We're Back!!!!!!

Sorry for the lack of posting, just a lot on the mind and really tired. I think everyone has covered pretty extensively the challenges we have faced and continue to pray through. We covet your prayers for our team as we trust Him with every aspect of the trip.

Well, we are back again. Not much has changed in the past three years (this being our third team in addition to our family trip in May). The smells are the same, the conditions are atrocious, God is still at work and my heart is broken every time. It is different though to walk into places where they know you and are so happy, ecstatic really to see you again.

Alex...who we met on our first trip. Now the coach of the younger team and captain of the older one. He is working with computers and doing well.

At the Farm we did manual labor, parents you would be proud. They jumped right in, digging with machetes and hoes and planting what amounts to be crab grass. For three hours we dug rows and rows in the red dirt and then buried long pieces of weed looking grass. The hope is that it will grow and then fill in the empty spaces. It is a bonding and connecting experience to work alongside the kids at the Farm as well as our team. I am glad we were able to contribute to their work there and bless them.

It was exciting to see some of the kids we have known for three years, some still as students, others that have moved on to working with MITS. Since we stayed there for overnight I was able to train with their soccer teams for an hour and a half. They have gotten much better and now play on an organized team. Alex, who some of you know is the coach for the younger team (14-16) and the captain for the older team (16-18). They seem to have gotten a lot faster too...while I have gotten a lot slower. I never tire of seeing lives transformed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Go to the Made-in-the-streets.org website and take a look at some of the kids we spent time with.

Mathare is still the toughest place for me to go in and out of. It is the second largest slum and the worst conditions by far of any we will visit. As we drove in a number of kids were squatting in the trash piles next to the road going to the bathroom. When we drove out there was a girl who was completely naked yelling the same as others, “how are you”? One of the more disturbing incidents for me was that as we walked into the slum a bike careened off my side and hit a little girl about 2 years old square in the stomach. It knocked her about 5 feet onto her back. An adult just stood her up, didn’t comfort her and she wandered off, crying and alone. When we returned to the same area, she tried running up to us, slipped and fell into the sludge stream with her feet. Again she was just picked up and left there crying. I was struck with the harshness of life, especially for the young ones. I also looked for Dennis, the boy who loves to dance, but didn’t find him. We sang songs, a capella since we couldn’t find the CD. The kids loved it and were so enthusiastic, just another reminder that if we give whatever we have, God will bless it and use it for good.

The kids at Mcedo school with their craft. We told a story about being who God made you to be and not trying to be someone else. The story was written by our very own Lucas Petrin. We have them make animals afterward to keep as a reminder that God created them just the way they are and he doesn't make mistakes.

A smiling face looks up at a Muzungu. One of the many children who looked like they just wander around and play in the filth. 

 As we were walking through Mathare I saw this kid just hanging around.

 You probably remember this cutie from last year. Erika and I saw her again in May. I would always ask her name, but she is so quiet. I finally asked the teacher and her name is Faith. I called to her in her classroom and she sheepishly smiled back. 

Sydney is wiping the tears from the eyes of a little boy. She never found out why he was crying. But to see God comfort the life of a little one by bringing someone all the way around the world says to me that He cares for him more than he knows.

When I think about God's love and the fact that he loves us even if we don't love Him, I am struck by the depth of His care and the extent to which God has gone to restore our relationship with Him. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! It is a privilege to share that truth with those that have been forgotten. My hope is that the world know the love of God in Christ.