We had a full day today. Getting around has been very strategic and time consuming due to the lack of fuel all over Kenya. (Think of the gas station lines of 1976). We headed into Kitale to meet with James Mark a pastor from Kisii. He left Kisii on Monday, overnighted with a relative and came to Kitali this morning just to turn around after the meeting to travel all the way back to Kisii today. The travel is difficult enough but James Mark also had to be excused from some government training just to come.
James Mark is very passionate about his faith and how he is living it out in his life. Almost from the moment we settled in he began to share what has been on his heart. He is young and has realized that he needs a ‘secular’ job to support his calling to the ministry. These pastors of the poor here seem to end up supporting their members. He also wishes to be married. His church meets under an awning of tree branches situated on rental property so he also would like a rain proof meeting place that belongs to the congregation.
The last time we were here we visited the Kisii church. I shared with Ekklesia, the Victory class and Titus 2 how James Mark’s love for Christ consumed my attention. Here’s this young pastor gathering believers in a small tea farming community in Kenya. His location looks like something from Gilligan’s Island; he has a hand full of congregants, mostly children yet he is praising his heart out singing to God. James Mark has been using a guitar that is literally held together with screws and pieces of aluminum. But yet he praises.
Through the sharing of his story, someone was moved to gift James Mark with a guitar. Today we were able to transport that gift and deliver it to him. It was great! As we started he prayed about God giving his church favor to have some instruments with which to praise God. So when we finally presented him with the gift he was so overwhelmed I don’t think he completely understood that this was for him. It was great! He opened up the case, took out the guitar and started into his opening praise song – Jesus Come and Reign. Now mind you we are in a restaurant with 4 rooms of people and James Mark gets up and plays for 4 or 5 minutes just praising God. I love this guy. What an example of the church being in us wherever we are and living it out loud! What a joy to be allowed to be a part of this experience.
The rest of the day was pretty much just as great. We were building relationships with three other families throughout the day. I have to wonder how the English rule in this country has devastated this peoples’ ability to take initiative to think for themselves. What we take for granted as freedom does not seem to be intuitive here. Improving the quality of life seems to start with the sharing of some very basic things they need to see they can do for themselves. A large challenge indeed, but nothing too big for our God!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Monday, Dec 5
Today has been INCREDIBLE! This morning we played host to George and Jessica Mufoya and their one-week-old baby daughter, Deborah. They joined us on our shamba (farm) for tea and sandwiches while we talked about all the changes going on in their lives. George has moved to Nairobi and taken a job there in order to make a better life for his family. Unfortunately, right now the rest of the family remains behind on their shamba in Charangoni Hills. We talked about the difficulties this creates as well as the hopes of having them together in Nairobi and what this will mean to their way of life. We also talked about how George plans to branch out in ministry beyond the work of LCM, and how his wife eventually wants to be certified to teach Early Childhood Development classes in the government schools.
After a wonderful time of sharing and prayer, we went to Sibanga to meet Timothy and Rose Mahindu, also the proud parents of a new baby – eight week old Jeremiah. We came back to the shamba together and again enjoyed a time of sharing a meal while talking about how God has been working in our lives these past months. Language is still a barrier but it is amazing what can be communicated just through the act of being together and sharing a meal.
Our time now concluded with the Mahindus, we walked them down “Kittony Lane” toward Sibanga and along the way picked up our friend, little Zipporah. She is a young girl we meet often who lives on a shamba near Mama Zippy’s. We asked her mother if she could go to the market in Sibanga with us and mama told us to go ahead and Zipporah would follow. The next time we saw Zipporah, she had changed from her play clothes into her Sunday finest! We walked the rest of the way to the market, the three of us holding hands until we reached our destination in the marketplace. Ellen saw this as an awesome picture of God who comes to where we are and invites us to come along with Him. Like little children, we want to look our best for the Father so we hurry to wash up and put on our best clothes for Him. Then we join hands with Him and He leads us on a journey through this the trials of this world to a final destination of eternity in His presence. Once in the market, we asked Zipporah to take us to a soda shop and there we purchased a drink for her and several of her little friends. Of course, Dawn couldn’t leave without giving a Bible to the shop owner!
After we had walked Zipporah home and continued toward our own shamba, two of her friends who had been at the soda shop followed after us and asked for their own Bibles. Who could resist those precious girls and their simple request?!
After a wonderful time of sharing and prayer, we went to Sibanga to meet Timothy and Rose Mahindu, also the proud parents of a new baby – eight week old Jeremiah. We came back to the shamba together and again enjoyed a time of sharing a meal while talking about how God has been working in our lives these past months. Language is still a barrier but it is amazing what can be communicated just through the act of being together and sharing a meal.
Our time now concluded with the Mahindus, we walked them down “Kittony Lane” toward Sibanga and along the way picked up our friend, little Zipporah. She is a young girl we meet often who lives on a shamba near Mama Zippy’s. We asked her mother if she could go to the market in Sibanga with us and mama told us to go ahead and Zipporah would follow. The next time we saw Zipporah, she had changed from her play clothes into her Sunday finest! We walked the rest of the way to the market, the three of us holding hands until we reached our destination in the marketplace. Ellen saw this as an awesome picture of God who comes to where we are and invites us to come along with Him. Like little children, we want to look our best for the Father so we hurry to wash up and put on our best clothes for Him. Then we join hands with Him and He leads us on a journey through this the trials of this world to a final destination of eternity in His presence. Once in the market, we asked Zipporah to take us to a soda shop and there we purchased a drink for her and several of her little friends. Of course, Dawn couldn’t leave without giving a Bible to the shop owner!
After we had walked Zipporah home and continued toward our own shamba, two of her friends who had been at the soda shop followed after us and asked for their own Bibles. Who could resist those precious girls and their simple request?!
Sunday, Dec 4
This being Sunday, we were so looking forward to seeing Pastor Isaac at the AIC Imani Sirwo church in Sibanga and then having lunch with him and his beautiful family afterwards. God, it seems, had other plans. Pastor Isaac called us on Saturday evening and told us he had been unable to get transport out of Nairobi so he was unable to be with us for worship – BUMMER! The past two times we have visited Kenya, we have not been able to connect with him. Their worship was incredible! I don’t think there was a single person who didn’t share a song with us. We gave Bibles to the youth who are in high school grades, explaining that the knowledge they gained in school was valuable but that which they received from the Bible was invaluable. After the service had ended, Pastor Isaac’s wife, Grace, along with his children, Louise and Emmanuel, were our guests for lunch at Zippy’s home. We enjoyed some great fellowship with Grace while watching the children play football (soccer) after our meal. We walked the Gikonyo family down the lane into the marketplace and said our goodbyes, continuing on to the LCM church which was having prayers. After worshipping with them in their rental building, we walked with them down another lane to a piece of land they have purchased and are constructing their own building. We thanked God for what He has done and asked for his blessing on the work. After a long day, we arrived back on the farm just at 7:00PM which is when Zippy likes for everyone to be in for the evening. Did we mention this was an INCREDIBLE day of worship?????
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Saturday, December 3
The Seed Lady
Today we wanted to spend the day with our hostess, Zippy. Often we come and we feel as if we do not get to know her on a personal level. So we asked her to pick what she would like to do. I’m always afraid we’ll end up at the beauty parlor or as they call them here, the ‘saloon’. Much to my relief she chose to go to the National Agriculture Plowing Competition. Each district sends their winner from their plowing contest to this event to see who will go to the international competition. It seems a lot like 4H but for the adults. Today there were 3 categories – gimbe (hoe), ox team, and tractor. 60% of this countries farming is done by gimbe. This is back breaking work. We got an education today.
Well Ms. Dawn was not going to let a little event with the Prime Minister of Agriculture keep her from sowing her favorite kind of seed. So as Zippy introduced us around Dawn would back track and start a conversation. At one point she was talking to the man emceeing the event. After she had given him a Bible he put her on the microphone to address the crowd. She related to their efforts in their farming and said we come to Kenya to plant, too. But we plant a different kind of seed. That seed is the Word of God. For the remainder of the event people kept approaching her requesting a Bible. Some asked if she was selling them. Others were young people in their early twenties. I’m not sure if this scene could be repeated in the U.S. with the same result. These people are hungry for their own copy of the Bible. And that’s something we can never have too much of.
Dawn has made the gifting of Bibles a focus of each of the last three trips. She has such a passion for sharing Christ through this method that I have decided to call her the Seed Lady. All in all it was not a bad day in Kenya.
Today we wanted to spend the day with our hostess, Zippy. Often we come and we feel as if we do not get to know her on a personal level. So we asked her to pick what she would like to do. I’m always afraid we’ll end up at the beauty parlor or as they call them here, the ‘saloon’. Much to my relief she chose to go to the National Agriculture Plowing Competition. Each district sends their winner from their plowing contest to this event to see who will go to the international competition. It seems a lot like 4H but for the adults. Today there were 3 categories – gimbe (hoe), ox team, and tractor. 60% of this countries farming is done by gimbe. This is back breaking work. We got an education today.
Well Ms. Dawn was not going to let a little event with the Prime Minister of Agriculture keep her from sowing her favorite kind of seed. So as Zippy introduced us around Dawn would back track and start a conversation. At one point she was talking to the man emceeing the event. After she had given him a Bible he put her on the microphone to address the crowd. She related to their efforts in their farming and said we come to Kenya to plant, too. But we plant a different kind of seed. That seed is the Word of God. For the remainder of the event people kept approaching her requesting a Bible. Some asked if she was selling them. Others were young people in their early twenties. I’m not sure if this scene could be repeated in the U.S. with the same result. These people are hungry for their own copy of the Bible. And that’s something we can never have too much of.
Dawn has made the gifting of Bibles a focus of each of the last three trips. She has such a passion for sharing Christ through this method that I have decided to call her the Seed Lady. All in all it was not a bad day in Kenya.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Friday, December 2
We look back in fascination and humility as we recognize how God orchestrated this day. Breakfast at 9:00 and then we were off to Kitale with Zippy and her driver. Once there, we had some business to take care of at the bank so as we waited our turn we struck up a conversation with the young man who sat down next to us. Ekesia told us that he had once worked for Planned Parenthood in Kenya but became convicted of the fact he was working for an organization which supported abortion. (He attends a Catholic church in Kitale.) Conscience persuaded him to resign and he took a job at a business where he worked for several months. His co-workers began to ostracize him because his lifestyle was conservative and they made false allegations about him to his supervisor. He was eventually confronted by this supervisor who told him he could either resign or they would force him out of his job. Ekesia and his wife discussed the situation and agreed that if his co-workers did not want to work with him, he should not stay where he wasn’t welcome. So for over a year now, Ekesia has been looking for another job and trusting God to provide that job while meeting his family’s needs in the interim. As he recounted his situation, the story gave me goose bumps because his story sounded nearly identical to my own circumstances! I shared with Ekesia from Colossians 2:6 where Paul told the Colossians, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” How do we receive Christ? The answer is, “by faith”. And if we are to walk in Christ in the same manner in which we receive Him, then we are to walk by faith, as well. These days, Ekesia and I are spending a lot of time walking by faith! On the surface it may seem a coincidence that two people in two cultures on opposite sides of the earth could share such similar circumstances. But if you think that, you are forgetting just how AWESOME our Father truly is! – Dawn
God through our finances
After our time at the bank we met with Justus Arani the Watergate Cyber Café (WCC) manager. Two years ago we brought a team to Kitale/Sibanga to establish a cyber café. This is bit like Starbucks but instead of expensive coffee and free wifi the internet service is the commodity that is sold along with other office services such as copy making. The idea behind this business was to generate funds for pastors that serve very poor congregations and do not receive a salary of any sort. Sounds simple right? Well nothing is that straight forward in Kenya. Through many twists and turns and two location changes the WCC is still struggling to be even self supporting. So a decision has needed to be made whether to continue to pour funds into the operation.
For two years I feel as if God has connected me with Justus for some reason. We do not share all the same beliefs but focusing on that has not been my motive for relationship. For whatever reason God has put it on my heart to care about what goes on with Justus. I think caring is one thing. To actually be able to walk along side someone and possiblly speak into their life you must form a trust. Within that trust I hope Justus has seen something of Christ in me and understands that Christ is why I care.
Today was another step in that caring process. Dawn and I were able to sit with Justus and have him share his dream of using his recent schooling to start a business. We had been discussing this through emails but it was great to sit and share chai and hear his passion and knowledge about this task. We felt free to challenge him on several aspects of his plan that he had not considered and give him some new ideas. At one point as he was responding he said ‘wow, Dawn really has my neck in a hold’. I love Kenyan descriptions. We were able to have some honest conversation about a shortcoming on his part with the WCC. And beyond taking what we have learned from the other 5 micro loans we came up with a way for Justus, as Ken would say, to have skin in the game. So we resolved that in exchange for the micro loan that Justus would take complete responsibility for making the WCC a profitable operation. This is skin because his new business’ success depends on the WCC being open.
After a fruitful session Justus took us to his home where we met with Rhoda his wife, their 3 yr old daughter, cousins and aunts. What a delight to see a very functioning family unit. Mutual respect for each other. An example is Lillian, a cousin, has been living with them while she attends university. Last week she became very ill and had major surgery. They are taking very good care of her and other relatives have also come from a distance to assist. Maybe the difference I’m trying to express is that this family is not seeing this as a trial or a burden. So many times here these events seem more like a burden to just get beyond. So it was wonderful to witness the love in this home. We will continue to see what God has for us in this journey. - Ellen
God through our finances
After our time at the bank we met with Justus Arani the Watergate Cyber Café (WCC) manager. Two years ago we brought a team to Kitale/Sibanga to establish a cyber café. This is bit like Starbucks but instead of expensive coffee and free wifi the internet service is the commodity that is sold along with other office services such as copy making. The idea behind this business was to generate funds for pastors that serve very poor congregations and do not receive a salary of any sort. Sounds simple right? Well nothing is that straight forward in Kenya. Through many twists and turns and two location changes the WCC is still struggling to be even self supporting. So a decision has needed to be made whether to continue to pour funds into the operation.
For two years I feel as if God has connected me with Justus for some reason. We do not share all the same beliefs but focusing on that has not been my motive for relationship. For whatever reason God has put it on my heart to care about what goes on with Justus. I think caring is one thing. To actually be able to walk along side someone and possiblly speak into their life you must form a trust. Within that trust I hope Justus has seen something of Christ in me and understands that Christ is why I care.
Today was another step in that caring process. Dawn and I were able to sit with Justus and have him share his dream of using his recent schooling to start a business. We had been discussing this through emails but it was great to sit and share chai and hear his passion and knowledge about this task. We felt free to challenge him on several aspects of his plan that he had not considered and give him some new ideas. At one point as he was responding he said ‘wow, Dawn really has my neck in a hold’. I love Kenyan descriptions. We were able to have some honest conversation about a shortcoming on his part with the WCC. And beyond taking what we have learned from the other 5 micro loans we came up with a way for Justus, as Ken would say, to have skin in the game. So we resolved that in exchange for the micro loan that Justus would take complete responsibility for making the WCC a profitable operation. This is skin because his new business’ success depends on the WCC being open.
After a fruitful session Justus took us to his home where we met with Rhoda his wife, their 3 yr old daughter, cousins and aunts. What a delight to see a very functioning family unit. Mutual respect for each other. An example is Lillian, a cousin, has been living with them while she attends university. Last week she became very ill and had major surgery. They are taking very good care of her and other relatives have also come from a distance to assist. Maybe the difference I’m trying to express is that this family is not seeing this as a trial or a burden. So many times here these events seem more like a burden to just get beyond. So it was wonderful to witness the love in this home. We will continue to see what God has for us in this journey. - Ellen
Thursday, December 1
When we left Ohio, we arrived at the airport two hours before our scheduled departure checked in our luggage, and went to our gate. We boarded our plane 30 minutes before it was scheduled to depart, and it departed and arrived at our next destination on time.
Thursday we left the guesthouse at 9:30AM and arrived at the airport at 10:30AM for a 12:30PM flight to Kitale. We checked in our luggage, paid excess baggage fees because we were carrying international luggage weight allowances but were traveling on a domestic flight, and went to our gate. We were informed at 1:00PM that our flight was delayed approximately one hour. At approximately 3:00PM we were told the flight was still delayed and that the airline was paying for our lunch at a nearby restaurant. Can you see the handwriting on the wall here???? When we returned from lunch about 4:00PM the airline representative took us straight to their ticket counter where we were informed the flight to Kitale had been canceled and we would be booked on their next flight out – TOMORROW! Through a series of events we managed to be booked on a flight to Eldoret which took nearly three hours because it stopped over in Kisumu. Once we arrived in Eldoret at around 7:00PM the airline arranged for a driver to take us to Sibanga. After a traffic jam, pitch blackness (no street lights here, folks!), and pouring rain, the other passenger who was diverted with us asked the driver to find a gas station so he could “use the facilities.” It’s now 9:00PM, we had started this day on the road at 9:30AM and I wanted to scream, “Didn’t your mother teach you to do that BEFORE you left home?????” Finally in Kitale to drop off our passenger, we drove on to Sibanga where we arrived at Zippy’s home a little after 10:00PM where dinner, of course, had been kept warm for us. And THIS, my friends, is why you don’t plan on trying to get a lot of things done on any given day in Kenya!
Thursday we left the guesthouse at 9:30AM and arrived at the airport at 10:30AM for a 12:30PM flight to Kitale. We checked in our luggage, paid excess baggage fees because we were carrying international luggage weight allowances but were traveling on a domestic flight, and went to our gate. We were informed at 1:00PM that our flight was delayed approximately one hour. At approximately 3:00PM we were told the flight was still delayed and that the airline was paying for our lunch at a nearby restaurant. Can you see the handwriting on the wall here???? When we returned from lunch about 4:00PM the airline representative took us straight to their ticket counter where we were informed the flight to Kitale had been canceled and we would be booked on their next flight out – TOMORROW! Through a series of events we managed to be booked on a flight to Eldoret which took nearly three hours because it stopped over in Kisumu. Once we arrived in Eldoret at around 7:00PM the airline arranged for a driver to take us to Sibanga. After a traffic jam, pitch blackness (no street lights here, folks!), and pouring rain, the other passenger who was diverted with us asked the driver to find a gas station so he could “use the facilities.” It’s now 9:00PM, we had started this day on the road at 9:30AM and I wanted to scream, “Didn’t your mother teach you to do that BEFORE you left home?????” Finally in Kitale to drop off our passenger, we drove on to Sibanga where we arrived at Zippy’s home a little after 10:00PM where dinner, of course, had been kept warm for us. And THIS, my friends, is why you don’t plan on trying to get a lot of things done on any given day in Kenya!
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