Bwana Asifiewe!

Bwana Asifiewe is Swahili for “Praise the Lord!” And there is much to praise Him for after my recent trip to Kenya. God went before us and paved the way for an incredible week in Africa. Thanks for your prayers!

The needs in Kenya are overwhelming. As we drove throughout the country, the thing that left the greatest impression on me was the bredth of poverty across the land. Everywhere we went there were people living in shanti town slums, and surviving conditions beyond my imagination. It is tough to take all that in, but at the same time it is exciting to be a part of a mission seeking to bring help and hope to those in desperate need.

In such situations, it can be difficult to know where to begin, and the truth is we could probably start almost anywhere. Relationships are often the default starting point, and our work in Kenya is turning out that way too. Through a network of already established relationships we decided to focus in on Olmoran, a remote community located about 45 miles north of Nyahururu.

We found ourselves in Olmoran, speaking with a group of cattle farmers about their greatest needs, food and water. In the midst of the conversation, a man named Leonard stepped forward from the back of the crowd and said, “I will pray for you, that God will show you how to help us.”

I want to ask you to join Leonard in his prayer. With so much work to be done, we don’t stand a chance without Divine intervention. We are now planning a medical mission trip to Olmoran, Kenya in October of this year. If you are interested, or know of someone interested in going on this trip, please let me know.

This is an incredibly busy spring season for us at Simply Missions. While I was in Kenya we had a team in Mississippi doing Katrina relief work. Next week Laura and I will be leading a group of high school students on a trip to France. During that same week, Bob & Janet Wielenga (founders of GO Develop) will be at a children’s home in Jamaica leading a team of 23. We get a short breather in May before the summer season begins in early June with two team trips to Jamaica, and one to Guatemala.

As always, we are grateful for your prayers and support that make this work possible!

Please continue to pray as this ministry grows.

Kenya Update

We’ve been so busy that it has been difficult to find time to update you all on what is happening here. Here is a recap of the past few days…

On Monday morning we drove to the Huduma School which is located about fifteen minutes from here in the heart of the Kwangware slum. There are 1,500 students in the school which currently goes up to “Form 2” (or 10^th grade). More grades will be added in the coming years. The cost to attend the school for the year is about $25/student. Class sizes at Huduma are all around 40 students per teacher. As a teacher myself, I know that this is less than ideal. School begins at 7am and lets out at 6pm, so these kids are working hard to get an education. One of the school’s greatest needs is for a library, they do not currently have resources for the students to do research, though they occasionally take the older ones to a nearby seminary to do projects.

Another great ministry of the school is the sewing and carpentry classes that are offered. Young adults join these programs and can learn these trades in order to get employment. The programs take between a year and a half to two years to complete and prepare the students to start their own businesses in the community.

We played with the kids during their recess hours throughout the morning. As soon as one group would leave the playground (which was really more of a dust field than anything) another group would come running out. Everyone was pretty exhausted (and really dirty) by noon.

Monday afternoon we drove to Nyahururu which is about four hours north of Nairobi. We passed over the equator on the way.

Monday night, Bob and I met with a man from the Department of Water, who happened to be one of the board members of a local church where we have connections here in Kenya. This was a true Godsend for our hopes to begin a well project in nearby Olmoran.

Tuesday morning we drove 70 kilometers to Olmoran. That drive took us about two hours and the road was incredibly rough. It is difficult for me to describe this village. It is a meeting place for three different tribes. We happened to be there on a market day so the village was bustling with people setting up tents and lean-to’s to display their products. Our team split into small groups and walked through the village talking to people. Bob and I had an extended conversation with a group of cattle farmers and we discussed the challenges they face regarding food and water. They have a well in Olmoran but it is not satisfactory to meet the demands of the number of people coming to that area. The men we talked with had traveled 40 kilometers on foot (two days walk) to get to Olmoran to sell some animals and buy food for their family.

Tuesday afternoon we traveled another two hours back to Nyahururu for lunch, then another hour the other direction on an even more difficult road in order to reach the village of Salama. The well in Salama is in a state of disrepair. The windmill that had been powering it is no longer functioning. This community is another target opportunity for a well project.

Wednesday morning we left Nyahururu early and headed back to Nairobi via Nakuru. We took the opportunity to spend a few hours on safari in the Lake Nakuru National Preserve. What a beautiful display of God’s creation! On the way back we also stopped and visited the Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school for children of missionaries.

So, today seemed like the first day that we were not in the van for hours on end, and it was a welcome change. We spent the day teaching students at Lavington United Church School, which is only about ten minutes from where we are staying. The Hope College students presented a lesson on the armor of God to students in several grade levels.

After lunch Bob and I met with the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Kenya. Our meeting was to discuss their potential involvement with us in the community development projects that we are looking at in Olmoran and the surrounding areas. It was exciting to hear the Archbishop using some of the very same terms that we have used in describing what we hope to see happen in that community. God seems to be at work and we continue to listen carefully for more hints on what God is up to here.

This evening was our first evening when we were back to the guest house before 7:00pm. It was nice just to have a few hours of relaxation time. Tomorrow we start early again at the school and the group will be doing presentations for the upper level grades at Lavington school. We will head back to the USA on Saturday evening.

Our time here in Kenya has been a whirlwind (or maybe the proper term would be a dust devil, as those seem common here). We have seen so much and time and space do not permit me to write about all that I have experienced and felt personally. One thing I will say is that the needs here are overwhelming. Pray for us as we continue this journey, that God would keep our eyes open even when what we see is hard to take in.

Blessings on you all, and thanks for your prayers.

Peace to you from Kenya,

joe

Catching You Up To Speed in KENYA

Friday and Saturday were long travel days and we arrived here last night (Saturday) at 8:00pm. After checking into the Guest House we grabbed a late dinner and went to bed as we were all pretty tired. Today (Sunday) we went to Huduma Church in the Kwangware slums for an authentic two and a half hour Kenyan church service.

This afternoon we enjoyed our day of rest by taking in some of the sites nearby. We spent some time feeding (some even kissing) the giraffes at the Giraffe Center in Karen. We also saw some cultural dancing at the Bomas Center, also in Karen.

Our highlight this evening was sorting through all of the donations that we brought with us. Tomorrow we will spend time with kids at Huduma Scool in the Kwangware slum before heading to Nyahururu which will serve as our base of operations for the following two days. Tuesday we will drive from Nyahuru to Olmoran, the site we are investigating for our first “Go Develop Communities” project. Later in the week we will be back here in Lavington doing two days of school activities at Lavington United Church Academy.

We are all overwhelmed by the love and joy that we are greeted with wherever we go. It is our prayer that we will bring more of God’s love to each individual that we meet on our journeys. Please pray with us that God would use our time here in Kenya for the growth of His Kingdom.

A new look for a new year!

Happy New Year! We are excited to unveil our new logo and a new look for our website for 2009. Click on the new logo above to surf over to simplymissions.org and have a look around and let us know what you think.

Aside from our new logo, we have some really exciting things going on in 2009. We are currently working on putting together nine different trips for '09 and we are always looking for new groups and partnerships. One of the most exciting things that is in the works is our newest initiative to transform communities in need of clean drinking water. We are already in the process of identifying a community where we will work to provide...

Clean Water through well drilling, water filtration, and purification.
Mosquito Netting to help prevent malaria.
Medical Clinics to relieve urgent and chronic illness.
Evangelistic Outreach through clinics, seminars, sports ministry, and relationship development.
Long-term Discipleship through church planting.

We'll keep you posted on all the latest news as these projects develop further. Thanks for your prayers!

Update from Lakeshore, MS

It's been a productive time here in Lakeshore in spite of the really cold weather (it snowed today). It was funny to see so many people excited about snowflakes, but a good reminder that our God is creative and amazing - something I forget to remember when watching the snow fall.

In addition to getting to see some of the projects that are going on down here, I was able to jump in with a team from Kentucky and get my hands dirty with some "real work" as some call it. It was not only cool to be a part of a project but it was cool to make some new friends who have been dedicated to the ministry here since "the storm" hit. So here you'll see a picture of me installing a kitchen sink in a new home that is being built for an 80 year old man whose home was destroyed by the waters of Katrina on August 29, 2005.


It is crazy to think that Katrina was three years ago and there are still people living in FEMA trailers and MEMA cottages. The FEMA trailers are mostly phased out now and the MEMA cottages are scheduled for removal begining in March of 2009. There are roughly 2,000 people in Lakeshore alone who will be displaced by this action. The need then, for teams that can come here and help build homes is obviously still present. Below is a photo of a MEMA cottage that is just a stones throw from the church.


One of the toughest things to see was the gentlemen that we visited who was living in this tent (pictured below). Remember that it snowed today and he has no electricity. He doesn't even own the plot of land, he is a squatter. There are a whole host of issues that are raised in considering his life and I need a bit more time to process it all. If nothing else, meeting him forces me to rethink my view of "the storm", the systems used to manage the people here, and what my role is.

I am sitting now in the Mockingbird cafe in Bay St. Louis. There is live music playing and the loud ring of voices chattering over the songs. Being here in the cafe for the past few hours is a good reminder to me that peole live here! I know that may sound strange but when we in the north think of Katrina, I know some wonder "Why rebuild?" Sitting here reminds me of at least one reason... it's home.

I head back home tomorrow. Pray for safe flights and for people to join in with this project in the future.

Headed to Mississippi

I leave this morning for Mississippi. I'll be hanging out with the folks from Rebuild Lakeshore, a relief organization that we hope to partner with for future domestic mission experiences. Pray for safety in travels and a productive time in building relationships.
Thanks!

SOE Provisional Members

We are happy to "officially" announce our partnership with the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission (SOE) as provisional members. There are a number of benefits that come with this association but we are most excited about being able to connect with other like-minded ministries who will help us become more effective in what we do. Read about more of the benefits here. One big change you may notice is that we will now proudly display the SOE seal on our website and other publications.

Not sure what the standards are? Check them out here.