May Update

Visiting Home Soon

The end of May is fast approaching and I am beginning to look ahead to coming home for a few months later this year.  I am planning on taking my first furlough in the past four years in September, October and November.  I haven’t bought my plane tickets yet or begun to think about my travel schedule while I am home, but I hope to start doing that in June.  There is much work to do here in the next few months before I go as look at preparing things on this side and handing over some of my responsibilities while I am away, while still taking care of current day to day activities.  I am beginning to get excited about reconnecting with family, friends and supporters; and look forward to the opportunities to report about what God is doing here in Mbita through CGA, the Suba Lakers and my life.  I am hoping to be able to spend some time in California, Arizona, Montana, South Carolina and possibly in Louisiana, Ohio and Oregon/Washington.  If your church, small group or other gatherings would like for me to come and share with them, please let me know so as I put together my calendar I can include it.    In addition, if anyone is able to help at all with any logistics while I am home such as a place to stay, an extra vehicle, plane tickets, cell phone, or other needs,  I would greatly appreciate it.  Please help me by praying that my time home would be a fruitful one for the people I connect with, our ministries here in Mbita, and for me personally.

Peer Discipleship

Back to Kenya… After returning from coaching girls football at the Primary School National Tournament on the Coast in early April, the rest of the month was spent with our returning secondary students during their break from school.  We had a very successful two weeks of remedial lessons for them and a week of reunion.  For the first time the secondary student reunion was led by former CGA students who have finished secondary school.  They planned the week long event, organized the praise and worship sessions, gave the talks on different topics, led them in games and activities rich in practical life lessons, and led the Bible Studies.  They did as good a job as our visiting teams have done in the past.  It was especially rewarding to see these young people digging deep into God’s word and discipling the younger ones. 

Success on and off the Field

Also in April we brought our football club girls together for a week of training before travelling for the KYFA Nationwide Ladies Football Tournament.   It was much more than just a football tournament though as they brought in successful young women in the community to give motivational speeches focused on a theme of “Overcoming the Challenges.”   Their program also included times for group discussions, peer education sessions and a skit contest among the teams.  Our girls benefitted much from their intensive program.  On the field, our Open Age team and our Under 15 year old team both managed to reach the semifinals before losing, but they both rebounded with a win in the playoff game to earn 3^rd place and were rewarded with medals, trophies and some cash. 

On Top of Kenya

After the busy month of April, I took a little excursion.  You might call it a vacation, but some would probably disagree with that term.  My missionary friend from South Sudan met with me in Nairobi and we went and climbed Mt. Kenya.  I have been wanting to do it for the past nine years and finally it came to pass.  Since it was the middle of rainy season (one of the heaviest I have seen in Kenya), we probably didn’t pick the ideal time to do it, but it also meant we had the entire mountain to ourselves for four days (there were only 2 other visitors in the park while we were there).  It was challenging but also invigorating at the same time.  Nothing good in life comes easy.  The peak was packed with snow from the base to the top.  It was extremely cold and difficult to sleep at night (especially for someone who is used to 80 to 90 degree weather year round), but it was one of the most beautiful sights my eyes have ever seen.  I can honestly say that we were the highest people in Kenya that day (and maybe in all of Africa), and that there was no one else in the country getting snowed on.  We were thankful that God spared us the rain until the day we were leaving. 

Pressing On

Now we are ready to start the 4^th week of Term 2 in school.  This time of year is always challenging for the students because it seems like we started the school year so long ago and the end still seems far away so we are trying to motivate and inspire the students to work hard and stay focused.  We have dealt with several deaths recently of our children’s parents/guardians as well as some of our teacher’s spouses, one student has been out of school the whole term with typhoid, another was hit by a vehicle on the road and has serious head injuries, another young girl was rescued from an early marriage.  Through it all we are praying that “God’s Kingdom Would Come to Kenya through the Lives of These Children.” 

For more detailed stories on the secondary students, football tournaments, climbing Mt. Kenya, etc. check out the blogs listed below.

Please pray

1)      For our secondary students (and those that have already finished) to put into practice all that they have learned about putting God first in their lives and following his ways.  Pray that they would be ambassadors of Christ in their schools. 

2)      For God’s covering over the children of Mbita, for their needs to be met physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Pray for their health and growth.    

3)      that my time at home later this year would be a fruitful one for the people I connect with, our ministries here in Mbita, and for me personally.

Coca Cola

On May 19th the Suba Lakers participated in the Coca Cola Tournament at Mbita High School. We were the only girls team from Mbita District invited. Our competition was Moi Girls Secondary School from Sindo where three of our girls are learning. It was supposed to be an Under 17 tournament, but as usually is the case in Kenya, they were not very strict with age. Those secondary school girls were considerably older than our mostly 6th and 7th graders. Competing against some of their older club teammates, the Lakers were a little hesitant at first, getting a feel for the game in the opening 10 minutes. But soon after, they settled in and took control of the match. Our young girls began dominating ball possession and created several chances, especially in the final minutes of the first half, but were unable to break through. The second half began like the first half ended and there was still no fruit for our hard labour. Against the grain of play, they got the ball into our box and one of our defenders handled it, giving them a penalty. Suba Laker Irine Achieng scored the penalty for Sindo just off the fingertips of our Goalkeeper Lillian Awuor. Undeterred, our young girls kept fighting and took back control of the game. A few minutes before time ran out Winny Akinyi beat the goalkeeper to a crossed ball and volleyed it over her head to tie up the score.

This time around there are no prizes in the coca cola tournament and the winning team doesn't advance (two years ago we reached the Provencal Semifinals). It is more like a talent search now so after the match they selected 9 of our players and 7 of the Sindo players (2 of our Suba Lakers) to form a team to move on to the next level next month. The club also got a set of long sleeve jerseys and a ball to take home with them, along with some good experience for their young players.

Which Path?

On Friday I was able to visit some of our students in their secondary school.  I don't do that very much anymore, but this one was important because of some problems one of the girls was having in school.  Taking a whole day off from school and travelling by ferry across the lake and then by road for a couple of hours is a big sacrifice but is sometimes necessary to help a child before it is too late.  We spent over three hours discussing issues with the student, her mother, her teachers, and even some other students.  The list of her mistakes was long and diverse.  Moreso it was very disappointing to those of us who have invested in her life.  When you invest money in someone, you want a good return on your investment.

The trail of sin in her life was so evident.  As it always does, one sin leads to another and before you know it, what starts "small" turns into a big snowball that is out of control.  But God is faithful and His timing is always perfect.  It seemed like we had come when she was at the tipping point.  If we would have waited longer, then it might have been too late.  She was able to confess some of her mistakes and seek the forgiveness of some of those that she had wronged.  She was shocked to discover that her teacher knew so many things that she thought were "hidden" and having it all laid out in the open helped to bring some healing and freedom. 

It won't be easy for her to mend all of her broken relationships and rebuild the trust that was once there; and it will be a struggle to overcome the daily temptations to go back to that way of life, but if she allows God to transform her from the inside out, then she will change. 

It was a long session of listening, rebuking, correcting, counselling, guiding and praying.  In the end, her future is in her hands.  We can give all the advise in the world, but we can't force anyone to do the right thing.

I think one of the most rewarding aspects of working here is to see a young person, who was heading down the wrong path, change and move back to the right one.  Let's pray that it happens in this case too.         

Walking Normally

CGA 4th Grader Violet Achieng was able to have corrective surgery on her other leg this week. With the financial assistance from her sponsor, last year in November she had an operation on her right foot at Cure International Children's Hospital in Kijabe. It has healed very well and last week they were ready to operate on her other foot. The foot problem is a genetic issue in their family where the foot doesn't grow straight and steadily gets worse as they age, making walking difficult. Her mother had the same problem when she was young and has lived most of her life in a wheelchair because she is not able to walk

 Unfortunately as two CGA staff members were bringing her to Kijabe their taxi was car-jacked. God's protection was over them during the traumatic incident. All of their money and things like phones and cameras were taken, but they went injured in anyway. They were able to check into the hospital later that afternoon and the doctors began preparing for the surgery.

The surgery went well. She is resting and will be in the hospital for the remainder of the week. Hopefully in the next 6 to 8 months she will have two normal feet and will be able to walk and run like the other children.

 

Continue to pray that recovery will go well and that no infection will enter her body. Also pray that her family will take good care of Violet

On Top of Kenya

For the past nine years that I have lived in Kenya, I have always wanted to climb Mt. Kenya, the 2nd highest peak in all of Africa.  Now I can say I have finally done it!  My friend Kim Davey, who is a missionary in South Sudan, presented the idea to me and did a little persuading to push me into missing the first week of Term 2 so that we could do it.  Everyone we talked to thought we were a little crazy for going to climb Mt. Kenya during rainy season, but the two of us are usually ready for an exciting adventure.   

I travelled to Nairobi last Tuesday and met up with Kim.  My friend Muhia referred me to his friend who runs a climbing business.  On a day's notice he set up the trip and we travelled three hours on a public van to Naro Moru early on Thursday morning.  They had an early lunch ready for us and drove us up to the park gate. 



Day 1
Our guide, 3 porters, cook, Kim and I all set off on foot from the gate to begin the adventure.  The hike was about 3 1/2 hours that afternoon.  It was an overcast day, but we only got showers for a short while.  We reached the Met Station Lodge (10,000 feet) around 5:00 pm and put down our bags before our guide told us we would hike up 30 more minutes before coming back to rest.  I asked if there was anything there to look at and he said there wasn't.  I didn't understand and told him I thought I had gone far enough for today and would like to rest.  Finally he explained that hiking up 30 minutes further and then coming back down to sleep would help with acclimitization.  Relunctantly I agreed since it seemed to make sense.  After the hike, we came back down to the Met Station for dinner and a good night of sleep with a fire to keep us warm.  Our porters were great cooks.  I ate much better than I normally eat at home.  The food was so good, but maybe all the hiking made it taste even better.

Day 2
We were told that day we would have to hike for around 7 hours, but with our fast pace we finished the 7 mile hike within 5 1/2 hours.  Mackinder's Lodge is situated below the main peak with a good view of the big mountain.  When we first arrived, the sun was shining bright, but within a short time the clouds covered it and the temperature dropped dramatically.  We hiked up again for about 30 minutes to help with the acclimitization and then back down to rest.  The only problem is that it is difficult to rest and relax when it is so cold.  We were now at 14,200 feet and ready for the final ascent early the next morning. 

In the lodge we met an American couple that were also on the same path as us.  We realized later that the four of us were the only visitors in all of Mt. Kenya National Park for those four days.  I guess there weren't many other climbers daring enough to attempt it during that time.

Day 3
 
I tried to sleep, but even with 4 layers of clothes and a great sleeping bag, I was too cold.  I might have slept for an hour or two, but it didn't seem like it when my alarm went off at 2:00 am.  We took some chai, prepared our equipment and headed out by 3:00 am.  After a short climb through some lose rocks, we hit snow very early, much lower than it normally is.  We climbed 4 1/2 miles up to the summit in 3 1/2 hours.  We were hoping to reach the summit in time for the sunrise, but the high level of snow and ice slowed us down more than we thought it would.  That morning it was also snowing lightly.  It was difficult to get a solid footing as our feet kept sliding on the compacted snow, but the guide would use his snow axe to dig a little to give us traction.  There are some ropes connected to the stones towards the top of the peak, but most of them were buried in the snow.  There were a few points where the ice was slick and there wasn't much room for error on either side.  I tried not to think much about it and focus on reaching the peak.  We finally reached Point Lenana (16,355 feet) about 15 minutes after the sun rose and God had given us a beautiful clear day.  You could see for miles and miles.  Without a doubt I was the highest person in Kenya and maybe in all of Africa (depening on who was on top of Kilimanjaro at the same time).  All of the snow made it absolutely gorgeous up there.  We spent an hour on the peak taking photos, drinking chai and enjoying the scenery. 

After a lot of coaxing from our guide Stanley who was worried about the weather changing quickly, we started going down the other side of the mountain towards Chogoria at 7:45 am. The 12 miles down that side were beautiful with lakes, rivers, waterfalls and deep canyons. We probably didn't enjoy it enough because we were tired and wanted to make it down to the camp. Unfortunately, it began raining about three hours before we reached. It was hard to complain since it was rainy season and God had spared us for the past two days. It never let up though. We had to eat lunch in the rain and finish the hike while getting completely soaked from head to toe. We were thankful for a warm cup of chai, a hot shower and a fire when we reached the Mt. Kenya Lodge.

















Day 4
The hiking was finished and all that remained was a drive to the main town of Chogoria and then catching a public van back to Nairobi. Seems easy enough, doesn't it? Unfortunately, the road was terrible. I have seen many bad roads in Africa and have been stuck many times, but I have never seen anything like this road before. You had to have the old style of Land-rover to make it, plus several strong men ready to push it through the mud (or in some cases hold it up so it doesn't tip) while the driver negotiates the obstacles. Probably the best way to describe it is this: it took us 3 1/2 hours to go 22 miles!

All in all, it was a wonderful safari. God blessed us with great weather. I had great company throughout. My body was strong and healthy (except for a few small headaches and a little nausea from the altitude). And I got to see some absolutely breathtaking views of God's beautiful creation. Climbing Mt. Kenya during rainy season is a little risky and I probably wouldn't recommend it, but the scenery was unbeatable!

Some lessons I learnt:
- You must pick the right guide and be ready to listen and trust him!
- Keep looking at the ultimate goal in front of you, but then focus on each step to get there.
- You must have the right equipment and be prepared.
- We all need help because we can't make it alone (porters, guides, friends).
- Anything worthwhile requires a lot of hard-work and sacrifice.

- You can always go beyond what you think is possible.

CGA Products

Every school holiday we have a reunion where all of our secondary students sponsored through CGA return to Mbita for a week of spiritual renewal, encouragement, advise, etc.  It is a time to reconnect with their old friends and to re-charge their batteries before returning back to school (most of them are in boarding schools). 

In the past, CGA missionaries and teachers have facilitated the conference sometimes, and other times visiting University students and other teams have directed the program.  A few months ago the CGA students who have finished secondary school stepped up to say that we didn't need to bring any special visitors because they were able to facilitate.  It was a good opportunity for them to give back to CGA after all they have been given.  It was also a good opportunity for them to pass on much of what they have learned through the years and to differentiate themselves as leaders.  Nobody knows and understands our children better than themselves. 

This past week they did an excellent job of leading them through times of praise and worship.  They shared with them practical advice on dealing with temptations, how to handle relationships, succeeding academically and many other areas.  The most beneficial time were the small group Bible Studies.  Seeing these former students lead their groups in discussion as they dig into God's word was a  great pleasure for all of us who have impacted their lives. 

Football and Beyond

This year the KYFA Nationwide Ladies Tournament was much more than football. They were able to provide meals and accommodation so that all 20 teams could eat and sleep at the same venue. They had special programs every night and every morning. The team was“Football and Beyond.” They brought in successful young women to share with the girls. Their talks were challenging and inspiring to these young ladies. They encouraged them to be bold and learn to speak up when necessary. They talked about setting goals and working towards achieving them. As they shared their life stories, they also talked about the challenges and obstacles that girls in Kenya face, and how to overcome them. On the last night, each team performed a skit on how to “Overcome the Odds.” As an organization, we began the Suba Lakers to use football as a means to impact the lives of young girls physically, socially, academically and spiritually.It was great to be involved with a tournament that is trying to do the same thing.

Another “highlight” of the weekend was seeing a tournament actually uphold a standard of integrity. One of the semifinal teams brought in a new player on the last day for their semifinal match which was strictly against the rules. The new player actually scored the game winning goal, but afterwards the losing team lodged an official complaint. After investigating it was found to be true and the team was disqualified. It happened to be a local team and the coach incited the players to protest by not playing in the 3^rd place playoff and instead sat on the field where the finals were supposed to be played. The local fans were also incited and threatened to throw stones and not allow the finals to begin unless their team was allowed to play. KYFA stood their ground and eventually an official was able to convince the team to leave the field so that the finals could take place. Most of the time in this country, corruption and cheating is just accepted with no consequence. It was good to see someone make a stand for truth and integrity, even if it meant making enemies with a local team and even local fans in favor of a team from outside the area. Maybe things are slowly starting to change in this country!

Nationwide Success

The Suba Lakers had two teams competing in the Kisumu Youth Football Association Nationwide Ladies Tournament over the weekend. Both teams placed third in their age categories, bringing home trophies, medals and prize money. .

The open age team lost their first match to Victoria FC 4-0 after giving up four goals in the second half on a rain soaked field at Kenyatta Sports ground in the opening match of the tournament. They bounced back later that day by thrashing Hatua Molo FC 12-0 with five goals from Dorothy Adhiambo. On Saturday morning they faced a tough task playing against one of the best secondary school teams in the country, Jera. In addition, three of the Suba Lakers were playing for Jera. A back and forth first half did not produce any goals until the last few minutes when Everline Moraa rocketed a shot past the goalkeeper. That was all the Lakers needed as they held on for a 1-0 win. In their final preliminary game, the Lakers scored a late second half goal on a penalty kick to draw with Kasagam 1-1. With 7 points, the Lakers finished 2nd in the pool and qualified for a semifinal encounter with Ibinzo from Western Province. Suba dodged several bullets in the first half and went into halftime 0-0. Unfortunately Ibinzo scored early in the second half and followed it up with 3 more to rout the Lakers 4-0. The Lakers qualified for 3rd place with a walkover. It is the first time the Suba Lakers have been able to finish in the top three in the KYFA Nationwide Tournament.

The Under 15 team dominated their pool, opening with a 4-3 win over Soccer Sisters from Nairobi on two goals by Brenda June and two more by Lucia Awino. They won their second match 3-1 over Kisum Leeds on goals by Theresa Atieno, Brenda June and Winny Akinyi. On the second day they settled for a 5-5 draw with reigning champions Victoria after giving up 2 late goals. In their final group game they defeated Shaurimoyo 4-1. They finished tied at the top of the standing with Victoria but were placed 2nd because they scored 1 less goal than Victoria. In the semis, they faced SEP from Oyugis and started off down 4-0, but recovered with 2 goals in the second half before running out of time to finish their comeback. In the third place playoff on Sunday morning they easily handled TYSA from Kitale 7 to 3 behind 4 goals from Winny Akinyi. A few of the teams brought secondary girls much older than 15, but our 6th and 7th graders competed favourably with all of the teams. It was a good experience for them and they have shown us that the Suba Lakers have a bright future ahead of them.