Kenya 2013 - Day 5

I've already shared about our first two days with Missions of Hope International (MOHI), but I didn't share about their secondary education programs. Most of the centers in Nairobi go through grade 6 and then students may attend MOHI's boarding schools. We had the chance to visit the girl's boarding school in Joska.

While we were there we toured their facility that was complete with dormitories, classrooms, a medical clinic, green houses, fish ponds and a multipurpose building currently being constructed.

Calling the fish so we could feed them.

How would you like to work on this scaffolding?

Our team paused for a picture in one of the dorms.

The school's kitchen where the cook is preparing lunch.

MOHI also started a primary school for the local children.  Before lunch we had the opportunity to play Frisbee and soccer with some of the kids. 

The boys loved playing Frisbee.

The girls weren't quite sure what to think about Frisbee but they were very excited about the camera.

The Joska school was probably my favorite center we visited. The girls are such great students with huge dreams of changing the world and you know that makes me excited. The faculty and staff were incredible and loved their jobs. It was a great blessing to spend the day with them.

Kenya 2013 - Days 3-4

Day 3 can be an interesting day. You've either overcome the jet lag or you are suffering with the worst of it. We had a little of both on our team but we were all excited to begin our time with Missions of Hope International (MOHI), a ministry bringing shalom and hope to the slums of Nairobi located in the Mathare Valley. MOHI opens schools, plants churches and provides Community Health Education/Evangelism (CHE) and has been incredibly effective in transforming communities by empowering people of the community. CHE is a method used to help communities identify and meet their greatest needs such as clean water, toilet blocks, job training, and micro-finance programs.  We spent our time with them visiting schools, visiting homes and praying with people.

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what each community looks like.

The children would come running when they saw us and yell, "How are you! How are you! How are you!" No, that isn't a question. It is what they call Americans because they hear us say it when we greet one another. They would grab our hands and walk with us.

We had the chance to do some home visits and pray with people.

We visited several classes and heard students recite Scripture and sing songs. We answered lots of questions about ourselves so students could practice their English. Of course we also found time to play with some of the students who were taking a break from their studies.

Break time at the Area 4 Center

Sharing with a fifth grade class

Hanging out after school at the Pangani Center

Kenya 2013 - Day 2

Day 2 was the day that I was the most anxious about going into this adventure. We spent the day at an orphanage in Nairobi that provides a home, love, and care to children especially those who are infected with HIV/AIDS. I am not a baby person and lots of little children at one time can make me nervous. (There is a reason I taught middle school and high school students!) Despite all those nerves, our team is committed to community and they were incredibly encouraging to me as they knew I was going to be stretched this day.

We spent the morning learning about the ministry and the influence the home is having, not just Nairobi but around the world as they are helping families adopt these beautiful children. Then we were able to head outside for playtime in the yard. As you can see, others on our team aren't like me. They love the little ones...

...and really I did too!

Teaching this beautiful girl how to use a camera.

Lunch time

Lunch time went pretty well. Dinner time, not so much. The first boy I tried to feed kicked his bowl off the chair. The next girl just screamed the entire time I tried to feed her. Finally I was handed another little girl who loves to eat. I'm glad all of that added some entertainment for the rest of our team.

I'm sure you aren't suppose to have favorites, but this little girl was mine. She was a very sick little girl so I got to spent some time holding her before I prayed with her and put her to bed.

Despite my nerves, it was a good day and I made some new friends who I got to play ball with all afternoon.

These two taught me a good lessons as I sat and did the same things over and over again for what seemed like hours. It wasn't even a full hour of "1, 2, 3" throw the ball or "1, 2, 3" bounce the ball but their reaction was the same every time, until Bill tried to catch it on camera. They laughed and laughed and each time their smile got bigger and bigger. It was pure joy to them and very repetitive to me. It never got old to them. They knew what was coming and yet they still were excited.

It reminded me of how I react when I see God move. God is constantly working all around us. We see it over and over again and yet I seem so surprised when he does. I shouldn't be surprised when he does, but I am. I'm excited about it...until I see someone watching. Then I have the crazy idea that I should hide my excitement and awe for fear of what others may think. It makes me wonder how much I'm missing because I'm more afraid of other people's responses than I am willing to just bask in God's goodness.

It was a good challenge for day 2, to keep my eyes open for God moving during our trip and celebrate each moment with great joy.

New Ministry Adventures

Praying on CLU's campus with CCTO members

I first stepped foot on California Lutheran University's (CLU) campus and met the
people of the Christian Church in Thousand Oaks (CCTO) during our annual All-Staff
Conference in January and it didn't take long to see the need and potential for
campus ministry. CCTO has a great passion to minister to the students at CLU and
other California campuses. In the weeks following that conference, my desire to
see the Spirit of God move in the lives of college students began to grow even
deeper as I thought about the lives that have been changed in South Bend. As I began
to pray diligently for the CLU community and CCTO, God began to instill in me another
desire, to go and serve that community.

Recently, Impact Campus Ministries' Development Team asked me to move into the new
role of Lead Campus Minister for our new ministry at CLU in Thousand Oaks, CA. I
was truly humbled by this request and have accepted a six-month commitment to help
plant the new ministry at CLU, with the potential of the commitment becoming long
term. I'll be moving to Thousand Oaks in late August and begin the new position
on September 1st.

While I will greatly miss Impact South Bend and my St. Mary's ladies, I am really
looking forward to this next step in ministry. The CCTO members and staff have already
welcomed me with open arms by leading the search for a room to rent, providing multiple
resources for the ministry, spending lots of time in prayer, and serving as volunteers
in the new ministry. It is an honor to welcome them to my support team and it is
my hope and prayer that you will continue to partner with me as we Impact the U(niversity).
Impact the World.

Kenya 2013 - Travel Days and Day 1

I know you may be thinking, "Why has skoutz waited so long to post about her trip to Kenya?" I would do the same if the rolls were reversed. I apologize for the delay as I've slowly tried to find the right words to describe the trip.

Our seven member team consisted of Impact staff, interns, students and friends. There could not have been a more perfect team for this pilot trip. The diversity of the group brought incredible perspective to developing the program and the shared commitment to Impact's mission and vision brought and incredibly sense of unity from the very beginning. We had a few Skype calls before the trip, but we met face-to-face for the first time in the Amsterdam airport.

Can you tell how tired we are? One more 8 hour flight to go!

We all arrived in Nairobi safely and got settled into what all of us girls called "our new home" at the Mennonite Guest House. We took time to get settled, find some food and rest as we tried to fight jet lag. The next morning we started with a quick briefing of the day and headed to the Shalom House to worship with a local church that meets there. Bill shared a great message with the congregation about hope, which quickly became a focus and theme of our time in Kenya.

Morning briefing and wisdom from Bill

Sharing a greeting and word with the church

I absolutely loved worshiping with our friends in Nairobi. Most of the service was in Swahili but the members took turns translating for us and a few songs were even in English. We may not speak the same language but we were worshiping the same God as we sang, clapped, danced and opened the Text together. I loved every minute of it.

Want another perspective of the trip? Check out Bill Westfall's blog at http://williamwestfall.com/