Monday's Update!

Monday, July 26 - Monday's update is here! As the team is heading for bed, we're eating lunch. As I type this, it's 11:00 AM in Washington, which means it's 9:oo PM Monday night in Nairobi.

Robyn and I got to speak again this morning, which is always a blessing. She said they had a long, fun day of shopping in Nairobi. There is a little indoor bazaar they go to where the shop owners know Jennifer Hatley, and usually give team members good deals. Robyn said this year the shop owners had all raised their prices to outrageous levels, and she refuses to buy from any of them, except one woman who was very respectful and kept her voice lowered. Often when a shop owner sees a tourist, they will start shouting at them to come visit their stores. Often for Americans, we don't want to offend the shop owner and so we go in and sometimes make a purchase. The shop owners got what they wanted...a purchase. So imagine this going on all around you - people shouting at you, almost demanding that you visit their shops. And then a quiet-voiced, humble woman asks politely for you to visit her shop. Robyn said she made a beeline to this woman's shop just to escape the shouting.

The woman had extremely reasonable prices...well below what the other shop owners were charging. She re-routed the team plus Onea from Texas to this woman's shop and they shopped their hearts out! She said, "seven women shopping sure know how to shop!!" Apparently they came away from the Nairobi bazaar with lots of treasures of all shapes and sizes!

Then they went across the street (remember, they always have a Kenyan chaperone with them. This time it sounded like it was Pastor Joseph, a very humble and amazing man of God) to the tee-shirt / Masai blanket store, but encountered a large mob of people screaming and running. Robyn thought the political riots had started and warned the group to stay indoors. Apparently shop owners were even closing their shops. What had actually happened is that there was a pickpocket. The crowd caught him, and beat him mercilessly. One of the Hatley's daughters (I think Marilla / Naguthi but don't remember) saw him when the crowd brought him to within a few feet of her. She said his face looked like someone had taken a knife to it, and the back of his head looked like it had been kicked. At this time, the cops hadn't arrived yet, and the crowd was taking the law into their own hands. When the cops finally did arrive at least ten minutes later, they didn't appear to be in any hurry. They just casually walked toward the ruckus, talking and joking amongst themselves. Marilla turned to Robyn and said, "At least in America your cops aren't lazy".

So let's pray for this man, the pickpocket. What he did was wrong, yet. Who knows his motivation. Maybe he's a wicked person. Maybe his family is starving and he did what he did out of desperation. It doesn't really matter, in the end. What matters is that Jesus loves him as much as He loves each of us, and what the crowd did to him in response was wrong. Let's pray that God puts someone in his life who can introduce him to Jesus and tell him of the hope that only Christ can give. Pray that his wounds heal quickly, and that no internal damage was done from all the blows he sustained. Let's also pray over that crowd, and the police officers...let's pray that the spirit of depravity that fueled that mob would be broken off Nairobi. That the enemy spirit that screams at mankind to "do to others first before it's done to you" would be broken off the people of Kenya and sent straight to the pit of hell.

After this "excitement", the team went over to Carnivores, an American-style restaurant that serves lots of exotic meats. The Hatley family joined them, and they all had a lovely time stuffing themselves so full that none of them wanted dinner several hours later! After Carnivores, they went to Kazuri beads. A little background about Kazuri...it was started as a way for Kenyan women to bring in some income to help support their families. All of the ceramic beads are hand made and fired right there at the Kazuri compound. They're then painted all kinds of brilliant and beautiful colors, and they've actually become world-famous. Several Hollywood actresses shop at Kazuri. They've got a photo up in the giftshop of one of the actresses. I think it's Meryl Streep but honestly I don't rightly remember. As a side note, I attended a friend's church last Sunday and Graham Cooke was speaking. He's a modern-day prophet. His wife was there too, and she was selling Kazuri jewelry! I was able to share with her how I had visited the Kazuri compound last year, and she wanted to know all about it. Pretty neat. Anyway, "Kazuri" is a compound word meaning "Small and beautiful" in Swahili. The jewelry is pretty expensive but it is good to remember that it enables these women to have a thriving enterprise and support their families.

After Kazuri the team went to a new store, Hati's (pronounced "Hah-tees") for more shopping. I think this is how it's spelled but anyway, the point being that the team is now bringing home half of Kenya, so make room in your homes! :o)

After that it was 6 pm and the team went straight back to the guest house at the Cooperative college. They didn't get to see the kids today but they will spend time with them when they return from Safari.

Tomorrow, they leave at 7:30 AM (9:30 PM Pacific Time, if I've counted correctly) to board the Kenyan airways flight to the Masai Mara. The Masai Mara is the same land as the Serengeti in Ethiopia, just called Masai Mara on the Kenyan side. They are staying at Sopa Lodge this year, which is the last of four stops on the flight. Remember to pray for the team that no one gets motion sickness, especially Vicki. Each "leg" of the flight is roughly 30 minutes, so it's literally up and down and up and down...

The really good news is that everyone is healthy...no one is feeling sick, and each team member is doing good all around. Thank you so much for your prayers to this end! Let's continue to pray for them as they go into a time of refreshing.

They will be at Sopa Lodge half of Tuesday, all of Wednesday, and Thursday morning, when they will have the opportunity for a final safari ride. These safari rides are amazing. I wish I had pictures of last year's safari to post, but they're not on this computer. Anyway, a brief story from my heart...

I don't know why, but it was always a dream of mine, from as far back as I could remember, to be on the African plane watching a storm rolling in the distance. I think I saw a picture in a National Geographic once, or something, that fueled that dream. Then I discovered the music of Enya, who some people don't care for but I personally love her music. She's got a song called "Storms in Africa", which is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. I shared with my roommate, Jerilyn, last year as we were preparing for the trip how I dreamed of being on safari and having "Storms in Africa" playing in the background. What a dear, tender-hearted woman...she downloaded the song to her ipod, brought it with her to Africa, and handed me the ipod right before we went on safari. On that particular day, there WAS a storm rolling in the background...and we drove straight in to it! The Kenyan plane smells AMAZING in the rain. It's warm but not muggy. The damp earth smells wild and free, with a hint of musk. It's like what mens' colognes are always trying to smell like but never fully succeeding at. And I had Storms in Africa playing on the ipod. Amber Bong and I shared the ear buds and stood on the seats, our heads and shoulders through the sun roof, letting the sky pelt us with big fat drops of warm rain. It was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. God granted a silly little dream I'd had for years, in the most tender and amazing ways. If I could've slept out there on that plane in the middle of the rainstorm, I would have!

I share that to say that God has been working in our team members' hearts this entire trip, and even before the trip. Now is when He romances them. When He says, "Come away, my beloved, and dance with me". This is when He helps them process everything they've just experienced, and when He gives them amazing rest. They will still be processing their experiences for several months after returning to America, and I know they will covet your continued prayers.

They will return to Nairobi around noon on Thursday, and Robyn said she will call me after they get back to GCC Langata.

Thank you for your continued steadfast prayers for our beloved team members.

In His Name,
Tara