Whats in your day?

Dynamics. Erin. Somewhere between the travel hair straightener and the fact that now when we do laundry there are articles that have to be hung indoors we have now completed the team. It has been a breath of fresh air and i think i can speak for Ben also when i say that it has been such a blessing having her along. If you have been reading some of her posts then you should be clued into a little of where we are, nowhere near anything. Well tomorrow is her last day here and we are going to miss her when she has to leave, but first we are going to hit up a safari and Wycliffe conference in Malindi, Kenya. 

Can you heal? Like i said we have been reading acts and i have enjoyed it a lot. Remembering that faith has to do with the holy spirit and that means we have been given power strait from the hand of God. In the beginning i read the passage about peter, when they were entering the temple and a beggar asked them for money. ”Look at us! “The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I dont have any silver or gold for you. But i’ll give you what i have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”- 3:4-6 Being asked for money daily in Kampala by all kinds of people it made me think why not heal? It has been a challenge for me to make sure that Ben and i are sharpening each other as men of God, but this was definitely something that was prying at both of our hearts. On the way to Stakwell’s we stopped in Nairobi just long enough to pick up erin, one day. A man approached me with a cast on his leg and held out his hand. If God comes to us as strangers to see if we are actually trying any of the crazy things he lays on our hearts this guy would be number one proof.  So i stopped buying phone airtime for long enough to lay hands on the man and pray for his leg to heal. I truly believed that we was just going to walk away with a smile on his face. But no, he still had a face that was torn with pain and now some confusion. But i look back on it and im somewhat glad that he didnt walk away, i dont know if my pride can handle knowing that God actually healed someone through me. But i do still believe that the prayer did something just maybe he had to walk a few blocks to figure out that his foot didnt hurt any more. Either way im not done trying. There is a little boy here at Stakwell’s named Sawilli he was thrown out of his home as a kid because he couldnt walk, he was seen as a cursed child. Stakwell took him in as his own son and got him some crutches that allow him to get around. I have been thinking about him alot and praying for him. How cool would it be to heal the Lords child. Ill let you know what happens. 

What do i do in a day here? Who knows. Some days we work on wiring the rest of the complex with electricity, others working on cars, but more often driving plays a factor. They have two land rovers here that they use to run food and water to nearby villages who were just recently enemy tribes but the Lord led Stakwell to take them food and he obeyed. The first time he drove up with a truck full of food. The people came running out with tears in their eyes and all they could say is “what took you so long.” So now they have me drive the land rover out there to deliver water and other things. Its pretty much in the middle of the dryest land i have ever seen. And they are more than cliche tribal people, piercings, paint, and sometimes no clothes. One time after we arrived and unloaded the 1 and half tons of food, that was labeled US Aid From the American People, i jumped in shotgun and we headed up a near by hill to go get some diesel. About halfway up i turned around and had a bit of a realization. The car was filled with the driver Timothy (2 wife tim hes like 54 looks older though) me riding shotgun holding an AK 47 stakwell told me to hold on to it for him and then in the back were 4 other tribal guys decked out with AKs and other gear. Either way i was totally down with it. Just needed to take a minute and take it all in. Ill tell you what though if you had told me a few years ago that one day i would be driving Land rovers in africa to tribal villages i would probably have to change my underwear with excitement. 

Tomorrow im driving a team and some water out to the Turkana tribes. And then trying to put back together a Range Rover that someone took apart most everything including taking out the engine just to find that it needed a new clutch, welcome to Africa. O ps im using a south african accent for the next few days were trying to see how long we can fool this team. Kinda fun to be honest.  Ill keep in touch. Would love any feedback or just say hey. 

AV

L4L Africa Team.

Within Broken Borders

The past couple of days I have had the chance to talk to a friend of a friend, Joe Miller, about the organization he is co-founding, Within Broken Borders.  I've been amazed by the work that they are doing.  Joe and his co-founder Anna Medearis just got back from the Middle East where they filmed a documentary called From the Eyes of Hope.  This film will be completed in October and is the first step in building long term connections between the youth of America, the Palestinians, and the Israelis.  In the future, Within Broken Borders plans on addressing other areas of conflict or oppression and helping the American youth get involved with restoring hope throughout the world.
Although documentaries and orphanages are very different, Within Broken Borders and Love for the Sake of Love share a lot of the same visions and hopes for the future.  And most importantly, the main focus for both organizations is to bring glory to God with whatever we do.
To learn more about Within Broken Borders or to even host a screening of their film, go to www.withinbrokenborders.com or e-mail me at AGamble@loveforthesakeoflove.com and I'll find the best people to connect you with.

Alison

Independence Day

Yesterday, you probably celebrated our Nation's independence by grilling out and watching fireworks. Ben, Andrew, Mundia (our new friend), and I celebrated by taking an overnight trip to Lake Turkana.

Stakwell wanted us to deliver some water to the Turkana tribe and thought it would be good for us to go stay at Lake Turkana for the night. I assume that if there is ever a chance for the Samburu people to "vacation," this is where they go. And so we packed some things into a bag and headed off.

There was a little tension when we dropped off the water because historically, the Turkanas and the Samburus have been enemies. That has subsided a lot since Stakwell introduced Christianity to these people but we made this part of the trip hasty nonetheless. (PS-A member of the Turkana tribe actually led Stakwell to Christ. Ask me about that story later.)

We got to the lodges, unpacked, ate supper, and went to bed. It is much warmer there because the lake creates so much humidity so none of us slept very well. Not to mention that Andrew and I both received insufficient mosquito nets and I spent much of the night deciphering between net and bedsheet while Andrew rigged something up with his knife and the light switch which I still can't figure out.

This morning, we woke up and went to breakfast. Immediately upon leaving the restaurant, we were bombarded with people trying to sell us stuff. Literally bombarded. I felt like Lindsay Lohan coming out of a club. White people mean one thing to people in areas like this: money. Andrew does a nice job of playing body guard, though. With the exception of the African who stuck his head actually in the car and stared directly in my face. But none of us saw that one coming.

We went to the lake next. Andrew was able to get some amazing photos of the team and the scenery. I may not have mentioned this before but this place is so beautiful. So much that mentioning it on a blogpost or taking 100s of pictures won't do it justice. Whether we are driving through the bush, a village, or the barren desert, everything is so preserved that you can't help but see God's glory in it (reference to Rachel Langdon). At the lake, we also bought a fish from a random Turkana man for 30 shillings (about 45 cent). And so now, I am waiting for supper to be ready...Tilapia....jealous Jon, Allyson, and Dad?? :)

On the 3 hour ride back to camp I couldn't help but be blissfully happy. I am so blessed to be here with Andrew and Ben. Our team has such a great dynamic and our ties alone are an example of God's divine intervention. I am also so blessed to see such beauty all around me, both in natural scenery and the people I have been living life with and have grown to love. I guess these last few days have lacked the ABAB pattern and settled into a pattern of contentment and joy. Tomorrow I go back to the school and hopefully learn the rest of my students' names.

Love you all and keep lifting up prayers for God's provision here in South Horr and all of Kenya.

PS - 3 souls were saved at church this Sunday. Amen!

Erin Gamble
Mzungui Ang
"Our white lady"  <-- This is what the younger kids yell when I walk to school. Cute, huh?:)

ABAB Pattern

My thoughts, attitudes, and feelings have been occurring in an ABAB pattern for the last 4 days. Tuesday, I read my own post from when we first arrived in South Horr. I was surprised at how fascinated and "in love" with everything I was that day. Maybe an excerpt from my journal entry from days after we arrived will help you see how surprised I was at the contrast in attitude:


"Went to South Horr Primary after eating old bread and honey for breakfast. Met students in Class 8 (8th grade). Students were very bright and worked far more quickly and accurately than me, much less my students. Listened to staff meeting in Kisamburu (not English). Felt overwhelmed at how little this school had but how bright the students were and how the discipline, curriculum, and instruction/assessment methods are very similar to US. Excused myself to bathroom. Walked out back to small shed and opened door to find a filthy hole in a cement slab."


Just 24 hours before I was so in love with these people. Now I feel that although they are much different than me, they don't need me here. I can't offer them anything that they want. It would be one thing if I had to endure dirty living conditions and bad food when I was serving. But I don't even know what these people's needs are. Much less how to meet them. What was God doing in my heart? After much prayer, meditation, and re-reading emails from home, I felt better. And Tuesday actually turned out to be back to enjoyable (see the pattern?) 


Which brings me to yesterday. I woke up feeling very nauseated. I was unable to eat the breakfast. I went to school and helped administer exams to 4th graders. I came home and was still unable to eat. I was lonely, tired, and thanks to a few more emails for you guys at home, more homesick than ever (keep them coming though:) )Here is an excerpt from my journal entry from last evening:


"God, I don't even feel like writing todays events down. Have you called me into this season of discomfort across the world under the false pretense that I would be serving? Is this you breaking me down? If so, I surrender." 


And so the pattern continues and today was much better. I sort of took over the English and Math instruction for Class 8 and am enjoying my day.


This morning is when I had the realization that the most sincere conversations I had with the Lord, and the time when I was most mindful is when he brings me to my knees with discomfort and longing for the comforts of home. So today, I openly thank God that I was able to eat lunch. I thank him that the water doesn't taste like dirt this morning. I also thank him for the water I've had that does taste like dirt because it is still not going to kill me and will be a constant reminder that I am not entitled to anything. 


The second realization that this ABAB pattern has revealed to me is that I am not here to bring Western Civilization ideas. I am not here to change. I am not here to modify or leave a legacy. I am here to serve. So everyday at school, unless the Lord reveals something different, I will walk into Class 8, teach the English lesson prepared by the teachers there, teach the math lesson with the strategies that Fred, Bonaface, and Joseph show me, and then sit among Kenyan Samburu teachers in a smelly room where I share a very small desk with another teacher and "mark pepas" which is grade papers. My new teacher friend, Joseph, who was sent to high school with money from an American family, walked me home today and upon hearing that I felt that I wasn't helping had this to say:


"Each paper you mark or lesson you teach is helping us. We love to see you here and know that you wanted to come and meet us and help us. When the people in this town see Americans, they know you are here to help us and bring us Christianity and education."


Stop nudging God. I get it. 


So for now, I am happy. I have a full stomach (ham sandwiches today...what?! haha). I feel peaceful and content. And I had a good day at school. Tomorrow may be similar. Or I will be homesick. Or I will have no appetite for this food. Or I will face a challenge that I have yet to face. Either way, God gets all of the glory and to say that these past few days have been humbling is an understatement. 


-Erin Gamble
Just another set of hands