Let's All Go To The Movies...

After the marathon moving of the afternoon, we were ready for a different kind of marathon ... THREE DAYS WITH TEENAGERS!!

But first, we had a special treat for ALL 60 Ndoto students: a trip to the movies! We rented out a movie theater in town for our own private showing of "A Small Act" - an incredibly moving documentary about a poor boy from Kenya who was sponsored by a woman in Sweden ... and how it forever changed his life. (We thought it might strike a chord in our kiddos!)

We had some delays - because transportation is always a bit iffy in Kenya. So transportation for 60 Kenyans and 10 mzungus made things even more complicated. And then there was a goat to transport ... which caused more than a few headaches. True story...but I'll get back to the goat later.

But finally, after more than an hour of Matatu drivers with attitudes and goat complications - we finally got everyone to the movie theater. And boy were they excited!!! Most of the younger ones had never been to the mall - much less to a movie. They were so excited about seeing something on the BIG TV.

(As a way to drum up excitement, Allison had taken 2-3 of the younger kids with her when she rented the theatre ... so they had been hyping up the place for a week!) Everyone was so excited!

But first, they had an Ndoto meeting. Allison had a short but strong talk with all of the kids about what it means to be sponsored - reminding them that it is a privilege that is not available to everyone and that they need to honor that privilege and work hard and be people of integrity. We also did some filming and had 9-10 of the kids stand up and say what they wanted to be when they grow up. If this is the future of Kenya ... WOW!!!

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Michael - about to graduate from Bible College as a Youth Pastor
Dennis - in college studying business administration
Nancy - Junior in high school who wants to be a child rights' lawyer
Grace - 8th grader who wants to be a teacher
Nickol - wants to be a teacher
Sandra - wants to be a lawyer
Domonic - wants to be a pilot
Nelly - wants to be a nurse
Rida - 1st grader who wants to be a pastor

Then, they were allowed to choose whatever seat they wanted as they watched the movie. I highly recommend it. It's a very touching movie about a boy who grew up in a poor village in Kenya ... and who came back to Kenya to help his country in the same ways he was helped as a child. But let me warn you - it is a tearjerker! I sat with Maureen, Rose, and Julian and Georgine. Precious time with precious girls!


At the end of the night, the little ones headed home to Obunga and the we transported the older kids (high school and college) to a Catholic Retreat Center outside of town run by Father George. And that's when the real fun began...

Babies and Barack Obama...

Friday was a whirlwind. So many things to do! So many people headed in so many different directions. But so, so wonderful in the end.

We spent the first half of the day at New Life Home - an orphanage in Kisumu that takes care of infants and children with special needs. The Ondeches are a sweet couple who run the orphanage.


No trip to Kenya is complete without a trip to hold the precious babies. This place is run SO WELL! The babies are very well cared for - and obviously well loved by the people that work there. And the babies are SO SO cute!!




Me and my new friend, Darrell


We got there after breakfast; the babies were spending some time outside. We played with the little ones for a few hours and helped feed them lunch. As the babies went down for a nap, we headed back to St Anna's for lunch.

After lunch, we had a marathon move. Allison moved to Kenya in early July - and has been staying at St Anna's while she looked for a place to stay. She found a great place just before we got there ... and her move in date was Friday! So, we played an amazing game of "Fill the tuk tuk to capacity" - renting trucks to pick up tables and chairs and beds and couches - while our little tuk tuks carried bag after bag to her new home. Busy afternoon ... but by the end ... Allison was completely moved into her new place at Barack Obama Flats.

The future of Kenya...

Thursday night, we had dinner at St Anna's. After a rigorous week, Thursday was a bit of a breather.

After morning VBS activities, lunch in town, and a trip to the souvenir shops, we headed back to St Anna's for some rest and relaxation. Several of the older boys of Ndoto joined us. We had fun taking pictures and the boys began an impromptu soccer game that quickly became quite serious. It involved several of the guys from Obunga, the guys from our trip, the three tuk tuk drivers, and the escari (guard) for the guest house. The rest of us had fun sitting outside chatting, relaxing, and watching the sun go down. After that, we had dinner.

That night at dinner, we celebrated the birthday of one of our tuk tuk drivers, Joshua. He is a sweet man that Allison has known for several years. He feels strongly about the work that Ndoto is doing because he was one of the kids that couldn't pursue higher education. He was the top of his class in 8th grade, but his family didn't have the money to send him to high school, so he was not able to continue his studies. Now Ndoto is helping him with a loan to buy his tuk tuk outright so that he does not spend the majority of his income paying someone else to "rent" their tuk tuk. It will take him several years, but in the end he will OWN his tuk tuk and be able to provide for his family. He likes to say that his children will never NEED Ndoto's help - because he will be able to take care of them himself. He always says that with the biggest smile and with great pride.

As we sang Happy Birthday to him and brought out cake and ice cream, Joshua stood to say thank you for the group. He had tears running down his face and was overwhelmed with emotion. He said that it was the first time anyone has ever celebrated his birthday - and he was quite moved by it all. [In the Luo culture, birthdays are not celebrated and many don't even know their actual birth date .] It was such a simple thing to us, but he was so touched by our gesture. If you ever doubted if we are making a difference over here, if it's possible - trust that you can. It doesn't take moving mountains and working miracles. It is in the every day little actions that lives are changed.

We had 5 of the oldest guys at dinner with us. I met most of them last year, but we didn't get to know each other too well. Now, a year later - I have gotten to know several of them better after a year of facebook conversations. So it was good to see them again - and to see how much they have grown and matured in the past year. They are such bright young men - eager to learn and eager to help their community.

As I looked around the room, I was so impressed by what I saw. I kept thinking "I just had dinner with the future of Kenya." These were 5 college men that were trying their best to live Godly, upright lives. They have dreams for their future - and dreams for the future of their community and for their future families. This is even more inspiring because fathers are largely non-existent in their neighborhood. But they will be different. And by being different, they will change their community and the future for generations.

As I looked at each of them, I was so proud to know them and to see God's work unfold through them. I was also amazed by God's wisdom and diversity. 5 boys so different, from different situations and experiences, with different dreams. But together, they would complement each other so well.

1) David - Ndoto's first graduate graduated with a degree in biochemistry from the University of Nairobi in December. He is now getting his masters in public health as well as running Akili - a study center/library that he started in Obunga to help the kids there.

2) Michael - Studying to be a Youth Pastor at Kericho Bible College. He is back in town until April - when he spends 1 month working at a church as a "student pastor" type position. He will graduate next summer and wants to come back and work with the youth of Obunga.

3) Erick - Just took his last final for his degree in Education. His official graduation as a Primary School teacher will come in December. He is now back in Obunga and hoping to start work there as a primary school teacher. He dreams of opening a primary school for the children of Obunga.

4) Dennis - Currently in his freshman year at college - studying Business Administration. He lives in Obunga, helps at Akili Study Centre, and works with the youth in the neighborhood.

5) Dan - A brilliant young man from Manyatta (a nearby city). He scored off the charts on his KCSE (think SAT). But his father passed away at the end of high school - leaving college out of reach until Ndoto stepped in. Now he is in his freshman year at the university studying civil engineering. He dreams of building skyscrapers in Dubai as well as housing structures for the people of Kenya. He is sponsored by David - one of the members of our trip and an engineer here in the US.

So there you have it. The future of Kenya. A public health worker, a youth pastor, an elementary school teacher, a businessman, a civil engineer. 5 young men living their lives for the Lord. WOW!!!

And if dinner wasn't amazing enough, we had a time of worship that night with everyone. How moving to sing songs to Our Lord together - men and women from opposite sides of the world, from different backgrounds and upbringings and races - but our voices blended beautifully as we focused on the Most Important thing we have in common - Our common Savior, Jesus Christ. What a tiny beautiful foretaste of the Life to come...

Vacation Bible School...

AUGUST 4, 2011

Finnicky internet as well as fatigue kept me from posting the final days of our trip. So I'm finally getting around to it. Added bonus from waiting is that I can upload my pictures now too. So, enjoy the recount!

After a super long Medical day on Wednesday, our team decided on an abbreviated Thursday. We were low on energy and high on exhaustion. So, Thursday we got to sleep in an hour - which was incredible - and then we went out to Obunga for the morning.

Thursday was scheduled to be VBS in Obunga. The church was pretty calm when we got there - only about 10-15 kids. So the bigger kids told everyone to go find some people - and within 30 minutes we had a decent group and were ready to start. We decided to revisit the Noah story to share with all the little ones. We got some audience participation.

David (because of his beard of course) got to play God/narrator. Michael (because he speaks Luo) was God's translator. Since Katie & John are getting married next month, we let them be Noah & his wife. Mam, Michell, and Doreen got to be their Kenyan kiddos.

Our audience (for the most part) was very well behaved and paid close attention.

You can't have Noah's ark without some animals! Here's a few pictures of the kids who volunteered to help us with the story:

Larry - the horse

Other animals on Noah's ark this time included lions, dinosaurs, sharks, ladybugs, and dogs.

These three munchkins tried to steal the show. They kept running up on stage and "helping" our cast out. You can't tell here, but one of these munchkins had no pants on. It was an interesting rendition of Noah's ark...

After acting out the story, we went to craft time. There was some intense coloring of arks going on! They loved it!

We spent the morning in Obunga. From there, we went to lunch and then souvenir shopping for a few hours. I have to say that souvenir shopping in Kisumu is anything but therapeutic for me. But everyone else seems to enjoy it. Many of the people will pull out all the stops - really try for a guilt trip and beg and try to strongarm you into buying stuff. So, I try to find the gentle, non-pushy people to buy stuff. But there's only so much Africa you can bring back for your home...

Wed - The good and the bad

AUGUST 3, 2011

I write you this at 10pm on Wed night after a VERY LONG day. This email will also double as the blog entry for today. I'm too tired to find a new way to express myself. Today was a crazy day. Lots of high high ups and some really low lows.

The morning started off well. I woke up well rested and excited for the Clinic Day in Obunga. But about 15 minutes before we were to leave, I suddenly felt QUITE ill. I was nauseous and my stomach was hurting. Not the day for stomach problems! 1) I was the crucial aspect of the day planned. You can’t have a medical camp without a doctor! 2) Obunga has no running water, which means no bathrooms. (In all my days out there, I've never been pressed enough to have to use the bathrooms. I didn't want to do that today either.)

We are all packing into our tuk tuks and I"m trying not to loose my breakfast. So I asked everyone to pray for me - and I immediately felt better. Not wonderful, but not quite as close to yuck. So, with that we headed to Obunga - and I hoped for the best. I am happy to report that my stomach calmed and gave me no problems for the rest of the day. And added bonus - I had absolutely no appetite today - which meant that when the lines got long and the hour late, I was still ready to keep going.

We got to Obunga about 10 and tried to set up. Finally, stations were set up and medicines were set out in the "pharmacy." One of Ndoto’s students, Matthews, is in pharmacy school. So, we let him man the pharmacy. Two of our future nurse’s helped with intake and registration. And we waited for our first patient.

Things moved slowly at first – and I was getting worried. We bought medicine for 50-100 people. What if we only had 5 or 10 show up? But the slow trickle quickly became a downpour. I had a wonderful translator Lillian. But nothing was simple. Every patient wanted to check everything out and make the most of this doctor’s visit; the diseases were completely foreign to me (pun intended); and the language barrier was harder than I thought. Slowly but surely, we got a system going. Before I knew it, we’d seen 18 patients and it was past 1pm. The rest of the team was hungry, so we broke for lunch. We had a quick meal and returned to Obunga. Even more had shown up for the afternoon!

We worked as quickly as possible. “Dr Lillian” was great. After 20-30 patients, she knew the questions I was going to ask and just started asking them herself. She’d write everything down for me and then I’d come and examine the child. I’d ask 1-2 questions I needed to know or clarify some things. It made things MUCH faster. About 4pm, they came to get me. There was an 8 year old girl, Molly. She was crying and hot with fever. The local community health worker and Matthews felt that she had bad malaria and should be taken to the hospital. So, we packed her up in one of our tuk tuks and John took her to the hospital. When he left a few hours later, she’d been seen, admitted, given medication, and was resting more peacefully.

The sun began to set and still we had patients. I worked as fast as I could. Wow. Los Barrios will be nothing after this. J The day finally finished with the last patient at 7pm. It was DARK in Obunga with one small light in the room I was working in. But we sent her to the pharmacy and began to count the papers. 54 patients seen! Probably about 50 kids and 4 adults. Lots of stomach infections, lots of skin rashes, lots of breathing problems, aches and pains in the adults, several eye problems. But we were happy to say that no one had been turned away.

Allison had sent the team ahead and she waited for me alone. The walk through Obunga is a muddy one where you have to watch every step. A bit difficult at night. And it’s not the safest place. So Allison and I were escorted by 5 of Obunga’s finest men and women. My otoscope (light for the ears) served double duty to help us avoid the sewer ditches and the muddy holes. We slowly made our way out of Obunga … and back to the road.

TIRED. That’s what I was. But ready to eat some food. My stomach had remained calm the entire day – and I was greatful for that. I felt great. I pray that the medicines will be used well. I pray that God gave me a supernatural ability to treat problems that are not so common place for me. I hope that all felt cared for and listened to. Tired but super satisfied. The day had not been thwarted. The goal had been met. Praise God!

So, now to the low point of the day. I didn’t know much of this until later – working hard in my little room. But I knew that Allison had come …and the quickly left again. I knew that there was whispering and that something was obviously amiss. But I didn’t have time to investigate or understand what had happened.

Allison ran some errands in the morning in town and then came to Obunga mid-morning. As she reached into her purse to find something for one of the Ndoto students, she realized her wallet was missing. So, they went back to town and to all the stops they had made but were unable to find it. It had been stolen. She had just been to the bank – so she had about $800-900 in cash in her wallet – about $100 of her own personal money and the rest was Ndoto money. (Everything here is done in cash – no credit cards anywhere – so we make frequent visits to the ATM machines to have sufficient funds to pay for all of our activities and meals, etc. )

This then led to a stressful day of lost money, stolen bank cards, calling the US to stop and reorder bank cards. It was also very upsetting to the older boys of Ndoto. They couldn’t fathom why someone would steal from poor kids just trying to go to school. Allison said they were quite distraught. Several of them are in finals for college right now – so that was not the thing to happen right before a big test.

But it has been a huge object lesson for us all. That it is all God’s money and that He will provide. He will provide for all of our needs. He has the power to provide for what was lost. Or we don’t need it after all.

Please pray for us tonight. Pray that hearts would be calmed over what happened. Pray that we would find peace to know that God will provide. Pray that Ndoto’s expenses will be covered – and that the work to reach His people in Obunga will go on. Pray also for the kids and the families that were seen today. Pray that the medicine would heal their bodies. Pray that they might grow strong and sure. Pray for God to continue to change Obunga from the inside out. He is doing great things there…and that is when the Enemy always seeks to attack. To discourage, to distract, to prevent good from happening. Pray that we might stand strong against that attack…and that we might persevere always.

Primary Retreat...

AUGUST 1-2, 2011

Thank you for your prayers! Our primary retreat was a HUGE SUCCESS!!! 26 precious children. No major problems. No major fights. MANY smiling faces.

Monday, we focused on 1 John 3:1 “For how great is the love the Lord has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.” We talked about God loving us. We talked about being children of God. We talked about being part of God’s family. And how, no matter who is or isn’t in your family here on Earth, we all have a Father in Heaven. And we also have brothers and sisters in each other.

We did lots of crafts; we played lots of soccer; we played lots of games and sang lots of songs. I even got my hair fixed by several people (they were in awe of my long, “soft” hair.) It was a very full day!

Tuesday, they came back. I missed the first part because I had to go to the chemist (aka pharmacy) to prepare for the medical camp. But they started the day reading the story of Noah and the Ark – and acting it out. I had found these animal hats – and the kids were happy to volunteer to help be animals that got on the ark. We had ladybugs and horses and dogs and sharks and more. (We had a few strange animals join our ark – because I thought they were the cutest hats. You can be the judge. J )

Then, many more crafts. Lots of singing and dancing and playing. Then chicken and French fries for lunch – their FAVORITE meal (some things are universal apparently).

When I got my food, I went searching for the “Peptang” – which is their version of ketchup. I found two empty bottles on the tables. I was a little frustrated and confused as to how we could be out – but I ate my fries with salt and no peptang.

At the end of the day, David Omondi, one of the oldest sponsored students explained the story. One of the little boys, Domonic, is about 7 or 8 years old. During lunch, he discovered that this was the last day to come to eat and play with us. He went around and got the bottles and covered his plate in peptang – because he never gets to eat it at home. So that’s where all the peptang/ketchup went. I hope his stomach doesn’t hurt today – but he left happy yesterday.

Mid afternoon, the transporation arrived. The kids were disappointed to go home so soon – but we had a surprise for them. A trip to Impala Park (a little zoo here) to see the animals. They were so excited! So we transported 40 people to the zoo. The zoo is on the shores of Lake Victoria – so after the animals, we went to the shoreline to let the kids put their feet in the water. They were in awe. They all said that they had never seen so much water. And many of them were scared to even put their feet in the water. Rida, one of the youngest girls, was impressed by what she saw. She pulled at Allison’s arm and said, “Wow! It looks like a BIG RAIN!” That was her best description of the lake.

Once they were all brave enough to put their toes in the water, we had another surprise for them. We were going on a boat ride! So many of them were scared and said they wouldn’t go. But we explained little life jackets and gave plenty of encouragement and they were convinced. The college kids that were helping us were some of the most scared. But we convinced them to fake it – because the little kids would act as they acted. So we got 40 people on these little boats and took a 10 min boat ride. Highlight of the day! They were all so impressed and excited with the boat ride!

Thank you for your support! Your donations helped buy all the craft materials that we used for the retreat – which they LOVED. You also allowed us to pay the extra money to take the field trip to the zoo and to ride the boat. These little things have expanded their little minds. Their world is getting bigger and they are learning new things. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

From frustration to fellowship...

JULY 31, 2011

Sunday, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe it was the cold showers for the first few days. Maybe it was the jet lag catching up with me. Maybe it was my own wayward heart. But I was CRANKY.

I was feeling out of sorts. For the first few days, I just couldn’t get myself together. I bought the camera in the airport…only to find out here that it requires a special type of SD card. Back again to NO CAMERA. Excited to see my girls in Obunga, they were hiding from me. Ready to feel the amazing emotions I felt last year, I just felt normal. I didn’t feel a fire, I didn’t feel something deep inside. I just felt TIRED. Really, really TIRED. Plus, I was worrying about the upcoming medical camp – that I was getting no parameters to help me plan it. And the weight of it all on my shoulders was starting to weigh on me. Plus, I was not feeling quite perfect. I didn’t feel completely ill – just as if I were about to get sick. My stomach was a little upset, my head was hurting. I just wanted to sleep for a whole day and try to get better – but sleeping is not much of an option here.

So that is how I started the morning – asking God to put me back together again. To put the pieces together in a way that I could make the most of this time. We have so few days here.

And throughout Sunday, little by little He answered that prayer.

We got ready and headed to Obunga for church. They have a new pastor – who is really excited. He is doing great things, but he is a bit long-winded. And even more excited with a crowd of mzungus (white people) in his church, he had to kick it up a notch. 2 hours of preaching. In English that has such an accent it was hard to understand. But that’s okay. We were also treated to a grand performance by the Sunday School class.

The church is growing!

Last year, there was no Sunday School class – because no one was interested in teaching the children. This year, there were 30-some children in the class. The oldest 20 did a dance for us, sang songs at the front of the church, and recited individual memory verses. It was sweeet and more than a little impressive. Then, they all came and sat down on their pews. There had to be 50+ kids in the church – and most sat through the extensive sermon without getting too antsy. Wow!

After church, we played with the kids in the churchyard for a short while. I was excited to run into a few of the other girls I had not yet seen. I found Feny and Mam – two little girls. I don’t think they remembered me – they were just weirded out that I knew their names. But I also found Caren and Michell – two sweet sisters. Last year, Michell cried everytime she saw me. She was scared of mzungus. But this year, she came and gave me a hug and held my hand. We encouraged Caren to fill out an application to join Ndoto – and her mom picked one up!

Then, we headed to homes in Obunga to get a taste of daily life. These families had us in for tea. We got to see the insides of their homes – one room structures made of mud and tin. We went and took tea with Sophie. Her oldest daughter is one of the newest kids in Ndoto.

Sophie told us her life story – how she was a single mother to 6 children – from 7 to 16 years of age. Her husband was killed in 2007 during the post election violence. [For those who don’t know, Kenya has a relatively stable government. However, after the last election in 2007, there was quite a bit of controversy over the results. The fight turned to ancient tribal rivalry and things spun out of control. It became Luo against Kukuye – and many (thousands I think) were killed all across Kenya in the weeks following the election.] The mother struggles as a fishmonger (she filets talapia at a local fish-packing plant). Her oldest daughter is a senior in high school and will have the funds to graduate now as well as the opportunity to pursue higher education.

Sophie treated us to hot chocolate and a HUGE plate of rice…and some sweet conversation.

After speaking with her for about an hour, I was feeling back to sorts. Nothing like a little perspective to put your frustrations and your problems in their place.

We met back up at the church and headed home to St. Anna’s – the guest house where we stay. We had a few free hours before dinner. We ended up playing cards together as a team – and I finally felt as if I were bonding with my group. We are many and we are different – but we are here with the same purpose. To love on the people of Obunga. It is interesting to see the personalities God has brought to this group. It is so well complemented.

And after the day had been redeemed, I was even more excited to find HOT WATER!!

Please continue to pray for energy for me. I have still struggled with being SO SO TIRED all the time. Help me to rest well while sleeping and awaken ready to work for God’s glory another day.

Saturday Recap - Take Three

I keep getting distracted by wonderful news! I have so much to tell you all – to keep you a part of things. And usually only about 15 minutes a day to write and share. But I’m trying. If you have specific questions, please feel free to send an email and I will try to answer you.

So, Saturday recap. Rain. Changed Plans. A morning full of retreat planning. Lunch. By then, sunny skies. So back to Obunga for the afternoon. A SUPER FULL day full of hours of video and photo taking.

Our photographers, Michelle and Angel, got pictures of 19 of the 31 new kids. This was a fun time, as we tried to convince shy, quiet Kenyans to strut their stuff and show us big happy smiles. I learned that what we call posing, they call “styles”. So, we had lots of showing our “styles”. Somehow, the little 10-12 yr old girls knew how to style like a runway model without every being taught. It was pretty funny! And the teenage boys were making some pretty primo “styles” as well. Karen shot hours of footage in Obunga. And the rest of us played outside with the kiddos. I met some new precious kids – and I worked with David Omondi to plan out details for the Medical Clinic we will have all day Wednesday.

We stayed until dusk and then headed home. Super productive day. Super satisfying day. Ready for another one just as great.

Back to the Story...

Back to the story…

As I mentioned above, we woke up to some rain Saturday morning. So no trip to Obunga that morning. Previous schedule changed, we adjusted our course. Instead, we spent the morning preparing for the Primary School Retreat we will have on Monday.

We worked on crafts, prepared the schedule and the talks. The primary school retreat is Monday and Tuesday of this week. We will have 26 elementary and middle school kids with us at the hotel/conference center where we are staying. Here, they will play, make crafts, and hear the word of God.

We have chosen two messages for them. The first will be 1 John 3:1 – “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”

On this day, we will talk about how much God loves us, how He has brought us into His family. We will also talk about how that makes us daughters and sons of the King of Kings – which means we are valuable and highly loved. It also means we are family! We will do a big discussion on family. What is means to be part of God’s family, to be part of Ndoto’s family and support each other and help each other.

A lot of these kids are missing parents, or separated from their siblings or have no traditional family structure. We will remind them that if they lack parents or siblings, it is okay because they have a Father in Heaven – and siblings all around them.

The second day will focus on Noah’s Ark. We will tell the story of how Noah obeyed God, even when it seemed kind of crazy. And then we will tell of how God delivered Noah and how God always keeps His promises. On Tuesday, after a day learning about Noah and the ark and the animals – we will have a special field trip! We are going to take these kids to Impala Park – which is basically a zoo here in Kisumu! Most of these kids have never actually seen lions and impalas and other wildlife. So we will take them to see the animals. Impala Park is right on Lake Victoria – so we will also take them out on a BOAT! There are little 10 min boat rides (complete with life jackets and everything) – so we will do that with them as well.

Pray for us as we prepare for this Retreat. Pray for us Monday and Tuesday as we work with these kids, love on these kids, and teach them just how much Jesus loves them too. Pray that their lives and their hearts might be changed – and that they might then return to their homes and shine as little lights in a very dark place. Already, we have heard some stories about how children are changing through sponsorship and how this is spilling over into parents and siblings. Pray that this might continue today, tomorrow, and forever – that we might touch every heart in Obunga with the love of Christ!

Rain...

July 30, 2011 – Saturday

We woke up Saturday morning to cool temperatures and cloudy skies. It had rained the night before. This is the end of the dry season in Kenya – the rainy season will start in the next few weeks. Rain has so many implications here in Kenya.

For us, rain means complications. Obunga is a dirty place to begin with – with dirt roads and sewer running in ditches along the sides of the roads. Rain makes the sewage overflow it’s banks and makes the paths a thick, muddy mess. Our tuk tuks, our primary means of transportation cannot maneuver through the muddy roads. So rain limits our movements, our plans for the day.

But rain is also a good thing. Rain is desperately needed in Northern Kenya (as well as Ethiopia and Somalia). They are having their worst drought of the past 30 years – just like at home. But here that means temps to 120 and no water ANYWHERE. All has dried up and they have no pipes or water transport system available. The north is less densely populated and the roads are poor to transport water and food from other parts of the country. So many, many Kenyans are dying. There are horrible pictures of people starving all over their papers; it is always the big story on the news. There was also a sadly ironic story in the paper our first day about how there is surplus food rotting on the fields in the central part of the country while people die in the north. With poor road infrastructure, it’s impossible to ship the food up to the North where people are dying. So we welcome the rain if it will help those to the north. Please join us in praying for rain to come again to Northern Kenya (as well as Somalia and Ethiopia). Everyday that you hear of the drought in US on the news, please pray for the people here trying to survive.

Allison told us a touching story when we arrived. The drought and famine in the North has weighed heavily upon her and she is trying to find ways that we can help. She said that Michael Omondi, one of the older boys in the program, is studying to be a pastor. During one of his school breaks, he and others from his school went on a mission trip up to Northern Kenya. 14 hour travel by bus. 120 degree temps, so they risked an encounter with a scorpion and slept in the sand to keep cool. They spent their days walking from remote hut to remote hut – offering the only water they had to offer – the LIVING WATER, praying for families, and helping where they could. He came back changed. He is getting ready to do his equivalent of a vicarage or “student pasturing” type time this year – and is seriously thinking about going back to help the people there. He told Allison, “It was so good for me to go and help those who have less than I do. It showed me how much I have in Obunga, how blessed and rich I really am.” This comes from a 22 year old college student that lives in one of the toughest slums of Kisumu – without running water, sanitation, electricity, whose family often fights to put food on the table.

Wow. Perspective. That is what it is all about.

Lord, please bring rain to Kenya. Rain down your blessings as you bring water to these people who so desperately need it.