Trip Review

Jambo Rafikis,

Did I ever expect to go to Africa when I was little? Was it something I dreamed about doing? Yes. That answer surprises many people. How could a little girl even know what awaited her in Africa? Well when God destines you for something he has an immaculate way of preparing you for his will. I remember being in fourth grade and a TV show came out. It was about an America family moving to Africa. I was addicted to that show. For some reason, that was desirable and attractive. The same thing happened when I passed a child sponsorship table when I was ten. I felt the same tug at my heart to sponsor a little girl from Rwanda, Africa. Those feelings can only come from God. Having never experienced Africa physically before, I was drawn to anything about it. That is how I knew that I need to go to Kenya.

The first time I went, it unexplainably changed me. I came back completely new. My personality changed and my drive changed. I would arguably say that it changed the total direction of my life. God was waiting for the perfect time to make this shift. I am so thankful for his timing. Even for this second trip to Kenya, God planned it for the perfect time for me. Many things were different about this trip and those changes challenged me in new ways.

The entire trip was amazing. There were so many times I just thanked God for bringing me to this place. I am a little hesitate of any people I know going because its mine. That is completely selfish and in no way correct, but I laugh at myself for thinking that way. I am selfish for the valley, for Nairobi.

From day one to the last day, God has perfectly touched each individual on the trip. Every one reveals a different view. Some felt that the reason for going was to see how much God loved them, others to show them that they are doing the right things, and some others need to change their path. Yet for me, it was to make me fall deeper in love with Christ and Kenya. Kenya is a place I can envision myself staying for a while. It is a place where I belong. I do not feel that I belong in Chicago and I never have. (This is where I remind you that all my posts are honest. I tell you what is on my heart bluntly because you all have made so many sacrifices in giving and praying for this trip that I owe you the same courtesy). Some might be a little mad that I say this but I never felt that it was to be my permanent home. I think God has placed me here as a step and building place to launch me into my future. I have complete confidence in this because God has allowed me to.

I recently listened to a sermon on Gods grace and his resurrection. The main theme of this message was to be in a place where you cannot stop talking about Gods love just as some cannot stop talking about their children or a travel experience (cough cough Kenya). What really spoke to me was that we have a responsibility to the entire world to tell of his love. Not just our neighbors. God says the entire world. He loves the entire world. He loves Kenya and America and everywhere else. I say this because some people are more focused on fixing America and do not agree with international missions trips. That is ok and God created you to help heal America. God did not create me for that. He created me to Go. Go unto the world and He reminds me of this often. He tells me to walk in obedience according to his will and when you do this you will be undeniably different. People will know that you are fulfilling Gods will because of the way you act. I feel that the best possible version of myself comes out while I'm in Kenya. I feel focused, I feel full of love and energy. It may be selfish that I feel filled when I am in Kenya and not as much at home but there I am able to feed off of everyone around me. Why would I feel so filled and close to Christ if that was not his will? So,  I am thankful for him revealing his plan to me so vibrantly.

Kenya was a great success. The special needs population is growing and people are beginning to be slightly more comfortable with disabilities. God has opened numerous doors for the school in Pangani and all 17 of the missions of hope schools. I was working closely with the only two individuals on staff as workers in this field. I met one last year. Her name is Isabella. We became even closer and her smile and comfort is infectious. Its a blessing to work with her. She has been teaching me more Swahili and I got a few compliments from the hotel staff on my pronunciation and word usage :) :) :). The newest member hired was a man named Amon. He really helped improve the program at the Pangani center. He is literally a God send and is doing amazing work. We joked around a lot, laughed a lot, and he became a very close friend. It was hard to leave both of them,  but I know that when I return it will be a joyous reunion.

Thank you all for the extreme amount of support you have given me. For those reading the blog, those praying, those just thinking about this trip. Thank you. All of this seriously could not happen without you. Thank you for trusting in what God is doing in Nairobi and through me. Thank you to DISTRICT 15 RADIO ROOM for your dedicated reading and prayer. I love you all and am so thankful for you lovely people. Maybe I can pop in there one day and say thanks in person.

I will be writing a few more posts here and there to keep you updated, share stories of some individuals that have progressed fruitfully, and a few other things. Once again thank you.

In his love,

Maddie

Day 6 & 7

Day 6:

Day 6 was one of my favorite days last year and it has won the title again. Today is the day where all the special needs students get to come together for a big day of special Olympics games. This is special because today the kids feel normal, they get to play with bright colored things, and they get to run around and be silly with us. We have 9 stations each highlighting a special skill such as kicking. Then the kids get a check mark after they complete a station.  I just love looking around and seeing a smile on every student and staffs face. It's a beautiful day no matter how hot it is outside. 

We broke for a snack and the kids got to eat five slices of bread and a milk pouch, and they were jumping on me for more. I just could not believe this. They eat five slices of plain bread and fight for more. 

After the snack, we come together as a group to do a huge parachute and the famous tooty ta. Tooty ta was made famous last year by our team. It's a silly song that does not require English but requires you do to silly dances. Whenever we do it, kids run at us. We have up to 100 children doing it at a time with us. So you could imagine the look on the kids faces when we did it with them. Most remember the dance from over a year and a half ago!! After that, we did eye exams at a local MOHI school. 

Special Olympics day is definitely a special day. 

Day 7: 

Yesterday is too hard for me to talk about. It's one of the best days and one of the worst. It's the last day at the school, which means the last day with the staff and children. I had to say good bye to some staff and students that have touched my heart in so many ways. I do not know gods plan for me, but I know I am not finished here. Still, the going isn't easy. When kids run at at you arm and arm and ask you "will you remember us", kids that have not been in the special needs group, just two boys that were in the goodbye celebration. Those moments hurt my heart. So of course I said: "picture!" 

There's the two cuties. The day was filled with many joyful goodbyes. God allowed us to touch the community and the kids so much. For that, I am thankful. It's what keeps me from having a flood flow from my eyes. God has done amazing work for the special needs community since we started working with them. We have seen the number of that population rise in schools, we have seen the pre existing kids at the schools improve drastically, and we have seen the students and staff bond together to support these children. There is still a massive amount of work to be done.... God use me, have your way. That's all I can ask. I hope to be blessed and returning constistently. I want to continue to thank all those who have encouraged me, supported me financially and emotionally, and my pray warriors who woke up to my text in the middle of the night and immediately prayed for me. Thank you. Do you see the evidence of god working through your support to lift up Kenya? To change Kenya? To reform it and make it a country working towards his glory? Because I do. I see evidence all around of that. It's a beautiful place with beautiful people. I became even closer with a few staff members that have been instrumental in uplifting the special needs community by going into the slums and searching for these kids. They are hard to find but they do it willingly for God. They have become so dear to me that's it was almost impossible for me to say goodbye. 

We had to say goodbye because yesterday was the last day with the kids and the staff. They do not work on Saturdays. So today we have a quick safari. I cannot believe that yesterday was it, but the echoes of our work will continue even while we are away. 

Above are josh and Lisa's sponsored children that I was so so so blessed to see. Esther and Sheldon. Esther was so close to me the entire time. She had to be touching at least one part of me while she was with me. Sheldon would not talk, but he said thank you for the gift and asked me to say hi to josh and Lisa. We gave him pez and he would only eat one stack because the other 6 were for his sister. He is very giving.  Esther was beautiful and so loving. It was a blessing to meet them. 

Xoxo, 

Maddie 

Ps I do not re read these so I know there are always spelling errors but that makes it more me! :) 

Day 3,4, and 5

I realize its been a few days and I apologize. We have eaten out twice at missionaries houses stationed in Nairobi that work with missions of hope and yesterday we ate at a restaurant. That being said my time to write has not been much. 

Day 3: 

Today was all home visits. That means we walk through different slums and visit those with needs that force them to stay inside their 10x9 house. We saw three different special needs children. All with similar difficulties. Growing up in this small of a space with literally no where to walk or crawl forces bodies to develop with problems. Add in lack of nutrition, adequate water supplies, and illness every where forces children to have many difficulties. Most are forced to stay in their home their entire life. The culture in Kenya looks down on those with disabilities. It is a serious disgraces to have a child like this. The family hides their child inside the house so that no one discovers that their child has special needs, so well that most neighbors do not even know there is another child. The good news is that we are one of the first teams to actually go in and show love to the kids. The community watches us, mzungus (white people), so closely that every move we make they internalize. Once we enter the slums the kids follow us no matter how far until we reach the home. From there we are able to bring the special needs child outside to asses him or her. The kids see us touch and take pictures and love on them, which sends the message that we accept these kids. We end up drawing 40 kids into one small alleyway or walkway and have all the adults watching as well. The team will laugh with them, tickle, play, hold, and dance with the kids. The entire community is able to witness Gods love through simple actions requiring no words. That is what I love about entering the community. For dinner we ate at a families house that is living in Nairobi with their two children. It was amazing and filled with lots of laughter. 

Day 4:

 Today was amazing. There is no about of detail that I can add to today's story to bring it justice. It's something that will require a face to face conversation. It dealt with a family we met last year and the drastic change we saw today. This change was because of our team, Parkview, and of course God. We happened to be blessed with the experience of helping this family and the ability to see the change. 

I bought lots of Kenyan coffee and espresso :) 

Day 5: 

Today we worked in two schools of MOHI assessing the special needs students that currently attend those schools. We did recreational work, eye exams, music therapy, yoga, and a general work up of them. We began at MOHI and assessed some kids we worked with last year and some new ones. Then we moved onto the most fantastic part of the day which was seeing Vinnie. He was a young man we visited last year that had leg problems. Vinnie was extremely shy but had a contagious smile. He was joyful but very reserved. Today we got to see him again and I cannot express the joy that I felt once seeing him again. We simply just visited him and tried to see the progression of his leg since we last saw him. After Vinnies visit, we went to another school. We did the same thing as at Pangani. The kids are wonderful and love seeing us. 

The detail and rest is left to be told when I return. I am very tired but very filled. Please continue to be praying for our team as we have many getting sick. Thank you for praying! 

Maddie 

Day 2

Thank you lord for continuing to reveal yourself in unique and creative ways. Today is Sunday. We participated in the Pangani center church service today and heard from what seemed to be a 14 year old girl preach and sing for four hours. Looking back at this morning, I have no idea how she spoke that long but she was so filled with the spirit it seemed hard for her to stop. She never ceased to praise God for everything from the slums to the current generation. Witnessing the faith of this young women was like getting a slap in the face. She spoke with such unwavering belief in every word she spoke about God, you could see the closeness of their relationship seeping from her beautiful face. I am thankful for this little one today for reminding me how much we as Americans get caught up in four stuff. Therefore, believing that we can save ourself. We forget that God is all we need. We forget the power of God and do not rely on him. We take our eyes off of God daily. This realization led me to remember what a Kenyan said to me last year, "when God is all you have you realize he is all that you need" isn't that how we are called to live? I have been faced with many questions lately because I have been forced to question myself. I find myself getting angry at the American lifestyle. God has really spoken to me about praising him for the life he has allowed me to live instead of questioning these blessings that I once again think that my family has achieved single handedly. That is not the truth! God has blessed me abundantly to the point where my cup has overflowed, because of this I see the opportunities I have before me. I am able to use this overflow of blessings to do more for Christ than has been possible. So today I am thankful for what he has given me. Thankful for my God who relates to us all so individually that only he truly knows how we need to be loved and fills us with that love if we allow him to. 

Later this evening we will join Mary and Wallace for a dinner at their house. I am sure it ill be filled with praise, laughter, and great food (they have an avocado tree in their backyard = the greatest guacamole you will ever taste). Tomorrow will be the first day working with the special needs children at the school. We have found out that the students have grown from about 15-200 students in a year and a half with special needs. Seeing as there are only 14 of us, we are attempting to find the most effective way to care for them. Tomorrow will be a challenge but a day of work that is more than welcomed. 

The place we are staying at has a large monkey population. This morning the monkeys attempted multiple times to steal our food. One got away with a handful of cereal and a biscuit. They also swing right by our windows and like to be roosters in the morning. Oh joy... 

Peace and blessin's,

 Maddie  

Day 1

We arrived safely last night around 12 a.m. Kenya time. We arrived at our beautiful hotel around 2 so you could imagine how ready we all were to plop down in our beds. I cannot tell you the joy I felt when I simply smelt the air and saw the familiar landscape. It felt like home, even though I only spent two weeks here before. There's something about this place that my heart longs for. This was made apparent to me when I awoke at 7, only getting 4 hours of sleep and a few more hours between the traveling, joyful and wide awake. I was too anxious to get back to Mathare and the pangani center, the school we work with in Nairobi. Once we arrived at Pangani, I was greeted with the all to familiar "how are you" chanted from the children's mouths as they run up to us and reach for our hands. No one minds this abrupt interruption from these random children. It actually is not an interruption at all. It's something that is welcomed joyfully. We proceeded to head into the school to hear about Missions of Hope (MOHI) current efforts and how they got started. This is something I definitely want to share with you all because the way they run their programs is amazing. 

MOHI was started by Mary and Wallace when they realized the great for improved education in the slums of Nairobi. From there they rented a one bedroom apartment that would be used as a classroom. They found kids, preschool age, that presented the highest need for education and those who would fit their goals of using education to improve the quality of life of the children. Receiving an education means getting out of the Mathare Valley and out of the perpetual cycle of extreme poverty. So these children were given an enormous opportunity by receiving free education through sponsorship. Eventually the popularity grew as people found out about MOHI. To provide for the need, MOHI partnered with CMFI to receive financial aid for their sponsorship program. This has grown from that one bedroom apartment to now 17 schools across all of Kenya. Each one of these kids is carefully selected by choosing those who have the highest need such as pregnant mothers or orphans. These children receive education, health care, a nutritious meal, a uniform, and the love of God. This alone is a beautiful system that God has so graciously crafted for his children. That is not the only thing MOHI is doing. They saw the shame the parents felt that they could not provide for their children so they provided a solution. Mothers are given the opportunity to go to sewing school to eventually relieve a micro loan to begin a business. These women are also given jobs by MOHI to make the children's uniforms once the moms graduate. The fathers are taught welding and wood working to start their businesses to provide for their family. They also receive work opportunities to make desks and other things the schools need. Recently a water bottling plant was built to sell bottled water and farms have been started to provide the ingredients for all the children's meals. Isn't is amazing how every aspect of the school is empowering the entire family and community? It is so clear to me that God has blessed Mathare and the Kenyan people. God is doing amazing things, more than amazing. It's grown vastly in ways only God can create and conjure up. Praise him for all these beautiful things he has done. Yes the valley has much much more work to do, but there are amazing things already being done. 

Thank you for reading and showing interest in these people and Gods work. I encourage you to pray for God to reveal himself in more depth and creativity. Ahh God is good, so good. 

In his powerful name, 

Maddie