Christianity?

Visiting Mfangano Island this weekend opened my eyes to the level of Christianity in many places in Africa. Many dedicated church goers here still hold to their African customs and culture. For example a man comes home from church to his polygamist home. From my perspective it is so strange to call yourself a Christian and have 2 or 3 wives. Other Christians will still go to a herbalist or witch doctor with their problems. Which begs the question, "What do you really believe in?" To me it is all or nothing. You are either living you life for Jesus or you are not. I like to think in black or white though it is not always that easy. It is even hypocritical for me to say that since I don't always place Christ #1 in my life.

Many people in this area still see Christianity as a European or American thing. As a missionary (from America) that is not an easy stereotype to overcome. A big part of our job is helping people to understand that God is over everything and that we should allow him to lead us and guide us in our life. A relationship with Jesus should affect every area of our life. It is not a once a day or once a week relationship.

The Maui of Lake Victoria

Friday morning I set off for Mfangano Island. I brought along a couple of our football players, Dorine and Phenny. Our goal was to visit the home of three of their teammates. I have coached these girls for a couple of years now and they have always begged me to visit their home, but I never have so this was the time. After getting the soles of my tennis shoes fixed and ready for hiking we arrived at the beach before 8:00 and the touts for the different boats clamored to get us to board theirs. After climbing in the big wooden boat we sat in the sun for about an hour waiting for the boat to fill up before departing. I found an old friend in the boat that we sat by and were able to get caught up on each other's lives. Only one of the families actually knew that we were coming, so we were hoping we would be able to find the other two. Luckily, once reaching Sena beach on the island, we ran into one of the girls (Pauline) we were coming to visit. She was actually getting ready to leave for Mbita to attend a burial, but she was so happy to see us coming to her home that she changed her plans. She led us through the bush and up the mountain to the top of the island where there is a plateau called Soklo. It was a vigorous two hour hike with some breathtaking views of the lake and the surrounding islands.

The family greeted us warmly as Pauline's mother quickly grabbed a chicken that wandered into their house and began preparing lunch. Pauline and her brother showed us around their former primary school and some of the other local places such as "network" which is named that because it is the only place in the area that has cell-phone coverage. Her parents are elderly and do some small scale farming to earn a living, mostly from maize, casava and potatoes. The father has two wives and 11 children, but 5 of those have already passed away. Pauline's older sisters were all married after finishing 8th grade so she is attempting to be the first girl in their family to get a High School education. With my player, Dorine, translating for me, I shared with the family about God and explained the importance of putting Him 1st in your life, and described the value of education and what we are trying to do with our football club.

We were able to spend around three hours with the family before we had to set off on the remainder of our journey. This time the hike was a little easier since we were going down more than up, though we were already tired when we started because of the morning hike. It took over two and a half hours to reach Uozi, the home of Leah. We were happy to see her big smile as she took us in the house so we could finally sit down and rest. There wasn't much energy left in us that night; only enough to take a splash bath and eat a hearty meal. We went to bed early. The next morning we hiked down to the lake shore. It isn't very far away, but is is bit steep and rocky climbing down to it and there were swarms of lake flies after the rain had come that night. We were able to see the garden Leah's brother has started with cabbage, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables. We spotted a few monkeys that were trying to enjoy the garden too. Leah's friendly personality draws lots of friends which was easy to see as we walked through the small center on the way to the road. I got to meet her headteacher and discuss her academic progress with him.

Afterwards we boarded some motorbikes and raced to Mauta to see Dorothy and her family. When we reached they were still in church (Seventh Day Adventist), but were excited to see us. The father kept saying that he had planned to come to Mbita in the next week to talk with me. He couldn't believe that I would come all the way out to the island. He took us through the bush to his home and introduced us to his two wives and Dorothy's five sisters and one brother. We hiked down to the lake. It was a beautiful view of the lake with Remba Island in the distance. We sat by the seashore with our feet in the water, talking and enjoying the view. We went back up and took some tea and ate some mandazzis. Dorothy is the girl that we had taken last month to Kisumu to get fitted for hearing aids. She has been hearing impaired her whole life, but now is able to hear through the aids.

The family was disappointed that we couldn't stay the night and that we had to leave quickly because the last boat was coming through. They insisted that we had to plan another trip to come back and spend the night. We didn't get a chance to talk enough about Dorothy and her hearing issues and how it affects her education and her future. We hope that we can go back soon with my speech therapist friend to discuss the best way that we can help her.

While we were sitting outside their house, we saw the last engine boat taxi going by without stopping at the local beach. We had to quickly make our way to the road and find a motorcycle taxi to beat the boat to the next beach so we could travel back to Mbita. Fortunately we made it in the nick of time and were able to reach safely in good time.

Thanksgiving- Mbita Style

Thanksgiving Day was a pretty typical day for us, but at the end of it I shared a great meal with my neighbors and fellow missionaries, the Cochrans. The traditional turkey was replaced with the readily available fresh fish from Lake Victoria so we enjoyed some great fish fillets along with mashed potatoes and cabbage. Delicious! Before eating, we sat down and each shared five things we are thankful for. Mine were:
1) great neighbors (Steve helped to fix up my new house and Judi cooks great meals)
2) my new house
3) a nice, reliable vehicle
4) the chance to be involved with sports by coaching the girls football team
5) an incredible family back home that is always supportive

More Pictures

Walk-in closet is big- almost as big as the bedroom itself

I had a big bed made in hopes that sometime in the next couple of years I will have someone to share it with. It pretty much takes up the whole bedroom.dishwashing station outside Bathroom- pretty handy to be able to use the toilet and the shower at the same time!

Inside My House

Sitting Room

Another picture of the sitting room

Cooking Station

Pantry
pantry

My New House

I have finally moved into my "new" house next to Steve and Judi Cochran on Thursday, November 5th. I have been praying about it since early September when I found out my rent in ICIPE was increasing 50%. I had looked at several places, but quickly realized it was difficult to find a quality place in Mbita. Steve has been a huge blessing to me as he helped to bring plumbing to the house so that I have a water tank, toilet, shower and sink. He also helped me install a couple of 60 watt solar panels on the roof which are strong enough to charge my laptop, power my TV and give me electricity in every room. It is about the perfect size for a single guy like me. I have a nice size sitting room, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a tiny kitchen area. I love the fact that I now have my own yard,. It is also considerably closer to school. I will miss my 30 mintue walk to and from school each day, trekking through the community and greeting people along the way, but it is also nice that I can make it to school in less than ten minutes. My walking commute has been cut by twenty minutes each way. What am I going to do with all my extra time now?

I have to admit I was a little hesitant at first about leaving my home for the past six years in ICIPE. We had many modern covenciences inside that compound including 24 hour electricity, hot water, plumbing, good security, internet access, television stations, refrigerator and a totally furnished apartment. But the rent had just gotten too high for this area. It didn't seem like a wise decision to continue paying that much money for a place to live. As the days go on, I feel more and more excited about my decision. I was in a bit of a comfort zone and so it feels good to change my daily routine and be stretched a little in some areas. It will be a savings for me and free up my budget a little more for other things, including being a blessing to others. It will also give me more community especially being close to Steve and Judi. We are sharing the same front gate and the same compound, though our houses are separate. Several of my close friends had moved out of ICIPE in the last 2 years so I was feeling a little isolated there.

I am still adjusting to the cold showers and not having a fridge to store leftovers or keep certain "luxury" items (like cheese). My internet modem through a cellphone company has bee really unreliable which is frustering. God remains faithful throughout everything. I am thankful for how he has answered my prayers and provided everything that I need.

Enjoy a couple of pictures of the outside of the house. And yes, that is a basketball hoop on the side of the house. Steve installed it for his daughters to use, but I think I will also be getting some use out of it, as well as some of the other kids. I will try to post some pictures of the inside of the house in the coming days.

Time to Celebrate

CGA's 8th grade class finished their national exams Thursday morning and celebrated the special occasion with an overnight party. The exams had begun on Tuesday with Math, English, Cand Composition. On Wednesday they took exams in Science, Kiswahili and Kiswahili Composition. Finally, Thursday they took an exam with 60 Social Studies questions and 30 Christian Religous Education questions (mostly from the Bible). Except for the compositions, all of the other exams are mutliple choice ones in Primary School. They were sitting their exams at the same time as about 800,000 other 8th grade students throughout the country of Kenya. The students feel very good about how they performed on their exams and their teachers are very confident that their results will be good. They will have to wait until the end of December to see the outcome. Then, in January, they will find out which secondary schools they will be selected to attend.

As is tradition at CGA, the 8th graders hosted an overnight party on the final day of exams. They did all the planning and organizing of the party which included roasting a goat and preparing a nice meals for their invited guests (mostly teachers and CGA staff) and even buying presents and making cards for their teachers. After the excellent meal they presented the gifts and cards and then had a short time for speeches which were hard to hear because of the rain pounding on the roof made of iron sheets. The group then moved to the office to play some games and watch a movie (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). Around 2:00 am everybody went up to the field for a bon-fire. Around the fire, the group sang songs, prayed and had a time for testimonies when several students shared what God had done in their lives. Then they watched another movie (Prince Caspian) before the closing sermon and clean-up after daybreak. It was a memorable night for the 8th grade students and staff at CGA.

Please remember these children in your prayers as they anxiously await their results. Pray for their success and for the future schools they will be selected to attend. The December holidays are a challenging time when many of these 8th grade students across the country get off track. They stay so focused and busy in the months leading up to their exams and so it becomes difficult when they are finished. They now have much time on their hands and they feel they are old and sometimes begin experimenting in negative activities. Pray that our kids will fill their time with positive activities like spending time with God, helping around the house, helping at school and church, playing sports and preparing themselves for the next step in their lives.

After an entire night of celebrating a jumped on the ferry and then rode the bus to Nairobi. I made it in time to watch the last three quarters of the International Schools High School Girls Basketball final in which Steve and Judi's daughter, Bea, was playing in. Unfortunately they lost a close one, but I was happy to get my first chance to watch her play. Saturday we drove out with Steve, Judi and Jenny to Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe and watched their production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. We travelled back to Mbita on Sunday to prepare for the end-term exams at CGA.

Survivor Island

On Sunday, I went with the chairmen of our girls football club, Paul Onudno, to visit Ngodhe Island. One of our girls from the football club lives on this remote island behind Rusinga Island. We took motorbike taxis across the man-made bridge to Rusinga Island and then waited at the beach for about an hour and a half for a boat to take us across. The small, old wooden motor boat left a lot to be desired with numerous leaks allowing water to flood in. We were forced to use buckets to scoop the water out of the boat so that it wouldn't capsize. The journey was only about thirty minutes with some light showers to keep us cool. The island could be the poster island for Survivor except that it is inhabited by about 300 people. It is very green and bushy with three big peaks jetting out of the lake

We were greeted on the beach by Caren (the player) and her family who quickly ushered us in the house to do the official introductions and treat us to a big soda and share some beans and chapatis together. After lunch Caren took us on a short tour of the island and the school where the 70 kids from the island get their education. I am amazed by the challenges these young people face. The nomadic fishermen are quick to offer the young girls money in exchange for sex. A few years ago every single girl except one in the upper primary school had dropped out before reaching the end of 8th grade because of pregnancies. The locals finally brought changes to the school to stop this. They now keep the older students in school at night and they even sleep there five nights a week to keep them away from the beaches and the fishermen. The academic performance has increased dramatically and fewer girls are getting spoilt by the fishermen.

My heart really goes out to these young people. If they can survive and succeed in those kinds of situations, it will require the hand of God. I am happy that our football club is able to keep some of these girls busy with positive activities, develop their talents, encourage them in their decision making and give them a hope for a better future!

Blossoming Youngsters

On Saturday I went with our Orphan Overseer, Lillian, through Ruma National Park, deep into the bush in Gwassi Constituency. There are four former CGA students who we placed in two different schools out there. Three of them were siblings who had a pathetic home situation where they were being put into danger each and every day. For their survival and well-being we were forced to find them a new home. The other was a boy who was very mischevious when he was younger, but had tried to change. Because of his past behavior the other students in school always looked at him in a certain way. This made it impossible for him to succeed at CGA. He needed a fresh start and a new beginning. All four have blossomed in their new homes and schools and are being well taken care of. They now have a hope for a good future. It was fun seeing them. They all came running to greet us and were eager to tell us good reports of what is happening in their lives and show us around. We didn’t get to spend much time with them, but at least we encouraged them and prayed for them before leaving. We were forced to rush faster than we wanted because of the rains that were threatening. If it rains, then those roads in the bush become impassable which would have left us stranded. On the way home we were also able to visit two of our secondary schools and spend some quality time with them. It truly a blessing to see the way God is working in some of these young peoples' lives.

Road Adventures

We had postponed our football club's training weekend from this weekend to next weekend, but apparently several of the parents/guardians didn't relay that message to their children. As I was coming home Friday I ran into several players who had travelled far to come for the weekend. It was getting late and the rain clouds were rapidly approaching so I couldn't just tell them to walk back home (10 miles away) or put them on the back of a motorbike which could get stuck in the mud. Instead, I ran home and got my vehicle and embarked on an adventure. We reached the first place with no problem, but on the way to the second place we found a bus stuck in the mud on the road. We were able to squeeze by it with my four wheel drive but I was worried that if another vehicle got stuck there, then nobody would be able to pass and I would be trapped and not able to reach home. Sure enough, after dropping the players, I returned to the same spot where there were now around ten vehicles waiting because a fuel tanker had joined the bus stuck in the mud.

I stopped and got out to assess the situation. The fuel tanker was sideways, but not stuck too deep and just needed a push to get out. There were over 40 villagers watching the "show" but all of them were refusing to help push because the driver wasn't offering any money. I passed the time by striking up conversations with some of the villagers and other drivers, including some German tourists.

Finally after about a half hour they helped to push the vehicle out just as it was getting dark. We passed through easily and as we approached Mbita the German tourists stopped us to ask directions to a certain guest house where they had reservations. I found a local boy to escort them, but on arrival they quickly realized it wasn't a safe or comfortable place to stay. They asked if I could help them find something better so I brought them to Safari Village, but the problem was they had shut down for the night because there were no guests and it was late. They had to call their employees back in and prepare for guests. We enjoyed a nice Fanta orange and good conversation while waiting. Finally after they were well taken care of, I reached home past 9:00 pm. Definitely not the afternoon I had planned, but a good adventure nonetheless.