Lunga Lunga!

We had awesome pancakes and watermelon and popcorn for breakfast this morning! Sounds like an interesting combination but it worked. All those carbs were exactly what we needed for a long day spent in the slums of Nairobi, Lunga Lunga. On our ride out of the Great Rift Valley headed to Lunga Lunga we witnessed a semi-truck that had run off the cliff of the mountainside where the front half of the cab was dangling over the cliff on its side. A coca-cola shack broke its fall.  All of us have stood at that very spot taking pictures of the beauty of the Great Rift Valley and now there was a man in jeopardy of losing his life there. Such contrast to begin our day.

One would have thought we were back home in the traffic of the metroplex on I-75 or 635 as our experienced driver maneuvered the Nairobi streets! It seemed as though no one obeyed the traffic signals  - red or green ones! Think NYC traffic and you’ve got a really good picture of the metropolitan area of Nairobi. These well-paved roads and twists and turns led us to some of the most impoverished sights we have beheld thus far.

Beth and Amesha didn’t slum it with us.  Instead, Beth worked with sweet Ann, the nurse here at Naomi’s Village. Beth assisted Ann in setting up a database for medication tracking and usage. And apparently she was not very Kenyan-like because she got the job done in 2 hours (like a goal driven American) instead of it taking all day long! Poor sweet Ann had to put up with her! Amesha, on the other hand, slept in until 9AM like the Nubian princess she is!! She fed the babies and baby Naomi smiled at her, which made her day. She enjoyed Chai time with the preschoolers at 10AM and during her journaling time found herself easily distracted by the cow who ran down the field path toward her. The day workers shoed the cow away, as she did not belong to NV.

Brent and Jennifer also missed the slums today and instead blazed their own trail in their own matatu (taxi) to Nyvasha to meet the child they have sponsored for 4 years via Compassion International – Moses.  He had never been away from his home, had never met mizungu (foreigner), had never seen Nairobi or driven in a car. What an overwhelming and emotional day for all three of them!

Where to begin describing the slums…….. Wells of Joy Family Church is a sliver of hope in this very impoverished community. Matthew 26:11, “For you have the poor with you always but me you do not have always.”  And now 2000 years later Jesus’ words still hold true. Pastor Jeffery is an amazing example of what it looks like to love the poor and needy like Jesus did; to see both their physical and spiritual needs and tend to them.  The 50X50 foot shack houses more than 100 little children between the ages of 4-7 each day for 12-13 hours as their parents (look for) work and the children are educated. It had one light bulb. The children sat on the dirt floor in a mass and four female teachers instructed them. They were extraordinarily well behaved, quiet and respectful. When we first arrived the children were all excited and wanted to shake our hands as we entered their school-house. They smiled and greeted us in limited English with “ How are you?” and “ Allo”. They sang in Swahili and English for us by grade level. It was so sweet to hear them sing an English song that was familiar to our ears – with a slight variation. A song our NV kiddos love to sing about their bedtime routine. I wish you could hear their sweet voices in unison rhythmically sing the tune, “…we’re going to take a shower, and then we brush our teeth….we’re going to read the bible and then we go to sleep. GOOD NIGHT!” So sweet!!!  We, in turn, were led by the “Elton John” of our team, Michael, in “Jesus loves me”, “ My God is so big” and some Swahili song that none of us mizungu knew. Show Off!! LOL!

They enjoyed the gifts we brought: a few balls, teddy bears and toys but mostly new clothing items for each child. Some of the clothing was donated by our own darling, generous and lovely Naomi’s Village children who went into their own drawers of belongings and gave graciously and freely items for these kiddos who have so much less. They reminded me of the poor widow who gave out of her poverty in Mark 12:42-43 and how Jesus says “…she has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty….”.   Maggie and Pam R., along with Hayley and Jonell, Ryan and Dan passed out coloring pages and crayons. Megan, Layne, Lisa, Pam T and Stella helped, as well. Rikki Tai instructed the children on the proper way to brush their teeth and general dental hygiene as other team members passed out new toothbrushes and toothpaste. All the children waved their new brushes in the air with delight.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking scene of the day was the “nursery”. There were 17 babies under the age of 2 being cared for in a dark “room” the size of a storage closet by two women. Again, there was only one light bulb in the room providing illumination. The sleeping babies were laid out on the bare dirt floor without disposable diapers- just their wet clothing and blankets. We brought several twin size mattresses from NV to give to the nursery for the sweet babies to sleep on. It was hard to leave them today without feeling a heaviness of heart!

We were not allowed to take electronics and cameras into the slum area due to safety precautions. So, I have no photos to provide you with in order for you to see the indescribable conditions of that place. Truly, a picture is worth a thousand words, as I am unable to adequately paint a verbal picture for you. Suffice to say, burned trash, mixed with ash, dirt, bedrock, mud and sewage made up the pathways of the streets we walked along and people lived on. Accordion-style tin roofs atop of random, scrap metal pieces nailed together to form shelters that leaned up against one another constituted their “homes” and places of business. As we traveled by foot through narrow ally-ways and “streets” (no car could pass through these “streets”), we stayed together but greeted the residents of the slum with smiles, polite and dignified “how are you?” and even shook the hands of some of the little children who approached us. It is a scene most of us will not soon or ever forget.

Afterwards, we traveled further into Nairobi to Java House, a very nice, upscale westernized patio restaurant for a wonderful lunch.  Charelle, Lisa and Maggie got locked in the women’s restroom….what a hoot! We did a little souvenir shopping and then began our trek back up the mountainside toward Maai Mahui and Naomi’s Village. However, we had to celebrate Stella’s birthday with a big piece of chocolate cake and an obnoxiously loud version of the “Happy Birthday” song before departing. She loved it and will never forget where she spent her 52^nd birthday – in Africa. We also wanna give a big shout out to Ginny’s dad, Mike Harty, who also has a birthday today! Thanks, Mike for blessing us with such a wonderful godly woman and leader. We love her.

We certainly missed seeing our sweet NV kids today, as they were headed to bed when we returned from our adventures in the slums. Friday we are off on our first safari. Hoping to see lions and tigers and bears – or monkeys and zebras and giraffes and cheetahs – OH MY!

- Hayley and Charelle