BIGGEST TAKE AWAY OF THIS TRIP

LONG LONG LONG DAYS - CATCHING UP WITH OLD FRIENDS

Wednesday, June 20,2012

We went to Kreme Primary School in Bomani, the free (public) school.   Fox River was able to get enough shoes purchased to fit the whole school, of 1500 kids.   Plus they had shoes left over to take to community.   That was fun to see in the end, but a bit frustrating in the process.   First, the shows only came in size 37and up.   Woman size 8.5 is size 41 to give you an idea and we had to fit very very small 3-4 year olds and up.    We started with the older grades and they were refusing to take the larger sizes.  They wanted ones that nearly fit their feet and kept wanting smaller ones.  So the when we got to the younger classes, we just took one size and have to the whole class to avoid those problems and make the process faster.   That worked a lot better.   Then we did a whole school photo with them all by the flag pole holding all their green and blue shoes up.  It was very humbling to see how excited they were for something so simple and how it probably was the best thing they will receive all year or ever and to think people around the world literally at Fox River made that happen for them.   One of the classes as we went around recited a poem for us on education.   Then they also sang a song for us about this being the best day of their lives.  Their voice are so amazing and they never have music in the background but they do amazing and it brings me to tears every time.

Then we headed to New Life, the Fox River school, well, and feeding center in Bomani, just down the "street".   The kids sang us into the compound, they were so excited to see us.  We listened to their songs and poems and then we feed them lunch.   I got a chance to talk with a missionary, Lisa Bectchel who has 3 amazing stories of adoption with their three boys, one international and two domestic in the US.   She and her husband are very interested in opening an adoption center and and orphanage in Kenya. 

Then we had a lot of fun getting to know Martha and Francis, teachers at Bomani more.  We did a few different team building games with them.   Then they took us to their classrooms and told us a little of how they run their rooms and classes.  Very interesting to learn more about it and the grades are very similar to our grades. 

Then it was time to find my kids.  Though they usually find me.  I always bring them something little and say an extra hello.  Alfred, Mariam, and Risper.  Risper fell asleep in my arms in 2009 on the trip and it was she was so cute. Alfred is in Standard 1 this year. His family has 5 children and they have no income coming in. I like to bring things for him and his family.  Mariam is in Standard 5 and is doing very well. Her mom works in the school. She is very smart and easy to understand - very good with English. I also found Nevvy, the little boy Josie fell in love with last summer. He is Mariam's brother, which I did not know.  I tried to find the little girl that followed us into the dining hall last year, that would not leave Brooklyn's side - her name was Diana. I found out that her parents separated and she moved away from the school area which was very sad.

We got a chance to see the on-site teacher houses in Bomani that are on the property with the school.  It's humbling to see.  They are so, so proud of their single room, single bed places even though some of them live there with their children, all in the same bed. A twin sized bed, sometimes without a mattress, just netting.

On the way back to to the hotel we stopped at Tuskys for shopping.   Group had no luggage at all when they finally got here so they needed a lot of items. It was a long, long day, we smushed two days into one because of the flight delay.  I wanted to meet with Vicky and Helen but didn't get back until 7pm.  So we had to adjourn.   Hopefully tomorrow, though I am writing this tomorrow and it is 5:17 p.m. and we at still at center and not on bus yet, so we will see.

My friend Penninah came to visit all night.  We talked of the adoption work that is going forward and she wants to help in any way she can.  She will be going to Egypt in August and will be taking African jewelry to sell there for the project.  She also came up with a few ideas as a possibility with the church her in Kenya.  

Joy, my nail girl, who has experienced to much distress lately has not been  in the country any time I have been here for over a year, so I was very excited to see here again.  I was finally able to get my toes done.  Pam, my roommate got her fingers done.   We had great discussions and she is very interested in helping with the mission of adoption and possibly adopting herself at some point in the future. 

Then we went to eat a great veggie dinner finally.   Very quiet, just Pam and I.  Then off to bed.

COME UP WITH PLANS FOR A BUILDING IN MTWAPA!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

We were off to Vipingo- Crossroads School today. We spent the day listening to the kids sing and receipt poems and things.   We presented the kids and teachers with a song we learned into swahili and they were so touched. They joined us in the song and it brought tears to my eyes to see how excited they were.

Had a chance to have a great conversation with Jim Horne, the missionary I've been working in Operation Give Hope with about my plans to go ahead with an adoption resource center.   He was very supportive and indicated if we could get a big enough plot of land that he would handle the building and build a church and a preschool and feeding center on the property also.  We would also but in it an Operation Give Hope office.  He also gave advise and suggestions on how to proceed.   I now need to talk with Alan to see how large of a plot she would sell.   Jim's drawing up the plans for me for the layout and other things.  I am working on raising the $ 50,000 for the 1/2 acre of land at least.  Scared and excited at the same time.

Had to have a very quick lunch as I was running late.  Then off to teacher encouragement time with: M&M game, hand tying game, and seeing and learning about their classrooms.

The group went out into the community to see the homes and how they live here.   The homes are the hardest part.  They are so grateful for what they have, yet we know something so different.  Their reality is mud hut or possible cement blocks if they are very lucky. 

I stayed back as I had a migraine starting so I laid down on the bus for 15 minutes with my eyes closed and  relaxed my neck at about 3.  Then I worked on writing and reading until we left which was close to 5pm.

BIGGEST TAKE AWAY FROM THIS TRIP

Friday, June 22, 2012

As most of the luggage from the Fox River people still had not arrived, our trip is going in a very different order than usual, hoping that the bags will arrive in time to use the items we brought. We headed to Vipingo again, but today we were out in the poorest Vipingo community.  They live in literal mud huts where the full family sleeps in one bed.  We were there to deliver shoes and mosquito nets to ask many people as we could to the celebration day on Saturday.  We went with guys from the bible college at Vipingo.  They shared the Gospel while we shared the love.  It was great fun and probably close to ten people came to Christ through this outreach.  It was very effective and fun and shows us a new reality.

I haven't spent a lot of time inside any of the houses, but setting up mosquito nets takes some time and Kenyans are very hospitable.  So this was a new experience for me.  Their beds have no mattresses, they have no possessions, maybe one extra set of clothes for a child if they were really well off. No shoes.  No cabinets to store food and no food to store in them. No wall decoration.  It is quite a reality check from what we are use to - closets and dressers full to overflowing with clothes, boxes and boxes of shoes for every person in the house, knickknacks and so much more everywhere in our houses, garages, basements, etc.  So much extra and here, not even enough. 

Then we went to Shanzu to purchase awesome purses and bags to sell to raise money.  They are so bright and colorful.    

This trip, I had some struggle with some personalities on the trip and I was really angry about a few things that had happened as they effected my very, very small time that I had to meet with my partners, Vicky and Hellen (the Kenyan lawyer and psychologist) to continue our adoptions work.  Due to some choices of others, I was unable to contact Vicky and Hellen until Tuesday evening.  By the time I was able to contact them, they were not available.  Then we were spending marathon days in the centers and not getting back till late so we were unable to meet during the week.   Then Vicky was out of town for the weekend, so I write this on Sunday, I have been here for one week and one half and have been unable to connect with them at all yet. I have been very upset about that and it has been hard to not focus on that as decisions and actions of other people have put me in this position. It has been hard to focus on the positive and not on this, and to keep my mouth shut about it when talking with others at times.

It has been very hard to stay positive when the things seem to be going down-hill due to the actions of others that I have no control over. I had a hard time focusing on anything else for a few days. I had to choice to be bitter or get better. It is not an easy choice. I had every right to be mad and upset at the way things played out. Others where in the wrong, but I was being pulled into the wrong with my thoughts and my discussions with others. So I then had to make the choice will I be bitter and spend the trip there or will I get better and give them some grace and move forward knowing God had this under control with our without the actions of others?  Though in the moments it was easier to be bitter. They had no right to ______. It has ruined this and that.  Etc, etc. Had I chosen to follow that path, not only would I have ruined my trip, it would have also affected other people's trip that year. So gratefully God showed ME the error or MY ways so I could move forward on getting better and not pulling two or three other people down with me in my negative thoughts and mood. Though it is never an easy choice to move from bitter to better when "I am in the right here and I have been wronged by someone", I remember that Jesus was in the right and others were in the wrong when he went to the cross for the things I did, and he was perfect in every way. I may not have been in the wrong in this situation at the start of it, but I have been in the wrong in many other situations and I was going in the wrong by talking about the situation. Jesus went forth and died for my wrongs. I simply have to focus on something else and move forward. If Jesus could die for me when others were in the wrong for accusing Him, I can give a little grace to someone as I need grace a lot too.

Though not an easy lesson, so important in all the days of my life - with teenage kids and everyone else I come into contact with.

RAIN, RAIN, SAVED THE DAY?

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Got up a little early today to go back to Good Life Orphanage with Jenna. Jenna is an amazing 20-something year old going to school for early childhood education who is wanting to follow God's lead. Jenna came on the medical trip with Fox River in February of 2012 and feel in love with Kenya. We were able to meet up and talk about where God was leading her. She's very interested in possibly opening up an orphanage in Kenya at some point and living there full-time.

It was very rainy out and we were waiting on Rashid to pick us up for quite awhile as Fox River delayed going out to the celebration day hoping rain would stop.  That gave us a lot of time to ask questions of George, the social worker there at Good Life. He talked to us about a Father Dolan, from Ireland, also a lawyer, doing somewhat similar work with the police department abut in the area of police brutality and torture issues.

Off to Vipingo fun celebration day where over 3500 people came to a huge soccer tournament, choir contest, as well as bouncy house, and acrobats.   And everyone got food.

Didn't get home until almost 8pm.   Tried to go out for pizza but tide was too high so hopefully tomorrow.  Ate dinner talked till 10:30 then off to bed.

The US was evacuating all of it's personnel from Mombasa due to terror threats of some kind. We did not have any details of those threats, but the US was taking those actions. It made me very nervous to be in a large group of people with threats like that being out there, but I think the rain kept the danger away and protected us.