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?
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Funerals and Grief
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Blog Overload! =)
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
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.
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...
…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! =)
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
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.
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!!
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!
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!
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