The Great Adventure-Ch. 1

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Last year I started "The Journey" which were stories about life in Kenya. There is something about Africa that is magical and mystical and her beauty swirls around your head, tantalizing your senses. It is a melting pot in its own right; flowers hanging so heavy that they sometimes drop their cumbersome burden of beauty to the ground, smells that repulse, allure and most often, command your attention, children that were given an extra dose of joy to offset their extra dose of hardship, and people that have a faith in God that is much more solid than the shanty walls of their so called homes.

I left Kenya in November to come to the states for fund raising and to celebrate the joyous holidays. We have enough lights, bells and whistles in America to entertain the whole wide world. I have realized amongst my travels these last few months that the journey can also be a Great Adventure. For me, meeting incredible people that each have a story and testimony, feeling love being poured out through actions of generosity, and being given the opportunity to be a voice for the children are just some of the ingredients that form the adventure.

Often times I ask God to show me that I am in His will. At times He complies and gives me affirmation along the way through a series of little surprises. I try to count my blessings on a daily basis and I simply bask in the days where I feel they are so evident. On one of my journeys through an airport going from point A to point B the kind lady behind the desk informed all the road-weary passengers that they had overbooked the flight and were seeking a volunteer to give up his/her seat. I have found over the years that this is a good way to get to fly for free. I marched up to the desk and spoke to the lady in the button down white shirt, informing her that I would be happy to give up my seat, if the price were right. A later flight and $350 in travel vouchers equaled exactly the right price.

With that travel voucher I planned my trip from point C to point D. I accidentally booked the wrong day but thankfully discovered the mistake before I left for the airport. The actual day of travel started with scolding myself for making the mistake but ended in my delight after seeing how God truly does order our steps. I was sitting in the little airplane seat, by the little window, eating my little, salty peanuts when a lovely older lady sitting beside me struck up conversation. Come to find out she and her husband, that was sitting beside her, were Christians. They asked lots of questions about Kenya. There was a middle aged man with dark haired and olive colored skin sitting across the aisle and up one that seemed to be interested as well. Occasionally he would look back at us but made no expression on his round face that would lead me to believe that he thought what we were saying was cool or crazy. The hours clicked by and the plane landed and eased to a stop. Everyone stood up in a hurry, trying not to bang their heads on the overhead compartments, squeezing into the aisle as if it were some sort of game to see how many human bodies could fit in such a small space. The man across the aisle and up one turned to the man on the end of my aisle and asked, "Is that girl a missionary?". The man on my aisle said "yes". The round faced man leaned across the aisle of people and bags with an outstretched arm and held something in his hand that he gestured for me to take. He slipped his small gift from his hand to mine and I slipped it into my pocket as to avoid the staring eyes of a number of passengers. The thinness and texture of the gift told me it was money. I asked the guy if he could wait for me once I got off the plane. He agreed and we walked down the runway together. I thought to myself, "Maybe he wants to know more about what I do." but, he didn't bother to ask one question. I handed him a brochure once we exited into the airport to go our separate ways, thanked him and he said, "Your welcome"' and walked away. I waited just enough time for him to walk away so that if he turned he wouldn't see me peek and I pulled the present out of my pocket. Two Ben Franklins were staring up at me and I was showing them my pearly whites. "Wow, thanks God!" I whispered.

It was that moment that I was again reminded that serving God is an adventure; sometimes it feels like being knocked off a boat as you white water raft and being sucked to the bottom by the water that enjoys humans so much it sometimes wishes to consume them. Other moments are like standing on the side of a mountain reveling in the sheer beauty of the creativity of the Master artist Himself.

I will be returning to Kenya shortly with the hopes and prayers that there will more positive adventures than negative. It is not the same Kenya I left as rigged presidential elections in December turned the country on its head. Something pulled back the blankets of human dignity and what rose up was hatred, violence and injustice. People were standing on the edge of hope that they believed would come with a new president and on the precipice of dispair. When election results were announced, declaring the existing president as winning another term, many fell off the edge and decided to take down as many as they could with them. They grabbed machetes, torches, fists and rocks and slashed everything in their path. There are now over 1,000 dead and over 300,000 people taking up residence in churches, police stations, prisons (yes, they are seeking refuge in prisons to be protected from angry mobs), and parks. The violence has started to subside but Kenya has a whole new area of need, as if she didn't have enough.

We felt our kids and staff at Into Abba's Arms were safe until a few weeks ago when there were angry mobs on the streets close to our children's school. Christine, the on-site adminstrator and two of the children are of the Luo tribe. The orphanage is located in a predominately Kikuyu area. These are the two tribes that have been killing each other. They realized the urgency of finding shelter outside of the village so friends came and picked Christine and the girls up on motorcycles in order to take them to the city for protection. Since then the girls have been able to return to school because the main target is adults. We are praying that it is safe soon for Christine to return to the site. Auntie Donna, who is a saint all the way from Texas, and Jeremy, another saint from TN, are holding down the fort along with the staff. They could use your prayers for strength, peace, patience and protection.

In the midst of darkness however there is always glimmer of light. We now have a big glaring illumination coming from the site of IAA as electricity was recently installed! Auntie Donna claims that being able to have a hot shower any time of the day has the ability to wash away some of the stress that clings to her so tightly. It is a nice change from having to heat up water on the stove and carry it to the dorm in order to take a bucket bath. It also makes bathing the babies much easier.

The construction of the baby dorm has been put on hold due to all the events. Christine is investigating from the city some more children's cases. Due to the violence there are now newly orphaned children and an even greater need for homes. We hope to resume construction soon and prepare the dorm to become a home for more children.

Pastor Samson, who runs Hope Given Children's Home in Western Kenya, says they have suffered even more in their area. Much of Kisumu, the main city in Western Kenya lies in ashes. It is the home to many of the Luo tribe. Samson moved many of his family members from Nairobi back to Kisumu in hopes to keep safe. They are scraping by to get supplies for them and the 17 orphans that they care for.

Our other partners that work in the slums of Nairobi say that many of the children from their programs have suffered. The slums are the most hard hit areas.

ITHM has been able to send finances to a couple of our partners to help them through this time of need. They always express their great appreciation that there are people half way around the world that care about them. Thank you to all who have given to ITHM and IAA. As we combine our resources, time and talents we are making a substantial difference for many.

It was great meeting so many new people and getting to see so many that I consider good friends. I pray you will continue to seek God and continue on this Great Adventure with us as we help grow the children God has entrusted into our hands.

Here is a link to a blog by our friend Jeremy who is currently working at IAA. He is a gifted writer and has included some beautiful pictures and stories from Kenya over the last 2 months. Cut and paste: http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Kenangop/blog-234554.html

I am including a few paragraphs from Jeremy to paint a more vivid picture:

"The children of Kenya have been through more than any child should and have shown much courage. The evening of the riot in Njabini, guns shots from the street echoed through the classrooms of the boarding school students. Nelson told me how scary it was for the children and teachers. Their night watchman was a Luo and had fled to safety. All of the children and teachers laid flat on their stomachs in fear of stray bullets. Being an older classmen, Nelson helped to calm the younger children and escort them over to the dorms. He said it was a long and frightful night, but that God had sent his angels to watch over them.

In the midst of all of this hate and evil, I’ve seen great hope and steadfast faith. That Sunday following the chaos that struck our area, I saw a mob much more powerful than the one I’d seen in Njabini, but this time it wasn’t stimulated by hate. It was a mob of young children gathering to worship at IAA and they were moved by love. Songs of praise echoed off the concrete walls of the church and all ages danced in the aisles with joy. For the Devil’s evil efforts could not break the spirit of these children of God. An uprising of hate surrounded us, but inside those walls, inside our hearts, we were impervious.

On Saturday evenings, the children of IAA have their own worship service. We all come together and dance and sing and pray. Even the toddlers join in the rejoicing with their hands clapping excitedly and off beat. Smiles are shown on each child’s face and every eye reflects the love in fellowship. In these touching moments I can feel my heart laughing with joy, because we are all so blessed to be children of Christ, and nothing can take that away.

These last few weeks have taught me what faith is all about. Into Abba’s Arms has received so much support and prayer. Those at home have shown us that we are not alone and we thank you. Your e-mails and prayers bring so much comfort. The conflict here is not over, but has settled in our area for now. We are doing good here at the site and have all that we need for the time being. Our food and supplies are stocked and we now have electricity flowing (which we received only two days before the conflict hit our area). It will probably be some time before I post another entry, so don’t worry. I know that God has me here for a purpose…there is no doubt in my mind. I’d like to end by thanking God for watching over us. He is our strength and gives us courage. May his angels watch over these children of Kenya. Amen!"

With Love~Jennifer

If you would like to help with relief efforts and/or the completion of the baby dorm please make tax-deductible checks to:

ITHM
23223 S. Warmstone Way
Katy, TX 77494

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