debriefing

We have finished our debriefing at the Masai Mara national reserve and are now killing some time before the flight home. You can pray that we will be able to rest and even sleep on the flight - a number of us find that difficult to do.
Our conversations were great as we reflected on our time here in Kenya. Many funny, sad and lasting memories were made in just this short period of time. We also talked about what the future holds, both in terms of our personal lives and in regards to the Kenya project. We are all excited about this partnership and we will have much that we will want to share with you when we return. We also look forward to hearing how the last 12 days have been in Madison or wherever you may live.
The safari was amazing. As we drove into a herd of at least 50 elephants we realized this is a lot different than being in a zoo. We also witnessed two instances of lions resting next to the carcass of last night's prey. The stench juxtaposed with the majesty of the lions was a remindder of both the beauty and violence of this world. Here in Kenya we have seen the wonderful beauty of people committed to following Christ in the midst of a violent and oppresive world. Thanks again for being a part of this safari in our lives (Safari is the Swahili word for journey.)

nate

It ain't right

First things first. The medical clinic (or camp as they call it here even though no one was camping) was a major success. 506 people were seen by the medical people and dental technicians (250 more than ever before) and 3 people came to Christ, including a woman with whom James talked (I will let him tell the details about that.) Team members were all involved in exciting and draining work. It was a great way to end our time at Beacon of Hope as we saw relationships continue to grow as we partnered with our new friends.

But in the midst of the medical clinic there was about a 20 minute span where the realities of life in Kenya hit hard.

First, James and a Kenyan woman were seeing a patient. The room we were in has an open door to the outside meaning any manner of creature could enter to check out the "goings ons" inside. So enter Mr. Chicken, a pround rooster that I can only assume had a sense of ownership for the entire building since he strutted around like the boss man. It is a surreal experience to see all these medical people not bat an eye as a rooster walks through their examining space. Isn't there some kind of chicken flu or something? Oh well, I guess it hasn't made it to Kenya.

Then, I walked into the examining area where James was working with a young child and mother. James says she was 4, but she sure looked like an 18 month toddler to me. I was carrying my tripod with attatched camcorder. When I entered, the child immediatly began screaming so I walked around behind the child thinking, "out of sight, out of mind." THe child followed me closely, her cries intensifying. So I exited the room to wait for a better time to film. As the patient exited, she told me that the child thought I was carrying a gun. What time do we live in when small children fear guns? What had this child experienced that made the hint of gun a terifying prospect. I could only wonder.

FInally, as I waited for a new patient to enter the examing room, I was standing amongst other patients. A small boy, about 10 years old was holding his young toddler brother. For ten minutes he stood holding his young sibling waiting for the nurse. He never cringed, never set his brother down, never complained. Rather he stood there quietly and affectionately caring for his brother. It turns out his parents don't care enough to take their child to the clinic so this 10 year old is forced to do the job. His love and compassion was a marvel, but that said, he should be out playing with friends and getting into trouble, not fulfilling the role of an adult.

We have encountered so many of these moments when the only reaction is, "It ain't right." This has forced us to the only action that seems reasonable - prayer. We haven't quite known what to pray except to ask God to intervene in ways that are unimaginable. We also trust that the Holy Spirit is intervening on our behalf, which is a strong encouragement since without that, we would be lost.

Strangely Diverse

I imagined that Kenya would be fairly monochromatic and have a single culture. We are realizing that there is a rich diversity in Nairobi.

Within the Kenyan population, there are countless tribes with about 10 or so main ones. "What tribe do you come from" is a good question in our arsenal and each answer of Kyoko, Cumba, Massai or Luo leads to interesting discussions about family, customs and home towns. Each tribe brings a rich tradition to the cultural landscape and makes the country feel much more diverse than it appears on first inspection.

Then there are people like Kamil. Kamil's family is from Iran and he is Persian. In the mid 19th century his family came to Kenya to fight a war or something colonial like that. They put roots down in the area. 17 years ago, Kamil converted from Islam to Christianity. Today he runs a small bus company and is active in discipling young men in their faith. Who would have thought that we would meet a Persian convert from Islam in Kenya? Not me. But we meet people who take our idea of what it means to be Kenyan and turn it around. It's an exciting place to be.

The last two days we have spent time at Beacon of Hope practicing the ministry of presence. Mo "opened" wool with weavers in training at BOH, loving them in warm and laugh filled conversations. Sarah, Rachel, and Rich tried their hand at weaving, only to find out that the next day, all the rows they had "completed" were removed. Fortunatly they all will be keeping their day jobs but in their relational actions, they established connections with women who would otherwise be forgotten as the "least of these." James and me (Nate) become human jungle gyms centered around the question of who could have more Kenya children climb on them. At best guess, at least 10 kids were in contact with one of us at some point. We did a lot more than just this, but this gives a sense of the things we have been about and the avenues through which God has been teaching us.

As far as a "scouting" trip, things are going GREAT. We are making good connections and beginning the hard yet fruitful work of establishing healthy partnerships.

Tomorrow will be our last day at BOH and it will be a doozy. There will be a free medical clinic at the center with somewhere between 100-300 people coming through. Please pray for us. Pray for the people seeing patients - for wisdom, understanding and a healing touch. For the rest of us, I think we will be running around trying to corral a bunch of children - which could easily be equated to corraling greased cats. Pray for patience, love and compassion.

Thanks again for your partnership in this endevour. We are truly being changed by this experience and we look forward to sharing with you all the things that God is doing in us.

Nate

A lot to learn

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a national holiday, the day in which the Kenyans were granted self governance so we spent the morning at a game park and the afternoon with our host family. Today we were at Beacon of Hope
We are realizing that we have a lot to learn from Kenyans.
While with our host family, we learned about Ken's ministry with micro finance. He is on the board of an organization that grants small loans to people Kenyan banks would decline. These loans are intended as seed money for starting small businesses. But the organization does not just throw money around. They create cell groups that meet weekly for training and accountability. Between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda they have over 50,000 people in this program. On top of that, they are self supporting and require no government support. We are learning from the creativity of Kenyans as they deal with hard and deeply rooted problems like poverty.
Today Rich and I (Nate) met with Oscar Muira, the pastor of Nairobi Chapel. One of the topics of discussion was the issue of partnership between Kenyan and American churches. Oscar talked about the importance of relationship in a partnership. In fact, finacial support without that relationship is not honoring to God (and does not reflect the model that Paul sets out in Philippians.) As we continued to talked with Oscar about AIDS and the church's role in addressing social issues, we realized that we have much to learn theologically from Kenyans.
While in the game park, we stopped at a picnic point (go ahead and picnic around the lions if you want - they say they don't venture to this area, but I say that 5 kms is not enough space to make me feel comfortable.) As we walked (yes walked) along a trail to find hippos and crocs (at what point should we realize, "this isn't smart) we came across some baboons. I was at the back of the pack and after walking through their "space" I turned to take some pictures. As I turned a baboon ran out of the trees. I grunted a startled, "oh" and he freaked, screaming like baboon scared by a pasty white guy from Wisconsin. I realized quickly that a screaming baboon will attract other screaming baboons, and that screaming baboons will equal a running white guy from Wisconsin. So off I took moving faster than a Kenyan marathoner on his 2nd mile, passing several team mates to the safety of our guide. He politely told me that running away from Baboons will only anger them. I learnd that listening to Kenyans around wild beasts that could claw out my eyes is a good idea.
So we have learned much from Kenyans. Ultimately we are learning from God, but it is exciting to have that message communicated to us through people that are so interesting and fun.

Kibera

Today we went to the Tumaini Clinic in the Kibera
slum. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa, with over
1 million people. It was amazing to see what God can
do in the midst of so much poverty. We met a woman
named Ann who was once a prostitute and possessed by
demons. However, after visiting the church held in
the clinic on Sundays, she became a Christian. Now
she runs the nutrition center at the clinic, assisting
mothers to ensure their children are not malnourished.

After lunch, we did some house visits, and we were met
by a chorus of children yelling "How are you!"
everywhere we went. The homes we entered had dirt
floors and tin roofs, yet many of the people we met
were very grateful for all God had done for them. It
was hard to find the proper words as we prayed for
these individuals. Yet, we are confident that God is
at work in the lives of the people of Kibera. Our
prayer is that he would be sufficient for them in the
midst of their poverty, and that he would transform
the culture of poverty so that all would have enough
to eat and proper medical care.

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monday

What a day. We serve an amazing God who uses amazing people. We had the
honor of talking to Jane - the founder of Beacon of Hope - for a few hours
and touring their facilities. I never knew how complex it is to weave -
much less prepare the wool. It is so clear how God has prepared Jane to
launch and lead this ever expanding ministry. We are all in awe of her and
what the Lord has done in the three short years of Beacon's existance.
There are many stories to tell upon our return. There is already a deep and
trusting relationship forming.

We also went with two women - Patricia and Therese - who work at Beacon to
a small slum called Bangledesh to do home visits - checking up on people
who had recently come to the clinic at Beacon. Each of the people we
visited had just found out in the last week that they are HIV positive. We
talked and prayed with them and delivered some food. Each lived in a space
that was about 8'x8'. We saw poverty. But we also saw the face of God -
especially in the faces of those with whom we were working but also in our
brothers and sisters of Bangledesh. We saw hope, faith, and love.

We have been encouraged, humbled, and challenged by the people and the
circumstances. We have been drawn to the Lord in prayer. What a day. We're
excited about what each new day will bring. God is good.

Rich

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We've arrived

After about 24 hours of relatively painless travel we have arrived in Kenya. Last night we settled into our Guest House (currently without electricity thanks to some abnormally heavy rains) and slumbered restfully. Today we headed out to church at Nairobi Chapel, an evangelical church that is literally bursting at the seams. They are taking each of their 5 services and turning them into a church plant around Nairobi. Even in Nairobi we can't seem to get away from Wisconsin. The man who preached is about to return to Milwaukee (he will be working at Elmbrook and his wife will be attending the UW.) He spoke about being surprised by God - surprised by what He does, what He is about, and who he uses. For me (Nate) this was a great way to start the trip - a reminder that one of the best things that can happen during this time is for God to transform and mold the way I see Him and His work. The worship was also fantastic - spirited and authentic.
After church we participated in a Noomi Choomi (spelling???) which is like a pig roast only switch the pig with a goat. The food was great but the sight of one of hosts snacking on goat intestines was a little unsettling. But we are thankful for the opportunity to be able to partake in the Kenyan culture.
Tomorrow we start work at Beacon of Hope. We'll take turns updating the blog so check back each day or so for new info.
Thanks for your prayers!

This Sunday we gathered to pack some items we are planning to bring and leave in Kenya - it's not just clothes in those heavy bags.

We'll have 40 pounds of Bibles to distribute while in Nairobi 

We will be taking medical supplies with us - both to use while there, and to leave behind upon our departure 

We'll have toys (courtesy of McDonald's) that we will be able to give to kids we work with and meet.