Ball-Games Update: Base and Zonal Games

For about the past 11 years Christ’s Gift Academy (CGA) has dominated Girls Football in the Primary School Ball-Games in Mbita District.  Years ago CGA would beat the other school teams by 5 or more goals.  Since the Suba Lakers Football Club started in 2009 that gap has been narrowing.  Much of the reason is that the club focuses on training some of the best players in the area, all whom go to various schools around the district.  Currently, approximately 20 Suba Lakers attend various primary schools around Homabay County. Additionally, since the club began, other schools are now training their girls’ teams on a more regular basis. 

At this year’s Mbita Base games for Primary Schools, it was a fierce competition.  Trying to win the title for the 12^th straight year, CGA (with 2 Suba Lakers) ran up against a strong Usare Primary team in the finals.  Usare has 3 of the best Suba Lakers.  After a scoreless first half, Usare received a free kick about 30 feet out.  Suba Laker Brenda June kicked a perfect spot kick into the upper left corner of the goal beyond the outstretched arms of the CGA goalkeeper.  Usare added a 2^nd goal a few minutes later to win 2-0 and qualify for the finals.  There they met with Mbita Primary who had a couple of their own Suba Lakers.  Usare had a tough time breaking through the Mbita defense of Eunice Anyango and Felistas Atieno (both Suba Lakers), but once again in the 2^nd half Usare broke through for the deciding goal to take home the championship!  Nine of the players selected to move on to the Zonal competition were Suba Lakers.  It was encouraging to us to see the high level of competition displayed during the Mbita Base games.  It shows how far girls’ football has come in Mbita over the past few years.   

With 9 Suba Lakers on the selected team for Mbita Base, the Zonal Games were much less competitive.  The Mbita team trounced Obalwanda in the first match 5-0, and defeated Kirindo (with 2 Suba Lakers) in the finals on post-match penalty kicks 4-0.  Eleven Suba Lakers were selected for the Zonal team that is now preparing to play in the District competition this week.  There they will face off against several other Suba Lakers who play for Rusinga Island and the other zones.  From those different zones, we are sure to build a strong team (of mostly Suba Lakers) to compete at the County Ball-games next weekend.  

Joe is coaching the girls football team at nearly every level.  The season began with coaching the CGA team, then the Zonal team and the District competition is this week!  He also has the responsibility to select the team for each next level; watching all the teams play and choosing the best girls to move on. He’ll continue this up through the Regional Level as the primary coach for the girls’ team from the Lake Region.  For the past few years, even at the highest level, Nationals, he’s been asked to assist the Kenyan coach.  Daneen is always on the sidelines assisting in various ways; encouraging the girls, tending to injuries/sickness, taking pictures, or whatever might come up.

Learn more about Primary School Ball Games in Kenya here.

Primary School Ball Games

Football is Life...  for at least the next few weeks. 

All across Kenya this past week, Primary School Ball Games began!  The Ball Games include: boys & girls football, boys & girls volleyball and girls netball.  These games are more like a series of mini-tournaments than a typical sports season that is played-out over a few months.  The students begin playing for their schools and competing against other local schools.  At the end of the one-day competition, it’s not the best school that moves on to the next level, but the best players. At each level, the best players are selected to make up the team for the next level.

Joe coaches the Christ’s Gift Academy girls’ football team.  He’s been training with the girls (as well as the boys) for the past 2.5 months since the school year began in January.  The team is excited and ready for the “Base” competition, Friday, Mar 21^st.  One challenge for CGA teams is that local primary schools often have much older students, which usually means they are bigger and more experienced than our students. In rural places like Mbita, many students join primary school at an older age or drop out and come back to school after a few years.  Some even decide to come back to school just before the sports competitions start up so they can play! When it’s sports season, local public schools often excel since they have 8^th graders who might be 16 or 17 years old; whereas, most CGA 8^th graders are 13 or 14 years old.  Since it’s the best players who advance to the next level and not the school as a whole, our best CGA players have good chances of moving on to compete at higher levels, even if we don’t finish in first place.

After the Base Games with the CGA team, Joe will move on to assist with the selection of the Zonal team which he will then also coach. He will continue in this role up through the Divisionals, Districts, Counties, and Regionals.  Beyond Regionals is Nationals where Joe has also assisted in the past. It’s a privilege to be asked by the various levels of government sports officials to be the coach, yet it’s a challenging position only having 2-3 days of training with a new group of players; many who you’ve never coached before and girls who’ve never played together!  Daneen will be on the sidelines assisting in whatever way she can be helpful. Often ensuring the players have drinking water, assisting with injuries or medical problems, organizing lunch, being an encouragement and making sure Coach puts on sunscreen! :-)

Since Ball Games are specifically school-based sports, the Suba Lakers do not participate as their own team. Instead, all our girls play for their respective primary schools.  We have 22 girls throughout the District who will be participating and representing 12 different schools.  Each one hopes to make it to the next level, with their goal being Nationals.  Most of them will easily move on to the Zonal, Divisional, District and the County level.  A few of them also have a great chance of making it to Regionals and even Nationals!

Last weekend, we held a training day for our Suba Laker primary school girls.  The main purpose of the weekend was to not only prepare them physically for the Ball Games, but also mentally. It’s an exciting time of the year and sports are designed to be fun and competitive.  Yet, the season of Ball Games comes with many distractions and temptations for the players.  The more success they have on the field, the more time they are not in school.  There’s a tendency for some players to totally forget about school work during the 4 weeks of ball games.   It’s especially challenging for the girl players because there are many boy players with ulterior motives in befriending girls, especially girls who look so good on the field!  The boys are often much older and looking for younger girls to seduce and take advantage of.  We encouraged the girls to always prioritize God and academics, show good character, make wise choices and shine as great leaders for their team! 

In the past few years, at least 4-5 Suba Lakers have been among the 20 girls from the Nyanza Region who have been selected for Nationals.  This year with great players like June, Lillian, Winnie, Lavender, & Lenser and others like Lucia, Phylice, Apeto and Mourine; the Suba Lakers are sure to have many representatives at Nationals!       

For us, working with the girls’ football teams is a great opportunity to set a good example of how to play and compete in a positive way.  Sports throughout Kenya is often exploited and focused solely on winning; regardless of rules or regulations.  We have a chance to develop the players’ talents and show them the best way to compete in sports.  Mostly, it’s a great opportunity to express the importance of putting God first and giving him Glory; win or lose.

We’re looking forward to few great weeks on the football pitch.

Reverse Culture Shock

You traveled to Kenya (insert any developing country) and back.  You learned to not only understand, but also appreciate a new culture; or at least, pieces of that culture.

You met people with spirits full of joy, love and contentment; despite their difficult circumstances, tough living standards and lack of material possessions. 

You connected with people just like you; mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, and students.

You made friends, you laughed, you cried, you hugged goodbye.  Your heart was full with joy and happiness.  You hoped someday you would return again.  

Yet, back in America you're feeling a bit confused, disconnected, or perhaps even disgusted.

Feeling confused to think that these two worlds can co-exist on the same planet which God created; prosperous, opportunity-filled America and poverty-ridden, rural Kenya.
Feeling disconnected with family and friends who haven't traveled to a similar place and who can't comprehend why you're so moved about a place you visited for 2 short weeks, or even 3 months.
Feeling annoyed that people don't realize Africa is not a country, but a continent made up of 54 very different countries. 
Feeling disgusted with the overconsumption, wastefulness and materialistic ways of the West; especially America.
Feeling overwhelmed by the abundance of food varieties in the grocery store or the options on a restaurant menu.

These are all normal feelings after traveling to an underdeveloped country, spending time building relationships with the local people and allowing your heart to gain an appreciation for their culture and lifestyle; even amidst visible poverty.

You've gained a new perspective for life, for humanity, for love, and for God's people and His Kingdom.

Something has been stirred-up inside of you and now when you look at the ways of our American and Western world, you see more faults and problems, than benefits and opportunity.  

This is a normal initial response.  However, it's not a comfortable (or a healthy) place to rest or live.  There's more to discover.  The journey continues.

You're now looking through the world, even your own life perhaps, through a new set of eyes.  You have a new worldview.  You have a new perspective. 

Ways to Embrace American Reverse Culture Shock

- Recognize that we are not of this world.  God created us to live for His Glory and with Him in Eternity.  Our lives on this earth are temporary.  We were not created to live in a specific culture; only in God's culture.  After traveling to a foreign land for any form of missions or humanitarian reason (not simply at a vacation resort), you've possibly seen the world through new eyes; hopefully through God's eyes.  You've gained a glimpse into God's Kingdom here on Earth.  Because of this, you feel a bit uncomfortable in your own culture.  Embrace this and focus on God's Kingdom culture and not the things of this world.

- America is an amazing place filled with beautiful qualities. Don’t dwell on the negatives, but instead search for the things you love about the good ole USA; bountiful career and business opportunities, availability and access to nearly every type of food year-round, well designed and quality built infrastructure, a stable government with appropriate checks-and-balances, quality free education for all, easy access to clean water with a never-ending supply, and fast internet- everywhere!  The list is endless!  Embrace these things.

- Share with family and friends about your experience.   Show pictures and video and share your favorite stories.  Be cautioned: not everyone (even close family or friends) will truly be ready to hear everything you have to say.  This is often a shock to most returned sojourners and very hurtful.  Some family/friends often just do not have a way to relate to this new incredible experience you’ve had.  They can’t wrap their minds around where you have been and what you have experienced.  Sometimes they really want to understand, but don’t even know what questions to ask.  Because of all of that, at times it is easier for them to just tune-out or not even try to understand. Give them grace and keep searching for those individuals who will sit down and really listen!

- Educate others.  Give a presentation in your church, small group, work, or local school.  Teachers are often interested in guest speakers to talk about a geographical region of the world they are studying (in elementary/middle school).  Some high school Geography, Sociology or Civics classes incorporate culture-related topics. 

- Get connected with like-minded people.  Whether it’s the people you went on the trip with or others in your area who’ve also had similar experiences. Get together regularly (or email) and share stories to keep-alive the feelings you had during your trip.

- Stay connected to the organization, ministry or people you visited.  Receive the organization’s email newsletter updates, follow their blog, “Like” them on Facebook. Send emails or letters in the mail.  Pray for them regularly.  Stay connected.

- Keep learning.  Read books, articles and blogs on related topics. Read about long-term missions or international development. Read BBC news articles from the region. Check our book suggestions.

- Volunteer or Fundraise.  Hold a local fundraiser for the organization you visited.  Offer to volunteer, if it’s applicable where you live.  Find a local organization or ministry involved with similar type of work and volunteer. Consider organizations working with refugee resettlement or foreign exchange students!

- Plan another trip.  Maybe not back overseas due to the cost and travel time.  Explore something new in your own area or state.  Take your family to a new place and discover something in “your own back yard” together!  

- Make a Change.  This is not for everyone, but for a small percentage, you might return from a life changing trip and be ready to make a drastic change in your life.  Maybe it’s a career change, additional education, downsizing your “stuff”, or taking your family on a missions trip together.  Explore the possibilities and discover how God might be leading you and your family!

At Christ’s Gift Academy in Mbita, Kenya we have a prayer for each of our visitors:

We hope you are ruined for the ordinary.

The normal or ordinary things of this world and your personal life may no longer seem ideal or desirable to you. Use the ideas above to move forward from this current place. Do not rest where you are.  

Move forward.   Do something.   Continue the journey!

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Romans 12:2

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We are not experts on this subject. Only people who have walked through reverse culture shock and are still on the journey!  For those of you who’ve also experienced this, please COMMENT below with your insights, ways of coping or additional resources.

CGA Sponsors Visit Mbita

During the last week of February, 21 CGA Sponsors and Supporters embarked on the long journey from America to Mbita, Kenya to visit CGA. It was a unique team not only because it was comprised of many of our children's sponsors, but also because they came from 5 different states (CA, MT, MN, OR & SC), representing 8 different churches!  Many of the team members had not previously traveled much internationally and, for a few of them, it was their first time out of the USA.  They were coming to learn about life and culture in Kenya, better understand the ministry of CGA and, most of all, 18 of them visited their sponsored child!  

On Monday morning, the team arrived at CGA to be a part of our weekly Chapel.  They were greeted with the smiles of 260 students; each eager to meet them.  Kenyans, with their culture for superb hospitality, love visitors. After a welcome song called “Karibu Kenya” and beautiful dancing by our 7^th and 8^th grade dancers, the team members were each presented with a hand-made welcome card by a student.  Chapel was lead by CGA Alumni and it made for a great introduction for the team to understand what CGA is about; raising up children and youth to know and love Jesus and, in turn, live their lives as examples to others.

After a tour of the campus, they received more Kenyan hospitality when they were served chai (tea with milk) and mandazis (the African doughnut) while Teacher Diana shared the history of the school and more about the structure of CGA's child sponsorship program.  During their first day at CGA, each Sponsor had the opportunity to meet their sponsored child.  Over the course of the week, they had much more time to really get to know their child. There’s nothing quite as special as the first hug you get to give a child you’ve supported, prayed for and loved for many years; some of them had been sponsoring that child for over 10 years!

Each teammember was assigned a specific classroom to be with for the week. They spent every morning during Devotions time in their assigned classrooms.  Many shared Scripture, testimonies, a song or prayed for the students.  Throughout the day, each teammember took their morning porridge and lunch breaks with these classes to have a chance to interact with the students and teacher.  The relaxed atmosphere helps the students begin to open up and share about their family and ask lots of questions to the visitors.  When it was lunchtime and the students didn’t see their visitor, they would go looking for them around campus to ask them to join the class for lunch!

While much of the focus of this trip was for sponsors to meet their child and for the entire team to capture a great vision for the ministry of CGA, they also had a desire to SERVE.  The team participated in 5 different projects throughout the school.  The Sewing Group spent most of their mornings and afternoons, endlessly mending torn uniforms or replacing buttons!  The Craft Group went into every classroom during their scheduled Creative Arts lessons and taught a new craft each day.  The students loved the chance to work with new materials, making a beaded cross keychain, foam bookmarks, faith bracelets and much more!  The Painting Group painted our

 recently built computer lab!  The Construction Group worked alongside and under the lead of Benard, CGA’s carpenter.  They learned how to make tables for the computer lab the Kenyan way; getting back to the roots of construction, using handsaws and hand planes!   As one team member put it, "We relearned the lost art of true carpentry."  This group also assisted with putting up a large fence behind the goals of our soccer pitch. The Photography Group took thousands of pictures to help us have updated profile pictures of each student and staff, as well as class pictures and other images from around the CGA campus!  Many of the team members also led a session during the 5^th-8^th grade Club time including Yahtzee, crafts, music and even a lesson on satellite imaging!!  Besides their dedicated service, the team also blessed the school with a number of needed school supplies, including 10 laptops for our new computer lab!

A lesser known part of CGA’s ministry is that we work with over 100 widows; all who are mothers or guardians to our students.  The widows are divided into small home groups where they meet weekly or monthly to spend time together, encourage one another and share their joys and struggles.  For many of the widows, they say that this group is their family!!  The team members each attended one of the 5 widows groups.  They experienced spirit-lead worship and sharing of God’s Word, they had intimate conversations getting to know the ladies, received great hospitality, and, most of all, they saw in each lady a deep desire to love and provide for the children God has put in their care!  Recognizing that while the widows might have little when it comes to material possessions and appear to be poor by Western standards, they are rich in spirit and in their trust and reliance on God!  They saw a beautiful spirit of joy in the women!

The highlight of their time in Mbita was visiting the homes of their sponsored child. Each sponsor had the chance to meet the child’s family, see their home and enjoy a special time of fellowship together.  A few sponsors whose children are in secondary school, even got to go to the child’s school, meet them and see their school.  They were humbled by the basic homes and poor living conditions (compared to the USA).  And they were overwhelmed by the hospitality and gratitude each family gave to the sponsor!

Long before the team touched down in Nairobi, we were preparing them to come to Kenya with open hearts and minds.  The focus of the trip was on developing relationships and not on what the American’s can “do” for the Kenyans, but on what the American’s can learn and better understand about God’s Kingdom through this experience.  At the heart of CGA’s ministry is our mission: “to see God’s Kingdom come to Kenya through though the lives of these children.” We believe this is happening; here and now.  The hope for visiting teams is that they, too, can catch a glimpse of God’s present Kingdom here in Kenya!  And, more importantly, learn how they can begin to see God’s present Kingdom in their own lives in America.  

We believe hearts were moved, perceptions were changed and they saw that Jesus is alive and at work in a rural [poverty-stricken] place like Mbita!  We pray that each teammember is moved to be a great ambassador for CGA and God’s work in Mbita. We are grateful for the team’s desire to “come and see”, for their willingness to leave their families and spend the money to travel half way across the world to Kenya and for their great attitudes and servant hearts while they were at CGA.

CGA's Best High School Class Yet!

One of our biggest roles at CGA is overseeing the Secondary Sponsorship Program.  Since CGA does not have its own High School, we continue to support and assist all of our 8^th Grade Graduates as they move on to secondary school.  Through the support of each student’s sponsor, we help pay the school fees and provide a little extra for uniforms and other school needs.  We help them in finding a good school and preparing them to begin high school.  Additionally, during every school term break (April, August, December) we organize a week of “Reunion” to provide spiritual encouragement, advice, life skills and other things to help them be successful in school and in life.  We also review their report forms each term to check-in on their academic performance and counsel them when they are having problems.    

Joe has not only taught these kids while they were in primary school, but he also developed the Secondary Program for CGA from scratch in 2007 and continues to follow them closely throughout their 4 years of high school.  In fact, I can remember getting into my vehicle and driving all over the region to find these students the best schools possible back in 2009, begging Principals to give these students a chance at their school.  I told them they wouldn’t be disappointed.  Though we don’t see the students on a day-to-day basis while they are away at secondary school (most of them attend boarding schools), we do our best to give them the support they need to succeed!

In last year’s National High School Exams our CGA class was outstanding!  446,696 12^th Grade students around Kenya took the exams last October at 7,600 different high schools.  Among them were 23 CGA students representing 16 different schools.  This was the 4^th group of CGA graduates to take the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E.) Exams, and they had more top performers than any of the other previous CGA classes.  14 of the 23 CGA students (61%) qualified for University with a grade of C+ and above, and 9 of those (40%) qualified to go to University through Government sponsorship with a high B or above.  That is drastically higher when compared to the rest of the country where only 27% qualify for University and only around 10% go through Government sponsorship.  19 of the 23 CGA students (83%) reached the minimum requirement of mid-level colleges compared to 68% across the country.    

Daisy Magero led the CGA students with an A- of 80 points.  She had an A or A- in all 7 subjects, and she was only 1 point away from getting a Mean Grade of A which is the highest possible grade.  Daisy finished in the top 2% of all the students in the entire country!  Back in 2009 in the Primary School National Exams Daisy was disappointed to finish 5^th best at CGA.  Though she has always been very bright, she didn’t work as hard as she needed to in primary school.  She was determined to do better in high school and live up to her potential, though she has faced many challenges in her life.  Joe will never forget back in 2006 when Daisy’s older siblings ran up to his office in school to say that their mother had passed away.  Their mother was a Kindergarten teacher at CGA and she died unexpectedly in her sleep.  Her mother’s death was, of course, hard for Daisy because she was young and very close with her mother.  In her 2^nd year of high school, her dorm room was burned down and she lost all of her belongings.  In her 3^rd year, her father passed away unexpectedly and now she was left without anyone to care for her except her older sister and brother, and a few uncles that live very far away.  Her determination and perseverance enabled her to exceed most people’s expectations.  

Some of the individual success stories from this class include 2 girls who had to drop out of secondary school because of pregnancy, but went back after 2 years and now have passed and qualified for university.  Another girl had left school after her parents passed away and she became a housemaid before CGA helped her enroll in school again.  Though she was old for her class, she managed to work hard and also qualify for University.      

Another special one is one of our Suba Laker Football players (who also happened to be a CGA student).  Irine Achieng was told by many people, including teachers in her school and people from the community, that she wouldn’t pass because she was playing too much football.  She showed all of them that it is possible to balance sports with school and succeed in both! She finished with a B- and hopes to attend university to study Mechanical Engineering. 

Getting such a good result is an encouragement to us that we are doing our best to provide the opportunity for these students to build a better future!  It shows that in the CGA primary school the teachers and staff are not only teaching them to pass the 8^th Grade exam, but we are also preparing them to be successful in high school and in life.  We are proud of how well they have done.  Each of them has a story filled with struggles and challenges, but through God’s faithfulness we are seeing them completing their education and moving on to higher levels. 

2009 CGA 8th Grade Class  --  High School graduates in 2013

This class was one that Joe worked with when he first visited Kenya on a Seacoast Mission Team in 2003.  Back then, these students were only in 2^nd Grade!  Now they are adults ready to join college!  It’s been incredible to watch them advance through life and succeed academically; and Daneen's loved getting to know them as secondary students and now Alumni! 

Joe working with Grade 2 in 2003!