Have you thought about....?

Rolling through Kipkenyo... Jeff greeting everybody from the back of the truck

Habari zano rafiki? (How are you, friends?) You reply, “Mzuri sana!” (Very well!)
Though I call you friends I may not know most of you…. Jeff’s blog has been hijacked. I’m the one (the white, mzungu one looking very similar, except for the long hair) with him in the picture above. I thought since I just finished spending 16 days with him in Kenya that it would be good to bring some outside perspective on what is going on there. Though Jeff and I have communicated often about life in Kenya, I still really didn’t know what he did. I didn’t know what life was like. I didn’t really have an understanding for who the children are that he sees regularly, or what he meant by tree nurseries, bore holes, and the training center. But being there gave me incredible perspective, understanding, and experience. Have you thought about going to join him?

My time there was a mix of experiences. We had times with all sorts of different people. We would walk with the kids to school in the morning (though it’s only about a 200 meter walk); and then in evening we would talk with them before bed. During the day there were plenty of cups of chai with different folks, negotiations with banana tree farm owners, visiting and praying for people in the hospital and in rural villages, more chai, bumpy rides in mid 90’s trucks and SUVs that make you praise God each time they start, trips into Eldoret (city of about 1 million) and Kabernet (city of significantly less than 1 million), hunting in the bush, more chai, basketball with the kids, motivational speaking to children at schools, strategic planning for current projects (like the tree nursery, bore hole piping, and fruit orchard) and for future projects (like Sudan), processing how to incentivize/reward the parents who are caring for the fruit orchard, more chai. Do you get the picture? Jeff’s hands , head, and heart are in many places when he’s in Africa. And those are just some of things that happened in the two weeks I was in town. The evenings would always end with chai at his adopted parent’s home (3 room – sitting room, bedroom, kitchen/bedroom). David and Prisca (with their youngest son and Jeff in the picture below) are literally Jeff’s family away from his family, and they are a wonderful couple who love him very much. Have you thought about going to join Jeff the next time he goes to Africa?

Jeff with his Kenyan family

It was such a blessing to go and be a part of Jeff’s journey in Kenya. It is so clear that the work he is doing there matters. 3 years ago there was no bore hole, no vegetable garden, no tree nursery, and no fruit orchard. In the course of that time he’s helped to raise money, and more importantly, raise belief in their ability to be self-sustaining and creative.

Most of the people who have gotten to know Jeff told me that he is now Kenyan. They fondly refer to him as one of them. That is no easy task in a place where you stand out so contrastingly from everybody else. But Jeff has made it almost impossible to not be accepted because of the way he has chosen to jump in, embrace the people there, and sought to help them maximize the tools and the gifts that they already have. And he keeps coming back. Have you thought about joining him next time he goes to Africa?

One of the things that one group of people there told us was that once you visit them one time, you have to come back at least two more times. I wonder how many people only come once? Thankfully I know someone who has been 3 times, and counting. Jeff’s ability to make a difference in Kenya is a combination of things: God’s direction and provision of opportunity, his spirit and gifts/talents, his persistent pursuit in helping these people maximize all they do, and that he keeps going back. Have you thought about joining him the next time he goes?

Do you notice a trend?

Jeff and Joshua walking to school

I haven’t even shared about how I was impacted by my time in Kenya, but know that it was immensely powerful and challenging. I’ll save my stories; so unless you go, you won’t know what it’s like. It’s worth it and I guarantee you won’t come back the same. You’ll have greater appreciation and understanding for Jeff’s work, for the Kenyan people, and for how you personally fit into that picture. Because whether you realize it or not, we are all in the same picture, inter-connected, even from thousands of miles away. Those people in Kenya (and around the world) are my brothers and sisters. And yours as well. They are dying to meet you, to learn from you, and to share with you.

With our friend Nickson, the day after our hunting excursion

Have you thought about joining Jeff in Africa?

Stop thinking about it and figure out how you can plan to go with him next summer. As you’ve witnessed from a distance – the time is now. Nothing he’s done would have happened if he had only thought about it. He took the initiative and made it happen. And with God’s grace, it happened. But it must have been INCREDIBLY AWKWARD AND DIFFICULT WHEN HE FIRST GOT THERE. After seeing it in person, you have no idea how much I admire his initiative in going and setting up the many projects. They are changing lives and empowering people for the better. Jeff has done the hard work – now you could go and ride his coattails to meeting many great people, seeing interesting places, and realizing that there is a wonderful opportunity to use some of our gifts (resources/education/knowledge) to help maximize the gifts of others around the world.

Stop thinking about joining Jeff and GO. You won’t be sorry.

Jeff and Isaac, working on the tree nursery