Not Goodbye But See You Later

It’s my last day in Kandaria, and I’m reflecting on all that I’ve seen and heard,  all that I’ve learned, and all that I’m now accountable to share with you all in America. I could write forever about the sights and sounds of Kandaria, and I could spend hours trying to put what I’ve learned here into words. But I only have a little time on this computer with internet, so I’ll do the best I can to update you all! I apologize for not blogging more, but I’ve only been able to update my blog at the clinic and I haven’t been in the clinic much over the past two weeks. In between days in the clinic I have taught math, science, and English at two of the local schools. I loved teaching math to the 6^th grade class at Akado Primary School, and for a day I seriously considered changing my major! J With much help from David’s mom, I’ve been able to weave my own basket- which has been a wonderful way to connect with many of the women in Kandaria, especially those who don’t speak English but love to weave! I’ve learned to make many Kenyan dishes, and I’ve perfected my ability to walk on all the rocky paths without falling. We were invited over to a loving woman’s house, Joyce, who invited us over for “lunch” which means nonstop eating from 10:30 until 4! (I certainly have not lost any weight since I’ve been here- because it’s really rude in their culture to not eat all of the food they prepare, and they always prepare SO much food.) We’ve been able to meet and help out with a team of Americans who were here for a week working in Kandaria to build a clinic. (The nearest clinic for the Kandarian people was up the mountain- imagine trying to carry people up the mountain because there is not a road.) We’ve made more house visits, and with the overabundance of money God provided through so many of you, we’ve been able to provide money for a woman in desperate need for a surgery because of a prolapsed uterus. Welfrida is a joyful, hardworking old woman who we met at a home visit. She and her husband have barely enough food to eat each week, so the surgery is the last thing she will be able to pay for. With the money, we’ve also been able to meet some of the needs of orphans and families without much daily food to eat. Right now we are praying in FAITH that God will use the little food we’ve been able to give and multiply it to meet their needs each day- just as in 1 Kings 17:8-16 when the widow’s The jar of four was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.” Remembering James 5:16-18 that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” Join us in praying that God will multiply the beans and corn that we gave until the orphans and families are able to buy more food or receive more!

                I’ve already shed some tears at the thought of leaving Kandaria, but God willing I will be back here next summer and/or after I graduate! We leave tomorrow to meet up with the Mt. Bethel team in Molo tomorrow, and I cannot wait to hear all about their trip thus far! (AND I get to meet up with Amanda- one of my best friends since 6^th grade!!!) On Sunday Emily and I leave to go to Segera where we will be for the last month of our trip. (Look at my link to Emily’s blog for better details about Segera!)

                Please continue to be praying for the people of Kandaria (all of the last prayer requests are still very relevant). And please be praying for Emily and I with the new challenges we will face at Segera- Pray that we constantly remember to seek first the Kingdom of God because then all else will fall into place.

                I cannot thank you all again for your prayers and love and support!! I truly feel your love and prayers, and will never be able to thank you all enough!! May God bless you all abundantly!!

P.S. This may be my last blog post because I don’t know if we’ll have a computer with internet at Segera.

                

So Many New Lessons

The community in Kandaria is simply beautiful! We walked around Saturday morning to do some home visits (most of our visits were to orphans that House of Hope supports). [A little fact of the Kenyan culture and example of their generous hospitality: if you just want to see someone for a short visit you never tell the person in advance that you’re coming because if you do they will prepare food for you to stay all day!] The community works together to take care of everyone’s needs. There isn’t an orphanage in Kandaria because all the orphans live with family or someone in the community. We went to four different homes, each family with a different story.

                First stop at Dickens’ house. Dickens is a man we’ve met before because David mentors him. He’s a young father of four beautiful girls, and he has taken in his youngest brother, George (12yrs), because their parents passed away. House of Hope has supported George since he was a young boy, and George adores David!

                Pelisa is a strong woman who loves the Lord so much! She is widowed and a grandmother to 4 orphans that used to stay with her, but with her old age she’s not able to take care of the children properly anymore so they are with other family members. House of Hope is able to support one of her grandchildren! Recently Pelisa has had a lot of back problems from falling on the rocks walking up to her house. (Kandaria is a town on a mountain, so steep rock paths are their common walkways.) We had the privilege to pray for her with David translating, and so with faith we know that she will be healed! (James 5:13-18)

                Michael is 14 but only in grade 6 because both his parents have passed away and nobody was around to encourage him in school. He lived with his grandparents for a little while but his grandfather beat him, and so now Joseph, a young single man who is a teacher at a local school and a pastor, has taken Michael into his home!

                Angel, 11yrs, is a beautiful girl with the biggest smile!! Both her parents passed away from AIDS and she has HIV. House of Hope is able to pay for all of her medicine that goes along with having HIV and she’s doing great! She’s in a loving home with her widowed grandmother, and you would never be able to guess she’s gone through so much by meeting her!

                There are around 300 orphans in Kandaria and only about 3,000 people total. Brightpoint supports about 50 orphans in the area and House of Hope is able to support 24 in Kandaria (and 36 in the whole district), but that leaves many more without much help. Even though most of the orphans do have actual homes, their basic living needs are not being provided for. Family members (usually it’s widowed grandmothers) have very little money even for themselves, and so providing for growing children is very challenging. There are countless stories of people in Kandaria that would break your heart. AND there are so many joyful stories about how God provides continuous love and hope even in the most tragic situations! My first initial reaction to all of this was “Okay, how can I help? How much money do they need? How much can I give? What can I do to solve all these problems?” A minute later the Lord reminds me that the problems are much deeper than I can imagine. No amount of money will solve all the problems. I realize that I’m asking the wrong questions- it’s not about me or what I can do to help. At the beginning of a day, God doesn’t say to first give away all our money or help everybody around us. Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) Although we are called to give generously, our fulfillment (I’m recently learning) is not supposed to come from helping others. We can never be fulfilled that way! It’s not possible because God created us to be fully satisfied by Him alone. So I must be reminded that I alone can never fulfill all the needs that I see around me. First and foremost God wants my whole heart, and only then will I trust that the Holy Spirit will prompt me to give my money, my time, and my energy where needed.

I’m so thankful that I worship a God bigger than me and the problems of the people around me! I’m so thankful that this life is not about what I think I can do for people’s needs! I’m so thankful for this opportunity to open up my view of the world and of God’s love! – Forever thankful for this opportunity to experience life in Kandaria!

Ero camano ahinya (thank you so much in Luo) to all of you for your support and continue prayers!! And a BIG thank you to my Lord for breathing life into me and giving me a deeper view of His love!

Sweet Little Immaculate

Here's a picture of the little girl Immaculate who I asked you all to pray for in my last post. Thought it would be nice to put a face to the name.
She loves coloring, candy and I've never seen her without a smile!

Nyasaye Oqwedhu! May God Bless You!

I honestly don't know where to begin. SO many new sights, sounds, thoughts. New struggles, new lessons, new burdens, new praises... But I'll do my best to keep you all updated with the most descriptive but concise words (because I tend to be wordy). 


Traveling with Emily and Shelley was the biggest blessing! I would have had a lot of trouble (and boredom) without them. There was much laughter and joy throughout our flights and car rides! I have now been with the Okongos for 6 days, but time feels so different here so it seems like weeks! Week days we're in the clinic working with David. He owns a clinic in Sondu which is a short drive from his home in Kandaria. We're learning about the medicines and common diseases here and what positive blood tests look like. Almost everyone who gets a blood test tests positive for Malaria- which is easily treatable with medicine (but not everyone can afford the medicine and many people do not even come in to get tested.) I usually work the front desk which is a pharmacy, and the biggest challenge I'm having to overcome is the language barrier. Most people speak Swahili and many can speak English but there are four different tribes that are common in the Sondu area (and each tribe has their own language). I'm learning new Swahili words and phrases everyday, and I'm also learning a lot of Luo, David's tribe. Thankfully David comes to the rescue any time there is a problem with communication, but I would LOVE to be able to communicate with the people better. Praying for increased understanding and ability amidst this barrier! But I'm learning much perseverance through it all.


The lifestyle here is a much slower pace than mine in America, and the first two days I didn't know how to react to it. I didn't know what to do with my time. But I've grown to truly LOVE and appreciate this new way of life! The big smiles from everyone in town, the dancing, the generous hospitality, the humble people, the simple living... It's all so different from America, and it's so beautiful! Building relationships has been a big part of this past week- with David and Justine, with David's parents and siblings(David's parents live next door and many of his brothers live nearby. David is one of 16), and with people in the community. 


David and Justine are truly incredible!! Some of my favorite parts of the day are when I'm sitting down talking with one of them and learning about their lives and Kenya's history. A beautiful story that represents David and Justine well is a story about David's organization, House of Hope. He told me that before House of Hope was started, he and Justine only ate sukuma wiki (kale) for one month in order to save money to put towards the organization. One of the last days of their month of eating sukuma wiki they came home and found talapia at their doorstep- a true sign that God cares about little details of our lives! (House of Hope is an organization that supports 36 orphans right now, and a clinic will open up at the end of July. He also hopes to build a school there.) 


Some highlights of the trip so far:
-visiting David's son at his boarding school. We had a picnic with watermelon, friend chicken, and chapati. mmmmm :)
-going to David's church- experiencing the beautiful simplicity in which they worship God!
-climbing the mountain behind David's house Sunday afternoon 
-visiting the Kandaria women's community meeting (They meet under a tree and make baskets and organize things for the community. They greeted us with loud singing and much dancing! We learned how to weave baskets, and David's mom showed us how to balance a basket on our heads! 
-the mornings are my favorite- grab some chai tea and watch the sunrise:)Words cannot describe the beautiful view from David's house. Kandaria is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!




I'm learning about so many different needs in Kenya and just trusting the Lord to direct my time, my money, my prayers, my actions where He desires.


I can't thank you all enough for you prayers and financial support for my trip!! 


Burdened on my heart right now that I ask you all join me in praying for-
- House of Hope and all that it encompasses. (Pray for the orphans who have lost their family. I've met one of them. He is in 10th grade and has lost both of his parents and 5 of his siblings. Pray for the upcoming opening of the clinic, and that God will provide nurses, doctors, and all the medical supplies needed. Pray the the extra land to be provided to build a school.)
-Sweet little Immaculate. A girl who lives near David's house, and I don't know much about her and her family but I know she's in difficult living conditions. She picks up trash all the time and sucks on the wrapper to get the after taste of what food was in the wrapper, and she is one of the most joyful children I've ever met!!
-All the people in Kenya of are following false leaders and false teachings. I'm learning more from David each day about how everyone here believes in God and most proclaim to be Christian, but many churches here do not even follow the Bible. One person will decide that God has spoken to him, with create a little church and people who do not know how to read or who do not know much about the Bible will follow this false teacher. There are churches EVERYWHERE here, but the number of churches who actually are rooted and grounded in the Truth of the Bible are few.


Praying for each of you that, you all are blessed by the Lord and filled with so much JOY JOY JOY!!
I love you all dearly!!
Caroline Atieno (My new Luo name!)