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!

Uh it's danicA And how do you work this thing?!? waah I guess I have to type it all in this little title box. this week has been absolutely amazing

My favoritest place in the world Okay Im in the car on a very bumpy road using dads iPhone aNd it won'tlet me type in the blog box, juz

Cassandra posts about Ngala Deaf School

Jambo

Today was a great day. We went to Ngala school for the deaf. They are the sweetest children and even with little they are so joyful. My heart will be there and I will be in contact with the teachers so I can come back and work with them more. I have many pictures to show you all. Also I took a video of the class one giving the team all sign names. It it so sweet. Right now we are off to dinner with dear friends. It will be good to see them all. It has been over a year from the time we saw each other last, God is so good and giving us many blessings.Tomorrow we are taking a day of rest in town. Saturday we are leadinga workshop for the staff at Rohi. All of them are excited and so is the team. Please pray for our time together. This will be my last email so keep us all in your prayers. Thank you for your prayers and know God is moving! I may never come home!

Hugs and much love,
Cassandra

Danica and the Mural

Cassandra asked Danica to draw a heart and hands for her. She happened to show the drawing to the team in Kenya that is working at the deaf school. They really liked it and asked (commissioned?) Danica to do a mural at the school.

Thursday the team will be going to the deaf school to do a project there and we look forward to seeing the mural Danica does!

Wednesday in Kenya

Kevin called in to report on a day full of activity in Kenya. The team typically starts out at 6 am and returns to the hotel at 9 pm at night. With a schedule like that, they are especially thankful everyone is staying healthy.

Prayer requests:
- Continued good health
- Contiued team unity
- Pray ahead for the team to know how to share their experiences with others.

And now on with the story about Wednesday!

The weather has been good with highs in the high 70's to low 80's. At night when it drops to the 60's the Kenyans all put on ski jackets while the team is in light pullovers at most. Weird mental picture of ski jackets in Kenya!

On Wednesday morning the team took over (by invitation) the classes for about 3 hours at ROHI. Sarah & Danica took over the 1st & 2nd grade class of 30 kids and the rest of the team each took one grade each. Hopefully there will be pictures to post soon!

In the afternoon the team worked on the Guardian project. They were able to come alongside two families. The project involved helping the legal guardians of a ROHI student in a tangible way.

The first student is not an orphan, but he and his family are under stress. Both parents are living and there are 8 children in the family and they cannot even afford the $15/month rent.

The second student lost his father 3 years ago and his mother is left caring for 5 children and her mother-in-law. Because of the father died, they were not able to stay in their home and were evicted.

Through the giving of our FCC family and others, the team was able to help both families start businessess selling food & cool at roadside stands. They helped by providing the start up inventory and space to sell them.

Tired yet? In the evening the team enjoyed dinner with Mama & Papa Mathua, the founders of ROHI. Get some rest team....

Thank you to everyone supporting the team in prayer!

Cassandra sends greetings

Jambo
We are all doing well. We had a great day at Rohi church and at street church. Ministered with a lot of great people at street church with God's perspective on loving others. Tomorrow is an exciting day of being with the students of Rohi before they go on break. I was blessed to meet my sponsor child Faith. She has such a sweet spirit and I enjoyed spending time with her. Some time this week Iwill be giving her the bible that I used in high school. I am praying that this bible will bless her school years as it did mine.

Thank you for your prayers and love. Please be praying for...
The team
the children and staff at Rohi
adjusting to the new time zone
seeing things as the Lord sees them

Hugs and love,
Cassandra

Picture of Rohi

This is a picture of worship at Rohi

Posts sent Via email

Here are some emails I got from the team on their way:

Kevin: Picture from the plane of Greenland...covered in ice and snow. I am sure the team will be thinking of all the cool snow soon!

Cassandra: Just landed in Daubi. Please pray we all make it through the health check. They are checking all flights for the H1N1 (of course you know they made it okay from later posts!)

Glad everyone made it okay and hope Danica is feeling better!

Hey, this is Sarah Hardin!

My first time blogging! yay. So the flight was very interesting! it was long...but all in all, danica and i watched like 5 movies and we played GOLF! I think i got about 45 minutes tops sleep on the plane! i felt ok though...but went to sleep soon after. As you have already seen in Cassandra's post, we had some interesting things happen to us. Another is when we were comming up from dinner and got on the wrong elevator. It turned out to be the service elevator for the janitorial people...so when the doors opened, we were in a janitor room. We quickly left that room and went to the hotel.

When we were walking around the hotel, we saw a group of people that looked like a missions team. They were from SoCal, and were also doing some missions work in Kenya! We talked with them some and made friends.

got to got on plane!!

--Sarah

I miss my chickens

Hi this is Danica!

We are in the Dubai airport and we are going to be in Kenya in about 5+ hours. I am more anxious than anything else (of course, this could be just the side affects of the malaria pills). I'm finally going home, after 1.5 years. =). I still can't believe I'm going back. I had a nightmare last night that I had to go back to the States because I was sick. WAAH. But fortunately, it was just a dream.

Please pray for me, because although this sounds a little cheesy and borderline Christianese, Satan is attacking me! I threw up on the plane yesterday and I never get sick on flights. Then I was feeling quite nauseous for the last 5 hours of the flight. Later on that night, while half-conscious, I read James (just like Bromley told us to!) and the second verse really spoke to me. It was James 1:2 (don't quote me on this, I'm just paraphrasing). It said "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds. . .uh. . .well, it said something about this helping my faith grow and persevere because of this. Well, I know the word perseverance was in there somewhere. Anyway, it really spoke to me because even though I underwent this unpleasant experience, I knew that it was good.

-Danica!

Here is a picture of us in the Dubai airport, where a Grande Starbucks drink is $5 (in US)!

Is it 3am yet?

Well....jet lag is something that makes you tired RIGHT? Well not if you are Sarah and I! We slept for a few hours, got up, and went to get food. The only problem was it was only 3am! So back to bed we went for a few hours and then got up and finally ate. That is just the first adventure of many to come.

As I am now sitting in the airport waiting to get on the flight I am so excited. I have been praying for my friends in Kenya and can not wait to see them. God has blessed me with the chance to go back and see friends and partner in ministry with them. I am so using this time to seek where the Lord has me in the future. My heart has been sold for Africa for a long time and I feel the Lord calling me to full-time ministry in the future. Just in prayer about the when and the where. Please also be in prayer as well. Thanks for all your love and prayers!

Kiss On Cheeks, (I am bringing it back!!!!)

Cassandra Marie

29 hours to go!

Hi all!

Please keep the team in your prayers. We leave in 29 hours(ish)! Some of the team is working today and others are getting last minute things done but pray for safety tomorrow. We will be taking 16 suitcases, pray they all get to Nairobi and everything we brought is still there. We trust the Lord is paving the way for us and each step will be lead by His loving hand. Thanks for your love, prayers, and support!

Hugs,

Cassandra Marie

Heading to Kenya on July 23!

The team is ready to go! Check in frequently for updates...or become a 'follower' of this blog to get notifications in your email when a new post is up.