An Update Long Past Due

i knew these blog posts would be few and far between. but i write with many blessings and stories. God is truely at work through the Salvation Army in kenya and it has been amazing to see it in action.


Today marks 4 weeks since arriving in Nairobi. i cant believe its been that long! we have become such locals it feels like home and makes the time go by fast. and it helps that we are very busy in our work now. although at the moment is mostly preparation for what we will soon be doing around east kenya, weve had a few opportunities to venture outside the city into rural kenya. the difference is amazing! while the city is very familiar to us, the villages just outside are quite foreign. very little trees, dry ground, and huts. We walked down a dried out river in the village of kithituni, and watched women far up the river digging for traces of water. its hard to grasp how they manage with so little.... while im waiting for my stimulus money from obama!


Last thursday i visited thika again (the same town where the disability schools are found). This time i went to meet a group of ladies know as "women of faith". these woman (local sex workers) are the first members of a ministry recently started in kenya to keep women off the street and teach them practical skills to support themselves in a different way. It started with just 25 women and has grown to over 60 and is continuing to grow across the country with groups starting in many cities. These women are making beads, knitting and have even started a farm to raise crops for funding. i was told their faces have changed since first starting. instead of hanging heads, i saw huge smiles and women excitedly singing praises to God. oh and did i mention the dancing.... there is always dancing!



on saturday we visited the elephant orphange. This is a big tourist spot. although super crowded, we were allowed to get up close and personal with baby elephants who were rescued in the wild, abandoned by their mothers. One even had part of its ear removed by villagers :( At 3 years of age, the elephants are released into the wild again but with policemen on guard for nearby poachers. we also got to see a baby rhino who was born prematurely, and a few wild baboons who had hopes of stealing some food.

and sunday we were in for another surprising salvation army service. we attended the Nairobi central corps with over 3000 members. talk about a church being alive and well. before the service, we attended the open air meeting in town. we paraded with the soldiers and band to a bus stop (or what would constitute in kenya as one) where we stood and sang and listened to a preacher speak to the hundreds of people that passed by. Then we marched back, waving flags, singing, and stopping traffic! at that point, you can only be proud to be a part of such a wonderful organization.

africa is great but nothing takes the place of friends and family at home. we miss you all very much and pray for you daily. Especially our corps family who suffered a recent loss. May God comfort you and surround you with his love and peace.

For more pictures go to the following address:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=216478&id=576435507&l=75c82

getting to know kenya

wow not even a week has gone by and i feel that i have so much to share. this is when i usually stop journaling (blogging) but i will not give up yet.... and having a desk job definitely helps :)

on thursday we got to leave the desk and venture out to Thika. here is where the salvation army has a few schools that we were priviledged to see. our first stop was "joytown" a school for handicapped children both high school and elementary. you arent even there two minutes before you understand why the name is so fitting. not only do the children here have so much joy, their huge smiles bring great joy to everyone around them. we stopped by the nursery class where they stopped writing the number 1 and 2 to sing us a few songs in swahili. we then visited the special unit to find them watching "mr bean." they had glowing faces however it was a place that was in much need of help. our prayers are with the house mothers who take care of them all day and night. we also peaked our heads into a couple classrooms. although teachers in kenya are on strike, students still sat reading (or pretending to read as most kids do) their texts books. while we were there we were blessed with two songs from the choir where they are taught that "disabilities aren not inabilities"

we then headed down the street to the salvation army school for the blind also an elementary and high school (or secondary as it is called here). we were given a tour of the entire grounds by the chaplins. The library was most impressive where we saw some braille books and were even given a lesson and how braille typewriters work. in one classroom the student read to matt. it is amazing how they do that!

our last visit was to the "variety village" this is a vocational school where the children who dont get high enough scores to go on to university can go and learn a trait like dress making or wood work. and we got a sneak peek at the bed they were making for matt and i. they did great work!

the weekend was very relaxing and besides the washer freaking out and me burning a whole in my shirt it was quite uneventful.... until sunday. while church the previous sunday was similar to a normal service at home (besides some obvious differences of course) this service was truely african. at 1030 we arrived to worship and saw that the number of people there had dramatically decreased from the sunday before....... then we heard the drums!

and for the next hour person after person, soldier after soldier, corps after corps, marched in waving their flags and singing in bright white uniforms. long live the open air meetings of the Salvation Army!! not only did we see every chair fill up, people young and old alike crowded together standing (some even climbing trees) to hear for the next 4 hours the testimony of god. the best part was the twenty minute dance celebration during a chorus where everyone gather in the middle laughing and singing. amazing!

right after church, not that it could top what we had just experienced, we went to feed giraffes. however 16 foot african wildlife came very close :) we had the chance to visit a nature preserve where 12 giraffes live. here you climb a platform with a handful of food and the giraffe comes to eat it right out of your hand. if your really brave you stick the food between your teeth and it will give you a huge kiss! we werent that brave... yet. maybe next time!

all that in one weekned..... i wonder what next weekend will bring!