Sorry for our absence the past couple days! After a long week completed by a Saturday afternoon in Korogocho visiting and praying with people, yesterday was a great day of rest for us. We headed to church and worshiped with our family there, singing more beautiful songs in Swahili, Luo and other languages as well as English. After the worship, we were asked to share a few more words and tried as best we could to articulate how humbled and honored we were to be welcomed by our brothers and sisters in Korogocho, and to see their beautiful faith. When we finished that, Evans took the microphone and shared a short message of his own. I wish we could have recorded it; he talked about what faith is and was so passionate and encouraging in his speech. Not to mention, Evans *knows* the Word - he put more relevant Scriptures together in 15 minutes than just about any preacher I've seen. The one that stuck with me most was 2 Corinthians 4:18:
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
I thought about how cool a verse this is, especially for that congregation, since what is visible to the eyes is often so sad to look at. Praise God that, for as many as have received Christ, Korogocho is not forever, but a better world awaits!
After church, we headed back to the Abungus' home and were later joined by Ben and Evans for a praise and worship jam session. As Justin said, this ought to be a requirement for every missions trip. It was a great time, learning a couple of Kenyan songs and sharing a few of our own with them. Ben is a budding keyboardist and was so excited to learn every new song we could put in front of him. He would have jammed all night if the rest of the room hadn't finally given up and headed to bed!
As I type this, we're getting ready to leave for school again. Today is exciting as we will have the chance to minister to the teachers and give them some gifts of their own. Anna suggested we make sure to focus on the teachers as well as the children, so we hope to be able to minister to them in this way. Today is also a little bit sad as it's Alisha's last day at school. Tomorrow we have other things planned and she is leaving early Wednesday morning for the second phase of her trip - a visit to a teaching hospital in a village several hours away. Justin and I will have most of Wednesday to spend with the children, but for Alisha this is goodbye. We're going to visit each class and talk and play with the kids as much of the day as possible, but it is really sad to know Alisha has reached the end of her time with them and Justin and I are so close. Pray that the stories, love and provision we're sharing with the children would be used by God long after we leave them physically!
Mission Korogocho: A global partnership to spread God's love, truth, and grace throughout the nation of Kenya.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The saints in Korogocho
I wish you could meet some of the people we've talked to in Korogocho. As Justin so eloquently said, we've seen just a tiny glimpse into their lives and we can only hope to illuminate a fraction of that via the words, pictures and stories we share with others. But we have been blessed and humbled countless times by seeing the faith, confidence and selflessness of the Christians in Korogocho so hopefully I can show at least a little bit of that here.
Ben and Evans are two single guys in their mid-20's. They both live in Korogocho and their circumstances are typical of young men in the slums. They have to provide for themselves and, with a high school education at best, a regular job is nearly unattainable. Day labor (hauling water or helping out with construction) pays around $4 for 10 hours of work but even these jobs are not consistently available. Given this reality, theft is the leading category of "employment" for young men in the slums, and alcoholism is the norm. But Ben and Evans, having heard the Gospel as a result of the Abungus' ministry, have chosen to live differently. When they accepted Christ their material prospects didn't improve - they still live in the smelly, dangerous slum and still have to struggle for each meal and to pay the rent. But their spirits are totally changed. They don't live according to the norms of the world around them, and you wouldn't even know they were poor from talking to them. At least I didn't, not until several days afterwards. They are both full of joy and have an attitude of putting others first. Evans is a responsible and trustworthy guy whose heart is clearly about serving, and Ben is so good at encouraging others - he's tall and goofy and his smile makes your day when you see it. They remind me of James 1 where it says the poor person is to glory in his high position, and they seem totally content with where God put them and willing to trust Him with what comes next. Their spirits have continually lifted ours up, and I don't know what we would have done without their service and encouragement.
Eunice is a widow who lives deep in Korogocho. Her home is a tiny, one room shack crowded in among scores of others along a narrow footpath. She shares the space with three children. She has had no consistent means of provision since her husband passed away in 2003, and has to fight with the landlord constantly to keep from being thrown out of her tiny home. When we met her, though, Eunice was an absolute picture of grace and dignity. She warmly welcomed us to her home and began to tell us about her life, somehow through a smile. After a little while she asked if we would like something to eat or drink. I initially offended her by trying to refuse, but after realizing how important it was to her to serve us we said ok and she disappeared out the doorway. A few moments later she came back with Cokes and cookies for everyone. Tom said he was certain she didn't have the means to pay for such a feast, but clearly Eunice would not have dreamed of treating her guests with anything less than the best. I enjoyed the Coke and the conversation but at the same time was left in awe by the hospitality of a woman who had so little to give. We got the chance to see Eunice for a second time today and though there wasn't time for more snacks the warmth of her spirit was again a blessing.
Conditions in Korogocho are as bad as you can imagine and probably will be for a long time. The needs of its residents are intense, and this is true of Christians and non-believers alike. But at the same time God's power is shining so brightly through His people here and lots more stories like the ones above could be told. Praise Him for that and pray for His provision and power to continue to be shown in the lives of our brothers and sisters!
Ben and Evans are two single guys in their mid-20's. They both live in Korogocho and their circumstances are typical of young men in the slums. They have to provide for themselves and, with a high school education at best, a regular job is nearly unattainable. Day labor (hauling water or helping out with construction) pays around $4 for 10 hours of work but even these jobs are not consistently available. Given this reality, theft is the leading category of "employment" for young men in the slums, and alcoholism is the norm. But Ben and Evans, having heard the Gospel as a result of the Abungus' ministry, have chosen to live differently. When they accepted Christ their material prospects didn't improve - they still live in the smelly, dangerous slum and still have to struggle for each meal and to pay the rent. But their spirits are totally changed. They don't live according to the norms of the world around them, and you wouldn't even know they were poor from talking to them. At least I didn't, not until several days afterwards. They are both full of joy and have an attitude of putting others first. Evans is a responsible and trustworthy guy whose heart is clearly about serving, and Ben is so good at encouraging others - he's tall and goofy and his smile makes your day when you see it. They remind me of James 1 where it says the poor person is to glory in his high position, and they seem totally content with where God put them and willing to trust Him with what comes next. Their spirits have continually lifted ours up, and I don't know what we would have done without their service and encouragement.
Eunice is a widow who lives deep in Korogocho. Her home is a tiny, one room shack crowded in among scores of others along a narrow footpath. She shares the space with three children. She has had no consistent means of provision since her husband passed away in 2003, and has to fight with the landlord constantly to keep from being thrown out of her tiny home. When we met her, though, Eunice was an absolute picture of grace and dignity. She warmly welcomed us to her home and began to tell us about her life, somehow through a smile. After a little while she asked if we would like something to eat or drink. I initially offended her by trying to refuse, but after realizing how important it was to her to serve us we said ok and she disappeared out the doorway. A few moments later she came back with Cokes and cookies for everyone. Tom said he was certain she didn't have the means to pay for such a feast, but clearly Eunice would not have dreamed of treating her guests with anything less than the best. I enjoyed the Coke and the conversation but at the same time was left in awe by the hospitality of a woman who had so little to give. We got the chance to see Eunice for a second time today and though there wasn't time for more snacks the warmth of her spirit was again a blessing.
Conditions in Korogocho are as bad as you can imagine and probably will be for a long time. The needs of its residents are intense, and this is true of Christians and non-believers alike. But at the same time God's power is shining so brightly through His people here and lots more stories like the ones above could be told. Praise Him for that and pray for His provision and power to continue to be shown in the lives of our brothers and sisters!
Visiting Mary
Yesterday, we went to Compassion's Nairobi field office out near Dagoretti where Mary lives. Mary has been my family's Compassion child for 10 years. She is now 18 years old, in Form 1 (about 9th grade), and wanting to attend University for medicine. I couldn't come so close to her home and her school and not visit.
We finally made it the office over an hour late, due to traffic and cryptic directions (a tourist would never have made it). I was so excited but more than a little apprehensive. I wanted the visit to be comfortable and natural, not forced or compulsory. That would have been rough if it had just been me going. But having Anna, Zach, and Justin made it so much better -- and of course, everyone loved Julia.
We met Mary at her old primary school and had sodas -- which are apparently something of a staple in Kenyan hospitality. After a quick tour, we drove to her house which sits on about an acre of cultivated land. The garden was beautiful. Unlike Korogocho, which is more brown than green, Dagoretti was very green and the hedges and the vines hide a lot of the poverty.
We visited for about an hour. I felt like we were just getting to know each other and it was time to go. For me, it was the first time I've really connected a real person with the pictures and letters we got periodically. It was truly a blessing of God for me to get to meet her, hug her, and talk to her, to see she is so much more than a face on a picture.
We finally made it the office over an hour late, due to traffic and cryptic directions (a tourist would never have made it). I was so excited but more than a little apprehensive. I wanted the visit to be comfortable and natural, not forced or compulsory. That would have been rough if it had just been me going. But having Anna, Zach, and Justin made it so much better -- and of course, everyone loved Julia.
We met Mary at her old primary school and had sodas -- which are apparently something of a staple in Kenyan hospitality. After a quick tour, we drove to her house which sits on about an acre of cultivated land. The garden was beautiful. Unlike Korogocho, which is more brown than green, Dagoretti was very green and the hedges and the vines hide a lot of the poverty.
We visited for about an hour. I felt like we were just getting to know each other and it was time to go. For me, it was the first time I've really connected a real person with the pictures and letters we got periodically. It was truly a blessing of God for me to get to meet her, hug her, and talk to her, to see she is so much more than a face on a picture.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Heart Of The Slums
I wish we could show you everything we've seen today. I wish we could express it to you with words. I wish you could have looked through our eyes and seen the world as we saw it. I'm sure, thanks to Zach, you all will see a lot of pictures from this trip very soon. You'll see homes made of mud and drift wood, rivers of sewage slicing through dirt roads, people and pigs sifting through garbage like equals and many other things. We spent the afternoon in the slum visiting members of Tom's congregation. As you can imagine, Zach's camera was clicking away all the while as we walked from house to house. When we got home, we spent some time looking over photos (there are a lot of them and some are really good). Comparing what we'd experienced with the photos was interesting, and as I continued thinking about it, this idea of thunderstorms came to mind. That may seem like a really odd connection to make, and it probably is, but please allow me to explain ;P Thunderstorms don't come 'round very often in New Mexico, but I remember a few pretty good ones from back when I was youngster. At those times my room was completely blanketed in darkness. I would sit on my bed with my covers wrapped around me and I would stare out into the void. Suddenly, lightning would rip across the sky and cast a white glow all about my room, but just as quickly as it had come the light would go and everything would be dark again. In that brief moment I would catch a glimpse of my room, but I couldn't really see my room the way it truly was. I would often see things that weren't really there and miss things that would have been obvious if I had flipped the light switch on. I think that's what a lot of what we're going to share will be like. We can offers you glimpses, lightning flashes, of Korogocho and what it means for a child to grow up in such a place, but we cannot bring you their whole story, or even our whole story, in blog posts and facebook albums. We can only give you glimpses, and I'm becoming more and more convinced that even after all the things we've seen so far on this journey, all we really have is a lightning flash ourselves.
I think We The People have become numb to a lot of things in recent years. There are so many charities and organizations groping for our wallets and flashing pictures of starving children in our faces that we don't know what to do. Sure, we feel bad at first, but as the phone calls keep coming and the commercials keep rolling and another place needs my generous donation of $30 a month, we can begin to feel overwhelmed and even throw up our hands in despair. What can we really do in the end? We only have so much money to give! So eventually, our eyes begin to gloss over when we get a new request for aid, our ears block up when we hear about the starving kids in Africa. After all, we've heard it all before. We've done our part and that's good enough.
I'm not trying to bash Americans in this post, that is most certaintly not my goal. The things I've written above were my own thoughts, my mentality. When Tom came to visit us in New Mexico, I could look at all the pictures he had of the slum and the school and not really be phased because I'd seen similar things before.
But what about now? Now I'm here, and things that were only pixilated before are now full of life. It's one thing to see a crumbling town in a photograph, but it becomes a very different thing when the smells fill up your lungs, and you can taste rotting fish in the air, when little faces with little hands are reaching out to pull at your clothes, and you can hear their voices all around. It's one thing to see them on your TV screen, it becomes a very different thing when they can see you, too.
That's really what I was trying to get at with the whole thunderstorm spiely dealy earlier. There are so many things we're thinking and feeling right now that we just can't put it all into words. It's a little frustrating because we really want to share this journey with all of you, but at the same time it's really helped open my eyes. This trip has already blessed me in so many ways. I'm learning and growing along with precious children, and I'm being encouraged by men and women much wiser than I am. We have seen terrible things, places where using a term like "living conditions" would be ironic, but at the same time we've seen incredible faith and hearts of gold. Hidden in the slums of Nairobi are precious souls, some lost, some found, and all in need of a little more Jesus. We plan to spend all of Saturday in Korogocho and that is going to push us. We're over half way through our journey here and we cannot keep on through our own power. Pray that we never forget that the God of peace goes with us every step of the way, even to the heart of the slums.
P.S. I'll try to have an actual play by play of the day up in the near future (just for you, mom :D). That was what I'd originally planned for this post to be, but that fell apart pretty quickly, and now I'm afraid that it's too late for another post :P. I'm also not entirely sure that I thought this post throguh very well, so I apologize if it doesn't end up making very much sense. Anyways, new posts to follow shortly! Your continuing support has meant the world to us! Thank You and Goodnight!
Laterz,
Justin
I think We The People have become numb to a lot of things in recent years. There are so many charities and organizations groping for our wallets and flashing pictures of starving children in our faces that we don't know what to do. Sure, we feel bad at first, but as the phone calls keep coming and the commercials keep rolling and another place needs my generous donation of $30 a month, we can begin to feel overwhelmed and even throw up our hands in despair. What can we really do in the end? We only have so much money to give! So eventually, our eyes begin to gloss over when we get a new request for aid, our ears block up when we hear about the starving kids in Africa. After all, we've heard it all before. We've done our part and that's good enough.
I'm not trying to bash Americans in this post, that is most certaintly not my goal. The things I've written above were my own thoughts, my mentality. When Tom came to visit us in New Mexico, I could look at all the pictures he had of the slum and the school and not really be phased because I'd seen similar things before.
But what about now? Now I'm here, and things that were only pixilated before are now full of life. It's one thing to see a crumbling town in a photograph, but it becomes a very different thing when the smells fill up your lungs, and you can taste rotting fish in the air, when little faces with little hands are reaching out to pull at your clothes, and you can hear their voices all around. It's one thing to see them on your TV screen, it becomes a very different thing when they can see you, too.
That's really what I was trying to get at with the whole thunderstorm spiely dealy earlier. There are so many things we're thinking and feeling right now that we just can't put it all into words. It's a little frustrating because we really want to share this journey with all of you, but at the same time it's really helped open my eyes. This trip has already blessed me in so many ways. I'm learning and growing along with precious children, and I'm being encouraged by men and women much wiser than I am. We have seen terrible things, places where using a term like "living conditions" would be ironic, but at the same time we've seen incredible faith and hearts of gold. Hidden in the slums of Nairobi are precious souls, some lost, some found, and all in need of a little more Jesus. We plan to spend all of Saturday in Korogocho and that is going to push us. We're over half way through our journey here and we cannot keep on through our own power. Pray that we never forget that the God of peace goes with us every step of the way, even to the heart of the slums.
P.S. I'll try to have an actual play by play of the day up in the near future (just for you, mom :D). That was what I'd originally planned for this post to be, but that fell apart pretty quickly, and now I'm afraid that it's too late for another post :P. I'm also not entirely sure that I thought this post throguh very well, so I apologize if it doesn't end up making very much sense. Anyways, new posts to follow shortly! Your continuing support has meant the world to us! Thank You and Goodnight!
Laterz,
Justin
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
yesterday and the boys
First of all, thanks for all the comments because we're super-encouraged by reading them! And sorry for the long time between posts - between long days and internet that only works some evenings we're not able to get on here quite as much as we'd like!
Yesterday was an eventful day. We headed to school a bit earlier than usual to make sure we had time to visit each class before lunch. We brought with us little activity pages with some things to color and Bible passages on them - Mark 10:13-16 and Psalm 23. We went to each class, starting with the oldest (equivalent to 3rd graders here), and talked about Mark 10 and how God wants to be with the little children, and how He wants them to approach Him and talk to Him. We gave the lesson to each class and then turned them loose with crayons for a while and let them have fun coloring. The older two classes also worked with Justin on a bigger painting project (really cool, btw, look for pictures later on) and a play to act out the story. I really wish we had more chances to go in depth with each child, but with so many kids, so few of us and so little time we just have to do the best we can. My prayer is that the words we got to share do not return void, but rather that God uses them - now or later on - to bring the children around to an understanding that they can trust in Him and talk with Him about the situations and problems they face in life.
Also on yesterday's agenda was an unexpected item - some manual labor which turned out to be a good change of pace. Sadly no concrete was involved, but we did get to paint one of the rooms in the new building. We worked through most of lunch and into the afternoon alongside five other guys who are all members of Tom's church, and got the base coat finished. They'll probably wait until after we leave to do the rest.
Speaking of the guys, wanted to let you all know about them because they've been a big part of our experience. Evans, Ben, Eric, Freddy and Josh are all guys aged 18-25 or so who live in Korogocho and help out with whatever needs doing at the church and school - from worship on Sundays to translating for Americans to painting and any number of other things. Sometimes Tom pays them small salaries for specific tasks (like most in Korogocho they have no regular employment) but usually they're just there to help. All five have great, life-giving spirits and have been huge blessings to our team as peers who we can work alongside and joke and talk with. Monday and Tuesday we played after-lunch soccer matches with them which were lots of fun! Would love to tell you about each of them individually, but that may have to wait until we get back (there's another to-be-continued for you, Tyler)
That's it for now, need to get off for breakfast and another day! Today we will be working with the youngest kids who are still at the church, as well as visiting with some residents in their homes in Korogocho. Pray for energy for us as we do both, as some mid-trip exhaustion has begun to set in and we're very much in need of Christ as a sustainer right now! ps thanks Bonnie for Isaiah 58:11, it was a really good verse to read at this point in the trip!! Talk again soon...
Yesterday was an eventful day. We headed to school a bit earlier than usual to make sure we had time to visit each class before lunch. We brought with us little activity pages with some things to color and Bible passages on them - Mark 10:13-16 and Psalm 23. We went to each class, starting with the oldest (equivalent to 3rd graders here), and talked about Mark 10 and how God wants to be with the little children, and how He wants them to approach Him and talk to Him. We gave the lesson to each class and then turned them loose with crayons for a while and let them have fun coloring. The older two classes also worked with Justin on a bigger painting project (really cool, btw, look for pictures later on) and a play to act out the story. I really wish we had more chances to go in depth with each child, but with so many kids, so few of us and so little time we just have to do the best we can. My prayer is that the words we got to share do not return void, but rather that God uses them - now or later on - to bring the children around to an understanding that they can trust in Him and talk with Him about the situations and problems they face in life.
Also on yesterday's agenda was an unexpected item - some manual labor which turned out to be a good change of pace. Sadly no concrete was involved, but we did get to paint one of the rooms in the new building. We worked through most of lunch and into the afternoon alongside five other guys who are all members of Tom's church, and got the base coat finished. They'll probably wait until after we leave to do the rest.
Speaking of the guys, wanted to let you all know about them because they've been a big part of our experience. Evans, Ben, Eric, Freddy and Josh are all guys aged 18-25 or so who live in Korogocho and help out with whatever needs doing at the church and school - from worship on Sundays to translating for Americans to painting and any number of other things. Sometimes Tom pays them small salaries for specific tasks (like most in Korogocho they have no regular employment) but usually they're just there to help. All five have great, life-giving spirits and have been huge blessings to our team as peers who we can work alongside and joke and talk with. Monday and Tuesday we played after-lunch soccer matches with them which were lots of fun! Would love to tell you about each of them individually, but that may have to wait until we get back (there's another to-be-continued for you, Tyler)
That's it for now, need to get off for breakfast and another day! Today we will be working with the youngest kids who are still at the church, as well as visiting with some residents in their homes in Korogocho. Pray for energy for us as we do both, as some mid-trip exhaustion has begun to set in and we're very much in need of Christ as a sustainer right now! ps thanks Bonnie for Isaiah 58:11, it was a really good verse to read at this point in the trip!! Talk again soon...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Stories
It was so sweet. Today we played with the kids for a couple hours in the afternoon and then walked back to the church with them, where they sleep. Two hands may mean you can only hold the hands of two kids but you have wrists and arms too, which means at least 5 or 6 kids can certainly walk with you. It was challenging to walk surround as we were, tripping over kids in front, kicking those behind, and trying to move the kids on both sides so that other pedestrians can pass. It was adorable one of the girls that was holding my hand saw that her friend wanted to walk with me too. So she shifted her grasp so that her friend could hold on to my pinkie. It was so cute amd so very humbling.
Actually, that was only the first thing today that made me feel completely inadequate. As we were walking back to the new building one the young men that helps at the church and the orphange was telling me about his childhood, when he didn't have shoes. I had no idea what to say -- what do I know of that? No response seemed appropriate. But even as I couldn't figure out what to say, he concluded: God has always been so faithful to me -- a kid who didn't know this day would ever come, a day when I would be wearing shoes.
Actually, that was only the first thing today that made me feel completely inadequate. As we were walking back to the new building one the young men that helps at the church and the orphange was telling me about his childhood, when he didn't have shoes. I had no idea what to say -- what do I know of that? No response seemed appropriate. But even as I couldn't figure out what to say, he concluded: God has always been so faithful to me -- a kid who didn't know this day would ever come, a day when I would be wearing shoes.
Unaitwa nani?
We probably should have learned this phrase, which is Swahili for "what is your name?" before we met the kids on Monday. But alas, we hadn't done our homework and were left trying to learn the names of 100 kids, all between 2 and 10 years old and most only comfortable speaking their native tribal tongues and Swahili. Despite our linguistic struggles, the kids were all very polite and welcomed us enthusiastically. The youngest were anxious to show us their workbooks and the older ones to play soccer and jump rope together. We brought about 20 jump ropes, three soccer balls (the first the school has ever had, we're told), and 48 scrimmage jerseys, and had a wonderful time hanging out with the kids for a few hours! We plan to bring the rest of the sports equipment, school supplies and toys the last day for them to have when we leave.
The setup of the the school and orphanage has changed since Tom visited the US and what has transpired is pretty exciting. Most notably, Tom was able to trade the plot of land he had planned to build on, plus a little bit of money, for a new space with a building already almost complete! The new building is in a better spot than the old land, just about a ten minute walk from the church where the kids are currently staying, but still outside Korogocho itself (the slums seem to have very defined boundaries). They have been able to move classes for all but the youngest kids to the new building, which has ten rooms and the rebar in place to add a second floor as is common practice in Nairobi. The kids can't sleep there yet, though, because electricity and water are not yet in place, hindering them from receiving a permit. Ironic, considering that they currently pack the 65 orphans into the tiny church building in Korogocho that has neither of these amenities. All the same, exciting stuff and it was super encouraging to see the progress!
Today we started off by heading to downtown Nairobi to pick up some building materials and change the rest of our money for Kenyan shillings. Every part of town we've been to has its own very unique vibe which maybe I can write about later, but for now just know that the two things they all have in common are people everywhere and absolutely horrendous traffic. A trip to the supermarket a mile away can take 45 minutes at the wrong time of day.
After our errands downtown and fighting our way through a few thousand matatus (their version of a taxi), we got back to the new school building in time for lunch and some more, slightly better organized, soccer and games. At the end of the schoolday around 4, we got to walk with the kids back to Korogocho. For me this was one of the coolest things we've done so far. About 15 kids each were trying to hold hands with Justin, Alisha and me. They didn't talk a lot given the language barrier and some remaining shyness, but just wanted to be around us as much as they could. After we got back to the church, they all sang us a few children's Bible songs and we talked for just a few minutes about the rest of what we have planned for them. It starts getting dark about 6pm and Tom has said over and over how unsafe the slums are at night, so we soon had to say goodbye for the day. Looking forward to more time with the kids tomorrow!!
The setup of the the school and orphanage has changed since Tom visited the US and what has transpired is pretty exciting. Most notably, Tom was able to trade the plot of land he had planned to build on, plus a little bit of money, for a new space with a building already almost complete! The new building is in a better spot than the old land, just about a ten minute walk from the church where the kids are currently staying, but still outside Korogocho itself (the slums seem to have very defined boundaries). They have been able to move classes for all but the youngest kids to the new building, which has ten rooms and the rebar in place to add a second floor as is common practice in Nairobi. The kids can't sleep there yet, though, because electricity and water are not yet in place, hindering them from receiving a permit. Ironic, considering that they currently pack the 65 orphans into the tiny church building in Korogocho that has neither of these amenities. All the same, exciting stuff and it was super encouraging to see the progress!
Today we started off by heading to downtown Nairobi to pick up some building materials and change the rest of our money for Kenyan shillings. Every part of town we've been to has its own very unique vibe which maybe I can write about later, but for now just know that the two things they all have in common are people everywhere and absolutely horrendous traffic. A trip to the supermarket a mile away can take 45 minutes at the wrong time of day.
After our errands downtown and fighting our way through a few thousand matatus (their version of a taxi), we got back to the new school building in time for lunch and some more, slightly better organized, soccer and games. At the end of the schoolday around 4, we got to walk with the kids back to Korogocho. For me this was one of the coolest things we've done so far. About 15 kids each were trying to hold hands with Justin, Alisha and me. They didn't talk a lot given the language barrier and some remaining shyness, but just wanted to be around us as much as they could. After we got back to the church, they all sang us a few children's Bible songs and we talked for just a few minutes about the rest of what we have planned for them. It starts getting dark about 6pm and Tom has said over and over how unsafe the slums are at night, so we soon had to say goodbye for the day. Looking forward to more time with the kids tomorrow!!
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