wanda, and I spent time doing that as well, which was great to do with them, instead of just by myself! (as organizing is not really my skill!!) Wanda also came with a donation from the school where she works, to spend in Mitumba and New Life Home, so that was really great, to be a part of blessing them in that way. The money was used for a lot of textbooks…all the ones they needed for the Standard 6 and Standard 7 classes, as well as some other school supplies!!

5) We also did other fun things…like visited the Hangar where Trevor works and they got to meet everyone there, and present the tools to the guys in the shop, go out for Indian Food a couple times, go to Java House, went to New Life Home a few times, took them shopping at the markets, went for walks around our neighbourhood…etc, etc.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that friends from home, Craig and Ruthie, came to visit us here as well from Rwanda!! They only stayed for one night, but it was great to catch up with them, and hang out, play Dutch Blitz, and just spend time together as friends!!

Anyway…all that was to say that we had a wonderful time these last few weeks!! Having family over was also just what we needed to keep going here, and to realize that we are not ready to leave yet, and knowing that God has us here for a purpose. We said goodbye to them, realizing that we are more than happy to be here right now, relieved that it wasn’t us who were flying away from this beautiful country, and so excited about what God is doing here in Kenya.

Please continue to pray for us here…specifically about direction for the future. We don’t know what is going to happen, but we do know that all God is asking of us is to trust Him, so trust Him we will!! We are seeing so much need here, and are falling in love with the people we are meeting, but are still unsure if we are being asked to come back to Africa after our year here is done. All we know at this point is that God called us here for this year, and that we are willing to go wherever He asks us to go in the future, whether that is coming back to Africa, or staying at home, or somewhere completely different. He blesses obedience, and we want to obey Him. Thank you so much for your prayers…we have truly been so blessed.

I want to leave you with a verse, found in Jeremiah 6:16. (Thank you Esther Ford, for reminding us of this verse..)

Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.

Visitors!!

2009-02-07T18:15:00.006+03:00

Well, the purpose of this post is to let you know that Trevor's sisters are coming TONIGHT (!!) and are staying until February 20th. So we may not be updating you as much during that time, as we have many plans and will have a very busy 13 days!!

Things have been going really well here...we've been quite busy lately, but it's good. Trevor's days at the shop are challenging, but he is really enjoying the time he has there. We have also had some really good times at Mitumba slum lately, and look forward to what God is going to do in the lives of those kids. I'll leave you with a few pictures..and will talk to you again soon...

Steven and Gabriel...two of the youth in Mitumba.

Spencer with a goat :)

Another Day in Africa

2009-02-03T15:51:00.007+03:00

Trevor and I went to Mitumba slum on Saturday for Bible club and to have a Bible study with the youth. There were some things that stood out to us as unique and really cool about that day. First of all, this was our first time driving there by ourselves, and we were not quite sure of how to get there. So Pastor Shadrach offered to come to our compound and we could follow him there…but before he could do that, Trevor got a call saying that an alarm was going off in a car at the TAM shop, so we needed to go there first to take care of that. So we decided to meet Pastor at a fuel station and follow him from there.
So we waited…and we waited…ate some skittles (thanks family for the care package!!)…and waited…talked about how insanely hot it was in the car and how I was glad I was wearing a skirt and Trevor wished he was, haha :) …and waited…chatted with a guy who was changing a tire on the vehicle next to ours, who spoke to us in Kikuyu and was SOOO surprised when we said that we don’t speak Kikuyu!!??…and waited…watched the police stopping almost everybody on the road…and waited…looked at the sign in front of where we were parked that said “15 minutes parking only”…looked at the time and knew that we were well over that!!…and waited…said a couple of times over “This is Africa!!”…and about 45 minutes after the time we were supposed to meet, we finally saw Pastor Shadrach’s car! Yes, that is normal, and we are getting used to it and are able to smile about it! (well, most days!)

So off to the slum we drove, over some roads that made us feel like we were up-country, the car getting jostled and bumped and dragged along…thankfully we haven’t had any rain in awhile, or those roads turn into one big mud hole! We also had to stop for a herd of goats that were taking up the road…!! (and I wished I had brought my camera!!) We get to the entrance of the slum, past the piles and piles of garbage and goats on top of the piles eating the garbage. The car is stopped, and before we even had the chance to get out of the car, we could hear the sounds of little voices saying “Trevor!! Trevor!!” Trevor hasn’t been to Mitumba since the end of November!! These little kids, about five or six years old, remembered his name and were so excited! OH what that did to my heart!! We locked up the car, grinned while Pastor Shadrach took a sharp object from one little boy who was using it to poke our tires :) , and walked through the narrow slum corridors.

We spent time with the youth again…this time we split them up into two groups, Trevor took one and I took one…both groups studied different verses and then after the groups explained to the other group what they learned…we are trying out some different things to try and get some more discussion and interaction, instead of us just standing at the front and “preaching” to them…so we would appreciate prayer for wisdom as we try and figure out what will work best. A lot of the youth are still quite shy around us, so we are also trying to make them feel more comfortable and are looking forward to the time when they know that they can trust us. Until then, we’ll just continue to be their friends, spend time with them, and earn their trust and respect. What a great group of kids though!!

After the lessons were over, we joined in the chaos of serving the kids bread and juice. Chaos, but organized chaos!! There’s a lot of little mouths to feed! A lot of these kids will not get any other food than this for the day…and my grumbly tummy was a good reminder of the hunger that so many of these kids live with all the time. These kids know what it’s like to be hungry. We have no idea. Some of the mothers in the slum will sell their own bodies for 50 shillings (less than a dollar)…enough to put one meal on the table for their children. Oh the pain and heartache these families go through. (these pictures were taken in November, not last Saturday, but I wanted to post them anyway! I haven't taken recent pictures of the Bible club in Mitumba.)

Another one of those heart-warming moments happened as we were getting ready to leave the slum. Well, a couple moments actually. First, let me say that there are often little, little kids coming to the Bible club. Think of your four-year old child (for those of you that have kids) bringing her nine month old baby sister to the Bible club, and this little four year old trying to comfort the baby as the baby is crying…this is very normal to see. Anyway, so we were about to leave, and I see this little boy, only a few years old, just wandering around in his bare feet. He sees me. I smile at him. He comes walking toward me, with his arms outstretched. I kneel down and wrap my arms around his little body. He puts his arms around my neck. We stay there together for awhile. He can’t understand me, he has not yet learned English. It’s time to go. I give him one last squeeze and he lets me get up. We’re both a little happier now. :)
Trevor was chatting with two boys, both probably in grade six or so, Amos and Cosmas. They are still pretty shy, but have big grins on their faces. They tell him they like to play football (soccer!). He talks to them about it for awhile, and finds out that they often play in the field close by. Shyly, they ask him if he will come and watch them play football.
Oh these moments are so exciting! It may seem small or insignificant, but they are starting to realize that we love to be there with them, and it’s so cool when they are the ones inviting us into their lives, and we could not be happier to have those little moments!! So of course we went to the field and Trevor played football with the boys for awhile, (he says they’re way better at it then him!! :) ) while I swung a couple little kids around, played in the grass/dirt with them, and ooohh-ed and aahhh-ed as they were showing me all their cartwheels and other cool tricks that they could do! Can I say it again…??? What beautiful, sweet kids!! Oh we love them!

So that was another day in the slum. How we wish all of you could experience some of the things we are experiencing, and meet some of the sweetest kids you will ever meet. Life has not been kind to them, but they are hearing about the love of Christ, and lives are being changed. And it’s been another exciting day…

Oh, and one more short story…a little while ago, Trevor gave Mark (the Sudanese guy who works at the shop with him), some money to buy clothes. Mark has very little clothing, and most of it really old and not in good shape. One morning for work, Mark shows up, comes to Trevor and says “How do you like the new Mark?”…wearing his new (well, second-hand, but new to him) clothes!! He was so proud! And Trevor made sure to tell him how good he looked!! What a privilege for Trevor to know this young man!! Trevor just really enjoys working with all the guys at the shop and they enjoy working with him. It’s already hard to think about leaving them, and vice versa. They have asked a couple of times.. “What are we going to do when you leave, Trevor??”…and then we have to ask ourselves… what are we going to do when we leave?? Something we don’t really want to think about yet. Letting go will be tough.
Steven and Mark working on a vehicle at the TAM shop.

Starfish and the Slums..

2009-01-30T13:52:00.005+03:00

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

...

2009-01-23T12:05:00.002+03:00

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...

2009-01-13T14:37:00.007+03:00

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...

2009-01-05T21:03:00.003+03:00

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!!

2009-01-02T18:49:00.006+03:00

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

Beggars and New Friends..

2008-12-17T16:59:00.005+03:00

As I was walking home from New Life Home the other day, I was met by an old man walking towards me. I noticed his tattered and shabby appearance, the strong scent of alcohol wafting towards me, and his pleading eyes. As he came closer, he started talking to me…most of what he was saying I couldn’t make out because he was mumbling and near tears. Something in my heart went out to this poor man, so I stopped and waited for him to repeat himself. He asked me for directions to a place I didn’t know, and started telling me a story of why he looked the way he did…said that the police had taken him, taken all his ID and money, roughed him up..and now he had no money and didn’t know where he was. Now, whether this is true or not, I don’t know, but as he was telling this story the man started to cry. He asked for 3o shillings, which I didn’t have (and as he was already smelling of alcohol, I wouldn’t have given it to him even if I did have it), so I kindly told him that I didn’t know the place he was talking about, and also had no money on me to help him out, but told him that someone else would probably know the area better than I did, and to ask them for directions. He thanked me a couple times, and went on his way.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this man. You know, this isn’t a new thing. We are constantly stopped on the street by different people asking for money, with all kinds of stories, and you kind of just get used to it. But something about seeing this man in such a sad state, crying, eyes looking hopeless…it opened my eyes again to the sad plight of so many people here. Realizing that whether his sad story was true or not, his life most likely is full of pain and hardship. Trevor and I have often talked about this…what should our response to these situations be?? Please pray for us as we come into contact with needy people every day.

I also was given a good reminder of first impressions, and how they are not always right!! There was a new Kenyan lady who started working at New Life Home last week…my first impression was that she was rude, and very difficult to work with. She never smiled and I felt very uneasy being around her. Because of that, I didn’t make a very big effort to get to know her either. Then, a few days later, Trevor came to NLH with me as it was a holiday and the shop was closed. I introduced him to all the ladies there, and told them he was my husband. This lady looked at me and said “you’re married??”…I told her that we were, and she just kind of smiled. Then a few minutes later, she came to sit beside me, and said she’s been looking for someone to ask for some advice on marriage, and asked if she could ask me some questions!! I immediately agreed, and we started talking and it was so cool! The reason she hadn’t really talked to me the other day was because she was scared of me because I am white, and she thought most white people were snobby and unapproachable, and she was scared to talk to me!! Go figure!! So we chatted for quite awhile, and exchanged phone numbers. I am so thankful that God brought this lady into my life, and taught me a lesson through it.

There is this man we have gotten to know…his name is Peter, and he sells things like bowls and carvings outside, on the Nakumatt parking lot on the weekends. We met him about three months ago, when we first arrived in Nairobi, and often go see him when we go the Nakumatt. We have only bought some things from him once, the other times we just go to say hi to him and visit for awhile. He is very friendly, and will come to greet us from far off as soon as he sees us! The other weekend we met his son who wants to go to university in Canada, so we talked to him for awhile. Peter told us that he has 11 children, and when we exclaimed about that, he said, “yes, but I also have 2 mamas!!” ….meaning he has 2 wives in a polygamist relationship!! (which is very common here). So we talked for a while longer, and he invited us to his home to eat with him and his family sometime…we were very touched, and hope that we can do that soon. It is so neat to meet people, and begin to build relationships like this, and begin showing them the love of Christ through our lives.

Last Sunday, our Church service was led by a youth/young adult group called Mission Driven. They are a musical group made up of very talented Kenyans, who minister to the youth in Nairobi through music and rap/poetry. They have such an amazing passion to reach this generation, and God has given them unbelievable musical talents!! We were so incredibly blessed through their program. Most of this group goes to our Church, and we feel privileged to attend this Church who reaches out so much to their fellow Kenyans in the city. We spoke to some members of the group after the service and exchanged contact information…it would be so neat to get to know some of these people who are our age (youth here goes to age 25, so we’re still youth!!).

So…that’s a glimpse of the people we get to meet here, and the experiences we are having…God has blessed us..

Koros and I at New Life Home..

Trevor feeding Shania in the ICU..

A Christmas party for the AIM IS staff..