Crossing Borders

Primerose Achieng will be travelling to Uganda on 25th August with her secondary school basketball team. As the runners-up in the Kenya National Finals, they were invited to compete in the East African Secondary School Championships held in Port Fortal, Uganda from 27th August – 5th September. The Tigoi Girls basketball team will be competing against other champions from Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya. Since their school term ended in July, the players have remained in school to train for this big international event. Primerose is the first CGA student to have the opportunity to go outside the borders of Kenya. She excels in football and track as well as basketball. We wish her the best of luck and ask you to join with us in praying for her and the Tigoi basketball team.

God's Vehicle

I was able to share a testimony with my church here this morning about God's provision. What happened is truly remarkable to me.

I had the engine rebuilt in my old Pajero about 2 years ago and was told by everyone that once those are rebuilt they will continue to develop many problems. Sure enough over the past two years it has continued buring a ton of oil and the turbo had to be replaced and it still wasn't running right. So two years ago I began praying for God to provide me with something else to help me in the ministry here. I had been consistently praying for two years. Everytime I travelled to Nairobi I would be searching the notice boards and the used car lots and checking the newspapers for possibilities. Most of them were in bad shape. That might have something to do with the bad roads in Kenya and the lack of the word "maintenance" in most people's vocabulary. The ones that were in good shape were way above my own budget. I was close to purchasing one a few months ago, but after I had made a counter-offer, he sold it to someone else. I guess it wasn't meant to be. After that I think I lost hope. I began praying that God would give me a new vehicle or would extend the life of my old Pajero to last me throughout my time here.

When I went to Nairobi in July I wasn't planning on shopping for another one anymore. Then one evening I was in the parking lot at the guesthouse where I was staying and a Toyota Landcruiser pulled in and almost ran me over. When I looked up I saw the "For Sale" sign on it. I looked at it closely and talked to the owner who was a lifelong missionary and father of six children. Their family was preparing for a move to the Horn of Africa to work with Muslims. The vehicle was exactly what I was looking for, but the price tag was beyond my budget. I prayed over it for a couple of days with a lot of hesitancy. The more I thought about it and sought wise counsel, I was feeling strongly that God was telling me this is the vehicle he wanted me to have. After my mechanic gave it a thumbs up, I talked with the owner again who said he could take a down payment and wait for the rest. I have a personality that likes to logically think through things, budget and plan for something. THis was a big step of faith for me. After selling my current vehicle, I knew I would still be short a certain amount and had no idea where that money would come from.

As I was driving back to Mbita the next day in my new vehicle with my friend Pastor Amos, I received a phone call from my parents. This was the first time in six years in Kenya that my parents have ever called my cell phone. We usually communicate through e-mail or the internet somehow. They said they had good news and proceeded to tell me that someone gave a gift in the offering for me. It ended up being the exact amount I had needed. I was stunned. God is so able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). I know this vehicle is truly God's gift to be used for his service. I hope and pray it would be used to help others to come to know him as the True God and that it would be a blessing to many people.

Building School Spirit

On the last day of our secondary tutoring time, we organized a football match against a local club. A couple of us teachers joined with the secondary students to play. We formed a strong team that succeeded in scoring goals in both halves and our strong defense held the ICIPE club scoreless over the 90 minute match. The other students from CGA and the secondary students from CGA enjoyed watching the match and cheering on their team in the 2-0 win. It was an enjoyable way to end the two weeks of tutoring and build some school spirit among the secondary students.

It was nice for me to take a break from coaching and enjoy the challenge of playing again, especially alongside my students

Secondary Students Return

We just finished the second week of tutoring classes for our secondary students. We had around 60 students separated into three different classes. They would arrive around 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning and study on their own or in groups until noon. Then they would have lessons in Math, Physics and Chemistry taught by secondary school teachers from the local area. There was also time included for lunch and sports in the afternoon before going home at 5:30 pm. The students are all on a month-long break from their various schools so this time was a good opportunity to keep them busy with positive activites, reunite them with their former classmates from primary school, help them in academic areas that are challenging sometimes, give them opportunities to share with students from other schools, and allow us the chance to spend some time with them. The students were very prompt arriving in the morning and were very grateful for the opportunity to get some extra help.

Secondary Schools in Kenya are very similar to Universities in the U.S. because the students go to boarding schools, the classes are big (usually 40-60 students and sometimes bigger), the academics are very demanding with 11 subjects at a time and the teachers mainly lecture and expect the students to learn most topics on their own. So the students and parents/guardians are positive towards extra teaching that will help the children to succeed.

Celebration

On Saturday the Suba Lakers celebrated their successes from last weekend. The players and their parents/guardians came to Mbita for a mini awards ceremony and to share a meal together. I (Joe) introduced the club officials and players and talked about the vision of the club. Several parents also made speeches and were happy to report that their child had improved in school and in their character since joining the club. That was encouraging to my heart because sometimes others that are not a part of the club can say negative things out of jealousy or other reasons.

Then, the awards were presented. For winning the Junior Tournament, the club received a set of twenty Manchester United uniforms, though they are way too small for any of our players. The club also received two footballs and a certificate. Since no team scored a goal against us in all eight matches, Dorine Adhiambo of CGA was chosen as the best goalkeeper. She received a certificate, goalkeeping gloves and a small trophy. Our smallest and youngest player, Alicent Awuor, was chosen as the best player. She also received a certificate, small trophy and a pair of new football cleats. Their coach, David Gombe, was honoured as the top coach and he received a warm-up suit and baseball cap along with the certificate and small trophy.

With the prize money the club won this weekend from the two different championships, we were able to get a small gift for each family. We bought 2 kg of sugar, 1/2 kg of salt, soap, pens, mathematical sets and a pair of soccer shorts for each. After the awards ceremony, we all enjoyed a beef or fish dinner with a cold soda. It was a nice way to celebrate the success God granted us.

Road Carnage

On Sunday morning I was driving my Toyota Landcruiser filled with eight girl football players. We had left Kisumu early that morning and were heading to Homa Bay for the finals of the Constituency Tournament. The girls were busy singing praise and worship songs at the top of their lungs. Off in the distance we saw a big crowd gathered on the road. The vehicle quickly became quiet and we tried to see what was happening. On one side of the road was a big semi-truck overturned. On the other side was a bus on its side, totally destroyed. In the middle of the road several dead bodies were scattered along with glass and other remains of the vehicles. There was even a pair of legs lying in the road with no upper half.

It is a hard thing to comprehend and words can’t explain it. All of us were in shock and spontaneously I began a thirty minute discourse on the sovereignty of God and how fragile life is. As I drove down the road, I urged them to put their lives right with the Lord because we don’t know when our time will come and we must be ready. Each of the girls was listening intently. God has promised us in Romans, “We know in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.” That was true on that morning. In the worst of circumstances, he used it to draw others into a relationship with him and allow their lives to be transformed.

Back to Reality

Being around these girls over the weekend and watching them interact with each other; laughing, singing and playing, it’s easy to forget what they go home to. As we dropped many of the girls off at their houses, we were reminded of what their lives are really like. They all live in extreme poverty; the kind of poverty that we cannot imagine and words cannot do accurately describe. Some of them are orphans and go home to guardians or extended family members who give them a lot of work to do. Some of the families were happy to see them when they returned; others were not even asked about their weekend. Most of them were asked to start dinner or fetch water. I will never really know what it is like to live a day in their life. I do know however, that the need to be loved and to feel important is still there and that they hunger for that.

These are their homes and their families. They love to come home just as we all do; that much is clear. I am happy though that the club gives them a place to go where they can just be young girls. A place to have fun and be noticed for their God-given skills; safe from the many problems at home that they shouldn't have to encounter at such a young age.

Three Teams in Unity

While the weekend was action packed and incredibly busy, the need to put God first was ever so evident. The goal of the girls’ football club is not just to win matches, but to instill in every girl that God should be first in everything we do. We began each morning with prayer and worship, followed by devotions for the day. Some of the topics we discussed were putting God first, giving God the glory for everything and to be thankful at all times; in good times and bad. In the evenings, we discussed what things (big and small) we were thankful for.

Unity was the key word for the weekend. We discussed what it meant to be a united team and the characteristics of unity; brotherly love, patience, humility and encouragement. Ephesians 4 was the scripture we turned to so that we could be reminded of what God says about unity.

Later in the weekend, we had a chance to put this into practice. We were 3 separate teams, but one in unity. The teams had to split to play their respective matches. We all wanted to be able to watch each other and cheer for each other in our final games, but the schedule did not allow this to happen. However, in the end, when reunited, the teams shared both victories and losses. They encouraged those that had played so hard, but lost their match and they celebrated with those that walked away champions. This was clear when the coach and team captain rushed back to Kisumu after the championship in Homa Bay to watch the Junior’s final. The captain pulled the trophy from her bag and the Junior girls jumped and screamed and ran with the trophy as it was their own….and it was. We are a team united.

Witnessing through Football

So many exciting things happened on the field during the games. But, perhaps, some of the most incredible things are those encounters with other people between the games. One such happening was just after the junior team won the semi-finals. They had just beat Soccer for Life in a grueling match. During the game, you couldn’t help but notice the tension from the opposing team. The coach was clearly annoyed with his players and the refs. Some of his young girls were in tears.

Just after the match, the Suba Lakers Junior team did what they always do after every game. They huddled together for a word of prayer. We had previously talked about how all things are gifts from God and that we should give Him all the glory. Our girls got that message. As they were beginning to pray, they saw the other team walking off of the field with their heads hung low. They asked the girls to join them. One by one, the other team joined Suba Lakers in a word of prayer. As both green and red uniforms meshed together, the coach of the other team walked right out to that huddle on the field and joined both teams to praise God for all He had provided. This was not prompted at all by the team's coach or manager.

My heart was overwhelmed with the testimony our girls showed on the field that day.

Champions...Again

On Saturday we were forced to split up our senior team and travel to Homa Bay to compete in the inter-constituency games. As the champions, we were representing Mbita constituency against three other constituencies. We arrived very early at the venue, but ended up waiting a long time before playing. When we took the field, it was perfect timing as all four Members of Parliament arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. The crowd grew drastically during our game until the field was surrounded with several thousand people. The girls began a little lethargic after waiting for so long to play, but very quickly that changed with a good cross by Phenny Akoth and a powerful goal by Pauline Aoko. By the end of the first half, the Lakers were leading 4 to 0 and the crowd was all smiles and giggles as they enjoyed seeing our young girls dribbling through defenders and forcing them to run in circles. Our own MP, the Honourable Minister Otieno Kajwang was feeling very proud of his constituency and their success. The 5-0 victory put us in the driver’s seat, needing only a draw in our final match to give us the championship. The game ended late on Saturday night which forced us to return two hours to Kisumu and then travel back to Homa Bay again on Sunday morning for the finale. We faced the hometown Homa Bay team comprised of High School girls and others that have finished High School. The game was very entertaining with a lot of aggressive play back and forth. We forced a 0-0 draw and took another trophy back home to Mbita, much to the delight of the local chiefs, leaders and the Mbita community. As the champions we have been asked to proceed with our club to the Provencial Tournament in Kisumu at the end of the month!

Junior Champions

The Junior team played 8 v. 8 on a smaller field and all of the players were 13 years and younger. These young girls went through the entire tournament without allowing a single goal, winning seven games and drawing one. The finals were played on the main field at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground with several thousand people watching them play against the hosts, Galactico’s Junior team. The Lakers finally broke through with a goal halfway through the second half and then cruised to victory. The on-lookers thoroughly enjoyed watching our young girls play and many of them were even cheering for us to beat their home team. As the champions, each girl was given a gold medal and the club was given a set of children’s Manchester United uniforms, a trophy and some prize money. The smallest player on the team, twelve year old Alicent Awuor, was named the MVP of the tournament. Dorine Adhiambo was named as the best goalkeeper and Coach David was selected as the Best Coach.

Football, Football and More Football

The Suba Lakers had a busy weekend taking 35 players to Kisumu and Homa Bay to compete in three different tournaments. Out of the three tournaments, the Lakers won two trophies and each of the 35 girls got a chance to play and compete against some of the top talent in the country.

The Senior team competed in the Galactico Nationwide Tournament against teams from Nakuru, Nairobi, Kisumu, Busia and the Coast. In the first match, they scored in the first ten seconds of the game and triumphed with a 9 to 0 score, pumping in goals from all over the field. In the second match they faced a tough Galactico team that ended up winning the entire tournament. The Lakers played hard and didn’t concede a goal until the final ten minutes of play and ended up losing 2 to 0. When we played that same team last year, we lost 8 to 0. On the second day of the tournament half of the team left for another tournament and the ones who remained behind did their best, but couldn’t manage to breakthrough against Nakuru and then against Galactico again, this time in the quarterfinals.

Finally... a Vehicle!

Many of you have been praying about a vehicle for me. I have been praying for a long, long time and have been trying to be patient and wait on God’s Will. I didn’t plan on doing any car shopping while I was in Nairobi, but my first night here one almost ran me over in the parking lot of the guesthouse. When I looked up, I saw the "For Sale" sign in the window. I love how God works! The closer I looked at it, the better it got. It is a strong, sturdy Toyota Landcruiser that will be able to fit large groups of people (especially kids) and will handle the rough roads of Suba District. I must admit I felt like a young school boy in love while looking at it, drooling from excitement. It has been very well taken care of by a missionary who is leaving Kenya for another part of the world to work with Muslims. God richly met all my needs according to his glorious riches through some generous servants of Jesus that stepped up to the plate. It was over the budget that I had expected to spend but I felt strongly that God told me this was the vehicle for me. A few days later, I found out that someone had sent me a check that was the exact difference between what I will sell my vehicle for and what the new vehicle costs. My God is a big God and is able to do so much more than all I can ask or imagine! He truly is my provider!

Please Pray:
Pray for our secondary students and the daily pressures they meet. Pray that they will stand strong in the Lord and allow his light to shine through them into the dark places of secondary school life.

Pray for our girls football club as they travel to Kisumu to compete against some of the best clubs in the country on August 6-10th. Pray that we would get many chances to share God’s love with them and speak truth into their lives. Pray for them to connect with each other and open up. Pray for good teaching moments throughout the weekend and pray for success and for the team to give God glory for everything that happens.

Pray for me to sell my old vehicle quickly and get a good price for it.

Pray for wisdom for me as I talk and share with young people. Pray that I would show much love, grace and compassion to each of them and that they would see Christ’s love in me. Pray for God to continue to open up doors into their lives.

Back to School

I am looking forward to welcoming our secondary students back. I visited two of them yesterday who are attending National schools close to Nairobi. They are at the top two girls schools in the country. Academically these two girls are at the top of the class and both have been put into leadership positions at these prestigious schools. Hearing their teachers rave about their character, discipline and work ethic was very satisfying. But there are a few of our secondary students that are really struggling. Just this past week we found out one of the girls got pregnant and will be giving birth in the next month. Another girl has found out she is HIV+ and one of our boys ran away from his boarding school, left town and ended up sleeping on the streets for a couple of nights before returning home. So I have spent much time counseling students over the past few weeks and will hopefully get much more time to continue that in August when they all return.

The Big City

A change of scenery and a change of pace await me whenever I travel to Nairobi. Mbita is the small town with the slow pace and Nairobi is the big city bursting at the seams with people, but the pace of my life when I come to Nairobi is actually a little slower than my daily routine in Mbita. Staying at a guesthouse and enjoying sit-down meals with other missionaries from various parts of East Africa provides a "homey" type of atmosphere and good networking. Travelling on public transportation, walking on the busy roads and spending time with close friends provides me with a chance to think and process things much more than I normally do. I seem to get deeply reflective when I come here. It helps my perspective in life and relationship with God, and I think it makes me appreciate my life in Mbita more. I love the small community with familiar faces dotted along the 3 kilometer walk to and from school each day, the tiny children shouting, "Uncle Joe" as I walk by; the close relationships with the students and staff at CGA; playing football with the kids at PE time; and knowing that what I am doing on a daily basis is impacting lives in this world and for eternity is so satisfying. Thankfully, I will return to Mbita in a couple of days.

I abruptly decided to come to Nairobi last week because the school schedule changed and I found that I had an open week. I have a good friend passing through Kenya on her way to serving a year in Chad that I wanted to see, another friend working in Nairobi that I wanted to see what she is doing, and an Athletes in Action basketball coaching team coming for a short term trip. I also am able to visit some of our secondary students that are in schools near Nairobi. In addition I wanted to get away for a short time before my busy season in August. Next month the schools will be on "vacation" but I will not. We will be welcoming back all of our secondary students for three weeks, taking our girls football club to a 3 day tournament in Kisumu and also hosting another 5 day football camp. As far as coming to Nairobi, it was now or never!