One Week

I have one week left of my journey to Kenya. I am both excited to start Bible college back in SLO-town and dreading saying goodbye to all my Kenya friends.

(Aside) Did you notice how two posts ago I was writing about weeping and last post I was writing about lion killing. I didn't know if anybody picked up on the contrast between the two, but at least I did. LOL. Kenya can bring you to the extremes of life I suppose. Maybe that is why I like it.

So about my goodbyes...... I don't want to leave and then I do. I miss so many things at home. I mostly miss the familiar people, places, and faces. I miss ice cream, pizza, and big glasses of cold milk too. I miss my crappy college apartment, the pacific ocean, and white people. I really miss white people. They don't have those here. It will be very hard to go however. I have bonded in a special way with a few of these guys. I will also miss my host-parents. They have been a huge blessing to me. I didn't come to Kenya with enough money and thanks be to God I was connected with people who love having people stay with them for no charge. My host parents have taught me skills in hospitality and servanthood that can't be learned many places. I guess having ex-cons living with you for twelve years will teach you a few things. That is what Steve and Dianne, my host-parents, did before they were in Costa Rica.

God has really blessed this trip and he has done a great work through me and to me. I want to work all the way to the bitter end and I am really looking forward to this last week. It will be a great week. We have a tournament, a baptism, and a game in the stadium planned. These street boys have never played at the stadium so that should be pretty cool for them. It will be cool for me too. Falling on the grass is way cooler than falling on dirt. Thats a fact!

I know that if I was given more time the possibilities with these boys would be endless. Their poverty isn't really their problem. Jesus himself had no place to lay his head. Poverty wasn't a problem for Him. Hunger isn't a problem for these boys either. Jesus went 40 days without food and it only made Him stronger in the end. Education isn't even a problem. The disciples in the book of Acts were astonishing people left and right at how they knew such things. Later it became apparent to the people that, "they had been with Jesus." These boys just need to be taught the Bible and how to follow and walk with Jesus. Soccer is the means by which this is possible. Soccer is also a great way to keep there bodies strong and teach them great lessons that can cross into the spiritual realm. If I had more time here I could see even more wonderful things happen in their lives. I will leave them in the best possible way for them to grow while I am absent. I am praying God would raise up at least three leaders to fill my shoes. Even that will of coarse take time.

I am gonna miss buying a big fat meal for $.30. That is just a random thought.

I am gonna miss going anywhere in town on the back of a bicycle for $.30 as well.

I am gonna miss Maasai war stories and hugging little street children, who don't get many hugs otherwise.

I am gonna miss so many things.

This will be close to my last post here on this blog thingy, but maybe I will start one called Steve-Slo.blogspot.com. That will keep me on my toes back at SLO.

I look forward to seeing all of you back at the States. I will be there next Monday. Give me a call or I might call you. I have tons of roll-over minutes by now. :) - steve

African Safari

Watching a Maasai chief sporting his new Billabong hat was one of my favorite memories of my weekend stay in the Mara a.k.a Maasai Mara. Masai Mara is where Americans and Europeans go to go look at African creatures for their safari vacation. My safari was a little different and a whole lot cheaper. In my opinion it was way cooler too. I went to the home of a dear friend of mine for a two night stay deep in the heart of Africa. I am probably one of the luckiest white people to come to Kenya in fact. I say this because of my friend Julius. Julius is the coolest guy in the world to me and a perfect traveling companion for a white man looking for a little adventure. The only thing I regret is not staying there longer. I needed to get back to town for the kids and Julius had to be back for work, but I still got a taste of the Mara. Julius and I learn a lot from each other here at our compound where he works as our night-gaurd. We are great friends. I teach him about American life, Jesus, eschatology, business ethics, and geography. He teaches me about lion killing, elephant tracking, drinking cow blood, being a bush warrior, and man-swallowing snakes that live in the nearby swamp. One of the coolest things about him is that his English is amazing for a Maasai who has been in town for only three months. It is very rare to find a Maasai with such impeccable English. The other cool thing about Julius is that it was just about one year ago when he entered into his Morran training and killed a male lion. He was the first one of his group to kill the lion therefore making him that much cooler. On top of all that coolness he is a strong, faithful, honest, and true believer in Jesus. He gave his life to Jesus Christ in January. He is maturing and growing like a healthy follower of Christ should and it is a joy to meet such a sweet guy. He is a proud father of four and his newborn son is named Steve after Steve Warn, my host father. He is one of nineteen children and his father is the proud husband of four wives. I really liked his dad. He liked me a ton after I gave him my hat and a hundred shillings.

The weekend started off with a soft introduction. Julius showed me the toilet which is anywhere you don't want people to see you going. It is usually in the bushes. They unfortunately didn't have any Charmin Ultra so Julius showed my his two favorite wiping plants. I loved the Maasai life from the beginning. The morning was nice because his wife prepared some warm water for us to wash our faces. They don't even do that at nice hotels!! Then Julius showed me his favorite type of branch for brushing his teeth. He warned me that it is a bit bitter. It isn't really any worse than Colgate. We brushed for about twenty minutes as we walked and talked and spat. I love brushing my teeth, Maasai style. After about three cups of tea we went out for our first go at "hunting". I told him I wanted to go hunting, but later I realized that when you say that to a Maasai, you are telling him you want to go kill a male lion. That is the only hunting they do. They don't eat wild animals. They only eat their cows, goats, and sheep. So we pretty much went for a long walk. With our staffs in hand I followed very close behind Julius. I was a bit timid to walk around the bush because it looked like the Discovery channel, where all sorts of carnage takes place. After a short while we came up on some zebras and took a bunch of pictures. I got pretty close to them, but they were afraid that day apparently. Then we witnessed some illegal poachers killing an African deer and I saw Julius almost blindside one with his staff. It came out of nowhere! Then he told me all about man-eating pythons and about how the ants always head straight for the genitals. These ants bite too. It is not too fun. We came back for some lunch and then went back out for another go. We walked about twenty kilometers yesterday and I got to see some zebras, gazelles, deer, and some poachers. It was not bad for one day. The most intriguing thing was learning about the Morran. The Morrans are the Maasai worriers. All men around my age go and live together in the bush for about five months. Their diet consists of meat, blood, and some herb concoction that makes you a bit crazy. The herbs make you look like a wild animal and you don't care about anything. They train to kill a lion every day and master all their weapons. I hope to become the first white Morran to pass through Maasai Mara and kill a male lion. Who knows, it could happen?



How to kill a full grown male African lion:

After you have trained and you have had a bunch of herbs that make you brave you assemble your hunting party of no less than three and no more than ten. Assign which person is lion bait and the one going to kill the lion that day. Go on a big journey in search of your victim. Once you see your lazy victim make sure to keep your weapons in your left hand. The lion senses danger when you hold something in your right hand. They are that clever. Make sure your lion bait has his arm thoroughly wrapped for the old stick in the lion's mouth trick. Sharpen a stick (use olive wood) on both ends and make it just long enough to fit in the mouth of a lion. Put the stick in your right hand and when the Lion goes at you to kill you shove the stick vertically into the mouth of the Lion. Don't miss or you will die. Once the lion bites down on the stick and it pierces the top and bottom of the lion's mouth you have a handle to hold onto. Then with your left hand stab the lion with your lion spear. As the lion approaches have your hunting party jump the lion and appoint one warrior to pull on the tail and all the others need to stab the lion until it dies. Sounds easy enough. Right?

Next time I go to the Mara I am going to spend a couple weeks and go walk pass some lions, drink some blood, spend some time sleeping in the bush, learn to shoot a Maasai bow, and all that good stuff.

My friend Abel gave his life to Jesus this past week, which made my whole three months here in Africa worth it. I don't know if anything else that could bring me more joy than to see somebody pass from death to life. How cool is that!!! Thank God for the work He is doing.

I am okay, just a little emotional

I don't have any Typhoid or Malaria according to the blood test. The Malaria sometimes doesn't show on the test, but I don't have a fever and I am feeling great today so praise God for that.

"Jesus Wept"- The Bible

The second shortest verse in the Bible says that "Jesus wept". I admit I was listening to a nostalgic CD as I read the true stories of a man living on the street as a homeless guy, but I too wept today. I started thinking about this man in my book called "My 30 days under the overpass" that I just started today. I realized how many homeless people I have passed and didn't go the extra mile for in my own country. I felt deep sorrow for all the good I could have done with some of my homeless friends there in SLO, but didn't. I then was thinking about all the boys that I spent time with today. I was thinking about the ones pulling on my shirt as they looked down at their empty bellies. I was thinking about Kenedy who is repeatedly molested at night by the older boys. I was thinking about my impromtu drug lesson on sniffing glue as I made gun motions at my temple. I was thinking about how many people don't care about these poor, starving orphans here in this city. I was thinking about Ben who came to the streets when he was 5 and is now 20. I was thinking about Franco who wants to be a professional football player. I was thinking about Abel who wanted to be an engineer, but ran out of money after high-school. I was thinking about how rich I am. I was thinking about how full my stomach got tonight at my nice wood table covered in a nice red cloth. I was thinking about a glue bottle stuck to the nose of a seven year old boy. I was thinking about Victor getting beaten and chased my the police last night. I was thinking about Jesus coming back to set this world straight. As I was thinking, I just wept. Steve wept today.

The Bible says that Jesus is coming back. If you are a Christian you should want nothing more than that to happen today in your life. Make sure that is your chief hope today. If you aren't a Christian I would recommend reading the book of Mathew in the New Testament and learning about what this Jesus said and did and claimed to be. He is alive and real and wants to do wonderful things in your life. I love you all my friends. I will be back in San Luis Obispo on September 11th in case you were wondering. I will fly into LA on the 10th if anybody wants to grab lunch. Have a great day today.

A Small Prayer Request

I think I might have typhoid fever or malaria. I had a fever last night and I vomited after our soccer match today. Please pray that God would protect me and that I would get better. Thank you. I hope you all are well.

Team Hovic

Can you spot me in the picture? Look REALLY hard, can you see me??? We played really well last Wednesday with our new uniforms and all. It was great to finally look like a team. The score was 2-1 against the hawkers. After the game we needed to have a team meeting to discuss some pertinent issues i.e. getting cleats, team unity, building one another up, field clean-up days, and we closed with some prayer. I am seeing some good changes in the boys as a result of me being here and I can only praise God for those changes. God is at work!!! Isaac told me the other day that he has stopped sniffing glue because of my advise and he said he can tell that his body is now more healthy and stronger. I can even see his soccer skills are really improving. His brother Isaya has not been coming to practice but is doing a lot of work at his new job. I am really proud of him and I make sure to tell him so. He has no parents to tell him that they are proud of him and I feel that it helps if I do.

Thurs and Friday

We had two days to clean up Bamako field where we play our tournament games. This consisted of removing literally thousands of rocks. We had to disperse the rocks far away from the field to prevent drunken spectators from hurling them during games. I asked why the boys were moving them so far away and they said because these are African bullets. I didn't question them. I told the boys that if they came both days then I would buy them cleats. I spent four hours on Friday shopping with the footballers trying to find the best deal for cleats. A white man bargaining with Africans is the worst. I hate it so much. After negotiating for hours with some shop owners this one guy gave us a pretty good deal and we left with nine pairs of boots. The boys played with their boots today and it felt to me like Christmas morning and I got to be Santa.

Saturday and Sunday

I had a very busy weekend. We helped with CHE (Community Health Evangelism) in Luanda for a big event. I was the only white person out of the four hundred people that attended. By the end of the first day I was the only red person there out of the four hundred. We were only expecting four soccer teams to be there, but eight teams came and so we played soccer all day in a tournament. I reffed four games and played in one on Saturday. Sunday was for the closing ceremony and the championship game. We barely made it out of the village on Saturday due to a ten minute monsoon that came as we prepared to leave. The rain soon stopped and it took half the village to push our little van through the slippery red mud. We all got home wet and covered in mud, but I personally had a lot of fun. On Sunday, after the most tense soccer game I have witnesses in a long time I was able to crown the fourteen winners with medals and preach to them a bit with a translator. I stressed that Christ is coming soon and we should be ready for His return because He is coming to judge the world. You could hear a pin drop, but I don't know if that was good or bad. I came back exhausted, but I had a great time.

Glue update

I have been talking and praying with the people that sell glue. There are two places that I have been going to and I am beginning to understand these people's predicament. They are very poor and in a way they are trapped into this business. They own shoe shops where glue is readily available and selling glue to little boys is a huge temptation. They know it is bad. They know it is illegal, but feeding their children becomes the priority over doing the right thing. The ones I am talking to don't want to sell glue anymore are are looking/praying for a way out. Although there is no excuse for this sin, I can sympathize with the one's I have been talking to. I prayed with Dorine today and told her not to sell to children for one day and I would pray for her and come back tomorrow. I told Caleb that I would talk to the older boys who beat him when he is walking home. They beat him if he refuses to sell them glue. Some of the small boys are afraid of me because I am constantly teaching them about the effects of glue and asking them to leave it. They are so enslaved by it. I hate it so much.

Life is so different here in Kenya, but I am loving it for the most part. I am excited to finish strong here and go into the next season of my life back in SLO. I miss my church family, family, friends, and I also miss pizza. I am going to eat a big fat one when I get back. Be blessed today my friends.

-Steve

Snakes Confessions and Cockroaches

I will start with snakes. I have been on the lookout for snakes the whole time I have been in Africa and even the last time I was here I wanted to see one. I finally got my chance. This black mamba showed its ugly self right here in our own compound just a few nights ago. In the picture to your left you can see my hand and one very dead black mamba. Our dog Nora found the snake and our very Masai (a hardcore, samurai-like African tribe) gaurd did the killing. I had the priveledge of being flashlight boy. It was better than nothing. Our gaurd stunned the snake with a long stick by smacking it ka-ra-te style. Then he took a pipe and smashed its head on the concrete stair as you see here. I then got close to watch it die. This was just a young mamba, but still able to kill 20 grown men with one venemous bite. Luckily nobody was walking down the stairs as it sat there alive. Praise God for keeping the family of six safe that was having dinner upstairs. And props to our dog Nora. Even if she is the most disobedient brat of a dog, we will keep her.

For the confessions, I can praise God so much!! One of the boys that plays soccer with me was being honest with me the other day and really opened up to me. He has been reading the Bible since I have been here and God is at work in his heart. He confessed a lot of his sin to me and expressed a desire to change. He is a security gaurd at night and has lots of time to read the Bible. The verse that says, "The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart", (Heb 4:12) is so true. This boy has been searching the scriptures and he realizes now that he is a sinner. He said to me just the other day, "Steve, I need to be honest with you, as I have been reading the Bible I have realized that I am a sinner." I told him that I could relate to him more than he knows and that we can praise God together because of Jesus who paid for all that sin. I can't wait to see God continue to work on this kid. I really like him. He is the best friend I have here. I am so thankful for what is happening with him. My pastor always says, "Our job is to just bring people to Jesus and then Jesus will do all the work." Please pray for him, his name is Tony.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches were everywhere as I pulled off a rotten piece of wood in the kitchen of our new place. Since Doom (Kenya bug spray) was nowhere to be found I went on a small rampage. Feet, hands, and all were smashing roaches left and right. It was pretty fun for me. I am a bit sadistic at times. We are renting out a new compound where we can allow people to come in and out freely- street boys included. There are many restrictions where we are now and it is limiting our effectiveness with the street boys. We got this place that has no water and no sewer, but it is being worked on even now. It has a big yard for soccer and a garden already in place. It is Arabic style architecture, which I like a lot. There is a sweet little outdoor courtyard and a spacious interior. OH!!, and there are plenty of COCKROACHES!!! We will make sure they are all dead before we move in.

I hope all of you are well. Thank you for reading my blog.

Corruption

Dear Friends,

My naivety is waring off and I am beginning to see Kenya's true colors. I still know so little, but I am a little less "green" as they say here. I am with Kenyan's all day every day and there is still a lot of good I can say about many of them. But the corruption and deception here rampantly parades around every corner. I have met two known con-artists, two wolves in sheeps clothing, countless bogus merchants, and users galore. It is so difficult for impoverished people with such high unemployment and I understand to a certain extent, but much of it is just plain evil. My skin continues to betray me and it is a little hard to deal with always being a means to somebody's solution to poverty. They don't even know I am nearly broke, but my skin makes me rich. And in reality I am. I am filthy rich to these people. If I needed a thousand dollars I could get it no problem. I just ask for it or borrow it without a problem.

The people are trying to survive and if I were in their shoes I would be very tempted to do the same (lie, cheat, steal, manipulate). The reality is that the problem is spiritual as well as physical. Paul say to be content with food and clothing. He also says that godliness with contentment is great gain. Most people here can find side jobs to get their daily bread and they all have shirts on their backs, but being content is very rare here and in America. The secret is not having more, but being content with what you have. I struggle every day as people ask me to buy them things: food, clothes, transportation, etc. and I really can't at all. I have the hardest time being kind to them and politely telling them sorry. The Bible says to give to those who ask of you and also that those who don't work don't eat. The paradox is making life a little difficult here. I am trying to find the best way to give all that I can for the best of the people.

I guess that all one can conclude with is that this country is bad in many of its own unique ways. America is bad in very different ways and I really don't like either country all that much. Each are very different, but still part of the world system. Not discounting the good things that I see I recognize that something is seriously WRONG with this world. I think that only in heaven will I finally feel at home.

A pilgrim in this world,
Steve Jones

More

I came to the number of 33 after counting places where my skin had broken over the past week. The football fields are not friendly to such soft skin like mine. I am learning this the hard way (no pun intended). Cleats that are too small claim 7 blisters on my heals and toes. Doing a front flip to avoid crashing into audience members can account for about 15 cuts on my hands and legs. A full speed collision yesterday with a goalkeeper adds about seven road rash markings on my hands, knees, elbows, and left cheek. The others are miscellaneous falls here and there. I am having a great time playing soccer with these boys despite any loss of blood.

We had a field clean-up day today. It was fabulous. Instead of rocky hard dirt we now have just hard dirt with a few rocks. I wanted the players to feel like they were earning their uniforms and also find a way to serve and bless the community. I want to clean up Bamako field as well. It is REALLY rocky on one end and is almost impossible to play on. If they can do that then I will definately get them some cleats. I have the money now for them, but I really want them to earn them so that they don't continue to develop this "Hey rich white-man give me money for no reason" attitude.

We tried to pick up our uniforms, but they were not the right ones. We will wait for Saturday to pick them up. Hopefully the lady will get the right ones this time. I am missing home a bit and I feel a little ready to get back, but I have a month to go here and I am going to do my best to see that these young men have a good team and some instruction in the Lord before I go. The good news is that I am befriending them so well. At lunch today we were having a great time joking around and laughing. I was so blessed to just sit there with my ten cent tea and my ten cent beans just getting to know these guys a little. They have been through so much that with all their perseverance many of them have great personalities. I love them so much. My prayer is that there would be somebody to direct them both in soccer and spiritually when I leave. I don't really want to leave them hanging, but God must provide the right person to come in after me. I pray God would do just that.

Forgive me if my last post was a bit strong. I only spoke the truth boldly because I felt that is was necessary and loving to do so. I hope you are all having a wonderful day. I pray God would bless you in a special way today. When He does let me know.

Super Dave Osborn

A quick bio on David Osborn. Was a nominal Christian most of his life, but started to take the words of Jesus seriously, that whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and the sake of the gospel will surely find it. Take up the cross daily and follow me. Dave is a middle aged guy and is currently a full time missionary in Kisumu, Kenya. He has never been married and has been in Kenya for four months. He has a laundry list of degrees and could make tons of money in the states if he wanted to, but he left that to follow what God would want from him. He doesn't own a computer so I get to talk to him about every three days when he comes to our house to check the email. We are both going to those glue-selling people to minister to them and get them to stop selling to children. Dave knows them very well. Dave rides his own personal boda boda around town as transportation. Dave works with older street boys also and lives with a few of them while he brings them into understanding the character of God. I really love him. He is such a humble and genuine soul. God is clearly with this man.

A cool, but creepy story he told me today.

He went to go pray for Josephine the other day and he witnessed the manifestation of demonic possession. Josephine is a glue dealer to children. Dave has been talking to her for a while, but the last two times the demon that occupies her body poked his/her head out to say hello. The demon said to him, "I AM NOW SAVED BY JESUS THE SON OF GOD." Prior to the demon talking out of her mouth she put her head between her legs and was sobbing then she went over to some grass and laid face down in the grass in her pretty dress. Then she came up and the demon did his talking.

Don't think that God doesn't know all your sin today. God is no respecter of persons. Demons are clearly real and so is God. If you aren't right with God at the point of death then you will die in your sins and receive condemnation for dying in your sins. God sent his only son to pay for all your sins and the only way to heaven is through Christ by trusting Him and receiving Christ and what he did on the cross. You will now that God has saved you by a changed life. Things will begin to happen that show evidence of a saved individual.

I care about you all and I wanna be there in heaven with you all. I love you all.

A Ten Hour Day: Soccer ministry at its finest

6 am - Wake up way too early. Oh well. Fix coffee. Eat something small. Do some writing, reading, and balancing of funds to see about team jerseys and boots for the boys.

8am - Take a Boda Boda or Blackman On DA-bike Blackman On DA-bike. Took my five soccer balls, ATM card, and myself to the field. This was a thirty cent operation. I beleive the Blackman's name was Solomon. Boda's love the white man cuz it usually means 5-bob bonus shillings. No problem.

8:20am- Walked to Abel's place. Abel will be taking over some of the responsibility when I leave. We are gonna bring him to the Bible as much as possible and see if Agape can train him. I saw the mama and she made some chai. Did I mention that I love this dude a ton. He has no job, but is very bright and could do anything on the planet if the opportunity arose with the encouragment to pursue. Abel is the uncrowned king of the "no problem". I will probably adopt the "no problem". No really, it's no problem

9:30am- the start of our practice. (US time) Sit and wait for Kenya time.

10:21am- the start of our practice. (Kenya time) We jog, do some running lines. One running line looks like we are orengatangs moving along the grass. The we do lots of ball drills. Lots and lots of balls drills. I love it so much!!! We have the best practices in the city by far.

11:45am- Children flock from the nearby primary school for lunch-break to go look at the white man who looks like soccer pro Wayne Roonie. I tell them sorry little friend. We play with a soccer ball with the little ones. I call the game the try to touch the white man's soccer ball while he runs around game.

12:10pm- Team slashes some grass to earn their uniforms (no lawnmowers, sorry). We are clearing the rest of the field for volleyball, soccer, tetherball, etc. We take some water, and then chill for a minute.

12:40pm- Bible study. We are still in John chapter one and will probably be there for a while. I tangent like it was my job, but we all get a ton out of it. We talked a lot about baptism today. They asked me all their Bible/ theological questions they have always had. Praise God!! It was sweet.

1:15 pm- We take lunch. thrity cents per person by ten players and you have $3 gone. Dang!! I had two African donuts and some tea with a happy amount of sugar. It is no problem. I gave one of my mandazis to a older glue-hound, who always has a bottle stuck to his face. He said I wasn't his friend and he wanted to beat me because I always refuse to buy him food. I had no idea of his level of seriousness so I figured giving him a mandazi with a quick teaching about unmerited favor (grace) would appease his anger. He was my instant friend and showed grace back to me by giving me a tie from his dirty bag. I tied his for him and now I guess we are buds. Sweet!!

2:00pm- Franco (captain), Tony (baller/best kid in the world), Basil (second best kid in the world/also baller), Solomon (baller/close third), and myself hunt for uniform deals. I stay waaaaaaay back, because I always tell them, "my skin betrays me". I am a skin-proclaimed millionaire to the Kenyan. We get a SWEET deal. I am stoked. For once I get to pay the right price and not the white man price.

2:30pm- Appointment with lady who sells the glue to the children. For $.15, a boy can buy a fresh bottle of glue that will make him very very high and kill his brain at the same time. I meet the son instead and talk to him as he struggles to communicate back. I share with him the verse, "whoever causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were tied around his neck and thrown into the river." I thought it was very fitting. He agreed and we may have played the- I will just please the white man by agreeing with everything he says game- until he goes away game. I then prayed for him. I am so passionate about this issue. I HATE IT !!!!

3:00pm- Walk forever to go to the bank with Basil,15 and Solomon,15. They are both orphans, but in school and have a man who took them in. They are SOOO cool!! We get some dough and walk back to the bus park.

4:00pm- Pay the lady half for the uniforms. Yes!! Pick them up on Tuesday.

4:07pm- Walk to the field and realize how dang thirsty I am. Solomon agrees fully. After we find that the tap water is not working, I say, "hey Solomon, here's five hundred shillings, go buy us some cold water and bring me 430 for change." I feel much better after a little water. Nobody shows for 4 to 6 training so we go and try the stadium. The stadium is booked for the month and so we don't get to train there. Oh well, I was so tired I didn't really wanna play any more.

5:20pm- Abel and Solomon depart and Basil and I walk together to Nakumat City (COSTCO in Africa). We walk around and just look at how outrageous everthing is. I like to go there cuz it is the closest thing to America they have in this town. I didn't buy anything. Me and Basil talk and talk and talk about everything. I want to take this kid to America and raise him myself. I love the boy. He is so smart and such A BALLER!!

6:00- Talk some more with Basil as he walks me all the way home.

6:30pm- Get home and praise God on the inside for such a wholly wonderfull, fulfilling, exciting, long.......long, beautiful day.

I covet your heartfelt prayers to God for these boys. Pray for Franco today. He has anger, glue, marijuana, and many other problems. He is our captain and could be a strong leader in the future. God is so good. Me and Franco are best buds.

Good news na bad news

Bad News-

I was the one responsible for seeing a boy get beaten by a police officer. I had to watch it too. I was constantly checking my pockets in the back of my mind so that I wouldn't get picked by a street boy. I was in the busy bus park and boys were all around me. I thought I had my wallet in the left-front and some tracts in the right front. Aparently my wallet was home the whole time. I politely asked three little boys for their toxic glue to spare their little minds for a night. As I was leaving the boys were hugging me goodbye, holding my hand to stay, and really trying to get the sniffing glue from my left hand. I hopped on a Boda-Boda cuz it was getting a little late and I reached for my wallet after about five minutes on the bike. I GOT ROBBED!!- I thought. I went back. I politely asked for my wallet cuz I needed my I.D. and my ATM card. There was no money in it so they wouldn't mind forking it over. There was no wallet and a small crowd was gathering. This can be dangerous in Kenya for reasons I don't want to write. Not cuz its graffic I just want to go to bed. Anyways, the police came and I told some boys about the ones hugging me and pulling on the bottles as I left. I could have swore that Mgongo took it. He was always a shady kid to me, but he actually didn't at all. They let the boys go, but poor Mgongo (He looks fifteen, but is 25) got beaten pretty good. I had to watch. I thought he stole it also and all the little ones were saying he took it as they cried in the police box. I still feel terrible about it. That was some bad news.

Good News-

The boys had five soccer balls today for practice and it was the best soccer practice ever!! We did lots of ball drills. It was great!! I got nice and sweaty. It was some great excercize. We had a Bible study after and some lunch for 30 cents each. That is some good news.

Bad News-

There is a woman and some others that sell that toxic glue to the boys in the bus park. I hate that stuff with a PASSION. It is evil and those poor little boys are so addicted. This woman who has a shoe business sells it. Some bad bad news. Not new news just bad news.

Good news

After lots and lots of ingenius lying from the street boys and many others, I found the place where the glue was sold and I went and talked with the woman. After we got past her lies, the Lord began to open her up a little bit. I told her to stop selling glue to the boys for three days and I would pray for her other business of selling shoes. I told her WHEN (not if but when) God answers that prayer that we will talk on thurday. God will honor that prayer- more good news.

Bad News

thats it, accept for all the corruption here. It pretty much sucks.

Good news

We found Mgongo today. His mind is pretty messed up from years of glue, but there is still hope with God. I used to think he was shady and pretty hopeless, but after today I just love the kid. Since I caused his beating, I treated him to lunch and sat next to him as he made the whole restaurant bust up because of his loud incomprehesible chatter. He almost made me spit out my chapati he was being so funny. He was very grateful. These boys get in fights so much that a beating from a cop really isn't anything to lose sleep over. He got over it the instant he knew lunch was being served. Pray God would do a miracle with this boys brain. He used to be a very sweet little boy is what I hear. Some more good news.

Thank you for reading my blog. I actually don't even know if people read it, but whateva. God bless you my friends.

Kisumu After Dark

One place you don't want to be at night as a white man is in downtown Kisumu. You especially don't want to stroll through fanana park after hours. I spent lots of time with one of our best players named Basil (not BAY-zll Baa-zil) today and he informed me about Kisumu after dark. He said that fanana park is the worst place to be when the liquor stores have emptied their stock of the cheapest and nastiest liquor. Basil told me that women will walk through the park half-naked and drug use is rampant there as well. The irony starts with the fact that this place is where ministry happens every sunday with the street boys. A hundred or so gather to sing and hear the word of God on the very same ground where debauchery and crime flourishes. I asked if I would be okay to come at night even if I had no money to steal and he said I would likely get beaten anyways for not giving them any money. I will just stick to daytime ministry for now.

My first game with team Hovic was today. It was a real Kenyan football match. The politics of Kenya and the corruption in this country even manifest in the local men's soccer league. This is disturbing, but true. The Ref was afraid of a beating from the other team so the calls were skewed making for a 2-1 defeat to a wrongly called p.k.. And our opponents must have trembled at a bunch of street boys plus one random white man beating them in the match. They were older and more skilled, but the street boys were a hundred times more daring and brave. They would give their left leg to win one contest for the ball- blood gushing and all. Their bravery is what may make them good football players one day. I knew there was something wrong when my players advised me to not go for the ball because I quote, "they will likely injure you". The street boys knew of the corruption and it made for an intersting match. I looked half African after the match from the dark dirt-sweat combination all down the left side of my body. And I only bled a little, but it was all worth it!

Tomorrow is a turning point for these boys. I hope to purchase eight soccer balls in the morning followed by their first REAL football practice. I am bubbling with excitement, but also cautious at sharing a fortune with boys who have nothing. The balls that I am buying are the best. "Losing" and then selling a ball would mean food, rent, pleasure, and survival. I recognize the temptation presented so the balls must be well gaurded and they will clearly be labeled my property for the time being.

The spiritual aspect is this. The boys know some about the Lord. Their undestand rides along the surface and has never truly been explored. Are they truly born-again going to heaven Christians? I don't really know. Time will tell. The word of God changed and is changing me and I know the same will be true for them. Tomorrow I will have a Bible on the field and continue fulfilling my self-proclaimed role as team pastor. Things may get hairy because the enemy is truly fighting for the souls of these boys, but hakuna matata as they say.

Life is good, God is good. I am fully alive and so happy and content with life. I love being here and may find my way back some time. Thank God today for all He has done for you and all that He has blessed you with. He is worthy to be praised and thanked continually. Isn't it?

The Latest

The past few days have been comprised of numerous great experiences. I preached a sermon, had a sleepover in a village, and worked on a soccer team. I will go into detail for each.

Casa de Mama Milka

Milka is a great lady. Her job is to help tend the cows at the dairy farm. She never speaks english, which makes our relationship a little limited, but I really love her none-the-less. She invited me to her home and I accepted the invitation gladly. I really wanted to see Kano and get to meet all her family and such. The time I spent there was a struggle for me. I usually am such a tough guy and little usually bothers me, but I had some problems being there for the overnighter. Nothing too dramatic but it was really tough to eat the dozens of mandazi (african donuts), sodas, fishy tasting tea, mound of rice, mound of ugali, and kuku (chicken) all to myself. I wanted to puke by the end of dinner. Hakuna matata. I tried to get to know them as well as I could in half a day and I actually really liked one of Milka's sons a lot. His name is Charles I believe. He told me he had just killed an antelope the other day as he pointed to the tail hanging from the ceiling of the hut. If I ever go there again I am going spear hunting with him no matter what it takes. The highlight of the visit was a little girl named Bella. She ran in my arms and smiled to the heavens. Then she fell asleep in my arms as I ate my eight coarse meal. The low point of the visit was the spiritual bondage/ darkness that manifested mostly at night. They pray at night and beat on a drum for the "Holy Spirit" to come into the village, but some sort of demonic presence could be felt instead. The village is run by a Catholic cult called Legen Maria or something like that. I have never felt such clear demonic activity (except for that one time in Vegas) in my life. It was a little hard to fall asleep. Even though there was a little difficulty there, I was glad I went to the village and hope to go back.

Sermon

Bwana asa fiwe (Praise the Lord) I was so blessed to preach. Wycliffe, the pastor, told me 40 minutes to an hour and I went too long. I was nervous I wouldn't have enough to say, but aparently God gave me PLENTY of words. We had to stop it a little short as the kids were getting out of Sunday school and people's bottoms were getting a little sore. Oh well. I think people were blessed by it and God was glorified so that is all that matters. I spoke on "work" and how we need to first know where we sit in Christ and that will enable us to work for Christ. God is so good!!

Soccer Update

I am playing soccer everyday I am in town with the street boys and we have another friendly match tomorrow with another team. We lost last week so we are hoping for a victory tomorrow. The boys are warming up to me more and tomorrow we are going to have a team meeting. I hope that God gives me the right words and it brings us all together. I just found out that my church is donating some money to provide soccer balls to the boys!! I was so stoked and it is such an answer to prayer. Praise God for that. I think that it will really encourage the boys to have team balls and to feel like a real team for once. I hope to lead them in drills as much as I can, but more importantly I hope to soon develop some sort of daily devotional we can have together as a team so that they can come to know God more. We need to have a team first and I am working on it as much as possible. A few boys are very consistent, but some of the boys barely come. I pray that are meeting goes well tomorrow. Please pray for these boys and that God would do more than I could think or imagine because we know that He is able.

Random Travels

Kevin Woodward was on his way back to America and he needed a travel companion during his last week in Kenya. I was his man. I am thankful for each experience and I wish to write a few of them here.

Cham Ge!!

The one word I learned that day from the Nandi language was Cham Ge (hello). The people loved it when they heard a white man utter their mother tongue so I said it A LOT. Nandi is an extremely large village region in the upper foothills of Kenya. Nandi Rock is a little finger of a rock that pokes up into the sky. We could see the rock from the Nehemiah center and I concluded that we must hike up to it. Kevin agreed. Our guide was a security gaurd boy named George. He gaurds the big red gate at the Nehemiah Farm. He is from Nandi and led us up the trail without even breaking a sweat or drinking a drop. The kid was a machine. One of the highlights was the screaming monkey that was shaking the tree as we hiked. I think he was calling for a wife or something. Another highlight was the fairy-tale atmosphere of Nandi. I felt like I was in a dream world. The little round huts with thatched roofs, the green rolling hills, the red-dirt paths, and the maize growing all around. It was so quiet and peacefull and time seemed to stop when we walked through Nandi. After sweating out the near two liters of water we reached Nandi Rock. Little to my knowledge did I know I would be doing some barefoot rock climbing, but I did. Another Nandian man helped Kevin and I climb to the very top. It was a little technical, but enjoyable and worthwhile. After coming down we were met by about a hundred African school children. They were SOOO excited to see us. My guess is that a white person for them was a rare rare treat to see. Greeting one and sitting with one was out of this world for them or so it seemed. After signing autographs and letting them play with my hair a bit we went back. Nandi was great. Praise God for his beautiful creation: the mountains, trees, monkeys, and the children. I am so grateful I went there.

The Creamery

Eldoret was not very exciting for Kevin and I. We stayed with our friend Michael, who is a great man of God and a dear brother. I love him very much. We were mostly bored in Eldoret and just came for a short visit. The best part was the creamery. We went straight to the source when I inquired about getting some ice cream. I went a little overboard with my tub of banana ice cream, but it was worth it. That was Eldoret.

Uganda and the Jew in Jinga

Uganda was great. I didn't want to go because it was rushed and about as poorly planned as possible. I like to know a few things before hopping over to another country, but it all worked out great so who cares. We knew: Jinga, Uganda, in a few hours, and need some money. That was about it. We waited until 3:30 am for our bus and then struggled for some sleep between the potholes on our way to Jinga. We woke up to the bus stopping and Kevin thought it must be a bathroom break. Or was it the border? We reached Uganda and didn't really know the protocall for crossing African borders in pitch dark, but we just followed everybody off the bus. After some confusion and signing a blue card we were walking into Uganda. The bus sped past us as we walked and then we got suddenly afraid. Then we ran after the bus. In short, lets just say we made it safely to Jinja, The birthplace to the Nile River.

The Jews name was Gilad (gee-lad). He was a young guy traveling alone through Africa. We met him while we bought our visa to Uganda. We really latched onto him because he seemed to half-know what he was doing in Jinja. The three of us rode on the back of three motorcyles to Bujagali Falls, a name for a class 5 Rapid on the Nile river. It was Beautifull!!! The Nile far exceeded any expectations I had coming into the trip.

How to do a full roll in a Kayak:

Get fully secured in your Kayak and make sure no water will get into your leg chamber. Hold your paddle on your side along the length of the kayak and have the paddle-head flat and parallel to the water. Roll over and stay very calm. Slowy move the paddle accross your body and reach out with it to the side of your body. With a great thrust push down on the water and you will pop up like a duck. Only try this with the supervision of a trained professional or a random Ugandan kid you meet at the bank of a swimming spot on the Nile River.

Rafting and my new sisters

I told my new sisters that I would write about them on the blog. They were an hodgepodge of five girls from VERY different places. Three were from Delaware (I still don't know where that place is) I think it is a city in Alaska or something. One girl was one of about 15 missionaries from Dijibuti (Ji-booty). Fifteen missionaries and about one million people (that is sad). It is on the North-east coast of Africa and is completely Muslim. It is the Bakersfield of Africa. And the third girl was a delightful girl from the Netherlands. I now like the Dutch after meeting her. Anyways, Kevin and I had a great time with our guide Henry, these five girls, and the Nile River. The water was warm and the rapids were enormous. They were class 3-5 rapids. We only flipped one time, which was unfortunate. That was everyone's favorite part. The Nile was a hit and I am so thankful to God that I was able to go there. I am glad Kevin dragged me there. It was a great adventure and it gave me a lot of time to think and pray for the street boys. God keeps throwing things in my plans that force me to rest. Rest is Gods idea and we can't forget it. Rest was made for us and we were made for rest. Praise God!!!

Hey Roonie!

Hey Roonie! was the first thing I heard as I arrived this morning at the "soccer field". Roonie is a freckly guy that plays for Manchester United. I bare a resemblance to him aparently. I went to play soccer with the street boys today. There were about twelve boys and we had a great time. I helped run some drills and then we played a little scrimmage. I was a little embarassed for getting tired due to the high altitude. I don't think that I am in that bad of shape, but oh well. I feel like I am already gaining their trust after the first day, which feels so good. I am learning Kiswahili so fast and I praise God for it because it is helping me so much connect with the boys. As we were eating afterwords at a shack they call a hotel they asked me why I came to Kisumu. I was able to open the door just a little about why God has placed me here. I really like these boys. These boys are hated and rejected by many of the people in the city. I am so glad that I can be their friends. I explained to them that we can learn from eachother. They can help me with swahili and I can help teach them the Bible and some soccer. I hope to engage in Christian fellowship with these boys in the near future. I don't know where many of them stand spiritually, but I think that we will talk about that soon. I mostly want to genuinly love them as God enables me to do so. I think that the most loving thing we can do in introduce somebody to our great God. There is nothing better!!

How to milk a cow?

Well, the first thing that I learned is that it is all in the fingers. You need to get the cow into the holding cell for milking first. Then after you have secured the cow you want to apply some lubricant on the teets. You start high up on the teets and then squeeze firmly. You then pull down and aim the milk into a clean bucket. you repeat this process many times until each teet has been thoroughly milked. Milking cows by hand is really hard work. If I ever own cows I will need to gets some milking pumps. Anyways, I had the best time at the farm. It was good to walk around with people who are comfortable with Kenya and have adapted wonderfully to the lifestyle of a Kenyan. It has allowed me to not fear the adventure that God has for me here.

Kibuye Market

I walked around the big market here in Kisumu. I was the only white person there, but it was so cool. Sunday is the big day for the market. There was so much produce and so many people. I got enough strange looks for one day and I was ready to go home after a little while. I learned that sometimes men will pretend to be drunk and then try to hug you as they rob you in the process. I had a man try and then I quickly got him off me and went my way. I bought a pineapple from a friend and his family and a bag of onions because I was persuaded by some lady who saw dollar signs when the Mizungu (white man) walked by. I paid a good price though. She didn't rip me off.

Anyways, I hope that you are all doing well today. Thank you for all your support and prayers.

Karibu Sana!!

"You are very welcome" was something I heard a lot of today. I made a little trip just out of the city of Kisumu to visit a compound called Nehemiah International. It is a Christian Farm that welcomes orphans and widows. Their hope is to have a completely sustainable farm and they are currently opperating at around seventy or eighty percent self-sustaining. I woke up this morning before the roosters and walked around in the dark on the farm. I came without a watch and I didn't want to miss chapel so I think I may have woke up before five. Chapel was at seven. So many people love God so much here on the farm. It is a great community of about sixty people. "You may be thinking, How odd?? A farm. How did I get there?"

I just happen to have two friends that both go to Cal Poly and are currently staying at Nehemiah. One is Anna Schuler and the other is Kevin Woodward. Anna has spent nine months of her life here in the rural parts of Kisumu teaching children and living on the farm. I was so glad to go with her and Kevin today and say some goodbyes. Anna will be leaving shortly so she has to tell all her friends goodbye. I ate a couple of dinners in huts and stopped at a "hotel" as the Kenyans call it. I waited for some transportation, helped with a Bible lesson, played an impromtu part as the young david fighting Goliath, walked though corn fields, played with children and greeted many wonderful Africans. People love Jesus here so much and they are not afraid to talk about it. It is not like America, but I really like it.

I am so glad to have come here and take time praying for the street boys and seeking God as to how I can best minister and befriend them. I want to see break throughs in the barriers that are built up with them. I am thinking about starting a soccer ministry and getting to know the children through that. I love soccer so I hope that is what happens. I hope to pour into these young men and see great fruit as the Lord changes them. I want to learn what it means to love people and genuinely befriend them. I can't wait to get back to the city and see God knock down social, physical, and spiritual walls that will enable His love and His Word to come in. I am so thankful to be here and very interested in what will come of me being here. I will go one day at a time.

I am in Kisumu

I have just arrived in Kisumu and I had an amazing day today. I left the group of Americans from thousand oaks after spending a few days with them in Mombasa on the east coast. We had a great time visiting an orphanage there. I was so sad that the time there was so brief. I envy those orphan children. On average they are filled with more joy than any American including myself much of the time. Many of them seem to have vibrant walks with Jesus. Their singing was INCREDIBLE!!

There are approximately 42 tribes in Kisumu, which each have their own language/dialect. In the region of Kisumu is the Luo tribe. I have been practicing so hard to learn Swahili and now I want to learn some Luo so I can communicate to people in the language where they are most comfortable. The national language is Swahili so everybody can understand that.

I rode on a boda boda (back of a bicycle) today. Actually, I rode on one and my luggage rode on another. I arrived at Steve and Dianne's (Americans) house this morning and then we went straight to go do outreach with the street boys. Outreach days are wednesday and sunday. I just happened to make it at the right time to go do outreach with Steve. I ended up meeting some of the street boys and practicing my Swahili with them as much as I could. Then they started a soccer game out of nowhere and handed me a whistle. I instantly became the Ref. It was a team from the street boys against a team from the Hawkers (local young vendors). The street boys won 2-1 and they were actually very talented. With some coaching and cleats they have serious potential.

A lot of the street boys sniff glue and get high all day long. It is so sad to sit there and watch a seven year old nurse a bottle of glue, which smells so awful. I almost cried as I held the hand of a little boy named John, who was so cute and small and yet he is hooked on that garbage. It made me angry and hurt at the same time. Many many many street boys have this addiction. I want to see it stop. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". Pray that God would use me mightily in reaching these boys.

I then went to a local juvenile hall. The kids didn't seem to be very juvenile. A lot of them love the Lord and are there for various reasons. We taught them some scripture and played with them a bit and then were on our way. They are really bright as well.

I will probably go see my two friends Anna and Kevin tomorrow. They live on a Farm run by a ministry called Nehemiah International. They are my friends from Cal Poly. I hope that it goes well with them. God bless you whoever is reading this today. Praise God for His love and mercy!! God wants our worship and our lives. He is worthy of it all.

I am here!!

I made to Kenya!!! After 2 days of traveling and almost no sleep we made it. We missed our first flight in LA and Chicago was a nightmare to the point where we nearly missed our flight, but after all the nerves and panicky prayers we made it. Praise God!!

I have spent lots of time with David and Matt in the last week and I am growing closer to them as brothers, which has been really cool. My initial response to Kenya was that of intimidation and feeling REALLY out of place. I was intimidated, I think, partly because of watching Blood Diamond on the airplane to Nairobi. It is a very violent and intense movie. I think it would have been better if I watched Finding Nemo or something. I still feel out of place, but I am not nearly as intimidated.

The Masai People are so interesting. I spent two full days with them and I learned a lot. I sat in on one of their community meeting out under some trees. I sat in some red dirt for almost two hours and listened to many older men get up and say things of which I understood none of it. I spent some of the time taking pictures and the rest of the time praying for the Masai. I met two Christian Masai men named Daniel Laon and Ben. They are my new friends. The Masai live out in the bush of Africa and live in mud huts. They are the largest tribal people in Africa. I witnessed the gutting of a goat and a Masai BBQ as well. They cooked goat only because we were there (the mizungus: white people). The medical facility is underway. They are digging for the footings and taking 300 tons of aggregate there as we speek. I have much more to say, but I need to go so Dave and Matt can use this computer. Thank you for any and all prayers. Pray for the Masai and the group of 40 americans that will be here shortly.

Steve
"Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you."

I leave in 7 hours!!!

I am now in Corona, California and I am so excited to be flying out in just a few hours.  My friend David and I are at his house and he is chatting with his girlfriend while I start this blog.  I hope that this blog can be a blessing to you all and that the Lord would use it to encourage and challenge its readers.  I still don't know exactly what will be in store for me there in Kenya, but I know that God has led me to go and therefore I am very excited!!!  I think that I should get off the computer, but I hope and pray that this blog will continue and that it would be a blessing to you all.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight."  Prov 3:5-6

I love you all