We are back!

We made it safely back to the states and we are currently in Indianapolis for a time of debriefing. We are looking forward to seeing everyone when we get back to Illinois.

Out of Africa

At 1130 tonight our plane flies out of Nairobi and we begin our long journey back to the states. We will be back in Springfield on Saturday and will be at WSCC on Sunday. We just returned to the city from our safari. It was a great relaxing time and it was wonderful to step out of the city and to view God's awesome creation. It was also a great transition from the slums back to America.

I am certainly sad to leave as I feel at home here, but also know that God chose us to be here for these 2 months. I have no idea what his plan is for our future, but we are excited for whatever that may be. We are also very excited to share our experience with anyone who cares to listen. Although we will no longer be in Africa we will put more pictures up here and update you on our transition back home.

Thanks to all of you who thought of us this summer, who read this blog, who emailed us, who financially supported us, and most importantly those of you who prayed for us. There were many times when we just knew people back home were praying for us. We really appreciate that. Also please know we are praying that many of you will join us on our next trip to Kenya!!

See you on the other side of the pond!

Part of the Valley

Here is a view from the 3rd floor of the Hope Center in Pagani. This is a part of the valley-most of it looks similar to this.

Trash aka taka taka

Here is a common scene in the slums. Where ever there is open ground it becomes a dumping place, and piles of trash end up like this. In some cases there isn't even enough room to walk around you have to walk over. Not sure what all we have stepped in! We were able to help a CHE group clean some of this up in Bondeni the other day.

Finally a picture

Here are a few matatus stuck in an ever so frequent traffic jam. Pretend you are crowded inside and there is very loud music playing. It could be Africa rap, American ganster rap, or my favorite Celine Dion. The other night we road home in what I like to call the Barack Mobile. Yep-it has a huge picture in the back window of Obamas face. I kid you not we love Obama here. okay-we are off to pick a matatu to head to the center!

Giraffe Park

Alicia got a kiss from one. I wasn't so daring. It was a fun day even though it was cold and drizzly.

Meet Peter

This is our friend Peter. I like to call him my little monkey boy because he wants you to pick him up and hold him and when you do he jumps up on you and wraps his legs around you very tightly and it reminds me of a monkey. He loves to be spun around very fast and for you to hold him upside down and act like you are going to drop him on his head. Whenever you do something he thinks is fun he says "tena na tena" which means again and again. We first met Peter and his sister Lillian on a Saturday when we went to the center to go help with the trash clean up. We had a lot of time to spend playing with them and they hang out at the center a lot. They are on the waiting list to start school next term.
I had the chance to go to Peter's home with one of the social workers the other day and to meet his mother. They live near the center in a tin shack that is about as wide as a queen size mattress and not much longer than one. About 6 people live in this place. Peter's mother is HIV positive and she is very sick. Peter's father has died from AIDS. They have no money as his mother cannot work and even if she could jobs here are hard to find. The center allows Peter and his siblings to come to the center each day to receive porridge in the morning and to eat lunch.
Tim and I were planning on sponsoring a child while we were here and we are planning to sponsor Peter. Although not in school right now Peter is a very smart. He loves to laugh and he has an endless supply of energy. We are very excited to be a part of his life.
At any given time there are many children on the waiting list at Missions of Hope. Children waiting for a sponsor and waiting to start school. Every time we walk through the slums we meet with many kids who are of school age but cannot afford to go to school. When we are praying with parents one of the most common prayers issues is for their children to be able to go to school. Education is of very high value here. Education is a huge step in changing the lives of many. I know many of you reading this already sponsor a child and it is so important that you know how much your sponsorship matter to these kids, their families, and this community.

If you don't sponsor a child or are considering supporting another one I really encourage you to pray about it alot. Sponsorship not only allows a child the opportnity for a good education and to eat daily-even more important than that it opens a door for people from the center to share Jesus with the families. We have information on how you can support a child please feel free to email us or to talk with us about this when we get back. To those of you who are sponsoring kids already-thank you. Your support is a huge blessing to these families.

A few laughs

The other day Easter was going to lead to visitors around to see the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps and visit some people who had be resettled. I decided to go with him. I was waiting at one of the schools for him to come and get me and when he did I saw him with one girl who was black and had been at the training I had just left. He said 2 visitors so I thought we still had to meet them somewhere else. He introduced me to her and said Alicia tell her where you are from. So I said I am from Illinois in America. She said yeah I am from Tennessee. Oh so you know Illinois then!! Oops we laughed about that and had a good morning but for a minute I felt like an idiot. She was originally from Nigeria so I was at least right that she was African.

So I have truly seen God as my protector. Everytime we safely get off the matatu at our destination I am thankful for another fun experience, but sometimes while we are on them my time is spent praying to our Father to protect us. I say none of this to scare you we really enjoy them, but there are times when I have closed eyes and a tight grip on the handle bar. The other night as we were heading home their was an accident so we had to re-route. That generally involves taking off down some side road. Keep in mind we are in the slums and it has rained hard for 2 days so dirt roads become muddy. So I cant decide what is going to be worse getting stuck in the mud and possibly wrecking or having to get out and walk in this area after dark. Fortunately God continues to answer my cries for safety and we make it back to town. Once the adrenaline level returns to normal we just laugh. I think most times we get on the matatu we have some adventure. I want everyone to have the experience at least once, but if you are considering coming to Nairobi please know you do not have to ride a matutu. Most teams rent a van and a driver so you would only have to have this experience if you choose to. We have some video of a ride through traffic but cant get it to upload today. Maybe later.
Love you all

Awaken

Our time here is almost up. I am pretty sad about that and cannot quite grasp the fact that soon I will not be getting up and heading to Mathare Valley and get to spend my days with Phanuel, Willis, Easter, and Eddy and all the other friends we have made. Soon I wont be surrounded by smiling brown faces chasing me down yelling Mzungu or How are you. Soon the near-death matatu rides will over. I know God called us here this summer and I am so glad to be here. What our future hold only God knows at this point and that is cool with me. We just keep seeking his will for our life.
On Sunday nights we have meetings to talk about our weeks. I didnt think I had too much to say until it was my turn and then I completely lost it. I was a crying mess thinking about leaving here. It was kind of embarrassing!! The chorus of a Shane and Shane song (Vision of You) kept going through my mind it goes like this

Awaken whats inside of me
Tune my heart to all you are in me
Even though your are here-God come
May the vision of you be the death of me

It keeps going but I listened to that song alot before we came and a few times since we have been here. In the Bible Moses really wanted to see God but he couldnt actually see him or he would die. To me though this song represents not necessarily a physical death but death to selfishness and personal things-surrender to Gods plan for your life. As we seek what our future holds I want to really die to me and allow God to use us in whatever way He wants. We have truly seen many visions of God this summer and there are 2 weeks left. One of the guys with us commented that God has really been showing off. That is the truth. My prayer is that those visions of God are the death of me. And my other prayer is that many of you are praying about getting on a plane (and maybe a matatu) and heading this way to visit Mathare Valley.

Two weeks left

It is hard to believe that the summer is already wrapping up. This last week has been busy with home visits and a CHE training. It is encouraging to see how people really engage in the training and are learning as much as they can. It is also fun to watch the guys we have been working with teaching and sharing the lessons. It has been a great week. Last Sunday we went to church in Joska. It was my first time out there since I was sick the last time that the group went. It is a neat place and we are going to go spend Thur. and Fri. there this week. Most nights we spend at peoples homes and it is neat to continue building the relationships with people we are working with. We also went to a giraffe park on Monday. It was crazy being that close to them and Alicia was even daring enough to get some kisses with them. We will post pics soon of the experience. We then went to the nicer side of Nairobi and spent some time at a new mall that had a movie theater. Some of us went to see a movie while others spent there time wondering around the mall. I saw Kong Fu Panda. The deal was movie, hot dog, soda, and popcorn for 380 kenyan shillings, which is around 6 dollars. It was a welcomed break from the valley. We are exited about our night in Joska, and we are planning on getting the necessary materials for smores. We enjoy making the Kenyans that we work with try all sorts of new things. Thanks for your continued prayers and we look foward to sharing pictures and more stories with you soon.

Something Good

Can anything good come out of Nazareth? John 1:46
A banner hangs behind the pulpit in the tent at the church in Pangani (the area that the center is located in ). The first day we arrived at the center I read this verse and thought how brilliant it was to put this on a banner to encourage the community. Of all the verses we have given people to encourage them in the past few weeks this one is certainly one of the most encouraging. The answer to the question is of course Yes since Jesus came from Nazareth and at that time many people didnt think anything good could come from Nazareth much less the Messiah. Yet Jesus did-he came from the most unlikely of places. I just love that about him-just full of surprises and he always seems to turn things upside down. I am sure there are many people that dont think that anything good can come from Mathare Valley, but that is so not true and I feel like that verse is placed in the Bible for people such as these.
Over the past weeks we have met and been encouraged by some tremendous people from the most humble backgrounds and darkest places. We met some women the other day who are single because either their husbands left them when they found out they were positive or died from HIV/AIDS. These women have taken in orphans and are taking in pregnant women who have been kicked out of their homes. To top it off they have no jobs or money or much of anything yet they have chosen to live in community with one another. A few of the women were Christians and a few were not, but in the past few weeks all of them have been saved including one of the young pregnant women who is a Muslim from Uganda. We have met with them several times in the past few weeks and they have the light of Jesus glowing within them. I would say that is something good.
Today we met another group of young men who went through the CHE program a few years ago. They now work at a community center which houses a school with over 200 children, a community library, a HIV/AIDS support group, youth sports and arts program, micro enterprise loans for women who are guardians of orphans and spiritual mentoring etc. They grew up in this community and rather than sit back and think only of themselves they have really poured their lives into making this community better. It was super encouraging and they really exemplified just what being the hands and feet of Christ looks like. That too is something good.
I could honestly go on and on and on but for now I wanted to share those with you. If our Saviour can come from a place such as Nazareth who knows what amazing people will come from Mathare Valley.

The rains down in Africa

Tim put up a few pictures-sorry it has taken so long. I want to share another matatu story with you and I want to say sorry there are no picture of them yet I really want to get the right picture so you can fully understand the essence of the matatu experience. On Friday we did home visits in one of the areas that is far from the center so we were in a matatu on the way back and it begins to rain...hard. Traffic gets a bit backed up and so our drivers does what anyone in this situation would do he goes off roading. Yep we are in a van/bus that hold like 30 people on dirt (not mud) roads driving very quickly. In America this kind of driving may not even be attempted in a 4-wheel drive truck. It was better than any ride at 6 Flags. We get back to the main road safely and traffic is still backed up and I am not sure why because I couldn't really see out. Finally, we arrive near our stop and we get off the matatu. It is still raining and so we are running and jumping around to avoid the mud and all the garbage that is now sweeping into the flooded roadway (the reason for the traffic jam). Up to this point I have managed to avoid all of the garbage and then I see it...We have to cross the road which is now covered in about 3 inches of garbage filled water. We just went for it, but I must say I was a little grossed out by all the unseen things that kept brushing past my feet. I think I am glad I couldn't see what it actually was. We made it back to the center and went to the Ham's house for a 4th of July celebration with hot dogs and fireworks. It was a great day. It seems as though we have new adventures everyday which is so much fun for us. I hope someday many of you will travel here with us so you can share the experience with us.

Alicia with Kids

Alicia spends a lot of time in the yard with all the school kids. She spins them in circles til either she or them is about to puke. Usually her as there is normally a long line ready to spun around.

Soccer Game

This picture is from the soccer game that we played a couple of weeks ago. The Kenyans all work at Missions of Hope. It was a great afternoon of fellowship.

Alicia holding babies

Alicia had the chance to go to an orphanage and hold babies one day.

Haircut

We have been working with a guy named Eddie. I went with him one afternoon and got my hair cut at his barber's. I think it was the first time he cut a Mzungu's hair. He went with the grain so he didn't cut much off and it was all different lengths. It was fun and I may have him try again before we leave.

Another Week

Tim and I were placed with the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program when we first got here and as you know we really enjoy the guys that we work with in that program. Community Health Evangelism is such an amazing program and is so impactful in the community. Basically, it is about getting people in the community involved in solving problems within their community. With this comes a sense of ownership that has many times been absent in communities such as those in Mathare Valley. They teach basic health lessons on hygiene, cleanliness, preventing illness, HIV/AIDS awareness. One of the goals is for these practices to spread throughout the entire community in order to promote change and wellness. This works through multiplication as in you learn how to keep your environment around you clean and then you tell your friends and they tell others and so on and so on. These lessons also incorporate Biblical principles and teachings which allows the Gospel to be shared throughout communities. It is really cool to be a part of something that is led by nationals. Next week we get to be involved in one of their training seminars. We have really been wanting to see what it looks like and we will finally get the opportunity. Also this weekend one of the communities is doing their first project-a garbage cleanup. We were invited to be a part of this and we cant wait. If you have seen pics of the slums you know garbage abounds everywhere so this will be no easy task, but it will be so neat to see the community get involved in making their place cleaner and healthier. This CHE group is run by some really young men and we have continually been encouraging them to keep changing their community because they are the future of Kenya.
Last weekend, we went to an outreach of the CHE group in Bondeni. Every Saturday morning they feed porridge to the children in the area. Anyone can come and they can get as much as they want until the large pot is empty. The kids come early and hang out so we got to spend some time with them which I always love. Before they get the porridge some of the guys lead them in signing songs and reciting verses. It was beautiful to watch kids sing songs loudly to Jesus and to know that their bellies are full. It has also been a great way to get the community to come and inquire about CHE. I love that it takes place in Bondeni since that is the community Westside is supporting. The guys in this group are great and they are really reaching out to their community. I wish you all could see it. Speaking of seeing it I'm sorry we have not put many pictures up. It takes a very long time to upload them at the Internet cafe and we don't always have a ton of time. We will continue to try and we have many photos and video to share when we get back.
Much love.