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Hello there. I’m Cole. I’m a fifteen year old guy from Oklahoma. I recently went to Kenya. I thought it was going to be terrible but it was not. It was amazing. And believe me, when I first went I was dreading it, but it was the best experience I’ve ever had.

My favorite part in particular was Kitui. It was “eye-opening” to see how these kids live each day. While I was there I met a kid. He was so young he couldn’t tell me his name. That kid alone changed my life. We visited his house and it was terrible having to leave him to that life. I’ve thought about that one kid everyday since I have been home.

Not only was the trip awesome, but the people we traveled with were great. I got along with every single one of them, and I miss them all. I will be friends with them for the rest of my life.

If you are debating on whether or not to go on a mission trip or to support the Mocha Club, ask yourself this question: Do you want to save a life?

peace. love. kitui. from Carrie Vermillion on Vimeo.

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“This little light of mine…. “

Darkness: AIDS. Rape. Poverty. Famine. Hunger. Contamination. Death. Religious Violence. No education.

In the midst of this darkness there is a light that glows, and I’ve never seen one shining brighter. I discovered it in Kitui, a small village outside Nairobi.

Light:

It was a verse scribbled with chalk on the wall of a mud hut that an orphan supported by Mocha Club memorized. I saw it in the smiles of Kitui orphans enthralled and overjoyed by a bag of balloons. It was an elderly woman with a goiter who selflessly gives all she has to provide for her orphaned grandchildren. It’s a woman who offers the only food she has to complete strangers and foreigners.

(A 19 year old boy is the caretaker of these two children as well as many other siblings.)

It’s a family that thanks God for providing when they haven’t eaten a sufficient meal in days. It’s when young girls who have been stolen of their innocence strive to become women of character and respect.

I saw it in the hope of an orphan Cynthia who trusts God to provide a chance to attend a university one day. It’s a woman named Jemima who, although sick, devotes each day to teaching and encouraging orphans. It’s her husband Michael who is optimistic during these health battles. It is a few men and their young adult sons who instill virtues and gentleness into young boys in a culture of abuse, rape, and violence.

I saw it in songs sung by AIDS orphans that say, “things already better” and “in Jesus’ name I am happy.”

Who am I to complain about an 8 am class when I can go to school ? …and to worry if my house is nice enough?

Who am I to hold tightly onto $7 a month (2 mochas… or 25 cents a day…or a few song downloads) when it will change the course of an orphan’s struggle to survive?

Who am I to wonder if God hears my prayers when he has provided so much more than I’ll ever deserve?

I do not deserve the opportunity to represent the people of Kenya, but because they have so beautifully shown me an abundance of joy and hope,

“…I’m gonna let it shine!”

To read more of my experiences, visit http://laurinms.blogspot.com.

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Partner with Laurin and support our HIV/AIDS + Healthcare project. Thank you, Laurin, for such a beautiful description of the people of Kenya.

Before I began this trip, I wasn’t very religious or faithful. I was raised Catholic but rarely attended church. I had a few apprehensions about going on a mission trip. I knew that the people I was going with were fairly religious. I don’t know why this scared me so much. I didn’t, however, expect myself to be so moved, and at times, shaken by the faith that I witnessed.

One of my concerns was our team. Two weeks with a group of almost 20 strangers? Would we gel? All sorts of questions were running through my mind. Every doubt I had was erased by the first day. We were a family. After each day, we would all meet and debrief. We’d go around in a circle and share our high and low points of the day. We laughed, we cried, we prayed. We bonded.

Going into Nairobi everyday and witnessing the poverty and despair was hard. The Kibera slum was the worst display of poverty I’ve ever seen. Some days, I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. Seeing so many kids, most with no parents, just roaming around, covered in filth will haunt me forever. Hearing stories of girls being raped and beaten on a daily basis. Seeing sewage running alongside the houses. This is what I struggled with on a daily basis. I’m cranky in the morning if I don’t have my coffee at a certain time. How can I justify that? Nobody can. Nobody should.

At New Dawn School, we had a chance to sit down with the grade 10 students in groups of about 8. I got asked all kinds of questions about my life, career, and school. I learned about these kids. It was my job to try to inspire them, to convince them to stick it out. What could I say that would make any bit of a difference? My life compared to them seems so easy. Sure I’ve had to deal with difficult things, but nothing like what they go through daily. Turns out what really needed to be said was that ‘I believe in you’ and ‘never give up’, sayings that in our culture are so clichéd. Cheesy indeed, but it’s what they needed to hear. That we believe in them. That we are praying for them.

I have been tested. I’ve been challenged. I’ve had to face some pretty difficult emotions. It’s been 2 weeks of the most intense and beautiful experiences of my life. It has knocked me down. It has lifted me up. It has taught me faith. It has challenged my faith. It has inspired me. It has shown me my true purpose in life. It has made me stronger. It. Has. Changed. Me.

The work in Nairobi is far from over. The task is daunting. Take a lesson from the Kenyan people: they don’t look back. They push forward. With hope. With faith. I hope after you read this, you become part of the solution. We must be the change we wish to see in the world. No more sitting back.

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Join with Christi to support the Kitui Orphan Project and other Orphan Care projects throughout Africa.

Catherine was in Kenya from May 28-June 11, 2010. Here she recounts one profound experience from the trip.

We pulled up to the school in Kitui to an organized group of children singing loudly and clapping their hands. Truly a beautiful sight. I sat by a woman named Jamaima who is basically the mother of the children at this school/ orphanage in Kitui. Mocha Club funds this school as well as provides food for these children to take home to their guardians. Don’t miss that word: guardians. Each of the children at this school do not have parents but rather an Auntie or Grandmother that takes care of them. I asked Jamaima about this situation. She cannot accept children as official students at her school if they have at least one parent living or there would be a multitude of children wanting to become students.

Jamaima is so strong as she has been very sick and hospitalized but continues to do all she can for these children. She lives on her faith for the Lord. I asked her about two of the kids sitting in front of us- the only two children that were not wearing uniforms. She told me that they are visitors at the school-they have at least one or two parents still living so they cannot become official students; however, she has an open heart for these students as they are not necessarily cared for by their parent(s).

Over the days in Kitui one of these visitors stayed with Jamaima every night. Her name is Canini. She was very quiet but seemed to have such grace and peace. She didn’t talk much, but she had a sweet smile and deep hugs that you felt into your bones…. Jamaima knew she couldn’t take this child in as an official student but kept her under her wing anyways.

These children find happiness at this school though they walk miles from their homes. It is amazing to know that Mocha Club is providing for these people. Mocha Club is a part of their lives. We got to hand each family food provided by the Mocha Club. These children would get to eat at night thanks to a simple $7 a month. Sharing this moment with these people in Kitui really hit home- we are the hands and feet of an organization that changes people’s lives. A small amount of money allows children to eat. A small amount of money lets guardians provide for their families. A small amount of money is keeping these people alive. Don’t wait to become a part of something that is truly making a difference in the world.

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Join with Catherine to support education projects in Kenya and throughout Africa.

Women At Risk (photo courtesy of The Mocha Club Experience)

So today, the first day of the new year, we are leaving Nazaret, where we visited the “Women At Risk” Program.  Our hearts are full, our spirits high from sharing our time with our African sisters.  It was so rewarding to visit a program that I personally donate to, as do many of my family and friends. These women have all come out of prostitution and major life challenges, most of which are beyond our comprehension. A few of our goals were to serve these women, to share our love and faith, and to open our hearts to the lessons they can teach us.

I have to say, one of the highlights for the entire team was our time praying, singing and dancing with these women.  We understood why our Ethiopian teammates called us “firengies”. They celebrated their faith and their gratitude with a passion that was liberating.  This is something we all hope to take back with us, and more importantly to share with all those with whom we cross paths.

To get into our servant mindset, we decided to have the male members of our team wash the feet of the Women At Risk and for the female members of our team give them manicures, pedicures and facials. For us, it was so humbling to sit at the feet of others.  The women expressed gratitude for our willingness to show our love and servanthood which helped to confirm their worthiness.

On a personal note, I was most taken by the testimonies of these women.  One in particular stays with me. Early on, this woman’s life was filled with difficult challenges that included the death of a parent, and sexual abuse and homelessness that ultimately led her to prostitution.  To her, this was the only way to be able to eat and survive.  It was her courage and her leap of faith in God that led her to to the Women At Risk program. Through the support of the program and the word of Jesus Christ, she graduated and went on to work at a bakery where at night, she would see other women on the streets.  She began to realize what God had in store for her.  She started to reach out to other prostitutes and share her story. She now works at the Women at Risk program where she continues to support and enable these women to live better lives. She, like all the women, ignited our desire to take action to serve and support others in need, wherever in the world that may be. One person can really make all the difference for so many.

Our final hour with the women involved a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony which was, hands down, the best coffee ever.  We prayed over our gratitude for our time together and how we changed each others lives. We said our goodbyes, with long hugs and tears, and know now that we have African sisters that we will carry in our hearts forever.

Acholi Church from grateful inconvenience on Vimeo.

I Need You More (Mocha Club, Uganda) from grateful inconvenience on Vimeo.

Today, the Mocha Club team traveled into various parts of Gulu, Uganda, and we were introduced to a few of the partner projects supported by Mocha Club. Both run by Action International, one is a school and the other an orphanage. Our main reason for the site visit was to check out the areas where we’ll be painting murals, but we spent most of our time being loved on by the amazing kids there. Some of these kids have lost their parents during the war, and they are still looking for them. Others are the children of “child mothers” – girls who were taken advantage of and forced into early motherhood.

We couldn’t get over how truly beautiful these children were…their eyes are unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Their resilience and joy…wow.

Check out this video of Mark Wagner’s visit to Gulu last year, which shows you the people and places we are visiting:

I befriended one little boy today named Jasper who was probably 4 years old (you can see him in the video above).  I am told that his mother would beat him a lot in the marketplace, so thankfully he is in the care of the Home of Love now. He was very quiet. He never spoke a word. He wasn’t one of the kids who were cheering and laughing and climbing all over us… he sat alone, so I had to go to him. After receiving awkward silence after trying to talk to him, I could tell quickly that love had not been a regular part of his life. He did crack a smile when I put my aviator sunglasses on his face…I think he liked that. So I just sat there rubbing and patting his back and holding his little hand. Next thing I knew, he wouldn’t let go of it! I can’t wait to return on Sunday to hang out with him again.

A few of the guys will wake up at sunrise to get an early start on the first mural project at the school, and then the rest of the team will join them later in the morning. While most of the team is painting, I will be working on a few video projects for Mocha Club.

And sorry for the lack of photos and video…the internet connection is very slow here and we have limited time but I’ll work on posting some in the next day or so.   Please continue to pray for us…that the mural paintings will go smoothly and quickly, and that any video capturing we do here will be well received by the local community and that we would capture the stories that will rock a lot of people’s worlds back home. The Home of Love and school’s funding has drastically gone down because of the economy, so you can be praying for that as well. They’ve nearly shut down multiple times. If you feel the need to give, you can join Mocha Club or give a one-time donation.

‘Til next time…

Three flights & four airports… that’s been our life for the past day. But after enduring the long flights, catching up on in-flight movies we’d not seen before, and experiencing a taste of Europe in the Amsterdam airport, we finally arrived in Kampala, Uganda on Wednesday night.

Signs everywhere were welcoming us with the East African phrase “Jambo!” (meaning, “Welcome!”) It was all very surreal; were we REALLY in Africa? It didn’t feel like it. Still, we were excited, wide-eyed, and exhausted. The only downside, one of team members had lost her luggage. But other than that, we had made it safe and sound.

It was a dark journey to the hotel. The first thing I noticed was the night sky. The stars and the crescent moon were brilliant! The ride to the hotel was exciting…random people darting across in front of us, passing cars and barely dodging oncoming traffic, being cut off on every turn…it was the all-too-familiar experience of 3rd world driving. No stop lights. No stop signs. And lanes? Well, those are just a suggestion. My favorite part of the experience was hearing the shouts and squeals of those with us who had not yet been blessed to have this type of traffic experience. We’re not in Kansas anymore.

As I’m writing this, it’s Thursday morning, and most of you are fast asleep waiting for the day that we’ve already begun. I woke up earlier than normal (6am) but have enjoyed the peaceful morning. This place reminds me of my trip to Papua New Guinea…the sights, smells & sounds are very familiar to me. You really can HEAR the day waking up…exotic birds chirping and cawing, roosters going ballistic, and a baby crying in the distance. I can’t make out the smell, but it’s that fresh Saturday morning scent you smell when camping, laced with a little smoke. It’s refreshing. And the morning sky…wow…one of the most dynamic things I’ve seen in a while.

The hotel we’re at is a “guest house” so it’s a very communal experience. The coffee is amazing, and the aroma from the kitchen down the hall makes your mouth water. The ladies working here have made this tortilla bread style something-or-other with egg wrapped up in it…I put honey on mine. Oh yeah.

I’m not a morning person…but this place could turn me into one.

We’ll hang out here a few more hours, waiting in hope of the arrival of Genevieve’s missing luggage. Then we will depart on the five hour journey to the town of Gulu in Northern Uganda. This will be our main destination and the home of Village of Hope and Home of Love. Most of our days will be spent painting murals in the children’s home and teaching art classes for the kids. And with a team full of musicians, I’m sure there will be a few impromptu concerts.

I’m very expectant here. I don’t have specific expectations, but I expect God to do great things. He has always proven faithful when we make ourselves fully available to Him. My eyes are wide open and I am ready to experience both the beauty and tragedy in northern Uganda. My only exposure so far has been through the stories of “Invisible Children.”  I watched the original documentary years ago with some very close friends, one of them who is with me on this trip (Nate Griffin, my business partner). During that same time, our friend Barrett Ward had started Mocha Club, and we (Nate & I) started supporting it right away. So it is very exciting to finally travel with Mocha Club to Northern Uganda!

We cannot wait to meet the people of Gulu and to love on the missionaries and children at the orphanage. But more than that, we cannot wait to be changed and to experience for ourselves that we really do need Africa more than Africa needs us.