This is us

After a few days of recovery I am still not at peak but I am starting to be able to tell which end is up. How I have functioned the last week is beyond me. God's grace I guess. I came shooting right back in to my life with both barrels. No stopping. So I thought I would take you on a trip with me from the beginning or nearly the beginning.

I wrote to you that Nicolle and I did some shopping while we waited for the rest of the team to get there. At first in Nairobi it was very scary. Then we learned to adjust. It is a huge big city with vast amounts of people. We were in a more local section about a block away from the biggest slums on the earth. Kabera slums hold about 2 million people and are about 3 square miles wide. No electricity or plumbing. Defiantly on my list for next time. We were told that we would be safe if we stuck to the main streets and were back before dark. Warning noted. I do not think there was any chance that we were going to risk it. However our compound was not on a main street. Once we got over the fear we had a great time. There is something about just accepting the conditions and moving forward in faith that eliminates the fear. I think we both just decided that there was nothing we could do so get over it and do what needed to be done and we had fun doing it.
That night we were treated to a great dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. Wubby's favorite. It was also behind huge compound gates. Everything there is behind walls with guards for safety against bandits. Electricity there seems to come and go but you get use to it. The meal was quite impressive. They bring these huge round trays with all kinds of different dishes served on ingera that you eat with your hands. It would probably be the last time of relaxing for the trip. During dinner we got a call that the Hong Kong team arrived early so it was off. The rest of the trip was non stop rush and adventure. God in his all knowing purpose lined up the team just to fit this agenda. It taught me alot about judgement and people and how to get over fear.
So this was our team.
As you know Nicolle and I met up in La. Nicolle did a fabulous job putting her fears to rest and just jumping in. I was so impressed with her. She never complained above the usual discomfort that we all did and just took everything as it came. When she first told me that she wanted to join the team I was concerned. She was not what I would call the rugged type. More like the cheerleader type. My mind changed when I saw how dedicated she was toward working on the fundraisers for the trip. She just dove right in and did whatever she was asked. She worked long hard hours and even dyed her hair so that she would not stand out. She continued to work hard all throughout the trip.
Jeff, our team leader from Colorado is just what you would hope him to be. We had worked many months over the phone and through emails together so he was not exactly a stranger. He has the the right amount of gentleness and firmness to get you to move but feel comfortable doing it. When I was close to tears at making some hard decisions before I left he very gently offered a hypothetical violin and told me to get over it. He pushed us right out into the big city hours after we woke up forcing us to confront our fears but knowing that we could do it. He did not hand hold us but fully expected us to go forth in the task that we had come for.
Richard was the leader from Switzerland. He is quite with just the right amount of sarcasm when needed. Rich spent days, all day in the hot sun leading the bigger kids in ball games and carrying rocks for the foundations. It was amazing to watch. With everything they gave him he just kept going. Even after almost everyone was down for the night a small group of us would meet and after that he would still be working and then up early to go into town with us for the supplies we needed for the day. He does this full time all over the world. This is his job and his life. From one country to another nonstop.
Lincoln was the team leader from Hong Kong. Boy did he have his hands full. He had seven people from Hong Kong to lead. He has an amazing heart, such a gentle spirit and a great work ethic. He told us that in Hong Kong children get their hands slapped for being idle. That has never left him. He led his team serving all of their needs and and helping them to prepare lessons and helped us when needed.
Next we met the Hong Kong team. A wonderful group who I hope will be life long Friends. They were a tight group who worked together like a school of fish. Always in time together like one. Sunni was the only other male on their team. He is not a believer but still wanted to be included in prayer and joined us when we went into town at night in Isiolo to a revival. Yan is so funny and would break out of the group to join us to ride on top of the truck or come and dance with the kids. She has the spirit of adventure. We laughed so hard together. Hebe is quiet but you know there is something in there waiting to break out. She would very quietly observe until we grabbed her and threw her in the middle of the kids where she would break out into her full personality. Master Wing I think was really the Hong Kong group leader. She called the shots. She did not talk much but when she got going you knew it was coming. She was very much like me. Quietly observing and watching taking it all in but able to make the decisions that needed to be made and saying what no one wanted to. Popo, Ericka and Flora were all very quite in group, but we heard them when they got going. It sounded like they could give just as good as they got. The amazing thing about this group is how well organized they were. It was like a machine. Well oiled and perfectly timed.
Tracy. Tracy is a fire ball. She is from Australia but lives in France. She works as a recruiter and you can tell. She will tell you exactly what is on her mind but not in a mean way. More in a way that is kind and logical but makes you think. She has this amazing spark to her. I can not wait to see what God is going to do with her. It is going to be big! I think I connected with her the most and will defiantly be seeing her again.
Sara was her roommate from New York. The word for Sara is spunky. She is full of it. She is a nurse who is full of life and spunk. She was like the baby sister who is breaking out of her shell into her own. For as young as she is she has a passion for life and direction that most her age do not have. There is a sweet naiveness about her even seeing all that she has seen.
Lori was the mom. I think she was a little taken back by the rest of us. We were way out there but she went with the punches. She took a step out and met with one of the local catholic priest to establish an ongoing relationship with her town and theirs. Like the rest of the team she jumped in to whatever needed to be done with no complaints and put up with the rest of us with amazing grace.
Ben and his dad were initially a worry to me. They come from Texas. I made the mistake of thinking they were typical crusty Texans who were hard headed and set in their ways. They are a part of Jeff's family so I thought we would just have to deal with it and avoid them if possible. I was so wrong. First of all Ben did not vote for Bush. That was the first clue. They were determined and hard working and fit right in. Bob, Ben's dad was actually one of my favorites. He broke my heart. He would always join us for late hour chats after most of the others had gone to bed. He was the first to volunteer when we came up with the crazy idea of washing the kids feet to show humility and he was the first to be broken and cry.
Our Africa team consisted of Wubby and his beautiful wife Habibba. They live their lives to serve others. Everyday they are mentoring and guiding people. Habbiba sometimes walks four hours on a dangerous road to serve the people of Gambella. Sometimes I would just watch her. She is like a piece of art. Just amazingly beautiful. They both could be so many things and make so much money outside of Africa but they choose to stay and give. They have a team that they are raising up that worked as our translators. Hussien is a teenage boy that has the determination of a man. There were 2 Jarso's and Aduba. They spent every waking hour with us. Sometimes translating things to laddies that made them blush. They kept us safe and joined in every crazy idea that we had. They blessed us by showing us their lives from their eyes.
There were also the people in the village and everyone that we met along the way. It is amazing how you live your life in one place and then God brings all of these amazing people to be a part of it. It shows you how small we really are and how big He really is. The cliche is real. We are all so different but the same.

So this is our team. One that God put together. It was amazing at how effortlessly everyone got along. There were no conflicts in our team. There was not one moment that I would not have trusted each member with my life. Everyone acted as one unit. With all the stress and chaos. With all the moment by moment changes there was never a moment of contention. When a decision was made everyone agreed. No matter how crazy. Everyone was ready to sacrifice self comfort for the team and the people we served. We are already trying to plan another trip together. God willing this team will be together again.

Home

So I am home. I just got into Maui after many stops and starts. I will post more later this weekend. I want to take you through day by day. I am not going to attempt to write much now because my head is spinning and I am swollen three sizes bigger than usual. I think my body is rebelling. I will just say this for now. It was an amazing journey.

Jambo

Hi all, there is so much to say and not a lot of time. I am in a very small internet cafe in Isiolo. The computers are not very good but it is what it is.
So I will try to catch you up where I last left off.
Saturday night the rest of the group came in. A small group of us went off exploring Nairobi. It was quite an adventure. We did some shopping for the group in Isiolo,buying plates, tables etc. to get them established. It is not like going to Walmart to just pop in and pick up what you need. They do not have that kind of thing so it took quite some time to coordinate. It was all very good though and we got it all done.
On Sunday we headed to Isiolo very early in the morning. The drive up was pretty exciting. We traveled in a 3 car convoy and made various stops along the way. They do not have lanes or rather they choose not to drive in them. It looks like a normal two lane freeway but yah no they drive in any space that is open. Some times they make the road four or five lanes. At one stop we stopped for bananas. Mobs of people came up to the car to sell us bananas. The thing that sticks out the most is that everywhere in Kenya all day and all night there are multitudes of people walking on the roads. It is just amazing to see hundreds of people the whole 4 hour trip just walking. Some had these huge crates on there backs. There are also vender's that line the streets. Not like side streets but also the highway. They also have an abundance of these small mini van buses that they pack with people that are one of their forms of transportation. So the people walk and line the streets and some get on the buses. I am not sure how the system is set up and I am not sure there is one but somehow it works for them. We stopped at the equator and bought some souvenirs. They have a system for that as well. They take each car load into a different hut so that everything is fair. After you spend some time haggling for items they ask you for more money. It is very hard because you want to help everyone but you know that it just is not possible. It does not look like you would think. It is big city in a slumish sort of way with stretches of just buildings until you get more north.
We got into Isiolo and then went to the village of Gambella. It was wonderful. The ladies did there traditional dance and we were greeted with the sounds of the Gambella people. For about a mile down the road you could here lalalalala. We spoke with the tribe leaders and had a very interesting dinner. We learned that they had killed their goat for us. This is huge because if they eat they only eat once a day. They are extremely poor. Like so poor some of them only have one shoe poor.
The next day we came back to the village. On the way there we ran into herds of camels and sheep on the roads. They all come from miles to stop at the watering hole that is really a dirty ditch of water. The animals are in it, they get their water from it and wash in it. I guess when water is hard to get you do what you have to do.
In the village we are working on building a school room, chicken coops, and interacting with the locals. In their village they are borana. They speak borana, kiswahele and engish. The building of the school room was interesting. We went all over there village which is about 40 miles from end to end gathering rocks for the foundation. They had plenty of rocks. The ground is all dust and rocks. We laid big rocks down and then put dirt and smashed up small rocks to make cement. Then more big rocks and some small rocks. At on point we were getting rocks from a pile that we had gathered and the children started yelling "buff, buff" I had no idea what they were yelling bu they all started getting big rocks and throwing them. Nakyo is the word in Kiswahele for snake and I mad sure to memorize it. Buff is the word for snake in Boran. It was a four foot viper. Nicolle and I did amazingly well. We did not panic but just grabbed rocks and started throwing with the kids. I mean really what else are you going to do run and leave the kids with the snake?
So I am off for todays adventure. Until next time....

We Made It!

After many many days flying we are here! After a brief morning with the Luizzi's I met up with Nicolle at LAX and we were off to London.Straight through from Lax to London. A very long flight. At London we had minutes to run through terminals and catch our next nine hour flight to Nairobi. After getting through an hour and a half at the visa station we headed to our compound in Nairobi but not without some more adventure. When we were driving down a very bumpy unpaved road at about 60mph our lights went out. We were driving down this road and I think it was probably safer to keep going with no lights then to stop on the road. The compound is relatively safe. The walls are about 10 feet high and it is guarded by an armed security company. Today it is cold. About 60 degrees. Thank goodness we came with long shirts. We are going to muslim territory so we have to have our arms covered. We woke up this morning after getting to bed about 2 and had some great conversation and met the team leaders. Nicolle and I were the first to arrive and the rest of the group comes tonight. While the guys are off getting supplies Nicolle and I are off shopping and checking out the local sites. Think Shops of Wailea in the middle of slums. We went from some pretty upscale shops to walking down the street where there are all these gated compounds and fires burning on the street. I mean literaly walking down the street. They may have once been sidewalks but not anymore. This can be a hazard in itself. I have not quite figured out the driving system. I think you drive on any part of the road that someone else is not on. Tomorrow we head north. From what Wubshet says the villagers are all eagerly awaiting our arrival. We are hoping to arrive in the village by noon where they have something planned for us. If they are anything like Wubshet we will be blessed.