Audrey the Cheerleader: 9-27

I drove us to Pangani today, through the traffic and roundabouts. It was surprisingly easy. We spent the day with Robert in Bobandogo again today. Julie joined us to meet with the group there. Today Robert was doing some CHE training with the men.

We had to wait for the key to the church to be found, so we chilled in a shed with Robert. He asked us about American things. We had the most hilarious conversations about how American women shave their legs and about our obsession with dogs. We told him about electric dog fences and how they shock dogs to train them. I realized how ridiculous many American things are when I begin trying to tell a Kenyan about them. At lunch Leann and I began telling Robert about roller coasters. “It’s like a train, but the track looks like this (our hands flail around like a roller coaster). You are strapped in and you go really fast. Sometimes you are shot out at super high speeds and do flips.” His face was priceless.

Finally the key to the church was located and we entered. The church had a dirt floor and was made of simple concrete blocks and metal sheets. I loved the simplicity. All the men circled up and Robert brought out a huge pad of paper for us to “script” on. He discussed leadership and how to have a successful group. The main topics were finances, record keeping, and recruiting. The men were very engaging and they really appreciated the enrichment.   

Robert brought up the topic of suicide. He said that the reason most men kill themselves is because they don’t share their hearts. Men don’t open up. The men laughed at the idea of opening up to a friend. They said that they would be laughed at. All it would take is one man to open up and the rest would follow suit.

At the end they said a lot to Robert in Swahili and told him to translate it for us. Basically they said that they were very encouraged that we are coming to their group’s meetings. They said that we had blessed their lives and thanked us profusely. We have been welcomed to any of their activities. After thanking them for inviting us to their meetings, we said goodbye (for now). They asked us to bring our friends so we could “even the numbers.” (The girl to boy ratio.) They were hilarious.

They invited us to their cleanup day on Wednesday. We all plan on attending. They will begin the trash cleanup. I told them that we were honored to get to work with them. We prayed that God will invest in their projects and that doors will be opened to provide the finances they need. Right now, they are saving up to buy black trash bags to distribute to homes. Two men contributed 250 shillings. That’s like three bucks each. It was pretty humbling that these men were putting in their own resources to improve their community. We will continue to pray that God develops them into strong Christian leaders in their families and community. Robert is going to give us a list of the members so we can pray for them by name.

It is so exciting to see the beginnings of big improvements in Babandogo. God is at work there. He is transforming lives. I can’t wait to see how God moves through these men. I feel humbled again that by us interns being a part of their group, they are inspired and encouraged. All we have done is sit there, joke around a bit, write stuff down, and pray. But to these men, we are their cheering section. They see that people do care about their community and, hopefully, they will see that Jesus loves their community beyond words.

Tonight we had Mexico Monday again. It’s pretty much my favorite night of the week. Erin, Bethany, and Justine joined and we ate. A lot. After dinner we all played Quelf – basically the best game ever in the history of mankind. It was so much fun. I have absolutely loved getting to know those girls.

Right now I think the best part of this internship experience is being surrounded by other girls who are crazy about Jesus and have a heart for serving. It is such a positive environment. I am encouraged by literally everyone I meet.

Quote of the day: “Look out, June!!” – Robert

He calls me June because Audrey is hard to pronounce. I was about to get hit by a motorcycle man and forgot that my name is now also June. It was priceless.