Refugees

I went to Daystar University this week to sit in on a class in their peace studies department. The topic was refugees. I found listening to the information on the Kenyan Refugee Act interesting, given the work I have done half a world away with receiving refugees into Canada. I was also blessed to encounter zebras and giraffes on the ride out. The campus is on the outskirts of Nairobi. I was checking out the potential for Menno Simmons students to participate in a couple of classes while we are here on practicum to build bonds and see from an African perspective, conflict transformation.

I also had an opportunity to meet with a refugee my sponsor has sponsored who is here in Kenya. He is a delightful young man who survived the Rwandan genocide. I was so impressed with his story. He tells me that God intervened so many times on his journey. He was separated from his uncle and siblings but made his way to Burundi and then on to Tanzania. At one point, because he was young and healthy, he was asked to get off a lorry which was later blown up as it approached a border. I was so impressed with his faith and his personality. I look forward to seeing him again on Palm Sunday at mass.
I leave bright and early tomorrow morning to go to the Mombassa area. I will be staying at a Christian conference centre right on the Indian Ocean. I hope to read and debrief by myself before the Hope for Kenya Forum, Coastal region Conference begins on Monday.

Today was my farewell luncheon at work. We went to the Carnivore Restaurant where I ate crocodile, ostrich, beef, chicken, and pork in various forms such as ribs, sausages, roast, wings, liver, and gizzards. I skipped the later. My colleagues were very affirming about the work that I have done here, though we will have the official debrief momentarily. I have been blessed and a blessing and that has made all the difference. I was open to so much but also wanted to be a vehicle for God’s grace to work through. I am grateful for everything.

Suzanne

Humble Hearts School

Yesterday I spent the morning at Humble Hearts School in Nairobi. A colleague of mine from Winnipeg sponsors a deaf boy there. His face broke into a wide grin when he saw the mini cars she had included in her care package. He gratefully examined all the items and then tightly gripped the pencil, toothbrush and face cloth that he was allowed to bring back to class. The school has about 300 students from the slums of Nairobi. Forty students in the primary classes are Deaf. The director says that she noticed a problem with the students returning home and not being able to communicate so she allowed siblings to attend the school. They are in separate classes except for Kenyan Sign Language classes.

The school is humble and is in a poor part of Nairobi. The smell as you walk towards it is quite unpleasant. Once you enter the compound, you forget the smell as happy faces greet you. The classes are in tin trailers, painted purple, and the uniforms are also purple!!! The school looks much poorer than the school I visited in Bujumbura. The residence is in the home of the parents of the director. The girls and boys sleep in separate tin shacks, three to a bed. My heart went out to them but I tried to accept that a shared bed was better than no bed in the slums.

In the pre-unit, a boy around 14 sat learning amongst the little 4-year-olds. A social worker had found him wandering the streets of the slums, unable to communicate. She contacted Humble Hearts who took him in, gave him a name, and hope to provide an education for him. He will remain in the pre-unit for the first year and then be placed more appropriately, depending on his a new achievements.

A new residence is being built on the outskirts of town, in a lovely residential area. There looks to be ample room for boys and girls to sleep in secure, healthy surroundings. As well, there are kitchen, dining, and laundry facilities. The little shamba or garden has food in it now that is used for the current residence. There is also a place for cows and chickens. However building materials are expensive and the work was begun two years ago. Beaty, the director, was not sure when the project would be finished. She says the neighbours are accepting of the concept of having Deaf children move in.

Not all children have sponsors and if anyone is so moved, information about Humble Hearts sponsorship can be found at http://www.angelcovers.org/humblehearts.html -- I know you will be blessed if you do and it will certainly help a Deaf child in desperate need.

Amani,

Suzanne

Two weeks left

Hard to believe that time is almost out. The next week is going to be busy--we have been in the office late and this weekend I am working too on the audit prep. The following week I will be in Mombassa on the coast for a few days for a Hope for Kenya Forum Conference. The sessions are for clergy who are still dealing with what happened in parishes after the post-election violence and CAPI is sending me to represent them.

With any luck I will also get to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve--pray it all works out. I leave April 6 for home and get in on the evening of April 7 in time for family celebrations--brithdays and anniversaries--and Holy Week celebrations at my community.

Happy Birthday!!

Several of you are experiencing birthdays in the coming week and internet is crazy slow here right now and getting online is a hassle. So Mary T, Fr. B, Joanne, Aunt J, and Penny, I wish each of you a fabulous year ahead. Each of you is in my heart and prayers.

Happy spring!! I have a feeling I may not be online in the next few days.

love,

Suzanne

ps: Hannah Taylor from Ladybug Foundation sent me a lovely email recently to thank and encourage me for what I am doing here. Isn't she just the sweetest thing??? I printed it off and took it home to show the children who were thrilled!! The daughter drew a picture and one of the sons wrote a fabulous letter to her which I will get to her upon my return.

Do not forget the things

The Old Testament reading for Wednesday was from Deuteronomy 4:9: “Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.” I stopped and pondered these words in my African context—in the experience of this adventure that I have been living—in the understanding that these months have been a blessing that is not yet finished. When I return home, I will not forget all that I have seen or let the memories slip from my heart as long as I live.

I awoke early thinking about the colleague in Burundi, wondering how he will manage. First he mourns the loss of his child—his wife was 7 months pregnant when she miscarried. Then the death of his wife, who in another country might well still be alive. Four young children remain that will need his care as he grieves. My prayers are with him and his family.

This story is one of several that will be engrained within my soul as I prepare to leave and return home. I have so many stories to tell that have not yet made it to these pages. I know that there will be a time of discerning and integration of this experience over the months and years to come. I hope that I am careful enough to honour the gift that has been given to me—all of it. The fears, pain, sadness, beauty, courage, and the whole of it are to be appreciated. I am living my chance of a lifetime and hoping that it will influence the rest of my life.

Peace,

Suzanne

African Reality

Today in the office we received sad news. Last week, we heard the news that the wife of a colleague from Burundi had miscarried the baby she was carrying. Today was the infant's burial...and today the wife also died. She had been in a coma since last week after the miscarriage. The horrible reality for African women is that giving birth--or attempting to in this case--is risky business. I am so sad to know that Adrian and his young children have to suffer such a loss. He is an incredible man who interpreted for me during my time in Bujumbura. He works with people who have been traumatized. Now he faces his own mountain of grief. Please pray for him and the children and those who will mourn Odette's death. Odette's sister is also known to me as a fabulous African woman who is doing excellent healing work in the region as well.

peace,

Suz

Hear these praises

"Hear these praises from a grateful heart" the song lyrics wafted through the congregation at Lifespring Community Chapel where Pastor Bob is the senior pastor. I had been singing a number of the worship songs and somehow I had already been thanking God for my incredible experience here in Africa and gotten a wee bit teary about my imminent departure and this song pushed me into those emotions even more. Fast forward three weeks and I will be somewhere in the air over Europe. It is hard to believe really. I don't know what to think yet. I am anxious to return home and to my life in Canada but at the same time I have really been so grateful for the time I have had in Africa. I have been blessed in ways I cannot even articulate. Today for example, I rounded a corner with Fr. Lwanga (who sends a heartfelt hug to you, Winn) and stopped at the sight of these two magnificent flowering trees. "Look!" I exclaimed, 'we don't grow these at home."

I have had trouble getting on to the internet lately. Mostly because I have been so busy but also the connections are slow and the flash drive we use to connect is in high demand in the office. I will try to post a few updates in this sitting.

I have had news that I will head to the coast for a conference and staff has encouraged me to take a few days of vacation and enjoy Mombassa or Lamu so I will explore those options. I have also decided to try to get to Masai Mara Game Park this weekend but better get organized or it will come and go before I blink.

What else do I need to let you know about? Work has been a little hectic and I do wonder if I will complete everything on my plate or not. I have a brochure, newsletter and website to prepare which are all major tasks but somewhat related. I have a few other things to do as well, and this week it is to assist with the audit preparation. Today though I was booked to see Fr Lwanga who is a Benedictine priest and so what I thought would be a few hours took most of the day in typical African style but I thoroughly enjoyed the company of these men and the work that they are doing. I saw a little more of Nairobi too as we headed in a direction I have not been.

This weekend Bob had to pick up one of his son's in Karen so I went along for the ride and the house we arrived at is part of Karen Blixen's coffee plantation (as is everything in Karen) and I gaped at the luxury of it all. Bob's youngest son pulled me over to the window and pointed in the direction of the swimming pool. While I have not been living in austere surroundings, I had not been in a posh setting since arriving. I must confess I just wanted to sit down and soak it all in but it is probably a very good thing we had to head off to church.

Bob was preaching on abortion that morning and we had discussed the topic earlier that week and so I went along to hear what he had to say. He was preaching against the bill that is on the table here that will allow 12 year old girls to have access to contraceptives and abortion without parental consent or knowledge. Twelve!! Yikes!! His oldest son is 12--he is just a baby in many ways. The sermon was very good and compassionate. He shared also from a Kenyan perspective and said that the reason Kenyan women have abortions are shame and security. He also told the story of Luke, my friends Al and Darlene's baby who they chose to keep, despite doctors encouraging them to abort the child who was destined to not survive. He told the story with such grace and beauty that it brought tears to my eyes and so proud once again of the choice that my friends had made. He ended with a prayer time for those who had had abortions and prayed that they would know that the decision did not define them--that they were still children of God, well-loved by the Giver of Life. He also called for prayer for those who had forced abortions on women (parents and partners) and for men who were not consulted in the decision. It was refreshingly different than anything I had experienced in Canada. Afterwards, I joined an American couple for lunch at an Indian restaurant and then went shopping for souvenirs at a market.

I think I better head home now. I have a 20 minute walk downhill and want to get home before it gets too dark.

with praise and thanksgiving for all that I am gifted with here,

Suzanne