I (Adele) am heading to Nairobi tomorrow, so the team will not be able to post any updates on their last 2 days. Sorry about that!
Today, we visited our base in Kipkaren. They went on home visits, walking first in the sun, then caught in the rain. But they took it in stride and returned with smiles on their faces, ready for the next thing. Next was time with the Kipkaren kids, playing for an hour. Those from the team who sponsor kids in Kipkaren got to connect with them, which is both a blessing to the kids as well as to the sponsors.
We ended the evening with dinner at Julius' house. Julius is ELI Director of Operations. We laughed a lot at his stories, but they were as moving as some were funny, and we ended the evening with a time of sincere prayer for Julius. What a blessing to see how the team just steps up and is ready to serve, whether through prayer or through service.
We were certain we'd get stuck in the mud on our way home... It had rained all day, and we were in the rear-wheel-drive Nissan minivan, one of the worst vehicles to drive through the intense mud. But as we drove home, we laughed and prayed, sang songs and before we knew it, we were home without having had to push. Yeah God!
Once again, the team's in Dreamland. Tomorrow morning, they get to lead a Bible class at school first thing in the morning, and after that, it's back to their construction project for their last 2 days here. There's a big farewell dinner for them on Thursday night, and on Friday, they'll fly to Nairobi for ministry in Kibera slum before their debriefing breakaway.
Thanks again for lifting these guys and girls up in prayer. You are a part of the work God is doing in and through them!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
From the heart of Megan Hoffman...
I am sitting on my bed in Africa, contemplating all that God has opened my eyes to in the past 2 months. I have a little less than 2 weeks left in Africa, and feel like this trip is a step in preparing me for a life of service for the oppressed and hurting of this world. I have seen many things on this trip that I am not ok with. I have seen young boys sleeping on the street covered in dirt as I walk through town. I have seen children left with nothing as their mothers die from AIDS. I have seen broken families and broken spirits all over Kenya, and it stirs my heart as I question what I am able to do to help. I am so thankful for what God is beginning in my heart, and I am excited to see how God is going to continue the work He is doing in me. My prayer is that I will live in accordance with the Holy Spirit, and have my mind set on what the Spirit desires (Romans 8:5). Bwana Asifiwe!
APU: Still keying
The team spent most of today working on their construction project, keying the homes at the children's home. Tonight, during dinner/debriefing/worship, I (Adele) got to share with the team about two girls they had met on the road the other day. As I shared, I couldn't help but cry. (Read this to understand why.) It turned into a time of intense worship. Some of the comments from them were that they know there are families in their towns, even in Azusa, with incredible needs, that they'd want to go home and see how God would lead them to serve.
Please pray for the team as we visit our center in Kipkaren tomorrow.
They're all doing REALLY well. Please pray that they'll finish well.
Please pray for the team as we visit our center in Kipkaren tomorrow.
They're all doing REALLY well. Please pray that they'll finish well.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Little Country Church Update
Greetings from Kipkaren, God continues to show up here. The people we have encountered have shown us the love of God in a way we have rarely seen in our country.
We continue to try and be a blessing to these people however, I believe we are the ones being blessed. On Sunday we attended church and the team sang for the congregation. Many decisions were made for Christ. After church Pastor Dennis took the team to one of his favorite places, “The Rock” where we spent about one hour. Children from around the village came to visit with us. We spent time with them and took their photos. It was a beautiful time for all. The scenery at this place was awesome.
On Monday Janet & Tiffany went on home visits to meet with people who are affected by alcoholism. This is a huge problem in Kenya. They were able to pray for these people and offer them hope in Christ. Janet is also meeting with the brewers of the alcohol and letting them know that they are helping alcoholics stay in bondage by brewing the alcohol. Many of them would like to change their occupation and we are praying for them. The team will continue to go out each day to minister to those who are suffering because of alcohol
Sherry attended a burial service today of a one year old baby boy. The child died on Saturday of an illness that would have been treatable in the U.S. Joanne goes each day to the school and teaches on personal hygiene - the kids really enjoy having her come. At 6:00 pm each day Tiffany, Sherry & Joanne do devotions with the children in the children’s homes. They are really doing a wonderful job ministering to the orphans there.
Throughout the time we have spent here Janet, Tiffany, Joanne & Sherry have been providing massage and manicures to the women of the village. These women are the ones who work so hard taking care of the orphans in their homes and teaching them in the schools. They are really enjoying the time we are spending with them.
Vic is working to correct many electrical errors that could be very dangerous. He is building a great relationship with one of the men here he is teaching.
Tiffany is quite amazing! She is so solid. She is displaying such a servant’s heart. She is working with the house mothers and the school kids. Pastor Dennis finished the pastor’s conference with over 50 pastors in attendance. Some traveled over 100 miles to get here. Many of them walked and rode bicycles. We covet your prayers and want you to know we are all doing very well and miss you very much and look forward to seeing you next week however, it will be very difficult for us to leave this beautiful place.
Love, “The Kenya Team”
We continue to try and be a blessing to these people however, I believe we are the ones being blessed. On Sunday we attended church and the team sang for the congregation. Many decisions were made for Christ. After church Pastor Dennis took the team to one of his favorite places, “The Rock” where we spent about one hour. Children from around the village came to visit with us. We spent time with them and took their photos. It was a beautiful time for all. The scenery at this place was awesome.
On Monday Janet & Tiffany went on home visits to meet with people who are affected by alcoholism. This is a huge problem in Kenya. They were able to pray for these people and offer them hope in Christ. Janet is also meeting with the brewers of the alcohol and letting them know that they are helping alcoholics stay in bondage by brewing the alcohol. Many of them would like to change their occupation and we are praying for them. The team will continue to go out each day to minister to those who are suffering because of alcohol
Sherry attended a burial service today of a one year old baby boy. The child died on Saturday of an illness that would have been treatable in the U.S. Joanne goes each day to the school and teaches on personal hygiene - the kids really enjoy having her come. At 6:00 pm each day Tiffany, Sherry & Joanne do devotions with the children in the children’s homes. They are really doing a wonderful job ministering to the orphans there.
Throughout the time we have spent here Janet, Tiffany, Joanne & Sherry have been providing massage and manicures to the women of the village. These women are the ones who work so hard taking care of the orphans in their homes and teaching them in the schools. They are really enjoying the time we are spending with them.
Vic is working to correct many electrical errors that could be very dangerous. He is building a great relationship with one of the men here he is teaching.
Tiffany is quite amazing! She is so solid. She is displaying such a servant’s heart. She is working with the house mothers and the school kids. Pastor Dennis finished the pastor’s conference with over 50 pastors in attendance. Some traveled over 100 miles to get here. Many of them walked and rode bicycles. We covet your prayers and want you to know we are all doing very well and miss you very much and look forward to seeing you next week however, it will be very difficult for us to leave this beautiful place.
Love, “The Kenya Team”
Saturday, June 30, 2007
APU: Moo! (Yip, they had their hands in cowdung today)
Cows! What do you think when you see or hear the word cow? I think I speak for all of us when I say that this trip has definitely changed the way we will see or view them, ever again. Did you know that there are so many ways you can use cows? You can trade them for a wife, you can drink their milk, you can eat their meat, you can use their hide, you can tip them over, you can use their feces, you can artificially inseminate them…
(Click on the picture to see more photos from today.)
Alright, so let’s dive in straight to the “chunks” of the day (take that however you want to). Many people here in Kenya make their houses out of sticks, a tin roof, and mud mixed with special ingredient number two (which we shall call “moo” for mud and poo – though Laban told us tonight it’s not poop, it’s cowdung.). So a house made of moo, needs a lot of maintenance and care because the moo will deteriorate and crack. Just about every week (sometimes everyday for kitchens) the women would gather up cow dung and fine mud, and they would then mix it to form moo. They would then smear this stuff on their walls and floor to give it a good base coat. It’s kind of like stuck-o or cement, but that stuff is expensive. Did I mention that they do this bare hands and feet?
So today, we were blessed with the opportunity to experience what these women go through all the time. We collected cow dung and mud and mixed it with water to form moo. As you can imagine, none of us has ever done anything like this before. I don’t think before today that any of us has ever even touched poo, more so do it voluntarily. We then got on our bare hands and knees and smeared moo on the floors of three rooms. Even though, some people hesitated a little, some more than others, we all did it and did it joyfully. We sang songs about it and would joke around saying “Who flung poo?”
All I can say is, what a humbling experience! I think Steve said it best when he said, “My job satisfaction back home has just sky-rocketed!”. It really was great though, to be able to experience what these people go through, and they do with no complaints.
When we came back, we ate ground beef for lunch and showered. We then came to hang out with the kids and the S.O.S (Save our souls) children’s village, which came to visit. After the S.O.S people left, it was more time to play with the kids. Zach, Steve, Becca, and I play football (soccer) with the kids. While that was happening, Diana, Devon, and Brittany, was called over to witness the artificial insemination of a cow. The guy stuck his hand inside the cow to grab the uterus. His whole arm was pretty much in there, you only could see his shoulder. Then once he had hold of the uterus, he took a prod and injected some high quality Canadian bull sperm into the cow.
So pretty much, just to recap the day, we drank chai for breakfast which was made with cow’s milk, then we went and smeared their poo (or moo), at the house of one of the ladies working in the training center. Afterwards we ate ground beef for lunch then, a few of us had the wonderful opportunity to see a cow get artificially inseminated.
This trip has just been a great blessing and we are all experiencing new things each and everyday. For instance, this week, we’ve got to push a van out of the mud because Adele has managed to get the van stuck in the mud, twice, on different days, but in the same place. We each also got to plant our own trees. What else is there to say? Nuff said.
Peace,
Adriel Oka
P.S. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your love, support, and prayers. We look forward to sharing with you if and when we come back.
(Click on the picture to see more photos from today.)
Alright, so let’s dive in straight to the “chunks” of the day (take that however you want to). Many people here in Kenya make their houses out of sticks, a tin roof, and mud mixed with special ingredient number two (which we shall call “moo” for mud and poo – though Laban told us tonight it’s not poop, it’s cowdung.). So a house made of moo, needs a lot of maintenance and care because the moo will deteriorate and crack. Just about every week (sometimes everyday for kitchens) the women would gather up cow dung and fine mud, and they would then mix it to form moo. They would then smear this stuff on their walls and floor to give it a good base coat. It’s kind of like stuck-o or cement, but that stuff is expensive. Did I mention that they do this bare hands and feet?
So today, we were blessed with the opportunity to experience what these women go through all the time. We collected cow dung and mud and mixed it with water to form moo. As you can imagine, none of us has ever done anything like this before. I don’t think before today that any of us has ever even touched poo, more so do it voluntarily. We then got on our bare hands and knees and smeared moo on the floors of three rooms. Even though, some people hesitated a little, some more than others, we all did it and did it joyfully. We sang songs about it and would joke around saying “Who flung poo?”
All I can say is, what a humbling experience! I think Steve said it best when he said, “My job satisfaction back home has just sky-rocketed!”. It really was great though, to be able to experience what these people go through, and they do with no complaints.
When we came back, we ate ground beef for lunch and showered. We then came to hang out with the kids and the S.O.S (Save our souls) children’s village, which came to visit. After the S.O.S people left, it was more time to play with the kids. Zach, Steve, Becca, and I play football (soccer) with the kids. While that was happening, Diana, Devon, and Brittany, was called over to witness the artificial insemination of a cow. The guy stuck his hand inside the cow to grab the uterus. His whole arm was pretty much in there, you only could see his shoulder. Then once he had hold of the uterus, he took a prod and injected some high quality Canadian bull sperm into the cow.
So pretty much, just to recap the day, we drank chai for breakfast which was made with cow’s milk, then we went and smeared their poo (or moo), at the house of one of the ladies working in the training center. Afterwards we ate ground beef for lunch then, a few of us had the wonderful opportunity to see a cow get artificially inseminated.
This trip has just been a great blessing and we are all experiencing new things each and everyday. For instance, this week, we’ve got to push a van out of the mud because Adele has managed to get the van stuck in the mud, twice, on different days, but in the same place. We each also got to plant our own trees. What else is there to say? Nuff said.
Peace,
Adriel Oka
P.S. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your love, support, and prayers. We look forward to sharing with you if and when we come back.
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