| Kenya Trip: November 2007 |
This year Scott led a team from Life to Kisumu Kenya to build a playground for the Osare Orphanage. The team consisted of Scott, John Milborrow, Alan George, Peter Coot, Clive Culshaw and Wayne Furbur. Julie Shimizu had to change her plans at the last minute and had to postpone her visit until 3 weeks later.
Click here to view a message from James and Rose Osare, founders of Kisumu Orphanage. To view the message you will require Apple QuickTime. Click here to download it for free. Click here to view a photo gallery featuring photos taken during the trip. Report by Scott Carr We arrived in Nairobi in the evening of October 29th after a fairly uneventful and boring 9 hour flight. After tracking down David our talkative taxi driver, we booked in to the Methodist Guest House for some much needed rest.  Tuesday the whole team travelled to Mathare slum – Mathare meaning “madman” – as David was delighted to point out… I think he thought we were mad to travel there, but once we arrived and were greeted by 20-30 pastors and some members of the local congregations. Mathare holds a rough population of nearly a million and for the most part is utter squalor – a hot and dirty shanty town. For the rest of the team is was a total sensory and emotional overload. Later during the day whilst I was still teaching, the team were led out amongst the narrow alleyways and warrens – crossing open sewers and greeting various members of the churches. One team member described it like Hampton Court Maze on the wrong side of hell. But even in such conditions there was such a hunger for the word of God and of the Spirit’s brooding over the place. At lunch time the ladies that had been working so hard out the back – brought in a variable feast of local dishes to feed both us, their guests and all the pastors present. The day was as much a shock to our system as was the cold plunge we took into the unheated pool at the MGH just before dark that evening.
The following day we were all up early and ready to catch our flight on across to Kisumu –eventually arriving ahead of schedule at Kisumu airport to be greeted by some of the orphans. I also met a very interesting and genuine man called Sammy – who was introduced as the hopefully the next MP for Siaya district after the forthcoming December general elections. He’d taken precious time out from campaigning to come and chat with me.  Whilst we sipped sodas and the team relaxed I talked and finally prayed with Sammy – it turns out that God has A PLAN for Sammy and his ODM party. Several years back when I first visited Siaya – God brought the then Siayan MP to one of the pastors meetings where I happened to be speaking about how God feels about corruption in the church and in the nation. At that time I’d felt God prompting me to pray over that man – and that God was going to raise him up. Apparently from that point on the particular MP began to grow in prominence and many started to follow him – now it turns out that same MP Raila Odinga is now one of the two opposing presidential candidates in the December elections and whilst we were there the national newspapers carried his photo on the front page because he denounced corruptive practices in government and he’d claimed that he had evidence that the elections were already being “rigged”! He also happened to be representing Sammy’s party! Now here I am again praying for a perspective MP and God is clearly revealing that if this man keeps to God’s ideals of anti corruption then He will eventual raise him to high office so that a nation may be changed!
This kind of “ripple” effect was almost a hallmark of this year’s trip. Over the coming days the team arrived on site at the Osare Orphanage Home in Bandani (just outside of Kisumu town centre)  and they made amazing progress on the project of building an adventure playground for the children. They overcame many set backs and challenges – not least of which the 34C heat (at least two suffered from sunstroke), and all of us went down with stomach problems at one point or other. But it was the joy and hope of the 250 children themselves that kept us focused and going. Each day we ended up having to do some shopping for tools, materials and water, then once on site the team would tackle the next stage, working alongside the older (and some younger) orphans who worked hard at the digging and concreting. Whilst I preached on the same site in the new bible college building that has only just been finished in the last weeks. Each day I had around 50 pastors and members – it was a real privilege this year to be able to stay with same group of pastors – teaching them for 7 days. More than ever before – there was a wonderful sense of being in just the right place, at the right time and doing the right thing. – thank you, Lord. As well as teaching mornings and afternoons there was the opportunity both for prayer and ministry where many if not all responded in some way to what God was doing amongst us and the few evening meetings that due schedule I was able to take, meant that many local folks from the community came in and were touched by the Lord.  The new college build was a wonderful asset in enabling all of this as not only with a generator was the whole hall lighted and powered for pa but also the side rooms were spacious enough to allow those pastors that travelled considerable distance to be there for the week and able to sleep safely on site. James still has many plans and need for the building however – better and more chairs are needed and there is still the hope of a second storey to be completed when God releases the required funds.
Meanwhile the rest of the team discovered that nothing is quite as straight forward as you first believe – one of the team discovered that even seeking to help one child can lead to all sorts of “ripples” in a different culture and in a faith filled environment. What was clear at the end of the trip though was that when we are determined to bless the poor out of a heart to love – God more than multiplies our efforts.  The playground was finished – and to see the faces of all those children, as the adults watched from the sidelines and THEIR new play area was opened – was priceless. On the Wednesday evening we dedicated and prayed for the new area and we even commissioned the Masaai warriors that were the security team for the orphanage to take special charge of it. The previous Sunday had been a lovely party day – a day of feasting, celebration, photo calls and games – the Wednesday was by no means a solemn occasion – one of my dearest memories of the trip was that once after opening the area and getting over the formal bit – I’d sat down in the sand and taught some of the smaller children how to make sandcastles with a makeshift bucket and hands for a spade…
Thursday we had to prepare to return home – but not before we emptied out suitcases of most things that could possibly be left behind for Mamma Rose to distribute from soap bars to first aid kits – t shirts to walking boots. The team could see that even the smallest gesture could make a big impact in the lives of those in the family at Bandani. Before our flight back to Nairobi and then home we spent the day just with James and Rose, we took them to best place by the lake we could find and treated to them to a first class meal. John (our resident twitcher) even saw a local variation on the kingfisher and even a monitor lizard that was enormous. Over lunch we discussed the trip, the finances of the orphanage and many things. It was clear that again it was Lord God who provided for Osare orphanage, it was He who continued to send street children to Mama Rose and James, and He that kept them safe and free from illness over the year – it was James testimony that no matter how many children come – the food has never ran out – and now fresh vegetables, fruit and even meat are provided.  Those 80+ orphans that are sponsored by Life and friends are especially flourishing most of them doing really well in school ( it was actually national exam time whilst we were there), more than the money, prayer and care was making all the difference. Even this last project would do much to convince those former street children who had been rejected my many and cursed – that in Bandani there is a God who loves, who welcomes into the family. – This made such a trip fully worthwhile and once again priceless.
Thank you to all of those readers of this report who contributed this year to make possible our visit. Thank you especially to all those who regularly give in sponsoring a child – with over 150+ children who still need sponsoring I’d ask the reader to consider if you too can help – if so don’t hesitate to contact Anna Pisani through our website or direct. |
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© 2007 Life Community Baptist Church |