Football, Greek Pasta Salad and God

Hey everyone!
I am done with two weeks and now making my way through my third week here in Nairobi. Things are going very well! My only complaint is that I am meeting to many new and wonderful people. But that really isn’t a complaint. The hardest part about that is just the mental power it takes to meet so many new people every day, I will be glad when I will have a little more stability in my days concerning people.
Living:
It’s been a very interesting week! On Wednesday I attended a Kenyan Premier League soccer game. It was the final and the match was between two of the biggest rivals AFC Leopards and Ghor Mahia. I am pretty certain I was one of five white people in a stadium of 20,000 Kenyans. It was a awesome experience, I think this weekend I will get to see some Rugby too, so I am excited about that. I have settled into the apartment and am used to living here now. I am still learning many things but I am now sleeping through the dogs, babies and cats (I am pretty sure they have nothing else to do but make loud noise). Friday to Sunday I went over to Michael Rhodes (CDV, 2008) house and hang out with him which was great, had a lot of fun and learned a lot from him concerning being a Muzungu in a international context. Alvin has been everywhere because of all that he has to do, sometimes I am with him sometimes I am not but he still continues to blow me away with his knowledge and heart for people.
God:
God has been working on my heart this week, very heavily. He has been giving me a lot of comfort and a lot of opportunities to step outside my own wants and serve others. I have been very mentally tired this week and that does not help me to keep the learning attitude so it has been a fight. God has been really showing me that he will work through all things no matter how big or small. One example of this was when I went to the Kawangware savings group on Thursday. I don’t remember if I mentioned it in the last update but one of the ladies had just lost a brother and was left to pay for the funeral. Because of this the members collected a separate amount of money outside of savings for her and I did not have any money on me that day. Alvin told me that it was probably expected of me that I give something because I am a visitor (which I figured), but I didn’t have any money so I put some aside when I got back to the apartment. I had to leave the group before it was over to do an interview with the pastor so I had someone tell her to come see me. When she walked through the door I could tell she was confused, why would this white guy want her? I stood up and said “Ilea Matanga” (meaning this is for the funeral) and handed her the shillings. Immediately her face lit up and said “thank you” so many times. Alvin later told me that she couldn’t believe that I had did that and how happy she was. I didn’t give her much but it blessed her so much. This is what God has been resting on my heart, the Christian life even in Nairobi, Kenya is not the most righteous of American Christianity, it is the same as serving anywhere. You have to live with God on a daily basis, making decisions with him, seeing people in his forgiveness, giving like him, loving like him. It’s the same in Kenya as it is in Tennessee or Georgia, the differences come from culture and context, which is the hard part of international missions.

Community Development:
On Friday, I was able to attend a New City Fellowship Nairobi small group with Mike Rhodes. I was so blessed because I saw 4 or 5 races come together and enjoy each other’s company and fellowship in the word. There was a couple from Germany, a few families from India, Kenyans and Americans all in one house fellowshipping! It was an amazing sight and learned so much about the purpose of God’s redeeming love and unity. It really showed me the results of racial reconciliation and how much it is needed everywhere. I thought this small group was amazing until I got to the actual NCF Nairobi Sunday service. This service blew my mind, it was like the small group times 20. So many different continents and races represented there, it really was a glimpse of what heaven will look like. My favorite part was the last part of the service in which the announcer said “now is the time we are going to have a Traditional Indian dance”. About 5 seconds after he said that Indian hip-hop (think Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack) came on and a bunch of Indians came up from the congregation…needless to say eventually the whole congregation, white, black, brown, etc were all in the front of the church dancing to Indian hip-hop. What a way to worship, we may have not been directly worshiping God with hymns or sermons but we were worshiping him with our unity, something American churches have a hard time doing trans-denominationally. It was a wonderful time and I hope to back to NCF Nairobi again, maybe even make it my home church while I am here. I never thought I would go to a church and learn so much about Development and its principles.

Other Stuff:
• Keep praying for me in any ways you can think of, if you mind says “oh, I bet Dave would like prayer for this”…yeah I would! Pray for my strength, that I continue to give my all while I am here.
• Thank you so much for all the encouragement you have sent me through comments and emails. You have no idea how much of a blessing it is. I want to respond to all of you individually but I can’t! So, remember that your comments and emails are a huge blessing and I am reading each and every one of them.
• Played a soccer game with some slum kids a few days back…so much fun! I thought I would die but I kept up fairly well.
• I made Alvin and Nancy a Greek Pasta salad the other day; they had never had it before…they both ate so much of it I hardly got any. Last night Alvin was standing in the kitchen with the container in his hand eating it with his fingers saying “we are getting more pasta”.
• Kibera is huge! So huge! There is about 1 million families living in Kibera, when you’re driving on some of the roads you come across a spot where you can see the horizon which is filled with Kibera slum house holds.I haven’t had much contact with it yet because every time we try to go to the savings group that I should be working with, they have either forgotten there was a meeting or forgotten to tell everyone that there was going to be a meeting! UGH Pray that my relations with the group also grow very quickly because I am behind with my schedule because of the missed meetings.
• I am able to talk very very basically in Swahili, so keep praying that I get better! I need to keep learning it’s getting harder because I need to learn how to make words and sentences now and that’s hard for people to teach.
• Other bloggers I am not following, I want to follow you! I just can’t figure out how too…apparently I suck at this whole thing.
Talk to you next week!
Dave
P.S. WORLD CUP IN 11 DAYS!!!

Untadunda Na Nani? (who do you bounce with?)

Hey everyone! or Sasa (whats going on) or Mukemo Fresh (are you fresh?)

I have already knocked out one week of my internship and as of today am starting my second week. It has been a ridiculous experience so far and I am excited to keep going. I love Nairobi, it is a very interesting place, one that is very misunderstood by a lot of westerners. I am trying to figure out how to write this update because I have so much to say.

• My Host and My Living: I am staying with an amazing Kenyan named Alvin Mbola, we are both sharing a small apartment in a housing area called Satellite which is about 15 minutes from everything if there wasn't any traffic. He has made my integration here easier than I expected. I really do not feel like I am having a hard time being here, I think that's because I am knew what to expect because I came to Africa last year, that visit helped me tremendously in understanding how to operate now. He is also engaged to a wonderful woman named Nancy and their wedding is July 24 so i will be able to attend. I have been able to watch them plan and work out their wedding logistics and it is SO different than American weddings. He also has been helping me out a lot concerning internship work. He understands more than I that I am learning here and constantly provides me with opportunities for me to learn about all that goes into being a community developer in a foreign context. I also am learning how to live with someone that has different cultural norms than me, so that has been fun. Both him and Nancy have also been helping me learn Swahili! I have grown very close to him and I can see our relationship continuing even after my internship.

• Community Development Work and My Research: So, far this has been a very interesting factor in my internship. Last week and most of this week I am being introduced to the savings groups I will be researching. I have already met one in Kawangware which is a slum about 10 minutes from where I am living and the members are all so kind. I received many "Karibu Sana"(you are very welcome) from the women and realized how great it will be to work with them. I am meeting with the Kawangware group this Thursday at 3 to start off with a focus group to gather some starting data. I am also being introduced to the Kibera group on Wednesday. The only issue with these groups is that they are ALL IN SWAHILI! this is so frustrating to me because watching these savings groups operate is SO INTERESTING! So, I have made it a discipline to learn as much Swahili as possible with a minimum of three new words a day. It has been paying off wonderfully because I am now able to have very small conversations with people and understand about 20-35 percent of when other people talk in Swahili. So, continue to pray that God blesses me with the gift of learning this language...either miraculously or just in time. My major has come alive so much over the last week and it has been amazing to see that happen. I had the opportunity to sit in a community development class (taught by Alvin) with a bunch of pastors in the heart of the Kibera slum. The material taught in the class is the same as Covenant, but more immediate, because as soon as you walk out the door of the Kibera campus it is applicable. My research is going well so far, but already I can see that this internship is about more than just research...that is just a major ploy(but a very useful and needed ploy) to make sure we actually do something on our internship.

• God: I have been reading the Psalms since the beginning of my trip and it has been so refreshing. I am constantly assured that God is with me and that he is guiding and directing this entire internship and all that I do. Its nice to know that I'm not doing anything he doesn't want me to do. He was the one who got me here and I am trusting that he will do what he wants. The Psalms are amazing for a heart struggling with human emotions. They talk about sleep, being lonely, being ignored, feeling afraid, being weak...and so on. All of which I feel right now, I feel so cared for by God even though I feel all of those things. I think that's a big part of walking with God, feeling those and realizing that God is with you.

• Other Things: God has really been showing himself in all of this internship and has really been working on my heart through it all.
• I still need a lot of prayer, I am still learning so much and am constantly on cultural information and relationship overload, its not like going to a different state in America. EVERYTHING is new, names, road names, public transport systems, norms, language, food names and the food itself, relationships and etc.
• I also need prayer for my continuing research and that that goes well and that I continue to learn and grow in my major.
• Also pray for Kenya as a whole because currently they are in the designing process of a new Constitution and there is a very animated No and Yes side. Vice President Biden is actually coming to Nairobi in June to talk to the president about it and tell the Kenyan people to support it. I find this funny because he probably hasn't read it, he can't even read the 2,000 page American health care bill why would he read a 200 page Kenyan constitution.
• Pray for NO VIOLENCE after the vote, Kenya has a long history of political violence. The most recent was in 2007 after the election for a new president. Some people have been saying there wont be violence, some are saying there might be. No one knows. The vote is August 2nd, so pray for that day.
• The world cup is coming up and it is the first time it has been in Africa...which is a surprise because Africans are completely obsessed with soccer. There is actually a top-league team with a local Kenyan on it. So, everyone is looking forward to that. Many of my relationships are going to be built on watching the world cup games...plus Alvin is in love with soccer. I don't mind, I actually like it too.
• I really miss my home and etc, pray that this does not overwhelm me.
• Driving in Kenya...is absolutely chaotic...but somehow everyone can do it and it seems that there are less accidents than an American city.
• The University of Nairobi shut down for a week on Monday because of student riots about student leadership elections. I find this interesting because student leadership will be my job when I return.
• Kenyans can not believe that some Americans buy clothing for their dogs...I really can't either
• Speaking of dogs the compound were I am staying has two...they never ever stop barking. 11 PM? yeah, they bark then. 3 AM? yeah they bark then too. 4 AM? yup. 6 AM? they are put in their kennels which makes them quiet... I hate those dogs so much. So much that I wrote a poem entitled Dog that I will leave you with.

Thanks for reading! I will update again next Monday! (hopefully),

Dave

Dog

Fibrous undertaking not swallowing your being.

No garment of human consumerism wrapped and displayed in the essence of pride

Nay, your annoyance is not consumerist sweaters or pampered paws.

It is your omnipresent mouth which concedes for neither light nor dark.

You speak as loud as a jubilant trumpet,

shoved through unusual means of amplification

and broad casted through aqueous substances.

I lay, beholding my slumber to be risen by your absurdities and illogical whimpering's,

your cacophony piercing and dancing in my ears.

"Oh the joy" I exclaim and my thoughts escape to context of shining glory.

With moonlights hand I undertake, I place a hazardous liquid into your drinking dish

My subtlety and you fatal errors hidden with time.

Your annoyance relieved and my slumber restored.

Volcanos, Loneliness and Homelessness

I made it somehow, I am sitting in my hosts office looking at the micro-finance stuff written on a white board on the wall, listening to the rediculous Nairobi traffic outside. My trip here was an adventure in it's self.

I was originally supposed to go straight to Amsterdam, but when I got there they said i had to go to NY first. So, I went to NY first. Then from NY to Amsterdam I sat next to a man from Libya who did not speak any english, but somehow we still were able to make fun of Delta's headphones. Then when we got to Amsterdam at 5:45 in the morning, I was greeted with the departure screens telling me that Schiphol airport was closed until 2 PM. So, I did what all smart people did and bought a train ticket into Amsterdam. However, I was told that I was not allowed back in if the airport closed and that I would have to stay somewhere AFTER i checked out through coustoms...awesome. So, I went into Amsterdam for a few hours, walked around sat by the canal, watched people ride their bikes. Came back to the airport at around 12 hoping that I would be able to leave. The good news was that the flight was leaving, the bad news was that it was leaving at 2:45, then it was leaving at 4. So, while waiting for it I fell asleep...I wake up and see "gate closing" on the screen and book it to the gate. I make it just in time and get on the plane as they close the gate. I walk on the plane, an Airbus mind you and there is no one on the flight. I sit in my seat next to no one, look around and I see absolutly no one! The whole day was extremely lonely, I had to keep reminding myself that God was with me because I felt very sad that I was alone. It turns out that because of the volcano, no one had shown up to get on the flight, it was supposed to be full. To understand the emptiness of this plane let me explain something to you. The airbus I was on seats over 400 people, including myself there were 35 people scattered around the aircraft. In my section alone which held about 100 seats there were 2 people, one of them was me! Halfway through the flight I realized I had a problem, because I was delayed in Amsterdam, I had sent an email to my host Alvin who was to pick me up that I was delayed, but because I had fallen asleep in the airport and booked it to the gate,I hadn't had time to send him one saying I was coming. So, the only lead I had on getting picked up when I got into Nairobi at 11:45 at night was his phone number...did I have a phone? Kinda. We land, I go to activate my phone that I had bought last time I was in Africa so I could call Alvin and the phone company said I had to go into town in order to activate my phone. So, I was stuck, no phone, no computer and I checked out in the lobby for my host and sure enough...no host. I found a man that let me use his phone, but the phone rang through and I had to leave a message. So, I was homeless in Kenya for about 30 minutes until Alvin called back. FINALLY, I am in Nairobi, where I am supposed to be. The lesson of all of this, is God worked all things out, even though they seemed hopeless. I still got to where I needed to be, whether I freaked out or not.

This week is going to be fairly chill according to my host, he is showing me around and introducing me to his staff and resting me up before I get to head first. Which is nice, because I need to figure out how I am going to do all this... I still don't know... Oh well.

D-day

Its coming ladies and gents...came way to fast and I still do not feel like I am very prepared. I am a little freaked out right now, I locked myself out of my email account and I just realized that I don't know who is picking me up from the airport in Kenya...nor do I have a phone number to get in contact with someone who will know. I can't email anybody that would know because I am locked out of the account that has all my emails. Don't tell my parents! So, we will see what happens with that, I'm sure God will provide!

In less than 24 hours I will be on my way...sweet moses! Pray like the Dickens!

Dave

Forgiveness, Africa and The Story of Chef Henry J Lamage

This has been on my heart a lot lately, especially thinking about walking WITH people and sharing in their struggles. I find that I often have really strange ideas of people and how they should walk with the lord. I think I think that Christians need to operate a specific way sometimes, but we are not far from temptation. The only way to end all wars per-say...is to love with the love of Christ. I hope I can do this in Kenya...

The Boil

"Salt quickens the boil,"
said Henry J Lamage to his class.
Willing minds and with lack of contempt
With the exception of the occasional ass.

"You see dear students, salt preserves
And is a catalyst for change,
But if you don't pay attention to the water
It will all boil away."

A lean quick hand raised above the nodding crowd,
A polite young boy who was bobbing up and down
Opened his mouth and said with luster
"Please sir may I be allowed?"

We flash back a few months,
Into a kitchen filled with tears.
The pots rattled and shook
Like they had never cooked in years

Henry J Lamage,
A brilliant cook indeed
Had found a note by the sink
That spoke a dark and broken plea.

"Dear Henry" he read out loud
With a hand against the fridge
And in a few seconds he read hundreds of words
That had been hidden for years.

It read "Dear Henry, a brilliance of food you have,
There is no doubt you are one in a mill.
Your wild hands by the chopping block
Never ever stayed still.

I want to say I'm leaving dear Henry
And not because of your love.
There are bigger things calling my name
And I think those are things I want."

"I don't understand!" yelled Henry to his hands
"Out all the things to miss,
I've scrutinized over cups and tablespoons
But how have I missed this?

We both have held on to grace,
like the feathers onto a dove.
We gave and learned, we both took turns
Misunderstanding and understanding love.

I've served wine and I've ate bread
Not knowing what it meant to forgive,
Here I stand broken and hurt and
I now know that it means to live."

We go back to the kitchen,
Where a question was to be posed,
And group of students did stand,
With wonder and awe about the Chefs heart of gold.

The lad of most curiousness
Shot his hand in the sky
"Sir, pardon my asking but your face is causing me grief,
You act like its not true, but didn't your heart and love just die?"

Henry J Lamage put down his salt shaker,
And wiped the grease off his brow
With his mild repose, tensions arose
But all still wanted to know how.

"My dear students" the chef said,
With a heavy heart on his lips;
"When you think you have given enough
And there is nothing left to give.
Remember that there is a thing called selfish pride
That lives as long as you will live.

You will think your entitled to anger and rage,
To feel like the whole worlds done you wrong.
But remember the world is feeling the same way
And limping while carrying on.

So, students as I was saying before this lesson
On the souls water and oil,
Salt not only preserves,
But it also quickens the boil.

Let the lesson be learned that
No matter how much salt you add today
If you don't pay attention to the water,
It will all boil away.

Goodbyes Don't Make This Trip Any Easier!

So, I had to say goodbye to all the people that I love a lot this week...and it sucked...a lot. I do not like the fact that the community that I have been building and committing too has to get uprooted every summer, it kills everything in me that is Com Dev and just me in general.

I'm home in Florida getting some rest in before I leave on Sunday. I am also finishing up some last minute things. It sucks trying to remember everything life because it always seems like you forget something vital and remember the small stuff. On my way home a friend of mine calls me and asks "did you get your typhoid meds out of my fridge?" I had already been driving about 7 hours and aptly replied "nope, I guess we just have to pray I don't get typhoid." I knew I was going to forget them from the start, because you have to refrigerate them to keep them cold. This is like the equivalent of a construction worker going to the site without his hard hat during the Give Clumsy People a Chance to Screw Things In On Really High Areas day, a accountant forgetting his calculator on Everything Hits The Fan day, C.S Lewis forgetting his pipe during a vacation he took so he could write , a schizophrenic forgetting his crayons during a 7 day road trip in a two door sports car. Think of how many books C.S Lewis didn't write because of his forgotten pipe... Ok I'm exaggerating a little bit, my friend is going to overnight me the meds so I can start taking them. Watch him get arrested because he is trying to send a package that is cold...I wouldn't mind getting typhoid if that happened actually.

Alright it's time to go work out my final budget for this trip...see you later

Dave

The Last Day

This is the last day that I will be on Covenant Campus in terms of this school year! Holy moses,in a week or so I will be on my way to another country leaving everything temporarily behind. I am not going to lie...I am really scared. Today has been hard, both of my best friends have graduated from college, I am not moving back into where I have lived for the last two years, my future is quickly becoming my past and it doesn't stop. So, where do I go from here? I want to rest but I know that I am going to be running again soon, I want to go home but I want to be here. I want to leave but I don't. This summer is going to rock me, and the return will rock me just as hard. In other words...I need your prayers. I need to just calm down, and go with what Gods doing, it will make everything much easier.

Dave