RVA and African Cup of Nations

Well this week has been an amazing week for me. I've finally got my job title and I am officially the "Technical Director of Academies." Basically that means that I oversee the process and structures that we putting in place for two academies that we are developing over the next year or two. They are called Hope Academy and Elite Academy. If you want to know more about them sometime you can give me a shout.

I also got the chance to go with the Evans family, which Mrs. Evans is from my hometown of Bluefield, West Virginia, to pick their son up at Rift Valley Academy. I have had several friends attend that school, including one of my closest friends from Covenant. It was weird being on a campus that had been talked about so much among my friends and how special that place is to them. I kept trying to imagine what it would look like if Ben, Owen, or Ryland were back on campus hanging out with their friends and playing on that pitch. I was able to meet up with Ben's little bro Seth. It was my second time being with him and I really hope that we can meet up more times in the future.

Kicker's Clinics is definitely one of the greatest things that I experience here. Seeing these young players love the game, be creative, and just play beautiful soccer is amazing! I'm currently writing a report for NCS's website that will hopefully be posted tomorrow afternoon. You can check it out on www.nairobicitystars.com.

I was also able to attend the Harambe Stars game yesterday. The Harambe Stars are the Kenyan national football team. It was the African Cup of Nations, which is a big deal in Africa. They were playing Angola and the game was a do or die situation. If Kenya won, they would have a chance to get out of their group, but if they lost, their chances of moving on would be pretty slim. Heading into the stadium one of my boys from Kicker's followed me and somehow the guards let him go in with me. I got him a seat in the VIP section and then hit the field in my bright orange photographer bib. I had the best seat in the house and I was so blessed to be in the places that I was in when big things happened. I was front row of Jamal's tying goal and then was literally inches away from Inter Milan forward, Macdonald Mariga's red card celebration.

It was a great week for me and I am very happy with the progress that we are making in the office as well as in the programs that we have running at NCS. The Petra Boys drew today after going ahead 2 nil and then losing the lead four minutes later by conceding two goals.

Spiritually, I am doing ok. I have been in search of a theme restoration. I've been looking at the word and how God continues to bring His sinful people back to Him. Whether it's the Israelites after they've left Egypt or Habakkuk pleading for God to bring justice to His people. Today I heard part 7 of a sermon series by Matt Chandler on the book Habakkuk and I think Matt nailed restoration for me and how it not only worked in the OT times, but also with me. In Hebrews 12:3-11 it talks about God disciplining His children. So many times we, and this is also for me, fall into the patterns of this world and God has to discipline us. And it hurts, it's painful. BUT it yields righteousness and has rewards later.

I don't know what you are going through right now, but God is teaching me how discipline = restoration. In the moment it's hard, sometimes you can't see the light, but He will give you what you need and not only bring restoration, but will complete the work He started in you. I have to keep telling myself this as I am away from Olivia, away from my family, away from everything I hold dear. I hope this encourages you to keep pressing forward, never give up. And one day, we will all be in a packed out stadium and praising God together.

H2O

Well I have found out how the best source of life can also be the thing that can take life. Ever since I have been here in Kenya I have been drinking from the tap. The last two months, I felt like my body had adjusted very nicely and all those talks about eating something that would destroy your stomach were just other people's experiences. Well my time was coming.

Last Wednesday night I cooked an amazing meal. It was spaghetti and meat sauce, and man was it good. But then that night, my stomach felt like it turned on itself. I started feeling awful and like my body was going into shock. That night, and the following three days, I could not eat, drink, or keep any fluids in my body. I have never gone through something that was that painful and draining. I was in the bathroom every twenty minutes, my lips and mouth were very dry, and I had absolutely no energy. I could not even muster enough energy to call people to tell them how I was feeling.

Friday, I went to a clinic and they did some tests and found that I had a urinary track infection as well as a stomach infection. They also gave me an IV fluid to rehydrate me and some medicine. Then on Saturday, my friend Mr. Kuguru, called to check in on me and made an appointment for me with a specialist who confirmed that it was a stomach infection, but nothing else. He then went on to give me some meds that he said would take care of it all by dinner time and man did it work.

Since then, I have managed to find my appetite and a few other things here in Kenya. The past two days it has rained and lets just say that Kenyan's aren't that particularly fond of rain. Traffic literally gets backed up for miles, mtatus make their own paths through the medians, and anything can happen on those mtatus. Two days ago our back wheel somehow stayed attached to the car, but was hanging on by a simple metal rod. Then last night, we managed to acquire a flat in a pretty thick jam. Needless to say each night has proven to be an adventure on those things.

I am so thankful for the people that the Lord has brought to encourage me and build me up as I strive to run this race. I was talking with a friend, Steve, today about how it is so hard trusting in God. It's obvious that He has a grip on me and has a plan, but putting all of my faith and hope in Him is a completely different matter. My prayer is that I can be all here and marvel at what the Lord is doing and showing me here in Kenya. I hope you all have a great weekend and until next time, tuanani.

What?

That question has been hitting me a lot lately because of all the things that have been happening around me. First, for those of you who have been wondering if I have a family or friends, the answer is yes. I have been immensely blessed by the people that God has brought my way. From the family that has taken me in and has told me that as long as I'm in Kenya they will take care of me to the friends who I have met at Church the past two weeks, it helps time go by when you have people to talk to, play games, and just get away from life's troubles.. Having a family like the Kuguru's has been amazing and my new New Zealand friends who moved here last week has just been fun.

Second, this week we lost electricity for three days due to a fire in Mukuru Slum. There are so many rumors flying around about what actually started the fire, but the fact is that it really affected the slum in a big way. It destroyed many houses and for some people, it destroyed their families. The fire affected two of my friends. They lost everything they owned. Thankfully they were not physically hurt, but I can't imagine what its like to lose everything. Our organization has been trying to figure out how we can help them and thankfully we have figured out their housing situation. Fires like this usually start from cooking fires that are left unattended or a spark flies up and catches something flammable and then it takes a long time to stop the fire. Because the slums are secluded from the city and usually have walls surrounding their outer edges, the firefighters have no way of getting into the slum. But even if they can gain access into the slum, which happens by destroying the wall, the slums are like a maze and there isn't really a path that a truck can get to the fire quickly. It's something that the politicians are talking about and trying to figure out how they can protect their people.

Third, Steve told me on Tuesday that I was going to teach a sport ministry class for a masters program at the church that our organization has offices in. The education system is not really friendly, meaning that students who graduate from the equivalent of high school, have to either pay to go on to the university or have to wait a year before they can go to school. The church offers this program to students who don't want to wait, but want to get involved in ministry. Since the electricity was out throughout Nairobi, I wasn't able to get the material for the class until the night before. The name of the game here is flexibility and just be ready for anything. It's not always fun, but it definitely keeps you on your toes and constantly relying on God for strength and guidance.

Today, I was able to hang out with some new people and it was just amazing to hear their stories. It was just relaxing and the fellowship was amazing. Some of their stories were really just mind blowing and full of God's grace. One person I met lost his wife in 2009 because she was hit by truck when she was crossing the road to go meet him, and God somehow has brought him to this place of peace. He is one of the worship leaders for Nairobi Chapel and is looking at getting engaged to someone who has brought him joy amidst the hurt and pain.

God has just continued to show me His goodness. No matter what it is, whether it's Olivia and I going through this distance and being apart, to the friends who lost their homes, to the place where we are right now. He has a plan for all of it and somehow is going to get all the glory. It's just amazing to think of it like that. So keep fighting, don't EVER give up because He is faithful and He hears you. Badi (later).