African International University

Today, we are off for a full day of work and exploration outside of the Mathare Valley. We venture to African International University. This is a very different, and beautiful, part of Nairobi. Lovely!

Here, we meet with Sean and Kristin Redford, missionaries from Indianapolis who are teaching missionary studies to young Kenyan men training to be missionaries. 

It’s such a far cry from the environment of our past several days - almost hard to fathom we are only an hour or so from the heart of the slums. Yet, after being immersed in such poverty, it's hopeful to see another part of Kenya and intriguing to see ‘higher ed’ in another land. 

Our conversation ranges from ‘What is the purpose of evangelism?’ to sharing life stories of faith – searching and finding God - to exactly how do you introduce the concepts of Christianity into tribes where family history and culture are so different? All quite interesting and thought provoking!

Several of the young men enrolled in the program are from the Maasi Tribe – are you familiar with the tall, lean physique of the Maasi tribe?

With this inside connection, we could be recruiting for the NBA!

Alicia & Tim

Tuesday’s dinner is American style! We are hosted by a young American couple who recently relocated their lives to Kenya. Pizza, ice cream and the Olympics, what fun to do such 'normal' things in such a distant land!

Alicia is a vibrant young social worker from Illinois. Her passion found her in Uganda serving with Libraries of Love - a program that provides books for children to improve literacy. On her first trip to Africa, she found herself not wanting to return home, simply longing to stay and help. Her husband, Tim, was not so convinced.

So, she returns home, life continues and God works in their lives in amazing ways. Reading "Forgotten God" both Tim and Alicia come to the conclusion that they are to return to Africa and this time to Kenya. And here they are, immersed in the Kenyan culture, working at MOHI and dedicating their lives to loving and serving the people of Mathare. Simply inspirational!

CRM in Africa

Check out this CRM system!

Yes, this is human "Customer Relationship Management" in action.

Fidelis (social worker) is capturing real time notes on the families MOHI serves. Yes, these notes are handwritten, on the back of a strip of paper ripped from another notebook. 

It's all about people and relationships – no matter what part of the world you are in, or what CRM system you use – it’s only as good as the data it holds and as rich as the relationships it describes!

Kitchen

It is likely best that I discovered the kitchen on our last day working in the school... 

We have been happily eating rice, veggies and chai from this kitchen all week!

 Don't worry - I'm sure this is health department approved!! Either way, it produced great food all week!

Fred

Fred is one of pastors at MOHI. He too has a story from the slums. Fred was born and raised in Mathare - Village One.

As he approached his teenage years, he was encouraged to do what all young men do: steal to provide for the family. Fred was quickly caught up in a cycle of stealing, running, hiding and fighting for his life. He has the scars and stories to prove it. And, sadly, many of his friends from this chapter of his life were killed in the midst of stealing for their families.

Asked if he knew what he was doing was wrong, he answers 'no' and describes a world where boys know they will grow up to be thieves and criminals, and girls know they will grow up to be prostitutes. Far from the American dream of becoming a fire fighter, a doctor, or even President, these children only know the world right before their eyes - a world were robbing and selling their bodies is the only known source of survival.

In yet another story of great personal triumph, Fred rose above this chaos, found God in the midst of desperation and now dedicates his life to helping other children and families survive and thrive beyond the grasp of the slums.

Grateful Children and Cake

As with all good parties, we had cake. We fed the children (literally) tiny bites of cake in celebration of our partnership.

One cake, and about 300 kids. You do the math – this is going to be interesting! They were all so grateful for any gift that came their way. It was precious, had I not experienced it, I would not have believed such young children could be so patient and so grateful, for a few crumbs of cake.

Now, serving the children.

So grateful...

Vanessa

Our afternoon is filled with celebration!!  Vanessa, one of our team, is getting baptized Kenya-style. Which means in ice cold water in a blow up pool (we vetoed the river - seriously, leeches, parasites, black mambas... We are in Kenya after all!)  

Blow up pool and all, it was spectacular! A long awaited experience for Vanessa and a momentous occasion for Madoya and all the children who looked on.

The school has put together a fantastic celebration. They sing, dance, try to get us mzungus to dance (I'm not sure we fared all that well!), gave us gifts and shared cake. 

What hospitality and what a gift to share in this moving experience. Oh the things we could learn by expressing gratitude as often and as abundantly!!