We had a fun week at holiday club last week, following the theme of Jesus being our King. Each day around 60-70 children turned up for a morning of games, bible teaching, crafts and drama followed by lunch. Children were divided into teams, each stacking up points during the week for impressive drama performances, winning team games and correct recitals of the day’s memory verse.
Day one we looked at Jesus being ‘the Servant King’ and how He washed the disciples feet, showing us how to serve others.
Day two was about Jesus being ‘the Betrayed King’, and how Jesus still loves us despite our failures. The children particularly enjoyed a raucous game of wink murder!
Day three was ‘the Rejected King’ and Moses and Godwill made their debut as puppeteers. The kids were totally engaged with the puppets, laughing and calling out during the show. They looked at Jesus crucifixion and some teams put on some concerningly realistic dramas!
Day four we saw Jesus as ‘the Risen King’ showing us hope, joy and forgiveness. We had children acting the surprise at finding the empty tomb to the excitement of seeing Jesus risen in the dramas. They were sent on treasure hunts as part of the outdoor games, and also given the privilege of me practicing my Swahili on them for the days bible reading (Mama Eu came to my rescue after I confused the Swahili word for tomb with the word for welcome!).
The last day we looked at Jesus as our ‘Real King’. The week finished with the teams more competitive than ever, trying to knock up final points to win the sweets. This involved competing in team games, reciting memory verses from the week and good performances for the day’s drama.
We had a fun week, and many were disappointed for the club to be finishing. Please pray for the children that they may reflect and truly understand Jesus as their King, and also as they now have two weeks before schools and Turning Point projects reopen.
This week Turning Point are running a Holiday Bible Club for the 200 kids supported at primary school. The theme of the teaching is the Amazing King, looking at the different aspects of Jesus’ kingship, and how He is completely different to any other king. It will be a time for lots of fun activities supporting each day’s teaching, and our prayer is that the kids would gain a deeper insight into and understanding of their Saviour, and the depth of His love for them.
Up at the farm the rains have started, which is good news. Currently it’s raining heavily every four days, with only light showers on the days in-between. The whole area really needs a prolonged rainy season to produce a good harvest, but Samuel (TP Farm Manager) is worried that the rain at the moment will not be enough. The mums are happy and hopeful now there is some rain, as they can see their crops beginning to grow. Please pray for good, long, soil-enriching rain that will provide an abundant harvest, not just for the TP farm but for all those in Kinangop, and looking further afield in Kenya as a whole.
The relief effort to assist those who had lost their homes in the Laini Saba fire was very well-received by the community, and has helped people to realise that even though their life is a struggle, God does still love them and hasn’t forgotten them. Many TP staff were involved, not just those based at the Laini Saba Centre, and a great deal of effort, hard work, and extra hours were put in to help it to run as efficiently as was possible. The response financially from the UK was amazing – a real example of the Western church responding to a very real need.
A Call to Prayer – 23rd-27th April. We would like to invite you to join us in committing some time during this week to pray and/or fast for the work of Turning Point. This is a season of shaking, and we have been seeing clear evidence this year of just what this means. We request focussed prayers in a couple of areas:
Although the financial response to the fire appeal was tremendous, if we are to continue the work we currently have ongoing at our three centres in Kibera and at the farm, the regular support for Turning Point needs to significantly increase. Please pray that the regular income would be forthcoming so that the work we feel God has called TP to do can continue.
Jon and Jo feel a burden to see more of God’s Kingdom breaking through in Kibera, to see it as a place where Satan’s strongholds are broken down and the name of God is lifted up in praise. They believe this will be the next key stage of development of the work in Kibera.
If you feel God gives you any passage of Scripture, word, or picture for Turning Point during this week, please share it with us as we will be collating all that we receive to see if there is a common thread.
With our thanks to you as you ‘stand on guard’ for us (Nehemiah 4:16).
Only one week ago I was in Kibera standing amongst the ruins of people’s homes, seeing the looks of hopelessness on their faces. What a wonderful response we have received from those who saw the images and video, and responded to the plight these families were in. We have far exceeded our target, which means we have been able to provide so much more relief than we had envisaged. On Tuesday, we provided food basics and nearly 1,000 blankets to those whose homes had been burned, many of whom were sleeping outside. Then in another distribution effort on Friday, we provided mattresses, cooking stoves, soap, and more food, to around 500 people. Click here to see a video update.
Over the coming weeks we will be looking at more long-term ways that Turning Point can support the community as it rebuilds, at ways that we can shine God’s light into dark places. We value your continued support as we seek His way to demonstrate His love to His people.
We are exhausted, but so grateful to so many of you who have responded so generously. We have been overwhelmed by the response, and praise God for how He has called members of His family to support their brothers and sisters in Christ.
We pass on the thanks of these families to you, and pray that you would be blessed by God, as you have sought to bless others.
With all thats going on in Kibera at the moment, I almost forgot to bring together this round-up of the Kibera Diet Challenge. But here it is.
Firstly, ndengu (stewed mung beans) seemed to be the favourite food this week, if you didn’t take part in the challenge its definitely worth trying for yourself. Mukimo (mashed potato with beans) was also popular. Its surprising that the most unappetizing looking food was deemed the tastiest! It was a mixed bag with the chapatti attempts, Susie Kimnell definitly came out on top in the chapatti challenge – perhaps could have been more round but otherwise a fine looking chapo!
But other than the fun of trying new foods, how did people find the week?
A few people mentioned feeling hungry but Miriam Wichmann said “it was more the time that everything took, walking to the shops boiling water etc that had the greater impact.“ Sue Smith agreed saying “I think the amount of time taken to do things is another reminder of how fortunate we are and that is without walking to the shops and having to do hand-washing. People in Kibera must start their day very early as they don’t always have light to do things late in the evening. I hope I will be more thoughtful in my use of time in future.”
Many of you had interesting chats with friends and colleagues about the challenge and the thoughts it provoked, about how much choice we have in the UK and how many conveniences we enjoy but often take for granted. Some of you cooked up a treat for guests and even invited your whole housegroup round for a meal and a chance to discuss together.
The reflections will remain on our website for those who would like to have a look at them.
So well done and thank you to all who took part!
If you would like to give directly to our Feeding Programme in Kibera, you can on our Globalgiving page.
Yesterday, Kibera was burning. Today, people were struggling to find any remnant of their belongings not eaten by the hungry fire that tore through their homes. Around 250 homes have been destroyed completely. Most families have lost everything.
The mood this morning was one of quiet acceptance. What has happened has happened. Now to live for today, to try and scrape together enough money for food today. To find somewhere to spend the night tonight. To worry about tomorrow when it comes.
The TP Centre in Laini Saba was only caught by the edge of the fire. The roof was ripped off to prevent the fire spreading through our centre and on towards more homes. Without that quick action, by our staff and others, the devastation would have been much worse.
We believe the TP Centre is ideally placed to now demonstrate God’s heart for these people, by providing practical & spiritual assistance to them. The families who have lost ther homes need our prayers, but they also need water, food, clothing, shelter, blankets, mattresses… the list goes on. TP has the opportunity to show these families they are not forgotten, they are not overlooked, their plight is not ignored. We have the opportunity to see the gospel come alive in these families’ lives.
We are launching an appeal to raise a minimum of £5,000 – half to support the repair & reopening of the TP Centre, and half to provide practical help to those worst affected by the fire. Anything raised over this target will be used to practically support those in most need. They are on the doorstep of our Centre – we have an opportunity to show these families that God really does love & care for them.
The need is now. Many of these families will be sleeping out in the open tonight. They will be sleeping hungry, with no blankets to protect them from the cold. Please pray, but also please consider how much you can give financially, which you can do here.
This afternoon, in the Laini Saba area of Kibera, a fire broke out around 1pm. It probably started in somebody’s home, maybe a cooking stove got knocked over, or some hot oil got spilt. However it started, 3 hours later it is still continuing to burn people’s homes. Kariuki, our Kibera Projects Director, estimates that more than 100 homes have been destroyed. Many residents won’t know anything about it until they come home at the end of the day, others have spent the afternoon desperately trying to limit the destruction. To make matters worse there is a water shortage in Kibera, and many of the taps are dry. And this afternoon there has been a breeze across Kibera which has also been fanning the flames. The Fire Brigade can’t get in as the roads are too narrow, so it’s down to the residents themselves to do what they can, but often they are helpless.
None of our staff or people that TP help have been hurt, praise God. But our centre at Laini Saba has sustained serious damage. The roof has gone completely, as although it’s made of iron sheets, those sheets were resting on a wooden framework. The sheets are now charred and blackened, and fit only for use as fencing material. I shall visit on Monday to assess the damage, and together we will come up with a plan for repair & rebuilding.
But it is the people who have been made homeless, and lost what few possessions they had, who really need our prayers. It may be more than possessions that have been lost, as often people can be trapped in their homes when fire breaks out. At the moment I have no information on how many people were themselves caught up, and may have been injured or died.
Please pray for God’s peace and His comfort to those who are affected by this.
Well done to everyone who has been taking part in the challenge this week, its the last day and I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting back to your normal diet and routine. I for one cannot wait to be reunited with my kettle!
Its been really fun seeing pictures of people’s meals this week on facebook. I’ve been ery impressed by most though slightly disturbed by a few! Do check them out if you haven’t already.
If you have been taking part or following along with the reflections this week, I would love to get some feedback from you to put together a blog with different people’s experiences. I’d love to know: How did you find the week? What was your favourite food? What was the most fun to make? What did you really dislike? What apects of the challenge did you struggle with? What did your friends think? Did you have any interesting conversations? What did you learn?
Finally, here’s a special treat for the end of the week, the final episode of Jiko Yetu! Here’s how to make mandazi, the best accompaniment to a big cup of Kenyan chai:
Today’s reflection for the Kibera Diet Challenge is ‘Challenging Our Perspectives’. Whether or not you’re taking part in the challenge, you may want to check out this video which was produced alongside a book called ‘Megaslumming’ which tells the stories of some of Kibera’s residents.
We often have certain ideas about poverty, hunger and the poor. We often picture kids with distended bellies or people who look weak and helpless. These are often the desperate images we are shown from places of famine or drought. In Kibera, you will see a different picture. Though poverty is very real in Kibera, it may not look how you think it should.
Watch the video and consider the following questions:
#1 In this video do people look weak and hungry?
#2 Do people look helpless or needy? How do they look?
#3 What are they doing?
#4 Was there anything you saw or heard in this video that surprised you?
#5 Does the video challenge your ideas about poverty or poor people? If yes, in what ways?
If you’re interested to go deeper, I really recommend reading ‘Seven Myths about Slums’ available on the same website as the video.
Jiko Yetu Episode 2: Chapatti
In other news, there’s another episode of Jiko Yetu up on youtube so check it out! This one shows how to make a perfect chapatti.
It is hot and dusty in Nairobi, more so in Kibera. We are expecting rain late this month (at least the weatherman said so) which is a sign of blessing in African traditions. In fact this morning during our time of praying on the street, we almost choked of dust.
Talking of blessings we expect more of that to the people we prayed with this morning, though not a busy one, but equally encouraging and humbling.
This morning we prayed with a number of people with varying needs, men who wanted their women back, some who wanted deliverance and those who long for a peace of mind. Even though we didn’t experience instant healings like last week, we continue to pray and anticipate to hear of good stories from the people we prayed for this morning. One such person is a gentleman whom we prayed with suffering from diabetes, Tb and is HIV positive – there was no change immediately, but we shared with him the testimony of a lady who got healed of HIV whom we had prayed together with sometime back and he promised to go for testing and confirm his status at some point. It can be hard explaining to a person in such a condition that they can get healed – with the backdrop of the stigmatisation that goes with the disease, it’s even challenging to advise them to go for testing. Especially with our little faith, you always want to play it safe.
But that’s the nature of things here. So as we wait for rains, we continue to inhale dust and anticipate that the drops of rain will bring good tidings, equally hoping that this man and those we prayed for will also get relief at God’s time.
#1 You may only eat foods from the Kibera Diet Recipe Book
#2 When cooking you can only use one burner on your stove
#3 You may not use fridge storage for the the 5 days
#4 You may not use a car for your shopping trips
#5 You may not use electrical kitchen appliances e.g. kettle, microwave, toaster
These rules will certainly interrupt your usual routines and force you to take more time over simple chores. The food you’ll be eating will also be different to what you would usually choose, taking a long time to prepare and tasting…different… to what you’re used to.
As the week goes on, you may really enjoy the challenge or you may get fed up with the food, frustrated with cooking on one burner and tired of walking to the shops. But we hope that you’ll embrace the good and the bad and use those frustrations as a chance to learn.
We have a Reflections Worksheet available for download on our website to help you engage with the issues and go deeper in your thinking.
This experience is also a chance to stand in solidarity with those who labour hard for every meal. When you are struggling this week, please think of those for whom these struggles are an everyday experience and pray.
We hope the week will not all be tough but that you will enjoy trying different foods (especially ugali!) and a different way of life.
So for all those taking part, good luck! We hope its a great week, do tell your friends what you’re doing and take the opportunity to share your heart for the poor or at least the questions that you’re wrestling with about poverty. And do keep in touch with how you are getting on via facebook, twitter or this blog.
P.S. If you haven’t already seen it, check out our very own cookery show Jiko Yetu and learn to make perfect ugali and sukuma!
