Three weeks down...

...and we've made it to the Coast!

We are currently in Mombasa, on the eastern coast of Africa, still in Kenya though a slightly different Kenya it is. The people in Mombasa are almost half-half Christian-Muslim, and the Muslim influence not prevelant in Nairobi is obvious here. People in Mombasa are generally more relaxed and generally friendlier than in Nairobi, though the clowns that try and sell you everything from belts to pillows to dodgey African Music CDs are still all over the place and still annoying. On the coast, the typical greeting is "Jambo" - you won't find many people saying that in Nairobi, as it's a very typical tourist-oriented greeting.
We are staying at the Jadini Beach Hotel, and i have to say it's the nicest place I've ever stayed in! It is right on the beach, and is one of 3 linked resorts (the other two being the Africana Sea Lodge & the Safari Beach Hotel) that offer an almost ridiculous (not quite but almost) array of restaurants pools and facilities. The staff are really professional, the location is magnificant (from the reception desk where you check in, the beach is less than 50m!) and the atmosphere is very, very relaxed - it's all good.

We've had a great time so far - just as we're settling we have to pack up and leave! Since arriving Friday night, we had an early evening Friday before heading out on an all day Safari/Game Drive on Saturday. By all day I mean we got up at 4am and didn't get back until gone 7pm. The Safari/Game Drive was awesome, and I have plenty of photo's and video of elephants, oryx, impala, ostrich, not to mention cheetah's (which are rarer than lions) and numerous other animals of different species. We didn't see any lions, but the cheetah's (which we saw twice) made up for that. We spent the day with our driver William, who picked us up fromt he Airport on Friday evening and took us around on Safari/Game Drive. William took us around part of the largest national park in Kenya - Tsavo East National Park. At 11,000 square kilometres and at an elevation of 2000 feet, Tsavo East & Tsavo West make up 20-odd thousand square kilometres of national park, easily the biggest national park in Kenya, boasting plenty of animals and spectacular scenery. Only 2 or 3 hours out of Mombasa makes it a perfect day trip, and we were not disappointed.

Westerners, i.e. Europeans or those with white skin, are typically called "Mzungu" and this word can often be heard in reference to a European or Westerner in Nairobi particularly. The word "Mzungu" actually comes from (it's essentially an abbreviated form of) the Kiswahili word for "dizzy" or "lost", so it's no surprise that (given the calibre of tourists these days) the word is very appropriate. :) hehe

Our last week in Nairobi was spectacular. The hightlight of the week was the all-day partnership summit with the ministry directors from Lifespring Chapel on Wednesday. Thankyou everyone for your prayers! We all felt the day was very beneficial and effective as we discussed how to further develop the partnership between Gymea Anglican Church and Lifespring Chapel. As a group, we were able to come to many conclusions & resolutions. Please pray that as we seek to action these resolutions within specific time-frames we would not be lazy or slack. Praise God for the openness, flexibility and commitment of the Lifespring ministry team!

We spent last Thursday nite celebrating with one of the interns at Lifespring Chapel. FYI the internship program is setup to allow people to experience ministry and give them opportunities to see where their gifts in ministry lie. Krystal, an intern originally from California USA, was scheduled to arrive at a surprise 21st birthday party at a restaurant called 'Carnivore'. Now, I should point out that the title does not imply that when the restaurant has you over for dinner, they "have you for dinner". No - the focus is game meat and we had the opportunity to try zebra, giraffe and crocodile meat, as well as the standard beef, chicken & pork. The croc was particularly delicious, though I don't think i'll be attempting to catch any myself in the near future.

The young crew at T 4 12 (short for 1 Timothy 4:12 I've since been told!) have started a series on 'Entertainment' and we spent last Wednesday evening after the summit with the young crew.

Thankyou once again for your eyes. The next time you hear from me I will be in the UK and Dan, Mon and Clint will be back home!

Now it's time for lunch - priorities people, priorities!

Stay cool, serve Him only.
-Spud.

Two weeks later....

....and our time is coming to a close. :( It has been an awesome two weeks and though I will be glad to return home I know I will miss Kenya.

Our second week in Nairobi, Kenya, was slightly more relaxed as the CCV team returned to the USA after a Safari Trip & well-earned rest, and we continued our involvement with the team from Lifespring.
Here's a summary of the activities we were involved in during the course of the week:

Monday:
* rest and relaxation time after a very busy Sunday, and an evening basketball game with young guys from the local estate. Simon put the locals to shame by scoring the winning goal, and taking the team which had been losing all evening, to victory;
* Meetings with Ministry Directors, pizza lunches and preparation for the missions expo rounded off a more relaxed week.

Tuesday:
* We sat in on the Lifespring staff prayer meeting which is held every Tuesday morning.

* Wednesday: we had for the first time an opportunity to map-out our schedule for the remaining 2 weeks, and a quick trip into the city to Masai Markets which turned out to be a bad idea! After being surrounded by some shady characters, the girls freaked out and Gerald (the only Kenyan amongst us) promptly motivated us to move away from the market area. A scary experience all-round, it reminded us of how quickly a situation can get out of hand.
* a day at the Lifespring office being involved in general activities with the interns;
* "T 4 12" in the evening,

Thursday:
* Leadership Classes with the interns in the morning, meeting with ministry Directors during the day, chill-out with Young people at Pastor Sammy's in the afternoon, and SALT campus fellowship at Nairobi Chapel in the evening;

Friday:
* Danielle & I had a meeting with Web Design 'team' to come to some agreement on how to go forward with Lifespringchapel.com;
* meetings with the Ministry Directors of Lifespring Chapel.

Saturday:
* preparing for Mission expo - we created a 1.5m x 1.5m display that contains information about Gymea Anglican Church, it's partnership links and ministry areas.

Sunday:
* Our last Lifespring Church service, where Pastor Charles from Tumaini Church, Kwa-Njenga, encouraged the congregation to be involved in missions - whether at work, school, home or out & about.
* Clint preached at the Tumaini Church in the morning, and by all accounts the message was well recieved with someone giving their life to the Lord
* the Mission Expo (where our display was one of many others) took place after the Church Service at Lifespring, with a number of displays from Lifespring and other organisation (eg TULIP - Tumaini Ladies Integration Project).
* We had a very late lunch @ Pete & Kathryn's (Kathryn is an aussie girl from Orange, NSW, and will most likely be back in Australia with her husband Pete in Jan 2005
* a visit to the Giraffe Centre (such majestic creatures - and such hideously long tongues!) before our late lunch, and time in the evening with our host family.

We spent today (Monday) back in the Kwa-Njenga slums with Pastor Charles. Charles gave us a complete overview of the ministry work that the Tumaini Church supports. The sheer volume and scope of work is almost unbelievable, yet it is clearly a testimony to the awesome power of God working through people that are willing to do whatever it takes, wherever God takes them. Charles' passion for reaching the people of the slums is matched by his desire to see leaders raised up from the Christians within the slums. Please pray that God will continue to raise up people from within the slums who can eventually take over the running of the Tumaini Church.
We were also privileged to spend a short amount of time with the team from Angaza Trust. Angaza is setup to allow home-less kids and young people the opportunity at obtaining an education. Angaza links with many organisations to help young people rehabilitate from substance abuse, as well as moving away from a 'street' lifestyle. The staff (Caroline, Faith, Joseph and other volunteers) also work to educate men & women on the dangers of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and the benefits of abstinence. They also run a sports clinic for where young people can focus their energies, rather than being idle. Please pray that the relationship that exists between Angaza and the Tumaini Church continues to grow to the mutual encouragement and support of both teams & the people they minister to.

This week we look forward to wrapping up our involvement with the Lifespring team, and treking off to Mombasa on Friday morning, returning to Nairobi on Monday (the 12th) afternoon, having dinner with the crew from Lifespring & our host families, then jumping back on a plane to Dubai in the early hours of Tuesday morning (our flight leaves Nairobi at 00:45). As many of you know, I will be leaving the other 3 in Dubai and travelling, not to Sydney, but to London to see a very special person. :) She knows who she is.

Please pray that the Partnership summit (all day Wednesday) would be an awesome time for both the Lifespring leadership team and us, as we meet together to discuss how the partnership between our two churches can go forward. Many thoughts and feelings related to the partnership have already been expressed, so please pray that this time would be beneficial and effective.

On a slightly different note, the MED (Micro-Economic Development) projects, co-ordinated by Joyce from the Lifespring leadership team, has highlighted the need for a separation of roles which Joyce currently performs. Being a social worker to and a loan officer for those who recieve loans for MED projects has complicated Joyce's role. Joyce has highlighted the need for a MED project office dedicated to the management of finances, an office that is separate from Lifespring to avoid a mentality that assumes that because the money is coming from a Church, it is given as a gift and not a loan, and therefore does not need to be paid back. The project office would be set-up to, initially, finance projects that are already established and viable, and then at a later stage, start financing new or experiemental projects. This is a very viable set-up, however the major hurdle is up-front financing because a large pool of money needs to be available to the established businesses from the outset.

Thanks to all for your prayers. Please let me know via email if there is anything you specifically want to know about.

In Christ we have it all,
-Spud, Dan, Mon, Clint.

One week later...

...we're still alive! :)

So much has happened, it's hard to remember! Hopefully I can share with you some of what we've been up to since my last post last Monday.

You'll be pleased to know the blister on my left hand has healed, but it's left a pretty nice scar - one to impress the ladies with (i can see you all ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing).

Tuesday & Wednesday we spent at the Muthangari school. Early mornings and some pretty hard physical work, as well teaching some more Christian Religious Education. Myself and some of the other guys worked on digging trenches to allow water to flow off the school property, as the others cleared yet more grass/weeds, and others mingled with the kids. On Wednesday the school gave us a celebration and send-off which was spectacular. The most amazing aspect of the send-off was a group of kids that were members of a Christian church. Two poems and a few songs later, I realised these kids were describing the impact of HIV/Aids on the community and how to avoid getting it. These kids are so young, yet they are forced to come to terms with the reality that HIV/Aids kills their brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. In many cases, people die and there's no reasons so it's almost always assumed the people have HIV/Aids.

Wednesday night was spent with the young folk that lived in the estate where myself, Mon, Dan and Clint were staying. The group, called "T for 12", meets every Wed and the format focussed around a discussion or bible-study. The current topic is love, sex and relationships, and what I thought would be a discussion on 'what is love' or something equally soft and fluffy turned out to be a analysis and discussion about sexual sin and it's consequences. We were split into 4 groups (one for each of Mon, Dan, Clint and I) and what followed was a rather open and frank discussion about the story of a young person (anonymous of course) and their struggle with sexual sin - masturbation, pre-marital sex, prostitution, you name it, each of us had a different story. My hosts, Sammy and Deb, lead the discussion and asked each group to answer three questions:
1. What mistakes did this young person make?
2. What were the consequences of these mistakes?
3. Is there any hope for this young person?
I was so impressed with the maturity of the young people - I couldn't imagine having such a discussion at Gymea Anglican!
My group looked at the life of the young lady, and i was heartbroken reading her account. I was reminded that even though the consequences of our sin might remain with us, God can and does give us the strength to live on with those consequences and though we may struggle, we struggle in God's strength.

Thursday was a rest day for myself, Mon, Dan and Clint. Since we arrived in Kenya we had the previous weekend been awake for almost 48 hours before falling asleep after the play. With only 5/6 hours sleep, we were up again and into some phsyically demanding ministry and after 3 days of that, we were all pretty tired. The rest day was very welcome, and gave us a chance to hang out & chat before plunging into a busy Fri-Sat-Sun.

The Kwa-Njenga slums awaited us on Friday, and to experience the slum is an experience I will never forget. We spent time with people from the Tumaini Church which is inside the slums, as well as folk from the Angaza Trust which is setup to provide outreach through various sporting, social and practical avenues into the Kwa-Njenga slum area.
The American & Kenyan crew had spent Thursday clearing out a section of the slum which desperately needed to be cleared. Littered with rubbish, refuse and only God knows what else, the crew eventually had almost 100 people (American, Kenyan and those from the slums) assisting in the clean-up.

We spent Friday visiting the homes of Tumaini Church-members in the slums. I cannot describe the conditions which I saw, though I asked myself over and over, "Is this real? Do people really live life this?". The smell, the dirt, the rubbish absolutely everywhere and kids enjoying themselves in the midst of all this left me speech-less. Those that know me well will know this is no easy thing to accomplish. Myself and Mon visited the homes of a number of people, including the parents of our guide (Kim) who works for Angaza Trust, a lady (Rosemary) who runs a baby health and care clinic, and some other young men, one of which (Moses) lives by himself and has no source of income at all since his mother died last year. Rosemary is a mid-wife, and her bubbly, spirited personality was as much a shock as the conditions under which she delivered babies - one of which had only been delivered a few hours before our arrival. The mother was still sick following the birth, and as I hunched over to fit into the 6 foot by 6 foot room with two single beds, i think i almost burst into tears then and there.
We prayed with everyone we visited - something which I am told is the most encouraging thing we could do. That not one of these people asked us to pray for a speedy evacuation from the slums (i.e. "Get me out of here") amazed me. There are conflicting stories about why people live here - some Kenyans believe they live a very 'minimalist' lifestyle to send money home up-country to their hometown. I find it hard to believe that some people over-look the simple fact that many are born into this lifestyle - like we are born into the Shire.

When we returned to the Tumaini Church hall, I was lost for words and the only thing I could do was cry.

The afternoon took us to the Embakasi Girls Secondary school inside the Kwa-Njenga slum area. We spent the afternoon sharing skits, dance, song and Christian education classes with the girls, some of whom were obviously muslim and obviously opposed to Christian teaching, I suspect out of fear from family pressure.

I think Saturday could only be described as the single most 'hands-on' experience I have ever had. By 'hands-on' I mean other peoples hands on me as I spent the entire day enveloped by young kids desperately, and I mean, desperately trying to figure out if the hair on my arms and legs and the skin on my body was actually real. Not a minute went by without my leg or arm being grasped, carressed and rubbed by a young Kenyan boy or girl.

The sports day, organised through the Tumaini Church, was expected to draw a large crowd from the slums and we were not disappointed. Groups were organised into teams, and were pitched against each other in games such as the egg&spoon race, sack race, a game of soccer with 4 teams all attempting to score in different goals at the same time on the same pitch, an eating competition, egg throwing, and other games which defy sanity but provided the entertainment needed. An acrobatic troupe from the slums also performed for the crowd. The awards ceremony allowed us to recognise achievements through-out the day, and present every team with multiple awards - everyone's a winner baby, that's the truth. :)
As the day drew to a close, the 4 of us realised the sun had taken it's toll on our skin - sunburn had set in, and we had gone from white to pink! Thankfully, yours truly goes brown in a jiffy. Dan and Mon weren't so lucky, but it will pass. hehe Sammy, Maish and the 4 of us headed out in the evening for an Indian dinner at Vision Plaza, a roof-top jungle-themed restuarant with a massive screen on which all could watch the Euro 2004 tournament. Despite the chill & slow service, we managed to have a really good meal and catch the first half of the match between Sweden and Holland, before the cold got too much for the Kenyans and we bailed. Many thanks for Maish for putting up with us - he was so tired, his eyes were blood-red and he barely moved all night! (that might have been the chill in the air though...)

After many an early morning, Sunday was a sleep-in before the celebration service with Lifespring Chapel. The service was held at the recently acquired peice of land round the corner from the current Community hall inside the Pipeline estate used to hold services.
The turn-out was amazing! Many people came to celebrate what God has generously provided. It was an amazing service, most of which I have on video and will gladly show - the desire of the Lifespring leadership and congregation is nothing short of inspiring. I praise God for the hearts that God has given these people as they reach-out into the surrounding area with the Gospel.

Some of the Lifespring crew took the 4 of us on a Safari Walk through the out-skirts of the National Park. Whilst not a full-on safari/game drive, we had the opportunity to see the lionesses, buffalo, rhino, croc's, and other animals without having to travel long distances, and it proved to be lots of fun.

Just when I thought I had everything under control... Dan and I were dropped off at the home of a man named Antony. Antony is a medical doctor at the Kenyatta Hospital and hopes to specialise in Neuro-surgery. Antony's wife, Jael, left a month ago and is currently living in Sydney, NSW. Jael had to leave her 4 month old baby & husband in Kenya, and may be away for 2-3 years. We spent the evening talking to Antony and some Aunts of the baby boy, and we had the opportunity to take photo's and video of the Jael's family which we will give to Jael when we return to Australia.

Danielle's host family picked us up after supper in their beat-up red VW Beetle. A complete lack of leg-room in the back seat is an understatement, though the car is very reliable and very cute. I spent some time talking with a few of the young guys from the estate before crashing into bed.

My Kenyan friend sitting with me, G-rad, is getting restless so I think it's time to bail. He's so patient, it hurts! Ladies, Gerald Kirui, if he ever get's the Australia, will be one to watch out for - mark my words! These Kenyan boys have more natural rhythm in their little finger than I do in my entire body. The Kenyan's often joke about white-folk dancing by telling us that we look like we're dancing to the _next_ song.

I wish you all well. I would love to hear from you: swillgoss@fastmail.fm

Please continue to pray that the 4 of us will have the opportunity to spend time with the Lifespring team as they minister. Our schedule from here-on is reasonably 'relaxed', so hopefully communication will be more forthcoming!

Stay cool, serve Him only.
-Spud.

And that folks, was just Monday

Greetings and salutations from Nairobi,

We have touched down in Nairobi, and have finished our second day here in this thoroughly fascinateing and amazing place. Suffice to say, the people are awesome, the place is amazing and every minute is a new experience.

We flew into Nairobi on Sunday around midday. After the 14.5 hour flight ("crikey!", i hear you say? my legs will tell you the story of what it feels like to packed into a shoe-box), a few hours wait at Dubai and then a short 5 hour flight to Nairobi, we touched down to 16 degree celcius and a rather mild day by Sydney standards. Countless in-flight movies managed to ease some of the the hunger pains, given our first real 'dinner' was 2.5 hours late due to stinkin' turbulence. Food on the whole was great - there just wasn't enough of it!
Enough about food. The Kenyans are currently experiencing their "winter", so we are fortunate because it's not too cold and actually very bearable - i didn't need a jumper until into the evening. Lots of cloud though, and the sun pokes it's head thru every now and again - the cameo's from the Sun serve as a pleasant reminder that we're only two hours south of the equator.

Maish and some folk from Lifespring Chapel met us at the airport, which was very groovy. We piled all 8 pieces of checked luggage, numourous items of hand luggage and our own bodies into the cars provided for the short trip to the Lifespring Chapel office. No more than 15-20 minutes by car from the airport, Lifespring had put on a fellowship lunch. A crew from America had already landed a few days earlier and we were told that we would be joining them in some practical ministry during the week. The team, from Christ Church in the Valley (CCV for short), San Deimas, California, were being officially welcomed and each group (Lifespring, CCV and us) had a chance to introduce our members.
The lunch and fellowship was an awesome time to get to know a nunber of people and was the perfect start to a time of relationship and connection building. I was so thankful that we had a chance to sit down, eat (surprise surprise), and chat though I think all of us were feeling the effects of travel.

We spent some time with our host families in the evening, and I was invited by my host family (Sammy & Deb) to a play in the city. Myself, Sam & Deb, Monica, Maish and 'the Pirate' (aka Jarred - he got his name from the Veggie Tales song by the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I'm sure you can guess what Jarred is famous for!) sat through what has to be the funniest play (one might say, technically speaking, a 'farce') I have ever seen. It revolved around a guy who had two wives going at once, with a child to each wife. He starts to seriously freak out when his son of his first wife meets the daugter to his other wife over the internet. As the kids are actually close to falling in love, it is something to behold watching this guy and his friends cover up, lie, decieve, avoid and generally spoof their way thru the play as the wifes and kids meet each other but don't know who's who until the final scene, when all is revealed. :)

After the play (around 10:00pm Kenya time, which would be 5am Monday Sydney time) Monica and I were more than a little tired - we were both feeling a bit ill! Having been awake for some hideous amount of time, we were both very glad to be able to eat something before crashing completely into our respective beds.

Monday was an early start, though some confusion with transport inevitably led to Monica joining us around midday. We spent the day at a school, in the classrooms teaching Christian Religious Education, in the playground with the kids doing a whole manner of activities, and doing practical ministry - e.g. clearing grass and weeds from the school property, digging a trench to allow water to flow off the school grounds. I had the blessed task of assisting the trench diggers, and managed to get myself very filthy and particularly ferral, as my shoes, jeans, arms and shirt will testify to. I have no idea what was in the black, foul-smelling water but I was praying that whatever it was didn't get into me.
It was an amazing day working alongside the Lifespring & CCV folk. The CCV crew had come to do particular ministry work with the school, and the practical work we did and will do will go along way, as the school simply cannot afford to pay for it to be done. And believe me, it needs to be done.

We had the opportunity to play with the kids, and their smiling faces will never ever leave me for as long as I live. The simple act of shaking hands or giving a high five is enough to light them up, and when you contrast kids in Australia to kids here, you see the difference.

The people, places, foods, smells, sights, and sounds are so different, it's hard to take it all in at once. The roads are covered with people walking - forget pedestrian crossings and sidewalks ladies and gentlemen, in Kenya you just walk. The house I am staying in is no bigger than the town-house my brother and I bought, yet it's considered "extravagant" by the majority of Kenyans. Cars are a luxury, particularly ones that aren't beat up and run-down. Food is simple, and is really quite delicious. Considering that a typical Western diet is usually high in sugar & fat, and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why Kenyans don't look like Americans, and it's not because they might be lower-down on the socio-economic scale.

As the evening moves closer, it is almost time to settle in and find out on foot where Monica, Dan and Clint are staying, as we are all close-by though I don't know exactly where. We are all staying in an estate surrounded by high barbed-wire fences and a security guard at the main gate. The estate has a few thousand people, with more to come from what Sammy has told me. It's a strange concept for me, but it makes practical sense in many ways.

The current list of injuries stands at two for me. I cut myself with a plastic knife on the plane (sliced thru the side of my finger before I had even taken a bite, but didn't draw blood), and now a massive blister on the same hand which has left a flap of skin the size of my other hand dangling precariously under a bandage (thanks to Danielle for patching me up).

Time to log-off, my lift is leaving and i've spent 55 minutes here already. Yours prayer are very much appreciated, so thankyou one and all for lifting us up.

Work hard, rest well and serve Him only.
-Spud.

Coutdown to departure

Welcome,

Myself (Simon) and 3 other folk (Danielle, Monica & Clint) from Gymea Anglican Church, Sydney Australia, are about to embark of a trip of significant proportions - a trip the home of coffee and cool.

A trip to - no, an experience of - Kenya. Nairobi to be exact, with some time on the coast in Mombasa.

We'll be away for a few weeks, so we'll try and keep you updated on our progress. Come back here once or twice a week and hopefully we'll have updated whats happening, what's happened and what might jump out at us tomorrow.

In Christ,
-Spud (Simon)