85 cast, crew, and orchestra

5 sellout performances

1 drama teacher to rule them all…

Our high school’s production of “The Sound of Music” took place recently over 2 weekends. It was the biggest show Lesa’s done since “The King and I“, in terms of length, numbers of students involved, size of the set, and the size of the undertaking. The show was a smashing success, and for our family was a particularly memorable experience. With Lesa as the director, Robbie playing in the orchestra, Sydney as Gretyl (the youngest Von Trap child), Avery running projection in the tech booth, and Andy running spotlight (and as technical director), it’s been an exhausting but rewarding couple of weeks leading up to opening night. The opening night was a smashing success, in everything from set to costumes to singing and acting.

 This past weekend has been a rough one, though. Friday night’s second act was nearly drowned out by a thunderous rainstorm. Sydney woke up Saturday morning with a 103 degree fever, and we quickly arranged for the other Gretyl (Lesa double cast the children’s roles for situations like this). Then, minutes before Saturday’s matinee was about to start, the piano player suffered a grand mal seizure. The cast and crew were pretty shaken and scared, and the performance had to be cancelled before it started (while Andy was desperately trying to prepare to sight-read the piano score for a 3 hour long show).

The show will resume on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week, with a new piano player (not Andy… someone who actually has time to practice) and hopefully Sydney back on her feet.

Our Masai friends who’ve been staying at our house this weekend must think every day is like this…

Next production… Lesa’s directing a middle school play: “Chateau La Roach”, which he had seen done in Virginia and loved. And rehearsals for the HS musical, “Seussical” have already started as well.

Full photos of the Diary of Anne Frank:

We have been grateful and blessed by your prayers and emails and chats and thoughts over the past 10 weeks since we’ve returned to Africa. We have been trying to find time to get an email update written, and are very sorry it’s taken so long! Please know that you have been on our hearts and minds as well, as our goodbyes this summer are still fresh in our memory.

Over the past 10 weeks we have:

• flown across 8 timezones and eventually conquered jetlag
• Lost 2 friends in the AIM AIR accident (http://brownfamily.ws/2009/08/17/the-update-i-didnt-want-to-write/)
• Did what we could to support those 2 families who lost their husbands and dads
• Moved into a new house (our 5th house in Nairobi!)
  

  Kids, in front of our latest house

• Lost all the weight we’d gained over the summer in the US
• Struggled with electricity and water rationing, often both at once!
• Started having health issues and had a colonoscopy (Andy), the 2nd in 3 months!
• Started over at a new school
• Saw our little girl become a schoolgirl (Sydney- kindergarten)
• Saw Lesa’s return to full-time teaching
• Celebrated a birthday (Robbie- 11)
• Started regularly leading worship on Sunday mornings (after a 2 year hiatus)
• Spent 5 days in the Northern Frontier District filming (Andy) (http://brownfamily.ws/2009/10/16/worship-from-the-desert-place/)
• Driven over 600 miles through Nairobi traffic on a motorcycle (Andy)
  

  Andy, rainsoaked, and his motorcycle

• Are 8 weeks into the 11 weeks of rehearsal for The Diary of Anne Frank (Lesa)
• Praised God over and over that He has placed us here, doing exactly what we were made to do

Over the next 10 weeks we will:

• Celebrate two more birthdays (Lesa, Oct 30 and Sydney, Nov 11)
• Direct 3 HS performances (Lesa) of the The Diary of Anne Frank (Nov 5,6,7)
• Take over the leadership of On-Field Media (Andy) while Ted is on home assignment
• Spend a week as cameraman with Billy Graham Association (Andy)
• Spend 8 days in Lesotho (South Africa- Andy) on filming a documentary on the nomadic, underclass shepherds of this mountainous country

The first month of our return to Africa was a rough one. Between our friend’s deaths, the funerals, moving houses, starting a new school, not to mention being terribly jetlagged, we were a mess. Through that time we held fast to God’s promises, that he is faithful and compassionate and understanding and works all things together for our good. All things… every single thing.  We are still holding tight to Him, as life is completely different now in many ways and we are all still getting used to the many changes.

We are finally seeing some rain after a severe drought here in Kenya. People and livestock have been suffering terribly over the past few months and it seemed as if the rain would never come.  We’ve never gone without water completely here in Nairobi, but the city has been rationing water so that most of the city only received water a few days a week.  Everyone stores the water when it comes, so while it has been inconvenient, we have been okay.  The electricity was also being rationed (off 3 days a week) because of the water shortage.  The rains started up this past week and haven’t let up too much.  The rationing appears to be over and we feel quite spoiled to be able to turn on the faucet and see the water pouring in every day!  Our prayer now is that there won’t be flooding all over Kenya, which can be destructive as well.

Lesa has her 3rd drama production coming up, the The Diary of Anne Frank. She is also teaching 2 high school drama classes and a middle school drama class.  She will direct a middle school play second semester, as well as a musical production for the high school.  Returning to work has been challenging and tiring for her – teaching at 35 with three kids is much different than teaching at 23!  Despite the sharp learning curve, she is loving her time at our school and feels a deep sense of purpose in mentoring and equipping these students to use their gifts for God’s glory.

Andy, filming in northern Kenya last month

The children have been busy at school with activities and getting to know new friends.  Robbie is now playing the trombone and will also be in the upcoming elementary Christmas production as a shepherd.  He and Avery are taking piano lessons at school and are both doing quite well.  Sydney is… well… still Sydney.  She loves school and is as social as ever.  She has a wonderful teacher, whom she loves.  We feel very blessed to be able to have our children at such an amazing school.  Our house has been a blessing too, though quite a bit of work for Andy as he has been working on some plumbing issues ever since we moved in.  Living so close to the school has made all the difference in the world for Lesa and the kids – no more hour-long bus/car rides.  Now we can get to school in under two minutes!  And of course, Andy loves riding a piki piki (that’s Kiswahili for motorcycle).

Lesa, leading worship on a Sunday morning

Us, with Wyclif, Selina, and Brian

We would love to hear from each of you to know how you are doing since we saw you last.  Please drop us an email and keep in touch!  Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.  We couldn’t be here without you.

In His Precious Name,

Andy, Lesa, Robbie, Avery, and Sydney

Prayer requests:

• Lesa’s show – that the students would do their best, that God would be glorified, and that our family will survive the stress!
• Andy’s trip to Lesotho – for safety and opportunities
• Kenya’s drought – that the rains would make it throughout the country (but not too much!)
• Andy’s health – please pray that the Ulcerative Colitis, which reappeared after our stressful month in August would go away again (last time it was gone for 8 years).
• AIM AIR – please pray for our friends at AIM AIR as they are still putting the pieces together after the accident.  Also, please pray for the Williams and the Toew’s families who each lost a husband/father.

Full photos here:

Cast, crew, orchestra

Friday night was the opening night for “The King and I.”   It was an amazing success!  Honestly, after dress rehearsal on Thursday, I wasn’t sure how it would end up.  Lots of things were rough.  Friday came, though, and it all came together in every way. Literally, there were no major issues in either performance!  I think we were all a bit shocked!   All of the students completely blew me away with their energy, scene changes (yikes!), great attitudes, teamwork, etc.  Their acting and singing was at its best all weekend and I stood at the back just shaking with delight and excitement!  Above is a photo of our 80 member cast, crew, and orchestra.

Shall we dance?

We have two more performances this Friday and Saturday – then strike and cast party on Saturday evening.  We’ll be posting more pictures as the week progresses – so check back again a few more times.  We’ll actually finish taking pictures on Saturday.  I can’t wait for you to see some good photos of all the costumes and sets – oh, and the “Siamese” makeup and hair!   You can see this photo of Brian and Beth, as the King and Anna, dancing in “Shall We Dance?”.  Also below is a photo of the ballet (“Small House of Uncle Thomas”).  We have an AMAZING choreographer, Betsy Kreamer, who choreographed the ballet.  The students, only one of whom (Sonia, as “Eliza”) has any dance training, all did a fabulous job.  They were so proud of themselves, as the should be – the 10 minute (ish) dance was a sight to behold!

Eliza in a rainstorm

All this is to say, I have found my “niche” doing drama at an international school – with missionary kids.  Who knew that the vision God gave me back in college would someday come to be?  And that it would be a culmination of the gifts and passions and experiences He has blessed me with over all of the 35 years of my life?  Just as usually happens with the teens I work with, I completely love these students.  I’m excited to be more involved in their lives next year, when I’ll be teaching a few classes on campus.  Andy is greatly enjoying the tech side of things too.  He’s done the Technical Design and Direction for both shows this year.  It’s fun to work together on projects again!  Our kids have been getting into it and we’re beginning to see some real interest in the arts in their lives – much more than before. Robbie doesn’t want to miss a performance and has asked if he can be on stage crew for the next show!  Sydney, of course, goes around singing all of the songs!  Next year, I’ll also be working with elementary and middle school in drama, so I’ll be able to work with our own kids, too!  I’m so thrilled about that!

Goodbye to parents - June 2007

Travel docs!

Financial situation

We’ve been watching the news in the US and are well aware of what things are like back home. We have been praying for the financial crisis that is affecting so many in our nation and most nations across the world.  Many many thanks to all of you who have continued to faithfully support us these past couple of years.  It humbles us and reminds us that we must put our trust in God every day to provide and that He uses His people – His church – to make possible His work throughout the world, especially in places that can’t afford to help themselves.

Even before the financial crisis, our monthly support income was $1,500 lower than it needs to be.  Thankfully, due to the generosity of supporters before we left America, we have been able to stay afloat, never lacking for anything that we need.  How amazing is it that God has so generously provided for us?! Now, however, as we are preparing to return for our end-of-term Home Assignment, we are finding ourselves “back to the drawing board.”  We must be 100% supported before being allowed to come back to Kenya in August.

We pray and trust that many of our faithful supporters will continue to give monthly, and we also pray that God will put it in the hearts of new supporters (both individuals and churches) to come alongside us and commit to a monthly or yearly amount.  We are asking that you, our dear family and friends, would prayerfully consider supporting us regularly. We are also humbly asking if you would talk to your church about possibly supporting us, as well.  We will make an effort to visit with churches, pastors, mission committees, etc. during our time in the US.  If you would like to become a supporter, please click HERE.  If you would like to connect us with your church, please EMAIL US with more information about how we could establish that relationship.

Walking in Shadow - click to watch!

Walking in Shadow

The newest video from Andy’s team, hot off the press and 3 months in production. A story of the muslim mindset in coastal Africa. Click the picture to the left to watch it and please forward on to your friends and churches. Also be on the lookout in the next week or so of versions without the AIM brand, for use as a worship element in churches. Andy’s team is also busy preparing the French and Portugese versions of this film, along with subtitles in Spanish, German, Korean, and Chinese!

Other random tidbits

• 

  Lesa's cast from the fall show

  It is all settled for Lesa to begin teaching high school drama/fine arts classes next year at a school in Nairobi whose purpose is to serve and support missionary families.  All three of our kids will be attending there and we will move closer to the campus when we return from the States in August.  God is working out a housing situation for us that is just a few minutes’ walk from the school.
• Our dear friends here had to return unexpectedly to the States because of the death of his mother.  As a result, we stepped in to lead the youth group that they lead, and which we have been leading worship for since we came in ‘07.  We led the group throughout December and January and greatly enjoyed building the relationships with the students and generally had a great time!
• The entire Lang family came to visit us and Tim during the month of January.  We had an incredible time showing them around Nairobi and surrounding areas and catching up on 1 ½ years’ worth of news.  We spent our vacation time with them in Mombasa, resting and enjoying the beauty of the Indian Ocean.  What a true blessing to be with close friends and share our lives with them.
• We have each been blessed to help lead worship for a couple of AIM retreats and conferences lately.  We greatly miss doing music in the church, so this is a blessing for us to get to use our gifts in this way for the missionary community.
• Lesa is well into rehearsals for the next production.  There will be nearly 50 students in the cast of this production of The King and I, in addition to the stage crew, orchestra, etc.  It is going to be a massive under-taking, but she is feeling energized and up to the challenge – and is greatly looking forward to the mentoring/teaching opportunities with so many students!  The show will be at the end of April and beginning of May.
• We have had many new people come in the last two months to join AIM IS, so we have been very involved in orientation and helping them to get settled in to their homes and ministries.  Lesa will be handing off this position after we move to the other side of town in August, and thankfully a new missionary (who is much more administratively gifted) is coming this summer who will be able to shoulder the responsibilities.
• Robbie has begun taking Karate lessons as an intramural at school, and Avery just finished swimming intramurals.  They both are enjoying these extra activities, as well as playing in the neighborhood every day with their friends (after homework is done, of course!).  Sydney is as busy as ever.  We make an attempt at doing “preschool” at home whenever we can.  She is learning her letters and numbers to help get her ready for kindergarten next year (which she is VERY excited about)!

OUR MASSIVE ROAD TRIP

Below is our somewhat tentative schedule for our time in the US.  We would love to share a meal with you when we are in your neck of the woods, so please send us an email about getting together.  We possibly may have some larger “get-togethers” in each area and will inform you of those when we know!

Tentative Travel schedule

May 6- We land in Chicago and decompress in Illinois for a few days before hitting the road

May 12 – June 3 Northern Virginia

June 9 – July 12 Kansas, Missouri and Colorado

July 12 – 31 Illinois

July 31 We fly back to Kenya!

In closing

Thank you for taking the time to read our update, and for your prayers. Our many ministries here would not be possible without you. We love you all and cannot wait to see you in a few months!

God bless you all,

Andy, Lesa, Robbie, Avery, and Sydney Brown