Update from Lodwar (Day 2)

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the delay in the blog updates. We've been unable to get internet access the last few days. As Jessica mentioned, our luggage arrived today on the daily flight from Nairobi. Our host, Thomas, who is the director of House of Hope, drove us to the airport to pick up the bags. Before that, we visited a local school where the older children from House of Hope attend during the day. We were given a brief tour by the school principal and met most of the 230 children! This afternoon, we traveled over to the House of Hope to spend more time with the children. There is internet available here, so we are finally able to post the updates that we've been typing along the way.

Visiting the school in Lodwar

Prayer requests:

• Josh is not feeling well and has been out of commission since last night (Thursday). He is battling indigestion and is having trouble keeping any food down.
• April was feeling poorly after dinner last night (we had some pizza for dinner that didn't sit well in some of our stomachs). She is feeling better as of right now though, and was able to come to House of Hope this afternoon.

Thank you for your prayers! We'll be posting again soon (hopefully).

David

Lodwar (as told by Jessica Yap)

Welcome to Lodwar International Airport!  Well, sort of.  We were welcomed, but there was no airport; and even if there had been, it would probably not have been an international hub.  Here, in the north of Kenya, we see the Africa of our imaginations – arid land sprinkled with trees, thatched huts, men and women in zesty, colorful robes.  Currently we lodge in thatched-roof, open-air cottages and sleep under mosquito nets.

The Lodwar airport

Yesterday we were met at the Lodwar airstrip by Thomas and Moses, the director and manager of the House of Hope orphanage, respectively.  House of Hope is home to forty orphans ranging in age from about 5 to 14.  The team got a tour of the facilities, including the garden and greenhouse where the children assist the gardener in coaxing sustenance out of the parched earth.

The girls' (foreground) and guys' (background) guest houses in Lodwar

The children introduced themselves and sang for us a song about being new in Jesus and the old self being washed away.  Each place we go, we meet brothers and sisters in Christ and it is truly special.  We (team, children, staff) joined hands and prayed together for continued healing and also to thank God that we (the team) could be there.  It is so uniting to hear our African brothers in Messiah pray.  Even though they live a quarter of the globe away from us in the States, they still pray to the same God, and they pray in the same manner that we do.

Welcomed by the children of House of Hope

We played with the children for hours on the playground.  Hannah, Noah and Josh played soccer with some pretty talented kids.  Jon invented his own game, which was an immense hit with the children (something about passing the soccer ball and counting, and then crazy dances when it came full circle).  David climbed the basketball pole and helped kids make the shots.  April and I had this sort of London Bridge game going on where we lowered our arms as the kids came down the slide; but after accidentally knocking a few kids in the head, we switched it to high-fives.

In a few minutes, we are heading out there again to play with the kids.  Gotta wrap it up quick, so I’ll say this:

Praise the Lord for air conditioning in America! And for His healing, and continued healing of our team.  And for our toilets.  And for our luggage, which made it to Lodwar today!

Last Day in Kisumu

Thoughts of today from Jonathan Reichel...

God continues to amaze me by what He is able to accomplish! Today we have flown, driven, built physically, and united spiritually. Now for the juicy details!

This morning we woke from our hotel in Nairobi shortly before 5am. Using my pinky toe to find furniture in the dark, I finished consolidating all my needed clothes and working supplies into a small backpack to join the group for our very early flight from Nairobi to Kisumu. (Bonus points if you “Google earth” search these locations ;-)

After cramming into our sardine can with wings, we buzzed our way through the skies. The beautiful view reminded me of a heavenly bowl of marshmallows, but that may be due to the fact that we skipped breakfast. 


After our short flight we arrived at the Kisumu “International Airport” - a cozy, yet modern reception. 

Another (incredibly skilled!) driver picked our group up and perfectly navigated terrain that would make stunt drivers tip their helmets in respect. He lovingly deposited us in the care of tonight’s host, Jarrod, who’s kind family promptly showed us to our lovely rooms and fed us generously. (I want the recipe for those potatoes!)

Jarrod!

After a quick turn around, we assembled our gear and prepared for a few of my expected highlights of the trip, construction and taking care of the beh-behs! I cannot emphasize enough how viscerally exciting it is to experience a master driver at work battling physics to keep us on what roads are available to travel! If anyone needed a chiropractic adjustment, I think the rocks and speeding motorbikes took care of it. ;-)

On the way we stopped for gas and found that the van would not start again. After several minutes of the driver and petrol attendant trying all they could, our group abided by one of our trip mantras “Stop, and pray.” Less than a minute after we asked God for a little extra mechanical assistance, the engine burst back to life and resounding squeals of joy (some, manly) filed the van, and we were back on our way! God is the best mechanic. ;-)

Once we arrived in the village, we were overwhelmed with the warmth and love that the villagers shared with us. They were very happy to see us, and we were very blessed to help. After many cheerful smiles and hand shakes, we unpacked our supplies and got to work laying posts, digging holes, measuring, cutting, hammering, and nailing. My hands quickly rediscovered ancient calluses I had forgotten since my days of lawn care, and I was blessed seeing them develop for a good cause.

Several of the group peeled off as there were lulls in hammer availability to play soccer with the kids and keep their smiles wide and laughs filling the air. I think I saw David with a record of 3 kids in arms at once, and it seems that all the girls had at least 1 beh-beh in their lap every time I looked over. Their songs and laughter blended as a perfect chorus to the rhythm of the hammers. ;-)

As the sun started to set, the roof was just being secured and the last of the nails had found their use. I know many of us had a new set of battle scars on our hands from a full day of work. The pastors and most of the village piled into the new home and thanked us for our help. We prayed together in many different tongues, and shared a beautiful time of celebration. It is amazing to see how God can knit hearts together from such different cultures with the perfect love of Jesus Christ!

Much more to come, I love you dearly!

-Jonathan Reichel  ;-)

Hello Everyone,

What a blessed day it has been! God is so good! Today we travelled to the school in Kibera, which is in the slum outside of Nairobi, where we had an incredible time playing with the children. Before we went, we picked up bread and juice to hand out and wow were they excited! It was completely heart-warming to see their faces glow at the sight of us, and the food of course. All they wanted was to be held, hugged, and have their pictures taken. Even the little ones who didn't speak much just wanted to hold your hand...To be honest, it felt amazing to be so loved. In the beginning I believed that I loved these children because I came to see them, but now I realize that they love me VERY much in return. Bless their sweet little hearts. You know that wonderful feeling when your presence turns someone's world around? That good feeling that you've impacted someone's life? It felt that way today. Not only did God bless this school today with lunch, but blessed myself with this feeling. I'm quite sure the rest of the team is feeling this way as well. Today's trip to the school was life-changing. Coming from a rookie and never visiting circumstances as these, my perspective about life has been changed drastically.

Kibera

The school in Kibera

Ending our day in the slum, we walked through small alleys, tight corners, and over a lot of trash to visit one of the teachers who was sick at home. Helen had an asthma condition, so she didn't have a voice, but told us her story in a whisper. Despite her health, she was still very welcoming in her home. As all eight of us, plus our guide and Helen, we fit shoulder to shoulder in her living room. She has cared for ten children, five being her own, and the other five being her deceased sisters. You could tell that Helen has a big heart and loves Jesus Christ, which was incredibly inspiring. I pray that God strengthens my faith like He has for Helen!

Devotional Comments:
I strongly believe God rewards the faithful and here is why! I've noticed how quickly God's replies are to my prayers when I've stopped and prayed right away. Whenever something good happens, I used to run and tell my parents, or my friends, which is okay but shouldn't be the first person I seek. I focused more on the blessing than on the blesser. Yet once I began turning straight to God, that instant feeling of "got your message Hannah," was so strong on my heart. Whenever I had a struggle, I usually turned to a friend for advice, which once again isn't wrong but I've noticed it's better when I seek God's council first. That day I turned to God during a tough day, within in seconds, God's replied. You know it's a good feeling when God talks to you! So stopping and praying for anything, struggles, praises, or even requests, God honors your faithfulness to turn to Him first!

Prayer Requests:
- Please be praying for me, Hannah. Been feeling a little sick all day and finally stopped me this evening. Just some stomach problems, and feeling very overwhelmed from today's encounter.
- Our group is traveling (early in the morning) to Kisumu for two days. We'll be building homes, so a lot of energy is needed!
- A quality night sleep is requested. The entire team is still feeling that 7 hour time change ;)
- Please pray for more safe travels. So far we haven't encountered any problems, and we pray to keep it that way!
- Prayers for our families back home
- Children at the school in Kibera
- Helen, one of the teachers at the school who lives in Kibera

Just a heads up, this may be out last update for a little while. We're not sure if Kisumu will have Wifi.

Thanks again for all your prayers and checking in on us! God Bless!

Love, Hannah

World Travelers!

Jambo from Kenya!  Here is what we have been up to the last couple of days:  Saturday and Sunday were our traveling days.  We left the Lisech's on Saturday afternoon and set off for the airport.  Our first flight was from Orlando to Gatwick (in London); however, our second flight was from Heathrow (a different airport in London) to Nairobi, Kenya.  Since our flight got into one airport in London and left the other we had to take a bus between the two.  Luckily there was enough time in between to get there.  Our flights were about 8 hours each.  They fed us and we each had access to a little TV and our choice of their list of movies and TV shows.  Our second flight was delayed in boarding, but once we got on the plane most of us fell asleep because it was the middle of the night Florida time.  Although they let us board about half an hour late, we didn't leave for another hour and a half because they had to fix something and then we had to wait for other planes that were ahead of us to take off.  This put us in Nairobi around midnight their time.  Luckily the visa, baggage claim, and money changing processes went very quickly and our driver had waited for us.  We got to the guest house we are staying at and split up, as the rooms have 2 beds each.  We finally got some much needed rest in beds, rather than airplane seats.

Africa, here we come!

The PCEA Guest House in Nairobi

Good news:  

• we were able to sit together on the flights
• our first flight was fairly empty so we were able to move around and some people found a row to stretch out a little more on
• we got to know each other better on those long plane rides where we were cozy
• switching airports in London allowed us to have a little preview for our last day of the trip
• we got to Kenya safe and sound with all our bags

Devos:  The devotional for Saturday was about getting to know each other so that prompted some good conversations and we got to know individual people on our team a little better, as well as their quirks.  It is interesting to learn that people who I didn't know very wel before actually have a lot in common with me.  We were supposed to do the devotional titled "stop and pray" on Sunday but some of didn't get the memo since we were flying and so didn't do it until today.  We had some opportunities for that (to stop and pray) today specifically, but I will let my friend expound on those if she wishes to.

Prayer Requests from Saturday and Sunday:

• Health for everyone (some of us had unsettled stomachs from the malaria prevention)
• Safe travels

Summary:  We had long plane flights but made it to Kenya!  We are all learning more about each other.    We had a safe trip (praise), but we seem to be trading queasy stomachs so please continue to pray that all of our stomachs would be settled and stay that way!  Asante!

Habari za jioni from Kenya!

Love,  April

Orientation

Hey everyone!

Our first day of orientation is nearing completion. After gathering at the church and saying farewell to friends and family, we departed for the Lisechs' home. Most of the afternoon was spent discussing the plan for the trip as well as some cross-cultural integration pointers.

After dinner, there was an intense watermelon seed spitting competition followed by some extreme croquet around the backyard! Before heading inside, we paused to take in the beautiful sunset over the lakebed (picture below). At the moment, we're finishing off our team bonding time for the evening with a rousing round of Apples to Apples, so I apologize if this post isn't entirely coherent. :)

Tomorrow we'll spend the morning finishing up orientation, then head over to the airport in the afternoon for our flight to Kenya!

For the team,

David

Hello friends! Below is a summary of our itinerary for the trip. Check it out and follow along with us!

Friday - June 1

            · Arrive Lisech Home @ noon

            / Orientation (pm)

            ©Team Bonding (evening)

Saturday - June 2

            / Orientation (am)

            Q Leave Orlando - Flight @ 5:35pm (to Nairobi via London)

Sunday - June 3

            · Arrive Nairobi @ 9pm

            ’ Sleep at PCEA Guesthouse

Monday - June 4

            · Visit Kibera (slum), Visit School

            ’ Sleep at PCEA Guesthouse

Tuesday - June 5

            Q Leave Nairobi - Flight @ 6:30am (to Kisumu)

            ’ Sleep at Jarods House

Wednesday - June 6

            · House building for widows in Kisumu

            ’ Sleep at Jarods House

Thursday - June 7

            Q Leave Kisumu - Flight @ ?am (to Nairobi)

            Q Leave Nairobi - Flight @ 2pm (to Lodwar)

            · Arrive Lodwar (pm)

            · Visit House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Friday - June 8

            · Food Distribution (am)

            · Visit School, Play w/ kids at House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Saturday - June 9

            · Food Distribution (am)

            · Play w/ kids at House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Sunday - June 10

            U Church at IDP (am)

            · Play w/ kids at House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Monday - June 11

            Q Leave Lodwar - Flight @ ?am (to Nairobi)

            · Drive to Keekorok

            · Evening Game Drive (safari)

            ’ Sleep at Lake Nakuru Lodge

Tuesday - June 12

            · Morning Game Drive (safari)

            /Debrief (pm)

            ’ Sleep at Lake Nakuru Lodge

Wednesday - June 13

            · Drive back to Nairobi (am)

            / Debrief at PCEA guest house

            Q Leave Nairobi - Flight @ 11pm (to Orlando via London)

            ’ Sleep on plane J

Thursday - June 14

            · Arrive in London @ 6am

            · Visit London!! (all day)

            ’ Sleep in London Hostel

Friday - June 15

            Q Leave London - Flight @ 11:20am

            · Arrive Orlando @ 3:35pm

            · Sleep at HOME!