Grace to Kenya

Team Kenya 2010 Debrief Presentation

2010-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for taking time to follow this blog for the past few months. We all appreciate your support, prayers, and love! We would like to invite anyone who is interested, to come to our Debrief Presentation this weekend. It will be an opportunity for all of our team members to share the highlights of our trip to Kenya in person. If you are interested, here is the information:

Location: GrX Ministry Center
2346 Walsh Ave.
Santa Clara, CA 95051

Date & Time: Sunday, September 12th
4:00PM to 6:00PM

Hope to see you there!
Team Kenya

Click below to watch Eight Count's summary of Kenya highlights. If you can't see the video, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamSc0ELqAY

BLOG #19: Mathare Service and DC VBS

2010-08-25T00:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-16T21:48:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-03T00:47:00.000-07:00

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

BLOG #12: School Visits and Mathare VBS

2010-07-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

* Updated 8/13/10 with pictures! Scroll down to see the different slideshows and videos of the day!

I really really wish I could post pictures as I write this, but that's not possible. I literally have time just to log on and type all this as fast as I can on our blog, then logoff. Each day has felt like 3 entire days... it feels like I've been here over a week! The whole team feels the same way, just a constant feeling of exhaustion... yet, we are still loving each moment here. We are still unfortunately missing our bags, but we think we can pick them up hopefully tomorrow...

On Wednesday and Thursday, we continued doing more school visits. The best way I can explain it is that I feel like our team has been an "assembly" for each school. A team from Deliverance Church brings all the musical equipment and has a worship team that sings songs with the kids, then all of us lead several active songs from our VBS curriculum, then Eight Count performs and dances with some of the kids, the other team acts out a skit inviting the kids to join this summer VBS program, and we conclude by passing out flyers and meeting the kids personally. They seem to really enjoy giving high fives, touching our skin, touching our hair... just curious about us. Each school visit has been about an hour long. We've been to five schools, three of them were public schools and the other two were private. Wow, what a huge difference. The private schools were clearly more disciplined and had probably 30 kids per teacher. The public schools had 60-70 kids per teacher, therefore discipline was very difficult. It was difficult to see the public school teachers carrying sticks that were used to hit the kids in order to get them to stand in line or be quiet. Their interaction with us also varies depending on the school. At the private schools, they are very respectful and understand personal boundaries, whereas at the public schools, some students are rowdy and their excitement ends up into chaos. Overall though, we have loved the school visits. The whole team is learning and growing with each visit. The Kidzone members are learning the Eight Count dance, and the Eight Counters are learning the Kidzone songs too!

Click here to see a short video of highlights from our second day of school visits or you can go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U37Lr7G14Ys

On Thursday, a few of the members also went to Mathare. I went with the group to Mathare and experienced serious carsickness. It should have only taken us a half hour, but instead it took one hour and a half because of traffic. When there is traffic, no fresh air comes in. All you smell is the fumes from other cars mixed with thick dust and dirt. Plus, there are so many potholes on the ground that the road is bumpy and constantly a stop and go feeling. I was breaking into a cold sweat... It was quite painful.

When we arrived, we went to the Mathare Worship Center, which is a center that started out opening it's doors to children who were just wandering around during the day and not going to school. They brought in teachers to start their own type of school, and they also help to empower the people in Mathare to improve their lifestyle. For example, they provide services for people to learn about savings and loans, or helping women learn skills such as beadwork and sewing so that they can earn a living. They reach out to the community by feeding meals, providing day care, and giving health care services such as dental work or hospital visits. The leaders at Mathare Worship Center are truly amazing. When we met with them, we worked together to plan what our VBS will look like for Saturday...

On Saturday, the whole team came to Mathare and it only took 30 minutes to drive there (Thank GOD!), so that was a great start. We got there at 8am and helped to set up all of the programs for the day. The kids started arriving, and at 9am we started a whole-group sing and dance session led by Grace Kim and Terrence. We taught them different songs with movements and then afterwards, we split up into 3 rotations. One rotation involved a bible storytime and lesson with Theresa and Steven, another rotation was a craft with Alina and James, and the final rotation was learning a dance by Eight Count. We split the 3 groups by age group (preschoolers and kinders, first through third, and fourth and up). Every half hour we would rotate the kids so that everyone went to each station. At the end, we met as a whole-group again and finished with all the songs and dances. Overall, it was a success! They had never done something like that before, and the kids really enjoyed all the activities. It was probably harder on all of us because of all the dirt in the air. For example, Tim was coughing non-stop throughout, and many of us just got congested with "black nostrils" (really).

After our whole morning, it was 1pm and the kids were given lunch... it was only 5 crackers!!! I was shocked to see that... We also had brought Halloween type candy to pass out, and so they got one of those too. I wish we had brought 100 bags! We then went into a room to meet all of the HIV positive kids and we met one of the volunteer ladies who tries to take care of these kids. It was so sad... I had been dancing specifically with this one girl earlier in the morning (I even had video-taped specifically her), and I saw her in the room of kids who have HIV =( Also, when we were meeting them, I remember watching these 2 brothers eating a tiny (Halloween-candy size, remember!) Snickers bar that we had given them. They were sucking on them as if they were a lollipop. Each lick, they would look down at the chocolate, or the peanuts, and it was so obvious they were cherishing the candy bar. It humbled me to think that during Halloween, kids get HUGE bags of candy going door to door... and here these kids had one candy, and spent half an hour to savor it.

We had an opportunity to also walk around Mathare and visit one of the homes to see what that looked like. None of us took any pictures from this point on, so we can only describe our experience. Kids were everywhere as we had been told, and there is trash everywhere. It looks exactly like the picture I posted in my first blog - tin roofs and tiny corriders to walk in between homes. When we were walking, it was hard to look up and look around me... I honestly had to look down most of the time to watch where I was stepping... hopping over trash, waste, puddles, I don't know... but it was hard to look anywhere else but the floor. We went into one of the homes... there were 12 of us in the room and we were all squished together, it was 6 feet by 8 feet. They said that some families had up to 10 people in the room! The lady had a clothesline and clothes hanging to section off her "bedroom" in the room... otherwise, there was a bench and just... stuff. That's it. They shared that each family had to pay rent each month, and some could pay for electricity if they wanted to, but it's actually stolen electricity. They have a public bathroom, but they had to pay 5 shillings for each visit to a bathroom.

Click here to see a short video of highlights from our third day doing VBS in Mathare! Or go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caht-GTiA9k

There's so much to document. I guess what all of you want to know most is that all of us are well and having an amazing time. We do need prayers for health and avoiding getting sick, and just being able to adapt to the environment (air) in Kenya. It's a LOT of pollution, and none of us are used to it. Overall though, we say hello and we will post more when we can!!!

Love,
Team Kenya

BLOG #11: We're Here!!!

2010-07-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

* Updated 8/12/10 with pictures! Scroll down to see the different photo slideshows and a video at the bottom!

Just wanted to write and let you know that we have arrived and made it here safely! OK, so the flight was a bit painful... we were all very excited to finally be done with the 24+ hour transit. Unfortunately, when we arrived, 7 of 16 bags were lost... so please pray that those will be found and will appear soon!!! We've had to share many things with each other =) That's ok, we're bonding!!!

We were welcomed by a team of Kenyans who picked us up in a bus (and they had waited for 3 hours!). They have been so hospitable and friendly. When we arrived at Pastor Wang'ombe's home, they even had a midnight dinner prepared for us. The girls have a room with mattresses, and the boys have a separate room upstairs. We're experiencing new ways to brush our teeth and help each other wash our faces, because we have to scoop water out of big buckets. It's fun!

The food has been really good too! It's kinda like comfort food (home-cooking, they hired a chef for us during our stay). Last night we had things like spaghetti, curry and rice, grilled vegetables... etc. (and my favorite, fresh papaya juice!!! Yum!). This morning, we had toast, sausages, pancake (kinda like the Chinese green onion pancake!), as well as yummy hot tea and coffee.

We left the house around 11am, and we walked for an hour to a primary school. The roads were completely dirt-roads with lots of rocks and poop (hehe). Also, there were animals everywhere. Sharon's favorite was the donkey. Kids were also following us, yelling, "How are you!!! Hi!" Everybody on the road is friendly... if only Americans were like that too! We can say hello and smile to every stranger we meet, and we'll receive the same greeting.

When we arrived at the school, there were probably 200 children waiting for us, sitting on the dirt floor. We were there to publicize our Vacation Bible School program later in our trip. The Kidzone team sang several songs from the High Seas Children's program, while Eight Count previewed the National Dance Day dance to Swahili music. It was unbelievable to see the kids so excited. They were so happy just to give hi-fives and yes, many of the girls were infatuated with touching our hair.

OK, gotta go. Just wanted to update everyone and let you know we're safe. I'll post pictures if I can, but that may be difficult.

Click here to watch a short video of the first day highlights! Or you can go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeqIIOgCoHg

Love you all,
Team Kenya!

BLOG #10: It's Time!

2010-07-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It's time!!! I'm leaving tomorrow morning, and beginning my journey to Kenya! This blog has a lot of the logistics: Our send-off, our flight info, our rough schedule, and our prayer requests. By the way, our team is going to try and update about our trip while we're in Kenya, and they've decided to use my blog to keep track of all our adventures!!! We're going to try and find internet hopefully once a day? I have no idea! So after this point... it's going to be posts from all of Team Kenya members!

Team Kenya's Send-Off
Sunday, July 25th @ Great Exchange Covenant Church

This picture was taken yesterday at Sunday service. Pastor Dave and the congregation at GrX commissioned us, meaning that they prayed for our team and our trip.

Top Row: Tim, Joseph, James, Janette, Steven, Grace K., Alina, Theresa
Bottom Row: Sharon, me
(Not pictured): Terrence

My Very Very Very Long Flight Info
Unfortunately, our flights are not the most direct options. It was difficult booking tickets for 11 people... even still, we have to go in two different travel groups. Oh well, traveling in the airport is part of the adventure too!

Depart: Tuesday 27 July 2010 from San Francisco Int'l Airport at 10:05AM on United
Arrive: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at Brussels National Airport at 9:20 AM (one stop in Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport)
Mileage: 1851
Travel Time: 14:15

Depart: Wednesday 28 July 2010 from Brussels National Airport at 10:40AM on United
Arrive: Wednesday 28 July 2010 at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Airport at 10:30PM (one stop in Bujumbura Int'l Airport)
Mileage: 4031
Travel Time: 10:50

-----

Depart: Tuesday 10 August 2010 from Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Airport at 11:25 PM on Air Swiss
Arrive: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at Zurich Airport at 6:25AM
Mileage: 3779
Travel Time: 8:00

Depart: Wednesday 11 August 2010 from Zurich Airport at 11:55AM on United
Arrive: Wednesday 11 August 2010 at Washington Dulles Int'l Airport at 3:26PM
Mileage: 4140
Travel Time: 9:31

Depart: Wednesday 11 August 2010 from Washington Dulles Int'l Airport at 5:30PM on United
Arrive: Wednesday 11 August 2010 at San Francisco Int'l Airport at 8:13PM
Mileage: 2426
Travel Time: 5:43

Our Slightly Updated, But Still Fluctuating, Itinerary
This is only part of the schedule that has been set. We are still determining dates to visit different orphanages and sites. Also, in addition to Mathare, we are also visiting Pastor Wang'ombe's childhood rural village called Murang'a for part of the time. This schedule is a rough start. We're learning to be flexible and "go with the flow" when we're there!

Wed 28 Jul
- Arrival GRX (3 Gents , 5 Ladies)
Thu 29 Jul
- Arrival 2nd Group GRX (2 Gents, 1 Lady)
- We will visit neighboring schools and talk/spend time with the kids, inviting them to VBS (Vacation Bible School)
- Shopping for soccer balls to donate to the kids (we decided instead of bringing them from the US, we should help the Kenyan local stores and purchase the balls from them)
Fri 30 Jul
- We will talk/spend time with kids around Kahawa Sukari
- Pilot Survey Mathare to meet with kids and to see where to help
Sat 31 Jul
- Mini - VBS in Mathare
- Incorporate US Dance day in Mathare
Sun 1 Aug
- Service at Deliverance Church and Mathare
- Publicity and preparation at Deliverance Church
- Incorporate US Dance day in Deliverance Church
Mon 2 Aug
- Visit Town, this will be our opportunity to shop for things to donate to the kids or to bring back as souveniers
Tue 3 Aug
- Murang’a VBS training
Wed 4 Aug
- Referendum Voting, stay local
- Decorations in Deliverance Church
Thu 5 Aug
- Decorations in Deliverance Church
- Hold dance workshops for youth
Fri 6 Aug
- Visit the Sanctuary of Hope orphanage in Mathare and spend time with kids
- Muranga VBS by part of GRX + DCK
- Muranga: Interaction with high scholars
Sat 7 Aug
- Crafts preparation and Dancing workshop
- Muranga VBS by part of GRX + DCK
Sun 8 Aug
- Service at Deliverance Church and Mathare
- Estate Publicity at Deliverance Church
- Rehearsal for VBS Volunteers
Mon 9 Aug
- VBS – Deliverance Church
Tue 10 Aug
- VBS – D.C
- GRX Goodbye barbeque 4.00 p.m.
- GRX departure (3 people) 10:25 p.m
Other team members are coming back later in the week to finish helping with the VBS programs in Deliverance Church.

Prayer Requests

Please send us your thoughts any time during our trip! We really really really appreciate your love and support! Here are some specific requests for the eleven of us:

- Safe travels to, from, and during our time in Kenya, especially during the Constitution referendum election on August 4th
- Staying healthy and free from sickness
- Building relationships with the children and people of Mathare, Murang'a, Kahawa Sukari, and any other areas we may visit
- Spiritual warfare and walking boldly in faith
- Team Unity and Bonding
- Continued financial support for the major costs of our trip
- Go away mosquitoes!!! =)

My Favorite Poem
This was one of my first graders' sharing a few years ago. It was so adorable and sweet that I never forgot it. I'm not sure who the original author was, but I'd like to share it with you anyways!

I asked God for water.
He gave me an ocean.

I asked God for a tree.
He gave me a forest.

I asked God for a flower.
He gave me a garden.

I asked God for a friend.
He gave me you.

Thank you for sharing in this journey to Kenya with my team and I. Our hearts are bursting with excitement and it is even more special knowing you care about us. Thank you for being a part of our lives!!! Our next post... will be from Kenya!!!

grace

BLOG #9: To See, Hear, and Love Kenya

2010-07-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Three more days before the trip! I haven't started packing... yikes! I wanted to share some interesting updates in the past two days:

1) Our team designed our own t-shirts this year, and they just came in! On the front, we wrote "Team Kenya 2010." On the back, we spent several meetings trying to decide what would be the best to print... a verse, a quote, a picture...? In the end, we chose to keep it simple and purposeful, so we decided on: "To See, Hear, and Love Kenya."

2) One of our members (the other Grace) drove to the Kenyan Consulate in Los Angeles on Thursday to make sure that we would get our Visas on time. That's dedication! Well... as she was picking up the Visa's, she shared about our trip with one of the Kenyan officials named Kevin Thuo. She found out that he is from Murang'a, which is another small village we may plan to visit because Pastor Wang'ombe is from there. Anyhow, this is what he said... It's a pretty amazing conversation!

He asked what we were going for and I answered that we'd be working with kids in Kenya and that while we've been connected to a church in Kahawa Sukari, we were planning on going into a village called Murang'a. He was so surprised and said, "I'm from Murang'a!" Then he said, "Can I tell you something? While you are there, in Kenya, please don't give them money. A lot of Americans, they think they are helping by giving money. But my suggestion is just SEE. Just see what they need. They may need money. Then give money. Sometimes they just need someone to listen to their story. So, just LISTEN to them." (I hope you're seeing what I was getting excited about...but i let him finish) He continued, "then, once you've become an important person...or maybe you marry an important person, go. Go back and use your influence to help the people make a difference." As he finished saying that, I showed my excitement and shared with him that our motto for this year's trip was to "see, hear and love kenya"! He was so blown away by that. He asked, "who are you people? what group are you with? that is amazing...that is absolutely right. Let me write it down." and he wrote it down on a business card. Then, he took out another business card and wrote down a phone number. He told me that it was his mother's phone number and that if for any reason, we needed help, she would be the person to contact. "She can help you." Then I asked him what his thoughts were on the possible outcome/reactions to the referendum. "Is there any reason for concern?" I asked. He answered, "Take it from me...there is none." He mentioned that because Kenyans have realized that violence towards each other only hurts themselves, nothing like a big riot would happen.

I don't think it's a coincidence that our motto: "To See, Hear, and Love Kenya" ended up being exactly what Kevin advised for our team! Incidents like this are just wonderful confirmations for our trip and our purpose. I am so excited because I have a definite peace in my heart. This is going to be awesome!!!

BLOG #8: Housing Update

2010-07-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I wanted to share some great news about our housing! Yesterday, we found out that Pastor Wang'ombe (the main Pastor that our church has been partnering with for the past 5 years, the one we've been in contact with, the one that is helping us with our schedules, our transportation, our food, our escorts, etc etc) has opened up his home for us to stay there! We will be bringing our sleeping bags to Kenya and all the girls in our team will sleep in one area and all the boys will be in another room or area!

This is great news because not only is it so considerate (imagine you and your family - he has kids too! - sharing your home with 11 foreigners for two and a half weeks), but also it shows how seriously he is looking after our safety. His home is in one of the suburb areas away from central Nairobi called Kahawa Sukari and is considered to be a middle-upper class neighborhood. He will arrange transportation for us everyday to go to the orphanges and the slums, but at least in the evenings we will be protected in the comforts of Pastor Wang'ombe's own home!

So humbling to see that kind of generosity and kindness...

grace

BLOG #7: Countdown 10 Days

2010-07-16T00:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

The countdown begins! 10 days... My flight leaves SFO at 10:05am on Tuesday, July 27th and we stop in Brussels before arriving in Nairobi the next day at 10:30pm. On the way back, we have to stop in Zurich and D.C. before coming home on Wednesday, August 11th. We'll be spending over 24 hours in transit each way...

We are doing another carwash on the corner of El Camino and Kiely Saturday from 10-4ish to try and raise more money. If you are around, stop by to say hello! I am still accepting donations, even up to and after the trip, until I can cover some of the major costs... Our plane tickets turned out to be $2550!!! So far, you have helped me to raise $1879! Thank you thank you!!! About $1000 more to go =)

On another note, have you heard of National Dance Day???

Get Excited for National Dance Day

So You Think You Can Dance executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe would like to declare July 31, NATIONAL DANCE DAY.

WHAT: NATIONAL DANCE DAY, a grassroots initiative that encourages the nation, young and old, to move! Individuals, families, organizations and communities from across the nation come together through their creative expression in dance. Any style of dance is welcome and imagination is recommended in order to get the most out of this celebratory day.

WHEN: Saturday, July 31

WHY: To continue to generate national awareness for dance, a medium of expression and storytelling which, through shows like So You Think You Can Dance, has proven its value in bringing individuals from all walks of life together through a positive platform that has no boundaries and cultivates imagination and passion. Most importantly, the day is intended to promote health and wellness nationwide.

Nigel has been tweeting up a storm about National Dance Day, a.k.a. D-Day. He said the goal is to “prove that the ‘Power of Dance’ can MOVE an entire Country!” So get up off the couch and put on your dancing shoes on July 31st. Share your D-Day ideas in the SYTYCD forums and stay tuned to this site for more information to come.

So... our Kenya team is going to learn the Dance Day routine, choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon, add in some step and sounds (since we probably won't have access to music!), and we're going to teach it to the kids in the orphanages! We hope to record the kids performing the dance on July 31st, and help to make National Dance Day into INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY!!!

YOU should learn the dance too and join in the dance movement on July 31st! There will be flash mobs everywhere (flash mobs are when strangers show up at a certain location and all start dancing together since they know the same routine). There will be one for sure in the Bay Area, LA, and even in D.C.! Here's the video:

Happy Dancing!!! =)

BLOG #6: Team Bonding

2010-07-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who came out to our car wash this past Saturday. Jiffy Lube on Almaden was kind enough to let us use a space on their lot and use their water too. Actually, it was so much fun washing cars together, and it was a good bonding experience for our team. We're actually thinking of possibly having another car wash this weekend since we already have the supplies, and it really requires very little planning ahead of time..... we're thinking not so far south this time too. I'll let you know!

Here's a team picture with one of the signs we had to hold in the street corner =)

The latest update: three of our team members decided they weren't comfortable with going on the trip anymore, due to the possible dangers (see previous blogs if you don't know what I'm talking about), so now our team is 12 members strong. The rest of us are excited still and staying focused on our mission to work with the children in Kenya.

Something positive... on Saturday at the car wash, our last customer was actually a girl named Liz who is from Kenya. Liz saw our signs and stopped to ask us why we were raising money to go to Kenya. We told Liz about our mission to work with the children in the orphanages and the slums. Then we asked Liz what she thought about the upcoming election and the potential riots. Liz spoke to our team co-leader (whose name happens to be Grace too!), and this was Grace's email to the team:

Her Mom is currently living in Nairobi and when I asked her about her knowledge and feelings on the referendum, she told me that she honestly didn't know much about it even though she was there just 2 months ago. She told me that she'd call her mom and ask her what she was hearing and seeing and anticipating. So when she called, Liz said that her mom is well-informed and involved politically in Nairobi and what she said was that this would be a regular voting where they go in, vote, come out. Not a presidential campaign or really much "drama" going on over there. She pretty much said there isn't much going on about it. She did mention that media and outside sources tend to make African countries look "bad" by publicizing violence and uproars. She blessed us and told me that we should be fine. We spent the next couple minutes talking about how kind and open Kenyans are and how it upset her that the outside world has a negative (violent) idea of them. She then went on to give me her sister's phone number and told me that we had to give her a call when we got in and that she would be expecting us.

It was nice to hear a different viewpoint about the upcoming election, especially from a Kenyan living in Nairobi. It brought a little bit of comfort and calm to our hearts, and helped us to continue thinking positive about our trip. Our number one concern is of course safety, but the conversation with Liz has helped to ease our fears!

Thanks for reading and thinking of us!
grace

BLOG #5: Carwash Fundraiser

2010-07-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for visiting my blog, and taking interest in reading about my upcoming Kenya trip! It really means a lot to me to know that you are taking time out of your busy schedules to read this and just care about what's going on in my life.

For those of you who have helped to support me financially, I am so humbled and amazed that you have helped me to raise $1044 so far!!! That is one-third of the way there, and it has only been a week! THANK YOU!!!

SO... I know my previous posts have been a bit scary... but... I guess I just want to be open and transparent with all of you about our trip, and fill you in on exactly what we're going through. What brings me comfort is knowing:

* 3 of our team members have been to Kenya twice already and they totally trust that we will be safe.
* our church has had a close relationship for the past 5 years with the Pastor in Kenya who will be primarily watching over us.
* we will have several Kenyans who will be going everywhere with us, so they will be able to communicate with us and be familiar with transportation
* the actual orphanage we will be staying at is a 40 minute bus ride from central Nairobi, where most of the danger might be
* after arriving, we will assess on a daily basis how safe it may be to travel to Mathare, and modify our plans if needed.

Hope that makes you feel better too. I had to clarify these things because my mom was panicking and picturing the 15 of us as lost Americans wandering around Nairobi and getting into trouble accidentally because we can't communicate. No, mom. The Kenyans we've been in contact with have our best interest at heart. =)

Switching gears... if you happen to be around San Jose on Saturday afternoon and need a car wash, we're having our first fundraiser at the Jiffy Lube on 2302 Almaden Road from 11am - 4pm! Stop by to get your car cleaned, or... even to just say hello to us! Here's our flyer:

Thanks for reading this! Hope to see you at the carwash (I haven't done a carwash fundraiser since high school... should be interesting...)!

grace

BLOG #4: Green Light = Go

2010-07-06T22:33:00.001-07:00

We decided as a team to step back during the July 4th long weekend, and take a break from the Kenya trip decisions and drama. Instead of sending emails back and forth (like the last few weeks), we decided to send zero. It was a great idea.

My conclusion... everything is purposeful. There's a reason and a plan for why things happen, and there's a reason for why we have been faced with this possibility of danger in Kenya.

Usually a team has months to prepare for a missions trip. They have time to really get to know each other. For us, however, we have only one month. So I believe that all of this has just been a test, a challenge, for us to overcome, so that we can become closer to each other in a short period of time.

This situation that has been placed in front of us is so uncomfortable, and so scary to imagine, that it has tested each of us. In the very short time we've started meeting together as a team, this situation has broken down our walls and revealed our true selves, and how we handle problems. Teams need to be able to function through all types of stress and dilemma, and I believe this has been an exercise for our team - to learn our interactions when everything's not all fine and dandy. We have spoken up, we have opinions that have conflicted with each other, and we have worked it out.

Today our lead pastor, Dave Chae, from GrX, came to our group to speak to us about following our hearts and our instincts. As individuals, we need to make the decision that sits right in our own hearts. There's no shame in backing out if it doesn't feel right. And if it does feel right... we keep walking...

I believe that now, after all this scare, we are all that much closer to each other, and that much stronger as a team, because we are faithful and we believe that everything will be ok when we are in Kenya, despite all the "talk." My heart knows we're supposed to go still, and I'm following that feeling.

So... moving on! Time to get our Visa's and buy our tickets! Green light = go!!!

grace

BLOG #3: Maybe, Maybe Not...

2010-07-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

All of my excitement seems to be riding on a roller coaster right now. On Tuesday, we spoke on speakerphone to the Pastor who will be watching over us while in Nairobi, and he is someone the church has worked with during the past 5 years. We really trust him and he definitely looks out for our team... his assessment is that the election on August 4th will not pose a threat to our team, and that we should continue planning for our trip.

However, as of today, all of a sudden it looks uncertain whether we're going to be going or not. One of our members has a friend who is part of WorldVision, and he just arrived in Kenya today. This is his email to our team...

Jambo from Nairobi!

The referendum voting will take place August 1-9 and by the end of July curfews and travel restrictions will start taking effect.

When I asked my colleagues about your visit, they didn't wait for me to finish my sentence: "Don't come."

They said it's best to wait until the result of the referendum is made public and see how people react. There will surely be winners and losers, and how the losers will ultimately respond is a large and dangerous uncertainty.

Within World Vision, our own staff will not be traveling within that period of time. Suffice it to say, there is a lot of anxiety surrounding the referendum.

I'm not sure where you are at with your decision, but that's the word from our office in Nairobi.

Hope that's helpful. If you'd like for me to make any other inquiries, let me know.

We're not sure what to do. Do we continue planning? Do we consider changing the dates that we're going? I'm still hopeful that this trip is meant to be and will happen. But safety is super important too. This obstacle is definitely a downer and hopefully is one we can overcome! I'll keep you posted...

grace

BLOG #2: 28 Days

2010-06-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

The countdown begins: 28 more days until we leave. There's still a bunch of things to take care of, including getting our flight tickets, fundraising, Visa's...

Today I accomplished 2 major things. First, I got all my shots - yellow fever, polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis A, Typhoid - and prescriptions for malaria pills and traveler's diarrhea (hee hee). My arms are really sore. I'm really really really hoping that my insurance will cover travel shots, otherwise... it's looking to be just over $1000... =(

The second thing I accomplished was sending out all my support letters. Chances are, if you are reading this blog, then you are part of my support group. THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATION!!!!!!! As you can see, the costs of going on this missions trip really add up, and YOUR contribution helps to make it possible. Thank you.

On another note, our team is really struggling with fearing the safety of our team. August 4th will be an election to vote on some issues in their Constitution, including abortion laws, and there has been some violence recently. If you want more information, here is the article:

NAIROBI, Kenya — A grenade attack on a political rally in downtown Nairobi on Sunday evening killed six people and injured more than 100, cranking up tensions ahead of a hotly contested referendum on a new constitution.

Three grenades exploded one after the other at dusk in Uhuru Park, a treed carpet of green that stretches the length Nairobi’s central business district. The explosions caused a panicked stampede among thousands of Kenyans who had gathered to campaign for a ‘No’ vote in the forthcoming constitutional referendum due in early August.

The injured were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital where the luckier ones were laid on gurneys while others, bloodied and battered, littered the floor of the overstretched emergency department.

The blood, death and fear of Sunday evening were an unwelcome flashback for a country still feeling the aftershocks of political violence that killed more than 1,100 people following the last elections. Not a single person has yet been convicted although an investigation underway by the International Criminal Court (ICC) may change that.

Political violence is nothing new to Kenya. Since multi-party democracy began in 1991 politics and violence have walked hand-in-hand. Tensions rise before elections often erupting in ethnic attacks stoked by politicians who emphasize tribal allegiances and stoke local animosities.

The run-up to the constitutional referendum on Aug. 4 has been hotly contested, as it was in 2005 when a proposed new constitution was voted down, setting the stage for the disputed and ultimate bloody election of late 2007.

On Tuesday six politicians were called in for questioning by Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission for alleged, “hate speech” during the campaign.

A new constitution is widely considered to be long overdue. The current one dates back to independence in 1963 and since the early 1990s a replacement has been debated and even fought over. The proposed new constitution trims the president’s sweeping powers, devolves more authority to the regions and addresses long-standing land grievances often seen as being at the root of Kenya’s strife.

But it also allows abortion, “if the life or health of the mother is in danger,” and special Muslim courts for “matters relating to personal status, marriage, divorce and inheritance.”

These latter clauses have upset Christian groups so Sunday’s rally was a politico-religious affair with politicians and preachers standing side-by-side to condemn the draft law.

Please pray for our safety and just to let us be able to go to Kenya to do what we were called to do, which is working with the children and doing something positive to make them feel special and loved.

Thanks for visiting this blog, and for your compassion. We thank you! I thank you...

grace

BLOG #1: My Very First Support Letter

2010-06-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I would like to share an exciting opportunity coming up in my life. As many of you know, I have been dancing with Eight Count (www.eightcount.com) for the past five years. We have performed and served with people all around Northern California and Hawaii. This summer, we are planning to travel to Nairobi, Kenya, to teach dance and build relationships with the children who live there. We will be staying in an orphanage and we are planning to reach out to the children who live in Mathare.

Mathare is a neighborhood of slums in Kenya with a population of about 500,000 people. The whole area is approximately 1.2 miles by 0.2 miles where people sleep on cardboard boxes inside 8’ x 6’ shacks with no running water or electricity. Human waste fills up ditches and alleyways. Many adults die from AIDS, leaving thousands of orphaned small children and babies everywhere. Their schools are made up of 10’ x 12’ classrooms with mud walls, dirt floors, and 40 children packed inside. I can only imagine what it will be like to experience this kind of poverty first-hand.

I have never been on a missions trip before, but I feel a strong calling to go on this trip. In these times, where we hear about the Haiti earthquake or the Gulf oil spill, our world is suffering and lacking hope. I feel challenged to step out of my comfort zone and do something to make our world just a little bit better.

Our team is made up of fifteen people from Great Exchange Covenant Church (www.grx.org), in which six of us are dancers on Eight Count. We plan to use dance as a means of breaking down language barriers and reaching out to the children in Mathare. We want these children to know that they are loved, even by strangers like us, and that they are special. We plan on teaching dance classes and putting together dance routines for the kids to learn. We hope to use music and movement to bond with the kids. In addition, we will sing songs, play games, make crafts, and just spend time with the children. We hope that when we leave Mathare, the kids will be left with a positive long-lasting memory they can always hold on to. I am sure they will leave us with unforgettable memories as well.

I wanted to share this news with you so that you know what is going on in my life and what has been on my heart. Our team will be traveling from July 28^th – August 11^th. We are trying to raise $3000 per individual by July 25th to cover the costs of the trip. I appreciate any prayers or thoughts for a safe trip for my team. Specifically, there is an election occurring on August 4^th while we will be in Kenya, which has potential for rioting or attacks. We hope for the team to stay safe from harm, remain healthy, and succeed in building strong relationships with the Kenyans.

Thank you for your friendship and encouragement over the years, and thank you in advance for all your support. If you feel led to support me financially, or if you would like to contact me, please feel free to email gracelingyu@gmail.com.

With much love and appreciation,

Grace Yu