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!