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