I know that you may have been checking in to see if there were updates. I wanted to post from London on our trip home, because we had a long layover... but the computer was really hard to type on and it was giving me hand cramps.
So we are all back in our respective places now - Arizona, Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennesee, Texas (and some will head back soon to Virginia and other locales).
I am battling jet lag and starting classes, so bear with me one more day as I recover. I'm planning to post the last part of the trip, photos, and a recap tomorrow and Thursday. It WILL be worth the wait!
Love to you from our team!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
If its Tuesday, it must be Kenya...
Hi Friends and family! This internet cafe experience (I am with a few of the team at the "Easy Surf" at the "Ya Ya" Mall - next to the Gracia Guest House) takes me back to my trip to Chile in 2001. The keys are a little different and when I try to press "shift" it is actually... \ and even though when I press the button for this " it does it.... its marked with an ampersand.
Anyway, I digress. I'm here with Paige Williams (she says, "HI") who is going to help me create today's update!
The last update was Sunday night, so we will give you some info on today and yesterday. Our first two days with Pastor Edward and City Harvest Church have been challenging, in a good way. On Monday we spent a few hours with Pastor Edward and some of his staff, learning about their ministries. They served us tea and taught us a few songs and dances. It was pretty fun. Paige says, "Kenyan worship is very spirited and full of traditional African music."
After our initial introduction, we walked around the corner to the "VCT" - which is the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre. There are a number of these government sponsored testing centers around Nairobi and Kenya, but this one is sponsored by City Harvest Church and so all the counselors are believers. One of them is actually HIV positive, and has a passion to help others who may find themselves the same way. We learned about the social stigma of HIV and AIDs in Kenya and after our visit to the VCT we traveled to Mutumba slum and sat in on one of the AIDS support groups (which are part of a program called "PACE" at City Harvest).
This group has about 10 women. Most of them are widows and have a number of children. The stigma of HIV and AIDS makes it difficult for them to keep jobs (they are often fired when they are discovered to have the virus) and they are often abandoned by their families. We heard their stories and asked questions and then had the chance to pray with them in small groups. I had the priveledge to pray for Rose and Maureen, Paige prayed with Theresea. Afterward some of us visited their homes (one room shacks not bigger than 10' x 10') and others did some door-to-door evangelism. It was an incredible experience over all. And we were blessed by the women.
Today (Tuesday), Pastor Edward met us at Gracia and we drove together to a place in Karen (a suburb of Nairobi). "We toured Karen and noticed the beauty of the natural environment," notes Paige. Karen is the richest suburb of Nairobi and it borders Kibera - the poorest. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa, with approximately 1.4 million people occupying 1000 square acres. From a vantage point in Karen (which was at the edge of the slum - they were actually building new shacks while we were standing there) we could see Kibera from one end to the other. It was pretty incredible. Ask the team members you know about "flying toilets" and other things they learned there.
We next traveled to Mukuru Kayaba slum to meet with another AIDS support group. This was also a special experience for us as we are getting to know these women and their hearts, faith and needs personally. We again broke into small groups and prayed and were moved by the willingness of these women to tell us about their lives.
After this we traveled to a different part of Kayaba to visit the future home of "Olympic Hairdressing School" (which was relocated from an area which was too expensive for the church to keep) and saw where the school will be. All during this time we have been accompanied by some new friends: John, Wycliffe, Mordecai, Sylvia, Rosemarie among others. Mordecai lives at the Hairdressing School property, so he showed us his house where he lives with his brother - a one-room home about 8x5. Then we came back, had some team rest time and then some team time traveling to the Ya Ya and ATM machine (and this here internet cafe).
Please pray for our team. We are experiencing a lot of new information, and learning. And we aren't sure how to take it all in. Please pray that the Lord would be near to the members and they would be able to finish this week strong and not grow weary. Please pray that we would be able to preach the Gospel fearlessly and that we would soak up the joy that these people have in Jesus. Tomorrow we are spending the entire day (8-3) with children - so please pray for our energy levels and that we wouldn't be too tired. And pray that we would begin to see how God wants to use this trip to change us.
Thank you for your prayers. I can't wait to get back to the states and upload some pictures so that you can see what we've been seeing.
But in the meantime, for me, Marquette, Paige, and the others. God bless you and be with you.
Bwana Asifiwe (praise the Lord),
Tiffani
Anyway, I digress. I'm here with Paige Williams (she says, "HI") who is going to help me create today's update!
The last update was Sunday night, so we will give you some info on today and yesterday. Our first two days with Pastor Edward and City Harvest Church have been challenging, in a good way. On Monday we spent a few hours with Pastor Edward and some of his staff, learning about their ministries. They served us tea and taught us a few songs and dances. It was pretty fun. Paige says, "Kenyan worship is very spirited and full of traditional African music."
After our initial introduction, we walked around the corner to the "VCT" - which is the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre. There are a number of these government sponsored testing centers around Nairobi and Kenya, but this one is sponsored by City Harvest Church and so all the counselors are believers. One of them is actually HIV positive, and has a passion to help others who may find themselves the same way. We learned about the social stigma of HIV and AIDs in Kenya and after our visit to the VCT we traveled to Mutumba slum and sat in on one of the AIDS support groups (which are part of a program called "PACE" at City Harvest).
This group has about 10 women. Most of them are widows and have a number of children. The stigma of HIV and AIDS makes it difficult for them to keep jobs (they are often fired when they are discovered to have the virus) and they are often abandoned by their families. We heard their stories and asked questions and then had the chance to pray with them in small groups. I had the priveledge to pray for Rose and Maureen, Paige prayed with Theresea. Afterward some of us visited their homes (one room shacks not bigger than 10' x 10') and others did some door-to-door evangelism. It was an incredible experience over all. And we were blessed by the women.
Today (Tuesday), Pastor Edward met us at Gracia and we drove together to a place in Karen (a suburb of Nairobi). "We toured Karen and noticed the beauty of the natural environment," notes Paige. Karen is the richest suburb of Nairobi and it borders Kibera - the poorest. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa, with approximately 1.4 million people occupying 1000 square acres. From a vantage point in Karen (which was at the edge of the slum - they were actually building new shacks while we were standing there) we could see Kibera from one end to the other. It was pretty incredible. Ask the team members you know about "flying toilets" and other things they learned there.
We next traveled to Mukuru Kayaba slum to meet with another AIDS support group. This was also a special experience for us as we are getting to know these women and their hearts, faith and needs personally. We again broke into small groups and prayed and were moved by the willingness of these women to tell us about their lives.
After this we traveled to a different part of Kayaba to visit the future home of "Olympic Hairdressing School" (which was relocated from an area which was too expensive for the church to keep) and saw where the school will be. All during this time we have been accompanied by some new friends: John, Wycliffe, Mordecai, Sylvia, Rosemarie among others. Mordecai lives at the Hairdressing School property, so he showed us his house where he lives with his brother - a one-room home about 8x5. Then we came back, had some team rest time and then some team time traveling to the Ya Ya and ATM machine (and this here internet cafe).
Please pray for our team. We are experiencing a lot of new information, and learning. And we aren't sure how to take it all in. Please pray that the Lord would be near to the members and they would be able to finish this week strong and not grow weary. Please pray that we would be able to preach the Gospel fearlessly and that we would soak up the joy that these people have in Jesus. Tomorrow we are spending the entire day (8-3) with children - so please pray for our energy levels and that we wouldn't be too tired. And pray that we would begin to see how God wants to use this trip to change us.
Thank you for your prayers. I can't wait to get back to the states and upload some pictures so that you can see what we've been seeing.
But in the meantime, for me, Marquette, Paige, and the others. God bless you and be with you.
Bwana Asifiwe (praise the Lord),
Tiffani
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Update from Nairobi!
I'm at the computer at our guest house - this has been the first day
that I've felt I had the time and also opportunity to access email
from the office. Its 5:34pm here in Nairobi, on Sunday the 20th - so
about 9:30, I think in Texas. That means we've been gone from Waco for almost exactly a week!
This has been an incredible experience and I'm going to take the time
to give you an idea of what we've been doing so far.
After a 48 hour trip by air and van, we arrived at the Masai Mara, at
our safari hotel. The drive was beautiful but bumpy... it took 5 hours to travel 250 km - because there are no "good" roads yet. We had a short time to shower and rest and then went out immediately on our first game trek. We went on 3 in total and they were really neat - we saw Hippos, Lions, Crocodiles, Buffalo, Elephants, Cheetahs, Giraffes and more. Very amazing. The country out here is beautiful and vast.Going on safari at the beginning was a huge blessing because we were able to overcome our jet lag before we started serving in the Nairobi area.
On the way back to Nairobi, we stopped at the village of Narok, where
we visited a Masai tribal village, took a tour of the local health
clinic and ate lunch.
Friday was our first ministry day in Nairobi, but because its the
rainy season and it had been raining for a number of days.... that
morning our plans for the day were cancelled and we had to create a
plan B on the spur of the moment. It turned out to be such a blessing,though! We went to a women's ministry where they train women to make craft goods (i.e. fabrics and handicrafts, etc) called "Amani Ya Juu" (which means "peace from above". It was an amazing shop and they have a great story and are really doing great work for God there. After that we visited New Life Home Trust, which is an orphanage for children ages 0 - 3. We played with babies and toddlers for about 3hours and it was SOOO fun! Again, we were blessed and I hope we brought some blessing, too.
Saturday (just yesterday!?) we traveled to Karen, Kenya - a district
of Nairobi named after the women who the movie "Out of Africa" was
about (apparently). We worked at the site of the Karen Project -
sponsored by First Love International - doing landscaping (by which I
mean some of us took "slashers" and cut away the grass) and painting (we painted a garage and primed a small house). Good exhausting
physical labor.
Each night we've had a brief team meeting where we've done
teambuilders or sung worship music, or reflected on the day. We have
really been seeing God's hand in these team times as people are
sharing freely, participating actively and enjoying each other.
Today as our Sabbath we went to City Harvey Church in Nairobi, which
is the church we'll be working with for the next 3 1/2 days. It was a
great cultural and spiritual experience and I was really blessed. It
stretched some of our students a little bit, so please pray that they
would transition OK from it and that they would share what they are
thinking/feeling. We also took a driving tour around the Nairobi city
center and saw the memorial for the '98 US Embassy bombing, the houses of parliament, and university of nairobi among other things. When we got back to our guest house (after lunch) everyone had freedom to relax, read, sleep, go to market or wander around the local mall.
Tomorrow through Thursday we'll be with City Harvest, doing a number
of things in the slums. Friday we'll be working with Railia kids club
in the slums and Saturday returning to Karen to finish work on the
field and buildings.We leave on Sunday, next, and its hard to believe
that it will all end so quickly.
We are thoroughly enjoying our time here. We are learning Kiswahili phrases, making friends of nationals and missionaries and learning about other cultures. Along the way we hope to bring the light of
Christ to those we meet - and as many of them are Christians, we also hope to recieve the light from them. Please pray for us as we continue to minister - that we would be equipped for this cause, and prepared for each thing we have to do.
I hope to bring another update before we leave the country.
In the meantime...... Kwa Heri (goodbye).
Tiffani (for Marquette and the team)
that I've felt I had the time and also opportunity to access email
from the office. Its 5:34pm here in Nairobi, on Sunday the 20th - so
about 9:30, I think in Texas. That means we've been gone from Waco for almost exactly a week!
This has been an incredible experience and I'm going to take the time
to give you an idea of what we've been doing so far.
After a 48 hour trip by air and van, we arrived at the Masai Mara, at
our safari hotel. The drive was beautiful but bumpy... it took 5 hours to travel 250 km - because there are no "good" roads yet. We had a short time to shower and rest and then went out immediately on our first game trek. We went on 3 in total and they were really neat - we saw Hippos, Lions, Crocodiles, Buffalo, Elephants, Cheetahs, Giraffes and more. Very amazing. The country out here is beautiful and vast.Going on safari at the beginning was a huge blessing because we were able to overcome our jet lag before we started serving in the Nairobi area.
On the way back to Nairobi, we stopped at the village of Narok, where
we visited a Masai tribal village, took a tour of the local health
clinic and ate lunch.
Friday was our first ministry day in Nairobi, but because its the
rainy season and it had been raining for a number of days.... that
morning our plans for the day were cancelled and we had to create a
plan B on the spur of the moment. It turned out to be such a blessing,though! We went to a women's ministry where they train women to make craft goods (i.e. fabrics and handicrafts, etc) called "Amani Ya Juu" (which means "peace from above". It was an amazing shop and they have a great story and are really doing great work for God there. After that we visited New Life Home Trust, which is an orphanage for children ages 0 - 3. We played with babies and toddlers for about 3hours and it was SOOO fun! Again, we were blessed and I hope we brought some blessing, too.
Saturday (just yesterday!?) we traveled to Karen, Kenya - a district
of Nairobi named after the women who the movie "Out of Africa" was
about (apparently). We worked at the site of the Karen Project -
sponsored by First Love International - doing landscaping (by which I
mean some of us took "slashers" and cut away the grass) and painting (we painted a garage and primed a small house). Good exhausting
physical labor.
Each night we've had a brief team meeting where we've done
teambuilders or sung worship music, or reflected on the day. We have
really been seeing God's hand in these team times as people are
sharing freely, participating actively and enjoying each other.
Today as our Sabbath we went to City Harvey Church in Nairobi, which
is the church we'll be working with for the next 3 1/2 days. It was a
great cultural and spiritual experience and I was really blessed. It
stretched some of our students a little bit, so please pray that they
would transition OK from it and that they would share what they are
thinking/feeling. We also took a driving tour around the Nairobi city
center and saw the memorial for the '98 US Embassy bombing, the houses of parliament, and university of nairobi among other things. When we got back to our guest house (after lunch) everyone had freedom to relax, read, sleep, go to market or wander around the local mall.
Tomorrow through Thursday we'll be with City Harvest, doing a number
of things in the slums. Friday we'll be working with Railia kids club
in the slums and Saturday returning to Karen to finish work on the
field and buildings.We leave on Sunday, next, and its hard to believe
that it will all end so quickly.
We are thoroughly enjoying our time here. We are learning Kiswahili phrases, making friends of nationals and missionaries and learning about other cultures. Along the way we hope to bring the light of
Christ to those we meet - and as many of them are Christians, we also hope to recieve the light from them. Please pray for us as we continue to minister - that we would be equipped for this cause, and prepared for each thing we have to do.
I hope to bring another update before we leave the country.
In the meantime...... Kwa Heri (goodbye).
Tiffani (for Marquette and the team)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Live... from London
Well, we survived our flights (from DFW to Chicago and then Chicago to London). There were a few snafus... the flight was delayed leaving Dallas and we barely made our connection. Then there was an electrical malfunction on the international flight... so they couldn't turn off the lights in our section of the cabin - so the lights were on as we were all trying to sleep.
But - all in all, everyone got some amount of sleep and we were ready (or as ready as we could be) to tackle our whirlwind tour of London today.
We are resting at a friend of Christine Vintges' house - who graciously is buying us pizza for lunch. So far we've visited: Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey and we've ridden the tube. The house we are resting in is in Kensington and after lunch (in about an hour) we are planning to take the tube to the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Globe Theater before we head back to the airport.
Our team member, Katie Shaw, did not recieve her passport in time to leave with us yesterday. However, we are hoping that arrangements can be made for her to join us later in the week. We miss her a lot and though we are enjoying this part of the trip and looking forward to Africa, we are constantly remembering that she is not with us. Please pray that she would be able to join us.
Other prayer requests:
* Our bags are heavy (backpacks) and we are walking a LOT - so we're pretty tired.
* That we get some good sleep on the plane tonight.
* That relationships form and deepen, and attitudes stay good.
Thanks for your prayers! Blessings to you from our team!
But - all in all, everyone got some amount of sleep and we were ready (or as ready as we could be) to tackle our whirlwind tour of London today.
We are resting at a friend of Christine Vintges' house - who graciously is buying us pizza for lunch. So far we've visited: Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey and we've ridden the tube. The house we are resting in is in Kensington and after lunch (in about an hour) we are planning to take the tube to the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Globe Theater before we head back to the airport.
Our team member, Katie Shaw, did not recieve her passport in time to leave with us yesterday. However, we are hoping that arrangements can be made for her to join us later in the week. We miss her a lot and though we are enjoying this part of the trip and looking forward to Africa, we are constantly remembering that she is not with us. Please pray that she would be able to join us.
Other prayer requests:
* Our bags are heavy (backpacks) and we are walking a LOT - so we're pretty tired.
* That we get some good sleep on the plane tonight.
* That relationships form and deepen, and attitudes stay good.
Thanks for your prayers! Blessings to you from our team!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Flight Details
Going To Kenya:
May 13 DFW / Chicago UA 278 Depart: 12:51 PM Arrive: 3:10 PM
May 13 Chicago /London Heathrow UA 958(May 14) Depart: 4:08 PMArrive: 5:55 AM
May 14 London Heathrow / Nairobi KQ 101(May 15) Depart: 8:00 PMArrive: 6:30 AM
Coming Back Home:
May 27 Nairobi / London Heathrow KQ 102(May 28) Depart: 11:50 PMArrive: 6:45 AM
May 28 London Heathrow / Chicago UA 959Depart: 3:40 PMArrive: 6:17 PM
May 28 Chicago / DFW UA 725 Depart: 8:25 PM Arrive: 10:48 PM
May 13 DFW / Chicago UA 278 Depart: 12:51 PM Arrive: 3:10 PM
May 13 Chicago /London Heathrow UA 958(May 14) Depart: 4:08 PMArrive: 5:55 AM
May 14 London Heathrow / Nairobi KQ 101(May 15) Depart: 8:00 PMArrive: 6:30 AM
Coming Back Home:
May 27 Nairobi / London Heathrow KQ 102(May 28) Depart: 11:50 PMArrive: 6:45 AM
May 28 London Heathrow / Chicago UA 959Depart: 3:40 PMArrive: 6:17 PM
May 28 Chicago / DFW UA 725 Depart: 8:25 PM Arrive: 10:48 PM
Friday, May 11, 2007
Upcoming Departure and Travel Info
Hi Friends,
Please excuse the delay in posting and I hope you didn't give up looking (though if you see this post... it would hold true that you have not given up looking...)!!
The semester got crazy and I was unable to update until tonight!
Our teams leave Waco on Sunday morning, the 13th at 8am. That is like 36-ish hours from NOW! WOW.
Well, first of all - fundraising update: THE LORD DID IT! We have raised enough money for everyone on the team to go to Kenya!!!!
Second of all - prayer requests: We are still praying and waiting for one final passport which got caught up in the massive passport backlog that occured when the regulations changed (requiring all US citizens to have a passport for travel to Mexico and Canada).
Third of all - stay posted on this page for updates. I hope we can provide updates at least once or twice while we are away and this will be your best spot to look for info.
Our itinerary is below, for your consideration and prayers:
Travel Itinerary (for you to know and pray):
Sun 5/13 - travel to Dallas, fly to Chicago, fly to London
Mon 5/14 - layover (tourist time in London), fly to Nairobi
Tues 5/15 - travel to Masai Mara Safari Park and stay there
Wed 5/16 - safari at Masai Mara
Thurs 5/17 - safari at Masai Mara and travel back to Nairobi
Fri 5/18 - work at Railia Kids Club in Kibera Slum (crafts, sports, tutoring)
Sat 5/19 - work at Railia AM, painting/landscaping at "Karen Project" in PM
Sun 5/20 - Church at City Harvest Ministries, sabbath rest/team time/shopping
Mon 5/21 - work with City Harvest Ministries - visit AIDS testing clinic, meet HIV+ microcommunities
Tues 5/22 - work with City Harvest again - more HIV+ communities, help renovate hairdressing school
Wed 5/23 - tour of Kibera, learn more about life of men and women in the slums
Thurs 5/24 - TBD - either Railia or work with CHM in Kibera, plus team time in afternoon
Fri 5/25 - work at Mitumba Kids Club in Mitumba Slum (a poorer part of Kibera slum)
Sat 5/26 - return to Railia Kids Club in AM, work at Karen Project in PM
Sun 5/27 - church at City Harvest, sabbath/team time/shopping/pack - fly to London
Mon 5/28 - fly to Chicago, fly to DFW - arrive DFW at 10:30pm, travel to Waco
Tues 5/29 - start summer classes (me and a few others)
Thanks for praying for us and for your support of this effort!!
Blessings - Tiffani and the team!
Please excuse the delay in posting and I hope you didn't give up looking (though if you see this post... it would hold true that you have not given up looking...)!!
The semester got crazy and I was unable to update until tonight!
Our teams leave Waco on Sunday morning, the 13th at 8am. That is like 36-ish hours from NOW! WOW.
Well, first of all - fundraising update: THE LORD DID IT! We have raised enough money for everyone on the team to go to Kenya!!!!
Second of all - prayer requests: We are still praying and waiting for one final passport which got caught up in the massive passport backlog that occured when the regulations changed (requiring all US citizens to have a passport for travel to Mexico and Canada).
Third of all - stay posted on this page for updates. I hope we can provide updates at least once or twice while we are away and this will be your best spot to look for info.
Our itinerary is below, for your consideration and prayers:
Travel Itinerary (for you to know and pray):
Sun 5/13 - travel to Dallas, fly to Chicago, fly to London
Mon 5/14 - layover (tourist time in London), fly to Nairobi
Tues 5/15 - travel to Masai Mara Safari Park and stay there
Wed 5/16 - safari at Masai Mara
Thurs 5/17 - safari at Masai Mara and travel back to Nairobi
Fri 5/18 - work at Railia Kids Club in Kibera Slum (crafts, sports, tutoring)
Sat 5/19 - work at Railia AM, painting/landscaping at "Karen Project" in PM
Sun 5/20 - Church at City Harvest Ministries, sabbath rest/team time/shopping
Mon 5/21 - work with City Harvest Ministries - visit AIDS testing clinic, meet HIV+ microcommunities
Tues 5/22 - work with City Harvest again - more HIV+ communities, help renovate hairdressing school
Wed 5/23 - tour of Kibera, learn more about life of men and women in the slums
Thurs 5/24 - TBD - either Railia or work with CHM in Kibera, plus team time in afternoon
Fri 5/25 - work at Mitumba Kids Club in Mitumba Slum (a poorer part of Kibera slum)
Sat 5/26 - return to Railia Kids Club in AM, work at Karen Project in PM
Sun 5/27 - church at City Harvest, sabbath/team time/shopping/pack - fly to London
Mon 5/28 - fly to Chicago, fly to DFW - arrive DFW at 10:30pm, travel to Waco
Tues 5/29 - start summer classes (me and a few others)
Thanks for praying for us and for your support of this effort!!
Blessings - Tiffani and the team!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)