Last 2 weeks in Kibera

This is my last week in Kibera. From here we will be heading to Eburru which is about 3-4 hour drive up into the mountains. It is a small village and we will be seeing more tribes in this area. The mountain is actually a volcano.. Over the last few days Ive been saying my goodbyes and it has been really hard. Many families have stolen my heart and if it were up to me Ide like to just stay in Kibera the whole time. So Ive said all my goodbyes and now we are packing up, cleaning, and are going to debrief before we head to Eburtu tomorrow. I really pray that I will be able to come back to Kibera in the near future to continue the ministry that I have started.

On a more exciting note...

One of the guys (albert(picture below)) told me he wanted to take me to an animal orphanage he knew about. The zoo was filled with all these animals that had been aved and were orphans. THey had everything and it was cool cuz they were sort of in the natural environment. The zoo was outside so they just used the trees and the forest area as a zoo. I made friends with the tour guide and she got the zoo keeper to show us the animals up close!! We got to go right up next to the entrance of where the lions were and he called them over to us. We were so close that we could have put our hands through the fence and touched the lions. It was intimidating. BUT... I didnt want it to stop at that. I asked the zoo keeper if I could go into the cheetah pen with him and pet the cheetah. He let me.. He walked in with me and said I could pet it. He also brought a few other guys in there as well, but they all just watched. It was extremely scary at fist, but then the cheetah started purring and it began licking my arm....that kinda freaked me out. I thought it was getting ready for dinner..heh.. so yea good times.

God has still been changing lives and bringing more people to me even though we are gettng ready to leave. For example... the other day I wanted to get a better look at Kiberea so I found one of hte tallest buildings around the area and climbed to the top floor. WHile I was up there I ran into this guy named Evans and asked him how I could get on top of the building. He brought out this ladder he had made and shoed me a hole in the roof and we got on top of the whole building! While we were up there talking this big guy started yelling at us through the hole that we had come through. It was his landlord. hen we got back don the landlord was all up in Evan's face and told him that he was EVICTED!!! I just about threw up when he said that. I felt horrible. Evans just walked back into his room and began packing his stuff. While he was packing I was upset and went down to talk with the landlord myself. I talked to the landlord for a good 10 minutes about the whole thing and told him not to evict Evans! I then began praying that God would soften the landlords heart and listen to me. Finally the landlord said ok and said to never do it again. So I got Evans his apartment back. Yea this is a long story but it gets crazy. . . Evans then invtes me into his place to talk with me. After all is said and done he tells me that he is a Christian and was very greatful for me helping him. He also said that before he was a christian he was in a very powerful gang in Kibera and people still know him for that. Apparently he still has alot of power in the area and people have alot of respect or fear for him because they fear his friends. He told me that he would watch out for me and if I ever had a problem to come to him. He said that if I ever needed anything or if anyone ever did anything to me to let him know and he would take care of it. So now... I have connections with the muslim mafia and with the street gangs of Kibera.

Will you go to school today?

Bobby and Albert at the animal orphanage

This is hilarious.. we were playing a game and the guys
are in one line and the girls on in the other line. The guys
are so checking the girls out in the other line.

Every recess we play futbol with a piece of trash wrapped in twine.
I love recess.

two more girls from my class

yea thats a cheetah...

I dont think it was happy

Sweetest moth ever

Reagan and I. Best soccer player Ive ever met

Jackie and I

This is a hole being dug for a squatty potty. After its dug they
build a few outhouses over it and use it for a bathroom.

Albert and I

A few students from church

Is this what my feet see?
think about it...
maybe im a lil wierd for thinkin that but i liked it

yep im back

God has been blowing me away. SO many have come to Christ! So many lives are being changed. So many believers are stepping up to the plate. Satan has no power where we go. We are breaking into lives that Satan has had control of for so long. We are giving hope to those who have never had any. We are spreading light into the darkest places, We are warriors of light and we are crushing Satan's plans. God is moving through Kibera and through the people of Kibera. We are going door to door in Kibera and people are inviting/yelling for us to come into their houses. The Word of God is LIVING AND ACTIVE and is cutting through the hard hearts. The love of Jesus is bringing hope to a community that has none. Satan has no power, his demons have no power, and no other spiritual forces are even a threat when the name of Jesus is being spread.

Let me tell you why I have NO fear. Let me tell you why Satan has NO power and how we as Christians should never be scared.

The other day we had a street meeting where we do dramas and then share the gospel. We usually have very large crowds gather from the streets and many MANY come to Christ. This last Saturday was a little different. One of my friends Bobby was praying with this woman who said she was a Christian but has never felt the Holy Spirit in her life before. While Bobby was praying he prayed that if there was an demons in this woman that they would leave in Jesus' name. Right when he said that, the woman went completely limp and fell over. Bobby quickly grabbed her. She started shaking like she was having a seizure and then started saying stuff that didnt make any sense. I walked over and laid my hands on her and Bobby and I began to pray for her. We continued to pray and pray for this woman and for the demons to come out of her. After praying for many different issues and demons to come out of her and for her freedom she suddenly stopped shaking and began crying... Her words became words of praise to God!! SATAN HAS NO POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS. The next day she came to church and worshiped with us. Praise God.





Dear God.. Why did you put spikes on this tree?

Tobias...

A good street friend of mine..Oscar

A park in Niarobi

Monkeys everywhere...

I think her shoes make the picture

We went to a Kirk Franklin concert in AFRICA!

Did I mention how white I felt?
Maybe this picture describes it.
Everyone was dancing through the whole thing..
I picked up a move or two

Another alley in the slums

If this doesnt make you want to come to Africa,
then I dont know what will. There are kids like this all
around the slums while their parents are off trying to find work.

Mary is a good friend of mine at the church we go to

A few of my girls from church

Teaching the 6th graders at school.
They love the spelling game.

We were teaching and decided we needed another bench
so the kids went outside and made one.

My 6th grade classroom




I have had the opportunity to lead 28 people to Christ. I say this not to brag for myself because in and of myself no one would be saved, but to instead encourage you all. God is at work here. I am being an ambassador of Christ. You too have the opportunity to share the love of Christ. Are you? Are you being an ambassador of Christ or are you sitting on the bench watching the game go by? QUIT SITTING THERE. STOP LIVING YOUR COMFORTABLE LIFE. QUIT WORRYING ABOUT YOURSELF. Dont let your pride get in the way of someone's eternity. Yes im preaching to you and maybe you know this, BUT are you doing it?





I hope you NEVER forget this picture.

This picture has alot of meaning to me.

It is as if these tracks are the path that life takes us..
We can sit on the train and let it take us where it wants..
Or we can get off the tracks and see where God wants us.

This is what God has been teaching me.
He has no box.

STOP PUTTING HIM IN ONE

mzungu

I love me some camel milk!!!

These past two weeks have blown my perspective on many things. I kissed a giraffe on the lips, preached in the streets of Kibera, led worship for the Africans, learned how to worship, went to an Aids Baby Orphanage, made lifetime friends, almost got shot with an arrow by a security guard (yea they have long bows with "arrow head" type tips), saw a camel in the gas station, fresh squeezed mango juice became my new favorite thing of all time, fresh bananas, fresh pineapples, making friends with the muslim mafia... you know.. the usual.

God has taught me so much about confidence in prayer, confidence in Him, courage, worship. We now have a weekly schedule so ill walk you through it. Monday is our communicate back home/ free day. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday I teach around 40-50 sixth graders in a very small wood/straw/mud hut. I teach all the subjects, but focus on English. Through this, I have learned alot of swahili as well. I teach them...they teach me. I wrote this the other day and had a friend of mine check it to make sure it was right. "Jina lanu Jason. Ninataka kukaa Africa. Mimi nina furaha yule Mungu aliyepe ni leka Africa. Ninataka mtakuwa kwa ni sasa hivi. Muendele Kusali. Musisimame! Asante. Nawapenda ninyi." Translated.. My name is Jason. I want to live in Africa. I am happy that God sent me to Africa. I want you all to be here with me right now. Continue to pray. DO NOT STOP! Thank you. I love you all." God is blessing me with memorization and I am thankful. Ok so back to the schedule. Friday we usually do drimes and street evangelism, followed by ftwap (free time with a purpose). During this time we get to meet up with our friends and make new ones in Kibera. It involves alot of futbol playing and walking. Saturday..we go to the church and teach the kids.. a vacation bible school type scene. Then in the evenings we do more ftwap/ African household worship times/futbol. Sunday is church and my favorite day. Every Sunday I learn how to worship God in a whole new way. Sunday evening we may do drimes or ftwap. The weekends are full of time to get to know the people in a more intimate level.

Last Monday we went to see GIRAFFES!! Scroll down to see the pictures. They are actually quite intimidating when you walk up to them. These giraffes are huge. I could have walked under its legs. I have many funny videos ill have to show you all when i get back. AND.. i even got to kiss a giraffe. I put food in my mouth and it bent over and took it out of my mouth. Yep.. Im in Africa!

Below are many of the pictures of the kids we minister to every day. These kids need love and are so excited when we show up. They will come running from every whole, alley, roof top, behind rocks, behind stores..THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.

The slums of Kibera where intimidating at first. We are the only white people and everyone is looking at us. There is trash everywhere and the people usually dont look too friendly. This is how i saw Kibera for the first week, but things have changed. I now see the need for love. I see the people and not the trash. I see the difference I can make and no longer are things strange. It is my home away from home. Kibera has some of the nicest people I have ever met and I have made some friends for eternity. These people will give their last shillings to buy you a coke. They want our friendship and love us. We are light in the darkness and THE DARKNESS HAS NO POWER when we come through. God's love is shining through us and it is a site to see. The smiles that we have brought to these people is worth the whole trip. We bring hope. We bring the HOPE OF SALVATION. God is doing a mighty work in Kibera and I am so blessed to be a part of this.

Puttin up antenna's for television

A small portion of the slum's roof tops

The drainage system/walkway

This is what hides behinds every corner.

This is why we are here.

This is what waits for us every day.

They need our love.

They come running

epic.

Street drimes (no words, just music)

More drimes

You can't go to Africa without hugging a giraffe.

the baby giraffe

HUGE grasshopper