December 3, 2008

I know there are a million choices to make this Christmas about where to give money, but I thought I’d give you another one!  This is part of a newsletter that was sent out today by Mully Children’s Family – the first orphanage that we were at in Kenya.  They do great things for not only the children in their orphanages but also for the people in the community surrounding them.  Here is what they are doing this Christmas:

It is yet another time of the year that MCF would like to make a positive impact through sharing what we have and what we receive, with the families most in need in MCF project areas such as Ndalani, Yatta, Vipingo, Kangundo, Kitale and Eldoret. Our planned activities during this festive season include;
 
1. Providing a special hot meal made up of special chapatti bread, fried rice, beef and vegetable stew, soda, biscuits and sweets for over 1,000 children from the surrounding community
2. Providing a special hot meal to all the children within the IDP camp
3. Distribution of relief food to 7,000 families each of approximately 6 family members
4. Purchase of underwear for all 2,010 MCF beneficiaries
5. Distribution of relief food and sanitary towels to 1,000 internally displaced persons who have been relocated and especially those in the location where a church was burnt with over 40 people who died in it
6. Free medical care and medicine for the over 7,000 families that will receive relief food.
7. Special meals for our MCF beneficiaries both during Christmas and New year festivities.
 
Last year, through your very kind and generous giving, we served hundreds of children from the surrounding villages in Ndalani and Yatta with a very special hot meal. In addition, we were able to distribute raw food stuff and offer free medical care and medication to 7,620 people!!! Our target this year is to feed 8,000 families each of approximately 6 people with relief food stuff and medical care as well as medication as follows;
- 3 Kgs of Maize
- 2 Kgs of Beans
- 2 Kgs of Maize flour
- 2 Kgs of Rice
- 1 Kg Cooking fat
- 1/2 Kg Sugar
- 1/2 Kg Tea leaves
 
The cost of all these items per family of 6 people will be US$ 43. The raise in cost in comparison to last year has been caused by the global economic crisis as well as the post election violence which saw the inflation rate in Kenya go up to 35%.
 
Therefore, to feed;
1 family of 6 people each x US$ 43.00 = US$ 43.00
5 families of 6 people each x US$ 43.00 = US$ 215.00
10 families of 6 people each x US$ 43.00 = US$ 430.00
100 families of 6 people each x US$ 43.00 = US$ 4,300.00
 
The cost for the additional items, i.e.
- 2 Pkts Sanitary towels per person each costing US$ 3.60
- 4,020 pcs underwear for the 2,010 MCF beneficiaries each costing US$ 2.90

If you’d like to donate, go to http://www.mcfcf.ca and click on the bottom “donate now” button.  Easy.  These people seem to multiply any money that is given to them…it’s a great place to give!

Everything is difficult in Kenya! November 19, 2008

Just going through some more pics of Kenya…I love looking at them.  Good memories.  Look at what these people are always carting around.  Everything is difficult!!  I’m telling you, these people are made of different material than me…I would crumble if I had to do that.  Methinks they know a lot more about perseverance than I do.

More thoughts from “Unfettered Hope” November 14, 2008

Here’s another excerpt from this book that I found interesting:

The early Christians recognized the Empowerer’s [Holy Spirit's] forceful work through them because, under oppression and coming primarily from the lower classes, they didn’t own much or have much influence by themselves.  The Church in nations of poverty, conflict, and disease experiences it similarly today, for in those places Christianity is flourishing.

Our society, in contrast, stifles the Spirit.  It seduces us into thinking that hte perfect life for which we yearn can be found in accumulating and achieving more.  But the only perfect life is new birth and Holy Spirit empowerment for a resurrected and centered life.

I can say that when we were in Kenya I learned a lot about what the Holy Spirit does, how God works, when you have to depend on Him in desperate ways…They have a different level of faith there than I do in my own life.  They know that God will provide, and if He doesn’t, they have no way of making it on their own.  These people who in the world “shouldn’t” have any influence at all have all kinds of crazy influence.  Take Lucy, for example.  She’s a 30 year old woman who is running an orphanage with 250 kids and has all kinds of influence in her community and country.  You would never guess it from meeting her…she’s soft-spoken and gentle, and God uses her in amazing ways.  She depends on Him for life.  Very cool to see how God works there…He’s the same God here, but I depend on Him so differently – for sure not in the same desperate kind of way.

Here some more from the book…

The technological environment can easily insulate us from the true plight of those who are poor and forgotten – and often that leads to astonishing hardness of heart.  Instead, constant questioning by means of our focal concerns [loving God and others] enables us to find just ways to respond to grace by using our specific resources for the sake of the neighbor.

…Albert Borgmann cites William Ian Miller’s definition of courage as “the willingness to suffer discomfort or disgrace in the defense of what is right and good.”  When such moral courage is regularly employed by means of many decisions against the inroads of consumerism, it develops into the practice of fortitude for the long haul.  It is that willingness to suffer that we seem to lack these days, and therefore the abhorrent economic injustices of our world remain.  However, we will not be able to change and get serious about altering our way of life if we beat ourselves mentally or load ourselves with guilt about living where the standard of living is high.  That is also not the way of our metanarrative, which starts with grace and frees us with hope to be generous in pursuing actively and lovingly the well-being of our neighbors near and far.

Making decisions against consumerism does mean discomfort.  It is so hard for me to not get suckered in by consumerism.  I think it takes a very strong person to do this well in our culture.  I also think it takes a community of people doing this together in this society…this kind of living would definitely need support.  You’d think that we’d find that kind of support in our churches, but I haven’t seen that yet.  Overall, in general, I’d say most of us church people live in the same way as most of the world people…Actually we could learn a lot from a lot of the world people.  This is my idealism coming out again, but I wish that the church people could be the ones being an example to the world people – know what I mean?  Now where in my life am I going to start weeding out consumerism…hmmm so many possibilities.  ARG

Not what I expected October 8, 2008

So, as usual our experience in Kenya was not what I expected…not surprising.  Just a few quick thoughts on that…I really expected the atmosphere at the orphanage to be one where you noticed a lot of suffering and sadness.  It was completely different.  Those kids, overall, are full of joy.  They are so thankful for everything that have, which basically includes a roof over their heads, 3 meals per day (except for when they fast so they can feed HIV positive women – unreal), a pair of shoes, and a uniform.  I was kind of thinking that there would be an atmosphere of thankfulness, but I also thought that I would come home feeling guilty about all that I have and all that they don’t have.  I can’t say I really feel “guilty” about it – definitely more aware and more thankful – but not guilty.  This has a lot to do with the Kenyans’ attitudes that I experienced.  Overall there was no hint of jealousy about what we had, no hint of wanting our pity, no hint of self-pity from them.  So what did I learn and what am I trying to apply in my life?  Thankfulness for what I have.  Recognition of what I have.  There are so many things I totally don’t even think about – totally take for granted.  Like running water – that you can drink straight from the tap, hot water, electricity, a furnace, appliances (fridge stove washer dryer), phones, internet…it is things like this that have become invisible and unrecognized in my life that all of a sudden are at the forefront of my awareness.  I’d like to keep a bit of that with me forever, but there is always that likelihood that the awareness will fade with time and I’ll forget how much of a blessing these things are.  And then there are always all of the extras that you miss when you’re away – a cup of brewed coffee (not instant), something from Starbucks, meat that you can chew without gagging, you know…things like that   We do have so much here, and with all of the blessings comes a curse – I think.  It’s the curse of too much, which seems to contribute to an atmosphere in my life in which I am too busy, I care less about things and people, and I become anxious and unsatisfied.  Always wanting more.  Insatiable.  Weird…  And now I search for ways to find some middle ground…

Safari! October 7, 2008

The last 3 days of our trip were spent on safari with the Acrees.  It was AMAZING.  Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures we have from it.  We were so close to the animals…still in the van, but super close.  We could hear that cheetah ripping apart the meat while eating her prey.

Giraffe

Monkey and her baby

Giraffe

Vultures

Lion

Elephant and baby

Leopard

Lions mating

Cheetah and 4 cubs eating their prey

Mama cheetah

Ostrich

Hippos

Wildebeest

Rhino

Elephants

Zebras

Papa lion

Mama lion

Lion

October 5, 2008

Moment of “I don’t know if I can dooo thiiisss…”

Dennis

School

Girls with babies

Girls on lap

Dennis with the camera

Kids coloring

Kids waving

Formula

Lucy

Serving food

Praying

More random pics October 2, 2008

Here are some more random pics of our time at the orphanage.  If you click on the picture you can read a little description for each at the bottom.  It is NOT easy to see the description – my apologies.  Navy blue writing on a brown background…don’t know how to change it.

Beds

Rain

Weights

Gourmet Cooking

View

Dorm

Supper

Landscape

Dog

Van

Laundry

Cow

Gate

Road

Laundry

Inside of a Classroom

School

The piss bed

October 2, 2008

Rebecca, Irene, Timothy, Samuel, Joseph, and James

Rebecca, Timothy, Samuel, & Joseph in the back
Irene & James in the front

Aren’t they ADORABLE? There were times when they didn’t seem too adorable – you know, the times when they wouldn’t stop screaming and I wanted to throw myself over the balcony…

Rebecca, Samuel, Joseph, and James are the first babies we picked up. The final 2 – Irene and Timothy – were picked up on Friday the 19th.

It was such an honor bringing the babies back to the orphanage, their new home. As stressed out and frazzled as we were at the time, it was still awesome. All of these little lives just beginning…who will they be? What will they be like? It’s insane to think that they were unwanted – abandoned. Timothy and Irene were both found outside of the hospital. I don’t know the stories of the other 4. If the babies aren’t picked up by someone from the hospital within a month they basically die. So Lucy essentially saved 6 little lives. Even if there are so many more, at least these 6 now have a future.

We got to know a little bit about each of the babies as we spent hour after hour with them:
Rebecca was a preemie. She was a very good baby…hardly any fussing or crying EVER. She was teeny tiny. All you had to do to get her to stop crying was hold her and pat her bum. Jacqui got that one figured out. At one point in the middle of all of the chaos, I turned to see Jacqui holding Rebecca, patting the baby’s bum, and saying “Hey I think I got this one figured out” to no one in particular…it was pretty funny. At some points, everything was funny…
Irene was 9 or 10 days old when we picked her up. She was also an extremely content baby…much appreciated in all of the chaos!
Timothy was also quiet and content…barely a peep.
Samuel was a pretty funny little guy. He kind of looked like an old man in a baby’s body. His nickname became Bill Cosby just because of his facial expressions, of which there were a lot! You can see in these pictures that he’s a bit uncomfortable with what’s going on, but he never did cry about it.
Joseph seemed older than the rest. He was BIG! Seemed to gain weight right before our very eyes. He was already kind of trying to communicate and stuff…really liked interaction.
James…ah Jimmy. James was a preemie and was not a very content baby. Known for his fits of rage. He cried a lot and was overall difficult to soothe. We still loved Jim though

October 2, 2008

After saying goodbye to the people at MCF we journeyed back into Nairobi. Lucy (the woman who runs Hope Community Centre) was ready for our help with 4 out of the 6 babies. We took them to the hospital where they each had their check up and a few vaccinations. This took a very long time, and this is probably where we began getting very familiar with patience. There is no point in being in a hurry there – it’s Kenya time! The babies were our main “project” for the next few days. That’s all the women had time to do. The guys helped build a fence here and there during that time, but our group of 8 had its hands FULL. I have never ever held babies until my entire body ached. I started out kind of nervous about babies, a little intimidated by their size and fragility. Not anymore…you sure adapt to whatever you have to! For not being baby people at all, I think Jac and I did pretty darn good. And we had each other to freak out with, which was very helpful in the times of desperation. There were so many days where I felt like I couldn’t get out of bed because I was not up for what the day would bring. But we all kept getting out of bed and facing the challenge of a new day.

Here are a few of the many baby pics…

 

Beginning of the trip October 1, 2008

*Please try to ignore the disastrous formatting on this post…everything looks fine in the code and on the screen but then I hit publish and it all goes haywire. And to top it all off I’ve spent about 45 minutes trying to fix it but it keeps going back to disaster…I hope you can match the words up with the correct pics…sorry people. Bear with me

Here are a few of the many photos I will share with you of our trip. We literally have 4,000…I promise I will not bore you with even a tenth of them! If you want the full photo tour, you’ll have to come over for a visit and we’d be glad to give you the full story with all of the details. I’ll choose a few that tell part of the story, and I’ll try not to include other members of the group since not everyone is comfortable with having their pics posted.

On the way to Kenya we stopped in London for about 7 hours, which gave us enough time to get on the tube and visit a few historic buildings.

The tube

 

 

 

 

Me standing in front of some building of historic significance in London – the name of which is totally slipping my mind right now…Westminster Abbey maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

We really enjoyed the very miniscule amount of London that we saw, and it definitely made us want to go and tour Europe some day.

We got to Kenya early in the morning of Sept 15th, got our rental vehicles, and headed out into the unknown. We really had no plan for the day as it all hinged on when we would be helping Lucy deal with the new babies. Had a meal, did some shopping and driving in Nairobi. Driving is insane there

The cars are literally this close to each other all the time…sometimes closer. There were a few bumps and scratches along the journey, which could not be avoided! That green truck is our other rental vehicle.

 

 

You see people pulling carts along the side of the road (sometimes in the middle) STACKED with all kinds of stuff.

 

 

 

Instead of setting up pylons or having sidewalks, they use rocks so that you cannot drive in certain areas. Seems to be effective!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a very common site…a Coke stand out in the middle of nowhere.

One of the first things we noticed (after noticing that the guards at the airport gate were holding rifles) when we ventured out into Nairobi was all of the people everywhere. There are people walking along the side of every street. Where there aren’t streets or building there are paths that are crawling with people. Many many people there do not have cars. A lot of people have bikes. And for the most part, if you’re not walking or biking you are PACKED into a van with about 15 other people where only about 12 people are meant to fit. It’s crazy. It’s like Nairobi is packed way too full with people and is about to explode. Our safari guide said that over 4 million people live there… It’s crazy. Anyway, on with the pictures…

That afternoon we journeyed out to one of the Mully Children’s Family orphanages – the one in Yatta. We were received very warmly and got a tour of the place. I’m sure I’ll get many of the details wrong in my stories…this trip to MCF was directly following our 2 day journey and I was so tired that I had no idea how I’d keep putting one foot in front of the other!

Right before we got the tour I had the privilege of peeing in my first hole in the dirt…That was our first of many horrifying bathroom experiences!
This is a picture inside one of the greenhouses at MCF. They grow trees and will be growing green beans, or whatever other vegetable is the most easy to export/will bring in the most income. Their vision at MCF is amazing and includes not only the orphanage but also the community, the country, the continent, and the world. For example, women from the surrounding community will be able to come and work here picking and sorting the beans that will be grown. The trees that are grown are either sold or are given for free to people in the community to plant in order to help the environment.

They teach the kids many things at MCF – not only in school but also trades including sewing (shown here) and hairdressing. That way the kids will have a skill set and have a much better chance of finding employment when they grow up.

At the location in Yatta they have created a home for many “child mothers” – kids who are pregnant or have babies already. Sometimes the girls deliver their babies there. They are also taught how to look after their children.

MCF also seems to be about sustainability, and therefore they are growing as much of their own food as they can. They have built and are building all kinds of dams so that they can water their gardens. They have fish ponds as well as cattle, chickens, and maybe a few more animals…can’t remember.

This was one of the houses on the property…I can’t remember if it was the one we stayed in or the one that the Mullis stayed in. When we first saw our living quarters I kind of thought hmmm, ok, a bit uncomfortable but I can totally do this. Little did I know that this was complete luxury compared to where we would be staying at the next orphanage!

Anyway, our time at MCF was great. I really enjoyed the people, the hospitality was great, and hearing about what they were doing was truly inspiring. They are making a huge difference in that country. We were so exhausted by the end of that day that a lot of us were falling asleep while Charles himself was talking to us about his operations. It was TERRIBLE! We were so interested and enthralled by what he was saying, but our bodies kept involuntarily turned off for a few seconds here and there. Unreal.

Looking back on our time, I am so thankful for that little time we spent at MCF. The transition from home to MCF to Hope CC turned out to be perfect. It was more gradual that just going straight from home to Hope CC. Anyway, the morning of the 17th we headed out on our way back into Nairobi…good thing I had no idea what the next few days had in store for us, or I would have probably escaped at this point. Next comes the beginning of the baby adventure.