More News from Kenya

 

Hello Friends!

I hope all of you are well! I just wanted to give you a brief update on last week and what I have been up to recently. 

First of all I would like to say thank you again to my followers and those that have left me very encouraging comments. I just want to continue to strengthen the communication between my home and here to help you to better understand our role in Kenya. It is easy to feel like you have been forgotten about being continents away and I appreciate the feedback. 

 

In recent election news, Kenya is anxiously waiting to hear the court ruling from the election that took place on March 4^th. As the entire country shut down with few buses running and most shops closed everyone was glued to the TV to count results as they came in pole pole (slowly slowly).  Odinga the CORD candidate (running against the President Elect Kenyatta) claims that the IEBC (election committee) was unfair in its' tallying of results. He claims that much of the IEBC's  equipment did not work properly and also mentions various other problems that took place during the election. Odinga is claiming that it would be unjust to not challenge the results especially under Kenya's new constitution. As soon as the ruling is made and peace is present (as it is currently) then I will begin traveling around Kenya to check in on the people the OAIC has been training this past year. I will be documenting stories and learning from their training experiences to determine which of the OAIC’s methods are most effective. I am really looking forward to this and will keep you updated on my travels.

Yesterday was my opening appearance as a praise and worship leader singing at Christco Central Church near Kibera. To sum up my experience I just learned the songs the day before including two Swahili songs and the one that I went home and practiced got changed the day of. Of course I didn’t know this until I was standing on stage and the song came on. Thankfully I had a tambourine so I could cover my mouth and hide the fact that I had no clue what was going on. Don't worry I had help there were many others on stage to back me up too.  Needless to say I am looking forward to my next worship leading experience this coming Sunday. I have really enjoyed Chirstco Church and feel as if it is a home away from home. 

We also started an NCAA basketball bracket in the OAIC office today. It will be quite interesting considering that I had to explain to my co-workers what exactly they had to do. I will keep you updated on our office competition. I’m sure it will be very entertaining. 

Christo Central Church

The Kenyan Election + much more

The Kenyan elections were peaceful and all is almost back to normal here in Nairobi. The CORD candidate Raila Odinga is challenging the elections but peacefully in court. The president elect Uhuru Kenyatta could face challenges as he faces charges at the International Criminal Court coming in the next months. This past week the entire country of Kenya was stopped as the results slowly came out and the winner was announced finally after five days of waiting in front of the TV. Kenyatta needed more than 50% of the vote and came out with 50.07% just making the cut. It seemed like everyone in Kenya was glued to the television last week- busses did not run, stores were closed etc. Everyone was anxiously waiting to see what would conclude the final announcement. Many were fearful of a repeat of the 2008 election where hundreds of people were killed in post election violence. Thankfully through the constant peace preached in church, and many media reminders and the determination of Kenyans peace prevailed.

I have been living with Phyllis’ husband and Will while she has been back in the US finding new YAVs and stuff. He has told me multiple times that he is not responsible if I blow away by the wind because I am so small. He thinks that I don’t eat enough and is always at the dinner table telling me to take thirds and fourths during meals. He has been testing me this past week to see if I can run an African home also and has said that I pass so that’s encouraging.

These past few weeks I have spent a lot of time writing articles and hanging out with my friends here who are great. I love it here so much! I am trying to find excuses to stay longer because my friends and I are trying to cram all kinds of things in. I have so many more families to meet here and places to visit.

Aside from that I have been going to multiple churches because all my friends want me to visit their churches. So far I consider my two home churches St. Andrews PCEA and Christco Central Church. I have really enjoyed both places and feel much at home at both. I am also working with Christco which is near Kibera (the largest informal settlement in Nairobi) to get a children’s home set up in that area. This will be to help empower street children who have lost their family members to provide them with quality education and skills necessary to survive in Nairobi. I hope that somehow I can manage to help this cause.
  A picture of Kibera.

I have also been helping a young girl named Blessing who is four years old. She was burnt badly with third degree burns on her face when she was two. She was at the point where she did not have eye lids and faced blindness because of infection. We were able to get her treatment at a hospital in Uganda which provides low cost treatment. They were able to perform reconstructive surgery for this little girl and since I have been arranging and escorting her to the hospital here to get her stitches out and go for checkups. Blessing is doing much healthier now that she can close her eyes, she also now can eat food by herself and her nose is in better shape than it was previously.  It is nice to be able to help make a difference in this young girls life and ensure she has a future.

I have also felt a bit discouraged from my church home. I do not really feel supported by them and rarely hear from them. I know that without their financial support I would not be here but it is also nice to have some encouragement especially since I am representing them.