#1: To work with Pastor Euticauls Wambua who heads the Youth at Risk Community Center in the Korogocho slum just outside of Nairobi. This slum is home to over 150,000 people in 1.5 square kilometers. In Swahili, the word "korogocho" literally means "crowded shoulder to shoulder." Not only is it crowded, but it's also located beside an active trash dump. Due to the lack of clean water, overcrowding, and poor infrastructure, the people of Korogocho tend to have very poor health. In 2008 the HIV rate was an estimated 14% of the population. Situated in the heart of the slum is the Youth at Risk Community Center, a school for over 300 Korogocho children. At school many of the students receive their only meal of the day. They also receive academic and Biblical instruction from loving teachers. Jarred and I will be working with Pastor Euticauls to meet any practical needs they may have at the school. We hope to take some supplies with us as we go. I am also hopeful that I can use my teacher training here in the US to better educate the teachers at the Youth Center. We'll be updating the blog with details as we figure out more specifics.
Picture I took on my first trip to Kenya of a kindergarten class at the Youth Center.
#2: Our second opportunity on the trip will be to work with a school for the deaf just outside of Nairobi. Pastor Euticauls has a connection to this school because two of his nieces are deaf. Our mission there will be to take the love of Jesus to a people group who are largely thought of as "cursed" and who are outcast from society, living in an isolated and silent world. God's been preparing me, specifically, for this mission for quite a long time. If you're reading this, you most likely know that Jarred and I have the most adorable and fantastic deaf nephew in all the world. Before he came along, God gave me the phenomenal experiences of taking American Sign Language at Clemson and experiencing the deaf community across the US through FCA Mission trips. And long before that I had an unbelievably amazing aunt who was a teacher of the deaf in South Carolina and who was making me sweatshirts with ASL hand signs when I was just a wee child. So it's clear to me that God has definitely had many plans for me to interact with and love the deaf in his name for a long, long time. While we don't know Kenyan Sign Language, we know that deaf people in developing countries like Kenya often lack not only the opportunity for education but for acceptance as well. Through our smiles, hugs, the use of an interpreter and perhaps a picture Bible, we hope the deaf Kenyans we have the honor of interacting with will see and understand that they have a loving Father and Creator who not only accepts them, but died for their sins so that they would never have to be separated from him.
Well, now you know a little bit about are upcoming journey. At the moment we are in a place somewhere between "Hooray for going to Kenya!" and "Oh my word this is slightly terrifying but exciting all at the same time!" To say that we don't feel adequate for this mission in an understatement. However, we trust that God always provides and will equip us with all that we need to serve him. This will be Jarred's first foreign mission trip, and we are excited about how our marriage will grow through this shared experience. I also can't wait to see how God works in Jarred's life as he get to experience the incredible love of Kenyans for the first time. It's going to be pretty awesome!!
We'd love for you to pray for us as we start putting together all the details and begin our fundraising campaign. And if you feel called, join us!! Seriously...we'd love to have you! We're going in February, which I know isn't the ideal time for most people, but if you can get out of work or school...holla back! And don't worry if you're nervous about the interactions with the deaf and don't have a background with sign language...they don't use American Sign Language anyway...and besides, a smile is the same in any language!!
