This is a recent update from a college girl that's on a team of 9 summer interns that are in Nairobi this summer with the organization I work for, and that I helped to send. Her name is Emily, and she has some neat insights on what is going on there. It's kind of long, but I think you will find it interesting. She mentions the same places where I went in February of 2004. This update was written and emailed out by her Mom, but the quotations are Emily's own words.
Dear Friends & Family:
We now understand that Emily and her team are working in three different areas: Kibera, the largest slum outside of Nairobi; Kawingware, the Sudanese refugee slum, and Muthiga, the Kikuku tribe slum in the mountains. Everywhere are the children with whom most of their work is focused.
"Last Saturday, I held a little boy in Kibera most of the day because he was not feeling well. He could not have been older than two, and he just stared blankly into space while the other children played games at the Bible Club we were directing. I was not feeling well myself with a sinus infection and I scooped him up in my arms for the rest of the day while he slept. I went back to Kibera on Tuesday and I found him lying on his back in the sewage-filled street just staring into space while his older brother played around him. Once again, I scooped him up and he slept in my arms for the remainder of the day. I asked Tony, one of our translators, about him and he told me that his mother attends the church and he thinks he is probably HIV+. When the MTW medical team gets here, I definitely want them to look at him.
It is so difficult to comprehend that I am comforting a little child that will probably not live to see the age of five. I began to question God as to why He did not vindicate the poor and fatherless, and why the children had to suffer the repercussions of their fathers' sins. He then led me to the passage at the end of Job, when Job is questioning God. He reminded me that everything works together for His glorification, which is our sole purpose on earth: to glorify Him.
Who am I to question His sovereignty? Was I there when He laid the foundations of the earth and brought the starry hosts out one by one? I am joyful to report that the simplification of my faith has been monumental in my growth.
God allots us each different lives for reasons that we may never know, but He has also entrusted to us certain responsibilities that come with our lives. I know that at this time, I am doing what God has intended for me to do at this time in my life. It is so comforting to know that I am hidden within the shadow of His wings. He has truly become my hiding place and refuge from the storm of tribulations that I witness daily.
Being able to see the children smiling and holding out their arms to us makes me realize that Christ is the source of my love. Why would I love a group of people that are amuck in the sea of despair? It is through the love that Christ has lavished on me that I am able to lavish it on others."
"In Kibera, I found the three children that the Youth group at our church (FPC - Macon) sponsors. I will get pictures with them."
"Most of the children that we work with in Kibera are HIV+."
"In Muthiga, we have done door-to-door evangelism. In the US, I am skeptical of it because people come and talk to you and then leave. Here, it is different. One of the nationals told me that I may go to someone's house and say the exact same thing that she does, but they will hear me and not her. The people have been receptive, and I am learning a lot about stepping outside of my realm of comfort."
"The work that I am doing in Kawingware is much more difficult. I have been teaching school there, and yesterday I had the 1st. and 2nd. grades. The classroom is made of tin walls and the ground is the floor. There is minimal light that shines through a hole in the wall. A chalkboard is propped against a bench and the children sit on wooden benches. They speak their tribal language, Dinca. Our translators do not understand Dinca, so the communication barrier is nearly impossible to overcome. Several of the kids have severe learning disabilities aside from the language barrier. I would not let them go to recess until they had finished copying some sentences off the board. One little boy did not like that idea, so he kicked me. Not hard, just enough to get his point across."
"In the church service, the pastor does announcements. They sounded normal, such as Bible studies, etc. The one that stood out to me the most was when he informed the congregation to keep an eye on their small children because there had been some recent kidnappings, and they had been sold."
"Today, I went to Kibera. It has been raining nonstop for over 4 days. The feces river had rapids in it. The man at the stick bridge decided to charge us a toll to cross, so on our way out, we took another route through a sugar cane field. We had to hop on giant rocks to get across. All of Kibera is like a giant obstacle course. It is a lot of fun to hop across trenches and climb over trash piles with pigs. I have never been more thankful for my agility than I am now."
"My Swahili vocabulary is expanding daily. I am beginning to understand parts of conversations and even interject Swahili comments at times."
"The past couple of days have been incredible. All of our prayers have more than been answered. Yesterday, the 4th., we went to Dr. Tim Hutchinson's house. He is a long-term MTW missionary that moved here with his family last October. We ate American food, and my favorite part was the brownies. We played football for a little while and then just hung out with our team, Martha & Imbumi (pastor of Kibera church), the Hutchinson's and our translators. After dinner we all sat around and sang some hymns with the guitar. It was so nice to have a break from everything. Their house felt like home."
"Today, Dr. Hutchinson called and invited me to work with him and the medical team in Kawingware. I learned how to do vitals for patients and then I went through all of the who, what, where, when, why, how questions for intake. I learned so much.
We saw one lady with a foot that looked just like the nutty professor's. It was humongous. She has what is called elaphanticism. It is a disease that you can get from drinking sewage water.
The saddest thing that I saw today was a woman who had malaria, at least that is what we think she had. She had a fever and kept collapsing, so we set her on the floor. She asked me to go and get her bag. When I did, there was a child with her. He was almost 2 years old, and also had a fever. I gave him some Tylenol, stripped off his clothes, and patted him down with wet rags. He was so dehydrated, also. We did not have any diapers, so we made him one out of maternity pads and gauze. There was really nothing that we could do for either of them because they desperately needed to go to the hospital. He gave the lady some anti-malaria medication, but it will probably make her sick because she has not been eating."
"We got to take a one day/night safari. We stayed in tents with running water, electricity, and canopy beds. We were treated like royalty. We ate impala for dinner, and it was the best meat that I have ever had. We saw zebras, gazelle, antelope, a dikdik, giraffe, hippos, and many more species of 'deer'. The most exciting part was seeing lions only 5 feet away from the vehicle. We saw the sunset over the African plain, which was absolutely beautiful. The next morning, we saw the sunrise and 7 lions walk right in front of our vehicle. It was absolutely amazing."
"I have kissed a giraffe and eaten at the Karen Blizer House that is named after the lady that 'Out of Africa' is about. It reminded me of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, where 'Fried Green Tomatoes' was filmed. I have also eaten crocodile, ostrich, and camel."
"God has opened the eyes of everyone on our team so that we are able to see the people here as His children, just as we are. These are real people with the same thoughts, feelings, and emotions that we have. When I look at them, I do not see the dirt and filth; instead, I see their faces radiating with the same love that Christ has bestowed upon me. We are all clothed in filthy rags, no matter what context you use it in. I have come to know, love, and respect these people."
Thank you again, dear friends, for your love and prayers for safety for Emily and her team members.
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