One big post because wifi is sparse
We departed Amsterdam after a brief four hour layover (it is 7 hours on the way home). Layovers begin to disclose personalities. Some want to sit in a chair and wait it out - the bonus is that these guys watch the luggage. Others want to walk aimlessly in order to get some exercise. Still, others have a destination in mind - Starbucks or a wireless hotspot. I like this about our group.
We are now on the plane to Nairobi. Gunnar has met his flight attendant, the two younger women sitting in his row (one is from North Dakota traveling to Kenya to teach English on the South-east coast), and he is the most diligent at walking the aisles. I think that every time he gets up, he meets someone new.
The movie of the trip has been True Grit. I have yet to watch it (I watched Chronicles of Narnia 3, instead). But I thought it odd when Ron Russell and Ken Carlson were playing cowboys throughout Schipohl Airport (boys will be boys).
John is our watch-out guy. He is always turning around to make sure everyone is with us. We are dubbing him security patrol - he is responsible for our daily health checks (and mere presence). Ken is our even keel guy. He is flexible with whatever is next, willing to help however he can. (He just walked by me as I typed that - we are all working hard to ward off "deep bone thrombosis").
Shawn is our perpetual smiling presence. Whether one of us offers an off-hand remark or simply a statement of a peculiar fact, Shawn nods his head and smiles. He's the rock.
Finally, nothing eventful has happened. We simply sit, walk, pee, and sit. This is a good life. I think we will be ready for a long sleep when we arrive in Nairobi. Tomorrow we wake up, eat breakfast, attend worship, and travel north to Stars For Jesus.
Sunday
I preached this morning at bishop/pastor bensons church fellowship. Not only was it my shortest sermon, it was the church's shortest sermon. When I concluded my ten minute homily ina n African Independent Pentecostal Church, Bishop Benson made a joke. He said that his people pray to God that their pastor could be more brief as this blessed white preacher. I laughed because the HCC crew was thinking the same thing, namely "he is never that brief at home." The sermon was on Nehemiah 8- it was 12 minutes.
After worship we conducted a building dedication for the new property Ron Russell helped purchase. One thing we learned from them regarding worship was a call and response. The leader says, "praise God" we respond, "amen." then again the leader says, "Praise God again." and we respond, "amen." We did this several times during the worship and dedication.
My favorite part of worship was when the children came forward to offer us a blessing. Each child would lead us in the call and response - "praise God. Amen. Praise God again. Amen and amen. Then they would say, "My name is ------ and I have a memory verse....." Each child would present a memory verse, some longer than others, but the memory verse was a sense of pride and accomplishment. There might be something for us in this.
We traveled from the PAstor Benson's slum community where we worshipped to Stars for Jesus and Morning Star Children's home. Stars for Jesus is an older boys home. This was the original vision fromReah's late husband, Phil. The Stars ministry began as a rehab center for street boys; now it has become a live-in residence for 14-18 year-old boys. Morning Star was the second addition. From the original rehab center and worshipping fellowship (aka church), there was a recognized need to have children of all ages. We are staying adjacent to Stars for Jesus. We drive each day to Morning Star which is something like a 20-40 minute drive.....
Oh yes, enough description. We spent the day visiting the home and planned out our first workday. The plans include building a water tank stand(to hold 20,000 pounds or more of water), a swing set, an electric transformer box, and the roof on Reah's new home. We look forward to getting started in the morning.
Kenya is beautiful. The people, the children, the landscape- everything is so beautiful.
----
Monday
We slept in just a little but today. We departed for the worksite at 0900. Prior to leaving our residence, we spent time dwelling in the word. I was not sure which text we would use, but thanks to Ken Carlson he directed us to John 6. We are reading the feeding of the five thousand each day this week, and what a blessing the first day was. You can imagine how we are seeing this miracle enacted at the kids home. One quick story: Morning Star home has very little funds for food, let alone transportation to go and pick it up. BMS has developed several relationships in Nairobi to assist them in providing food. Each Wednesday Francis or Duncan travel to Nairobi's airport to pick up food that is donated to them from airport leftovers. Often there is very little gas in the van to make the trip, but each week they make it there and back. Francis said the "e" on the gas tank is not for empty but for enough. Indeed, God gives us enough. Amen.
Yes, the ten of us men are making ALL of our own meals. We had cereal and eggs for breakfast; we made PB&J or meat sandwhiches for lunch, and we are going all out gourmet for dinner. Gunnar made macaroni and cheese tonight. He brought Spartan brand M&C to which we complimented it with sausages and toast. We made 8 boxes of M&C and devoured it. We shared some with Doug, our kitchen boss, and he did not even taste it (maybe he though that anything that goes from powder to creamy cheese ORANGE that quickly is barely food. He politely smiled and received the bowl.... The other 10 guys loved it. No leftovers!
One note: Traveling in Kenya is quite interesting. The road is there when available, but in a traffic jam, the shoulder seems to be the more preferred method. Traveling here makes us nervous, but we are definitely living what it means to say, "by faith". We were driving to Stars on Sunday and watch three or four large buses maneuver the shoulder banks, both down and back up again. We were for certain that two of them were going to tip over right in front of us. The road was similar in traffic to a chicago street.... and by the way, the reason for going around the street and onto the shoulder was because of the goats in the middle of the jammed roadway.... seriously (pictures to follow).
---
Tuesday
I like making mistakes. It is good for us. However, sometime the audience for which the mistake was made can determine the "good" within. This group is full of laughter and hilarity, as well as depth and understanding. In the face of mistakes, however, the road back to equilibrium can be longer than one would like.
Today we did not sleep in. Bob and I were supposed to make breakfast, which included waking up at 6 am. The other men were to arise at 6:30, eat at 7:00, Dwelling in the Word, and depart for work at 8:00 am. This sounds like a good morning schedule. I set my alarm last night for 6:00. My traveling alarm clock comfortably woke me from my slumber. (seriously, Lindsay - no snooze!) I began working with Doug (a helper at Stars for Jesus) and Bob to prepare breakfast for the men. at 6:30, I let the men know that it was time to wake up. Slowly but surely half of the men arose into the dark of morning. At 6:45 I asked Bob what time it was and he said, ...... (wait for it)...... 5:45. Oops. I had my travel clock set to Athens time and not Nairobi time..... I say no more.
Today the Kenyan men asked to join us for devotions. They asked us! We read the Feeding of the 5000 together. Their response was wonderful. Together, the Scriptures came alive in an encouraging manner. We shared stories about living "by faith." We, HCC folks, were so impressed by the Kenyans faith - they do not wait for miracles they participate in them daily. They, the Kenyans, were impressed at our ability to give up time and energy to travel all this way and share in the work with them. They mentioned how impressive our unity and teamwork is considering the large tasks in front of us (this received major laughter from our men).
Work Report: We worked in two groups. The first group constructed the house trusses (roof supports). This took significant time, but by days end, they not only finished building 8 trusses but also putting them up on the roof (I will not name those who were on the roof). The other team, led by Bill Deetjen constructed an electrical box (which 4 Kenyan men relieved us from and did a much better and more efficient job); began the watertank support system; and a rustic swingset. All-in-all this was an exhilirating day! Much was accomplished.
Meal Report: Dean prepared his inaugural dish, "Doug's Hacienda Chili." You can see it listed on the menu at hacienda.com. It consisted of beans, meat, garlic powder, 1 cup salt, pepper, 4 cups of chili pepper, carrots, onions, cilantro, and another cup of chili powder. We let that simmer for one hour, and I-kid-you-not that it was some of the best chili ever. We shared it with our five additional guests, including Doug. We cleared a 5 gallon bucket of this stuff. Incredible. Just enough spice, enough beans, and enough love.
While Dean was crafting the chili, Bekah (Reah's sister who was at HCC last summer and is currently 10.5 months pregnant and having contractions.....) was crafting the finest fried-corn-bread. She made enough corn bread for each of us to have 4-5 4 inch pieces each. This meal should be featured somewhere....... Thanks for a great meal!
We are now on the plane to Nairobi. Gunnar has met his flight attendant, the two younger women sitting in his row (one is from North Dakota traveling to Kenya to teach English on the South-east coast), and he is the most diligent at walking the aisles. I think that every time he gets up, he meets someone new.
The movie of the trip has been True Grit. I have yet to watch it (I watched Chronicles of Narnia 3, instead). But I thought it odd when Ron Russell and Ken Carlson were playing cowboys throughout Schipohl Airport (boys will be boys).
John is our watch-out guy. He is always turning around to make sure everyone is with us. We are dubbing him security patrol - he is responsible for our daily health checks (and mere presence). Ken is our even keel guy. He is flexible with whatever is next, willing to help however he can. (He just walked by me as I typed that - we are all working hard to ward off "deep bone thrombosis").
Shawn is our perpetual smiling presence. Whether one of us offers an off-hand remark or simply a statement of a peculiar fact, Shawn nods his head and smiles. He's the rock.
Finally, nothing eventful has happened. We simply sit, walk, pee, and sit. This is a good life. I think we will be ready for a long sleep when we arrive in Nairobi. Tomorrow we wake up, eat breakfast, attend worship, and travel north to Stars For Jesus.
Sunday
I preached this morning at bishop/pastor bensons church fellowship. Not only was it my shortest sermon, it was the church's shortest sermon. When I concluded my ten minute homily ina n African Independent Pentecostal Church, Bishop Benson made a joke. He said that his people pray to God that their pastor could be more brief as this blessed white preacher. I laughed because the HCC crew was thinking the same thing, namely "he is never that brief at home." The sermon was on Nehemiah 8- it was 12 minutes.
After worship we conducted a building dedication for the new property Ron Russell helped purchase. One thing we learned from them regarding worship was a call and response. The leader says, "praise God" we respond, "amen." then again the leader says, "Praise God again." and we respond, "amen." We did this several times during the worship and dedication.
My favorite part of worship was when the children came forward to offer us a blessing. Each child would lead us in the call and response - "praise God. Amen. Praise God again. Amen and amen. Then they would say, "My name is ------ and I have a memory verse....." Each child would present a memory verse, some longer than others, but the memory verse was a sense of pride and accomplishment. There might be something for us in this.
We traveled from the PAstor Benson's slum community where we worshipped to Stars for Jesus and Morning Star Children's home. Stars for Jesus is an older boys home. This was the original vision fromReah's late husband, Phil. The Stars ministry began as a rehab center for street boys; now it has become a live-in residence for 14-18 year-old boys. Morning Star was the second addition. From the original rehab center and worshipping fellowship (aka church), there was a recognized need to have children of all ages. We are staying adjacent to Stars for Jesus. We drive each day to Morning Star which is something like a 20-40 minute drive.....
Oh yes, enough description. We spent the day visiting the home and planned out our first workday. The plans include building a water tank stand(to hold 20,000 pounds or more of water), a swing set, an electric transformer box, and the roof on Reah's new home. We look forward to getting started in the morning.
Kenya is beautiful. The people, the children, the landscape- everything is so beautiful.
----
Monday
We slept in just a little but today. We departed for the worksite at 0900. Prior to leaving our residence, we spent time dwelling in the word. I was not sure which text we would use, but thanks to Ken Carlson he directed us to John 6. We are reading the feeding of the five thousand each day this week, and what a blessing the first day was. You can imagine how we are seeing this miracle enacted at the kids home. One quick story: Morning Star home has very little funds for food, let alone transportation to go and pick it up. BMS has developed several relationships in Nairobi to assist them in providing food. Each Wednesday Francis or Duncan travel to Nairobi's airport to pick up food that is donated to them from airport leftovers. Often there is very little gas in the van to make the trip, but each week they make it there and back. Francis said the "e" on the gas tank is not for empty but for enough. Indeed, God gives us enough. Amen.
Yes, the ten of us men are making ALL of our own meals. We had cereal and eggs for breakfast; we made PB&J or meat sandwhiches for lunch, and we are going all out gourmet for dinner. Gunnar made macaroni and cheese tonight. He brought Spartan brand M&C to which we complimented it with sausages and toast. We made 8 boxes of M&C and devoured it. We shared some with Doug, our kitchen boss, and he did not even taste it (maybe he though that anything that goes from powder to creamy cheese ORANGE that quickly is barely food. He politely smiled and received the bowl.... The other 10 guys loved it. No leftovers!
One note: Traveling in Kenya is quite interesting. The road is there when available, but in a traffic jam, the shoulder seems to be the more preferred method. Traveling here makes us nervous, but we are definitely living what it means to say, "by faith". We were driving to Stars on Sunday and watch three or four large buses maneuver the shoulder banks, both down and back up again. We were for certain that two of them were going to tip over right in front of us. The road was similar in traffic to a chicago street.... and by the way, the reason for going around the street and onto the shoulder was because of the goats in the middle of the jammed roadway.... seriously (pictures to follow).
---
Tuesday
I like making mistakes. It is good for us. However, sometime the audience for which the mistake was made can determine the "good" within. This group is full of laughter and hilarity, as well as depth and understanding. In the face of mistakes, however, the road back to equilibrium can be longer than one would like.
Today we did not sleep in. Bob and I were supposed to make breakfast, which included waking up at 6 am. The other men were to arise at 6:30, eat at 7:00, Dwelling in the Word, and depart for work at 8:00 am. This sounds like a good morning schedule. I set my alarm last night for 6:00. My traveling alarm clock comfortably woke me from my slumber. (seriously, Lindsay - no snooze!) I began working with Doug (a helper at Stars for Jesus) and Bob to prepare breakfast for the men. at 6:30, I let the men know that it was time to wake up. Slowly but surely half of the men arose into the dark of morning. At 6:45 I asked Bob what time it was and he said, ...... (wait for it)...... 5:45. Oops. I had my travel clock set to Athens time and not Nairobi time..... I say no more.
Today the Kenyan men asked to join us for devotions. They asked us! We read the Feeding of the 5000 together. Their response was wonderful. Together, the Scriptures came alive in an encouraging manner. We shared stories about living "by faith." We, HCC folks, were so impressed by the Kenyans faith - they do not wait for miracles they participate in them daily. They, the Kenyans, were impressed at our ability to give up time and energy to travel all this way and share in the work with them. They mentioned how impressive our unity and teamwork is considering the large tasks in front of us (this received major laughter from our men).
Work Report: We worked in two groups. The first group constructed the house trusses (roof supports). This took significant time, but by days end, they not only finished building 8 trusses but also putting them up on the roof (I will not name those who were on the roof). The other team, led by Bill Deetjen constructed an electrical box (which 4 Kenyan men relieved us from and did a much better and more efficient job); began the watertank support system; and a rustic swingset. All-in-all this was an exhilirating day! Much was accomplished.
Meal Report: Dean prepared his inaugural dish, "Doug's Hacienda Chili." You can see it listed on the menu at hacienda.com. It consisted of beans, meat, garlic powder, 1 cup salt, pepper, 4 cups of chili pepper, carrots, onions, cilantro, and another cup of chili powder. We let that simmer for one hour, and I-kid-you-not that it was some of the best chili ever. We shared it with our five additional guests, including Doug. We cleared a 5 gallon bucket of this stuff. Incredible. Just enough spice, enough beans, and enough love.
While Dean was crafting the chili, Bekah (Reah's sister who was at HCC last summer and is currently 10.5 months pregnant and having contractions.....) was crafting the finest fried-corn-bread. She made enough corn bread for each of us to have 4-5 4 inch pieces each. This meal should be featured somewhere....... Thanks for a great meal!
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