Monday, October 22, 2007

Hospital Hospitality

Hospitals in Kenya are interesting. Nairobi has some of Africa’s best hospitals, but appearances can be a little deceiving. For example, the “Emergency Room” here is called the “Casualty Department.” Also, hospital administrators often require patients to show a receipt before they can receive any drugs or injections. When I was most recently in the hospital, I had to have someone run back and forth to the front desk with cash for each lab test or every time the doctor wanted to administer medicine. . . In rural areas, hospitals are usually downright atrocious. It’s hard to imagine life in a community without a good hospital.

Malaria Strikes

Malaria is no fun. It gives you fevers and chills. Somehow it alters your sense of taste and balance, and it makes everything that is inside you decide to come out. . .and keep coming out. I’m in the final stages of recovering from “plasmodium falciparum with multiple bacterial infections.” The prayers and support of family and friends have really meant a lot. I was graciously hosted by Sam and Lynn Owen for much of my recovery and they’ve helped nourish me back to health. Also, Anne helped me out a lot with an emergency medicine run. Actually, the sickness has not been nearly as bad as it could have been. I’ve felt an unusual sense of peace and encouragement in the midst of it, and I really appreciate the love and care I’ve received. Continue to pray for energy and strength. I’m still really, really tired.

At the Kiosk



My local 7-11 is only four blocks away. Simon and his father, Nelson, run a kiosk on Sports Road. They have an aluminum stall and a small stand that sell all the essentials: fresh vegetables, bread, eggs, flour, milk, and sugar. Simon and Nelson have become good friends and I visit their shop almost every day. They’re open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Kisumu Ex Street Boys

Here’s me with Kisumu Ex Street Boy, Maxwell Omondi:



Maxwell is a delightfully honest and joyful young man who has been through a lot hardship. When I met him he only owned one t-shirt and a pair of shorts and sandals, and he slept at night in a canvas sack on the side of the road. Despite his struggles, Maxwell is an incredibly bright student and gifted singer. After meeting him, I felt a strong call to become more involved in his life. I currently help sponsor him to go to school, and he has joined a group called Kisumu Ex Street Boys. He lives with them and now attends the New Kisumu High School; he hopes to finish his courses next winter. . .Thanks to the donor who recently offered $50 to help Maxwell. This will provide a nice lunch for him for the next two months. Prior to that, he had been going to school without breakfast or lunch. Pray for him as he finishes the school year and tries to recover from typhoid.

Below, Lucy joins former street children for a photo. Twenty children and youth who used to stay on the streets now live in a home and receive care and counseling from Kisumu Ex Street Boys. Former street boy and founder Dancan Omondi continues to seek out and help street children as best he can. Many of the kids are able to find school sponsorships and receive desperately needed care.




Visiting Day

Visiting Day at St. Francis Boarding School in Rang’ala:






Jacinta is an avid singer and she and two of her classmates treated us to an impromptu concert:


Bandits, Breakdowns, and Bumpy Bus Rides

Recently I traveled from Nairobi to Ugunja, a small town in Western Kenya for a weekend. I went to visit Lucy’s sister, Jacinta (nicknamed Chi Chi) at her high school. While there we also spent time with some of Lucy’s relatives and visited with a ministry to former street children in Kisumu. It was a great trip, but a long journey. The bus ride to Ugunja is about 10 hours and covers some very bumpy and uncomfortable “roads.” One particularly rough stretch of “major highway” features more holes than a donut factory. At one point during the night our driver accelerated rapidly over a series of bumps. He had sped up to avoid a gang of rock throwing, machete-wielding bandits on the side of the road. Later, when we were in a passenger van, we received help from a friendly butcher after a mechanical break down in his small village. It was quite an adventure.

The Puppet Show


Everything has changed. . .since the arrival of the puppets. In August, several friends from TFC donated puppets to Light and Power. Since then we’ve seen a dramatic transformation take place. Attendance at our Saturday morning program has doubled to nearly 60 children each week. Dozens of children and their families stop by to watch the puppets and join in the fun.



Because of the puppets, people everywhere are spontaneously breaking into song and dance.















Since the puppets came, theft has ceased in Gatina and guys at the Centre volunteer for all kinds of helpful tasks. For example, Lenny and Eric recently volunteered to spend their holiday digging a giant ditch for the Centre’s trash.















We’ve even had two friends from the U.S. decide to come and volunteer. Margaret Bakke and Jonathan Howard joined in the fun of the puppets.

















Finally, the political landscape in Kenya has undergone a dramatic change since the arrival of the puppets. The incumbent president, who was once dominating the polls, now trails by nearly 15 points. . .Never underestimate the power of a puppet.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

What I've Been Doing

I have a new routine this year. I am no longer teaching classes at Akiba School. Instead, I’m spending time with a few other ministries. Most mornings I’m still in Gatina, meeting with the guys at Light and Power. While there, I lead devotions; mentor and counsel; and assist with business development. Currently we are in the process of developing a website, making new products such as gift boxes, trying to improve facilities, and expanding the Centre's market. From time to time I teach afternoon classes in statistical analysis and computer skills at Elishadai Computer College. The College has just opened a new campus in Western Kenya and we are hoping to continue to spread to reach more rural areas by partnering with local churches. Sometimes I also spend my afternoons working on video or communication projects for Church Army Africa or other local ministries. One day a week I travel outside Nairobi with Planting Faith Ministries. Planting Faith currently has four projects for rural development with farmers in various parts of Kenya. They set up coops with farmers and harvest passion fruit, onions, and cut flowers. I’m just starting, but my role is mainly to meet with small groups of farmers for Bible studies, discussions, and Christian discipleship. I’m still trying to take Swahili classes, but I must admit that my language skills are lacking. It’s a challenge trying to be disciplined and it seems there is always a lot to distract me. One thing I’ve discovered recently, is the joy of house help. I now have someone from Gatina who helps me one day a week so I don’t have to frustrate myself hand-washing clothes and trying to keep things clean amidst the dust of Nairobi and the mud of the slums.

A Library in Gatina

Many thanks to everyone who donated books to Light and Power Centre. We now have a fully functional library with over seventy books. The guys here are very excited about the books and are reading regularly. Two of them plan to start high school in January and have pledged to read a book a week to prepare. We're hoping the library can continue to grow in the future. Having a variety of books really opens up the world to slum dwellers and enables great opportunities for education and growth.

Dreams from the Slum

Recently, I started meeting with each of the 11 guys at Light and Power to talk, pray, and plan about their dreams and goals for the future. Here are some of the dreams they feel called to pursue:

Study and Train to Be an Auto Mechanic
Go to High School
Develop a Music/Dance/Creative Arts Centre in the Slum to Help Youth
Attend University and Open My Own Business
Continue My Education and Become a Lawyer
Use Football to Minister to Idle Youth in the Slums
Attend Driving School and Become a Driver
Have a Close Family and Be a Good Father in the Future

Considering their current circumstances, these are big dreams. We are praying and trusting God to continue to guide each of their steps, provide for their needs, and lead them into His will.

I have no name – Adventures at Nyayo House

During the former President Moi’s regime, Nyayo House was rumored to be a torture center for dissidents. At the present time, this large office building in Central Nairobi houses the Kenyan Immigration Office as well as other resident registration offices. Some would argue, it is still a center for government-sponsored torture. I’ve spent quite a number of days there; waiting in line and filling out forms, and as far as I can tell, the system there is like a bad a DMV on crack.

For example, during December of 2006, Amber, Anne and I applied for Resident Alien Identity Cards and Work Permits. After waiting in multiple lines to fill out a plethora of paperwork, we were told to come back in five weeks to pick up our identity cards, which would be valid for a period of three months. Six weeks later, the cards still were not ready. Two months later the cards still were not ready. After checking the status of the cards again, I was told not to bother because by the time my card would be issued it would already have expired. As of October, 2007, my identity card is still not ready and it would have expired in March 2006.

Yesterday, however, I did manage to acquire my long-awaited work permit. After eleven months, the paper work was finally completed and I was told that I could come to Nyayo House to collect the permit. I entered the building and waited in Line Number 9 for permit inquiries. As I approached the front of the line, however, the registration officer decided to take a break for tea. The line waited for another twenty minutes without moving until he returned. Upon reaching the front of the line, I was told to go down the hallway to Room 16. After waiting in line there and explaining that I had come to collect my permit, I was then sent up five flights of stairs to Room 5-31. The government employee there, however, was not happy to see me and didn’t want to be disturbed. He sent me back down the stairs to Room 16. I waited in line again. The employees in Room 16 were confused and questioned me as to why I decided to return. When I explained the situation, they told me I had to go back upstairs to Room 5-31; the man there was the only one who would be able to help me. After climbing the stairs again I was feeling quite tired and frustrated, but again the man in Room 5-31 told me he didn’t like something with my paper work and I would have to go back and wait outside of Room 16. I complained that he was just running me in circles, and asked for his name and title so I could file a formal complaint. The man refused to tell me his name. Upon further questioning he told me, and I quote: “I have no name, go back to Room 16.”

I was in no mood to go back downstairs, however, and as our argument continued, I was eventually sent to “the man with no name’s” supervisor. The supervisor was called J. Ngari and unfortunately he proved to be just as unpleasant as “the man with no name.” J. Ngari told me I would have to go back to Room 16 and wait, then I could return to the “man with no name”, then I would have to go back again to Room 16 and my paper might be ready by then. I suggested he place a simple phone call to Room 16 to resolve the issue; that way we could all save time and I could avoid another 15 flights of stairs and multiple lines. Plus it was almost time for their lunch break, and if I didn’t get the permit soon, I would have to wait outside the building for another two hours and then start all over again. I even offered J. Ngari my cell phone to make the call to Room 16. After much persuasion, he reluctantly placed the phone call and told the woman there KiSwahili: “go ahead and give it to him.” The permit had been sitting neatly on her desk the whole time. My friends told me later that J. Ngari, “the man with no name”, and “Room 16 woman” were all looking for bribes. I had just thought they were being really annoying.

Rooming with Peter

Lately I’ve been rooming with a friend, Peter Abiya. Peter and I work together at Light and Power, and when we’re home we take turns cooking American or Kenyan food. Peter joined us as a mentor at Light and Power several months ago. Prior to that he worked with ministries to street children in war torn areas of Northern Uganda and Sudan. He has some amazing stories and has an incredible heart for mentoring and discipling young people in Christ. Unfortunately he’s moving to another part of town soon, but it’s been fun having him here for a while.

The Dismissal


Recently I had the sad duty of dismissing one of the guys from Light and Power Centre. This was the second time for me. It’s one of the hardest parts of working with this ministry; for every success story there’s also guys who just have to be turned away. Mike is a former street kid who has been involved with Light and Power for over ten years and been one of our key leaders during the past year. He loves playing soccer, has strong gifts of leadership, and likes to joke and sing loudly. Unfortunately, he’s also developed bad habits of theft, deception, and abuse. He’s been misleading many of the younger boys at the Centre and has recently hurt its reputation in the community. After a lot of difficult drama we realized that for the benefit of the Centre, Mike needed to be dismissed. Please pray for him as he tries to move on. Pray for his young daughter and orphaned nieces and nephews who stay with him. Pray also for us as we begin a new chapter at Light and Power. We are hopeful that this change will really help the other guys and allow opportunities for growth.

Church Army at Mount Kenya


Here’s a photo and some short clips of Lucy’s journey to the summit of Mount Kenya. The peak is one of the highest in Africa and is a challenging five-day hike to 5,000m. Their office at Church Army Africa used the hiking trip as a team-building experience and as a way to raise funds to purchase desks for children at one of their schools.




I’ve been working on several projects with Church Army and am excited about what they do throughout East Africa. Check out the video I’ve been working on for them: