Our Lord Jehovah Rophe

Praise the Lord God Almighty! Thank you so much for your prayers and holy concern. It truly seems that our Father has healed Abby (the Gordon daughter) of whatever she had. As you know, she was not feeling well, dry-heaving, loss of appetite, fever, in varying degrees of constant pain/discomfort, developed a rash on her hind legs, etc. But since late last night and this morning, she seems to be completely clear of all such symptoms and is back to extremely jovial and LOUD self, lol. Since being here, Abby has really become our little sister and to see her during such a trial became a trial and test of our own. The home as a whole had a whole new feel to it as we were all hoping and praying in our hearts that it was nothing serious, and that she would be spared any major ordeals. It is still very early, but we are still ever thankful for what our Holy God has done in her little body recently, and pray that it continues. Once again, thank you for your prayers, and may our Lord's name be lifted on high in glory and honor for his love and mercy on our behalf.

The Countdown Begins

As cliche as it is to say, "Time flies when you're having fun" I can't help but recognize it's daunting truth. It seems like just yesterday Nathan and I had arrived here in this foreign land with nearly no idea what to expect, having only a couple bags, fears, worries, and doubts as companions. Now, looking back on all that our Lord has done and taught us, I can scarcely believe I am that same person who arrived just a couple of months ago... I still remember Nathan avoiding all forms of meat like a plague, the notorious Meat Injecting Butt Fly that scarred our minds, the relentless attack of mosquitoes our second night, our fear of straying far from Pastor Robbie, or making eye contact with the wrong guy at the wrong time, and SO MUCH MORE. And yet here were are. We survived. Two whole months have passed and our Heavenly Father sustained us in and through every obstacle. As we draw closer to our departure, it seems nearly every night we talk of our excitement to see all of our friends, family, and loved ones yet again. As well as muse upon our mutual recognition of the bitter taste leaving our new families behind us. We will soon leave the protection of our surrogate fathers and mothers, to be again embraced by our wonderful parents we miss so dearly. The countdown has truly begun, 6 days left starting tomorrow, and then the real missions trip begins. Then our chance to be tested and tried in all we have learned out here in Africa. It will be at that time we see all the more what we have genuinely applied, as well as the countless more lessons we have yet to learn and mature in. It has been said, "Christians are like tea bags. You never know what their made of until you put them in hot water." And this couldn't be more true. We prepare now to leave one pot of boiling water for the next. May our Lord Jesus be glorified and praised in all He has shown us. :)

A Precious Child

A special prayer request for Pastor Robbie and Elizabeth's 4 year old daughter, Abigail. Last night, after coming back from a day of fun with her dad, Abby showed signs of fever and loss of appetite. She was uncharacteristically quiet at the dinner table and we all noticed "something" was up. She was put to bed without much resistance on her part (yet another strange anomaly) and as the night wore on some of us thought nothing more of it. The next day Robbie woke us up to ask for our prayer and support in that Abby "may" have Malaria. Apparently she got little to no sleep that night, and when she awoke she was very emotional, burning up, said she was thirsty and after drinking two sips shortly after was dry-heaving for an hour. The poor thing was in so much discomfort. Her fever later broke and she now seems to be doing much better, but a careful watch as been placed on her to see if it returns a second night in a row. Please be in prayer for this little one's health and full recovery. May it be nothing, or quickly and miraculously healed. Amen.

The Start of a Nice Morning

We had a wonderful series of relaxing mornings lately. Since our labors at Imani, followed by the projects out in Maasai land, it is extremely nice getting to sleep in. This morning was meant to be one such relaxing day but with my luck, there's always one thing I forget to plan for. I was in that dazed, just barely conscious stage when I took a long stretch and accidentally leaned to far to one side. The mattress tipped and slid off, I rolled and slammed right into at a wooden desk next to my bed. I whacked both of my shins and elbows on the legs of the desk coupled with making quite the clamoring noise thus waking Nathan up. It was not the wake up call I was hoping for in the least. Because of the bed situation at Pastor Robbie's house, we are sleeping on a bunk bed we set up in the living area. Nathan sleeps on the bottom--despite the fact that we had a unofficial wrestling match over it and I WON, lol--and I sleep on top. This would not be any issue if it wasn't ABNORMALLY tall, AND there's no ladder. So I get to jump from Nathan's mattress and pry myself up onto my bed. Getting up is a challenge, but nothing compared to getting down, lol. It has taken countless trial and error attempts, and I have just now developed an "okay" method for safely getting down. The only problem is that I tend to get down every so often throughout the night for various reasons and though I CAN get down, I really don't ENJOY doing so. So I decided I would just sleep on the floor. But not before developing some kind of defense against the man-devouring insects. Seeing as how the spiders out here in Africa are something out of a horror film, there was NO WAY I was sticking my mattress straight on the floor. Not unless I HAD to. So I ingeniously decided to lay out our suitcases in a row and placed my mattress on that, thus giving me nearly a foot of sterile lift from the perilous floor. It was this very design that led to my downfall. Because of the size of the mattress and the lack of support from my small suitcases, there is sizable overlap of the mattress. I often have to sleep in the very middle to maintain the balance. This very fact I forgot while stretching this morning, lol. And I paid the price. Nathan got a kick out of it all. He said he barely opened his eyes to see me towering over my disheveled mattress and bags, attempting to fix it all while holding my now bruised shins. He said he was too tired to laugh but still found it hilarious to observe, lol.

I tried to go back to sleep and nearly succeeded, that is until Pastor Robbie's 4 years old daughter Abigail woke up and scampering down the hallway practically screamed into the curtain, "Ray Ray! Nathe! Are you awake now?!" I can't count how many times Nathan and I have "pretended" to not hear her ear-piercing call and continue to sleep, lol. It often ends with Elizabeth calling out to Abbie, "Sweety! Leave the boys alone for now." Once she walks back to the kitchen we usually glance at each other both recognizing we are wide awake now, and then say, "Well... Abbie's up, haha." This morning pretty much went just like that. Our morning continued with us cleaning up our areas, eating breakfast, and then having a competitive game of monopoly with Pastor Robbie under his porches overhang, overlooking the National Wildlife Park. I'm telling you, there is nothing like playing a board game with loved ones, with the Lion King in full color before your eyes. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. And me having completely DOMINATED and DECIMATED both Nathan and Robbie has NOTHING to do with my apparent enjoyment, haha. Needless to say Nathan was pretty ticked, lol.

We had a great day just relaxing and enjoying eachother's company. I felt truly blessed to experience it. :)

The Lord's Work

I haven't even returned home yet, and I am already asked often, "Rainier! What is the Lord doing out there?!" Though I do not in any way "dislike" this question, and obviously EXPECT its coming, I often find it hard to answer. Its easy for me to sit down and express WHAT Nathan and I have done (built a chicken coop, moved a church, led worship, taught studies, ministered to children, etc...) while the bigger picture of what God is doing WITHIN us still greatly eludes me. Nathan and I have been blessed with many opportunities to share in various ways with each other what we have noticed tweaked or altered in our hearts and mental thought processes, while yet both admitting that the powerful, yet invisible movements of our Lord's handiwork is far beyond our comprehension. In a conversation this very night, we spoke of our countless hopes and dreams for our return home--more of this, less of that, none of those things--while at that time as well I felt within the depth of heart that ever-present mystery. That subtle reminder that though "a man may plan his way, the Lord leads his steps." This is both extremely encouraging and yet irking. I know in my MIND that the Lord has our lives, that He sees all that is before me, and perceives the best road and yet is it not so like the human nature to yearn after the knowledge of what is to come. Nathan wants to be a fireman, I am still searching earnestly for my path, and yet it is ULTIMATELY our Father who knows what will become of our lives. Looking back on a conversation with Pastor Robbie, I remember having a deep heart-to-heart with him about all this when he smiled at me and retorted with, "Ray... 'No Mind'" Of course my first reaction was something to the degree of, "Yeah, okay, but..." and as I thought of it further I realized how true that statement was. How far too often I "over-think" what is to come, spending more time worrying or searching, then praying and waiting. How foolish I am. Since being out here the Holy Spirit has taught us so much, and one lesson reoccurring constantly is one of FAITH and PATIENCE. I truly need more of these two things...

A Continued Work

Well, we headed to Maasai land yet again to continue our work on the chicken coops. We made less trips on the way and thus got there a bit quicker but because of the heavy rain the dirt roads leading to the compound were soaked with water and extremely muddy--completely unsuited for Kefa's (our driver and family friend to the Gorden family) sedan-like car. So we parked it somewhere safe and walked on foot three quarters of a mile to the shamba. It was really interesting. Somehow walking in the African heat along unmarked, mud-covered, grass and thorn roads gave me a tiny glimpse into what its like to be an average Kenyan. I have watched Kenyans walking from all sorts of directions for untold lengths and distances, and to walk around myself as they normally do brought about somewhat of an accomplishing feeling. Obviously what I did that 1 day is nothing compared to their daily lives, but still it gave me a wider perspective on their livelihood. We arrived and shortly after began our work. Unfortunately even before beginning we approached the shack to find Christopher (the hired shamba boy) in the middle of a job he was supposed to have completed the day prior. This sight did not go over well with Elizabeth. In love, while yet not with-holding any of the necessary sternness, Elizabeth reproved Chris for not holding to his word and completing the work in the timely fashion he stated he would. The matter was settled and we continued our task of securing the founding pillars for the first level of the chicken coop and then laid forth the wooden sheet for the lower level floor. We evened it off and began our work for the second level. All around we got a large amount of work done in a fairly short amount of time. At one point Nathan accidentally cut his arm on a rusty nail : / It was definitely a bleeder. He kinda freaked in a calm, reserved sort of way, constantly spraying his hospital strength hand sanitizer into the cut. Thank the Lord for Tetanus shots! We finished up and headed to Whistling Thorns camp site for a late lunch. The food was amazing. Food never seems to taste better than after a hard days work in the sun. On the drive home I listened to an awesome message by Greg Laurie on the Lord's Prayer. What a powerful sermon it was! It was a wonderful reminder of our Lord's glory and might, and His loving gift us. To be able to speak to the King of Glory, to lift up His name, and seek His will for our lives is something I could never deserve. The fact He gives it so freely blows my mind. : )

The next day was our last day (this week) in the land. We sought to finish our work on the coops as best we could. This time we overlaid the walls with chicken wire to better secure the birds inside. This would also act as multiple barriers between the four separated compartments. We also secured 3 of the 4 doors. All around it has sure come a long way since day one and actually looks pretty "legit." At least coming from the standards of two American, city-boys who have NEVER built a chicken coop before, lol. We didn't know it originally, but Elizabeth had scheduled a meeting with the Maasai ladies she ministers to, that day. So during our work we watched women approach from seemingly out of nowhere from all across the open plains. They were all dressed so colorfully in their native styles and attire. It was clear that they were the "real deal," living out in the open land of Kenya, far away from the city-like encampments. What I found 100 times more intriguing as well as encouraging, was how far these ladies walk every week (normally) to meet with Elizabeth. Because of where they live, most women travel AT LEAST 3 to 4 hours ON FOOT. I honestly can't imagine walking on foot for a straight 3 hours! Even more shocking are the ladies who have to travel for a whole day, AND then stay at another lady's home, only to wake up early the next morning and travel with them however many hours are left in their journey to the compound! Forget 3 hours, but a whole days worth of "on-foot" traveling and then some! Wow... I can't even believe I sometimes think of PATHETIC excuses for not driving my car 15 minutes down the 405 freeway to go to church! What a wimp I can be... Much earlier this trip I found myself contrasting the Kenyan culture to our own, and particularly focused on the laziness of the Kenyan men at times. And here I am doing it again but this time in amazement with its women. To think, in America, I have NEVER met a girl--or anyone else for that matter--who would be willing to take a city bus for 2 hours to make it to a bible study or church service, and yet here are women in Africa who WALK for a whole day across WILD, open plains and hill country to meet for a simple Christian gathering... I am speechless, both at the laziness of myself and the human heart as a whole...

A New Week a New Project

Well we have been officially reunited with Robbie AND OUR BAGS!! I must admit, as happy as I genuinely was to see Robbie, I was a hundred times more happy to no longer have to live out of a backpack. Wearing the same shirt, shorts, and other stuff for nearly a week is only so fun, for so long... When we got home I nearly embraced my suitcase. Opening it up was like winning a shopping spree at your favorite clothes store! Two weeks away and I had nearly forgot all I could now wear, lol. We then went with Elizabeth to Maasai land to help build the chicken coops. It was ALOT of work. We hit a small snag when we realized the prices of some of our necessary materials had doubled thus extremely limiting us on what we thought we could use for the coops. We ended up following through with another idea to utilize a pre-existing wooden framed shack on the compound. The shack was leaning to one side so we all pushed it straight and nailed support beams to keep it strong and sturdy. Oh! I used a pick and a ho for the first time in my life. It was tough, strenuous work but the type of work that leaves you feeling stronger and purpose-filled. At one point early on, while swinging the ho into the rocky ground, I realized I was getting tired fast. One Kenyan guy, Dennis, noticed and asked if what I was doing was "hard." He along with me, noticed it was taking alot of effort on my part. It was a slight blow to my pride seeing as he was 1/3 my size but it was more than true. I was using alot of wasted effort. The fact was I didn't know what I was doing, lol. It wasn't long before another Kenyan named Christopher came along and did my same job but with a million times less energy. Watching him swing away was so nostalgic of the countless times I've observed someone experienced or skilled do a job so much easier than me. As if every swing was effortless and smooth. All around it was a learning and growing experience. We laid down a layer of sediment to act as a preliminary layer before the cement. All this was done with many wheel barrels full of dirt which I was blessed enough to fill nearly single-handedly, lol. It was LOADS of joy with every shovel-full, haha. Once again we had good time working, putting forth our best effort in the African sun, came home and relaxed. Today was another reminder that in the midst of hard work its rarely easy to smile, but deep down you know its good and even fun to a degree. And at the end of the day nothing beats that feeling of completeness. Accomplishment feels great.

The Caterpillars from Hell

Oh man, I have to write this down before I forget, but last night just as we were winding down for sleep Nathan saw something in his net. The power was out and he didn't have a flashlight so he asked me to come over and shine my light on his net so he could make sure it was nothing. I walked on over, turned on the light, and to our surprise crawling on the inside of his mosquito net--right next to his pillow--was the furry red caterpillar I saw in my bed the night prior. Nathan had teased me for not killing mine and merely shaking it off in my room. But now that he was suspicious of the same survivor now crawling in his bed he was pissed, lol. After further examination I told Nathan that I wasn't so sure it was the same one. Mine was a little bigger and furry-er. Nathan didn't want to agree necessarily cause that would mean there was more than one of these "demon caterpillars" in our rooms. A feeling that did not bode well with either of us... Nathan quickly killed his furry interloper and continued with a thorough check of his bed and sheets, all the while joking that if he were to find one more he was seriously going to share my bed that night, lol. Well, to his horror, he did find more--2 in fact. One was nestled comfortably in his blankets while the third tried to make a get-away under his bed frame. Nathan was shaken up for sure. Needless to say I took the same mission with my sheets and found nothing, praise the Lord. I don't know what it is about Nathan but trouble seems to follow him, haha. He decided to sleep in his bed anyways (what a man!) and asked me to pray for the night because psychologically he was feeling a crawling sensation all over his body from the thought of all the caterpillars he found. We slept with the door separating our rooms wide open that night, lest Nathan be consumed by the vicious beasts while we slumbered. What a night!

On a side note, later that week we discovered through numerous Kenyans that those exact caterpillars are quite painful. Though not extremely dangerous, they are notorious for pricking people with their sharp, furry hairs, causing an intense itching sensation that is very hard to negate. They also bite AND pinch with their pincer-like rear ends cause notable pain and lasting discomfort. Once we heard this, Nathan was even MORE upset that I didn't kill the one I found in my bed claiming it SOMEHOW had SOMETHING to do with his particular invasion the night to follow, lol. What can I say, TIA = This Is Africa...

The Close of a Chapter

It was an amazing week serving at Imani B. It was truly hard work of a different breed. This time Nathan and I got to serve as manual day-laborers. Our original purpose behind being sent to Imani B was to aid in the moving of heavy stones for some large project going on there. They had dug a giant hole about 20 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep to act as the coming location of a massive Bio-Gas Chamber. I didn't know what on earth that was so it was explained to me. Basically they will take their huge surplus of cow poop and store in the enormous container underground where it will ferment for about 20 days. The gases which continuously rise from the poop will be routed via pipes and tubes to the kitchens where it will fuel the stoves and ovens... Soooooo, in short, our food will be cooked with cow farts... I can hardly wait! Hahaha. ANYWAYS! None of this miraculousness could occur until we first drained the hole of all its ground water and overlaid the floor with cement. This was to be where Nathan and I would come in. Unfortunately we only got about 1 full day of work devoted to the project before running into continual snags and obstacles. At this time we were relocated to the farm area where we worked with two young Kenyan men named Ryan and Vinny. It wasn't long before we all became good friends and were laughing and joking with each other regularly.

We did many various jobs including feeding the 6 female cows and 2 bulls, feeding the geese and ducks, and one particular day we had hours devoted to shoveling the cow poop and pee out of their cement field. We had a few reoccurring tasks but many of our jobs arose with the spur of the moment and often led us all over the compound. It was quite the experience. Oh! Nathan and I even got our shot at milking a cow! Now that was strange. Vinny showed us how to do it multiple times but it seemed like no matter how closely we mimicked his movements it was never quite the same outcome, lol. This was intrinsic of many of our tasks. Both Ryan and Vinny were both very experienced and skilled in their trades and as hard as we would try to help or serve, they would often step into the situation--using only a fraction of the effort--and show us how much more efficiently the job could be done. Darn farm boys! Haha.

Towards the end of the trip our chance to rise above them finally arose. On our last day there, the four of us got into a tiny, MAN-competition. I think it began with a comment from Vinny about how surprisingly strong daily farm work made him. I in no way disagreed with him. Watching what those two did all day, I would expect them to be exceptionally strong. Then he followed up that statement by saying he was stronger than me, and well... we can't have that, haha. So he challenged me to arm wrestling and before we knew it Nathan saw what was going on and came over, and just as we were about to get started Ryan strolled by with his wheel barrel. Then the games began! It was so much fun messing around and arm wrestling each other. I got it all on tape and its hilarious! It was a prideful series of arm wrestling matches, followed by some various push up exercises, and then quickly accompanied with more matches. All around it was a bunch of goofy guys strutting their stuff, trying to prove who was the strongest. Tons O' fun, lol. When it was all said and done the Americans rose victorious. It was a grueling battle, but entertaining every step of the way. We finally were able to step out of their shadow as the inept farmhands, lol. I was quite happy about that. :)

It was an amazing week of more back-breaking work, sweat and effort, all for our glorious Father. Except for the Man-Matches of course, that was pretty much our playful flesh, haha. When we had finished out the week it was pretty tough saying goodbye. Making new friends is always a blast until you have to part ways. We gave them our FB profile names and told them to look us up, as well as challenged them to make it to the states and come say hi sometime. Yet another adventurous experience under our belts. The Christian life is truly a gift!

The Rose in a Trash Heap, Day 4

Day 4 at Imani. It was yet another great day--hard, back-breaking and testing--but still "very okay" (the Kenyan equivalent to our "very good" or "great"). Uncle Tito (the young guy who taught me alot on my first day) actually stayed to help in my age group for the entire day; which was great cause he is far, far more experienced and knowledgeable than I am going to be any time soon. Plus he's cool to be around. Today I had all the same delight with my regular favorites (Abigail, Christian and Immanuel) as well as all the same trials with the troublemakers (Chrispen and Victor).

Abigail is just the sweetest and most darling thing. She almost NEVER whines, crys or has a hissy-fit, and she is always effortlessly easy to cheer up and make smile. I can just look at her and say her name, and she gives me the biggest, full-mouthed smile I have ever seen. I love it! I have seen that girl completely surrounded by cryers while she remained perfectly calm and content in her chair. In fact, I've seen her reach out and pat the crying baby on the head or face all the while having an adorable "It's okay, don't cry" or "What is this loud thing laying next to me" expression on her face. I have seen her in just about every scenario that makes others complain or cry, and she is always happy. When they need their diapers changed all 10 of them cry, she doesn't. When they are all hungry they whine, she waits. When I have to pull the cup or spoon away from their mouths cause they are finished they pout, she smiles. When someone hasn't been noticed or held for awhile they scream blood murder, Abigail contemplates the complexity of her own fingers. Talk about AWESOME. Actually, one of the reasons I felt so attached to this girl was because she reminded me of my little sister when she was a baby. Always quiet, always content, just watching and waiting. That is until her rambunctious and mischievous older brother would scamper up to her baby seat and poke her naggingly as a form of curiosity and entertainment, lol. Once she could no longer take it (often after long-endured patience) she would cry aloud for parental aid to "shoo" me off to a more constructive and energy-draining activity.

As for Christian he's another story. He too is one of my favorites for some of the same reasons as Abigail (independence, happiness, and generally peacefully quiet), but fits into these "similar" categories in very different ways. He too is independent from the group and often goes unaffected by their tantrums, but his independence sometimes gets him into trouble/funny positions. Being second oldest yet biggest in the room, Christian's progressing physical development has led him to more readily test what his body can do. For example, when laying down (even if surrounded by cryers) he completely ignores the other babies and almost instantly begins rocking side to side while then simultaneously contracting his strengthening hamstring muscles (a motion that none of the other babies have even considered attempting). This action often finds him either halfway out of his seat at an angle or with his entire body out of the seat now hanging on the floor with only his head pivoted on the seat. This often happens while I am looking away (my excuse) so when I place him down in his car seat on the ground, leave to get something and return to see him--yet again in a strange position--I often just laugh aloud at how silly he looks. Then I walk up to him and while towering over him look down and say, "Christian! What are you doing boy?!" Nearly every time he just looks right back at me smiles super big, and give that adorable, little baby cry that just melts your heart. Somehow he is always happy and seemingly more comfortable in those awkward positions. He's so cute. BUT one of the things that cracks me up AND adds to both my favoritism and AVOIDANCE of him is his eating habits. Being a BIG BOY he has a notable appetite. Okay, seriously, the kid eats like a small horse! He will down 3 cups of porridge in the time it takes another baby to drink half a cup (no exaggeration, I tested it once, lol). It's hilarious to watch. BUT when you but ALOT into your body, often ALOT must in-turn leave your body and Christian is notorious for having a diaper even larger than his appetite. As one girl put it, "He reminds us that we feed him well." This is a sugar-coated expression for a horrifying truth... Let's just say on average, changing Christian is like opening a linen clothe-wrapped grenade labeled poo! It's hard to say what you will find, but it's always carnage. What cracks me up is that he is often laughing or smiling while you change him. As if he is perfectly aware of what he did AND what you now have to do because of it, lol. Needless to say when I am not changing him I am either laughing on the inside and praising God's Holy name for sparring me BUT when it is me I am either crying on the inside or trying to hold breakfast in, lol.

Last but not least is our little Immanuel. He is probably the smallest baby and literally has the face of an African Angel. He is beautiful. Every time you make eye contact he smiles, and not only that but his smile powerfully resembles that of a person who is so extremely happy to see you that his eyes are tearing from the immense joy. That is really how this little baby smiles. It never ceases to make me and the other workers smile. Also, when you pick him up, his hands and arms often shake frantically along your cheeks and face as if he hasn't seen you in ages and just wants to fully soak up your presence--all the while smiling in that special way of his. He just makes you feel so special to him its amazing.

On the flip side, there's Chrispen. My little thorn. He is the absolute loudest, longest enduring and most obnoxious cryer I have ever seen. No matter the occasion that kid is unhappy: hungry, too full, tired, wet, dry, nap too short, nap too long, chair not angled perfectly, haven't touched him recently enough, you didn't look at him when you entered the room OR you did look at him while entering and SOMEHOW reminded him that he was lacking something--EVERYTHING--everything makes him cry. Ironically I found one redeeming quality of Chrispen's discontent and its when I pick him up, lay on my back and rest him on my chest. Then and only then does he seem to stop crying... I was overjoyed the first time it worked. He just lay there with his head on my chest and genuinely rested! Being in that position reminded me back to when I was his age and how I loved nothing more than to lay on my dad's chest and fall asleep to the sound of him breathing. Like I said, I was ecstatic to see it work on him, and it even gave me a special window into the beauty of being in a fatherly position. It was really nice.

Today was our last day at Imani A and it was really tough saying goodbye to the kids. I had only known them for about a week and already I miss them. Next week we begin manual labor at Imani B which should be easy and convenient by comparison. Plus, because we have been staying at Imani B, starting to work will be as simple as walking out our front door. Oh oh oh! and I can't forget about the kid COVERED in poo! Watching the British and Aussie girl get totally grossed out and not know what to do was more than entertaining. It was truly the Lord that I had the strength to leave what I was doing and walk over, pick up the kid myself, take him to the shower and wash him off myself... All the while I admittedly held him afar. Hands swinging wildly while layered in poo; not really my thing. I can't believe that boy was actually taking his own poo, applying it to his head, face, and arms like lotion, then would rub his eye and suck his thumb!!

The Rose in a Trash Heap, Day 3

Day 3 at Imani: It is honestly harder to say whether yesterday or today was harder. In one sense I was "slightly" more prepared because I remember what we did yesterday and yet it was because of yesterday that my back, arms and chest (basically everything above my waist) were SO SORE that doing it again today made it that many times more painful and strenuous. It's practically a tie. On the positive side because of yesterdays experiences I had remembered which babies to avoid, lol. For example, one particular baby name Christian (our largest baby in our age group) eats like a small horse AND whatever he eats has to go SOMEWHERE. Because of this simple biological truth I now know to avoid him at changing time, lol. At one time today I looked over at Shiro, the girl changing him, and when she unwrapped his nappy I just about lost my breakfast. It was like someone had wrapped a hand-grenade labeled poop inside his outfit and ran for dear life! Let's just say it was further encouragement to always be "busy" with another baby at changing time. I enjoyed getting more familiar with the other workers in my room. They were all very kind and helpful people. I am learning so much from being around them. And not being too far from my age made our conversations much easier. As for Loveen (the girl described in the previous post) I must continue to be careful; she is TOO KIND and TOO HELPFUL. All around it was yet another amazing day filled with strenuous work that glorified our Lord.

We got back to Imani B and shared the numerous stories of our adventures. It was a nice change from last night when we got into a sizable disagreement in which Nathan vented his plethora of issues and problems with me. Unfortunately in my flesh I completely compromised and retaliated; trying to defend myself and bring the argument towards the realization that he's no perfect saint either (a completely childish and selfish thing for me to do). It just went down hill from there. At one point I felt EXTREMELY convicted and knew I needed to yield. I knew in my horribly selfish and prideful flesh I COULD win--SHOULD win (once again being completely self-seeking and in the wrong)--but I knew what the Spirit was whispering to me in the quiet of my heart and with all the strength I could muster I did my best to be obedient, shut up, and take it. That night (the prior night) I begged to be humbled and be made more into the image of Christ (being disgustingly far from it). I got on my knees and begged for forgiveness and mercy knowing I didn't deserve it. The next day (today) it was on my mind continually to be a servant and to esteem others (specifically Nathan) better than myself. Something I needed to ask God for help throughout the entire day. When we got home I did my devotions and checked my verse for today from a stack of verses I received as a gift for the trip (you know who you are and I couldn't thank you enough!) and my verse for that day was Daniel 10:12, "Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, you words were heard; and I have come because of your words.'" I read that verse and my jaw dropped! I could not believe the timing! I instantly dropped my face into my hands and thanked God for the encouragement, and begged Him that, like Daniel, this verse could be personally applicable to me too! "Oh Father, please let this be for me too. Please send me help!" Thankfully Nathan was in the shower and so I was secluded in my room and enjoyed a deep time of humbling prayer with our Lord. I arose that much more in love with our King, knowing for certain, that at the VERY LEAST He was hearing me, and was inclining His ear to my plea. That night was THE BEST night I had all trip beyond a shadow of a doubt. A night spent with my Abba. God is doing a work in me, I know it, and I couldn't be happier. Less of me, more of you oh God. Desperately do I need this. And I draw comfort oh Lord, in Your promise that "the work you have begun, you shall finish." : )

The Rose in a Trash Heap, Day 2

Day 2 at Imani: Wow... I scarcely have words to describe the day we/I had... I honestly don't barely know where to begin...BUUUUUT here I go, lol. Well I definitely didn't get ANY sleep last night. The reason must have been a tie between: it being a strange new place; being surrounded by weird loud noises nearly all night long; having drank way too much water before bed; not being able to stay cool or comfortable in my bed; genuine spiritual attack; a million thoughts racing through my head; constantly thinking I heard someone approach my shadeless/curtainless window; the Netherlands guy waking up and using the restroom as much as me; Nathan walking through my room to use the restroom; and just when I thought I was about to truly lose consciousness and rest I heard the rooster start crowing, some girls walked by our rooms singing in Swahili and then stopped feet away from our windows to do morning laundry (while still singing at 5 in the morning) at which point I tried to ignore it but then heard Nathan get up and do push ups, haha. At this point I knew it was over and I was merely delaying the inevitable... We got ready just in time to be picked up at exactly 6:30 sharp and arrived at Imani A at around 6:45. Almost immediately we were separated and given different tasks in different rooms on different floors. If I didn't know better I would have sworn they had received this advice from our boss Pastor Mickey in the Children's Ministry Office, lol. I was placed with the 6 - 9 month old infants on the second floor while Nathan was taken to the 9 - 13 month old infants on the third floor.

From the moment I entered the room nearly all the babies were crying bloody murder and boy-oh-boy did they reek to high heaven! Of course (with our impeccable luck) the very first thing on the agenda was to change all of them. AWESOME! (sarcasm, lol) Though this has never really come up in daily American-youth conversation and is not necessarily something I would want to admit, I have NEVER changed a baby's diaper, nor have I ever been in a hurry to do so. Today I got my chance... multiple times in fact. I changed more diapers in a single day than I had ever planned to do in my entire life! I was always sorta, kinda hoping that was a wife/mommy thing, lol. Oh, and on top of that, these weren't your standard super-duty, hyper-absorbent disposable diapers with a picture of a joyous baby strategically placed on the package cover, no no no, these were your old-fashioned linen towel-like sheets folded into triangles and skillfully wrapped around the baby... The appearance was horrifying, the texture unforgettable, and the smell inescapable. I honestly survived that first encounter fake smiling and almost gagging, lol. Talk about not knowing how to swim and then being challenged to race across the English Channel. What a task. For the longest time (hours leading into days) I couldn't get the poo and pee smell out of my hands! Well the day continued on and shortly after starting Nathan and I were called to breakfast. Already we had stories to share, and share we did. We returned to our rooms and just in time for feeding them. This too was a first and trying experience, not because I had never "bottle-fed" an infant before but because instead of bottles they were cups. Talk about the mess. At one point we got to take the babies outside and around that time a young-lady my age arrived. As God as my witness I was not initially distracted by her presence and was simply focused on not creating an ocean of porridge in my lap, unceasing prayer for strength, and surviving the day. Unfortunately she didn't feel the same. To my surprise, in the midst of baby chaos, this girl actually started to flirt with me. It started with a bunch of light questions about where I was from and what brought me to Kenya (all cordial and often-asked questions for me) but soon became more. Once she asked me my age and she realized we were the same age it all went down hill. Though over the course of 12 hours she literally asked me if I wanted to ever get married, how many kids I wanted, what were my likes/dislikes, and actually said, "Ray? Is your brother cute like you?" I am fairly certain I borderline froze and did not know what to say. I think I scanned the area for facial expressions from the other workers to see if they were picking up on anything I was. UNFORTUNATELY everyone else was hard at work and I was left to face the awkwardness on my own. This along with many other "weird" experiences throughout the week reminded me of Robbie playfully warning us of either finding a Kenyan wife OR at the very least, getting majorly "hit on." I honestly didn't take any of this seriously... Now I do, lol. Needless to say I became extremely well practiced in various diversion-like methods. Methods such as: pretending to not hear; inexplicably becoming distracted with a crying baby; acting as though I did not understand due to cultural differences; walking out of the room with a perplexed look as if looking for something; quickly adding a new topic to the conversation as though I had just remembered an important comment I had been dying to say earlier but had forgotten. This and much-much more became my arsenal of defenses against such extreme moments of awkwardness.

Later that day we returned all our babies to the second floor and changed them, AGAIN! Ironically during all my out-of-the-blue girl troubles Nathan had met two Mzungu girls volunteering at Imani too. As if by some strange twist of fate it was also their first day of work AND they were assigned to the same "area" as him. UNFORTUNATELY for him neither of them were Christian and the one he considered pretty cute cursed like a sailor thus ruining even the fake, imaginative hope for him, lol. That day we both shared our hilarious experiences over lunch and got quite a kick out of them. The day continued, I did a TON more changing, feeding, carrying, snot wiping, and much-much more and though it was killer hard work I really saw the Lord in all of it and thanked him for the opportunity to serve Him in such a way. Those children were downright beautiful and looking deep into their searching eyes while feeling them grip my finger with their tiny little hands was an experience I could never forget (not that I could forget being there ALL week, lol). As the day concluded and I got a closer examination of my muscular soreness and I realized that I felt literally beat up. Aside from an injury, I don't think I had ever felt every muscle in my back scream like that before. My biceps felt broken from carrying all day, my back was pulsating with ache, and my entire person emanated with the essence of "smelly baby." We returned home and I borderline ran into the shower. Ironically even after showering the smells lingered and even the towels given to us for showering and drying smelled EXACTLY like the linen nappies used for the make-shift diapers. This was understandable, but admittedly even after showering I never truly felt/smelled clean. Something ALWAYS seemed amiss, lol. Day 2 accomplished. May God have mercy on us...

The Rose in a Trash Heap, Day 1

Day 1 at Imani children's home: I am literally flabbergasted and in utter awe over how quickly our plans change on us out here. So a quick and short (short only in comparison to what is really going on out here) recap, just this past weekend we were waiting in expectancy over the acclaimed arrival of Elizabeth and Abby (Pastor Robbie's wife and daughter). This has been an event over 3 months in the making and MUCH anticipated by poor Robbie having been separated from his family for so long. We originally planned to stay with Jonathan and Adrienne Ferguson for a weekend to give Robbie a few days to be alone and catch up with his girls. The Spirit bore witness on all sides and thus the plan was agreed upon. All was set in motion when, yet again, let-down. The girls were delayed AGAIN, and were going to arrive a day late. Robbie, whose poor emotions were being yanked up and down like a roller coaster--but all the while composed himself and always praised the Lord in patience--now had to wait more... The girls arrived the next morning as scheduled (the morning of the U-Turn Pig Roast Party on Saturday) but once again there was a flip. The girls arrived sick, and poor Elizabeth's neck was hurting her. Robbie joked with Jonathan over the phone, "I finally get my girls back and I receive them defective." Needless to say, the family needed some long-awaited recuperating time. So what was originally a Friday thru Sunday plan, became Friday thru Tuesday, and THEN metamorphosized into Friday through the following Sunday scenario, haha. And all in a matter of days! Though Nathan and I were becoming accustomed to "last minute" alterations in schedules this was still yet another hilarious example of, "You never know what tomorrow brings..."

We were just about to get psychologically prepared for the new momentum of being with the Fergusons for a week and even bought a weeks worth of groceries in preparation for it all when the VERY NEXT MORNING we awake to yet another SURPRISE... I had just finished my bowl of morning cereal when Robbie called us telling us to "quickly" pack your bags "you are going to Imani." I couldn't believe it. It had to be a joke, I thought. No way plans change THAT MUCH and THAT QUICKLY, AGAIN! I quickly realized once more... yes they do. : / We quickly packed our things, got onto Jonathan's laptop for about 7 minutes to attempt to update the blog thus far: "Church Relocation Project - Take 3" when Robbie arrived at the door and rushed us into the car. Hence the quick, "Uh oh, I got to go..." We quickly drove home to pack for a week, having nearly no clue what to expect, and almost no clean clothes to prepare with. Poor Nathan had to pack nearly all soiled clothes for the week. In fact, the only reoccurring statement or description from Robbie was an exhortation that Imani would be "very hard," and no matter what we've done up to now, we "will be stretched." AWESOME! Within 30 minutes we gathered our belongings and were off. Nearly the entire ride Robbie pep-talked us over how big of a deal this was. The fact of the matter was Mama Faith (the founder of Imani Children's Home and completely in charge of their 7 scattered compounds) had called Robbie that very morning asking for us, having already arranged jobs for us in expectancy. This was a huge deal according to Robbie. Having served with Faith personally he explained that this never happened before in the 9+ years he had known her (to his knowledge). "Mama Faith loves her kids dearly and has never let anyone serve with the kids without having met and interviewed all volunteers before a single thing is decided," he said. Unbenounced to us, Robbie had spoken to Mama Faith earlier this trip and personally likened Nathan and I unto the male versions of two outstanding young ladies named Vira and Talitha who had served at Imani years prior and left with an amazing reputation of sincere servanthood in their wake. It was a beautiful and sincere compliment from Robbie and ultimately got us the stamp of approval. Though overwhelmed with the knowledge that Robbie thought so highly of us--and after living in such close quarters with us for over a month no less--these were still very big shoes to fill. Earlier that morning Nathan and I had prayed together for the complete armor of the Lord and perfect strengthening of the Spirit so I definitely had a "peace that surpasses all understanding" but also knew aside from our Father's help, we were doomed, haha.

Robbie dropped us off at Imani A (where we would be actively serving) to give us a familiarity with the facilities as well as meet our presiding supervisor, Maria. She was a kindhearted and very hospitable host, and as it turns out, she was one of the original orphans Mama Faith took in when Imani started. The fact that she was now 25 years old having left and lived her own life for a bit, to then return to the home that nurtured her as a servant and now a member of the board. Maria asked us many questions concerning our strengths and weaknesses, what we could and could not do, and our overall willingness to serve. In multiple ways throughout the conversation we admitted we were not in any means fully in-tune with our gifts and didn't fully know what we were going to be better at in a given situation BUT we were willing to do anything and everything that needed doing. Wherever there was a need we would fill it, there was nothing we wouldn't try, and whether or not we excelled at a given task we would always give our best and not complain. It must had sounded over the top but we were honestly willing to get the full experience and do all that needed doing. This answer shocked and thrilled her. She gave us a thorough tour of the baby house (where we would be serving) and then arranged for us to be driven to Imani B (where we would be living as well as have our meeting with Mama Faith). Both places were beautiful in a unique way. Like Robbie said, it truly was a "beautiful rose in a trash heap." We met Mama Faith officially at Imani B and had our second tiny interview though she made it abundantly clear we were already wanted. We promised her 2 weeks of service though she wanted us longer but also encouraged us that they were overjoyed with whatever they could get. She too expressed her joy that two young American men would leave their comfortable homes and serve with them thousands of miles away. We knew we never deserved such praise, but thanked her nonetheless and often pointed up into the sky saying, "Hey, this isn't us, it's all our Father's doing." The meeting didn't last long and we settled into our new living arrangement which included our OWN ROOMS! Nathan was ECSTATIC, proclaiming he would finally get a good nights sleep, lol. I must admit, the sparkle in his eyes of pure happiness was duely noted. It was an interesting setup. The front door emptied into a living room area which then had a right and a left door, like something in a maze. The right door belonged to Eda's room. Eda was a tall, older gentleman from the Netherlands who spoke in extremely broken English. Our conversations with him were often humorous was we both did our best to pretend to comprehend what he was saying to us. ANYWAYS! The door to the left opened to the bathroom, which also had a door opening to another room. That room had a door as well which opened to the end room like some kind of reverse Jack & Jill apartment situation. We agreed that I would take the room closest to the bathroom because I am notorious for regular restroom trips. I really need to not drink water before bed : / . This decision only sharpened Nathan's joy. All and all this had been an amazingly interesting day, and the precursor to an epic week. God help us, lol.

Church Relocation Project - Take 3, Part 2

Wow! What a week! There will be time to describe it in more thorough detail later. ANYWAYS! Where did I leave off? Ah yes, now I remember. Beyond reminding me of my grandfather, what was particularly special about meeting Mark was that it turns out his ministry was also ministering to the Maasai women of Kenya and in the same location no less! Turns out for the past few years while Robbie and his wife were with the older women and men, Mark was serving the younger women just down the same street. Literally the very next turn left and down an obscure dirt road. Crazy! You'd think after spending so many hours in the air, and traveling thousands of miles away from home I would come to the realization that the world is just SO BIG, when in actuality I am constantly thinking, "Wow Lord, what a small world." Well after enjoying lunch with Mark and a few others from the Christian Missionary Association we parted ways and decided to check on the church and take care of a few minor things--only to find 4 full grown female chickens we SOMEHOW missed/forgot/didn't notice... First thing was first, we had to catch them as well, bind their feet, disassemble the chicken coop--completely this time--and then faced the newly discovered, horrifying realization that our once relaxed and calm day now had an hour plus trip to Maasai land factored into it, AGAIN, lol. So we sucked it up, put the chickens in a big bucket this time (to avoid the wonderful plethora of poop) and went our way. An hour or so later we arrived at the Shamba in Maasai land and left the chickens with Christopher (the hired groundskeeper/guard aka Shamba Boy). All around, yet another busy day to add to our calendar. : )

Church Relocation Project - Take 3

Yet another active day! We went to the location of the new children's ministry. It's across the street from the youth hostel that our main church service now takes place. It was an interesting place. Basically it's a small, gated neighborhood of single family dwellings turned into a business complex. One of the houses is owned by a Christian Missions Association and they offered us part of their facilities (house) as a place to have our kids service. While there Robbie introduced us to some old friends of his, as well as some new ones. We met a Christian missionary contractor named Mark based out of Colorado. He was a very friendly gentleman and actually reminded me greatly of my grandpa Dave.... Uh oh, I have to go. I will have to continue this blog another time. As a quick note, our (Nathan and my) plans have been drastically changed. We are leaving this very morning to serve at an orphanage called Imani B. Please please pray for our effectiveness out there. May we bring glory to the Father, amen.

Church Relocation Project - Take 2

Just when we thought yesterday was a "fun" day the Lord surprised us. As I had forgotten to mention, we had taken the dismantled tent home and had made arrangements to drive it up to Maasai land (an hour plus away). All was in motion until the next morning when Robbie let us sleep in uncharacteristically late. At one point I actually refrained from leaving our room and using the restroom lest I remind him that he had two fully capable young men in his house as free labor, lol. When I finally mustered the courage to leave the room I heard voices other than Robbie's resonating from the front porch. Wearing my "jammies" and wanting to avoid social interaction of any kind in the morning I rushed to the restroom and darted back into our room. About an hour later Robbie bursts into the room belting with a classic song of extreme volume to wake us up. This is a customary morning for us out here. I didn't know it until after breakfast but Robbie had a surprise visit from Pastor Duncan of U-Turn for Christ (the ministry I have been teaching at) and his father. It turns out they had come by to ask if they could borrow the giant church tent. The crazy irony was that they didn't actually know we had already torn it down, had it in our possession that very moment, and had plans to drive it up to Maasai land over an hour away. This proposition then saved us a long and arduous trip! There are simply no words for how things just miraculously work out. Yet another amazing, Spirit-led "coincidence" I suppose, lol. Man our God is just so good! So instead of driving it out to Maasai land, we drove only about 30 minutes away to U-Turn and dropped it off with the men there. What a relief! Then from there we traveled to the church grounds to assess the chicken coop situation. Pastor Robbie originally came up with the idea to take the existing chicken coop as is and literally "tie" it down to the top of the roofless land cruiser. It would be secured onto the steel cargo cage on top near the rear of the car. It seemed "plausible" but Nathan and I had our doubts. We shared them with Pastor Robbie but to no avail. "Let's at least try guys" he told us, and we agreed it was worth the effort.

Once we arrived to the scene and took a better look at the coop our minds were quickly made up. It became abundantly clear that there was NO WAY that thing was going on top of the car. It was way too big in all directions and even if by some miracle we lifted it above out heads and got it up there, it would have never stayed atop the car for long. So we were back to square one. Instead Nathan came up with the idea of laying a tarp down on the ground and back seat of the car, and putting the chickens on that for transport; basically bare minimum transport. His idea was logical, cheap, and doable, so we agreed to try it. But first we had to catch them and bind their feet. This was a long and tedious process, and once you factor in that we are a couple of city-dwelling, So-Cal boys, it multiplied the strain a few times over... Unfortunately Nathan had to catch the chickens by himself, first because there was only one pair of gloves and second because somebody had to tie the chicken's feet after Nate caught them, Robbie cut the string used for tieing, and Rumpei (our own personal Maasai warrior) filmed, lol. I was personally ecstatic that we filmed some of it cause it was downright hilarious watching Nate try to corner whole flocks of chickens and lunging at them with his hands. We eventually caught them all, loaded them into the car, and began our long journey to Maasai land with Nathan and I scrunched in the front seat with Robbie. I had to practically hang my torso out the window to create breathing room--a position that gave me quite the killer neck ache and left-sided rib bruising, lol. All and all the chickens were transported safely and I rode on the back tray home admiring the awe-inspiring moonlight. We arrived home beat up, bruised, talon-cut, covered in chicken poo, pee, and feathers and were ready to call it a day. And so we did. Yet another day of accomplishment. What an adventure!

Church Relocation Project - Take 1

As you know from Nathan's last post, the Spirit has led Pastor Robbie to move Living Water Christian Fellowship. We have begun the large task of changing locations to the nearby Nairobi Youth Hostel. It had been a previous location of Living Water years ago and because of a movement of the Lord, the owner's heart was overjoyed to receive the church back in spite of their fairly new "no church" policy. The location is prime, the rent substantially lower, the resources limitless, and yet all of these blessings and more may never have fallen into place had not the church been robbed and the emotions and events which followed. Is not our Lord amazing?! Since being out here I have been speechless over the Word of God coming alive before my eyes, specifically the verse, "For all things work out for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose." Our preparations have included so much, but much of it began with our need to dismantle the tent our church service was held under. As you saw from one of Nathan's pictures it was quite the task and required nearly the entire congregation. Once it was down we loaded it into the car. Most of the poles felt nearly 85 pounds, some even more! Needless to say Pastor Robbie's large and durable land cruiser felt slightly lower once all of them were tightly loaded. We crammed the car with a few other remnant articles "barely" and to top it off tossed the baptismal pool as the pinnacle. It looked like the ultimate reject top-hat, lol. Because we had nothing to tie it down with Nathan and I had to hold onto it for the entire car ride.

There were definitely a few turns and abrupt traffic-induced stops that nearly lost it for us. I eventually had to stand up in the car and constantly hold the back rim while facing backwards thus having the joyous privilege of staring at passer-byes and drivers behind us. I must say, out of the many weird things Kenyans have seen on the road, a Mzungo (foreigner/non-African, aka WHITE) standing backwards in a roofless land cruiser, gripping a giant, bucket-like tub was definitely a first. We got home with no problems aside from sore arms and fingers that felt like they were ripping from the joints and we then prepared for babysitting at Jonathan's (Pastor Robbie's Assistant Pastor). Jonathan had planned a special "date night" with his wife Adrian so we got to have fun hanging out with his two sons Josiah age 4 and Christopher age 2. I had completely forgotten how exhausting watching two kids of that age all night is. I would swear children run on nuclear power cells sometimes, lol. Not to mention our church tear-down earlier that day, so we were WIPED. That night I don't think I slept. I'm pretty sure I was more or less in a coma. It would have take a cataclysmic event beyond reckoning to wake me up that night--that or too much water before bed. All in a hard days work. Little did we know what would come next.

Last Service

Church in a Car

Tearing Down Church

Worship

Service

The Body

Servanthood

With every single day that comes and goes it has been so amazing to see God breaking us down and molding and shaping us into the men He wants us to be. It seems the longer we our out here the more filled out our schedule is becoming, but we are still getting so much time in the Word as well as awesome devotions and conversations with Robbie.

This week has been very action packed as we have been assisting Robbie with re-locating the church. We have been doing things such as cleaning the church as well as disassembling furniture and any other odd-end jobs Robbie has for us. Oh and for the record, I am never again gonna complain about moving a box at home and finding silverfish, because the critters around here.......wow. It has been hard labor but it has been such a indescribable blessing to help out the church. The body here is awesome without exaggeration before church every single member of the congregation greets one another...with out the pastors prompting. Rainier and I have also been touched on just their effort and dedication as well. This past Sunday was the last service as their current facility and almost every member stayed a least a little while afterword to help with the final tear down of the church. Also a great majority of them do not have cars and rely on public transportation (which is terrible) and walking. It was an all day tiring effort--oh and towards the end of the day Rainier and I were tasked with emptying the baptismal which consisted of taking these small toy buckets and carrying the water back into the main tank. I believe we had about three solid trips back and forth before somehow I was at the bottom of the baptismal with Rainier towering over me. The church got a kick out of it and are slowly but surely starting to understand me and Rainier's humor. We have both been trying to truly do everything we do here to the best of our ability and as unto God.

This next week we are going to continue to assist Robbie with his needs and the needs of the church. We are also going to be going to Maasai land to build chicken coops and bring them chickens as well as continuing to help at the U-turn for Christ ministry. Please keep up the prayers. Lord Bless!!