Here We Go!

Habari!
Guess who's computer crashed... ta da!!
So for the past three (very eventful) weeks I've had all sorts of adventures but no internet (or music.. or Word.. or anything else you find computers useful for..), meaning today is catch up day!

April 1-10 my dear, lovely, wonderful Molly Black came in from Rwanda for a conference held here and, more importantly, to play with me! We went to college together and were in almost all of our [elementary] education classes together and have both found ourselves teaching junior high MKs in Africa, so it was really great to be able to compare notes, catch up, and just live life together again for a little while. We spent the first few days here at RVA for the conference and then headed out with Sarah and Jenny to Diani Beach, which is located on the Kenyan Coast of the Indian Ocean about an hour south of Mombasa. Let me tell you, this was a wonderful idea.

The drive down there was breathtaking. The first couple of hours consisted of spotting zebras and giraffes on the side of the road. For 8 hours we drove past incredible scenery and beautiful Masai villages and discovered we weren't fans of squatty potties...

And then we arrived in the most stressful, crowded, loud city I think I've ever been to. Mombasa is a huge port visited by traders and businesses from all over East Africa. There are about 3 times too many cars for the roads, and EVERYONE honks. It's apparently necessary. Not my favorite. We crossed a ferry along with thousands of people switching from the main land to the island where we were headed. We got there just as people got off work, so we witnessed a rush hour that I would never like to be a part of. Once we were on our island, we continued taking in the abundance of sights and sounds - it was unlike anything I've ever seen or experienced. Beautiful.

We stayed in a cute little villa that was SUPER cheap, had our own cook, no a/c, only saltwater (showers, sinks; everything) and only about a 5 minute walk to the beach. It was HOT and sunny, but we were so thankful for almost no rain since it's the beginning of a very unpredictable rainy season.Highlights include: reading for hours on the beach and comparing strange sunburn patterns; camel rides on the Indian Ocean shore; dodging giant milipede things; 5-star quality food for 1-star price; sticking fans in our mosquito nets to help cool ourselves off; piling into the one room with air conditioner and turning it off so we can hear movies; $3 pedis; ice cream well worth the wait; hearing Johnny Cash in our cab on the way to the airportLow points included: My computer's death

Molly and I flew back to Nairobi, played there for a while, saw a movie (in a theater!!!!!) and then she headed back to Rwanda. I am so thankful for the time God gave us together on this continent and amazed to hear of the work He's using her to do.
All photo credits to Jenny Hunt :)

Faith Like a Child

Right now the ACSI conference is going on here at RVA. We've had the incredible privilege to have Dr. Wes Stafford, the president of Compassion International, here to be one of the main speakers. He spoke last night for the first time and it was... incredible. If you ever have the chance to hear him speak, I highly recommend doing so.

Obviously since he's the president of an organization which mainly seeks to support the children of this world in all and every way, he talked baout the importance of children. Obviously since it's almost all educators here at the conference he had no trouble convincing us that children are important, which is his usual goal. However I think he did succeed in greatly encouraging us and reminding us of how precious they are and why they're so dear to our Father's Heart.

He began by talking about the weakness and vulnerability of children simply because they cannot fight for themselves. "Have you ever seen a child protest or march?" No. Every other group seems to have found ways to champion their cause - they hold ralleys, they vote on reforms, they lead rebellions. But children need someone to come along and champion their cause. Who will do this? The politicians who won't get extra votes from them or awards for their office? The pastors who get coins for tithes from them? Probably not. Even churches rarely build strategies to win children to Christ. Sure, they may set aside a small percentage of the budget to Childrens' Ministry or Childrens' Church, but rarely do they seek to bring the unbelieving or unknowing children of the community in. He shared that statistics show that if someone isn't a Christian by the time they're 20, they have only about a 20% chance of becoming one, but that about 85% of Christians began believing between the ages of 4-14. Plus, the earlier they believe, the more time they have to share their faith in the childlike way that is often so successful and so beautiful.

Today he talked a lot about how wrong we are when we refer to them only as the "leaders of tomorrow." Yes, they are. But they have so much to give today, too. Living here in Africa I've seen a HUGE difference between national children and their responsibilities as opposed to American children. Here it's absolutely common to see a small child carrying their siblings on their backs as they walk and work. They often are in charge or required to help with things like laundry, taking care of the shamba (veggie gardens), childcare, cooking, etc. In America kids mostly play and go to school. I admit, I was definitely the child who would do anything to get out of chores and work and I don't blame that one bit on my parents. However the differences are striking as you watch children here. And no, I don't believe in child labor, but he did make a great point of allowing them to be a part of life now and help them to give to society now instead of waiting until they can drive and have a degree and THEN they can help.

In order to back up his point, he listed off Biblical examples of children being called to do extraordinary tasks because the jobs were "just too important for an adult to do." So often adults (myself included) get caught up in the logistics of life and leave little room to walk in faith. However God called Jeremiah, Samuel, David, the child who gave his lunch to feed the 5,000, and so many more as children and used them mightily.

Overall his talks were incredibly challenging and a huge reminder to not overlook the suffering children of the world, especially those who pay in such sad and detestful ways due to the sins of adults.

Don't overlook them. Take an opportunity to minister to a child this week, even if it's a small encouraging word to them or 4 extra minutes to look at their latest piece of artwork.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them..." -Mark 10:14