A Cup of Cold Water...: August 2011

This last week flew by & was filled with many hugs & goodbyes. Got to spend some time in Nairobi & check out Nairobi Game Park. Tried to post a lot of cool pictures.

Day 52: Saying Goodbye

Sylvester took us to the airport this morning along w/ Sammy. Ekai wasn’t there, but he eventually met up w/ us at the airport. It was tough driving through town. I started having to hold back the tears right about the time we crossed the river. It started to sink in that I wasn’t coming back next week like when we went to the coast. This was seriously goodbye…Our flight ended up getting delayed about an hour, which made it even tougher to leave. I hate goodbyes, so I was ready to just go ahead & go. I always never know what to say & feel like I should say something sentimental or important, but it’s tough to say much w/o getting emotional. I usually end up choking-up like a little girl. We mostly just stood around & made small talk. I tried not to think that I might not see these guys again. These guys are no longer “these guys”; they’re my friends.

But we eventually hugged & said our goodbyes & I kept it together pretty good. All I could do was smile and say “Thank you.”… Boarding the plane, I was reminded of Vincent Donovan talking about leaving the Masai in his book Christianity Rediscovered. We had to read it for my missions class last fall & it’s one of the things that sparked my interest in this internship—I highly recommend the book! I remember him talking about wishing he had more time, wishing he had been able to do more. I sat on the plane thinking about all the memories from the summer, & it didn’t seem like it was time for the internship to end. I all went by too fast!...There was a French reporter on our flight who had been over here doing a story on the drought & famine in Turkana. We’d seen another Spanish reporter covering the same issue the other week when we left for Malindi. It’s crazy b/c I feel like the starvation problem over here has been hidden from us. We’ve been going to places where they’ve had gardens & access to wells, but not all Turkana have that luxury. CMF has installed around 80 wells & 20 irrigated farm plots, but there’s still so many people who are struggling to survive. Gene said they need to install around 2,200 more wells! I think 4 were completed while we were here this summer, & while that’s definitely helping some, there’s still so much work that needs to be done. Gene said there’s really 2 reasons for the famine: 1) drought & 2) the price of corn has skyrocketed. It never rains very often in Turkana, so the drought’s not too uncommon, but the increased price of corn has really hurt lots of people. Since people are trying to use ethanol as a fuel source, the price soared & that affected the price of other food too. So the Turkana can’t afford to eat. And the relief food that’s being sent isn’t getting distributed properly b/c the gov’t officials are hoarding it for their own families. These are their own people & their keeping them from getting the food they so desperately need. They’re killing their own kind! Melba even told us stories about how mother’s are boiling rocks at night when they’re kids complain about being hungry. And when the kid’s ask about the “food”, they tell them it’s not ready until the kids eventually fall asleep, never getting anything to eat. It’s horrible—one story apparently even showed footage of babies feeding off their dead mother’s breast. It’s one thing to hear about these things & them seem distant, something happening across the world, but this is happening to people I’ve met & it really bothers me. I can’t get the image of Sammy & his family starving out of my mind. It’s not fair & it’s just not right. Something’s got to be done over here, & CMF is currently in the process of figuring out a way to get food to these people. There’s a huge need over here, so if you feel led to help, please take a step of faith & do so. And please be praying for the Turkana during this crisis. Below is a video about the famine if you want to hear more. And it's from February & things have only gotten worse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ag3-QjeJ8k&feature=share

And if you feel led to give, you can do so by clicking the link below (Account #712000 for Turkana relief):

https://p2p.paperlesstrans.com/default.aspx?i=cmfms&c3=POTTENGER+Lynn&c4=41600

…I stepped on the scale today & weighed 150 lbs. 150 lbs! I haven’t weighed that little since I was in like 10^th grade! And I’m pretty sure I weighed aroung 170 before I left! And I’ve been getting fed, so imagine the effects the famine is having on the people going without. They are seriously starving to death. I can’t erase that image from my mind, & it messes with you when you get to pig out like I did at lunch today. Why am I so lucky as to have this luxury? What makes me any better than these children who are falling asleep w/ empty stomachs to the sound of boiling rocks?...We went to Java House for dinner & it was awesome. It’s kind of like Africa’s version of Starbucks except w/ more food. They are everywhere over here. I got a burger & fries & it seriously tasted like something from the States. And me & Kyle both got t-shirts there too, which we need b/c we both only have one shirt left since we gave the drilling crew the rest of our clothes. Problem is that the shirt we have left is the REACH shirt we got at PDO, which Melba was wearing today too. So all 3 of us had on the same shirt. We looked like one of those Spring Break missions groups you see walking through the airport

—nothing screams “tourist” like matching t-shirts ;) So now we have the same REACH shirt plus Java House shirts of different colors.

Hopefully, we can alternate who wears which, otherwise we’re gonna be matching for the next week!

Day 53:

Went back to Vineyard church this morning, & it was awesome once again. The pastor spoke on the Pharisee & the Tax Collector from Luke 18, one of my favorite parables. He talked a lot about the difference between religion & the Good News & he had some great points. He emphasized how we are reconciled through grace, not works & talked about how there is nothing we can do to make God love us anymore or any less—he loves us unconditionally! It was good stuff & he talked about how our understanding of God’s love for us determines how we go through life. At one point, he discussed how people who live by religion determine their self-worth based on their work ethic & their performance. And I had to ask myself if I’m not falling into the trap of the Pharisee, pursuing my own self-righteousness. I judge myself a lot of times based on my success in life. But the Good News is that God loves us despite our success or failure. We find life in His grace, in his unconditional love for us! The Bible says that His love never fails; we just have to receive it. We have to love ourselves as the tax collector that we are, & know that we are the children of a Heavenly Father that delights in our every breath… After church we went to an Ethiopian place for lunch. The food was good but definitely a little different. They bring out your food on this spongy bread & it’s basically a bunch of different meats spread out & some veggies.

Then you get some of the spongy bread (I can’t remember what it’s called) & grab the food w/ pieces of it. It’s similar to how Turkana use chipote, only this stuff doesn’t taste like chipote. It’s got a strange flavor that I didn’t particularly like. But the other stuff was great, so I just opted to get my hands a little more messy & not use the bread. I also got some Ethiopian coffee which was awesome. It’s got a really strong flavor, but it’s really good!... Went to another Masai Market today, & this one was huge!

It’s pretty crazy going there b/c people are hitting you up left & right to come check out the stuff they’re selling. And they’re super sneaky about it. They’ll put out their hand for you to shake it, & then once you shake their hand, they drag you to their area to look at everything they’re selling. And they don’t really take no for an answer. And if you don’t shake their hand, they’ll say that you’re being rude. A couple of guys even tried to act interested in my beard just to sucker me into buying something. One guy even asked how much it cost me to maintain my beard, I guess hoping I’d say a lot so I’d be admitting to having money. I don’t think he realized that most people w/ beards like mine in America live under bridges & eat out of trash cans! But eventually, I learned to just avoid making eye contact & pretend I didn’t hear anything. It’s funny how much they’ll try & rip you off too. They’ll start around a couple of thousand ksh & you can usually work them down to a couple of hundred, especially if you just walk away like you’re not interested. When they see mzungus (white people), they assume you’ve got money & are looking to spend it. But one lady told me I was a “bad person” after I worked the price down for a shirt & didn’t give her money for a Coca-Cola, not for me but for her. Why would I want to buy her a Coca-Cola? But later another guy told me he’d give me a good deal b/c I looked like an “honest man,” so at least someone didn’t think I was a bad guy ;)

Day 54: Where The Wild Things Are

Went to Nairobi Game Park today. Interns normally go on a safari at the end of their internship, but since we got to go to the coast, we went to the Game Park instead, which is pretty much a safari. So we basically lucked out & got the best of both worlds! The Game Park is pretty awesome, & we got to see a ton of animals. And what’s crazy is you just drive through it in your own vehicle—no tour guide, no waivers, nothing! You’re supposed to just stay on the paths & in your vehicles except in designated areas where there are armed guards. But everyone knows that you’re not really having a good time unless you bend a few rules ;) Gene & Melba have been several times before, so they knew all the good spots to check out. When we first entered, it seemed like the park might not live up to their hype. We didn’t really see much of anything at first, & the things we did see were way off the path, too far away to get a good picture. And then things took a turn for the better! We saw some vehicles stopped & couldn’t figure out why b/c we were trying to get around them. So Gene tried to maneuver around to see what the problem was, & that’s when we saw the lion strolling down the path ahead of the cars!

We followed it for a little ways to where it met up w/ two female lions. They all just laid down & chilled right on the side of the path. And let’s just say it’s a little frightening sitting halfway out the window trying to get a good picture of a group of lions giving you the death stare!

There was a group of giraffes & zebras further up, so we waited for a little while by the lions, hoping to see them try & attack their prey, but they just stayed there & napped. And now I can't get the Nard Dawg singing, “What Do Tigers Dream Of?” out of my head as I writing about them napping right now!

... We got some pictures of giraffes, but eventually the park rangers got onto us for veering off the path. And we got a few zebra pictures too. We didn’t get that close to them, & I figured we’d been lucky just to see them, but I had no idea just how many we would end up seeing.

They were everywhere, & a couple of times we almost got close enough to touch them! ... Gene took us to the “hyena dam” to see if there were any hippos. Seemed odd to go there instead of the “hippo pool” but he said to trust him. I doubted him at first, until I saw the ripples in the water. I had gotten out to use the bathroom, which is a little scary after you’ve just seen lions up the road! And I really wasn’t wanting to die with my zipper down! Gene told us to throw rocks in the pond & see if we could get the hippos riled up. After heaving a few, we saw more than 5 of their heads pop up! A couple snorted & a few even opened their mouths above the water. We never saw more than their heads but it was still pretty cool. And we had to look pretty ridiculous throwing rocks & yelling insults at the hippos to try & get them to come out of the water! And once again—the rangers had to come get onto us! … Throughout the day, we saw all sorts of stuff. I’m not even gonna try and spell half of them but here’s a bunch of pictures:

… We were planning on going to some picnic tables in the park to eat lunch, but it had been taken over by the baboons. We drove past a bunch of them, & you’ve got to drive by pretty fast or else they’ll jump in your vehicle. And when we actually got to the picnic tables, there was the “King Kong” of baboons sitting on top of it.

It was seriously so fat that I halfway expected it to roll off the table instead of jumping. But jump it did & it headed right for the car. And all our windows were down! We all started panicking & Gene yelled for us to roll our windows up & we sped off. It was hilarious & yet another moment I wish we had caught on video! ... We eventually found another spot to get out & eat. There was another group leaving when we pulled up & they ask if we’d seen the female lion & her cubs yet. They told us they had spotted them about half a kilometer away earlier—talk about comforting while you’re standing outside eating! But we survived our lunch break unscathed & never did end up finding the lioness & her cubs … The only animal we had trouble finding in the park was the rhino. It sounded like it’s just luck whether or not you see them or lions. So I figured we’d lucked out just to see the lions earlier. We drove around for a while searching for one, & our eyes were getting tired from looking. I figured it was a lost cause, & that’s when Abe stepped up & saw a group of four across the way. We tried to get as close as we could w/o disturbing them b/c they’ll charge at your vehicle. They were huge! … Can’t believe what all we got to see today! And really can’t believe my time in Africa is coming to an end. I’m too exhausted right now to really even think about it.

Day 55: Good Bye Africa

Ended up sleeping in the t.v. room last night. Couldn’t figure out how to work the t.v., so I ended up just watching the news, which was all about the U.S. raising the debt ceiling. It’s a little different to hear other countries talk about the problems in America. I’m used to hearing people on the news talk about the problems in other countries, but it’s weird to be somewhere else & actually be that “other country”… We headed to MOHI this morning, & it was definitely another eye-opening experience. I finally learned that MOHI stands for “Missions of Hope International”—Kyle wasn’t too impressed w/ this revelation & couldn’t believe it took me this long to figure it out.

We got to see the CMF offices there, & they gave us a tour of the MOHI offices & the slums in Area 1 of Mathare Valley. Mathare Valley is one of the most densely populated slums in the world—over 1 million people within 4 kilometers!

Missions of Hope was basically started by Wallace & Mary who we had met a couple weeks ago in Malindi. God has definitely blessed the work they are doing & it’s pretty incredible. Mary basically started some schools in the slums & now they’ve grown to reach so many kids, providing them education through primary school. They raise money & people sponsor kids for these programs as well as for high school & college. It’s pretty amazing to see the power education has against poverty. And they’ve also brought so much more to this community—medical clinics, pharmacies, libraries, & programs for women to teach sewing & craftmaking. It’s crazy to hear how much this ministry has grown. But there’s still a HUGE need in Mathari Valley. In Area 1 alone (there’s 10 total areas)—where we walked around—there are roughly 80,000 people living in tiny shanti’s (little shacks).

And there are only 4 toilets available for all of these people. 4 toilets! There’s over a hundred toilets in Jordan-Hare stadium & it seats about the same amount of people. And those toilets are free; the ones in the slums actually cost money! It’s hard to believe that people in such an impoverished area are actually having to pay to use a toilet. It’s a different kind of poverty here than in Turkana. These people have access to food & clean water (a luxury available to only a few Turkana), but the sanitation issue is much more extreme here. It’s just a really dirt place—run down shanti’s, terrible smells, & trash everywhere.

Turkana is more rural poverty, & I think in my mind I tried to avoid accepting that the Turkana were really suffering. I really wanted to believe that they were always eating, even when I wasn’t around. But in the slums, there’s no way to avoid the poverty around you. It’s really sad. You don’t really want to believe that people actually live in these conditions… We got to go into one of the nicer shantis & sit & talk w/ the lady who lived there. Her name was Mary & she’s got a huge heart. She’s been living in the same shanti since 1967! We learned that she’s HIV positive, but has been doing great thanks to MOHI’s clinics. Since Abe is Turkana, she said she was his African grandmother, & she wanted to spoil her new grandson. She gave him a whole bunch of bananas & it was pretty cool to see the joy on her face to be able to bless him with a gift. It’s been amazing this summer to see the generosity & big hearts of these people who have so little.

They may not have much, but they’ve got a lot of love!...Really glad we got to see Mathari Valley. It hit me once again how much people are suffering in the world. I was tempted to say that I was “starving” today when we didn’t eat lunch until about 3 PM, but now that word takes on a whole new meaning. I’m not starving. These people are literally starving; they’re fighting just to survive. It’s tough to think about the poverty over in Kenya sometimes b/c it all seems hopeless. But that’s what Satan wants us to think. He wants us to think that these situations are too big, too impossible to change. But we serve a God who brings hope to the hopeless, & that’s what’s happening in Turkana & Mathari Valley through people like Gene, Melba, Wallace, & Mary (& so many others!)… Met up w/ Nairobi interns tonight for the first time since June. It was really good to get to see them again & share stories from the summer… Had to say goodbye to Gene, Melba, & Abe tonight. I gave all of them a big hug & couldn’t thank them enough. They’ve been awesome to get to know this summer, & they are amazing people. I know God’s using them in amazing ways, & I’m excited to see how he continues to use them in Turkana. I have no doubts that they’ll continue to speak truth & life into the interns that God brings their way each summer, just as they did for me this summer. Definitely going to miss them.

Currently in Chicago right now still working my way to Indianapolis for Debrief for a few days. There's still so much to reflect on these next few days. This summer went by so fast that it feels like it was just a dream. I'll probably post one last blog sometime next week with some final thoughts. Hard to believe that this adventure has come to an end.

Get to come home on Saturday, which is my birthday--the big 25! Coming home on my birthday & getting to spend it with my family--couldn't ask for a better bday present! Perfect way to end a great summer!

Peace,

A Cup of Cold Water...

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Kitopia Akuj Iyong

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Last Week In Africa