Stay posted

As you may have figured out by now, time and technology (mostly time) were not on our side to keep the blog updated while we were in Kenya. We've kept notes and taken hundreds of pictures, so stay posted over the coming week and we'll fill you in on the trip. It was both amazing and exhausting to witness and, in a small way, participate in the work of the Maua Methodist Hospital and Chuka Town church. We're in London and will soon start the last let of the trip home. Stay tuned.

Maua Workday 4 Orphan Home Photos

Photos from top:

1) Dave, Tammie, Melissa and Bob at the start of our last workday on the house.

2) Tammy, Tammie and Melissa painting the front of the house while Charles installs the trim.

3) Charles and Tammie installing window panes.

4) Between completing work and the house blessing, Melissa came up with some games to entertain the kids using rocks and dirt, including hopskotch.

5) The family, Kenyan work crew and Chapelwood mission team at the house blessing.

Maua Workday 3 Hospital Staff Flat Photos

Photos from top:

1) Stuart hauling another rock into the flats.

2) 'Team Tammy' at work preparing for the next row of 'bricks.'

3) Vicki gets a successful mud slinging lesson from Jacko.

4) Onesimus and Jennifer.

5) Progress at the end of day three. Looking from the future bedroom to bathroom and kitchen on one unit. There were only a couple of rows of stones on the interior walls when we started.

Maua Workday Two

Photos from top:

1) One of the main buildings at the hospital.

2) Noel and Tammie working on interior walls at the hospital staff flats.

3) Installing wood 'tops' to fill the seams between siding planks at the orphan house.

4) Installing roof trusses at the orphan house.

5) The orphan house at the end of work day 2 (Early, Charles, Jennifer, Melissa and Dave).

On our second workday, we continued work on our two main projects, but switched teams.

AIDS Orphan Home - Dave, Early, Jennifer, Melissa and Tammy, along with the Kenyan team, completed the siding on the house and added the trim that covers the seams between each piece of siding. Early helped the Kenyan team put in the roof trusses and the Kenyan team added the tin roof. We also painted primer (which was thinned with about 1 part turpentine to 3-4 parts paint) on trim to be installed on day three. The house is up the hill from a primary school, so we heard the children laughing all day. At lunch, some of the kids were excited and curious to see what we were doing. They generally approach asking "what's your name?" Early entertained a few, giving a group of them high-fives. The children became a bit excited - and pulled at Jennifer's curly hair out of curiosity. They asked Melissa to share her m&ms, but she couldn't because there wasn't enough for everyone. Previous teams have made the mistake of giving candy to a few children - to be overwhelmed by 200 children the next day, so we've learned to give gifts to the hospital to hand out and not to give gifts to any individuals, as hard as it is not to. After a long day, George (the local supervisor) asked if I would return next year. I'll take that as a complement!

Hospital Housing - Bob, Dixie, Gianna, Noel, Stuart and Vicki (plus Tammie in the afternoon) added to the walls at the house. Let's just say that when it comes to 'slinging mortar', some have the gift and some don't. George (the local supervisor) has the gift. Tammie and Noel - are working on it. The highlight of the day was catching a video of Peter, then Tammie, demonstrating their skills.

Some of the team members visited two community programs - Giving Hope, a local Zoe Ministry, and local Food Delivery Program. Giving Hope is a mentoring and empowerment program for young (ages 15 to 23) heads of household, many of whom have lost one or both parents or are caring for terminally sick parents and are the head of household for their family. Go to http://www.zoeministry.org/?page_id=2467 for more information about Giving Hope and Zoe Ministries. Carleen, Janet and Tammie met three of the youth in the program and one project that is an effort of one of the Giving Hope support groups. Two of the youth had their own tailoring shops. One of the girls has a five-year old child from rape and also cares for her four siblings. During the trip, the group learned that music is not necessarily a cultural difference as much as an generational difference. Tammie and the local Giving Hope intern, Andrew, discovered that they both like the group "Black Eyed Peas". Carleen chimed in that she likes cornbread with her black eyed peas!

In the afternoon, Carleen, Gianna, Janet and Stuart accompanied Stanley Gitari from Maua Methodist Hospital and the local retired bishop for the Kenya Methodist conference for the inaugural food delivery at a local boarding school. Kenya is experiencing its worst drought since 1984, causing many families to go hungry. The local hospital is beginning the food delivery program to provide maize and beans to the local students and their families. The team delivered 90 pounds of maize and beans to the school (Stuart only thought he was getting out of heavy lifting for the afternoon), some of which will be cooked and served to students and some will be sent home with the students. The project was started in part by a donation from Memorial Drive Methodist Church in Houston, who made a donation after learning the school may be closed because of the lack of food.

After a busy and productive day, one of the highlights for me was one of the most simple events - at this morning's worship service in the chapel on the hospital grounds, we all said the Lord's prayer (in English). We are so different, but we are the same. "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:12.

Maua Workday One

Photos from top:

1) Work in progress at the AIDS Orphan Home.

2) Staff flats at the Maua Methodist Hospital.

3) Melissa and Peter building an exterior wall at the hospital flats.

On our first workday, we began the day with a standing-room-only chapel service. We also toured the hospital grounds and were all surprised at how big the hospital complex is. Our team members who had come several years before were especially amazed at how much they've grown. After our tours and tea break, we started our two main projects and a smaller project at the hospital.

AIDS Orphan Home - Bob, Carleen, Dixie, Early and Tammie, along with the local crew, Charles, Duncan, Frederick and Roy, began work on the home for a grandmother who is raising her grandchildren. The house consists of two rooms that will be about 144 square feet each. Both rooms will have one door and window.

The local crew had completed the foundation before we arrived. On the first workday, we completed the frame, and installed the wood siding on the wall and two exterior walls and began the siding on the third wall. Kenyan wood is not dried like lumber in the US, so when you attempt to drive a nail into it, it tends to bounce. It was quite a workout. Dixie was the circular saw queen, cutting over 100 pieces of siding.

One of the highlights of the day was when the children who will live in the home asked our team to sing them a song. We sang the first songs that came to mind - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Mary Had a Little Lamb. Then the team asked the children to sing. They sang "Baby Jesus, Baby Jesus, I love you, I love you, You are my savior, You are my savior, every day, every day." Who's ministering to whom? We need to brush up on our VBS songs!

Hospital Flat - Dave, Gianna, Jennifer, Melissa, Stuart, Tammy and Vicki reported for duty at the construction site where they are building a four-story complex with 16 2-bedroom units for hospital staff. The hospital grounds are large and already include several houses for doctors and staff. Our team was supervised by the Kenyans, George, Peter and Onesimus. We helped them build the exterior wall of one unit and interior walls of another, using large cut stone blocks and cement. I was amazed at the precision of the Kenya crew using string, a plumb bob and masonry hammer. Through the morning, most of the cement I 'threw' to fill in cracks landed on the floor. But by the afternoon, I found my zone. George seemed disappointed that I wouldn't be back the next day. Stuart wasn't sure he was up for two days in a row of moving stone and wheelbarrels of dirt. Now that I think back, I'm grateful we were working on the first floor and not the second, third or fourth.

Janet and Noel prepared some of the walls inside the hospital for painting - scraping and sanding about 20 layers of paint from plastered walls. Janet and Noel just love scraping, sanding and painting on mission trips!

Worship at Kawangware

Photos from the top:

1) The Rev. John Mbiiri and the mission team standing on the site of the future chapel.

2) The Kawangware church and school grounds.

3) The sign on the front gate to the church grounds - featuring Tom & Jerry!

On Sunday morning, we were invited to worship at Kawangware, a Methodist church in one of the larger slums on the outskirts of Nairobi. The church was located on a red dirt road. The church is building a new chapel, on which the 2008 mission team broke ground last year. Construction has been slow as funding is difficult. The base work for the chapel foundation is nearly complete - consisting of building a stone wall for the foundation, filled in with about 18 inches of gravel. Soon, they will be ready to poor the concrete foundation, but don't have enough funding yet for the cement. If the foundation is not pored before the rain season comes next month, much of their work may be washed out. They need rain desperately, but we also hope they will finish their foundation before the rain comes.

After a brief tour of the church grounds and school house, we attended their worship service, which is held in the dining hall until the new chapel is completed. Despite being located in the slums on a dirt road, the Kenyans proudly attend in their Sunday best - many in suits that would fit in at Chapelwood. The service was lively, but mostly in Swahili, so we enjoyed the energy and the music. The pastor gave his sermon in English and it was lively as well. He thanked us (the mission team) for electing Obama during his sermon. Yes, it was lively.

After the service, we formed a line and shook hands with the entire congregation. One by one, each member of the congregation joined the end of the line, so each person greeted each person, forming a huge circle. Unfortunately, I didn't learn the traditional Kenyan handshake until later in the day, then attempts by several of the church members to shake my hands in a 'secret' handshake that was a secret to me made sense.

Before we left, the local church offered us a traditional Kenyan meal - with rice, green beans and beef - it reminded me of pot roast - and hot tea made with milk. After lunch, we were on our way for the nearly six-hour drive to Maua.

I'm not sure what I was expecting for the hotel in Maua, I think I'm pleasantly surprised. It's practical. Each room has two twin beds. We're using one room per person so you can fit your suitcase on the spare bed. As far as the bathroom - imagine placing your toilet and sink inside your bath tub. Literally. The bathroom is about 5' by 4', the shower head is essentially over the sink and the drain is in the floor. But there is hot water (at least now that maintenance has fixed the electric heater that is part of the shower head. At the end of a long day, I am thankful for a hot shower, even standing between the sink and toilet.

If you don't have integrity, you have nothing.

We have arrived in Nairobi, Kenya! Due to the swine flu pandemic, everyone entering the country was required to complete a swine flu questionnaire, asking if you've had any flu symptoms for the last two weeks – fever, cough, sore throat, labored breathing, etc. Unfortunately, I developed a mild cold three days before our departure. Nothing major, just a runny nose that lead to a sore throat. I suppose you should know that I have a very guilty conscience, and as I was filling out the questionnaire, words from Jim Jackson's recent sermon were replaying in my mind: "If you don't have integrity, you have nothing." Do I answer "no" and move on through customs, or answer "yes" and hope I don't end up in quarantine in Nairobi? I received a diagnosis and treatment from my doctor the day before the trip. I was sure I didn't have the flu, much less swine flu. If you don't have integrity, you have nothing. I checked the "yes" box next to the sore throat.

The lady checking the questionnaires asked me about my response. Did I have a note from my doctor with my diagnosis and listing my medication? Unfortunately, no. She informed me that I would have to be examined by the physician before proceeding. After about 20 minutes, I was escorted to the physician. She asked me more questions and, I'm sure, stalled for a sufficient amount of time to satisfy herself that I was not currently ill. She informed me that it is customary to pay for her services. So, 1000 shillings later (about $13), and another unusual pause to make sure I wouldn't cough in her presence, we were on our way.

I wish I had thought to bring documentation from my doctor about my cold. But, things turned out ok. In the end, the delay was long enough for the rest of my team to collect our bags and load them in the vans, so no harm. Hopefully, the rest of the trip will be smooth. We had a good night's sleep, hot shower, omelettes and fresh watermelon and pineapple for breakfast. Now we're off to church…as planned!

New Title. New Boss.

We've started our journey and are half way to Kenya. After a brief stop in London for coffee, Kenya is one eight-hour flight away. Before we left Houston, I received a new title - Chapelwood UMC Missionary. As I've planned my career, I didn't expect to have that title along the way, but I'm looking forward to the job description and, especially, my new boss for the next two weeks.

And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not onto men. But knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritence for you serve the Lord Christ.
- Colossians 3:23-24