They Will Be OK

I often wonder what will happen to our youth if Kelvin and I end up leaving Kenya for a time. We don't plan to leave too soon but we know it will happen eventually. I always think about how our youth will continue or if all will go back to the way it was before we came. There are some things that will not continue because the money will not keep coming in and we haven't quite found someone who has grasped our vision and is capable of taking over. But I would like to think that we made some sort of an impact and that some of the things we have started will continue.

We do have a young man who coaches the boys which takes a lot of pressure off Kelvin to be at every practice and every game. We are able to leave for long periods of time (like last week when we went for the youth camp) and know that practice and games will continue to the standard that we expect.

We also have a committee complete with a chairman, secretary, and members which is all made up of the boys. This committee makes all sorts of decisions mostly concerning finances and the team affairs. Kelvin offers support when needed (and directly mentors the chairman) but they run quite smoothly on their own.

So Kelvin mentioned to me last night that the boys have created their own little soccer tournament. Apparently, they have split the team into two I guess it is quite the competition between the two teams. Every Friday, they play against each other. The winners get money. During the week, they raise this money. I don't know if they ask people or they contribute themselves, but they get a hefty amount of money (and I am now wondering why I fundraise money for them when they can apparently do it themselves). This friday, they have managed to raise $50 to split. The winners get $30 and the losers get $20. It's a win win situation. However, there is a catch. The team may have won by 3 goals but if the chairman feels like their conduct was not good on and off the pitch, they will lose and the other team will get the money.

I love it!

I love that they, as a group, created this little system and it works for them. I love that the community donates. I love that they put more emphasis on good conduct than on winning games.

They will be OK if we leave.

Some Muddy Soccer

We are home! We did indeed make it to Kipkaren for a wonderful week of learning, listening, teaching, and fellowshipping. 

I grew up in a small town so I love the intimacy of a small community. Mombasa was the last place I ever wanted to be cause its so big, clustered, dirty, and cramped. Going to the village is like a vacation for me even if I am working all day long. The beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the quietness, the green landscape, the cool weather, the simple lifestyle, the fresh produce, the humble people, and the slower pace of life. So wonderful! 

Our hosts were amazing! They have this swanky guesthouse (which was three times bigger than our apartment in Mombasa) fit with the most comfortable beds and steaming hot showers!! They fed us wonderful meals and let us enjoy their family. We learned a lot from them! They too are a mixed couple like Kelvin and I. They have been doing community development in this area for 14+  years. I picked their brains on so many things like their mistakes, triumphs, difficulties, finances, etc. We were so privileged to work with them. 

 We tried to wake up early every morning to have coffee and do devotions together while the sun was rising. Spectacular! 

The reason we were asked to come up there was to help start a youth program similar to ours. The state of the youth in this community really broke our hearts. I was especially heartbroken for the young women most of whom dropped out of school at an early age and got pregnant either by their husbands, someone else's husband, or some random men. They really need someone to walk alongside of them and point them towards Jesus their Healer, Forgiver, Redeemer, Lover, Provider and Father.

Above Kelvin was doing devotions for a group of youth and widows in the community. After devotions, we took the youth and did some team building exercises while teaching them a few life skills. 

 Jayden, the son of our hosts, is too adorable for words. Seriously, he melts the heart of everyone he meets. He is a man of the community just like his father.

 Jayden watching as the boys begin to play soccer. 

 It was really really muddy. It poured with rain every afternoon we were there. I loved the thunder and lightening but didn't so much enjoy standing outside watching soccer in the rain....

....hence the awkward missionary/village/freezing cold fashion. Finally, by the third day of being ridiculously cold, I put away my pride and dressed to be warm instead of trying to look decent.

 We came hoping to find a bunch of youth eager to play soccer. We were told there were many but quickly learned that they only come if there is something they will get out of it (like a ball, blankets, gifts). So our method of reaching youth through soccer didn't work out so well. The show still went on and Kelvin did what he does best: love on youth and point them to Jesus. Here they are praying after practice. 

 We even brought some swanky cones and balls for them to practice with.

 A seriously cute kid! The best part is that he doesn't even speak english (even though his Mom is american)! They taught him swahili first which has kind of inspired me to learn so that my kids will be bi-lingual. 

 Kelvin utterly amazed me the whole week. He was in his element doing what God has created him to do best. It was so amazing to see my husband truly THRIVE in what he was doing. I was so so proud of him!!! 

We have committed to supporting a group of youth in the community. About 50 of them have formed a group where they come together to grow closer to God, grow closer to each other, support one another in their lives, create jobs and do income generating projects together. We hope to go again every couple months to mentor, train, walk alongside, and love on them. 

We couldn't go all the way to Eldoret and not go to Ilula to visit all the kids and my 'family'. We only spent one night but it was just enough to drink yummy chai, sing the latest hits with the girls, goof around with the young kids, and talk and laugh around the dinner table with the Ronos. To our surprise, Emmanuel picked us up in their 'new' car. We had quite the ride to the children's home. At one point a large piece of metal fell off the side of my door as we were sliding around in the mud. It felt so good to be home....

We are back in Mombasa and will be updating you with some exciting stuff soon!!

On the road again

We are off again tonight. Feels like we travel every month. We have been invited to a village outside of Eldoret, called Kipkaren, to help develop a soccer program for youth in the community. We are so excited for this opportunity! We don't know exactly how long we will go (probably not more than a few days) and what exactly is waiting for us up there. We know we will be doing a lot of home visits to widows - something Kelvin is very passionate about since his own mom is a widow. We know we will be meeting with youth mentoring them, training them, and playing soccer with them. We know there will be more listening and learning than talking and teaching. I am anxious to work alongside a couple who is like us, black and white, and see how they do community development. I am excited to see some friends who live in that community. More over, I am elated to get out of Mombasa (its heating up again) and immerse myself in village life.

We have also been donated a hefty amount of indestructible soccer balls! Such a huge blessing! A couple in Eldoret is giving them to us so we will be able to pick them up when we get there. You have no idea how precious soccer balls are around here.

Pray for safe travelling. Pray for a wonderful time connecting with the youth and community. Pray that we can discern the amount of involvement we are to have in this project.

I will be back next week with lots of photos and stories!

Rehma Youth Scholarship Winners!

It's time for me to introduce to you the winners of our Rehma Youth Scholarships! We were suppose to only have 3 winners but our committee said they just couldn't pick only 3 but they wanted to choose 4. Here they are...

Nuru Juma

This young lady has a heart for people living with disabilities. Her huge heart literally oozes out love and compassion for these people. Every time I meet her, she never fails to tell me a story about some people she has just helped or some ideas she has for people with disabilities. Her mother is disabled and has overcome huge obstacles so Nuru wants to inspire people to do the same. We are currently praying and researching about the right program that she should go into in order to reach her goals. We are also thinking of starting some sign language classes with her! 

 Asha Ishmael

This girl is feisty! I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up as President one day. She loves to seek justice for all people. Her dream is to become a lawyer and work specifically with women's rights. She is the most vocal of all my ladies and is involved in every program in the community which seeks to better the lives of young people. Her parents both died of cancer a few years ago and she now lives with her aunt and sister. Pray for her as we search for the proper program for her to begin her studies in! 

 Felix Faithfulness

We will miss this young man as he has just left to attend a school on the other side of the country. However, we know that he will be getting a better education and more opportunity to play soccer. His family is the poorest of the poor and truly struggles to put food on the table. For some reason, everyone who knows Faithfulness has the utmost confidence that he will succeed! He has an incredible ability to inspire people around him. We are praying for the best for him in his new school!

Justus Maloba

This sweet young man comes from a family of seven. His parents are divorced and his mother is their sole provider. She makes a small living selling fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, its not always enough. Justus has had to repeat several grades because there hasn't been enough money to pay the school fees. One thing about this boy is that he is not much of a complainer and tries to keep positive no matter what comes his way. He is a pleasure to have on the team and is a force to be reckoned with on the field. He dreams of being a lawyer and a business man. We are praying for him as he finishes his last  2 years of high school!

Noah isn't one of our winners but is a young man we sponsored to go to school last year. He finished his course and was trying really hard to find an internship. Yesterday he called Kelvin to ask if they could meet. When they met, Noah told him how that morning he had sat and prayed to God really honestly about getting an internship soon. I think it was a really heartfelt prayer. Well, he went to town the same day and went to another company. To his surprise, they hired him on the spot and told him to start now! Noah was just elated to tell us the news last night. I think he was more amazed at the way God really pulled through for him. Anyways, we are super excited for him. 

The team has been playing a lot in the last couple weeks. Here's a few shots from their games.

 Warm up - I am always amazed at how rhythmic even their warm up is! They seriously don't miss a beat. 

 A somewhat dysfunctional team shot. I love how our goalie is saving the ball...

 Our team captain, Lolo. He came straight from school to the game. When was the last time you dressed like this to attend your college classes?

Our faithful servant/coach/co-worker Nicky. I will have to do a better introduction of him in another post. Kelvin and I are so thankful to have him! 

Our boys are getting a little discouraged lately as they haven't won many games. They keep drawing (or tying as we say) and their morale is a bit low. Some have even stopped practicing this week. Kelvin says they are playing the best they have in the past 2 years but its still not enough to put some wins under their belt. We hope they can overcome these small hiccups.

Keep praying for our youth. Our numbers are a bit low right now and we are not sure why. Even many of my girls have missed meetings the last few weeks. It's hard because we can't force them to come but we know that they are missing some good opportunities with us. One of our biggest challenges is dealing with stubbornness, pride, lack of perseverance and commitment, and other social behaviours. It's not just a couple of them - many of them have these traits that are just ingrained in them. Pray with us as we try to reach them on their levels and shower them with a lot of love and hope. 

Let's hear it for the boys

Since I was doing my girls camp, Kelvin decided to finally put together the under 15 boys tournament he had been wanting to do for months now. Once he got the go ahead from me (cause he has to consult his wife ;0) he went right to it inviting teams, buying trophies, meeting with coaches, etc. 

A small glimpse into how it went: 

 For the final match, we marched with the two teams, the supporters, and a couple of guys playing some drums from our office. It was cool. In true Kongowea fashion, everyone came out to see what all the fuss was about. Then they probably went back to their houses and gossiped about it the rest of the day.

 Um love the kid in the superman outfit.

 Kelvin towers over the kids. It's rare for Kelvin to tower over anything.

 Kelvin and his committee?

 I didn't realize how big of a deal trophies are around here. I actually got upset at Kelvin because he spent so much money just on trophies. Now I realize how much they mean to people and why he really wanted these teams to have them. This kid was enthralled with them!

 I think I enjoyed all the little kids who came out to watch the most. When a goal was scored, they would all run out to the field dancing and screaming...

...and then they would run back once someone came after them with a stick to get them off the field so the game could resume. 

Can someone tell me what kind of hat that is? 

At the end, some of the older men gave some advice/encouragement to all the players. 

The winning team! It was a really exciting match. They are actually the team from our pitch. They play on a small dirt patch beside our pitch. The next Rehma boys? 

Watching the game

I loved this sight as I walked out of the office the other day. There was a school sports day happening and hundreds of kids flooded the area. These kids thought that sitting on the wall was the best place to watch the game.

Who is that chick playing out there?!

Can you spot her??

That is Ali, a fellow Canadian passing through Kenya. She is a friend of a friend and when she heard that we have a soccer team, she asked what she could do to help. She came loaded with a bag of soccer stuff for the boys and some other kids, something that we always need. Then she asked if she could practice with the boys. "You want to actually practice with them??!?" "Yeah, I do" she replied as if it was no big whoop.

Kelvin was tickled pink to have her come out. And let me tell you, she was fierce. I guess she plays on the provincial team in British Columbia and has even gotten chances to play on the national team. She plays for a big club back in Victoria, BC. So she's pretty darn good.  She held her own out there with those boys. I think they were pretty impressed. They kept saying, "Ah! ye in kali!" Ah! she is fierce! 


She came off the pitch at the end of practice with a smile on her face. She said it was probably the most intense practice she has had in a long time. She figures that if she was to practice like that everyday, her game would get even better.

Although, she was walkin' like a granny. I think she was quite sore. I bet her muscles are painin' today.

Way to go girl!

Days before the wedding and the rehearsal

Dad, Mark, and Baba arrived on the 19th, just two days before the wedding. In the morning, us ladies went to town to do some shopping and wait for the rest to arrive. Of course we had no end of car/taxi issues (which were sorted out by our awesome friends and my handsome husband) but we made it to the airport on time to pick them up. Baba practically fell over from exhaustion and heat as she got off the plane. But we managed to get her in the car and back to the hotel. 

 I took the girls to the city market to buy some spices and look around. 

 Having an early lunch before picking up the rest of the family. 

 My dad and my brother were such troopers. After over 30 hours of travelling, they still wanted to come to Kongowea to watch our boys play. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them, but here is kasondra enjoying the game.

Brothers! Mark and Kelvin got along so great! I couldn't have asked for anything better. I actually got kind of jealous as they would have so much fun together. I have never seen my brother laugh so much.

Rehearsal time! I got just a little teary eyed walking down the aisle.

'Baba in the jungle'

Goofing off with my bridesmaids.

This is Robert, the pastor that married us and counselled us. We couldn't have asked for a better person to bring us together!