The Naz Missions

KENYA 2011 - FEB.

2011-02-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry that we changed the location of the blog for this trip from here to our website:
http://www.thenaz.org/blog
All is going well! Thanks for your prayers! - Crystal

Days 14 & 15 - Final Days!

2010-08-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, this post will have to be short and won't have much detail and I apologize. We've been so busy and were running out of time! Friday went pretty good, it was exam day for the students and then all of the teachers buckled down to get them graded by the end of the night. So nothing to exciting just lots of packing and grading. Today (Saturday) we went to the Masai Market which was quite the experience. It'll be more fun to tell everyone about that in person! I just want you all to know that we are doing good and are getting ready to head to our last meal here at ANU and then heading to the airport. We really appreciate all of those who have followed along with us on our journey and really really appreciate all of your prayers and support! We have loved our time here in Kenya, it was a life changing experience and I think all of us hope to return one day! We shall see you all soon!!

Day 13 - Last Day of Classes

2010-08-20T02:28:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! Well our day today began with an amazing devotion in chapel by Cliff. This man sure has a way with words and he is so good at relating scripture in the bible to our lives. Such an inspiring person! In his devotion he shared with us the very well known verse ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open or if he were talking to his computer class he would say ask, seek, click. He’s inspiring and funny! The students and faculty enjoyed his devotion very much and he truly did a great job. We all also got a kick out of the worship they did before the devotion. They sang a worship song about spreading God’s word through all the nations (or tribes) and then the lead singer would call out different tribes. Like I said before, the worship here is always exciting and in this particular song each tribe has a different “dance” move for the chorus. So as he said each individual tribe the students would dance to the song the way their people would. This was so fun! So of course when he said Muzungu (white person) Ken would do the disco. This was a great way for the students to relax because exam phobia had kicked in already and you could feel the tension in the air. After chapel Melanie and Art taught their morning classes which mainly consisted of reviewing with the students for the exams. Mel also took her class to the computer lab to begin research for the term paper they must right by October 15th. I accompanied the class and I was glad I did, because unfortunately 85% of the class had no idea how to research online! Yet here they are expected to write 4 of these term papers, one for each class, by October 15th and they are so confused. I helped as much as I could and I think they are feeling a little bit better now. Of course they have our emails and they can contact us any time and we will gladly help them! Being in the lab with my students gave me a glimpse of what Cliff, Brett, and James face every day with the students in their computer class. The afternoon classes were similar with all of the teachers basically reviewing in their own way with the students. Cliff went the extra mile and his class left around 6pm for dinner, and then he met them back at the computer lab at 8pm to keep helping them so that they would be ready for their exam. If there is one teacher here that went the extra mile it is Cliff. All of our teachers did so great with their classes and the relationships built will last for quite some time. Between morning and afternoon classes we were honored to join the Vice Chancellor and a few other members of the faculty for a private lunch in one of their conference rooms. It was so neat listening to them speak about their visions for ANU with us. They want to continue to partner with us and our teachers to help build their school and curriculum, I got the since that this helped pave the way for a long relationship with ANU and I am so excited! After afternoon classes we had a wonderful dinner prepared by the lovely chef, Fred, and we were joined by the other two teams that are here working at ANU. And to my surprise I was spoiled again! Ken walked around the counter to “whisper” with Chef and I could tell by his goofy smile they were up to something. Then they came out from behind the counter and everyone started singing happy birthday. Chef had made a beautiful light green cake in the shape of a heart with cream writing and decoration saying Happy Birthday Ashley with the number 21. He is such a sweet person I will never forget him. (Here in Kenya celebrating birthdays isn’t something they really do, and making cake is abnormal so this made me feel so special, again!) I thanked him and my group for all of the birthday celebrations and we shared the cake with everyone in the room. We then had devotion which Brett had lead. He chose to share 1 John 215: 15. He expressed how it meant that we should not love the world but love our God. We thought that this fit perfectly with our trip, which is what this is all about, loving our God and sharing his love with everyone. It was a great ending to our day; of course we followed it up with some scoop scum and then headed to bed. That night I know that our students were in our minds, we had all prayed for them that the Lord would be with them and that they would feel at ease. We also heard a little bit from the group in South Africa, they are doing well and all is going great. Thank you for your continued prayers and for following along with our journey!

Richard Says Hello!

2010-08-19T12:00:00.001-07:00

Hi again, one thing I forgot to mention in yesterdays (Wednesdays) blog is that we have run into Richard a few times. For those who don't know our church (BNC) has provided him with a scholarship to study theology here at ANU. He is so grateful for all the church has done for him and he sends all of his love. He gave us a card to bring home and read to everyone. He and his family are doing very well. I saw him again today and he is studying hard for his exams!! We are hoping to spend some more time with him before we leave but with exams on Friday that may be tough. Like I said he sends his love and thanks and appreciates all our church is doing for him! I am so proud of our church, I know it's hard sometimes for everyone to imagine the impact we are having here in Kenya at Ewasso and at ANU but I PROMISE all of the dedication, prayers, and giving from our church is blessing the lives of many! Our God is so good and I know he is proud of all we are doing!

Day 12 - A Sense of Relief

2010-08-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Thank you for taking the time to check in and see how the group is doing. Today we began with our normal routine of breakfast, chapel with the students, and then off to class for the morning teachers. But as usual, a day here at ANU is never normal! There is always something that happens that makes us stop and say “wow, thank you God.” Let me start with my day in Mel’s class. Today was my birthday; I get to say I turned 21 in Kenya! The student’s knew it was my birthday so I had no idea what they had planned. After being in the class for about two minutes I sat down to begin the blog and they started singing “Happy Birthday” to me. It was the sweetest thing and their voices are so amazing! Then they proceeded with the “how old are you,” and “May the Lord bless you,” and one girl ended by singing, “we went to the zoo, we saw a monkey, was it you?” They love to joke around with me and the feeling is mutual, I told them that “yes” of course the monkey was me and they all laughed. Then throughout the class they continued to spoil me with gifts. Each time I got tears in my eyes, because I know how little some of the students have, and the sacrifices they have to make just to come to ANU. I couldn’t believe that they would be thinking of me, and what they could give to me! Even though I missed my family, I had never felt more loved than by the students in Mel’s class. Art and Diane had a special day as well. After Art taught his morning class and him and Diane ate a quick lunch, they left for the evening. They went to the Kenya National Theatre Conservatory of Music where Art had been invited to sing three songs, and then give a lecture on the care of the professional voice. His audience consisted of voice students, professional speakers, and 20 international students who were the children of the U.S. Embassy employees. At the end of it all he was applauded, asked many questions, and also asked for an encore. He also made some big contacts including the director of the Nairobi Chamber Choir, who is also the director of Cultural Affairs and Planning for the U.S. Embassy. Diane was of course along for the ride as she as always, beautifully plays, the piano to accompany Art’s songs. As for back in the classrooms here at ANU, Dave had a good day. He has one student who had been struggling for quite some time with the complicated math and yesterday it all seemed to just click for her and she is feeling comfortable about the exam. Dave also spoke with Mary Ooko who is the Department Head of Distance Education, she was a big help in our beginning confusion when we arrived and has been one of our “go to” people ever sense. She told Dave that she has had nothing but positive remarks about our team from the students and other faculty, and that they are so thankful we came. In Cliff’s computer class there is still some struggle with lack of resources. Unfortunately the class always seems to be one computer short, and with the frequent power outages, and slow network it is hard for them to finish the tasks he is trying to teach them. Please continue to uplift Cliff and his class, Cliff is worried for his students because he wants them to learn all they can about the computer but they keep running into conflicts. James and Brett as his assistants are feeling the same struggles. However Brett had a nice moment with one of his students today. He had been helping her type an email and he walked away to help another student, when he returned to check on that particular student she had emailed him saying “you have been such a great help to me over the past week, and have spent so much time helping me individually. I thank God for you.” This obviously made him feel very special and he knew that all of the frustrations were worth it. Daphni is still enjoying her time assisting in a variety of classes. Her bonds with the students continue to grow each day, saying goodbye will be hard. Ken’s class is going well also. He was so grateful today to finally feel a sense of relief. I know most of the teachers felt the same on this particular day because Thursday was going to be a day of review for the final exam and then Friday was exam day. All of the pressures were for the most part off of the teachers and all of the planning and organizing of lessons was at an end. Aside from helping their students prepare as best they could the hardest parts of the class were over. Ken also shared with us at devotion how he feels Africa needs more engineering programs. Some of the students are learning these complicated math skills along with other things but they have nowhere to apply them. He came up with the idea to help ANU create an engineering program so that in the future, students would be able to gain all of the skills of an engineer and have a use for them so that Africa can use these students to build up their technology and advance in many ways as other countries have. You can tell he has a big heart not only for ANU but for the country of Kenya and Africa itself. One more story I must share with you is from Melanie’s class, this is heartbreaking and it really opens your eyes to the struggles students here face. One of her students very cautiously pulled her aside on their break. Towards the beginning of the trip he had shared with her how where he and his family lives is a dangerous place and there is always lots of tribal violence going on. He proceeded to tell her that on Monday, the very first class of our two week session his family had been attacked in the night. As far as we know everyone was ok but it was very hard for him and his family, as you can imagine! Then he got really quiet, and he asked Mel if she remembered how after our safari she shared with the class how she was able to use something that allowed her to see the animals from a distance (her binoculars). The student said that you can’t always prevent the attacks but the two best things you can have to protect your family is a gun, and something to see them coming. Almost as if he couldn’t say it he asked Mel if she would just consider giving him her binoculars. All he wanted her to do was think about it, and she immediately took hold of his hands and told him she didn’t need to think about it, that they were his. This brought tears to our eyes. This particular student has been the leader for our class always helping the other students and explaining things so that they could understand them. Not once has he been late or missed a class, yet all of this was going on at home. Again this reminds us of the sacrifices these students make to come to school, and it blows our minds the things they have to deal with on top of these intense courses. Like I said there is never a normal or dull day for us here at ANU, we are awestruck by the people here and their love of God and determination to get an education. After dinner Art treated us with a devotion on having faith and it was one that fit perfectly in with our group. Our entire trip has been a learning experience where each day there were things we just didn’t know what to expect, but if we were to let our worry and fear take over we never would have had the outcomes we have had from this trip. Then to my request since I was still playing off being “birthday girl” I asked if we could all play a round of scoop scum and of course the group was up for it. This was another amazing day here at ANU and we again had that sense that God has had his hand in everything on this trip. Every bit of confusion, misunderstanding, and lack of communication was all a part of his plan and we couldn’t have asked for anything different!

Day 11 - A Fun Night Out

2010-08-18T02:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It is hard to believe that we are almost done with our classes, it is bittersweet. After todays class we have two more and then it is time for final exams. Our Tuesday began just like every other week day, we had our always delicious breakfast made by chef and then we went to chapel. As always, chapel was full and people were standing all around to hear what was being said. After chapel the morning teachers (Art and Mel) and their assistants headed to their classes, while the rest went to their rooms to prepare for afternoon classes. Art’s U.S. History class is still enjoying learning about our history and all of the knowledge he has to share with them. In Mel’s class, the students did some of the teaching themselves. Mel gave them a question in groups and they presented to each other. These are some of the most intelligent students I have ever met! Listening to them work together to make sure everyone understands is so rewarding, they truly care about one another’s success. The afternoon classes went well also. In Diane’s children’s literature class there is always fun to be had, and today in Dave’s class Ken came and spoke a little bit. In Cliff’s computer class the students continue to embrace the new skills they are learning that will help them advance in the future. The teachers for the afternoon classes let their students out a little early so we could have an early dinner. We met for dinner and then immediately loaded up on a University bus to head out for the evening. The team decided to go out for ice cream at Java House for an early birthday celebration for myself. If I may, I have to share the fun that we had this evening. When we got there, we all placed our orders and then Mel and I left for a second. When we returned Ken and Art were gone and I had asked where they went? I had ordered a brownie sundae and they were out of brownies so when Ken found out he set out on a mission to find me a brownie. When he returned he had a large piece of cake and he proceeded to somehow stick 21 individual candles on it and light them all. Everyone sang happy birthday and blew their very loud noise makers. As embarrassing as it was I was so thankful for Ken and the group and everything they did for me that evening. I felt like a very lucky girl and it made me somewhat feel like I was back at home with my family. We all then enjoyed our delicious shakes and sundaes, and then headed back to ANU. We were delighted and honored to have Don Gardner join us for our night out at Java House, it was nice to catch up with him and learn how his travels were going. He is one busy man! I forgot to mention this earlier in the week, but we had also received a text from Evie Gardner about how Crystal and the Radically Changed team were doing in South Africa. At one of their recent assemblies they had over 1,500 people in attendance!! Some of the group included Muslims and people of other religions. They said it was an amazing opportunity to share their testimonies and worship with all of these people. They know God is with them and that he will bless all they are doing on this trip. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as well. God has been blessing us with every moment on this trip, we are so thankful for the opportunities we are presented with each day. Thank you for all of your prayers and for checking in on how we are doing, it is nice to know the love and support we have back at home!

Day 10 - Back At Home (ANU)

2010-08-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

After arriving home Sunday evening we all headed our own ways to prepare for Mondays classes and then off to bed we went. After a night of much needed sleep, the group met for breakfast and then off to chapel we went. Each day before class our group has been attending the University’s morning chapel. These sessions are inspiring! They begin with worship which is always so alive and full of energy. Each morning by the time worship is over the chapel is so full, there are always students standing. It is amazing to see the love the students here have for God. Attending chapel is not mandatory, and it means getting up earlier. Yet every morning the building is overflowing with students and faculty praising the Lord. After a stimulating message and announcements we were dismissed to class. Classes were pretty routine for everyone. Coming back to ANU and jumping into classes felt like a normal thing for the entire group. We have that feeling that this is home. In Diane’s children’s literature class, the students are always conversing and interacting with her and each other to further their knowledge. On this particular day she had them playing a game that had been so much fun, their laughter was heard by her husband, Art, across campus! Art’s U.S. History class is finishing up WWII. The student’s are always so interested to learn about our history. Yet each day there is always a tough question that they have for Art. Today’s question was about the prison system in America. The student’s were wondering if people are paid to go to prison, and if they get to watch T.V. while in prison? Like I said they always have very challenging questions but Art handles them brilliantly, the differences in our cultures are always discussed in his course so it is educational both for him and his student’s. Let’s just say there is never a dull moment in history! On a side note of WWII, we learned on our trip through the gorgeous Rift Valley, that the road we took was built during that particular war. And there was a small church that we passed that had been built by the Germans and Italians. This church was built specifically during the war for them to pray in before they went off to battle. In Cliff’s computer class, again the student’s always want to know more. He had one student stay a half hour late in his class to have some one on one time with him. It is so encouraging to know that there are over 100 students taking this basic computer course. (Cliff teaches 1/3 of them) Once they gain computer skills, they will have the ability to go out and share their knowledge with their own students. Think of the impact this will have over time! Cliff unfortunately continues to struggle with power outages. The power goes out frequently here and when it goes out so do the computers. This poses a struggle especially when they are in the middle of an assignment. But with the guidance of Cliff, and Brett and James Joslin the students are learning skills that will help them progress along with the rest of the students in our technology based world. In Dave’s math class he is enjoying his two students. He is currently working on teaching them vectors, and ironically the one student is a High School math teacher who teaches his students vectors in Form 9 (grade 9). Dave found it funny that he was teaching a student about vectors, when this student already knows more than he does on this topic. It works well though because the other student has not learned them yet so they help each other. Ken is enjoying his class as well. The marketing skills the students are learning are going to allow them to have the knowledge to become successful in many things. In Mel’s class she continues to build strong relationships with her students. They are learning so much from her experiences throughout her career and when you walk in the room you can sense the deep respect they have for her as a person and an educator. I know that she hopes that everything she is sharing with them they will use to impact the lives of their special needs children, and I know deep down they truly will. I am also enjoying being her assistant. My relationship with the students grows each day as well. I promised them I would have their names memorized and I finally do! The students here at ANU are truly some of the most intelligent and sweetest people we have ever met, and you can see their love for God is so important to them. Many of them ask questions about coming to the U.S. They want to know what the people are like, and what our culture is like in general. My biggest fear is that as Kenya becomes more and more modernized and materialistic like our country has become, that they will lose the wonderful love of God they have now. Tonight in our devotional, Daphni shared the verse James 2:5. This verse talked about being monetarily rich, but poor in spirit and in faith. Unfortunately our country seems to be focusing on material wealth instead of finding riches in the word and in God. I have not met a single person here in Kenya who was not smiling and verbally thankful for everything that they have, even when what they have is so little. Even Chief John, who sleeps two hours a DAY is no doubt about it thankful for everything he has. And they all believe that their blessings are from God. How amazing would it be if our country could be like that again, that no matter how much or how little we have, we are undoubtedly grateful for everything, and we knew that we owed all of our thanks and praises to the Lord. As we all know, nothing is possible without the Lord, and we owe all of our successes to him!

Day 9 - A Different Way of Life

2010-08-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hello again! This morning (Sunday) we again got up early and immediately set out on another safari. This was a wonderful trip! We came across a pack of at least 15 hyenas which was quite enjoyable, along with a family of 10 or so elephants. The best part was seeing two of the elephants playing and pushing each other around with their tusks. We were amazed at how close they were to us, and also a little intimidated when the male started walking up to the front of the vehicle as if to say "get away from my babies," he made a good Dad. While out we also enjoyed the beautiful sunrise as we were surrounded by mountains and hot air balloons rising into the air. We were awestruck again by God's creations this morning. We then returned to Fig Tree for our breakfast which was delicious like all of the other meals. Then we packed up and headed to visit a Masai Village. Upon arriving at the village, we were greeted by the chief's son, Kennedy. He instructed the men to come out and perform a traditional dance for our group. At the end of this dance they would each individually jump into the air taking turns. The higher the male could jump the more pull he had with the ladies. This is part of what I meant by the title, the Masai live a very different way of life. Then the women came out and did their traditional dance in which Mel, Daphni, and I got to participate in for a brief second. After the performances we were directed to enter into the village itself. The village is basically a square made up of their homes, and some other materials to make a fence. The center is completely open and that is where the larger animals such as the cows and donkeys stay at night to be protected from lions and other threatening animals. Each home has a room for the smaller animals like the sheep and goats to stay in at night. Each man would bring his own small animals into his room in his home every night for protection. We were then showed how they make fire without matches, and given a look inside their homes to see where they sleep. Each man will have multiple wives, they are polygamists. We then visited their market and passed out some sweets to the children. The children were just as children are at home, you tell them only one piece and yet they still keep coming back for more. It was a very interesting and intriguing experience to see their way of life. Once we said our good byes we set out again to head back to Ewasso to see Chief John and check on how the well was going. We arrived at Chief's house and talked for quite some time. He showed us his corn field and explained how he only sleeps for two hours a day because at night he is protecting his corn from the elephants like he had been doing the night before, and during the day his is fulfilling his role as chief. He introduced us to his wife and two of his three children. We all decided that we had never met a more Godly man than Chief John. He says everything he owns is not his but it is the lords. He puts so much time and effort into maintaining his crops and then he gives almost all of it away! He gives his 10% to the church, sets aside what he needs for his family and such, and then lets others come and take what they need. What a righteous man! I hope everyone is as excited as we are for the work our church is doing in this village, we couldn't have picked a better brother in Christ to donate our efforts to. The men working on the well had reached water late Saturday evening and today they were in the process of putting the casing on so the water will come out clean. The people in the village were so happy, this will truly change their lives! We must say we are very proud of our church for all of the good we are doing in Ewasso and here at ANU. The Lord is blessing our efforts beyond our belief! After saying good byes once more to Chief John, we set out to return to ANU. Once back at ANU we felt like we were back at home. We had a nice dinner and then went our separate ways to unwind and prepare for classes the next morning. We enjoyed every moment of our weekend and feel very fortunate for experiencing the moments we did as a team. We do ask that you please keep Crystal and Evie, and the rest of the Radically Changed group in your prayers as they travel around South Africa. They are there already and safe and things seem to be going well! We look forward to what adventures and blessings God will provide us with as we head into another week!

Day 8 - Safari, Relax, Safari...Monkeys??

2010-08-17T04:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Today is the first day of our safari adventure and we are up bright and early. After a quick breakfast at the Seasons hotel in Narok we set off in our two vehicles to Masai Mara Game Park. The ride (again on the bumpy roads) was a good few hours but we enjoyed the scenery. Immediately upon entering the gate of Masai Mara the scenery was amazing and we begun stumbling upon animals. This was the perfect time of year to go on the safari because it is migrating season and the animals are on the move all around. After a few hours of searching for animals and enjoying God's wonder we headed to Fig Tree which is where we would be staying. All I can say is this place was beautiful! Immediately upon entering there are gorgeous flowers and beautiful set ups all around. We stayed in tents, but you never would have known they were tents. Each tent had 2 or 3 of us in it and it had its own porch overlooking a ravine with water in it, and its own bathroom. After settling in our rooms, we had some time to relax. Mel, Brett, James, and I spent some time lounging around or in the pool reading and soaking up the sun. It was quite warm over the weekend where we were which was a nice change. The others took naps in their rooms, or enjoyed books and discussions out on their porches. After we returned from the pool we stumbled upon some new friends, the monkeys. We had been warned about them but we didn't realize how friendly, or how big of thieves they really were! I was in my tent when I heard Daphni say "Ashley you have a visitor outside" I looked on the porch and there was this cute little monkey trying to run away with Melanie's water bottle! We all stepped out onto the porch and before we knew it we had ten or so monkeys all around us. They would come right up to you, it was quite entertaining. A few even had little babies hanging on their stomachs as they hopped around our feet. They provided a good hour or so of amusement, especially after a few people fed them. That's when they got greedy and a little too friendly. But all in all they were very enjoyable and this was an experience like no other. Sometime in the midst of all our fun we had lunch and then set out for another safari until dark came. Again this was another successful trip in which we saw many animals! They were all so active and out and about. Watching the sunset was gorgeous and all we kept saying was how can anyone believe there is not a God! After this safari we returned to Fig Tree for dinner. In the middle of dinner the power went out for a little while but it was quite enjoyable to eat with everyone around the candles. Then we followed dinner with a wonderful evening devotion and we all went back to our tents for a good night’s sleep, because we had another early morning ahead. This was a day I know none of us will forget. The astounding things that we saw were a once in a lifetime experience. We were all in wonder at the creation God had made, and so thankful he allowed us the opportunity to have a little taste of it. We all know that there is absolutely no one or no thing that could create what our God has created, and no one that could do the things in our lives and hearts that he is doing here on this trip and we are so thankful!

(We also figured God must have a great since of humor because who would ever think of the black and white stripes on zebras, or come up with the design of a bird we stumbled across that looked like a mix between a turkey, a chicken, and a peacock! Only our God :) )

Day 7 - On The (Super Bumpy) Road Again

2010-08-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hello again, today has been quite the adventure. Melanie and Art taught their morning classes but let them out early so we could set out on our Journey to Ewasso and then the safari. We loaded up the two vehicles and off we went. After traveling for a few hours we arrived in Ewasso to see Chief John and the progress on the well. (By the way, we all agreed no more complaining about Michigan roads, you haven’t seen a pot hole yet unless you’ve been here!) It was so exciting for most of us to finally meet Chief John. He is a remarkable person, and has such a good memory of everyone’s names. We immediately drove through the brush to where the well was being drilled. It was God’s hands at work that we just so happened to be there on the final day of drilling! They were expecting to hit water late that evening. There had been villagers coming for two days straight standing and waiting for water to be reached. While at the well we passed out some sweets to the children who were so friendly. We also met a few of the other villagers. You could sense the excitement and anticipation for water in the air. We learned that the children there walk 6 kilometers one way to reach water each day, and then make the same walk home lugging the water barrels. This will make such a huge impact in their lives! Our visit with Chief John was short this evening but we promised to return on our way back through on Sunday. After saying our goodbyes, we went to our hotel in Narok where we had a wonderful dinner and devotion followed with a much needed good night’s sleep. It was a blessing from God to see how much we are helping the people of Ewasso and how truly grateful they are. We are all so excited to see the results this well will have in the village. Thank you God for our ability to reach out to our Brother’s and Sister’s in Ewasso!

Day 6 - Teachers Being Taught

2010-08-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I have much to share since we haven’t been able to write in a few days. Everyone has been so busy! Well where to begin. On Thursday, all of the teachers had their normal classes which went very well. All of the teachers are beginning to bond with their students and create wonderful relationships. In Cliff Lehner’s class, there is a struggle with having to many students and not enough computers. But with the help of his assistants, James and Brett Joslin, the class is going very well. The students are very anxious to learn more about navigating the computer. Then in Dave Johnson’s class of two students the working relationship between the three of them is excellent. One of his students is very well educated in their math studies, while the other is not. Both of the students work with the guidance of Dave and they all help each other to reach their goals and move on to the section. In Diane Joslin’s class, the students love the children’s books she is both giving and sharing with them. They ask so many questions and are so anxious to learn about all she has to share! In Art’s U.S. History class, there seems to never be a dull moment. As they progress from past to present, the knowledge the student’s are gaining about our country brings up many interesting topics and questions. The student’s are so eager to know more about everything Daphni, his assistant, has to share as well. This is similar in Ken Johnson’s Marketing class. The student’s were recently assigned a certain budget in groups, and they had to design a marketing campaign for a certain project with their budget. Again, the desire to learn never ceases and the conversations are always flowing. I can now speak with even more experience from Melanie Walls class as I (Ashley) am her assistant. We are overwhelmed with joy at the relationships we are building with our students. At the beginning we felt like we would never be able to connect with these students, and Melanie was terrified that the students wouldn’t do well in the course because of our differences. We felt that they had spent so much money, time, and effort just to be in the class that we would never be able to fulfill what they were looking for. Much to our surprise, and God’s will in all of our classrooms, the bonds we are making with these student’s are not only professional but personal as well. Each student has a story, and knowledge of their own to share with us. We are learning as much from them as they are from us. Leaving them at the end of next week will be one of the biggest challenges of this trip.

On a side note of Thursday; Daphni, Crystal, and I were able to “break free” from campus and spend the day exploring Nairobi. This was a special treat because my birthday is Wednesday the 18th and they wanted to do something for me before Crystal left with the Radically Changed group for South Africa. We first attended Chapel, where David from RC played his new saxophone that was donated to us to give to him. He calls his saxophone “baby” and is currently working on a more formal name. He played beautifully and you can tell how much he loves his gift, we know that he will use it to change many lives for the Lord. After chapel he took us three girls to Westgate Mall which is more like our Twelve Oaks in Novi. This was quite the experience to see the best, and almost the worst parts of Africa all in one week. After the mall we got pizza and Thai food, who would have thought, for lunch. And ended our adventure with a trip to the market where we found David, Japho, and Crystal some warmer clothes for their trip. We then spent the rest of our evening cutting, and labeling the CD cases to help prepare for the group’s trip to South Africa. However, the best part of this day was the very end. You could tell that the time was coming for the five of us to say good night, and we were all dreading the moment. Thoughts of never seeing each other again or for a long time crossed our minds and we all had become so close in just that one day. So David suggested we all join hands and pray. That was when we knew, as each one of us individually prayed through our tears, that God was with us. No, we did not know what our future holds or if our paths would lead us together again like we were that evening. But we all knew in our hearts that God has a plan, and that his will is what we all want. By believing in that we were comforted and we knew that no matter where our lives go, we will all be used in some way to bless each other and those around us. We also knew at that moment, that even though we were all separating the next day to go make a difference in the lives of others, that others were already making a difference in our lives. I pray that as this trip continues this will be a reoccurring theme for our group. That we will make a large impact in others lives, and that we will also learn from them.

Day Four and Five - Guinea pigs

2010-08-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

Well day four and five were all about being guinea pigs! We, this team from Brighton Naz, are the first team from the US to ever come and teach here at Africa Nazarene University. And while there were many bumps in the road the first couple of days, the rewards have been great!!

Almost all of the students that our team is teaching are teachers here in Kenya. Most are from small villages that are required to take a course once a year and ANU is one of only three universities that offer those courses for teachers. The cool thing is that ANU has tried VERY hard to make it possible for as many teachers as possible to come. First by creating these two week intensive courses that go for 4 hours everyday, this allows the teachers, most of which are mothers and fathers who need to keep working during this time to only be gone from their families for a short time. Secondly, they have made it as affordable as possible, most of these teachers come from very small villages and don't earn much to start with.

The coolest part for all of us has been to see the commitment of these teachers to get here. Three of Dianes students have to ride 4 hours EACH WAY, EVERY DAY for her 4 hour class. And one of Ken's students is a pastor but wants to learn more so that he can further the kingdom so he has left his family for the next month. The most touching story came from Cliff's computer class...a teacher, who has probably taught for almost 10 years has never used a computer, never had the opportunity to even be near one. And she came to take the course and the second day he had the class type out a very simple letter to learn word processing and at the bottom, she added: "Thank God for Africa Nazarene University for giving me the opportunity to learn a computer". She will now be able, after these two weeks to go back to her school and be able to use the computer not only as a tool for her, but as a tool for her students to be educated more effectively.

We have been blessed to see how the little time we are putting in here on campus is helping to send these teachers back, all across Kenya, better educated to bring up the next generation and more than that we are praying with them and doing daily devotions with them and they are feeling the presence of God through us. I'm so excited to see all that God will do in these next two weeks!

Giving David his saxophone

2010-08-10T01:54:00.000-07:00

Before we left I was able, with Daryl Bean's help and Meridian Winds (THANK YOU) to get David Sana a new saxophone! This was huge...he had was that was donated and really old and so this was such a blessing!! Here is the video of him receiving that gift

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEyFVZxFsf4

Day Two & Three

2010-08-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the first two days we spent on several different planes. The first of which was VERY small...we really felt like a box of sardines. But after traveling for two days on 4 different planes, we finally landed in Kenya! AND IT'S COLD!!!! It's winter here and with the altitude it's about 50 degrees - not exactly the Africa we all imagined! But we are extremely excited to be here!
After just a few hours of sleep we got up to go to church. The last time I was here in Feb. we never made it to the church so this was something I was REALLY looking forward to...and it was everything and more than I expected!! God is on the move here in Nairobi! The first thing we saw on the church bulletin board when we walked in was a flyer with information on a missions trip that THEIR church will be taking in Oct. It brought tears to my eyes to see that the "MISSION" for God's CHURCH is the same everywhere and even here, where we are coming to minister to them, they will be going and ministering to others. What a BIG God we serve!!
Church started at approximately 10:45, everything is "approximate" here :), and the worship team began to sing in Swahili with drums, a bass and a piano. Although we didn't know what we were singing, we knew WHO we were singing to and that was enough! And by the fourth song when the worship leader began the verse of "Here I Am to Worship" the tears began to fill my eyes! It's beyond words to see people of God worship in such sincerity! I felt the Spirit in a powerful in Nairobi Central Nazarene Church and I was BLESSED to be there!
After the church service, three hours later :), we headed to lunch at Rangers a restaurant within the Nairobi National Park. We sat outside on the patio and watched baboons and warthogs walking and playing the whole time we eat. We even had a VERY close encounter with a hawk who wanted Ashley's french fries! After a tour of the ANU campus and a rousing game of Scoop Scum we headed to bed ready for another day!

Day One - Off to Kenya

2010-08-06T05:02:00.001-07:00

Well, in one hour the vans will leave with 11 people from the Naz headed to Africa Nazarene University in Kenya. Please pray for safe travels and that God will use the team in a mighty way!! Come back daily for updates!

Day Twelve - Last day in Kenya

2010-03-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up to the realization that it was my last day in Kenya. While I am excited to get home to my family, I will miss all of my new Kenyan family. My brothers (ndugu) have been more than kind and they will be family for life and with me in eternity! On this last day we went to the Masai Market were we bought our souvenirs and we all sat down to eat lunch together...our last meal in Kenya, ironically we had Thai food! :) We reflected on the trip and laughed over all of the moments we won't forget. We have taken work and witness to the EXTREME and there's no going back!
My journey here in Kenya has been full of adventure, laughter and tears...and I've NEVER experienced more emotion within two weeks than I have on this trip! I came to Africa because I felt that God had called me to come and I leave Africa KNOWING that He has used me and GROWN me! I have seen the Hand of God on this trip and with this team and I see His Spirit here with the Kenyan people! As I sign off and head to the airport I praise God for the MANY blessings we have received and all of the beauty we have seen! Our God is truly an AWESOME God!!

Day Eleven - Safari

2010-03-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we had two days of super fun African Safari Adventures! We saw Zebras, Hyenas, Giraffes, Lions, Hippos and Rhinos. It was so much fun! Africa is the most BEAUTIFUL place in the world! Truthfully, I think it's the closest to Heaven earth can get!! We took hundreds of photos and video
footage but I know that it can't possibly capture the grandeur of Kenya!
On the way back we stopped at Ewaso Niro to speak to the Chief and see the locations of the church and water hole! As we sat on the Chief's lawn he spoke about the fact that he believed EVERYTHING he had is God's. He has donated the land for the church off his own property and he had worked hard to clear the area of cactus for his crops, but the moment he felt God leading him to give it away, he was faithful! As we walked up to the site where the Ewaso Church of the Nazarene will go I couldn't hold back the tears. We all circled up, grabbed hand and we prayed over the land...we prayed for the workers that would build the church, we prayed for the preacher that God was preparing and we prayed for the people who would walk through the doors to find the Hope that we have in Christ! THIS was why we came to Africa!! God is good!

Day Nine and Ten - FUN!

2010-03-10T01:41:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we spent most of the day in the car. We left ANU at 6:30am to head to Tenwick Hospital 3 hours away to pick up Ellen and Jen. As we set off we had lots of time to talk about the wonderful experiences we had and enjoy the BEAUTIFUL Rift Valley along the way! We made it to Tenwick and we reunited with the ladies! We took a quick tour of the hospital, it's the largest hospital in Kenya and we got back on the road for the second leg of our journey...3 more hours to Simba Lodge for the safari. After only one break-down...apparently that's good in Kenya...we made it to the turn off road. I casually asked our driver, Joseph, if we were close...he only laughed. We literally drove another hour in the middle of nowhere...I mean NOWHERE!! We were so far away from civilization it was crazy! We saw lots of zebras, gazelle and even a giraffe or two along the way! Africa is more beautiful than any photo can depict or any person can describe...it's like Eden. So incredible!! After only being at the lodge for a half hour I had already seen 6 hippos, a ten foot crocodile, a 4 foot Gila monster and too many birds to count! As we sat down for dinner, all 14 of us, we prayed together and talked and laughed the rest of the evening! What a GREAT day!
This morning we had to be in the vans by 6:30am in order to see the animals at sunrise. It was SOOOOOO worth it!! As the sun came up over the mountains we saw a pride of lions, some more gazelle, a HUGE herd of Buffalo and two black, endangered Rhinos! WOW!! We also saw some Elephants and Giraffes in the distance. Our guide Joseph promises me that before the trip is over I will be so close to an Elephant I could reach out and touch it! Hopefully not close enough to tip over our van!! :) After we returned from our 3 hour morning safari. We all went around and got photos and played cards (Scoop Scum is our favorite!! ) And after a VERY delicious lunch...we are heading out for our evening safari! Can't wait to see more of God's INDESCRIBABLE beauty in the heart of Kenya!!

Day Eight - God is in Control

2010-03-08T04:14:00.000-08:00

Well, after the day we had yesterday that seemed to never end and a restless nights sleep we are all beginning to recover. Today the big wigs at ANU (Africa Nazarene Univ.) wanted to meet with us. They all feel so terrible that this has happened to us. In the 23 years that Work and Witness teams have been coming to this area of Kenya this is the first time they have had this sort of incident. They asked some of the students to come in and sing for us. As they began they sang "Count Your Blessings" and as I looked around the table at the guys on the team, and I "named them one by one" I realized that truly our God had protected us and our REAL blessings where all in that room!! They went around the table and shared their support, gratitude and condolences. It was VERY moving to be uplifted and encouraged, spiritually, by so many!! ANU has been so accommodating and really very good to us!!
Out of this loss we have gained SO MUCH!! As a team we have bonded in a way I don't think any of us anticipated and here on campus we have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people who have prayed for us and shared scripture with us...I think all of our cups are FULL!!
I heard a quote that says "God testS our faith, so that we can test His faithfulness!!" I know first hand that my faith was tested and GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!!

Day Seven - REALITY

2010-03-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

This morning at 10:05am Kenyan time we were preparing to go to Central Nazarene Church and at the moment the gates were opened some men came in to rob the facility. They took all of our money and possessions, but they did not harm any of us...PRAISE THE LORD. From the moment it began to the hours after, we were all in prayer and God was faithful to protect us! We are safe at another location and starting to get perspective on the situation. We are already beginning to see that the good we have done here has scared the Enemy and today, the Enemy HAS NOT WON!!!!!
Please praise Him today for the safety we experienced and continue to pray that God's hand of protection will be over us as we make decisions on what to do next and as we continue to bring the Message of God's love and salvation to Kenya!!!

Day Six - The day that changed everything

2010-03-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Today I went with Jeffeth and David to Kibera, the third largest slum in all of Africa. Jeffeth grew up in Kibera but hasn't been back there in almost 5 years. So the journey back was tough, but as we walked inside he immediately began to see guys that he had grown up with and they picked up right were they had left off. In Kibera community, FAMILY, is very important. Everyone takes care of one another. We interviewed a guy named James that stressed this point, he said that in the ghetto if you have something your brother needs, you give it to him because everyone in the ghetto is your brother, your sister. He said "Growing up here is hard and we don't have a lot, but we have family" That was powerful to me...I don't even know the name of my next door neighbor. As we walked the unbelievably cramped streets we were stepping over garbage and feces and among that were hundreds of children. Kibera is just under 1 square mile large and over 1 million people live there. The biggest injustice to me was that among these 1 million people there is ONE toilet, and you have to pay to use it! Toilets are so expensive that no one can have one...and the land is so sparse that they can't even dig a hole, so they have created "flying toilets". A "flying toilet" is when you use a bag, cover the bag in mud and throw it up on the roof to dry out in the sun. All over the tin roofs you can see the "flying toilets"...I will NEVER complain about the condition of a gas station bathroom again! Kibera is riddled with crime, rape and murder. It's beyond description! As we walked we ran into four boys that had grown up with Jeffeth and as he asked about three more that he had known they told him they had been shot and killed just a month ago. The police will shoot to kill and ask questions later in Kibera. It was very hard for Jeffeth to hear. But the conversation quickly turned to Jesus and as Jeffeth began to share the Gospel with them they sat on the railroad tracks and for almost 30 mins. he told them that hope was found in Jesus, that the way out of the ghetto was Jesus, that if they would put their trust in God, He would sustain them. After we prayed with them and said goodbye we left Kibera and I was changed!

As we started to walk back to the car near the market a young boy came up and asked me for money I immediately began to take out my money but Jeffeth said it was better to take the boy to a restaurant and get him a meal...so as we started to walk with him toward the restaurant Jeffeth asked him his name, Francis, he was 8 years old and lives with his grandmother because both of his parents have died of AIDS. Pretty soon another boy came up and so we brought him along as well. His name was Newton, and he was 10. Newton's fate was similar to Francis, he too was an orphan because of AIDS, but Newton has no one...he is on the streets on his own!!! Just before we got to the restaurant another boy also named Francis came up and Jeffeth knew him. He said that Francis was one of 6 boys that he had been witnessing over the last four years because they all sniff glue to get high. As we walked we offered Francis a meal as well, but he asked if we could buy him some corn meal instead. What Jeffeth didn't know about Francis was that 3 years ago his father died of AIDS and just a month ago his mother died of AIDS as well. 15 year old Francis was now the sole caretaker of his 7 year old sister. So he wanted the corn meal to take home for his sister. WOW. I have prayed and sang songs asking God to break my heart for what breaks His, but THIS was too much. You can read about people like Francis and his sister Shiela and you can feel a tug on your heart...but to look into his eyes and see the desperation and the sadness is TRULY heart -breaking!

Day Four and Five

2010-03-05T20:22:00.001-08:00

Day four was focused on the work site. The guys are all working REALLY hard and they are forming some incredible relationships with the Kenyan works...they are really witnessing to them in some powerful, life-changing ways! It's awesome to see!!

Day five we only worked half a day because there was a big dinner/event planned for that night. It included all of the local missionaries, some of the African Nazarene University staff and students, the General of Sudan, and one of the three Generals of all of Africa. It was to raise money for a group of students that are a worship team called Radically Changed that are going to South Africa. They have been asked to come and teach some of the churches down there about worship, but it's $600 each. They asked me to sing a song with them and it was an unbelievable experience! To hear them worshiping in Swahili, even though I don't know what they are saying the passion and the worship is so authentic it moves you to tears!! We also heard some unbelievable stories from the Sudan teams so much war and genocide...it's heart-wrenching!!!! But it's incredible to see the hope and faith that they have! It was aa AWESOME night!

Day Three...I NEVER want to leave!!

2010-03-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Today the team went back to the work site, but I, finally, got to do what I REALLY came for...to train and work with David (video dude). And it was AWESOME!! When I first found out that I was for sure coming I received an email from David saying that he had been praying for almost 8 years for God to send someone to train him and to help bring equipment that he really needed. And here I am! I don't know if I'm quite what he expected, I think he expected an older gentleman...but, all he got was me and already he treats be like a sister and picks on me just like every other "brother" I have back home! :) We had such a great day yesterday...I don't know if you have ever seen anyone have a prayer answered, but when David started to play with the new equipment we brought him and as I started to work with him on how to use the green room, etc. his face was lit up with a smile from ear to ear!! "Awesome, Awesome" is all he keep saying...that and "Praise God!!"
I also got to hang out with another 'fast-friend' Jeffeth. He had asked for some gum from the states and so I actually ended up being the person who went to buy it...and I got A LOT of gum!! I gave it to him yesterday and I have NEVER seen ANYONE so excited about gum in my entire life!! I got hugs and thank yous and craziness!! So fun to bless people and get to see their reaction over something so simple that I take for granted everyday...GUM!! :)
The three of us went to lunch at a outdoor cafe and it was like we had been friends for a lifetime. We talked and talked about anything and everything from football (Soccer) to movies (Avatar). I was so amazed by how much we were all alike. We have the same love and desire for God and to see others come to Him and we have the same likes and dislikes in Music and Movies. We even all got excited as we talked about the possibility of bringing a youth and skate team down to minister here. Jeffeth does a soccer ministry here...he has soccer balls that are the redemption story colors...and he uses them to share the Gospel with kids...so cool. So you can imagine when I started to tell him about our skatepark...he LIT UP!!! I hope we can work that out!
Suddenly Africa isn't feeling so far from Home!!! I LOVE IT!! - Crystal

Worksite Day Two

2010-03-02T07:12:00.000-08:00

WE started the day with devotions with the Kenyan work crew, prayer and then off to work. The site is currently a two story married housing unit that will soon be a four story building. A LOT of hard work!! As you can see from Ken's face...a lot of DIRTY hard work!! But it was a great experience not only to work side by side with some incredible Kenyan people. I got to go into a true Nairobi Market and Butchery with our missionary Evie...what an experience! We are having a GREAT time and meeting some FANTASTIC people!! We are about to have dinner and team devotions...so I will share more tomorrow.

Crazy first day in Africa!!

2010-03-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

So Ken, Ben, Jen, Ellen and myself woke up with the roosters at 5:30am and quickly got in the old van and began our 3 hour journey to the Tenwek Hospital to drop off Jen and Ellen. But what started as a beautiful scenic trip quickly became a TRUE African adventure. Winding our way through the muddy skinny roads we came to a bridge that was out. The one side of the bridge was washed away almost completly...and the only way across was to go across the river. So, we all got out and our missionary guide started to drive across. He quickly got stuck and for the next 35 minutes the van went back and forth, stuck and un-stuck. We were shocked to see men come from all over out of the bushes and begin helping us push the van out of the river. By the end we had 8 men helping us...our heroes!!! Once we got back on the road and drove another hour we realized that somewhere we had missed turning at the third bush and had gotten ourselves almost back to where we started. So, 8 hours later we finally reached our destination!! But we met some great Kenyan people and had a GREAT African adventure along the way...all in all, AN AMAZING FIRST DAY IN KENYA!! - Crystal

Africa at last!!!

2010-02-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

two 8 hour flights, a 2 hour layover in Amsterdam and a VERY long wait at Customs...but we are FINALLY here!!! Of course it's 11 o'clock at night so we can't really see anything yet...but it feels GREAT!!! Pray for the Houstons as they go to the Passport office Tomorrow and try to get Adam's passport so they can make it here!! Anyway, it's bedtime...we're all exhausted and have an early morning 3 hour drive to Tenwick Hospital!! The journey begins!!! :) - Crystal

On our way!

2010-02-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

We just left the church, no glitches so far!! Praise the Lord!!

Countdown to Kenya

2010-02-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

So we are only 5 days away!! I seems like it came really quickly and yet at the same time not quick enough! We are going to be trying to keep up with this blog while we are over there so check back frequently to see new photos and stories!! God Bless, Crystal