Unchained Melody

In the past two weeks I have been back to the Baby Centre for one day, at Tenwek Hospital, and on safari in the Mara!  And I leave this Thursday night.  I can barely believe it.  I have been so blessed to have seen and experience so much in all my time here.  Here's a random assortment of things that happened and what I thought about them... an unchained melody.

-On our day back at the Baby Centre, there was an adoption!  I'm thankful to have experienced that joyful moment for my last day there, and that another precious girl now has a forever family.  I loved what her new daddy said (roughly paraphrased).  "I'm a man of few words, but I am a man of action... it's not her and us, she is one of us now."  I admire this family for doing as God has called and welcoming a precious daughter into their family.  I remember first wanting to adopt children (in the future obviously) when I was about 9 or 10.  After meeting orphans and seeing different orphan care ministries on this trip, I think it's a given for my future.  The church needs to majorly step it up in this area, but I think that's going to be a separate post.

-Tenwek Hospital (in Bomet) is a really, really awesome place.  There is a very rich history of awesome missionaries serving God and others unconditionally.  Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse are huge supporters as is WGM.  I really love the community that the missionaries have there, the kids call the other adults "Aunt" and "Uncle" and run freely among the homes of the other families.  There was also great camaraderie among the volunteers.  A group of us went on a hike up to the highest peak around, with an awesome 360 view.  I love to be in God's creation, and we enjoyed some great conversation and views on the way up and down.  At the top of the hill, there was a group of school kids who were fascinated to see us.  A comment by one of the kids made me so sad.  He said, "Americans call us black monkeys don't they?"  I explained that we do NOT.  It's interesting what people's perceptions can be of other cultures.

-Kayla and I went out one day with Tenwek Community Health, to an immunization clinic for babies.  The most interesting part was when the kids from the nearby school started walking home and noticed me inside the building.  So they started stopping in the road to stare through the windows at the fascinating mzungu (white person).  So I decided I might as well go out and say hello.  I've been stared at a lot here in Kenya, and kids are always very excited to greet us, but this was to a whole new level.  Kayla and I demonstrated a high five and then all the kids wanted to high five me!  It was strange (and kinda flattering).  It's moments like this that remind me that I'm an outsider here.  I've been thinking a lot about this and the implications it has for cross-cultural ministry anywhere.  However, in Christ, we are all the same.

-We also got to go on our safari in the Mara.  It is truly beautiful, unlike anywhere else I've ever been.  Upon arrival, Kayla and I were greeted in the traditional Maasai fashion, by men dressed in the traditional red color, chanting and singing.  At the end, they all started jumping, and man, can they jump high!  Our cabin was open on one side, and we could see the river from inside.  There is also a large hippo population in the area so we would hear them all the time.  Did you know hippos kill more people than any other animal in Africa?  Anyways, it was so great to just hang out in the cabin and be totally focused on relaxing and have time to really think over everything that has happened in the past 7 weeks... which is a lot!  We went on safari drives in the late afternoon and early morning, and managed to see every animal except for the leopard, though not for lack of trying.  We saw a cheetah every time we went out, though not one running full out, some lions getting ready to hunt, and A BABY ELEPHANT.  That was probably my favorite.  There were some awesome sunrises and sunsets, and so many beautiful landscapes.

Pictures will tell the best safari stories, I'll try and post some soon!  I can't believe I leave this Thursday night, and I'll be home Friday afternoon.  Bless the Lord oh my soul!

1,000 Words

Pray for Kayla and as we head to the Baby Centre for a few hours then on to Tenwek Hospital for about a week and a half.  We will go on safari in that time as well, which I am super excited for!  Here are some pictures from life in Kenya up to now...

 Feeding a giraffe!

Our gorgeous (and bumpy!) drive to the Maasai village

A Maasai Village

These past two days have been packed and awesome.  Yesterday we did a clinic in a Maasai village.  It was over an hour away from here, and the last few miles off the main road were exactly like you would picture safari driving in Africa.  Our convoy slowly bumped and wobbled along, but the views were exquisite!  I've decided that if I ever live here or somewhere with similar road quality, I'm going to have an SUV, all my past  preferences for small cars with great gas mileage gone in a flash.  Anyways, we were surrounded by gently rolling hills, with golden grass, acacia trees, and cows!  The Maasai measure wealth in cows.  There were patches of light and shadow as clouds rolled across the sky.  The clinic was being held at a church, and the kids were excited when we pulled into the yard.  It is the Maasai custom that an older person greets a child by touching the top of their head, so I was surrounded by a crowd of kids, their heads slightly bowed waiting to be greeted.  Men and women wear large earrings and gauges, and the women wear colorful patterned wraps and the men wear the traditional red plaid cloths.  The women carry bows and the men carry rungus (wood club things).  The Maasai are known for being fierce!  The clinic moved along pretty smoothly, and I loved getting to see this tiny slice of Maasai life, and a part of Kenya different than any I've been to yet. Today we went to the Rift Valley Academy graduation, a boarding school for missionary kids that several WGM kids attend.  It was crazy to think that I was in the same position only two years ago, as I remembered all the emotions of graduation day.  And most of those kids are heading a lot further to go to college than I am, leaving the friends they've lived with for the last several years and their home continent.  I can only imagine how that feels.  Kayla and I head to Tenwek hospital on Tuesday, where we will be spending time at an orphanage and doing a safari!  Pray for our new hosts, and our adjustment to go smoothly.

God's Child

He cries, the high soft sound of a child in severe, continuous, pain.  Sitting on the couch, he looks to be about 5 or 6, but he's 10.  AIDS and cancer have ravaged his tiny body.  The cancer swells in his belly, his lymph nodes so swollen that they press on nerves, hence the tears.  I watch, powerless.  Oh Lord, bring Him your peace.  Thank you that he knows You.  Thankfully, Robyn adjusts his medication and within 20 minutes he is sound asleep.  Now to tell his orphanage "parents" the news.  I know that God will redeem this whether it is in healing his body or bringing him home soon, but seeing the journey to that point is not easy.

New Adventures

Finally!  I'm sorry I've been slacking on this whole blog thing just like I said I wouldn't, but life has been pretty crazy!  It seems that God has other plans for the second half of my time here!  I'm currently in Nairobi working with another WGM missionary who is a nurse.  Today we went to a boy's home and did some simple physicals.  I helped count medications and sign people in.  We really take healthcare for granted in the US- some of these kids were simply getting Tylenol, but it will help them a lot with basic things that they have going on.  Thus, my time at AGC Baby Centre is over.  However, I'm excited for the new adventures with God in Nairobi, and also at the famed Tenwek Hospital in Bomet in the coming month.  Mary leaves on Friday, and Kayla, my new fellow VIA comes in the same night.  So it's a big week of transition!  Needless to say, I have learned a lot about flexibility, which everyone says is important for a missionary to have.  God is sovereign and He is faithful.

Here's a fun cultural story of another new adventure I've had here.  On Saturday, there was a 5k/half marathon with proceeds going to Baby Centre sponsored by a local university.  We rolled in "on time" and no one really knew where or when the race was starting or where registration was.  So we waited around for awhile, and then set off on an adventure to find out.  We managed to find bib numbers, and vague directions to the starting line.  Team Baby Centre (for the 5k) was finally assembled with our matching t-shirts (printed backwards nonetheless).  They read, "I may not always win... but I'm never left behind," citing Deuteronomy 31:6.  We found the starting line, but the race had already started!  There wasn't time for us all to go the full 5k, but we were granted one lap (of the campus), complete with a start from the starting gun and lots of enthusiasm from everyone.  Let me also point out that I am in the country in the world known for having the best and fastest runners, and in an area where the specific "runner tribes" are the majority.  And its 6,000 feet above sea level.  And I'm not that great of a runner, plus I basically live at sea level the rest of the time.  I decided to sneakily take the supportive team member approach and stayed with the last member of team Baby Centre so that we crossed the finish line together for our wonderful 5k that was really only a 2k.  On the upside, the entire rest of the team was there to cheer for us!  A little while after that, we went to watch the finish of the half marathon.  Oh. My. Goodness.  These people really were made by God to run.  It's like watching art in motion.  Even kids of 7 or 8 have the stride and proportions and form down and look so graceful!  I'm still laughing.  Of ALL the countries in the world to run a 5k (or a 2k), Kenya.  Well, hopefully this altitude will help me actually go somewhere running before feeling like my lungs are going to burst.

Pray:
- peace and purpose in this time of transition
- for Baby Centre and other WGM ministries in Kenya
- for Mary as she is leaving and Kayla as she is coming in
- for God's heart and eyes for these people