Refreshment from God

This has been a week of beginnings and renwed hope for our team. The "beginnings" may surprise many of you because we have now been in Chepilat just over 4 weeks but it has taken time for us to begin some of the ministries that have been on our minds and hearts. There are many questions that still remain unanswered though such as how to show and not just preach the love of God, how to let people see the truth we bring in a manner that separates it from the lies all around us and especially what to tell the drunkards, prostitutes and witch doctors to show them that there is a lasting hope that can bring purpose in other ways than what are they are involved in, a hope that won't fade after the last of their money is spent and the pot of food that should have lasted longer is scraped clean. Yet as a guest to our church stated, "wherever darkness is found there is also always a presence of light--no matter how small." We got a glimpse of that very light this week. On Monday, we had the privilege of hosting two very important and respected figures of Chepilat for lunch, one from each side of the tribal divide in this region of Kenya. We have been eager to begin peace talks since the moment we stepped into this town but making "peace" happen is easier in theory. Realization as to the challenge at hand became evident from the first conversation we had with a local resident who was personally affected by the violence. Yet we came out of our lunch meeting with renewed energy because both men were very open to the idea of replacing tribal division for Christ-like unity again. Of course, we find it necessary to begin this process with the churches because they hold the foundational beliefs as we do for reconciliation and if peace is going to happen here it is going to be by the hand of God and what better testimony of Christ's church and its truth than to have them lead this transition. On this Saturday the 14th (yes, Valentines Day:)) we will be meeting with the local Kisii church pastors allowing them to come together and talk and process about how they were affected only a short year ago. They also will have the opportunity to begin discussing ideas about where to go from here as Christian individuals and church bodies. In a few weeks we will do the same thing for the local church leaders on the Kipsii side. We are then hoping for a third meeting that can include pastors from both sides who will be able to willingly come together with the same desires and under the same title (Christians) and take steps forward together, in unity. The leaders of these churches must be on board before their congregations can be and if they, as the representatives of Christ and their respective churches, cannot be unified what chance does the secular community have in coming to peace and being reconciled with someone they recently considered an enemy and murderer? Yet God's got bigger plans than what looks to us as impossible and we got a glimpse of that by hearing the desires of two community leaders who have been seeking the same thing but not knowing how to take a first step. The first step has been taken.
We've also seen the light of God in our church here. This last Sunday was one of the best services I've ever been part of and I know God was looking down on it, smiling and saying "just wait, you haven't seen anything yet." We were filled with joy and excitement seeing people cram into the church (comprised of one small square room) so that the children were forced to sit on the cement floor along the edges and the aisle so that each adult could squeeze onto some form of seat. The energy in that sanctuary was contagious and the enthusiasm was pouring out of the doors and windows. It seemed that the energy continued to grow as the service progressed. Yet the best moment of the service, especially for me, was when each first time visitor had the opportunity to stand up and introduce themselves. We took nearly 30 minutes just for them! Before, during and after each introduction the enthusiastic church members clapped, shouted, cheered and praised God just for bringing them to the service regardless of tribe and even whether they would see each other the next Sunday. Our team was also encouraged by the familiar we saw. They were people we had witnessed to, some were people we had held brief conversations with that wanted to see what "all this" was about and others had heard the loudspeaker (it had been rented for the day) that projected the service through much of the neighborhood. Many of them didn't know the church was here and just wanted to see what this new church was all about.
These two stories I've just shared have been a light to us in the midst of a place that often appears dark and hopeless. Yet they are only a few of the revelations to spiritual light we have seen this week. A light provided and revealed only by the Father, the source of all love, truth and hope. We have other stories of Christ's faithfulness in our prayers, poured out in His perfect timing and creative ways but these touched us especially. I hope they have encouraged you as they have us. After all, this God of wonder and creativity is the same God you pray to when you close your eyes, the same God you worship and glorify every Sunday in church, the same God of each and every tongue, tribe and nation, and the same God that is watching over you right now.
Barikiwa (Be blessed).
All for his glory,
Colin

Praises
-all the encouragement we've seen this week in progress of ministering to the town and church
-continued safety
-friendships
-we find our preaching is improving:)
-Colin's health is finally improving (Bwana asifiwe-Praise God) after many weeks
-growth in Chepilat Mennonite Church

Requests
-direction and discernment as we continue taking steps in our ministeries and peace talks
-wisdom in how to reach those who are currently unreached (drunks, witches, prostitutes specifially)
-Brook's ear infection (in his right ear)
-the congregation (living deliberate lives in Christ)
-return of visitors and guests to church
-an effective peace meeting on Saturday with the Kisii church leaders

Pictures!

I have pictures!

We went for a walk through some tea fields the other day.

This is George.

This is our team.

Don't expect pictures too often as it is very hard to upload any, but we'll try to put some from time to time.

Stefan

enlightening the next generation

On Friday we got a taste of the Kenyan education system when we were all tossed into our own classroom with seemingly simple directions: "teach English." Now we've all graduated high school English, each at a different level, but we speak it so we naturally assumed that we could pass on some of that information to the youngsters at St. Annes Academy in downtown Chebilat. When I was 12, my grandmother taught a little phrase about what happens when one assumes anything ... clearly I didn't take it to heart. We were given a lesson book, two pieces of chalk, and a pat on the head before we were sent into the fray. 

Our experiences in the classroom varied but we found several things in common: they don't have their own books to look out of, the chalkboards are the texture of heavy sandpaper, and we haven't the foggiest idea how to teach, despite our 13+ years watching our own teachers pass on their knowledge. On the bright side though, a few did know English well enough to help the others along, and the cadets were very well disciplined, a fact i am attributing largely to corporal punishment (an institution whose evil I've been taught all my life but am beginning to rethink). We each taught a different level, the ages of which don't necessarily correspond to their American counterparts. Taylor had  the privilege of enlightening level four, Colin had five, Stefan six and I trained level seven, with about five students in each level. We all found that the books we were given to teach with were slightly over the heads of its target audience, and that its difficult to explain a language in the language one is trying to explain. We all had different levels of success. My level seven students were able to grasp the concept of making nouns and verbs into adjectives using the suffix -ful quite well, though imperatives were a bit too much for Colin's kids and Stefan's all stared at him blankly for an hour as he tried, among other things, to explain what a veranda is using Swahili. 

In the end I think we all learned more about teaching than they did about English, but it was an adventure that we'll laugh about in a few years. After teaching we went out back to a big field for game time with them, where the students were called together to sing an adorable little welcome song for us which included the lyrics "welcome to our sisters" (with the kenyan accent, the words 'sisters' and 'visitors' sound very similar). After our official welcome we all took our shoes off and the teacher divided the students for a game of futbol. 

And there we played, on the fields of St. Annes Academy, 30 waafricani and their two wazungu against 30 more waafricani and their own two wazungu. The mass of screaming, jubilant children swarming the ball as it made its way all over the large open space made for a wonderful spectacle, which is largely what it was for us, since we'd have had to push and shove to get to the ball. Under the ominous daily rain clouds, which arrived right on time, we scampered after the mass, occasionally getting a touch in, though more often running around, holding a child's hand on each side, laughing and together enjoying the wonderful feeling of the coming storm and soft grass under our bare feet. The whole afternoon was a wonderful time of interaction between these beautiful Kenyan kids and our YES team. We built many new relationships which we look forward to developing over the next few months. 

Praises: -the discovery of large, cheap mangos

-answered prayers in the healing of a sick girl from the congregation

-wise leadership within the church

Requests: -continued healing for Colin's sickness

-timely and effective resolution to conflict within the congregation

-continued growth of the young church here in Chebilat

Thanks and God bless.

Lovin' Him,

Brook

Where the Rubber meets the Road

*NOTICE* My intent for writing this post was to show many of the problems that we deal with here in Chebilat. They are many and if you look at them by themselves, it paints a dark and hopeless picture. I write this not only to let you in on this aspect of the town (there are many wonderful attributes of the town as well), but more importantly, to show the hopelessness of this place in sharp contrast to the stronger hope that we have in Christ - that these things are not insurmountable with him. Please keep this in mind as you read. */NOTICE* 

We walk through town squishing through the mud and trying not to fall in the gaping holes caused by road work, getting accosted by one of the many many drunk men that haunt the town at all hours of the day. He wants to talk at length to us, insisting he is a Christian and we should spread God's word. All that we say we know he will forget. We carefully disengage ourselves, nearing a small group of Chinese prisoners, brought here as free labor to make money for the People's Republic, and, as with the tax collectors in Jesus' time, generally despised by the people for their refusal to learn the culture and their frequent use of the prostitutes that are here for the truck drivers coming to and from Tanzania. They eye us warily as we pass them. 

We pass our friend, who we have never yet met sober, a very intelligent Kenyan who studied chemistry at Iowa University, and now with his family owns a large farm we visited the other day, where he showed us his catholic prayer beads and told us he deals illicit drugs on the side to make money. He is too drunk to formulate much of a sentence, and his companion gently keeps him moving.

We get out of the town and start walking through the countryside, passing fields of tea bushes, wandering cows and chickens scampering at our approach, children running from the fields to see us, yelling: "Chinese! Chinese!" We yell back: "Sisi si Wachina! Sisi Wamerikani!" (We are not Chinese, we are Americans!) After a distance, we finally reach the house we sought, invited inside to visit. Though we are on time, we wait for quite awhile for the other members of the family to arrive from the river, from whence they are retrieving water.

When they arrive, the family tells us of their horrifying recurring demonic visitations that continued although they moved to a new home, of their daughters illness, of the mother and father's drunkenness. We share with them the hope of Jesus and pray for all of them, laying our hands on them, telling them Jesus has more power than the demons, and if they trust their lives to Jesus they don't have to fear them.

They are extremely grateful and insist that we stay to eat lunch. After we've eaten, and they are walking out with us to the road to see us off, they tell us that we will see them in church. We smile and tell them that they are welcome and we'd love to see them, holding a small doubt in the back of our minds. Many have said this already and never come. But we'll hope, and pray. 

In this town, with it's rampant prostitution, alcoholism, demonic activity, backsliding christians, violent men: things we are not used to and are absolutely inadequate to deal with on our own, we need to trust in the power of Jesus to work through us and achieve the impossible: to see lives change, to see alcoholics lay down the bottle, to see Kisii and Kalenjin youths who fought a year ago reconciled, but most of all, to see all these wonderful people become our brothers and sisters in Christ that we might worship God together with them someday in eternity.

Prayer Requests:

- That we would learn how to deal with alcoholism in a beneficial way/Be able to start a ministry or program if we are lead that way.

- Continued prayer for Colin's health - that the medicine the doctor gave him will be effective.

- That we would in all things be spirit-led - especially as we have a large responsibility in church and will be preaching even more frequently starting next week.

Praises:

- We were relieved when we visited the hospital to find that Colin does not have malaria. Also, everyone has been very concerned for him, and we've had many guests come to pray for him.

- That people are very receptive to our message.

- That George is doing a very good job at trying to build a holistically healthy church and is an amazing guy to work with in General.

Bwana Asifiwe! (Praise the Lord)

God Bless you all,

Stef

The past has been one filled with anticipation, excitement, goodbyes, and remembering the things we learned during training at Harrisburg Discipleship Center. Just as we seemed to get settled into the routine in Songhor, and our language studies, our time there was up. 

Over the past few weeks, we have been very busy with learning the culture, making contacts, learning Swahili, and fitting in. While these are all good things, we have been taking our focus off Chepilat. While we were preparing to leave Songhor, we have started to remember all the excitement and energy we had for Chepilat.  

The next four months we will be involved in community of the small Kenyan town of Chepilat. The town is on a major road connecting Tanzania and major parts of Kenya. Chepilat is on a border of two tribes, the Kisii and the Kalenjin. During the election violence after the elections in December, these two tribes were fighting and many people died here. On our first walk through the town, the pastor of the church took us down one road, and he explained to us that there were many people along that road that had died. Many people have said that this place was devastated. There are buildings that are still ruined from fires. 

The past is very strong, but hope for tomorrow is even stronger. People have died, but that is history; how do we mourn with the people, and grieve for their losses, while helping them to not dwell on the injustices that have been done to them? We see burnt buildings, but we also see the buildings rising from the ashes of hatred. The youth were the leading force in the chaos that went on last year. They were the ones burning and destroying. We got the chance to talk to a wise man named Gordon, who visited here with many other people after the violence and started this church. He was telling us what to watch out for in Chepilat, and how the town can move on. The thing that he and everyone we have talked to at EMM and in the churches here have stressed is to bring the two tribes together. During training this was a vague goal that I was very excited about. Now that we are here, and seeing the place, it seems like a large goal that we cannot complete. Soon after we talked with Gordon, I asked God for leading on how we are to move forward. I must say that I have seen God come rescue me from many things, and this was one. When the spirit leads, it can be easy to tell, because thoughts come that are surely not man made. God is a God of vision and leading. Because the people who did most of the violence were near our ages, we have an opportunity there to open doors. Because we are white people (wazungu), and are not from either tribe, we have the credibility there to go beyond tribal hatred. The thing that I was shown most clearly was that it is possible to bring together youth from both tribes to talk it out. This will take a very long time, and will probably fail at first, but God does great and crazy things like this, so we can trust that he will follow through. 

There are many other things here that the church should answer, such as HIV, prostitution, poverty, and hopelessness. This can only happen though the tribes working together, at least in the churches. When the churches are still divided, God’s hands will continue to fight each other, while the truth is lost in the conflict. Unity is the only way forward.

Prayer Requests:

-Please be praying for peace here any time you think of it. 

-We will also need God to lead us in just about all we do because we wont be able to do anything worth our time otherwise, so be praying about that too.

-Colin isn’t felling too well. 

Praises:

-We have started to settle in here at Chepilat.

-Our pastor here is the greatest man alive.

-Safe matatu rides all over west Kenya (as I type this drops of sweat are rolling down my forehead, across my face and dripping off my nose onto the keyboard, making it hard to type, just from the memories of those rides). 

-We have Settlers of Catan (we will also have a homemade version of Cities and Knights soon). 

God is providing for us here, and all we can do is thank him. 

Our blog is wakatiwachai.blogspot.com.

‘Spread the word that peace is not beyond us.’

Taylor

The Swahili Masters

(this is Colin posting under Brooks account because he forgot his own information...oops)

Another week in this newly established year has flown by. We hope this letter finds you all well and I hope you find our stories and happenings of this week as interesting or at least semi-entertaining as it is to us that actually experienced them. For most of this week our team experienced a very laid-back lifestyle that I would be safe to say is very typical of the Kenyan and African cultures. Our language teacher returned to his teaching job at the high school so we filled in much our excess time with spurts of language immersion in attempting to just speak Swahili. As frustrating as it was for many of us with lack of stored vocabulary we found ourselves taking huge strides in language thereafter. We have even mastered playing Settlers of Cataan with only speaking Swahili. It is another feat we are very proud of.
This past week also marked part 2 of our adventure in learning to cook the local dishes. The climax of our experiences (at least for me) was on Monday when Brook and I had the opportunity to butcher our feather friend of the past two weeks, Francesca, who’s absence since has been apparent as we no longer see her wandering the property. The execution and cooking process was well-documented but I’ve left out the video for the sake of those of you that unexpectedly click the play button not desiring the content in it or even for wandering “PETA” eyes.
We also had the privilege of attending Songhor Mennonite’s “mid-week” service that is held in the home of a different church member every Thursday. Once again, the hospitality we received was overwhelming and all of us there received a full meal following the service/session. In Kenya it is looked at as a great honor and privilege for a church member to host this “mid-week” gathering for those who are able to attend but it is also by no means an easy or cheap task. The explanation to the service and noon meal leads me to describe to you our teams introduction to a dish we have rightly termed (or so we feel) “black nitrogen”. In look it appears much like cooked collard greens but also includes a special, semi-sweet brown sauce that is poured on top. We were informed that it is very sweet and very healthy and many Luos far prefer over the common Kenyan vegetable of sukumowiki. My generous portion was more generous than necessary but it was all eaten none the less and I was even nice enough to share some with the rest of my team. The best response one of us could conjure to their inquires was that it was “very interesting and very different from that of America”. They just laughed. Behind closed doors however the interpretation became “god awful.”
We also witnessed our first Kenyan rain this week and although we considered it a nice rain the locals called it a mild shower. The sign of a real shower includes some form of flooding and running water everywhere. Mid-January marks the start of the rainy season in Kenya which should last about two months before another sunny season reenters. The cooling weather has been especially noticeable in the mornings with the commencement of a daily shower/bath. I’m sure you get my point but we are grateful to have the refreshing water none-the-less.
Praises:
-continual progress in learning Swahili
-good health and safety
-a good three weeks in Songhor
-entering into the time and place of our focused outreach in Chipolet
-the hospitality and generosity we’ve experienced to date
Prayer Requests:
-safety and smooth transitioning on the journey and upon arrival into Chipolet
-continual progress in speaking Swahili
-open doors for us and the church to reach across tribal boundaries (aiming for
(unity)
-effective outreach upon arrival in Chipolet
-(in general) the newly established church and our home church of Kenya Chipolet Mennonite Church, for their leadership, current members as well as people who come in contact with CMC and possible members to be

We thank you all again for your interest and support of our team and mission.

All for His glory,

Colin

Our Faux-Pas in Sanghor

(Hi guys, this is Stefan, posting Brook;s post, because he and Colin stayed back while Taylor and I came into Kisumu today)

Throughout training, the staff kept telling us that we will make mistakes and embarrass ourselves, but that's just part of learning the culture. We had one of those experiences this week.
In the mornings before our Swahili lessons, we are usually served breakfast around 7:45, and we leave by 8:20. On friday morning, 8:25 came around and we were still without breakfast. This was no life-threatening catastrophe, so we decided to leave in order to be on time for our lesson. We trekked the 1.5 kilometers through the warm morning air and made it to the church where they have been held just as our teacher was arriving. About 20 minutes later, we were going over the previous nights assignment when i saw some motion out of one of the church's windows. My look of utter shock and embarrassment told my team exactly what it was.
The wonderful ladies who have been making sure we've been fed and taken care of over the last two weeks apparently came to the house with our breakfast, saw that we were gone, and had also made the 1.5 kilometer trek, laden with picnic baskets of bread and condiments, a thermos full of chai and all the plates, mugs and utensils needed for our meal. We didn't anticipate their level of hospitality and felt awful for making them go to all the extra trouble just to feed us, though we were well nourished for our lesson on the 8th and final class of Swahili nouns. Through this we continued the process of adjusting to African time. We are still used to following a strict schedule and being routinely punctual, and many Africans are heading towards that, which creates some conflicts, but we've been learning to just be, to take things as they come.

This is one of the many examples of this new and unbelievably good hospitality that we've experienced while living here in Songhor, Kenya. Ever since we've arrived here this family has been going all out to make sure we are as comfortable as possible: supplying a generator so that we have light and electricity, paying someone to fill the water tank so that we have running water for the toilet and shower, and even, to our horror, hand-washing our pants (yes, i mean pants). Though they have begun to allow us to help out around the property, sweeping the pathways and even learning to cook, but we still feel very spoiled. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Praises:
-Being able to see progress in our knowledge and proficiency of the Kiswahili language
-Continued good health and safety
-That we've had sufficient time to adapt to the culture

Prayer Requests:
-For team unity and peace, as we are blessed with one another's presence 24/7
-For opportunities to share our faith and be an encouragement to current African believers
-For continued focus and passion for the Kiswahili language

Peace and Laughter,
Brook Musselman and team Kenya