Busy Last Days

Hey everyone!!

Want to thank you once again for all of your prayers and support in the past three months.

We have gone through this week without any babies in Isolation!! Praise God :) I am feeling much better this week, and am healthy aside from a runny nose, which is no biggie. We still have no water in our rooms.....its been a week now, but it wouldn't be an experience if we had water right?! That's what I keep telling myself anyways....haha

Before I explain my weekend coming up, I want to let you all know.....
FOUR MONTHS FROM YESTERDAY I AM GETTING MARRIED!!!!!
And I am a little excited about it :)

Anyways, this last week and weekend is busy. The past couple of days I have been getting in lots of baby time and last minute pictures!!! This afternoon I am going to "House Church" with a family from Rev. Peter's church. Not too sure what to expect but I am sure it will be interesting. I am hoping to go to Juja Farm on Friday and then the other three volunteers and I are going out for supper. Saturday we are feeding the babies and then heading into Nairobi to go to lunch, the market and look around. Sunday is church with a mom named Dorcas. I have been to this church once before, and it is a very Pentecostal church, which is different for me, but she wanted me to come again before I left so I will go. Hopefully I won't be gone all day, so that I can spend time with the babies. I think I will be going back to Kicheko Slum on Monday morning and being with the babies and kids in the afternoon and evening. Early morning on Tuesday I will be boarding a plane for home.

It is super crazy that my time is coming to a close so fast. I am trying to make the most of my time left, but at the same time I think I am in denial that I am leaving. I am excited to see everyone at home and to start volunteering again, but at the same time I wish everyone at home could come here to visit me so that I could stay here. But I suppose that God gave me this amount of time for a reason, and it is time to move on to a different season of my life (the wedding planning season!!!).

Please pray for me as I complete my time here and prepare myself for leaving. Also if you could please pray for my flights home; I go from Nairobi to Amsterdam and wait two hours. Board another plane to Toronto and wait another two hours. Then board my last leg of the trip into Winnipeg where I will be landing at 11:55pm on Tuesday April 23rd!! Please also pray for Erik as he drives into the city to pick me up.

I feel like I am running out of things to blog about...I hope this is interesting for you!!

Thank you for reading and praying.
Love: Rach :)

Eight more Sleeps

So the last few days have been interesting, to say the least. We haven't had water since Thursday morning....which means I am super ready to be clean!!! Haha

And I only have seven full days left in Kenya, which is super bitter-sweet. I absolutely LOVE these babies to death and leaving them is going to be a sad time. I took lots of pictures of them today!! It was awesome. They are super cute and I wish I could take them all home.

Sophie: the Baby Duck :D 

Isn't this face adorable?! I waited a while to get this pout :) 

Tai

Ray 

Tendai 

Edward 

And I learned how to be a Kenyan mom today!! 

Lamuel; dressed for Manitoba weather today!!!

Leanne 

Precious 

Trevor 

Jude: the Baby Dinosaur :) 

Joannah

 

 

Aren't they lovely!! Man, I love these kids :)

 

It was a good day chilling with them today. And we even got another volunteer today, Iker from Mexico City and one on Saturday night, Brigitte from CANADA!!!

Funny story:

This morning, Rosemary came into Infant A while we were feeding and said we were getting another volunteer today and she would be sharing a room with Brigitte. I asked, for some reason, "Are you sure the new volunteer is a girl??" Rosemary assured me she was. I turned to Brigitte and said "Well that's good that we know for sure your new roommate is a girl." Then later Kenya (volunteer from New Zealand), Brigitte and I were having guacamole and chapati for supper and we heard the sound of luggage clumping up the stairs. We were all excited to meet her so I went out to introduce myself!! I look into Rosemary's office and see a guy.....well this is awkward!! I introduced myself and I looked at Rosemary, who gave me a "I'm just as surprised as you!!" look. It was hilarious because I specifically asked earlier!! Either way, they each have their own room which is good.

 

Ended the day with a baby feed and my homemade mandazi!! I have turned into a Kenyan woman, except for the color :)

 

See you all soon!!!

 

Love: Rach :)

 



Prayer Updates

Hello Readers :)

Thank you once again for stopping by. I am sorry it has been so long since my last post, we had no power for two days, which means no wifi. During that time I was sick with the flu, so I was stuck in bed anyways. Yesterday I was still recovering from being sick, and also said goodbye to two amazing volunteers; Andy and Mari from California. Got to have supper with them and see them off at the airport which was cool. My stomach feels much better, and yet I don't quite feel like myself.

And this morning I was praying and talking to God, and I had the urge to blog and ask for more prayer. And then I thought "Man, I have asked for a lot of prayer in the last little while, how much more should I really be asking for??". But then I opened the Sword of the Spirit (the Bible)  and read this:

And pray in the spirit on all occasions

with all kids of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always

keep on praying for all the Lord's people.

~ Ephesians 6: 18 ~

And right there, I realized that there is no such thing as "asking for too much prayer". God is amazing, and shows me things when I need them. So if you could please pray for me, I am struggling with a few things. First of all, I am ready to be home now, so I am trying to figure out God's purpose for the last twelve days of my adventure because clearly I am not home yet for a reason. Also, all of my joints are stiff and sore and I have no idea why; they have been this way for about four days now. I am not really my usually energetic and happy self, and it bothers me because even the mom's notice and ask what is wrong because I am not chatty and bubbly. I am not too sure what is up with my body, so I am trying to seek God in that.

As for the babies, most of them are doing better. Cathy lies in her crib flailing her arms and legs which is a blessing because her limbs were very floppy last time I posted!! Thank you Lord :) Sophie is doing better although she is still coughing. Trevor is doing sooooo much better!! And I am not too sure the status on Jewel; her face looks cleared up yet she is still in Isolation, so I'm not too sure what is up. Hannah and Tai have now also been admitted into Isolation for sever coughing. We now have six babies in Isolation and only five in Infant A... not a good thing. Please keep these babies in your prayers!! They need them a lot right now.

I am just going to have some breakfast and then go down to see the babies!! I saw them a little yesterday, but I wasn't really feeling up to it. But today is a new day and I feel awesome because My God is with me and He is going to heal me :) Being sick not only sucks because I am sick, but it also means I don't get to see the babies and I definitely miss them.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for looking back for updates all the time, even when there are none. I appreciate it.

Love: Rach :)

Ps. an update after doing two feedings: Cathy, Sophie and Trevor are out of Isolation!! Praise God :)

Sick Babies

 

Trevor and Cathy in the Isolation room 

Sophie in Isolation

 

and Jewel also in Isolation.

I love this picture of her!! She looks like she is contemplating life :)

 

 

Please keep praying for these sick babies.

Prayer is Powerful

Hey guys,

I have been learning how to pray more so that I connect with God in a new way, and I love it!! Prayer is sooo very important and I think I forget that sometimes. Thank you all for your continued prayers for me and for these children. I know sometimes we pray at the start of the mission trip, but as time goes on, we forget to pray for those who are away. Please keep praying!! Each one of you is a warrior for Jesus Christ. Satan will try to tear you down and place excuses in your heads, but STAND UP!! Please keep praying.

I have some prayer requests that are urgent at this time. We have way too many sick babies at this time. Ranging from colds to the flu to pneumonia to asthma. These poor babies can't catch a break.

• Cathy has pneumonia, for the second time since I have been here
• We were trying to feed her and she coughed so much she puked up all of her milk
• I was feeding her water but she was coughing so bad, for at least ten minutes straight.
• She has fallen asleep now, so please pray for her as she sleeps!!
• Sophie also has pneumonia
• Her symptoms are not nearly as bad as Cathy's though
• Trevor has asthma they think
• He can barely drink his milk because he is so clogged up everywhere.
• And he coughs like crazy
• Jewel has a rash on her face, that is going away, but please pray that it won't come back.

And for all the other babies as well who are in the same room as the sick ones. Please send up a chorus of prayers to our Heavenly Father on behalf of these children. And spread the word!! I want this prayer to be contagious instead of the baby's sicknesses.

Love, Rach :)

Pictures :)

 David

Mama Rachel (left), Mama Dorcas (middle) and Mama Phoebe (right)

They were praising God because "if we don't, the rocks will cry out!!" I was told :) 

Freddy and Daniel

 

Patrick; my son and pretty much my favorite! 

 

Whit 

Naima 

Edward

 

Lamual; three weeks old, our youngest baby and newest arrival

 

 

The past couple of days have been good. Nothing too much is new. Hopefully we can go to Juja Farm tomorrow!! Then I will be able to post some pictures of the kids that are there and give you an update on them. I hope all is well with you, and thank you for stopping by!!

 

Love: Rach :)

 



HE is ALIVE!!!

Happy Easter everyone!!!

I hope as you read this you remember that Jesus died and rose again for everyone's sins. HE forgives you for everything and wants to have a personal relationship with you :) Seek Him!!

This weekend has been super crazy (I tried to post last night but the wifi was down), I will lay it out for you:

Friday:
Get ready for 9:45am to go to Easter Friday service at Overcoming Faith Church which starts at 10am. Waiting...waiting..9:59....waiting.....10:05....Then at 10:10 Winnie comes to pick me up. We pile the kids in the van and arrive at church at 10:30. Praise and Worship was amazing!! It has been a long time since I have been able to worship like I do at home in church so it was lovely. There was a group from a university leading and they picked songs like we have in church. Church was decent too, but it was long. It was supposed to end at 12, but it was done at 1:30!!! And then, Winnie and I piled all the kids into the van and started for home (down a one-way) when we got flagged down and told we needed to come back to church so the kids could sing a song and get videotaped. Remember how we were driving down a one-way?? yeah so we drove the wrong way down it to get back to church. While the kids were singing Winnie decides she wants to go home, so she gets someone else to drive us. This is fine only in the end I waited for a whole hour to get the kids in the van, then he wasn't there so we had to wait for him and by this time the kids where bored with sitting so they were gone and we had to reload them...it was the definition of GONG SHOW!!! It was crazy. So got back at 2:30 to Happy Life grabbed a snack for lunch and went down to feed the babies. Chilled in the afternoon and got to FaceTime Sarah Martens which was fantastic!! Then at about 7:15 it started thundering and lightning and raining a bit. I was like "sweet, I will just grab my handy dandy umbrella and go up onto the roof to watch the lightning!!" Let me tell you how bad of an idea that was!! I thought it was raining down, like normal rain, but it was SHEETING. I was soaked in seconds. Then, all of a sudden the power goes out, just at the time of feeding. I look down over the balcony to where the older kids are supposed to be getting ready for bed and I see a single light, so I went down there to bring them another one. Between the building I am living in and that building though is this open area, which was now filled with about 5 inches of water!! By this time it has been raining for about 20-30 minutes... I was down there for a while and then I offered to go up and feed the babies so they didn't have to get soaked too. So I went and fed the babies, and it was later than usual by this time, so I was feeding babies two at a time!! It was great :) Then as I was going to be, the power popped on. Story of my life!!

Saturday:
Slept in until 7am!! Haha. Got ready for the day and went to feed the babies just like a normal morning. Basically chilled all day and fed babies. I also met a wonderful girl, Ashara, from New York City, who is here for school. We hit it off right away and we were chatting for a while!! The elections are FINALLY over...it has been almost a month, but praise God it has been mostly peaceful. There was a court case against Kenyatta (the winner), because the loser, Odinga likes to cause a stink. In the end the court ruling was in favor or Uhuru Kenyatta and he will be officially signed on April 9th. It was super loud here again when the people found out!! There is a new two week old baby here named Lamual and he has become one of my favorites :) I spent a lot of this day cuddling him. I got to Skype Kenge :) and then the kids were dying Easter eggs with Mari and Andy which they loved. I went to feed the babies for the night and my day ended with being able to cuddle with Lamual. He is pretty much the only one young enough to fall asleep in your arms, and it is awesome!!

Sunday:
On Saturday, I invited Ashara to come to church as well as another friend Olivia, who invited one of her friends, Edith. They came over in the morning ready to go to church. Today was a BUSY church day. In the past little while we have had many new children; Daniel - 10, twins who don't speak any Swahili or English, Dominic and Peter - 3 ish, another 3 year old boy, Kennedy - 1 1/2, Ray (who I thought I named Erik, but they changed it..) - 1 and Lamual - 2 weeks. These kids all came to church with us to get dedicated, like baby dedication at home, and so that was interesting because we very rarely take that many babies... But we also have kids that are getting adopted so we brought them to get prayed for!!: Abidah - 2, William - 2, Ethan, - 1 1/2 and Tendai - 8 months. It was super crazy, but it worked out. And most of the babies didn't even cry in church, thank the Lord :) I kind of felt like the mom of seven though...because I was making bottles and getting diapers changed and being busy making sure all of the babies were okay. We got back home and fed the babies and then Andy took us all out for lunch; Mari, Olivia, Edith and I. It was a buffet, which was pretty amazing. Chilled in the evening and fed the babies before bed. Got back upstairs to hear that the youth group got back safely from Mexico!! I was so pumped and thankful that they are all safe and sound. I got to Skype with Erik before bed, which made my day :)

I am definitely going to miss being a "mom" to these babies, because I love them like my own. When one doesn't want to eat, I try to sit with it until it does. If one is sick, I cuddle it because that's all anyone wants when they are sick. And if they are crying I try to make things better :) They have become my babies and it is gonna suck to leave them. I might take a couple home in my suitcase!!! Just kidding. But I am already praying that God will bring me back someday soon because I love Kenya. I am excited to come home in 23 days, and yet it will be a sad time saying goodbye.

Thank you for all of your prayers for me!! I really appreciate them. And I am sorry that it has been a while since my last post, but the power has been out and wifi has been down, and it has been a crazy weekend!! I will try to post some pictures shortly. Of the new babies and kids too!!

Love: Rach :)

You Love Me Anyway

I have no idea who you have been telling about my blog but tons of people are reading it lately!! Thank you for your support, it means the world, honestly.

So last night there was a thunder and lightning storm, it was pretty sweet. I am hoping for lots more in the next month, they are my favorite. When I see the lightning I am so reminded of God's infinite-ness!! He is truly an amazing God. It blows my mind that HE wants to spend time with me, even if I don't want to spend time with Him. Compared to God's love, mine in return is nothing, and yet He wants it!! How crazy :) With Easter coming up, God is showing me how great His love really is. What He did on the cross sucks, but I will take the free gift that He is offering to me. There is a song by the Sidewalk Prophets called You Love Me Anyway that reminds me of Easter.

The question was raised, as my conscience fell
A silly, little lie, it didn’t mean much

But it lingers still In the corners of my mind

Still you call me to walk on the edge of this world
To spread my dreams and fly but the future’s so far
My heart is so frail I think I’d rather stay inside

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me how You love me

It took more than my strength, to simply be still
To seek but never find, all the reasons we change
The reasons I doubt, and why do loved ones have to die?

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me

I am the thorn in Your crown, but You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow, but You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist, but You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss, but You love me anyway

See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace

And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life

But You love me anyway
Oh, God… how you love me
You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway, Oh Lord, how You love me

You love me, You love me
You love me, You love me
How You love me
How You love me
How You love me

God is so good. Living for Him is like no other thing in the entire world. I know that I wouldn't be in Africa right now if I hadn't surrendered my life to Him. Yes it is hard, and I have had my share of troubles and sicknesses, but I am learning to trust the Lord through these things and seek His face even more. Lately I feel like I am learning how to study the bible a bit more. I feel like I am really connecting in ways that I didn't before, and I like it!! Some days are still hard, but lately I have had more good days than bad ones. That is a little glimpse into my walk with God right now :)

I tried to post pictures too, but the wifi is too slow :( I will try again soon though!!

Love,
Rach :)

Mandazi and Matumbo

Hey!! :)

I hope you are doing well and thank you for continuing to support me in reading and prayer. I appreciate it more than you may know.

Sunday was a pretty good day, although I miss church at home terribly. That is something I am definitely excited to come home to. I had to say good bye to Dan and Tasha though, which was very sad. I only knew them for a short time but we connected so well and I appreciated their knowledge and our conversations. I do know, though, that I will always have a place to stay in Ontario, California if need be :)

Monday was a pretty chill day, feeding babies and doing laundry. But in the evening a girl by the name of Jerry cam over to teach Mari and I how to make mandazi!!! It is basically deep fried dough...but it is amazing!! If anyone wants to try some when I get home, be sure to let me know :)

It was lots of fun, but we made soooo many!! Too many.....

Today was a good day as well; got up for a run this morning, did a load of laundry and fed the babies in the morning. At 10, Mari and I headed off to Victorious-Joy Children's Home and School. It is a 30 bob Matatu ride and then a decent walk, but it is worth it. The kids were outside on recess when we arrived so we greeted them and went on inside. There we chatted with Boaz (the principal) and Mary (head teacher) about their plans and dreams for this school. We also got to meet Rose, who founded the home and hear her story and dreams. She was an orphan herself and had always promised God that she would help at least one orphan. She had her first orphan about eight years ago, and he is now in Form 4 (grade 12), and has had many since then. Her goal is to buy a big property and move there. Right now they are renting land for the school and different land for the orphanage, for which they pay 14,000/= per month (approx. $164.71 CDN). The property that Rose is looking at right now is 4 acres with a large building on it that they could start using right now instead of building. The land and building costs 8 million /=, $70,588.24 CND, ish. Victorious-Joy has been a certified organization for the last five years, and has been running on sporadic donations since. They rely so hard on Jesus and the fact the He alone is able to sustain them, it is amazing!! I would ask you to take some time to pray for this organization that they would know the direction that The Lord is taking them, and that the money for the land would come in when God says. Thank you.

Then after we stopped at Home Depo for groceries (not at all like Home Depot at home) and headed back for the afternoon feed. Did the feeding, but some of the babies got immunizations today so tey are feeling a little cranky :(. Relaxed and watched a movie in the early evening and went for supper at 6:30 to Lucy's place where I tried Matumbo. It was NASTY (thats right Dad, nasty!!). It is goat intestine...but it looks like some fuzzy thing you would find in the ocean. The taste was fine, but it felt like I was chewing on a rubber tire!? It was not my favorite thing in the world at all. The rest of the meal was great; pilau (rice), sakuma wiki (greens similar to spinach), black beans and chapot (chapati). Then we came back to feed the babies and now I am ready for bed.

I hope you enjoy reading about my daily life. I am not too sure what to blog about other than this :)

Love you!!

And please pray for the Cornerstone Youth group on their Mexico mission trip!! My Erik is on the trip as well as many many people I care for a ton and I would love for them to learn lots as well as come back home safely :)
http://cstonechurch.blogspot.ca/

Rach :)

Serving At all Costs

Alright, so I am super inconsistent with this blogging thing....sorry about that, but I appreciate all of you who regularly check to see if I have posted!!

It has been an interesting week. We got three new volunteers from California last Sunday afternoon. Mari (who was here the first day I got here) she is here until April 16th. She is super cool and has an amazing heart and desire to follow Jesus!! She brought her Pastor and his wife along with her; Dan and Tasha. They are leaving on Monday already, but they are super easy to get along with and we have had a blast this week, I will definitely be sad when they have to leave.

Since I have been here, there have been 11 different volunteers here with me, and another one is coming sometime next week. It has been so cool to have these different people in my life, because I get to get to know people from different walks of life. It has also been very interesting realizing the difference between Christian believers and non. I have appreciated conversations with each volunteer, but at the same time there is something special about having other volunteers who love Jesus and can encourage me (like the three right now). The four of us have had some amazing conversations and they have encouraged me soooo much. I definitely take community and fellowship for granted, because at home I am surrounded by, and in fellowship with, believers several times a week. And here I have gone through times where none of the volunteers are believers, and it is totally different!! This is one of the things I am thanking God for right now.

Updates:

• Cathy is back at Happy Life!! She looks super healthy, and she even has chubby cheeks now :)
• There are no babies in Isolation now, Praise God!!
• One little boy though isn't doing well. He is about three years old and he has a rectal prolapse. The poor guy won't eat and he will barely drink. I will try to find out his name, because I don't remember. Please send up a chorus of prayers for him. He will be well in Jesus' name!!!!
• The building project at Juja Farm is going slowly but surely. I have been giving your donations to Peter a little bit at a time (as I have a limit at an ATM that I can withdrawal). This money will be going towards the Juja Farm project, and before I leave I hope to be able to be involved in using the money to purchase the needed supplies!! I am excited about that so that I can report back home and say what exactly your donations were used for.
• The rainy season is definitely here, but it isn't what I expected. I thought it was rainy all day every day, because that is what Google makes it sound like. But in reality, it rains at night then is cloudy in the morning then it gets sunny, then it rains again, then it gets sunny again. So there is still sun during the day!!!

There are only 32 days left of this journey for me, which is super crazy!! I am very thankful that I didn't plan only a two month mission because that would mean I would be heading home soon and I am not ready to go. This place feels like home, which is a God given blessing :) This past week has been full of business outside the orphanage because Dan and Tasha are here for only a short time so I have been showing them around to a few places. Today I was planning on going to Liuba's house (the nurse) to learn how to make mandazi (pretty much rollkuken!!) but I realized yesterday that I miss the babies and being here with them. I decided to stay at Happy Life today to feed the babies and play soccer with the older kids. I might even paint some of the little girl's nails :) I love the fact that I feel like I should be here. This past week I have gone to Victorious-Joy School/Children's Home and back to Kicheko Slum in Mlolongo and don't get me wrong I enjoy visiting there, but I know that God has called me here to Happy Life for this time.

Several times this week I have felt very overwhelmed with the need here. There are so many different organizations and orphanages and projects going on. Some to help kids, some to help people with HIV/Aids some to educate children, and the list goes on. It breaks my heart how many people suffer here. It is a different kind of suffering here than at home though. Lots of people (maybe not all) at home are in a homeless or jobless situation because of choices that they have made or because of laziness. Here, there are so very many people who are born into a bad situation and can't get out. When I go visit these places I feel a tug at my heart to give money or help to them, but at the same time, I can't give to everyone!! It is hard for me to visit them and not help them, you know?? I know God has a plan for these organizations, and they are all awesome, but it is hard to see. Not gonna lie, there are lots of these organizations that are not faith based and that surprises me. It makes me wonder why the church isn't doing more?! Why do we stay at home in our comfortable lives when God could call us to live an amazingly radical life, but we are just too scared to accept it?! I know God calls people to be the supporters of missionaries at home, and that not everyone is called to be a missionary.

Are we really doing everything that God is calling us to do??

Are we seeking Him every day??

Are we asking Him to guide and direct our lives no matter what the cost??

Do we love Him enough to pick up our crosses and follow Him??

 

Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." ~ Luke 9:23-24

Slum {Sluhm}:

noun: a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people

 

 

What is a slum to you?? When you think of their living conditions, what do you envision?? When you think of what they wear, what do you see?? I challenge you to grab a pen and paper and write down what YOU picture when the word slum comes to mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday March 14^th 2013 I visited Kicheko Slum in Mlolongo, which is south east of Nairobi. I had no expectations going in, in fact I didn’t think too much about what it would look like. I can tell you though, it shocked me. This first picture is of new apartments going up about three hundred metres from the entrance to the slum and picture two is the entrance. It was quite ironic to me, because of all the money that goes into these buildings, and yet the slum across the street has no electricity or running water…

 

 

 

LPM -- Living Positive Mlolongo

LPM is an organization seeking to improve the lives of women and families suffering from HIV/AIDs through income generating programs, education, and more.

One of the slums they work closely with is Kicheko; home to anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people, it is hard to count.

These are two groups of kids in "classrooms" in a makeshift daycare/school.

Most parents in a slum would never even entertain the idea that their child should or could go to school.

LPM is trying to get these kids sponsored so that they can go to grade school.

The sad part is, lots of parents won't let their child be sponsored because they feel like the child should be at home to help with things.

This is something I would ask you to pray for; that the parents would understand the value of education for their children.

This beautiful woman is Penina :)

For the last seven years she has lived with HIV.

She has four children, only one of which was born after she found out she has HIV.

Her husband is an alcoholic, who isn't home all the time.

The six of them live in a room that is about 8' x 10' (pictured below).

They have one bed, a couch, two chairs and a desk.

I think she must cook outside because there was no room for a kitchen.

 

  

 

 

 

 

You could call this the "main street" of the slum I suppose...There are shops and houses down here as well and kids, sheep and chickens. It was crazy to see how these people live. There is garbage everywhere and we went on a day that was very rainy and so the whole place was a mud slop. This was with one day of rain, imagine what it is like in April when it rains every single day!! And yet the floors of the homes that we visited were spotless, because the woman who are involved in the program are proud of their homes and want to be presentable when guests come. I realize now, that this picture doesn't even show how muddy it actually was, but my flip-flops were actually getting stuck in the mud

(not the best choice of footwear, btw).

The picture on the left here is kind of hard to explain. Just past the kitten there is a doorway on the lefthand side; this is a woman's home.

But down the way on the right hand side are three other rooms which she wants to rent out, I think. So I am standing at the gate of the "gated community" as they called it, looking in.

The picture on the right is their garden...LPM has some fundraising to do and they want to use this garden to grow veggies to sell. Their ultimate goal with this fundraising is to bring tourists for day visits to this slum. While at the slum the tourists will learn how to cook, wash, do crafts, make jewlery, that sort of thing. The reason for this is that LPM wants to help these families earn money from the things that they make and sell. I'm still not too sure where I stand on this idea though, honestly, because a part of me feels like it becomes a "gawking" session, but on the other hand, it will definitely help these families earn an income. As you can see, their houses and buildings are made of scraps of tin and wood, which isn't exactly rain proof...I couldn't imagine living there on a sunny day, nevermind a rainy day in April. 

 

 

 I feel like these shoes symbolize their need. If this pair of shoes could tell its story, I bet some of us wouldn't want to stick around to hear it.

 

I was awed at the amount of garbage lying around and in piles. Where I live, Roysambu, there is a lot of garbage and it smells....turns out it is nothing like this.

A mom hard at work. No need to waste any time chasing a child around!! This way you always know where he is :)

Kenyan Slum Facts:

• There are a total of 15 slums regions in Nairobi
• In Kenya over 4 million people live in slums
• 71% of people living in urban areas in Kenya are living in slums
• Average monthly rent in most slums is 700 shillings
• equivalent to $8.35 cdn with today's exchange rate

I hope you have enjoyed seeing into a slum, as much as is possible. I would like you to look back and compare the thoughts you wrote down to the pictures you saw. How do your perceptions differ from my photos and explainations?? I would LOVE to hear your first answers as well as your final thoughts. My goal, when I get back home, is to try and make more people aware of the reality of poverty. If I can have your thoughts and stories, it would help me a lot in the future. Comment them if you would like others to read it or simply email me at rachelbergen_13@hotmail.com. I hope you accept my challange!! :)

 

 I know for me, any previous pictures I had in my head, are now replaced with {reality}. It is a totally different world than the one we live in and I am seeking God with how I can make people aware of this. If you think of it, please pray the I would be confident in knowing what God's plan is for me when I return home. I feel like, now that I have seen this kind of poverty if I don't do something or at least attempt to make people aware I am living in ignorance and I simply cannot do that.

 

Thank you for reading and pondering my photos. Love you all!!

 

Rach :)

Clinic Visit

Hello!!

On Tuesday night, I was awake a lot of the night with a terrible stomach ache and feeling like I was going to throw up every 5 seconds. It was awful. Now it wasn't the same pain I had on Sunday, that one went away, but now it had moved to my stomach. Wednesday morning I decided to go to the clinic just down the road to see what was wrong because I have been sick for two weeks on and off with all different sorts of symptoms. I was at the clinic around 10:45am and I was out by 2:30 ish. They discovered that I have a UTI (urinary tract infection) which is caused by mild food poisoning. They tested for malaria as well, which I do not have!! They are also going to check for any water-borne diseases at a later date. Thank you for praying for me during this time. I was struggling to hear what God was telling me to do. I didn't know if I should go to the clinic or if I should just keep praying for healing. I was very confused, but I think I made the right choice. It absolutely sucks being sick here. There are so many things that I want to do here, but it is hard when I feel sick. I think I have been more sick here in the last seven week then I have been at home in the last year...it is horrible. But I am learning to trust God in these things, and work through the pain.

On a completely different note; the rainy season seems to have started early!! Usually it only starts a little ways into April, but here we are in the middle of March and it is cloudy. And when it rains it pours!! The babies have been pretty good lately and I am getting to know the babies in infant B a bit more. They are super funny because they all have different personalities!! AAAAND....I got to name a baby!! I named him Erik :) cuz I am that cheesy!! He is super chunky and cute.

Today Elise, Madi and I are going to a slum. I think it will be a good experience, but I have no expectations because I have no idea what to expect. I will be posting about it and some pictures tomorrow sometime, so please look back for those!!

May the Lord bless you today and always :)
Love: Rach

Pictures Finally

 

 

 

 

 

So I was thinking today, and I have taken tons of pictures but I havn't posted very many!!

Here are a few that I have taken. I hope this helps you see what I see :)

Enjoy!!

 

 

This is called the "Playpen" where the toddlers and young kids play during the day.

Sometimes I go in there and sit with them and hold them if they cry. Some of the kids are quite mean and beat on each other :( so I try to stop that the best that I can.

 

A couple of weeks back, I had the chance to visit a different orphanage/school.

(I mentioned it in one of my posts a while back)

These two pictures are from there. The kids were supposed to be in class, but all they wanted was for me to take their pictures over and over again!! It was quite funnny.

 

These are some of the babies from Infant A. On warm sunny days they get to lay outside for a little while to enjoy some Vitamin D!! Some of them don't appreciate it too much...

 

This is how bananas grow!!! I was pumped :)

 

This is baby Micah who is with Jesus now.

I miss the little guy, but I know Jesus' lap is a way better place for him!!

 

 And this is baby Cathy, who is currently in the hospital with pneumonia.

Please send up prayers for her!! She is getting worse every day.

This is my buddy Tendai!! He is super cute.

And on the right side, you can see formula cans, a thermos and bottles. I spend a lot of my day at this table!! It has come to the point where the "moms" will ask me to go in and start the feed until they can get there, it is great!! Today I fed the entire Infant B room by myself (it was quick because most of them hold their own bottles) but it is cool that they trust me that much!! There are definitely lots ofthe moms that I have gotten close with, and it will be sad to leave them.

These big eyes belong to Jayden  :)

This kid is always full of smiles!! But right now he is sick, please pray for him also.

This is one of the three girls at Juja farm!!

I will be posting more Juja pictures hopefully soon, but this one was too cute not to post.

 

I hope you have enjoyed these few, and I apologize for not posting them sooner. Thank you again for praying and continuing to pray for the sick ones as well as for me.

 

Keep checking back for more updates and pictures!!

 

Love: Rach :)