caffeine, please.

Pastor Martin Sempa

During our trip to Africa, I mentioned that we spent time with Makerere Community Church in Kampala, Uganda.  Martin Sempa is the senior pastor and founder of this church.  I had a chance to talk extensively with him on Tuesday and we connected as brothers and pastors.  It was a blessed conversation.

At one point I referenced the huge and ornate mosque built on the top of the highest hill in Kampala.  It is a Saudi funded project and is visible from just about everywhere in the city.

Martin had this to say:  "Christians think about knocking on doors and discipling people.  Muslims think of discipling nations.  Jesus called us to disciple the nations."

That was a profound statement to me. 

Are we guilty of thinking too small and being too easily satisfied in our approach to reaching people?

Leviticus or Psalms?

Okay, so during our pastors' retreat last week I was sensing that God wanted me to move on in my personal devotional time each morning from 2 Timothy to something new.  Psalm 62 has been on my soul lately and it says to "wait in silence" for God--so I was (but with my foot tapping...) 

"God, where do you want me to head next as I meditate on Your Word?"  I've learned that God likes to answer these types of questions so I asked Him.

Then it happened.  I heard in my spirit the word, "Leviticus". 

"Ummm.   God, that was just a silly passing, Kevin-thought, right?  You don't want me to actually connect with you by reading Leviticus, do You?"

Quiet. 

"How about this God..." (do you ever make deals with God?)  "If you want me to read and meditate on Leviticus, you give me a confirmation today somehow."

Day passed, no confirmation, no one says, "and that reminds me of something I was reading in Leviticus.."  Cool.  I'm off the hook.

Days later... "Okay, I keep hearing this Leviticus thing, Lord, but now I'm pretty sure that its just like a stuck record.  Not really You, right?"

Quiet.

This morning:  began reading Leviticus.  "Jesus, I hope you know what you are doing.  And I'm making extra coffee cause I'm not sure how this is going to work."

I'll keep you posted.  Hopefully you are way more spiritual than me and this whole deal sounds immature and silly to you.  If not, it probably means you've got issues.  At least your not alone.

Stop settling

Here's a reality check--I could do more.  Plain and simple.  And so could you.  How many times have you found yourself saying, "that's pretty good.  I can think of lots of people who would never do that much."  And that becomes enough.

On a scale of one to ten, that attitude... stinks. 

I believe God calls us to a holy dissatisfaction mindset.  One that says, "God, I am grateful for what you have done in and through me, BUT, I know there is much more.  Don't let me be satisfied with the little I have."

I'm looking for more today.  Not greedily.  Just convinced that the BEST is still way out there and I can't settle for pretty good.  Its easy, and common but it stinks.

Someone said the greatest enemy to what is BEST is GOOD ENOUGH.

Peace in Northern Uganda

The LRA and the Ugandan government have come to terms on a peace agreement that gives amnesty to the LRA and its leaders in exchange for an end to the fighting.  This peace settlement presents a very difficult reality--in order to obtain it, those who were the worst offenders in child abduction, rape, maiming, killing and torture from the LRA had to receive immunity from prosecution for their considerable crimes.

Northern Ugandan's, particularly the Acholi people, were the first to propose amnesty for peace.  It is their lives that have been ruined by the fighting for the last 20 years.  They bore the brunt of the fighting, being displaced from their homes, having their children taken, being killed in fighting that they are not a part of.   For them, peace means more than earthly punishment for the LRA. 

Peter Onega, head of the Amnesty Commission, added this insight to the discussion:
"If you took Kony [LRA leader] to the ICC, tried and convicted him, the ICC is going to impose life sentences - they talk in terms of 20, 30 years. A man who has been living in the bush under very difficult and harsh conditions will find conditions very nice in prison where he will be well looked after. For an ordinary Acholi it will not be a kind of punishment at all..."

You need to read more on this historic peace agreement.  It has hints of the approach taken in South Africa in bringing an end to apartheid.

Cows moo with an accent

Apparently, cows moo with a local accent.  Reuters reports that this discovery has been surfaced in the U.K. 

Does this mean that Mrs. O'Leary's cow "da mooed" before starting that fire?  Hmmm.  And I guess Canadian cows can be heard to "mooo eh".

A few more pics 3

The young man standing next to me, Mandela, is from Rwanda.  He has lived in Kampala and attended MCC for a few months.  In 4 months he had learned English from scratch and was very conversational.  Wow!



This is Ken and his beautiful daughter Crystal.  If you look on the table, you can also see some standard Ugandan fare--I can't remember the names or I'd tell you.

More Africa pics 2

Children rescued from N. Uganda get silly in front of the camera while in their room.







Walking through Kibera, largest slum in Kenya--800,000 to 1.3 million people live in this area in extreme poverty.




MC's Daniel and William keep the crowd into it at Prime Time @ the Pool in Kampala.  Prime Time is an outreach of Makerere Community Church (MCC).


I had the privilege to join the leaders of MCC in commissioning Ken and Cathy to full time ministry.  Ken had just given notice at his job and plans to join the staff of MCC in mid-September.

MCC meets in the hall of Veterinary Medicine on the campus of Makarere University in Kampala.  This photo was taken while I was preaching the Sunday we were there.  A church full of spiritual energy!

Some photos from Africa 1

Orphans rescued from N. Uganda rehearse as a choir for a possible U.S. awareness tour.

This Ugandan boy watches curiously as we wander around in his "backyard".

The rooftops of Kibera, largest slum in Kenya and perhaps all of Africa.

We eat namachoma (bbq'd goat) with some African friends.

Building scaffolding, African style.

Evelyn (Dutch volunteer), and Jacob (African volunteer on right) pose with Ibrahim, a young man dealing with HIV/AIDS.  Ibrahim's life has turned around since receiving care and compassion from the Christ's Hope team in Kisumu.

When we arrived in Kampala, Uganda, we had a get-to-know-you pow-wow around the dining room table.  Seated from left to right are Doreen, SP (Simon Peter), Jackie (SP's wife), Vincent, Cathy myself and Mike.

Back in Chicago

Including a 6 hour flight delay in Amsterdam, our travels took 36 hours from Kisumu, Kenya to Chicago, Illinois.  Not anxious to fly again anytime soon, but we are returning with full hearts from all that God showed us in Africa.

Kisumu, day 1

Tuesday morning, up early for quiet time with the Lord.  Coffee.  Team devotional from Psalm 62.  Prepare and pack.  Leave on foot with Jacob (a Kenyan volunteer), Evelyn (Dutch missionary), and Mike  to give care and compassion to 3 people who have AIDs.

First, Richard.  Decently long walk through some pretty sketchy paths carrying a bunch of food and supplies.  When we arrive he is not there--at the clinic getting care.  His wife, Judith and his son Charles and daughter Mary are there.  Mary has ring worm.  Evelyn and Jacob will take her to the hospital next Tuesday for treatment.  While in her simple home, I observe Charles kicking his mother out of anger.  I gave her some gentle instruction about disciplining her son so that he will grow up to be a great husband and father.

Next Ibrahim.  Formerly Muslim.  He was without hope and very thin and weak when Evelyn first visited him.  After getting him medicine, care and nutrition, he improved greatly.  He has returned to the Lord and will begin training for Anti-retro Viral drugs next week so that he can begin reveiving them to fight the disease.  We had a good time of prayer and left him groceries.  He asked us to pray that he would find work in construction that he could do.  His home was strikingly neat and well tended.

Last Caroline.  7 kids, husband has died, two room house.  She is HIV+ but all her children are negative--she was very glad to discover this.  She was tested for HIV because Ibrahim, her neighbor, reached out to her.  She is doing pretty well presently and hopes to start ARV's after Ibrahim.

In the afternoon I go with 3 other volunteers to a local school.  There are over 60 children in the classroom.  We assist the team in teaching the Choose to Wait lesson for the week.  We have a great time with the kids.  I touched and said goodbye to each child as they left.  It felt like a ministry--"you matter", "you're valuable".

In the evening we visit a chilren's home that CHI will soon be running and then we head to dinner at a restaurant by the lake.  The night is full of great conversation--Jos, Sylvia, Mike, Joe and me.

Another full day of ministry with a whole new set of experiences and people.  It really feels like we have seen an incredible range of people and work since coming last week.

Kisumu arrival

Kisumu, in Western Kenya near Lake Victoria is a smaller city--about 300,000 and the pace is decidedly slower than Kampala and Nairobi. 

The airport was a fun experience all its own.  One small airstrip which we did a U-turn on in order to head to the gate.  The luggage was offloaded into hand carts which were pulled over to a fence gate and we grabbed what was ours.  The "terminal" was smaller than a park district building and one story tall.

Arriving at the CHI mission center and guest house we were greeted by 5 Dutch workers--quite a fun connection for me.  Two married couples and a single guy all recruited out of the Holland office of CHI.  Really cool people (their Dutch, what'd you expect?)  We had a great dinner and lots of talking.  Bed late and wake up early but it feels great.

Best feature of the Kisumu house?  A great wireless internet connection in our living quarters that allows me to stay plugged in to email quite easily for the rest of the week.  The house is an oasis for sure.

"Mzungu, mzungu!"

In every place we have been, this is the word that is applied to Mike and I and all other white people travelling about in East Africa.

"Mzungu!  Mzungu!"

Children call it out from a distance when they see us--"Mzungu!  Mzungu!"

BodaBoda drivers as they bike or motorcycle past us staring say, "Mzungu."

African friends call us their, "big mzungu."

Mzungu = white person.  Some of the various sub-meanings are, "you don't belong here," "please come say hi to me and shake my hand," or "I'll be glad to charge you triple the African price."

For children, their next line after "mzungu, mzungu" is "how are you" (or "habari" in Swahili) and the proper response is "fine!"  We then turn around and ask, "how are you" and they reply "fine!"  It is polite and greatly appreciated to then shake all the childrens' hands.  This illicits wide smiles.

Vincent, one of my Ugandan friends, shared with me after one of these encounters that the little boy I had encouraged and shook hands with, "will not wash his hand tonight and he will have happy dreams about mzungus.  They just love you guys..."

What do I think about all this?  I don't know.  I know that as a white person from America, I am an anomaly in an almost universally black society.  I also know that as a frankly wealthy person in a place of poverty, we are an exotic occurance to children and adults who have never travelled further than a 20 mile radius from home. 

But knowing that I'm nothing special--an ordinary guy, and that these children have inestimable value before God and that they share the same status before their Creator as I do, I feel weird being treated like I'm a celebrity. 

My decision has been to be warm and friendly, to touch people liberally, to communicate respect and value to people as much as I can in short encounters, to initiate "how are you's" wherever possible and to smile a lot.

One more time, Kibera

Nairobi is a dusty city.  So is Kampala.  People who see pictures of the U.S. say, "it is so different.  Where is the dust?"

On Monday morning we arrived back in the dust of Nairobi, a different dust than Kampala (Kampala is very red, like Georgia dirt.)  After a chance at a shower--first in a couple days--we sat down to interview Edward Simiyu, pastor of City Harvest church in Nairobi.  Edward also was instrumental in starting KTDP.

When we sat down to visit, Edward was in the midst of the second 3 day pastor's training he had conducted in the last week.  He shared the story of KTDP and some of his journey of being an intinerant gospel preacher and now church-planting pastor.

One early conviction he began the chuch with is the City Harvest would be a place where people with HIV/AIDS are not stigmatized.  So they host free AIDS testing and counseling every Sunday morning during worship for the community at large.  The day they launched this program, Pastor Simiyu was the first to be tested.  Good leadership.

In May 6 pastors approached Edward to talk.  What they shared shocked him.  These 6 pastors were infected and fearful of sharing the truth about their illness.  Pastors are often ostracized by their denominations for sharing this.  Edward counselled them and is training them further, believing that their infection will actually help them reach out to AIDS sufferers by disarming the stigma the church often gives to it.

The interview was powerful.  Edward is an Oxford educated man who has many opportunities in the West but chooses to serve humbly and for almost nothing in Kenya because of the great need of his country and because his eternal reward is more important to him than his present level of comfort.

Inconveniences that go unnoticed

Everyone has inconveniences.  In Uganda, there are more than a few.  Here's one...

The house we were staying at has rolling, planned power outages on an indefinite basis.  Every 24 hours the power is shut off for 24 hours.  In other words, there is power every other day week in, and week out. 

Not once did anyone speak a word of complaint about this.  The women continued to prepare the meals and life just went on without a word.

The attitude is, "life is in God's hands.  We will do what we can with what we have and thank God for it."  I need this attitude.

Goodbye MCC and Uganda... for now

The afternoon, after worship on Sunday, was time to relax, celebrate Jackie's birthday (SP's wife of 8 months and ever the bashful one), and then to debrief the trip and say our goodbyes.

For all of us, especially SP, Joe, Ken, Vincent, Jackie, Mike and myself, we were simply sad to leave each other.  We have grown close so quickly.  Each of us said we felt it had been a month that we had been together and each was dissapointed that our time did not last longer into the week.

"Yeah, whatever..." your thinking to yourself.  "You're just being nostalgic and sappy."  It was authentic and deep spiritual connection that God formed between us.  And no surprise because we had prayed specifically prior to this trip that God would give us people of favor and a sense of deep connection with the right people and we really experienced it with these brothers and sisters.

I believe we will be back to see them and I can't wait. 

Dude, that was loud

Worshipping with Makerere Community Church was like singing with a 400 person choir that was just told their life depended upon the height of their decibel level.  It was pure joy.  Music is part of the life and rhythmn of Africa and it is reflected powerfully in the worship service.

Prior to worship, I was able to share with the leaders (ministries and small groups--about 40 people) at MCC.  I shared with them a little of New Life's vision and history because I believe that they are on the verge of a breakthrough similar to the one we went through in 1996.  There is no doubt in my mind that this church could pioneer and see fast growth of multi-site church in urban Africa.  They have a crop of quality, well-trained, passionate young leaders.

During the worship celebration we had a great time of prayer and also had the opportunity to commission a young couple into ministry.  He had just quit his job and was going full time into service at MCC. 

Let me say that again.  He had just quit his job.  Did I mention he had a great job?  Did I mention that he was highly successful at it?  That he had managed to raise $15,000 in one month among business leaders in a country where many people live on $1USD per day?  Maybe I also didn't mention that unemployment in Uganda is stratosphericly high and no one in their right mind quits a job once they get it, particularly one that they are good at and doing well in.

This brother, Ken, had wrestled for about one year with this decision.  God was heavy on his heart to serve in a staff position with the church and he responded by saying yes.  He told me, "Kevin, when I made the decision and shared it with my boss, I just had absolute peace immediately.  I had been in turmoil for months and at that moment I was at peace."

You are reading this from the comfort of the U.S. where you will never seriously worry about providing for your family, even if it means taking a "menial" job.  You know you can always find one.  Does the term "radical obedience" register with you.  Ken's step of obedience was normal Christianity which means it was radical in the world's eyes.

I am telling you this.  Don't go to Africa to teach and fix.  Go to receive and grow.  Sure, you'll have something to offer, but I would say that like me, you'll discover that you have much more to receive than you could ever give.

Link to trip pictures and video

I just want to pass along the link to our website for this trip since it has updated pictures and video for you to view.

http://newlifeafrica.batcave.net/

The frogs, bats and losing power

This deserves its own entry. 

First the frogs… So I walk past the pool filter to go talk to someone and I hear this loud noise that sounds like croaking and I say to myself, surely these frogs aren’t in the pool.  They must be near by.  They’re not.  The frogs, several, are in the filter, apparently content with the chlorine content (or lack thereof.)  The frogs are a funny part of the show, getting occasional reference throughout the night.

As the show proceeds, bats, at regular intervals, swoop down to “buzz the pool”.  Apparently even bats dig the show.  It was freaky and cool and funny, and again uniquely African.

Okay now about the power.  This team runs an audio rack system, a computer, 6 industrial home depot lights, a projector and about 7 large speakers on one ganked circuit in the pool house.  Seriously.  This is not going to hold.  At about 9:30pm the electricity just crashes and the show is ended.  The people are gracious and everyone is glad for a great first Prime Time of the semester but Mike and I just couldn’t get over how much juice they were squeezing out of that one line.  Again, only in Africa.  What an adventure—you never know what will happen next.

Prime Time @ the Pool (still Uganda)

[written concerning August 12, 2006]

Okay, picture the, ummm, the most “humble” pool you’ve ever been too.  Now imagine grass stepped seating facing it.  Imagine a pool house on the other side of the pool.  Okay stop imagining and look at some pic’s on our companion website and then you won’t need my description [link to the website]

The outreach team from MCC has managed to transform this very simple environment every Saturday during school for the last 7 years into a booming performance venue that is really amazing.  Its first rate and if you saw the limits they worked with here, you’d stand up and cheer.

Prime Time is an outreach to students and the place packs out every Saturday.  It’s the most happening thing on campus and the message of it is—Abstain from sex till marriage and trust Jesus!  Before the event, the team is gathered underground in a grungy squash court pouring their hearts out to God asking Him to move. 

Then they emerge upstairs, the booming music and beats begin playing over the system, all controlled by a computer DJ system.  The “MC’s” come out and begin warming up the crowd with funny and cool dance moves, cheers and hype—perfect for youth.  Daniel and William were a well-oiled comedy machine through the program, gluing the whole thing together with their off-kilter, impromptu funny stories, dramas and introductions of the different acts.

Between MC’s Daniel and William antics are songs, dances, funny dramas, and something like rap.  The creativity, energy and quality that goes into this is powerful to witness.  They leave it all on the stage and they do it to the glory of God.  The students who attend love it and come back in droves every week.  What a bold and fun way to reach students!  I’m stoked feeling like we should be doing much more with what we have.

Uganda part 3

[written August 12, 2006] Sleep—yes! I fell asleep at about midnight and though I did hear the roosters and the dogs for a moment at about 5 or 6am, I was able to return to sleep until 9am. My first good night’s sleep in Africa (though my energy level has remained high despite this.) When we awoke, we had breakfast and jumped into the van and headed out to our work for the day. First stop—Makerere University campus to help “freshers” move in to their rooms. Makerere Community Church (MCC) does a great servant evangelism project each semester by helping the new students move in to their “halls” as they arrive. This is a very important ministry. At a basic level, the church members help the students “carry their property” and serve as a welcome wagon for campus. Beyond that, the church members really bridge a gap between what the university provides (very little) and what the new students, who often come from rural and remote areas, need in order to navigate these new experiences. Makerere University is a campus built for 6,000 students but accommodating close to 40,000! The facilities are in very rough shape and the students are expected to service their own rooms. Some students arrive from great distances only to be informed by the campus that they are “NR”—non resident. This means that they must go and secure a room at a Hostel in the area without assistance or guidance from the university. The circumstances the students endure in order to achieve an education are really amazing. Anyway, I had a great time working with the team from MCC to help carry the property of the freshers and invite them to Prime Time at the Pool. Second stop—Lunch. I’m a big fan of lunch. We had great Ugandan food and my new favorite drink called Krest (it’s a Coke product in Africa also known as bitter lemon.) From lunch we went to “The White House” for a meeting with Musa. Musa is the in country coordinator for Christ’s Hope International (CHI). Our meeting was profitable. We got to know Musa’s story, here the status of the application for CHI to be operating as a non-profit in Uganda and saw potential for future connections. Later, I was able to have some downtime to pray, study and prepare for Sunday morning. I really felt that God inputted into my life during this time as well. In the midst I managed to have a conversation with James, the church administrator, and Tony, a young man on the worship team who needed encouragement (and has an amazing voice.) Third Stop—See the next entry. Prime Time needs its own space. BTW, I am condensing so much of the experiences of this trip. I could write quite a few more pages… God is moving and Mike and I are really blessed to be here.

Uganda part 2

As we exited the arrival gate with our luggage in tow, we were greeted by the staff team from Makarere Community Church (MCC) of Kampala.  Simon Peter (SP), Vincent, Cathy, Michael, Jackie and Doreen greeted us and walked us to the waiting van.  The weather was Seattlesque--65 and drizzling.  Mike was in his happy place.

The ride into Kampala from Entebbe airport was amazing.  Everything was green and the scenery was much different than in Nairobi.  Happily, I missed most of it because SP and I immediately fell into a conversation as if old friends.  By the end of the trip to the house (30 or 40 minutes--I lost track) he had downloaded the vision, history and direction of MCC and we had each shared much.  There was an immediate kinship with him and the other members of the team.

We arrived at our accomodations and were very pleased--we will be safe and well-cared for.  We spent the morning sitting around the dining room table sharing our stories and getting to know each other (when I say we I mean the each person from MCC, myself, Mike and Joe.  We caught it all on video.

MCC is a church with a plan, a vision a ton of activity and outreach.  They meet smack in the middle of the most prestigious university in Uganda which means they are reaching future leaders and influencers.  They do a large scale outreach every week during the school year called Saturday Night at the Pool which is kicking off again for the semester tomorrow night.  Normally 2000-3000 students attend.  The program is dance, music, drama, teaching on abstinence and the gospel.  The students can't get enough--they've been doing this outreach for 5+ years.  I may be breaking out some disco moves and other silliness.  We'll see what happens.

We joined a daily prayer meeting they host at "The White House" (their off campus ministry center).  Awesome to pray with other believers.  We got to introduce ourselves to those gathered, about 45 people. 

I could say more about our time so far with MCC but let me instead cummarize it this way:

• intentional and effective outreach--many from the university have come to Christ
• powerful life transformation of many lives through the gospel
• Pastor Martin Sempa is being well-used of God--he is a beloved pastor and is currently travelling in the U.S. to raise resources for the ministry
• this church is bursting with emerging leaders.  they are very intentional about getting people involved fast since most of their congregation is only around for 3- 4 years.
• filled with hope--this group is just brimming with faith
• the feel of a movement--everybody is doing something and no one is satisfied with status quo

I think we've hit something special here.  We'll see but I am eager to be with MCC these next three days.  Pray that God would use me as I speak in two different environments on Sunday morning.  Pray that if God is in this as a partnership opportunity going forward that he would use me to say what He wants to the church.

Uganda part 1

Sleep is a rare commodity but energy is not--so far so God (thanks Mark Batterson for that line.)  Mike and I went to bed late.  We had waited up for a Kenyan pastor who was just returning from leading a 3 day pastor's conference.  Worth the wait.  Edward is a quality man of God who will be able to spend more time with on Monday again.

We were both wide awake at about 3am this morning.  Decided to talk till our 4:30am wake up for the flight from Kenya to Uganda (late night talks like this are usually from the Lord).  While at the airport we got caught up on the news.  (CNN is pretty awesome.)  Joe, Mike and I boared Kenyan Airways flight 0410 and 55 minutes late were on the ground in Kampala's International airport--rather small and chaotic which made it more fun.

More in a minute... I'm buying time from the WebCity webcafe and need some more minutes.

Kibera

About 10 this morning Joe, Mike and I met up with Nicodemus and Benson, two Kenyan men who serve with Kibera Transformation and Development Program (KTDP).  KTDP operates several projects in Kibera to help bring transfortion to a community in a cycle of heavy poverty.  After intervewing them in their offices  in the building where we are staying, we headed out on a walking tour of Kibera.

With over 800,000+ (some estimate 1.3 million) people living in Kibera, its simply overwhelming to take it all in.  Here are some facts and some of my impressions/responses:

• The people live on land they cannot own--the government will not allow land purchase in Kibera so everyone is essentially a squatter
• There is no sewer system--you figure it out
• No electricity
• Very limited running water--we saw several women porting 5 gallon jugs of water over their backs.  When I see this I get mad at dudes who let them do this.
• Thriving commerce--everywhere we passed people were engaged in work of some sort or another.  We were not stopped once and asked for any handouts.  We saw every kind of shop--charcoal makers, hair dressers, food shacks, live animals, produce, dress-makers and tailors, videos (bootleg, of course) and "movie houses" (small shacks with a TV in them and some sort of battery or generator hook up) to name a few.
• Almost every child we passed called out to us "how are you" and were eager to be touched--slap or shake hands.  We made a point to smile, touch and engage with each one.  They were a delight.
• Be careful where you step.  I was wearing crocs with no socks.  I have new perspective on the value of foot-washing as a statement of service to someone else.
• Wherever people are, they adjust to life as it must be or as it seems it must be.  This can be a big asset for coping.  It can also be a big barrier to hope, faith and a belief that life can be transformed by the power of God. 
• Despair is a ruthless master.

In the midst of this huge slum, KDTP has a large building and has several life-giving projects going on.  They have a school for children who live in Kibera with a staff of dedicated teachers and a great principal/headmistress named Carolyn.  We interviewed her on camera and she was sharp. 

They have three life-skills training programs:  tailoring/dress-making, knitting and hair-dressing.  We watched these classes in action.  Cool to see micro-enterprise training on display.

Much more to say but I'm losing battery life...

In Nairobi

We made it!  Breezed through customs and wonder of it all, our luggage made it too!  There are small graces.  Here's the best part--Joe was waiting for us right outside the arrival gate with a taxi and a plan.  Yes!

He took us back to our guest house to drop off luggage and then we went to a nearby Ethiopian restaurant.  Seriously, this food was off the charts!  And all the time that we were eating we were listening to live Ethiopian music.

We had a great get-to-know-you time with Joe over dinner (photos here) and then headed back to our room for a much needed shower and a bed.  My body smiled at being stretched out to its full length.  Both Mike and I slept great and are ready to hit the ground running today.

We are now in a free-wifi cafe catching up on email.  This cafe is practically a Starbucks--the cafe is truly a world phenomenon.

In a hour or so we will be walking through Kibera with Joe Marton (our host/guide) and another young man.  Kibera is a shanty town in Nairobi.

Already the experience is incredible.  I sat on the balcony of our room this morning.  I could barely see the road because of the high wall that surrounds the compound.  I watched Kenyans walking to work and school and realized that for them this is just another day and for me it is not.  It was really awesome to pray on that balcony to the same Lord I pray to in Chicago and know that He is Lord here, in Kenya.

We serve an awesome God.

Over Africa

[Written while flying]:
Aug 9, 06  7:05am Chicago time; 1:05pm Nairobi time

We are currently passing over Ajdabiya, Libya in a KLM Boeing 777 plane.  Let’s just say it’s a full flight.  And let’s also say that Mike and I are glad to be aboard, albeit without our checked baggage.  Estimated luggage arrival:  later... hopefully.

Our flight from Newark to Amsterdam was supposed to depart last night at 5:15pm local time but a problem with equipment meant switching planes.  It was about 7:30pm before we were taxiing down the runway.  Our connecting flight in Amsterdam was 10:15 and we arrived at 9:45am and had to clear security.  We were the last two to get on the plane and were seated separately.

God gave me grace to cram my frame into a window seat on a 3 person row for a 7 1/2 hour flight.  Mike and I have realized that our arrangements with Joe Marton, our in country host, were a bit fuzzy.  Hmmm.  Hope he is waiting for us when we arrive.

Next stop, Nairobi.

Leaving for Africa

Mike Greenwood and I leave for Africa tomorrow morning!  You can stay updated with the trip here at my blog and at our photo/video trip website:

http://newlifeafrica.batcave.net/

Mike and I will be updating both sites as we are able to from Africa.

Lost in funky town

Tonight I was just feeling funky.  Ever been there?  I was grumpy--my usual manifestation when something is wrong in my soul. 

Reason #438 that my wife is awesome--she noticed my mood and pressed me to talk to her.  It took me a few minutes but I finally shared what I was feeling.  Then, with laser-like insight at two different points in the conversation she said exactly why I was feeling wrong and what I needed to do about it.  She fixed me--just what I wanted.  Remember this ladies: unlike you, your husband likes to be fixed.  He hates being broken with no understanding.)

And with all her insight, she got me talking which is the other ingredient of pulling out of "Funky Town".  I talk.  That's how I think through things and figure out what is going on in my life.  By the end of some talking (okay, it was preaching) I felt better, refreshed.  At one point, my wife even told me that what I was saying was a message that needed to be preached. 

This is a micro-picture of how authentic, transparent relationships help people grow.  Left to myself, I would have stayed funky.  With a person who knows me so well and loves me still, I have open space to tell the truth and work through my issues.  I'm not alone.  That's what you need too.