Update for Week One

30 May 2009
I finally arrived in Kenya after spending over 24 hours on planes and in airports. I rode my first double decker plane from Amsterdam to Kenya. The Kenya International Airport is bigger than I expected. The most chaotic part was trying to get your luggage. It was insane. Pastor Makuku came and picked us up and took us to the convent where we are staying. It was dark when we arrived but you could still see the many flowers and trees that are in bloom here. The guest house that I am staying in is beautiful. I didn’t think about the cars though. The driver seat is on the right side of the car and they drive on the left side of the road. A lot of things here are like they are in Britain since Kenya was once ruled by the British. The sisters had dinner ready for us when we arrived here. Dinner was rice, green beans, Bananas from Uganda (which tasted like potatoes!), and some beef. That was my first night in Kenya.

31 May 2009
“We need to emphasis what God emphasizes” –Pastor Makuku
I don’t even know where to begin. I ate breakfast around 8am which was toast and honey for me. The bread here is twice the size it is back home. Pastor had told us he would pick us up for church around 10am. After breakfast our team decided on a song to play/sing at church service. George played guitar and the rest of us sang “Trading My Sorrows”, which happens to be one of my favorite songs. Pastor had asked us the night before to have a song ready to sing at church service. Pastor and his wife Martha came and picked us up for church. Everything here looks SO different in the daylight. Most of the roads we took were nothing but clumps of dirt. Kenyan roads are not made for people who get carsick! lol. The site of Kibera is something that I can’t even begin to describe to you. Once we parked the vehicle, we starting to walk into Kibera. There was so much to see that you go into “sensory overload”. When you walk in, you have to hop across on clumps of what you are hoping is mud and have to be extremely careful not to slip and fall. I saw the biggest pig I have ever seen in my life. Kibera is a maze. The “safe” parts to walk on are the piles of garbage and mud. (well you pray it is mud) I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it in my life. After walking for a few minutes, we finally made it to the church. I found out that the MTW teams are the only white people that go into this part of Kibera. The kids practice their English by saying “How are YOU? How are YOU?” as you walk past them. It is almost a chant. The church service was around 3 hours long. Church in Kibera is so very different than church back home. Everyone pays attention here even the kids. The kids (for the most part) come by themselves, parents don’t make them. People are randomly called up to share a word of encouragement or a testimony. The service is very interactive. We had translators so we would know what was going on since the service is NOT in English. The music is INCREDIBLE here. Everyone loved our song that we sang. People were thanking us as soon as we sat down. The sermon was on “Thou shall not kill.” Deu. 5:17. Everything seems so much more relatable here. We went out to lunch at the Java Hut. When we arrived back at the convent, we decided to explore. Lauri found a chameleon. Everyone took turns holding it. That was pretty much it.

1 June 2009
Today is a holiday in Kenya. It is the day they got their independence (so it is like our 4th of July) So we didn’t have any plans until 2pm. After breakfast the team headed into town. It was about a 20-30 minute walk. My new favorite store is the Nakumatt (which is like Walmart but better) Around 3pm Pastor Makuku came and picked us up. (Time doesn’t really matter here) We went to his house, which is SO beautiful. Kenya has so many barn animals (cows, goats, sheep, donkeys pulling carts, etc.) I had my first cup of hot Kenyan tea today. It was AMAZING. We talked about the importance of prayer, our fears, and our expectations while we were at Pastor’s house. God has been so good to me. I’m so thankful for my time here in Kenya and so grateful for all the people who made this experience possible.

2 June 2009
After breakfast Pastor and his wife picked us up to go back into Kibera. We met all the staff and teachers today. Then Jeffery (the Head Master) took us around to each classroom to meet all the students. The students are so eager to learn here. After that we went to the AIDS support group. It is actually called the Neema group, which means Grace Group. The women were all so joyful and willing to help us Americans understand what was going on. Josephine picked me after lunch to work with her. Each teacher got to choose a team member to assist them with their classes. She is so very sweet and funny too. I graded a lot of math problems for her and helped her teach the Apostles Creed. After school was over, Pastor brought us back to the convent. I feel asleep early.

3 June 2009
Today was another day in Kibera. Today I helped teach Grade 1 Science. The lesson was on Food. Chapati and Ugali are Kenyan foods. Chapati is AWESOME! I have already had it 2-3 times since I have been here. Ugali is the staple food for most Kenyans and for some it is their only food. (It is like a cross between mashed potatoes and grits) I am now called Teacher Grace by most of the kids. After I assisted with Grade 1, I went into the church and listened in on the Bible Study. Then it was lunch time. The kids taught me the Chapati song. Then the whole team helped wash dishes. The art of washing dishes in Kibera: 2 buckets filled with cold water, a sponge with soap, scrub in the 1st bucket, rinse off in the 2nd bucket. That’s it. I could have gone without knowing that but the team just keeps praying the God will keep us safe from sickness. As we were leaving Kibera, I saw my first slum cat. Then at the end of the houses, there is a “stream” of sewage with a “bridge”. In the “water”, on my left was the HUGE pig that we saw on our first day in Kibera and on my right were 4 BIG baby pigs. We played Apples to Apples when we got back to the convent. We have been taking turns leading Bible Study each night. My team is super awesome and each day we are becoming closer. PTL!

4 June 2009
I don’t know if I have mentioned it or not but the statement that was made before I left about Kenyans being very modest except for men urinating publicly and women nursing is SO true! I have seen both on many occasions already. Today we went out to the Church’s new property where we dug around 80 holes with VERY simple tools. The girls removed the dirt from the holes after the guys had broken it up with their tools. O the day in the life of a mole. lol. Lunch was Peanut Butter and Plum Jam sandwiches. It was very good. I got a little sunburn, nothing too bad. It is the worst on my neck. I have learned that most Kenyans live a very simple life. A lot of the time it seems the Bible is so much more relevant here in Kenya because it’s like OT times. There are over 50 tribes in Kenya, which are all represented in Kibera. They eat to live (they don’t live to eat). Kibera Reformed Presbyterian Church’s staff is so strong ion their faith and so are their members. My prayer is that I will see and love God the way so many of these Kenyan women do! Their faith is so unshakable no matter the circumstance. It is a true blessing to be around the women here. I am learning so much. I saw the Ngong hills (which have 7 peaks) and the Hill of the Buffalos (which I thought was a mountain). You can see both from the church’s new property. The property is SO beautiful.

5 June 2009
Today is the team’s day off. Around 10am we will go sight seeing with Caroline and Purity. (two of the Kenyan women) I CAN’T WAIT!

Thanks for all the many prayers. I hope that this letter gives you a little insight on what I have been doing and seeing since I arrived in Kenya. Continue to prayer for my team and I that the Lord will strengthen us each and every day. Spiritual warfare is very alive and well in Kenya. Pray for the Kenyan people as well.

God Bless!
LG