Bye Bye Kwaheri

Sorry.  Time has passed.  And now it's time for me to leave.  I know I haven't done the greatest job of keeping you posted on what's going here.  But let me give you a recap over the last few months.

In December, the boys were off of school.  We spent most of the month getting ready for our two Christmas outreaches that were to happen at the end of the month.  We had an evening of fun planned for our neighbors, and for the street community, which included dinner, fun games, and the showing of "The Passion of the Christ".  We built a stage for the fun and entertainment part, and then projected on the side of our house the movie.  With over 200 people attending our 2nd outreach, it wasn't as rowdy as expected.

Christmas day with the boys (and Laci came for the 2nd half of December :) ) was relaxing with a day of food and movies.  New Years as well was a family affair, on our roof, talking about New Year's resolutions, while watching off-in-the-distance fireworks.

Then the month of January begins school.  This year, we stepped it up a bit, sending a total of 17 people to school, 6 of whom don't live with us.  So I was quite busy getting them ready, buying uniforms, paying school fees, visiting schools and teachers.  It was quite the adventure, and kept me occupied.  While school started at the beginning of the year, some of them started school last week.  Thank the Lord though that everyone is now in school.  Here at the Rapha House, we actually started our own Bible school.  There are three boys, all who live with us (one released from prison in Nov, and one released from prison just this month), who are participating, and have become Rapha House interns.

And now here it is.  My last few hours in Mombasa at the Rapha House.  6 months - hast it really passed?  Seems much longer, like I've lived here for years.  I can't explain the mix of emotions going through my head right now.  Excited for the cold weather at home.  Excited to get back to America, where there's TV, internet at my fingertips, my motorcycle, a place without mosquitos.  But then I think again.  Are those things truly worth it?  I mean, can they really replace John's ballerina dancing, or Issa's constant jesting, or Mario's infectious laughter?  The Rapha House of Prayer is definitely composed of uniquely created Men of God, each one with a great purpose for living here.  It's sad for me to leave this place, although it's been one of the most challenging places to live.  Weird huh?  How can getting verbally abused, being constantly disrespected, getting annoyed at perpetual requests (living in this heat!) be one of the places that I've loved living the most?  Nothing to say but the presence of God is here in the Rapha House.  No doubt God is omnipresent, but my eyes have been open to Him more since living here.  And I think that there is complete truth when Jesus says "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Mt. 7:13).  When I was working in Chicago, prior to Mombasa, I lived a typical American life - 9-5 job.  Come home and eat.  Watch some TV.  Repeat.  I didn't do anything that was "hard".  I didn't necessarily go out of my way to help people.  I wasn't learning how to love God, and allow Him to work through me.  My complacency was not leading me through the narrow gate, but instead secretly and slowly pulling me down the wide and easy gate.

As I come back to the States, I wonder to myself, will I be the same Brandon who enjoyed a life of complacency, who went to church on Sundays, and an occasional BIble study, but applied nothing to my life or the life of others?  Will I go out of my way to show love to my neighbors, and to love the poor as I'm called?  Will I allow the Spirit to control my life, and the Bible teachings and devotions to change the way I live?  The latter I pray.

The girls at the Rapha House have got it going on.  Not that I don't want to come back to Mombasa, but there's no reason it only be when I'm half way across the world for me to live such a life.

Border to Border

Kurtis, a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend (who has now been upgraded to a friend) was here for about a week and a half.  He's been in Africa for the past three months, in Ethopia, Sudan and Kenya, via a couple of missions trips, visiting family, and meeting and becoming apart of the Rapha House.  So last Monday, we decided to take the day off, rent some motorcycles and go for a ride.  We started heading south, first to visit his sister who works at YWAM.  We hit the road again, for an unknown destination.  After about and hour and a half, we stopped to check our gas.  I pulled out my phone, and realized that I had a new text message welcoming me to Tanzania.  Tanzania!  Holy Crap!  Had we really gone that far?  How far was Tanzania from Mombasa?  (Stupid metric system -  I had no idea how far we had really gone, even though it was about 75 kilometers.)  So we asked our friend on the side of the road, and was told it was only 12 more kilometers to the border.  We were pretty stoked to be able to go to another country (or at least see the border since I didn't have my passport with me).  So we went to the border, saw the Tanzanian flag, and then headed back to Mombasa.

Border to border.  This phrase is used quite a bit by the boys in the house.  They use it to mean they've been all over the country.  They've seen most parts of Kenya, traveling from one city to the next because they're wanted, or because of "friends" or because they're tired of that city.  For whatever reason they from city to city, they eventually ended up here in Mombasa, and in the Rapha House.  They've seen and experienced so much during their time on the streets.  Experiences that I can't even imagine.  Abuse.  Drugs.  Prison.  Police.  Sex.  Violence.  Loneliness.  Homelessness.  Starvation.  When they say they've been 'border to border', some say it with such pride because they've been all over the country.  Sure I would probably take pride in that as well, but along with their traveling comes lots of baggage.  Unfortunately most of their traveling is due to necessity instead of pleasure.

Our hope here at the Rapha House is that these boys will one day experience the Kingdom of Heaven.  That they would experience the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven, like they have experienced the fullness here in Kenya.  The one place where there is never any baggage, or anything to chase you away, but has everything you could ever need.  Several of the boys are coming closer and closer each day.  They've made a conscious decision to change their life.  They're not necessarily at the point of salvation, but they've seen the wrong in their old lifestyle of drugs and lies and sin, and have a desire to leave all of that behind.  Some more than others are slowly realizing that there's more to life than the next high, or the next girl.  As appealing as Satan makes that to them, and even to me, it only leaves us wanting more.  Step by step, these boys are slowly coming out of the darkness.  It's a slow process.  Much slower than I had ever expected, but the Lord has been faithful.  And as I've been here for almost 4 months, I look back at the beginning and see change in all of the boys.  Two in particular - Mario and Allan.

Prayer:
 - Mario and Allan - they've decided to leave behind their former life to live a more moral life.  They've heard that just doing good doesn't mean their a Christian, but only through complete faith and trust in Jesus will they true become saved.  And they still haven't taken the step of faith, but they're taking steps in the right direction.  Pray specifically for their salvation.  And also that they would be able to continue in the right direction, despite temptation and ridicule by the other boys in the house.
 - my attitude - I know we're told that we would suffer for the sake of Christ, but sometimes I feel like I can't take anymore.  Day after day of verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse is wearing.  When Jesus tells us to give up our burdens and to take His yolk, because it's light - well that's what I've been trying to do.  Sometimes it's hard, to even give up all these burdens the boys put on me, because I'm trying to prove to myself that I can handle it.  Stupid way to think eh?  But because of so, sometimes I have a poor attitude towards the boys.
 - safety - we're traveling to Nairobi this week for Thanksgiving w/ some missionaries we've never met (some relatives of Carly and Whitney).  Now we all know what happened last time in Nairobi, so prayers for safety and relaxation as we're gonna be gone for a few days.

i know, i'm lazy.

so i haven't written anything in long time.  sorry for those who check the blog every day hoping for a life changing post (which i know is all of you!).  i've been busy.  honestly though, if you ask me what i've been busy with, i wouldn't be able to tell you.  days seem like weeks, and weeks seem like months.  the week, i hit my 3 month mark - halfway through.  not sure what to think about that.  part of me is truly sad, because 3 months doesn't seem like much longer.  although the first three months have seemed a lot longer.  another part of me is super excited because there are days when i long for the conveniences of home.

anyways, here's a little blog post that i wrote for another blog (it was my week, so i was forced to do so).  so check it out.

http://raphahouseofprayer.blogspot.com

i'm no good at these titles.

things have been fairly busy here in at the rapha house.  sometimes i don't even know what day it - the days here can seem like weeks.  the Canadians finally left.  you can read a bit about our last hooray with the canadians at http://raphahouseofprayer.blogspot.com/2009/10/brandon-lee.html.

about a week ago, one of the boys, Farah called me upstairs before to talk with him.  "i have something of yours, but you can't ask any questions".  i started to wonder what he could have of mine, since my door is locked, and i know what i let them borrow.  so he dug deep into his cargo pocket, and pulled out my American cellphone.  first off, i could care less if i lost this (although Laci might have some sentimental value to her old phone).  but needless to say, i was extremely baffled.  my phone was inside my suitcase, under my bed, inside my locked room.  how would one even find that?  and if one did get into my room, why didn't they take more "expensive" items, like my laptop or ipod?  he was super ashamed to give it back to me.  after a few questions, i was able to get a some answers out of him.  all the boys inside the house knew he had the phone.  all the boys in the house suggested to sell the phone.  even at that statement, i was baffled - just shows that their trust takes such a long time to earn, and the friendship we have is only at face value.  actually earlier that same day, i went with Farah into town to run some errands, and he left me when we were done.  he went to Simon, one of our friends and also a drug dealer in the streets, to help him sell the phone.  when Simon found out he had stolen the phone from me, he encouraged him to return the phone.  man, i was blown away once again.  7 boys in the house, who've we poured into day in and day out turned their back on me in a matter of seconds, whereas this guy on the streets, who we see maybe once or twice a week, who deals drugs to anybody and everybody, has more of a conscience and moral standards than i would have ever expected.  when we were in the middle of talking, Farah started to tear up, and eventually ended up crying over his actions.  he seemed truly remorseful for what he did, and even admitted to voices inside of his head, telling him what to do.  Farah in particular has a huge spiritual battle going on inside of him.  he's done this type of deal (committing something, and then confessing w/ such remorse) several times to Carly and Valerie, but to much of our disappointment, it continues to happen time and time again.  he can't seem to shake what's inside of him, and i think mainly because he truly enjoys the life that he's living.  there are days where it seem he wants to get rid of the evil spirit inside of him, but most days, he enjoys living life in the world.  he enjoys the pleasures of satan, and deals with the consequences.

from all of this, i've realized that my relationships with the boys, as well as i think they may be, i can't let my guard down with them for one second.  they may be doing "well", trying to turn their life around, but seriously, until they have the Holy Spirit inside of them, truly helping them, they still fall back to their previous ways of life.  it sucks that i can't trust these boys, that our relationships still have penetrated their souls.  but only God can move inside them and change their lives.  we're just here to be used by God.  we're just here to show these boys the unfailing love of God.

on a good note, it's been raining here off and on for the past few days.  thank the Lord for some rain.  kenya - they're in a drought.

so some prayer requests -
 - allan update - just pray for him.
 - everything we're doing here, everything we do for the guys, everything goes back to love. 
 - continual strength in the Lord - there are bouts of discouragement within leadership - we so badly want to give these boys the gift of life, give them the promised land the Lord has set aside for them, but they so badly want to continue wondering the desert, settling for mediocrity

love love love

all you need is love - the all so familiar beatles song.  it's so true, yet so hard.  i thought i had love down.  i thought i could love people, regardless of who they are.  working with the street boys has helped to show me that love is more than just a one time thing, more than helping someone cross the street, more than something i choose to do.  it's definitely something that comes from the Lord - definitely something that i cannot do on my own.


when i arrived back to Mombasa with the three Canadians (Jesse and Curtis surprised me with another Kurtis), i was so ready to get back to the house, and hit the ground running.  i was definitely sleep deprived from the overnight bus ride.  with so much going on everyday, it's sometimes hard to keep up even on a full night's sleep.  but i think with a combination of lack of sleep and not enough time spent with the Lord, and my heart not being in it as fully as i thought, i was completely out of the loop for a few days.  during meals i had nothing to share.  during the evenings, our most one-on-one time w/ the boys, i had no desire to engage in any type of conversation.  any little thing they would do, not even to me, i would harbor a bit of bitterness towards them.  when they would talk to me, i would snap back at them a quick response thus ending the conversation.  i had absolutely no desire to be around them, despite my whole reason for being here.


i quickly realized that the love that i have for these boys is definitely not something that i can do on my own.  i cannot love them with my own strength like i thought.  i thought that maybe i would need a little boost from God to give me that extra love since i've never worked with such a people group.  but definitely not.  i to be completely filled with His love day in and day out.  and i can sense when i have no more love to hand out to these boys.

more recently, as i wanted to post this sometime last week, we've had even more visitors.  Valerie's dentist - Dr. Harty - and two other ladies, visited for a total of 30 hours.  we were a little bummed that their visit was so short, but the Lord proved to be in charge of the time they spent here.  from 5:30 with our breakfast devos, they were on the go, making the most of their time spent here.  during the day, they were involved with our prayer meetings, and also helped Whitney out with her outreach to young street boys.  during dinner, Dr. Harty and Kurtis shared some power testimonies that got the boys thinking quite a bit.  the Lord definitely had His presence in this house that whole day, and i know that the boys felt something different.  after testimonies, several of them joined us for prayer, and said they felt a sense of peace within the room.  i mean, come on, if you walk into a room, and are hit with a wall of peace, you know that somethings going on.

allan update -
allan has been doing well.  he doesn't seem to have the same eagerness about the Lord that he had a week ago.  but he hasn't slipped back into his old habits again.  i think that the Lord is still working in his heart.

also, samuel and mohamed.  both have shown extreme interest in changing their lives, but still haven't made a commitment.  so if you could keep these three boys in your prayers, we all would appreciate it.

ps - you should check out http://raphahouseofprayer.blogspot.com

Naurobi - a mugging, some crocodile, and Naftali

what a huge roller coaster ride.  it started off not so good, and ended so good.  first off, taking a night bus from mombasa to nairobi isn't the most exciting adventure.  the ride is usually about 7 hours, from about 10:00 pm to about 5:00 am.  and about a quarter of the road is unpaved.  with buses barely passing each other, holding on for dear life, the occasional scent of sweat, it's hard to sleep.  but the day before i leave, i try to get myself pretty sleep deprived, so that i'm pretty tired on the ride.  this trip, we did arrive in nairobi at 5:00 am.  i slept on the bus for an hour, until they told me i had to leave.  so i grabbed by duffel bag and my backpack and headed out towards the buses in town to get to where i was staying.  i was walking for two minutes when i heard the words "mazungu" (meaning white person, although i'm not white...), and next thing i knew, i was being strangled from behind.  i felt a hand shuffling through each pocket, and can't remember what happened next.  i assume i passed out for a few minutes, and when i came to, what had happened seemed like a dream.  i laid on the ground for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts and put together the pieces.  i had all my clothes on, i couldn't see a darn thing, and was lying down on my back on concrete.  then i realized that it wasn't a dream, but i was actually just mugged.  i turned on my hands and knees, and searched for my glasses.  luckily i found them, in tact.  as i was searching, a gracious man picked up a pen the thieves left, and handed it to me.  bless him.  i stuck the pen in my pocket, and quickly went back to the bus stage (or station) to hail a taxi to my destination.  God definitely was protecting me.  the muggers took my phone and my duffel bag, containing only clothes and gifts for my Compassion child.  thankfully, my backpack they decided to leave alone, which contained my passport, money, ya know the important stuff.  also they didn't physically try and hurt me, only to restrain me to take my stuff.  which was also another huge blessing, because i'm sure from the arm around my neck that they could have done some serious damage to me.

later that evening, I met up with the two canadians, Jesse and Curtis, and their buddy Kurtis.  we decided to head out to dinner.  i suggested Carnivore, a brazilian steakhouse well known for their exotic meat.  they had been their earlier that week, and suggested another place called Pampa Grill.  i agreed.  turns out, it was another lesser known brazilian steakhouse, cheaper and fancier than Carnivore.  chicken wings, beef hump and ribs, upper and lower beef, pork ribs, pork, lamb leg, fish, turkey.  all delicious meat.  but we were most excited about the two wild game they had their - camel and crocodile!  camel was pretty tender and a bit gamey.  crocodile tasted a lot like fish, just a bit tougher.  it was altogether lovely.  after seriously stuffing our faces until we could handle no more, we decided to go ice skating - i know, who knew they would have ice skating in kenya!  i actually didn't go because i have some pretty bad sores on my feet, but i used my professional photography skills to capture some sweet images.

monday, morning was declared a national holiday in Kenya because of Ramadan just a week prior.  but since i had arranged this date several months in advance, we decided to go for the Compassion visit.  i made it up to the center where Naftali, my kid who's 7, usually comes for his weekly programs on saturday.  there, we were able to meet for the first time.  it was so cool to see him, and then also to meet his younger brother, older sister, and mother.  we were sitting around a table having a nice little chit chat.  they were trying to compare me to the picture i had sent them earlier.  and they said they would not have recognized me walking down the street from the picture.  i like to think i look the same from two years ago.  we headed to their house, to see where they live.  the graciously invited me inside, and we presented each other with gifts - they got me a pretty fetch bracelet.  and i helped them out with some food.  we were able to play some football with his friends outside his house.  together we headed back to the center.  the center provided two baby avacado tress for Naftali and i to plant.  so together we planted them both.  (and each saturday when Naftali comes to the center, it's his responsibility to water them, so hopefully this will be a lasting memory for him.)  and then we had some lunch together, a real treat, with meat and soda.  and then some more time to hang out together playing soccer.  it truly was a blessing for me to be able to meet who i'm supporting, and for his family to meet me.  i definitely enjoyed seeing his family and where he lives, and just spending time with him.  although the language barrier was a pretty big disappointment, we were still able to enjoy each other's company and the international sport of football.

so now i'm back in mombasa, at the daily grind.  jesse and curtis are here with me, and we're all excited to see how God will be able to use this time, and all these people for His glory in the lives of the boys.  i think that satan will try and attack the boys during this time because the presence of God will be so strong in this house.  so please pray for us the next week.  pray that we will be able to stand firm against satan, and to be able to shine light into the lives of the boys.  that we would not go weary during this fight, but yet continue to rely on daily strength from the Lord.

(ps - if you haven't already, check out carly's latest post at http://raphahouseofprayer.blogspot.com)

me, naftali and my bracelet

me and naftali with his family

me and naftali planting our tree

salvation - part 3

since the showing of "the cross and the switchblade", our nightly Bible study for the boys has been mainly about salvation - trying to expose these boys to the Holy Spirit. so much head knowledge from these boys. they can spit out answers, even better than me sometimes, but only because it's all rote memorization from school. usually during these Bible studies, most of them are sitting doing their own thing - sleeping, twiddling their thumbs, gazing off into who knows what. Allan Smith (he liked the last name Smith) is one of the boys trying to pay attention. there's seriously a battle within him, trying to win his soul. you can tell each night, as he listens eagerly. just last night, after Bible study, he went straight to bed because he had a lot on his mind. he's expressed some of his temptations and his desire to "do good" to me. he has a desire to read more of the Bible, and even called me today during class to write an explanation of a verse for him. the Holy Spirit is definitely working in his life, but as of yet, he has failed to accept the Holy Spirit in his life. he can tell you that people need to accept the Holy Spirit in order for salvation, but that has not sunk into his heart yet.

Allan Smith

more good news is that I'm headed to Nairobi this weekend to see my sponsor child. that's not really the best news. here it is - i'm headed back next tuesday with the two canadians, Curtis and Jessie, that visited us earlier. they've finished their work in the Congo, and have a desire to help out at the house during their last two weeks in Africa. what a huge blessing. with Allan's spiritual struggle, and our huge desire for all the boys salvation, God's timing of allowing them to join us could not be any better. even up to this day, the boys still talk about the activities and teachings we did while Curtis and Jessie was first here. so we're praying that their extended time with us will have a huge impact on the boys and us as well.

God's laid it on my heart recently to learn more about His righteousness. not only that, but about my righteousness. how i can become more righteous in my life. how i can display God's righteousness to the boys in the house. it's something i've never really studied before, so we'll see how God will open doors, and give me wisdom on the subject.

prayer:
- Allan - that the Holy Spirit would continue to touch his life, and remove him from the darkness
- Curtis and Jessie - that they would bring a strong Godly presence into the house and the lives of the boys
- that I would seek after God's righteousness and learn how to become righteous like him - either through His word, relationships, sermons, whatever it takes.