Doesn't that sound nice to all you people stuck in the Nashville snow?
Monday, January 31, 2011
Luxury at the Tribe
On Saturday, Jane and I snuck into a super nice hotel in Westlands called Tribe and spent the day lounging by their fabulous pool - talk about a stark contrast with the rest of the week! It was probably 85 degrees and sunny, so we got to soak up some sun in luxurious chairs and eat a fantastic lunch next to the pool. There were very few people there, and ZERO screaming kids, so I was pretty darn happy.
Doesn't that sound nice to all you people stuck in the Nashville snow?
Doesn't that sound nice to all you people stuck in the Nashville snow?
Friday, January 28, 2011
New Centers in Thika
Yesterday I drove with Duncan to check out the newest CARE for AIDS region in the Thika area, on the North side of Nairobi. We picked up Kevin, the regional coordinator, and headed out to the Kia-ndutu slum, where the first center is located. Kia-ndutu is a crazy place - one of the more hectic slums that I've been around. Narrow, dirt paths snake their way between ramshackle wood or tin dwellings, and it was a driving test for me to maneuver the car all the way to the Full Gospel Church in the center of the slum.
It's also (apparently), one of the most dangerous places around. The spiritual counselor at the center, Patrick, grew up in Kia-ndutu, so people know him and he is comfortable there. All of the other staff members from Thika refuse to walk through Kia-ndutu unless they are in a group or with Patrick, though, even during the day. As I spoke with Patrick, he told me that during the previous day at about 1pm, he looked out the church window and saw a man get stabbed and robbed...yikes!
That means that there is a LOT of need in the area, and thankfully Patrick and his fellow worker Louise are hard at work meeting with clients and helping them to turn their lives around. We hung out with about 15 clients in the waiting area of the church yesterday and watched as Patrick and Louise counseled them. Only two months into the program, they are already seeing some wonderful developments and learning a lot about the real needs of HIV-positive people in this area.
We then drove to the opposite side of Thika and met with the pastor and center workers for the second Thika center in an area called Kiganjo. We visited the Deliverance Church of Kiganjo, where everyone is excited to host Duncan as a guest pastor this coming Sunday when they officially launch the center. The two CFA counselors, Ann and Patrick, spent some time staying at the house a couple of weeks ago training, so it was great to see them again and share in their excitement to begin working. They have already been visiting support groups and local clinics, and they are well on their way to recruiting a full group of clients for the brand new center.
Please join with me in praying for both of these young CARE for AIDS center. Pray that the workers in Kia-ndutu would have wisdom in working with people of extreme poverty, and that they would stay safe in such a difficult environment. Also pray that the church and staff at Kiganjo would be welcoming to just the right clients as they spend time recruiting people and visiting their homes. Finally, pray for Kevin as he manages both of these new centers and works out logistics in a new area, all while getting used to living in a new place. Thank you so much for your continued prayers - God is truly working miracles in the lives of people with nowhere else to turn, and we praise Him for it!
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| Good ol Prado - still goin strong with 214,000 km! |
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| Kia-ndutu slum...not the nicest place to live |
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| Patrick talking with a client at Full Gospel Church of Kia-ndutu |
That means that there is a LOT of need in the area, and thankfully Patrick and his fellow worker Louise are hard at work meeting with clients and helping them to turn their lives around. We hung out with about 15 clients in the waiting area of the church yesterday and watched as Patrick and Louise counseled them. Only two months into the program, they are already seeing some wonderful developments and learning a lot about the real needs of HIV-positive people in this area.
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| Pastor Newton, Patrick, and Ann |
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Beauty
Last night I got home to find a dark house and a lack of power. It shouldn't have surprised me, because when I left in the afternoon the power lines across the street were spewing sparks at the top of a pole...yikes. Not having power isn't the end of the world - just the end of hot water, internet access, coffee makers, and some of those little "conveniences" that we all get used to.
Anyway, I walked in the house last night and Edwin, who guards and takes care of our compound, had set up little candles in strategic places to provide some light for Duncan and I. I stopped for a few minutes in the living room, struck first by the amount of light that came from one small candle in the midst of a completely dark room (I could stop here and break into a reflective post about being a light in the world, but we've probably all heard that one before), and second by the beauty that these tiny lights brought to an ordinary environment. Compared with the ordinary light bulbs I'm used to, these little flickering candles seemed to transform their surroundings with a silent, understated beauty.
Something that's has been a trend in several conversations lately for me is optimism. Now, I know that it's possible - and obnoxious - to be overly optimistic. I've been guilty of that before. In most cases, though, I think that optimism is a good thing, because it draws our minds toward things that are "true...noble...right...pure...lovely...admirable...excellent...or praiseworthy," and brings us to "think about such things" (Philippians 4:8). Part of this is recognizing beauty, and seeing things that are beautiful as a reflection of God and His love for us. John Eldridge talks in The Way of the Wild Heart about the transition that occurs in a man as he matures and comes to appreciate beauty, and through it, the Creator of beauty. For me, the initial recognition of beauty came through BIG things...the snow covered Swiss Alps, or the golden light on the African savanna. Over time, though, I think I'm coming to acknowledge beauty in the small things, the daily things. Things like the moon behind clouds at night, the blue sky, green grass, and brown dirt that surrounds me. Things like the light from a single candle in a dark room...
Where can you find beauty today? Last night in our small group we talked about the signs that God uses to remind each one of us that He is here. What is it that shows you God is present, that reveals the work of our Creator? Choosing and learning to see beauty in the small things can be a great source of joy, and even the most optimistic people can always use a little more joy!
Anyway, I walked in the house last night and Edwin, who guards and takes care of our compound, had set up little candles in strategic places to provide some light for Duncan and I. I stopped for a few minutes in the living room, struck first by the amount of light that came from one small candle in the midst of a completely dark room (I could stop here and break into a reflective post about being a light in the world, but we've probably all heard that one before), and second by the beauty that these tiny lights brought to an ordinary environment. Compared with the ordinary light bulbs I'm used to, these little flickering candles seemed to transform their surroundings with a silent, understated beauty.
Something that's has been a trend in several conversations lately for me is optimism. Now, I know that it's possible - and obnoxious - to be overly optimistic. I've been guilty of that before. In most cases, though, I think that optimism is a good thing, because it draws our minds toward things that are "true...noble...right...pure...lovely...admirable...excellent...or praiseworthy," and brings us to "think about such things" (Philippians 4:8). Part of this is recognizing beauty, and seeing things that are beautiful as a reflection of God and His love for us. John Eldridge talks in The Way of the Wild Heart about the transition that occurs in a man as he matures and comes to appreciate beauty, and through it, the Creator of beauty. For me, the initial recognition of beauty came through BIG things...the snow covered Swiss Alps, or the golden light on the African savanna. Over time, though, I think I'm coming to acknowledge beauty in the small things, the daily things. Things like the moon behind clouds at night, the blue sky, green grass, and brown dirt that surrounds me. Things like the light from a single candle in a dark room...
Where can you find beauty today? Last night in our small group we talked about the signs that God uses to remind each one of us that He is here. What is it that shows you God is present, that reveals the work of our Creator? Choosing and learning to see beauty in the small things can be a great source of joy, and even the most optimistic people can always use a little more joy!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Something I love about Kenya...
...is that flowers are REALLY cheap! Kenya produces many of the flowers that get sold across Europe and South Africa (at a huge markup), so it's super easy to find all sorts of exotic flowers being sold on the side of the road for next to nothing. For example, yesterday I got this bunch of 20 long-stem roses for $1.88...yep, you read that right: less than ten cents a rose!
As a side note, you might also notice the following items in the background of this picture: American football (one of a kind here in Kenya...gotta love the ol pigskin), Duct tape (along with WD-40, which is also in my room, prepares us for any emergency), sunglasses (yep, it's sunny and summery all the time these days), Turkish Airlines blanket (thanks for that Turkey!) and Brackenhurst-labeled water bottle (which gets replaced in Jane's cottage every day by her housekeeping staff).
Livin the dream...
As a side note, you might also notice the following items in the background of this picture: American football (one of a kind here in Kenya...gotta love the ol pigskin), Duct tape (along with WD-40, which is also in my room, prepares us for any emergency), sunglasses (yep, it's sunny and summery all the time these days), Turkish Airlines blanket (thanks for that Turkey!) and Brackenhurst-labeled water bottle (which gets replaced in Jane's cottage every day by her housekeeping staff).
Livin the dream...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Food Discoveries
Even though we've only been back in Kenya for a week or so, Jane is already taking maximum advantage of her personal kitchen and her grocery budget. She gets all kinds of joy from planning out meals, going to the grocery store, preparing food, and watching me voraciously shovel it down...in the end, everyone is happy!
We've come to several criteria that give bonus points to a great meal here in Kenya. Apart from tasting great, it's extra-awesome if:
1. Sauteed chicken with QUINOA mixed with onions and tomatoes. Obviously, I had no idea what quinoa was a couple of weeks ago (or how to pronounce it, or how to spell it, which I still might not be doing properly). Despite the fact that it looks like something along the lines of molding shrunken beans, it actually tastes good! It's also a "superfood," in that it apparently turns you slowly but surely into Superman. Or at least that's what I'm being told...
2. Polenta with sauteed onions/butter beans/kale, topped with a poached egg and a little chipotle Tabasco sauce. Now, this one I was REALLY skeptical of at first, but it actually tasted great when it was all put together. Plus, kale is another "superfood," I was informed, and it's super cheap because it grows everywhere in Kenya. This meal was also an interesting (and much more tasty) twist on the typical Kenyan meal of ugali and greens...so local!
3. WHOLE roasted chicken with roasted butternut squash and onions. Yep, we can buy a whole chicken for four bucks, and Jane showed that thing who was boss last night. It was delicious! Definitely a far cry from the Hamburger Helper that I was making for myself last year...
Basically, Jane is a magician in the kitchen. I am never quite sure what to expect when she describes these things to me, but they seem to always turn out great!
We've come to several criteria that give bonus points to a great meal here in Kenya. Apart from tasting great, it's extra-awesome if:
- the ingredients are CHEAP
- it uses all or mostly local Kenyan ingredients
- it's healthy
- it produces a small amount of dirty dishes (this one is a bit of a reach haha)
1. Sauteed chicken with QUINOA mixed with onions and tomatoes. Obviously, I had no idea what quinoa was a couple of weeks ago (or how to pronounce it, or how to spell it, which I still might not be doing properly). Despite the fact that it looks like something along the lines of molding shrunken beans, it actually tastes good! It's also a "superfood," in that it apparently turns you slowly but surely into Superman. Or at least that's what I'm being told...
2. Polenta with sauteed onions/butter beans/kale, topped with a poached egg and a little chipotle Tabasco sauce. Now, this one I was REALLY skeptical of at first, but it actually tasted great when it was all put together. Plus, kale is another "superfood," I was informed, and it's super cheap because it grows everywhere in Kenya. This meal was also an interesting (and much more tasty) twist on the typical Kenyan meal of ugali and greens...so local!
3. WHOLE roasted chicken with roasted butternut squash and onions. Yep, we can buy a whole chicken for four bucks, and Jane showed that thing who was boss last night. It was delicious! Definitely a far cry from the Hamburger Helper that I was making for myself last year...
Basically, Jane is a magician in the kitchen. I am never quite sure what to expect when she describes these things to me, but they seem to always turn out great!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Goals for 2011
One of the things that makes me happiest in the course of my job is when I see the members of our Kenyan staff growing and developing as leaders and as reliable, innovative workers. A test of this growth always occurs when I'm gone for a little while. Last year at Christmas, I left a list of things that needed to get accomplished before the end of the year, and when I returned in January, very few of them had been completed to the specifications I'd expected. Over the course of the year since then, though, our whole team in Kenya has really grown in areas of organization, responsibility, and job definition, so I had high hopes when I left behind a few tasks to be completed over this Christmas.
When I returned last week, I wasn't disappointed. Almost everything that I'd asked for had been done just about perfectly, and there was a stack of papers waiting on my desk for me to review - praise God! It made me proud of our administration - the directors and regional coordinators are all really stepping up these days and allowing CARE for AIDS to grow with stability and consistent quality, and this professionalism trickles all the way down to the way that our center workers relate to clients each day.
One thing that the regional coordinators collected from each center while I was in the States is an annual center report for 2010. As part of this report, the center workers were asked to list some of their goals for 2011. I really liked the answers that we received, so I thought I'd share a selection of the responses with you...
Goals for the clients (from Sarah at the Gachie center):
Please join me in praying that God would work through each of these workers to accomplish all of their goals during the coming year. I am so thankful for the passion that each member of our staff has for transforming the lives of people suffering from HIV/AIDS, and I know that the power of the Gospel has only begun to accomplish the fullness of the work of Christ here in Kenya!
When I returned last week, I wasn't disappointed. Almost everything that I'd asked for had been done just about perfectly, and there was a stack of papers waiting on my desk for me to review - praise God! It made me proud of our administration - the directors and regional coordinators are all really stepping up these days and allowing CARE for AIDS to grow with stability and consistent quality, and this professionalism trickles all the way down to the way that our center workers relate to clients each day.
One thing that the regional coordinators collected from each center while I was in the States is an annual center report for 2010. As part of this report, the center workers were asked to list some of their goals for 2011. I really liked the answers that we received, so I thought I'd share a selection of the responses with you...
Goals for the clients (from Sarah at the Gachie center):
- Spiritually - they would know their God, accept the Lordship of Jesus, and be able to witness to others
- Physically - they would adhere to medication and avoid reinfection
- Economically - they would be empowered with skills and ideas so that they can start an income-generating project and be independent financially
- Socially - help them form support groups that can benefit them financially, and discover their talents and strengths
- Move clients to higher echelons of faith
- Be a role model to clients in matters and faith and Christ-likeness
- Give the best that I can give
We have various goals to achieve in our center during 2011. First and the foremost is to let each and every client know that, despite of having HIV and AIDS, and sometimes being hated by their friends, families, and relatives, God still loves them and there is hope to live and serve Jesus.
The other goal is to make sure that every client has known the Word of God through the proper doctrine of the Bible and gets born again for those who are still in darkness.
The other thing is to empower the clients through the seminars and after nine months, each client will be able to depend on his or her own. Spiritually, every client will not have any stigma, and will be able to stand before people or anyone who will be having the same problem and help him or her to transform that person.
Please join me in praying that God would work through each of these workers to accomplish all of their goals during the coming year. I am so thankful for the passion that each member of our staff has for transforming the lives of people suffering from HIV/AIDS, and I know that the power of the Gospel has only begun to accomplish the fullness of the work of Christ here in Kenya!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Vandy Snuggie!
Another AWESOME part about Christmas this year was that Preston gave me this:
I love pretty much anything with Vanderbilt on it, so this was a SWEET present! I'll be wearing/using/snuggling it for years to come while I operate the tv remote without making my arms cold...
I love pretty much anything with Vanderbilt on it, so this was a SWEET present! I'll be wearing/using/snuggling it for years to come while I operate the tv remote without making my arms cold...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
God bless America!
So Jane and I had an AWESOME Christmas in the States - 3 weeks of football, snow, great food, and even better people. We had debated on whether to return to the US for Christmas or to take a trip somewhere else in the world, and I think going home turned out to be the right decision. It was such a blessing to have time with both of our families, and I returned to Kenya feeling loved, encouraged, and recharged for the next four months.
One of the hardest things for me to wrap my mind around now is the fact that I have less than four months left here in Kenya! That feels like such a finite amount of time after the last year and a half, and right now it seems like there are so many things that need to happen in that time frame. Between CARE for AIDS projects and African adventures, I know the time is going to fly by and May 4, our return date to America, will be here in a flash. Before I spend too much time looking forward, though, here are a few highlights from the past month:
1. Pictured below is the limo that 20 other people and I took for my GRANDMA's 80th birthday - insane! We went out to the Speedway Club for dinner, and while Jane and I were fighting off some serious jetlag, it was a really cool night.
2. After hearing for years about Jane's family's Christmas traditions (every family does things in their own unique way I guess), I got to experience them firsthand during Christmas in Ohio. I was introduced to things like traditional Swedish smorgasbords, gingerbread house building parties, matching family pajamas, and Mediterranean Christmas Eve dinner at the church! We also went ice skating and snow tubing at the Cleveland Indians ballpark one day - it was sweet, as you can tell from some of the Slattons' faces...
3. SKIING! Jane and I got to join my family in Colorado for a week, and I was so happy I didn't have to break my 20-year streak of skiing every winter. Despite some extra-cold days (20 below...yikes), we had a blast and Jane absolutely ROCKED the slopes! We also got to eat some really cool meals, including one on top of the mountain after a gondola and snow-cat ride. It seems like food is a trend here, hmm...
These are just a few of the many things that made for a wonderful holiday. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, and Happy New Year!
One of the hardest things for me to wrap my mind around now is the fact that I have less than four months left here in Kenya! That feels like such a finite amount of time after the last year and a half, and right now it seems like there are so many things that need to happen in that time frame. Between CARE for AIDS projects and African adventures, I know the time is going to fly by and May 4, our return date to America, will be here in a flash. Before I spend too much time looking forward, though, here are a few highlights from the past month:
1. Pictured below is the limo that 20 other people and I took for my GRANDMA's 80th birthday - insane! We went out to the Speedway Club for dinner, and while Jane and I were fighting off some serious jetlag, it was a really cool night.
2. After hearing for years about Jane's family's Christmas traditions (every family does things in their own unique way I guess), I got to experience them firsthand during Christmas in Ohio. I was introduced to things like traditional Swedish smorgasbords, gingerbread house building parties, matching family pajamas, and Mediterranean Christmas Eve dinner at the church! We also went ice skating and snow tubing at the Cleveland Indians ballpark one day - it was sweet, as you can tell from some of the Slattons' faces...
3. SKIING! Jane and I got to join my family in Colorado for a week, and I was so happy I didn't have to break my 20-year streak of skiing every winter. Despite some extra-cold days (20 below...yikes), we had a blast and Jane absolutely ROCKED the slopes! We also got to eat some really cool meals, including one on top of the mountain after a gondola and snow-cat ride. It seems like food is a trend here, hmm...
These are just a few of the many things that made for a wonderful holiday. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, and Happy New Year!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
How the Seasons Change
In the South (THE south, of America) seasons change relatively slowly. Between Winter and Summer, you get Fall and Spring. Not so in my life. Over the course of several flights and tired layovers this weekend, I went from the cold and snow of America to the 80-degree summertime of Kenya...it was almost surreal to wake up yesterday morning to the heat of the African sun after spending last week in the -20 degree snowstorms of Colorado!
The moral to that story is that Jane and I are back in Kenya after an AWESOME three-week trip to the States. I'll be taking a break from working on my tan in the next few days to give you some more details, but for now I just want to thank all of you who prayed for our trip and were an encouragement during our brief connection to family, friends, and US cellphone networks. I think we are both feeling energized and ready to make things happen during the next four months, and I'm sure that God has some exciting things in store...
The moral to that story is that Jane and I are back in Kenya after an AWESOME three-week trip to the States. I'll be taking a break from working on my tan in the next few days to give you some more details, but for now I just want to thank all of you who prayed for our trip and were an encouragement during our brief connection to family, friends, and US cellphone networks. I think we are both feeling energized and ready to make things happen during the next four months, and I'm sure that God has some exciting things in store...
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