I have to share a few individual stories from this weekend, especially concerning the junior tournament...

1) One of our returners from last year's champions was Linet. She is small in stature but big in heart and she is like the energizer bunny on the field. She is a student at CGA and I have taught her for the last 5 years so we know each other well. She can be moody at times and it rubs off on her teammates. And sometimes she thinks she knows everything and doesn't accept correction very well. She displayed both of those bad characteristics in the first game, especially towards my assistant coach. So I substituted her out of the game and had a private talk with her on the sideline letting her know that her attitude better change very quickly if she wanted to play in the upcoming matches. For the rest of the weekend she was such a great leader and dazzled on the pitch. She was the defensive stopper that no one could get past (we only allowed 2 goals in 6 matches). She was encouraging her teammates and helping every chance she could get.

2) Winny was our goalkeeper. She has some good natural ability, but she is a 6 foot tall 13 year old still trying to figure out how to use those long arms and legs (I know many of you are wondering why I am not teaching her basketball). She lacks confidence and experience, but she gained both this weekend playing in five of the six matches and only allowing one goal. My favorite part was the semifinal game on Sunday morning with a goalkeeper box filled with mud from the rains overnight. She doesn't really like getting dirty, but she was diving around in the mud all game to protect the goal. We eventually lost the game on penalty kicks, but I was so proud of her.

3) Our Junior captain was Alicent. She just turned 13 last week and is such an impressive young girl. She had lost both of her parents by the age of 6, but is fighting to make something of her life. On the field she is like a coach during training, constantly talking to the other players, encouraging them and running drills if I am not there. She is tiny, but has the heart of a lion. During our third place game I began breaking out in tears watching her fight to the end. She had been sick the night before and hadn't eaten anything that night or the next morning, but she was still willing to go out on the field and give everything she had for back-to-back games. She could barely walk, but that didn't stop her. Working with teenage girls, sometimes one will show up at the field and unexpectantly start crying because they are sick or scared or because of some other problem going on in their life. I couldn't help but appreciate the effort that she was making on the field that day. The great part is that she makes that same effort in school and in everything that she does.

Juniors Finish Third

In the Junior category (under 14 years old), we were the defending champions. We had three players returning from last years team and some new younger girls we added on. These games are played with only 7 players on each side and on a small field with small goals. It is actually a dirt field used for field hockey.

It took a few games for them to get going, but once they did, they were very impressive. The referees and spectators quickly began admiring them and the way they play. All the other teams were just kicking the ball down the field and chasing after it. The Laker girls were passing it back and forth all over the field and playing "their game." They managed to reach the semifinals where they played the host team, Galactico. That was the same team they had defeated in the championship game last year. It had rained hard the night before which left the dirt field pretty muddy. Both teams battled so hard and our girls grew stronger as the game went along, but despite getting many chances, they just couldn't find the back of the net of the small goal. The game ended in a draw and went to penalty kicks where we lost on the final kick.

The girls were devastated about not going to play in the finals on the main football pitch with a big crowd, but they quickly got excited when they learned they would have one more game to play to compete for third place. They took control of that game from the first seconds and thoroughly dominated the opposition in winning 3 to 0. They were overjoyed to take home another trophy, medals and sh. 200 each ($2.50).

It is so much fun to see the youthful enthusiasm and joy from 12, 13 and 14 year old girls. These ones are a special group of girls. Three of them, despite their young age, are a major part of our senior team because of their talent, work ethic and leadership. The Suba Lakers have a bright future.

Galactico/KYFA Tournament

The Suba Lakers Girls Football Club travelled to Kisumu this weekend to compete in a 3 day tournament. We took an Under 14 year old team to compete in the Junior Tournament and an over 14 year old team to compete in the Open Tournament.

This is the third straight year we have competed in the Open tournament against some of the top teams from around the country. Our senior team is comprised of school going children from the ages of 15-18 and we compete against teams full of seasoned veterans mostly around the ages of 18-25. Each year we have seen a remarkable improvement in our level of play as a team. This year we played so well in our four preliminary games, winning one and losing three (all by the score of 1-0). It was a good showing considering that we ended up losing close matches to the three teams that finished the tournament in the top three positions. We held the hosts and eventual champions, Galactico, scoreless for the entire match until they scored in the final minute. We have made big strides with our girls and I am convinced that if we continue to train and play together that much success is ahead for the club.

I was proud of the girls "fighting" spirit, good attitude and overall character they displayed on and off the field during the tournament

Final Pictures from Nairobi

...and more pictures

More Pictures from Nairobi

Day 4 and 5

Our last day full day in Nairobi was spent touring Kenyatta University, which actually has a nice campus – sort of like a U.S. university. It was fun when our library tour guide sent one of the girls through the library metal detector with a book that had not been scanned. The book beeped and the class thought that was hilarious. They also got to play DJ at the radio station. After lunch we took a drive to Thika where there were 2 great waterfalls, and a small animal park. The kids seemed to enjoy it. Then off to Kasarani Sports complex. It is the biggest sports complex in East Africa. It was built about 27 years ago, by the Chinese, and is now having a complete overhaul. We went into the football stadium, the basketball arena and the amazing swim center. They had an amazing diving pool with 1, 3, 5 & 10 meter diving boards. It was beautiful. I think the next time the kids tour there they need to bring their suits. Then back to Nairobi to try to get to the National Museum before it closed at 6:00. We made it with 5 minutes to spare. So a quick (fully priced) 15-minute-run-through-the-museum and we were finished. It was a great museum, and the kids were disappointed not to stay longer. However, they did have shopping on their minds and did not want to delay that. So, we took them to a big Mega-supermarket called Nakumat after we barely made it through the crazy rush hour traffic of Nairobi. They had 30 minutes to shop with the little pocket money that they had, but they came out with big bags of stuff. After returning for dinner, we had a nice closing bible study and finally went to bed after packing.

Off and rolling by 7am to stop to tour a tea plantation in Kericho by 11:00 am. Well, we made it there by 12:45 pm and had to leave by 2 to make the 6:00 pm ferry back to Mbita. We were lucky that we left about 3. The tea plantation tour was really interesting. We saw the picked tea leaves put into the processing plant up until the end product - it took three hours. Wet tea leaves to dry tea! We were lucky that none of us were impaled by the swinging hooks that we ducked under during our tour. We only had one student vomit in the car on the way home! It was a great opportunity for the kids to learn firsthand about some of the things their teachers have been teaching them and that they have been reading in their textbooks. It was a once in a lifetime trip for them and for the teachers as well.

Day 3

Day 3 began by walking into town and going up to the top of the KICC building, which is the 2nd tallest building in East Africa...about 29 floors. The kids were a little unsure about the elevator but jumped in, ready for adventure. We had a nice tour guide who explained a lot about the city as we looked over the rooftops of all of Nairobi. We also had the opportunity to go to High Court and sit in on some hearings/trials. One lady was being tried for sending threatening text messages to her husband’s lover, another group of four were being tried for carjacking and another for stealing sh. 6 million from a bank. We had a great Q & A with a court official and the kids asked really good questions. Then on to lunch at The Stomach Clinic. Yes, The Stomach Clinic. Sounds tasty, doesn’t it? It was actually really good Chicken and chapati (or Ugali).

Off then to Parliament. We were able to spend about 50 minutes watching the MP’s and Cabinet discussing political/government issues. Most primary schools are only allowed 10 minutes in Parliament, but we were able to stay longer. Our day ended with a really long walk back to the school in the middle of rush hour. Rush hour in Nairobi is not anything that you want to be in the middle of. As a pedestrian or a vehicle. Every time we crossed a street I was praying that we wouldn’t loose anyone. We were very successful! We did not lose anyone or have any injuries…thank you God. Back home for dinner and sharing. The kids were great at discussing their day.

8th Grade Field Trip Days 1 and 2

Traveling to Nairobi can be a huge adventure in itself, but imagine taking 24 8th graders with you on a adventure of a lifetime. For five days last week a group of kids from Christ’s Gift Academy, and 9 other adults (7 teachers and 2 PTA members). Many of the students had never been out of Mbita so they were looking forward to new things they had never experienced or seen before.

After traveling for the whole day in a hired bus and one private vehicle, we arrived at our destination. There were only 4 or 5 kids that vomited along the way…pretty good considering some had never been on a road trip. We all stayed in a dormitory at a primary boarding school within walking distance of downtown Nairobi. It was a decent place with two big dorm rooms (one for girls and one for boys).

The next morning we were up and out early to go to the Giraffe Center and we fed real giraffe’s! The kids enjoyed it so much but were a little intimidated by their long slobbery tongues. Off then to the Elephant Orphanage where the baby elephants came running out of the bush to their caregivers who had huge bottles of milk to feed them…so adorable, and the kids were amazed. Then the teenage elephants surprised us all, after the babies left, by charging out of the bush and making a lot of noise. The caregivers gave some great information about how all of the elephants were orphaned or found alone. This place is only open for one hour a day and the elephants are actually part of Nairobi National Park. They love those baby elephants!

Then, the most exciting part of the day! It was buy-one-get-one-free day at the local pizza place. The boys said “it is so light”… basically, I think they were hungry since they are used to filling their stomachs with Ugali (a big lump of maize flour and water). We probably should have fed them twice as much pizza so they would have been satisfied. Oh, well.

Off then to the Safari Walk, part of Nairobi National Park. It was a nice walk through a zoo-like area right in the beginning of the National Park. It was great because the kids got to see animals up close. Colobus monkeys, a rhino, ostrich, leopard, cape buffalo, emu, baboons, crocodiles, and the cutest little pigmy hippo. We all really enjoyed that day. It was a mix between a zoo and a nature path.

One of the highlights of the day was our tour of Wilson Airport. This is a small airplane airport and we were able to go right out on the tarmac with the small airplanes. The kids really loved watching the take-off and landings of the airplanes. The day ended back at the primary school with dinner and a guest bible study leader. The day was great and the kids loved it.

Holiday Plans

We have a long term break this August because of the Referendum. There will be five weeks between Term 2 and Term 3. These "holidays" are some of the busiest times for me. I don't have to be at school from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., so it is nice to have a change in the schedule and scenery. But our 90 secondary students all come back from their boarding schools and our football club also becomes much more active as the children have more time during the break.

This week I have had the mornings free to catch up on some things at home and on the computer. In the afternoons we have been training our football club with 33 girls practicing for three hours and around 15 boys. It is fun to look around and see 50 of our youth running around, staying busy with positive activities, developing their God-given abilities and staying physcially fit. During these school breaks many of the local youth find themselves getting into trouble because of all the time they have on their hands. We also use the chance to impact these kids lives spiritually, academically and socially. And I can't tell you how good it feels to see these young ones improving their skills and learning to play together as a team. Once a coach, always a coach. We have several tournaments coming up in the weeks ahead.

The 8th grade class at CGA is taking a field trip to Nairobi next week, August 9-13. I will be going along as a teacher and as a driver. The students are excited to see so many things they have only read about in a textbook or heard their teacher explain in class such as Parliament, the High Court, Kenya Railroad, Tea Plantation, Airport and so many more things. It will be an experience of a lifetime that these 24 students will never forget. Pray for their safety as they travel to and from Nairobi. Pray also that as they leave Mbita, that they would open up even more and share with their teachers and that their lives would also be impacted spiritually at the same time!

After coming back we will have two weeks of remedial teaching for many of our secondary students in the afternoons. The primary school students will also be coming for full-days of remedial teaching for two weeks. The "holiday" will end with a week of reunion for all of our secondary students where we try to encourage them spiritually and academically before they return to their various boarding schools.

It will be a busy August, but I am excited about what will be taking place. Many opportunities for God to work through me to impact the lives of these young ones so that we can see God's Kingdom Come to this place.

Referendum on Wednesday

On Wednesday, 4th August, the voters of Kenya will head to the polls again to vote “Yes” or “No” on the proposed Constitution. It has been a long battle for many years to deliver a new Constitution. Politicians have taken sides in this contest and traversed the country campaigning for their side.

There are a few contentious issues within the draft. The proposed constitution does define life as beginning at conception and makes it illegal to perform abortions, but some of the wording does leave room for that to be overturned if the law-makers decide to. It also makes a provision for Kadhi's courts in the new constitution for disputes between two Muslim parties if they both agree to allow a Kadhi to decide. But that is also in the current constitution which has been in effect almost since independence, so even if the document is rejected, we will still have the Kadhi's courts. The positives of the proposed constitution according to me are setting land ownership right, devolving more of the power and money from the federal level to the local levels and providing more checks and balances in the system. Most pre-referendum polls have shown the "Yes" side dominating. Most people think the new constitution will pass, the only doubt is by how much of a margin. A resounding margin would give some legitimacy to it.

We hope and pray for a peaceful voting process and whatever the results that the citizens of Kenya will accept them and move forward as a country. May God’s Kingdom Come and His Will Be Done in this place!

Supporting the Orphans

One after another, widowed mothers, grandmothers, and other caretakers of CGA orphans streamed through the gate this morning to receive their holiday food distribution. Because the school is closed for the next 5 weeks between terms, each family caring for our orphans is given a ration of maize and beans to ensure that the orphans have food to eat while they are not getting their normal breakfast and lunch at school. There were many smiles all around as they collected the distribution in sacks carried from home. They are all responsible for transporting it back to their homes which some did by carrying it on top of their head while others hired motorcycles to transport it. CGA has been blessed by its supporters and sponsors so that the school has provided this service every school holiday for close to ten years now! Thank you for your faithful support of this ministry!

Term 2 Closing

CGA closed the second term of the school year on Friday, 30th July 2010. The closing day started with a good chapel service led by Teacher Dorothy and her 1st grade class teaching about the theme for the term, “Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done.” They led the school in some songs, dances and a short skit.
During chapel, the school said goodbye to Teacher Fenny who had been volunteering in 3rd and 4th grade for the term to fill a shortage we had in our staff. The kids were sad to see her go, but still presented her with many cards, letters and other gifts.

The school also welcomed a new teacher, Mr. Paul Otieno. He will be teaching Social Studies and English in the upper primary classes. In the past he has been honored as one of the top teachers in our District, so we are excited to welcome him.

After chapel, the students were dismissed, except for the leaders who remained behind to help do a thorough cleaning of the classrooms and campus, practicing servant leadership. Then they enjoyed a special meal with the staff to close out the day.

Because of the Referendum, this holiday will be a long one, five weeks between terms. The school will have 2 weeks of remedial teaching at the end of August and then open Term 3 in early September.