Faces of Africa

Come and Gone...

WOW! Time is just flying by. Over 3 months ago I was in Kenya with a team of 9 amazing people! 3 months may not be long for some but it is for me. Over that 3 months life has moved on and God is still leading me ways that make me smile and see the hope for the future.

When I left for Kenya many things were new or hot off the press. Now I have been working at my job for over 7 months, March 2nd will be one year! I love it! Everyday is new and different. I am now apart of a group going through a program to become a licensed minister. Young Life is still in full swing and we are gearing up for winter camp. But the BEST thing of all is the fact I am working on Kenya 2010! All I can say is WOW!

I can not wait for 2010 and to see what is to come for me, friends, and family. God is working and moving and there is nothing more exciting then that.....it is like a fire just starting. I know that soon the crackles of the fire will be a loud, warm, roaring of a fire!

Things You Can Pray For:

-the strength to make it to the end of the year

-wisdom of what is the next step for missions full time

-what is the Lord's calling for Kenya 2010

-family...we are always apart and it is vary hard at times

Pictures!

Me and one of the street boys, who kept asking me to teach him Kung-Fu, because I was Chinese.

~~~~~

We are back. We just got back yesterday afternoon and I went home and slept. Then I woke up at 3:30am. . .haha.

I keep wishing I was in Kenya still, but I know that it's my job to come back and share what God has shown me. I can't just keep it all to myself.

Thank you so much to everyone for praying for the team. We are all safe and more or less healthy.

Mungu akubariki (God bless),

-Danica

Nakupenda

Nakupenda=I love you. This phrase can not be said enough to the people God has blessed me with meeting! There is just a few more hours in town before we head back to the airport...... and it feels like we just landed.

Many years ago my heart was stolen by images of the injustices happening in Africa and now I am on my second trip. There is so much that I have seen and know there is more things happening outside of eyesight. God is a god of justice and I can see how God moves in people's hearts to make a change that that could not be more true for the people I have meet. The teachers and staff at ROHI are sold out for getting the LOVE of God to the street kids of Nakuru. They also are there to bring up men and women that will change Kenya for the better in the coming years. Spending time with them just shows how much love can do in a life. I am not thinking of the few short hours I have left. Instead I am thinking of all the memories I have from my time with my brothers and sisters.

The Lord has also blessed me with time at the deaf school here in town. God has touched my heart and I WILL be back working with these precious children. They are smiles when you spend time with them and I could not pry myself away from them at the end of the day. There is a hug need for community development with their families........(thinking to self) "Lord when are sending me back? I would love to work with their families. Show me what you have for me. Show me how I fit in meeting this need."

There are so many other things I can say but time is short and the internet is slow. I will tell you all if you want to know when we are home. Thank you for your prayers and support! See you all in less then 24 hours...NO!

Nakupenda,

Cassandra

Sarah Hardin's blog of the week

There are no words to describe what you see in Kenya; you have to come see it yourself! WOW, what an amazing week it has been her in Nakuru, Kenya! We have done so many things while we were here...so let me start from the beginning of our trip!

Our week started off with going to ROHI school. The place is just amazing, and the kids were SO welcoming to us! They did a wonderful job with their presentations and I think that their choir is spectacular! They show such a love for the Lord...it is just amazing!

We went to the dump one day that was called the hilton. It was a very different atmosphere than i think i have ever been in! We ministered to the people by getting into groups of 2 and visiting 2 families. I was paired up with Julie, and our interpreter was Toni. We went to a man's house with our group. His name was Michael, and he said that he lived there alone, but his sister also lives near him. He has a family, but they had to move far away because he could not support them. He wishes that they come home soon, because he misses them SO much! We got the chance to pray over Michael, and we presented him with the Bucket of Love.

Another thing we got to do was interview children for a guardian outreach project. We got to learn some about the high school kids, and about their families. One of the boys we interviewed was named Benard...yes, this is the same boy Danica talked to the other day. We both really bonded with him, and Danica and i were thinking about sponsoring him for the Guardian outreach project through the James Ramose box in youth group! I think it would be a great way to show our love for some of the kids there by just giving them a little. The guardian project is a one time sponsorship of $400 for the child's guardian that helps them get a business going so that the kid will have a stable environment to come home to.

I am SO glad that i came on this missions trip...and for me, it was even more eye opening than Portland. The people are so open and loving even though they have nothing.

I have one more thing to say before leaving. We were standing outside the other day talking with one of the street kids, and a woman walked by asking for money. The friend we met, Rachel didn't think about giving anything to her, but this street boy who has nothing pulled out some money from his pocket and gave it to her. Now, this was an extremely big sacrifice because this was probably all the boy had! It COMPLETELY shocked me!

So now that i say good by to you, i say please have a heart for the people here, because if you think you have nothing, you should come here and experience africa!

Nakupenda,

Sarah Hardin

Please Let Me Stay Here

Bwana Asifiwe (Praise the Lord)!

This week has been incredible. There is no word to describe it. All I have are certain moments that keep replaying through my mind. These moments, when I look back at them, are the ones that make me think,"Wow. This is what love is all about."

The first moment was being reunited with some friends that I met last year, mainly my good friend Patrick. It was Sunday morning, and we went to the church service at Rohi. I couldn't concentrate for the entire service, I was so jittery and wanting to get up and out and meet up with the friends I made the last time I was there. I was anxious, nervous, excited and overjoyed. I didn't know if they would remember me or not, but I knew that I remembered them. The service ended and I stood up and slowly turned around. Everyone had mostly cleared out except for Patrick. When I saw him looking my direction, I automatically knew that he remembered me. It was just so cool to realize that even though we hadn't seen each other for 1.5 years, we never really stopped being friends.

The second moment was at the dump, which, ironically, was called the Hilton. My group consisted of Diane, me and our interpreter, Joseph. We were walking up this path to get to a home we were going to deliver a Bucket of Love to. All of the sudden, all of these little kids come running out, all barefoot and covered head to toe in dirt and grime. They ran towards Diane and I, and we couldn't help but to pick them up. I picked up this ADORABLE little boy, who couldn't have been more than 2-years-old. I tried speaking to him in English and then Kiswahili, but it didn't seem like he understood me. It was okay, because no words were needed. The little boy was just looking at me, smiling his cute little smile and running his tiny hands down my face. I didn't care that we were surrounded by piles and piles of trash, or that there were random pigs running around, or that dozens of flies were landing on each of us. I just saw this little boy, who needed to be loved. As I was there, I realized that he could grow up to be a street boy in the future. He could be one of those kids who decided to run away from home and ended up on the streets.

Another moment was on Friday, where I decided to go to Rohi instead of on safari with the rest of the team. I must admit, it was kind of my own selfish reasons, since I already went on safari last time and I absolutely LOVE being at Rohi with the kids. But the kids didn't seem to think so. After the high school closing ceremony (which was 3 hours long. haha), one of the boys I befriended, Benard (yes, it's B-E-N-A-R-D), came up to me and thanked me for making a sacrifice! I didn't even see it that way.

Another instance was just today, as we were leaving Rohi (WAAH). One of the high school boys, Obadiah, came up to me, shook my hand and thanked me for coming. He said that I was a blessing to everyone at Rohi. I thanked him and said, "You guys are more of a blessing to me than I am to you!" And that's really how I see things.

Today is our last day, and I really don't want to leave. Just last night, as we were driving through town, passing buildings not in top shape and faded and peeling paint and dirt everywhere, I was just overwhelmed with how much I love this place.

Mungu akubariki (God bless you),

Danica

Kenya news

The team (except for Kevin & Danica) went on a safari Friday (Kenya time).

It was eye opening for sure! They got to see lions and were actually charged by a RHINO! Their guide, Victor, was great and kept them all safe but how exciting.

Please pray for the team as they prepare to leave. It will very emotional as they leave the children they have come to love and the people working in Kenya that have welcomed them into their lives.

The team leaves for the airport in Nairobi late Saturday night/early Sunday morning Fremont, CA time. Thank you all for your prayers!

We hope to post many more pictures when the team returns since the internet access has been difficult for the team. Many of these posts have been done by phone calls. So, check back in next week to see pictures!