My trip summary

I was looking for an amazing adventure that would help me see the grace of God, gain perspective, and help me build new friendships. I achieved that on the first day in Nairobi. We covered an unbelievable amount of ground in a week with two or three significant experiences each day – each of which occupy several pages in my journal. Some highlights:
 I saw joy at Mamlaka Chapel where we participated in a 2 hour worship service that felt like 15 minutes.
 I saw beautiful handicrafts and shrewd negotiators at the Masai Market.
 I saw hope at New Life Homes where babies are rescued and positioned for a full life that can lead to giving back to the community (since the home has been around for ~20 years some of the “babies” are now in law and medical school).
 I saw happiness in the faces of orphaned older children at The Ark who live together as a family.
 In the Mathare slum, I saw extreme poverty as people lived in closet sized hovels with uneven dirt floors, no electricity, and leaky roofs. I saw an initial disbelief in our group that children could learn and thrive in this environment. As we met the children and teachers of St. Phillips School, I saw perseverance, a thirst for knowledge, discipline, and strong faith. I saw how life sustaining a simple bowl of porridge that costs only pennies a day can be since many of the children at the school receive their only meal of the day there. In 25 year old Professor Nelson I saw a commitment to teach and help these children break out of the poverty they are in. I saw a place that helps children learn to set goals and believe they can achieve them through God’s grace. I learned how $50 a month is enough to take an 8th grade graduate of the school and send him or her to a boarding school in the country to complete their high school education.
 At Kazuri Beads I saw how >200 single mothers can earn a sustainable living wage making beautiful beads out of clay.
 Riding between sites, I saw hundreds of people manually digging ditches and saw men in suits walking miles from any apparent place of living or work
 At the Renguti School outside of Nairobi I saw how small investment of $100/month could lead to the founding of a school that now serves over 200 kids. I saw children with a thirst for education. I saw how important something as simple as a pair of shoes can be when a child has to walk 6 miles to school. I saw how a church, school, and clinic can co-locate to the serve the broader needs of a community. I saw first grade children who knew who their president was and ours. I saw how HIV positive and special needs kids can mix harmoniously with “normal” kids. I saw 5th grade kids learning Spanish in addition to English and Swahili.
 At the hospital in Kikuyu I saw a peaceful place to seek medical care and I saw a prosthetic workshop where artificial limbs are made in an affordable manner for patients who have had accidents, cancer, or diabetes.
 At Amani ya Juu (meaning “higher peace” in Swahili) I saw a refugee cooperative where women of different tribes, faiths, and countries come together in harmony to produce beautiful sewing projects and make a living wage. I saw a woman from Tennessee who was visiting for 3 weeks to teach sewing techniques. I saw an African proverb on the wall that states “If the leaders starts to limp the followers will too.”
 At New Life Homes in Nyeri I saw how a newer, smaller orphanage is integral to infant rescue and adoption processes. I saw love and kindness in the faces of the family that runs the place. I learned how HIV positive babies can become HIV negative with proper care and nutrition.
 At Tumutumu Hospital I saw the strength and longevity of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa which established the hospital over 100 years ago. During home visits to HIV patients, I saw how strong families care for each other and learned how hospital and social workers would literally carry patients on their backs so they could reach care. I saw a group of missionaries humbled as a dying HIV patient was so strong in her faith that she wanted to pray for us.

If I had to sum up what was special about the trip it was the people who:
 Graciously offered hospitality, displayed joy, and had a richness of faith that comes from focusing on the things that really matter
 Appeared unfazed by hard work, rain, walking long distances, or lack of the many of the things we would consider “necessities”
 Are not looking for a handout but would welcome a hand
 Live the view that “you may be able to change the whole world but you can change the world for one person”

I take away a deeper understanding of the inverse correlation between “stuff” and “happiness” (with less possessions, there is less separation from God and ultimately greater happiness) and a commitment to give back to the people of Kenya. I hope I can play a part in educating and energizing our congregation but regardless I know that I can change the life of a child by helping to pay for secondary education and hopefully impact many children by helping to supplement teacher salaries.