Dadaab and the Chaos

Dadaab Refugee

I guess its been a while since I've put anything on here. I've done a few articles, written a few things that I never posted, but I just needed to put something down to put some thoughts into perspective for me to have it "out there".

Many of you may already know I've been following this tragedy for a while now. The size of the problem is so huge its almost overwhelming. Its been tugging at my heart so much that I've almost felt consumed by it at times. What have I done? Nothing and I've come to realize that "feeling bad" is not enough, sure I can give, sure I can tell others about it and raise awareness. Still not enough - I feel a tug to Go and do, I feel a pull towards Dadaab stronger than I've felt towards any other project in the last few years.

I don't know how or when or what but I do feel the pull to be there. There is so much need and so much suffering. Considering the difficulties with my passport situation and the ongoing Kenyan military incursions into Somalia in search of Al-SHaabab extremists it is a very challenging situation for me to go. But if I'm supposed to be there, if its somewhere God wants me He will put me there. As of today:

I feel I need to go.

What would I do? I have no earthly clue. Work with any of the number of refugee mission groups that are in Dadaab, hook up with an NGO that is already there, who knows, that is probably the easiest thing to figure out. There is a real need for bodies to help and serve, they need volunteers period. How would I pay for this? no clue. I've been prayerfully considering this for a while and the tug has not diminished in the least, in fact I've felt a peace about this that I believe is an answer to the many prayers I have raised about this opportunity to serve. I'm not sweating the details, if its somewhere I am supposed to be, then God will take care of putting me there. Not so worried about the obstacles, not even sure if they are obstacles or merely a chance for me to see miracles happen. All I know is this - there is a need and I believe that I need to go and help.

How big is the problem - Hundreds of thousands live each day on the edge of existence. 500,00 people, not sure if you read that correctly

500,000 PEOPLE ON THE EDGE

I found the following comments following an article I was reading about the situation in Dadaab and it gives an African perspective to the problem that only and African can give.

"This famine, and the ensuing forced migration, are terrible. I have the strongest sympathy for those affected.

This famine was utterly predictable and widely predicted. It is the inevitable result of population growth in an area known to be affected by periodic drought and unstable weather, where agriculture is marginal at best.

Shame on the lazy, greedy African elites who allow and encourage these disasters and do nothing to avoid them.

Shame on the lazy, greedy and corrupt African elites who see the disaster as an opportunity to skim off more aid money.

Shame on the venal and shortsighted African intellectuals who in the name of petty local nationalism prevent the policies that would keep these people fed, housed and clothed.

Shame on the lazy and thoughtless African thinkers and writers to get in the way of proper family planning for these populations."

While I don't necessarily agree completely with the part about this being the result of population growth, since this is a people group fleeing violence in Somalia as well as a famine situation its not true over-population problem. I don't know who is right and who is wrong, I don't think there is only one reason or one specific thing that has caused this particular crisis but in the complete and grand scheme of things, it is irrelevant at this time. Hundreds of Thousands of people are at real risk. Hundreds of Thousands of people are in dire need of food, of education, of water and of the right to know that there is a God that has not forgotten them, a God who still cares and a God who is reaching out to them. Yea, a majority of the individuals living in the camps are Muslims, I am not sure just how they feel about this God or those willing to tell them about His Son, who came to die for them so many years ago. Notwithstanding this, it doesn't matter, its my obligation, our obligation to at least let them know He does care and does want them to come to know him.

Aerial View of Dadaab Camp

I guess we will see what happens next huh? remember:

It is what it is

not sure if this will work-check out this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZfFlRqDZUI

This kid needs someone to care

In and Out

As many of you may already know I get to work with the Rotary Youth Exchange program. I've been privileged to work with the outbound students, those US students traveling abroad and to work with the inbound students from other countries. Honestly, I can't tell ya which group is my favorite, you would think they were all the same and in some ways they are but they are also so different.


The New In-bounds - France, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Argentina, Finland (I don't think I forgot anyone...)

Most of the inbound kids from Europe have traveled a lot whereas the kids that are outbound haven't had the same travel experience, regardless I think they are both some very brave and adventurous individuals.

I've enjoyed being involved in the orientations for the out-bounds, walking them through the mounds of paperwork, trying to prepare them for their year, living with them the frustrations in obtaining their VISAS and helping with the endless list of items to be remembered. Its been a blast getting to know the students that have arrived from around the world to spend a year here in the US. Their perspectives of life in the US are quite interesting to say the least.

What I have really enjoyed the most is watching each of the them as they enter this new phase of their life, watching them go through the adjustment to a new environment and watching them conquer their fears and apprehensions. Its gonna be a great year for them. Full of challenges, full of adjustments, full of new experiences but mostly full of growth. There is not one single one of these outstanding individuals that will not grow because of this experience. I am so privileged to watch it unfold and yes, while I do feel a bit like a creeper (look up the term) I believe I'm witnessing an amazing development process in each one.

I hope they have just an amazing year.

Remember - It is what it is

Enough is Enough

I've had it!!!

Yeah, I've had it with the constant negative soundbites from the media and politicians,




















I've had it with the adds on TV and the - cue radio voice - "In these tough economic times" - we need.....so and so. I've had with the pessimism and the frowns from just about everyone I encounter these days. Especially this guy -



I've had it with the defeatism that we are getting from so many sources, in particular our government. Isn't it about time we got off the side lines,

and as Christians stepped into the game and showed people what it is like to have faith.



We "Christians" like to talk a good game about how God is good, what a wonderful Lord he is and we get to do all that piety speak that makes me want to puke sometimes. But when push comes to shove and we are challenged just a bit by tough or difficult circumstances we bail. Boy do we bail hard to, we stop giving, we stop spouting our church speak and the next thing you know we put our heads down and lament that we can't do this or that.





It is to big a project "IN THESE TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES" or that goal is insurmountable. But what God wants us to do is step up and act like He is the God we profess to look to in "these tough economic times" give me a break, no really I want a break from it all.

Step up and act on that faith we profess to hold so dear!



God wants us to step up to the challenge, step up to real faith and let Him know that we do challenge him, HEY GOD what WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO. Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Hear that? "immeasurably more". There is nothing we can come up with that God would look to and say "I CAN'T HANDLE IT" and if we look to Him, neither should we.

Are you kidding me, we have no challenges for God that He can't just chuckle at and wonder why we are so small minded. Whatever excuses for why we can't, God has the response of "Because I can".

I am tired of us Christians as a people thinking so small, thinking like our God is limited by economy or such small human events.

In the next few months I get the privilege of planning for various mission trips throughout the rest of the year. I've already been hearing the pessimism in people that they don't know if we afford it, others saying, I hope we have enough people that can go. I have heard that a number of other trips and other groups have had to cancel trips due to the lack of participants willing to step out financially. I don't think God is really that small that a few dollars are limiting to him.

So enough is enough - step up or step out of the way so others can move forward.

Lets not limit God this year instead lets take the approach of the Psalmist in Psalms 81:10 - He is telling the people of Israel that not only has he freed them from Egypt (slavery in whatever form that takes) he has given them blessings, all they have to do is open their mouth to receive those blessings.

OK GOD!!! MY MOUTH IS WIDE OPEN AND I AM WAITING TO BE FILLED!!!

It is what it is

Dumb Me

so i have a question, purely rhetorical all right?

If i do stupid stuff on my own - without listening to God - but then I start listening to God and doing what God wants me to do and really seek His guidance....

DOES THAT SOMEHOW MAKE ME SMART? or am I still just as DUMB?

Come on - I'm not smart - can believing and following what God wants for me make me smarter?

One Argument
One could say that following Gods will "is smart" so the correlation would be that in turn makes me smart - but really - we all know dumb people that do dumb things no mater what.

Lets say....
I believe in God, study Gods word and try to live life according to His will - not mine

AM I STILL DUMB? or

since I allow (nice way to put it, like doesn't already have control) Gods will for my life doesn't that make me just a little smarter?

probably not, but really who knows, I'm still dumb - right?

this really is bugging me - I'm one of the dumb ones of course so it baffles me

but,

It is what it is

New Year New Begginings New Possibilities

Well,

We've all heard the descriptors, the new year lays before us like fresh fallen snow, no one has walked all over it, it hasn't turned gray yet, its still pristine. Well I guess that's how I'm choosing to look at the new year - Fresh & clean, no one has trudged through it yet and made it look like crap.

At the close of last year I looked back (isn't that what we are supposed to do?) and I see all the amazing things that happened. All the new experiences that God opened up for me. It would be easy to let this past year fade into the memory and just let it go and to just look forward. But I want to gain knowledge and learn something from those past events and somehow fit them into the future. So far I don't have that much on the horizon for 2009, which probably means that it will be even more exciting than 2008, God has a way of surprising us like that.

I'm planing on going to Kenya, the sooner the better, we're trying to get the clean water project for Busia completed this year. We would certainly like to have the project completed before June if possible - a $15,000 to $20,000 project. After that we have our scheduled December 2009 trip - I have had a lot of interest from individuals for this trip, maybe a little more than I was expecting.

I'm also trying to arrange for a trip to Paraguay. I really want Tiffany to get to know the people, the hospital and the entity we have been trying to help.

Paraguay Baptist Medical Center Foundation - meeting synopsis
January 9th and 10th we had a meeting of the Paraguay Baptist Medical Center Foundation in Nashville, it was the 10th year anniversary of the Foundation so it was kind of a big deal. In preparation for the meeting I had my usual frustration in getting info from Paraguay but it all worked out in the end - Mirtha (the Paraguayan Foundation executive director) came through with some great information regarding the plans of both the Foundation and the CMB and we were able to put together a somewhat decent presentation for the Board. El Centro Medico Bautista (CMB) in Asuncion has some amazing plans and goals for not just this year but for the next few years and if we as a Foundation in the US can contribute even a just a bit more than in the past we can have a huge impact on a community. We are in the planning stages for implementation of a capital campaign and we have before us a great opportunity and a special chance to serve God. I look forward to seeing what
God can Accomplish.

2008 Heart Transplant Patient with Doctor at CMB

I could really bore the heck out of people with figures and numbers and stuff like that but lets just put it this way.

$750,000

WE'VE BEEN CHALLENGED AND GOD LOVES CHALLENGES
***********
TRANSPLANT PROGRAM EXPANSION
NEW PEDIATRICS AND OBSTETRICS WARD
EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY WARD
INCREASED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
IMPROVED KITCHEN FACILITIES
UNIVERSIDAD CENTRO MEDICO BAUTISTA

Chaplain Praying with patient at a Mobile clinic during the trip this past June


So - Whats in store?
Kenya (twice if not more if possible)
Paraguay (at least once)
Mexico? (if the guys at church that lead the team will let me go)
? (Vietnam is on my radar)
? (where ever HE leads - probably somewhere not even on my radar)
Spain (always in the plans)

My son says I have a "wanderlust" for travel, he's pretty smart so maybe he's right. I can't wait to get on the road - in the air - again? something like that.

but as usual,

It is what it is -

Kenya In September

I'm not sure if blogs are supposed to be long or short but mine run towards the long. So much happens on these trips that putting it down in just a couple of paragraphs is not possible so I end up with this.

Getting to know the Buckner Kids

The whole Crew

The last trip in this years series was Kenya. Each trip has been unique and Kenya was no exception. I had the privilege of being the team leader on this trip and was able to introduce the team that went form our church, The Church on Rush Creek, to the Buckner Kids.

A lot of this trip has to do with the travel part.

This is how we were greeted at the airport in
Kisumu Ok it wasn't just for us, still pretty cool

Here is the trip in a nutshell:
2 days to get to Kenya (left on 24th - got there night of the 25th)

2 days to get home
4 international flights

Getting there is half the fun

4 in country flights in Kenya - two of those on smallish prop planes

As I mentioned above we took the team Busia, Kenya to hang out with the Buckner Kids (more about them later)
About the region: (warning minor sociological content ahead)
The Busia District sits along the Uganda border in western Kenya and Busia City shares the border crossing with Uganda. The region is almost 100% agricultural and once you get on the road leaving from Kisumu airport, the third largest city in Kenya, heading towards Busia you know for sure that you are in Africa. There really is nothing that feels like it anywhere else in teh world.

One the villages on the way to Busia

There are always tons of people walking, biking and ambulating along the side of the road. Along with the people there are cows, goats and other assorted animals just wandering along the side of the roads. As you drive we come across a number of towns in which we encounter very busy markets with quite a few people trading, bartering and arranging for rides in the seemingly never ending supply of Toyota vans that you find all over Kenya. Driving from Kisumu to the hotel where we stay takes about 1.5 / 2 hrs. The time really does depends on what shape the roads are in and the type of vehicle. We were in a medium size bus as opposed to a van and it was pretty comfortable, if you weren't over 6 feet tall. The bus struggled a little in the uphill sections but got us there and back with no problems.


A couple of the neighborhood kids The Team in the bus, comfy huh?

An Example of how Kenya is different than the US
Upon arriving in Kisumu, as mentioned above the third largest city in Kenya, I had to exchange money, to pay for stuff ya know. We went to the bank, and based on the amount of $ I was wanting to exchange I was able to negotiate a better exchange rate than the going posted rate, go figure, we negotiated an exchange rate. Ok, a little weird but that's understandable, its just business right, what happened next however pointed out the more glaring differences from Kenya to the US. We started the process of making the exchange and the bank clerk realized after she started counting out the cash that not only did she not have enough cash to make the exchange, THE BANK did not have enough cash to make the exchange. While one clerk was counting out the exaggerated amount of KS (Kenyan Shillings) that was due, the first clerk went next door to as she put it "get more money". Yes, the bank did not have enough money and we aren't talking about that huge a sum of dollars. The clerk came back (with a rather large envelope from the "Pawn Shop" next door) to finalize the transaction. It was pretty crazy and took about an hour, of course the rest of the team were roasting quite nicely in the van.

OK, About the Kids
Buckner Intl. has a foster care program for orphans, most of which are orphaned due to AIDS. All the kids we had contact with have lost both parents to AIDS and are living in foster care, some with family members such as an aunt or uncle, but most were not with family. Buckner provides financial assistance to help provide clothing, health care, food and other basic needs for each kid, about $25 bucks a month in costs. They have social workers (pictured below) that make sure the kids needs are being met and I have to tell you, these people are great.

These are the people that make it happen for the Kids, thanks guys - get some rest now
Go to Buckner.org for more info on Buckner

Something else about the kids - They are great kids, they are well behaved, they are fun to be around, they are pretty well adjusted considering and they have great hearts. The other thing to remember - they are just kids. They do kids stuff, play, joke around with their friends and behave like kids, good kids not spoiled, bratty or snotty kids. Their ages range from about 6 years old up to 15. After 15, at high school age, if they have qualified they move on to a high school boarding school, this cost is also taken care of by Buckner (more specifically by donors).

Why did we go there?


Some may ask: Why do they have to go through that what they go through at all? If He is a loving God why make people suffer? Well the simple answer is that there is sin in the world, that sin leads to our separation from God and because of that sin we are all affected, in different ways, those kids are affected specifically by a disease. They did nothing wrong to deserve it, we don't necessarily deserve bad things, they happen because there is bad/sin in the world. Its not what He would want but its what we live with in a sinful world. It really is only through the intercession from Christ and his dying that we can again establish that relationship with God. It doesn't mean there won't be bad things that happen to us, its merely the fact that now we are not alone when it does. OK enough preaching and I probably didn't answer the question right anyways. All I know is that God told me to go tell those kids that He loves them. So I did. PERIOD

So we went and hung out with the kids and got to know them a little better. I cannot come close to understanding what they are going through in their lives. I hung out mostly with the older kids. 10 kids ages 13 - 15, 8 boys and 2 girls. Real smart kids to, asked some very smart and tough questions but I could tell they were somewhat hesitant to "open up" about any personal stuff. They have had other groups come in and do "VBS" with them, they were pros when it came to having the "bible lessons" and having their canned or stock answers to most of the regular questions so I tried to mix up the questions and open up dialogue just a little bit, not allow them the stock answers and tried to make them think about what they were saying.

I guess there are any number of reasons, the primary reason is because we were told to by Christ. OK He didn't speak to me one night and from above in a booming "10 commandments voice" say "go to Busia City and hang out with the Buckner kids"

(that's my name for them by the way), its one of those, I know because I know because I know things. We went to Busia just to let these very special kids know that someone (God) cares about them, cares about their well being and wants to have a relationship with them and has a plan for their life. Its simple really, all we were doing was taking them a message. Christ cares about each one of those kids and what they are going through.

Did I succeed? who knows, the communications barrier was a little difficult, they spoke better Swahili than English and I spoke better English than Swahili, but we did OK. I learned they don't know why they are here/there, they don't have direct sense of purpose in being, we talked about that a little, not sure if they got it, at least we were able to talk about purpose for their lives. I learned that they are still a little rattled by the violence that erupted earlier this year. Yeah we talked about it, they tried to explain the tribal thing to me, I told them I didn't get it, I was African but didn't have a tribe, they were OK with that (didn't get an offer to join their tribe though they told me I was probably the opposite tribe form theirs though).

Look, I have no good answers about what the best thing is for these guys. I think they have some hope of a better future, one of the girls in the group wants to be a doctor, she might have the smarts to make it and maybe even a better than average chance with Buckner in her corner. All we can do is go, give the message and the rest is up to God. He's got a way of getting his point across.

A couple of things that happened on the trip taught me something not just about these kids but about those that went.
That first afternoon we go there:
I saw the team, 12 complete strangers to these kids get off a bus and then I saw 42 kids come up to us, complete strangers, shake our hands introduce themselves and invite us to start kicking around a soccer ball or jumping rope. We didn't have to come pry them out of a corner, they approached us. How rare is that in today's world? You wouldn't get kids in the US to be that open, to some degree justifiably so, but even then.

Before we arrived some of the group were somewhat unsure of what to expect, some where anxious at how they would be received, some were not sure how they would connect with kids, that wasn't their thing. I think all those anxieties disappeared within a matter of minutes. I'm hoping that the relationships that were developed by each one can exist within that person for a long time. I'm not in this for the short haul, I'm in this for the long haul. I'll find a way to get back to Kenya and those kids as often as I can and do for them what I can.

As I look back on the trip one of the things that I can say without a shadow of any doubt in my mind is - That was were God wanted me to be, at that moment in time. He may have other plans for me in the future that don't involve Kenya or those kids but for those 5 days in September He wanted me to be right where I was. I truly love Kenya and can say that its a special place.

I've been home over a month now, sometimes you can write things out, come back a month later and go, wow, what a sappy bunch of crap. I've got to say that Kenya, has not faded in my mind. For that matter neither has China nor Paraguay. Each unique, each necessary and each a trip with a distinct purpose. I don't know where I'll be led next year, I'm already planning trips to Kenya and hope to go to Paraguay as well. I'd be kidding myself if I didn't know that my path is missions, I just have to find the right direction down that path.

Thanks to all of those that went. Thanks to all of those that made it possible for us to go. It would not have been the same trip without each one of the volunteers that went. I know that many went on faith, many were uncertain about going and others went with a purpose having had Kenya or Africa on their hearts for many years, but I don't think a single one of them would say that they either regret going or were not changed by the experience.

IN MEMORY OF EUGENE
DROWNED THIS PAST YEAR
HE WAS 15

Credit where credit is due, some of these pictures were provided by a number of people from the trip, thanks hope ya don't mind....

Oh yeah, our downtime was great also - Safari time, its always a great highlight at the end.

always remember.

It is what it is

Ahhh Blissful Belize

This summer had quite a few interesting and uplifting notes, among those and certainly not the least of which was my 10 year anniversary to the fabulous Tiffany. We always try to take a trip as a gift to each other rather than purchase another trinket that we may or may not truly appreciate. This year we went to Belize. Wow


Tiffany was somewhat worried about the scheduling since we sandwiched the week away in between the return from China one week and leaving for Kenya 2 weeks later. It worked out fine though.

I really did Love Belize. We rented a condo on Ambergris Caye, a 20 minute plane ride hop from Belize City on the mainland. It was great, from the plane ride down a mere 2 1/2 hours to the easy customs and the best part was, no crowds. That is one good thing about travel the first week in Sept. There are usually fewer crowds.

`

The grounds where we stay ed were somewhat secluded yet an easy 5 minute walk to town or the grocery store, the humidity however was over the top a couple of days. We had a second floor condo facing the ocean (pictured left), the breezes from the ocean were nice in the evenings and walking up the beach to the various eateries was also a bonus. When we got there Friday, there were maybe 5 other people staying in the condos by mid week there was maybe 2, then a couple arrive before we left, that was it....now that's a vacation.

I'd have to say that Belize or more specifically Ambergris Caye and San Pedro is all about
The Water.
The water is magnificent, Belize works hard to keep it that way but you may have never seen water quite as clear as this. The water temperature was excellent and the visibility was amazing. Due in no small part to the presence of the second largest barrier reef in the world about 1 1/2 miles off shore, the waters were generally very calm.

So we did the expected tourist stuff, snorkeling with the sharks and mantas ( pretty cool), We did the fishing thing as well. Lets see, I caught Nada, zip zilch but Tiffany caught a decent sized Barracuda (pictured).

We also did the zip line thing through the rain forest on the mainland with tubing down the river inside the caves *also pretty cool if your not claustrophobic or afraid of bats (both on Tiffany's top ten don't likes) she was extremely brave throughout.

Luckily there were no crowds, we were told there could be waits of up to an hour on the zip lines and with the humidity that would have been brutal.

It was very laid back on the Caye, the locals were in a down mode and were not really expecting things to get going again for about two months, it was the beginning of their vacation time, many restaurants were closing for remodeling or just closing till the tourists started coming back sometime in mid November. It's not cheap in San Pedro, groceries are expensive, as you might expect on an island and restaurants are expensive for what they are. But we managed, cooked a few meals in the condo and all in all it was great time.

For our anniversary dinner we took a night-time water taxi ride of about 20/30 min. to a resort that is really only available by water taxi, it was very laid back, quite and the wait staff were nice enough so it was very relaxing evening. The Food? ok they tell me its not about the food, but who are we kidding, unfortunately I'm all about the food. Don't go to Belize for the food, its about average to below average and overpriced but we did have a couple of great burger joints that we frequented so that was good, still all and all go for the water not the "upscale" eateries.


Would I go back - you bet, but there is so much more of the world yet to be seen together it might take us a few years to get back there. The water alone makes it worth traveling back to, especially since we saw only a very small part of the reef. Thanks to the guys at Paradise, it is aptly named and they did a great job in making life easy for us.

Thanks Tiffany for 10 years of wonderful marriage and I can't wait to see what the next 10 bring and the 10 after that and the 10 after that and the 10 after that and the 10 after that.........

As for Belize, common guys ya know it by now.......

It is what it is