Monday, August 17, 2009

Saturday – Farewell, Kenya!

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnacrews1/Saturday2009AtTheNairobiGamePark

Last night four more team members from Lafayette, LA arrived to join our group. Our UK friends returned to London yesterday at the close of camp, but we’re happy to have more friends join us for the next week in Burundi. Early this morning the team went to the Nairobi Game Preserve. You never know which animals you will see; you can’t control the animals or orchestrate how they are in the wild, but we were blessed this morning with sightings of lions, a rhino, zebras, giraffes, and a wide variety of the local wildlife. Magnificent! The rare beauty of Kenya is hard to equal anywhere in the world! What a joy to experience the majesty of God’s creation!

We then went to one of the ministry centers in Kibera to visit with some of the kids who were with us at camp and to see how the local believers are reaching out to the destitute children of Kibera. We met up with Pastor Evans who oversees the Sacred Ministry center (one of 5 such centers now ministering in Kibera). Their meeting place is very, very small, but they have as many as 200 kids meeting in this shanty. The place was packed when we arrived, welcoming us with their usual vibrant singing. We had a time with Pastor Evans, who shared with us his vision for outreach in this community. We then had a time with the kids; they recited the memory verses from camp (great to see that they really learn them!), then, of course, many praise songs. As we sat among the crowd holding children in our laps, we sang, bounced, and again, just loved on these kids. We are so thankful for the volunteers who work with these 400+ children every Saturday! As they had their snack of porridge, we wove our way through the red dirt roads to visit in several homes. It is really hard to describe the area and the homes, but since Kibera is the largest slum in the world (1 million people in 600 acres), you can imagine the conditions, especially with very little power, no running water, sanitation, and services that we take for granted. To reach some of the “homes,” you have to make your way through extremely narrow pathways, through mud huts with tin roofs that wind precariously through the area. It is hard to even see anything when you enter these 10 by 10 huts that may house 10-12 people. If it is this dark during the day, imagine what it is like at night with no power. One house was home to an older women who is raising her grandson because her daughter had died; this is common, for grandparents to assume responsibility for grandchildren and others orphaned by AIDS. Unsafe, sparcely furnished, with unsanitary conditions, these people are doing the best they can with what they have, which is pitifully little. It is sobering to see these conditions, to picture the smiling faces we have come to love this week existing in these situations. But this is the reality of Kibera. We’re so thankful for what God is doing here, that we have the opportunity to partner with them in a small way, and realize that we must continue to pray for these children, their families, ministries, that the Lord will reign over Kibera.

It seems like we enter another world as we leave Kibera and drive a short distance into the center of Nairobi, which is a bustling, busy capital city. After lunch, we spent some time “encouraging the local economy” by visiting some shops to buy local handicrafts and souvenirs. We ended at the City Market, which is quite an experience with hawkers beckoning you into their kiosks, always with “best deal for you” enticements. Of course, bartering is the rule, so it isn’t quick shopping; you work for your purchases. After everyone had their fill of bargaining and/or exhausted their shillings, we returned to the guesthouse for our last night in Kenya.

We discovered today that Kenya Air’s flight attendants have now gone on strike; many flights are cancelled or greatly delayed. Reports were that it was mass chaos at the airport, with many frustrated, angry passengers who were now missing connections. We’ve been trying to get a clearer picture of what to expect in the morning; we have a flight to Burundi at 7:40 AM, but we will need to leave at 4:30 and see what the situation is when we get to the airport. We’re praying that the Lord will make a way for us to get to Burundi!! It will probably be chaotic tomorrow, but we are trusting in God’s working in this situation, and that He will get us to Bujumbura! As we learned this week, despite circumstances, God IS with us, and He will work through strikes, airport gridlock and provide a way to connect us with our ministry partners waiting for us in Burundi.

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