Hey everyone! I just thought I would throw up one last post to conclude our trip to Kenya this year. We all made it home safely AND with all of our luggage. Praise God!!
It's inevitable that when we return home we have two pressing questions. The first is, what should I do about my experience. Our team has encountered a lot and we had a lot of emotions about it. It's always our first response to ask the question, "Why?" Why was I born in the US and not in Kenya? Why do I live in a giant house and they live in a 5' x 5' room? Why do I get three meals a day plus snacks when they don't know if they will eat at all any given day? Why do I get to turn on the faucet and clean water comes out when they have to walk 3 miles to get dirty water to drink? The "whys" can eat you alive if you continue to think about them. Scott always challenges us to not think about the "whys" but to focus on the "whats". What can you do to help? What can you do to change the housing situation? What can you do to change the food situation? What can you do to change the water situation?
Focusing on the what puts the practical aspect to the trip. We can do so much by investing our time and resources to help. It seems like a mountain of a task, but, in all reality, it is very simple. We just have to do it!
The second question we tend to always ask is, "How do I maintain this experience and the spiritual high I am on right now?" This is a great question and one I think there is a perfect answer for. First off, there is NO WAY to maintain the emotions and the spiritual high of a trip like this. You just can't replicate being in a foreign country with little to no distractions. I always tell our team that they shouldn't expect to maintain the emotional aspect of the trip once they are home. That will wane because we aren't surrounded by kids who desire our love and affection every day when we get home.
Secondly, and this is where you come into play, you must find someone to make sure you are still plugging in to God's Word and investing into your prayer life when you get home. We call this accountability and we all need it. Most of our team journals while we are gone and this trip was no different. They sit down at night or in the morning and write about the days adventures and experiences. Then when we get home, we put that journal on a shelf only to take it out once maybe twice to give it a look over at a later point in time. I believe that when you come home from an experience like this, the way to keep your spiritual life at a somewhat same level is through pouring yourself into study and your relationship with our Creator.
It won't be the same, but it will be close. So, all in all, I encourage you to help our team out with this. Ask them questions about the trip. Ask them how they are doing now that they are home. Ask them what you can do to help out with what they experienced. And above all, ask them if you can hold them accountable! Be the community Christ intended the church to be!
Until 2015, this is our last post about Kenya! See you all in 2 years!
I love you Mallory!!!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Leaving Chicago
Hello everyone!! We have boarded our last flight as of right now!! We will be home in a short hour and a half!! See you all in Louisville!!
Good Ole Murica
We just landed in the USA!!! We are in Chicago and deboarding the plane! It's SO great to be back in America!! One more flight and we will be home to Louisville!!! Check Facebook to follow our status!!!
Travel Home
Love you all and see you VERY soon!!
Love you Mallory!!
Our Last Day
Today was filled with some fun times to cap off the end of our trip. This morning we woke up and ate breakfast like normal. Then, we headed to the Village Market. This is a complete cultural experience for our team. The Village Market is where vendors who handcraft different novelties come and set up shops. It's basically like a Kenyan version of a flea market or a yard sale. There are about 50-75 different vendors set up selling everything from carved wooden giraffes to hand painted tapestries to ostrich eggs. Everything has to do with Africa and Kenya though.
The Market is all operated on a bargaining system so you barter with each individual seller for the price that you want to pay. For instance, you might be looking at a small soapstone hippo and ask how they are. At that point, they will write down a price on a piece of paper. Most will start VERY high like 1500 Kenyan shillings. Then, you offer your price. We told our team ahead of time to decide what they wanted to pay for it and then work up to it. In this instance, I would start at 100 shillings in hopes to pay around 300. The sellers mark everything up extremely because they know most people who don't know how to barter will pay what they ask. It's a fun and stressful day for most.
We spent the morning just walking around and observing what we wanted to buy. We would come back after lunch and then purchase whatever we were looking for. About 10:30 we headed to the bus and loaded up to go to the tea farm. The tea farm is an awesome oasis up in the Limuru area of Nairobi. It is where a lot of tea is harvested throughout the year. A lady by the name of Fiona manages and runs this now small tea farm. Her family used to own about 350 acres and now they only own about 35 and only grow tea on about 2.
This is a picturesque place if I have ever seen one! It's crazy beautiful! We went on a tour and then sat down for lunch on the lawn. After an awesome lunch, we bought tea straight from the farm and then loaded the bus. We then headed back to the Village Market. Most of us went shopping for people who supported our trip and our loved ones back home. After about two hours of bartering our way through the market, we loaded back up and headed to Heart House.
Once there, we ate our last dinner and then it was time for arguably the most anticipated mission trip awards show in East Africa...The Scottys! They happen ever two years as our team comes to Nairobi. It was a glamorous event and the best one yet. This years event was unprecedented with a total of 31 awards being handed out to each team member. It was an incredible evening of fashion and celebs.
After the Scottys, we packed up our stuff and loaded the bus to head to the airport. We arrived about 1 hour later and began the journey home! I will try to update you as we travel depending on the availability of internet!
Love you all!! Especially you Mallory!!!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Day 7
Are we really this far into the trip? It's so hard to believe. This edition of the blog is brought to you by the one and only Amy Austin! ;-)
Today has been an extremely emotional day for all of us on the team. We had our second backpack ceremony this afternoon. Some of us went to a very rural part outside of Nairobi, while the others stayed at FOCUS to complete the work projects. Rairu is a very poor community nearby a coffee field. Most of the parents of the children that get to attend school work in the coffee fields and are barely able to provide for their families. There were five schools represented today, the most vulnerable and needy of the kids getting to receive backpacks with school supplies. When we arrived, they were all seated in a field, listening to Charles tell stories. He works for FOCUS and is great with the kids!
As I looked around the crowd of students, I was blown away by the poverty. There was not one child whose uniform didn't have rips and tears in them...and when I say rips and tears, I'm not talking about a seam that may have been stretched a little too far that needed mending. I looked at their clothing and knew that no one that I knew back home would allow their kids to wear the same clothing. Sweaters were shredded, pants had gaping holes in them, shoes wear literally falling apart. A few brought with them water bottles filled with drinking water...muddy, brown water. They didn't even have access to clean drinking water. My heart was broken for all of them and those throughout the rest of the world that they represented to me today.
We split the kids up into their schools and one by one we called out the names of the kids who would get a backpack. One by one, I was able to put a brand new backpack full of school supplies that will last them up to 1.5 years of school. One by one, I saw the hope and joy on their faces as they received the gifts we gave. Nothing that we could have done for them today could have meant more to them than that. We were giving them resources they need to study and work hard. We were giving them a chance at a future that is better than the present they now know. After they had received the backpacks, we served them lunch. Bread and juice. For us, that may seem minimalistic, but I heard stories from other team members that the kids were putting bread in their backpacks to take home to their families. It meant so much to them!
We then went back to FOCUS. Our last day to play with the kids and love on them. We were anticipating having to say goodbye to them all day, which did not make it any easier. Bit by bit, they wandered their way in after school let out. They'd get their after school snack and find their Mzungu (white person). Mary, the little girl I had bonded with, came to sit with me. It was hard to hold her hand and hug her, thinking it was the last day with her. When it was time to leave, we all gathered outside the gate in a circle. Mobs thanked us for the impact we made on the children and that's when the tears started. I couldn't look down at Mary or I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back the floodgates. I could see her looking up at me several times but I still couldn't do it. How do I tell her that our very short time would come to an end? How do I explain that I'm leaving her? I still don't know. I hugged her close and told her I'd miss her. I looked at her and saw tears welling up in her eyes. I held her close again and told her, "Naku penda." I love you in Swahili. She let go of me to get a handkerchief because she started crying as well. I looked around to see most of our team in tears having to say goodbye to these precious children. I will leave tomorrow having questions...
What more can I do? How can I become more involved? How can I make more of an impact? I never asked, why was I born into the life I have or why am I the one blessed with more than I can imagine? I know why I was born into an American family who isn't in desperate need of these things. God placed me where I am so that I can do more. He has given me resources so that I can give and make a difference in the lives of these kids. I can't wait to get back home to start contributing.
PS- Mallory, Jameson loves you with all of his being and misses you greatly!!
Today has been an extremely emotional day for all of us on the team. We had our second backpack ceremony this afternoon. Some of us went to a very rural part outside of Nairobi, while the others stayed at FOCUS to complete the work projects. Rairu is a very poor community nearby a coffee field. Most of the parents of the children that get to attend school work in the coffee fields and are barely able to provide for their families. There were five schools represented today, the most vulnerable and needy of the kids getting to receive backpacks with school supplies. When we arrived, they were all seated in a field, listening to Charles tell stories. He works for FOCUS and is great with the kids!
As I looked around the crowd of students, I was blown away by the poverty. There was not one child whose uniform didn't have rips and tears in them...and when I say rips and tears, I'm not talking about a seam that may have been stretched a little too far that needed mending. I looked at their clothing and knew that no one that I knew back home would allow their kids to wear the same clothing. Sweaters were shredded, pants had gaping holes in them, shoes wear literally falling apart. A few brought with them water bottles filled with drinking water...muddy, brown water. They didn't even have access to clean drinking water. My heart was broken for all of them and those throughout the rest of the world that they represented to me today.
We split the kids up into their schools and one by one we called out the names of the kids who would get a backpack. One by one, I was able to put a brand new backpack full of school supplies that will last them up to 1.5 years of school. One by one, I saw the hope and joy on their faces as they received the gifts we gave. Nothing that we could have done for them today could have meant more to them than that. We were giving them resources they need to study and work hard. We were giving them a chance at a future that is better than the present they now know. After they had received the backpacks, we served them lunch. Bread and juice. For us, that may seem minimalistic, but I heard stories from other team members that the kids were putting bread in their backpacks to take home to their families. It meant so much to them!
We then went back to FOCUS. Our last day to play with the kids and love on them. We were anticipating having to say goodbye to them all day, which did not make it any easier. Bit by bit, they wandered their way in after school let out. They'd get their after school snack and find their Mzungu (white person). Mary, the little girl I had bonded with, came to sit with me. It was hard to hold her hand and hug her, thinking it was the last day with her. When it was time to leave, we all gathered outside the gate in a circle. Mobs thanked us for the impact we made on the children and that's when the tears started. I couldn't look down at Mary or I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back the floodgates. I could see her looking up at me several times but I still couldn't do it. How do I tell her that our very short time would come to an end? How do I explain that I'm leaving her? I still don't know. I hugged her close and told her I'd miss her. I looked at her and saw tears welling up in her eyes. I held her close again and told her, "Naku penda." I love you in Swahili. She let go of me to get a handkerchief because she started crying as well. I looked around to see most of our team in tears having to say goodbye to these precious children. I will leave tomorrow having questions...
What more can I do? How can I become more involved? How can I make more of an impact? I never asked, why was I born into the life I have or why am I the one blessed with more than I can imagine? I know why I was born into an American family who isn't in desperate need of these things. God placed me where I am so that I can do more. He has given me resources so that I can give and make a difference in the lives of these kids. I can't wait to get back home to start contributing.
PS- Mallory, Jameson loves you with all of his being and misses you greatly!!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Safari
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very
good."
Genesis 1:31
If there
was one word to describe the past three days of our trip here in Kenya, it
would be brilliance. Over and over again, God kept bringing to mind the word
brilliance. His creation is pure brilliance.
Every
trip to Kenya, our team takes two days (minus drive time) to just go and
refresh ourselves and really think about what we are encountering here. It is a
really good download time for the team. It takes about 7 hours to drive to the
Masai Mara where we stay from Heart House in Nairobi. The road is incredibly
bumpy and is almost like an old wooden roller coaster for the last 3.5 hours.
There's no really good way to describe this journey other than that. Until you
live it, you really have no idea what it's like.
After
the journey though, you pull up to our lodge, the Fig Tree Camp! It is a
pretty spectacular place. Everyone has a "tent" to sleep in. This
consists of a military grade tent with a bathroom attached to it and a roof
over the whole thing. It's a very nice place. And no matter what Scott says,
it's not camping. After we arrived around 1pm, we ate lunch and then settled
into our tents. We met around 3:30 for our first drive of the next few
days.
As we set
out, I was reminded that this was my third time to the Masai Mara. How crazy!
God has blessed me with the opportunity to come to this amazing place for the
THIRD time. As we began to drive, God impressed on me the first thought of how
brilliant a Creator he is. As I stood up in the open roof van, I was just
looking at a 360 degree view of brilliance. God has created places on this
earth that we might not ever see. God has created places on this earth that no
human might ever see. God has created places that some of us will see. All of
these places hold one thing in common...they are HIS creation.
Imagine
sitting at the beginning of time and just looking at a blank canvas. As you sit
there, what comes through mind? What are you impressed with to fill that
canvas? Is it a landscape? Is it a person? Is it an animal? Flower? Tree? This
must be how God felt. He had a blank canvas and he could create, or make,
whatever he felt like making. And I do mean whatever because he is God and
there is nothing out of his reach. As he began, he created the heavens and the
earth. Then he created light. And then water. And then sky. Then he made dry
ground, produce, vegetation, stars, the sun, the moon, sea creatures, birds,
living creatures, and then man.
What?!? I
mean...what?!? Out of a blank canvas, God created all of this! He had order. He
had meaning. He had purpose. He had vision. He had creativity. He had
brilliance!! God is such a brilliant being. The definition of brilliance
is excellence or distinction or
magnificence; conspicuous talent, mental ability.
Our God
is a God who is excellent! As I sat in that van for the third time in the past
6 years, I was reminded that our God created all of this with great excellence.
He didn't do anything half way or somewhat, he did it with full intent. He
didn't settle. He didn't say, "Well that looks ok." He said that what
he had just created was very good! Not good. Not somewhat good. Not ok. But
VERY GOOD.
Our God
is a God who is distinct. No other God has created all that I saw today. He is
a God that is very different from any other God. He is one of a kind. I can see
that in all the animals and all the beauty I have beheld over the past three
days. Our God is as distinct as the hundreds of animals we saw. He is as
distinct as each zebra's stripes. He is as distinct as a giraffe's spots.
Our God
is a God who is magnificent. He is incredibly awe inspiring. I thought of how
creative I am compared to God and how if it was up to me, I would have run out
of creativity at the warthog. That's about as creative as I can be. But he
moves so much past that. He created a universe that's teeming with life and
breath. One that moves along the ground, one that swims in the sea, and one
that flies in the air. He is great and what he made is very good!
As we
finished our ride that night, it began to pour down rain. Again, it was just a
reminder about how awe inspiring our God is. If you can come here, to the Masai
Mara, and look at this beauty and this creation and not feel the very presence
of God in your heart, there is something wrong with you! I would beg to argue
that you are not human. All I want to do while I am there is stand in the van,
look out over the vast landscape and drool!
Not only
does this place show you God's creativity, it blesses you with the knowledge
that we serve a God who is FAR greater than anything we will ever face here on
earth! Our God is great and greatly to be praised! Our problems and our issues
are nothing compared to how massive and over arching our God is. He is
incredibly brilliant!
I could
really go on and on about all that God has graced me with again this year
during our time on Safari. But I will leave you with one last
thought..."May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice
in his works. He who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the
mountains, and they smoke." I pray the glory of our God will endure
forever and I pray that I am reminded daily of that glory. I pray that I
rejoice in his works of creation. I pray that I think about how powerful and
great he is that he can make the earth tremble and the mountains smoke!
I serve a
BRILLIANT God!!
I love you
Mallory
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Lion King Sing-A-Long
This is what happens when you watch Lion King in Kenya...it becomes a sing-a-long!! Hakuna Matata people!
Day 6
Hello everyone!! I am typing this blog right now while watching Lion King in KENYA!!! How amazing!! I know, right?!?
Well, today was another awesome day of cultural firsts. Obviously it's Sunday, so today we went to church at a Kenyan church. We got up a bit earlier than normal and had breakfast here at Heart. Then we all loaded up the bus and headed to Parklands Baptist Church (click here). This church would be considered a mega church in the US with over 10,000 attendees on any given Sunday. The youth ministry, which is standard 8 (or 8th grade) through young adults (age 25), is about the size of Graceland when the high school students are not away at boarding school.
Going to church in Kenya is basically an all day experience. We arrived at the church at around 8:45am. We started with going into the main service. We entered during worship and sang some songs in both Swahili and English. There was another mission group at the church today from Sevierville, TN as well. They had been working in Kibera with the kids so they brought them in to sing one of the songs they had prepared. They also had a concert at 3pm this afternoon at the church. They performed for the church and it was precious to see them all there and smiling and so joyful.
After we were introduced in the main service, we left to head to the youth tent. This is literally a tent in the parking lot that the youth group meets in. No rooms, no central air conditioning, no heat...just a tent in the middle of the parking lot. Now, to be far, it is a gi-normous tent that holds hundreds of chairs and has a stage and a kicking sound system, but it's not like any other youth room I have ever been in. We got to the tent and took our seats. In fact, we got there in just enough time for me to get up to speak and give the message.
It was an interesting experience. Four years ago I spoke at the church that Sylvester was the youth pastor at. It was an incredibly different experience. I am used to preaching and teaching at home where everyone knows me and knows American culture. Here, that's not the case at all. It is such a different experience, so I just hope God used me to talk about His grace and how it impacts their life! I used John 1:14-18. We ended the first service at about 10:30am.
Then we headed to the reception that Sylvester had setup for us. We had Kenyan tea and these fried dough things. They were awesome! We sat for a bit and then headed back to the youth tent for the second service. We had four of our students share their testimonies (Morgan, Tyler, Megan, and Chad). Then we had two students from Scott's church lead a couple of worship songs. It was an awesome experience. They are very lively in their worship to say the least. We broke it down a couple of times. Rachael Bailey is a very good dancer during worship by the way!!
We were in the second service from 11:30 to 1:30 and then headed out to the bus to leave. If you think leaving Graceland on Sunday morning is crazy, you haven't seen anything. We all waited in line and at times, we were about 1 cm from other cars...literally! I was sitting in the front seat so I knew all about it. There were some tense moments but that's driving in Kenya!
Once we were out of traffic, we headed to Java House to eat lunch. This place is a little slice of America for us. When we got there we all sat down and looked through the menu; however, we almost all ordered burgers! It was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! It was so incredibly good. After purchasing some gifts for family members and then some coffee and tea, we loaded back up the bus and headed to Heart House.
Once back, we went to our rooms and began packing for safari! It is a tradition to watch Lion King on our trip at some point but this time we decided to watch is right before we leave to go on safari. It is an awesome experience. We are going to see so many of these animals in the next couple of days: hyenas, lions, warthogs, monkeys, giraffes, etc. And the best part is...there are NO cages!!! It's SO awesome!!!
We leave tomorrow morning very early and won't have internet (that we know of). So the blog will not be updated while we are gone. The next post will come on Wednesday night. Thanks for following along and keeping up with our trip! We miss you all back home and can't wait to see you all again. We will be changed in so many ways when we get back but God is at work and it is amazing!
I love you Mallory!!!
Well, today was another awesome day of cultural firsts. Obviously it's Sunday, so today we went to church at a Kenyan church. We got up a bit earlier than normal and had breakfast here at Heart. Then we all loaded up the bus and headed to Parklands Baptist Church (click here). This church would be considered a mega church in the US with over 10,000 attendees on any given Sunday. The youth ministry, which is standard 8 (or 8th grade) through young adults (age 25), is about the size of Graceland when the high school students are not away at boarding school.Going to church in Kenya is basically an all day experience. We arrived at the church at around 8:45am. We started with going into the main service. We entered during worship and sang some songs in both Swahili and English. There was another mission group at the church today from Sevierville, TN as well. They had been working in Kibera with the kids so they brought them in to sing one of the songs they had prepared. They also had a concert at 3pm this afternoon at the church. They performed for the church and it was precious to see them all there and smiling and so joyful.
After we were introduced in the main service, we left to head to the youth tent. This is literally a tent in the parking lot that the youth group meets in. No rooms, no central air conditioning, no heat...just a tent in the middle of the parking lot. Now, to be far, it is a gi-normous tent that holds hundreds of chairs and has a stage and a kicking sound system, but it's not like any other youth room I have ever been in. We got to the tent and took our seats. In fact, we got there in just enough time for me to get up to speak and give the message.
It was an interesting experience. Four years ago I spoke at the church that Sylvester was the youth pastor at. It was an incredibly different experience. I am used to preaching and teaching at home where everyone knows me and knows American culture. Here, that's not the case at all. It is such a different experience, so I just hope God used me to talk about His grace and how it impacts their life! I used John 1:14-18. We ended the first service at about 10:30am.
Then we headed to the reception that Sylvester had setup for us. We had Kenyan tea and these fried dough things. They were awesome! We sat for a bit and then headed back to the youth tent for the second service. We had four of our students share their testimonies (Morgan, Tyler, Megan, and Chad). Then we had two students from Scott's church lead a couple of worship songs. It was an awesome experience. They are very lively in their worship to say the least. We broke it down a couple of times. Rachael Bailey is a very good dancer during worship by the way!!
We were in the second service from 11:30 to 1:30 and then headed out to the bus to leave. If you think leaving Graceland on Sunday morning is crazy, you haven't seen anything. We all waited in line and at times, we were about 1 cm from other cars...literally! I was sitting in the front seat so I knew all about it. There were some tense moments but that's driving in Kenya!
Once we were out of traffic, we headed to Java House to eat lunch. This place is a little slice of America for us. When we got there we all sat down and looked through the menu; however, we almost all ordered burgers! It was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! It was so incredibly good. After purchasing some gifts for family members and then some coffee and tea, we loaded back up the bus and headed to Heart House.Once back, we went to our rooms and began packing for safari! It is a tradition to watch Lion King on our trip at some point but this time we decided to watch is right before we leave to go on safari. It is an awesome experience. We are going to see so many of these animals in the next couple of days: hyenas, lions, warthogs, monkeys, giraffes, etc. And the best part is...there are NO cages!!! It's SO awesome!!!
We leave tomorrow morning very early and won't have internet (that we know of). So the blog will not be updated while we are gone. The next post will come on Wednesday night. Thanks for following along and keeping up with our trip! We miss you all back home and can't wait to see you all again. We will be changed in so many ways when we get back but God is at work and it is amazing!
I love you Mallory!!!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Day 5
Tonights post comes from Marla, Tee, Robynn, Meredith, Kelli, and Tonya (it was a collective effort):
Our day started again with a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit, not to mention the papaya juice that is so good. We then took a tour through the city in the attempt to find a Forex; which is where we exchange our dollars into shillings. This city is very diverse. Traffic is crazy and they do not have many stoplights, but they do have speed bumps that they call 'sleeping policemens'.
We then went to FOCUS, arriving at about 11:00am. It should have been 9:00am, but we are now on Kenyan time. Once we arrived we played with the kids and then had a special program. We sang songs, acted out Jonah and the whale and then gave gifts to the children that were from their sponsors. They were all very excited and appreciated all their gifts.
We then had the privilege of taking the Focus children on a field trip to the Kenyan Animal Orphanage which would be equivalent to a very small Louisville Zoo. It's hard for me to imagine that a child who lives in Kenya has never seen a lion or a giraffe, but they haven't! The smile on their faces was priceless!
It has been another great day being blessed by God through these wonderful children. We are so tired by the time we get back that sleeping is no problem. We all go to sleep with smiles on our faces.
God is so good!
Good Night Mallory, Jameson loves you and we are glad you are sharing him with us.
Our day started again with a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit, not to mention the papaya juice that is so good. We then took a tour through the city in the attempt to find a Forex; which is where we exchange our dollars into shillings. This city is very diverse. Traffic is crazy and they do not have many stoplights, but they do have speed bumps that they call 'sleeping policemens'.
We then went to FOCUS, arriving at about 11:00am. It should have been 9:00am, but we are now on Kenyan time. Once we arrived we played with the kids and then had a special program. We sang songs, acted out Jonah and the whale and then gave gifts to the children that were from their sponsors. They were all very excited and appreciated all their gifts.
We then had the privilege of taking the Focus children on a field trip to the Kenyan Animal Orphanage which would be equivalent to a very small Louisville Zoo. It's hard for me to imagine that a child who lives in Kenya has never seen a lion or a giraffe, but they haven't! The smile on their faces was priceless!
It has been another great day being blessed by God through these wonderful children. We are so tired by the time we get back that sleeping is no problem. We all go to sleep with smiles on our faces.
God is so good!
Good Night Mallory, Jameson loves you and we are glad you are sharing him with us.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Day 4
Jambo! Habri yako? (that means, "Hello, how are you?" and you respond with Nzuri sana which means, "I am very well.")
This morning we had breakfast yet again at the Heart House and it was delicious. Our day was going to be a busy one so we had to stock up on some good calories. Today was the day we were to get as much done at the FOCUS center as possible. We loaded up the bus and headed out to the center.
When we arrived, the kids were all at school so there wasn't a super big reception like the past couple of days. The preschoolers were there because they are there every day. FOCUS provides preschool to all the kids and then the kids go to elementary school for free as apart of their education system. After elementary, the kids then go to high school and they must pay for it, so Project Lucas and FOCUS pay for a portion of their fees. When the elementary kids are at school, they don't show up at FOCUS until 4 or 4:30pm so we only get to see them for about an hour.
After we got off the bus, we started jumping on the projects that we knew needed to be done. We are working on a lot of different projects at FOCUS. Part of us are framing walls in what will be their new cafeteria room; others are repainting the two classrooms, repainting the entry gate, rebuilding the stairs to get to the workers office, weeding the new garden planted by Debbie Johannes, and finishing a new gutter system. There is a lot to do in other words. We had about 5 teams spread out over the building to start these projects. My team was working on finishing up the framing of the new cafeteria and it was an experience. FOCUS hired what they call a "Fundi" which is a craftsman or jack-of-all-trades. He didn't speak much English and neither did his helper. It was fun trying to interpret and to know whether they were laughing at my hammering skills or cutting skills. By the end of the day, we were done with the framing and the wall and we had just started painting it as well. The other teams had made a lot of progress as well on their projects. The stairs were coming along great, the rooms had been painted, and the garden/landscaping were done...for the most part!
We worked for about 2-2.5 hours and then gathered to eat lunch. After eating lunch, we got the call to go to something new this year that none of had ever done. We loaded the bus and headed there very quickly! You're probably wondering what I am talking about...well prepare yourself for an awesome story. There is a boy named Jolly (well, he's been called that for years but now that he is going into middle school, he wants to be called John). He has been playing soccer for a very long time and had been chosen in his school as one of the top four soccer, or futbol, players. Since he was chosen to be on this team, he had a game TODAY and were on our way to see him play. He is a very quite and shy boy at heart so this was really awesome for him. Scott had told us that this, in fact, might be one of the most memorable moments in his life. Think about it this way...if a little boy is playing futbol on the field and 31 Mzungos (white people) come see you. This never happens. This would be so awesome for you to experience and it was for John. He thanked Scott after the game and said it was so great to have us there. For me, I have seen John grow up over the past 6 years and to be able to see him play soccer and be so excited was such an encouraging moment! John has been through a lot in the past 2 years including the loss of his sister and his mother going to prison for a stint. And now, we got to be a blessing to him just by showing up and cheering for him. They won by the way with a score of 3-0.
The sad thing was that John experienced an injury while we were watching him play. He went to bicycle kick the ball and landed weird on his arm. He was favoring it the whole game but finished playing. When he got back to FOCUS, we investigated a little bit to find out what was wrong. By God's hand, we have 2 medical professionals here with us. They found out that he had broken his arm in two places. He went to the hospital very shortly after that. This was a God thing because we happened to be here during his injury. Scott said that if we weren't here, John probably would have just excused the pain and not told anyone so that he didn't bother them. Plus, he wouldn't have had the money to go to the hospital anyway. The good news is, he's in a cast and will hopefully recover very nicely!
After all of this, we got back to work and finished out the day. Some of the kids started coming in from school so we got to hang out with them. I hadn't seen Mallory and I's sponsor child yet this trip and today was the first day we got to hang out. If there is one thing that I would encourage all Project Lucas sponsors to do, it's to come on one of these trips and meet your child. We have been Yvonne's sponsors for over 2 years now and it is such an incredible blessing to be able to see her and hang out with her. I got to play and hang out with her for the last hour of the day! She is so precious and sweet. She is shy but she has become a little less apprehensive than she was 2 years ago. We took like 100 pictures because I gave her my camera to play with. It's so awesome to know that my wife and I sponsor this little, precious girl and she is taken care of. She melts my heart and makes me want to pack her away in my suitcase and carry her home! All the kids do this!
All in all, today was an incredible day of ups and downs emotionally for me! Someone who has been coming to Kenya for the past 6 years. It was such a joy and also such a blessing to see what and why we invest in Project Lucas as a ministry and as a church. This organization is all about meeting the needs of the 59 kids in their program and investing in their lives and the community year after year. You can see how the involvement over time has made a difference and is making a difference in this area!
Our team is doing very well. Just an update for everyone back home as well, we are all safe and healthy. There haven't been any medical issues except for some scrapes, cuts, and minor sun reactions/burns. It's been a great trip and it's been safe so keep praying that it will continue as we move through the next week and then return home! We love we all and can't wait to get home and share all our stories with you!
Kwaheri (that means goodbye)!
I love you with all my heart, mind, strength, and soul Mallory Lee Barker!!
This morning we had breakfast yet again at the Heart House and it was delicious. Our day was going to be a busy one so we had to stock up on some good calories. Today was the day we were to get as much done at the FOCUS center as possible. We loaded up the bus and headed out to the center.
When we arrived, the kids were all at school so there wasn't a super big reception like the past couple of days. The preschoolers were there because they are there every day. FOCUS provides preschool to all the kids and then the kids go to elementary school for free as apart of their education system. After elementary, the kids then go to high school and they must pay for it, so Project Lucas and FOCUS pay for a portion of their fees. When the elementary kids are at school, they don't show up at FOCUS until 4 or 4:30pm so we only get to see them for about an hour.
After we got off the bus, we started jumping on the projects that we knew needed to be done. We are working on a lot of different projects at FOCUS. Part of us are framing walls in what will be their new cafeteria room; others are repainting the two classrooms, repainting the entry gate, rebuilding the stairs to get to the workers office, weeding the new garden planted by Debbie Johannes, and finishing a new gutter system. There is a lot to do in other words. We had about 5 teams spread out over the building to start these projects. My team was working on finishing up the framing of the new cafeteria and it was an experience. FOCUS hired what they call a "Fundi" which is a craftsman or jack-of-all-trades. He didn't speak much English and neither did his helper. It was fun trying to interpret and to know whether they were laughing at my hammering skills or cutting skills. By the end of the day, we were done with the framing and the wall and we had just started painting it as well. The other teams had made a lot of progress as well on their projects. The stairs were coming along great, the rooms had been painted, and the garden/landscaping were done...for the most part!
We worked for about 2-2.5 hours and then gathered to eat lunch. After eating lunch, we got the call to go to something new this year that none of had ever done. We loaded the bus and headed there very quickly! You're probably wondering what I am talking about...well prepare yourself for an awesome story. There is a boy named Jolly (well, he's been called that for years but now that he is going into middle school, he wants to be called John). He has been playing soccer for a very long time and had been chosen in his school as one of the top four soccer, or futbol, players. Since he was chosen to be on this team, he had a game TODAY and were on our way to see him play. He is a very quite and shy boy at heart so this was really awesome for him. Scott had told us that this, in fact, might be one of the most memorable moments in his life. Think about it this way...if a little boy is playing futbol on the field and 31 Mzungos (white people) come see you. This never happens. This would be so awesome for you to experience and it was for John. He thanked Scott after the game and said it was so great to have us there. For me, I have seen John grow up over the past 6 years and to be able to see him play soccer and be so excited was such an encouraging moment! John has been through a lot in the past 2 years including the loss of his sister and his mother going to prison for a stint. And now, we got to be a blessing to him just by showing up and cheering for him. They won by the way with a score of 3-0.
The sad thing was that John experienced an injury while we were watching him play. He went to bicycle kick the ball and landed weird on his arm. He was favoring it the whole game but finished playing. When he got back to FOCUS, we investigated a little bit to find out what was wrong. By God's hand, we have 2 medical professionals here with us. They found out that he had broken his arm in two places. He went to the hospital very shortly after that. This was a God thing because we happened to be here during his injury. Scott said that if we weren't here, John probably would have just excused the pain and not told anyone so that he didn't bother them. Plus, he wouldn't have had the money to go to the hospital anyway. The good news is, he's in a cast and will hopefully recover very nicely!
After all of this, we got back to work and finished out the day. Some of the kids started coming in from school so we got to hang out with them. I hadn't seen Mallory and I's sponsor child yet this trip and today was the first day we got to hang out. If there is one thing that I would encourage all Project Lucas sponsors to do, it's to come on one of these trips and meet your child. We have been Yvonne's sponsors for over 2 years now and it is such an incredible blessing to be able to see her and hang out with her. I got to play and hang out with her for the last hour of the day! She is so precious and sweet. She is shy but she has become a little less apprehensive than she was 2 years ago. We took like 100 pictures because I gave her my camera to play with. It's so awesome to know that my wife and I sponsor this little, precious girl and she is taken care of. She melts my heart and makes me want to pack her away in my suitcase and carry her home! All the kids do this!All in all, today was an incredible day of ups and downs emotionally for me! Someone who has been coming to Kenya for the past 6 years. It was such a joy and also such a blessing to see what and why we invest in Project Lucas as a ministry and as a church. This organization is all about meeting the needs of the 59 kids in their program and investing in their lives and the community year after year. You can see how the involvement over time has made a difference and is making a difference in this area!
Our team is doing very well. Just an update for everyone back home as well, we are all safe and healthy. There haven't been any medical issues except for some scrapes, cuts, and minor sun reactions/burns. It's been a great trip and it's been safe so keep praying that it will continue as we move through the next week and then return home! We love we all and can't wait to get home and share all our stories with you!
Kwaheri (that means goodbye)!
I love you with all my heart, mind, strength, and soul Mallory Lee Barker!!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Day 3
This morning, we started off with breakfast at Heart House which, of course, was amazing! We had crepes, sausage, bacon, eggs, cereal, and fresh fruit. It was delicious. The mango juice and papaya juice are incredible and so good! It's one of the things I look forward to on this trip. And yes, I did say ONE of the things and not THE thing.
After breakfast, we loaded the bus with all of the 500 backpacks that were going to be handed out today at the first backpack ceremony. The bus was packed just like Kenyans do it...all the bins on the roof (stacked 2 high by 3 across). It's awesome! We got on the road and headed to FOCUS. Once we got there, we unloaded everything including 2 soccer balls (or futbol balls). These soccer balls are supposedly indestructible. The kids absolutely LOVE futbol over here and they play all the time! From the time the balls hit the ground, they were played with the ENTIRE day! It was great. I'm just hoping they last because every soccer ball we have ever given them before has not lasted more than a week. Needless to say, they are very rough on things. The soccer balls are ones from One World Futbol (click here).
Everything got unloaded and the festivities of the day were underway. The tent was being set up and the sound system was blaring. In Kenya, the backpack ceremony and really any ceremony is a huge deal. Everyone comes because they make such a big deal about it. Today was no different. As we set up and the ladies started cooking, we knew this was going to be a pretty special day with the kids. Then, the first bus of children from school showed up. There were 4 more coming! All in all, there would be about 500 kids coming for the backpacks as well as city officials and school representatives. As they started pouring in from different parts of Ruiru, we got to meet and hang out with a lot of them.
We were supposed to start the ceremony at 10am but Kenyans don't really operate on a time schedule. They have a saying, "Americans have watches, Kenyans have time." So about 11:30 or 12ish, we actually started the ceremony! After many people speaking and officials being recognized, we started handing out the backpacks by school.
One of the greatest things we did today was after the ceremony was over. We gathered all the focus kids and presented them with their backpacks. To see the joy on their faces when they saw the backpacks and what was in them was priceless! I have never seen an American get excited over someone giving them school supplies. It is something we don't like very much. Students here do not get excited about something they don't like. But that's the difference between here and home. School supplies mean a future to Kenyans. School supplies to Americans means something we are made to do. It's the simple things but we are so spoiled!!
After breakfast, we loaded the bus with all of the 500 backpacks that were going to be handed out today at the first backpack ceremony. The bus was packed just like Kenyans do it...all the bins on the roof (stacked 2 high by 3 across). It's awesome! We got on the road and headed to FOCUS. Once we got there, we unloaded everything including 2 soccer balls (or futbol balls). These soccer balls are supposedly indestructible. The kids absolutely LOVE futbol over here and they play all the time! From the time the balls hit the ground, they were played with the ENTIRE day! It was great. I'm just hoping they last because every soccer ball we have ever given them before has not lasted more than a week. Needless to say, they are very rough on things. The soccer balls are ones from One World Futbol (click here). 
Everything got unloaded and the festivities of the day were underway. The tent was being set up and the sound system was blaring. In Kenya, the backpack ceremony and really any ceremony is a huge deal. Everyone comes because they make such a big deal about it. Today was no different. As we set up and the ladies started cooking, we knew this was going to be a pretty special day with the kids. Then, the first bus of children from school showed up. There were 4 more coming! All in all, there would be about 500 kids coming for the backpacks as well as city officials and school representatives. As they started pouring in from different parts of Ruiru, we got to meet and hang out with a lot of them.
Chad, Noah, and I started a game of futbol with the new balls. It was awesome. A lot of our team just spread our and started ministering to the kids. It was very encouraging to see them just love on them and invest some time in them. These kids don't get a lot of love and personal time let alone the physical contact that our trip gives. Most of them live with a guardian and multiple (at least 3) other kids. So their time spent being hugged, hand being held, or being held is reduced to almost nothing. To spend time just holding them means more to them than anything else. That's what we do with the majority of our time here...just loving on kids.
We were supposed to start the ceremony at 10am but Kenyans don't really operate on a time schedule. They have a saying, "Americans have watches, Kenyans have time." So about 11:30 or 12ish, we actually started the ceremony! After many people speaking and officials being recognized, we started handing out the backpacks by school.
After we handed them out, we fed everyone who was there. Once the food started being served, some of us went to work on other projects that needed to be completed. We continued to play with the kids, hang out with them, and love on them.
One of the greatest things we did today was after the ceremony was over. We gathered all the focus kids and presented them with their backpacks. To see the joy on their faces when they saw the backpacks and what was in them was priceless! I have never seen an American get excited over someone giving them school supplies. It is something we don't like very much. Students here do not get excited about something they don't like. But that's the difference between here and home. School supplies mean a future to Kenyans. School supplies to Americans means something we are made to do. It's the simple things but we are so spoiled!!
After we gave out those backpacks, we packed up and cleaned up and headed out. We got dinner at Heart House and have been hanging out ever since!
I love you Mallory!!!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Day 2
Habari everyone? That means, "How are you?" in Swahili! Today's summary comes from the youngest on our team...Morgan Trendel!
Today we went to Focus and the Project Lucas Center. We got up bright and early and ate a wonderfully cooked breakfast from the Heart House. We did our morning devotions, and got on the bus to head to the center. The plan was to have all the kids out of school today, but when we got there, we were a bit surprised.
They were in school. The only ones there were the preschoolers, which was a total of six. Scott left with Sylvester to go pick the children up early and bring them to the Focus center. Eventually, all 58 children (aging from three to fourteen and grades preschool to eighth grade) showed up there. They all went and put their backpacks up and came outside to play. The team first introduced themselves to the children, some children became attached to team members immediately. The younger ones wanted you to hold them, carry them on your shoulders and back, play in the sand, and put on your sunglasses. The funny thing was they put the sunglasses on upside down. The older girls would do your hair so there was about five girls who stood while team members sat and let them braid their hair. The older boys would play soccer with a wadded up piece of cloth or some type of material.
Then everyone got together and played hokey pokey, duck duck goose, tag in a huge circle, and on a teeter-totter. All the kids loved to take your camera and take pictures of themselves and random things. If you took their picture they would want to see it and they would just giggle. While some of the team played with the kids, others would work on helping with the entry way, classroom, stair way, and the rain water collection system.
We took a break and went to lunch at an authentic Kenyan restaurant. It was different but delicious. They had chicken, beef, rice with peas, mash potatoes that were green, and french fries. We all ate with the team and some Focus workers. After lunch, we went back to focus and played with the children. Coming up the kids were all outside waving and jumping, and the preschoolers were just waking up from their nap. We began to play right away of course. The children who became attached to team members immediately went to them. Everyone got back to work finishing the stairs, and continuing on the rain system. The team scrapped the old paint, put on a fresh coat to paint later in the week, and added the Project Lucas and Focus symbols.
We had to say our goodbyes and it was sad. No one wanted to leave! All the kids waited outside and waved goodbye. We made it to Heart House picking up extra school supplies to pack for the backpacks. While the team went to Heart House to wash up and eat, Jameson and Scott went to the airport to see if the four missing bins were here. After diner, we cleaned up our plates and started getting ready to pack the backpacks. We organized everything, and got to work to pack the five-hundred and eighty backpacks for tomorrow's backpack ceremony. We put erasers, pencils, pens, folders, and pencil sharpeners in each backpack. We had a total of about thirty-five bins filled with backpacks to take tomorrow. Scott and Jameson arrived with no luck of getting the bins but they were told they were in London. We put everything up and we all went to our rooms and went to bed.
Today was amazing and it was simply filled with playing and loving on all the kids. It was a joy to see them all smile and laugh. The backpack packing made me realize how fortunate we are in America. I am so excited to go and hand out the backpacks to the kids tomorrow and continue to love on the children.
Morgan Trendel
PS- Jameson loves Mallory a whole lot!!!
Today we went to Focus and the Project Lucas Center. We got up bright and early and ate a wonderfully cooked breakfast from the Heart House. We did our morning devotions, and got on the bus to head to the center. The plan was to have all the kids out of school today, but when we got there, we were a bit surprised. They were in school. The only ones there were the preschoolers, which was a total of six. Scott left with Sylvester to go pick the children up early and bring them to the Focus center. Eventually, all 58 children (aging from three to fourteen and grades preschool to eighth grade) showed up there. They all went and put their backpacks up and came outside to play. The team first introduced themselves to the children, some children became attached to team members immediately. The younger ones wanted you to hold them, carry them on your shoulders and back, play in the sand, and put on your sunglasses. The funny thing was they put the sunglasses on upside down. The older girls would do your hair so there was about five girls who stood while team members sat and let them braid their hair. The older boys would play soccer with a wadded up piece of cloth or some type of material.
Then everyone got together and played hokey pokey, duck duck goose, tag in a huge circle, and on a teeter-totter. All the kids loved to take your camera and take pictures of themselves and random things. If you took their picture they would want to see it and they would just giggle. While some of the team played with the kids, others would work on helping with the entry way, classroom, stair way, and the rain water collection system.
We took a break and went to lunch at an authentic Kenyan restaurant. It was different but delicious. They had chicken, beef, rice with peas, mash potatoes that were green, and french fries. We all ate with the team and some Focus workers. After lunch, we went back to focus and played with the children. Coming up the kids were all outside waving and jumping, and the preschoolers were just waking up from their nap. We began to play right away of course. The children who became attached to team members immediately went to them. Everyone got back to work finishing the stairs, and continuing on the rain system. The team scrapped the old paint, put on a fresh coat to paint later in the week, and added the Project Lucas and Focus symbols. 
We had to say our goodbyes and it was sad. No one wanted to leave! All the kids waited outside and waved goodbye. We made it to Heart House picking up extra school supplies to pack for the backpacks. While the team went to Heart House to wash up and eat, Jameson and Scott went to the airport to see if the four missing bins were here. After diner, we cleaned up our plates and started getting ready to pack the backpacks. We organized everything, and got to work to pack the five-hundred and eighty backpacks for tomorrow's backpack ceremony. We put erasers, pencils, pens, folders, and pencil sharpeners in each backpack. We had a total of about thirty-five bins filled with backpacks to take tomorrow. Scott and Jameson arrived with no luck of getting the bins but they were told they were in London. We put everything up and we all went to our rooms and went to bed. Today was amazing and it was simply filled with playing and loving on all the kids. It was a joy to see them all smile and laugh. The backpack packing made me realize how fortunate we are in America. I am so excited to go and hand out the backpacks to the kids tomorrow and continue to love on the children.
Morgan Trendel
PS- Jameson loves Mallory a whole lot!!!
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