What I'm working on...

I know it might sound at times like my life here is all crazy animals and great food, but I wanted to take a minute and assure all of you that I actually am doing some work! This is an exciting time for CARE for AIDS, so I'd love to update you all on what's happening with the ministry.

A few months ago CARE for AIDS finished a long process of applying for and being granted registration as an Non-Governmental Organization with the Kenyan government. This was great news, as it gives us a lot of legitimacy in interactions with official Kenyan departments and programs and it means that CFA is a "real" entity in the eyes of the government. The flip side to this is that registration comes with a lot of requirements and regulations that we must adhere to in order to maintain good relations with the government. These regulations made clear the need for many systems and procedures to be put in place in an official fashion, a job which has fallen to me in a large way. Part of my original goals here were to add a sense of efficiency and organization to all of CFA's operations in Kenya, and the government regulations have made that even more important.

If you haven't gathered this from my descriptions of the way Kenyans work, words like "efficiency," "organization," and "systems" are not brought up very much while conducting any sort of business, which has made this a real challenge. I have found that most of this is starting from square one - while CFA has been doing a great job over the past couple of years here, many pieces of the foundation existed only in the minds of our Directors or in the verbal agreements and plans that all of our employees made. Because of this, I have spent a lot of time over the past few months creating things like personnel policies, job descriptions, and official contracts for all of our employees. I've also been helping a lot to come up with standard schedules for the centers, as well as systems for the workers to report their progress each week and month. While these aren't jobs that I would consider part of my specific expertise by any means, my experience in the States and other parts of the world has provided me with exposure to the way companies work and a familiarity with basic models of doing things that is simply unknown to any of our workers here. It's been really amazing to see how God has used small experiences in my life to help put things in place here that are already making things run much smoother. Much of this has required long hours in front of a computer screen doing research and typing long documents, which isn't my favorite kind of work, but it is extremely rewarding to see the fruits of those hours and know that these systems should help CFA to operate successfully in the years ahead, even after I am gone.

Along those same lines, it has been really cool to see how God has used the simple skills that come from growing up and going to college in America to really benefit this ministry. Things like working on computers, making spreadsheets, or even typing things quickly have turned out to be invaluable in helping this office run smoothly. Most of our administrative employees are still in the two-fingered typing style and don't have much exposure to things like spreadsheets or backing up computer data, so I've been able to teach them a lot of practical skills that I can see helping them on a daily basis.

Another big part of my work consists of being a sort of link between America and Kenya for CARE for AIDS. It's difficult to have a full understanding of what actually happens here on a day-to-day basis from across the Atlantic, so part of my role is serving as the eyes and ears of our American staff, our board of directors, and all of our donors in the US. We have also seen that it is much easier for me to communicate directly with all of our Kenyan employees than to try and pass messages from the States, via email, to our Kenyan Directors and then on to the other employees, which gives me a great opportunity to encourage everyone here with news of what's happening in the states and the future of CFA.

Apart from these fairly consistent jobs, the rest of my schedule here is almost impossible to predict, which is just how I like it! Every week I have meetings with pastors, hospitals, or representatives from other ministries, which are both challenging and exciting at the same time. I also spend a good amount of time meeting with our Directors and planning for the short- and long-term future of CARE for AIDS, or helping to advise them on bigger-picture issues facing the ministry, which is another thing that makes me feel that my time here is being used well and is truly adding to the vision of CFA. I'm so thankful for all of these things - one of my biggest worries a few months ago was that I wouldn't really have anything to add here, but I have seen God use me in a real, tangible, way so far and I am sure that I will get to see even more happen in the future!

Back from the coast!

I'm happy to report that I made it back safe and sound from our trip to the coast - and what a trip it was! This one will definitely go in the books as one of those experiences that would be just about impossible to replicate and that makes for a lot of great memories. I'll give a short recap of the trip here, and hopefully I'll be putting a bunch of pictures up on facebook in the next few days to tell the story a little better!

The first adventure was actually getting to the beach. Before leaving, Duncan predicted that the trip would take about 6 hours driving - not true at all! After about 7 hours we were close to the major port city of Mombasa when we ran out of gas on the side of the highway. No big deal - just put Cornel in a matatu, pick up some gas 20 minutes down the road, and hitch a ride back in an 18-wheeler - only an hour delay. Then, after getting totally lost in Mombasa, our car broke down and I found myself pushing it through the streets in the dark. Every guidebook will tell you to avoid the streets of Mombasa after dark, but we managed to leave the car at a gas station and take a taxi up to the coast north of the city, a place called Mtwapa.

After spending the night in a Kenyan guest house, we spent Friday at the public beach north of Mombasa. I found that there is a big difference between the public beach and the tourist beaches - primarily that everyone else at the public beach was African. It was a blast, though - we rode on a boat out to a reef and snorkeled in the gorgeous blue water, then hung out on the beach all afternoon, eating snacks cooked up in little shacks by the beach and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Friday night we picked up the car (which had been fixed) and made our way to the South coast, which turned out to be a drastically different experience. The area, called Diani Beach, is one of the most popular places for western tourists in Kenya, so the coast is dotted with luxury resorts and hotels. We drove to one of these and had an amazing breakfast in an open-air restaurant right on the beach, and then relaxed for most of the morning as the tide came in over Diani reef. Though the morning started clear, we were walking down the beach when a huge storm swept in, so we were soon drenched in the warm rain - oddly relaxing! Luckily it cleared off, so I spent the afternoon by myself on the beach as the Kenyans went off to visit friends, enjoying a great lunch and some much-needed peace and quiet. Diani turned out to be one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, and it held on to a little of the African flavor, with monkeys running around stealing food and Kenyans walking their camels up and down the beach selling rides.

Sunday we left early in the morning to drive back to Limuru and, unsurprisingly, the trip took much longer than expected! This time we managed to avoid car trouble, but we ran into the most intense traffic mess I have ever seen. There is really only one highway in Kenya, running from the major port of Mombasa to Nairobi and then on to the rest of East and Central Africa, so almost all of the shipping traffic from the coast to this part of the continent goes down this road on trucks. Unfortunately, there are always parts of the road under construction, which means constant diversions onto dirt paths. Imagine all of the traffic on I-40 getting funneled onto a dirt road for miles at a time with no traffic regulation whatsoever - crazy! Then put overturned trucks in both directions blocking the road, and you get traffic jams of trucks miles long with cars offroading their way through the mud and dirt any way that they can to pass. It really is a free-for-all, but its amazing to see the creativity that Kenyans come up with in getting around these kinds of messes! After waiting for hours in a couple of different spots, we ended up doing some serious "mudding" in our suburu station wagon and eventually got back to the paved roads in Nairobi. While all this was going on, though, we were treated to herds of zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, and antelope on the sides of the highway, so there are always things to keep you entertained!

Overall it was an exciting and memorable weekend, and I have many more stories that came of it! Thank you so much for all of your prayers!

The view out my windows

I just wanted to take a minute today and offer up a thanks for all that God has been doing in my life over the past two months here in Kenya. I know that many of you are praying for me and for CARE for AIDS, and I have to say that your prayers must be working, because I have so many things to praise God for. I am getting to spend time with some really inspiring and incredible people - both Kenyans and "wazungo" - and I am being challenged by people who come from a wide range of vastly different backgrounds. I am getting to see and understand a culture in a real, complete way. It's so exciting to be free from the pressure of a week-long trip where the experience of a totally different place must be squeezed into a few short days, and I love getting to pick up little bits and pieces of understanding over the course of weeks and months. I am getting to learn a lot about how businesses and ministries work, and I am continually seeing how to put together the pieces of those different kinds of organizations and make this vision become a reality.

I am also so thankful for the beauty of all that I am surrounded by. Yes, places like the Maasai Mara and the Great Rift Valley are stunning, but I also feel like I am coming to appreciate the smaller things - the sunsets over the hills, the vibrant blue of the sky and green of the tea fields after a rain, or the brightly colored flowers that bloom in the midst of the slum. I put a few pictures on here taken from the various windows of our house - even though I look out on this each day, every once in a while I get struck by the realization that this is Africa, and that it is wonderful!

I would ask for all of your prayers this week, as I am taking a trip down to the coast tomorrow with Duncan, Cornel, Steve, and Irene. I am so excited about this break - all of us in the administrative staff have been working pretty non-stop lately, and we are all looking forward to taking a couple of days to relax at the beach. I don't know what all the trip is going to entail, and some of my American friends think it's crazy to do this the "Kenyan way," but I know that we will have some adventures and I'm sure I'll get some time to hang out in the Indian Ocean and take a deep breath! Thank you for your prayers for safety as we drive and for a rejuvenating time!

Progress!

It feels like much of the work that I have been doing here for CARE for AIDS so far has consisted of laying a foundation for the future or catching up on things from the past, but today saw a big step in the current expansion of the ministry. For the past month of so, we have been searching for the location of the 4th CFA center. First we did research on what areas close-by were the hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, and we found that an area called Kamirithu could really benefit from a CFA center. This area has a high population density and a high HIV/AIDS prevalance, and there aren't any effective HIV/AIDS programs currently operating. Located only about 10 minutes from the house and just next to the highway, we decided that Kamirithu would be a great location to expand into. Next, we spent some time talking to pastors in the area and meeting in their churches, trying to find a church and a pastor who have a real heart for the HIV/AIDS crisis. We were led to meet with Bishop Simon, the pastor of Kamirithu Assemblies of God, and after our first meeting Duncan and I agreed that this would be a wonderful church to work with.

Simon told us about how his heart breaks for the HIV/AIDS-infected in the community, and how he feels that they are a forgotten segment of the population when it comes to ministry. He told us of outreaches that the church had hosted and programs they had attempted to start in the past, along with the unique challenges that come along with working with AIDS and have held back these efforts. He genuinely desires that all of the HIV/AIDS patients in the area would come to know Christ above all else. KAG seems like an ideal church environment for CFA to work in, as they are located a little bit away from major roads, and they have several other programs going on during the week - both of which help clients with their concern over stigma from the community.

Since that first meeting, we have had several follow-up meetings with the leadership of the church, during which we explained in detail the CARE for AIDS model and talked about how we could partner together. From halfway around the world, we learned that a Christian high school in Florida had committed to supporting a CFA center each month, so we moved forward with setting up a partnership with Kamarithu Assemblies of God. Today we took another step in that process, as we signed a partnership covenant with KAG and met with the committee they set up to oversee the ministry. Tomorrow we are interviewing potential workers for the center, and we are planning to officially open this 4th center on November 1st. This picture shows Kevin, Bishop Simon, myself, and Duncan on the back row, with the KAG committee on the front row.

Praise God for what He is doing here! We are so thankful for the progress being made on the fund-raising front in America, as well as the steps that we have been able to take here in Kenya to put systems in place for more growth in the future. None of this could happen without God's guidance and His blessing on this ministry, and I ask that you would all join me in thanking Him for this 4th center, as well as in praying for the rest of the preparations that will go into training workers, setting up the center, and recruiting the first round of clients. Please pray also for the pastors and leadership of Kamirithu Assemblies of God - we are so thankful for their willingness to join with us in this calling and we pray for God's blessing on every part of what their church is doing.

Pied Piper - Kenyan style

As time goes I start to feel like I'm really blending in to this culture, but every once in a while I have an experience that reminds me just "foreign" I am here. A few days ago I went for a run along the main road that passes by our house - its a beautiful area of rolling tea fields with very light traffic, which makes it easier not to think about the 7,500 feet of elevation and how it seems to suck the oxygen right out of my lungs! For better or for worse, I unknowingly timed my run for the time of day when all of the primary schools are finishing for the day, and as I ran back toward the house I started to see clusters of little Kenyan kids in matching green uniforms walking toward town. As soon as they saw me, their normal school day turned into the highlight of the week, as they all started screaming and running alongside me. In just a few moments, I found myself running in a pack of at least 20 elementary-school aged kids, all laughing and asking me questions in Swahili. I think they found it endlessly amusing that a white person was running down the street aimlessly, especially when most of them very rarely see a white "mzungo."

I was taken totally by surprise and had no idea what to do, so I just kept running and talking to them in my very limited swahili. Before too long the crowd thinned out as the girls and the smaller boys got tired and started walking again, but a strong core of about 8 boys ran with me for a mile or so before they turned off for their homes. They told me that they run several miles to school each day, and I believed it - they were barely breathing hard as I gasped for breath! It surprised how much my pride wouldn't let me stop to walk in the presence of the kids, but when the last of the kids turned off I let myself slow down and walk the last bit to the house. A minute of so later, though, I looked back to see one of the littlest boys, holding his books while his backpack swung behind him, panting and running as hard as he could to catch up to me on his short little legs. He ran up to me and grabbed my hand, breathing hard but with a huge smile on his face!

It's so wonderful how all of the kids are fascinated with my presence here. Even though the constant cries of "mzungo!" and "how are you??" can get a little annoying at times, seeing their faces light up when you respond to them or shake their hand is such a joyful experience. Everyone who comes to Africa seems to fall in love with the children, and its not hard to see why!

The "Real" Nairobi

On friday I got a chance to experience two contrasting sides of Nairobi - the hub of most things going on in East Africa. In the morning I traveled with Cornel to visit the Kenyan immigration department and the NGO Board, both housed in modern office buildings with plenty of westerners inside and Land Cruisers outside. This is the part of Nairobi that people point to as the future of Africa - modern buildings and hospitals, manicured gardens, internationally-known hotels - but it's definitely not indicative of the entire city. With a few hours to kill before picking up some forms from the NGO board, Cornel offered to take me on a tour through the "real" Nairobi.

We walked about 45 minutes from the city center to an area known as the Kikomba market. The first portion of the market that we reached consisted of vendors set up along the road next to the huge long-distance bus station - most of them were selling clothes or food out of the back of a pick-up truck to people fighting their way onto huge busses stacked high with bags and boxes on the roof. Moving past this area, the streets gave way to paths and all automotive traffic disappeared. Looking from a ways down the street, all you could see was a moving mass of people, and that's just what it felt like while winding between the stacks of clothes and goods laid out on the ground and the rivers of people moving between them, listening to the touts calling out sales and special prices. This portion of the market was a giant open area, but we soon moved further into a section of covered shops with tiny footpaths between them. Each shop consisted of a raised wooden platform piled high with either second-hand clothes brought from western countries or goods made by the sellers, with corrugated tin or clothe roofs overlapping between the shops, cutting out most of the sunlight. Apparently this is the place where you can get cooking utensils, farming needs, or other tools for the best price - directly from those who manufacture them on a small scale. The paths between each shop were only a foot or two wide, and the stones were worn smooth from the crowds of people that pass through the dark maze every day. All of this creates essentially the exact opposite of an American Wal-mart in just about every way!

The final part of the market we visited is knows as the "fish den." The reason for this name became immediately clear as we rounded a corner to see men carrying huge baskets of fish and stacking them in mounds for women to sell. The first thing that hit me was the smell - an overpowering mix of fresh fish, deep-fried fish, and rotting fish - definitely not a smell that would make me want to buy dinner! All around were pots of oil on stoves where sellers fried smaller fish whole or cut larger ones into sections, frying them and laying them out on tables where buyers and flies battled for the choicest pieces. I was confused by the strange look of the ground in this area, until i figured out that the whole place was covered by a layer of dried fish scales - crazy! Undeterred by the smell, the flies, the heat, or the fact that he wouldn't be home for at least 5 hours, Cornel decided to go ahead and buy some fried fish to take home for dinner that night - he put the pieces in his laptop bag and carried them around the rest of the day, including our meeting with the NGO board, during which I couldn't help but notice the distinct smell of fish in the modern office...

I've been to markets in other developing countries around the world, but the Kikomba market was especially overwhelming. I think part of the reason for that was the enormous size - we covered only a tiny section - and part was the extreme minority in which I found myself. We walked for close to three hours through a constant crowd of people, and I didn't see a single other white person. As I grow to understand this culture better through spending more time here and hearing more and more stories, I think I am also growing in my ability to understand the people. Maybe that's another reason why Kikomba had a strong effect on me - when I see the women selling little piles of carrots or the men carrying huge baskets of fish, I can understand a little of the bigger picture - where those goods come from, the expectations on the sellers from their families, the hardships faced by the people in all areas of the country, the challenges that come along with making a living in this way. I've never had this sort of understanding as a tourist or on a mission trip, and I'm thankful for the way it's helping me to see this place every day.