But first we'll begin with our drive to Jikaze. It is about a 45 minute drive. As Lydia (who is an amazing woman from Kenya who is an employee of Uhuru Child) explained to me it normally is a 45 minute drive but with traffic you never know. We traveled on a highway which is used to transport goods from the ports to other East African countries. It was full of trucks and maybe one of the scarier drives I've been on. Fortunately Peter was driving for us. Jikaze is located in the Great Rift Valley and where we are staying is in the mountains so in order to get there we had to drive down the mountain. The roads here as I mentioned yesterday are not in great condition, no guardrails, and very narrow. On top of that it was a very foggy morning. So the drive to Jikaze was an adventure in itself. We were told by Tim that it normally is a beautiful view into the Valley but with the fog we could barely see a few feet in front of us (as you can see from the picture). After seeing several tractor trailers turned over on the side of the road and Lydia telling us that was a common sight we were definitely happy to arrive safely in Jikaze. Jikaze is one of several resettlement villages in the valley. These people were displaced from their homes during the 2007 post-election violence. There is so much I could tell about Jikaze itself and the work going on there. I will invite you to check out Uhuru Child's website...www.uchild.com. They are working to create social businesses in this community and provide jobs through these so they might become self-sustaining. They have several greenhouses here where they grow tomatoes along with other vegetables as a business. Other groups of volunteers in the past have helped to build these. Community members oversee the greenhouses and it employs 13 members. We were able to see these today and meet many of the workers.
After a detailed overview from Lydia and Tim of Jikaze, its people, and the work and mission of Uhuru for this village we were able to go walk through the village to the greenhouse to see the work that has been done. Once we had done this we split into groups and met our resource families. This was one of those life-changing experiences. I know this phrase is often thrown around but this is one time I truly mean it. God's hand was on this moment and prayers were answered. As I wrote in my first post, one of my deepest prayers for this trip was that He breaks my heart for what breaks His. Getting to meet this family today those prayers were answered. The girl we met to begin with was Sharon. She works in the greenhouses and led us to her home. At first she was kind of quiet but her smile and laugh was heartwarming. She is 22 and when I told her I was about her age she didn't seem to believe me. I'm not sure if she thought I was older or younger, but nevertheless she kind of laughed. When we walked into her home it was so warm. While some of this may have been due to the chilly temperatures and rain outside, a lot of it was due to the overwhelming sense of love in the home. She was so welcoming, asking us to sit down and immediately wanting us to meet her grandfather. He came out of the back room with a big smile. His name is Jeremiah and he is 87 years old. Sharon also brought two young girls into the room to meet us--Lucy and Margaret both 11 years old. They were the most adorable little girls. Both were very quiet and shy but grinned from ear to ear with every question I asked. Margaret would barely speak but had the most beautiful face. It was so much fun asking them about their favorite color and what they liked to do for fun. Lucy told me she liked to play basketball and football so I may have to challenge her to some hoops :) Sharon also has a little girl who is 3 but she was at school. While the primary school was out and the kids at home the village has what seems to be like a day care and Ferris (which I believe was her name...but I'm going to have to double check when we return) was there for the day. In total there are 9 people living in this small house...Sharon, Jeremiah, and 7 children. There are several stories I will save for when I get back about my time with the family just to save you from reading a novel.
(Sharon and I in her home)
One thing I must share though is what I mentioned earlier of how "love thy neighbor" was displayed in such a phenomenal way. This family with so little wanted to share so much. Sharon made us tea as soon as we arrived. Typically I'm not the biggest fan of chai tea but this was awesome. Later she made us lunch and insisted we stay until we could eat. The portions she gave to us were huge and she refused to let us take any less. You could tell in her eyes, her smile, and her voice that she was so honored to have us there and be giving us something. Based on our group debriefing tonight this was how it was in each home. They were overjoyed to have us there and truly considered us friends. Sharon and I were talking about me coming to Africa for the first time and how it was great to come make a new friend and even said next time I come back she wants me to know Swahili. In everything we talked about and all she did for us I could feel the presence of God and the love in all of it. She exemplified love your neighbor in a way I have never experienced. This blog does not do it justice and I can't wait to get back and share with you all in person, but even then it will be hard to explain. ---But back to lunch...one of the best parts was Sharon asked me to help her with it. I helped peel and cut potatoes for the meal. I walked outside to play with some little boys (Ivy, Benson, and Jeremy) and shortly after she came out and asked me to come back inside so she could show me how to cook. She fried the potatoes with cooking fat and onions then added water and rice and cooked it for several minutes until all the water was cooked out. It was so delicious. I was not sure I could finish the entire bowl as she gave me so much, but I had to because it was so good and I wanted her to know that. We were only able to spend a few hours there and I would love to spend a few days. Sharon is definitely a friend now and I look forward to going back later this week. I hope to be able to play with the kids more and talk with Sharon more about the Gospel. We were able to talk some about church and we all sang the Wa milele song from yesterday but I look forward to more conversations on Thursday.
This afternoon we went to Tim and Jody's house to help with the lettuce production. This is one of the social businesses Uhuru Child has started. During the production the lettuce is washed, picked through, dried, and packaged. They produce many different types of lettuce which they sell to local restaurants in town. Today we helped with American Iceberg, red romaine, green romaine, and buttercrisp. There are four girls from the village that help with this along with Francis who is a local Kenyan employed by Uhuru Child like Lydia. I worked with Alice this afternoon. I helped pick through the Buttercrisp which means getting the bad parts off the lettuce. I also helped her with it during the packaging phase. She was a very funny girl as she tried to teach Taylor Swahili. She often laughed at Taylor as she tried to speak it. Alice is 18 and has finished high school. She plans to go to university to study for a bachelor degree in commerce and wants to work in banking. It was amazing to hear her plans and dreams. She said she scored a perfect mark in math so I told her she could teach me since I don't really do math. She laughed at me. Once we were finished we were able to pray as a group with the girls. It is just a humbling experience to pray with the people here in Kenya and a needed reminder of what an awesome God we serve. He is Lord of all. The God in America is the same God in Kenya and the same God all across the world. It reminds me of one of many verses in the Bible that says every knee will bow--Romans 14:11 "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.'" And one day all that believe will bow together before the Lord and we will all sing praises to Him as one body. Being with Sharon and the family today and then with Alice and the other girls this afternoon was a small glimpse of what this might be like one day and I praise God for the opportunity to be here and enjoy His people. 
(Alice is on the far right)Again, I have made this post a lot longer than you probably wanted to read...many of you probably didn't read it all. But I hope that the length is a testimony to all that God is doing right now. There is so much more I could say and I hope I can remember when I return. Christ is at work here in Kenya, at work in our group, and at work in my heart. I asked that He break my heart for what breaks His and He is answering that prayer. I wish you all could experience the greatness of God here and the joy of these amazing people. I pray that my inadequate words can give you a glimpse of that. I don't want to disregard the need here though....there is a need for poverty alleviation that also can only truly be understood by being here and seeing it. And I pray that through the work being done here more than anything lives will be changed eternally and people will be reconciled in their relationship to God. For the Gospel is the ultimate message and one that guides all our works. We want to love because He first loved us and serve because He came to serve us.
Thanks again for reading!! Today I ask that you be in prayer for Sharon and her family--that they may continue to experience the joy of the Lord, that her work at the greenhouse might continue to grow and bring development to her family, and that our relationship might grow even in the short time we have left together that God might use me to be a blessing to her just as she has been to me.
A few fun Swahili phrases for you....
Habari?--How are you?
Jina lako ni nani?--what is your name?
Nakupenda--I love you
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