My love affair with the Capital

It really amazes me how I end up in the Capital just about every month. There must be something about the 115 degree weather (with no a/c), getting harassed by men, the filth, the bug bites, and the expense (a large house here rents for $36,000 USD a month- no joke folks) that I just can’t resist.

Mr. Crocodile

Or there is some sort of force out there that keeps pulling me back. I must admit though: every trip is an adventure. And I always remind myself that is what I love…. right? 

“That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

In theory at least. This week I am sick – there is mucus all over the place, I am sweating 24/7, I am not able to sleep because of the heat, I hear mechanical beeping noises outside my window at 4 am, and I had a severe allergic reaction to a mango. Hmmmm.

I am waiting for the stronger part of the equation to pull through right about now ;)

I digress….. back to my love for the capitol. I feel compelled to share a few positive things *gasp* about this city. I have some pretty great friends here now. One of which offers up her large house for me to stay in, her drivers to take me all over the city, and her expertize of the administrative maze that exists in this new country. She is a fabulous. She showed me the good places to eat (something other than tomatoes and onions??!!), stopped me from throwing things out the window in frustration, and took me to the Nile.

My stare off with the crocodile

Yes, that’s right folks. I think my love affair may be with the Nile actually. I told her at the beginning of the week that I wanted to swim in the Nile.

Her: “Leah, that’s disgusting. There are parasites, crocodiles, and who knows what else in there”

           Me: “Yes, yes I know. But it’s The Nile.....”

         But first there was work to do:

 *I applied for a new passport (long story): just FYI the US Embassy here is an embarrassment. Not because of the building, but because of how it treats its’ citizens. It gets 0 stars from Leah.

*I got an official driver’s license here: woohoo, watch out NA! It’s a good thing the roads are so bad I probably won’t go above 10 mph. *Note* the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car…. well, not car-  it is a huge Land Cruiser actually… eeks!

*I also applied for a work permit (boy was that a wild goose chase!), did a ton of administrative research, got an internet modem to work, and signed up for an NGO forum.

And then I swam in the Nile ;) Yes, we saw a crocodile. It was a baby one. But we all know that where there is a baby, there is the momma hiding near….

Yes, yes. The Capital is disgusting and frustrating. But, thankfully this trip I discovered some fun things! 

I couldn't resist...
*Disclaimer- no I did not jump in right where the crocodile was!*

"Asiiaka"

So the MK people have a language conference every year where they gather together from all over the country. They celebrate new accomplishments, discuss current projects,  challenges, and plan for the future. There is an executive committee, commissioners, archdeacons, and villagers alike. Oh…. and one kawaijaa (white person). It is quite the event....This is where my supervisors have previously spoken, encouraged, and presented new projects.

And this year I was to be the lone representative: the childless young woman replacing the old, respected leader (good sentence, aye? ;) The chairman of the executive committee commented “Ah, we are used to your colleagues.  You are young.”

Yes, thank you kind sir for your observation. 

At some point, I know there were people thinking “Eh! We have been waiting 6 years for someone to come and help us, and this is who we get??”

Taking away the books on boda boda!!

But I am grateful for a God who moves in unexpected people. I learned the Africa style of question and answer sessions. The floor is opened with a topic and everyone is invited to comment or ask questions. Then, after about 10 people speak, you must answer all of their questions at once. It's a good thing I had a notebook and pen with me! So I played the role to the best of my ability: I gave several speeches, answered numerous questions, encouraged the people, troubleshot problems, planed for new projects, and reported on the status of current projects. After being here for only 4 months, this is my role? 

The only word that can describe this conference is surreal. Amazing, yes. Exhausting (from 9am till 7pm), most definitely. But surreal fits best.

The whole time I kept thinking, “How is it possible that I am here representing everyone, speaking in front of government officials, presenting 3 freshly translated books of the Bible, and encouraging this group of people whom everyone has labeled as ‘behind.’ How is it that I have the privilege to facilitate and bring things together and actually see progress?”

It speaks to me of how great our God is if he chooses to use me. It is one of those ‘out of body’ experiences if you will. I come to realize even more how little I have to do with anything, and how Mighty He is. I see how much he wants for his people to know him. His desire is great.

Everything went well; I was given the seal of approval from the man who told me I was ‘very young.’ I was also given a new name “Asiiaka” which means one who works in the garden. People now call me this in the market ;) I have more women coming up to me and talking to me than ever before. It’s lovely.

Oh, and it was at the end of this conference when a search party was sent out for me. We were supposed to end at 4, and it was 830 and I wasn't home yet. The phones weren’t working and it was dark and people at my compound were worried about me. So 4 people arrived to ‘rescue’ me ;) At least I know that people are concerned about me (Are you comforted Mom?) 

Some of the things we, as a team, have accomplished these past 4 months with the MK people are: translating, printing and distributing 3 new books of the bible and a song book; we sent 2 youth to a vocational school to gain life skills; we are training another youth to work with the translation project; and we have made some structural changes in the project so that we can move forward at an even quicker pace.

Once my colleague returns literacy efforts will be back in full swing.   

God is on the move.

My Life is a Circus!

I would like to share a few things that happened to me this past week:

* A little girl was named after me

* I had a search party sent out for me

* I was asked to represent a white person who came here 50 years ago. The people wanted to repent and ask for forgiveness for what they did to him. In a remote village. Can you imagine it? A huge group of Africans wailing in repentance before me. Uhhhhh…..The jury is still out on this one folks….

* I was given a new MK name: Asiiaka. It means one who works in the garden.

                       

* A friend thought it was appropriate to text me at 5:30 in the morning and tell me I looked wonderful the night before. 530 in the morning. Are you serious?

* I picked up 500 new MK books at the airstrip!! Woohoo!

* There is a brick making factory in my front yard

* I gave speeches in front of the commissioners of several cities

*  I met a girl named "Mosquito" wearing a Spiderman shirt ;)

* I got to eat green slime about 4 times

The invitation is out for anyone who wants to join the circus ;)

Part 2: It's like he's in the Mafia

And then at sundown a man shows up at my house. It was Donde!! It was him, one of my mystery people! And he is amazing. And helpful. And already has a heart for this ministry. So I met with him and his boss the next morning, which put me in contact with another group that I didn’t know about. I then solicited his boss to help me find a woman candidate, which I knew was a stretch. But I really, really wanted a woman to go and be trained. I kept praying. In the mean time I was also trying to get everything organized to send 2 people to a vocational school nearby. Visiting the school, looking at applications, making lists, getting in communication with the youth, getting information, etc etc.

And, just so you know, this whole time the cell networks are awful. The electricity and internet are off for the majority of the day because of lack of fuel for the generators because the North and South are in their perpetual dispute over oil. And it was as hot as Hades outside and there were constant dust clouds everywhere. Cheers!  J

The next day was very encouraged because I had 2 good candidates. And I was praying for a lady to appear. I texted my new favorite man Donde, to see if he had any updates on the 3^rd person. Well, he informed me that he and the lady were actually on their way to my house!!! Praise the Lord! Miraculous. You may not think that this is that big of a deal. But you would be wrong J Finding a woman who can speak good English, who is willing to commit to this without pay is like finding a needle in a haystack. Men are normally sent to trainings, even on behalf of women’s groups, because none of the women can understand the training.

I spoke with them and explained everything. I asked for their input and then left them with instructions to travel on a matatu on Sunday to go the capitol to get the ever illusive passport. But if they had any problems with our contact in the capitol they would not be able to get a hold of me because I was traveling to the bush where no communication was possible. It was all in the Lord’s hands at this point.

The same was true for my 2 youth I was sending to the vocational school. They had to leave on that same Sunday with everything they would need for the semester away from home. I put some of the MK people in charge of making sure the students had everything they needed and actually traveled to the school on Sunday because no late arrivals would be accepted. Once again, I would be in the bush when all of this was supposed to happen.

When I came back from the bush on Monday, I called to make sure all my people got where they needed to be. And, miracle of all miracles: both of my students were at the vocational school! The MK people had prayed for them, gave them advice, and sent them out as we discussed. AND both of my other people were in the capitol safe and met up with our contact no problem. Whew!! I tell you what…. He is mighty.

Amazing.

God knew what he was doing when he took me out to the bush while I thought I needed to be there to make sure everything happened.

He is the one who makes things happen. He is the mover. I am just the messenger.

Of course, this is only the beginning of these 2 projects ;)

“It’s like he’s in the Mafia”

One of the main reasons I was drawn to North Africa was because of their huge need for healing and restoration. It was not in my goals this month to begin facilitating work in this direction of counseling, being as I have only been here for 4 months. However, it appears as though God would have it otherwise. I was informed that there was a “Trauma Healing” focus group of people gathering from all over the southern part of the country in the capitol and I was invited to attend.

I was very happy to attend, thinking that I would just be making contacts for future work and learning what was currently going on in this area. Not accurate my friends J

Apparently there is some funding available to train and counsel people who have been affected by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army. There is a movie that came out about it: Machine Gun Preacher, you should watch it). My town is one of the areas that has been affected heavily by this group, so we have the opportunity to send 3 people for 'trauma healing’ training in Rwanda. I was informed before the meeting began that I should be the facilitator for my town, if I was willing. This project would entail myself and the trainees meeting together on a regular basis to discuss and to implement the truths learned in the training over the course of the next year.

Then the 3 facilitators divided up and met with people attending this meeting who were working in their specific town. Guess how many people, out of the 25 attendees, were working in my area?

None. Nobody. A big fat zero. Eh! How does this always happen?? Sometimes I think “There is nobody in my town!!” Zol tani mafii. And the training began in a month. So I had a month to find 3 good, responsible, representatives in my area. And get them a passport, which apparently is next to impossible to get. Bah, good luck Leah! Well, actually I had 2 weeks, because I would be out of the country for the first 2 weeks….

So when I got back to my town, one door was already shut. I had a lead on a few people; and by that I mean I had their names but no way of contacting them. I literally went around just asking people if they recognized either of the names I had written down…. No shame, no shame here folks!

After searching for a bit, I finally found someone who knew one of the people. “My daughter knows him, I will get his number, call him and then send him to your house today. Is this good??” Well, of course in theory it sounded perfect. But I was skeptical…. I just kept praying that God would send the right people. Soon, 6pm came around and I had heard nothing from 3 friends who said they would help find my mystery people. So much for my mafia man....

The next blog will tell the conclusion of my search party ;)

Bathing with Bees!

Now, there are many things that I have done here that I never thought I would do… this is something I love about living in new places and about the adventurous spirit of God. The Bishop asked me to travel with him to some villages where the MK people were so that I could meet all of these people and encourage them as well. Being so far away, they often feel that they are forgotten (and in all honesty often do get neglected). I wish so much that you could see their smiles and hear their voices. Ah! I just wish everyone could be a part of showing these people who God is…. Wait: You are, thank you! J

You should know that this trip consisted of traveling 60 miles. In 5 hours. I’ll let you do the math and see how fast we traveled ;) On the way there we had men jumping out of the Land Cruisers with machetes to chop down trees that were blocking the paths. Now, to be fair, this was my first trip out to the ‘deep bush’ in Africa. But I think the people that I went with were a bit overly concerned about me… “Would it be too hot? Would she eat the food? What about traveling on the rough road? Would she be able to sleep? Will we have to take her back like we did the other kawaijaa (white person)?” They were so funny.

They have no idea what I lived through in South America, how hot it is in Texas, nor do they know about the games I play in my mind to psych myself up to eat some of the food (peanut and ant sauce, fish eyes anyone??). One thing did throw a twist: there was so little water around that the basins filled with water to bathe were surrounded by bees. It’s true; this week's title is not a metaphor my friend! I must admit that one time I did bathe, and the other time I only pretended to bathe because there were so many bees around! Eh! I have been attacked by bees before and it is not something I care to relive.

What it all comes down to is the Lord has prepared and formed me for this task. It is always amazing to see how little it has to do with me- it’s all Him. He has given me his heart for these people...and I pray he is showing you his heart for these people as well!

You know, these people have been waiting over 5 years to see progress with the translations in their language….  Next month we will have 3 freshly translated books to distribute and teach with. In April we will finish another 2 books. We sent 2 of their youth to a vocational school and we will begin training a lady in transcription next week.  It is amazing to see the progress…humbling to see how the Lord answers the prayers of his people. Thanks be to God!

 

Rest and Relaxation?!?

Hah! Life is funny. So at the 3 month mark of the first year in North Africa, my organization requires that we take a week of R&R so that we don’t go insane and never come back ;) The retention rate here is less than fabulous. 

As much as I would like to say “Eh, I don’t need that” by mid January I could tell that the time was quickly approaching where I was going to start screaming. I was grateful for a little ‘space.' Here in North Africa I am constantly bombarded with requests (Can you teach me computer? Can you give me X amount of money? When will I see you? Help my family with X? Can you give me a job? Etc, etc), with projects (vocational schools, trainings, meetings, girls program, translations, learning Arabic, visitations), with men (can I visit you? Will you visit me? Marry me? Can I have your number? I love you. Etc etc). Everyone has expectations for me. And they are almost always not appropriate or possible. So having a break from the bombardment seemed like a good thing.

I am sure you can see where this is going…I have a good friend in Nairobi who I was going to stay with for this break. I was welcomed with open arms as my friend miraculously received a week off of work to be with me.... 

Don't let my smile fool you! This beach was not peaceful ;)

Nairobi is a huge city, as is Mombasa. Traffic everywhere. In the matatus I was squashed between people on a consistent basis. In Mombasa we were constantly bombarded with people “I can be your bodyguard.” “We will go dancing tonight, yes?” “Is that your real hair? It looks like Beyonce’s hair (what??!!)” “Buy this, come here.”  Etc etc.  Bahhhhh!! Leave me alone! My Kenyan friend got a small taste of what it is like to be a white lady :) 

My friends took great care of me and taught me how to navigate life in the big city. I cooked quesadillas for them (AND I made the tortillas from scratch! watch out world!) I never dreamed I would learn how to get from place to place by myself in Nairobi... but I did! It was good for me to get away and to be with a girl my own age. But the funny thing is that the Lord just confirmed once again how much I love where he has me in North Africa. Some people leave their break thinking "Eh, it is already time to go back??" But even as I travel around Africa, I want to return to my tukul and my friends in my town. Even though the rest of Africa has nothing good to say about my country, my heart is there. 


I will just have to learn to deal with all of the requests and expectations….and remember that HE is the one who moves and saves, not me :)