The 7000

Mambo sawa sawa. Things are all good. :-)

I got to go to my first Kenyan church service on Sunday. It was at a church called Nairobi Presbyterian Church Kiserian, which also has an orphanage associated with it. It was great because there were 138 rescued children there, and it was a great chance for us to see God's restorative power in a tangible way. The kids were great, and they loved showing us around the campus, talking excited about all of the things we passed and holding lovingly onto our hands; for many, we were the first white people (wazungu) that they had seen before.

One thing that really challenged me was a question that one of the workers at the orphanage asked us how it was that we were rescued from the worldliness of America (Kenyans see our worst through the multitude of movies and television shows we export) and were willing to follow God all the way to Kenya. It was a sobering thought for me to think about all the people I have known who have had the chance to believe in the God of the Bible and yet reject it or turn away from it. God reminded me of the story of Elijah, when he cries out to God saying that the Israelites have rejected God and torn down all of His alters, and he is the only one left. God responds instead by saying that He had reserved for Himself 7000 Israelites who have never bent their knees to a false idol, but who were devoted to Him. That really sobered me, because I realized that in many ways those of us on this project are like those 7000. As I hear more of the stories of the students I am with, I see just how God has brought us through extordanary situations, some wonderful and some almost unendrably terrible, to bring us to this place. He has been faithful to raise up those He wants to do His work, and we have the privilidge of being those whom He has called!

We finally found out last night what our assignments are! There are 15 different places throughout Kenya where the team will be stationed, mostly in pairs, ranging from pastoral aid to orphanages to slum ministry to hospital work. It is so exciting to see how the strenghts of the different members of the group will be used to be God's hands and feet in those places.

I am teamed up with a Kenyan university student named Ezekiel, who has also been my roommate for the past week. He's a really great, funny guy, and I'm really glad that I'll have the chance to experience this awesome adventure together. We'll be travelling out to Masai land, staying in a small village called Mosul. There we will be helping a local Kenyan missionary reach out to the Masai in Mosul and a couple of the surrounding villages, travelling between them on his motorbike (all 3 of us at once... oh my!). This means that we're likely to be doing a lot of evangelistic work, which will be a really exciting but challenging thing for me. Also, since the area is very rural, we will be living without hardly any modern amenities such as running water or electricity. We'll be taking bucket baths, hand-washing our clothes, using flashlights for light when needed, and making use of the "squatty potty". This also means that I might not be able to talk to you at all for the next few weeks, but I promise I will try to at any chance I get! We leave tomorrow morning, so please pray:

• That the teams will be prepared for their work and have safe travels to their locations.
• That those who may be dissappointed at their assignments would find God's heart in what they will be doing, and that we would not have too many expectations for our assignments but will be receptive to what God wants for us.
• For continued health for the team and that any sickness will not prevent our ministries. Sickness of some kind is almost a guarantee for everyone, and there have been times when students have had to return to Nairobi or even go back to America due to illness.
• That the people I will be ministering to will be receptive to the Gospel, and that God would go ahead of me and Ezekiel to soften hearts and provide "good soil".

And praise:

• For the work of the orphanage at Kiserian and the many many students whose lives have been forever changed by that work.
• That our training was amazing, and we are more prepared for our work than I could have imagined.
  
• For the awesome opportunities that God has placed before all of us and the wonderful things we will be able to experience in the next few weeks.

God bless you all, and I will try to give a ministry update as soon as I can!

"Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
- Isaiah 40:30-31

Jambo! Hello!

I'm lucky enough to be able to get to another cyber cafe to write to you all, this one in Ngong Town, the town located just outside of the Watakatifu Wote Senta where the team is staying.

The last few days have been a little slower, which has been nice. We've been having a lot more free time, allowing us to have chances to take some quite times, play games, learn some Swahili, and take care of laundry. I've really gotten to enjoy Kenya these days; the area is in a drought, yet the hills are covered in greenery - a welcome change from New Mexico. It's been less than a week since the team first met, but it has seemed like weeks as we continue to experience so many wonderful things together. This mission has already been such a blessing, and I am so glad God has brought me to this place and allowed me to have these experiences.

Last night, we had the privilege of going to a CU (Christian Union) meeting at one of the campuses of Nairobi University, a business school of about 1500 students. A CU is a chapter of FOCUS (Fellowship of Christian Unions), which is the Kenyan sister movement of InterVarsity. It was wonderful to be able to participate in the worship and discipleship of these Christian students and to see their heart for the LORD! It is very easy for people to talk about matters of faith here in Kenya; I was actually asked within minutes of meeting one of the students, Marcy, how I had come to know Christ. This is really wonderful because, unlike in America, we don't have to be afraid to directly confront people to know if they are born again. The Gospel can be shared courageously, and the students we met were definitely great examples of the way Kenyan Christians live Godly lives for all to see. I only hope that I too can be so courageous when the time comes for me to share with others!

We still haven't been given our ministry assignments yet, but I should find out where I'll be sent to within a day or two. I'm really excited to see where I'll be working for the next 3 weeks, but it will certainly be sad to have the team split up for a while after we've grown so close.

Please pray:

• That we would all be ready for the assignments we will have, and that we'll all be able to effectively deal with any culture shock.
• That the hearts of those we will be ministering to will be prepared, that we may be able to cast the seed of the Gospel onto good soil.
• For the many, many people here in Kenya who live lives of poverty, that they would be able to find comfort and aid, spiritual and physical.
• That the CU's will be able to continues to minister well to African students, carrying out His will accross the nation.

And praise:

• That we have been able to learn and grow so much as a team and as missionaries already, and for all that we have been able to experience here in Kenya.
• That those who were sick have gotten better, and there seems to be no more illnesses.
• For the many ways that God has been working here in Kenya already, such as through the CU's and the many many Christians that we continue to meet daily.

"Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me."
- Psalm 43:7

God of the Slums

Bwana asifiwe! God be praised!

I've made it to Kenya, and it's already been such a wonderful, difficult, growing experience. The past few days have seemed like a week, and it's not just the 21 hour plane ride or jet lag. We've done so much in the past few days, and I can't believe how much I've learned and how much I've gotten to know my American and Kenyan teammates.

We are spending this first week doing some orientation at a Catholic retreat center called Watakatifu Wote Senta, where we will stay until next Wednesday when we head out for our ministry assignments in different parts of Kenya (still to be determined). The first day was spent at a nearby town called Ngong Town, a small place where we got to experience some small-town Kenyan life firsthand. We went into the town for an afternoon to try to purchase some items, except we were only given the Swahili names and had to figure out what they were and where to buy them. The shop owners sure had a good time seeing us stumble through asking them for these things. :)

The second day was very intense. We spent the morning in Mathare Valley in Nairobi - a slum of hundreds of thousands of impoverished people living in only about 3.5 square miles. It was truly heartbreaking to walk through the slum. We saw children walking barefoot in sewage drains, goats and pigs roaming free and pooping in the middle of the street, people living in row after row of slum housing with only a few square feet to call their own for them and their family, children with bottles of glue taped to their faces so they could live in a permanent high to not have to feel the pain of their hunger. 90% of the families have no father, either because the father died trying to earn money or simply left to fend for himself.

And yet, we were struck also by the joy these people have in the face of such poverty. We went into the home of one woman, and she said that she is not angry at those with prosperity, but that she is able to trust God to provide a better future for her and her children. The local church is helping them by providing schooling and child care, helping the families with some medical help, teaching parents the skills they need start better lives for themselves, and sharing the Gospel so that they can have the love of God to truly set them free. What a priviledge to see these things happening!

The afternoon was spent at Sanctuary of Hope, a refuge home for orphaned children that is run by the pastor and his wife of the church we visited. It was a wonderful place, and it definitely showed us what it can mean for these children of the slums to find a better life through the love and provision of God. What heartbreaking lessons these things have taught me, and yet I thank God that He has shown me how he loves those in need and rescues them from the lives they are living.

Today we are going on a scavenger hunt through Nairobi, and so I'm writing to you from a Cyber Cafe. The internet here is a little slow, so I won't be able to upload any of the pictures I have taken so far, but I hope to be able to get those to you some day soon. Thank you all again so much for your prayers! I'll try to give you another update as soon as I can.

Please pray:

• That the team would be able to understand more fully what God has shown us in the past few days.
• That we would be filled by God's power as we prepare for the ministry assignments next week.
• That we would stay healthy, and that those who are feeling sick (a few people have thrown up) would be healed.

And praise:

• That God has already shown us so much of Himself here and continually gives us a heart for Kenya.
• That the team is getting along really well as we get to know each other better.
• That we are almost over the massive jet lag.

"Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you have planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of all of them,
they would be too many to declare."
- Psalm 40:5

Into the Unkown

Well, it's finally happening. I've met the team, and we're just about to head out to the airport to catch our plane to Kenya, a wonderful 21-hour trip (including a 3 hour layover in Brussels). It's been really cool to meet everyone--to finally put faces to all of the names that I've heard as we've prepared throughout the semester. I've also been so blessed to see who God has placed on the team and begin to see what kind of a journey He has planned for us all!

I will say, though, that it's very different being one of the only guys around; there are only 3 male American students including myself, though we're meeting 3 more male and 1 female Kenyan students once we get to Nairobi. Yes, it's been a totally new experience for me, especially coming from NMT with essentially the reverse situation. The guys have been sticking pretty close to one another for support and trying to maintain the testosterone for the group, making sure to eat meat at any opportunity and carry large heavy things even when it's probably not helpful. Yeah, we could probably use some prayer for this summer...

As a bit of a side effect, having 3 American guys + 3 Kenyan guys means that each of us will probably get paired with a Kenyan student for whatever assignment we have, mostly because the leaders want to be sure that the Kenyans are all exposed to Americans to get the most out of their experience as well, but also as a way for us to experience a more complete immersion into the culture. I'm honestly not entirely sure how that makes me feel; it will definitely be a growing experience for me to be almost completely disassoiciated from any cultural normalcy that I have. Pray for that as well!

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to send out a few more messages as the week progresses and we undergo our training in Nairobi. Please pray for:

• The continued unity of the team throughout the summer.
• That we would have safe travels to Kenya today/tomorrow.
• That we would be open to what God has in store for us, even if it's not what we expect.

And praise:

• That all of the bags are currently in our possession, though my bag and another member's (Lindsey's) were lost for a short time.
• That the team is so ready and willing to see what God has in store.
• That we were blessed with a great meal from two former project members and able to pick their brains a little about what their experiences were like. :-)

BLASTOFF!!!

Here it is! In just a few hours I'll be on the way to New York and then to Kenya! I'm sooo excited right now about all the things that God has in store for me there; I know that it'll be life changing! Some prayers for the week:

• That the whole team would have safe travels to New York and to Kenya. That there wouldn't be any problems with luggage delayed flights, etc.
• That the team would be able to work well together and be prepared for all that God has for us to do this summer.
• For good training this coming week in Nairobi.

And some praises:

• That I'm leaving for Kenya OVER funded and even with pleanty of money to spend while I'm there.
• That I've been able to raise nearly half of my needed support for the internship next year in only 2 weeks, and with many potential donors still to contact.
• That I have a great support team - you all - willing to invest their time, money, and prayers along with me to help be a part of what God is doing in the world!

Well, that's all for now. I promise I'll let you know how things are going as soon as possible. God bless!

T-Minus 4 Days

That's right - just 4 more days, and I'll be on a plane to Hartford, thence to New York for a day, and finally to Kenya! I'm really starting to get excited about this; having the trip so close is really starting to make it real for me. Also, I'm now not only fully funded, but even over-funded for the trip! Praise the LORD! :-D

So I've started on the actual fundraising for the internship, which mostly consists of having small one-on-one meetings with people to tell them more about what the internship will be like and hopefully convince them that what I'm doing is a worthy use of their prayers and money. It's actually been really cool to talk to people and see how excited they are for what I'm doing. I was a little worried that this would be a big painful thing that I absolutely hate, but it's really awesome to be able to talk to people about what IV has meant to me and tell them about all of the cool things that will be happening at UNM next year. It's also been amazing to see how willing people are to give, even if it might not seem like that much.

I think one of the biggest blessings I've gotten from this whole process, though, has been the wonderful sense of peace I have that God has promised this money to me and that I don't have to worry about working to get it. I keep seeing Him provide in unexpected ways, and it's awesome to be able to talk to people and really just be happy with the ways they are able to give financially without worrying if it will end up being enough.

As far as the internship money goes, I'm currently at about 50%! That means I'll still have a lot of fundraising to do when I get back, but that's a really awesome amount since I didn't have the chance to talk to as many people as I had hoped to. Please continue to pray for me, though, that I'll get the rest of the support that I need for the year. Please also pray for the rest of the preparations I'll need to make before Kenya, such as writing some sermons to share.

Next time I post, I'll probably be in Kenya, so see you on the other side!