Multiply the Harvest

Rev. Andrew Cheryot leads one of the the Tenwek Community Health and Development programs, which trains local church pastors in holistic ministry. Through Don Hoover's leadership, Carmel Baptist has provided resources to make materials available to pastors who are involved in the course. When we were in Kenya in  November of 2013, I attended a Multiply the Harvest class and met the pastors who were taking the course. On Tuesday, seven of the ten who began the course, graduated. I had the honor of commissioning them and presenting their certificates of graduation in a ceremony at Bokacha AGC Church.  
Multiply the harvest trains pastors to approach church growth from a holistic ministry perspective; meeting physical needs as a way to gain trust, develop relationship, and share the gospel. One of the pastors who graduated on Tuesday allowed all of his fellow graduates and our team to be a part of the fruit of his Multiply the Harvest training. Prior to the graduation ceremony, all of us, along with members of his church, began construction on a new house for a family, whose patriarch is not a believer and who is plagued by alcoholsim. The pastor had paid a visit to the family in the family after the death of their son, who was also an alcoholic. When he visited, he saw the deplorable conditions in which they were living and mobilized his church to action. The church raised 30000 Kenya Schillings in order to build this family a new home. The sticks and roof we're put in place last week, and on Tuesday we got to be a part of "smearing" the house. Smearing is the process of filling the walls of the house with mud to form the home's exterior. It was so great to get our hands dirty, and be a part of this Multiply the Harvest ministry. 
We concluded the day by visiting an orphanage that houses 51 children, who are all "true orphans." A majority of the kids at this orphanage have been placed there after AIDS claimed their parents' lives. 
​I wish I could adequately describe the conditions that are considered "nice" for an orphanage in Kenya. 51 orphans; 32 beds, just for starters. The children were happy to see white people, "Muzungu," and loved having our girls to play with for a little while. 
Some of our team (Kelley, Marney, and Hannah) spent the day with a TCHD team in a different rural village administering immunizations and weighing babies. They had a fantastic day, with many stories to tell as well. 
​Needless to say, when we were all together on Tuesday night, we had a great time celebrating what The Lord had done and had used us to do that day.

Karibu! Means Welcome.

A disciple is a follower of Christ in learning and living. It only made sense when the agenda for this trip was planned last November, that our team would spend the days we have with Tenwek Community Health and Development, "learning and living."
I am so pleased with how well our time at Tenwek is going! Our team of 8 is learning so much about the Kingdom work that is being done in this area of Kenya, through TCHD. The learning, however, doesn't stop with Community Health. I'd say we're all learning more than we thought possible about depending on God for every moment, and about being available to be used by God to encourage and impact the lives of others.
Monday morning began with TCHD staff prayer. One of my favorite moments of the trip was when it dawned on me that members of the staff had been praying for members of our team, by name. They introduced themselves to us from the lectern, and then introduced the Carmel team member for whom they had been praying. By the third introduction, I was fighting a losing battle with tears. This team has gelled so quickly (even with 2 members we hadn't met in person until the airport), and the staff have been so gracious to us, I couldn't hold it back.
After tea (it is pretty much always tea time), we spent time learning from the Director of TCHD and my favorite Kenyan, Jonathan Bii. JBii helped us understand the holistic ministry with which his staff engages communities, meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and pointing everyone toward Jesus. Capacity building is one of the tools they use to help people discover their own abilities to provide for their own needs, while improving their level of existence.
The safety conscious control freak in me had planned our living and learning agenda to include lunch at the Green House, where we know what we're eating and that the dishes and utensils we are using are clean. Little did I know we would be traveling an hour away, to a rural village far from the paved road, to have lunch in someone's home.  
We left the car on the dirt road, then hiked to the top of a steep hill, where we found Matecha AGC Church. The church building is all cement block, with seats made of stacked rocks and planks. We were greeted warmly by the village elders and community leaders. They gave us a tour of 3 farms near the church, including their gardens, food storage, and inside their homes. Homes in this area are primarily mud huts with a thatched roof. If I had to guess, I'd say they are about 12x12, and house more people than I can fit in my mini-van.
Our final tour was at the home of Joseph and Ester, where we had lunch. This elderly couple was so happy to have us in their home. The home was a little larger than others in the area. It had 3 rooms, and a metal roof, and even had solar power. After lunch was, of course, tea.
What we got to see through this experience is the effect of community capacity building. We learned that as recently as 2 years ago the farms and gardens in Matecha were not well managed. They weren't using the land to its potential, and the community was not cooperating with each other to meet various needs. Now, with the help of TCHD, they are, "coming up," as they say. Coming up from poverty is what they mean by that; coming up to where they can grow food for their families, and buy, sell, and trade with others in the community.
We finished our time in Matecha with a 20 minute hike back down to the river, where people must go every day to get water. Contaminated, dirty water. I was glad I didn't have to hike back up the steep and rugged path; let alone do it carrying jugs of water.
Of course, typing the details falls short of the experience. My heart is full... And what's in it seems to come out my eyes in quiet moments.

Arrival

Saturday morning, we had a hot breakfast and checked out of the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi. After one stop for groceries (and of course tea time at the Nairobi Java House), we were on our way to Tenwek. I would be lying if said I knew how long it actually took to drive from Nairobi to Tenwek. There were a few restroom stops, traffic jams (by traffic jams, I mean herds of cattle standing in the road), and a "slow down" to look at the baboons that sit on the side of the road. My favorite stop, though, is the scenic view from the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. It is one of the most beautiful scenes that my eyes have ever taken in. The part I don't like about scenic view is the peddlers who have camped out there to try to get tourists like me to buy their "handmade" merchandise. I'm sure someone's hands made it, but it wasn't the hands of the guy trying to sell it to me. I thought my parents had done a good job of training me to say no to salesmen, but I still rode away with a hand carved stone something that I didn't really want. It'll be a story to tell, and maybe when I'm telling it in my 70's the boy who sold it to me will have hand carved it right there in my presence. ;0)
As we proceeded through the Masi lands and into the Kipsigis villages, the Saturday markets were in full swing in many places. On this second trip to Kenya, I am still amazed by the way of life of people who live in remote villages. There is so much of it that I can't begin to understand, but I am mesmerized by the economy of their agrarian culture. The crowds of people buying and selling along the roadside are so thick, it is hard to tell where one line ends and another begins.
The team and I were greeted warmly when we arrived at the Tenwek Green House. The facility where we stay actually used to function as a green house, where the Community Health and Development team grew vegetable seedlings and tree saplings to give to farmers as a part of their community development efforts. Over the years, so many farmers have learned from TCHD how to grow their own seedlings, that the green house is obsolete. What stands now is a training facility that can house and feed 32 people, and provide classroom space for seminars and demonstrations. Some of the accommodations are "rustic." The way I look at it, toilets and showers with running water would cheapen the experience. OK, there are toilets in at least one stall in each bathroom. The other stalls... are great practice for using facilities on our project sites.
Good food, good sleep, and a good shower... well, good shower is a stretch, but I got clean. Then we spent much of the day at Silibwet AGC Church, where I had the privilege of preaching, and where our team got to experience a vibrant children's ministry program. There is great significance to the children's ministry at Slilbwet. They are leading the way in the Africa Gospel Church's efforts to reach children in Kenya. Children's ministry is a large part of why my team is here this week; because of Carmel Baptist Church's partnership with the AGC to support children's rallies across Kenya's Great Rift Valley.
Sunday turns out to be a great day for me to take a group on a tour of the hospital. The hospital is relatively quiet, with not much medical activity going on. This is a good thing for me... because medical activity grosses me out. Praise God for medical professionals! I do not have their internal fortitude.
We got to see every area of the hospital, and we even got to pray with some mothers of newborn babies. The NICU welcomed us to come and pray over the tiny premies, and others struggling for their lives. They are so precious. I'm pretty sure if Lisa McMurry ever makes it with me to Kenya, she'll be camped out in there for the entire time.
Tomorrow, we begin the "Learning and Living" agenda of our trip. The mornings will be spent learning about what TCHD is doing to develop communities and share the gospel in the South Rift Valley, and the afternoons will be spent experiencing those activities in the field.
If you've read this, please pray for safety, health, flexibility, and opportunities to have gospel conversations. Kongoi!

Fly the Friendly Skies

4:29am. It is an odd feeling to be tired, but not sleepy. I've been awake for most of the night. I'm thankful that my roommates are sleeping well, but I'm a little jealous that I am not. It started raining a few minutes ago and the conditions are perfect for sleep... I just can't. 
The seven other members of my team and I left Charlotte around 2:30pm EST on Thursday, July 31st. We flew to Washington Dulles airport, where we began the international portion of our travels with a 7 1/2 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland. 
There was nothing out of the ordinary about the United flight to Zurich. I did doze off for a few minutes at a time, which probably totaled about 2 hours. I also watched "The Hobbit" in its entirety. 
The Zurich Switzerland airport felt empty and quiet when we arrived at 7:30am. Shops and restaurants were not yet open, and there were very few people in the terminal. Around 8:00am a coffee bar / bakery opened, and I was able to get a cup of very good Swiss "kafee." It should have been good, because it made my usual tall Americano at Starbucks seem cheap. Two coffees and two pastries for Brady and me came to $22.00 US, with change in the form of Swiss franks. 
I learned later that the vacant feeling in the airport may have been because August 1st is to Switzerland as July 4th is to the US. 
The 8 hour flight from Zurich to Nairobi really did feel much longer than the flight before. It was fine though, and we made it through safely. On this flight I took a couple of naps, watched "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," and drafted an email to beg parents to serve in student ministry. 
The most stressful part of the last leg of an international flight is competing the immigration paperwork. It probably shouldn't be stressful, but I want to make sure every line is correct, and that everyone on my team has theirs correct too. You just don't know what the experience of getting through Visa, baggage, and customs will be like. 
This time, it was a breeze. All 8 of us waltzed through immigration with beautifully stamped passports. The luggage was slow to show up on the belt, but eventually it all did. The teams personal belongings were all packed in our carry-ons. The checked bags are full of ministry resources and donated items. 
The highlight of the trip for me, though, was walking out of the arrivals terminal to where the multitudes and taxi drivers await loved ones and passengers, to find Jonathan Bii and his associate Ruben. Any stress or worry that I might have as the leader of a team, melts away when I know we are safely in the presence of JBii. He is what I would call "a pretty big deal."
Jonathan and Ruben met our team at the airport on the same day that they had breakfast with the President of the Republic of Kenya. That's right! Tenwek Community Health and Development, of which JBii is the director, is making a huge impact in their region of Kenya. President Kenyatta met with several distinguished leaders of non-profit organizations over breakfast in Nairobi today. 
Our team traveled in 2 vehicles through heavy Nairobi traffic. I am so thankful for Kenyan advocates who will. chauffeur our team... The traffic is like nothing I have ever seen or can explain. Not only are the cars and trucks bumper to bumper and door to door, but pedestrians dart in and out at random as well. It is crazy. 
We arrived safely at the Menonite Guest House, after about an hour of battling traffic. This is such a nice place to spend our first night and try to rest. We'll have a wonderful breakfast in the morning, and continue the journey, through the Great Rift Valley, and on to Tenwek.