compare and contrast

June 6, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What appears to be the end may really be a new beginning.” (quote written on a chalkboard at the Methare Worship Center)

There has been so much to soak in over the last few days. 

On Friday, (6/3), we walked into Ngong town through the street market there seeing multiple fruit stands and vendors selling used clothes and household items. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we walked down Ngong Road a bit further to see a new mall that has been built there in the last year. The supermarket there was similar to a Costco in the US.  These two kinds of markets so close in proximity to one another was a bit of a shock as I have never seen something like this in Kenya.  Times- they are a-changin’ around here for sure.  

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday (6/5), we got to go to the Methare Worship Center for our church service which is right in the middle of the Methare Valley, the second largest slum in Nairobi.  The pastors there are long-time friends and ministry partners of Brian and Debbie, and it was such a gift to see some of the amazing ways this church is bringing light into some very dark corners of the slums.  We stood on the roof of the church after the service and looked down into the slums seeing the corrugated metal roofs and siding, trash littering the entire landscape as far as we could see, and raw sewage running down some of the pathways between the houses.  We looked down at the small concrete and gravel area where we parked the vehicles and were told that this was the only area kids really could play soccer around here (what a stark contrast to the field at Roosevelt High School where Taylor likes to go play with his buddies.).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also got to visit the Sanctuary of Hope, a children’s home that was started by a vision that Debbie Lee, Colleen Anderson and Pastor & Mama Carou had over ten years ago. They have 24 orphans who used to live in Methare Valley who now have been placed in a permanent foster home with Pastor Carou and his wife as their new parents. Pastor and Mama Carou have 4 children of their own who are now grown and married along with 7 grandchildren, but they have answered the call to care for these precious children. To see the place where the children came from and then to see the new place they call home was yet another contrast we got to see.  Where there was desperation, there is hope. Where there was hunger, there is provision. Where there was abandonment, there is belonging. It truly is a sanctuary of hope. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am struck as we have only been here for a week now, but it has felt like we have been gone for at least a month.  Being immersed in this culture is such a catalyst for God to grow our faith. Rarely do I feel like I can see Anna and Taylor growing right before my eyes, but this is certainly happening.  Brian prayed today that we would be good soil to receive the mustard seeds that can blossom and grow to provide for the nations of the world and prayed that God would use us in Kenya and use Kenya in us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have continued to dive into more training sessions about cultural sensitivity and assumptions alongside some in depth Bible study.  Brian Lee has such a gift in leading these inductive studies, and I must say that this is the most I’ve seen Taylor engaged in a Bible study before.  Anna barely looks up during a talk because she takes so many notes, and she fits right in here with the college students.

Just like the diagram that I share with student teachers to understand the typical stages they will experience with their first year in a classroom, there is a similar diagram for short term missions. 

The first stage is the honeymoon stage (fun) experiencing the culture with openness, anticipation and excitement.  At some point though, the experience sours as we confront the differences and want to go back home (flight).  The next stage, we can experience frustration and disillusionment as we see more of the underbelly of the culture and we find ourselves fighting it internally (fight).  If we push through these, we are able to find our place in the culture (not rejecting our own background or fighting against the new reference points we have been given).  A last stage involves reaching a fit where we are more equipped to navigate and accept the differences we see in our culture and another (fit).

Taylor has enjoyed some of the food, but the mantra here that “ugali is food and food is ugali” does not ring true for him.  (Ugali is similar to polenta in the US and is served with many meals here.  I can guarantee that Taylor will not be requesting this for his birthday meal!).  Anyway, food is one example of things that may push our buttons as we adjust to things here.  Feeling restless sitting through 3-4 hour church services also most likely will be another time when we go through these stages and feelings of dissonance as the services look different in structure, language and style.

Thankfully, soccer has continued to be a lifeline for Taylor as he has enjoyed playing with boys here in Ngong and at the Sanctuary of Hope. It seems that soccer is a language he can speak with them even if normal words don’t come quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few mornings ago on one of my early morning runs with a few of the girls on our team, I shared the story of the time I tried to take a straw with me on a run and breathe through that straw in an attempt to understand what my friend Jens experienced on a daily basis with cystic fibrosis.  Just as the girls could relate to this as we are running at a higher elevation than we are used to back at home, I shared that there may be times on this trip that we feel like we are breathing through a straw.  There may be times when we feel so out of our comfort zone and feel so frustrated at the way things are done here.  And yet, just like that simple 30 minutes that I took to run while attempting to breathe through a straw gave me a whole new appreciation for the gift of taking a deep breath, this too can be a chance for us to have new perspective, gratitude and reference points as we head back home. 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes, “Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush on fire with God.”  We are praying for eyes to see glimpses of heaven every day (not too hard of a prayer for God to answer for us here in Kenya!).