SMITH FAM IN AFRICA

A Good Cry

2012-02-05T02:03:00.000-08:00

Typically, I’m not a very emotional person, but I cried today. It was a good cry. Not for myself, though I admit I’ve had a selfish cry a few times before. Today I cried for a little girl who I’ve grown to love. She came here not long ago and instantly increased the level of joy in the place. She was delighted to be here – loved the food – loved the bed – made lots of friends right away. She’s a great kid. She’s easy to love – everyone loves her.

But today I cried for her because today we found out she was HIV positive. She doesn’t know yet. She won’t know for a while – she’s only six… She’s only six! Dear sweet child of six, how can your life have already been so hard. You watched your baba and mama die, you were left alone and now things were going to get better but they will still be hard for you. Oh God why?

And as I cried, I heard a strong familiar voice soothing me. ‘Yes my daughter, cry for her, cry hard for her. That fact that you are crying for her means she is loved. That’s why I brought her there – to be loved, to be rescued, and to become My daughter as well. Care deeply for her. She is Mine.’

That was it. The fact that anyone would cry for her was the story of her audacious rescue by an adoring God. A small, beautiful, insignificant child hidden in the bush of Kenya dramatically rescued by God, who couldn’t let her out of His sight. A few months ago, no one might have known. She could have become sick and died and no one might have cared really. But now, she is truly loved and has hope for her future.

I’m going to talk to her sponsor tomorrow and they will cry too…we will cry together. But really, it will be another good cry because it will shout the significance of her life – the significance of every life.

Thank you God for the opportunity to cry today.

2011-11-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Journal Entry – October 8, 2011 – Ann Smith

I am still tying to process through the events that occurred here last week when we traveled to the Bush. We had gone there for a community celebration to announce the day program. Right after we finished lunch and were walking towards the beginning celebration, a group of 15 or so women from a nearby hut came frantically running up to us screaming that a woman had swallowed some poison in an attempt to kill herself. They pleaded with us to take her to the hospital.

Changing directions immediately Rick, a local pastor and I ran to the car and drove over to her hut. She indeed had poison spilled down the front of her shirt and was clearly becoming delirious. We quickly loaded her into the car along with her 10 month-old baby and a neighboring mama and drove as fast as possible to the main road where there was a local clinic.

At the clinic, we were able to get her to throw up the majority of the poison but didn’t have any of the drugs she needed to stop the effects and she seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. So we all climbed back in the car and Rick drove the 45 minutes to town in about 25 minutes. All the while the baby girl was screaming for her mother.

As we reeled into the hospital parking lot, I again turned around and looked back at the scene behind me and my mind snapped a picture that is forever engrained in my memory. The baby - a healthy, beautiful baby girl - had finally stopped crying as she rested her head on the neighbor mama’s shoulder that was closest to her own mama. Her searching black eyes were fixated on her mama’s face and her small, chubby hand was extended to its limit as she desperately clung to her fainting mama’s vomit soaked shirt.

We left the poisoned woman in the capable hands of the hospital staff who assured us she would be fine and went back to get our own children. As we did so, we were thanking God for the car and that we happened to be in the bush that day.

About 10 pm that night, we received a call from one of the nurses at the hospital. She told us in faltering English that unfortunately the mother had died. What? Died? What happened? What went wrong? The questions flowed and as the story unfolded over the next few days our hearts became sick.

The reality was that a beautiful 19 year-old girl, a child herself, had died at the hands of a 45 year-old husband who had beaten her to death. He had done this the day before when he couldn’t find his cell phone and accused her of taking it. Upon returning to the hut the following day, he had found her fainting on the floor. He knew she was seriously hurt and in an attempt to cover up his actions from the previous day, forced her to take poison so it would look like suicide.

The night she died, her family caught wind of the situation and sent out 80 warriors armed with bow and arrows, pangas (swords), and rungus (clubs) to ‘take care’ of the man. As they approached the hut, the elders from the community stepped in and calmed them down insisting that two murders were not necessary. The warriors listened to the elders and instead beat him severely and hauled him off to prison where he was convicted of murder. He was hung the next day.

The image of that precious child with outstretched hand reaching out in love to touch her mother one last time keeps playing over in my mind. She is an orphan now, as is her 2 year-old brother, at the hands of a wretched, horrible and sinful situation. Is there redemption in this? And what is our role in this?

Here it is week later, and the community is still reeling from this event. They buried the girl and the children are currently living with the grandmother who doesn’t really have the means to provide for them. This community clearly needs a Savior…

L

Legacy in a Library

2011-09-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last year, right before we moved to Kenya, some school friends of ours suffered a devastating tragedy and lost their 13 year-old daughter, Lauren. Our daughter Katie was the same age and was a friend and a classmate to Lauren. All of us as parents and friends who knew this wonderful family ached for their tremendous loss. We cried for them and with them and tried to walk alongside them. But in reality, who, but God alone, could truly know what they were going through and why.

A friend and I sat with Lauren’s mom for a time the night after she died. It was late – and we could only listen and cry tears of sorrow because words could not express how deeply we felt. After a while, her father came in and we talked…this was a first meeting for me. He asked a little about my life and I shared a small bit about our family moving to Kenya because we loved some orphaned children there. It seemed that it was just a short story that filled a small space of time because really we were there because we just wanted them to know we loved them and we cared about them and we hurt with them and for them.

As a result of this short story, a few days later we heard from Lauren’s family. They had sat together and talked and decided that the gifts from the funeral should be donated to Oasis for Orphans because their hearts went out to these orphaned children and they wanted to be involved. Who does that? What kind of family thinks of missionaries and children on the other side of the world when their own world is reeling? Overwhelmed and humbled we sent a letter to the family to thank them for their gracious act of kindness in the midst of such tragedy and we set up a Lauren fund.

And then these generous donations began pouring in because so many people clearly loved this family. So we, at Oasis set aside this money and prayed that God would make it clear what we should do with these precious gifts given out of love and in the midst of pain.

I’m not sure who thought of it first, but amidst multiple conversations this idea evolved that we should build a library in honor of Lauren because she loved to read and she loved vulnerable children. And we had a whole host of vulnerable children who had never read a book before. So that was it – Lauren’s Library. That’s what we would call it and plans began.

We first contacted Lauren’s art teacher and she, along with many of Lauren’s friends began making pictures of the continents of the world to hang in the library. And then we contacted the literature teacher who began making a book written by children who were friends of this family. And we painted the room, and purchased book shelves and books and tables and benches and a rug…

And today, this 14th day of July, I sit and write this after the official opening of ‘Lauren’s Library.’ In true Maasai fashion, we celebrated! We welcomed the women dressed in their colorful kangas and beaded jewelry. We welcomed the men wrapped in shukas and we welcomed the children to come and see the library. We welcomed a whole community of adults, many of whom never learned how to read and are hopeful that their children will not suffer the same plight. There were more than 300 people there! There were dances, and poems, and songs, and speeches. For 3 hours we sat on the grass and celebrated God’s blessings!

And most importantly, we prayed and thanked God for the gift of a library. As many as could, crowded into the library and we prayed and dedicated the room to God. In a community that is forgotten by the government and suffers the lowest school ratings in all of Kenya, we thanked God for a family who lives with a different perspective than that of the world and can see that this is not our home but we are only here for a short while to do whatever it is that God asks. We praised God for a family that did something noble and generous despite their personal pain.

On behalf of our family and all of us at Oasis for Orphans, we extend our deepest sympathies and our most heartfelt gratitude to the Doherty family. We know Lauren can never be replaced and that she is in her true Home now. For the 324 Kenyan children at Hill Springs school, the Doherty’s are heroes and Lauren’s memory lives on. We are humbled by theirr generosity and are proud to call them our friends.

Another Car Miracle!

2011-05-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Each day as we live here on the Hill, I am constantly amazed at God’s provision and presence in such a tangible way – through good and bad. And at His spontaneity. My plans are definitely not His. I can’t believe how many times He has dropped something in our path and our plans change completely for the day.

Last week, after lunch we received a call from a very good friend of ours, Pastor Elijah. He was married about a year ago and his wife, Phyllis, is 6 months pregnant with their first child. They are super inspiring people. They both have a joy that just exudes from them and they are constantly looking to serve God in any way possible.

A few months after they were married, in a sacrificial decision, they decided to leave their comfortable house in town move to ‘the Bush’ to serve among the Maasai people. They are the first Kenyan Missionaries we have met! When we went to their installation service, there were 2 adult church members in the congregation – yes only 2! The eight of us who came to install them increased the attendance at church by 400%.

Today, six months later, the church is at 40 adults and over 80 children! They started a reading class for the Maasai men and women in the community who never learned to read and want to begin reading their Bibles! Even though they live in a tiny 10X10 room house, they are so joyful at God’s movement among the Maasai people.

One of the stories they have told us is of a Maasai couple they asked to come to church. The couple told them they would come to church but they didn’t want to become members or have to be spiritual. Last week, the same couple approached them and said that now that they have come for a few months they have changed their minds and want to know Jesus!

So as I was saying, I got a call from Elijah and he was in distress. Phyllis had fainted in the morning and it was three hours later and he still couldn’t rouse her. In fact, he informed me, that she had been fainting off and on for about 3 weeks now and it was getting progressively worse. He wanted to know if we could come out and pick them up and take her to a hospital.

Now, I thought twice about this for good reason. They live deep in the bush, accessible by the worst road in Kenya, about a 2 1/2 hour drive away. I asked if there was another vehicle or taxi coming by that could come bring her so I could meet them at the hospital. He said he had already waited for 3 hours for a taxi and none were coming.

So Rick and I and our clinician Moses went to them. And that’s the first miracle – the fact that we have a car that can even access the Bush. And the second is that we had our dear friend Nate here visiting. AKA ‘Mrs. McGillicuddy’, Nate stepped in without batting an eye and took over the management of the Smithereen children.

On the way, I called my dad, who being accessible was also, a small miracle. He helped walk me through the possibilities of her condition, so I felt prepared to properly assess Phyllis.

By the time we arrived, she had finally ‘come to’ and was sitting up. She was tearful and we all surrounded her to pray. After thoroughly assessing the situation we determined it would be best to get her to Tenwek Hospital. We were suspicious that she may have had preeclampsia and knew she and the baby needed really good care.

Now, I have never been to Tenwek, and had no idea what we were getting into. I called one of our friends who is a doctor at Kijabe and asked if he knew any doctors at Tenwek. He said, “I only know one doctor at Tenwek, an OB.” God is so good – of course he only knew an OB. He called this doctor and she had the ER staff ready for us to arrive and to page her as soon as we got there. Another miracle…

OH, and it is the rainy season and it hasn’t rained a drop for two weeks straight – which would have made our 2 hour drive to the Bush and 3 hour drive out of the Bush impossible. The roads are so bad there that they are literally impassible when it rains – so of course, God held the rain off for us…

She was able to stay at Tenwek during this last week and was cared for well by the amazing doctors there. Her situation is still tenuous but miraculously she has been able to keep her baby and come home this week. Please pray that things progress normally for her so she can carry this baby to full term.

A Shoe Miracle

2011-04-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Can Shoes Be A Miracle???

Every year at Christmas time, the children of the Chapel work together gathering their dollars and coins towards a compassion project. Many of the children empty their banks, or give from gifts they have received, or help with odd jobs around the house to earn money towards this project. They are generous beyond belief! Two years ago, they helped raise money for the deep-water well here in Kenya. Last year they helped get bunk beds for Dorm 2 at the Children’s Home.

This year as the TGA leadership team sat down to brainstorm what the children could do and an unusual idea came up. Instead of just getting something for the children at the orphanage, why not include the community as well? Everyone agreed and decided the most tangible and useful thing was shoes - new shoes for everyone at the community school! Cool idea!

Now shoes may not sound very exciting to you. I, myself, an American living in Kenya, have 5 great pairs of shoes - a lime green pair of Keens for hiking, a pair of awesome Spenco flip flops that I wear every day, two pairs of Crocs, and finally a sweet pair of beaded shoes for ceremonies.

Most of the kids at the school sort of have a pair of shoes. A few of those have a pretty decent pair but the majority of the children have a VERY shabby second hand pair of shoes… Several of the children have never owned a pair of shoes – ever. And as a matter of fact, no one at the school has EVER owned a brand new pair of shoes. NO one…EVER…

So when TGA contacted us in October with this idea, we were pumped! We looked around at the only shoe store in Kenya, Bata, and found a great pair of tennis shoes for about $10! This was perfect and the Chapel ran a really cool shoe drive called ‘Ten dollars covers ten toes!”

Then things got even more exciting! A good friend whose children attend a private school felt led to get the school kids together to run a different Christmas compassion project. They decided to raise funds to purchase socks for everyone in the school and not only to purchase them but to decorate them as well!

December came and money was raised for 400 pairs of shoes! WOW! This was enough to not only buy shoes for the kids at the school, but for the teachers and staff at the Children’s home to get a pair as well. Mind you we kept the whole thing top secret so it would be a huge surprise!

In February, a group of children from the Chapel were coming with their parents to visit so February 16th was set as shoe and sock distribution day!

And then the setbacks began…

Setback #1 - Beginning in January, we attempted to start the shoe buying process. The original shoes we were going to get at Bata were 'sold out' over the holidays. The next available shoe cost about $20/shoe so this was not an option.

Setback #2 - We decided to go to the markets and get the shoes second hand. However, the closest towns didn’t have enough shoes for us.

Setback #3 – We decided to send someone to Nairobi to get the shoes at the larger markets. This would cost less and we could get all the shoes at once. However, we realized we would not be able to return incorrect sizes and the markets can have varying sizes of shoes since they come from all over the world.

Setback #4 – We went back to idea of new shoes from Bata and decided to get the younger children a cheaper pair of shoes and the older children a more expensive pair of shoes hoping it would balance out. We approached 5 different Bata shoe stores asking them to help us with the quantities we needed. They were literally so overwhelmed with the idea of that many shoes that every one of them turned us away.

At this point, we were 5 days away from our visitors coming. Time was of the essence. We decided to send someone to Limuru, to the Bata factory. Surely we could get the sizes we needed there. Since our family was going near there to pick up the Oasis team of visitors, we volunteered.

On Monday, three days before distribution day, the Smith fam hopped in the car and as we drove away, Rachel prayed that we would have a shoe miracle and find everything we needed. As we drove in to the Bata factory campus, there was a small store at the front above which hung a sign that read, "80% off clearance center."

We entered the store, asked if they could help with our large quantities, and off-handedly inquired about the clearance center. Not wanting to waste too much time, we reluctantly decided to just check it out to see if they had any of the sizes we needed. We were sent on a wild goose chase and truly almost gave up. Rachel however, got a ‘bee in her bonnet’ about it and was so insistent on continuing, that we persisted. Eventually we found it, ‘the Bata Clearance Center”, on a desolate dirt road, tucked inside a Bata shoe employee neighborhood.

We walked up a short flight of stairs into a huge warehouse. As we stepped inside, the first thing we noticed were huge boxes stacked up along all four walls of the building. As we took another step into the room we saw tables in front of the boxes circling the entire room. And the boxes and the tables were filled with shoes - thousands of pairs of shoes!!! We looked at each other with tears in our eyes and knew we had found our miracle!!! There were shoes of every size and style everywhere. So for the next 5 hours we searched through boxes and across tables and lined up tennis shoes of every shape and size all across the warehouse! We found all but 11 pairs of shoes! It truly was a miracle!

We stuffed all 389 pairs of shoes into our car and as soon as the last shoe was loaded, the heavens opened up and drenched us with a massive deluge of rain. In America, rain is seen as an inconvenience but in Kenya it is a sign of God’s blessing. And what a blessing it was! We drove away with shoes falling down on top of the kids with every bump we took, overwhelmed that God would care so much about kids and shoes!

On Thursday, we had the blessing of personally serving each child by placing a beautifully decorated, clean pair of socks and a brand new pair of shoes on their feet! Joseph compared it to the time when the disciples had their feet washed by Jesus. And truly we felt like that in those moments. To take a filthy, dusty, smelly, calloused foot, and carefully place a clean sock and shoe on it was such a blessing.

There was extreme joy in the community that day. Children were jumping, running, racing, laughing, and giving hugs of thanks. It was lavish extravagance on the part of the American children who so generously gave and heartfelt gratitude on the part of the children here.

Every day, we see children in their new shoes and socks. In many ways, it brings more joy to us than to them…

Thank you to all of you who made this possible! We loved being ambassadors of your generosity! May God richly bless you!

The Knife

2011-02-03T03:13:00.001-08:00

Two thoughts, an anomaly, and a take away…
One:
One of the things that is both freeing and yet frustrating about living in Kenya is the value placed on personal possessions.

On the positive side, possessions are not valued over relationship. That is good. Having an accumulation of possessions doesn’t give a person status, which is also good. Things are appreciated, especially if given as a gift. Having possessions which make life easier are also appreciated. However, if a possession breaks or is lost, there is no sense of sorrow or even much of an attempt to fix it. “I lived without it before I had it. I enjoyed it while I had it. Now it’s gone and I’m fine without it again.” That is the mentality here.

On the frustrating side, possessions carry such little value, that if it breaks or if something that belongs to someone else is broken, there is no remorse or attempt to rectify the situation. “You lived without it before you had it. You enjoyed it while you had it. Now if it’s gone, you’ll be fine without it.” It is expected that if you let someone use something that you are never going to see it again, at least in good working condition.

Two:
“I’m sorry.” In Kenya, these two simple words are spoken every day and yet never spoken. Every time someone trips, drops something, spills something, accidentally hurts themselves, etc. ‘pole,’ which means ‘sorry’ can be heard with deep compassion from everyone in the vicinity. Kind of like ‘I’m sorry you did that to yourself.’

And yet, if anyone intentionally or unintentionally hurts someone else’s feelings, breaks something that belongs to another, makes a mistake, or does something wrong, these words are rarely spoken – really almost never. It is culturally unheard of to apologize for your actions towards someone else because the shame carried with admitting a personal fault is too great to overcome. The incident is insignificant compared to the weight of the shame. And so, the injured party is expected to shove the issue under the rug and not mention it – forever. It would be incredibly offensive to shame someone else and even bring it up. Yeah – this is a big problem.

The Anomaly
After experiencing both of these facts about Kenyan culture, we have become selective about the things we share with our friends here. Call it selfish or prudent, there are some things we don’t want to do without.

So, I’ve been saving some of the kitchen items I brought from my home in America for when we have a kitchen of our own. One of those things is a big butcher knife. My mom bought it for me in a set several years ago, and it is a great kitchen tool. I’ve sharpened it and re-sharpened it and I love using it! I intentionally didn’t bring it out, first of all, because it’s expensive and I can’t get another one like it here. Second, because I want to be able to use it in good working condition. Third, because it was a gift from my mom and I value the sacrifice made to give me such a good tool in the kitchen.

The other day, I couldn’t find any of the other 3 knives I had ‘donated’ to the kitchen so I pulled it out during dinner to cut the pizza. I’ve actually used it a few other times and washed it immediately and stored it away. This particular day, I intentionally used it not in the kitchen but in the dining room, which is in a separate building than the kitchen, so I could put it away after we ate. We got caught up in things and I forgot to put it away but it wasn’t even in the kitchen so I wasn’t worried.

The next morning, I went into the kitchen to make breakfast and there was the knife on the counter, broken. The center part of the blade was mangled and chipped away. It was full of food and it was useless. My heart sank. I took it to Annah and asked what happened. She hadn’t even seen the knife before nor had any of the other women. I washed it and put it away anyways and then I walked away and I cried. I cried because I was mad at myself for not putting it away. I cried because here I have taken care of this knife and used it for years without incident and now in less than a few hours it was ruined. I cried because no one values our things here and I wanted to have one working thing in my kitchen (yes, an exaggeration, but when you are emotional you are entitled to a little of this). I cried because I felt sick of having our things broken without apology. And I cried because I knew no one here would understand or care.

We left for the Children’s home that morning and I was sad. When we came home for lunch, one of the young girls that live here approached me tentatively and asked to speak with me. In broken English she said, “I was using your knife last night to cut meat and I broke it. I am very sorry.” WHAT?!!! I could not believe what I was hearing! It took me a full 30 seconds to get over the fact that she apologized – she actually apologized! And she was a young girl! This was the first time in the 6 months we have been here that I have heard these words in connection to doing something wrong.

When I finally came to my senses, I was so overwhelmed by her words that I didn’t even care about the knife anymore. I was so blessed by her willingness to put herself out on a limb personally and culturally that I put my arm around her and thanked her for her honesty. And of course I forgave her verbally.

The Take Away:
So I heard from my brother Dave who lived in Kenya for 5 years. He could completely relate. What I learned from him is this….
In America, we are predominantly a guilt-based culture. We apologize to an injured party out of an overwhelming sense of guilt. Early on, we learn to follow rules and respect things. We feel bad if we don’t toe the line. We apologize because we have crossed a boundary and inflicted injury to a person or property on some level. Our actions our wrong.
In Kenya, the culture is shame-based. Hurting someone’s feelings or property goes to the core of someone’s person and is a deeply personal issue. A boundary is not crossed; a soul has been marred. To bring this issue to light means admitting that the person is bad in and of themselves, not just the action.
The cool thing about Jesus is that He transcends both cultures. When He died, He took all of our GUILT and SHAME. He offers us forgiveness and completely removes the guilt and shame from our lives. What a gift to live in His freedom!

Christmas - 3 Unexpected Gifts

2011-01-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas – 3 Unexpected Gifts

We expected Christmas to be different this year being in Kenya, but not only were our expectations different, but our plans were as well. As I reflect back on Christmas day, I can’t help but marvel at God’s provision.

The first gift came in a snafu with our visitors. The plan was for some friends to visit the Hill a few days before Christmas, and then spend some time relaxing with them on safari over Christmas Eve and Christmas day. But as God would have it, they were delayed in London for 7 days. Their initial thought was to turn around and head back to the States. Disappointment flowed on both ends. However, after some praying and re-scheduling of appointments and travel plans, they decided to come even though they only had 3 days to spend here. And so our first gift came in the form of their actual decision to come here instead of turning around to return to the U.S! There was no relaxing safari but their gift of relationship was priceless to us in this first Christmas away from home for our family. We didn’t realize how empty we were of good connection with others, especially those who come from the same cultural reference that we do. It was wonderful to see them catch a passion for the same people we already love and to hear them begin to dream of the things that could be accomplished here as well!

The second gift for me came in a message. On Christmas morning, before we headed to Nairobi to pick up our friends, we went to church to hear Rick teach. He preached from Luke 2 and Philippians 2 about the miracle of God coming to earth in human flesh as a servant. He asked the question, “Why would God chose to come to earth in such humility when He could have come as such a powerful reigning king?” For some reason, this hit me in a new way this year – the God of the universe, coming to earth wrapped in human flesh, as a servant king. Living in this rural cultural the redefinition of what is valuable and worth striving for, pointed me towards the fact that for all time what man has considered respectable and noteworthy and important is not what God considers valuable. From the world’s perspective, He came through an insignificant young girl who was engaged to a poor carpenter boy and was born in a filthy, animal’s cave with only a handful of people aware of His coming. Yet, here we are, 2000 years later, awed at the fact that God’s ways are not man’s ways and His ways are higher than ours. And that He values a relationship with us more than anything else! What an incredible gift!

The third gift came in the form of an unexpected meal. We spent the bulk of Christmas day in the car driving to Nairobi with our children. Originally, only Rick and I were going to pick up our friends so the kids could stay for the celebration on the Hill, but we decided the night before to travel together. We relished the time listening to American Christmas music and just being together. We all arrived at the Mennonite Guest House early enough to get a shower and dinner in before we had to go to the airport. The shower was a gift in itself for all of us. As we entered the dining room, we were greeted by our host who had reserved a table just for our family. “Silent Night” was playing in the background and the room was decorated with beautiful red and green flowers and greens from the gardens. We sat down together and were served a sumptuous meal of beef tenderloin, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, and rhubarb crisp for dessert. As each part of the meal was brought to our table, tears began to fill my eyes. I could not believe it, but this was the exact meal we would have eaten in America if we had been with family – down to the rhubarb crisp. I sat there and cried that God would care so much about us that He would give us the incredible gift of having a few moments alone with our family on Christmas day and would provide us with a meal that felt like home. I still tear up at the thought of this gift.

So on Christmas day this year, we were without extended family and had no presents to unwrap and but I do believe it was one of the richest Christmas experience I have ever had because the gifts were so unexpected and straight from the heart of God.

The Sanctuary

2011-01-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

The dictionary defines a sanctuary as a safe and holy place. We received one of those a few weeks ago in an unusual form. It’s a pretty cool story…

Rick was talking to Joseph late one evening about two months ago. They were discussing all of the various churches we had visited deep in the bush and the need to continue to make inroads into these lost communities. They were talking about how many Maasai people there have never heard about Jesus and how He died for them and wanted a personal relationship with them. They were talking about how other cults were beginning to infiltrate the area and the urgency to bring truth to these precious people. Rick said, “Joseph, we can’t keep bringing the van to these areas. It’s not the right vehicle for the terrain. We need to pray that God provides a vehicle that can get us to these remote villages.” And they prayed and the conversation ended.

So the next day, Rick gets this e-mail from a man from the Chapel he had heard of in America of but never really met. It says this, “My wife and I and I have recently spent some time on the website and reading your blog, and Oasis has been in our hearts and prayers, along with You and your family.

If we may ask, we would like to know the needs of both Oasis and your family at this time, so we can be in prayer about helping. My wife heard from someone she attends bible study with this week, that there still are not windows and beds in the house that received the new roof. We are not sure if that is the most pressing issue and don’t know the costs of items.

When you have time, please email me with the needs of Oasis and Your Family….”

Okay, so Rick and I look at each other in awe and he throws out the idea of the need for a vehicle. But who buys a vehicle for a stranger? That’s absurd.

And this family e-mail’s back that they would indeed like to help us along with their best friends to get a vehicle! WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?!!! Seriously, strangers to us, buying us a vehicle because they read about Oasis and felt God calling them to do something for us! Unbelievable! Incredible! A Miracle!

So we picked up the four wheel drive, all terrain Land Cruiser, complete with a winch on the front, which I call ‘The Sanctuary’ two weeks ago. I call it this because we can put a tape converter in the stereo and attach Rick’s I-pod to it and crank our very own American worship music to it and ride around anywhere without getting stuck.

As I showed it to Joseph that first night, he laid hands on it and burst out in a prayer of thanksgiving. He prayed that every time we drove it, we would be reminded that it was an incredible gift and it’s purpose was to bring the gospel to the un-reached people of Kenya.

I can’t wait to see the stores God will bring about from the places we travel in this car…

Out of Control

2010-12-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

Out of Control

Today was well planned. I spent a good half an hour speaking face to face with the scheduling coordinator last week confirming the plans to see Dr. Bovie, the ENT, today and planning surgery if necessary for tomorrow morning for three of our kids. We talked about how far we were coming and why it was important to have open time on Friday morning for the surgeries. In fact, we had done this exact same thing in September with another child and it was ‘no problem,’ she assured me. I watched as she entered the names into the scheduling book and saw indeed space was available. We arrived at Kijabe last night all prepped for the 9am appointment today.

At 8:55 am we marched down to the clinic, cameras and video cameras in hand, ready to see Dr. Bovie. And he wasn’t there. I looked at the self-same scheduling coordinator with incredulity, reviewing the conversation we had less than a week ago. As if it was my fault, she looked at me and in broken English replied, “The doctor is off on Thursday and he is in Nairobi today and he doesn’t do surgery on Friday.” “But we talked about this last week and it was ‘no problem.” “Yes well his schedule has changed.” “Since last week? Why didn’t you call?” “You need to see Isaiah, the intern, first anyways, and then you will be scheduled to see Dr. Bovie, and then we schedule surgery for another time.” “But we talked about this last week, how we are coming from very far away and how we scheduled this same event in September and you remembered us and how it worked before.” “You just see Isaiah and we will see if he thinks you need to see Dr. Bovie tomorrow.” No apologies, no humility… that’s the way it is…

Angry – ohhh, I was SO angry. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been that angry before, which, I know, is a completely ungodly response, but I was very angry. Biting my tongue – HARD, I walked out with the three children to register them anyways. While waiting at the registration office, this sweet, old, American lady (probably 85 years old), came up to me and said, “Do you need some help?” With tears in my eyes I unloaded my frustration on her. She looked at me and without saying a word to me she put her hand on my back and started praying, “Lord, we know You know why these children are here and You know the timing that is best. We give this to You and know You are in control.” And she hugged me and left.

We spent the next hour getting them registered and then went back up to see Isaiah. Yes, he confirmed, they all three needed to see Dr. Bovie! REALLY?! We just needed to come back after lunch for hearing tests…

So we went back to my parent’s house and ate some lunch. During that time, my dad called from the hospital. For some miraculous reason, Dr. Bovie had returned from Nairobi and my dad was somehow able to speak to him. He relayed our situation to him and Dr. Bovie wanted to see all three children right away in the clinic. We rushed, excitedly down to the clinic. He walked in with a huge smile and said, “Don’t even start talking to me or I will start crying, come on back.” I was already teary. And he took the time out of his day off to see each one of them and to explain what each one needs and to make a plan to get them hearing again! One of them is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning, the others will come back in a few months for their surgeries. It was a truly miraculous day! Miraculous!

So what was this all about? I think partly it was a reminder for me, in my Type A, first-born desire to keep things organized, that I am not in control. And despite my best efforts, I ultimately will fail unless I recognize that God is in control.

Maasai Initiation Ceremony

2010-12-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

This last week, we had the rare privilege of being invited to participate in the much anticipated ‘initiation ceremony’ that marks the transition from boyhood to manhood in the Maasai culture! While the traditional ceremony is different from the one we experienced, the Christian men in this community felt the need to re-define tradition and hold a new ceremony that is honoring to God. About a year ago, the boys at the Children’s Home asked if they could participate in this new kind of ceremony because they wanted to be ‘agents of change’ in their community and do something ‘more honorable.’ Needless to say, we are extremely proud of each one of them for making a stand against tradition and for setting an example of living like Christ would! They joined 24 other boys making a total of 30 boys to make this stand!

Preparations began long ago as the proper location, day, and schedule were determined. Speakers were invited and choirs and dancers were booked. Cooks were hired to come in from the Maasai Mara game parks.

The week before, people went shopping and choirs started practicing. The boys all had a new set of clothes and shoes, gifts of ‘shinys’ were purchased by community members, good clothes were washed and ironed, hair was braided, nails were painted, and jewelry was picked.

The day before, the food and grounds preparations began. Chipatti and rice were cooked, and potatoes were peeled. Tents were raised and sound systems were tested.

Then the long anticipated morning came! Two large bulls were rounded up and slaughtered for the meal. Around 11 am the men started arriving. They were served a treat of soda along with their meal. At 12 noon, the women and children started coming. They too were given the same treats with their meal! The men talked together in excited groups. The women arranged their ‘shinys’ and made plans as to who would give them out. The children practiced their dances under the shade of the trees and everyone was happy!

Around 2pm, the ceremony began! Over a thousand people crowded into the large field facing a long row of tents. First the elder men slowly marched in dancing with a choir leading them in. They were followed by the mothers of the boys, who were also dancing and singing. I was among these women, as I represented the sponsored parents of the children! Next came the fathers and pastors led by another choir. Rick came with them. Finally, the boys came in led by the Children’s Home choir among whom were our children! Once everyone was seated introductions were made and the ceremony began! There were various speakers, choirs, and dancers that celebrated for the next 3 hours! It started raining and we still celebrated! There was a special dance in the rain!

Finally, the boys all lined up and we passed out the gifts of ‘shinys’ and candy. They were paraded around and danced around and finally were permitted to go take pictures with their family members!

Then the crowds left and the boys and men went into the house. At around midnight, they individually went into a private sterile room and underwent a circumcision process by a professional surgeon. The boys will remain secluded as a group for the next week while they recover. Then our 6 boys will move to a tent in the bush to spend 3 weeks together. There they will be visited each day by elders, pastors, and leaders in the community, who will speak to them about leadership, being a man, and being a strong Christian. Rick will have the opportunity to visit them during this time!

We are so proud of each of the boys and their determination to make a stand! The will be another weeklong celebration at each home that participated in the event when the come out of seclusion! We look forward to the one hosted at Joseph and Annah’s house!

Church in the Bush

2010-12-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

We went to church last Sunday at a church again, in the middle of nowhere. Three churches came together deep in the bush where no white people have ever visited (as far as these people recall). They were a group of colorful, Maasai, Christians who gather each Sunday to worship God. Because it was three churches together, some of them walked from up to 20 miles away to join us!

These people are new Christians. The church here is only about 2 years old but the good news is spreading fast! It was so exciting to see a group of young Christians that were so enthusiastic about Jesus!

Cool Pics

2010-11-20T04:12:00.001-08:00

Work Permit

2010-11-20T04:00:00.001-08:00

After two trips to Nairobi, and much waiting in line, Rick finally got his work permit on Monday! This will allow us to stay here in Kenya for two years! His residency permit is going through now and all of us will be attached to his a dependents! This means we can get into the game parks here for almost free! We are excited about this! Thanks for all of your prayers!

One Incredible Day...

2010-11-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

October 24, 2010

We just tucked our children into bed. Tonight it was 7 of them – 7 of the 81. Today was one of the most amazing days in the life of our family. The timing was incredible - down to the minute. The plans completely unforeseen from our perspective, yet carefully and intricately laid out in detail from above. It was truly a miracle day.

Today is Sunday, October 24, 2010. Location, Middle of Nowhere, Kenya. We were supposed to attend church in a town to the east of here and indeed had been planning to attend there for weeks. However, the pastor’s son unexpectedly became sick and needed to be taken to the hospital, so yesterday, he requested that we reschedule. That left us with nowhere special to go today. Joseph has wanted to go to ‘the bush’ to take care of some business there so he made plans for us to go to church there today.

It was a glorious service. About 50 of us, 20 adults and 30 or more children, sheltered under a tree, singing in Maasai and worshipping God. Rick preached from Psalm 1, and seated under that strong tree we were reminded how a tree firmly planted by water bears fruit, and has leaves that do not wither, and prospers from God’s perspective. Katie sang Chris Tomlin’s song “Our God.”

Then we had lunch. While we were eating we started discussing what the rest of the day would look like. Dan, Joseph’s son, had heard about a family that was housing some orphans that needed help. So we talked. Should we see them today? We needed to come back to that area later in the week to visit another potential child so maybe we should wait and see both families the same day. For whatever reason, Joseph decided we should just make the visit. So we loaded up the van and headed out. It wasn’t far, but the roads were rough. When the hill got too steep we got out and walked the rest of the way up.

We approached what looked to us like one of the largest and nicest homes we have seen in the bush. Still a mud hut, but it had a nice new roof and several rooms with a hallway down the middle. The family room where we were seated was quite large with nice sofas. Admittedly, my first reaction was, who are these people kidding? They can obviously house extra children. We’ve been to many places with far fewer resources and far more children. But we sat down and waited.

It was an unusual meeting. This would be the 7th visit we’ve been on to hear stories of need and of course, they all begin the same – with introductions and a welcome. Somehow that got skipped and the mother of the home walked in, sat on a chair in the hallway, and started talking right away about this little girl. She told us how she had been moving from home to home with her two brothers and that the last home they were in, she had been beaten and forced to leave. Both brothers, worried they would suffer the same fate, had followed her to make sure she was safe and they came to this home – the home of a family friend. Later we found out they had walked there alone - 85 kilometers. That’s over 50 miles through the bush, to get to a safe place!

We went back and forth with questions about the family and the death of the parents. She was standing right there the whole time, this sweet 10ish year old girl, hearing all of this with her head down. Then Joseph called her forward and asked her name. Sharon. Sweet Sharon. A beautiful, beautiful child. We were all appalled at the story and were wondering why this woman was even asking for our help when clearly she had the means to help her. Sharon left Joseph went and snuggled up to Katie and stayed tucked under her arm the rest of the time we were there.

‘So where were her two brothers?’ we asked. Just then, they were outside, getting ready to mount a motorcycle hired by this family to take them back to the home they had just escaped from. The safety they had found in this place was over. They were not wanted here so they were being sent back. The girl could stay until another place could be found, but the boys were going back. So we asked to see them and they came into the room. They walked in with their heads down. They were sad, deeply sad. And we asked whether they wanted to go back. There was no reply from either, just tears - tears streaming down the face of the younger and the older trying to hide his moist eyes. And we cried with them.

And then someone came in and served chai. And all during this time Rick, Joseph and I kept looking at each other and talking under our breath. “They can’t be sent back. I know the older boy is 15 and would be considered on the old end for the Children’s Home, but we can’t send them back. And clearly they are not wanted here. And if they are not wanted, then we can’t leave them here, even for a day. For a child must feel loved and safe and wanted every single day. And why are we even here if not to rescue the needy and the oppressed? God brought us here today for a reason.” And all the while our children were begging for us to bring them home. They were desperate to save them.

It was so crystal clear. They must come with us, because we loved them even though we had just met them. So we told them about God’s love for them and of God’s plans for them. We told them of this divine meeting that was taking place because we weren’t even supposed to be there. We told them about the Children’s Home and the 74 children that live there. We asked if they wanted to come with us. And their faces changed and there were no more tears. Now they wore the face of hope. The fear was gone and they smiled and said ‘Ndio’ Yes! And so plans were made.

We’ve never had such tight quarters in a van and so much joy. The rain started as soon as we picked up our last few passengers and God pushed us up the hill to the Children’s Home. Caleb had somehow decided to bring exactly 9 suckers into the car that morning so each of the 9 children in the van had one.

When we reached the home, the children were waiting for us in the dining room. They greeted the new children with a song. These new children had nothing but the clothes on their backs, so Peter asked if any of the children at the home had clothes to spare. And there was a traffic jam at the door as the children pushed their way out to bring clothes for these new friends. We were SO proud of them. You all know these children have nothing and yet they were pushing each other over to give something away. I stood there with tears in my eyes, overwhelmed at their generosity. Katie and three of the girls went to the kitchen and brought them some food. And then they prayed for them and sang this beautiful Maasai song that says, “God you rescued me and because of You I will fall down and worship You.”

There isn’t a bed to sleep in at the Children’s Home yet so we brought them home with us. The boys are snuggled together in the hallway bunk. Shelah is snuggled in with Rachel. And Naimutie who usually sleeps in the hallway, is next to Katie. And Rick and I are sitting here marveling at God’s incredible plan for three orphaned children in the Middle of Nowhere, Kenya.

As we reflect on the details we are astounded. If the pastor’s son wasn’t sick we wouldn’t have been attending church in the bush. If Dan had not heard this story, we wouldn’t have known about the need. If we decided to wait a few days to go, the boys would not have been there and we would never have known of their situation. If we turned away at the sight of the house, we would have missed the opportunity. If the meeting hadn’t begun so unusually, the older boys would have left on the motorcycle. And why would Caleb bring 9 suckers?

Verse 2 of the song Katie sang in church this morning is ringing through our minds….

“Into the darkness You shine.
Out of the ashes we rise.
There’s no one like You.
None like You.

Our God is greater.
Our God is Stronger.
God,You are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer.
Awesome in Power.
Our God, Our God.”

- Chris Tomlin

Pictures

2010-10-14T12:05:00.001-07:00

Rick and Caleb burning Safari Ants with some boys from the Hill then teaching them to play 'Spoons'

Work Permit and the Rain Forest

2010-10-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the chance to travel 5 hours to Kisumu to take another step in the process of getting our work permit. We traveled to the Church of God headquarters and met with the Bishop who is helping us. He has a pastor in Nairobi helping us. The last step is to turn in Rick’s passport and pay the fee. We turned these documents over and are praying this will complete the process. Please pray with us that things go very smoothly.

Because we traveled so far, we took the opportunity to spend the night at the Kakamega Rain forest, which is near by. This place was unlike anything we have seen before! We had Joseph bring his wife, Annah, and Emmanuel our good friend and driver bring his wife Patricia and his baby daughter, Hope. It was a much needed refreshing night! We even had warm water and showers!!!

This is Julia’s journal entry from the trip:

“At Rhondo, we had so much fun! We went hiking through the rainforest and saw all these monkeys and cool looking birds. I was trying to look for a blue bird with a red Mohawk but we didn’t find it. The Kakamega rainforest is the only place it lives in the whole world. We saw black and white Colobus monkeys and a blue monkey. At Rhondo, 40% of the butterflys in the world live there so we saw a lot of butterflies. They were very pretty. It was a wonderful place.

Community

2010-10-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today was another day, atypical from my life in America. After school, Katie and Esther washed the laundry, while Julia and Rachel played with baby Paranai. Caleb was chasing Msuni and I finished grading papers. Then Caleb, Julia, and Esther slaughtered a chicken while Katie, Rachel and I tidied up. Then we all met in the kitchen where Esther and Katie taught Rachel to make chipatti. I shared the stove with them and made chicken soup while Julia, Caleb, Precious, and Msuni ran around our feet chasing eachother because it was raining outside.

After reading my post on the ‘Little House on the Prairie Day’ a good friend sent me the following e-mail, which caused me to stop and think. As I begin to get frustrated with the complexity of accomplishing the smallest tasks here, God has used this e-mail to remind me to pause and look around and appreciate the people I am doing life with here and to simply enjoy community. Thank you Linda for the reminder and the fresh perspective…

“What you did today doesn't sound simple. But, it sounds relationally rich. Almost every sentence had a person's name in it. If we were to describe making dinner, we would say....went to Jewel...bought a chicken....put it in the oven...and then add the names for who would eat it. I would describe washing clothes as walked to the mud room, took out the detergent, and started laundry. No names.

I grew up on a farm in the 60s. Uncle Wayne butchered the chickens. Aunt Ruby pulled out the feathers. My mom prepared the meal. My mom and I hung laundry out on the clothesline. My grandparents, parents, and I tipped beans and shucked peas to freeze for the winter. There were lots of names in my life growing up.

You are living a life that is putting lots of names in sentences. I envy that. And I am inspired by that, Ann. I don't diminish the work involved because I have no idea. But I do have bits of memories that are dear because I had to join in the work of living with the people I loved. Praying for you as you adjust...give Katie a hug for me and have her give you one from me, ok?”

Gifts!

2010-10-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

So we are the proud owners of a goat and 4 chickens! Three of the chickens we purchased for dinners – one of which as been laying eggs so she gets to live for a while. (Yes as you can see in the picture, she lays eggs on a spare bed). But the last was a gift along with the goat!

This last weekend we were able to travel to a remote village with two of the children from the home to visit their church and meet their community. The people were from the Kurya tribe, which is different from the Maasai that we are getting used to.

We traveled for 4 1/2 hours over very rough roads. When we arrived, the people greeted us by hugging us on one side and then the other saying ‘Karibu’ (Caribou), which means ‘welcome.’ They served us a light lunch of rice and avocados with chai. They have the biggest and best avocados here!

We were then escorted in to church with singing and dancing. During the service, the children we brought were recognized and were called to the front of the church where they were celebrated and prayed for. It was very special to be with them and to see a village so excited about the care these children were receiving. At the end of the 2 hour service, they started singing a special song and called our family up to the front of the church. They presented us with a goat and a chicken! Rick held it’s front legs and danced with it as was expected! Picture that one in your mind…yes it was funny! Fortunately they gave me a woven basket so I didn’t have to dance with the animals.

After, we had lunch of cassava and millet (kind of like purple, tasteless dough), chicken soup (head and feet included), bananas, chapatti, and soda! Joseph ate the feet just to prove to us it was delicious. We wouldn’t know as we took a pass on this one.

We did find out that from this area there are many orphans as there were border skirmishes between this tribe and another several years ago. Maybe some day there will be more children from this tribe represented at the Children’s Home here or at site two. Please pray for this community!

A Day in the Life ...

2010-10-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

We are living in the home of Joseph and Annah. They are the pastor and his wife that we've stayed with before. They are wonderful! They have gone above and beyond the call to make us comfortable. They live in a 4 1/2 room house and have given us two of the bedrooms. It is partially a mud hut and partially a mud hut that has been covered with plaster and concrete. There is a separate mud hut that serves as the kitchen. The roof is made of tin so when it rains it is REALLY loud. No one can talk. Living with them has worked out well. We enjoy their company and when they or we want to be alone, there is space we can go. Joseph is an engaging storyteller so living with him is like having an audio library on hand. He has TONS of thrilling animal stories and stories of the adventures he experienced growing up in the bush. Joseph and Annah have two 12 year old girls living here that needed a place to stay. They are becoming good friends with the girls and Caleb. They also have 3 of their grandchildren here as well. One comes up during the week to go to school while her mother works. Her name is Precious - and she is. They also have Ruth, one of their son's wives here while he is away at school. She has two small children - a boy Msuni who is 2 and is the cutest thing you've ever seen! Also a baby girl, Paranai, 6 months, who is SO sweet. They live in a mud hut just a stone's throw from here.

We purchased a tiny stove last week! So even though I have to turn the propane on to make it work and manually light it with a match, I feel like I can cook better and faster for our family. Cooking over the fire and the 'jico' (basically over hot coals) is extremely time consuming as it takes longer to heat, more effort to keep it hot, and you can only cook one thing at time. We even made cookies the other night.

We have hired a house worker who helps with laundry, dishes, and cooking as well. Her name is Esther. She is the best gift to our family we've had so far.

We start our day and I start boiling water for coffee and chai. Then my quiet time. Then I make breakfast. After, we fill our camping shower with water and set it out in the sun to get hot. Then we move on to school. I leave the dishes for Esther and I let her know what to begin making for lunch. It would be nice to get a refrigerator in the future as this would make meals easier. Because we can't keep things fresh in a fridge, we have to cook every meal from scratch. This is tedious to me already. There are usually several visitors that stop in to say "Hi' to us during the day. We finish school around 3:00 - 4:00 which is when the kids on the 'Hill' get finished and then we go up to spend time there. I have been organizing the office and the clinic so we can figure out where things are at and start moving forward with getting things running more smoothly. Esther starts washing veggies and may get some things started for dinner so when I come back, I can finish making it. Evenings are spent sitting around talking and listening to stories or reading to the kids.

Saturdays we have had meetings and we work and play with the kids on 'the Hill.' Last week, we brought the Wii up to the Children's home and introduced the kids to video games! It was a BLAST! They loved it! They played Mario Kart and were cheering for each other and laughing at each other. It was very, very funny to watch them try to figure out the remotes!

On Sunday we walk to church or travel to a distant church. Rick preaches which he has done every week so far! Then we have sodas with the church leaders. This is one of Caleb’s favorite things of the week. And that just about sums it up…

A Few Pics

2010-09-27T11:59:00.001-07:00

Katie with our Houseworker Esther, making chicken on the jico...

Rachel with Msuni and Precious

The Battle with Safari Ants.

2010-09-27T11:55:00.001-07:00

Last Friday evening, we had put the kids to bed and were sitting and talking with Joseph and Annah and their son, Silas. All of a sudden, from over the top of the wall (yes there is a space between the roof and the wall), several thousand safari ants came marching into the room! Joseph quickly grabbed the bug killer and started spraying them. He then ran outside to attack the source.

Rick and I, not knowing what safari ants were, were relatively surprised but not afraid. We didn’t find out until the next morning that Joseph spent a good part of the night battling them to keep them away from the house with ‘Doom’ – the bug killer.

So, Safari ants are these amazing creatures that plan and strategize attacks on certain areas. They march in lines and follow the very large commander ants. Each commander leads a troupe of ants. The commander stands erect on his back legs with his very large pincers open wide. All of the smaller ants march in front of him. They plan their ‘attacks’ during the day and they always attack at night. They will go great distances around and area to surround their prey. They have been known to surround and kill large animals. And they bite hard! Unfortunately we have all experience this…

Sunday afternoon, Julia and Msuni accidentally stumbled across their new nest, which was about 20 yards below the house. In a matter of seconds, they were both crawling with ants and started screaming. We stripped them down and got all of the ants off. And then we went to work.

Being uninformed Americans, we followed Annah and Naimutie, one of the 12 year old girls living here. They gathered hot coals from the ‘jico’ and started pouring them over the piles of ants. Then we gathered dried grasses and lit them on fire and placed them all along their trail. We were trying to create a barrier to drive them down the hill towards the creek. Some people here actually leave their houses for several days when these ants come. The ants kill every living thing in their path, including spiders, bugs and unwanted creatures living in the remote corners of the house. They see it as a blessing!

This morning, we found them near the dish-washing station in the back yard. Caleb and Emmanuel worked to light them on fire today. We are wondering where they will turn up tomorrow! Anyone want to come and visit Kenya?

Unexpected Joy

2010-09-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Before I left for Kenya, a dear friend of mine gave me a piece of jewelry with the word ‘Joy’ engraved on it. She chose this with a promise to pray that I would find unexpected encounters with joy along the way!

I have found myself experiencing joy these past few weeks in several very unusual circumstances. Here is one story…

On Saturday evening, our family was enjoying a rare meal together alone. We were talking about our day and savoring the roast beef and mashed potatoes I had prepared when a chicken wandered into the room. He was looking for a place to lay and egg. Kenyans think nothing of this. As Joseph would say, “Why would you shoo something that is food out of the room?”

We crazy Americans think chickens are unsanitary so as this chicken wandered in, all of the kids started screaming. Then they tried to chase it out. Every time they got it close to the door, the chicken would dart under the table or the benches and the chase would begin all over again. It was pandemonium in the room. All the kids were screaming and yelling out directions. Rachel was the only one committed to actually picking the chicken up and capturing it. However, she didn’t want chicken germs to get on her hands so she had a napkin in each hand that served as a germ barrier. Several times she reached out to snatch the chicken and grabbed the very back end of it. The chicken would squawk at her and she would scream and let go. This happened several times and as I sat there and surveyed the room I started to laugh. Not just a chuckle, but a deep down satisfying laugh. “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”

A Little House on the Prairie Day

2010-09-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Had a 'Little House on the Prairie' day yesterday. Can't believe I actually had a day like this. Never thought it would happen in a million years.

After my QT, I started my day by soaking my laundry in a bucket full of rain water and detergent. Then we drove it (fortunately my parents were leaving and we were able to drive it up) the half mile up to the top of the hill. After saying our good byes, we (the kids and I and some of the mama's from the home) spent about an hour scrubbing clothes and rinsing them in the great well water. (Got a blister on my fingers and sunburned my arms doing laundry! :) - never thought I'd say those words...) Thank God for this water! SO helpful for doing laundry. Then we (me and the kids) hauled it back down the hill on our heads and hung it on a line to dry.

Schooled the kids - so great to be able to do this outside!

Then we helped 'prepare' dinner. Caleb helped cut the head off of a chicken! Then we dumped it in hot water and Katie helped pulled the feathers out while Caleb ran around chasing everyone with a chicken head. I made one of our family favorites 'Mango, Chicken, and Corn Salad'. Spent about 2 hours preparing it over a fire. The chicken boiled over the open fire (I encourage you to try this outside on your fire pit). They have these small metal buckets called 'jiko's' that hold hot coals. Julia and our houseworker Estther cooked chipati (like a bread pancake) over one of these while the chicken cooked. Rachel took the donkey with Faith, one of Joseph's 12 year old granddaughters, to the bottom of the hill to get water - twice. Then I de-boned the chicken. Was going to get rid of the skin and bones but the Maasai actually eat these. So I cooked the 'meat' in spices for everyone, and then I cooked the skin and bones in spices for them! We really enjoyed our American meal. They must have too - everyone had seconds...

CRAZY!!! I'll tell you what - water is a GIFT. A GIFT! I hasn't rained here in two days and we are out of rain water. It is VERY challenging to get enough clean water to cook with, wash with, and drink. Today, we are praying for rain!

Kijabe Hospital

2010-09-11T07:17:00.001-07:00

This past week week we have spent with one of the children at the Oasis children's home at Kijabe hospital. She has had multiple ear infections and had ruptured her left eardrum. A fantastic doctor from the States has arrived at Kijabe and we were able to have her surgery scheduled with him! She was very shy but did a great job! Remarkably, with many prayers, she was able to return home the following day and we were able to escort her! This was our initial trip to the Hill and it was great to have her along to join in all of the excitement of our arrival!

Julia's Baptism!!!

2010-09-10T00:44:00.001-07:00

Over the years, we have had many joyful opportunities to watch people get baptized at The Chapel. Truly, this is my favorite part of being in ministry. To see a life changed and a person stand before their Christian brothers and sisters, and commit to making Jesus the leader of their life is exhilarating.

After the last baptism we hosted at the Mundelein Campus, Julia approached Rick and requested that she be baptized ‘Up North’ in front of her whole family in the lake! How could we say no to that? So, last Sunday, in front of all 25 of the extended Smith family, Julia publicly proclaimed her love for Jesus and commitment to follow Him the rest of her life. It was truly exhilarating to say the least! She was so precious and so sincere in her testimony of how God has worked in her life. She was followed by all 4 of the Mascari cousins!

And now she is having a chance to demonstrate her commitment to Jesus. This weekend was very hard for her – VERY hard. She sobbed on several occasions at the thought of leaving her cousins and aunts and uncles, especially Paige and Aunty Bevy. We will miss them all deeply. We had several significant conversations with her in moments of calm where she affirmed her commitment to going to Africa, even though she didn’t want to leave everyone. We are SO proud of her choices, even at this age!

The End of a Chapter...

2010-09-10T00:40:00.001-07:00

We have spent the last two weeks on the receiving end of multiple gifts, experiences, and encouraging words from our family and friends. Being in ministry, as Rick noted, typically puts us on the giving end, so it has been ‘uncomfortable’ for us being on the receiving end of so many generous friends. But despite this, we have been deeply touched by the authenticity and encouragement of so many of you through your words and prayers for our family. I know they will carry us through the days ahead as we venture into the unknown. Below are some of the fun pictures.

Our first major event was with some of our dear friends from Arlington Heights…

Next, we were surrounded by our family, as we all traveled ‘Up North’ for a relaxing and memory filled vacation.

Then, we spent an evening with our Chapel family at the Griffins.

Finally, we had a friend and family filled send off at the airport.

Through many tears and lots of hugs we boarded a plane for Kenya. And so the adventure begins in the next chapter of our lives…

The Smith Family Commissioning

2010-08-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday, we were blessed to have our Chapel family officially commission us to Kenya. During family time at each of the three services, the new campus pastor of the Chapel in Mundelein, Thomas McArthur, invited our family to come on stage. He challenged us and our children to hold true to the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded. And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Thomas specifically reminded our children that God will be with us every step of the way. And they heard it - we all did. We are so grateful for the time we have walked along the road of life with the people at this Chapel campus. And we are so proud of them for paving the way and sending off the first Chapel missionaries. We felt privileged to know these awesome people. We love them dearly and are so thankful for their support and encouragement.

Two Weeks to Go!

2010-08-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the tickets have been purchases and our things are getting packed! We officially travel on Tuesday, August 31 to Kenya! We are excited about going and sad to leave our dear friends.

You can see our updates and that we are 73% of our goal. We are encouraged and prayerful.

Remarkably we are quite non-stressed over this all. Definitely a God thing. Also the result of a tragedy we felt last week. One of our family's friends lost their precious daughter last week. She was a darling girl and will be very missed. It has definitely put things into perspective for us. Her family also generously requested that donations go towards Oasis in Lauren's memory. What a blessing to the less fortunate in the midst of their pain. We were humbled by their request.

This week we will focus on getting our bags packed. The next week we will focus on finishing up the house. Please continue to pray for us. I have updated the prayer wall with things specific to our current needs.

God Sighting - The Work Permit

2010-07-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

So getting a work permit in Kenya is one of those 'essentials' requirements to remain in the country for longer than 3 months. God has been good to us in bringing the Church of God into our path as our receiving agency in Kenya. Joseph, the pastor and chief of the village we are moving to, is affiliated with them and they have graciously agreed to assist us with this process.

While we were in Kenya in June, we had a chance to meet the Bishop of the Church of God to move things forward. We definitely experienced what it was like to feel Kenyan that day. We got up at 5:30 am and drove for 6 hours (supposed to be 4) over horrific roads (hence the additional 2 hours) to arrive 10 minutes late to our meeting. These 10 minutes cost us an additional 6 hours as we 'just missed' the Bishop. He had left for a funeral - which lasted - you guessed it - 6 hours.

But we waited, we didn't drive 6 hours (and fly 24 and drive another 6) for nothing. When we finally had our audience, we sat with him for a sparse 10 minutes. He asked a few questions and requested 2 documents - a passport photo and Rick's diploma.

And that's when we had our God sighting - when the Bishop asked for the diploma. Rick and I looked at each other and laughed. Out of sheer respect for my dad, Rick has been working on finishing his Master of Divinity degree at Trinity. After 10 years, he finally graduated this May. This May - May 2010! No one here cared that he had that degree, not the Chapel, not our campus - no one. But we needed it to get a work permit in Kenya. And God knew that. And that's why following Him is so cool!

Trip to Kenya 2010

2010-06-30T13:19:00.001-07:00

Rick and I led our first trip to Kenya together from June 11 - 23! Although leaving the kids was difficult, we had a chance to prepare for our move there which proved to be very helpful.

We led a team of 11 people (two of whom were my parents!). Day 1 was spent Nairobi visiting the Tea Farm, the Nest, and Kijabe Hospital. We then headed out to 'The Hill' for a week of loving on the kids, teaching the kids, and running medical clinics. We ended the week enjoying God's creativity on safari!

This was our team:
Rick and Ann
Mike and Rose Matlak - resident Doctor and loving mother
Jeanette, Kara, and Joel Gitskin - teacher and 2 energetic and engaging teenagers
Dan and Noah Huffman - Children's pastor and teen musician
Lynda Toner - Physician's assistant and lover of Maasai women
Barb Anema - Nurse

The highlight of the week was definitely Pastor Dan, Joel, Kara, and Noah and their amazing kids programs! All the children at the home LOVED participating in the games and teaching!

We ran clinics on 4 days and saw lots of interesting 'Third World' diseases unfamiliar to our American experience but, having Dr. Mike there who has been in Kenya for the last 6 months proved to be invaluable. We were able to help many needy people and were blessed by their grateful spirits.

During the week we were also able to meet with a woman named Dinah Timuti from Kenyatta University. She is the mother of our friend Abe Timuti (Chapel friend). She spearheads a program at the University that partners with developing areas to raise the standard of living. Her work was inspiring and extremely interesting. We look forward to partnering with her to help this area of Kenya. More to follow on the 'Model Home' we will be building in the future!!!

Rick and I were also able to work on getting our work permit. This is an exhausting process in Kenya and being there before we move was very beneficial in pushing this process forward.

Overall, we were most impacted by the grateful spirits of the Maasai community and the warm hospitality. For people with literally nothing compared to our lifestyles here, they have a sense of gratitude unmatched by anyone I know here. They recognize God in every blessing. The children are all so well loved and are doing such an amazing job caring for each other. They are so diligent in their studies and have such a joy about them. It is a privilidge to be with them and we SO look forward to getting to know each of them more personally when we move there.

Moving to Kenya!!!

2010-05-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes the rumors are true! The Smith Family is really moving to Kenya!

Here's the story...

“This is a once in a lifetime experience, kids. We will never do this again so let’s enjoy every moment of it to the fullest!” These were the words we spoke to our children as we boarded a plane headed for Nairobi, Kenya in February of 2008. With plans to visit family overseas and to meet the Oasis sponsored children, we were excited to grow our perspective on the world and see what God was doing in another culture!

But that changed, as soon as we entered the beautiful Trans Mara and met the wonderful Maasai people. After being there for only a day, I remember Rick and I looking at each other and saying, “We are SO coming back here again.” And somewhere in the midst of that week God gave me an insatiable passion for the children in this community in Africa. I think about them every day. New ideas are constantly coming to mind from helping things to run more smoothly on the Hill, to improving heath/living conditions, to helping kids with specific illnesses/condition, to raising the standard of education…I could go on and on.

And so I dove in head first, joining Oasis’s medical team and leading a trip the following year. Returning from the trip in March of 2009, I felt exhilarated and excited to do more. And so in our family, I have done the ‘Oasis thing’ and Rick is very supportive of that. He does the Chapel Mundelein thing, and I am very supportive of that.

However, last fall, Rick caught a vision for Kenya. While he has always been supportive of Oasis, during the Oasis fall fundraiser, as he gave the closing challenge, he realized that there was a new passion stirring in his own heart to see these goals accomplished. And he dove in head first. With an invitation from Chris Herden and Scott Hayward, he joined the board. He also initiated the formation of the education team. Then he started talking about Oasis a lot. At this point, I was oblivious to what was going on but looking back I can see God slowly turning his heart towards what He is doing in Africa.

In the midst of this, Oasis started experiencing some challenges. Joseph had been kidnapped and his health was in question. There were frustrations with the construction projects. The water project was moving slowly. Some of the staff at the children’s home were discouraged. So Rick, Scott, Chris, and Nate planned a trip in early February to investigate and address some of these issues.

The whole Oasis situation obviously led to many discussions b/t Rick and I at home as we brainstormed how to address the issues there. One of the solutions we kept coming up with was to send someone out there for a time – we thought the Haywards or Nate would be a good option. We obviously couldn’t go because we were comfortable at the Chapel and doing exactly what God wanted us to be doing here.
At the beginning of the month of January, I was praying one morning and felt like I heard a direct word from God. I actually heard it several times over several days. This happens to me on occasion and I take these quite seriously. It was this, “At this time next year you will be living in Kenya.” Wow! That was a shock! Felt very ‘out of nowhere.’ I kept it quiet and prayed, “Okay God, IF this is what you want for our family, I know you will bring it about in Your time. Would you please let Rick know?”

About two weeks later after the kids were in bed one evening, Rick said, “Let’s read a book together.” So we did. He started reading,”The Hole in the Gospel”, to me. At the end of reading a few chapters, he turned to me and said, “We should move to Kenya.” I raised my eyebrows, got a goofy grin on my face, didn’t think he was serious, and said quickly, “Yeah, we should do that.” We ‘romanticized’ about it for a while and I let it drop. That week, I found myself in several conversations with Rick where he brought up the idea of us moving to Kenya. I was very excited thinking through this and I debated bringing up what God told me. The following week, we read a few more chapters and as he put the book down, he said, “You were kind of serious when I brought up moving to Kenya. Would you really want to move to Kenya?” I turned it back to him and said, “Well, would you?” He replied, “I actually think that if God was calling us to move there that I would.” It was then that I shared with him what God had told me about moving to Kenya a few weeks prior. We both looked at each other and said, “We better start praying.”

So, knowing that Rick was going to be traveling to Kenya less than a week later, we began praying specifically that he would have some confirmation that this was the direction we should head. Our biggest question was, ‘Would they want us to come?’ We were looking to be invited to come and not to ask to come. We also didn’t only want to be involved in managing the Children’s home but in assisting with the church in the community as well. We specifically prayed that God would ‘lead us by the hand’ in this.

That confirmation came when Rick, Scott, Chris, and Nate sat down to talk with the TMD board the following week in Kenya. The board meeting began by with Joseph taking out the original business plan written when TMD was formed. He turned to the section about ‘partnering with other organizations’ and read that ‘if TMD partners with another organization internationally, it is their requirement that that organization send out a representative to live on the Hill to be a liaison between the two organizations.’ In true Kenyan style, Joseph spent the next 15 minutes explaining in detail that they wanted someone from Oasis to move to Kenya and be a representative of Oasis on the Hill. WOW!

After Joseph spoke, Rick shared with them that God had gone before them in this and that we had already talked about bringing our family out to Kenya. They became very excited. They wanted Rick there and our family.

Towards the end of the meeting, Benson and Jackson, two of the pastors there pulled Rick aside. They told him that they not only want us to come out to help with the Children’s home but they want him to train pastors and lay people. This was all extremely confirming!

While the thought of leaving things here for a time is stressful. And the thought of uprooting our family is stressful, we feel like there is no doubt at this point that we should move forward. In fact one of our friends said, “If you don’t go you better stay away from water.”

So we are on a journey to Kenya to do whatever it is that God wants us to do there. We have a few ideas but know God has so many more. We plan to ‘ship out’ at the end of August. And we need your love and support and prayers because we can’t do this alone.

WATER!!!

2010-05-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

Water! Clean Water! A precious gift has been given to the people of the Trans Mara in the form of a generator and an electric pump that pulls water 600 feet from below the surface of a mountain to a small tap! Joseph puts it best.

Friends of the orphans and the Maasai community,
Is there any great gift one can give a thirsty friend than water? Is there any hope on dry thirsty land than water? Is there any other better gift to give to a sick and thirsty person than water?

You gave us water and we are thankful. But remember that over 70 orphans are grateful. In heaven God us watching as you serve them with water? I thank you all who contributed to this noble project Again thank you. Please I humbly request you to accept our heartfelt thanks.

WATER ON THE MOUNTAIN

Water is a symbol of life, hat against scorching heat of the sun and symbol of hope from hopelessness.

TMD was originally situated on the mountain far away from any source of water. When time to house orphans came the only but big challenge was lack of water.

During the heat of the day, children from the orphanage were joined with other school pupils to walk to deep valleys to drink water to cool their thirst. Consider over 300 children lining in the river like cattle. Imagine both animals and women queueing and waiting or rather all these children waiting for animals to finish drinking so as to take their turn.

During Christmas eve of year 2009, I asked the children their prime prayer request an they responded in unison that it was water. I was touched but had no answer, Then I requested Dann Lelinga and Mercy Nairuko to lead that prayer session and after 48 hours I received a phone call from excited Gilisho ad Oloisiriri that water drilling will be possible. It was unbelievable reality in the coming few months!!!

Now this is no longer a story to be done but a reality. We have the following lessons drawn from this reality that both TMD and Oasis must not forget:
1. Water was drilled om top of dry mountain. This signifies how orphans obtained hope from hopelessness.
2. Water was struck at the depth of 180 meters, some 600 feet and being pumped indoors. It signifies the distance of where these children were and how far their sponsors and partner organization is and how deep the orphans were in their hopeless situation in their misery and how near their physical and spiritual refreshment now is.
3. Water drilling, installation and maintenance was and is expensive, This may signify that life changing ministry is rather expensive.
4. Water on the mountain has changed the rocky mountain to be an oasis - right to the names of our organizations, Oasis and Hills Springs. Let us live to that.

Joseph Ole Teleu

Back from Kenya

2009-04-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

So much good happened while we were in Kenya last time. I want to refer you to another blog that we kept during our most recent trip - www.oasisfororphans.blogspot.com. This documents our trip from the many different people who traveled with us.

There is also a really neat YouTube video on Noah Leboo, the orphan who's congenital foot defect was repaired at Kijabe hospital. The video is now up and working on YouTube.com search on "Noah Oasis Soccer" and you should find it ...
or click on this link ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klOafRCG6DE.

Nairobi in a Day

2009-02-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

Today, the entire team met up here at Dave and Carrie's house. We split into two groups. One headed for the Kiambethu Tea Farm - (see last years blog for info re that). The other group went back to Kijabe to do a video shoot of Noah. Now he's a 'movie star.'

We all met up at 'The Nest' and had a great time loving on the kids there. They were delighted to get so much attention. We were excited to see how well run their program is. They house 70 children as well and it gave us good insight into how we could improve the orphanage in the Trans Mara.

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for the Trans Mara. We are anticipating a joyous reunion with our 'family' here in Africa and Noah is really looking forward to getting back 'home.'

Noah Leboo

2009-02-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

Noah Leboo is one of the now 70 orphans in the Trans Mara Children's home. After leaving last year and accepting the role of Health Provider for the children, we began making plans to visit Kenya again. About two days after taking on this role, I started thinking about Noah and his congenital foot defect. And then I couldn't stop thinking about it. We began exploring a road that has ultimately led to his having surgery at Kijabe hospital here in Kenya.

Today is day 4 post op and was our first opportunity to lay eyes on him. He is doing awesome! He is pain free and smiling. He is very excited that his foot is 'straight.' A family from America gave up Christmas gifts this year to pay for his surgery and sent him a book. He absolutely loves it! His sponsor family sent letters from their son, Greg's, sixth grade class and he is looking forward to reading all the letters. We met with his doctor who said he is healing wonderfully!

What a huge answer to many, many prayers!

2009-02-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is one year later and a group of us are heading back to Kenya. It has been quite a journey to get to where we are now. About 6 months ago Scott Hayward and Chris Herden, the official head's of Oasis, approached me about taking over the medical care for the Oasis children. As I prayed over it and discussed it with Rick we both felt God's hand in my doing this. I am so excited to be in this position and for all of the things that have happened since.

Immediately after accepting this position, I was introduced to another RN, Livia Krzeminski. She is a nurse at Abbott and has been aware of Oasis for some time. We made an instant connection and both had a passion to help these children. So - we both decided to team up together to take on this role. It has been so fun to work with her!

Our first project became setting up some standards of Orphanage care. As we discussed this we both felt that in order to do this we would need to travel back to Kenya and do some teaching in order to raise the level of health in the community.

So here we are. There are 13 of us traveling to Kenya on February 20. We have 3 nurses, 1 doctor, an audiologist, several teachers, an architect and 4 awesome 11 year old girls! In the mix are two 3 generation travelers. My dad, Dr. Mike Matlak, and my daughter Katie are coming. Jill Hayward's mom, Anita Kaiser, a nurse, is coming along with her and her daughter, Piper. Obviously these will create some special memories.

The Orphans

2008-04-04T23:12:00.001-07:00

These children are so beautiful and precious! We are getting to know most of them by name. We have spent the last two days interviewing them and learning more about their pasts. Their stories are heart rending. Most, after losing both parents, have moved to several different homes before being brought here to Oasis. I will tell you about Stephen Ledama. He is/was not yet living at the orphanage. He was one of the 23 that were to move in when the second half of the orphanage was finished. After his parents died he moved in with his grandparents. They feel as if he is a burden. He is not fed very much at home and often comes to school having had no dinner or breakfast. The orphanage staff have been feeding him before he goes home after school so he has some nutrition. More disturbing than that is that he is being mistreated at home. He is being beaten and forced to carry very heavy cartons of water long distances. He is being forced to care for the cattle by himself – he is 5 years old. Whenever the orphanage gives him something – like new shoes – they are taken from him. As Jill and I interviewed him and heard about his situation from Peter, one of the incredible caretakers here, we first shed tears and prayed for him, and we determined that he should move in immediately. We decided that he would not go home that very day. We asked Peter the best way to inform the grandparents that he would not be coming home. Peter told us that would not be necessary – they wouldn’t care if he did not come home. We found this a little hard to believe. However, we had brought a blow up pool mattress to use as a bed so we inflated that and put it on the floor – now there are 43 living at the orphanage. I am sorry to say that is has been two days now that he has stayed at Oasis and we haven’t even heard a word from the family… Stephen is doing great! He used to come in in the mornings to school very sad – depressed. The night we told him he wouldn’t be going home anymore, he was so happy – running aound, playing freely – like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He’s been that way ever since.

The Celebration Ceremony - Tuesday, April 1

2008-04-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

WOW! The entire Trans Mara region came out to celebrate the fact that we are here! School was called off and people traveled from all over (some from over 100 miles) to be here to meet us today. We were not expecting such a greeting! We gave the orphans their red T-shirts and slowly marched up the hill to the orphanage singing all the way! The children from the primary, secondary, and High school had prepared dramas, poetry readings, songs, and traditionally Maasai dances for us. The town government officials came, two Maasai chiefs, and 9 pastors! Every one of them spoke! It was over 3 hours long but it was really cool! Both Rick and Scott had opportunities to speak and they were the ones to officially cut the ribbons in the dedication of the orphanage. It was quite an honor!

Once it was over we had a chance to play with the orphans a little which was very fun! They are a lively and joyful bunch. I can tell already that it will be difficult to leave them. Tomorrow we will spend the entire day with them and begin the interviews with each of them! The younger children are fascinated with our kids. They keep rubbing their arms to try to get the white paint off to see the black skin beneath!

It is amazing to be in a land where everything is so opposite what it is in America. No one has a car here – everyone walks…far. The houses are made of mud with grass roofs or are made of crude bricks with aluminum roofs. They are grouped in threes or fours with miles between them. The roads are all dirt and there are mostly foot paths that people travel down. There are small herds of cattle scattered around. No one is in a hurry – everyone stops to greet each other as they pass. Children wear tattered, filthy clothing. The babies are all wrapped in blankets because there are no diapers. There is no running water and people cook over a wooden fire with pots. There is no electricity save for the generator at Joseph’s house and one at the orphanage. No one has a bathroom – they make due in the wild. There is one here where we are staying but it is only a hole in the ground. Everything seems so primitive except that many people have a cell phone! It is very humorous to see someone dressed in traditional Maasai clothing walking along with their cows and then hear their cell phone ring and watch them pull it out of their beaded belt and start talking!

We made it to the Trans Mara!!!

2008-04-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we hopped into the smallest plane any of us have been in and flew over the beautiful Rift Valley. We saw elephants, ostriches, and other herds of animals below us. The landscape was breathtaking. Sounds enticing eh? Well – It was beautiful but we were all feeling quite queasy by the end… I won’t continue with the details. We landed in the middle of no where – literally. There was a small wooden sign that said Kichewa Tembo Airstrip, a small rickety old gazebo, and a dirt runway – that was it except for miles and miles of grassy fields and a few gazelles. One of our drivers was a little late and the pilot had to leave for another flight. It was a strange feeling to be left there! Fortunately the driver was not far and we loaded up our things and began a 3 hour treck along a very dusty, bumpy, road – people in America go off roading on these types of roads – it was interesting to navigate it in a Safari van!

As we traveled along we were amazed to see elephant herds, zebras, strange large birds, unusual plants, and huge termite hills. The most amazing sites were the people. They live in mud huts with grass roofs. There many were very young children (4-6 yrs old) along the roads tending cattle – cows, sheep, and goats. There were mothers and grandmothers working in the yards, doing laundry, carrying heavy loads on their heads. Everyone was very interested in us and were very friendly – waving and yelling ‘Jambo’ or ‘Sopa.’ Our children had the windows wide open and were yelling and waving as well.

As we neared the town of Kilgouris which is at the bottom of ‘The Hill’ (our destination) throngs of people came to welcome us. All along the road the children were running to our vans and reaching out to slap the hand of our kids. Everyone was waving. It was very fun! We finally reached our destination and were amazed at the beauty of the landscape. It is very mountainous. Everything is covered in green grass and you can see for miles and miles the hills and valleys. We were surprised how spread out everything was. We walk half a mile to the school from Pastor Joseph’s house. Many children walk 2-3 miles to school each day – some of them up to 7 miles and it really is all uphill!

When we got to Joseph’s house there were about 20 Maasai women dressed in full Maasai garb singing to greet us. They slowly marched forward in two rows and gave each one of us a huge hug! We then went into Joseph’s living room which his wife, Anna, had filled with wooden benches and tables for us and were introduced to everyone. Then we filed outside again and the children from the orphanage came down and sang us their welcoming song and we did the whole thing again. We were welcomed for about 2 hours! What an honoring tradition!

It was so awesome to finally meet the orphans! We recognized so many of them from the pictures we have been looking at over the last several months! They were so excited to see our kids! They are such beautiful children – their smiles are remarkable – the sight of white teeth surrounded by soft black skin is strikingly beautiful!

We ate dinner very late that night and went to sleep in our small but very cosy beds! We can’t believe we are finally here!

A day at the beach

2008-03-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

When we walked from the hotel down to the beach we immediately drew the attention of the locals who were selling their stuff. The locals were asking us to buy everything from a boat trip out to the reef, to braided hair, to wood carvings in all sorts of shapes and sizes. After they stopped selling we were able to get to know some of them. One of the guys I met was a guy named Tito. I found out he became a Christian about four years ago and he even used language like "I made a decision to follow Jesus." In our conversation he found out I was a Pastor and asked if I could share something from the Bible with him. The next day I brought my Bible to the beach and shared Romans 5:8 with him and then spent some time just talking about various questions he had. He had lots of questions about the difference between how the Muslim's see Jesus and how Christians see Him. I did my best.

As the kids filtered down to the beach Tito suggested he teach us a Christian song in Swahili. We got all the kids together and learned the song. We then asked if we could teach him one of the songs we have been practicing for the orphans. He said o.k and Nate brought his guitar down to the beach and we taught him "Lord I lift your name on high" with motions and all. As we started singing many of the merchants gathered around and we realized that they knew this song as well as several others that Nate had brought. What started out as a simple conversation ended up in about 30 minutes of worship on the beach with about 10 of the African merchants. It was a very cool moment.

One of the people who came to sing was an orphan girl named Shika who was dressed in a very old and worn dress. Here is what Rachel wrote about this experience in her journal. "... All of a sudden this whole entire group of people came over with a little girl. Her name was Shika. All the people started to sing with us. The girl was really really nice. Nate played the guitar. Then we went up to eat. We brought Shika down my skirt, Katie's shirt, and a pair of my swim shoes. The minute we gave them to her she went behind a rock and started to put it on. She came out and she had a huge smile on her face. We were so happy. I think Jesus felt so happy with us. I'm so happy that I did that even though I gave up my favorite skirt."

Thanks for praying everyone.

Fun at the Coast!

2008-03-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

We returned late last night from our 3 day trip to the Indian Ocean! What an incredibly beautiful place! We had a great time planning and preparing for our trip out to the Trans Mara and just relaxing and having fun with our family and friends. We head out to the Mara in the morning... We are so so excited!!!

Some of the eventful experiences we had:

On the evening we arrived we were playing in the ocean as the tide came in. Katie and Piper were stung by jellyfish! Fortunately some vinegar provided by the kitchen staff took away the pain! (Sorry the picture is crooked - I can't get it to upload straight)

We had monkeys come visit us outside our room! We loved watching them - especially the babies - and were very glad we had closed our patio doors that morning!

We also went snorkeling and saw the most amazing, beautiful, and unusual things. Nate has the pictures on his camera so I can't upload any for you to see here but we'll show you a sea spider, a red polka-dotted starfish, and some sea urchins when we get back!

Rick will post on the cool beach God moment we had the day we left...

What is comfort? What brings joy?

2008-03-25T12:29:00.001-07:00

We had a very interesting conversation the other day when we were talking about Dave and Carrie's houseworker, Emily. She is in the picture above with us. She is a single mom of two boys, one of which has sickle cell anemia and is often very sick. She works for Dave and Carrie full time - 5 days a week. All of the families here have houseworkers - it's a way of supporting another family and of providing jobs for Kenyans. (I'd like to bring a houseworker and a gardner home with me!)

Emily lives in Banana Hill - there are pictures of her town in an earlier post. Katie asked why she didn't live here at Rosslyn Academy and instead lives in Banana hill. Auntie Carrie told Rachel that she actually had the option to live here in the worker's housing but she chose to live in Banana Hill. "Why?" Great question! From all outward appearances it is much, much, much more comfortable here. Here there is running water, electricity, safety, and a bigger house. There she has to walk to a pump for water, there is no electricity, and her home is smaller. But that is what is familiar to her and the things we consider 'conveniences' are not important to her. Sure it takes more time - but she is not in a hurry. Her family is there - her sister lives very close. She has many friends there.

So the first question we pondered is what do we need to be comfortable? The second is what do we need to be happy? I challenge you to think through these with your family as well....

The Whole Family in Africa!!!!

2008-03-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry we haven't posted in a few days. It's been thunder-storming in the evenings and we lose internet at those times. Rick and the Haywards made it here safely!!! We were so glad to see them! The kids have really missed their Daddy so today has been great. We had lots of time together!

We went to the larger branch of 'The Nest' today. This is the orphanage that houses children whose mothers are in pri

son. Most of the mothers have short terms for petty crimes but several are away from their children for years. It is really hard on the children - especially at first. There was a wonderful Kenyan woman who has worked in several orphanages who is helping these kids to adjust. She has a ton of experience and is doing a very difficult job with joy. Please pray for her as there are several new children who are really struggling - and please pray for these precious children.

We then went back to the Hawker's market so Rick could experience it. Later we met the Haywards for dinner. Dave and Carrie took us all to a wonderful Asian (Keyan's call Indian food Asian) dinner. We've never had Indian food before! It was definitely a cultural experience. I loved it! The kids and Rick loved the naan!

Tea Farm

2008-03-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a Kenyan Tea farm. One of Kenya's major exports, along with flowers, is tea. It was very interesting to see what makes up a large part of their economy and employs many, many people. This particular farm was started by a British man and his wife. His grand-daughter and her husband now run it and give tours of their grounds and tell of the tea making process. The large picture is of the kids in front of the tea bushes. The go for hundreds of miles all around and cover the hills that once used to be forested. We were given a tour by a very old Kikuyu man who grew up on the farm and whose father used to give tours. It was very interesting. The homes are those of some of the tea farm workers

On a personal note. It is Good Friday today. I have thought of all of you and the amazing experience you will be having at the services this evening. I've prayed for you... This particular service is my favorite one of the year at the Chapel - I think because it is such a tangible reminder of the gift Christ has given us. I will miss being there because they don't even have a service here. That's okay though because it doesn't make what Jesus has done for us any less meaningful. I remember with you, even halfway around the world, the incredible price that Jesus paid for my sin so I could be in a relationship with Him. What an amazing act of love! Romans 5:7-8 keeps coming through my mind.

"For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us."

The town of Banana Hill

2008-03-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a Kenyan Tea Farm. On the way we passed through the town of Banana Hill, this is what a typical outlying Kenyan town is like... Double click on these photos so you can get a good idea of what they look like... This was in the morning so there were fewer people around. On our way back there were people everywhere. It was about 5 miles long. Pretty powerful. It was sobering to drive through.

Day Five Adventures

2008-03-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we had an incredible experience. We went to Amani Ya Juu. It is place where women who have literally fled for their lives can come and work and sell the crafts they make. There are women from all over Africa - Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, the Congo etc. We were able to hear some of their stories. One woman fled with her husband and 8 children. They found a tiny one room shack to stay in and had no source of income. With her family starving she connected with Amani through word from a friend. She was accepted and now can feed her family. They have moved into a two bedroom house with a living room inbetween! She was so thankful. I think of the verse in I Thessalonians 5:18 "...in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It takes on a whole different meaning. What a blessing to have met her and heard her story.

Amani began with three women in a garage and has now grown to 80 women! They recently built a 3 story work facility and ship 20 crates of goods all around the world once a month. The women also receive counseling and are introduced to Jesus. Most of them have come to know Him as their personal savior!

While I was there I also had an incredible thing happen - a God moment. I saw a white woman there who I faintly recognized. We started talking and it turns out she was someone I graduated with from Wheaton College. She is the United States liason for Amani. She shared with me that in October she is bringing 20 Amani women to 5 different states in America. They are going to be doing fashion shows to raise awareness for Amani and will be selling their things - which are beautiful BTW). Their first stop is Chicago and they will be doing a show in Wheaton. She asked if we could house some of the women while they were there. What a fun opportunity. I think it would be a blast to have a fashion show closer to our home and support this incredible ministry! Maybe! I'll work on that when I get home!

Day Three In Kenya

2008-03-19T07:59:00.001-07:00

It's actually day 4 for us here but today we just took it easy b/c Katie came down with a fever about half way through the day yesterday. Please pray for her. The rest of us are still holding out. But I'm going to tell you about our day yesterday...

We went to a school called 'Kids to Kids.' It's a school for children who can't afford to go to the public school. Even though the public school is free the students have to pay for books, uniforms, and a desk. Students also have to be able to bring lunch to school. 'Kids to Kids' is a place where the poorest of the poor kids can come to school for one year. They are given breakfast and lunch and at the end of the year are given books, a uniform, and desk money! They also bring them lunch at the public school the next year.

We had a chance to teach them for their craft time. We brought with us colored beads to make bracelets. Each color stands for a different Bible story and all together tells the story of salvation. We taught it to them and they are going to teach it to others! My kids each told a different part with some posters we made before we left and did an awesome job! It was a fun experience to teach other students! We also helped several of them with their English reading. All of the Kenyan children learn 3 languages - their tribal tongue, Kiswahili, and English.

We ate lunch with them as well. They all lined up along the wall and we served them first and then we sat down with them and ate. We had ugali and kale. Ugali is a corn based mush - it is the most inexpensive food available to Kenyans so it makes up a major part of their diet. It wasn't that bad but we left thankful that we don't have to eat it every day.

After we left, we drove down to the slum where the children live. It was at least a 3 mile walk one way. Their homes were made out of cardboard, wood, tin - basically any large scrap they could find.

We left feeling very wealthy. There is so much need here - and everywhere...

After we left we went to the grade school Chapel at Rosslyn Academy (that's the school where my brother works). There was a group of kids from another slum who were part of a group run by some missionaries. They had prepared a program for us. We spent the first 20 minutes singing worship songs. They were the same songs we sing at The Chapel. It was AWESOME to stand outside and worship the God we all serve with people from all ages, economic backgrounds, and races. It was a very moving experience for me - it felt a bit like heaven.

Day Two - Part Two

2008-03-17T13:19:00.001-07:00

After we left the market we went to a halfway house of a large orphanage called "The Nest." We were at kind of a satellite orphanage. This house cares for small babies and children whose mothers are in prison. The older children were at school so we got to spend time just holding the babies. The girls and I were in heaven! We were there for almost 2 hours holding them, laughing with them, and playing with them. We had a chance to pray for each one of them as we held them that some day they would find Jesus as their Savior and would grow up to be strong leaders and make a difference in their community. I'm sure we'll go back before we leave.

We've also had so much fun with our family. The kids have had a blast with their cousins. They were feeling a little better today. Still a lot of coughing but less feverish. Please continue to pray for our health.

Day Two in Kenya

2008-03-17T13:16:00.002-07:00

Carrie took us to the hawkers market in town and it was unlike anything we've ever seen. We drove in and saw what looked like a makeshift tent. There was an enormous garbage pile, about 10 feet high and 25 feet long along the left side of it. As soon as we arrived several people surrounded our car offering their services to watch our car and to carry our food. As we entered what looked like a shack we were amazed to see rows and rows of beautiful fruits and vegetables in unbelievably filthy conditions. I've uploaded a picture of the girls there. The picture looks great but it smelled of rotting vegetables and body odor. The ground was uneven and muddy with rotting fruit here and there. There were hundreds of vendors vying for a few buyers attention. I left feeling with an overwhelming sense of helplessness at the great needs of the people and the inability to help them all. Here is where the heart of God lies - with the poor and needy. It was quite an experience to feel the weight of that today.

2008-03-17T13:16:00.001-07:00

2008-03-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

It has been an absolutely beautiful day here in Nairobi - about 85, dry, with a nice breeze. We went swimming for about 2 hours in the new Rosslyn pool. It was so amazing to go swimming outside in March! The kids keep saying, "I can't believe we're in Africa! This is awesome!" It has been awesome! The kids climbed an avocado tree, tasted giant honeysuckles, saw their first palm trees, and learned what a flame tree was. God is so incredible to have created so many cool things!

We have had so much fun seeing our cousins again! We brought light sabers out for their boys so there was an all out Star Wars battle as well. Uncle Dave is a hero for fighting with 5 boys!

You can keep all of us in your prayers as well. The Matlak family is pretty sick - fevers, bad chest cough, and this is day 4 for some of them. We'd really like to not get it...We could use a miracle.

We Made It!!!

2008-03-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

After 24 hours of travel we are so excited to be here in Nairobi!!! Loud cheers erupted on the plane as soon as we landed and we were probably the loudest! The kids did awesome on both flights! We had fun trying on wooden shoes in Amsterdam. And it was so exciting to track the countries we flew over... Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy... So for home-school today we had Geography!

We are headed to bed after about 5 hours of sleep.... Thanks for your prayers! The flight went flawless and all of our luggage arrived intact!

2008-03-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Katie and I have spent the last few days compiling the little bit of information we know about each of the children we will visit. Basically we have some of their pictures, and know their names, ages, and school grade. There is a little bit of information about how some of them were orphaned. It has been very impacting to me as I've written each of their names on the form and noted their ages. These kids are my kids ages - some 4 years old, some 7, some 9. others 10. I can't even imagine the depth of loss each of these precious children have experienced in their short years. Yet here they are, smiling and hopeful. We got word that they were ecstatic about moving into the orphanage. Some of them had never slept in a bed!

We also heard back that the orphans that will move into the second phase of the orphanage have been identified. We now have 65 children to meet! And the Chapel family has come through with the funds to begin the second phase. We are bringing the architect who designed the orphanage with us, Nate Kaiser, he is Jill Hayward's cousin. He will take a look at Phase 1 while we are there to make sure the plans for Phase 2 will work!

We have also been so thankful for the generous outpouring of gifts to bring to the kids. Only 6 days until we leave!!! We can't wait!!!

Please pray for our health. We are battling fevers and colds here and would really like to be healthy before take off!

Preparing for Kenya

2008-02-24T19:38:00.000-08:00

After preparing for the last year we are finally in the home stretch and counting down the days until we leave for Kenya. Our trip has been delayed by almost two months because of the political tension in the area but we have the go ahead from our contacts in Nairobi that things have settled down and it is safe to come! Originally we were traveling with 3 other families. Then it was down to just us. Our dear friends, the Haywards, just purchased tickets and are going with us! We could not be more excited!!!

The purpose of our trip is twofold. First, we have very dear family living and serving as missionaries in Nairobi, my brother Dave and our sister-in-law Carrie and their 4 boys. We are so looking forward to spending time seeing what their life is like. We can't wait to play with the cousins and to reconnect with them. We look forward to seeing and experiencing life as they have described it to us.

The second needs more explanation. A few years ago we heard about a group of guys at the Chapel who made a trip out to the Maasai Mara in Kenya and fell in love with the people there. They met a Maasai pastor named Joseph who had a God given vision to reach the Maasai people by influencing their youth. Joseph spent many years in the slums of Kibera in Nairobi trying to minister to the young people that ended up there. Most of them had come to the city orphaned and penniles and looking for hope. They found none and ended up escaping by getting high on glue. By the time Joseph got to them they had so destroyed their minds that a future for them was empty. Joseph decided that he needed to reach these young people before they reached the slums. The group of men from the Chapel made it possible for Joseph to move back to the Maasai Mara and began supporting his vision for the Maasai. These men together agreed to start a mission organization called Oasis that houses, educates, and cares for orphans. Two years ago 11 orphans entered Oasis' care. Just last month, with a financial blessing from the Chapel people, phase 1 of an orphanage was completed. Over the last two weeks 41 orphans have been moving in!! See oasisfororphans.com .

Our hearts have been captivated by these orphans. We feel like they are an extension of our family. We are going out there to meet them, play with them, teach them, and love on them. We are looking to learn as much as we can about each one of them so that when we return we can find families who will 'adopt' them as their own. Please be praying as to whether you would like to be a part of this.