Four days until we fly!

Sorry that we haven’t updated sooner!  Cason and I have been so busy with everything else going on that it seems crazy that we fly home in 4 days!  We have been listening to Christmas music, packing, and saying or farewells this week. We are excited to be going home but it will be incredibly hard to leave all of our friends and the beautiful children at the Baby Centre.

As we process everything that has happened in the last few months we have been trying very hard to be joyful and enjoy every moment of our last days in Kenya.  Unfortunately in the last month I have had giardia (a parasite) twice, which has made it difficult to do very much. Please be praying that I recover from it and can be healthy coming back to the US.

As our time ends, we are both so thankful for everything we have been able to experience here. In the last week, we’ve had some “goodbye” events with Baby Centre, our youth group, Ngata AGC, Cason’s football team, and our missionary family.  It has been so bitter sweet processing all of this.  We are excited to be home with our friends and family, yet we have met some wonderful people and will miss our Kenya friends so much.

Through all of the sadness we experienced in losing our precious triplets we are trying to keep our trust in God, even though we don’t understand what happened.  We are learning through this and have had wonderful support from people back home and from our friends here. God has really shown us His continued love through the people that have come around us in this time, giving encouragement and prayer.

Over Christmas, we will be in Wooster, Ohio with my parents and siblings, then we head to Kentucky for a few days to see extended family, before going to Greenwood, Indiana to be with Cason’s family over New Years.  Eventually we’ll land in Wooster again to live with my parents for a while why we spend some time seeking the Lord (and helping them raise Golden Doodle puppies that their dog Rosie is having in mid-January!  See doodlesbyrosie.blogspot.com for more info).  Cason has been asked to continue as the WGM Kenya Treasurer from the US for a few months, so he will continue to work remotely as we figure out what is next for us. 

We’ll continue to post over the next few weeks, but wanted to give a quick update as we are preparing to leave.  As always thank you for reading and being a part of our journey!  We’d really appreciate your prayers over the next weeks and months

Colleen

PS – In early November, the Christmans, some friends from our church, came to visit us in Kenya.  We took them to the Masai Mara, on our last safari before going home.  It was so great being with them as we were going through some of the most difficult times here, and it was such a blessing to get away to the Mara.  Some of our favorite pictures are below, or you can CLICK HERE to see the whole album. 

Update on removed post

Friends,

As you may have seen in the previous post, we had put up a blog about some of our struggles over the last few months, specifically with potentially adopting triplets. We were asked to remove it since there was too much sensitive information about the children, their family, and the system, to be in the public domain. We were told the post could be edited and reposted, but we felt that we couldn’t adequately convey our story or feelings with the restrictions, so we have decided to just keep the original entry off public mediums. However, we were given permission to share it through private avenues with our friends and family.

The short version of our story is that we have always wanted to adopt, and fell in love with the triplets at the Baby Centre. As we were praying about whether we should stay in Kenya for longer than our commitment through December, we found out that it was possible for us to adopt as Kenyan residents. It seemed like God was opening doors for us to return to Kenya as missionaries and to become parents to the triplets. Our plan was to get the kids, come back to the US for some months to raise support and train, and then return to serve in Kenya for at least two years. Unfortunately, much has happened in the last few months, so that now the extended family of the triplets has decided to take the children back.

It has been a very difficult time for us, not only losing the kids that we love so much, but also because we thought getting the triplets was part of a groundswell movement of the Lord showing us that we were to remain in Kenya for at least the next few years. We’re pretty confused about what happened and what to believe; in the original blog, we wrote extensively about our spiritual and emotional struggles, as well as gave more details about some of the events that took place in this process.

Given what has happened, we are planning on coming back to the US in December after fulfilling our original commitment to WGM, to spend some time seeking the Lord about our future. Returning to Kenya to continue ministering is definitely still a possibility, but whatever we do, we want to be sure that we are following the Lord.

Like I said above, we had given a full account of what happened here on the blog, but we were requested to remove the post. If you’d like more information, or to see the original entry, you’re welcome to shoot us an email (at casonandcolleen@gmail.com) or facebook us.

We really don’t want these recent events to sour our whole time here in Kenya… it has been, and still is, a wonderful time and great experience. We’ve been blessed to be involved with so many great ministries and people, as you can see if you read back through the blog archive.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog, for your support, and your prayers.

Cason & Colleen

Post removed – hopefully to be reposted soon

We recently posted an update about what had been going on with us over the last few months, and some struggles that we’ve gone through.  However, we’ve been asked to take it down and edit some of the content.  Hopefully we’ll be able to resolve these issues and repost soon.  Thanks for your patience. 

Cason & Colleen

Oriya’s Funeral

You may have seen on facebook, that one of the players of my football team passed away a few weeks ago.  He was riding on the back of a motorcycle, which is a common mode of public transportation, when the driver turned in front of a truck.  The driver was killed instantly, and Oriya died on the way to the hospital a short time later.  He was 30 years old, and had a wife and 2 year old daughter. 

Note: It may seem odd that we took so many pictures at a funeral, but it is completely acceptable and expected in Kenyan culture.  We were asked to bring our camera and take photographs.  There were many people taking photos, and people even pose with the coffin to commemorate the event.  We are planning on having our photos printed so we can give them to Oriya’s wife and family.  Hopefully these pictures will help us all to grieve and remember.

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A funeral is definitely more of a community event in Kenya than it is in the US.  Everyone pitches in to help pay for things, support the family, and be a part of commemorating the life of the deceased.  The football team pooled money to purchase the coffin for the family, as well as dug the gravesite (on the family’s property), helped set up for the service, and much more. 

Unfortunately, Colleen and I were away at meetings for the days leading up to the funeral, but we were able to be there for the service.  It was quite a cultural experience for us, but such a blessing to see how the community rallied and came together.  The service was held on the family’s shamba (farm), with open-sided tents and chairs arranged for those attending.  It was incredible to see how many people came… well over 500 were there, many sitting in the grass out in the hot sun.  The coffin was in the middle of all the tents, and people would go and pay their respects even as the service was going on. 

Many different people spoke… family members, pastors, members of the church, neighbors, etc. all shared about Oriya.  I had the honor of speaking at at the funeral as the representative of the football team.   I think my comments were the shortest of the day… I shared about how we as a team will miss the joy with which Oriya lived his life.  He always had a smile on his face and had a such great laugh.  I tried to remind everyone, including myself, that we could still have that same joy, because we know that our God has victory over death (1 Corinthians 15).  It was heartbreaking to look into the eyes of Oriya’s wife, and I had to wrap up my talk quickly before I lost it. 

 

I am confident that Oriya was a Christian, and that we will be with him in heaven someday.  However, he hadn’t been a Christian for that long, and had only gotten serious about his faith in the last few years.  I am hopeful that the message that I and others shared about the fragility of life will motivate some on the football team and in the community to get serious about their faith.  Pray with me that God will use this tragedy as a wake up call to those who know they should be living for Him, but keep putting it off. 

 

After the service, the pallbearers picked up the coffin and carried it 50 yards to the plot right next to Oriya’s house.  When the coffin was in the ground, many people took turns throwing dirt in the hole… each person would toss a few shovelfuls, before being replaced by someone else in the crowd.  Just like the rest of the funeral, the community pitched in to help bury the deceased.  Everyone kept singing and shoveling until the grave was filled, then there were flower presentations on the grave and a short eulogy – it was unlike any burial that I had been a part of, but it was really neat.  Of course, the situation was/is horribly sad, but there was also a refreshing dignity and finality to the proceedings.  The service and burial took over 4 hours, but I am so glad that we were able to be there to support the team and family, and to grieve ourselves. 

The last few months, God has been teaching/showing me that life isn’t fair, and Oriya’s passing is just a part of that lesson.  That there are things that go on in this world that we can’t understand, that don’t make sense.  It is difficult to hear verses like “God works everything for the good of those who love Him” when you are suffering, or see others who are in pain – like a woman with a two year old daughter who just lost her husband. 

And yet, the Lord tells us to keep trusting Him, to keep the faith no matter what else is going on, believing that “these light and momentary troubles will achieve for us a lasting glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)  There are so many times when something happens that doesn’t make sense and I just want to ask God, “why?”  But I guess if we knew all the answers and all of the whys, then they wouldn’t call it faith.  I still struggle with many things that happen, especially since coming to Kenya, but slowly I am learning to trust…

Please pray for Oriya’s family, for the community, the football team, and also for us, as we seek the Lord and His will for our lives. 

Thanks so much for your prayers,

Cason

Note: You can hover over the pictures for a description.

Also, you can see an album of pictures from the funeral at facebook.com/NgataUnited FC, then click on “photos.”

Good Samaritan

“Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” – Matthew 19:13-14

Last week, Colleen and I had the privilege of helping our friend Robyn Moore, a WGM missionary and Nurse Practitioner, at Good Samaritan orphanage in Nairobi.  Good Sam is located in Mathare, a slum with over half a million people living in it.  Robyn has an incredible ministry to several orphanages around Nairobi, providing medical care and food for the children. 

 

We mainly played with the kids and helped with crowd control as Robyn saw some patients.  It was so much fun spending time with the kids... Colleen taught a bunch of them “Skidamarink” complete with motions, so she was surrounded by kids singing and dancing for most of the day.  We had made peanut butter sandwiches the morning before we left, and the kids loved them… they lined up so quietly as we passed them out, and there were huge grins on all of their faces.  It is amazing how much joy a little Jiff can bring! 

We were shocked to hear some of the childrens’ stories – many of them have experienced more than a lifetime of trauma in their young lives.  Some of the things that have happened to them are horrible… Our only comfort is knowing that God loves them more than we can even imagine, and He promises to take care of them and set things right in the end.   

Early in our time at Good Samaritan, a little boy named Newton latched onto Colleen and they were inseparable for the rest of the day.  He was such a precious little boy who just needed some love.  Like many of the kids, Newton has already had so much happen in his little life.  He was so sweet and loved all the attention that he was getting… we wished we could just take him home and love on him! 

Please pray for Newton and for all the other children like him.  There are so many kids who have been rejected by the world, but are priceless to the Lord.  In the verse posted above, Jesus confirmed how important little children are to Him and how we are to treat them, even though so often they are cast aside in society.  “The kingdom of heaven belongs to them…”

Also please pray for Robyn and her incredible ministry.  She deals with things on a daily basis that most of us cannot imagine, yet she perseveres to help the children.  Click HERE to see Robyn Moore's WGM page. 

Thanks so much for reading and for your prayers,

Cason

Click HERE to see the whole album of pictures from our time at Good Sam... so many beautiful faces!

She was so beautiful and photogenic:

A view from the second floor of Good Samaritan out into the Mathare slum:

Colleen is always surrounded by kids… they love her!:

I cannot get over how amazing orphans’ eyes are sometimes…:

The kids waiting in line for their peanut butter sandwiches:

Newton getting checked out by Robyn:

As always, thanks for reading!

Salgaa Clean-up

We’ve written before about the ministry that our church, Ngata AGC, has to the women of Salgaa and the local Internally Displaced Persons Camp.  Today we had the opportunity to go to Salgaa with our youth group and students from Kabarak University to help clean up the streets. 

Salgaa is located right along the main road from Nakuru to western Kenya, and is a popular truck stop.  Because of this, it is a poorer community with a large commercial sex worker industry.  It is difficult to get real numbers, but on any given night there are up to 300 women out working the streets.  Many of these women turn to prostitution because  they see it as the only viable occupation available – many hope it is temporary necessity just to get by, but they end up getting sucked into a lifestyle that won’t let them out.  The church hosts a weekly Bible study for the women, and partners in other ministries that teach health education and alternative occupation skills. 

Because the town sprung up quickly around the truck stop, there is no working sanitation or refuse disposal… so trash is tossed haphazardly or piled by the streets.  It is everywhere, and is a big health risk since many kids run around in bare feet. 

For our clean up day, we met in Salgaa armed with gloves and garbage bags, and walked around the dirt streets picking up trash.  Kids came from everywhere wanting to know what we were doing, and many wanted to help.  We gave them gloves, which they loved, and they helped pick up trash for hours… I made quite a few little friends, mostly because they were interested in being around the crazy mzungu (white guy) who was picking up trash.  After a few hours, I had a little army of trash picker-uppers helping me as we tried to communicate in broken Swahili and English.   When most of the garbage bags had been filled, we loaded them into a lorry (truck) to be hauled back to Nakuru… again, because there is no refuse dump in Salgaa. 

We realized that our overall message of cleanliness wasn’t totally sticking with the kids when we gave them each of them a piece of candy for their hard work…. almost immediately after they had the candy in their hands, the wrappers were tossed all over the ground… right next to the bags of garbage that we had just collected!  I guess old habits die hard, even when you’re 7 years old.  Someone explained to them about picking up the trash and keeping things clean, so hopefully they remember the lesson the next time the get a sweet. 

The goal of the day wasn’t to rid Salgaa of trash – that would take many days, shovels, and backhoes – but it was merely to show Christ’s love in the community and try to let people know that the are valuable.  While working, I talked with some women selling vegetables who were so appreciative of what we were doing and were asking about the church and Bible Study.  Just showing up with gloves and trash bags afforded us conversations that we wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. 

It was also great for our youth to serve, and to think about how they were working for the Lord, not for men.  Sometimes showing Christ’s love means picking wrappers and condoms up out of the mud and sewage… there are many ways to worship the Lord, and they are not always pleasant.  He calls us to be servants, because He humbled himself and became the ultimate servant… willing to give all of Himself for each one of us.

So whatever you do… do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Thanks so much for reading and for your prayers.

Cason

Click here to see the whole Ngata AGC Facebook album of pictures from the clean up day.

Here’s me and my army of helpers taking a break from work to show off our dirty gloves:

Cute little girl that followed Colleen around all day… big thanks to Colleen for all of these great photos!:

Pastor Paul, Rael, and a friend from Kabarak:

I think this is my “stink” face:

The whole group in front of the Kabarak bus:

Andrew and Malachi come back for a visit

Cason and I were so blessed by a return visit from our two most recent children to leave the Baby Centre.  Andrew and Malachi came back for their three month visit.   Cason and I pulled up to the Baby Centre to the sound of swahili yelling "that's Colleen's car!"  and as I climbed out of the car I was immediately tackled by the boys.  They were so incredibly happy!  After I was tackled the went running to Cason and asked to be thrown in the air!  

In just three months their vocal skills improved drastically!  I could no longer keep up with their swahili.  They both were so affectionate with the parents and wanted to show off their new families.  The parents knew the boys were best friends, so they let them call and chat on the phone from time to time.  It's just an incredible blessing to see what God has done for these two children and the families that now have them. 

Cason and I have kind of had a rough last few weeks  here and this incredible joy was a wonderful reassurance from God that he is taking care of each one of these children.  We are so thankful that we were able to see them and visit with their families.  Praise the Lord who is the great provider. 

 

Thanks so much for reading, for your prayers and support.

Colleen

Here are pictures that Cason took while he was swinging the boys around…

And here is both families together.