reactkenya.com Blog

Congo

Here is a clip from my friend Daniel who recently took a trip to the Congo to encourage the pastors there.

The Good Life

Life here in the Great White is good.

Sometimes, too good.

We recently moved into a new home that we really like in a neighbourhood we really like. I have a new business that is going well and I find it challenging. My wife is all a guy could want and my two chicklets (Elia and Anna) are real treasures. Our parents live in town and they are healthy and well. When life is good, its just too easy to just hunker down and hold on (as seen below).

You see, I’ve been finding myself a little too comfortable here and enjoying life but so much of this comfort subtly drives away any urgency to both local and global needs.

I recently read the story of the rich man who built bigger barns to store all the grain that was coming his way. The guy had the corner on the market and was simply reaping the benefits of hard work, opportunities that came his way, and was capitalizing with a good retirement plan. Whats wrong with that? Well, JC never condemned this dude for having things go his way nor for making some good money. If he had taken on an aesthetic attitude he still would have missed the point. I don’t believe that the issue is “rich versus poor”. Proverbs shows us that there are really four categories, not two. It paints a picture of both the rich wise man as well as the rich fool. We also see a poor but wise man as well as a poor fool. The issue is not “rich versus poor”, but rather “wise or foolish”. The thing the rich man in JC’s story was condemned for (to hell, I might add!) was that he thought all this goodness coming his way was so that his life would become easy and comfortable. He built reservoirs instead of seeing his resources as a channel.

I think, if we are all honest, we are all like this guy…at least I know I am. I hate to say it but my time, talent and treasure is sucked up into self preservation without even thinking about it. I feel as though there is so much padding between myself and the needs around me; padding that makes me feel so little compassion these days. Its a struggle to keep primary visions primary and not pursue secondary visions at their expense. I am not always, actually, I am rarely as deliberate and focussed in my pursuit of God and the justice He is looking for as I perhaps think I am. It means being deliberate.

Its time to make some hard choices.

On purpose.

Vampires and Zombies

I am always encouraged by ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things.

Remember the story of the boy with bread and fish? The snotty nosed kid whose mom was the only one to remember to pack him a lunch but an ordinary lunch somehow fed 5,000 men because Jesus came his way. Crazy story, eh?

Remember the dude, Moses, who when standing in front of a burning tree heard a Voice that seemed to come out of the flames that said, “What’s that in your hand?” Just a walking stick, right? Of course, he was just a sheppard. But Bigger Hands wanted his sweaty stick to part seas, swallow snakes, turn water to blood and, most importantly, deliver men from slavery. Bizzare if you ask me. (Whats with all the fascination about vampires and zombies when the Ghost might just show up?)

These guys were not looking for something extraordinary to put their hand to. They were just going through their day doing what they always did when God blindsided them, took them off guard and made “just another day” something to blog about. God’s initiative in their lives, not just clever scheming.

Check out this short Vid. I’m shamed but inspired by people like Narayanan who simply do the right thing. Doing justice where we are with what we have in our hands.

What’s that in your hand?

(Copy and paste this address…)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_3BEwpv0dM

Doing Justice

One of my fav preachers is Tim Keller and I had to share this with y’all. Please find the time to download and have a listen. Copy the following… http://theresurgence.com/2006/07/18/doing-justice-audio

Oh yea, Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

I just received these pictures from Martin Shikuku this morning and I wanted to share them with you. There are some good pics of the new home that was constructed this past year as well as the well and Jiko (Kenyan Oven). Thank you for your interest and partnership this past year. We are amazed and humbled to have partnered with you and are anticipating what God has in store in the year to come. Enjoy these pics!

December 2010 Update

I’ve just watched a part of a documentary that George Clooney has been a part of in his advocacy for peace in Sudan. While I have never been a “star-gazer”, I appreciate anyone that takes up a cause for the poor, especially in Africa.

One thing that has stuck with me from this, besides the footage, is his message about preventing crisis. The world spends billions of dollars in the wake of disasters and wars when we could be avoiding crisis and save an incredible amount of money at the same time. If we had the foresight and concern before crisis happened, lives could be saved and our efforts made more efficient.

“If I told you that there was going to be an earthquake that would destroy 200,000 people, would you not do everything in your power both individually and globally to save those people? Sudan is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster that can be avoided…We were too late in Rwanda. We were too late in Congo. We have a chance to avert a man-made disaster if we will only open our eyes and take action.”

In January 2011, the people of southern Sudan have the opportunity to vote on separation from the Arab North. This vote will undoubtedly stir the hornets nest in the North where the President wanted by the UN for genocide is ruling from. Many are saying that this vote will end in trouble for the “Christian” south.

So what does this have to do with ReACT and the work in Kenya? First of all, we are concerned for all of Africa, and especially the children of Africa, be it Kenya or neighboring Sudan, who have no voice. Second, we feel that our work in Kenya is not dissimilar and we see our reflection in the crisis of Sudan. Disaster for many of these children has already happened and continues to happen through disease, abuse and neglect. Most face personal crisis without intervention. Though the face of disaster is often hidden, the children facing various stigmas and handicaps in the countryside and urban areas would number in the hundreds of thousands. Our heart has been to search for and offer hope and a chance at an education and together with you, personal disaster is being avoided. With individuals like you, organizations like Transformed International and the work of our God, the forgotten children of Kenya have had a fresh start. In 2010, you helped over 100 children attend specialized schools for Deaf learning as well as other specialized schools.

We want to take this chance to thank the many people who have partnered with us and made this year a success. Our Kenyan partners, Transformed International (www.transformedinternational.org) are indispensable to the work with these children. Daniel, Sean and Meredith and their Kenyan team perform the required groundwork on a regular basis to ensure a steady connection with each child. We are incredibly grateful for their sacrifice and steady input into all of ReACT’s projects as they do all the ground work without any financial compensation. They simply carry a vision for this work and give voluntarily of their time and efforts. We are excited to spend a few days with Daniel at the end of January 2011 as he travels to Barrie after having been to his home in Reno for Christmas for the first time in 4 years. Without TI, the work of ReACT simply would not happen.

Many of you have followed our blog as well as our American friends, led by the Pollocks, that sacrificed incredibly to see the home of Martin and Ruth Shikuku relocated and re-built. This project simply amazed us as we saw 4 teams travel from various US locations to a rural location outside of Moi’s Bridge Kenya to transform a field into a safe and complete home for underprivileged children. All of the funds for this project were raised by this US team. A huge “thank you” goes out to all of you that gave beyond your capacity to see this home transformed.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Barrie that raised the funds for beds, a seed-press project and the dug well for the new Shikuku Home.

We are grateful for the individuals and families that sacrificed and gave so that children could go to school for the first time. I have spoken to some who have worked extra shifts on a monthly basis specifically to sponsor children. Some have given in memory of others. Some have sacrificed little luxuries so that a child could have a fresh start. It amazes and inspires me when I talk to many of you! For $250 Canadian, you averted personal disaster for a year, providing books, uniform, room and board. Without you, we are limited.

For anyone wanting to sponsor a child for 2011, please note that in order to give a charitable receipt for 2010, we need to receive your donation no later than December 19th so that there is time to send it off to our main office in Woodstock for processing.

We are still working on improving our communication with you in the upcoming year. We feel that, like many things, our strength is also our weakness. We are pleased to say that 100% of your donation goes towards the sponsored child. Nothing is taken for any overhead. This is also our weakness and we are working to improve communication with you through our network of volunteers.

Who knows what God will do in 2011?! We are amazed at all that happened in 2010 and look forward with anticipation and hope to the new year. Who knows what personal disasters will be averted in the coming days…who can say what stories we will hear in another year’s time if we take action now before crisis occurs?

JoHaBeTo Update, September 2010

This picture was just taken last Friday, September 10/10 and it is proof of what one team of people can accomplish when they put their minds and faith to it. There was not one building constructed, but rather three! We are incredibly grateful for the Pollock family from New York and their efforts in both raising funds and providing the labour for this project. Altogether, I believe that there was almost 80 people who made the trip to Kenya to see this project through to its completion. Again, for the details of this project and for many more pictures, have a look at www.johabeto.blogspot.com.

Words cannot express…


What an example of the blending of primary and secondary visions! Thank you to all who sacrficied to ensure that the fatherless have shelter. To God be the glory!

Primary and Secondary Vision

We are all made to carry both primary and secondary visions for our lives. For each of us the combination of these is as diverse as each snowflake. We are, as Eugene Peterson says, to “live creatively” with what God has given us and blend both our primary and our secondary visions the way a blender mixes ingredients for something more tastey than any single ingredient.

While primary vision always looks different for each of us depending on the creativity of our Creator, there is one trait that is consistant. It is always larger than the pursuit of self.

Secondary visions are the time, talent and treasure we’ve each been given. On their own, they are only self-serving and self-preserving. Its the career, the job, the possessions and gifting we’ve developed and have been created with. With this time, talent and treasure, we are constantly given the choice to use it for our own self preservation or for a greater vision. Will these secondary things serve a higher vision?

Without a primary vision, the secondary always wins by default. This is evident when, say, our career dominates everything or our dream house is all we think about. Perhaps that training as a teacher is seen only as a means to an end instead of a means to bring life change to children. It may be the accumulation of wealth “for retirement” before any thought is given for the needs around us. Either way, our culture is dominated by the pursuit of secondary visions all too often lacking a primary vision to lead the way.

What if we took the time to really imagine what we could do with what is in our hands? What if we did as the Message says in Galatians and “lived creatively” with our time, talent and treasure? What if we were determined to use these things for higher pursuits instead of the illusion of self-preservation?

I am amazed to witness so many selfless people coming to Kenya from the US to blend their secondary and primary visions for the children of JoHaBeTo. For all of July and August, upwards of close to 100 people are both raising funds and travelling to Kenya to labour and give of what they have to provide a new home for the children of Soy. You can keep track of their adventures at www.johabeto.blogspot.com.

What role does your secondary vision have in serving the primary, higher calling God is painting for you?

June 2010

We are pleased and excited to announce that a long-coming page to our web-site has just been added! It’s called “Faces” and connects you with many of the children sponsored at either the Deaf School or the Handicapped School. Our hats are tipped to our good friends at Transformed International again for their incredible acts of service as they put all this together on a volunteer basis.

All the children sponsored are not represented here and so we decided not to assign individual children to individual sponsors for this year…it would leave too many left out. Instead, we are asking you to click on the names shown (keep clicking!) to download a single page complete with a name, picture, and some information to get you better acquainted with the faces behind the work. Print and post the page in a well-travelled location of oyur home or office so that you can remember to pray for the children at a grass roots level.

We are ever mindful of your continued support and encouragement in this work. Without your partnership, we could not “Reach African Children Together”. On behalf of the children, we say “asante”!

Johabeto Update, April 2010

Well, well, well…Here is a piece of exciting news for those of you following our Johabeto project. This coming summer, for all of July and August, there are 4 teams of volunteers travelling to Kenya to construct a new home that will be directed by our good friend Martin and Ruth Shikuku. As you can see from the pictures the well on the new property is being constructed and will be ready for the teams to use during the construction. It will be 30 feet deep when all is done with plenty of water starting at only 15 feet deep. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Barrie for funding this work. They have sponsored various projects for us this year and for this we are very grateful.

We are also incredibly thankful for our American friends that have raised the funds for both the parcel of land for this new home as well as the materials. Wow! They are arranging the teams for 2 weeks each to go and physically construct this new home. All of July and August are booked for this and teams will be hosted by our wonderful friends at Transformed International in beautiful Kitale, Kenya! For anyone interested, there may still be room to join a team.

The talented Jim Weick from south of the border has also constructed a model of the proposed home. You can check this out below.

We are pleased at how progress is being made on this project. Much preliminary work is being accomplished as the property has been fenced, the rear of the land has been planted with maize and a storage shed has been constructed for use by the teams coming this summer.

Thanks to all that are making these projects a success!