We knew it would be a hard couple of weeks upon our arrival in Africa. We were planning on it being hard, knowing that within days of landing Lesa would begin staff training at our school, I would be moving our possessions across town and we’d be extremely jetlagged. We knew it would be hard, but not this hard.

Frank Toews

After landing in Nairobi and clearing customs, we were greeted by my friend Ted with the news of the AIM AIR crash that afternoon. Our friend Frank, the pilot, was dead. Our friend Ryan, an engineer who was also sitting in the front of the plane, was in the hospital with serious burns. Our hearts sank, as did our knees to the floor of the airport.

We lived between the 2 families for a couple months last year. Ryan’s oldest son and my 2nd son are great friends. But beyond our feelings, our entire small close-knit community of AIM International Services was reeling and hurting. Hurting for our friends, for their children, for ourselves, for each other. Confident, though, in Frank’s presence with our heavenly Father.

We still had a job to do. Lesa still had staff training to attend, and we still needed to move houses within the week. I managed to secure a lorry (truck) and 7 strong kenyan men to help, and we moved on Wednesday. Ryan died on Friday, at a special hospital for burns in South Africa.

Ryan's toolbox at the AIM AIR hangar

Frank’s memorial service was Tuesday, Ryan’s was Saturday. Between the two services, we had Ryan’s son to our house for a sleepover. I’ve been really proud of my sons as they’ve lost their selfishness the past few weeks to do what they needed to do to support their friends.

So, here we are, just over 2 weeks after arriving in Africa. A tough couple of weeks that has taught us a lot. Taught us that God is good and deserving of praise even when praising seems like such a sacrifice. Things are picking up, the house is getting unpacked, the kids have started school, and Sydney is loving kindergarten. Life really is good, and God is great.

More information on the AIM AIR crash:
World Magazine, “Crash in Kenya” http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/15749
AIM news http://www.aimint.org/usa/news/
AIM AIR blog http://www.aimair.org/page21/page21.html

Anyhow, we recently released this video, and it is now being distributed to all AIM missionary candidates, but we thought we’d share it here as well so you can enjoy what our last 2 years have been like!

The summary of our first year in Africa, what it’s like to pack up and move across the world, orientation, culture shock, what it’s like to live here, and the ministries we are involved in.

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

That all changed yesterday, when we got the long-awaited call that the sea container had finally arrived at the hangar. We cancelled all plans for the day and sped down to Wilson airport to inspect the contents and get our stuff… all 39 boxes of them! Stuff we hadn’t seen since May, when we packed it and drove it up to NYC to be put onto the aforementioned sea container. Stuff we couldn’t even imagine what it was since it had been so long since we packed it. Stuff we had learned to live without. Stuff we were extremely glad to see again: photo albums, decor, bicycles, everything that the Pampered Chef has ever sold, clothes, toys, videos, beds, mattress!, tools, and the list goes on and on.

Anyhow, we praise God that it all arrived, that nothing was missing or broken (except a few bottles of shampoo that exploded all over the contents of 1 of the boxes). Now we are in the middle of the daunting task of unpacking each box and trying to find a place for its contents in a house that we had pretty much set up with everything we needed.

But it is nice to have more than 7 shirts and 2 pants now…

 Packing to move 6 times in 3 months: We can honestly say right now we will be glad to have this done with. We’ve moved from our townhouse to mission housing, drove a 270 cubic foot shipment to NY that is now on a boat for Africa, moved from the mission housing to our mini-van at the end of May,  re-packed everything  this week into the 14 suitcases which are now in front of me. Our lives are strewn about all over the place, and it will be a couple months before it all comes together again.

2500 miles to say goodbye: The past month has been a blur – we’ve driven across the country to see as many friends and family as we could and had bittersweet goodbyes all the way. We will miss all of you dearly, and will count the days until summer 2009 when we will return to see you all.

Thank you so much, to every one of you who have been praying for us and supporting us on this journey. The past 6 months have been the most encouraging and overwhelming months in our lives. We are totally blown away by every one of you, and totally blown away by our incredible God who proved that not only is nothing impossible for him, but nothing is even hard.

Click to see the photo album