Another Week Gone By

Another week has passed. Sorry it has been a week since we updated everyone-we were really busy this week and were unable to get to the internet before it was too late to be out. Many things have happened and it has been another great week of seeing God at work. To be honest though this week was certainly filled with some difficult times at least for me-alicia. This week was the first time I felt different than everyone around me. Everyone has been so welcoming to us that for awhile I kind of forgot that I looked different and was from a different place. This week that changed. It is a good thing and I feel like I am getting to see all sides of Nairobi which I think is important. As you continue to read this please know we are doing great and are so happy to be here. God is here and we are so thankful he called us to be here with him for the summer. I will be candid of course but I also feel like I need to be honest.
We are so aware that God is at work here but so is the devil and we have certainly seen that it a few ways in the past week. If you know much about Nairobi you are probably familiar with street children. These are kids who live on the street and generally beg for money. We have the same things in the US in some ways I know but I have to tell you it is very hard for me to have a precious 8 year old child come and beg me for food or money. We are told that to give only encourages them to keep begging, but I just cant always ignore it. A few times I have reached in my bag and gotten out some crackers or something. I know it doesnt solve the problem but at least for one night that child isnt so hungry. There are also street kids who sniff glue and most of the day they walk around with the bottle up to their nose and they sniff glue out of it. Many of them beg for money to buy more glue or for something to eat. They are dirty and mostly sleep along the road or in the piles of garbage. Their eyes are dead. That is hard for me to see. We have seen some other things as well but I cant seem to write about them on this blog right now I think they are better to talk about when we get back. All of these things are sights we witness on top of the extreme poverty we see everyday. I am not going to lie this is tough. I feel like I have seen sin at it ugliest. I have seen just what the world looks like apart from God. All the more reason for us to be here. I have been praying for such a long time for God to break my heart the way His breaks, praying to see the world the ways He does. When I see these things I am filled with some joy that my GOd finds me worthy to catch a glimpse of what He sees. And my heart breaks and yet He is only showing me a fraction of what He sees everyday. My heart is certainly broken, but in those moments I feel God near. I know He is here with them, with me, with you. I know He never intended life to look like this, but we chose this. We ate the fruit-we choose the world. As I see these battles going on everyday I am constantly reminded that my God has overcome this world and all the things of it. That sometimes I feel stuck in between darkness and light, good and evil, joy and pain...but in the end our God reigns over all things. There is no need to fear He won the battle a long time ago.
In the midst of some of this darkness the light of GOd is breaking through. We have been a part of leading several people to Christ. Many of these people will be spending eternity with the King of Kings and that is something to rejoice about. Satan is at times trying to do things to distract us from that, but it isnt working. We know God is using us to spread the message of Jesus, the message of hope to a world that is very lost with out him. God is good all the time. When we see some of the things we have seen or hear some of the things we have heard we could not be more excited to be here.
I know that was a lot-sorry-it has been a week so there is alot to say. Our friend Dixon accepted Christ yesterday and we got to be a part of that. Many of the team who are visiting those with HIV/AIDS have led several people to Jesus and many are asking questions. We praise him for those lives. Thanks for praying for us and for them. We are bold in what we have been praying for and God has answered many of those prayers. I continue to pray for him to break my heart for what break His because when that happens I fall more deeply in love with my Jesus and am more compelled to share that love with others.
I want to end with something funny so I will tell you a little about the soccer game. Kenya won 2 to 0 which was awesome. We had a great time, however, something of note is that at soccer matches you not only yell for your team, but it also a great time to make political statements. Before the game I heard people chanting and I thought they were saying Zimbabwe must go so I joined it thinking this was like booing them and I want to show as much Kenyan spirit as possible. Then I see a sign that says Mugabe must go so I ask Willis if Mugabe is their star player he says nope it is their president. So i stopped cheering Zimbabwe must go and decided to stay far away from political chants and stick with GO KENYA or the wave. Also everyone loves Obama as his father was Kenyan and from the Luo tribe. Many times people yell at us to vote for Obama. At the game they were cheering Ochiette (their star player), Odinga (the prime minister) Obama. It is very funny to me.
As I wrap up this novel I have written I want to thank you for your prayers and support. We love it here. God is good and in the midst of despair His love shines. It cool to see it firsthand for sure. Last Sunday we sat in a small church in one of the slums and people were signing in Swahili and I had no idea what they were saying but they were really praising God and even though I have no idea what words they were using-God does. He knows all people, languages, tribes, and tongues. At the same time we were signing a worship song in English. As I looked around I thought this must be what Heaven looks like. A mix of everyone worshipping the same God! I cant wait to do that forever!

Until next time! Much love!