Displacement Camps

Saturday...
We journeyed approximately 80 km outside of Nairobi today to visit 2 displacement camps which had families that have been there from the 2007 election riots. They were literally dropped off with the clothes on their backs and nothing else. These are families from various areas that owned land, had businesses, were productive and self reliant. They were forced from their homes that they had for 40-50 years and now living on a lot of land that was absolutely bare. But their spirits were alive and well. They welcomed us with huge smiles and singing. The children were absolutely beautiful and so well behaved/respectful.

The biggest challenge both of these camps faced is a lack of water. They have to walk over 4 km every day to buy water. They are hoping to dig wells soon but of course money is the obstacle to make any improvements on the land. Another large challenge is transportation for their secondary aged children to school. They have to walk along a dangerous and busy highway to get to school and crossing the highway has actually resulted in the loss of 2 children's lives.

A highlight at the first camp of approximately 161 families was a tour of their make-shift green house they have built. Kristeen (the leader of the community) took Jacob and proudly showed him their first crop of tomatoes which is just ready for picking. She took a tomato and gave it to Jacob to eat... a HUGE honor. And Jake grossly detests tomatoes, but he ate it like an apple and was so gracious for being treated like royalty. There was despair evident with the people once we were able to have one on one conversations wtih some of them. But their confidence in God's provision was amazing and inspiring!

The 2nd camp we visited had approximately 50 families. The are just now moving into their new homes that have been partially built by Habitat For Humanity. They have been living in tents made of sacks and sticks for most of the last 2 years with a some relief from UN agency in recent months. The homes are sturdy homes with floors and doors however they have no furniture to put in them and with cement floors they are too cold to sleep on so many are still sleeping on the dirt in their tents. One woman named Joyce took several of us to her new home and was so proud to show us the garden of tomatoes, onions and kale that she has planted. Sadly they have no water and with no little rain most of her new sprouts are dying. But she is hopeful and thankful for her goat and chickens that is helping sustain them.

Our team was deeply moved by the children. Their smiles are unforgettable and their polite ways warmed our hearts. But to see so many children without even the basic necessity of no shoes moved many of us to tears. They show signs of malnutrition and I asked one woman if the kids had eaten today?.... no, yesterday?.... no, a few days ago was her answer. We stopped on our way and loaded our van with bags of beans, sugar, flour and oil to leave with the families. Our team opted out of eating lunch today in order to purchase these basic items for them. They were so gracious and it was hard to leave them.

And last but not least, our team will never forget Steve, the leader of the 2nd camp. He had a toothless smile and laugh that could melt an iceberg. He and Christian had a laugh off... still not sure who was louder!

In our team debrief tonight we were moved to really investigate what God is teaching us and what action we take after experiencing this. It is confusing to see such a situation of hope and despair at the same time. Join us for praying for Steve, Kristeen, the families, the children, for water for them, for seeds to plant and for God's continued provision and mercy on these beautiful brothers & sisters in Christ.

Much love from Kenya!

Beauty Through the Barbed Wire

Friday...

What a day! We spent a few hours touring the entire city of Nairobi on a bus. We toured the city center and saw all the government offices. We drove thru some of the markets, Parklands, Westlands. We were all struck with the disparity of the 4 main sections in the city. A big highlight of the tour was to drive by Christian's childhood home and hear a little about his growing up years in Nairobi. It is a beautiful city separated by the different socio economic classes. The stark differences in the neighborhoods is much like many metro cities around the world, but the poverty levels in many areas was the worst most of us have seen.

The afternoon we met up with a team from Zanaa to go into Kabura, the largest slum in Kenya. We broke up into smaller teams with the Zanaa leaders and visited classrooms in the slum. Zanaa has been leading Empowerment classes for the young girls in these areas and this was the last day for many of them before taking their "exams" next week. The classes focused on key areas of self esteem, HIV, leadership, sex ed, etc. Each team had a different experience.... some of us if literal mud sided classrooms in the slum. We were all encouraged by these children. They were joy filled,

Intro to Mavuno Church

Apologies for the delay in getting updates out... we've been very busy and exhausted in the evenings.

Thursday.... quick update. We spent the day with leaders from Mavuno Church and their 6 "front line initiatives" leaders. What powerful work these leaders are doing in the Nairobi communities. I'll have much more info on each of the as the days go by.

Quick highlight for the day was to meet Kanjii, one of the "boys" from Milele. He leads one of the front line initiatives and worship at Mavuno.

Spent the evening seeing some of the amazing local "pop"artists in action. Their stories are amazing. They love Jesus and are using their incredible talents to bring others to Christ.

JAMBO!

We have safely arrived to our hotel in Nairobi after about 32 hours total of travel time. It's 10:10pm local time. The travels were very smooth with no delays at all. The Gladneys met up with us in Amsterdam after their relaxing few days in Paris, Zurich and Geneva.

We had a most amazing welcome at the airport from 10 people from Mavuno church. The wrapped us in traditional Masai warrior blankets and we had a great "hudddle" as one team proclaiming the work God will do through us while we're here. What a great group of Kenyans that made us feel so welcome and loved.

The team is doing great. Some a little sleepy but we're so thankful for safe travels.

Thanks for the prayers & love!

Late Night / Last Minute preps

Well it sounds like most of our team is probably asleep and resting up before our early morning departure. And then the rest of the team is pulling all nighters!

The team is meeting at 4:45am at the church to load up and head to LAX. Our flight schedule is to leave LAX at 8:50am. We fly through Detroit to Amsterdam. We have a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam and then a direct flight to Nairobi. We arrive at 10:30pm Nairobi time. So yes, it will be a travel journey!

We're all excited and a little nervous. I'm recognizing the incredible amount of spiritual warfare that's been going on just in the process of getting to this point. Your prayers for protection and renewal are greatly appreciated!

Might be many hours til my next post.... :)

Prayer Requests

In preparation for our departure, would you partner with us in praying for:
* safe travels
* restored health & energy
* peace for nerves of traveling
* our families as we say goodbye

Thank you! Your prayers are so appreciated.
The Fall 09 Kenya team

Countdown is on...

We're only a couple days away from leaving on our adventure. The team is finalizing packing and for me personally (Delta) I'm just trying to get healthy.

Tomorrow Christian and Angela are packing up bags of school supplies and clothes that we will have an opportunity to distribute in Nairobi.

Thanks all for prayers and support. We are excited to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And has Kenton explained today, we're not just in the huddle... we're ready to play the game!

Much love...
Delta