Team Pete Kenya

Our New Blog!

If you are wondering why I haven't posted on her for a while, it's because we now have a new blog!

www.teampetekenya.blogspot.com

My wife and I are both giving up our old individual blogs and now we have one combined blog!  We will be posting stories about Christ's Gift Academy, Suba Lakers Football Club and other personal stories of what God is doing in us and through us!  Read through the pages that describe the different ministries we work with, how to pray for us, invest in our ministry, contact us and several new blog posts.  Look it up and subscribe to it if you want to stay current about what is going on in our lives!

Primary School Games

The Suba Laker Primary School girls have been dazzling and exciting fans all across the western part of Kenya for the past few weeks. In primary schools, the games are like all-star games because the players move through about 7 levels where they play games and at the end of that tournament, the best players are selected to move on to the next level. At pretty much all the levels are girls have played they haven't allowed any goals and the only matches they have lost were due to post-match penalty shootouts (of which we need to do a lot of work on). And at each level, the crowds enjoyed watching the "team game" of our girls as they passed, worked together and displayed their high skill level. Our primary girls are still young and small in stature, but know how to play the game of soccer the right way.

The Homa Bay County team mainly consisted of Suba Lakers from Mbita District reached all the way to the finals of the Provencal Tournament and played a great game against the host county Kisumu. With all of the fans against us, our girls dominated the game and created numerous chances to score, but never broke through. In the end, it came down to penalty kicks which gave Kisumu the title.

Fortunately, 6 players from our team were selected to go to Nationals, including 4 Suba Lakers. Goalkeeper Lillian Awuor will go for the first time, Winny Akinyi and Teresa Atieno will be going for the 2nd time and defender Lavenda Achieng will go for the 3rd time. It is a huge honor to be regarded as one of the best primary school players in the nation. We wish them the best of luck as they represent the Lake Region in the games set to take place next week.

Our Story

 

 

Here is "Our Story" that we wrote on the back of our wedding programs for our American Wedding on May 26, 2013...

 

Kind of crazy, isn’t it?  How do two 36 year old singles with a heart for Africa, who have never been married, meet and fall in love in America in such a short amount of time?  The answer is… God! Because what seems crazy to man, is just normal for God!  Our love story is not really something either of us could have dreamed up.

We were born 4 days apart, but grew up on opposite coasts; Daneen on the East Coast in PA and Joe on the West Coast in AZ.  Both of us had kind and loving parents who have been married to each other for around 40 years.  Daneen enjoyed competing in gymnastics as a child while also working hard in school to help her dreams become a reality.   Joe loved most sports, but eventually focused on basketball, learning that hard work could help him reach his goals. 

Daneen went south for college to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida while Joe went north to Dawson Community College and Rocky Mountain College in Montana.  After college Daneen headed west to take her first job as a rocket scientist at Boeing in California and then Digital Globe in Longmont, CO.  Joe moved east to coach college basketball at Northwestern State University in Louisiana and then at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina.  We were destined to be together some day, but it wasn’t yet time.

Both of us experienced many adventures in our young adult years, from skydiving, scuba diving, white water rafting, mission trips to developing countries, and travelling the world. Joe received salvation at a very early age while Daneen made that decision as an adult. 

We both achieved success in our respective careers at very early ages; Daneen as a woman in the male dominated profession of engineering and Joe as a Division I basketball coach in the NCAA Tourney.

Both of us began feeling a call from God to go to Africa.  Joe left his coaching career to move to Kenya in 2004 to work as a teacher, coach and administrator at a school for orphans called Christ’s Gift Academy (CGA) in the district with one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Africa (30%).  Before going to Kenya, Joe attended Mission Training International and met a couple from Longmont named Don and Kristie Drage who were also moving to Kenya. 

 
Daneen first visited Africa in 2005 on a mission trip to Kenya with LifeBridge Christian Church.  Don and Kristie Drage hosted the team in Kenya. At the time, Kristie wondered how she could get Daneen to meet this single missionary guy living out on Lake Victoria on the western side of Kenya.  It didn’t work out on that trip because it wasn’t yet God’s time.  Later, Daneen left her engineering career to volunteer with Peace Corps in Zambia and then with Invisible Children and Scripture Union in Gulu, Uganda. 

After returning from Uganda in 2011, Daneen had dinner at Don and Kristie’s house and Don mentioned this single missionary guy in Kenya.  Daneen didn’t want to hear about someone in Africa because she was now back home in America.  It still wasn’t time. 

In June 2012, Daneen felt called to move to Portland and found a job with a non-profit that was providing college scholarships to students in Africa.  When Joe came home on furlough in 2012, Don told him that when he travels through Portland he should invite this girl Daneen to listen to him share about Africa. 

Paul and Joyce Maier were hosting a small reception for Joe to connect with some old friends from around Portland. When Daneen walked through the door that night, both of our lives were forever changed.  We could ask why our paths never crossed during our younger years in the U.S., or while we were both living in Africa, but God’s timing and his way is always the best.  We don’t regret not meeting until we were 36.  Instead we are thankful that we met when we did and that we have the rest of our lives to be together.

Just two days before meeting Daneen, I told some friends that I was as content as I had ever been as a single man, and that maybe God’s plan for me was to remain single for the rest of my life.  Both of us have met so many wonderful people in our lives, but it wasn’t until we found each other that we realized what we had been waiting for all of this time.  During our adult years we have both gone through times of being very content in our singleness and other times when we just wanted to find a husband/wife.  Some days it was easy while other days it was very tough, but both of us were patient in waiting for God’s best.

That special night in Portland on October 23^rd started with a friendly hug and ended with a long discussion on the possibility of our organizations partnering together to help some CGA students with college scholarships.  That was the connection that allowed us to get together again two days later at Daneen’s work and began to build our relationship, starting with business and moving to more personal things. 

It didn’t take long to feel a connection with each other and Joe asked Daneen to come and spend some time in CA before flying back to Kenya.  After just a few days together, Daneen changed her flight back to Portland to stay longer in CA for Thanksgiving, and Joe postponed his flight back to Kenya so that he could visit her again in Portland and spend Christmas with her family in PA. 

It hasn’t been a very typical relationship.  We have only known each other for 7 months and 2 of those months we were half a world apart.  But the rest of our time together has been intense.  From our time in CA, OR, PA, Uganda, Kenya and CO we have been with each other almost every waking minute; we have seen each other through highs and lows in different settings and different seasons.  It isn’t what we would have imagined; actually it is much better because it is exactly what God had imagined.  Sure it is a little crazy, but so is leaving a successful career and moving to Africa.  When you follow God, it is sometimes crazy, but it is sure to be an adventure!

We are excited for the adventure ahead!

Edwina Ogongo

There is some sad news to report from Kenya. A former CGA student passed away last week. Edwina Ogongo was in CGA’s 2nd graduating 8th Grade class in 2007 and finished secondary school 2011. She hadn’t been able to move on to further education yet and had volunteered off and on at CGA over the last couple of years. She joined CGA with her two brothers after her parents died about 10-12 years ago. Her aunt raised her in Mbita town. She was a bright and hard-working girl who earned a

B- in secondary school. Edwina was anemic and supposedly lost a lot of blood during child birth complications in the home where she delivered a month ago.

They buried her today (Friday, May 17th) at her grandparents home in Uyoma. Many of our former CGA students spent time with her in the hospital before she passed away and have been helping Edwina’s Aunt with arrangements and other details in the home as they prepared for the burial. It is greatly affecting the students, staff, her brothers in school and her former classmates and schoolmates. We know that Edwina heard the Gospel many times in her life during her time at CGA and while she was in secondary school.  I even remember a time I visitied her in school and she told me about how she had received God's salvation during a weekend Gospel presentation.  So we take comfort in knowing that she has gone to be with her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Your prayers are much appreciated during this time.

May Newsletter from Daneen's Perspective

From Kenya...

To America... Together!!












The first four months of 2013 in Kenya flew by so quickly and now I am back in America preparing for a wedding in a few weeks! Daneen and I will be getting married in Colorado on May 26th.After a honeymoon and a few weeks of preparation, we will travel back to Kenya at the end of June for our African wedding and to begin our new lives together.

Many of you have been reading my e-mail newsletters for over 9 years now, so I thought this time you would like to see Mbita through the eyes of my future wife...

Mbita: Through Daneen's Eyes

Four weeks in Kenya visiting Joe passed quickly. These weeks were largely focused on learning the community, understanding the ministry, building relationships, and, of course, time for Joe and I to grow closer as an engaged couple and simply experience daily life together in Kenya. Joe also joined me in Uganda for a week where we spent time visiting many of my friends and ministry partners from the time I lived in Gulu.

Our time together in both Kenya and Uganda was invaluable for the foundation of our relationship. We both grew to understand one another more intimately as we gained insight to each other's 'Africa life'. Our love for each other grew deeper; in ways we were unaware we had the capacity for love.



I really enjoyed Mbita and I'm excited about beginning our marriage and life together there. However, I didn't fall instantly love with the place. Since I previously lived in East Africa, my heart was already captured (years ago) by the many things that grab ones love for Africa: the beauty of the children's smiles, the warmness of African greetings, the kindness of their hospitality and love of visitors and the gorgeous scenery of the African bush. Yet, as the weeks passed, as I gained better insight and understanding, as I navigated the market to find the best vegetables and watched many sunsets over the lake with Joe, I began to embrace Mbita and I can't wait to return in July.

The most enjoyable part of being in Mbita was seeing Joe in his element. His world, his home, his ministry, his town and with his friends and students. He thrives in Mbita. The students at Christ's Gift Academy respect him, enjoy his stories and love when he teaches. He's well respected in the community and around town. He has many solid, true friendships, as well as numerous great working relationships with various businesses in town and many teachers from around the district.

The Suba Lakers girls love this man!! Many of the girls come from backgrounds in which they would never have had the opportunity to continue their education beyond primary school. They would have been married-off (for the dowry needed by their family), forced to work in the garden or around the house, or become pregnant and taking care of a small baby. Suba Lakers is a football (soccer) club, but it's about a lot more than scoring goals .These girls have gained a sense of worth and belonging. These two simple things have given them increased self-confidence and hope for their future. The girls interact with Joe in a very open way, yet with respect and love for him. He is incredible with them! It's not easy for an American single guy to create culturally appropriate relationships with Kenyan teenage girls; especially in a culture where the idea of mentorship is nearly non-existent. He's managed to navigate this well and, with the help of a few Kenyan assistant coaches and club officials (leaders), they've created a fantastic model for how to do girls sports with a solid foundation on mentoring and caring for the girls' individual needs. I'm excited to partner with Joe and the Suba Lakers, on the sidelines, hanging out with and getting to know these girls.


Christ's Gift Academy surely is a special and unique elementary school.80% of the students are orphans; all largely due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Most students wouldn't be in school without the provision of CGA. The teachers and staff desire to provide the students with a quality Christian education, striving to instill good character along with academic success to help break the cycle of poverty. The school also serves to care for the children's physical and social needs with various services through the CGA Student Care Office. Since classroom instruction is done predominately in English, most students speak English well and are eager to smile and greet visitors. The school grounds are beautifully landscaped with well-built classrooms and administration buildings and even a library and tutoring rooms ! The school is well respected as a top performing school in the district. God's blessing is indeed upon CGA.


Arriving to Mbita, I was met with a pleasant surprise; lots of rolling hills and mountains!!! Joe had shown me many pictures of Mbita and CGA, but I never gained a sense that there were large hills all around. He knows how much I love my mountains, so he left this as a surprise when I arrived. With it being rainy season, the hills were covered in a beautiful lush green that warms my heart!


In late June, Joe and I will joyously return to Mbita, Kenya to begin our life and ministry together, as husband and wife. We even have a new house waiting for us to move into where we can create HOME!

Kenya- we're coming home!

~Daneen Leidig, soon-to-be Peterson






Prayer Requests:


1) Pray for our upcoming wedding, and more importantly, our marriage.

2) Pray for us as we prepare to return to Kenya. Pray that God will direct us to the roles and responsibilities we should focus on in this new season

3) Pray for the CGA students and staff as the new school term begins next week (May 7).Pray that they will be disciplined and hard-working and keep God at the center of their learning.

Coca Cola Win

The Under 15 version of Suba Lakers kicked off the Coca Cola Tournament with a 3-0 win over Kuria Ladies. The Coca Cola Tournament is being stages in different branches all over Kenya and several other countries in Africa. The winning boys and girls teams from the branch levels will move on to the Provencal level and then National level. The National winners will have the opportunity to travel to South Africa to face other National winners from the across the continent.

Three years ago the Suba Lakers won the branch and reached all the way up to the semifinals of the Province. In their first game of this campaign the 12, 13 and 14 year old girls dominated their first match from start to finish, making a strong statement to the other teams watching that they are once again the team to beat. Winny Akinyi and Lenser Adoyo both scored goals in the first half and the defense anchored by Cynthia, Florence, Jacinta and Sisk Verah didn't give the Kuria Ladies any good chances to score past Goalkeeper Lillian Awuor.

In the 2nd half, the Suba Lakers continued their dominance and the youngest and smallest player on the field, 12 year old Brenda June, netted the teams third and final goal. Brenda was selected by Coca Cola as the player of the match.

It was a good beginning for the Lakers. This first game was played in Rongo. They will continue with more Coca Cola games on May 25th in Homa Bay.

Returning Home

On April 15th about 100 former CGA students returned from their various secondary schools for their Reunion.  Many times during Reunion visitors come from Nairobi or other places to minister to the secondary students. However, this term, CGA Alumni, who have already finished secondary school, did the planning and preparation and even some of the teaching.  This was a great opportunity for the Alumni to develop as facillitators, teachers and leaders before they join college later this year.  They did an excellent job of getting the students focused on God and taught very practical lessons. 

Each day began with a passionate, heart-felt session of praise and worship, followed by teaching.  After their porridge break, the students participated in team-building activities with life applications.  After lunch, different guest speakers shared with the students.  They were taught about personal hygiene, HIV/AIDS, relationships, study techniques and God's purpose in their lives. 

The last session of the week ended with Joe Peterson's future wife, Daneen, sharing her testimony about what God has done in her life since coming to know Him 10 years ago; leaving her job as a rocket scientist, moving to Africa and eventually falling in love with these students' mentor.  They were totally engulfed by her words as they focused intently on her great story of God's faithfulness.  The Reunion closed with a great rendition of "How Great Thou Art" in the students very unique style. 

We are thankful for what God is doing in the lives of students as they grow up in the CGA primary school, move on to various secondary schools, grow as leaders and continue to other academic institutions in preparation for the future that God has set before them.  A future filled with hopes and dreams because of the opportunity that CGA helped them build.