Laura's Update: Singing in the Rain

I am back in Ilula now after spending last Friday-Wednesday in Kipkaren. This is the other main training center for ELI. What an amazing community to be a part of for almost a week! It has also been a blessing to spend time in fellowship with the Christian Assembly team (my home church). The conditions were somewhat rougher, the rain a lot more frequent, but all of that faded as I got to know the lives of the staff and people in the community. There are too many stories and lives I could try and describe, but I will indulge in sharing just one or two.

David Tarus, the director of the ELI in KipKaren, shared with us the story of a woman named Joyce. The next day a small group of us when and did a home visit to her place. A few months ago, David discovered she and her 5 children were homeless and sleeping in the fields at night. She has no husband. David offered her what he had left of his own small home, which was a 1 x 1 meter of space. She took it joyfully even as her chickens slept at their heads at night. She now works at the training center cooking and was able to move into a 6 x 4 meter dung hut. She gives praises to God that she now has a “paradise” to live in. On our home visit we helped dig the soil of her new shamba (farm) and plant seeds. We then prayed for her and her friend who came to help that day.

Now I’d like you to meet Betty. She is also on staff as one of the HIV/AIDS homecare counselors. She is HIV positive. A few years ago she found herself in a position of prostitution as a means to provide for her and her children. I believe she had already been diagnosed, but slept around almost as a form of vengeance for getting infected herself. Then she fell very ill, lost a lot of weight and was sure she now had AIDS. No one in her family or community would take care of her or even touch her. As other family members died community members would exclaim, “It’s not Betty who has died? She should have been the one to die!” She cried out desperately to God to help her. She admits her relationship with God back then was shallow. She only talked to Him when she needed something. It was about this time that someone from ELI came by and was the first person to love her, touch her and reach out. (I’m almost certain this was Juli McGowan, but the testimony was hard to hear). Through this tangible touch from God, she asked God to restore her health and not test positive for AIDS yet and that she would serve Him for the remainder of her days. She was re-tested and her count was back up and she did not have AIDS, but she was HIV+. Her energy began to come back. She now says the very thing in her life that will kill her one day is the gift she has to offer others by encouraging others to accept their disease, be responsible with it. She stands tall now because she knows God loves her and wants to use her life for a special purpose. I am humbled by her strength God has given her to use this horrible disease to bring hope to others.

On Monday, we had the amazing opportunity to greet 24 orphaned children to the new children’s home in Kipkaren. These kids range from 3-10 years old. Timidly, they got out of the jeeps with just the clothes on their backs and stunned at what they saw before them. At ELI, it is tradition to have a welcome service for any visitor who comes for a long or short stay. So picture the current 30 kids already settled at the children’s home, with flowers in their hands, ready to give to their new brothers and sisters as they sang welcome songs in Swahili and Kalinjin. A tied, decorated string was cut by one of the new kids after the director prayed for, introduced the new parents (foster parents) and welcomed the new kids. Then each child went down the welcome line and shook everyone’s hands receiving flowers (and their toothbrush!) as we sang to them. Then each child escorted a new child back to their huts as they sang. I can only say it was a precious, heavenly scene! Pray for their adjustment to their new environment, parents and siblings and for the nourishment they need-physically, emotionally and spiritually.

One day Brian and Kristen Albright took us up to a prayer rock that looks over the rift valley and the community they work in. Each year he comes to this place to see the things that God has done that year and to pray and visualize what God wants in the future. He pointed out where the new children’s home now is, was just an empty field last year. Same goes for the school that is nearing completion, the new kitchen that is being built, and the maternity ward that is almost done (thanks CA for this last two!) He pointed out the tin roofs as opposed to the thatch ones, which is a sign of economic growth. But he asked us to dream and pray big as we stood on this rock. That there would be LESS people going to their health clinic, that all the houses would have tin roofs that could drain off water for them to use, for a playing field for the children, for electricity and for a new bridge to replace the recently collapsed one that connects isolated villages to the life-giving principles taught at ELI. While this list seems too enormous, what ELI has discovered is their dreams are not nearly as big as God’s! So I as you to dream and pray with us. Don Rogers, the founder of ELI, determines the direction and places of ministry with one simply rule: “Where God is moving, that is where we will go to empower others.”

I personally became burdened for their health clinic. They do not have the means to fully treat preventable diseases like malaria simply because they do not have an amply supply of meds. They have one birthing table that is not in good condition and causes infections for the mothers and no cots after the birth to make room for new moms. This birthing bed costs US$75 and the cots less than that. It never ceases to amaze me how far money can go here to help even for the long-term. Their other “long-term” dreams are to have electricity and running water. If you are interested in supporting ELI in any way, including some of the needs I just mentioned, get on their website for more info.

On a personal note, I am doing well. I was a bit sick this past Wednesday (the day I asked for prayer for health!) and it passed very quickly! Bwana asifwe! (Praise the Lord). I was tested negative for malaria and feel fine now, 2 days later and 16 hours or so of sleep! These first few weeks feel more like my “cultural training” with some aspects of serving, but the next 3 weeks are going to be packed with some of the projects that ELI has assigned to me.

On Monday, I will go back to Kipkaren for 7-10 days to travel with Kenyan staff to villages to follow up with students that have gone through ELI’s 6-month agricultural training program. We will be developing an assessment tool to assist ELI in improving their training. I will also be trying to gather information and models about Micro-small enterprise and what their credit needs are and what financial services are available. This info will be helpful to ELI as they ascertain the model they want to launch in the future. These visits will also give us an idea of what types of measurable goals to give to new students that haven’t gone through the training program yet (which will make assessment later much easier!)

Praises: for overall health and feeling at home in this culture. That God is already doing amazing things here through the ideas and commitments of national Kenyans.
Prayer Requests: For wisdom and grace as I approach these multi-layered tasks...I feel like I am in over my head, but I think this is exactly where God wants me! God will receive that much more glory because I will know it is HIM not ME who accomplishes good things! For His peace and comfort and I will not be surrounded by any Americans or expat staff very much for the next 10 days.

I think and pray for you often! I will leave you with an wonderful African image and memory of mine from last week: Walking back from a home visit of a man dying of AIDS, the rain poured so hard and thunder and lightening came upon us that we took shelter in the closest hut we passed. We sat in this small little mud hut with a woman and her family, singing praise songs as we watched and listened the storm and tried to sing above the loud rain against the tin roof....our voices were drowned out but we kept on singing anyway...

Lala salama, (sleep peacefully! I write this as you are still sleeping!)

Laura/Chepyator