Humbled-- Africa Day 2

Wow! Today was such an eye opening experience for the group! It is crazy how blessed we are in the United States. We started out at 6:00 am and with about three hours of sleep, tired was a huge understatement! Our drive was roughly 2 hours long and very bumpy. I thought Texas drivers were crazy--but there is no comparison! There were so many people out and about at 6 am. We saw many children on their way to school-which starts at 8:00 am. We passed through the Rift Valley on our way and got some beautiful shots of one of God's masterpieces! We made it to Naivasha in great time! Once we arrived we met up with Stanley (our guide for the day). He helped Laban and his brother, Willy, plan our trip around Naivasha. We stopped at a small cafe to eat breakfast and have tea. We all had eggs, sausage, and toast! While we were eating, we all took time to freshen up on our Swahili, and even had time to learn a song (God is so good, or Yesu yu mwema). After breakfast and exchanging some money, we headed to the supermarket to buy food for some families that we were going to visit. I was surprised that the supermarket was so similar to the stores we have in the states. We bought each of the four families enough food to last them about 3 or 4 weeks- the total cost we spent on each family was around 30-35 dollars. We loaded all of the stuff into the van and were on our way to visit the families. 

When we arrived at the first house, the children were very excited to see us. One of the children even met us at the road! The mother of the five children was mentally challenged and extremely poor. The community had come together to build a house for the family. However, the house was about the size of a single bedroom in a U.S. house. The walls and floor were made out of dirt. Other than one cot in the bedroom, there was no other furniture in the home. It was a very humbling experience. The mother and her children were very grateful for even the smallest thing we had to give. The children were so cute and respectful! We all wished we knew more Swahili so that we could communicate better with the people. We passed out clothes, flip flops, candy, toy, cars, bracelets, and stickers to each of the members of the household. As we were passing out all of the items, some other children in the community came out to see us. We just had to grab some extra things from the van and hand it out to the children. We prayed for the family and then sadly packed up and headed to our second family.

As we approached the next house, some of the children once again came out to meet us. This family had five children (four boys and one girl) and they were all being raised by their grandfather and grandmother. The children were orphans -- their parents passed away about five years ago.

Their home consisted of three separate buildings (or mud rooms). Again the rooms were tiny. In Africa if a child's parents pass away, it usually falls on the grandparents to care for the child. The family was really struggling. It is hard to describe just how dirty this families lives facilities were. The children were covered in dirt and there seemed to be at least a hundred flies around the area. Each member of the family had flies on them--and the saddest part to me was that they were used to the flies crawling on them and did not even attempt to swat them away. One thing that struck our team was the grandparents' disappointment because they were not able to offer us tea. It is a custom to offer guests tea when they come into your home. It was heartbreaking to hear how upset they were when they were not able to carry out this custom. The grandmother had a back problem and had to walk with a cane. However, Stanley said that every Sunday this entire family was always at church. He guessed that the family had to leave before sunrise in order to make the two hour walk to church. A lot of people in this area of Kenya survive off of maize (corn). If the rains are bad then the family does not have food. For right now the rains have been good. We showered this family with love, gifts and food.

The third family we visited was located in a small town. When we arrived many of the other families came to greet us. It was very hard to not have enough food/gifts for everyone. The family we visited consisted of a grandmother and six children. However, one of the boys in the family had gone missing and they had not been able to find him. Please be praying that he will find his way home. We gave out everything that we had brought for the family. They were very thankful for the gifts. They were very thankful for the gifts. The grandmother and oldest son thanked us in English.

The final house that we visited was in an extremely heart-breaking situation. Simon, on 18 year old boy, had suddenly been put in charge of his brothers and one sister after his mother had passed away because of AIDS. Not only did Simon suddenly become a parent at the age of 18 but he was also suffering from a leg injury. Even though times were tough for this family, it was evident that Simon was putting his hope and faith in the Lord. Simon encouraged us more than he will ever know.

Throughout our times in Naivasha God really broke our hearts for the African people. It is encouraging to see the faith that these people have in God. They trust Him to provide for their families. They continue to worship the Lord in confidence that their needs will be met.

On the way back to Diguna, we stopped by Lake Naivasha to get some pictures of the flamingos.We don't remember much of the ride back...Actually I don't even remember pulling out of the parking lot. We all slept on the way back!

Group devotion (Romans 12:1-6) we discussed the importance of being uncomfortable for God and that He calls us to get out of our comfort zone.