Our Man Jake in Kenya.....
Read what is on Jake's mind as he visited Advent's Mission Church in Kenya
So it begins............
I am sitting in the airport in Amsterdam right now. I began traveling
a little over 12 hours ago. I can't really imagine what is in store
for me in these coming months. I have a growing level of innocent
excitement and will need to maintain the "go with the flow" approach.
Tuesday, the 17th of June
I arrived in Nairobi and quickly made my way through customs. After
about 20 minutes of waiting around, a man with a clerical collar struck up a conversation with me. After beating around the bush for a minute, we determined that I was the person he had come to pick up. His name is Pastor Dennis Meeker and he is the pastor of Springs of Life Lutheran Church in Nairobi. We then proceeded to the "guest house," a facility where the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya hosts its guests. There I received a great meal and a comfortable room.
Wednesday the 18th of June
Today I accompanied Pastor Meeker to his Springs of Life Lutheran
Church and the community it serves. It has been a short but powerful
journey. The church had a brand-new health clinic, sponsored by LCMS World Relief, which had burned to the ground during the riots following the recent election in Kenya. Also burned were the church's school and a parsonage. The church is in an area called Kibera, and in this community is one of the largest slums in the world. It is a city to
itself with an estimated one million people living within a six square
mile area. As I stood at the top of the railroad tracks overlooking a
seemingly endless sea of mud and scrap metal, my heart was wrenched by a display of poverty I had never before encountered. To see a photograph is one thing, but to hear, and smell, and even taste this environment is a profound experience. Walking down and through this narrow and winding maze, I was humbled, and I realized that the problems of poverty and disease are so great that it is up to humanity as a whole to provide a solution. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness for these people.
Thursday the 19th of June
Today I am in Kisumu, my destination. I arrived here last evening with
Pastor David Chuchu, who will be my mentor throughout the next three
months. After meeting his staff of 14 and hearing about what they do
for the organization (Diakonia Compassionate Ministries), I headed out to attend a seminar for deaconesses. Deaconesses are crucial to the church in Kenya because there are not nearly enough pastors to support the number of congregations. As was the case in the United States during the eighteen hundreds, pastors are often responsible for 3, 5, even 10 congregations. Each congregation has one or two deaconesses who serve the needs of the people when the pastor is not available. With a high level of people dying and suffering from HIV/AIDs and TB, the spiritual needs of the people are great. The seminar was led by Dr. Just, a professor from the Fort Wayne Seminary. He taught the women how to prepare individuals and their families for death and how to cope afterwards. He discussed this issue with the women in the context of their experiences. Many of these women are HIV positive, and all of them have been affected by the virus in one way or another. I was moved as I heard women share their stories as they lifted our spirits with song and dance. These women are representatives of communities from all around Kenya, and I was able to meet and speak with many of them.
Friday the 20th of June
Today I met more people and names than I can remember. I even met a member of the Kenyan Parliament, though I did not know this until a few hours
later. DCM is located in a compound owned by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Kenya, which also contains a church, a small school for small
children, and a school for the mentally and physically disabled. In
Kenya people with disabilities are often hidden from society and
perceived as worthless. People are often ashamed of these individuals,
as there is the belief that their disability somehow derives from the
past sins of their parents or grandparents. DCM has worked to dispel
these superstitions and offer individuals with disabilities the
opportunities to find hope and purpose in their life. To assist DCM
and The Lutheran School for the mentally handicapped, a group from the
United States called Bethesda Lutheran Homes came to lecture on the
rights and needs of people with disabilities and tour some of their
facilities. They have also offered financial support. Today I
attended some of these lectures and met disabled individuals who have
developed skills to earn an income through the help of DCM. The
individuals would normally be assumed to be useless, but are now
doing things such as weaving, sewing, selling newspapers, and so on.
They are now able to sustain themselves and contribute to their
families.
After attending these lectures, I attended the final part of the deaconess
seminar. Here I experienced my first Kenyan worship service. It was
very different, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Behind all the
differences in songs and fellowship there was still the liturgy and the
message of grace that made me feel right at home -- despite my profuse
sweating.¬? This feeling really hit home when we took communion
together.¬? The days have been long and I have been meeting many people,
but I am really beginning to feel at home.
¬?
Saturday the 21st of June
¬?
Today was just a nice day in the office.¬? I was able to get to know
many staff members and learn a little bit about what they do.¬? I also
started reading over reports of all the major programs Diakonia has
facilitated in the last two years.¬? Today I gained some useful insight as
well as some needed rest.
¬?
Sunday the 22nd of June
¬?
I was finally able to make my way out into the countryside, and it was
very refreshing. The hills were rolling and green. I was
accompanying Dr. Just and Pastor Chuchu to a village called Othoro,
where arrangements had been made for Dr. Just to preach. The church was
relatively small, but it was filled to the brim. Once again I followed
along with the liturgy and the apostle's creed. Though they were
spoken in Swahili, I was able to feel a sense of fellowship as I knew
word for word what they were saying. After the service had ended, the
President of the congregation went to the front of this church and
started auctioning the fruits and vegetables people had donated to the
church during the offering. This activity allowed those who had no
money to contribute to the church. It also allowed
individuals who were better off to buy food for their fellow
parishioners, especially the elderly and the widows. It was very
interesting to watch.
On the church grounds there was also an orphanage for middle school and
high school age students that had been built a few years back by LCMS
Lutheran World Relief.¬? Standing next to the new orphanage is the
decaying mud hut that had once lodged these youth and the contrast was
truly heartwarming.
After having a quick lunch at the home of the Bishop of the Lake
Diocese (we would call them districts), we continued on the road to the
one and only seminary (Matongo Lutheran Theological College) of the
ELCK located in the village of Matongo.¬? Here we were able to meet the
president of the seminary and a few members of the faculty, and then take a
short tour of their facilities.¬? They have just finished construction
of a dormitory for deaconesses who will now be able to take classes at
the seminary along with those who are to become pastors.¬? As the sun
began to set, we began to make our way home, weaving back and forth to
avoid the holes, bicycles, and oncoming traffic.
¬?
Monday the 23rd of June
¬?
Today was another day in the country.¬? We traveled southwest of
Kisumu, to the southwest diocese or district.¬? We first stopped in the
city of Kisi, in the province of Kisi.¬? This is where the Lutheran
Church in Kenya originated and where it still maintains its stronghold.
Here we visited the head offices of the diocese and met with the
bishop as well as the head deaconess.¬? The meeting was cordial and short.
Next we planned to have lunch at the home of a deaconess named
Josephine. It took some time traveling on bumpy dirt roads to get to her home,¬?
but when we arrived, we were greeted by half the village.¬? Josephine's husband is the
principal of the local school.¬? Although we had anticipated a simple lunch, we
found they had planned much, much more for us.¬? They handed out an
itinerary with events spanning the course of six hours.¬? First we
prayed, then we ate; later we had tea, and then we went to the school where
the students performed for us. After this we toured the income generating
projects sponsored by DCM.¬? Later we congregated in the church for more
performances, speeches and so on.¬? DCM had donated some capital to
local widows¬? to begin a business making and repairing clothes.¬? The
church was a small mud structure, and there were people crowded out the
doors and children peaking through the windows.¬? They presented us
with gifts and asked Dr. Just to offer a prayer.¬? He asked those who
were sick to come to the front of the church and slowly 30 or 40 people,
young and old, came forward.¬? An HIV + Deaconess who appeared to be in her¬?
mid twenties and whose husband had died of AIDs told the group about her experience¬?
losing her husband and coming to grips with the
fact the she tested positive.¬? She urged them to get tested and
demonstrated to them that there is life after HIV as she appeared and
felt healthy and full of energy.¬? Since the introduction of VCT
services, those infected with HIV have been able to live much longer
and this has at least stabilized the number of deaths caused by AIDs.
The experience truly demonstrated the good work the Diakonia
Compassionate Ministries has been doing for the people of Kenya.¬? Even
the smallest things (such as Sunday school uniforms) lift the spirits
of the people and inspire them to congregate and help themselves.
None of those DCM programs would have been possible, however, were it
not from the support of American LCMS congregations around the country,
including Advent.
After receiving the gift of a live rooster to put in the back of our
SUV, we traveled home stopping briefly to get a coke at pastor chuchu's
sister's roadside shop.
¬?
Tuesday the 24th of June
¬?
Today I was able to rest a little by spending the day in the office.¬? I
found a place where I could get Chinese food.
¬?
Wednesday the 25th of June
¬?
Today I met with a man named Jeremiah and began discussing how he and I
might plan out a program evaluation for the primary programs that have
been carried out by DCM in the past 3 years.¬? We identified issues and
those stakeholders we wish to target and interview.¬? This will greatly
improve my understanding of the needs of the people in Kenya as
perceived by the experts (physicians, public health officials,
nonprofit managers) and by the people.¬? I am really
looking forward to meeting with various individuals and learning
from them.¬? A medical team from LCMS world relief arrived tonight and I
plan to join them tomorrow in order to gain some insight as to how a
medical mission should be administered.
¬?
Thursday the 26th of June
¬?
Although I had planned to help the medical team today, I became a
recipient of medical aid instead.¬? I woke up feeling very ill with fever, body aches,
and diarrhea (enough to make you feel terribly homesick).¬?¬? I had a great deal
of pain and was forced to sleep most the day.¬? The timing, however, was
quite good as I was able to receive a diagnosis and some medicine.¬? Now
I'll just go to sleep.
¬?
Friday the 26th of June
¬?
I am still feeling sick today, but much better.¬? I decided to stick it
out and observe the medical team as they offered treatment at the newly constructed health clinic at the ELCK compound here in Kisumu where I work.¬? The cost was less than $1 and included the drugs prescribed by the doctors.¬? The number of people who showed up was astounding.¬? There were people everywhere with ailments ranging from malaria, to diabetes, to arthritis, to the common cold.¬? I could see in the eyes of the staff that they were a bit overwhelmed (or perhaps overheated), but they maintained themselves and effectively gave each individual the treatment they needed.¬? By default I became the group photographer.¬? I felt a bit helpless as I know nothing about drugs or medical treatment, but I did what I could to be helpful.¬? Most of the team came from a congregation in Illinois, and they came with their suitcases stuffed with drugs, medical supplies, and toys for the children.¬? Some people who attended had walked for two days, and it was very nice to see they were able to receive treatment that they had been waiting for. After about seven hours my body had had enough and I went home to sleep.
¬?
Saturday the 28th of June
¬?
The medical teams and Pastor Chuchu left Kisumu to facilitate a medical clinic at the health clinic in the village of Atemo (this is where
Pastor Chuchu was born and raised).¬? I worked a half a day in the
office writing a survey for an impact assessment of the orphan outreach program under DCM.¬? Afterwards I went to a movie that was in English and enjoyed a couple hours of air conditioning.¬? I then went to Pastor Chuchu's house, where Mary (his wife) was ending a children's bible study.¬? She explained to me that on Saturday afternoons children were coming to her house to watch television.¬? As more and more children began to attend this weekly event, she decided that this would be an opportunity to organize activities for these children, many of whom are full or partial orphans, and give them something constructive to do.¬? The children memorize bible verses and sings songs.¬? They seem to be truly enjoying themselves.¬? Mary explained that once a month she also gives
the children food and juice so they are able to go home on a full
stomach.¬? The children were preparing to put on a performance the
following day for the medical team when they arrive back in Kisumu.
Some of the children remained and that evening I enjoyed their company and taught Eva (Pastor Chuchu's Daughter) how to play chess.
¬?
Sunday the 29th of June
¬?
Today I attended a church service in Kisumu for the first time.¬? Pastor
Chuchu and the team are gone so Heike, pastor's son, accompanied me to the English speaking service. ¬?Afterwards, I prepared for the team to come back from the country side.¬? I helped set up a tent, took some pictures of the kids until The event turned to total chaos with children crying and fighting to have their picture taken. I finally spent a
few hours reading the book Shogun (I picked the longest book I could
find as I am here for three months).¬? The team was late in arriving so
the children began their performance before the team had arrived.¬? I
enjoyed it thoroughly.¬? They sang and took turns reciting verses.¬? The
team arrived for the finale and then took off for the airport.
¬?
Monday the 30th of June
¬?
Today I went to observe some projects with a woman named Sally
Henrickson.¬? She works for an organization called LCMS Lutheran World Relief and Human Care.¬? She had been the leader of the medical team, but stayed behind in order to follow up on some projects and
relationships she had helped to develop over the past few years.¬? We
traveled to a community just outside of Kisumu where a group of
elderly women, who had no support, were living together.¬? They were
living in small homes that had been built by a Norwegian Lutheran
missionary some years back, but now they were under the care of an ELCK deaconess by the name of Mary Okeyo.¬? Sally brought the women sugar, cornmeal, soap, milk, and Vaseline, and we sat for a while discussing ways in which the women could generate some income, such as raising chickens.¬? While we were driving, Sally gave me some very useful insight into the operations of LCMS World Relief in Kenya.¬? She explained how they move their resources from the US to Kenya, how they develop projects and programs, and the challenges that the organization faces currently.¬? We shared some ideas about how Advent might develop an effective and sustainable mission here in Kenya and we discussed how we could work together to develop and achieve goals.
¬?
Tuesday the 1st of July
¬?
I traveled with Sally again today, this time out into the country
side.¬? First we visited the ELCK Dago Women's Resource Center, in the village of Dago.¬? As we arrived, an HIV/AIDs support group was
conducting a meeting with another nonprofit organization (I cannot
remember their name) who was there to educate and create awareness about the disease. This center is also home to a preschool, and a voluntary counseling and testing VCT facility.¬? Last year LCMS World Relief had sponsored a goat project there where they had imported a ram and started reproducing with only a few goats.¬? The project seemed to be doing very well. There were many goats; they were reproducing and growing quickly, and they were able to make additional income selling the manure as fertilizer.¬? Additionally, the group has started a project growing sunflowers to produce sunflower seed oil for cooking.¬? This project is intended to offer nutritional support to the people living with HIV and Aids and to offer them an alternative to store bought frying oil, which costs money and no has nutritional value.¬? Here we photographed an orphan and a widow for the Lutheran Witness and Lutheran publication.¬? They wanted images of "a child that was no longer hungry" and "a widow that was no longer hungry" as a result of their programs.
After this we traveled to the village of a Deaconess Mary Okeyo.¬? Here
we visited a family where the children had HIV, and the parents were
close to death and completely overcome with AIDs.¬?¬? As we traveled to
their home, the road became rougher and smaller until there was no road at all.¬?¬?
We drove through grass to a small mud house about 14'by 14'.¬? I
was instantly surprised at how young the couple was.¬? I had imagined a
middle aged couple, but the man was about my age and the woman
slightly older.¬? They could barely lift their hands to greet us, and
all I could think about was "what is going to happen to those poor
children?"¬? The children, ages one and three, were naked and staring up at me with their bellies enlarged due to malnutrition.¬? We gave them
some bread, prayed with them and then left.¬? As we left, Deaconess Mary explained to me how much it hurt her to walk away without being able to offer them more, knowing it might be a week before she would see them again.¬? I understood her pain and developed a newfound respect for these women and what they do.¬? Many people here in Kenya just ignore the issue of HIV/AIDs and all that result from it.¬? But these women face the issue head on everyday and it must take a great deal of strength and courage.¬? I realized her feeling of helplessness and admired her ability to carry on.
Next we visited the home of a woman who had an infected leg.¬? The leg
looked awful.¬? It had an open hole about 5 inches tall and 3 inches
wide.¬? It was deep and I could tell she was in pain.¬? She was almost
completely immobilized.¬? She was in a very difficult position.¬? She was
far from any source of transportation, she had three children relying
on her, and her husband who was schizophrenic walked aimlessly without any form of treatment of medication.¬? Sally attempted to make
arrangements for the woman to see a doctor and gave Mary some medical supplies to help ease her pain and dress her wounds.¬? The woman had nothing to cover her wound so she left it open and cleaned it with soap. It was difficult for me to watch; I soon realized how easy it is in Kenya for a small wound to become life threatening when proper sanitary treatment is not available.¬? Mary had been helping the woman care for her leg, but she did not have the proper knowledge or resources to do so effectively.¬?¬? She listened intently as Sally explained the processes necessary to help the wound heal and avoid infection.
I could tell she cared deeply for the woman.
¬?
Wednesdays the 2nd of July
¬?
Today we held a workshop for some of the deaconesses of the Lake
Diocese.¬? The purpose of the workshop was to bring the women together, and help them develop their own ideas in terms of the goals and objectives of their programs, as well as the structure and strategy they would take to achieve their goals.¬? The women identified their needs, broke out into small groups and discussed a game plan. ¬?Their primary need, of course, is money and/or capital.¬? We attempted to design a plan that would not rely on the donations of American churches and organizations, but rather allow them to generate income themselves to help support their projects.¬? Some of the ideas included a shop where women and men could rent second hand tuxes and dresses for weddings and other formal events, producing vegetables and poultry, and creating art goods such as soap stones, and ecclesiastic embroideries.¬? Some of the women also design purses and bags woven from recycled plastic bags.¬? Surprisingly they are pretty nice.¬? My purpose was to help them develop a strategic
plan that they can write out and send to LCMS World Relief.¬?¬? Hopefully
the women and I will be able to develop an approach that allows them to sell to markets in the US and elsewhere directly.¬? It will also be
important for the women to master specific skills so that they develop
some sort of competitive advantage based on the appeal of handmade
African products.¬? I will meet with the group again at the end of this
month.
¬?
Thursday the 3rd of July
¬?
Sally Henrickson left today.¬? The plane she left on was the same plane
that brought a new group of Americans from Nairobi.¬? A man named Pastor Rabi came with a group of three other individuals in association with Friends of Mercy, a Lutheran non-profit based out of California.¬? The group had finished some medical work at Kabera in Nairobi and had come to Kisumu to visit some projects and go to Maasia Mara, a game reserve in southwest Kenya.¬? As soon as they arrived we set out to visit some HIV/AIDs support groups.¬? The first was in a village call Oogo.¬? They greeted us warmly and instantly I was surprised and very impressed with how organized they were.¬? They had a poultry farm where they were
incubating eggs; they had four fish ponds (they had expanded from one
in the last year) with different species in each pond; they had a
variety of crops; and finally they had a bee farm from which they
produced honey.¬? Rather than explaining how much they were in need of support, they demonstrated the success they have had, and illustrated their goals for the future.¬? They had a detailed strategic plan for the next 2-5 years and a well constructed work schedule that involved each member of the group.¬? There were about 30 members.¬? They have also started a savings and loan project.
After lunch and a severe rainstorm we headed to another support group for people living with HIV and AIDs.¬? This group was newly formed and far less organized. ¬?It was about 20 kilometers from Oongo in village called Kandegwa.¬? They were relying primarily on hand crafted goods, such as baskets, ropes, and plant hangers, but they had found that these products were not easy to sell in the domestic market, and they had few means by which to reach international markets.¬? A member of the group had donated two acres of land, so they had developed a plan to begin growing a type of tree which can be used as an herb and/or medicine and has a high profit margin and high demand.¬? I think they were on the right track but they could definitely benefit from visiting the other previous group to see how organization leads to efficiency. The benefit of these types of groups is far reaching and undeniable. There is still the issue of stigma when dealing with people who are infected.¬? People don't want to associate with them and associate the disease with immorality.¬? Additionally many of the women are young and have no money.¬? Through government programs people who test positive are able to receive drugs at little or no cost.¬? These drugs, however, require close attention to nutrition and sanitation.¬? If people cannot afford or attain food the drugs end up being of little use.¬? If they have these needs met, the drugs can drastically increase the length of their life.¬? This means that fewer children lose their parents, fewer wives lose their husband, and visa versa.¬?¬? Not only do these projects help to maintain the nutrition of individuals, they also prevent young women from going out to find new men to support them, and therefore prevent further spread of the disease. It was very encouraging to see this kind of organization and success at the grassroots level.¬? Although they receive support from external groups, these people rely primarily on themselves, and that is the ultimate goal.
¬?
Friday the 4th of July¬?
Happy Independence Day!¬? I almost forgot about the 4th of July as there was nothing here to remind me.¬? Today was an ordinary day except for the fact that I am traveling towards a national park and game reserve called Maasai Mara.¬? I didn't expect to be going here so soon, but I jumped at the opportunity.¬? I know I would kick myself if I came all the way to Africa and never visited a park.¬? We are staying at a hotel in the town of Kisi tonight, and on the way we stopped to check out¬? a few orphan outreach programs, one was in the town of Atemo, and the other at the Ringa Primary School for Girls.¬? I was able to see Pastor Chuchu's country home on the land of his ancestors (ancestral land Is a very big deal here in Kenya and people stay tied to their land regardless of what job they take or where they eventually end up).¬? The visits were nice and I was able to meet someone people, and soon enough we were on our way to Kisumu.
¬?
Saturday the 5th of July
¬?
It's been the most exciting Fourth of July weekend that I have ever
had.¬? We left for the park this morning at about 6 am and arrived at the
park a little after nine.¬? Along the way we picked up a Lutheran pastor
named Joseph Olemomposhi who is also a member of the Maasai tribe
(these are the natural inhabitants of the park of the surrounding area;
they are a nomadic group known for their fearlessness and ability to
fend off lions).¬? While in the park I was astounded by the number and
frequency of animals we saw.¬? We saw herds of elephants, groups of
giraffe, hippos', hyenas, water buffalo, and a seemingly endless stream of wildebeests and zebras.¬? It was great.¬? After driving through the park for a few hours we visited a Maasai village where they showed us their homes and explained their diet of cow's milk, cow's blood, and meat.
¬?
Sunday the 6th of July
¬?
We attended church in the village of Kadie, where Pastor Chuchu was a pastor before attending the seminary in Fort Wayne.¬? Pastor Rabi
preached, we ate lunch, and headed home.¬? I am exhausted?.
Monday the 7th of July
Today was a nice day in the office. I was able to write emails, get
caught up on work, and I had a meeting with an officer of the ministry
of health to discuss facilitating a focus group to help evaluate the
disaster response that took place after the election. We will travel
out to conduct these meetings on Thursday and Friday.