Monday, February 14, 2011

Field Ministry

Why exactly is this called GREENland?
The frozen vista that is Greenland lies outside my starboard window. I reminisce with my seat mate that it looks just like the flight to Nome, Alaska. Graduate-student Sara revealed that the reason for her return to the States was because a phone call the night before indicated that her mother would have two to four weeks left on this earth as a result of breast cancer. She continues to hope for healing and we called it down upon her mother in Jesus’ name as we snuggled together in the close seats.

I feel so privileged that she and so many others entrust me with their hurts and their hopes simply because, when they ask, I tell them I am a missionary. I find that I somehow ascribed some supernatural power to missionaries that was not available to the average mortal. The expectation was higher, the accountability was higher, and the results were better. Now that I’m the one called missionary I am afraid I cannot measure up to that lofty image I’d created. I’m just a simple me. I muck things up, miss cues, and fumble for words…the right words. But those moments when people like Sara reveal the pain and seek consolation in relationship…those moments are where we find the Holy Spirit creating something beautiful.

It would most certainly be a fallacy to think that a missionary’s life is filled with only those kinds of moments. We, more than anyone, wish that were so. Instead we spend days working on the practical before we get that one moment where the presence of God reminds us why what we do as missionaries is such an amazing opportunity.

Thank you for walking with me as I seek the Spirit before setting one foot in front of the other. I’ll be back to share more in the Field Ministry Blog when I return to Africa in May.

Thank you and God bless you!
Leslie
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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Jacaranda Creations

Jacaranda Creations is a business-as-mission ministry serving women who live in the slums of Nairobi. Not only do these beautiful Kenyan women design and craft their products, but they are integral to the daily operation of the organization. They help manage the budget, train new artisans, conduct quality checks, merchandise their shop, and orchestrate both individual and group sales.

With over 65 branches around Nairobi (small groups of women in various slum locations making their crafts under the leadership of one branch manager), Jacaranda Creations is truly making a difference for Africa and for the Kingdom. Your purchase brings dignity to an impoverished woman helping her to provide for her family in a nurturing environment where her roots grow deep in Christ.

Join me in a Jacaranda Creations party where you will hear the stories of some of the Jacaranda women and have the opportunity to purchase their products (only a small selection of their work is shown in this photo, come to the party to see what else they make). I’ll plan to share more about ministry in East Africa and give you a peek at my future plans. But mostly, we’ll just catch up with old friends and hopefully make some new ones. Our time together will be informal, relational, and fun. I miss you all and can’t wait to see you again!

Saturday, March 5th
10:00 a.m.

Leslie’s House


Munga Akabariki (God Bless You!)
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Nairobi Slums

Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi with a 2009 estimated 170,000 people living there (although many estimates were as high as 1 million). The slum is about the same size as New York City’s Central Park, a place through which I’ve walked many times. No electricity, clean water, trash or sewage disposal can be found in this area. BBC did a report on the slum’s “flying toilets” that’s definitely worth reading.

Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the rampant diseases found there – cholera, typhoid, malaria – but there are few to no other options for these families. Several stories about men and women working in Nairobi reveal that these families seldom earn more than 3,000 KES ($40 USD) each month, which may be enough to put their child in school but is definitely not enough to pay for shelter. Which comes first? What would you chose?

Large organizations such as governments or corporations fail to wholly solve the problem. No one universal solution exists. What does seem to help, at least marginally, are the NGOs (nonprofit organizations) who take one bite at a time. They focus on one small project to improve one aspect of life, one issue, or one family at a time. Taken together, these NGOs are making a difference to the people trapped in the life of a slum. I think I hear Kibera calling?
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Friday, February 11, 2011

Odd Sights

Sometimes I come across things that just seem out of place or odd. Take a look.


Seems a bit risky to transport eggs on a boda.


Look carefully in the shade for the owner of those horns.

Lunchtime entertainment from Garettis.

Notice the two tires at the bottom.
This is a bicycle-riding hawker.
Need anything?

Anyone need a bed...and a barn?
Check out the thing sticking out of the bag in the back of this truck.

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New African Friends

Mosquitoes, ants, fruit flies, frogs, roaches, geckos, lake flies, and let’s not forget mice. These are just a few of my many new African friends.



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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Game Play

Most of you know how much I love to play games. I’m just a tad competitive too. You won’t be surprised to hear that I had several opportunities to play a variety of games while in Uganda.

I first started playing Moncala with Olivia before her tutoring sessions. Not only did she learn the basics of the game but she learned strategy and she learned to teach her friends how to play. Now there are a whole slew of kids in Uganda who play the game with an incomplete set of rules.







I came upon Wahabu and Joel (whose name we later discovered is actually John) playing cards. I asked what game they were playing and they said, “playing cards.” I tried to clarify to say that any game that uses a standard deck of cards could be called “playing cards.” And asked which card game they were playing. To which Wahabu replied, “playing cards” in a voice just a bit more forceful than before. Okay, then. They taught me to play some cross between Crazy 8s and Uno. I won over and over and they uninvited me from playing. Sorry.



While visiting Karamoja I came across a boy with a brand new deck of Uno cards. I presumed they came in the gift bag given by one of the children’s sponsors. Only a few of the children spoke English well enough to understand me but thankfully Uno uses symbols that are relatively easy to interpret. I taught a group of four to play, then a second group. The girls started hollering and they began joining the subsequent groups I taught. Then I challenged the kids to form a new group of four and play by themselves while I watched. They did great. I left the group and later found kids playing independently. Hopefully when I return they’ll invite me to play too J
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

KOWH Business Teaching: Week 4

The business teaching for week four was about marketing and promotions. We used cell phones as an analogy given that such tools are essential in Uganda, which means that these women can relate to the marketing they see for cell phones. We learned about target market, place marketing, and promotions. Together we devised a few new ideas for how to market their products and to do so collaboratively, and at the same time understanding that our God is a God of abundance so cutthroat competition is not necessary.

The women knew that today was the day for making the purchases from website sales (that’s you…thank you). They eagerly laid out all their jewelry for photo taking, but the pile was massive and distinguishing one product from another was a challenge. I asked to have one style of jewelry at a time so that I could get a good individual photo. The women promptly lined up wearing their treasures and awaited their photo opportunity. I gave in. Rather than have photos of jewelry useful for the website we have photos of all the women wearing their jewelry. They are such beautiful women even if it’s hard to see the jewelry.

Making purchases was challenging. When I identified the particular style I needed to purchase every one of the women who made that type of jewelry lined up. I was prompted to make my purchases as divided among each of the women in line so as to share the wealth. The women got only a few thousand shillings ($2.00-$4.00 USD), but that few thousand easily purchased a small meal for the night.

I expressed my love for these ladies and my appreciation for their dedication to the time we spend together. We prayed together. They have become so dear to me. I wish Betty could have been there. I worry about her every day (she is a recent widow who was evicted from her husband’s family and home). I continue to learn more about the ladies and their families as each visit passes. Upon saying our goodbyes they loaded me down with sacrificial gifts and we all posed for our photo. Until we meet again…
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KOWH Bible Study: Week 4

The widows of Konoweka Orphans and Widows Hut studied the topic of fellowship from Growing Strong with God in the Mom’s Ordinary Day Bible study series. The 15 copies of the book were distributed so groups of three women or so could look on. We read the story of Job and his friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – and talked about what it means to have close friends as compared to having good friends. We know from the story that Job’s closest friends eventually gave him some foul advice. Contrasting that part of the story with our ow
n relationships helps us understand how to be a good friend to others.

I continue to wonder at holding a Bible Study with a group of 50 women with fewer than three Bibles are available. This is not a case of not bringing the Bible; it’s a case of not having a Bible to bring.


The very capable Pastor Jessica will conduct the last two studies from the book with the ladies after I leave. I love having established a model for the women to work together in small groups and having provided a tool to help facilitate that learning. Studying the Bible is a great way to invest in these ladies, but equipping them to study for themselves after I am gone is even better.
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Herbert and the Boys

Two gigantic sows covered with long bristly hairs each had their own hand-built wooden pen. One sow’s belly hung as low as the ground, filled with what will be her first litter. The second sow had a litter of 10 or more piglets prancing around in their pen. The property is rented by Herbert and is used to shelter and raise pigs. Along with the two sows, Herbert has some more mature pork with a charcoal flavored destiny.

Free range chickens wander around a few doors down. The pen shelters a half-dozen hens from the sun, one of which is sitting on her pile of foster eggs. No one really knows who all the eggs belong to. The remaining chickens return only at feeding time. Apparently the neighbors are quite responsible about ensuring these chickens don’t get mixed up with someone else’s chickens. One of the boys delivered a tray of 30 eggs into my hands as a gift. I have 8 days to eat 30 of what are considered the highest quality eggs. Given that my recently purchased market eggs were all rotten, these 30 were quite welcome.

I met four of the boys Herbert cares for. These are boys taken from the streets so their school grade level is quite low when compared to their age. The boys were well dressed and clean for their first introduction to me. Very sweet, polite, and kind young men. I thank God for people like Herbert who are willing to sacrifice of themselves to help others, and that Herbert is a man who loves God and is filled with motivation, integrity, and responsibility.

My goal is to get to know these boys more with each visit so that I can be a positive influence in their lives and on their growth as men of God.
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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Eunice's Hurdles

The first hurdle for Eunice, as you can imagine, is finding shelter. Few rental properties are available in Kitui, Kenya let alone properties of adequate size. Budget factors into the ability to secure shelter as well. Praise God, the folks at Rosslyn Academy raised enough to pay a small rental fee for one year. The biggest hurdle, though, is that there are even fewer landlords who will allow Eunice and her family AND the additional 17 children to live on their property. Water, electricity, and general heavy use incline the rental price upward for those willing to consider the whole lot of children.

Eunice had done much work in trying to find a safe and affordable dwelling before we arrived. We helped her just a bit more this week. Of all the places we visited there was only one of adequate size and budget. We were hopeful that this compound would work but later learned that the property would not be ready for some time and that the price increased. Sending these kids back to their former living conditions would be a sad thing indeed. Please pray that all parties involved would find mutually satisfying arrangements. And pray that Eunice and her children would be surprised by hope.

The second hurdle, is finding a way to meet the needs of these children after the Rosslyn Aca
demy grant expires. Eunice and her husband need finances to support their family plus these 17 additional children. Now remember that supporting a family of four in Africa is no simple chore. Add to that 17 children and the task becomes seemingly insurmountable. Thankfully Eunice is a bright, talented woman.


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Friday, February 4, 2011

Post Office Prisoners

On September 17, 2010 my mom carefully wrapped several hand-made dolls in pretty blue tissue paper. Four rolls of Charmin were wedged in place to fill the box and make the dollies nice and snug for their long journey. Toilet paper in Uganda is akin to the crepe paper used to decorate at birthday parties sans the pretty colors, so don’t laugh. While not intended for a birthday party exactly, these dolls were destined to fill the arms of small orphan girls in East Africa.

These dolls made their way across the ocean and in early October found themselves locked in the Kampala Post Office Jail. Their crime? Having the post office box owner’s name alone on their container. The first trip to the Kampala Post Office resulted in learning that my name should have been on the box rather than Andy’s name. Okay. Now what?

My instructions were to have Andy send an email to a specific address indicating that it was okay for me to receive the box. That done, the email was rejected as undeliverable so a return to the Jail was impending. The same man confirmed that the email address was correct, reviewed the printed copy of the undeliverable email notice and said, “try again.” Several tries were met with the undeliverable notice. A final visit was met with more frustration and a request to “return to sender” that box, which the warden refused.

I returned to the States only to constantly worry about these girls held in the Post Office Jail and to ruminate on the 500 shillings per day I would be charged for their safekeeping.

Upon my return in December I begged the warden for the release of these captives…to no avail. On January 24, 2011 I met a new person with a soft heart. “Please, oh, please release these dollies to me,” I begged. You would have been proud at my ability to be calm and quiet (as is culturally appropriate) during this trial. After retelling the entire saga she suggested that I get the signature of the man to whom the email was addressed and had been undeliverable. I wound my way through the catacombs of the jailhouse to find this man called James who very gladly put his name on the paper (what’s up with that?). He obviously didn’t even remember the case.

Returning to the parcel pick up building, I proudly showed my signed achievement. The soft hearted women then informed me that the post office was doing inventory and that she could not give me the box. Seriously?!? I departed for Kenya the next day and it would be 10 more days before I could return. Sigh.

February 3, 2011 was the day these dollies were released from their prison. The soft hearted woman questioned me thoroughly and then finally released the prisoners with the comment that I was to pay for their keeping from October to now, which totaled 64,500 UGX (about $35) plus customs charges. A bit of negotiation and she reduced their bail to 4,600 UGX (about $2.50). Whew.

A woman and a man were both seated in the customs booth. They would determine the value of the package based purely on subjective measures. That meant the woman would likely assign a higher value because moms know dolls are important for their girls. Yippee, I got the man. He sliced the box open and grinned at the TP inside and then wrote a “box of toys” on the customs paper. No one bothered to collect any bail OR customs fees and I don’t feel one bit guilty about not pointing that out to them.

Freedom! I walked proudly out of this post office jail with my dollies and toilet paper in hand. And so the saga ends. Praise God.
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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Kenya Game Parks

The Johnsons know that no mission trip is complete without a visit to some cool site in the area. When I visited them in Dallas last June to begin the organizational development process we started with a trip to the rodeo. My first visit to Kenya included the Malindi coastline. This time…elephants, a rhino, and giraffes.

The young elephants charged from the forest area to the observation area in desperate search of the milk they knew was waiting for them. The host told the story of each elephant and how he or she came to be rescued as well as how the elephants are eventually reintroduced into the wild. A small cable strung between a few wooden posts was all that separated us from these powerful and hungry beasts. As they paraded past the onlookers, I ran my hand along the dusty, hairy skin of the young giants. Tickly.

The rhino was too big to come out of his cage and behave himself, but I managed to nearly strangle myself on the thin wire intended to prevent visitors from approaching the wooden structure too closely while trying to get a photo.

At our prayer meeting Sunday night, the teacher talked about being giraffic. She said that because she had a doctorate she was allowed make up words. Being giraffic referred to seeing the big picture, seeing how as individuals we only have a small piece of a picture but in community our view becomes more complete. She also urged us not to be an ostrich and stick our head in the sand, be to be giraffic and see the longer view.

In tribute to that message, we visited Jock the giraffe who wrapped his 12” tongue around my wrist and pulled my hand close to his lips where he proceeded to envelop my whole hand in order to get the few pellets of food residing there. I held as still as I could, but I’m sure Jock thought the “eeeeew” look on my face was rather rude. When removing my hand a long trail of slime followed. Kelly, in his very studious manner, observed…pellets in, pellets out.
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Biblical Life Ministries Meetings

The founders of Biblical Life Ministries, Kelly and Kathy Johnson, stayed in my home last August during their stateside furlough. We connected right from the start and began working together on organizational development plans for their ministry. During my September/October trip, I visited them in Nairobi, Kenya to deepen my experience with exactly what this ministry team does.

At that time we traveled to Malindi, on the cost of the Indian Ocean, where I observed the last few days of Bible school and participated in the graduation ceremony for 26 rural pastors. Seeing how these pastors respond to the Johnsons was amazing. This couple is gifted beyond words. I don’t think I’ve ever seen people in relationship like this.

I’m here in Kenya again to work with the Johnsons on continuing to develop their business plan. Midway through the week we made a trip to Kitui where we worked on a project with Eunice who is caring for 17 impoverished children. Kitui was the location of the 2009 Bible School in a Briefcase where 38 pastors graduated. I should not have been surprised at the number of pastors who very intentionally reconnected with Kelly while we were there. Eunice was the cook for that group of pastors and Kelly is planning a February meeting to connect resources among this group of graduate-pastors and the community project Eunice has undertaken.

Watching the pastor-graduate relationships deepen and knowing the knowledge of Christ is at the core impassions me with certainty that God intends this ministry to prosper. Returning to Nairobi, we continued the business planning efforts with emphasis on financial and fundraising plans, staffing plans, a few website development plans, and wrapping up action items from the previous trip.

Please join with me in prayer that the Bible school would continue to reach rural pastors in Kenya (and the whole of Africa), and that these pastor-graduates would in turn reach their communities with sound doctrine and changed hearts.
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A Dolly in Malindi

Armed with only one dollie, I set off for Kenya with hopes of spreading these little beauties a little more widely around East Africa. I had hoped to have a box full to share, but her sisters remain imprisoned in the Kampala, Uganda Post Office…for now.

This darling girl had a massive growth on her head and received surgery not long ago (as coordinated by the Biblical Life Ministries team). She sang with such a beautiful little voice and had some dance moves that would put any adult mzungu to shame. I motioned to her to come see me, which she did only at the assurance of her “sisters” and I pulled this doll out of my bag.

I never saw anything get snatched up so fast in my life. She had that doll in her arms and was sitting back down on the floor with the rest of the group so fast I didn’t know what hit me. As per usual, she checked under the dress. Then she and her friends gave the doll a proper once-over.

I hope one day to return and come across one of these things in the arms of a child.
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