We have this treasure in jars of clay...

Habari friends and family!!

First I must apologize for the week of silence…our schedule has been so busy here and we are only supposed to use the internet (if it is working, that is) once a week. But everything is going well and we are healthy (for the most part…read on) and about half way through our time in Kenya! I can’t believe that time is escaping us at such a rate!

We have done so many things since I last posted…let me give you a synopsis! We were the main speakers at a church service in the slums of Korogocho last Sunday! Korogocho roughly translated means “place of broken things”…we hope and pray that it can be seen as a place of hope soon. Darnell read her testimony and I gave the message! WOAH! We decided to as a team to talk about faith and the hope that we have in eternal life…free from suffering, sickness, despair, and anything else that cripples the heart and saddens the spirit. The “sermon” lasted for about half and hour…that is the longest I have ever talked in front of a group of people, it was quite an experience! And the whole service was caught on video, thanks to the Global Project film crew, Daniel Barrassa and Jacktone (one of our Kenyan team mates). They are traveling to almost all of the assignment locations to capture footage of our time in Kenya…what a blessing! We will have a visual to share with everyone when we get home, and a wonderful way to remember and relive our time here. Keep them in your prayers; traveling in Kenya is often a hair-raising experience, haha!

We have been doing some home to home visits around the slums as well. We were invited warmly in by everyone and offered copious amounts of chai tea (a very Kenyan way of welcoming guests.) We listened to many heartbreaking stories and offered the hope of Jesus with them, praying and sharing from scripture and our own lives. At the end of those days, Darnell and I just had to go back to our rooms and sit with their sorrow for a little bit, and then ask to be filled with joy and renewal again. I have confirmed that fact that God has given me an extremely sensitive heart, and I have a hard time letting other people’s painful stories roll of my back. Every person, and every single moment of every person's life matters to God. People, no matter who they are, should matter to us, why don’t we value human life more?

This is a question that I have been wrestling with…I have been learning a lot about “God’s Economy.” What is one person worth? What is bringing the hope of a loving and lasting Father worth…even if it only reaches one person? Brian Lee wisely expounded on this notion. In the book of Luke we hear the story of the storm that Jesus and the disciples faced on the water. Death was near, everyone’s life was a stake, but Jesus calms the storm. The reach the other side safely, and what do they find…a demon-possessed man who has been shunned to the caves by the water’s edge. Jesus drives out the demons from the man into a herd of pigs, who in turn drown themselves in the water. Livestock was everything to people back then…their prime source of income, those pigs would be worth thousands of dollars today. Jesus then instructs the man to tell people what happened to him and promptly gets back in the boat and sails away. Why didn’t Jesus stay to do more, what does that say about the worth of ONE man? That man was worth everyone on the boat dieing just to reach him, thousands of dollars worth of livestock to save him, and so much more… “God Economy.” It is so opposite of how we think. We want the most bang for our buck…we want to stretch our time, money and resources out as far as they can go. What is spreading hope, justice, and life worth to you? This is such a new concept for me, how amazing and backwards is our God?!

On Monday we went to the largest slum in Kenya, and the second largest slum in Africa…Kibera. It was so immense, over 600,000 people crammed into hilly expanse of eroded land. We had a few bumpy “matatu” rides and some walking to get there…definitely on the “other side of the tracks” from Nairobi proper. With two guides/protectors/translators, Isaac and Henry, leading the way we made our way deep into the slum. First try to image garbage on a hot day, then couple that with the body odor from a few thousand people, toss in the smell of porta-potties gone horribly wrong and you have the air of Kibera. Oh and I forgot the copious amount of diesel exhaust in the darkening the air and charcoal fires! Brian Lee put it best when he was trying to explain how wrong that kind of living situation is…no child should have to grow up thinking the world smells like that. Amen. We hiked up a steep, well worn path, over a rickety bridge and wove in and around some dwellings to get to a Tumaini (the ministry our host father helped start) school on a hill. 70 kids ran out to greet us, touch our skin, and drag us around by the hand to play with them. Enough to squeeze anyone’s heart! We sang songs, played games and then met with the pastor/principal there. He said their biggest struggle was not having the funds to install running clean water or start a lunch program. The children have to go home at mid day because the school can’t feed them…and often times neither can their families at home. Oh man. We then ventured to the next Tumaini school, about 15 minutes away. This one was attached to a small clinic and had absolutely no room to play or run. The 30 kids there squeezed in to greet us and stroke our “weird” hair…haha. Basically the same as the other school…no water, no food for the kids. We were starting to feel a might bit dejected by then. After hugging all the kids we could, we started the long sweaty hike out of the slums. Dar and I held all those people in our hearts, we began to pray for them as we walked.

Tuesday is Korogocho clinic day! Hooray! Korogocho actually is home to a very nice (by slum standards) small clinic that has a maternity ward and a tiny pharmacy. Mom you would have been so proud, for a day I was a pharmacist!!! Be sure to tell Pam and Melissa!! We worked with Grace, the VERY sassy head of the clinic all day. She is such a joy, a hilarious lady who loves the Lord and singing! The clinic offers VERY affordable healthcare to slum residents…just to give you an idea of the affordability listen to this. Having a baby there costs 500 Kenyan shillings which is equivalent to about $6.50!!! WOW. We didn’t have any women in labor that day, but the clinic has delivered hundreds of babies. Grace assured us that next time there would be a baby and that WE would help deliver it!!!!! Missionaries and midwives…what a sense of humor God has. Let’s just hope that I don’t pass out when the time comes, I’m a big baby (haha) when it comes to that stuff!

Wednesday we traveled with our host Mama back into Nairobi to visit Amani Ya Juu again. What an oasis, what a breath of fresh air! The refugee women were hard at work again that day, singing and making beautiful items to sell. We got there early enough to share morning prayer with them, it was so amazing. Imagine over 15 women from broken horrible pasts in different lands coming together in hope and joy singing praises together. I brought my recorder and captured some of their songs. I will find a way to share them when I get back. Dar and I helped iron lots of beautiful material for the women so that it could be more easily cut. We shared lunch of ugali and cabbage/onion stew with them before heading out. It was a wonderful low key day for us.

Later that evening brought some woes to our team. Darnell started having some pretty severe stomach pains stemming from previous health problems. We made arrangements to go to the hospital in the morning. Today as I write this we have just gotten back from 5 hours in Nairobi hospital…whew! Darnell got an x-ray and some treatment and is on the mend. Please keep her in constant prayer, she is such a strong lady but I’ve been telling her that she needs to take it easy for a bit and try not to be SO strong all the time. Might I add that how affordable the whole day was too? Several doctor consultations, x-ray, and treatment all added up to just under $60. WOW, oh Kenya!

Darnell is taking some much needed rest and I am going to go help make dinner with Mama…she always has something good cooking! This morning her daughter Rosie taught me how to make delicious chapatti (like flakey tortillas) before we headed to the hospital. YUM!

Keep us in your prayers, we have a little less than 2 weeks left here in Korogocho. Know that God is teaching us and stretching us and blessing us. Also pray for the other teams, they are all over Kenya facing challenges and meeting God in new ways…how amazing! Know that I miss all of you and send my love from Africa!

-Bess

"Tag the white ladies!!!"

We are still alive, don't worry :)

Well I am here and settled in Korogocho! We are living in a half finished compound with Pastor Alfred Wetindi and his AMAZING wife Elica. They both have giant smiles that could melt stone! They have two grown kids who are visiting for about a week, Rosemary and Daniel. Darnell and I feel very safe here especially at night seeing as Pastor makes us lock ourselves behind THREE doors! Haha! There are bars on all the windows because, poverty and crime are close friends. But none the less we are loving it here. The compound is home to a very small church, a tiny clinic/pharmacy with a VERY enthusiastic staff (or informed us that we may be called on to assist with a live birth one of these days...oh my goodness!!), the Wetindi family, and several of the rehabilitated young men on their way to being pastors. One of them always serves as our guide/escort/body guard whenever we leave the compound, so we are feeling very safe. They are all very nice and repectful, quite a contrast from some of the men we have encountered in the slums. I must add that we haven't run across an outrightly mean Kenyan yet, they are all very friendly and welcoming, asking us all sorts of questions!

Kids love us too, it is pretty hilarious actually. First they will scream, then laugh, then run up to us and take our hands and jabber on in Swahili. You sort of feel like a celebrity here, EVERYONE stares! Since everyone is looking, we try to always shine with the love and hope of Jesus. The only english the little ones know is "How are you?" but is actually sounds more like "Ha Ha You?" So whenever we hear that coming out of dark shops or shacks we know we've been spotted...haha not that we are hard to miss!

We have been eating very well out here. Their main staples are ugali (tasteless mashed potato like white mounds that can be molded in your hands and also used as a spoon). sukomoeekee (shredded cooked kale with onion), chapati (handmade tortillas) and some sort of meat soup. We have also be enjoying DELICIOUS mangos and avacodos...yum! They serve us HEAPS of food, so Darnell and I are glad that we have lots of opportunities to walk during the day. Refusing food is VERY disrespectful in this culture, so Darnell and I are doing our best to keep on swallowing!

Yesterday we went to a near-by part of the slum, about a twenty minute walk on the red African dirt. We passed a by a wild banana grove growing next to the VERY polluted Nairobi River...yum. We visited a primary school and were enthusiastically greeted by about 30 six year olds. We played an action packed game called "Chase/Attack the Mzungu (white lady)" haha! We also practiced counting and doing our ABCs and sang many songs. Next we met up with four other young Kenyans and went out in teams of 3 to visit homes in the slum and tell them about Jesus. It was so scary at first, but so great at the same time! Two girls that we talked to said that they wanted to be born again, WOW!

In the afternoon we visited TULIP, a small Christian girls high school that is part of Pastor Wetindi's ministry called Tumaini (this also includes about 10 churches, lots of pastors, the clinic and much more!) The school is for at risk teen girls who come from very bad home situations. The zealous pastor there, Michael, shared how much he has seen these girls transform and begin to hope again. They greeted us with about 20 minutes of worship! It was just what my heart needed...just to be filled with joy and hope after a long day. We then read some scripture with them, and I gave an abbreviated testimony. They all greeted and hugged us afterward, giant smiles and bright eyes. We will return there once a week during our time here to fellowship and share with them. I know I will miss those girls when we have to leave!

Today we had our first "matatu" ride. How can I describe it...tiny van crammed with as many people as possible and sometimes chickens, a bag of potatos or the odd piece of luggage. They have boisterous conductors who usher people on and off the van while hanging wildly out the door, almost getting peeled off by other drivers! It was a thrill that I'm not sure I want to repeat soon...but while in Kenya!

We spent the day at Amani A Juu, a non-profit that our "Mama" volunteers at several times a week. It partners with refugee women from all over Africa, giving them a place to heal and learn to find hope again. They all work on garmets, bags and jewelry together and all the profits go back to them. It is the most beautiful place, a wonderful little oasis away from the slums...full of flowers, trees and shade. We loved it! The women were amazing, and so full of joy after losing so much!

What an inspiration those ladies were. Tomorrow Dar and I will partner with the youth groups from 2 Tumaini churches in the slum and go home to home again sharing the hope we have found in Christ. Pray for strength and abounding joy. It is hard to live each day among such heartbreaking poverty...but our treasure is surely in heaven, not on this earth.

Until next time...

Kwheri,

Bess

"Slumdog Mission-airs!!"

Habari family and friends!

So much has happened since my last post! Each day is SO packed here in Kenya! We have been travelling all around the area from the city of Nairobi to "up-country" (the rural areas) for church and to visit a children's home. I have been bonding with my team mates, diving into scripture and preparing my heart for my upcoming three week assignment with a partner. Yesterday, excitement ran high as Brian Lee revealed where we would be going! Places ranged from the city to the country side, to the shores of Lake Victoria. Everyone had their own expectations, including me...but just when you think you have it figured out, Jesus has his own MARVELOUS plan!

My jaw dropped and WOW, I was totally shocked about mine! I was assigned to the slums of Korogochowith my previously mentioned friend, Darnell. Didn't expect that one at all!! First of all because Darnell and I get along SO well, we figured we would be partnered with someone with a different personality in order to be stretched and learn how to relate. Secondly I came to realize that I had an embedded expectation of going "up-country" (to a rural area) as the Kenyans say and squishing dinner-plate sized spiders! I had heard so many stories from my best friend Maureen Leonard about her time in the countryside, that I subconsciously figured that I would be in a similar situation with somebody random. Darnell and I were the last pair to be assigned, and the shock and excitement was mutual.

Korogocho is one of the major slums hugging the edge of Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. It is home to over 200,000 people living in extremely substandard conditions. It is known also for the huge amount of trash and rubbish everywhere and namely its giant trash dump in the center of the slum ...the source of many diseases. We will be staying with Pastor Alfred and his wife Elica in their compound in Korogocho. We will be working with young men rehabilitated from slum life and in the process of pursuing lives as pastors. We will also partner with refugee women who are learning to support themselves by making jewelry and bags among other things. The church is also attached to a small clinic where we will help out. I have heard that there is a chance of working with primary school students, and at risk teenage girls from the slum. Darnell and I will also fill in as guest pastors for the three Sundays we are here at several churches in the slums! We will be preacher women...I'm so excited! I will know more details soon, seeing as I will be there with Dar tomorrow! Slum ministry...who would have thought!

I am scared, excited, still shocked, nervous, expectant, and so anxious to see how God will choose to use me and work in me! Pray that God will turn my fear into faith and that I will be able to boldly share about the hope that God has offered me, and extends to everyone...the world over.

Can you believe it?! I'm still reeling, but with a giant smile on my face. I'm soaking in the fresh air and greenery in the hills right now, because there will be a SERIOUS lack of it where I'm going. Pray for strength and a well-spring of renewing life within me! Just that one day in Mathare Valley left me drained...I need the strength and compassion of the Lord!

I will have twice weekly internet access and here is the address of where you can send me an actual letter...

Kenya Global Project
Bess Brownlee
P.O. Box 781
Ruaraka 00681
Kenya, AFRICA


Talk to you all soon!

Bess

Kenya, oh Kenya!

Habari friends and family!!

I am alive and well and in KENYA! Firstly Bwana asefiwa!! Jesus is Lord, asefiwe amen! Right now I am in Nairobi, the capital doing a day in the city with the Global Project 2009 team. It feels like I have been here for weeks, yet time is flying by....WEIRD, it is the Africa time warp!

I guess I should tell you where we have been staying! It is a beautiful worship retreat in the highland hills out side of Nairobi called Watakatifu Wote Senta. There are flowers and greenery everywhere. There are small simple dorms which we share with one other person, with beds and mosquito nets...let me tell you, those things take a little practice to get right. I spent about half an hour sewing up rips in it and trying to tuck it in well around my bed, haha...mambo sawa sawa (everything is ok!) I have become an expert at "bucket showering" haha! Kenya is experiencing a drought right now, so we are doing all we can to conserve water. We get up at 7:15 for Morning Glory, we hear a word from one of the students (I was the first to volunteer to go...I have no idea what got into me :) I read 1 John 3:16-18, which Mo had given to me in a letter...perfect timing by the way for that verse...read on.) We then have breakfast and head out for the day's activities around 9am, return home for dinner around 6pm, talk together about the day in small groups, and then have acoustic worship lead by Americans and Kenyans together with much dancing! I love it here, it is so different, but it makes me feel alive! Africa!

The Global Project team, headed by Brian and Debbie Lee of Missoula, MT (i LOVE them!!) is amazing. Students from all over the US, and 5 Kenyan students as well. I have found a kindred spirit in my room mate for the first part of the trip...Darnell. She is from Tennessee, and has the sass to prove it! She is HILARIOUS and has an amazing heart for Jesus. She encourages me, laughs with me and prays with me. How she and the others are blessing my time here, without a doubt!

God is teaching me so many things and it is so easy to learn because I am in a new place with nothing familiar but the love of Jesus. The food is new, but delicious! Lots of carbs...but it is ok, because we walk A LOT. All the water has to be boiled, and I haven't felt the slightest bit sick yet, thank Jesus!

We have done so many things it is hard to describe them all in detail. Our time yesterday was the most indescribable so far...but I will do my best.

We visited one of the largest slums in Kenya yesterday Mathare Valley, it is hard not to cry again when I think about it. We bused into the slums, about an hour from WW in the hills. It was hot, and jam packed with people! We met up with Pastor and Mama (all older women are called Mama here) Karow at their church in Mathare. We took a prayer walk for about an hour through it, greeting all the people and high-fiving all the filthy/adorable kids. We visited the tiny, dark, reeking home of Mama John, a woman living with HIV. She warmly invited us in to her pitch black house, made out of tin sheets and plastic sacks...lit with one kerosene lamp. She told us of her love for the Lord and her joy in his promise of eternal heaven.

Mathare is home to over 600,000 people in a few square miles, open sewage flowing down the trash filled roads. Brian Lee talked to us afterward when we were feeling overwhelmed and dejected by the immensity of injustice. He reminded us that every person matters, we shouldn't try to fix the whole thing, it is impossible...but our culture is so "fix it" driven. We need to step back and look at God's heart for the people. Meeting each persons needs, first with Jesus, then with the basics. Little by little, inch by inch, hope and love will spread. Only through the love of Jesus is this possible! Pray for Mathare Valley! Do not forget the least of these, do not turn your back away from injustice, meet it head-on with the hope of God, and a compassionate heart!

We then went to the children's home, Sanctuary of Hope, that Debbie Lee helped to start and visited with Pastor and Mama Karow. The Karow's lead a church/school/day care/and clinic in Mathare Valley Slum, and head Sanctuary of Hope (one and two). We met the kids and they sang some really great songs for us and played with us. All of these children were orphans taken out of Mathare Valley as toddlers. What a great work the Karows are doing! Keep them in your prayers!


We have about a week left at WW...then off to 3 week assignments! I have no idea where I could be sent! It could be anywhere from the city to the country...I like the excitement of the unknown...which is basically every day out here :)

This may be my only update for a few weeks...we learned we may not have access to internet or phones, depending on where we are sent! But you never know! So I wanted to make it a long one, so you can savor it! We have had literally no access to any technology...which I like...we are such slaves to it in the US! Try turning off your cell phone today and take a walk out side or hand write a letter...it will free you!

Know that Jesus is blessing me and keeping me safe, healthy and teaching me SO many things. He is doing a good work in all of us, thank you Jesus! I am well fed, well rested (under mosquito nets...hehe, they are fun!) and well loved by a mighty Father.

Continue to pray for the team and I, the power of pray is HUGE and so essential to our relationship with God. Look for his blessings in all aspects of your life...maybe just the fact that you don't have to boil your water before you drink it, or that you have shoes on your feet! I am thinking of all of you, and miss you all dearly!

Many blessings and love from Kenya,

Bess

There is no I in Team!

Hello family and friends!

I have been in NYC for the last two days, exploring the city with my wonderful uncle Brian Brownlee. We have had a marvelous time, and he hasn't let me pay for anything, stinker! I love you uncle B, and yes, I will try NOT to get malaria :)

Today I meet the rest of the Kenya global project team in Queens for a little orientation and then on Sunday we fly out! First to Brussels, Belgium, then on to Nairobi, Kenya...AFRICA!

Everything has been running so smoothly, it can only be God at work, His plan & timing are perfect...I need to remember that everyday. Please continue to pray, Jesus is listening and loves when we talk to Him honestly with the true desires/worries/joys of our hearts.

Love you all, and I can't say thank you enough! THANK YOU for all your support!

Blessings,

Bess

Up & Away!

I can't believe it is TIME!

Tomorrow I will fly to New York City, holy-moley! I will spend an evening and a full day on Friday with my uncle Brian Brownlee exploring the city (I've never been there before!) and then meet up with the rest of the Kenya team on Saturday!

I can't wait to meet the whole group and start getting to know the people I will share the next 7 weeks with! They are coming from InterVarsity chapters all over the country. We will also be joined by several Kenyan IV students once we touch down in Africa.

The months leading up to now have been so filled with love and support, and I have all of you to thank for that. God also used it as an opportunity to show me that He can do amazing things if I will let him. How else could I raise over $4800 in three months? No other way.

Continue to be in prayer, the power of prayer is HUGE!

Blessings,

Bess