Psalm 113:7-9

"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord."

 

MITS first started in a community called Eastleigh. Eastleigh is next to the Mathare slum…one of the largest in the world. Mbuvi grew up in Mathare and he said that their view of Easleigh was that it was where the "rich people" lived. He was on and off the streets starting at age 11. He was able to live with his family and go to school as long as his parents were making money. Unfortunately, most of the time they weren't and so he was forced onto the streets to provide for himself. He moved to the Eastleigh area and when he did his family called him "one of those rich people" but he knew this was not true. He tried to convince them otherwise, but his attempts failed. He was not rich, and neither were the people of Eastleigh. Richer than the people of the slums? Absolutely. But nowhere near the image they once gave the people of Eastleigh. Even today, Eastleigh is over-crowded, filthy, dangerous, and home to the largest group of Somalians that have settled in Kenya.

Today we went to MITS in Eastleigh. It was an unbelievable sight. The combination of exhaust, dirt, road-side vegetables, animal stenches, and burning trash made for a smell that cannot even be described in words. There were people everywhere. Cars were inches from side-swiping each other as they each tried to drive down the narrow roads. And when I say roads, I don't mean paved streets. I mean dirt paths with rocks…no, small boulders… all over them. For those of you who have been to Kenya on the past 2 trips with GCR – do you remember the roads to Dirubi through Sondu? Take that and double it. I definitely regretted leaving my Bonine at the house.

Once we got to MITS, we met with Larry, the man who (I think) runs this MITS campus. Maureen and I then met with the single mothers who are a part of the program along with a few of their kids. We played a few games and then we sat inside and talked with them. Maureen told them the story of Esther and told them that just as she was humble before the Lord, we should all be humble. And that she stood up for her people and tried to help them, just as they should try to help the other girls on the streets. It was a wonderful experience talking with these young mothers who had no hope before MITS took them in. Many of them still struggle with the highs of the streets, the main one being glue. This drug has captured so many Kenyans and is the main drug on the streets. Maureen quoted John 10:10, telling them that the enemy does try to steal, kill, and destroy and he will use anything he can to do so. She told them that Satan uses even these highs as a way to distract and overtake people and that God wants to save them to give them life. These mothers are realizing that if they continue, their entire life will become dependent on those highs. Instead they are learning to be dependent upon God and to share that hope with the other people on the streets.

 

Jason went with Larry and a few other people to the different "bases" around MITS. These bases are groups of people living on the streets that gather in groups and create their own base to live together. They have no shelter, no beds, nothing. They, too, are horribly addicted to the highs of the streets. Jason said it was absolutely crazy seeing these people just as high as could be, completely strung out, and to just see the desperation and emptiness in their eyes. What was incredible was when he told me that they seemed to pull themselves together and actually have a sense of understanding and became more coherent when the MITS team came to talk to them about God and the hope He can provide. There were some awesome stories and things that happened. I loved spending time with the mothers at MITS, but I definitely hope that when we return to Eastleigh next week I will be able to visit the bases with them. I know the Spirit can have such affect on these people and I know the Lord is doing amazing things through Larry and the other MITS team members. "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap…"

 I would give anything to be able to witness and be a part of that… so hopefully next week I will be able to!

 

That's about it for tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow the jet lag will be completely worn off and we won't be as tired…

Please keep the prayers coming!

-SG

Hebrews 10:24-25

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

After reading this in our bible class this morning at church we were told to turn to the person next to us and encourage them in some way. I turned to my left and next to me was Jackie. I met Jackie at MITS last July and saw her again this past March. She is probably about 15 years old, has a quiet spirit, has an incredibly serving heart, and has been at MITS for a few years. She looked straight at me and without any hesitation she spoke to me wanting to encourage me:

"We are different colors. We are different kinds of people. But aside from our differences we are exactly the same in the Spirit. The efforts you put into coming here and helping us is more than you know. I think of you often and pray for you always. Thank you so much for what you are doing."

Wow…how was I supposed to respond to that? My first reaction was to burst into tears, hug her sweet little neck, and tell her how much I loved her and how much God loved her. Thankfully I held myself together keeping in mind that I really didn't want to freak her out. After all, she thought I was a pretty normal person and nice enough to come visit her, I didn't want her to believe I was actually just some crazy mzungu. I looked at her and told her thank you. I told her that I absolutely love coming to visit and that I think of everyone at MITS very often and pray for them as well. She smiled her timid, beautiful smile and turned back to face the front. As simple as this may sound to you, this was a very profound moment for me.

We talked more about how each of us as believers make up different parts of the Body of Christ. We discussed how if one part doesn't function properly, it can have a very bad effect on the entire Body, reiterating the importance of encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Something that really grabbed my attention about the students this morning was that they don't give the typical "church answers" when discussing different things. They don't sit back and pretend to understand everything that is said. They don't instinctively agree with the words the preacher speaks. There were several times when something was said and a student immediately raised his/her hand to ask why, or to ask how to go about that kind of thing, or to really dig deep in order to understand. They said what was on their heart. They said what they truly thought and believed, wanting to gain more knowledge of what the Bible tells us concerning certain issues. Witnessing this desperate hunger for learning was shocking, yet inspiring. What if we all yearned for such deep understanding of what God desires from us? There's something to think about…

Maureen's sister was at the house with us this afternoon along with a friend from church. I helped the two of them and Maureen cook dinner. We made beef spaghetti and it was pretty delicious, if I do say so myself! While we were preparing dinner, Mbuvi and Jason were with the MITS boys playing soccer. They played a real, officiated, full soccer game against another team of boys from an orphanage around here. Once they finished and came back we all had dinner and now we are anxiously awaiting the final game of the World Cup! VIVA ESPANA! VAMOS! Ha - I'm actually not even that much of a Spain fanike Spain that much, I just want David Villa to score a 6th goal!

As another day winds down, another night of waking up every 2 hours arrives. Although, I think that I am finally getting used to the time difference so hopefully I will be actually able to sleep all the way through the night tonight. That is, if the rooster is fixed by sunrise. It's been broken the past 2 mornings, crowing at 5am, WAY before the sun actually comes up! Oh well… we'll see…

-SG

Jambo!

Well, after almost exactly 24 hours of traveling, we made it to Kenya!

Jason Yocham and I left Midland at 1:30pm on Thursday, July 8^th and arrived in Nairobi at about 9:30pm (Nairobi time) on Friday, July 9^th. It was a long day, no doubt, but for some reason this trip seemed much quicker than either of the other trips I have taken to Kenya.

I thought I would give a briefing of who everyone is and what everything is before I start name dropping in my blogs assuming everyone knows who and what I am talking about…

Jason Yocham – family friend from Midland; also came to Kenya with our group over spring break

Francis Mbuvi (goes by Mbuvi) – Runs Made in the Streets which is where I will be working

Maureen Mbuvi – Francis' wife; Runs World Bible School where I will probably work some as well

Jonathan ("J") – Mbuvi and Maureen's oldest son who is 4 years old

Jeremy ("Remy") – Mbuvi and Maureen's youngest son who is 1 and ½ years old

Risper – Works with Maureen; I met her last July and have become close friends with her

Made in the Streets (MITS) – This program goes to the slums of Nairobi, brings in kids they find there, gives them a place to live, eat, go to school, go to church, and learn a trade. It is basically a school/church that gives slum children hope for a better life than they were living while teaching them about the love of God.

World Bible School (WBS) – This program is what initially got my church from Midland involved in Kenya; it started as a long distance correspondence bible class. Teachers in the United States would send bible lessons to students in Kenya who were interested in learning about the bible. Once they finished their classes and lessons they graduated from the program, usually were baptized, and many became teachers themselves. Maureen now is in charge of WBS and she has an office right by her house and by MITS.

 

I'm not sure if there are any other names that I will write about on a regular basis so for now, that's all you need to know!

Mbuvi picked us up at the airport last night and we got back to MITS around 11:30pm. Needless to say, we were both exhausted and went right to sleep!

There is a group from Southern California that has been putting on an incredible camp at MITS for the past week and ½. Today was their final day and they finished with a 5K and 10K for the students. Their theme was "born to run" so they found it appropriate to have a race to end the camp. Jason, Mbuvi and Maureen all ran, but I stayed behind and cheered everyone on with Jeremy strapped on my back sound asleep. After the race we all hung out for a while, I met all of the Southern Californians, they made fun of my accent and constant usage of "y'all" and then I headed back to the Mbuvi's house for lunch and a few hours to rest! There were about 20 people in the group from California. One of the couples with the group was Andy and Carrie Wall – Ben Wall's brother and sister-in-law! So if Lee Ann, Jill, Melissa, or any of you other Browns are reading this, tell Ben that I met them! I also met a couple who went to Pepperdine with Alan Brown! Small world, huh?

 

I am absolutely thrilled to be back. It's wonderful. As soon as I got off of the plane and walked down the stairs to go into the airport, nostalgia really hit me and I couldn't believe I was back in Kenya once again. I love it. I am unbelievably excited about these next 3 weeks. I know God is going to do some amazing things and I am fully expecting the Spirit to move in miraculous ways!

Tonight we all gathered together again for the final victory celebration to finish the camp that the California group had done. It was amazing. They decorated, had music playing, cooked a great meal, and had awards for each of the kids. It was wonderful seeing the MITS kids so happy. They had constant smiles spread from ear to ear. The looks on their faces said it all. They were so honored and so excited to know that someone loved them that much to do all of that for them. They had their own banquet. They were given awards. Someone took the time to make a video of them and their week at this camp. They were given a few hours to just be kids: to dance, to sing, to laugh, to play, to enjoy life. Isn't that what we all want? To just enjoy life. These kids never would have any kind of experience close to this except by the grace of God and His willing people who rescued these children from the slums and told them all that God had to offer them. And they are precious, precious children of God.

 

Thank you for the prayers. They are what will keep me going when I am tired. They are what will be the cause of the incredible things that will happen here. They are so important. So I really do thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

 

Until next time…

-SG

4th of July.

4^th of July… in the past this has been a huge holiday for my family. My Grandpa served in the army during 3 different wars, he was career military, my uncle was in the service, and I guess you could just say we are a pretty patriotic family.

We have always loved spending the 4^th of July at my Grandparent’s house in El Paso. In 1998, we had an extraordinarily wonderful time. EVERYONE on my mom’s side of the family came to El Paso. We played volleyball, spent every afternoon swimming, had a dunking booth, ate a LOT of great Mexican food, made homemade ice cream, and of course we watched the fireworks from the front driveway.

2 years later, my cousin Mandy passed away. On the 4^th of July.

It was an incredibly hard time for our family. She was only 21 years old and was a fun, loving, amazing woman of God. Since then, I cannot remember a time when we weren’t in El Paso for the 4^th of July. We all wanted to be together on that day, as it was turned from a fun day of celebration, to a day that would always remind us of when our granddaughter/daughter/niece/sister/cousin was taken from us.

Being with family on this day was the only way to get through it.

My Grandpa passed away in 2002 and that was another tough time, but we kept going to stay at my Grandma’s each 4^th of July.

In May of 2009, a week before I graduated from high school, my Grandma was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It was a complete shock since she was in such wonderful health. She missed my graduation along with my 2 aunts who ended up staying with her that weekend to get her through her first round of chemo. As I sat at graduation I could not even enjoy this exciting accomplishment that most people remember for the rest of their life. I don’t remember anything that was said by any of the speakers. I don’t remember who I sat next to. I don’t remember who handed me my diploma. Thinking about it while writing this, it even took me a while to remember what I did afterwards with all of my friends. My entire graduation night is a complete blur. The only thing I remember about graduation is sitting in my chair focused only on holding myself together and not bursting into tears in the middle of the ceremony.

July 4, 2009 – The last 4^th of July we would spend at Grandma’s house.

Everyone came to El Paso and we had a blast. Like I mentioned, it is always bittersweet because we get to enjoy having the entire family together, but we never forget the 4^th of July in 2000 when Mandy died.

November 3, 2009 – My grandma passed away and that was quite possibly the hardest thing I have ever been through. Some people understand families who are unbelievably close, and others just don’t. My family is one of those families who are unbelievably close.

It’s been 8 months and it hasn’t gotten much easier. Especially since her house just sold and we had to move everything out this past week. This house has been in our family for almost 50 years and it was Grandma’s house… that’s where we grew up… that’s where so many of our family memories were made…there’s just not much more that can be said about it.

My mom and I spent a few days in El Paso last week and we went with my aunt to move the last bit of stuff out of my Grandma’s house. I can’t even explain how hard that was. That weekend was the 4^th of July. The first 4^th of July we haven’t spent in El Paso at Grandma’s house in 10 years. It also happened to be the 10-year anniversary of Mandy’s passing. Needless to say, this past week and weekend was extremely tough.

I’m not sure why I just wrote all of that. I think maybe just to say that I love my family more than anything and even through these hard times, I know we hold each other together. They mean the world to me.

Don’t take your family for granted. You never know how long you have with them. Tell them how much they mean to you. Love them with unconditional, unlimited love.

-SG

Birthday Surprises.

“You should definitely try to come down to Midland on Thursday for my birthday!”

“I don’t know… I would, but I have to work. I have extra shifts this week.”

“Oh, I’m sure you can take a day off of work!!”

“No really, I can’t. I already asked if I could get off to come to Midland, but if I do I will probably get a 2 week suspension from work and yes, that would be a great 2 weeks of vacation except for the no money part.”

“I bet you can afford to not work for 2 weeks. You’ll be fine.”

“No really, Steph, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Well dang, I really wish you could!”

A FEW DAYS LATER:

“GUESS WHAT?! I CAN COME DOWN THURSDAY!”

“Do NOT lie to me Patric. Are you for real?!”

“Yea. Turns out my boss died last night and with his dying breath he told me to go to Midland on Thursday for your birthday!”

“So that means you’re lying.”

“No, actually hell froze over and a magical unicorn said it could fly me down to Midland.”

This, along with several similar conversations took place over the few days leading up to my birthday between one of my best friends from Lubbock and myself.

He would act like he was able to come, then tell me he was joking and there was no way he could actually get off of work to come down. He had me convinced a few times that he was coming, then quickly shattered my excitement by telling me he was just kidding. I told him that if he ended up showing up, I was going to kill him for torturing me like that. Needless to say, I was pretty upset that he was not coming.

Wednesday, June 23, the night before my birthday… A few friends from Midland came over to my house and we watched a movie and just hung out until about midnight, when it officially became my birthday. Once they left, I went back to my room, got ready for bed, and was about to go to sleep when my mom walked into my room. She told me goodnight and then asked if I wanted one of my birthday gifts early. I said sure, why not. She then turns back to my bedroom door, opens it, and in walks Patric, my friend who “absolutely could not get off of work to come down to Midland even though he tried very hard to”.

I was in shock. I really was. I jumped up, and the first words out of my mouth were “PATRIC! I hate you!!” I could not believe he was there, standing in my room, in Midland, for my birthday. It wasn’t until about 45 seconds later that I realized there was somebody else with him. My other friend, Marshall, came with him!

A few minutes later, after I had accepted the reality that they had come down to Midland for my birthday, I apologized for what the first thing I said to Patric and told him that “I hate you” actually meant “I love you and I am so glad you are here!”

Turns out, my mom was in on it the whole time. She and Patric had this whole “surprise” planned out almost a week before my birthday. Then Patric called Marshall right before he left Lubbock and even though it was last minute he asked if Marshall wanted to come to Midland and he did! It was a fantastic surprise.

We went to Venezia’s for dinner and even another surprise was waiting for me there. My sister and her boyfriend had come down for my birthday dinner! I was, once again, shocked, but thoroughly excited to see them.

With all of this being said, I had a wonderful birthday. I spent it with my family and with my best friends. From Midland AND from Lubbock.

This weekend I went to LBJ with my parents and 4 of my girlfriends. We cruised the lake, wake boarded even on choppy water, rode the inner tube until our arms were numb, laid under the sun with loads of tanning lotion on, and just had a blast spending time with one another. I truly do love my friends. They helped make this birthday absolutely wonderful.

19.

19 years old.

My last year as a teenager.

Wow.

Where did the time go?

Crazy.

Those were the days.

Oh how I miss the days when life seemed so easy. When such great energy flowed through this body. When running in 100+ degree weather was fun. When soccer practices every night were just a part of life. When these frail knees were strong. When these muscles endured slide-tackles, twists, turns, cuts, and bruises with no aches or pain. When “tired” was not in my vocabulary.

Those were the days.

Mexican league soccer… It is definitely a way of life for some people. In fact, the starting midfielder for the USA, Clint Dempsey, got his start in a Mexican league in Nacogdoches, Texas. Pick-up games, dirt fields, phenomenal skills. Mexican league soccer is as legit as it gets.

We like to call ourselves the Mexican league of Midland… but we are far from a true “Mexican league” considering our grassy playing fields, our average skill level, and our fair complexions. We are more of a “white kids getting together to play soccer pretending like we are hardcore league” which is still loads of fun. It is, however, pretty hilarious when we haven't even been playing a full hour and we look at each other, panting, hands above our heads, drenched in sweat, and just shake our heads and say to each other "if only we were still in shape... those were the days..."

It is always a bit nostalgic playing soccer in the hot sun at Hogan fields. So much sweat, even some blood, and many tears were spilled out onto those fields over the several years of my life that I played soccer, and at the time, it meant everything to me. Every ounce that was in me craved a W in our book, ESPECIALLY if it was against Blast (who later became the Texans).

You see, I was a West Texas Heat soccer player through and through. There was nothing in me that would ever even consider going to the other side to team with Chad, Shane, or any other Blast coaches or players. Not that they were bad people, but I knew what I wanted, and I knew that in order to achieve that, Heat was the right choice.

Hahaha okay, okay, enough of that nonsense. I just had to let my competitive side out for a moment. Now, back to the serious stuff…

Soccer was my life. I loved practice. I loved the scrimmages. I loved the intensity the coaches expected from us. I loved the shin guard tan lines. I loved traveling hours and hours for games and tournaments. I loved the ice packs on my knees and ankles after each game. I loved the Crowne Plaza in Richardson. I loved the UTD fields with their thick, luscious blades of grass that felt like we were playing on fields in Heaven compared to Midland’s practice fields. I loved soccer.

Even after I quit playing soccer at a competitive level, soccer remained my favorite sport. Whether it was just going to kick the ball around with a couple of friends, playing on an intramural team, or just pick-up “Mexican league” at home during the summer… I just can’t get enough of it.

Well, I guess my BODY can get enough of it. And I think it has. My joints ache. My muscles are sore. My body is completely shot. But even though my body has had enough, doesn’t mean I am fully satisfied and content. As soon as my phone lights up with a text informing me what time to be at the fields to play, I will be up and out the door in a heartbeat. It’s kind of an obsession. Even when my body has reached it’s limit, my heart and my mind just can’t understand the term “enough” and I absolutely love it.

7 Things.

Ashley Brimeyer brought it to my attention that my blog was in desperate need of an update.

Of course there is the option of stopping everything else that I’m doing, sitting down, digging deep, and pulling out something that could potentially be incredibly profound, something “moving”, something that has been on my heart, or anything else of that sort… however, I don’t really feel like putting that much into this blog. I would rather it be spontaneous. I guess I’ll just write what comes to mind as I go along with this.

Hmm. Idea.

I was just thinking about how my birthday is 7 days away, so I’m sticking with the number 7 for this idea.

I’m going to pick a few categories and write 7 different things about each category.

(without going into deep, sappy, heartfelt, details… just keeping this simple)

Here we go.

7 things that have made me smile today:

1) Waking up and being surprisingly well-rested.

2) Hearing my friend’s new song that he just recorded. And it is absolutely incredible.

3) My momma bringing me an Oscar’s breakfast burrito this morning.

4) Looking at the calendar and realizing that I am going to Kenya in exactly 3 weeks.

5) Having lunch with 3 of my very closest friends.

6) Watching 6 episodes of Friends.

7) Skyping with Patric, Cameron, Jeremy and Andrew.

7 things that I miss:

1) Taking walks to the ditch after hanging out by Grandma’s pool all day.

2) Soccer.

3) The days when nobody had grown-up jobs in different cities during the summer and we could cook-out and hot tub every night.

4) The dirt road behind my house that is now paved.

5) Pine Springs.

6) Toasted cheese sandwich day in the cafeteria.

7) Seeing my sister everyday.

7 things I love about Midland:

1) If I leave my house relatively early in the morning, when I turn off of Island and onto Midland drive, I can see the sunrise over that open field with the silhouette of downtown midland on the horizon.

2) Sitting on the hill behind my house watching the breathtakingly beautifully sunsets with nothing blocking the view.

3) Murrays.

4) Southside Mexican food.

5) Our cute little downtown.

6) Midnight T&T runs.

7) The oil rigs that are so close I can hear them in my bedroom at night.

7 things I would add to Midland:

1) My friends who live in other towns.

2) PF Changs.

3) A dine-in movie theater (although, rumor has it that we may be getting one downtown sometime soon?)

4) A coffee shop like Sugarbrowns.

5) A lake (at least right outside of town anyway)

6) Spoonful.

7) An Imax.

7 things you may or may not know about me:

1) I did not read a book “for fun” until my junior year in high school.

2) I used to have an under bite, then maxillofacial surgery changed that.

3) I absolutely cannot stand it when anything touches my achilles.

4) I check to make sure the front door is locked at least 3 times before I go to bed at night. OCD not paranoia.

5) Just because I’m usually in athletic shorts, t-shirts, and my hair on top of my head doesn’t mean that I don’t like dressing up, fixing my hair, etc… because I really do.

6) I haven’t grown since about 6^th grade. Still 5’ 3 ½" and I don’t think that’s going to change.

7) I am ¼ Ukrainian.

7 random things that come to mind right now:

1) I’m absolutely pumped about going to lake with everyone tomorrow.

2) Patric Johnston is unbelievably talented.

3) Matti Swierc works way too much for a 19 year old.

4) I really want to go run right now, but it’s insanely hot outside.

5) USA! USA! USA! 9am tomorrow! YES!

6) Disneyworld is fun no matter how old you are.

7) This is probably the most pointless blog I have ever written.

Wow. If you even read this far, I halfway apologize, yet I am very impressed that you lasted through all of this nonsense that my fingertips randomly decided to type. But I guess that gave you a little glimpse into my mind. It’s scattered. It’s unorganized. It’s crazy. It’s fun. I love it. I hate it. It’s exciting. It’s frustrating.

It’s me.