Fried Green Bananas with Nickson

Hello Everyone!

I'm hoping that I can get an update posted tonight before either the electrical power here goes out (which it has been doing intermittently for the last 2 weeks) or my own power goes out!!!

In order to backtrack a little bit, I've posted a photograph with the young man that I went to visit in Tanzania last week -- Nickson Naftali Ndosi -- and his family. Nickson is at the left in the photo, and the rest of the family is: father Naftali, mother Magdalena, sister Beatrice, and brother Arnold. This was quite a special day, as memorable for all the right reasons as the previous day's 10 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Arusha was for all the wrong reasons!!! Focusing on the more positive part of the story, I was picked up at my hotel in Arusha at 8:30 am July 2nd by Mary Mwabukusi of Compassion International in Tanzania, who was my host for the day. She was very nice and very knowledgable, and spoke excellent English which helped a lot! After a quick stop to pick up a blanket as a gift for the family, we made our way to the "center" (school) that Nickson attends -- a Compassion school started in 2001 in partnership with an established Lutheran church in Nkoaranga. (No, I don't expect anyone to know how to pronounce these names!) Anyway, we had a great visit with the staff at the center, where I learned that 290 kids are in elementary and middle school. This center is one of 232 that Compassion has in Tanzania alone, with a total of 62,000 kids in those schools! (One disappointing statistic is that less than 200 of those 62,000 are visited by their sponsor each year, and I was the first sponsor to visit the Nkoaranga center in more than 2 years! I certainly felt blessed to have the opportunity, but felt badly for all the children who never meet their sponsor.)

School was not in session that day, which turned out to be a blessing for me, since we went directly to Nickson's house! As we drove through the beautiful mountain tropical region (very near Mt. Meru), I was taken by the peacefulness of the surroundings and the lush vegetation. Quite a contrast from Nairobi! At any rate, as we drove in the increasingly steep and narrow roads toward Nickson's house, I began to get more and more anxious to see him...we pulled into an area beyond a gate, then made a sharp turn heading back out, and then -- there he was! I blurted out, "That's him...that's Nickson!" It was so cool to see a boy in the flesh that I had only ever seen in pictures...he was even wearing a shirt that he had on in the last picture I received from him! Anyway, as I got out of the car I greeted Nickson with a handshake and a hug, and then likewise his father, and then as I was walking down the small hill to his house, his mother came up to me. One look at her eyes and I began to get all choked up -- hard to explain but an amazing and deep connection before I even said a word to her. I hugged her and almost cried right there...but I held the tears...at least at that point! I said hello to his sister and brother, and then we all went into their house and sat in their front/living room.

We had a wonderful visit! We shared names and histories and information about family, got into random conversations about things like mountains, Nickson's dream to become a tour guide, and of course the World Cup! Nickson is such a sweet and gentle boy, but he is also a young man with strength about him and a lot of poise. We laughed a lot...it was very cool and quite surreal to be sitting there, in a place I'd heard about in letters for 9 years! Our plan had been to take Nickson out for lunch, but Mary leaned over at one point and told me that Nickson's mother had prepared a lunch for us and wondered if I wanted to stay (i.e. if my stomach could handle it!). I felt very strongly that we simply had to stay for lunch and slightly less strongly that my tummy would hold up, so we stayed. Lunch was quite interesting and quite good -- fresh coffee, a muffin, some fried green bananas, a boiled egg, and some fried chicken. I managed to eat everything although maybe only half of the chicken leg, which didn't seem quite cooked enough! But, more than the food, it was such a special time - to share a meal with my Tanzanian family! At least they made me FEEL like family!

After lunch we went outside and kicked around a soccer ball (football to most of the world) that I had given to Nickson, and before long we had everyone in the family and a few neighbors involved. What a blast we had! And it really helped us relax and enjoy some fun without having to force small talk for too long.

After that, we went back into the house and I expected that we would pray together and then it would be time for me to go. But, before that, Mary told me that they wanted to say something to me, and shortly thereafter Nickson's mom presented me with some small wrapped gifts. I started to cry right then...just even the thought totally bowled me over. To top it off, she said before I opened it they had something they wanted to say to me. I will never recall the specifics of what she said, because I was just trying to keep from completely breaking down as she talked, but I remember they thanked me for what I've done for Nickson by sponsoring him, and said they felt so blessed. I opened the gifts -- a small beaded box, very beautiful, and a painting on canvas of an African scene, also very nice. I was so touched it is just hard to put into words. Then we did pray together (I for them, then Nickson for me), we sang a couple of songs, took a few last pictures, and then it was time to go.

The whole visit was about 3 hours, so memorable and then so quickly over. As we drove away I wondered if I would really get to see Nickson again someday...I have a feeling that I will. But either way it was worth every bit of time and energy to meet and spend time with this great boy who God brought into my life in 2001. What a difference it will make to hear about his family in letters after meeting them, seeing where they live, and getting a sense of what their life is really like! I can tell you that I won't worry too much about Nickson...his parents, sister, and brother are wonderful people, and they live pretty comfortably living off the land, relative to the deepest levels of poverty that exist in places like Mathare Valley in Nairobi or the hills of Guerrero in Mexico. Rural poverty and urban poverty are often very different. The issues and challenges are real in both situations, but the complexity of the problems multiply when large numbers of people are packed into a very small area. But, these are subjects for another post...as the story of my time in Kenya resumes!

Blessings everyone! And many thanks for the prayers and words of encouragement from so many of you -- I am feeling much better and now focused on finishing my time here strongly and well. In just 12 days I board a plane to South Africa...and 4 days after that another one for the USA!

Brief Update from Nairobi!

Hey Everyone!

Just a brief update today...battling a bit of a cold and seem to get very weary at the end of the day. With a 7 hour bus ride ahead of me on Thursday (to Tanzania to visit my Compassion child), I would love some prayers for a quick healing and a good night's sleep!

Overall I'm doing well and quite busy with a combination of ministry activities and a few social activities over the weekend, like watching the USA lose to Ghana -- oops! The Kenyans are all cheering for the last African team, so there wasn't much sympathy for me in the room here at the house I'm staying at -- Wallace and Mary Kamau's place with their 3 kids and 2 servants! (Yes, servants, that's actually a very common thing here in Kenya.) At least now I will also be rooting for Ghana -- my previous trips there have given me a heart-connection with those wonderful people, too! Can't say that I'm a big fan of any other team except perhaps Brazil, another mission spot for me! But Ghana is the underdog so I'd say they are my main favorite!

This evening I was invited to a very nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Westlands area of Nairobi, courtesy of the group from Florida (Harborside CC in Clearwater). They were an awesome team and each of them seemed to thrive on the experience, including their trip to the Nairobi National Park for a safari today! I will miss this group...as they had a great spirit about them and I connected with several folks on the team. It seems that just as the groups get settled in and we all get a chance to know them better, it's time for them to leave! Safe travels, Harborside! And many thanks for a wonderful dinner and evening!

Anyway, I hope that you are all doing great and pray that God will bless each of you and your families. Tomorrow I will be helping to train another new mission team (this one from Indiana) in how to use the two "cubes" -- evangelism and HIV versions! And also attending a Bible study for the pastors of the various Missions of Hope churches...should be an exiting day!

Blessings and Peace!

Glenn

Another Kenya Update -- June 21

Hi Everyone!

Yep, two days in a row -- trying to get in the habit of blogging, which is a new thing for me! Today's post will be "present tense" -- an update from today, instead of catching up on the backlog, which I will return to in upcoming posts.

Today marked exactly three weeks since I arrived in Kenya, and it was the start of a new week with new visiting short-term teams from the US. We have three teams here right now -- Harborside Christian Church in Tampa, FL, Johnson Bible College & Teen Camp from Tennessee, and Lincolnway Christian Church & FAME Medical Missions from Illinois. That's a total of about 40 people all ministering in various ways and in various areas within the Mathare Valley slum.

My assignment today was to help with the HIV/AIDS education and the "Bring the Light" evangelism outreach that the Harborside team was doing in the Mathare North neighborhood. In the morning I helped to train the team in how to use two "cubes" -- the Evang-e-cube and Hope cube. These cubes are from e3Partners and are graphic-based tools used in cross-cultural evangelism and HIV training, respectively. They tell stories in pictures using simple graphics and a neat little Rubic's cube size. RMCC teams have used the Evang-e-cube for many years on our trips to Ghana (with Jerry & Cindy Hawkins). You can learn more about the cubes at http://www.e3partners.org

Anyway, after we trained the team in how to use the cubes, we split up into 4 teams, each with some members of the Florida team, some of the CMF interns that are here for eight weeks, and staff members from the Missions of Hope team. I was paired with Paul and Kelly from Florida, and Margaret, a community worker from the MOHI team. We had some amazing experiences entering into homes and in the neighborhood!!! The picture above shows the crowd that Paul (in backpack) drew as he was sharing the HIV cube in the "street."

Probably the most moving visit was when we shared the HIV cube with a woman named Jenny who lived alone in a small and very humble dwelling. She has 5 children, but they are all living "up-country" -- in Central Kenya where she is from originally. Her husband died a few years ago, and she is in Nairobi trying to earn money to support her family. As we shared the information with her, we learned that she had recently been beaten up by another woman in the neighborhood. The other woman saw her husband walk past Jenny and say something flirtatious to her, and she assumed that something was going on between Jenny and her husband. So she assaulted her! We could see some scars on Jenny's face that were still healing. Jenny was very composed and somber as she shared this story with us, but we were all very moved by her struggle. She asked us to pray with her for God to provide a way for her to return home with her family in Central Kenya. We, of course, did so very gladly and fervently. Paul (who was the one sharing the HIV Cube with her) and Kelly got a very quick exposure to the types of stories that are commonplace in the slums here. It was an overpowering experience!

In an earlier visit, during which Kelly had shared the HIV cube, a woman named Tabitha broke down as Kelly was explaining that we should help to care for people who are HIV positive and that it is safe to be around them. She explained that her daughter had been caring for someone with AIDS and then had later developed a serious disease and died! Our friend was clearly still grieving the loss of her daughter and quite skeptical about what we were saying, understandably so. As we explored the story further, it was not clear whether her daughter had contracted HIV/AIDS or some other disease, since she had tested negative and the disease that she died of was never fully diagnosed. In any event, the pain of loss was real and we prayed with Tabitha for comfort and healing. The picture below shows Kelly sharing with Tabitha (left), with Margaret's help, and the one further down is Kelly and Tabitha together later.

What one sees in the slums in terms of harsh living conditions is only the beginning of the challenges encountered. The heartbreaking stories that these women shared with us after welcoming us, as literally strangers from a far off land, into their homes were shocking to say the least. We were honored and humbled to be able to provide even a small amount of support and to pray to our Savior to enter their hearts and bring His peace.

Please pray for Jenny, Tabitha, and so many others like them.

Blessings and Peace,

Glenn

Greetings from Kenya - June 20th!

Jambo Kenya! (Greetings from Kenya!)

Wow, it is really hard to believe I have already been here in Kenya three weeks! Time seems to pass very quickly here – probably mostly because the days and weeks are very full of activity.

It is equally hard to believe that this is my first blog post in those same three weeks! There have been a variety of computer and internet issues that contributed to that delay, on top of the long days that make time to sit and reflect about the experiences, or even just record them, very scarce indeed. At any rate, the technical issues seem to be resolved and I expect to be able to provide much more regular updates…which I hope you will enjoy reading!

Please do share your feedback with me through the blog webpage, Facebook, or email. I especially would like to know what types of things you want to hear about – ministry in the slums, daily life in Kenya, the World Cup, whatever! This entry may be longer than most, since I need to catch up on three busy weeks! Won’t attempt to do that all in one “go” as they say here, but at least make a dent in the backlog today!

The first week of the trip was an RMCC short-term trip and I had the pleasure of leading a “small but powerful” team with Lora Roth and Felicia Powell. Much of our time was spent conducting a VBS (Vacation Bible School) in one of the elementary schools operated by Missions of Hope International (MOHI) in the Mathare Valley slum. The school that we worked at is called Mathare Family Hope Center – Huruma. The picture above is of the three of us with Mary Kamau (2nd from left), Executive Director of Missions of Hope International, and Jennifer Ogola (far right), Head Teacher for the Huruma school. Amazing women – all 4 of them!

The school has 239 kids from the Madoya and Huruma neighborhoods, ranging from pre-school to grade 4! How did three of us pull off a VBS for 239 kids, you ask??? Well, the first answer is “only with God!” We were amazed by the many challenges that were overcome in unusual ways, despite our occasional doubts!

The second answer is – the Kenyan teachers and staff from the Huruma school! They are an awesome team, very good teachers, and very flexible and willing servants. Jennifer proved to be our biggest ally and resourceful problem solver. No doubt that without her and her wonderful staff we simply couldn’t have done a VBS! Here is a picture of them holding the teddy bears (courtesy of RMCC’s “Bears Without Borders”) they received at the end of VBS!

And, below are a few more pictures from the various aspects of VBS – bible story (with puppets!), crafts, games, and memory verses/music – and the wonderful farewell celebration the kids gave us. A big thank you to Laurie Los, Joy Springer, Judy Grant, and Titia Jonas for their help with music, craft ideas, puppets, skits, and the “Be-Attitudes” curriculum! It wouldn’t have been possible without your help, either!

Well, that’s going to do it for today…I thank all of you for your prayers and support, the entire trip has been challenging yet rewarding! More updates, stories, and pictures in coming days.

In the meantime, Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there, and may your day be blessed!

Asante Sana! Mungu Awa Bariki! (Thank You Very Much! God Bless All of You!)

Glenn

Just starting out...

Here it is, my first-ever blog post! Welcome to the 21st century, Glenn!

This blog will be the place where I post updates and photos from my upcoming trip to Kenya, May 30th to July 29th, including a 4-day stopover in South Africa on the way home.

Hope you enjoy the postings, and feel to write early and often!

Blessings,

Glenn