Situation in Kenya

We’ve got some very uplifting news to share with you.  Last Friday Kofi Annan successfully negotiated a peace agreement between Kibaki’s PNU party and Raila’s ODM party. Kenyans have been celebrating and things seem to have cooled off tremendously since January. Kibaki will remain President, and Raila will fill a new post of Prime Minister. There’s obviously a great deal of work to do to figure out how that is going to work exactly and they are continuing to meet to work on some other issues which Annan wants to address.  Overall, it seems to be promising at this point.  There are still many displaced people throughout the country, though, which is a crisis that many churches and organizations, including AIM, are trying to address.

Travels and Medical Updates

We had a joyful reunion 2 weeks ago when an exhausted Lesa & Sydney arrived back in Nairobi after 3 weeks in the US for Sydney’s surgery. They had an amazing time of visiting with friends and family, visiting our church in Virginia, and doing lots of shopping for supplies to bring back here.  Lesa didn’t waste a single moment, trying to see, hug, and talk with everyone within a three hundred-mile radius, though she knows there are many whom she did not get to see as there simply wasn’t enough time to do it all.  So, when we come back for a 4 month visit to the States in the summer of 2009, we will be able to visit everyone without being rushed.

Sydney’s surgery was successful.  The dr. was pleased with the outcome.  We have to have her wear an eye patch on one of her eyes everyday, to strengthen it and hopefully get them both centered all the time.  There is a small chance that she will have to have another surgery some day, but it will be a while till we know if that will be necessary.  Avery has gotten his cast off of his arm and we’re hoping he doesn’t break it again (like he did last time).  Also, Lesa will be having surgery on her wrist in April.  She has a badly inflamed tendon that extends from her thumb up the side of her wrist – she had surgery for the same thing on the other hand back in high school.  Unfortunately, she isn’t hardly able to use the hand for many everyday tasks now, depending on how the hand must turn to perform the tasks (like turning a key in a lock).  The praise is that there is a visiting hand surgeon in the area right now, who looked at it and offered to do the surgery.  Isn’t God amazing?!

On-Field Media news

My (Andy’s) team has been busying capturing the stories across Kenya of the body of Christ at work during the crisis in the past few months, while more international projects for the team have been coming in. Next week, Ted and I will be heading to a creative-access nation, working with a TIMO team, some medical missions, and doing some videos about local people groups there.

Also on the horizon in the next few months are trips to Mozambique, Rwanda, and another creative-access nation.  Please be in prayer for a very significant upcoming multi-organization project OFM has been asked to do.  We can’t tell you any details, but let’s just say it’s very exciting that our team has been chosen to do this and we all need to be praying that the effects will be far reaching, as it is a country with great spiritual and physical need.  Check our website every once in a while for more details, and for post-trip stories and media.

We are sad to see one of our OFM team members leaving the field this week.  Mike DeLorenzo and his family will be returning to the States to be with his parents, as his dad has been recently diagnosed with advanced leukemia.  Mike and Ted were the ones who first proposed the existance of the OFM Team, and Mike and his wife, Renee, were the ones we met (back in April ’06) and who told us about the possibility of Andy joining the team.  Our family will truly miss their friendship.

Short-Term Missions Program

My (Lesa’s) responsibilities are increasing as my new role in the Short-Term program already expanded to also include Orientation for new Full-Term missionaries in our division (International Services).  This means that after anyone who is new to I.S. (pilots, mechanics, counselors, computer people, media people, etc. and their families) attends the more general orientation school (ABO) they then will come to Nairobi to be taken through a more location-specific orientation process by me (and hopefully other people I can get to help me)!  My first short-term folks came in January, and I have been having a great time getting to know them and helping them get settled in.  We’ve started a “Short-Termers’ Fellowship” group that meets every other week at our house for worship, prayer, Bible study, and fun.  It’s been a great way for the ministry to involve Andy – and of course he keeps things fun!  Right now I’m enjoying working on updating and revising the Short-Term and Full-Term orientation programs.  I feel so blessed to be able to have the chance to come alongside new missionaries in their struggles of starting a new life and to help them not only learn to survive here, but to thrive and to grow to love Kenya and the Kenyan people.

Vehicle project

Our Land Rover... soon!

An update on the Land Rover.. we have committed to buy a 1970′s era Land Rover from friends, the DeLorenzo’s, whom we mentioned are leaving the field this week. We had been praying for a vehicle to be available that would allow us to transport more people than just our family for when we have visitors and for Lesa to drive around short-termers, (who typically don’t have cars).  It will also enable us to drive out of the city (the roads are REALLY bad) instead of trashing our little station wagon.  At this point, we have raised $2750 – thank you so much to all who have given towards this!  We have $4250 more to go and our goal is to raise the rest quickly so we can pay them for their Land Rover and they can buy a car when they get to the States!  If you are interested in giving to our vehicle fund, you can donate on-line.  Just click here and type in our name, select “project” and enter “Vehicle” as the project name.   Thank you!

Moving… again!

As if life was in any danger of getting dull here, we received yet another shocking bit of news last week. Our landlord wants his house back and we have to be out in April. Honestly, we have really felt a bit under attack here in the past couple of months with health issues and financial issues (hospital bills, waiting on reimbursements) and the political tensions. So, getting kicked out of the house we just moved into at Christmas has been the icing on the cake.

According to a well known and respected missionary psychiatrist (who also happens to be a beloved uncle here in Nairobi), many 1st term missionaries have horror stories like this, as if all the cards stack up against new missionaries to make them not want to come back for a 2nd term. We are trying to recognize the spiritual battle going on here, and not be discouraged. We know that He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. And we will not be blown off-course.

We’re currently assessing other housing options and timing issues with when to move. Please pray for all these details to be worked out without causing more stress.

In Closing

One of the things that completely overwhelmed me (Lesa) when I was back in the States was how many people I saw whom I knew had been faithfully supporting us financially and/or through prayer.  I got to speak briefly with one family who told me that their daughter prays for us faithfully every single night.  I wanted to express to her, (but didn’t come near to being able to say it well) and to everyone how humbled we are by this kind of love and support.  I so desperately wanted to spend hours with each person, showing you at least some of that love in return.  Getting to see so many of the faces of our supporters just made it that more real to me, that you are the ones who are sacrificing continually for a ministry you may never get to see first-hand.  That takes great faith, and we truly admire your faith and we rely on it – this is the Body of Christ in action!  You are doing a work that will go unseen (except for by us) and that deeply pleases the heart of God.  We know that the Lord, who knows your heart, will reward you for this great encouragement to us.  Thank you, each one of you.  We love you!

-the brown family

Barbara just called and Sydney is done with the surgery..she did great..her eyes just look like bad pink eye..swollen and red…no bandages. They have just now got to go back to talk to her…she is happy and wanted some apple juice and some Teddy Grahams. The Dr. said she might be sick to her stomach..but so far so good.

They said it was so cute…they put her in little yellow scrubs and gave her a little car to ride around in to get ready and when it was her turn…she drove her little car to the room. Then they gave her a balloon to blow into (that was the “gas”). Barbara said she just told them that the balloon smelled very funny!

So there you have it. Driving under the influence at age 3.

We praise God for the success of this surgery, as well as for the safe travels they’ve had so far. Please continue to pray for Sydney’s recovery, and for their return to Kenya next week.

Speaking of Kenya, please take some time to read some of the articles coming out of our On Field Media team, which are currently featured on AIM USA’s front page.

Kenya Crisis Fund has ways for you to give to the recovery efforts going on here, and has a slideshow of photos I took over the past month, most of which you’ve probably already seen.

Message of hope is a story of a bishop in Kibera, and the cross-tribal efforts he is involved in to offer hope in the polarized slum.

Blurring the lines was written during a trip to Kijabe to a couple of camps for IDP (internally displaced people)

First of all, thank you for all of you who have been praying for us and for the country of Kenya during this time. Since our last email we have been so encouraged and blessed by your emails to us. It’s good to know when we click “Send” it doesn’t just go out into the vacuum of space, but that people are actively following what is going on and praying along with us. Thank you! Secondly, sorry for the long email, we’ve been trying to keep these things short but we have had so many things happen in the past 30 days we needed to tell you about.

Things were pretty tense at the beginning of January, and have fluctuated wildly since then. Threats of riots, sounds of gunfire, and constant visitors to our door from Kibera remind us that this situation is far from over. A lot of forgiveness will need to happen first, and that is a supernatural act that can only come from Christ and his power to transform minds and humble hearts. AIM is continuing to monitor the situation for the safety of all of its’ missionaries in Kenya and we still feel confident in their experience, judgment, and guidance for us during this time.

Lining up for food in Kibera

The Body of Christ in Action

Despite being in this difficult situation, we have been blessed and encouraged to see the body of Christ at work around us and through us. Many churches here have stepped up to the challenge to take care of the displaced and hungry and wounded.We had a unique opportunity to partner our sending church, Dulles Community, with a church in Kibera that was housing 300 refugees but had no way to feed them. At the time Kibera was (and still is, depending on the day and the violence) a very desperate place, because food vendors had been looted and chased out of town (or killed) and it became very expensive and dangerous even to possess food. Dulles Community was ready to give, willing to share (1 Tim 6:18) and provided 3 meals a day for those 300 people for 2 weeks during the most desperate time. We were just blessed to have been a part of connecting the body of Christ to each other.

We have also realized that the greatest way we can make an impact here is to help those whom God puts us in contact with. We have people at our door everyday who are hungry and in need. It has been our goal to give out food to anyone who needs it – as there have been people across the country without consistent food for the past month. Also, just today we were able to help out some Kenyan friends – he was in western Kenya and unable to get home to Nairobi, as there are no buses running right now. We were able to connect him with an AIM AIR plane that was landing nearby and he is home now safe and sound with his family. It’s things like that which help us to know we are here for a reason.

Ministry

AIM AIR Cessna Caravan

The On Field Media team has been busy as well, trying to cover the stories of God at work during this time. From the secular news media, people are left to wonder how a country with such a rich, lengthy Christian heritage could do this to itself. Our current mandate is to declare God’s glory, and get out the stories of how lives transformed by Christ cause people to go against the status quo and embrace fellow Kenyans across tribal lines. Recently we have been in Kibera and in Western Kenya with AIM AIR relief efforts. Click here for more photos from these trips.

Last weekend Lesa spent 3 days at the annual AIM Ladies’ retreat with 70 other women. Since we shipped a portable sound system with us to Africa, she volunteered to run sound for the event, as well as taught 2 workshops on “breathing new life into your daily quiet time.”

Lesa has been serving in a new role at AIM this month, also. She has been helping out with Short-Term missionaries (here for less than one year) who are here to serve within International Services (our division of AIM). Many of these are pilots, mechanics, counselors and their families. She had a group of four new people come two weeks ago and enjoyed organizing their orientation and getting them settled into life here. We have started a Short-Termers’ Fellowship at our house every other week for worship, training, and fun for all short-term missionaries in Interational Services.

Avery’s arm

Last Tuesday night we were having supper at a friend’s house, and joking about how Robbie had broken his arm once, Avery twice, and Andy three times. The very next day Avery tied his dad, and is well on his way to breaking the record at this pace! He and Robbie were jumping off the swings at the playground at Tumaini, and apparently Avery must have won the contest.

In Kenya, getting treated for a broken arm is very different than in the US. We had to pay for everything in cash ahead of time, and it involved Avery having to go by himself to the “operating theatre”, and spending the night in the hospital with Lesa by his side. All told it was about an 18 hour stay in the hospital, and I think it might have slowed Avery down for a day.

Sydney

Sydney’s surgery and trip to US

For those of you who have kept up with our blog, it may not come as a surprise to hear Lesa and Sydney will be back in the US by this Friday night. And for the rest of you… surprise!

We knew before we came here that Sydney would need eye surgery at some point to correct her eye condition, strabismus. We had seen several doctors in the US before coming here, and had some recommendations. We were able to follow up here in Nairobi with another highly recommended expert in ophthamology who concurred that waiting till our next furlough (summer 2009) could cause permanent vision problems. We decided that Lesa would take Sydney, leaving Andy and the boys at home, so they could continue to work and to attend school.

They will be in the Dulles (VA) area the weekends of the 3rd and the 17th, and will be in Kansas with Lesa’s family in between for the surgery and recovery. They are looking forward to connecting with many of you in these places, visiting Dulles Community Church, and having some special time with Lesa’s family.

Vehicle fund

Our Land Rover?

We have been praying for the right opportunity to purchase a vehicle that is a better fit for our family’s personal and ministry needs. Our current vehicle is a station wagon that seats 5 and we need to drive more people around than just our family when we have visitors and when Lesa is driving around new Short-Term missionaries. We also needed a vehicle to drive outside of Nairobi, where the roads are REALLY bad – an SUV that is made for the type of roads you find in Africa. A vehicle has become available for us to purchase – our friends are willing to sell us their old Land Rover (you can see us with it on our little safari in pictures on our website). It can seat almost double what our current car can seat! We would like to purchase it as a second vehicle, to only use when needed, as our station wagon gets great gas mileage and is much better suited for city driving. In order to get it, we need to raise $7,000 for the purchase and necessary repairs by the end of February. If you would like to give to our vehicle fund, click here. Type in our name, select “project” and enter “Vehicle” as the project name.

Prayer requests

• Please pray for the still volatile situation here across Kenya, for our new Kenyan friends who are all affected by this, for the Kenyan church that it would be a light in this darkness, and for the leaders who need to come to a solution quickly. Thousands of Kenyans have lost possessions, homes, and loved ones in this senseless violence.
• Please pray for safe travel for Lesa and Sydney, for a successful surgery and recovery for Sydney, and for the guys and they stay in Nairobi for 20 days without Mom.
• Please pray for our family and other missionaries as this past month has been extremely stressful. All of the missionaries are feeling the strain of grieving the loss of this once peaceful country, concern for the Kenyan friends, and concern for their own family’s safety.
• Please pray for our ministries here – OFM, Short-Term missionaries, and our efforts to help our Kenyan friends and neighbors – that they would be able to continue, to bless others, and to bring glory to God.

In closing

Wow… sorry again for the long email. We just had so many things in the past month we had to talk about, and many more that didn’t fit on the page. We just wanted to close with saying despite the situation here, we are confident God has us (and other missionaries) here because we are needed. Maybe the things we are needed for are not part of our official assignment with the organization, but we feel confident that when times are tough, that is exactly when we are needed here the most. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be here and serve this country.

In Christ’s love,

Andy, Lesa, Robbie, Avery, Sydney

A: 11 pokes with a needle and 2 sick boys with a strange combination of typhoid, yellow fever, meningitis, and hepatitus A.