From Teacher to Nurse

A former CGA volunteer teacher graduated from Tenwek School of Nursing this weekend. Mourine Ooro had worked at CGA as a volunteer from 2006-2007 after she had finished secondary school. There was a time she considered going to teacher training college so she could be a trained teacher, but felt God leading her to study nursing. She joined Tenwek in 2008 and has worked diligently to achieve her dream. In August, she passed her National Nursing Exam and has been employed at Tenwek Hospital.

I stacked Mourine’s family (parents plus 4 siblings), along with six other friends into my landcruiser and we travelled together to Bomet on Friday to share with her on her Graduation Day. They had a special banquet on Friday night for the graduates and their families. The graduation ceremony was highlighted by a great a wonderful message from Pastor Meshack Habib about overcoming obstacles. All of Mourine’s friends and family enjoyed a nice meal down by the dam and shared a few moments together before departing.

Mourine has personally been a very good friend of mine since she first started working at CGA back in 2006.  I am proud of Mourine’s achievement and wish her the best as she takes the love of God with her in ministering to her patients.

National Trials

One of our Suba Laker Girls received an invitation to attend the Under 19 National Ladies Team Trials in Nairobi this weekend. Caren Akeyo travelled eight hours to reach Kenya's capital city for the first time in her life. Seventy players from across the country were invited for the tryouts. The twenty five players selected will represent the country during a tournament in Lesotho which is near South Africa. The players camped at a very nice hotel called Sabina Country Inn which is where the National Youth Talent Academy is currently calling home. They conducted the tryouts at Nyayo National Stadium.

After the first day Coach Florence Adhiambo made cuts and sent twenty players back home. Caren survived the first cut but wasn't so fortunate on Sunday. She didn't make the final cut, but the coaches were impressed with her ability and asked her to come back in two weeks for the under 17 tryouts they will be having as they prepare a team to compete in The Netherlands in December. Caren is only 16, but shined while competing against some of the best players in the country.

Looking Ahead to Secondary

Our ten Standard 8 students finished their National Exams on Thursday and are now anxiously awaiting their results which will be released at the end of December. We are hoping and praying that they will do well and have the opportunity to continue their education in secondary school if they pass and God provides the funds for them.

Four of those students were invited to a secondary school for a tryout this weekend. Our club chairman, Paul Onundo, and our team manager Eunice Oluwanda, and myself (Joe Peterson) were able to drive Raisha, Alicent, Lydia and Leah to Siaya County to visit Jera Mixed Secondary School. Jera is a powerhouse in girls football winning the Nyanza Provencial Championship 11 times in the 14 years since the province began competing in girls football. This past year they won the province again and made it to the National Semifinals with mostly 1st year students before getting defeated by the eventual national champions. One of their first year students from Jera was one of two girls in the country selected to go for a special training with Manchester United.

The school was a little bit far from Mbita. After crossing the ferry, it took us two more hours driving before we reached. Upon entering the school gate we were greeted by their players who were ready to give us a tour of the school. It is a medium sized school with around 500 students. Each grade has three classes of around 50 each which is a good size for a Kenyan school (most have more than that in each class). The staff and students were very friendly and helpful to all of us. It seemed like a big family with the way they interacted.

After the tour, the girls filled out an information sheet and then they were given a uniform to change into. It was the same uniform that Jera was given when they qualified for Nationals. The Jera players took the girls through warm-up drills before they started playing.

Playing in front of all the students and staff of the school, our girls didn't show any nervousness and competed hard, mixed in with the regular Jera players and other girls trying out. Alicent scored a goal within the first ten minutes and the others also displayed their talents, while playing very good team ball. They played three halves which gave the coaches enough time to evaluate the players, but tired the players out; especially since the ones trying out have not been training very much over the past few months while they were preparing for their national exams. Alicent closed the games with the final goal. After practicing their penalty kicks, they did some stretching and talked in a group for a while. The program closed with a great meal and speeches by various teachers from the school and the special guests.

Overall, we were very impressed with the friendliness of the staff and students. We liked how organized they were. The school's academic performanceis above average, but they really try to focus on holistic education by helping their students develop their talents and abilities in many areas. It is obvious their coach really knows football and how to train a football team. He is an honest man who interacts very positively with the girls.

Once the results come out in late December they will offer some of these players an opportunity to come to their school for a reduced school fee. We were grateful to Jera for giving our girls the opportunity to come and tryout.

Wonderful Gifts

Today was our last training for the 2011 school year with our Juniors. We have been having between 25-30 come from all over the area for one Saturday every month during this year. Most of these ones are in 4th - 6th grade. Some are really small, but have the heart, energy and attitude to play football. There aren't many tournaments organized in Kenya, especially for the young girls (except the ones we organize ourselves). These ones come to the field running so early just eager to take a ball and start kicking it. We have tried to teach them basic skills (dribbling, passing, shooting, juggling, heading, chesting, trapping, etc.) and get them organized to play a position in the field.

Through some generous donations and the organization of Joyce Maier, we were able to give each player a brand new pair of Nike slippers. I don't think I have ever seen them so excited before. Some of them may have never received a gift that was brand new. Young ones here mostly just get hand me d0wns or used items from the market. One of the little ones exclaimed, "This is the best gift I have ever got!" We also gave out sports bras to the few that needed them. And each of the players also received a set of exams papers to help them as they revise and prepare for their end-year exams so that they can pass and move to the next class.

It was a good ending to a good year of training. The main primary school will also get the slippers, sports bras and exams when they come for their next training. Our 13 secondary students will receive when their boarding schools close at the end of November!

Fixing Feet

After many prayers and much advice Violet Achieng has started the process of corrective foot surgery. Her feet have steadily gotten worse the last few years and were now causing her much pain when walking. 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

Lillian Ombori, the CGA Student Care Overseeer, took Violet a few months ago to a Cure International outreach clinic. The doctors that assessed Violet gave her hope that her feet could be corrected with surgery.

I was able to drive her to the Cure International Children's Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya along with her grandmother last Saturday.

Violet's right foot was operated on Tuesday, October 11th and all went very well. She is resting and will be in the hospital for the remainder of the week. Violet selected her right foot due to the pain that it was causing her. After 6 to 8 months she will be free to have the left foot corrected.

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

Chapel

I got a call late on Sunday night from one of our teachers who asked me if I could lead chapel on Monday morning. Excited about getting the chance, I didn't have much time to prepare, but its a good thing the Holy Spirit is always ready.

The text was from 2 Peter 1:3-11 which talks about making our calling and election sure. In simple terms it tells us that God has given us everything we need for this life to do good.

I started by addressing the 270 students and 30 staff members with some questions about what we need to be a good student, teacher, police officer and other vocations. We talked about all that CGA has given to these students so that they can do their best (uniforms, books, school supplies, good teachers, nice classrooms with desks, medical help, 2 meals a day and even food during the holiday). Then we compared that to how God has given us everything we need to do good and to escape the corruption of this world that are caused by our evil desires.

Then I had some of my students act out skits we had rehearsed early that morning. We thought of six different scenarios where people face temptations that are common in this area (and the rest of the world). In each case, the student made the choice not to give in to the temptation instead do the right thing. One was tempted to steal a pen, but did not. Another was tempted to lie to his mother about his grade in school. Still another was made fun of, yet he did not retaliate. A girl was propositioned by a boy, but declined his advances. One was pushed down and he chose not to fight back. And the final scenario was a teacher who was tempted to beat the student (which happens a lot in this culture), but he decided to handle it in a better matter.

After the drama pieces we talked about how nothing or no one (note even Satan) can force you to sin. It is always our choice. In fact, life is made up of our choices. Then we shared some of the qualities that we should posess in increasing measure from 2 Peter 1, starting with faith and building on that foundation. We had different students holding up signs with those words on them (goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love).

I hadn't planned on this next part, but I think it was the Holy Spirit that brought it to my mind at that point. I shared the story of my friend Will Coker that was kidnapped, held hostage and eventually beheaded in Afghanistan. He possessed those qualities and in increasing measure. I think it shocked some of the students who had not heard the story yet, but it definitely made them think deeply and contemplate how committed they were to God. Most of them may never face the kind of religous persecution that Will did, but it might come in other forms.

I love the opportunities I get to share with our students and when God uses me to deepen their faith and draw them closer to him!

International Star

Former CGA student Primerose Achieng just returned from the East African Games in Kampala, Uganda. Primerose was representing Kenya as she played for Shimba Hills High School in the secondary school event. This is the third straight year her team has competed at the African regional event where the top teams from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan battle it out to see who is the best in East Africa. The competition includes boys and girls basketball, boys and girls football, rugby, field hockey, track and field, volleyball and other racket games.

This year Shimba Hills finished fourth in the region, losing in the semifinals to the eventual champions, Tigoi Girls Secondary School (Kenya), in a closely contested match. Unfortunately, they also fell in the third place match-up by a single point. Primerose uses her good speed, along with her dribbling and passing skills to man the point guard position. She has also been selected to play on the Kenya National Team later this year.