Kisumu!

We apologize for being MIA for the last week! We did arrive safely in Kisumu, Kenya last Monday. We had another long bus ride to reflect, to rest and to view the stunning scenery of Kenya. You can drive for 6 hours in the USA and the vegetation and landscapes look pretty much the same, but driving 6 hours in Kenya takes you through so many different environments that you feel as if you’ve traveled across multiple countries! If you ever come to Kenya, be sure you take the bus from Nairobi to Kisumu, you pass through some of the most lush, brightest green tea fields you can ever imagine!
From Tuesday-Friday we are working with the churches which LIA is partnered with in Kisumu. 3 LIA staff- Epahtus, James “Oke” ( pronounced okay), and Mary have been there every step of the way to make sure we’re getting around in our new area! LIA is partnered with 5 churches in Kisumu, and similar to Thika, LIA has only been in Kisumu for about a year. LIA is in the process of working with the 5 churches to establish a program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) within each church.
The LIA team along with the TOT’s (trainer of trainers- church members who have undergone training in Community Health Evangelism through LIA’s partnership with their church) has been identifying homes in which there is great need. Our team split up into 3 groups, each with an LIA staff and a TOT from a specific church. We went around in the slums to these identified houses to carry out a baseline survey that will show the LIA staff how to help meet the communities’ needs. Most of the homes we have been visiting have a widowed mother taking care of anywhere from 3-14 children (some take in other orphaned children from other friends or family). The baseline survey asks simple questsions about the health of the mother and her children, about how they earn money, about church involvement, and about relationships with their family and other friends. Many of the women are making 50-150 schillings per day (which equates to about $0.75-$2 a day) by selling charcoal, vegetables, by braiding hair or by selling other food items or groceries. The women also make so very little profit at the end of the day that there isn’t any left for saving. One of the strangest survey questions at first was “Are you involved in a merry-go-round?” A merry go round is a group who meets each day to contribute a small amount of money (10-40 schillings) to a group ‘pot’, and each day, a different person gets the lump sum. Sometimes, the merry-go-rounds are members of the church coming together, sometimes the women have the groups with their neighbors. While it may sound a little strange, it’s the only way for some of them to have enough money at once to purchase the needed supplies for their small businesses for the week.
We also heard many heart-wrenching stories of loss, abandonment and illness. I’m sure we could all go on for days about what these families have encountered. There are a few selected stories that will be posted at some point in the future- but be praying for the people we’re continuing to interview. Another question on the survey asks about their salvation status- “Are you saved?” I think my heart literally breaks each time someone says no. It’s so very apparent when the head of the home is in a relationship with Christ- they have such a faith and trust in God for EVERYTHING in their lives and those homes in which God is present is just so very apparent! Amen! We have gotten to experience many women who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior! Amen again!
Now, the Post College team has finally arrived! They are in Kenya for only 10 days, and they arrived in Kisumu on Friday night. Yesterday was our first full day with the team of 26. We broke into 5 groups, with a Mi2 “leader” and 3-4 Post Team members. We went on home visits yesterday, and today we are going to the 5 different churches for a Sunday service. It’s been a lot of fun to hang out with other people who are about our same age, it’s also awesome to hear their stories of how God has been working to bring them here. Be in prayer for our sleep at nights, the days are often very long (9am-9pm) and we all need as much refreshing sleep as we can get! Also be in prayer that the people we meet that have not accepted Christ as their Savior would have their hearts softened to hearing the Truth.
Stay tuned for some AMAZING stories from the other Mi2ers!
God Bless!
Holly