BLOG #19: Mathare Service and DC VBS

Dear Family and Friends,

In this post, I will be sharing about our last few days in Kenya. On the last Sunday, our team split into two groups. One group stayed at DC (Deliverance Church) because Grace K. and Terrence spoke at the Sunday Service. They shared about the upcoming VBS (Vacation Bible School) program and had a panel of people varying from children to adults share their past experiences with VBS. It was a preview for the fun week to come!

The other half was the Eight Count team and Theresa. We drove to Mathare in the morning to attend service at MWC (Mathare Worship Center). Eight Count also performed our Bleeding Love piece for the congregation, which was well received again... whew! While in Mathare, Pastor Steve connected Eight Count with a local dance group called Xteez. This was a highlight for our team because we saw that the dancers in Xteez were using dance as a positive way to minister to youth. We had a chance to talk with some of the Xteez dancers, teach them part of our choreography, and we even learned some of their moves!


The rest of the day was spent helping DC prepare for their week-long VBS program! When Monday came, we were all excited to see how many kids would turn up for VBS. It was amazing seeing kids coming from all over (walking! and by themselves!) just to attend. The turnout was about 700-800 children!!! That meant about 150 children per station! Here's what the average VBS day looks like!

8:00-9:00am Registration and arrival
Kids come and get assigned to a team leader. Team leaders are usually high school students who volunteer for the week. The team leaders have up to 10 children each and they are responsible for keeping everyone together, and assisting their children as needed.

9:00am-10:00am Everyone does Sing & Play
As a large group, we learn different songs and dances that are part of the High Seas VBS Curriculum. We learn the verse of the day as well as the "phrase" for the day.

10:00am-12:30pm Rotations begin! There are 5 rotations/stations and each one is about 30 minutes long. Every half hour, the kids rotate to the next station. Here are the stations:

1) Crafts - Everyday there is a different art activity that students make. They get to take home their craft and keep it with them! For example: one day it was a stuffed pillow that was decorated, and another day was a toy "rocket" that shoots out a little paper mache ball.

2) Video - Everyday they watch a 15 minute video that teaches about the lesson of the day. The remainder of the time is used for comprehension by asking and answering questions about the video.

3) Games - The children learn different games that teach them about working in a team, and have fun too!

4) Bible Lesson - In this rotation, they learn a different story from the Bible that has to do with the theme of the day. The leaders also do some acting and role-playing to help students' understand the main ideas.

5) Snacks & Dance - The students get a snack to eat and some tea to drink. Afterwards, Eight Count taught the kids a fun dance to Wavin Flag!

12:30pm-1:00pm Floating Finale with everyone!
All the children, volunteers, and leaders return together to sing and dance at the conclusion of the day. This is also where the leaders really speak to the children about the main message of the day!

During the last few days, our team was able to say our goodbyes to the SOH (Sanctuary of Hope) orphans, as well as all the wonderful Deliverance Church volunteers that had been spending the past 2 weeks with us! We were so humbled by how much time and energy our new friends had given to make us feel welcome and safe in Kenya. We organized a goodbye tea party for our Kenyan friends, but it ended up with them giving us gifts and surprises! Where we all live... you know, it's hard to drop everything and just empty your schedule for some visitors. But in Kenya, that's what they do. They welcomed us, took care of us, and we are eternally grateful for their kindness and love. Even going to the airport, the pastor's kids all wanted to send us off (and it's not a short drive!). We are so thankful for our new family!

BLOG #18: Murang'a's First VBS

Dear Families and Friends,

We were fortunate on this trip to really see and serve in all different types of areas in Kenya. Our "home" and all Deliverance Church activities had been in Kahawa Sukari which is a more suburban area, we had also spent several days at Mathare Worship Center in the slums of Mathare, and now we got to visit the countryside where Pastor Wang'ombe grew up, Murang'a! Murang'a was literally a "breath of fresh air." Murang'a was an hour and a half drive from Pastor's home, and it was such a nice change from Central Nairobi. As we drove, there was no traffic, and barely any other cars. All we saw were green hills, animals, and fields where they were growing agriculture or tea leaves!

We had already visited Murang'a earlier in the week for the VBS planning meeting, but now we were actually going to do a two-day VBS for several combined churches. The pastors in Murang'a decided we should stay overnight one night at their places, instead of driving back and forth. It was very thoughtful, although we of course felt bad for burdening them (they didn't see it that way so we couldn't object). We had gotten so used to staying at Pastor's house, that staying in Murang'a for that one night actually felt strange. Of course, the homes were also different than Pastor's house (ie. for the girls, there wasn't a toilet in the house... it was a flushable squatting one..., and for the boys, they had to spend half an hour pushing the mutatu up a mushy dirt driveway because it had rained! oh and Janette accidentally stepped on an ant hill and the safari ants climbed inside her clothes and bit her in different places! eeewww!), but the people are sooooo hospitable and welcoming and make up for everything else!

Both days, we led a successful VBS with Sing & Play in the beginning and the end, and then five 30 minute rotations in the middle: crafts, bible story, snacks, games, and dance. They had about 200-300 kids come to participate! These kids walk everywhere on their own... it's so different to see how independent the kids are. Little babies are waddling around on uneven rocks and dirt, and if they fall, they get up without a fuss. Parents don't drop their kids off either... the children literally show up on their own, maybe after walking for several miles!

Here are some pictures of Murang'a:

This video also shows some highlights of our two days in Murang'a! Or you can go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woObTPoSA14



After the first day of VBS, we also had a special treat where the Bishop and his wife brought us into a tea factory! I don't think visitors are usually allowed inside the tea factory, but somehow the Bishop got us a private tour of the tea production process from start to finish!!! We were able to learn how tea leaves are grown, picked, dried, chopped, etc... and finally made into different quality grades depending on how fine or coarse the tea is.

Hope you enjoyed seeing our trip to Murang'a!

BLOG #17: Sanctuary of Hope (SOH) Orphanages

Dear Families and Friends,

On Thursday, August 5th and Monday, August 9th, we were fortunate to visit the Sanctuary of Hope (SOH) orphanages. Currently, there are 2 SOH's, and they are building a third. Their goal is 10 orphanages!

A short background: Pastor and Mrs. Karau from Kenya opened up the first SOH in 2006 with the help of Hope's Promise, an adoption and orphan care organization in Colorado (www.hopespromise.com). The idea of SOH is to create a family-based orphanage, where they adopt about 10 children from the Mathare valley, and the Karau's live with the children in the home. Each child has sponsors to help pay for healthcare, housing, food, clothing, education, etc. They opened up SOH 2 in 2008 and were able to take in another 10 children.

When we visited SOH2, Mama Karau was sharing stories with us about some of the children they adopted. One example was Esther, who is in the video below. Esther's mother already had 3 other children, and couldn't feed Esther when she was born. Everyday, her mother would leave her in front of the Mathare Worship Center. It took almost 5 years to finally be able to get all the paperwork finished to adopt Esther into SOH. Now, she is finally gaining weight (she is about 20 pounds), her color has changed and she no longer has silver skin, she is growing a little muscle and is starting to stand (she can't walk), she is taking medications now for de-worming, but she does not talk at all. When I saw her, I totally thought she was maybe a year and a half old... it was REALLY hard to believe that she was five years old.



Another example was hearing about two twin boys, Laden and Michael. Their mom used to find free black tea or coffee from stores and she would pour the liquids into plastic bottles for the boys to drink. That would be the only thing they ate all day. Their mom was also HIV-positive, however, because she did not breast feed the boys, they didn't get her nutrients. Instead, they were immediately given medicine and after a little while, they were not HIV-positive anymore! That's a miracle!

Mama Karau also told us what it was like to help new kids adjust to living in SOH. They would have to teach the children how to use the bathroom and the toilet, because some kids never had seen one before. For example, they would ask to use the washroom, but would go on the floor next to the toilet. Or when learning how to brush their teeth, some children would use the water from the toilet because ... to them water is water. Everything was new to these kids... even learning how to use a spoon, or a sink, or sleep in a bed!

The Karaus are amazing people!!! Mama and Pastor Karau live in SOH, as well as their children, and have a full-time commitment to these children. I truly believe in this type of family-based orphanage. They are being raised correctly now, and they are being surrounded by love.

Click below to watch a short video of highlights from SOH! Or go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucCSpBk_E10




Next post... Murang'a VBS!

Grace

BLOG #16: Pictures and Videos Posted!

Dear Families and Friends,

Just wanted to let you know that I've added LOTS of pictures and videos to my previous blogs: BLOG #11 through BLOG #14. When you have extra time, please visit my website: gracetokenya.blogspot.com to see the new updates! The pictures are in a slideshow format, so they will automatically change on its own. For the videos, just press the triangle arrow to watch them! Hopefully, seeing the pictures and videos will help to give you a complete picture of our trip!!!

I will work on updating the second half of the trip in the next few days... I still owe all of you a summary from August 5th on!!! =)

Grace

BLOG #15: Home Sweet Home

Dear Friends and Family,

I apologize for not being able to post for over a week. We have been so busy and we were unable to use any computers this past week. Tim, Sharon, and I are the first group to leave Kenya, and we arrived home around 9pm tonight. Steven, Alina, James, Janette, Joseph, and Theresa are the second group leaving Kenya and they will arrive tomorrow evening. Grace Kim and Terrence are staying until the end of the week, coming back on the weekend.

I have so much to post and now I can actually add photos and videos! For now though, since it's late, I'll just post one video from this week's VBS program at Deliverance Church. This is about 800 people, and we are singing and dancing to the song, "Today is the Day." Their VBS program is Monday to Friday this week from 8am to 1pm, and everyday, they start off with Sing & Play with the whole group. Then we split into 5 rotations: games, bible story, craft, snacks and dance, and video discussion. Eight Count taught a routine to the World Cup song in each rotation! At the end of the day, we all return together for the finale sing and play. Here is one of the songs we taught them!

Enjoy! And stay posted!

BLOG #14: Sunday Service, Day of Rest, and Murang'a

Dear Family and Friends,

* Updated 8/13/10 with a few slideshows and videos! Scroll down to see all the photos!

A quick overview of the past few days...

Sunday, August 1st: Deliverance Church Sunday Service
Our team attended all three services, beginning with the youth service from 7:30am - 8:45am, the English service from 9:00-12:00, then the Swahili service from about 12:00pm-3:00pm. Eight Count was able to perform Bleeding Love for all three of the services, and we were happy that the dance was well received. The Kidzone team was able to help with Sunday School and lead Sing & Play... it was crazy to see one tiny room and one hundred children literally packed together jumping and singing together. We loved the worship songs and prayers, and even seeing our chef, Kefa, singing on the worship team! The services were a bit longer because they had extra prayers for their VBS program, for the upcoming election, and for peace. They had a skit encouraging everyone to be peaceful during the election times... that regardless if you are a yes or a no vote, to be peaceful with each other and not fight. After the service, we had a meeting with all of the DC VBS volunteers and leaders to prepare for their VBS program.

Click here to watch a short video of highlights from the Sunday Service! Or go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4ROSSDq_00



Monday, August 2nd: Our Day of Rest... and Exploring Kenya
We have been non-stop busy for the past four days, so our hosts wanted to give us a day where we could see a little bit more of Kenya. We left at 8:30am and they drove us to the Nairobi National Museum. We had a tour guide teach us about the history of Kenya and about some of the animals here. Afterwards, we went to an Elephant Orphanage and we were able to see them during feeding time. Some of our team members were close enough to touch the elephants! They rescue elephants who have been hurt in the wild (usually by man), and take care of them. We were also brought to different viewpoints higher in the mountains so that we could look down on the Kenya land and see the volcanoes or major landmarks. We had an opportunity to do some shopping for souveneirs, and we learned how to bargain for items. We also got a chance to visit a supermarket and buy some of our favorite foods to bring home, such as their teas or coffees. It was a lot of driving but overall we all enjoyed the nice break from the busyness!

Tuesday, August 3rd: Murang'a Planning VBS Meeting
We left at 8:00am for the hour drive to Murang'a, a small rural village in the countryside where Pastor Wang'ombe actually grew up. Because of the elections and possibilities of danger, our hosts did not want us to be in Mathare as we had planned, and instead we are helping the churches in Murang'a perform their first VBS. It was pretty cool seeing different church leaders in Murang'a getting together with open minds to learn about what VBS is and let us teach them about the program. We taught them about the structure of VBS, what the rotations look like, and how the volunteers and teachers would be used. We planned out which spaces and rooms to use for the different rotations, and spent the whole day basically preparing the leaders and teachers in Murang'a for VBS. We will be going back there on Friday and Saturday to actually implement a two-day VBS for their children. They are expecting 300-500 kids! One amazing thing is that we were warned the Bishop in Murang'a was very conservative, and that if Eight Count did any dancing, it would definitely have to be to Christian music. Near the end of the meeting, an opportunity arised where we decided to perform the National Dance Day routine, but using a Christian song. Afterwards, they actually said, "Do one more!" and we took the risk and performed Bleeding Love, which is not a Christian song. Surprisingly, they loved it and the Bishop went up to the front of the room and was so excited about our dance ministry and our mission. He mentioned that the youth all love to dance and agreed that it was a way to help the youth have an activity that is positive. He said, "If they dance out there, it will be for evil. But if they dance here, it will be for God." We couldn't agree more because that is Eight Count's entire purpose, and we were excited to see that a "conservative" church actually opened up to the idea of possibly having their own dance ministry in the future... At the end of the day, we left Murang'a feeling excited that we are able to train them to lead a VBS and Dance ministry themselves... in time.

Wednesday, August 4th: Election Day
Voting is happening all over, so our hosts wanted to keep us in church where it is safe. So this morning we left at 8:00am and came to church to help prepare all the materials for VBS next week. We are helping them cut, draw, decorate, glue, etc... for 1000 kids! They started with their own kids a few years ago at only 150 kids... then grew to 300... then 700 last year... and this year, they're expecting 1000!!! So, as teacher's know... that's a LOT of prep work to do!!!

We are amazed at how busy Kenyans are. They all wake up early, have a jam-packed schedule all day long, and sleep little. We're starting to realize that maybe our culture is just a bit lazier =) Every night, all of us have no problems sleeping because we are exhausted! Good news though, all our luggage arrived, and we are all healthy and safe!!! Thank you!!! Next prayer... please pray for Kenya. Please pray for a peaceful vote, and peaceful results. This is a great country with the most generous and kind people... we pray that the elections do not change that.

Click here to watch a short video of highlights from the elephant orphanage, Murang'a planning meeting, and DC fun! Or go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZdMduQuaw




Thank you!

Team Kenya

BLOG #13: Personal Reflections

Dear Family and Friends,

* Updated 8/13/10 with pictures of our team members at the Nairobi National Museum!

I asked the team to share one of their most memorable highlights from the trip so far. I wanted you to hear their voices and hear their stories, since most of the blog has been written from my point-of-view only. It's written as a combination of their words and my words (usually in paranthesis). So here they are...

Grace Kim
(background knowledge: we are helping to prep materials for the VBS, and they are expecting 1000 kids. Normally, like at home, we just buy all the materials for the kids, but not here!!!)
One thing she's blown away with is how we're making everything one by one. We're making all the nametags and each craft is made from scratch (not just bought!!! we're talking string, cutting poster boards, hole punching...). An example: the curriculum has pillowcases for each child, but in Kenya, they buy cloth, cut them, sew them, and make the pillowcases! We also decorate them and write the words to prepare them. Another example is instead of buying balls for each child, the Kenyans are using scraps of newspaper to make 1000 paper mache balls! This whole process to help them prepare all the materials has been another humbling experience. We as Americans have it soooo easy!!!

Alina
(background knowledge: Alina is all about food. All you hear is her saying, "Why is everything in Kenya taste so good?" She also is allergic to mosquito bites, so her last one was on her eyelid, and she looked like she was beaten up for a few days.)
Alina's highlight is meeting the Sanctuary of Hope orphans. The orphans came and we lead them in the VBS songs... but they had already memorized all the words and movements, and didn't even need a CD or DVD to sing with. They knew all the songs by heart, and even by number, like you could say #8 and they would start singing. It was very heart-warming to see kids getting up and dancing without hesitation or shyness. On another note, Alina loves how in Kenya we feel like a family. Everyone is so welcoming and helpful. She remembers the first school visit... seeing a little girl just watching Alina the whole time in awe, and then finally putting her hand out in the end for Alina to hold.

Tim
(background knowledge: Tim is not crafty. haha! We have to decorate the pillowcases and Tim's creations are always... the most beautiful ones. =)
Tim really enjoyed meeting Pastor Steve from Mathare. Pastor Steve had given us an overview of Mathare Worship Center and Tim found it really encouraging. They didn't have a one-way approach to solving problems, but instead they were trying different ways to do the best they can to solve problems without many resources. It's pretty powerful to see all the areas they are working on: schooling for children, nursery, dental and healthcare, teaching women skills, etc. He liked the meaning of the LEPTA community (LEPTA standing for a woman who has nothing but 2 gold coins, yet she still is willing to give them away to help another). It doesn't matter what you have or how much you have, only your willingness to give your all. The Mathare Worship Center has been building up a community of leaders to build LEPTA.

Terrence
(background knowledge: In the evenings, Eight Count had started teaching some of the Kidzone people the National Dance Day routine. So we've been practicing in the living room, and then one day we decided to just put them in a formation and challenge them to perform with us at the next school visit. It was a success and it forced them to really pick up the moves!)
For Terrence, it was visiting the private schools because he learned the Eight Count dance and had a chance to perform for the first time! He loved seeing the smiles on the children, especially during the parts where we pulled kids from the audience to dance with us. His favorite was the second school visit where the kids were so into it, and totally joined in to dance with us! Terrence says that anyone that knows him, knows that he hates to dance ("He doesn't even dance at weddings!" says Grace Kim, but this has been an extremely fun experience!

Joseph
(background knowledge: Thankfully, Joseph has been prepared on this trip because he has all sorts of songs on his iTouch. We also want to say thank you to Jennifer Wang, for getting her company, Eton, to donate a solar powered iPod sound system, that we've been bringing EVERYWHERE. Thank you Jennifer!!!)
Whenever we play the world cup song by Shakira and K'naan at the schools or orphanages, all the kids get so excited! They stand up and start singing all the words. It shows how universal music and dance is, that even though our backgrounds are so different, once we hear a song that's familiar, everyone feels like moving and dances together! It shows how good a tool music is because it speaks to everybody.

Steve
(background knowledge: Steve convinced all of us about his magic solution to heal Alina's swollen eye... he said that she had to tie a string around her ring finger and it would be much better in 12 hours. We tried it, and ... it worked!?!?!?)
Steve would like to share about the first school we went to. That was the day we walked 3 miles to get there, and he remembers turning a corner and then all of a sudden, we saw all the kids waiting for us! They were so excited to see us and we were so excited to see them. He really enjoyed singing the VBS songs with the kids like, "Journey Begins," and "Today is the Day." Of course, he liked dancing with the kids when we pulled them from the audience to dance with us. After doing several school visits, Steve felt comfortable leading the last school visit by introducing the team and VBS. He was confident dancing to the songs and remembered being happy seeing a little boy doing part of the dance (elbow pull).

Sharon
(background knowledge: when we go to schools, at the very end we pass out flyers. Sometimes the kids are so excited that they literally run towards us to get the flyers. This can be good or sometimes it's overwhelming.)
Sharon remembers going to the last school, where it was a public school that was a little bit crazier than the others. During our "assembly," Sharon had picked out her favorite boy who had been standing in the front, and had been looking at him the whole time. At the end when we started passing out the flyers, the bigger kids started to rush forward and the little boy was being pushed side to side. He started crying and Sharon rescued him from the mob! (One more thing about Sharon, she actually got a fever one afternoon and went home early to rest. We prayed for her and we think that all of your prayers helped her make a super speedy recovery because the next morning she was back to normal!)

Janette:
(background knowledge: Janette teaches elementary school girls dance classes back at home. She has a lot of routines that she's taught, and one of them happened to be to a very popular song in Africa called "This Time For Africa"(or we call it "Waka Waka").
Janette's favorite memory is dancing to Waka Waka. Actually, this song is a popular one that is taught to the kids in school! They have used this song for a long time in parades in Africa, so everyone knows it. It just happened to be one of the World Cup songs, and that's how it became popular to us. Whenever we played that song, we would follow Janette's dance and the kids would sing and dance along. Janette loved hearing the song and seeing all the kids start singing and dancing together.

James:
(background knowledge: James is Janette's younger brother. He is the comedian of our group and always has the funniest comments that make all of us giggle.)
James is enjoying getting to know all of the Kenyans, especially talking to Ronnie who is one of the Kenyans that has hung out with us everyday so far. Talking to Ronnie reminded James of his previous missions trip to Uganda and meeting his friend Steven there. They both talk the same, act the same, and were leaders to help translate and guide the group, so it brings back memories for James. He also played soccer with Ronnie and taught him how to play Monkey in the Middle.

Theresa:
(background knowledge: In our VBS program at Mathare, Theresa helped to lead one of the rotations where they read a Bible story and discuss it. Then they act out parts of it to help teach the message).
Theresa's favorite memory is leading the Bible study rotation in Mathare with Steven and James. She loved how all the kids were so excited to say, "Let's Go!" and seemed to really be able to get out of their shell. She thinks they probably get very few opportunities to do fun activities like shouting out loud, jumping up and down, and it was nice to see them really engaged. The kids were hanging on to every word from the Bible lesson and were so attentive.

Me:
(background knowledge: We didn't have a lot of water in the first few days, and there are blackouts frequently too)

My funny memory will always be learning to take a bucket shower. Imagine a basin, filling it with about one gallon of COLD water, and using all of that to take a shower. For girls with long hair like me, this is quite a challenge. The first day, I had no idea how to start... so I dipped my head in the basin like an ostrich in the sand, to wet my hair. Then I shampooed and conditioned and soaped up altogether so I'd only have to do one rinse. But then, the power went out. So I had to continue in the dark until someone got an emergency flashlight for me (thanks Jennifer again!!! She also had Eton donate 10 emergency flashlight/radios!). Rinsing was difficult because I never realized how much water it requires. By the end... I can't say I was 100% soap-free =) Anyhow, I'll always remember how challenging it is to take a bucket shower, and how much I'll always appreciate our showers at home!!!

Really! This picture was taken in the dark!!! Those red emergency lights saved us so many times!

I hope you enjoyed reading our personal reflections! We wanted to document little memories here and there that would make you smile =)

Team Kenya