WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

One of the key operating principles of the Jubilee Village Project is "people-to-people partnerships" -- at the foundation of this principle are the 8 Champions that live and serve in Kager Village. Without these champions, there would be no Project.

The role of a Champion is to serve as the local leader in one of the 8 solution areas:

- Water & Sanittion
- Food & Farming
- Housing
- Health & Nutrition
- Education
- Energy & Environment
- Transportation
- Economic Development

Working individually and as a team, the Champions are responsible for knowing the strengths of the village and building upon them. They play a leadership role in assessing the needs of the village and working with the rest of the leadership of the Jubilee Village Project to identify and implement solutions to meet those needs. The Champions often serve as "early adopters" for ideas and see if they will work -- before a decision is made to invest and pursue a total solution for Kager village. The Champions build and strengthen relationships within the life of the community -- a community divided can not be strong and move forward.

The Jubilee Village Project Champions are (from left to right):
- George Amimo (Food & Farming)
- Mark Orenda (Energy & Environment)
- Rose Mboya (Housing)
- Carolyne David (Economic Development)
- Caren Odero (Health & Nutrition)
- Andrew Aduda (Education)
- Joseph Nyang'i (Transportation)
- Hammre Kayando (Water & Sanitation)

We are thankful for the service and leadership the Champions provide the Jubilee Village Project. They serve under the overall leadership of David Kayando. Tuesday's are Prayer Day. On Tuesdays, all of the Champions are dedicated to praying for one hour for the Jubilee Village Project. We all understand that without prayer, our efforts will spend a lot of energy and a lot of money, but we trust in the Lord to bring about the community transformation for Kager and her people.

DID YOU FEEL THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE?

Wow -- this morning at church we worshiped and we sang a song we had probably sung at least twenty times before...but today it was different. The song was "Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?" by Delirious (Martin Smith, 1995).

Today the words were different...they had context...I felt the mountains tremble. The words were real...the words were deep...they were personal. They brought back strong emotions from our trip to Kenya and I could only think about my brothers and sisters worshiping 8,000 miles away in the Kager Vision Centre.

Here are the words we sang to the Lord this morning:


Did you feel the mountains tremble?
Did you hear the oceans roar?
Did you feel the people tremble?
Did you hear the singers roar?


When the people rose to sing of Jesus Christ the risen one

And we can see that God you're moving
A MIGHTY RIVER THROUGH THE NATIONS

And young and old will turn to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord

Open up the doors and let the music play
Let the streets resound with singing
Songs that bring your hope
Songs that bring your joy
Dancers who dance upon injustice


Did you feel the darkness tremble?
When all the saints join in one song
And all the streams flow as one river
To wash away our brokenness

And here we see that God you're moving
A TIME OF JUBILEE IS COMING
When young and old return to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord



It literally blew me away -- there in the heart of this song the words RIVER and JUBILEE tied together -- just as we have seen them tie together in the Jubilee Village Project for Kager, Kenya. God is good and God is big. Wow, what a day!

Ned

THANKSGIVING / GIVING THANKS

This year has been an amazing year: one that I will remember the rest of my life.

Yesterday we went to Melissa's parents and had Thanksgiving lunch with them. We went around the table and each of us shared two things (no repeats!) we are thankful for in 2008. We should have really had every person share 20 or 30, since we have so much to be thankful for in this great country of ours!

So this morning I thought I would share my special Jubilee Village Project Thanksgiving List. Here are some things I am most thankful for related to JVP in 2008:

• The God of the Universe and all Creation cares about all people -- whether we acknowledge him or not
• The Holy Spirit binds together the hearts of God's people across great divides -- in the case of JVP these include a continental divide and an economic divide
• The Son has provided us a restored relationship with the Triune God and an example to live our lives here on earth
• For my friendship with John Cory who inspired me to get on a plance and go to a village that I had never seen before
• For the boldness and faithfulness of David Kayando, whose prayers for his village is what started the River flowing that we have now joined
• For my wife, Melissa, who has encouraged me to follow God's call on my life to help the village of Kager (even while I was unemployed and probably needed to be looking for a job)
• For our trip to Kager in October, where we made many new friends and the vision for the Project was solidified and confirmed
• For the Partners (Team Indiana) and Champions (Team Kager) that are stepping up to servant leadership roles on the Project
• For the book "Rich Christians in the Age of Hunger" by Ron Sider, which planted a seed of "jubilee" in my heart that has taken 15 years to come to the surface in a real and tangible way
• For my church, East 91st Street Christian Church, which inspires and encourages "ministry entrepreneurs" to dream big and take risks for God
• For my group of Noble Men and my Pastor Derek, who hold me accountable and encourage me in my daily walk with Jesus
• For ministries like the Institute for Affordable Transportation, New Life International, Chapin Foundation and Aqua Clara Foundation, all of which have created innovative and appropriate solutions to help end poverty in the world
• For the Internet, which allows me to communicate to others and learn from others (from people I will likely NEVER meet)
• For the health and wealth God has provided me, and for the wisdom and understanding to realize I have been given this for God's glory, not mine

As I searched the Scriptures this weekend for what the Bible teaches us about "giving thanks", I thought these Words were especially relevant to the Jubilee Village Project:

• (2 Corinthians 2:14-16) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in the triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
• (1 Corinthians 15:57-58) But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Christ Jesus! Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
• (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Praise be to God!

Ned

WHAT JUBILEE VILLAGE PROJECT MEANS TO THE VILLAGE OF KAGER

I want to share two testimonies I received today from our friends in Kager Village. One testimony is from Bishop Christopher who founded the Kager Church and is the spiritual leader of 20 churches in the denomination that he serves and leads. The other is from Pastor David Kayando, who is our Jubilee Village Project Lead Champion and serves as an Evangelist and is the Administrator for the Kager Mission Dispensary (Pastor David is in the top left, Bishop Christopher is at the bottom)

It is my hope and prayer that God will continue to bring us more and more people who want to bring God’s love and sustainable transformation to this village through holistic solutions and people-to-people partnerships. I know there are lots of needs around the world, but I think the “one village at a time” focus of the Jubilee Village Project offers people a real and tangible way to see how God can work through His people to impact an entire community.


FROM BISHOP CHRISTOPHER KAYANDO


Our Village Kager has come along way. I am now 60 years old, and the greater part of my life has been spent in Kager Village. It is in Kager where I was born and brought up.

As a young man from a very poor family and poor village I had to drop school at a very early stage, since my parents could not afford school costs at that time and also there were so many of us in the family with very meager income. I left home as a teenage boy to go and look for employment in town.

In 1965, I met the Lord as my Saviour and came back home to share my testimony, which received a very strong opposition. After sometime, the Lord’s calling came to me to become a full-time preacher.

I was able to plant the Kager Church (Kager Vision Centre or KVC), which has now been a place of spiritual transformation for the village. The church has weathered very strong winds of opposition and hatred, but today everyone in the village has been touched by God’s word preached at KVC.

However, I must say our community has had a major set-back in its development, and POVERTY is the major cause. With the Jubilee Village Project coming in at such a time as this, I know God is answering the prayers of many saints, who have died without seeing this in their lifetime but would have wished to.

Looking at the structure and mission of the Jubilee Village Project, I see this as a solution to the long-time needs of Kager Village.

In summary, I see the Jubilee Village Project bringing life after death for Kager Village.

May God bless the Jubilee Village Project and make their mission and commitment to Kager Village a reality.


Bishop Christopher Kayando
November 19, 2008


FROM DAVID KAYANDO, JUBILEE VILLAGE LEAD CHAMPION


It is with a humble spirit and contrite heart that I am able to share with you what the Jubilee Village Project means to Kager Village.

I have been living in Kager since my childhood, and over the years I have known what life is for people in Kager Village. Being brought up in a Christian family and nurtured in Christian Faith and Values, I have so much been inspired by the life of Jesus to the poor, the sick and those in need. As I grow up to adulthood, the heart of sympathy, care and love has gripped my heart and made me captive.

The Christian Faith I was brought up with, so much influenced what I am and doing today. I entered into full time Ministry as a preacher immediately after my ‘O’ level education, and whenever I have worked, I have known one major and dominant challenge to our work and the village, POVERTY.

God in his kindness and goodness has been with the village of Kager for many years. The message of salvation has transformed the hearts of many people and I am certain that this has been an oasis of hope for this village.

Even though poverty has continued to suppress and have a firm hold over this village, the hope that comes by having faith in God’s word has sustained Kager.

As a child of God, and now God’s servant, I have always encouraged the village in having trust in God to provide, but inside my heart, I have always shed tears of pain when I see children grow up knowing nothing about good health, good nutrition, clean water, shelter, clothing, poor education and completely having no hope.

Another point that has pricked my heart is the spirit of selfishness that I have seen in our local governors who have an access to bring help but have marginalized Kager, and also people who are in position to bring back hope to the community but have become selfish.

My prayer for several years now, is that God would bring hope to Kager Village through the Church and use ordinary people to bring meaningful transformation to the village.

My connection with Ned Campbell and hence with the Jubilee Village Project is absolutely divine. I have not doubt that JVP is my answered prayer for my Village Kager and eventually an answered prayer to the cries of little children who have cried for food when they are hungry and cannot get it and the children who have cried for health when they are sick. JVP is a solution to the women who have borne the family burdens of bringing water on their backs for long distances, fetch firewood for family energy.

JVP is a solution to the Kager men to inspire and motivate them to work so that they are able to provide for their families, so that they will no longer face the upsurge of their own sons becoming juvenile and indulging in bad practices and blaming them for not being able to educate them and provide for them.

Jubilee Village Project is a solution and an empowerment tool to the churches in Kager Village to let them know that they have a responsibility and a mission to fulfill, not only in providing spiritual food, but also by showing love, and being able to practically reach out to the Villagers.

JVP is a solution to the local authority whom I know will as well be inspired and know the love and care of Christ. Many people in Kager Village have responded so positively with the mission of JVP. They are seeing JVP as an oasis of hope to fight poverty in their village.

One inspiring thing about JVP is its open and selfless leaders, who are ready to face the enormous challenges (THE GOLIATHS) of our village with no resource at hand but trusting in God. During the visit of partners from Indianapolis by Ned Campbell, John Cory and Craig Hanson, they made the vision clear, and had no difficulty in presenting their mission, and this was like a writing on the wall that better things are on the way for Kager Village, when they hope and trust in God.

My special appeal to everyone who reads this essay, is that God has put you in that place where you are to bring a difference to the Villagers of Kager.

The best way to do this, is to support the work of JVP by giving financial donation and become apart of the movement which has a strong current of the River flowing with the message of holistic Transformation to Kager Village.

May God give strength to your hands and joy to your heart to become an Ambassador of Kager Village through the Jubilee Village Project. With your love, prayers and donations to JVP, the children born in this era of JVP in Kager Village will have a testimony of God’s love and care to them. And the story will be re-told for the generations to come.

“Greater Love has no man than this that a man lays down his life for his friends”

God’s blessings

David Kayando
Evangelist and Kager Mission Dispensary Administrator
November 19, 2008

HOUSEHOLD SMOKE - A DEADLY KILLER

One of the things we learned most during our time in Kager was the amount of time and energy that the women of the children spend gathering water and wood fuels, and then more time preparing fires and foods. There is little to no food storage, and usually meals are made one-at-a-time. I think "leftovers" are a by-product of electricity and refrigeration -- something that most of us probably don't even stop to think about.



We also learned firsthand what it meant to have open cooking fires in the house (which most homes do) -- smoke is always served as an "appetizer" for any meal, and there is always plenty to go around. I had observed this before on my mission trips, but it really took living in a home in the village for four days to really realize what a challenge it is to be a "house wife" in the developing world.


In my recent research on the effects of "household smoke", here is what I learned from the World Health Organization website (http://www.who.int/indoorair/en/ ) and a few others:

• 3 billion people depend on solid and biomass fuels today (wood, charcoal, dung, agricultural residues) for their energy needs


• Most of these 3 billion use open fires or traditional stoves, which produce particulate pollution levels 20 times higher than WHO guidelines


• Indoor air pollution is responsible for 2.3% of the global burden disease


• Indoor smoke leads to the deaths of over 1.5 million annually -- MORE THAN THAT CAUSED BY MALARIA


• A child exposed to household smoke is 2 to 3 more likely to catch pneumonia, which is one of the leading killers of young children


• Indoor smoke is fourth greatest risk to death and disease in the poorest countries


• Women spend 3 to 7 hours a day by the fire, giving them the most exposure to this deadly killer


• Smoke produced from indoor cooking is equivalent to smoking to packs of cigarettes a day

I also found this really interesting graphic that does a pretty good job of showing just what effect the use of solid and bio fuels has on the average household in the poorest countries (from WHO website): it affects incomes, health, women's productivity and the environment. It has really started us to think that one of the most transformational projects we might embark on is to "modernize the kitchens" of Kager to take advantage of already avaiable technologies: higher efficient stoves, smoke and fume hoods, and food canning. Through a series of e-mails with Brother Kayando, we have asked him to make an appreciative inquiry of the women in his village and see what the level of interest they would have in such an initiative. One of our ideas is to set up a "demonstration kitchen" in the building we have now designated as the "Jubilee Centre" (it is the old unused church building in the village).

A couple of things I like most about this initiative are 1) it can impact every household 2) it will be very empowering and energizing to the women of the community 3) it can use solutions and products that already exist in Kenya (Kisumu) and 4) it provides the potential to create jobs down the road, too.

Tonight, as I open my food pantry and refrigerator to get my stored food, fire them up on both my gas range and my microwave, use the clean running water from our faucet, and sit down and have a quiet meal under our dining room light, I will be sure to thank God for the blessings of modern technology that has made my life easier and more productive.

Ned

VISION TRIP "WORD CLOUD"

This was created from my blog diary from our
Kager Vision Trip using www.wordle.net

JUBILEE VILLAGE PROJECT AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

As we have developed our vision for the Jubilee Village Project, I’ve been learning more and more about both Christian holistic mission work and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) anti-poverty efforts. Through this research, I’ve learned more about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations Development Programme developed throughout the 1990s and ratified by 189 nations (including the United States) in September 2000. The MDGs are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges around ending extreme world hunger poverty. The 8 MDGs are broken down into 21 quantifiable Targets that are measured by 60 Indicators.

At the highest level, here are the eight MDGs:

* Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
* Achieve universal primary education
* Promote gender equality and empower women
* Reduce child mortality
* Improve maternal health
* Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
* Ensure environmental stability
* Develop a global partnership for development

Here is a link to the UNDP website and the MDGs: http://www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml


What I have found most interesting and most alarming in my research: ALMOST NO CHRISTIAN MISSION ORGANIZATIONS ARE AWARE OF THE MDGs!!!

If we are to be salt and light to a lost world, shouldn’t we understand what the leaders of the world powers think is important? What if the Christian Church were to take a LEADERSHIP ROLE in helping achieve the MDGs in thousands of villages around the world? Do you think the world might notice?

As I read these MDGs for the first time, my heart jumped for joy. As we have laid out the vision and the 8 holistic solution areas for the Jubilee Village Project, I see them being completely aligned with these MDGs.

But something is missing in the MDGs…LOVE and RELATIONSHIPS…and that is what is at the center of the Jubilee Village Project. The loving ministry of Jesus…lived out by God’s children by helping, healing, feeding, equipping, empowering and encouraging a village to transform itself. Not just by words, but by actions.

Will the Church wake up and see the opportunity that lies before us?
What if affluent Christians around the world made the MDGs their own personal goals?
The world is telling us they need help…will we help them?

At the Monterrey Financing for Development Conference in 2002, world leaders pledged to “make concrete efforts toward the target of 0.7% of their GNP in international aid. That would amount to almost $200 billion in aid each year.

What would happen if affluent Christians around the world were to make a “Jubilee Pledge” – to commit 1/50 of their annual income (2%) to help end poverty and suffering around the world:

- If 50 million Christians make $60,000 / year,
- That is a combined annual income of $3.0 trillion
- 2% of $3 trillion is $60,000,000,000…$60 billion!

That’s almost 1/3 of what the UN thinks it will take to end extreme hunger and poverty around the world

What would the world’s response be? Would God be glorified? Would the Name of Jesus be lifted high, even by those that don’t know Him?

Okay, maybe I’m a dreamer…it’ll probably never happen…but what if it did?

What if 50 Christians decided to do this for a single village…a village named Kager?

- 50 Christians contributing $100 / month ($1,200 / year)
- That’s $60,000 / year to be able to dream and deploy
- $300,000 over 5 years!

Let’s start praying right now for 50 bold Christians.

50 bold Christians who are willing to sacrifice their comforts to Change the World…One Village at a Time.

REFLECTIONS ON THE RIVER

It’s been two weeks since we returned from our first “field trip” to Kager village. We are still processing all we saw and we learned – but we see God flowing in our lives and moving us ahead in our journey.

The last night we were in Kager, we had the opportunity to meet with the church elders of the Kager Vision Centre (the name of their church) and share our vision for the Jubilee Village Project. As we shared the vision, I used the analogy of a River to relate the spiritual journey we feel the Lord had put us on and brought us to their village in the middle of Africa, far away from our homes and comforts of the northside of Indianapolis.

This River has been flowing for centuries through the village called Kager, and we were just joining it.

That we (Craig, John and I) were not the River, but just small Streams that God had directed to join the River. That both the River and the Streams have the same Source…God. And that God had ordained us to come together. That we were now in the River with them, and we were excited to see where the River is going. That God already knows the Destination of the River…the Direction it is flowing…and the Obstacles it will encounter.

We asked them to begin praying for the River…for wisdom and discernment to navigate the flows and the currents of the River…for other Streams that are already flowing that need to join the River…for other people for God to touch and inspire to join us in the River.

We know to accomplish the vision of the Jubilee Village Project it will take years…decades…lifetimes. But we also know that unless we get in the River, we will never discover where the River is flowing.

With all that as a backdrop, we are getting in the River. In the next month, we are going to firm up definitive projects to embark on in the next year:

* A microloan program to bring much needed working capital to the people of Kager to
expandtheir small person-centered enterprises (the loans will be less than $100 each)
* Building improvements for the to the public primary school (the school has no windows, dirt
floors and a leaking roof)
* Text books and resources for the village’s schools (they are lacking such basic resources as
chalk and paper)
* A farmer’s cooperative to let them share and work together to pilot new solutions in irrigation,
horticulture, planting, crop rotation, etc. (with 80% of the village being farmers, we know that
improving farming yields will have the greatest impact on the community’s economic
transformation)
* A community training and resource center for health education and economic development
programs (sewing, canning, etc.)
* Building improvements for the church (including plastering the walls, adding more seats, and
building a Christian resource library)
* Electricity and a satellite wireless network for the entire village

It is exciting to be in the River…to having joined the River…to be with God in the River.

Do we know exactly where the River is headed?
Do we know what lies ahead of us in the River?
Do we know who will join us in the River?

No – but that is part of the adventure of being in the River.

But we know this about the River…God is its Source…and God is its Destination…and God is its Power.

READ CRAIG HANSON'S TRIP JOURNAL

Here is the link for Craig Hanson's Kenya Mission Trip Journal. It is great reading with lots of great insights and pictures (there are 3 pages)

http://kenyatrip.tumblr.com/page/3

Ned

POVERTY NOW HAS A NAME (Day 9)

As I fly home from Kenya, passing over Paris and watching “Almost Famous” on my little 4 x 5 in-flight movie screen, an incredible wave of emotion floods through me…a wave that leaves me knowing the last 8 days has changed my life forever.



Poverty is no longer a set of statistics, no longer a face without a name, no longer something I have seen but not really understood. The last days have changed my understanding of Poverty.

Poverty now has a home. Poverty now has a family. This week, I met Poverty in person.


Poverty is the first wife of three and the co-wife of 21 co-children. Poverty has a broad smile and hardened hands…and her name is Karin.

Poverty is his fields by daybreak. Poverty works all day. Poverty is not lazy. Poverty does not get to rest…and his name is John.

Poverty leads worship at her church. Poverty has a beautiful African voice and her tongue praises the same God as mine...and her name is Eunice.

Poverty pastors a church. Poverty knows the love of Jesus, but Poverty needs to see the love of Jesus demonstrated by His people. …and his name is Peter.

Poverty carries water 4 kilometers and grows pineapple in fields of rock. Poverty helps others in her community…and her name is Helen.

Kager did not choose Poverty…Poverty chose Kager.

I have met Poverty. I have worshiped with Poverty. I have prayed for Poverty. I have hugged Poverty. Poverty has looked across the dirt floor of her house, looked deep into my eyes, and asked “How can you help me?”

As our wheels touch down at Heathrow, I know something profound has occurred in my life. While this leg of my journey is over, I know another journey is just beginning.

A journey that will take me many times to Kager. A journey that will take a lifetime. A journey that will require greater sacrifice.

My life has been changed forever.

Poverty now has a name…and her name is Kager.

Ned

CONFRONTATION AT JOMO KENYATTA (Day 8)

After the boys dropped me off at Jomo Kenyatta (Nairobi airport), I had a couple of hours to kill until my flight left for Heathrow. I cruised every single African sculpture shop (there must be 20) and saw a lot of carved elephants and Masii warriors, but nothing that caught my eye. My travel tradition is to buy a snowglobe for Rebekah (yes, they have snowglobes in Kenya) and a sloppy t-shirt for Alexa (Java Nairobi Coffee / Red / Small). I sat in the Java Coffee House and watched a meaningless football (soccer) match on TV and drank my last two Crests (bitter lemon drink made by Coca Cola of Kenya).

I decided to wander down toward my gate and was making my way down the crowded concourse when I heard an English-accented voice say behind me, “Jesus is King?” I turned around and expected to find a smiling face, but instead found a man with his wife and baby – and he wasn’t smiling. He approached me and fired away at me, “Your t-shirt says ‘Jesus is King’ as if it is some sort of fact, but it's no fact at all.” He continued railing on me, pressing me to provide him the facts of my t-shirt’s claim.

Needless to say, I was a little taken aback by his attack. But I felt God whispering to me and reminding me what I had taught on earlier in the week at Kager, “Show this man My love.” I told him Jesus was my King, and that I accepted this claim as a matter of faith, not because it was a proven fact. Unconvinced and still armed, he continued his assault and asked me if I was going to try to convert him. All I could do was smile and tell him “Man, God is the only one changes a man’s heart.”

And with that he smiled and put out his hand and said, “It’s good to meet you brother, my name’s Errol Jacobs and I’m a pastor from England.” And I smiled, too (and let out a small sigh of relief). We went on to have a great discussion about missions (they had served as missionaries in upstate New York) and they invited me to come speak at their church if I ever made it to Essex, England.

As we parted ways, the words of Romans 1:16 came to my mind, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone that believes.” It was a good reminder of how God arranges divine appointments, even in faraway airports. I really appreciated the way Errol had put my faith to the test -- and I was glad I had passed the test.

Ned

JOINING THE RIVER (Day 8)

The last two days have served as real confirmation that God has called us to the Kager village for a reason and a purpose – that this week we joined a River called Kager. A River that’s been flowing for hundreds of years -- long before we arrived. A River that God is guiding – and He’s guided us to join it. A River of faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love.

Tuesday afternoon we had the opportunity to meet with the headmaster of the Daypsring Academy (the local private primary school) and all of the teachers of the God Kado Primary School (the local public school for grades 1 to 8). Our discussions were wide ranging, engaging and thought provoking – they made me realize that regardless of location, good education is always undermined by the presence of hunger, broken families, undisciplined children and hopelessness. It is very evident in talking to the children, parents and community in Kager, that a very high value is placed on education in Kenya. In Kager, they face even greater challenges: poor facilities (no electricity, leaking roofs), inadequate staff (if they are paid at all, teachers make just over US$ 200 / month), increasing orphan rates (due to parents dying from HIV/AIDS) and lack of basic resources (chalk, textbooks).

Before the Tuesday night church service, John, Craig and I had the opportunity to meet and dialogue with the local church leaders of the Kager Vision Centre. We shared with them what we had learned the last 3 days as we lived with and talked to the people in Kager. We shared with them our vision for the Jubilee Village Project and the essential nature of their leadership and involvement in leading the church-centered transformation of their community. We agreed the community’s greatest needs / opportunities centered on bringing electricity to the village, improving water supply and irrigation, increasing farming output and securing food supply, educating the children and building new micro-enterprises. It was a very humbling moment as they invited us to become part of their community and called us their friends and partners. Bishop Christopher closed our evening together, reminding us we have to trust God to provide and guide our next steps.

That evening we joined about 100 people from the village in a night of celebration of praise. John and Craig were able to share words of encouragement with the people (with John reminding them that one of the fruits of the Spirit is “patience”) and I taught from Romans 12 and was able to invite people to receive Christ. It was so cool for us to be able to look out and see the smiling faces of people in whose homes we had visited and in whose fields we had walked and talked. Three days ago they were strangers – now they were friends.

As we said our good-byes to the Kayando family and other villagers who had stopped by to give us their good wishes, it was a nice feeling to know this is not the last time we will be in Kager. Unlike many mission trips where no one ever seems to return, I am convinced we are just getting started. We are leaving Kager much richer men – richer in knowledge, but more importantly, richer in friendship. We came to Kager and to Kenya with the goals of learning and building lasting relationships – and with God’s grace and provision, we have succeeded in doing this.

John 15:16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” Our parting prayer is that the seeds of fellowship and love we planted this week in Kager will grow and bear much fruit in the years to come.

Glory be to God.

Ned

DAILY VILLAGE LIFE (Day 7)

We are staying at the house of Christopher and Gladys Kayando, and it is probably one of the nicest equipped houses in the community:

• 3 bedrooms with a family room, dining area and kitchen (probably under 1,000 sq ft in total)
• Diesel generator that they use sparingly to light the house (my guess is they have used it more since we have been here)
• Three types of stoves: a gas powered stove that sits on top of a propane gas cylinder, a charcoal “jiko” stove, a traditional outdoor 3-rock stove
• Large 5,000 liter tanks to catch rain water, reducing the daily grind of going to the water bore hole
• Two hole latrine with bathing stall (we had our own “guest” hole)

We definitely lived the “easy life” while we were in Kager, as Carolyne (David’s wife) and Gladys (Christopher’s wife) cooked all of our meals, made sure we had warm water to wash ourselves each morning and took great care of us.

Living in the rural African village is hard – without the modern conveniences of running water, electricity and refrigeration, much of the day is spent each day doing the very same routine:

• Getting water from a borehole well, a pond or from any rainwater captured the night before (some have to walk up to 3 kilometers many times a day as there are only two wells in the community)
• Gathering firewood or buying charcoal at the local market (or from a neighborhood that makes and sells charcoal for income)
• Boiling water (although a large percentage of the people do not practice this as it is so fuel and time intensive)
• Getting corn ground at a local posho mill to make the day’s “ugali” (a cornmeal mush eaten at every meal)
• Walking to the market (the nearest one is about 4 kilometers) to buy fresh vegetables, meat and other goods (very little food is stored due to lack of refrigeration and lots of rodents and bugs)
• Ironing the day’s clothes with a coal-powered iron (the Kenyan people take great pride in their appearance)
• Milking the goats or a cow (most own goats, few own cows) for the day's milk
• Taking livestock to get water and graze (often at the same pond where they got the day’s water)
• Tending and watering crops, which is usually done early in the morning or in late afternoon



By the end of just four short days in the village, I had gained an unbelievable appreciation for a few of my favorite modern conveniences:

• Instantaneous hot water
• Ice cubes and a cold drink
• A toilet to sit on
• Internet connection (I didn’t miss TV at all)
• Smooth asphalt roads
• A big thick quilted mattress

Having said all of this, though, it is clear that we were sheltered from the life that many people live every day in Kager: hungry, sick from malaria and typhoid, orphaned and widowed from the HIV/AIDS scourge. As we made our home visits, we encountered these situations and they were heartbreaking – but they confirmed why God has called us to the village of Kager.

A BIG DAM WASTE (Day 7)

Standing atop the high rock ridge that bisects the Kager community, I can look to the north and see the largest body of water in the area (about the size of a really large retention pond in a large US subdivision). It appears to be a man-made dam that has formed a pond, about 2-3 kilometers from Kager. No one in Kager knows much about it, so we decided we would take the pickup and check it out.

We drove to the next village, Ngulu, which is just up the road from Kager. After asking a couple of locals, we finally found someone to direct us down a dirt path where we were told we would find the dam at the end of the path. We could tell from the deep tracks in the path that some large equipment had been down the same path some months earlier. Finally, about a half mile later, we broke into a cleared area with the pond before us.

It was obviously man-made, a large earthen dam at one end and small berms on two opposite sides. It lay in the middle of a very small valley and a very small creek flowed into it from the east. Some cattle were drinking from the east shore and several women were doing their laundry nearby, a small boy was filling his jerry can from the pond.

As we walked around the pond, a man and his friends came to meet us. He introduced himself as Ernest Tiko Olik, a local farmer with two wives and four children. He shared he was one of two men recently trained from the local Homa Bay district at the Polytechnical Agricultural School at Mombasa. He shared with us the dam was called the Otit Dam (otit is a type of firefly) and it had been built less than 5 months ago as a joint project between the Kenyan government and an anti-poverty NGO (whose name escapes me).

We shared with him our surprise to see no fields being irrigated from the pond, that the dam’s earth walls were beginning to erode because nothing had been planted on them, and that livestock had open access to the pond and it was already showing the ill-effects of contamination. Ernest explained to us there had been little invitation for the local community to be involved with the project, and the one farm that was to serve as a model farm had given up on demonstrating the use of irrigation from the pond. He shared that most people in the community don’t understand how the pond is expected to be used and managed. There had been no training of the community as to how it could benefit them.

Ernest thought intentions behind the pond were good, but it had failed to bring about the intended benefits due to almost no communication, low community involvement and poor execution. It was clear that unless something changes in the near future, the pond would soon be fully contaminated by livestock and would eventually just erode away, too.

Unfortunately, Kenya is littered with projects of this type – ones that are started but not finished, ones that are done to the community, not with the community. Lots of time and lots of money spent, but in the end, no real long-term transformation.

That night after dinner, we had the opportunity to discuss with the Kager church leaders the vision for the Jubilee Village Project – that it be church-centered, holistic and sustainable. That we had no interest in building another Otit Dam -- that without the church leading the Kager community in its own transformation, we would be destined to fail. It was a great night of sharing our hearts and seeing the Kager church leaders “get it” – that we are there to help and support them, not tell them what needs to be done.

Together, we were all reminded of what the Bible teaches of the Body having many gifts and its members having many roles – how awesome it is going to be to see how God uses all of us to accomplish His plans for the village of Kager

To God be the Glory.

Ned

THE XX FACTOR (Day 6)

During my home visits on Monday, I met one of the true strengths of the village – I will call it the XX Factor – the hard-working and enterprising women of the Kager community. Assisted by David K. during my home visits, I was able to make an appreciative inquiry of many women in the village by asking a few simple questions:

Can you tell me about your family?
What makes up your daily and weekly routine?
What gives you joy?
What are your biggest challenges?
How could the Jubilee Village Project best help you?

During my visits, I learned of the prevalence of polygamy in the region. This has resulted in very large families which give rise to economic and housing hardships. Below are some of what I learned from my home visits and profiles of a few of the wonderful people I was blessed to meet.


Kerina
“My name is Kerina and I have one daughter that lives alone with me. The joy of my life is seeing the fruits of my hard work and to be productive. As a farmer, I raise maize, ground nuts and beans. My typical day is working in my fields from 6 to 11, coming home for lunch and housework from 11 to 5, returning to my fields from 5 to 7 and then having dinner after that. Farming is the backbone of Kager, so any help in farming will lift up the entire village. I gather water 7 times a day and my work is very hard. My joints are sore very often and I sometimes have headaches from carrying loads on my head. We can be helped by having access to better seeds, fertilizers and equipment. Although I have access to an ox, I do not have a plough, so I have to do all my field work by hand.”


Rose
“My husband is a pastor and we have nine children. Because he is a pastor and has no income, we rely on two ways of making income: creating and selling charcoal from sticks and making and weaving sissel ropes. I am part of a woman’s merry-go-round where 15 of us put in 100 schillings each week and one of us gets to take home 1,500 each week – I have two positions on this merry-go-round and it helps me save money for clothes and other things for my family. I am a good business person and if I had access to more money, I could grow my income. Today, I buy oranges from other villagers and resell them in the city of Kisii (Rose walks to Kisii which is 28 kilometers away). While at Kisii, I buy sweet potatoes and cabbages and bring them back to sell them at a profit to other villagers. If I were able to get a loan for 5,000 schillings ($77), I would be able to buy more oranges and pineapples to sell them in Kisii and make my trips more profitable.”




Karin and Eunice
“Our names are Eunice and Karin and we are the first and second (of three) wives of our family. Together, we have 21 children and are primarily farmers while our husband works in the city. We raise pineapples, but we have a need to be educated to know how to grow them much better. We have a huge need for water as our nearest well is over 30 minutes away. We must make three trips a day and we do all we can do to capture rain water, but in the dry season we are desperate. We farm many pineapples, but we know with more water and farming equipment we could be growing much more. We are also not able to send all of our children to school because we can not afford the fees. We are interested to know how Jubilee can help the poorest people get their children to school.”


Jen (and Elida)
“I work with 2 other women and we grow and sell pineapple, watermelon and butternut (squash) in the city (Kisumu) where we get much better prices. We borrowed 10,000 schillings from the Kenya Women’s Trust Fund for the first time this last season. We had to provide 1,000 schillings down payment and pay back 12,000 at end of the season (the effective interest rate on the loan was close to 40%). After paying for the produce, paying the pickup transportation fees and paying the loan back, we were able to make about 2,000 schillings ($31) each. It would be great if we could get more training on how to grow crops and also be able to get bigger loans so we could buy and sell more and different goods.”

FARMER JOHN AND PASTOR PETER (Day 6)

On my early morning walkabout, I had occasion to meet two local farmers tending their fields. Most farmers are in their fields by 7 am and work until about 10:30 or so to avoid the mid-day heat. They then return to their fields in the evening to finish their work.

I met Farmer John Ogengo as he was carrying three jugs of water to his fields just south of the Kayando homestead. He greeted me with a big smile and explained he was watering his newly planted cabbage, as he does every morning.

John was proud to show me his many plantings, including maize (corn), peppers, bananas, beans, potatoes and tomatoes. He practices composting (with manure from his cows and goats) and crop rotation, and has just started experimenting growing sugar cane.

John primarily uses his crops to feed his family, but also uses them to pay the school fees for his children (he has 4 boys and 3 girls). It takes him ten wheelbarrow loads of 3 jugs each day just to water his cabbage, and he says he would benefit greatly from a better constructed water catchment pond, a MoneyMaker Pump and more fertilizer.

Not far down the path, Pastor Peter invited me into his fields to see the crops he was farming. Peter is a part-time farmer (4 days a week) and then goes away for 3 days a week to the nearby town of Ryondi, where he serves as the pastor of a small church. He showed me how he uses the native hand hoe to work in the field, to create planting rows and to dig out weeds. He primarily farms maize and pili pili (also known as a birdseye pepper).

Pili pili is incredibly time intensive to farm, as they are only about 1 inch long and have to be picked individually. I learned a real productive plant can produce 300 or so peppers. After they are picked, they are dried in the sun, packaged in large bags and sold to middlemen that then sell them to food processors in the cities. Peter shared with me they had started a pili pili farmers co-op in Kager and they were aggregating their production and selling their crops together to attain better pricing.

The pili pili is small, but POWERFUL. I accidentally crushed one of the peppers and wiped it on my cheek – it burned pretty good. Despite my best efforts of wiping it off, it kept burning for about an hour (I later learned they are rated at about 175,000 Scoville Heat Units). The pili pili is so hot, they don’t allow children to pick them.

What I learned through my discussions with farmers like John and Peter is the local farmers are willing and wanting to learn best farming practices and are interested in forming other farmer’s co-op groups. Their greatest needs as farmers are: 1) irrigation and the ability to water their plants 2) high-yielding seeds 3) equipment to reduce the time it take to develop and turn over fields 4) farming and crop education, and 5) transportation to faraway markets where they can obtain better pricing, and 6) marketing and distribution methods to obtain better pricing for their crops.

Thank God for farmers like Farmer John and Pastor Peter who help feed their villages and the lifeblood to the African economy.

(Trip Prologue: Every day I was in Kager, Farmer John was always the first farmer I would see in the morning. He would greet me with hands raised in the air, a great big smile and welcome me to join him in his fields and talk. David K. shared with me that John is not a believer, but both nights we had church service, he came and participated. Before I left, he asked that I correspond with him and told me he looked forward to our next visit. My prayer is as we advance the Jubilee Village Project, I will continue to have opportunities to share the good news of Jesus in both words and deeds with men like Farmer John in the Kager community. Praise God!)


Ned

STEALING DIGNITY (Day 6)

I woke up early this morning and took off down Rangwe Road, which connects Kager to the market community of Rangwe and the main road to Homa Bay. At 6:30 am, there are already kids making their way to school, bicycles with heavy loads travelling to Homa Bay (24 kilometres away) and herdsmen taking their few cattle for water.

As I walked along the rocky and rutty road, an older woman approached me carrying a package on her head. With the early morning sun warming the day, it was a perfect Kodak moment. I pulled her into focus and let go a steady click of pictures as she walked toward me. As she neared me, I dropped my camera and greeted her with “Ruoth Opaki” (Praise the Lord) and extended my hand in friendship. She shared with me her big smile and clasped my hand in friendship. In my brief time in Kenya, I have found the people to be so friendly and always open to sharing fellowship.

I motioned to my camera and gestured as if it was okay for me to take her picture. This kind old lady smiled and I stepped back and took a close up of her, the early morning sun illuminating her smile. I shook her hand and said “Asante” and began to walk away – I had gotten what I wanted.

But as I walked away, this little old lady began speaking to me in her native Luo tongue with much animation and a lot of hand gesturing. I had no idea what she was saying, but I could tell she was telling me something that was very important to her. Fortunately, a man was passing by on a bicycle and he saw the exchange going on. He stopped and share with me what she was saying,

“Please give me some small coin” – she was asking me for a token payment – which is customary in Kenya when you take a picture of someone you don’t know. I searched my pockets and had none. Empty handed, I asked the man to share with her I had nothing to share. She said a couple of more words and turned from me and resumed her journey down the road.

As I turned to go on my way, I was struck with great conviction that I had committed my first sin of the day – I had stolen this old lady’s dignity. I had taken from her the only thing she could give – her time and her smile – and I had given her nothing in return. From a woman who had so little to offer, I had taken the one thing she could offer. And from a man who had blessed with so much, I was unprepared to give her anything back.

It was a terrible feeling and a humbling lesson from the Lord. In my brief encounter with this kind lady, I learned an incredible lesson. Too often, in our exchange of doing mission work, we are insensitive to the native traditions and see things from our perspective only.

As I walked away that morning, I prayed to God to forgive me and to cover my offense in stealing dignity from this lady. I prayed in my remaining days in Kenya, He would show me how to treat the people of Kager with respect and love, and in a way that brings Him honor and glory.

Ruoth Opaki.

Ned

WORSHIPING IN LUO (Day 5)

I must confess this was the most grueling day of our trip…and the one where I really had to walk in God’s strength and none of my own. Before we started our trip, David K. has asked if I would deliver God’s Word and a message of encouragement at two churches on Sunday. This was the hardest part of preparation for this trip, far worse than getting shots and far worse than travelling for 24 hours half-way around the world.

How do I preach a sermon (I’ve never preached before)? How do I preach to people I don’t know? In a culture I know little about? And frankly, to people I share very little in common? For the two weeks leading up to the trip, I had studied Scriptures in Mark, Romans and Hebrews looking for a message, but one never appeared. I had lots of notes, but nothing to say.
So last night, after turning in early around 9, I spent a sleepless night praying to God and asking for a message He would have me share with His children in Kenya.

While I never heard the voice of God, two things led me to John 15. First, when we were at AMPATH yesterday, one of the farmers talked about grafting scions (branches) to root stock (vines) to create better and stronger plants. Second, at dinner Saturday night, David K. shared with us his personal call to ministry and quoted from John 15:15, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” So with that small whisper from God, I spent the rest of the night studying and preparing a message to share from John 15.

We worshiped Sunday morning at a new church that meets at the Kisumu YMCA. Although there were only 40 people in attendance, there was plenty of Spirit flowing. There were times of unbridled and uncoordinated praise and worship by the people, a far cry from the well-rehearsed and well-controlled service I am used to back home in Indiana. The Yamaha keyboard and the Peavey amp were the extent of the electronics...no big screens, no Powerpoints…it was loud, it was raw, and it was real.

After church, we picked up Craig Hanson at the Kisumu Airport and we made our 2-1/2 hour trip to Kager village. It was so cool to finally see the village God had planted in our hearts one year ago. Reflecting on John 15, it was as if God had finally grafted his new branches from Indianapolis, USA to the old vine He has had growing for centuries in Kager, Kenya.

That night, under the hum of a diesel generator and four fluorescent lights, the church had come together at the Kager Vision Centre to welcome us to their village and to ask us to share the Word of God with them. From 8:30 to 10:30 pm, we worshiped in Luo (the native language of Kager) and they accommodated us with an occasional song in English.

Just as in the morning service, I shared a message from John 15 with the help of a translating preacher (which I am sure they helped fill in the gaps in my message). I felt the Spirit’s power as I shared God’s Word with His people of Kager, amazed that God had allowed me to travel half-way around the world to share His love with these people.

I was awestruck by universality and relevance of God’s message to all men, regardless of the tongue we speak, the continent we live in, or the community we call home. In John 15:14-16, Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” I shared with my Christian brothers and sisters that we had to come to their village because we had felt God’s choosing and call in our lives. God gives all men two choices: to choose God and to choose good. It was our prayer that in the coming days, we could become their friends and help find ways we could help the village of Kager bear new fruit – fruit that would last for them and their children.

It’s truly humbling to know God has called us to do His work in His village called Kager, and even more exciting to live in and learn more about Kager and to make new friends.

In Him,

Ned

MORE RESEARCH IN KAKAMEGA (Day 4)

After a night of 8 or 9 thirty-minute naps, a blissful hot shower and a bowl of cornflakes, our driver arrived at 7am to take us south two hours to Kakamega to visit the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). The road to Kakamega is a well-travelled tarmac road with lots and lots of truck traffic. The tire grooves in the road were sometimes 3 to 4 inches deep and speeds were moderated by occasional speed bumps.

The countryside we travelled through was beautiful: rolling hills with volcanic outcroppings, small houses dotting the hills and small farms in the valleys and flatlands. The rural areas appear to be so much poorer than what we saw in Eldoret: children with no shoes, houses with no electricity and lots of women and children carrying water jugs and firewood. Every ten or fifteen minutes we would pass through small towns with roadside markets for food, clothes, firewood and other basic living necessities.

At KARI-Kakamega, we were greeted by the Centre Director, Dr. Francis Muyekho, and we met with him and seven of his staff for three hours. It was such a joy at the beginning of the meeting when they asked we open in prayer. There was shared rejoicing to know that God had brought some of His children together to fellowship and share ideas to help the poor of Kenya. Each of his staff shared what they were doing in areas of agricultural research in such areas as maize, legumes, roots and tubers, horticulture and food processing.

We learned so much about the lack of farm management and food marketing practices, and the extreme challenges village farmers face in just eking out enough food to feed their families. Simple things we take for granted like good seeds, storage bins and fertilizers are challenges that make their crop yields only achieve about 20% of their potential and force them to sell their crops when prices are lowest. We also learned the western region that KARI serves (which the village of Kager is in) is one of the poorest in Kenya, with only 3% formally employed, 8% informally employed and the remaining 89% either subsistent village farmers or completely unemployed.

We also learned of a couple organizations that might be potential partners: C-MAD (Community Mobilization Against Desertification) and CARPA (Christian Agricultural Related Professional Association). Rhoda Nungo, invited us to her home where she demonstrated an Energy Saving Stove and a Fireless Cooker, both solutions to significantly reduce the amount of firewood used for basic cooking.

We then travelled on with our driver, Amos, to the city of Kisumu. The 90-minute trip was slow-going and a real kidney buster, as the road we were on was a mixture of pavement, dirt, potholes, ruts and ridges. Kisumu is located on the shores of Lake Victoria, the 3rd largest city in Kenya and a commercial center for the western region.

After checking in and a short nap at St. Anna Guest House, our long-awaited meeting with David Kayando finally happened. It was a real joy to shake David’s hand and give him a holy hug after almost one year of exchanging e-mails and dreaming together about the Jubilee Village Project. It is truly amazing to see how God has weaved David and my hearts and lives together to get us to this point in our journey.

John, David and I had dinner together and a great time of fellowship. We learned more about Kager village (and how to pronounce it the correct way: kă-GĕR) and David’s role as an apostle and church planter. We also learned that David’s father, Bishop Christopher Kayand0, is the spiritual leader of a Kenyan denomination and travels all across Kenya in this role.

Both John and I continue to receive great encouragement from the people that God is allowing us to meet and the relationships we are being able to build. We are so thankful we made the decision to spend time in Eldoret and Kakamega – they are doing some great work at both places and we hope we might be successful in building a bridge for these solutions to work in Kager village.

Asante (thank you) Abba Father.

Ned

LEARNING IN ELDORET (Day 3)

We were up at the crack of dawn yesterday -- it seems like the sun just popped out over the equatorial horizon at 6:15. By 9:00 am, we had flown to Eldoret (in northern Kenya at 7,000 ft altitude) and were picked up by Abraham Boit from AMPATH (Academic Model for for the Treatment and Prevention of HIV). AMPATH is a program initiative between Moi University and Indiana University with the goal of reversing the HIV/AIDS crisis in Kenya.

We spent half the day with Abraham and his colleagues learning about and walking through the four farms they operate to produce and distribute vegetables and fruits on a massive basis – over 10 tons per week. Through this program, they feed over 30,000 people each day with a diet that helps people fight and resist the HIV virus and the devastating affect of AIDS. Coupled with the medical care programs provided through Moi University and some 15 or so community clinics spread through northern Kenya, they are treating over 72,000 people affected by AIDS.

Although it is hard to describe these farms in words, they can be best described as HIGHLY productive farms cranking out crop after crop. John was almost giddy to see the sound farming and agronomy best practices they have in place: hybrid seed selection, composting, soil enrichment, greenhouse growing, crop rotation, leaf picking and drip irrigation. Abraham is very open to having us send farmers from Kager to take part in their 11-module program that covers high-production farming from A-to-Z. The training they have created is excellent and we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for the day. We also met Naman Nyabinda who runs AMPATH’s agricultural extension programs for village-based training and mentoring of farmers (FPI - Family Preservation Initiative).

Naomi Lundman (DePauw undergrad, Notre Dame MBA) served as our tour guide for the afternoon as we toured the town of Eldoret. We wanted to see what farming resources are available in Kenya, so we visited grocery stores, hardware stores and seed stores – the resources in Eldoret appear to be very good. The challenge for any village farmer is gaining access to these resources from both a transportation and working capital standpoint.

After a good afternoon nap at the Indiana University House at which we stayed (jet lag is probably more appropriately called “jet slam”), we had the real pleasure to have dinner (there are good Chinese restaurants in Kenya) with Dr. Joe and Sarah Mamlin (and their friend Jim who is a retired anthropologist). The Mamlins can best be described as “giants” in the HIV/AIDS global relief community and it was fascinating to hear them share about the program they helped start from scratch with Indiana / Moi Universities back in 1990 (if you google Joe Mamlin, you can read more about their work and his Noble Peace Prize nomination). It was very encouraging to share with them the vision of the Jubilee Village Project and the work we have planned for Kager – their response was that “we are spot on.” They said a grass roots, village-based model is just what is needed to complement the top-down, massive coverage model that AMPATH has developed.

It was a truly blessed day and we learned so much. We met the most open and hospitable people at AMPATH/IU/Moi, and we feel we have made new friends who welcomed up with open arms and are willing to share their resources and knowledge with us in the future.

God is good!

Ned

KAGER KENYA TRIP (Day 1 and 2)

(Slideshow at Bottom)

As I boarded the plane to start our adventure to Kenya, it was my only hope our plane would perform better than my nose diving 401-K. The flights to Chicago and London were pretty uneventful, although about ¾ of the way across the Atlantic, I started feeling in my legs thre reason why people pay so much more for Business class.

Our flight from Heathrow to Nairobi was a lot less crowded, which I was glad as it was going to be another eight hours in the air. Of all the flying I have done in my life, I have to say this was the most incredible “look out the window” experience. It was truly amazing as we crept across the top of Africa across the Saharan and Libyan Deserts. For three hours, from horizon to horizon, nothing but sand and rock -- blue, brown and blue and nothing else. The enormity of the Saharan is mind blowing. The barren desert skin is sliced open occasionally by a steppe plateau, but for the most part, it is hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of miles of sand.

From 36,000 feet, I could see great lines of sand dunes crawling across the desert floor like snakes looking for rocks to escape the brutal heat. Then out of nowhere appeared a distant pattern of honeycombs and circles carved in the sand. As we flew closer, I could see it was some sort of man-made oasis carved out of absolutely nowhere. Deep drilled wells and irrigation were obviously the source of life for this community. What it was I have no idea. It left me with a great curiosity to understand why anything would be built in the middle of the world’s largest flying pan.

As darkness set in, we proceeded to sail over the Darfur Mountains and down the Great Rift Valley, the Nile River out of site beneath us, with locations like Luxor and Aswan flashing on my headset map.

As our wheels touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International, I was glad our 24-hour trek was over. Much to my surprise and delight, we breezed through Customs and they didn’t even look inside our big blue tub containing the New Life water purifier system. We were thankful our taxi ride to the Gracia Guest House was not in our hands. After a whole day of travel, I know neither John or I were in the right state of mind to try to drive on the left-hand side, weave through the police roadblock chicanes or avoid the bicyclers and walkers on the pitch black road.

As I lay my head down last night, I couldn’t help but think about the week ahead and how much we have to learn. The thing I am most excited to learn, though, is to discover “the good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). God has been working for eternity in this little corner of His Kingdom named Kenya, and it is so exciting to join Him in His work.

"Just Far" v. "Just Near"

We received this letter from a missionary in Malawi that just began using a Basic Utility Vehicle in their ministry. It is another example of how a simple solution like a BUV can change the life of a village.

Dedza, Malawi … 09/19/2008

Our School Was “Just Far”

Our group was up to 20 and we were headed for a meeting that was described as “just near” by one of the natives. After about 30 miles on a dusty, pot-holed bush road, I asked the man beside me how in the world they could think the meeting was “just near”. He explained it this way. “In our country our people have to walk everywhere they go. Hence every place is 'just far'. But, when Americans come here they travel around the country in cars. That is very easy so we say the distance is now 'just near.' "

Therefore no matter how far you must go in Malawi, if you have a motorized vehicle “just far” turns into “just near.”

Our School is now “Just Near”

Recently this same experience became reality for the children on the farms of Mama Cecelia Kadzamira near Dedza, in the central part of the nation. It came suddenly with the arrival of a motorized Basic Utility Vehicle from the Institute for Affordable Transportation in Indianapolis, Indiana in cooperation with the Malawi Project. The day the unit arrived the distance to school changed from “just far” to “just near”.

Not only is it more convenient for the children to get to school, it is now possible to get produce to market in a timely efficient way, carry the heavy bags of maize to the maize mill, and transport sick patients to a medical facility that was nearly impossible to reach before the basic utility vehicle arrived in Malawi. The trading center is now “just near”, the hospital is “just near”, and the life of the village has taken a definite turn for the better.

When i jump in my car and go to the grocery store tomorrow to pick up a gallon of milk, I now know the store is "just near." Come to think of it, I think I'll leave my car in the garage and walk to the grocery, it's not that "just far."

Ned