Team Flex

A lot of our time over the past couple of months has been invested in preparing for and then hosting a team from one of Joe's supporting churches in Billings, Montana.  While I was in college at Rocky Mountain College, I fellowshipped at Faith E Church.  It is a growing, vibrant church where the love of Christ is witnessed inside the church, but also outside the walls.  I had personally seen it during my time there and subsequent visits, but I saw it even more clearly during the two weeks we hosted 11 of their church members here in Kenya.   

Team Flex lived up to their name!  The team nicknamed themselves “Team Flex” because they knew the importance of mission teams remaining flexible and adaptable as they serve cross-culturally. Team Flex consisted of two married couples, a mother and her 12 year old daughter, a father and his grown son, two middle-aged brothers and a single man. It was a great blend of young and old, male and female and different personalities and capabilities.

This was the first time CGA had received a full team from Faith E, a church where many of our child sponsors come from. Daneen and I had the privilege of taking care of the travel arrangements, accommodation, meals, schedule, project work, and every other aspect of their trip.  Since we both enjoy details and planning, we enjoyed taking on the task together. 

We were also blessed that they brought us a few comforts from home, some by our request and others that were a surprise.  Though with the snack food they left behind, I think we have both gained a few pounds!  The fellowship was also much welcomed.  There is something special about spending time with people from home; just talking, sharing, learning about each other, telling a few jokes and laughing together.  We enjoyed seeing Kenya, Mbita, CGA and the Suba Lakers through their eyes.  It gives us a fresh perspective on things. It was fun for us to see others fall in love with a place and the people that we adore so much. We also enjoyed seeing God stretch them and move them a little out of their comfort zone, and closer to himself.

We welcomed them as they arrived in Nairobi tired and haggard after a long journey with a couple of long layovers in Minneapolis and Amsterdam, but with their bags in hand they were eager to experience what this trip might have in store. After a good night of sleep, on Sunday we boarded the bus and settled in for the 10 hour journey to Mbita. Some were struggling with jet-lag, but others were so excited to finally see this place they had heard so much about. They appreciated the amazing beauty of Kenya as they drove through the Rift Valley; seeing the vast climate differences of the lush tea plantations in Kisii and the dry, arid region of Masai land. They enjoyed a show by the wandering baboons on the side of the road, and even saw a little of the craziness that is common on Kenya roads.

On Monday morning the students and staff at CGA welcomed them with great Kenyan hospitality and beautifully personalized cards. The team toured the campus, listened the history of CGA (told by one of CGA’s first teachers), made new friends, and learned some of the culture. A couple of them were fortunate to finally meet the students they have been sponsoring for several years! Those moments are priceless as a visitor comes face to face with a child they have been praying for, sending letters to, talking about and longing to meet. For the child, it is hard to comprehend that this “sponsor” really does exist. They have written countless letters to a “funny name” that doesn’t sound like a real person because there aren’t names like they know in Kenya. The moment they meet their sponsor, it can be a little embarrassing for the student because all of their friends are watching them and the sponsor is so eager to give them a bear hug and tell them how much they love them. Most times the student will remain pretty reserved in front of their friends, but inside, their hearts are leaping for joy and it is a moment they will never forget. The first day ended with some language lessons from four CGA Alumni who have finished high school and are some of CGA’s most dedicated volunteers while they wait to join college.

The rest of the weekdays started with the team joining the CGA staff for devotions, and then spending about 15-20 minutes with an assigned class for devotions and prayer. Many of these times turned into Q&A sessions. One memorable moment was when a 2nd grader asked one of the visitors, “Is snow a human?” The question confounded everyone until they realized she had been told about snowmen and was having a difficult time understanding this foreign concept of snow in the shape of a man!

From the classroom, they tackled their team projects. It is amazing to think of how much these 11 accomplished in the few days they were at CGA. The ladies painted most of the rooms in our office building and also a wall in the Nursery classroom. The bright colors really liven up the school as a whole. They also spent time hand-sewing some of the students’ uniforms; repairing small tears and missing buttons. The men helped to build roof trusses for our new computer lab and even hoisted them up on the building. They also built the foundation for water tank stands, installed gutters on the office for rain catchment, built a shade for our kitchen cooking and washing area, put in goalposts on our soccer field, and poured cement for our 5th/6th Grade classroom expansion. These were very knowledgeable and hardy workers, but the first day of work was a shock to them since they didn’t have the machinery and equipment they usually use back home. The labor here was much “harder” and much more “manual” then they are accustomed to. With great attitudes, they worked side by side with the local construction crew, learning from each other.

In the midst of all of the work, team members took time to eat lunch with students and staff, others read books aloud to classes, while others played soccer with the kids. Some members also shared their personal testimonies on different occasions and others took time with 5th-8th Grade during Life Skills lessons to encourage them in different ways. Thursday afternoon most of the team went into Mbita town to experience the hustle and bustle of Market Day! On two of the days, team members took time to walk home with various students to see where they live and understand their family better. 

The 12 year old Anne was definitely the star of the team. The Kenyan children were so excited to interact with a foreign visitor who was their age. Each class took turns pulling her away to join them for porridge break, lunch break, PE class, or to come and share with their class. She loved answering their countless questions and asking many of her own. She also played games with the younger classes, blew bubbles with the Kindergartners and read storybooks with them. After the 2nd day, she told her mother, “This is the best vacation ever!” It takes a special child to be able to adapt and interact with children from a totally different culture in such a positive way.

We held a Suba Lakers training weekend while the team was here.  They came to learn more about how Suba Lakers is much more than simply a girls soccer club and also encouraged the girls. They put together "goodie bags" for each of the girls with much needed items: sports bra, underwear, sanitary pads and school supplies! The girls were very grateful.  Additionally, the team also brought a few soccer cleats.  Many of our girls have cleats which are old and worn out beyond repair. It was a great blessing for some of them to get a new pair!!!

The team got to experience culture in several ways while in Mbita. They tried the local food daily at school. Most of it was good, though there were a few things they struggled to eat. Each of them attended a local church which was very different from their home church in Montana, mostly with regards to the decibel level, length of service and the different languages translated back and forth! They also experienced a traditional Luo dance by some students from Wanga Primary School. Even their accommodations exposed them to rural African life with outside restroom facilities, bush babies climbing on their roof at night and other African sounds while trying to sleep. Along with the bush babies, the team saw dik-diks, monitor lizards, monkeys, hippos and dozens of species of birds. One of their highlights was the boat ride on Lake Victoria out to the bird islands.

During their last day at CGA, the team led the morning chapel where they acted out the story of The Good Samaritan, teaching the children what they had been demonstrating since arriving; in order to be more like Jesus, we must serve others. The school said a special goodbye and presented each team member with special gifts which choked up a few of the them.

The team was a blessing to CGA in so many ways. They brought many construction tools, school supplies, sports equipment… etc. They accomplished so many needed projects around school which had been on the To Do list for a long time. Despite “bringing” so much and “doing” so much, the biggest impact they made was through the relationships they formed. In Kenya, people are much more important than tasks, and this team understood that. They formed deep friendships with CGA students and staff, and also with the construction crew they worked with. It takes effort to form those kinds of relationships in a foreign culture, especially in a short amount of time. They made effort to encourage others, love others and pray for them. Several CGA staff members and students made comments about how dedicated they were to their work, about how well they got along with each other and how much they cared about people.

They remained FLEXIBLE throughout their time in Kenya. Flexible enough to finish their projects while also spending time with people. Flexible enough to do whatever was needed at any given time. Flexible enough to adapt to new foods, new languages, new people and a different way of life. Flexible enough to accept correction or advice. Flexible enough to endure animals making noise on their roof at night, and to endure hard labor in the hot equatorial sun during the day. Their flexibility has left a lasting impression on CGA and Mbita, much more than just the computer lab they left behind. And, in the process of serving others... I think God has also left a lasting impression on them to bring back to their families, friends, churches and workplaces in Montana! 

While it's a lot of work to prepare for and host a team, we greatly enjoyed it.  We're both "planners" at heart, so we enjoyed all the planning details and it was especially wonderful hosting a team TOGETHER! We are grateful for the time we were able to spend with this team and look forward to seeing them again soon; perhaps again in Kenya or maybe in Montana!