Good Afternoon Family and Friends!It is about 5:30pm here and we are getting ready for a dinner out at a Kenyan 5-star restaurant. Don't be too impressed. We have been told it should be about like eating at Outback. We are tired from all the work we have been doing the past 2 days. I'm sorry I didn't write yesterday. The internet was in and out and I just didn't make it to the computer when the internet was working.Yesterday we spent the morning bargaining at the Maasi market in downtown Nairobi. Some of us liked it more than others. I fall into the others... Jacob fell into one that likes it. It must be the Slovak blood that is so thick in his veins because I would much rather find a sale at a regular store than bargain someone down from $50 for a piece of cloth to $5. We ate a Nairobi food court before going to a city school in Nairobi to teach the Choose to Wait program to a bunch of anxious teenage students. I think this class was the most fun for us since the kids were older and could interact in English more. The teenagers at this school are much like American students at that age... wanting to be older than they really are and not wanting you to see just how excited they were to have us at their school. We were singing the song "Father Abraham" and teaching them the motions. One young man was standing still, not singing or participating. I started dancing and singing right in front of him and he broke out in the biggest smile. The kids just want to know that you care about them and that we are there teaching them something we really believe in. I think by their participation and inquisitiveness afterward they could see that we are there because of just that.Today we spent our time with the Community Transformers in the Mathare slum. On our way there, we saw a group of "glue sniffers". We have been told that, in order to cope with their situation, people will get a bit of money and buy glue for shoes. They will have a cup of it that they hold in their teeth so they can constantly sniff the glue. It kills brain cells so after a long time of sniffing, they are totally burned out. There were a few young men (about 18-22) that were totally naked in this group. They were so burned out, they had no idea they didn't have on any clothes. Jen says she gets the most disturbed by these kind of sights. Thankfully, I didn't see the naked men, but the look of absence in the other men's eyes was erie at the very least. To see someone so overtaken by a substance and begging for money for more without any knowledge of what it's doing to them chills me to my soul. God is still there, though. Even though it's hard to find Him, He promises that He sees those things and still desires a relationship with those men. Our task for today was a Choose to Wait seminar for several age groups. When we walked into the meeting room, 130 children started screaming like we were celebrities. They were excited because we were there and also because of the food we brought for them. We were told afterward that they were going to have a "chicken party" after our teaching was done. They have had "rice parties" and "bean parties" but never before had they had a "chicken party". For these kids, to get meat, it's better than a "Gotta Have It" portion at Cold Stone for us. During our teaching the children in the front row had their Bibles that we had given them earlier in the week. They had written their names on the front covers and were eagerly listening for references so they could look up the passages and follow along. We handed out certificates that Jessica Tomic had created called "Certificates of Value". We will show you all when we get back, but the seal of the certificate was their hand print. It was so special to see the children waving their certificates in the air. Many of them folded them and put them in their Bibles. It's so special to see them recognize their value because of Who created them. As we prepared to say our goodbyes, we heard from so many of the children to send their greetings to you, our family and friends. They want us to bring you back so they can meet you and you can all be their friends too. As we said goodbye to those with the Community Transformers that we served with, I said to one young woman named Lillian that if I don't see her here on earth again, I will look for her in the air when God calls us home. She said, with the confidence of a prophetess, I know I will see you in Kenya again. She is right. How can we not come back to a place that has changed our lives in such a powerful way? We all want to continue to be involved with what God is doing in Kenya. This is a country full of beautiful, genuine individuals. The believers we met here are making such a huge difference and we are honored to be able to serve with them.Tomorrow, after a good Kenyan church service, we are heading out to safari and I'm not sure when I will be in front of email again. I will try to write when we can. It will be good for us all to be together and reflect on our time here. I can't believe we are leaving on Wednesday night.
Much love in Christ,Susan (on behalf of the Africa Team)
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