Dinner for Kenya

On Saturday night, May 30, 2009, Julie and Ed Dunn hosted a fundraiser dinner for my Kenya trip. They went above and beyond to create an amazing night! Every detail was covered from the Kenyan meal and coffee to the flag decorations and colored balloons that matched. I am so thankful for how they love me like one of their own. Big shout out to Mom and Dad for helping prepare for the event and embracing my international endeavor. I greatly appreciate the support of my friends, family and even new friends I met that night. Everyone brought items for me to take to the kids: toothbrushes, school supplies, shoes, socks, etc. We filled up a huge suitcase. And thanks to all, I raised an incredible amount toward my trip!

Toward the end of the night, I had the opportunity to speak to the group. I am an introvert who is really good at faking extrovertedness :) So I stood up explained how the opportunity to go to Africa came about and outlined my tenative plans and volunteer work (see blog #1). The most authentic part of the evening came when I opened it up for Q&A. Sidenote: I'm a bit of a people-pleaser by nature however, I consider myself an out-of-the-box Christian (which hasn't always been the case) and sometimes that can rub other Christians the wrong way. Needless to say I'm learning to get over it very quickly! So the new and improved who-gives-a-rip-what-other-people-think-about-me Mandy took the opportunity to be transparent: My trip isn't about evangelism. I'm not going to start a new church or convert the jungle tribes to Christianity. Through my relationships and connections, whether I'm helping in a classroom, doing crafts with the kids, holding abandoned babies, or planting trees, I am bringing God's love and hope. I was asked why I want to go to Africa and what I hope to get out of it. Good question...kinda deep to be answered on the spot. But luckily I had been thinking about it this week. This may seems strange, but I trace my love of the poor and oppressed to my dog, Rylee. She honestly changed my life. I sound like a crazy dog lady, I know. But for real...my compassion for animals was birthed from witnessing Rylee being treated unfairly (that's putting it nicely). Then I started volunteering at the humane society and loving on other dogs who's well-being had been compromised. From protecting animals against cruelty, my passion has grown to all who have been treated unjustly by this world: the poor, the victims of domestic violence, the abused and neglected, the enslaved. My heart breaks for the African people who are stuck in the cycle of poverty living on $1 a day, for women and children who have to prostitute themselves to put food on the table, and for kids who run away from home because they are being severly beaten only to be abused on the streets. At this point I'm not really sure what I can do about it or how I can help...except by meeting some of the people face to face and loving on them. I have a lot of questions and random deep thoughts that I will write more about in future postings.

More than the money donated, I felt emotionally supported which is super valuable to me. And it wasn't like, "Oh, that's good for you" or "That's nice you're helping the poor African children." But I sensed they were saying "Since we can't go, we're sending you to represent us." I really appreciated that.

I have a feeling this won't be my last trip to Africa.

Click here to see more pictures of the Dinner.

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Ashes Into Beauty

I came across this picture today when reading the Winter 2009 installment of Compassion Magazine. Its sadness and beauty struck me deeply. How can these kids who are standing in the middle of a slum be laughing and happy? How can they muster a smile on their face surrounded in filth and stench of trash, disease and feces?

The chasm between poverty-abuse-death and life-peace-hope is so wide. I struggle to understand how a child who has experienced this world’s deep injustices and foulness of life can rise above and be hopeful, healthy and alive inside. I do believe that God can heal a person holistically: physically, mentally, and spiritually. I do not discount that but the answer isn’t so “pat”. Here’s where I get stuck: An American child identified as being neglected and/or abused has a plethora of mental health resources available to them. Our system is not perfect and vastly needs improvement but there are tools in place to help a child move from brokenness to healthiness. We are fortunate to live in a country that supports mental health yet many of these American kids who get “help” remain damaged and continue the destructive cycle into adulthood. Even my own life experience (which cannot even come close to the suffering I mentioned above) has led me to seek counseling for healing of my whole self…which has taken years. In a third world country where poverty often leads to violence against children, and mental health is the lowest of priorities, how can complete healing take place?

"Poverty and abuse speak the same message into the heart of a child: Nobody cares. You don’t matter. Nobody is coming to your rescue. Give up" (Compassion Magazine, Winter 2009). The kids at Hope Community Centre in Kenya used to receive messages like this everyday…for years and years. Their lives have seen hunger, disease, violence, rape, and murder. These kids were traumatized. Nobody cared…until they were rescued. But they don’t just “get over it” overnight. There are no quick fixes to healing a physically or sexually abused child’s spirit. It seems that some Christians think, “Show them Jesus and everything will be fine.” Yes, show them the hope and love of Jesus but it doesn’t mean that they are instantly healed from years of pain. The road to recovery is long. For the last couple of weeks the question on my mind has been: In the Kenyan orphanages I'll be visiting, what are they doing to help these kids rise from the ashes physically, mentally and spiritually? I don't know the answer yet.

Even though I can’t wrap my head around all this, something inside me feels called to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and defend the rights of the poor and needy. I am one person but one more is better than no more. I am driven by my hope that someday God will turn their ashes into beauty.

“God has sent me to comfort those who mourn…He sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts. They will be called ‘Trees of Justice’ planted by God to honor his name.” (Isaiah 61:2-3)

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See the Kids

The following slideshow video was created by a team from World Emergency Relief-UK who recently visited Hope Community Centre in April 2009. These are the kids I'll be meeting!



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Fund Development for Kenya

Fund Development. That’s what we call it at work. I guess it’s the professional way to say “show me the money!” I strongly dislike asking for money but there’s no way out of it because this trip costs $3,000. I need to raise half that amount by June to purchase my airfare. Thanks to Aunt Kristie’s Cookie Lee proceeds, my roommate Kate, and Grandma Houk (may she rest in peace) via Kristie, Pami and Mom, I am almost halfway there! My dear friends, Julie and Ed Dunn are hosting a fundraising dinner party on Saturday, May 30 to help me raise more money. Plus, I’ve sent out letters of support. I am so grateful for the generosity of all my friends and family!

If I raise over $3,000, which I’m optimistic about, I plan to buy needed items for the kids and contribute to the Hope Community Centre washing machine fund. The women wash tons of baby clothes and diapers by hand in buckets everyday and hang them out to dry--and it rains everyday! They just got electric lines from the city, so they have electricity full time now. Wouldn’t that be awesome if we could all pool our money together and buy a washing machine for them! Also, when our team leader, Debbie went to visit in April, the kids were asking for more toothbrushes and she only had enough for half of them. She had them go through a line with their toothbrushes, and replaced the most worn out ones. Also, diapers are big as they have a lot more babies now, and they are using old towels. I'm hoping to purchase some reusable diapers and bring them with me.

At our last Kenya meeting, Debbie told us that she asked “Momma” Lucy, founder of Hope Community Centre, the orphanage for abandoned street children, if it would be better to give her the cash instead of using the money to send herself to Kenya. Lucy said, you will never know how much it means to the children that you come all the way from America to Africa to visit THEM. And you can’t put a price tag on that.

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