Archive for June, 2009

From Geoffrey to you; the Prayer of a rightous man

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Tuesday June 9, 2009

I think I was a little confused when I first became a Christian because I used to think of God like Santa Claus. Every prayer I prayed was more like the reading of a wish list and desperate pleas for bigger and better materialistic things. Even though I prayed for these things each night I am still waiting for my millions of dollars, smoking hot model girl friend, and the ridiculously good looks. Maybe I got a rain check in which case I am still waiting to cash it, but that isn’t likely. I think that I thought about God and prayers completely wrong by putting the entire focus on myself and the furthering of my kingdom.

I have written about and mentioned Janet numerous times. This twenty-three year old woman unexpectedly became blind less than a year ago. She tried going to numerous doctors, hospitals and medical centers but every treatment center seemed to be a dead end and offered ineffective or no help at all. I went with her to the best eye clinic in Kenya about three weeks ago so she could get their take on things. Their gut-wrenching answer was that she would never be able to see again and that it was physically impossible for her to see again because her optic nerve is completely dead.

In all honesty, this whole ordeal about her eyesight has completely torn apart my heart. I have prayed more times than I can count. I have shed tears and literally wept, the look on her face and the tears she shed when she heard the dreaded news three weeks ago struck her so intensely that I couldn’t help but hurt as well. I have visited her nearly each day, talking, reading and just hanging out. She has an incredible little two-year-old girl that says she is number one in her class even though she doesn’t go to school.

I tell you this because I feel like we need to understand that in any dark situation there is always a beacon of hope and light. Since receiving the horrid news three weeks ago Janet has gotten better. With each passing day her eye sight is restoring more and more. She has gone from being completely blind to being able to see colors, shapes and light. There was absolutely no hope whatsoever as far as the doctors were concerned, but God had other plans apparently.

If being able to see colors and light isn’t good enough, Janet made her way to the eye clinic today and the doctors said that her eyes have improved so much that they are going to do an operation in two weeks and she should be able to see again. They were blown away at the improvement in these past three weeks!

Words can’t explain how pumped, excited, thankful, awestruck, and simply at peace I am right now. If you only knew how many prayers I cried out or how many times my heart sank by thinking about Janet’s life and future. In James it says, “the prayer of a righteous man is both powerful and effective.” I wouldn’t call myself righteous, I am too self indulgent and prideful for that, but I can tell you that these prayers I cried out were as genuine as you can get. I can tell you that these tears I cried and the concerns pressed on my heart were sincere. Have you ever prayed for something with more tenacity and passion than you had ever before? I prayed and prayed for Janet, time and time again… now that those prayers are actually being answered I don’t know what to think. I am just kind of in awe… and a little dumbfounded. You praying knowing that God answers prayers, but when it happens you are kind of blindsided sometimes.

Is that just me or does that happen to you too?

Please pray for this whole situation. Pray for the continual improvement of her eyes and for the funds for this operation.

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From Geoffrey to you; What I’m Not

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Monday June 8, 2009

What I’m No

I went through some pretty interesting phases when I was younger. I
did the thing that most boys do when they are young and I would wear
the same underwear for days on end, just cause my friends did, I also
used to buy superhero underwear too so that I could show them off to
everyone. I went through the Hollister fad, I am sad to say that I
used to work there too. In high school my buddies and I went through
the sport coat and aviator sunglasses look, don’t ask ha. There was a
point when I wanted really cool shoes and whenever I got a nice pair I
would buy shoe cleaner and white dye and spent hours each week making
sure they looked spiffy. I went for the surfer look. I went for I
think a year with wearing bright red chucks. I had a Mohawk.
Obviously I have gone through a lot of phases growing up, some good
and some pretty embarrassing. I can make an excuse and say that I was
trying to find myself but the truth is that I was following the trends
of the time. I watched the latest shows, listening to the latest
music, said the latest cool words, and wore clothes of the latest
trends. I can list off dozens of reasons why and make numerous
excuses for my chameleon mentality, but the truth was that I was
desperately seeking acceptance.

I was chasing after popularity and was seeking to gain the approval of
my peers. I fed into the mentality that I had to look a certain way,
speak using specific words and give off the right attitude in order to
be accepted, and I’m not alone. I can’t tell you how many female
friends I have who struggle with eating disorders because they feel
like they need to be stick thin in order to be beautiful because that
is what MTV tells them. I can’t tell you how many guys I have met who
are chasing after the perfect body and hit the gym as often as they
can. I know way too many people who have fallen into the
materialistic mentality and chase after the newest, best, and most
expensive of everything. I know countless people who are serial
daters; they aren’t able to stay single because they are told that
they aren’t of worth if they don’t have a lover. The media has made
us believe that if we don’t have these shoes, dress this way, weigh
this much, have the nicest car, have the best hair, have the biggest
muscles, speak this specific way that we are nothing. As young
adults, we find our identity in this futile attempt to chase after the
wind. We are seeking approval and acceptance in things that will only
leave us empty, alone and only feeling more inadequate than ever.

Even though thousands of miles separate the U.S. and Kenya the desire
to be accepted is universal. I spent a couple of hours speaking to a
young college student about the culture here and I came to find that
it was just like ours. Kids here watch music videos and want that
life so they dress that way, speak that way and live their life the
way that the celebrities tell them life should be lived. Girls
struggle with eating disorders even here because the media, like ours,
tells them that they have to look a certain way in order to be
beautiful. He told me about all of the fads he went through, the
different ways he strived for acceptance and the feelings of
inadequacy and emptiness that he was left with afterwards.

Revelations 18:11-12 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn
over her (the fallen Babylon) because no one buys their cargoes any
more – cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine
linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and
articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and
marble”

The reason I keep on keeping on. The reason I dream big dreams. The
reason I continue to pursue philanthropic work. The reason I continue
to fight and stand firm is because I believe that one day there will
be more. I believe that my attempts, the blood and sweat I pour into
my work isn’t for nothing. I believe in Revelations 21:3-4, Isaiah
2:4 (my tattoo) and Revelations 18:11-12. I believe that one day all
of the pain and suffering will be no more. Those feelings of
inadequacy, emptiness and the pursuit of the useless and mundane will
be no more. Those people selling our youth and community the idea
that they aren’t of value if they don’t dress, speak and act a certain
way will weep and mourn because no longer will we fall for the lies.
There will be a day when girls will no longer feel compelled to weigh
a certain amount, where the type of car you drive isn’t important,
where your clothes are simply there to keep you warm and where the
pointless pursuit of unimportant things will cease.

I guess the reason I wrote this was just because I was tired. I am
tired of people feeling ugly, fat, and as if they are lesser beings
because they are different. I am tired of people spending everything
they have trying to appease this hunger and desire for feelings of
worse and only finding themselves consumed with feelings on inadequacy
and a need for more. Tried of seeing high school students feel
obligated to get drunk over the weekends in order to fit in (that is
another really prevalent thing here too, just like at home most high
school students drink). Tired of seeing young girls jump into sexual
relationships because they think they need it in order to win the
approval of their boyfriend. With that I am tired of having my heart
break for young struggling single mothers who fell for the lies.
Tired of hearing about people being overtaken with thoughts of suicide
because, despite their efforts, they remain unaccepted and
misunderstood. I am tired of the empty life our youth live and the
sometimes non-existent self esteem as the consequence.

Prayer Requests:
Janet is going to the eye clinic tomorrow. Pray that the doctors give
her good news and can fix the problem
Jason Nate travels
Funds for a generator and different Tumaini Projects

Randoms:
I have sunflower seed oil to cook with… have you ever heard of that before?
I busted out a hackey sack today at a college we visited… I am REALLY bad
A friend sent me a bunch of stickers, temporary tattoos and books… I AM STOKED
I met a guy who works as a cook in the restaurant I eat at…. He works
17 hours a day, 7 days a week for VERY little…
The internet is REALLY slow right now… REALLY slow
Today I rode in the Matatu, I finally saw the hand off. The drivers
are legally required to only allow one person per seat and everyone is
supposed to be wearing a seat belt, but every time they drive through
a check point the slide some cash to the police as a bribe to cram as
many people in the Matatu as possible to make more money

WORD OF THE DAY
Nimechoka
Ni-may-choke-uh
I am TIRED

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From Geoffrey to you; Right under my nose

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Sunday June 7, 2009

Right under my nose

I have written about Janet and her loss of eyesight a few times. For those of you who don’t already know, Janet is twenty-three and became blind less than a year ago. We took her to the optometrist a few weeks ago and she was told that she would never be able to see again. Never again would she be able to see her daughter’s smile, never again would she stand in awe of the sheer captivating beauty of a sunset or gaze at the stars and dream. When the sickness originally began to grow from bad to worse Janet was abandoned by her friends and was left to battle this illness with only few on her side. With an overwhelming amount of darkness, depression and despair surrounding her, she lost hope. After speaking with someone who has stood by her side throughout this ordeal, I found out that Janet used to spend every day crying and was in such a depressed state that she slept all day. I can tell you that no amount of words can express the pain and desolation that overtook her as the doctors told her she would never see again, she burst into tears, I couldn’t bare to be in the room as the doctors told her the news. Since the appointment with the optometrist, the vibrant colors of clothing and the shimmer of the sun dance before her eyes; this girl who isn’t supposed to be able to see is now seeing. She is only able to see a small amount, but she is still able to see. It reminds me of how an entire room can be illuminated by the smallest of flames. This overwhelming and sometimes smothering amount of darkness is no match for even the smallest amount of light. I see this situation and am forced to stand back in awe of God.

A few years ago, when I was in better shape and much dumber, a friend and I tried to run twenty miles a day for twenty days to raise money and awareness for Tumaini (Kenya is about 400 miles across the middle). After forty miles, blisters the size of Chicago, and losing a few pounds, my buddy getting internal bleeding we decided to throw in the towel. Even though we weren’t able to make the four hundred miles at that time, everything just seemed right. As we ran, jogged and walked our way from Seal Beach to Santa Monica and back no words were spoke the only audible thing was our panting, the soothing rhythm of our steps and the occasional wheeze for air. No words need to be spoken, our hearts were in the right place and it seemed like we were playing a part in something bigger than us. These moments were holy.

I remember hearing a woman share her testimony. She was into the party scene when she was younger and had numerous abortions. She settled down with the love of her life and they wanted to start a family but found that she wasn’t able to. The abortions had destroyed her insides and she had miscarriage after miscarriage. She considered herself the murderer of ten people, she had ten miscarriages and abortions. She wailed as she told us the hurts and pains that overwhelmed her soul. The silence was deafening after she shared. The suffering and pain she endured was horrible, but the healing that she spoke of that came after burying these old pains left us standing in awe and adoration of God. We were all in amazement of God.

I remember a homeless man named Randy. He had been a heroine addict for over thirty years. He lost his children and family to this addiction. He spent his time breaking into cars and houses trying to get money to feed this addiction; he would do anything to get loaded. I remember going to his camp, I used to go with a buddy about once or twice a week, but this day was different. As we started talking with Randy and he broke down. He told us how much he hated this addiction and how it had robbed him of his entire life. Tears were pouring down his face and he recollected everything this addiction stole from him. As tears flooded down his face he rushed into his tent, rummaged through his belongings and came out with a small plastic bag of heroine. I told us he didn’t want this addiction anymore and that he was giving it to God. Her torn open this drug and poured it all over the ground. Over fifty dollars of heroine was lost in the dirt that day, but the this burden was lifted off his chest, that was priceless. My buddy and I just stood there in amazement, in awe, adoration and flabbergasted at what God had done.

I love the children here, they always scream out my name and come running to me as I walk the streets of Masii. Every Sunday at church kids come rushing through the gates and they always seem to make a beeline for the mzungu; me. They are running at full speed and normally all pounce on me. I have kids on my back, some clinging to my legs, others managed to leap into my arms. Often they shake my hand and they don’t let go, they cling on like vice-grips. I look at these children and at how much love and joy they have and am in awe, adoration, amazement and flabbergasted at what God can do.

I have heard time and time again that God doesn’t perform miracles anymore. Most people are waiting to see someone walk on water, the crippled walk or the sick be healed magically. I recognize and realize that these are all incredible miracles and I do believe that they still happen this day and age (Janet for instance), but I think we have grown so numb that we fail to recognize the obvious. God is still working miracles. Lives are still being impacted. The impossible are still becoming possible, but just not in ways that we see. God’s power and might is displayed throughout our lives, it seems like we are simply too busy looking for bigger and better to see them.

I used to think that miracles only happen in other parts of the world, never in America though… I was wrong… Miracles happen everywhere, we just need to open our eyes to see and stop looking past what God has so majestically placed before us.

Asante Sana,

Mwendwa

Prayer Requests:
Jason Nate’s travels
Janet is going to the eye clinic on Tuesday, funds for that and for a better outcome than last time
Tumaini medical Center

Randoms:
I killed two mosquitos today… I have always been too slow to catch them
I ate 5 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches yesterday… I LOVE PB and J… one of my favorite foods… I decided to go nuts for them
I don’t think that any group of people can make you feel loved as much as Kenyans do
I got two boxes of books, stickers, hackey sacks and temporary tattoos today… I am STOKED!!! I have like fifteen books to read!
We had a movie night for the youth today… they all wanted to watch an American movie… after like five minutes they all decided they didn’t like it and wanted a Nigerian one
We used a generator today for electricity… one of the guys was pulling the cord to start it and tore it ha ha

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From Geoffrey to you; Hey Everyone!

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Hey everyone,

I hope you are all doing well today. I don’t have much time to write but I wanted to touch base with you all and let you know that i am still alive and kicking.

I went to see Stacy today to see how the new wheelchair is working for her, unfortunately it still hasn’t arrived. I was a little bummed, it is already a week late. The doctors did, however, assure her mother that it would be coming within the next two weeks. I hope that isn’t like the “in a minute” I always used to tell my mom when she would ask me to take out the trash. Even though the wheelchair hasn’t made it the visit, though short, was really great. When Stacy saw William and I she was bouncing off the walls and giddy, all I can say is that her laugh is beautiful. With the help of her mother, stacy was able to stand. She told us about how much stacy has improved since she started physical therapy. Apparently her neck wasn’t strong enough to hold up her head, now it is. Stacy wasn’t able to lift up her arms when I first got here, I remember flys kept on flying onto her face and she couldn’t do anything about it, when we left she lifted her arm and waved good bye. INCREDIBLE!! Of all the people in the world I could have met, I have been fortunate enough to meet Stacy, I can’t wait to see what God does through her. I also took some picturees that I will hopefully send off tomorrow.

Today was Williams birthday, apparently they celebrate birthdays a little different then we do back home. Normally people chase you down and pour water on you, i heard that in high school the children would use dirty sewer water ha ha. When you are eating the cake someone feeds the birthday boy or girl, that happened to be me tonight, then William fed each of us. We had a HUGE feast tonight, William, Sarah, Henry, his wife Carol, his baby boy David and I. I have what you call a katumbi… a fat belly. I pigged out and don’t think I need to eat again for a week. if you are a guest in someone’s house you had better be prepared to eat, even if you are full you eat, I love food and we had GREAT food tonight. Henry”s wife Carol is a great cook, she is the only person that has made me food that I haven’t gotten sick off of.

Prayer Requests:
Janets eyes, we are taking her to the eye clinic again tuesday
I am preaching tomorrow
The medical clinic
the travels of Jason Nate

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From Geoffrey to you; What does God have up His sleeve

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Thursday June 4, 2009

What does God have up His sleeve?

I sat down with one of the leaders of Tumaini yesterday as he voiced his concern for Masii and the ramifications of this drought. He kind of opened up to eyes to some things that I wasn’t aware of before. Apparently the rains have checked out and are no where to be found. The rains never came this past year during the rain season, and this is regularly the rainy season, but we have only experienced a few days of rain but nothing significant. This is generally the time of the year when the shambas are full of food, the vegetation is plump and succulent, rivers are flowing and food is both abundant and affordable, but that just isn’t the case here. The floodgates of heaven have opened and rains have showered numerous areas of Kenya, but not Masii; it was pouring rain the other day in when I went to Nairobi. Our riverbeds are dry and most of the farms in this area are almost completely bare.

This drought seems to have affected nearly everyone. Many people are full time farmers and others use it as an extra income to offset expenses, but there are no crops. This means that this extra income isn’t coming in and not only that but those who live off of their land are suffering from an extreme food shortage. Many people buy vegetables and fruits in other areas and bring them back here to sell so this drought impacts them as well. I think that the cattle raisers have been hit pretty dramatically.

From my understanding, it takes about two to three years for cattle to grow and develop into a good size. This is two years are spent tending to them, watching over them, giving them medicine, grazing them and taking them to water. Right now grass is a big commodity in the market because it isn’t growing anywhere, meaning that there is nowhere to graze. There are no grassy meadows and I haven’t seen to many places abundant with water, this drought has dramatically intensified the difficulty in raising cattle. Those that make their living off of raising cattle are finding that there isn’t any grass to feed their cows so most of the cattle I see are starving. When I went to Nairobi the other day I was able to see what healthy cows look like, what the cows in Masii normally look like, and the ones here aren’t anything like them. The lack of food has left many of them skin and bones; their rib cages are protruding from their sides. Today one of the workers of Tumaini asked me if I noticed a bad stench last month around where they keep the cattle in Masii, and I had but didn’t think anything of it. She told me that it was from some of the cattle dying on the way to the market; this drought is horrible. I had a friend who lost a cow a few weeks ago as well. Raising cattle is extremely difficult right now and takes not only a lot of time but also a lot of money, that people don’t have, to successfully raise them these days. The extreme difficulty and exorbitant price in raising the cattle right now has made most herders sell their cows at a very low price. A full grown cow can sell for anywhere between $100 to $250 normally, but I have heard of some being sold for as a low as $10 right now. These people are making little to no profit off of the cattle that they have invested so much time and money into.

There is an extreme food shortage right now because there is no rain. My question is what is going to happen next year when there is an abundance of rain but a shortage of cattle? If a large portion of the cattle is sold off now, what will these farmers use to plow their fields and pull their carts next year? How much are they going to cost when the demand greatly exceeds the supply?

Times are tough for a lot of people in Masii. I know that God has a plan, I can’t wait to see what is up His sleeve in this situation.

Asante Sana,

Mwendwa

Prayer Requests:
Rain
Janets eyes
Preaching on Sunday
The travels of Jason Nate – woot woot I get to kick it with another white guy for a little while
Tumaini Medical Center
Stomach issues again

Randoms:
I was asked today if I knew any astronauts…
Someone asked me if I had ever come across Church Norris in Texas and if he really lived there
I realized why my shower floods… may hair clogs the drain
Earlier today Janet asked her daughter if she had eaten enough… Anette (who is 2) said she was so full she was stupid… little kids are awesome
In Kenya if you ask someone to go to lunch or to take something to drink that means you are paying for it. One of my friends was babysitting for a few hours today. The mother of the child asked her if she wanted to go get some soda. My friend went and bought a big soda. When it came time to pay for it the mother paid for herself and motioned for the girl to pay for her soda. She didn’t bring any money with her. The way she told us the story was HILARIOUS! We laughed so hard.

Word of the day

Taka taka
Taw-cuh taw-cuh
trash

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From Geoffrey to you; History repeats itself

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Wednesday June 3, 2009

History Repeats Itself

I think that there is a stigma and a bad vibe in regards to homelessness. The most common understanding is that they are either addicted to drugs, alcohol or are a few eggs short of a dozen. We assume that they want to be there and let them be. When they are walking down one side of the street people make their way to the opposite side of the street to avoid them. When we see them asking for money at a freeway exit we fixate our eyes in front of us and pray that they don’t tap on our window and force us to make eye contact with them. When we walk down the street we look right past them; avoiding them at all cost. I would argue that most people consider them an inferior citizen, unworthy of our time and efforts, lost causes; I say this because I used to think the same thing. I used to assume they were all alcoholics, drug addicts, crazy and that they wanted to be on the streets. I used to cross to the other side of the street or go out of a different exit of a store to avoid them. I used to pray that they didn’t tap on my window at the freeway exit. I used to look right past them as if they were inferior. Thankfully that is in the past now.

One day I met a man named Matt who was homeless. It was raining so I gave him my jacket and I gave him an umbrella. He was hungry so I gave him some food. I took a step past every preconceived notion I had developed, everything I knew to be true, and all of the negative connotations I put with homelessness and I spoke with him. I didn’t take long for me to discover that he lived on the side of the freeway with about thirty other people. I went down there one day to see it for myself and I felt as though I couldn’t just leave and do nothing about this situation. I ended up arranging for them to meet me at a specific place that Sunday for some food and anything else I could get my hands on. I showed up with a few friends, some day old bagels, a pot of coffee, and some clothes. I think five people showed up, I told them that we would be back the next Sunday at the same time. That next Sunday a few more people showed up, and then it just snowballed. Now we have three different locations serving made-to-order omelets, washing the feet of the homeless, cutting hair, distributing clothing and holding church services. Literally hundreds upon hundreds of lives have been touched, stomachs have been filled and hearts have been mended. We never planned on becoming a non-profit organization, we never intended to get as big as we have, we never thought it would turn into what it has become we simply saw a group of forgotten, invisible, unworthy and unwanted people and figured that if Christ was here those are the people he would have reached out to so we should too.

William and I have gone to Kosovo about three times now. This is the place where it seems like no Christian dares to enter. For those of you who have forgotten, Kosovo is where you go to get drunk off of the local brew, which smells bad and looks like dirty water. Each time we have visited Kosovo we have gone around nine in the morning and each time, by nine, we find dozens and dozens of people already drunk or on their way to getting drunk. Just like an alcoholic in America, for some of these people the consumption of alcohol is more of a priority than working or providing for their families. They say that they go there to get rid of their problems but I don’t think they realize how many problems their addiction causes. The times are already rough, these guys definitely aren’t rolling in the dough, and instead of paying for school fees, food and other necessities their money feeds this addiction. From my understanding this is the place that is cursed, judged and condemned. These people are the forgotten, invisible, unworthy and unwanted people in Masii. Churches don’t reach out to them because they figure it is a waste. I asked today how many pastors and Christians have made there way to Kosovo and I think for the most part that William and I are the first in a long time. The thing that blows my mind is the fact that sometimes we are met with a little tension (they are always curious as to why in the world we would go into Kosovo) but by the time we are done talking everyone is pleading for us to return, asking for us to pray for them, asking for directions to our church and repeatedly thanking us for our visit.

William and I have decided to come to Kosovo every Wednesday morning and to hold a very small, informal and simple church service for them. When we mentioned it to a few of the regulars they were ecstatic and told us they would gather everyone to come and listen. I can’t help but think about how H.A.N.D.S. got started and think about Kosovo. I can’t help but think about the preconceived notions that most people, especially churches, hold about those who go to Kosovo and relate that to how most people feel about homelessness in America. I can’t help but think about how this is starting simply by realizing that these people have been overlooked and need God as much as the next person and taking that initial step past our preconceived notions and the stereotypes to step foot in Kosovo. It is true that history does repeat itself.

Jesus always seemed to hang out with the forgotten, invisible, unwanted and unworthy. You could find him with the sinners and lowlifes. He brought the gospel to them instead of waiting for them to come get it. That seems like a pretty good model for us to follow.

Asante Sana

Mwendwa

Prayer Requests:
Stacy’s wheelchair… still waiting… now they say it will be here Friday
Funds for Tumaini’s generator and projects
We are doing a big three-day evangelism in August
I just found out that I am preaching Sunday
Janet’s eyes

Randoms:
We found one of our church-goes walking into Kosovo… not sure if he was just going there to say hello to friends or if we caught him red handed lol
I went to Nairobi last night, which is why I didn’t send an email yesterday, and it began to rain. Have you ever noticed that people seem to forget to know how to drive when you add in rain? Well it is the same in Nairobi. The instant the rain started our van stopped… we literally we sitting still for an hour. On our way back it took about an hour and a half to go a mile… it was a LONG trip, but I enjoyed it. Two Americans from Chicago ended up coming to Masii for the day so I got to talk with them, hang out with them and we were just taking them back to Nairobi.
We went to the home of a guy who is a regular at Kosovo. He was drunk when he took us to his house. He led us to his house and literally went the opposite direction and we took the VERY long way to get there. William and I were cracking up because the direction he told us it was it really wasn’t… it was in the opposite direction.
When I was talking to one of the guys from Kosovo he kept on wiggling his tooth with his tongue… he was missing some teeth and I think that this one was about to fall out too
I posted pics of me and some of the Tumaini kids, one of me and one of the local kids, one of janet and her daughter (the blind girl) and another rrandom one.

WORD OF THE DAY
Asante Sana Kwa Ukarimu Wako
Uh-son-tay sauna qua oo-car-emu wa-co
Thank you very much for the hospitality

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From Geoffrey to you; took my breath away, He is my prince of peace and I will live for Him

Monday, June 1st, 2009

He’s my prince of peace and I will live my life for him

Monday June 1, 2009

Took my breath away

Have you ever heard someone express their passion and dreams in such a fervent way that they clung onto and melted your heart? Like a small spark, the expression of the deepest desires of our heart can spread enthusiasm and ambition throughout the hearts of others like a wildfire. I love it when people transition from simply uttering words in a monotone fashion to speaking with such intensity that it seems like the words are spilling out of your mouth. Do you know what I am talking about? Have you ever been overtaken by the never-quitting ardent tenacity in which someone grips their dreams? I know I have rambled on, but I was completely overtaken with the words of someone earlier today and am still left with this joyful buzz.

When it is hot and I’m tired I do the “ugh walk.” The one where you are somewhat slumped over and are looking at the ground, you may be passing people but you are too exhausted or cooked to look at their faces or to notice who they are, you simply want to get from point A to point B. You are generally saying, “UGH” to yourself as you stumble around. Do you know what I am talking about? Well today was a sweltering hot day and the past few nights I haven’t gotten much sleep so I was definitely doing the “ugh” walk. As I strolled around in my zombie-state I was stopped by one of my friends. She is a young woman who volunteers at Tumaini, goes to my church and is also sponsored by Tumaini. Ever since our initial introduction she continually blows me away by her servant hood and passion for helping others.

We said the typical “hello” and “how are you,” and then she told me about something that she has been wanting to do. She had visited Janet, the blind girl, not too long ago and realized that she didn’t have a radio and she wanted to do something about it. Janet spends the majority of her time within the safety of her home, sometimes she has her young daughter guide her through the market or to the home of a friend, but she spends most of her time in her home. She loves music and loves to sing, but she doesn’t have a radio. She spends a lot of time in silence. This girl desperately wants to buy Janet a radio, she told me that she is planning on going to a bunch of people and collecting money to buy one (it costs about $2.50). We talked about it and decided to go fifty-fifty on it and we are going to buy it tomorrow. So cool! This girl really doesn’t have much money, she lives with her mother and brother and they definitely aren’t raking in the dough. She was so passionate about raising the money and wanting to help, the truth is that I could have coughed up enough to buy it and almost did but it would have robbed her of the joy from giving.

This was kind of a stepping-stone into the next part of our conversation. She plays a big role in the Tumaini Alumni Alliance (the group of older kids that were sponsored buy Tumaini and are now giving back to the community) and started telling me about the plans she has. With more passion than ten pages of my writing could even come close to articulating, she started telling me her dreams and her desires for the T.A.A. and for life. She is working on finding the poorest of the poor and wants to meet whatever needs she finds. She acknowledges that she is poor, but she started telling me that she ate today and there are so many people living in Masii that haven’t, she has so much more than quite a few people even though her family struggles. Something that she is on the edge of her seating waiting for is a job, not to get nice things but she desperately wants to sponsor a child through Tumaini. With whatever salary she gets, the amount of money it would take to sponsor a child through Tumaini would be a pretty big chunk, especially with the famine and drought scourging up prices for basic necessities. This girl is completely poor by our standards and the standards of Masii, but she is more than rich in compassion for others and benevolence. I wish you could have heard her words, I almost cried as she unfolded her desires and passions for life. If I weren’t already pumped up for loving on others this, without a doubt, jump-started it.

When I asked her why she wanted to help others she simply said, “because I was helped and now it is my turn to help.” Wow. Wow. Wow. Sometimes the words someone speaks take your breath away… this was one of those moments… I’m still gasping for air.

Asante Sana,

Mwendwa

Prayer Requests:
RAIN
Stacy’s wheelchair… I was told it will be here tomorrow… I am going to head over tomorrow night and hopefully snag some pictures
Mama Carro and her families living situation… lots of obstacles
The woman Beth who I wrote about last week
Tumaini Projects and funds for them

RANDOMS:
The wine in our church for communion taste like burning… horrible burning
I met this little girl named Angel. She is just about the cutest thing that you ever laid eyes on. She looks SOOO innocent… but it is a lie. It was totally like the incredible Hulk. She transformed into a little demon, I nearly did an exorcism lol. She is the posterchild for abstinence.
I dig Jadon Lavik’s music… it’s pretty rad
When I fed those two boys yesterday I made sure they got their food and told the staff to put it on my tab (yeah how cool is it that I get to say that now… RAD). Apparently someone overheard me and after I left they ended up telling the staff to put their meal on my tab too… so I ended up buying some guy food… I’m not really mad it cost me less than a dollar… I thought it was kind of funny though. I thought that only happened in moives. What I thought was even funnier was that the staff still made me pay for it even though I didn’t give them the okay ha ha
I met Mutuko’s wife… she is rad
I have little candies in my room and Mutuko and the other worker here stop by my room all the time and say “HEEEYYYY, how are you? (do the small talk and then get right to business) do you have any sweets?” The only reason I bought them was to give to them ha ha.
This drought is pretty intense still. A lot of people have cows but there isn’t any grass to feed them and it is difficult to get them water sometimes. Most of the cows I see are like walking skeletons. They used to cost between fifty dollars to buy a small one… now you can buy one for less than ten bucks… there are a TON of people trying to sell their cows for anything they can get them for because the cows are dying off… really sad

WORD OF THE DAY
Kuna joto
Coo-nuh joe-toe
IT IS HOT!!! Like today

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