One of my favorite things about doing ministry overseas is the ability to see people respond to the gospel in light of their personal stories that just wouldn't happen in Auburn, Illinois. Does that make sense? Sure, every time someone places their faith in Christ and is justified by his work on the cross it's a remarkable story--regardless of the path it took to get there. But there is just something that makes me shake my head in awe of God's work in some of the stories I have heard here in Africa.
Here are a couple examples:
There is a man I met a few weeks ago at Pastor Maurice's house; his name--as far as I can tell--is Safari. His English is, to be honest, absolutely awful, but I communicated with him a bit through a friend in Swahili. I learned some of his story--He came to Kenya from the Congo a few years ago--as a war refugee. The man, a grown man, literally had to run away from his own home or else he would have been killed. Hearing that story and trying to imagine what that must have been like was pretty incredible. It puts a very different spin on things when I go to church with him on Sunday and see him worship the Lord. Although I can't understand the Swahili songs as he sings them, it's a beautiful picture of him worshipping the Lord--my Lord, and his Lord, his rock, his refuge, his stronghold.
Pastor Maurice is also an incredible story. He is a slightly overweight, very lovable pastor who speaks an incredible amount of English. The man is one of the few people who has been pastoral with me in these last few months, and I absolutely appreciate that. I never would have guessed he was raised in a very remote village in Kenya where English was never spoken. He told me the following about growing up:
"When I was little, we used to be soooo hungry all the time. For most of the year, our family was so poor that we only got to eat one meal per day. We would go through the whole day very hungry, anxiously awaiting nighttime when we would finally get to eat. And then, just as we were getting ready to eat the meal my mom cooked, she would see somebody walking by our home and call out to them, "Why are you walking at night? Come join us for food." Almost everyday my mom would invite neighbors and passerby's over for dinner...while we kids were sooooo hungry. That's just the kind of mom she was, she always took care of people. That's just the kind of people we are."
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
--Romans 12:9-10
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Assurance of Things Hoped For
Life "on my own" here in Nairobi has so many perks and also some struggles that accompany it. I'm realize how independent of a person I am...I cherish days like today, when I come into town and spend time at Java House drinking a cup of coffee with my Bible, my iPod, and my Kindle reading app. I'm learning a whole lot about discipline and spending time with my Father. It's incredible the difference I notice when I neglect time in prayer and in the Word. During my time in Eldoret, I was pretty busy and chose not to spend much time with the Lord. Now I'm not trying to sound like a harsh legalist, but it really makes a difference in my days when I make time in the Word and in prayer a priority.
I want to share briefly about what happened a few days ago, a be pretty upfront with you all. Hanging out with my friends in Nairobi, we were all sitting around on couches just hanging out, when one friend got a text message and immediately went outside. About fifteen minutes later, through tears, I learned that one of his best friends had died at the age of 22. He had known her since she was born, and was really struggling with why it happened to her. Later that afternoon a good conversation transpired between he and I, discussing what he loved about her, what made her special, and things like that. Then he asked the question, "Where do people go when they die." Now, he is a follower of Christ, and I feel the question was more rhetorical than anything, but I answered nonetheless. Like any good evangelical Christian, I gave him the answer I know to be true. We discussed briefly about salvation and how Christ is both an all-sufficient sacrifice and also the only sacrifice capable of giving salvation. We continued talking, and five minutes later the conversation was over.
When I went to my room later that night, I was pretty deep in thought. As I prayed, I kept thinking through that conversation. Over and over and I said, "God I know you're real. I absolutely know"...But I couldn't help asking the question...
"When this is all said and done, God, when this life of adventures and ups and downs and everything is all finished, and my eyes close for the final time, will You be there? Will you really be there?"
He answered me by leading me to 1 Peter 1, where he tells all of us believers about our inheritance. He says "he (God) has caused us to be born again to a living hope...to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you." This is real stuff--real, emotional stuff. I was blown away once again, that that inheritance in heaven is mine, being kept especially for me.
I have been washed, and now I wait, full of hope and expectations, for the promise that in God's presence I'll finally be in the fullness of joy, experiencing pleasures forevermore...
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. --Hebrews 11:1
I want to share briefly about what happened a few days ago, a be pretty upfront with you all. Hanging out with my friends in Nairobi, we were all sitting around on couches just hanging out, when one friend got a text message and immediately went outside. About fifteen minutes later, through tears, I learned that one of his best friends had died at the age of 22. He had known her since she was born, and was really struggling with why it happened to her. Later that afternoon a good conversation transpired between he and I, discussing what he loved about her, what made her special, and things like that. Then he asked the question, "Where do people go when they die." Now, he is a follower of Christ, and I feel the question was more rhetorical than anything, but I answered nonetheless. Like any good evangelical Christian, I gave him the answer I know to be true. We discussed briefly about salvation and how Christ is both an all-sufficient sacrifice and also the only sacrifice capable of giving salvation. We continued talking, and five minutes later the conversation was over.
When I went to my room later that night, I was pretty deep in thought. As I prayed, I kept thinking through that conversation. Over and over and I said, "God I know you're real. I absolutely know"...But I couldn't help asking the question...
"When this is all said and done, God, when this life of adventures and ups and downs and everything is all finished, and my eyes close for the final time, will You be there? Will you really be there?"
He answered me by leading me to 1 Peter 1, where he tells all of us believers about our inheritance. He says "he (God) has caused us to be born again to a living hope...to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you." This is real stuff--real, emotional stuff. I was blown away once again, that that inheritance in heaven is mine, being kept especially for me.
I have been washed, and now I wait, full of hope and expectations, for the promise that in God's presence I'll finally be in the fullness of joy, experiencing pleasures forevermore...
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. --Hebrews 11:1
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Reflecting on Eldoret
There are literally a billion things to write about and I have my mind going 200 directions, so I'll try to keep this post organized. I returned to Nairobi on Thursday night after spending about a week and a half in Eldoret and a small town called Iten, which is really close to Eldoret.
While in Eldoret, I stayed at the nyumbani (kiswahili for home) of my friends Kevin and Felix. Leaving those two was the first time it hit me--I'm really going to struggle when I return to the States. I realized and reflected on how much I love it here in Kenya and how many authentic friendships I've made.
In Eldoret (Eldy) I helped out with an organization called A-STEP, which stands for Africa Sports and Talents Empowerment Program. Essentially it's a group of young adults who have started an organization to utilize the talents of young people and use them to empower themselves and their communities. These young people I worked with have a vision for their homes, communities, and their country. It was remarkable to see. In 2007, after the election, violence broke out throughout Kenya, but especially in Eldoret. Many families are still recovering after their homes were burned and their loved ones were killed. A-STEP unites young adults from different tribes (who were fighting against each other) and they play in the same football (soccer) league together. Kids who have been taught not to hang around the kids from other tribes are now playing together. It's a really cool thing to be a part of.
Perhaps the most share-worthy story from my time in Eldy is that of Timothy, the man who founded A-STEP. He spent the early part of his life growing up in the slums of Nairobi, not far from where I type this. He was raised by his mother, and spent a lot of his time in the slum living near the largest trash dump in Nairobi, where he sifted through trash each day to find food to eat. When I heard this it really shocked me--just one week before I rode a motorcycle past that very trash dump and watched speechlessly as many people searched for food and other things of value. Meeting Timothy, I could immediately put a face and a story with the heartbreak I felt driving past that trash dump.
But Timothy's story continued--in 2007, he became a victim of the post-election violence that broke out in Eldoret. Because of the dangers around, most of his neighbors left their homes for a safer place, but Timothy was taking care of his sick mother. They were trapped in their house as their next-door neighbors house burned down, but Timothy refused to leave his mom alone. Unfortunately, his mother ran out of medication and there was no way of getting it to her because of the violence outside, so Timothy lost his mother in 2007.
Given his story, it's no surprise that Timothy has poured his heart into A-STEP. He is a product of youth empowerment, and his own life has been affected by tribal wars in Kenya. United youths from various tribes and empowering them through sports to support their communities is a passion of Timothy's, and it was an incredible experience to be a part of.
While in Eldoret, I stayed at the nyumbani (kiswahili for home) of my friends Kevin and Felix. Leaving those two was the first time it hit me--I'm really going to struggle when I return to the States. I realized and reflected on how much I love it here in Kenya and how many authentic friendships I've made.
In Eldoret (Eldy) I helped out with an organization called A-STEP, which stands for Africa Sports and Talents Empowerment Program. Essentially it's a group of young adults who have started an organization to utilize the talents of young people and use them to empower themselves and their communities. These young people I worked with have a vision for their homes, communities, and their country. It was remarkable to see. In 2007, after the election, violence broke out throughout Kenya, but especially in Eldoret. Many families are still recovering after their homes were burned and their loved ones were killed. A-STEP unites young adults from different tribes (who were fighting against each other) and they play in the same football (soccer) league together. Kids who have been taught not to hang around the kids from other tribes are now playing together. It's a really cool thing to be a part of.
Perhaps the most share-worthy story from my time in Eldy is that of Timothy, the man who founded A-STEP. He spent the early part of his life growing up in the slums of Nairobi, not far from where I type this. He was raised by his mother, and spent a lot of his time in the slum living near the largest trash dump in Nairobi, where he sifted through trash each day to find food to eat. When I heard this it really shocked me--just one week before I rode a motorcycle past that very trash dump and watched speechlessly as many people searched for food and other things of value. Meeting Timothy, I could immediately put a face and a story with the heartbreak I felt driving past that trash dump.
But Timothy's story continued--in 2007, he became a victim of the post-election violence that broke out in Eldoret. Because of the dangers around, most of his neighbors left their homes for a safer place, but Timothy was taking care of his sick mother. They were trapped in their house as their next-door neighbors house burned down, but Timothy refused to leave his mom alone. Unfortunately, his mother ran out of medication and there was no way of getting it to her because of the violence outside, so Timothy lost his mother in 2007.
Given his story, it's no surprise that Timothy has poured his heart into A-STEP. He is a product of youth empowerment, and his own life has been affected by tribal wars in Kenya. United youths from various tribes and empowering them through sports to support their communities is a passion of Timothy's, and it was an incredible experience to be a part of.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Olympians???
As I said in my last post, I made it to Eldoret on Tuesday, and I have really, really enjoyed my time here. It's been such an incredible experience in so many ways...I'm going to try to keep this post brief, so let me jump right into what I've been doing:
Since I've been in Eldoret, I've been working with an organization called A-Step, which stands for African Sports and Talents Empowerment Program. It is an organization partially funded by USAID (hooray, thanks taxpayers!). But seriously, it's worth it; it's a great opportunity here. A-Step primary function is to mobilize youth from Eldoret and the surrounding areas and to empower them to live life with a purpose and hope for a better tomorrow for Kenya. Essentially their strategy is to locate kids from villages who are leaders, they provide them with a football (soccer ball), and tell them to create their own teams from the village. From there, teams are created from all over and they come together to play in a league. Thus, young adults who were, not long ago, part of tribes that were killing each other in the post-election violence of 2007, are now playing football with one another. It's hard to describe to Americans how much value this has: to give young people the opportunity to play football in nice uniforms and for a purpose is not something I can compare for you. From there, the organization uses the program to instill values, morals, and ethics. They send representatives into the villages to talk about drugs and alcohol and alternatives to the lifestyle that so many men before them have chosen. They also do incredible work with victims of HIV/AIDS, teaching them about the options they have for medical treatment and giving them hope that they never knew existed. Working with A-Step and seeing their commitment to this community has been really rewarding.
Also, the thing that first attracted me to Eldoret was the running community. Anyway who likes the Olympics knows that Kenya is first-class as far as distance running goes, and Eldoret is the home of the champions. I got a firsthand look at world-class athlete life this week, and much of my time was spent speechless (yes, it is possible!) On Thursday morning I jogged down to the track (when I say track I mean a dirt oval) at the city university. It's the only track in the area right now, so all the athletes do their training there. My friend Hussein, who happens to be a world-class marathoner (2:10!) invited me to join them. Let me first say, "If you want to be humbled, run with Kenyans. If you want to be humiliated, run with Kenyans when you're out of shape." Basically, I did the warmup and cool down and spent the rest of the workout in awe of what I was seeing. The track was filled for the morning workout, with about 100 people there. Hussein was in a group of about 25 fast athletes, doing 10 kilometers worth of speedwork (10 400s and 10 600s). They ran faster than my race pace but made it look effortless. Also training that day was Florence Kiplagat (look her up) and many other Olympic hopefuls. I was in my happy place.
After the workout, I went to lunch with Chris Cheboiboch, a retired Kenyan runner. He's best known for his runner up finishes at the Boston Marathon and the NYC Marathon. After all of his running success, he moved back to Eldoret and opened a school. The place was astonishing. It was so cool to hear this man's heart and see how invested he was in the youth of this place. I've seen a lot of brokenness and hopelessness in these last few weeks, but people like Chris and organizations like A-Step remind me to look to the cross, especially today, on Good Friday, and remember that the founder and the perfecter of the hope that's within me is alive and in control of the good things and the bad.
Okay, I've failed at keeping this one short, my apologies. So much good stuff though...
Since I've been in Eldoret, I've been working with an organization called A-Step, which stands for African Sports and Talents Empowerment Program. It is an organization partially funded by USAID (hooray, thanks taxpayers!). But seriously, it's worth it; it's a great opportunity here. A-Step primary function is to mobilize youth from Eldoret and the surrounding areas and to empower them to live life with a purpose and hope for a better tomorrow for Kenya. Essentially their strategy is to locate kids from villages who are leaders, they provide them with a football (soccer ball), and tell them to create their own teams from the village. From there, teams are created from all over and they come together to play in a league. Thus, young adults who were, not long ago, part of tribes that were killing each other in the post-election violence of 2007, are now playing football with one another. It's hard to describe to Americans how much value this has: to give young people the opportunity to play football in nice uniforms and for a purpose is not something I can compare for you. From there, the organization uses the program to instill values, morals, and ethics. They send representatives into the villages to talk about drugs and alcohol and alternatives to the lifestyle that so many men before them have chosen. They also do incredible work with victims of HIV/AIDS, teaching them about the options they have for medical treatment and giving them hope that they never knew existed. Working with A-Step and seeing their commitment to this community has been really rewarding.
Also, the thing that first attracted me to Eldoret was the running community. Anyway who likes the Olympics knows that Kenya is first-class as far as distance running goes, and Eldoret is the home of the champions. I got a firsthand look at world-class athlete life this week, and much of my time was spent speechless (yes, it is possible!) On Thursday morning I jogged down to the track (when I say track I mean a dirt oval) at the city university. It's the only track in the area right now, so all the athletes do their training there. My friend Hussein, who happens to be a world-class marathoner (2:10!) invited me to join them. Let me first say, "If you want to be humbled, run with Kenyans. If you want to be humiliated, run with Kenyans when you're out of shape." Basically, I did the warmup and cool down and spent the rest of the workout in awe of what I was seeing. The track was filled for the morning workout, with about 100 people there. Hussein was in a group of about 25 fast athletes, doing 10 kilometers worth of speedwork (10 400s and 10 600s). They ran faster than my race pace but made it look effortless. Also training that day was Florence Kiplagat (look her up) and many other Olympic hopefuls. I was in my happy place.
After the workout, I went to lunch with Chris Cheboiboch, a retired Kenyan runner. He's best known for his runner up finishes at the Boston Marathon and the NYC Marathon. After all of his running success, he moved back to Eldoret and opened a school. The place was astonishing. It was so cool to hear this man's heart and see how invested he was in the youth of this place. I've seen a lot of brokenness and hopelessness in these last few weeks, but people like Chris and organizations like A-Step remind me to look to the cross, especially today, on Good Friday, and remember that the founder and the perfecter of the hope that's within me is alive and in control of the good things and the bad.
Okay, I've failed at keeping this one short, my apologies. So much good stuff though...
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Living in Eldoret Now
Yesterday I came to a realization about why I have such a problem journaling and blogging, updating everyone back home on what's going on here. I know it's important and something I would like to do more often, but it's so tough. I think I've figured out why: Everything, even the "normal, everyday things," are worthy of a blogpost or a journal entry. For example, yesterday I left Nairobi and headed to Eldoret, which is the city in Kenya where almost all of the professional runners live and train. I cannot even begin to explain the experience of traveling this far in a matatu alone. I'm sandwiched in the front seat of the matatu (which is an African-style taxi, seating 14 passengers) between the driver and a large man next to me named Muhammed. I quickly learned my friend Muhammed thinks it appropriate to scream as loud as he can during every phone call, so for six hours I had him next to me screaming in my ear. Accompany that with a typical African radio station blaring way too loud and the two little girls behind me crying the whole way, and you begin to understand my situation. The radio....three songs, played back-to-back-to-back: Enrique Iglesias' "Hero", Martina McBride's "In My Daughter's Eyes," and then finished up with "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do." Then, twenty minutes later the same station throws in a couple of Backstreet Boys songs...You can't possibly find entertainment like that in the States...Also, as you might expect, African comfortable temperatures are different than they are for me. So, as we're cruising down the road in our stuffed matatu with all the windows rolled up, everyone is happy while I'm sitting there sweating bullets. When the matatu stopped I got out and my shirt was drenched in sweat. Everyone must have been looking at me like a freak, especially when I sat down and ordered a hot cup of chai!
Anyway, that's a brief summer of six hours of my day yesterday. Today I'm working with an organization called A-Step which uses sports (soccer, volleyball, running) to mobilize youth and give them opportunities for a better life. I'll give a longer update on the details here very soon.
-Jordan
Anyway, that's a brief summer of six hours of my day yesterday. Today I'm working with an organization called A-Step which uses sports (soccer, volleyball, running) to mobilize youth and give them opportunities for a better life. I'll give a longer update on the details here very soon.
-Jordan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)