Well, goodness.
So much is running through my head right now...just wanted to send a quick note to say that we have been doing some debriefing the last couple of days as a group, so that we don't implode when we return to the states.
Right now, I'm sitting in a little cybercafe for the last time on Kenyan soil. SAD! This summer has been so powerful, I've just finished handwriting a summary and I hope to share it with as many of you as possible.
We will be leaving tomorrow evening from the Nairobi airport, having a layover in Dubai, and then arriving in New York around 2PM on Saturday. wooo! I'm actually pretty excited to come back this time, more than I was last summer.
There's so much to say, but time is short and so I must go. I look forward to seeing you all very soon!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Incredible...
Here's a quote one of my teammates shared last night and it sums up so much of what it's like to be here. It's from a book called "Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle" by Kent Annon.
"There's something about the desperation of life here that resonates with how desperate life itself really, actually, is. On the surface, an American suburb is a place where life is orderly, manicured, manageable. Here, the surface is raw and needy and clawing. There is some reassurance in living where the exterior life, with all its ragged desperation - and glimpes of beauty and faith and sontaneous dancing - resonates more with the interior experiences of being human."
I just love it when someone puts into words how I'm feeling. whew.
Well, we are all back together now as a group in Nairobi and have been doing different things each day. Yesterday was a learning/praying day for the world of Hinduism as we visited two different temples. Today we went and had a work down in Mathare Valley slum, painting, tickling kids, pouring concrete, just awesome.
It really made me miss my little group of orphans back in Port Victoria and just in the last couple of days the reality of their lives have hit me so strongly.
They are ages 2-6...
Little hands and feet, impressionible minds, vulnerable...
and they're orphans.
Whew.
There's a song that keeps running thru my brain with the first line of "The orphan clings to Your hand." Oh man, it's so true. These children are desperate. They hold tight to the hand of God because there's no one else to care for them.
There's also a line in the chorus that goes, "YOu could just stay silent and leave us here to die." The line is meant to be from the perspective of humans to God, but I've been hearing the voices of my orphans saying it to me.
I can't stay silent, I've got to be an advocate for them.
I think I've found a new hobby. :)
"There's something about the desperation of life here that resonates with how desperate life itself really, actually, is. On the surface, an American suburb is a place where life is orderly, manicured, manageable. Here, the surface is raw and needy and clawing. There is some reassurance in living where the exterior life, with all its ragged desperation - and glimpes of beauty and faith and sontaneous dancing - resonates more with the interior experiences of being human."
I just love it when someone puts into words how I'm feeling. whew.
Well, we are all back together now as a group in Nairobi and have been doing different things each day. Yesterday was a learning/praying day for the world of Hinduism as we visited two different temples. Today we went and had a work down in Mathare Valley slum, painting, tickling kids, pouring concrete, just awesome.
It really made me miss my little group of orphans back in Port Victoria and just in the last couple of days the reality of their lives have hit me so strongly.
They are ages 2-6...
Little hands and feet, impressionible minds, vulnerable...
and they're orphans.
Whew.
There's a song that keeps running thru my brain with the first line of "The orphan clings to Your hand." Oh man, it's so true. These children are desperate. They hold tight to the hand of God because there's no one else to care for them.
There's also a line in the chorus that goes, "YOu could just stay silent and leave us here to die." The line is meant to be from the perspective of humans to God, but I've been hearing the voices of my orphans saying it to me.
I can't stay silent, I've got to be an advocate for them.
I think I've found a new hobby. :)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Adding is easier than Subtracting!
Over the last couple of weeks I've realized one thing about primary school kids and math. "Adding is easier than subtracting"
I don't know is this is true for all students but it seems to be the trend here for a majority of the kids; Javan with his wide smile that is missing his two front teeth, loud and confident Metrin, Castine who gets into trouble if he sits with other boys his own age, Devon who always returns all my goofy faces, and even shy Vivian who fights back smiles until you tickle them out of her. For all of them, it's the same.
This realization came true again when Hellen and I were pouring uji (porridge) for the kids. The amount of uji and the amount of children always varies daily, so everytime we are just praying and hoping that there will be enough. We decided the other day to just pour small portions and then add the extra (if there was some) later. Because, "adding is easier than subtracting" hehe.
It's so true. Even in life. It's a lost easier to buy something new then to give away a possession. I remember hearing, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" when I was younger...I'm pretty sure I can attribute that to Jesus, but I'm not exactly sure so I won't misquote Him...
But I originally thought that was a crazy idea. But i've recently found it to be utterly, completely true. It doesn't say "It is EASIER to give than to receive" but that it's more blessed, that it's more life-giving.
It's a crazy paradox, but so right on. Living life for more than "ADDING" is so much more life giving. When you are constantly doing the hard work of "SUBTRACTING" you end up adding so much more.
It's the beautiful, upside-down way of God's kingdom. I love it.
Blessings,
-tiff
I don't know is this is true for all students but it seems to be the trend here for a majority of the kids; Javan with his wide smile that is missing his two front teeth, loud and confident Metrin, Castine who gets into trouble if he sits with other boys his own age, Devon who always returns all my goofy faces, and even shy Vivian who fights back smiles until you tickle them out of her. For all of them, it's the same.
This realization came true again when Hellen and I were pouring uji (porridge) for the kids. The amount of uji and the amount of children always varies daily, so everytime we are just praying and hoping that there will be enough. We decided the other day to just pour small portions and then add the extra (if there was some) later. Because, "adding is easier than subtracting" hehe.
It's so true. Even in life. It's a lost easier to buy something new then to give away a possession. I remember hearing, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" when I was younger...I'm pretty sure I can attribute that to Jesus, but I'm not exactly sure so I won't misquote Him...
But I originally thought that was a crazy idea. But i've recently found it to be utterly, completely true. It doesn't say "It is EASIER to give than to receive" but that it's more blessed, that it's more life-giving.
It's a crazy paradox, but so right on. Living life for more than "ADDING" is so much more life giving. When you are constantly doing the hard work of "SUBTRACTING" you end up adding so much more.
It's the beautiful, upside-down way of God's kingdom. I love it.
Blessings,
-tiff
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