Brandon A @ Kenya "My Final Days w/ Mission of Hope"

For pics from Brandon, check his personal blog

It is hard to believe that I have already been in Nairobi for two months. My time here has been very fruitful and I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to come as an apprentice to Nairobi, Kenya and work with CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship) and MOHI (Missions of Hope International). My flight leaves today at 11:10 PM (4:10 PM EST) and will land on Dulas on Friday afternoon. As I am excited to come home and share with you my experiences and see my friends and family again I can already tell that it is going to be so hard to leave the Kamau family, apprentices (Erin & Bethany), the MOHI staff and students.

Last week I took my favorite photos that the students took with the disposable cameras to be printed as 8"x10" and framed. On monday they I received a large cardboard box that contained about 40 completed photos mounted in the frames ready and to display. I worked all day hanging the frames in the boardroom in Pangani. Everyone that came in to look at the photos while I was hanging seemed shocked when they found out that the students took the photos and not a photographer. I was very pleased with the way the walls turned out. The room has totally been transformed.

I also had the opportunity to design a logo for the Joska boarding school to be made into a sign out front and to be used on their letterhead. It was cool that I was able to use my design abilities to help out MOHI. You can check out their new logo below.

Brandon A @ Kenya: Edwin & Brian's Birthday Party

Last month I was so excited to find out that my sponsored child was going to have his birthday while I was in Kenya. So, I thought it would be fun to throw a party for Edwin and his twin brother Brian. Earlier this week I connected with the Kosovo social worker, Charity, to help me organize the cakes, presents and the visit to their classes.

This afternoon I walked with Charity with the two cakes and presents thru the slums to visit the Kosovo center. Once their I went into Edwin's class to cut the cake, sing happy birthday a gave him his gifts. Then we visited his brothers class to do the same. Both got a new pair of school shoes and socks, and hand knit hats (Thanks Mackenzie and Aunt Marilyn). It was such a blessing to have the opportunity to celebrate their 13th birthday with them and to be able to visit their home. It is always a good day when you are able to give to the less fortunate and know that you have made a difference in their families lives.

Brand ! + Kenya mission team: Joska

This week MCC's short term missions team did VBS (Vacation Bible School) at the Pangani Center for the little kids and also did CHE (Community Health Evangelism) thru home visits. I was asked to help document the festivities thru photography. The kids had so much fun doing crafts, playing games, learning about the lord, how to stay healthy and watching puppet shows.




Before coming to Kenya I had come up with the idea of painting murals on one or more of the centers walls. I recently found out that MOHI only owns a few of their centers (most are rented) which narrowed it down to Pangani and Joska. Pangani already has a lot of murals painted on the exterior of the building so I thought it would be fun to paint the murals in the dorms of the boarding school (classed 5-8).

The middle of last week I went shopping for the paint and left on saturday morning for my hour ride to the Joska center. The staff and students were very excited to hear that they will be helping me paint a picture of an Acacia tree during sunset. I asked the head teacher to find me 4 artistic students to be my helpers. After we painted the sky, ground, and tree trunk, branches and scripture verse we had all the students from classes 7 & 8 come to put their hand prints on the wall to make the leafs. It ended up taking a little 4 days to complete the project but it was well worth it.

While at Joska I was also able to worship with the pupils in their chapel and our MCC short term missions team. It was such a blessing to be able to worship the Lord with them.

If you would like to see more photos check out my facebook photo album.

Kenya team update: Thur - Sat

Greeting from Nairobi. On Thursday, we started the morning off with the puppet skit. Each day we alternate the skit between how and why to pray, and taking care of our physical bodies and community. The rest of the morning continued to be devoted to VBS. The team continued switching roles (and be stretched in the process) between Bible lesson, crafts and games. During the afternoon we split up into two teams and went out into the neighboring slum to do Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Words can not describe the experience on goes thru as they walk thru the neighborhood and see the conditions these people are living in. Then to be welcomed into their "home", typically a 10 ft x 10ft structure built from rusted sheet metal, and to share in their challenges...it's overwhelming. They are so receptive to learn and so appreciative of Americans coming into their neighborhood with the intent to help. The CHE social workers are amazing men and women of God with huge hearts for these people. And home by home they are having an impact.

We finish up tomorrow (Sunday, May 2nd) at the boarding school out at Joska. Today (Saturday) the kids did their presentations to us giving us thanks for the week of VBS. What a touching time for us on the team. It was tough holding back the tears as each group came up and honored us with a songs and memory verses. Wallace Kamau was so gracious in lifting up the role MCC has played in the growth of their mission. He sent his best wishes and love to Ben and the rest of the staff. We ended the time with a large cake that was shared amongst us all...kids included then the team danced with the Mission of Hope staff in a traditional Kenyan dance.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please keep a member of our team, Susan Kettlewell, in prayer as her father who is fighting cancer has progressively worsened in the last few days and considers returning early to be with her father. Although it's tough leaving these amazing people, we look forward to returning to our families May 6th. Blessings from the Kenya Team!