Classes and Skills

Monday and Tuesday of the second week in Kenya all of us were able to take part in teaching the literacy kids classes and we were able to go with the older kids to skills. In literacy the kids learn Science, Math, English, Computers, Social Studies, Library, Bible and Swahili. In skills classes the older kids are in one of the following: Salon, Catering, Woodwork, Sewing, Computers, and Mechanic. Jeremy, Candace and Laura were going to skills first and Shannon, LeShae and I were teaching classes first. We didn’t realize till later that we spilt the group in non-teachers and all teachers, it worked well though.

Monday Shannon, LeShae and I were in the learning center teaching classes. I started off teaching advanced English, LeShae started in beginner English and Shannon started in the Library. We then rotated through random classes teaching. Shannon did library and Bible the whole time, LeShae did English, Bible and Science and I did English, Math, and science. The whole time us three were teaching, Laura, Jeremy and Candace were at the skills classes. After we finished teaching we ate and then LeShae and me were told to teach the fast tract English class, that was so much fun to me. Fast tract class is a 2-hour class that is available for the kids that learn faster than some others and that are working to take their national exam. These kids are SO smart! They were writing better than some people do in America, me included. After LeShae and I finished the fast tract we went to the boys compound and met up with Shannon, Laura, Jeremy and Candace and ate dinner and hung out.

On Tuesday Shannon, LeShae and I all went to skills while Candace, Laura and Jeremy all went to teach classes. We started off the day with an early breakfast and then an awesome chapel! These Kenyans know how to get up and sing and praise God, it was such a blessing to be a part of it. When we arrived at skills LeShae and Shannon were pulled to Salon with a bunch of girls to be customers while I headed to woodshop. While in woodshop we sanded two tables and then me and a boy named Rashid painted them with two coats of white. While I was having fun in woodshop Shannon and LeShae were havin an adventure in salon. It started off as these two girls were giving both Shannon and LeShae pedicures and they said, “It feels really good!”  Well the next thing that happens is I walk in and see both of them getting their hair done. The thing is that both girls decided to wash, blow-dry and style the aggies hair, but it was not what they thought it was. When they began styling Shannon and LeShae’ hair they put a thing called Hair Food in. Hair Food is pure hair grease and it is thick. When their hair was styled the girls put handful after handful in. Our team did not see them until we met up for lunch. (at this time there hair was dry) We sat down and saw LeShae and Shannon and it looked like they had just gotten out of the shower. It was so funny but so awful! That day they washed their hair three times and it still wasn’t out. LeShae started cheering when her hair was finally getting tangled after she washed her hair.  That night though we were invited to go to Irene and Robins house to play games. (Irene and Robin are a couple that live at Made in the Streets and Irene teaches English and Robin teaches in the woodshop skill.) We ended up playing Life Choices. It was a game that you had to share a lot of personal stuff like “What is a story about one of your uncles” or “describe your perfect day.” It was really fun! Shannon ended up winning and when someone wins everyone else has to say something positive about that person. It was really fun to all go around and said what we like about Shannon. Overall Tuesday was a day of adventure and excitement.

Monday and Tuesday was very special to me because since I do want to become a teacher. Teaching and having a classroom to myself for the first time was kinda scary and nerve racking. I was nervous but after I did it felt good to connect with those kids on a different level. My favorite part of Monday was teaching the fast tract class. Those kids were so smart and they were so eager to learn! We were learning about how to write a formal letter, a friendly letter and a comparison paper. Their formal letters were very good and when they wrote their friendly letters we wrote the names of all us Aggies on the board and said they could write any of the Aggies or just a friend from MITS. All of them wrote an aggie but one and their was 18 kids. It was so cool to read those letters and just see the love of those kids. The Lord just kept blessing me through these two days by showing me how talented these kids are and just how incredible and powerful His power is that he is able to turn someone life totally around and do it honoring Himself! Tuesday my favorite part was the skills. I was able to hang out in the woodshop a lot and it reminded me of my industrial tech teacher in high school and made me thankful for all the things he taught me in that class. Also during woodshop I had the chance to talk to a lot of the kids in there and they told me how Christ was working in their lives and just their life stories. It was heartbreaking and I was so honored because that was just seeing God face to face, He was very evident in every kid I talked to! Overall the teaching days were a success and I was blessed not only to teach the kids but learn from them as well (: 

In His Name, 
Kori or as the Kenyans say "Koe"

Camping at Mt. Kenya

While preparing for our trip to MITS, we were told that we were going to have the opportunity to take the literacy students (ages 12 – 15) on a camping trip to Mt. Kenya for 5 days.  We did not know all that it would entail, but we came prepared and it was quite the hit!

We camped at the bottom of the mountain at a place called Mount Rock.  The grounds were beautiful with tall trees, a dam, cliffs, a playground, places to play, and nice facilities to clean up and cook.   We all slept in sleeping bags in tents at the campgrounds and rotated groups to prepare the food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  There were 35 students, 6 Aggies, and 5 staff members making that a total of 46 people. 

The camp week consisted of classes in the morning and playtime in the afternoon.  We taught on the life of Moses because the students are learning about Moses through the book ‘The Story” at MITS.  We had 4 classes each day; a bible class taught by Shannon, a choir class taught by LeShae, a craft class taught by Kori, and a quiet time/memory verse class taught by Candace and I (Laura).  Jeremy kept the time and floated through all the classes for when help was needed.  We tried to make it fun while also being informative.  The kids seemed to really enjoy the classes and were able to do activities that were different than their normal routine.  In the afternoon, we had organized games and also just free time.   The students really don’t get a chance to just chill so they really enjoyed having time to play, walk around, relax, and just do what they want.  The one hard thing about the week was keeping the children engaged especially in the afternoon since there were so many distractions.  I think they would have been perfectly content doing nothing in the afternoons since they normally do not get a lot of free time, but we tried to at least keep them semi-engaged.  Throughout the week, we played soccer, freeze tag, a cat and mouse game, and chain tag.  One afternoon, all of the students had the chance to ride a horse!  Jackton (a MITS staff member) was able to negotiate with the campground and got a really good deal for all the kids to ride.  There were two horses saddled up and each student was led through the grounds.  Some of the kids had never even seen a horse before so to see the pure joy in their faces when they were riding the horses was priceless.

On the last day camping, we were able to all take a 4 ½ mile hike up the mountain to caves that were used by the Kenyans during the 1960s in their fight for independence against the British.  When I say walk…. I mean a power walk (almost jog) up to the caves.  All of the Aggies ended up in the back of the group within the first five minutes and that’s where we stayed.  All of the students were so enthused to be going on an “adventure” that it was practically a full on sprint the whole way.  It was awesome to see the beautiful landscape in Kenya and to be in the middle of God’s wonderful creation.  The caves were so tall and expansive with a waterfall in the middle.  Apparently, the Kenyans hid in the caves in the daytime and at night would raid the towns and kill all of the British.  The caves were an integral part of gaining their independence and we were able to see them face-to-face.  The way back to the campgrounds was a lot slower of a pace, which was a nice change.  The kids were also exhausted from going so fast up to the caves so it was a struggle for them to get back down the mountain.

During camp week Shannon, Leshae, Candace, and Kori had a really good prank pulled on them by Jackton and Irene, two of the MITS staff members.  There were baboons literally walking around throughout the campgrounds and in super close quarters to us the whole week.  Apparently baboons are notorious for taking things from campgrounds, which we were not aware of.  Well, Shannon, LeShae, Candace, and Kori left their bibles, journals, and water bottles sitting on a table one day while they were down at the playground.  When they came back, Jackton and Irene told them that they saw the baboons from a distance come and take their stuff and run away with it.  At first, they all didn’t believe them, but Jackton and Irene made it sooo believable and kept it going for hours.  We had all come up with alternatives about how we were able to go with just my (Laura) water bottle and no bibles to teach bible class.  Eventually, Kori opened Jeremy’s tent and saw their things sitting in the corner.  So in the end, the real baboons were discovered as Jackton and Irene. 

My favorite part of our time camping was being able to build stronger relationships with all of the students and getting to know them so well.  We were able to spend 24 hours a day with the students for 5 straight days.   I am not going to say that our patience was not tested, but I would not take back having that time with the kids.  It was especially good for Kori, Candace, and LeShae who have not been to MITS prior, to be able to meet the kids, get to know their names and stories, and to just love on them and build their trust in a short period of time.  Something that I especially loved was being able to have one-on-one time with some of the students.  To hear all of the horrible things that the kids have been through or even done, and to now see how they are filled with the love of the Lord and the ultimate transformation that can come when they are taken out of the situation that they are in still baffles me and the only answer is God.  These kids have been through more things and seen more things than I probably will in my lifetime, but have a faith in the Lord that I cannot even describe.  They love like I have never seen and are so knowledgeable in the Word and are so eager to learn more everyday.  I am so thankful that I have been able to come back because these kids are impacting me more than I even could impact them through their love for others and God and their faith in Him. 

 Sincerely,

Laura Seifert

First Impressions

I’m not quite sure where to even begin or what words to use that would suffice how wonderful this place is but I’ll try my hardest!

After a LONG plane ride totaling 18 hours (starting from Dallas) and many movies later we arrived in the Nairobi airport! We moved quickly through immigration, purchased our visas and retrieved our luggage. We were then greeted outside with a huge crowd of MITS boys! They came up to us with so many smiles, handshakes and hugs. They were so excited to see the familiar faces of Shannon, Jeremy and Laura and so inviting to LeShae, Kori and I who they have never met before. The hour drive back to Kamulu went by so fast chatting with the boys and sharing our picture albums with them. It was very late when we arrived back to the compounds so we chose our beds and fell fast asleep.

The next morning was Saturday, thankfully we were able to sleep in a little to help get over the jet lag and unpack our things. We then took a walking tour around the MITS campus. Getting to see the chapel, soccer fields, boys compound, and staff members houses was exhilarating. For lunch we ate at the learning center with the kids and had our first African meal experience of rice and green grams. Mmm! We got to learn so many names and faces throughout the course of the day. For dinner we were blessed with the opportunity to go over to Charles and Darlene Colston’s house (the founders of MITS) to have a home cooked meal. Conversations overflowed and we were able to see a glimpse of all the love they have poured into this ministry over the past 20 years.

I couldn’t have asked for a better first day and impression. The people here have hearts the size of their content. Their kindness and passion for the Lord shines through their daily activities. I love the sound of their voices laughing in the background constantly. I can definitely get used to this beautiful language. Knowing that I get the opportunity to come back as an intern for 6 months after I graduate makes the little parts of this trip easy to remember. I find myself already trying to learn every street name and direction so I won’t get lost! I can’t wait for more adventures to come and to see what all God has in store for our trip!

In Him,

Candace Bayles

Niaje!

Sorry for the late post but the Aggies have landed in Kenya! We arrived one week ago today and have been super busy since (and have not been able to get internet until now!!). Soon to follow this post we will have a post on 'first impressions' and then all about our camping trip to Mount Kenya!

We thank you all for your patience and we are glad to finally get in touch with you all! We are having a blast and everyone on the team is doing wonderful and doing so well! The Lord is working and doing wonderful things like always.

In Christian love,

Jeremy

HERE WE GO!!!

       Thursday is the day that we head out of our comfort zones into God's beautiful creation; we are going to Kenya!  We are all so excited of what is to come for our team, and we owe all of the praise to our Father in heaven for giving us the opportunity to work together to spread His truth!

       We will leave this Thursday, May 16th, and head to our first destination which is Detroit, Michigan, where we will then fly to Amsterdam, Netherlands, which will then lead us to Nairobi, Kenya.  We will arrive there on May 17th and we will begin working with a program called Made in the Streets (MITS).  Charles and Darlene Coulston helped in the creation of this organization, and with a combination of their servant hearts and the Lord's strength they have created a ministry that has brought many to Christ.  The ministry that this organization provides is simply amazing; the staff under this ministry immerses themselves in the streets of Eastleigh, which is a suburb of Nairobi, and bring in children who have been living on the streets, provide them with a place to live, food to eat, and most importantly the love of the Lord.  We will be working very closely with the staff at MITS and doing anything they need help completing; teaching Math, English, and Bible classes, making meals, tutoring students, and even taking some of the kids camping on Mt. Kenya to dive deeper into the word with them.
       After we spend about three weeks in Eastleigh, we will head to Malindi on June 7th where we will serve a local village called Nine Poles.  We will lay the foundation for them to build a new building for the school that is stationed there.  We will finish our trip there, and will be heading back to the states starting on June 21st. 

     We are fortunate to have three returners coming with us this year, but here is a little introduction to the team!

Jeremy Hardegree:  Jeremy is from Irving, Texas and will graduate from Texas A&M in December with a degree in Sports Management.  Jeremy loves being active and doing things for others; with this same amount of enthusiasm, he loves anything revolving around the sport of baseball.  As the leader of our team, Jeremy has done a great job of preparing us for this trip in every way possible.  Jeremy is one of the three returners going again this year, so he is very excited to see the kids he worked with last year and build on those relationships.  His love to spread God's word is very evident, and he is so ready to get to back Kenya!

Shannon Musslewhite:  Shannon is from Denton, Texas and she will graduate in May of 2014.  Shannon's servant heart is taking her to Kenya for a second year, and she could not be more excited about it.  Shannon's favorite part of the entire trip is working with the children at MITS.  Just thinking about the children there makes her heart smile.  Shannon is getting a degree in Education from Texas A&M which fits her perfectly.  She has such a wonderful gift to teach and uses that gift to teach children about the love of Christ.

Candace Bayles:  Candace is from Fort Worth, Texas and she will complete her undergraduate work in Allied Health in December 2013 and is still contemplating what she will pursue after she graduates.  Candace has been on several trips to Haiti with an organization called Live Beyond that was created by a group of AFC students just last year.  She enjoyed working and ministering so much that she was inspired to go on a mission trip for an extended amount of time.  She loves being around kids, and cannot wait to see what God has in store for her.

Kori Holt:  From Brownfield, Texas, Kori is the youngest in our group.  She just finished her freshman year at Texas A&M, and is so excited about going on this trip.  She has an older brother and older sister who are, and were, also active in the AFC which inspired her to come to A&M and be involved with Aggies for Christ.  Kori is also pursuing a degree in Education which makes her even more excited about going on this trip.  She has a gift to teach, and is ready to share her love for Christ with the children there.

Laure Seifert:  Laura is from Katy, Texas and graduated from A&M last May.  She has been working in Houston since last August at BHP Billiton.  As one of the members who went last year, Laura is very excited to be going back and forming deeper relationships with the kids.   She has loving heart that is ready to give and serve in any way possible, and she loves working with the children there.  Laura will not be staying for the whole six weeks, but she is just excited that she has been given the opportunity to return.

LeShae Belt:  LeShae is from Mesquite, Texas.  She graduated in December 2012 with a degree in Education.  LeShae is presently living in Mesquite and has a job teaching 8th grade English. She has always wanted to go on a mission trip abroad, but it has not worked out until now so she is excited to embark on this new journey.

     Overall, we are all very excited about the opportunity to fulfill God's commandment of us to go and preach the good news.  We ask you to pray that we teach truth and help people see the love that Christ has for them, that we love on the children in Eastleigh as Christ would, that we are all safe and healthy throughout the duration of our trip, and most of all that Christ is glorified in everything that we do and say.  Thank you so much for teaching us to want to serve and love, and we promise to keep you updated on our work!

Mungu Akubariki!! ("God bless you" in Swahili)

The Kenya Team