Saturday, August 6, 2011
We're Leaving
Friday, August 5, 2011
No Comparison
On Monday we went to Eastleigh and I joined Derek, Mike, and Trenton to visit the bases with our “protectors” Evans, Nancy, and Joel. At first I was feeling pretty confident walking the streets, but then Trenton goes on to tell me how about 90% of the population there is Muslim, that people can rent guns, and that terrorist groups actually go to Eastleigh to recruit. After hearing that I was a little uneasy, but I trusted that the Lord would protect and provide for us. I also found out that white people almost never visit, most likely for those reasons… Many children that run away from home end up finding themselves at Eastleigh with no place to stay. They have no money, no job, no home, and no family. They end up being forced to join one the “bases” for safety. The bases are pretty much just gangs that literally live right on the streets. They have nothing. Because the kids can’t afford food they instead spend whatever money they can get on glue that they keep in little bottles and sniff to get high. They try to escape the pain of hunger and the worries of life by getting high instead. Even worse, in order for a girl to join a base she has to first sleep with every member of the base, and the age of kids ranges from around 7-25. I can’t imagine what the kids my age, and even younger, have gone through. Thankfully, last year the staff at Made In The Streets gathered up all the base bosses to try to resolve some problems, and ever since then violence between bases has died down.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the people at the first base to be very friendly and welcoming. They were called “Base Under a Tree,” but when we got there we found that the tree wasn’t quite what we were expecting. Trenton actually asked “So where’s the tree?” All the kids wanted to shake your hand and bump your first. Some would actually grab your hand, make it into a fist, and then bump it :P Everybody’s clothes were so dirty that they all had the same worn-grey look. It was very obvious which ones were high…well they all were high, but it was obvious which ones were very high. Joel asked if there was anything we wanted to share with them, and as I looked from Trenton to Derek, then Mike, I offered to share. I shared a very simple message: that Jesus knows each of them individually and personally, that he knows their hearts; Jesus knows all of their sufferings they have gone through and ever will go through because he suffered their sufferings himself; Jesus took their sufferings upon himself; Jesus will also love them know matter what; there is nothing they could do to make him stop loving them; Jesus knows their sins, and he took their sins upon himself so that they may be forgiven, and Jesus wants them to follow him. I was really surprised because as I was sharing I noticed that all of them were actually paying attention to me, even the ones who were really high. They actually looked at me as I spoke, even though Joel was translating for me. It was an awesome experience sharing and witnessing to them, and it was also awesome to see how they reacted to my message. They were glad for us to pray for them, and eager for us to take a picture with them. Afterward the boys joined us for awhile as we began walking to the next base. I felt much safer walking with them, because most of these boys were older and intimidating looking. For awhile one of the boys named Bobby and I tried talking to each other, but it was pretty difficult seeing that we only spoke bits and pieces of each other’s languages. We parted ways at one point so that Joel could buy them some food.
The next base was Lillyput (pronounced li-lee-poot?). Again, they were very friendly and welcoming. The first two boys we saw were extremely skinny, and so high they could barely move properly. The Lillyput kids just sit out front of an apartment complex all day. Every other place they tried staying they would always get chased away from. But the kids have been blessed because the people at this complex haven’t chased them away yet. The Lillyput kids seem to struggle with drugs more than anything. You could tell that many of them were very high, and you could tell one of them is hooked on glue pretty bad. He literally looked like a walking skeleton, and he could barely walk. He struggled just to stand up. When you looked into his eyes you could only see emptiness. Emptiness in his mind, and in his soul. This time Joel offered me to share again, and so I shared the same message. Once again, all of the boys listened to me intently. After I shared I believe Joel asked if any of them wanted to follow Jesus, and I was so shocked and filled with joy when several of them actually raised their hands. After Joel talked to the boys about Jesus a little longer two of them stepped forward saying that they wanted to take the next step in their faith, and that they would like to be prayed for. After praying for them we also prayed for the group as a whole. I was so touched when I saw that all of the boys would take off their hats during prayer; people at church don’t even do that. Before we left we handed out some food to everyone and took some pictures, and then we parted ways.
The next base was called High Rise, and was actually really far away. We had to walk through downtown Eastleigh, which was really sketchy. The streets were crowded and our guides warned us to check our pockets if anybody bumped into us. Trenton hid his camera under his shirt, and I just kept my hands in my pockets so nobody could take anything. As we were walking we would occasionally pass people speaking to a big crowd, and Evans translated for us telling us that they were essentially just bashing on Jesus. High Rise was a much bigger base than the others, having around 30 members (we only saw around 12 people at each of the last two bases). Yet again, the people were very welcoming and friendly. I was horrified when I saw some people laying on the ground that looked dead. They were covered in flies, and you couldn’t even tell if they were alive until they shifted around a little or got up to meet you. This time Joel didn’t even ask if I’d share, he just announced that I would. Again, I shared the same message, and again everybody intently listened to me. I was especially shocked because they had several Muslim members who were also listening to me with interest. People actually started to join the crowd to hear what I was saying! And again, several people showed interest in finding more out about Jesus. At the other two bases the base bosses weren’t there, but we were blessed to meet the base boss of High Rise. He was very big, and very strong. We found out that he was actually a new leader, and he seemed very nice and like he legitimately cared about the well-being of “his kids.” He talked to Joel about how they needed food, and the things they struggle with. Joel got a chance to share with him the ministry work that MITS does, and hopefully the base boss will end up visiting and talking with the MITS staff members. Handing out food was more difficult because there were so many people, but I was so happy when I saw that their base boss was making sure that nobody took more than they were supposed to, and that everyone got a fair share of food. Again, all the kids asked for us to take pictures of them and with them. The age range was much more drastic in this base. One of the kids looked so young that he might actually have been born there in the base, on the streets. Several girls that go to MITS were actually born in bases. I just felt so blessed that everyone at the bases was always so welcoming to us.
Before arriving in Kenya I thought I was going to have a tough time dealing with everything, and that I would be very emotional. Surprisingly, this has hardly been the case. I can’t quite understand why, but I think it may be because I just see so much joy in the people; mainly in the kids but also in some adults. Their joy in the fact that they have been saved and are with the Lord makes me rejoice. But still, I feel as though I should be broken and left in tears at the sights I have seen. I wasn’t definitely touched the most by my time in Eastleigh though. The lives the kids live are just so different, and so horrific; I can’t even imagine what they have gone through. There is no comparison. All I can do now is continue to pray for them, and that they may somehow come to Jesus too. I already miss all my brothers and sisters in the streets….
Kayaba and Pastor Paul and New life
Transformations
As they studied the passage, each woman also shared their stories and why they have faith in God. A few of them praised God because their kids have the chance to lead better lives than them. These are street women, who, to survive on the streets and be allowed to live on the bases, must sleep with every male on the base. One woman said that her two children were taken by Catholic missionaries and currently go to school, and that she praises God for that. Another mother said that she wanted to be reunited with her children who were similarly taken, but the other ladies laughed and said that they were better off. The woman who was translating for me told me that this woman used to beat her children, so I definitely think her kids are better off where they are too.
After that I got to sit in with the teens. It was amazing how dirty these kids were. Even though they were all wearing different colored clothing, they were all covered with a tick sheet of gray dust, making them all seem just dull, such a contrast to the kids at the Farm. It always amazes me that every teen at the Farm used to be one of those street kids. Their transformation is perfectly representative of their life change. Where once they were street children with no hope, they become colorful teens with a bright hope for the future, and most importantly, salvation and a relationship with Jesus for eternity.
Tonight, we are settling in for the evening on the team's last night here in Kenya. After a week and a half of hard work and ministry, we are so thankful for this wonderful team who sacrificed so much to serve others. Although they had their silly side, their faith in God always helped point them the way to go.
The thing, however, that was so striking about this team was not in how they overcame challenges, or how hard they worked, or how they shared their hearts by forming relationships with the people of Kenya, but it was in their focus on God. Each day they shared devotions and prayed together. Jesus Christ was the focus of their trip. 
Heavenly Treasures & Mcedo School
We went to visit the Mcedo school again to drop off some soccer jerseys because the girls have a soccer tournament on Saturday. It was really nice to see some of the kids again even though I didn't fully recognize any of them. I was looking for one girl who wasn't part of the school, but unfortunately I didn't see her. I remember just walking around the kids who were playing and just watching us, and this boy was trying to run away from another boy who was pulling back his arms. The first boy was crying and screaming and trying to get away and couldn't and it made me really really sad. So I went up to them and shooed the other boy away, and the crying boy just stood there and cried with his face down. I asked him if he was okay but he was just really sad and shy. A small crowd of other boys started to surround him and they were trying to see his face and were laughing at him because he was crying. I got kind of mad at the other boys and told them to stop laughing and that it wasn't funny. My heart was just really sad for him even though getting laughed at is probably a common thing growing up. I gave him an origami cat which he tucked into his shirt. I think it made him feel better because a few minutes later he was laughing again. I live a very sheltered life, and I don't think I've been bullied much but I can't imagine what it's like to be a kid in the slum (not even including the living conditions) in the way that they treat each other sometimes.
I was looking around when I suddenly saw this girl's face and I was like OH MY GOSH. Her cheeks are the biggest I've ever seen and her head was GINORMOUS! But she was so cute! I was seriously so surprised at her face/head.
Had to get a picture with her of course.
Kaili too you know.
This is the chai-like tea that I'm kind of in love with. We were fed incredibly well at Heavenly Treasures, and would have this for dinner and breakfast.
This is Kaili and Joseph. He isn't sponsored by Heavenly Treasures because they focus on kids who don't have parents due to AIDS and such and he has parents. But he would always hang around us and was very sweet. He really liked holding Kaili's hand.
On our walks in the country around Heavenly Treasures we would get awesome views of the rural life up there. There used to be a river that flowed throughout the countryside, but it's all dried up and it made me really sad to see that. The way their agricultural system is how the Aztecs used to do it.
I told her to smile, and smiled at her so she copied my face. She's one of the neighborhood kids who hung around us a lot. She was a very tricky girl, and wanted to use my camera but I said no. She would make this face like she was crying and very sad, but it was very unconvincing so it wasn't hard to say no heh.
This is Erika telling the story of David against Goliath, and how it didn't matter how small David was, but that he just trusted God.
On Monday we went to Eastleigh which isn't a slum, but a pretty dangerous area where the street kids live. Apparently if you're recruiting people for your terrorist group, Eastleigh is a good place to pick up people. We were just working with this organization called Made In The Streets, which helps minister to kids in Eastleigh, trying to get them off the street so they can turn their life around. Street kids start out at MITS and if the workers see a genuine interest in changing, they send them to the Farm.
Kaili, Jesse, Nikki, and I went to the group of teenagers who were there for the Monday session taught by Moses. We did a few songs with them which they seemed to like and we got introduced to them and vice versa. Some of the kids had been there since they were 5 and lived on the streets for about 10 years. That seriously crushed me because I could never ever imagine living at the bases (groups of boys/girls on the streets) for more than half my life. It's dangerous, frightening, unhealthy, filthy, exhausting, etc. and will probably kill you. The kids have to run away from abusive homes, or see Eastleigh as a place where you have no rules. But there's fights between the kids, you have to steal, you have to do favors, and drugs are everywhere. Because of the lack of food, most of the kids are high on glue to kill the hunger, but then use other drugs like weed, coke, etc to kill the other effects they don't like of the other drugs. Kids as young as 4-5 are addicted to glue already, and then grow up on the streets for who knows how long. Being a girl is even worse, because on the streets you are merely seen as an object. Being a girl, you learn to use your body to survive. To simply join a base for protection, you have to sleep with, or have some kind of sexual interaction with every single boy in the base. There can be more than 30 kids in a base. I don't even know what it means to be a girl here.
In the class Moses (the teacher) wanted us to share something with the class, so I tried to share a short testimony of something I thought would relate to the kids. They were all high, and I could tell some more than others, so I don't know how many could actually understand what I was saying. I shared some of my struggles, but how God can rescue us from anything, and He loves us no matter who we are or what we do. After that Trisha asked if any of them knew Jesus, or wanted to know Jesus, so I prayed the sinner's prayer with the boys. I was really nervous because I've never done that before, but God definitely helped me not be worried, and gave me the words to say with them. I'm really glad for the opportunity, I just don't know how many of the kids actually meant it in their hearts. I know when you're high, it's like a mental seperation from God so I don't really know how many of them could actually believe at that moment, but I know God has a plan for them and I will continue to to pray for them.
They're just kids, but they've endured more than most of us in a lifetime.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Treasures
The big, bumpy drive out to Kangundo, a perfect representation of the “African Massage,” was well worth the trip. Heavenly Treasures is in Kangundo, and they minster specifically to AIDS orphans in the area. When we arrived, we were served the best lunch ever and right after the team was put to work on the rabbit cages that we purchased for Heavenly Treasures. It was so goofy, building these rabbit cages given the tools we had, yet it also very rewarding. First we had to dig holes in the ground with a heavy pole and scoop out the dirt with our hands. Then we put big wooden poles into the ground and mixed cement with dirt and rocks and water and poured them into the holes. After that we sawed wooden boards to nail to the poles and our rabbit cage was complete!
The next day we could finally work with the kids and do some crafts. I got to see my friend Valerie from last year again, and it made me so happy! She wants to be a pilot when she grows up, and she was saved when she was 13. She’s such a beautiful daughter of Christ and as we were talking, she shared her testimony and the gospel, encouraging me in my faith more than I did her, I think! She said she missed me and it just warmed my heart. I praise God that she has made it so far and still is so happy with her situation in life, despite the face that she doesn’t have parents. She places her trust in God completely and loves Him with her whole heart. Her grandmother works at Heavenly Treasures and ended up giving me a sisal bag that she made for free.
When we had free time we had the chance to walk around the area and the countryside was absolutely beautiful. The children from around the area followed along with us, but it was hard to communicate with them because they speak their native tongue rather than Swahili.
When we left Kangundo, we got to drop by Mcedo School and the Farm to give promise packs to the kids since we had extra. At Mcedo I was drawn to three children who weren’t part of the school. One boy was so adorable, but he wouldn’t tell me his name until we were about to leave. It was something like Lylel? He kept repeating it for me but it wasn’t a name I recognized.
I hope that all those children who aren’t in school will be able to go to Mcedo someday and learn about Christ while getting a proper education. Each life and soul is treasured by God, and even if I never see some faces again, I know that we will all be reunited in heaven with our Maker.
Community
We were planning on spending two days with the Heavenly Treasures kids, that's why we spent two nights there, but when we got there the people told us that the kids weren't going to come the first day! ): We had nothing to really do, so we went and worked on building these rabbit cages that he funded and then we decided to go on a walk around the community. When we walked around, all the people in the community came out to see us and they would shout "How are you?!" from all the way across the valley. It was actually pretty funny, they were inviting us to their homes too! It really is like a community there.
The thing is that when you're a "Mzungu" (white person/foreigner) in Kenya, all the kids and Kenyans are really interested in you. We would step outside the Heavenly Treasures gates and all the neighborhood kids would be waiting there for us, it was the cutest thing ever! They went on the entire walk with us and they helped us build the rabbit cages and when we went on a walk the next day they came with us then too. There was a little boy that help my hand the whole entire walk the second time and his name was Joseph. He had these really cute puppy dog eye with long eyelashes and he was really sweet (: During the walk he kept looking up at me and smiling and when I would smile back he would get all shy, i
Derek and one of the neighborhood kids holding hands during our walk
Rolling his tire toy along side us
It's late here and we all have to get up really early tomorrow so I'll make this pretty short, but I guess its hard to sum up all my feelings anyways. My point though, is that I'm glad that God allowed us to have that "free" day, because it really allowed us to reach out to the community and the kids that live around Heavenly Treasures. I definitely feel like I got closer to the neighborhood kids than I did to the Heavenly Treasure kids. God has really shown me his love through all the kids we've met and I really just wish I could take them all home with me ):
I gave this boy, David a pair of my flip flops becuase he had no shoes. He was so shocked and his smile made my day (:
There was a little boy named Rinaldo that I met the first time we went to Mcedo and he had such a cute smile and these adorable eyes and he always did a thumbs up when I would take a picture of him. When we left last Thursday he chased after our van ): I looked for him again this time but I couldn't find him! So I asked some of the boys I was talking to if they knew him and one of them went to go get him for me. But then we had to leave ): As I was sitting in the van though, I heard a knock on the window and the boy had brought Rinaldo to me! It made me SO happy! But at the same time I was sad to see him, becuase it was just a clear reminder to me that he was staying there.. in that dirty, smelly, somewhat hopeless slum that he may never get to leave and I get to go back to a nice home with a great meal and a bed.. That's just so unsettling to me. I won't ever forget about him though, and I pray that he'll learn about God so that I'll get to see him again in heaven. That gives me a little hope (:
P.S. Mom, I'm replying to you e-mails, but I think that for some reason you aren't receiving them ): But I love and miss you guys and I can't wait to see you when I get home (:
New Birth, Bebee, and A Life Saved
