Connections

Has God ever taken you somewhere and then you realized He had many purposes for you going? That's how I felt about Kenya this time. One of those purposes was for me to meet a group traveling with World Connex. We met them at High Ridge School and tec Center. We knew ahead of time that we would meet to travel together to the Safari, but little did I know God had His own special purposes for me.


Once we introduced ourselves we realized that we were all connected.

1)Brooke was their trip leader and she was an intern for Buckner last year and had travelled with us to Busia.

2)Victor works for World Connex (in Dallas) and is on the Board of Buckner, but also attends Concord, which is down the street from my church.

3)I went to high school with the brother of Pastor Clark, who is from Dallas and pastor in Austin. I knew the former pastor at Rev. Clark's church and a student at UT who attends the church came from the church where my father is a pastor.


But the connection that has birthed an on going relationship is the one with me,Victor and my father. Our common interest is getting more African Americans involved in missions. Whether it is by church, vocations, individuals, pastors, giving, going, praying - however the Lord leads we know that we are not well represented in missions. Part of it is a lack of education on our role in missions, especially in Africa.


This connection also brought an awareness to me from Victor- that what I did in Kenya, which was more than just sewing, was really about economic development. Part of the ladies knowing about the love of Christ from me, is knowing He would send someone to help with the practical parts of their lives. They needed a plan on how to make money for their basic needs. I can now see that a simple plan is coming together than can be understood in any language.


I was also reminded that in my own spirit I had caught hold of the plan presented by our pastor, Dr. Tony Evans on New Year Eve.



Start where you are

Use what you have

Do what you can do


This sudden awareness opened my eyes that I had been working this plan all along and the result was going to Kenya, using my teaching and sewing skills and bringing supplies to women who could not otherwise afford it. These supplies can now help them "start where they........"

The other side of Kenya

Typical Masai village house - cow dung, straw and mud- built by the women

Masai Warriors


Masai Jumping contest
leopards
Masai women singing
Airplane at landing strip

Water Buffalo
Melissa and Carla standing in the Land Rover
Leopard spotted in the tree
Lioness' and cubs resting

You can't talk about Kenya without talking about Masai Mara. This is the natural land where the Masai tribe lives in harmony with animals. While I have been several times, I like to see the reaction of those going for the first time. I did not tell Kristen or Melissa that this was a place where you encounter the awesome creativity of God. Once you see it, a zoo means nothing to you. This land and all its inhabitants allows you see why God said what He created was good!


As typical with most groups that I have been with to Kenya, they start out looking at the schedule and wondering why is there a need to go to Masai Mara when we could spend that extra day doing more mission work. They forget that its okay to take a few hours to see another part of the land. After traveling 8000 miles and staying for a month it would be ashamed not to see the natural beauty of Kenya. This time was no different. But as usual I stayed silent about the issue until they were able to see it for themselves.


To get to this land you have to take a long drive or go by small plane (which is what we did) and be ready to land on an airstrip (okay it was a dirt road). When we landed we were greeted at the terminal (I mean thatch and metal covered sheds) by our drivers. It appeared like we were in the middle of nowhere. But we were in the perfect place to encounter God's creations. We loaded up in the Land Rovers(the best way to travel on safari) and took an hour long drive down winding dirt roads to our accommodations. We saw elephants and giraffe's along the way and the excitement began to build about Masai Mara.

Once we arrived and checked in we were lead to our room - a luxury tent. You have to be there to really enjoy it but it was as nice a staying in hotel. Yes, it had a restroom and shower attached. I'm not a camping kinda girl, but I enjoyed staying in the tent.


By now it was lunch time and we were ready to eat. When Melissa saw the variety of food and fresh vegetables she came over, hugged me and said "thank you".


After lunch we went back to the land rovers and headed out for our sunset safari. This safari meant we were taking a drive, about 4 hours, to see animals in their natural habitat. The next morning we headed out about six am for a sunrise safari before breakfast. During the morning safari we were taken to a Masai village where we got to see the tribe up close and personal.


The Masai are a people have always lived on this land. Most of us know them because they are the tribe that wears the color red. The pictures that you will see are only a glimpse of we saw. I will post others at a later date on a website for pictures.


We really needed to get away from the city for that 24 hour period. We were now refreshed and ready to go for another 2 weeks of ministry

Super + Natural = Miracle

Over the last few weeks I have heard this phrase in conversations and sermons. I saw this with my own eyes when we visited the New Hope Babies Home in Nairobi. We heard several missionaries talk about it, but we had no idea what we were really going to see.
As we entered the gate we saw what looked like 1- 3 year olds on their way to the play area. After going on a tour and being told of the process by which these abandoned and orphaned children go from HIV positive to HIV negative, we know that a miracle is involved. God used the natural medical knowledge about antibodies that he gave men, to bring about a super example of His miracles. Out of 900 babies only 50 have died. That’s the short version.

What I want to talk about is our day with the kids. During the tour we saw children from 4 days to 3 years old. We saw pictures of kids up to 7 years old who were still HIV negative who had been adopted out from the Home. After the tour, we scrubbed up and headed outside to be with the kids we saw when we entered the gate to the home. They were enjoying the sunshine and we joined in on the fun. I saw a boy and a girl and wagon. I put them in the wagon and pulled them around the play area. I watched as they leaned back and began to grin. After 10 minutes I thought “I'm sure they have had enough”, but when I stopped the wagon they both started flailing their arms for me to keep going. At first I laughed and then 30 minutes later I found myself still pulling that wagon. I also watched Kristen and Melissa as children flooded them to be picked up and held. It was awesome to see all these children happy and healthy. The workers appeared to love their jobs and made sure that all visitors treated the kids like any other kids. We were told that positive and negative children are kept together and we would not know which ones had been infected by HIV. The truth is we didn't need to know. All we needed to know is we were there to show them love.

After a couple of hours of sunshine the workers led us back into the home where we helped with the rest of their routine - Wash their hands, sit at the table, pray for the food and eat lunch. As with typical 2 year olds, some food landed in the mouth and some on clothes and the table. Since it was close to 1:00 pm the children were then taken to the restroom where 2 workers cleaned their soiled diapers, put them on the potties, put on fresh diapers and had us put the children in their various beds for their afternoon nap. That was just in the class that I worked with, which had about 12 kids. Kristen and Melissa were in another area doing the same thing. I don't remember how many children are able to stay at the home at one time but this was another job that I saw where love and commitment was the key.

I think the pictures speak volumes. Enjoy the little miracles we encountered in Kenya.