Technology also kept quite a few of you readers involved in what was going on with us while we were in Kenya. If that wasn't the case, here is some logistics:
*Every few days we went to a new community that is powered by The 410 Bridge. 2 of the 3 communities are working on getting fresh water. The other community is building a medical clinic. It is amazing the life that these two things bring to the eyes of a community.
*We had planned a curriculum for older students, based on the thought "I can trust in the love of God" and the notion that "there is something that God wants to do in you and through you."
Well, were we in for a surprise! In almost every community we met a crew of kids 2-26. And we usually had more than we thought we would. When that wasn't the case, we had NO kids, because there was a lapse in communication and the kids were in school. OOPS. :) So, we learned to be flexible -- good thing I have experience in church ministry to teach me some of that! :)
*This trip was a vision trip to see how 410 can begin to empower the next generation and to see how team building activities would work with the Leadership Councils of each community. Each night we'd have a team debrief to dialogue about the "wins" or the things that God was doing during the day. I'd say we learned a LOT about what to do or what not to do as 410 goes in and works with the Youth and Kids.
I am not sure I should have ever doubted that my love language was Physical Touch (second to Quality Time). I could have sat with kids all day and just held their hands, touched their faces or held them dearly. And they would have accepted it! The women do EVERYTHING in the Kenyan culture and most fathers are absent or lethargic, so the affection that kids receive from their parents is very uncommon or far between. And then to hear details about the care of children, or to see orphanages, was too much for my heart some days. I have such a discontent for the injustice towards kids in this world! I don't want to fight it or avoid acknowledging it! I cannot. And I cannot stand by and watch the kids of this world without love.
And then I see the care and love and compassion of Salome and Joseph at the Havilla Children's Home and I am so impressed. What a family they have created. They only have 2 biological children, but 44 others live at a home with them and they call themselves a family. They have devotional time, chores, laughter, singing and dance. It is one of the most beautiful pictures of family and solidarity I have ever seen! So then I wonder: do we really know what kids need when they are in need? Do they really need obsessive cleanliness? Do they really need a variety of clothes? I am being a bit dramatic, but I have seen kids who appear to be thriving and their living conditions are atrocious. Do we just need an environment where we are loved and cared for and given a Holy Perspective?
I have to say, I am starting to settle into "reverse culture shock." I went to the grocery store yesterday and there were a "squillion" different kinds of crackers. They all have similar ingredients - just combined differently and given a different name. Is that wasteful or is that my imagination? Is that too convenient for our society where instant gratification rules? In Kenya they have 1-2 kinds of crackers and they are just fine. They have 4 kinds of soda: Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, and Fanta. They are just fine. We have stores upon stores that are trying to sell us clothes that are the same kind of fabric, same stitching, just different names: is that really necessary? Why must we indulge? For what? Comfort? Gratification? Why do I fight the urge to buy more purses or scarves, when some people don't have anything of the sort at all and their quality of life is not altered for the worse?
One of the things I know now, or am refreshed on again, is that I love travel. And that I desperately want to do more international traveling. I want to experience other cultures, make new friends, see new sights, and observe the glory of God beyond the borders of this continent! Oh yes!
I'd love to tell you that I am now ready to go camping, to live in the boonies, or have lost my fear of spiders. But that would be a lie. YES, I did things in Kenya that I am sure I wouldn't have done if I was here - and that is the hand of God - but it was hard. I am still not motivated to become an outdoors-woman, but I have a new appreciation for stepping out of my comfort zone to serve others. It's amazing what God can do when we surrender to the logic of the Heavenly realms!
More to come...
"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people." Ephesians 1:18
No comments:
Post a Comment