Getting to know the Buckner Kids
The whole Crew
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
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).Go to Buckner.org for more info on Buckner
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.
(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....
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
