New Year's Eve service at the cathedrral tonight! Look at those white folks shakin' it :) Happy New Year-- much love to all.

The Christ Church team arrived safe and sound and seemed to be in good spirits,even though they have been traveling a LONG time. It was great to see them and be able to catch up a bit :) The vehicle we have is for 11 passengers.... literally. No luggage space. So we packed into an army-looking land cruiser and set off for the bumpy road to Homa Bay. We had a late dinner and I can now hear people snoring through the thin walls at Hippo Buck Hotel :) Good thing I brought the ear plugs!

I grabbed the last of my things from James and Christine's house tonight... as excited as I am to have friends from home here, and to be returning home in a few weeks, I was sad to be moving out of their home. Definitely a new season for my time here. Bittersweet...

This is the lion eating its "prey" after he lunged at us! I think he was trying to distract us so we wouldn't get to his food before he did. Believe me Simba, those12 kilos of raw antelope are all yours :)

We also saw baboons, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo and jackals... and the monkeys and impalas were roaming around free throughout the park.

I came to Kisumu to visit Simon and Nancy for a few days before the Christ Church team arrives TOMORROW! Yay!! We visited Impala Park-- which is a zoo with picnic sites, nature trails and you can camp there :) While I was about to take a picture of the lion, through the chicken wire fence, I might add, it all of a sudden growled and lunged at us! It scared the s$&! out of me and I ran away FAST... so this was the picture that resulted! I am still laughing :)

Its about 12:30am and I just got back from the most fun Christmas Eve service EVER! Dancing, singing, readings, dancing, singing, great sermon (and in English!), dancing, singing, more dancing, singing, ringing the cathdral bells at midnight and shouting MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!, dancing, singing "Feliz Navidad" (that one was really unexpected-- I think I might have been the only one in the room who knew the words or the translation...), praying, dancing, dancing.... sleeping :) Merry Christmas

Making paper snowflakes with Felix and Mackline!

Finished product :)

Thought I would just give a little update... things have settled down a bit with the holidays and end of the year coming. Last week I attended a white elephant gift exchange with the Cathedral staff, shown in the picture :) I got drinking glasses-- they are nice but I'll probably be re-gifting them so I don't have to take them on the plane! Over the weekend I attended a house dedication in Pe Hill. It was a really nice home for a Kenyan couple who lives in the U.K.-- I think they are planning to retire there. In attendance were future/former Members of Parliament, Kenyan musicians, foreign ambassadors, lots of priests and a white girl :) It was really fancy, like a wedding, and people came out of the woodwork for the dance in the evening. It was quite the experience! Yesterday I attended a burial service for a friend's father-in-law at a place called Rosinga Island-- lots of beautiful lake views. And today there was an ordination service at the Cathedral. There we
re about five newbies being ordained :) I got to play guitar and sing for the service, so that was fun. My tolerance level for long services has really improved-- it was four hours long and I barely got antsy! It is really funny when there are Diocese-wide events and I know so many people. I love seeing all the people in one place who I have been developing relationships with over the past few years.

It is starting to feel a little more like Christmas... Maureen has been playing Christmas music, we watched a Christmas episode of Oprah with Kenny Rogers, Vince Vaughn and Amy Grant, and it is the coldest today that its been since I arrived. That would so great if it snowed!! Keep dreaming :) I broke down and went Christmas shopping at the local supermarket this week-- I bought presents for seven people and only spent about $15. Awesome. I will have a full report on Christmas in the next few days :)

Merry Christmas to all!

Advent has become one of my favorite seasons because it honors the time we spend waiting and hoping for whatever is "next." I've spent so much time and heart energy waiting, hoping, anticipating-- in relationships, education, work, life in general. During Advent I remember the beauty and importance of the time I spend in anticipation.

I've had a little more time and space to reflect on Advent and the Christmas season this year. Usually about this time I have eaten my way through 86/100 Christmas parties, am 10 pounds heavier from the delicious excesses, exhausted from making/writing/addressing cards and shopping, and ready to punch a reindeer if I hear another rendition of "Here Comes Santa Clause." :)

However, this year, if it weren't for Facebook status updates I think I may have forgotten all about holiday baking and hanging Christmas lights. And except for the occassional holiday TV commercial or newspaper advertisement, and sparse decorations, it doesn't "feel" much like Christmas. As I write this I am sitting on the porch in a tank top, jeans and flip flops and it "feels" like August, not December!

This year I find myself in rural western Kenya, and I feel desperate for the hope of Jesus more than I ever have.

The Old Testament prophets spoke again and again of God bringing his Kingdom to fullness: Israel was promised to be a center of justice and prosperity. They would be at peace with other nations, and in fact, those nations would come streaming to Mount Zion to worship. So they waited, hoped, anticipated. For years they expected God to move, to bring peace, glory, justice, security, assurance.

We find ourselves under similar circumstances. Jesus came proclaiming that His Kingdom of restoration was near us and within us, and promising to return to bring complete restoration to the earth and humanity. So we wait, hope, anticipate, not only for Jesus to return but also to see restoration now, in our daily lives.

As I sit with people infected with HIV and other diseases, rape survivors, kids who need food, clothes and school fees, I look into the face of hopelessness and I cry out "Lord, the promise of your Kingdom is justice, peace, restoration, provision! Bring it now! Right here!"

I have observed (at least) two things about hope: 1) I am not Jesus and I am not the source of hope. Thank God. 2) My current faith level is sufficient to say "God is faithful, it will work out" to a friend finalizing an offer on a house, but not to an orphaned high school kid who is not sure where her next meal will come from, much less her school fees because her caretaker would rather spend the little money he has on alcohol rather than provide for her. I have found myself speechless in the hearing of such stories-- thinking of a million things I could say but not really sure I believe any of them. "Lord you have to show up. You have to bring hope here. I have no idea what to say. I believe you but help me in my unbelief!"

So as Israel cried out "How long oh Lord?!" my heart echoes the same cry this Advent. "God, where else can we go? You are the source of life! Come heal, restore. Be Emmanuel, God With Us. Here, now!"

I am desperate for hope. Its a little more vulnerable than I am comfortable with, because if he doesn't come, it will be devastating. But I think he will-- I am waiting, hoping, anticipating.

"The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' "
-Luke 4.17-21

Tuesday and Wednesday this week I got to hang out with the youth at the regional youth conference. They were so fun-- their worship was like Dancefest 2009 and so joyful. I LOVE watching Kenyans dance! I think they have an extra dance gene or something :) There were quite a few people I knew from all the touring I've done around the Diocese, so it was great to catch up with everyone. And I met a few new friends as well. I'm not sure if the picture is too dark... but it is some kids from Bondo Diocese doing one of their dances! So awesome!!

Funeral yesterday.... and wedding today!

Pretty much the same as a wedding in the U.S. except A LOT more dancing :)

Christine's (Bishop James' wife) father passed away after being in the hospital for several weeks, and the burial was today. It was held at their home village, which was WAY out in the bush. Hundreds of guests came and they spent several hours telling stories about his life and giving speeches (that's kind of how things work here-- everyone likes to talk for a long time :) ). There were several women, who upon their arrival, walked to the open casket wailing. Also in attendance were the donkeys, chickens and dogs who normally reside at the village and wanted to be in on the action. Very interesting experience!!

Kids from the Sunday School conference doing a skit.

I spent most of this week at the Diocese Sunday School conference. This is a picture of one of the sessions. I spoke a few times and played guitar for the kids. It was a huge age range-- 6-16! Great kids :)

One of the kids at Shem's house :) Isn't she so sweet??!

Wow this week has flown by! I spent Monday through Wednesday on a much needed personal retreat. I went to a local hotel to rest, play my guitar, have some introvert time, take a SHOWER (or three) and reflect on the last six weeks. I read through my journal to remember all I have experienced/thought/felt and get a "big picture" perspective on my time here so far. I think I'm ready for Part II now!

I just got back from spending two days with the youth at Waondo parish. Waondo is pretty far out in the "bush." I went with George the priest on motorbikes through a singletrack trail about 30 minutes until we reached Ponge church. There was a small traditional village there, where the grandmother and all the sons had houses nearby with their families. The picture is Shem's house, where we slept. Shem took us on a walk through the bush/crops at sunset and it was so beautiful. After dinner several of the youth came over and we sat around the living room drinking tea and telling stories by the light of a lantern. So great-- I love sitting around and laughing with people :) And it was pretty funny waking up to a mud wall. I had one of those oh-my-god-where-am-I moments! After breakfast we sat around while some of the women finished up dishes and all the kids (at least ten of them!) played around the yard with the dogs and chickens. Kind of surreal!

This is Mary-- she is one of the young adults at St. John's church in Migori. I've spent the last two days here exchanging experiences and cultural similarities/differences with the young adults. We discussed education, youth culture, marriage/relationships, among other topics. Some of them are in college, others are working, but they are active in discovering practical ways to meet needs in their community. I really enjoyed spending time with them!

Thanksgiving tilapia!!

Sorry Hen :(

Peeling potatoes

Boiling potatoes

Mashing potatoes

How to have Thanksgiving in Kenya in 10 simple steps: #1. When you happen to pass a "big city" like Kisumu, go to the grocery store and buy instant gravy. #2. Go to the market to purchase hens, fish, potatoes, bread and other such items that resemble T-Day food. #3. Return home and slaughter chickens. Weep and vomit at the witness of their sacrifice. #4. De-feather, cut up, boil, season and roast (preferably over a fire) chickens. Be sure there is a place to get fresh air and sit when you feel woozy. #5. Scale, cut up, season and fry fish. #6. Peel potatoes and boil over a fire. #7. Find recipe online for making stuffing on the stove... and make creative substitutions for your limited ingredients. #8. Take pictures while the Kenyan women who actually know how to cook over charcoal and fire work their magic! #9. Invite at least 15 people to the house, tell them about Thanksgiving in the U.S. and make them share things they are thankful for. #10. Feast an
d enjoy the meal and wonderful friends!!!

My driver/ministry partner, Ben, and I went back to Ogenya Girls' Secondary today to talk about sexuality. The girls werr great! They are waving to you guys!! :)

One more picture from the training today :)

Today was Day #2 of the counseling training at Nyamasaria Secondary school. Simon asked me to do one of the sessions so I taught the overview of counseling, beginning counseling skills and an intro to the counseling process. It was fun :) The picture shows the students practicing active listening skills.

This morning at 10am I boarded a mini-bus in Homa Bay... after four hours of sitting crammed against a window (thank God I was by a window), strange smells eminating from I don't know where, angry yelling, the bus driver running away from police and stopping to ask for directions... I arrived in Kisumu! And my suitcase was still on top of the bus! I came to Kisumu to learn more about Agape Counseling Center and the Kisumu branch of the Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors. Simon Onyango is the founder of Agape and is a senior facilitator at KAPC. I've spent the day visiting the campus (pictured above) and chatting with Simon and his family. He has a four year old daughter, Stephanie, who is completely fascinated by my white skin and can't stop touching my hands and staring at me. She is so funny! The only English she knows is the song "I'm a Little Teapot." Adorable. I will be attending a counseling training that Simon will be facilitating over the next fe
w days.

No picture today, sorry :( I went back to Ogande Girls Secondary today. The staff had asked if I could some back to talk to the girls about sexuality. Since I've been in Kenya I have met many HIV positive people, listened to the heartache of the orphans and widows left behind by their HIV positive spouses/parents, cried with girls who have been raped at an early age by family members and nothing was ever done or said in their defense. Teenage pregnancy rates are very high, and school staff have reported that girls are becoming sexually active as early as age 7. I thought I was going to be talking to maybe 60 or 70 girls but it ended up being a few hundred! They gathered outside in a shady grass area on the school compound and we talked about the purpose of sex, benefits of waiting until marriage and ways they can avoid having sex until then. We talked a lot about their worth as women being defined by God and not men, learning to find satisfaction in the Lord and not t
rying to get their deepest desires met in relationships. They were quite interactive-- it was really fun :) I will be returning there Monday to do individual counseling with some of the girls.

Wow, this is a really bad picture of me... but the scenery is great! Focus your attention to the background! :) Aduke took Maureen and I up Asego "Mountain" this morning. Its a sharp hill that gives a beautiful view of the lake and the surrounding landscape. Aduke has lived in Homa Bay for 20 years and has never been up there! Maureen, in all her 12 years had never been up either. Here's to new perspectives on our everyday lives :)

This is my friend Augustine. His dad is one of the priests at the cathedral and they live behind James and Christine. His nickname is Obama because he was born in the year Obama became president :)

When I arrived at Moi Nyabohanse Girls Secondary School on Thursday I was informed that 97 students had just been suspended for going on strike and they were "so happy to have me there to help work things out. Feel welcome" :) So I put on my crisis management hat (thanks Savio!!) and went to work!! I briefly addressed the whole student body just to introduce myself and my purpose in being there. Over the three days I met with student leaders to discuss their role in leading the student body effectively, and with other students who didn't get suspended to come up with creative and more effective ways of communicating than going on strike. In addition to the crisis management I also met with the seniors to challenge them to ask God where and to whom he wants them to bring the Kingdom of God. My favorite times were the individual counseling sessions I had with a few of the girls. I cried with them as they shared stories with me they haven't told their friends or even the
school staff. I helped them identify coping skills, and prayed with each of them. I sensed God bringing light into the darkness of these precious girls' lives.

Last Sunday I met a man named Simon at church who is a professional counselor and does counseling in schools! I had the opportunity to shadow him on one of his school trainings today. The program is fairly wholistic, in that it covers self awareness, relationships, healthy sexuality, HIV/AIDS and STI prevention, and other issues. He also trains the kids to define problems, and identify/implement solutions as student leaders among their peers. I am planning to attend another longer training in the next few weeks!

The picture is one of the students at Oruba Girls High School presenting her group's dicussion on how to handle prenancy and discord with other students.

I visited Mariwa Primary School today with the Chipsy Women's Group. They are a group of women from the church who decided to start providing a meal for the 150 orphaned kids one time per week at the school. I was so inspired by them. That is exactly what we are called to be as the Church-- reaching out to people in our communities in practical ways that also carry spiritual significance. These women bring the Kingdom of God to Mariwa every Tuesday when they feed the hungry orphans there. Beautiful. $20 feeds 150 kids once per week. If you would like to help them out let me know!

Church today in Oyugis! They finished the building and dedicated it during the service. I got to play guitar/sing in the service too!

Saturday night. At the SALON with Christine and Maureen. Yep you read that right. Apparently Christine goes every week! My hair is cleaner than its been in two weeks and it cost me less than $2! Happy Halloween everyone :)

Nick (the Cathedral sexton) goes to Homa Bay Primary School to talk with the 8th graders every Friday morning. I went with him today and played "Glory in the Highest" after his talk and the kids were singing along with me after the first time of hearing the chorus! It was so precious :)

Welcome to the kitchen!! Today was a rest day for me and it was also raining pretty hard most of the day so Christine stayed home from work. She announced early this morning she had slaughtered a chicken for dinner... and sure enough, there was a headless chicken in a bowl in the back. Then it was a naked headless chicken (shown in the picture). Then it was a roasted headless naked chicken. Then it was cut into pieces and made into chicken stew. Caribuni!! (Welcome!!)

I thought we had lost her for good... but she came back tonight!! The African angels brought Kennedy home!

I just got back from visiting Ogande Secondary School. The kids are so great! I talked with them about being a container and distributor of the Kingdom of God and challenged them to ask Him what HIS dreams are for their lives. Afterward I did a Q&A time and they had a ton of questions-- for example... "Are there homeless people in the U.S.?", "What is the primary economic activity?", "What does it mean to be saved?", "Are you married?" :)

I visited Magare Girls School today and, to my surprise, ended up talking with a small group of student leaders who are peer counselors. They had received some training in counseling skills so we discussed ways to counsel students dealing with crisis pregnancies and relationship problems. Not so different from American high school kids huh? I was surprised, however, to hear "had sex because she needed money for school fees" as one of the drivers for teen pregnancy. That's one you don't hear every day.

And I couldn't leave out the kids-- aren't they adorable?! They sat through a 3.5 hour church service, and I was fidgeting more than they were!

I got out of the car this morning at Ogongo and a lamb, aka "Lunch" was being skinned...

I don't think videos work on here but I thought I'd give it a try anyway... this is a short capture from communion this morning at Ogongo.

James and Christine have been able to grow extra maize and millet and store it at their house. A lot of people just outside of Homa Bay are going hungry right now because the drought is causing the crops to fail. I have been feeling extra grateful that I have enough to eat every day! The picture shows the maize that Christine was cleaning and treating so the insects don't get into it-- and it was also a little snack opportunity for the chickens that hang out in their back yard :)

I was in town at Christine's shop today and one of the "mama's" came in with a bucket-- I thought it was rice or something but she took the cover off and it was full of freshly caught tilapia! Christine bought two of them, and the mama came over later that afternoon and scaled/filleted them. It was like Whole Foods Kenya :) And you can guess what we had for dinner!

Evelyn took me down to the fish market earlier this morning and now we are hanging out in Christine's clothing shop in town :)

I made it to Homa Bay tonight! After three days of traveling I was so glad to arrive at James and Christine's house. The girls in the picture are Maureen and Evelyn, their daughters. The adventure begins :)

Homa Bay

Women beating sorghum inside the Bishop's house (under construction). They will then take it to market to sell.

Our hosts in Migori

This picture is of ours hosts in Migori.
From left: Milton and Florence who's home we were blessed to stay in, Donald with Vineyard Technolgies and elder at St. John's Parish and Samuel who is a seminary student serving at St. John's. We truly enjoyed our time in Migori and can only hope they were as blessed by us as we were by them! -Drew and Scott.

Pe Hill

Texans (sorta) in Kenya! We went to the market yesterday and got the makins for guacamole. No chips, but all good. Stewart is not sure what to think of it yet. Ole!

Pe Hill

Sunset