Home Visits

After 12 incredible days with the GCR group visiting the WBS orphanages and spending a few days on safari, I am now back at "home" in Kumulu with the Mbuvis. I truly feel like when I am here, I am home. This is my home away from home. When we got to Kumulu with the GCR group before going on safari, I walked in the Mbuvi's house and within two minutes of us being there Mauryn called me in the kitchen, handed me plates and silverware, and told me with a smile, "Take these to the table. You're home now, time to work!" I, too, smiled as I turned to go and set the table.

Twice, sometimes three times a year the students at Made in the Streets get to take a home visit. These usually happen during breaks from school. Since the students have been on a two week holiday from school, it was time for home visits. The students were split into two groups, and one went on Wednesday, and the other group on Thursday. I went with the group on Thursday.

Mauryn's brother-in-law, Joel, drove us all into an area in Nairobi called Eastleigh, where the other Made in the Streets center is located. Each of the students went their separate ways, with anticipation and much excitement to see their family and friends whom they have not seen in several months. I went with Joel and a 15 year old girl, Damaric. We walked around Eastleigh and caught a city bus, and were on it for probably 30 minutes. We then got off the bus, and hopped on a matatu, which is a 15 passenger van that they use as one of the main means of public transportation. Their white matatu is our yellow taxi. We rode that for a while then traded that for a ride on a pikipiki. A pikipiki is a small motorcycle, and these motorcycles are a means of public transportation as well. The pikipiki drivers took us on dirt roads, leading us to the area Damaric used to live. We were greeted by her brother-in-law who then walked us to their home, about a 10 minute walk.

Damaric's mother passed away two years ago, and since then her sister and brother-in-law have taken care of Damaric and her little brother, Stephen, as well as their own two children. Damaric came to MITS in January of 2011, so she is one of the newest students. Joel explained that when she came to MITS in January she was still very bitter and very angry about her mother's death. She let the bitterness and anger become such a huge part of her life, and it caused a lot of confrontation at MITS when she arrived. Joel was able to tell her sister, Monica, that he has seen much improvement since her arrival at MITS, and Monica was very pleased to hear this.

It was so neat to see the family reunited after 7 months of Damaric being away. Her brother and niece ran up to greet her with smiles spread from ear to ear, hugging her, overjoyed to see her. Joel and I sat in their home with Monica and her husband, as Damaric was outside with her brother and old friends. This "apartment" was probably 15X20ft. and was home to five people, once six. A dining room chest, 2 small couches, a chair, small coffee table, bunk beds, and a small counter were all crammed into this tiny area, and they were very happy to welcome us in.

Damaric's brother-in-law asked a lot about MITS and they told us how happy they were that Damaric was now there. They said if she wasn't at MITS, they worry about where she could be, or what could have happened to her by now. They told us about her best friend who is now serving jail time for stabbing someone, and they know Damaric could have easily been in that same situation by now if it weren't for MITS.

When it was time for us to leave, we walked through a different ghetto on our way out, so she could show us where she used to stay. As we walked on the narrow, muddy paths in between buildings made of simply sheet metal, my heat broke, but was also filled with joy at the same time, knowing where she was, and how far she has come. Not just in the sense that she has a nicer place to stay, but that she is at Made in the Streets where she has been given opportunity to turn her life around and go on to do great things, whereas she probably wouldn't have had those opportunities if she had stayed where she was. I have never been to the Mathare Valley slum, but from what I've heard, and the pictures I've seen, this particular ghetto she used to live in was very similar.

After returning to the MITS center in Eastleigh, we all loaded up the bus and headed back to Kumulu. These kids love home visits, but at the end of the day, they truly look forward to returning to Made in the Streets.

Damaric is just one story, but what a powerful story it is. Her best friend is in jail, as she very easily could be, too. However, because of Made in the Streets, God has changed her heart and her life. What a powerful testimony of the work God is doing through this ministry! Praise Him for that!

Kids will be kids, and God is God.

I am currently in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica with a group of 15 people, 14 students and one leader, working with a ministry here called Concrete Jungle. This ministry reaches out to the youth of the area with a skate park they built and opened less than a decade ago. It has grown tremendously and God is using it in big ways. This ministry also has planted a church that is continually growing. We have the privilege of building a house for a lady and her 3 children that are a part of this church.

We have spent 3 days doing construction on the house, and we had a free day today. We ziplined through the jungle on a canopy tour this morning and spent the afternoon relaxing and resting up. The church services at Concrete Jungle meet on Sunday evenings, so we went over there and spent a few hours together sharing a meal, worshipping together, and just enjoying the fellowship of the congregation. Tomorrow morning we will head back to the work site and continue on the house. We have 3 more days of construction.

A lot has happened since we have been here, but there is one night in particular I want to share about.

Friday night, Concrete Jungle held a skate night for the youth of the community. Over 30 kids gathered with their skateboards, minds focused on competing for the new skateboard that would be awarded to the winner of the skate competition.

Seeing the number of people gathered there, and watching the kids skate for hours gave us a true look at seeing that ministry in action. The kids absolutely loved being there. Their smiles beamed across the skate park and their laughter that filled the area was contagious. They were genuinely happy to be there.

The thing about it all was this: they are just kids. They are no different from us. Most of the boys were out on the ramps, competing with each other, attempting to show off. The younger boys stood on the side, skateboard in hand, helmet buckled on their head, wide-eyed, watching the older boys in awe, daydreaming about the day they will perform numerous tricks for everyone to see. There were also the boys who either didn't know how to skate, or simply chose not to, who made their place among the dominoes, ping pong table, or as spectators and supporters for their fearless amigos.

Aside from the boys were the girls who, just as I remember, did exactly as young teenage girls do. They placed themselves away from the action, yet close enough to be noticed by the niños. They positioned themselves in a semi-circle, giggling at the boys trying new tricks, and sharing excitement over the latest gossip. They acted just as my friends and I did during our early teenage years.

It's funny that despite the thousands of miles that separates these kiddos from those in the States, they are still kids, with the same likes, dislikes, goals, and dreams. They may be growing up in completely different environments, with different accessibilities, and different opportunities, but at the end of the day, kids will be kids.

Another thing that always blows me away and penetrates my heart in such a deep way, is praying and worshipping in another culture, among people who speak another language. To me, that is one of the most powerful and most beautiful things. Several times we have prayed and have also worshipped together with the people at Concrete Jungle and my mind immediately went to Revelation 7:9-12.

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'"

What a beautiful image, and what a blessing to experience a glimpse of that here on earth. Different people, different environments, different lifestyles, different styles of worship, different languages, ONE GOD. No matter where you are, what your life may be like, who you are surrounded by, what language you speak, God is God, God is faithful, and God is good.

Love God. Love People.

"From glory to glory, my God You are holy, let all of the voices proclaim. I'm wretched and broken, my God You have spoken, I'm clean by the blood of the Lamb..." -David's Plea

The blessings the Lord has poured over my life this past year are immeasurably more than I ever could have imagined. The joy, love, growth and understanding He has willingly drenched me with have ignited a passion I never knew was buried in the depths within me. A passion for Him and a passion for His people. And a passion to make His name great among all His people. To join in the voices and proclaim His glory.

Although, my passion is too often attacked by my very own flesh. I cannot escape the sin that is guaranteed by humanity. Yet He has spoken: I am clean by the blood of the Lamb.

I recognize, accept, and surrender my sins to the only One great enough to take them from me. By dwelling in my past (and present) sinful nature and numerous sins, I am not accepting what Jesus did when He was crucified and raised from the dead. And to think that I have the audacity to tell Him what He did wasn't good enough, powerful enough to free me from all of my mess-ups?

FALSE.

He is more than enough, great enough, and I can assure you He is more than powerful enough to cleanse me of my sins.

Well, now getting back to the rich blessings of this past year...

There are far too many to cover, but one in particular has been overwhelmingly evident in my life recently, and that is my church home here in Lubbock. Overflow Church.

Wow. The body of believers at Overflow has taught me, loved me, encouraged me, and has definitely helped grow me.

Through Overflow, I have gained the most wonderful friends family ever.

These friendships began a little over a year ago. They have seen good and bad times, joys, frustrations, laughter, tears, but through it all, they have truly made me a better person. I have grown immensely. I have been through so many different seasons with these people, yet we all seem to recognize that we are all a vital part of each others' lives and each others' walks with Christ. No matter where life takes us, we always remember, and have many times fallen back on each other when there seems to be no other place to fall back, because through it all, we have one thing in common: the pure love of Christ.

That's the only way I can put into words what drives these friendships: the pure love of Christ. That's what it all is. And to each one of my brothers and sisters, you know the role God has used you to play in my life, and thank you for loving me unconditionally with Christ's love. It's what has brought me to where I am today.

Love God. Love people. He'll take care of the rest.

Heart.

The heart is a strange thing. A strange, yet beautiful thing. A wonderful mystery, and the core to who we are; to what we are as relational beings.

How does the heart know? How does the heart have such a relentless grip on the entirety of who we are and how we live our lives? Because that's the way it is supposed to be. Because our hearts are our wellspring of life. The central reel that keeps everything spinning in the right way. That is, unless we allow our heart to counteract its pure intentions.

The heart is a pure, wonderfully poised element of who we are. However, there is one thing that can interrupt the heart's performance and purpose. And that is the mind.

How can the mind interfere with such a wonderfully passionate entity we each have? We allow our mind to overpower our heart. To make decisions that aren't ours to make. To deliberate between different things that may not require deliberation. The mind itself is brilliant, enticing, and dangerous.

In order to compensate our longings of the flesh, we must regain control over our very own minds. We must renew our minds. We must discipline and cultivate our minds.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

The renewing of our MIND. Renewal. Refreshment. Restoration.

All too often, I find myself following my mind. Following my thoughts, my ideas, my dreams, my goals, my own visions for my life. Is this bad? Not always. But it can be.

Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

The Lord wants to give us the desires of our heart. Not of our mind. Because he knows our minds can manipulate our true desires. He knows the complexity of our minds can intervene with the desires of our hearts.

We allow our selfish aspirations to fill our minds and eventually overflow into what we believe is our heart's true desire.

We allow our doubts and our pride to corrupt our mind and convince ourselves we have it all under control, that the plan we have laid out for our own life is better than the plan He has.

We allow worry to form a barrier between our heart and mind.

We allow ourselves to doubt the gift He put inside of us that allows us to have a relationship with Him.

We often overlook the power of our hearts.

"When you don't understand, when you can't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust his heart."

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

2011. More than a decade into the 21^st century. Seriously? Weren’t we supposed to have flying cars by now? Oh... that’s right... all technology was supposed to stop working in 2000. But it didn’t. And we still don’t have flying cars. But it IS 2011, and a lot happened this past year. Let’s have a look back at good old 2010…

- Mike Leach controversy at Tech kicked off the year for many of us

- 7.0-magnitute earthquake hit Haiti

- Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler

- 8.8-magnitutde earthquake in Chile leading to the tsunami

- New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV

- Obama’s heath care bill

- iPad released

- BP oil spill

- Many notable deaths, including Senator Robert Byrd and Gary Coleman

- World Cup hosted by South Africa, won by Spain

- LeBron James makes his decision and chooses Miami Heat

- 33 Chilian miners rescued

- Texas Rangers make it to the World Series for the first time ever

- Mid-term elections, giving Republicans control over the House

All of these things, among many others, helped make up 2010.

Now, to look back on a few things in my personal life…

- Started going to church at Indiana Baptist College Campus in the spring

-Finished my first year of college with a 3.5 GPA

- Spent a month overseas… worked at a boarding school/church in Kenya and then spent some time in London

- Worked Foundation Retreat for incoming freshmen before school started

- Pledged RSC (Raider Sisters for Christ – Christian sorority at Tech)

- Had the most wonderful New Year’s Eve at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, celebrating with the best group of friends and their families for a New Year’s Eve wedding… CONGRATS STACY & JIM! :)

- And the best part of 2010 – I made some new friends, my BEST friends, who will be my best friends for life. No doubt.

Now let’s go back to the New Year’s Eve celebration…

WOW. I can’t even begin to explain how incredible it was! We were in Dallas for a few days to help Stacy and Jim celebrate their big day! Bridal luncheon, racing cars at Texas Motor Speedway, penthouse cocktail party, the wedding ceremony, and to kick off the new year… the “Happily Ever After New Year’s Eve Ball” which was unbelievable! Whoever gets married next has a LOT to live up to. And every New Year’s Eve from here on out will always be measured against this one, which I don’t think any other New Year’s Eve will ever be able to live up to it!

Part of what made it so great was that my friends from Midland were there! I could try to explain my group of Midland friends to everyone, but it just can’t be done. I can’t explain it, but they truly are my closest friends. They are more than friends, they are family. And that’s how it always will be. We can go an entire semester at different schools, not talk to each other more than a couple of times during the semester, and then when we come back to Midland for the holidays, it’s like no time has passed. I never feel like I’ve missed out on their lives and vice versa. It’s such a unique, and incredible group of friends. I have made some great friends at Tech, some of whom ARE my “best friends”, but it’s just not the same. There is nobody like this group.

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful 2010 and I hope for an even better 2011 for you all! I don’t know what this year holds, but I am very excited to find out!!

- SG

The Beautiful People of London...

All in all, yes, I enjoyed London. Quite frankly, I just don't feel like writing about that part of my trip. Instead I want to SHOW you a bit of London from my point of view.

You see, I am a people watcher. Everywhere I go, I catch myself paying more attention to the people around me than to the monuments, historical places, or views of wherever I am. In London, there was a LOT to look at. And by that, I mean there were many, many people who definitely stood out. My sister kept getting upset, telling me that I was being rude by staring and taking pictures (even though I did so in a very stealthy manner). Needless to say, I did not take her advice of leaving these people to themselves and I did, in fact, take as many pictures in a nonchalant, covert manner as possible.

And here are the results.

(Sorry, I have no idea how to put pictures on here in an organized fashion so they are just randomly spread across the screen in no order or alignment)

I left the States 554 hours ago. I was in Kenya for 469 hours. I left Kenya 59 hours ago. I have been in London for about 50 hours. I will leave London in 116 hours. I will return to Midland in about 129 hours.   I took the time to calculate all of this out more for my own curiosity, but I thought I would share it as well. So that means by the end of my traveling adventures, I will have been away from home for almost 700 hours. Once I get home, I will only be there for about 145 hours before I return to Lubbock.  Needless to say, this summer has already flown by.  Just saying, "Oh it was absolutely wonderful" does not even come close to describing how I truly feel about my experiences thus far.   This blog is not a re-cap of the last month, I'm not going to talk about London, I'm not going to share my overall feelings of Kenya, but instead I am going to tell you about the last day I spent in Kenya which I haven't done yet!   The Wedding Day! All of Wednesday morning was spent getting ready for the wedding. We wanted Cecily to have as much of a relaxing day as possible. This even included a day at the spa! Some former MITS students now work at a salon in Nairobi and they came back on Wednesday to do manicures and pedicures for the girls! Cecily thoroughly enjoyed hers and so did the other girls who got the chance to stop by the "spa". I wish I could have had a turn, but I was busy doing other things to get ready for the wedding and just ran out of time! We decorated the fence and archway with beautiful red, purple and pink flowers, along with some banana leaves. We made centerpieces for the reception tables. We made the bouquets for Cecily and the bridesmaids. We set up tables and chairs. We put down the aisle – 5 beautiful African wraps that we spread out for Cecily to walk down as her aisle. We went back, changed, and got ready in the dark with no electricity. We took our seats. We watched 2 of the most incredible people we know come together as one before their friends, and before God. Cecily was a stunning bride in her strapless white dress with a bright orange flower tucked back in her loose curls. Dusty looked very sharp in his black suit, with his scruffy beard accenting his giddy smile as he saw Cecily walk down the aisle. The ceremony was beautifully done, brought together by words from a few close friends, an audience of relatives and friends from home as well as friends from afar, a time for us all to share communion, Dusty and Cecily each taking a turn to wash each others feet, and the sun breaking through the thick clouds providing a breathtaking backdrop… all in all, the wedding was simply perfect.   After having Mr. and Mrs. Dusty Breeding introduced to us for the first time, we continued the celebration. We had goat, sodas, cake, dancing, and a whole lot of fun at the reception! The newlyweds first dance was to the Lion King's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and their "get-away car" was a donkey pulling a cart decorated with glow sticks and the same African wraps that were used for the aisle! As the party slowly winded down, I found myself faced with a very tough next few minutes…and these "few minutes" lasted a lot longer than just a "few minutes". I had to say my goodbyes since I would be leaving the next morning at 6am. I hugged countless necks and promised several kiddos that I would return as soon as possible. I fought back the tears as long as I could, but there came a point where there was just no use even trying. It was like leaving family, not knowing when the next time I will see them will be. The pictures in my mind of these kids' faces as we said our goodbyes will never fade. Their sweet, tender words will echo through my mind, never to be forgotten. When I finally headed back to the girls' dorm to say goodbye to the Life Bread folks, I was trying to figure out how these 3 weeks were already over. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. When I planned my trip, 3 weeks really did seem like a long time. It went by way too fast. Saying goodbye to the Life Bread group was just as heart breaking as saying goodbye to the MITS kids. This group and I just clicked from the very first day they arrived. Being with them was like being with a group of lifelong friends. Attending Dusty and Cecily's wedding was like going to an old family friend's wedding. Spending this time with them in Kenya was a true gift. We are already planning their spring break trip down to Texas! I can't wait!   Saying goodbye to the Mbuvis… that was tough. If anyone genuinely feels like family, it's them. There's just nothing else that can be said. They ARE family. I miss them so much already.   Well, I'm now in London with my family and we've had a fantastic time sightseeing and walking at least 8 miles each day. We have a few days left and I know we will enjoy every moment. Yes, London is wonderful. Yes, I have always wanted to visit here. But when I return home, I will most likely not even remember half of the things we did in London. I will not have a full appreciation for this city. The one thing that I am enjoying the most and what I am still looking forward to for the remainder of this trip is just being with family. That's it.   -SG