Kenya

Kenya update! 

Sarah, Amanda, Areonah, Mandy, and I have been staying in a slum of Kenya (don’t tell my mom), called Kawangware, just 30 minutes from Nairobi. We have been staying at our host’s organization, called Eden’s Hope. We’ve felt very safe with some staff living next door and walking with us if it was ever close to dark. Our neighbors were very friendly, and the kids were awesome, however, some of the men on the streets would be a little aggressive and latch on to us and not want to let go. That part was a little scary to us, but staying in a group and being firm helped.

Haley first founded Eden’s Hope in 2023 after continuously returning back to Kenya after a mission trip she went on in 2017. Since then, the organization has picked up exponentially. The mission statement of Eden’s Hope:

“Eden’s Hope is an organization that serves children, women and children in unplanned pregnancies, and those who are at risk of becoming street kids to ensure they have a safe place to learn, grow, and be discipled. This is achieved through school ministry, a kid’s program, bible studies, and a crisis pregnancy center.”

I’ll include the link here for their website. Haley is currently home for three weeks to fundraise for at least half of the year’s finances. They also do child sponsorships and occasional food packs for the moms and their families. 

Haley has been such an amazing host and friend. Being from America also, we got a little taste of home each week when she would invite us over to her apartment for a sleepover. It was awesome, we got hot showers, American snacks, and her apartment just felt like it belonged in America. 

When we first arrived, there was a kid’s program occurring three times a week because they were out of school. The kids would start to arrive at 8am and we would all join outside for games and dancing. Kenya is definitely for dancing. I have never danced so much, it is a really fun part of their culture. Around 10am, the kids (almost 300) would all get a doughnut-like pastry, called mandazis, and tea and then split into different classes. I joined in with the infants/toddlers and just helped them keep entertained (we did lots of coloring). At 1pm, we would serve lunch and help distribute meals down a line, to go as fast as possible, and then they’d go home after they ate.

Here is us making mandazis on prep day

I loved the kids, but my favorite part of ministry here is “living hope.” There are two sessions on Saturdays, one for pregnant and very new moms: “living hope,” and one for reoccurring moms: “thriving hope.” Amanda and I have been sitting in on and leading some things for living hope these past couple of weeks. After the kids went back to school, they opened up Thursdays for just the pregnant moms too. During the Thursday and Saturday sessions, we have been starting with a devotion, and then Haley has invited multiple different people, apart from staff and volunteers, to teach on things such as nutrition, family planning, career development, and the purpose of a doula. It has all been very fascinating to me and I really liked how we had a lot of question-and-answer type discussions. The women all have different stories that some have shared, and really good questions about God and pregnancy/motherhood. It is touching to witness them in community with each other, in a place to be completely vulnerable, and know that their stories are safe.

Something that Haley practices here is ultrasounds for moms who have not gotten scanned yet. Although she is not a professional, she is really good at it! Sarah and I asked to sit in, if it was ok with the moms, and we got to see three ultrasounds. Haley pointed out the hearts, measured the heart rates, pointed out the genders, showed us where the placenta, umbilical cord, etc. was.

In addition to dancing, Kenya was also for art, for me.

In the second half of our time, Haley inquired about any of our special interests/ talents to see what we’d specifically be able to bring to Eden’s Hope. Sarah got to do lots of baking with the women, Amanda helped her with quick books— accounting for the ministry and also hosted several Zumba classes, and I painted murals in the hallway, each of the classrooms, and office, I also helped orchestrate a painting each for thriving and living hope to do together.

Painting six rooms and six murals in 10 days was a little daunting, but the girls and Haley’s staff and volunteers were very helpful. It was an interesting experience delegating different jobs for people, mostly because I can be a little particular, but I did better than I thought. I grew in a lot of grace; although I got frustrated frequently, I remained pretty peaceful and kept a “it’s all fine” attitude, per usual lol.
It was really cool to teach and watch the love for painting grow within two of the volunteers. This was their first time painting and it was really special to be able to share that experience with them, get to have conversations we would probably not have had otherwise, and hear how painting made them feel— how it was able to relax them where they could focus on what they were doing, listen to music, and not harp on the stress or anxiety they were feeling that day. Speaking of music, we listened to maybe 80hrs+ of Christian reggae music… that I found through our Ethiopian host, Gadisa. They were all really into the group, Christafari, too, so it was nice we could all enjoy the music— because for me, that makes all the difference while painting all day. I need to feel like I am floating, and I am on the beach or at the lake lol– that’s where I get my best work.

On our last Saturday, we had a fun day— three stations spread out around Eden’s Hope, with living and thriving hope. Amanda hosted a Zumba class, Sarah hosted a cookie decorating class, and I hosted an art class. For the class, there were three rotations, so each group would paint a third of their canvas. I had some inspiration for them to go off of if they wanted it, but they had a lot of freedom to just have fun and do what they want. This is what they ended up looking like.

thriving hope

living hope

In addition to dancing and art, Kenya was also for counseling for some of us.

We quickly became close to Haley, and she got to learn a lot about us and vice versa from our sleepovers and also our devotions at living hope. She highlighted Amanda and I to talk to two girls who’ve opened up to Haley, and not many other people, if any. It was something I didn’t feel qualified for and was a little scared about, but it actually went really well. I got to use my past experience and stories I’ve learned from others, to help counsel and disciple her. Although I had my doubts on how to console and guide her, it eventually became effortless to just listen without judgement, speak lively things over her, help her fix her eyes on the divine purpose of it all and help her be excited for her next chapter– because it had a lot of promise.

Another counseling opportunity spontaneously occurred when I could visibly see something wrong with one of the girls at Eden’s Hope. She really broke down to me and we got to revisit everything going on within the following couple of days before we left.  She still has ways to contact me, but I feel good on where we left off and the resources and words I spoke to her, to continue her journey. She was not quite ready to give up on things that were physically, emotionally, and spiritually weighing her down. I found her a journal and wrote some things that I know would be helpful to her to practice and encourage her. I was grateful to be there for the time being, and I’ll be praying she finds good community to confide in and help guide her when she’s ready.

Here are some extra pictures and things we did on our off days:

safari!

waterfall hike

my chameleon friend

We left yesterday to Mombasa, a six-hour train ride, where we saw elephants, giraffes, impalas, zebras, rhinos!

We also made a few little friends.

We will be around here for two weeks and then to our last country, Uganda! I am currently still fundraising and would appreciate any donations or contacts for people to reach out to! I’ll include the link here.

Thank you for readinggg <3