We have been grateful and blessed by your prayers and emails and chats and thoughts over the past 10 weeks since we’ve returned to Africa. We have been trying to find time to get an email update written, and are very sorry it’s taken so long! Please know that you have been on our hearts and minds as well, as our goodbyes this summer are still fresh in our memory.
Over the past 10 weeks we have:
flown across 8 timezones and eventually conquered jetlag
Driven over 600 miles through Nairobi traffic on a motorcycle (Andy)
Andy, rainsoaked, and his motorcycle
Are 8 weeks into the 11 weeks of rehearsal for The Diary of Anne Frank (Lesa)
Praised God over and over that He has placed us here, doing exactly what we were made to do
Over the next 10 weeks we will:
Celebrate two more birthdays (Lesa, Oct 30 and Sydney, Nov 11)
Direct 3 HS performances (Lesa) of the The Diary of Anne Frank (Nov 5,6,7)
Take over the leadership of On-Field Media (Andy) while Ted is on home assignment
Spend a week as cameraman with Billy Graham Association (Andy)
Spend 8 days in Lesotho (South Africa- Andy) on filming a documentary on the nomadic, underclass shepherds of this mountainous country
The first month of our return to Africa was a rough one. Between our friend’s deaths, the funerals, moving houses, starting a new school, not to mention being terribly jetlagged, we were a mess. Through that time we held fast to God’s promises, that he is faithful and compassionate and understanding and works all things together for our good. All things… every single thing. We are still holding tight to Him, as life is completely different now in many ways and we are all still getting used to the many changes.
We are finally seeing some rain after a severe drought here in Kenya. People and livestock have been suffering terribly over the past few months and it seemed as if the rain would never come. We’ve never gone without water completely here in Nairobi, but the city has been rationing water so that most of the city only received water a few days a week. Everyone stores the water when it comes, so while it has been inconvenient, we have been okay. The electricity was also being rationed (off 3 days a week) because of the water shortage. The rains started up this past week and haven’t let up too much. The rationing appears to be over and we feel quite spoiled to be able to turn on the faucet and see the water pouring in every day! Our prayer now is that there won’t be flooding all over Kenya, which can be destructive as well.
Lesa has her 3rd drama production at Rosslyn coming up, the The Diary of Anne Frank. She is also teaching 2 high school drama classes and a middle school drama class. She will direct a middle school play second semester, as well as a musical production for the high school. Returning to work has been challenging and tiring for her – teaching at 35 with three kids is much different than teaching at 23! Despite the sharp learning curve, she is loving her time at Rosslyn and feels a deep sense of purpose in mentoring and equipping these students to use their gifts for God’s glory.
Andy, filming in northern Kenya last month
Andy has taken over as the team coordinator for On-Field Media. We are going to miss our friends, the Rurups, while they are on Home Assignment. At this current time, he has 6 film projects in various stages of completion to manage, in addition to some web projects, contracting with the Billy Graham Association, and planning a trip to Lesotho (Southern Africa) next month. That 30 minute commute on the motorcycle is the icing on the cake.
The children have been busy at school with activities and getting to know new friends. Robbie is now playing the trombone and will also be in the upcoming elementary Christmas production as a shepherd. He and Avery are taking piano lessons at school and are both doing quite well. Sydney is… well… still Sydney. She loves school and is as social as ever. She has a wonderful teacher, whom she loves. We feel very blessed to be able to have our children at such an amazing school. Our house has been a blessing too, though quite a bit of work for Andy as he has been working on some plumbing issues ever since we moved in. Living so close to the school has made all the difference in the world for Lesa and the kids – no more hour-long bus/car rides. Now we can get to school in under two minutes! And of course, Andy loves riding a piki piki (that’s Kiswahili for motorcycle).
Lesa, leading worship on a Sunday morning
We are helping to lead worship now at our church, International Christian Fellowship, which is an answer to prayer. We also participate in a very “international” small group from church with Koreans, Africans, Americans, and Norwegians (that’s 4 continents represented!) and greatly enjoy the fellowship time with these experienced and wise missionaries.
Us, with Wyclif, Selina, and Brian
Andy continues his relationship with Mohammed. He is currently working to help find a special off-road wheelchair for Mohammed’s sister-in-law who recently lost her legs in an accident. We are also still supporting little Brian so that he can go to a school with a speech therapist. We’ve been able to spend some time with him and his family and they are all quite happy and grateful to all of you who have helped to pay for his tuition. If you would like to help with Brian’s tuition (it is approx. $100 a month) you can just email us and let us know.
We would love to hear from each of you to know how you are doing since we saw you last. Please drop us an email and keep in touch! Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. We couldn’t be here without you.
In His Precious Name,
Andy, Lesa, Robbie, Avery, and Sydney
Prayer requests:
Lesa’s show – that the students would do their best, that God would be glorified, and that our family will survive the stress!
Andy’s trip to Lesotho – for safety and opportunities
Kenya’s drought – that the rains would make it throughout the country (but not too much!)
Andy’s health – please pray that the Ulcerative Colitis, which reappeared after our stressful month in August would go away again (last time it was gone for 8 years).
AIM AIR – please pray for our friends at AIM AIR as they are still putting the pieces together after the accident. Also, please pray for the Williams and the Toew’s families who each lost a husband/father.
Cramming in the bed of a pickup truck with 21 Rendille women wearing little more than beads is an interesting way to spend your day.
It was my 2nd time in Korr, Northern Kenya, in the desolate desert of what’s called the “northern frontier district.” Frontier is the right word, as this is past the edge of civilization by at least an 8 hour drive.
The lack of water is a big problem in East Africa right now. 2 years of miserably poor rainy seasons and deforestation of parts of the Kenyan highlands have left many people in a bad state. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8057316.stm) Especially in the desert, where people rely on their animals for survival, not just the meat but liquid from milk and blood. These people, mostly nomadic, move their entire village with the herds, or send the warriors out for months at a time with the herds, in a never-ending search for water and grazing. So when it doesn’t rain, the animals get sick and die, and the people lose not only their way of life but the very thing that keeps them alive.
So, when we pull up to a village (a “goob” in the local language) with our Land Cruiser, the women (who have the job of finding water and firewood every day) seize the opportunity to save themselves a 4 hour walk to the well and back. They run to their huts, grab whatever containers they can find, and swamp the truck. You can’t imagine how many people can fit in the bed of a pickup truck until you try it. If there was room for one more foot, or for one more person to hang on to the side of the truck it would be taken.
As we bounced along the bush, crossing dry streams, swerving to avoid camel carcasses, the women sang. They sang the entire drive to the well, at the top of their lungs. When we stopped so they could fill their jugs, I asked Nick (the missionary who was hosting us) what they were singing about. “Praise songs to Jesus, mostly,” he replied.
The volume of their singing doubled on the trip back to their village with the now-full jugs of water. It was a double blessing for those ladies that day, not only saving them 4 hours of walking, but half of that with a back-breaking load of water(well, back-breaking if I tried it, but these ladies are tough and strong!). It was a double opportunity for them to sing out in praise and thanksgiving to their God, to our God.
Last time I was in Korr, Ted and I filmed an interview with Indubbayo, a woman who came to Christ through the local literacy classes and now serves God as a traveling evangelist, visiting goob after goob, sharing the hope and peace she’s found in Christ. A hope and peace that’s pretty rare in these desperate times.
2 years ago when Ted and I were here, she shared one of the songs she’d written. A worship song to God, in the traditional Rendille style. Something that hadn’t been done before, up until that point the church was mostly singing songs from other sources that had been translated into Rendille.
And now, 2 years later, through Indubayyo and the literacy programs Rendille are coming to know Jesus, and each village is coming up with a unique, indigenous expression of worship.
As a musician, and a closet ethnomusicologist, that really excites me. And bouncing along these dusty roads with these beaded women worshiping God for the little blessings in life, reminds me of why I’m here in Africa, and why I love what God has us doing.
This is the update I didn’t want to write. I am writing it to share our feelings and document our experience of the past 2 weeks, but I’m finding it laborious to write the words.
We knew it would be a hard couple of weeks upon our arrival in Africa. We were planning on it being hard, knowing that within days of landing Lesa would begin staff training at Rosslyn, I would be moving our possessions across town and we’d be extremely jetlagged. We knew it would be hard, but not this hard.
Frank Toews
After landing in Nairobi and clearing customs, we were greeted by my friend Ted with the news of the AIM AIR crash that afternoon. Our friend Frank, the pilot, was dead. Our friend Ryan, an engineer who was also sitting in the front of the plane, was in the hospital with serious burns. Our hearts sank, as did our knees to the floor of the airport.
We lived between the 2 families for a couple months last year. Ryan’s oldest son and my 2nd son are great friends. But beyond our feelings, our entire small close-knit community of AIM International Services was reeling and hurting. Hurting for our friends, for their children, for ourselves, for each other. Confident, though, in Frank’s presence with our heavenly Father.
We still had a job to do. Lesa still had staff training to attend, and we still needed to move houses within the week. I managed to secure a lorry (truck) and 7 strong kenyan men to help, and we moved on Wednesday. Ryan died on Friday, at a special hospital for burns in South Africa.
Ryan's toolbox at the AIM AIR hangar
Frank’s memorial service was Tuesday, Ryan’s was Saturday. Between the two services, we had Ryan’s son to our house for a sleepover. I’ve been really proud of my sons as they’ve lost their selfishness the past few weeks to do what they needed to do to support their friends.
So, here we are, just over 2 weeks after arriving in Africa. A tough couple of weeks that has taught us a lot. Taught us that God is good and deserving of praise even when praising seems like such a sacrifice. Things are picking up, the house is getting unpacked, the kids have started school, and Sydney is loving kindergarten. Life really is good, and God is great.
Exactly half-way into our 3 month home assignment we thought would be a good time to send a quick update of what we’ve done and where we’re at. While the first half of our trip was filled with seeing all our dear friends and sending church in northern Virginia, the second half of our trip is full of family and doctor’s appointments and shopping for the next 2 years’ worth of socks and deodorant and taco seasoning and everything that America has to offer that is hard to find or expensive in Kenya. While the first half of our trip was filled with some reverse culture shock (everything from the color of our money to the variety of food in grocery stores), the second half of our trip is starting to fill with a building excitement for our return to what feels like our home, Kenya. We’re starting to really miss our dear friends there, just as we’ve missed so many of you here. We’re starting to think about our upcoming move across Nairobi, about the start of a new school year in a new school, and Lesa’s return to full time teaching.
Quick Stats
43 days into our furlough
43 days remaining
3000 miles driven so far
2000 miles to go
.
Foods to partake:
Fountain Coke (check)
McDonalds (check)
Chipotle (check)
Moe’s (check)
Pizza Hut (check)
Beau Joe’s
Papa Johns’
Sonic
.
25 lbs gained [cumulative]
25 lbs to go?
Financial update
THANKS to some very generous gifts, some new supporters, and our faithful supporters from the past two years, we are right on track for returning to Kenya soon. We are still hoping for some more monthly supporters and/or one time gifts. All of our salary, insurance, retirement, etc. come solely from donations, so we are asking if you would prayerfully consider joining our support team. Click here to sign up! We’ve had several people ask if they need to renew their pledge with AIM to continue supporting us. If you are sending in a check each month or if you have your donation withdrawn automatically, it will just continue as it has been. No need to renew. Also, some have asked about the automatic withdrawal system, as they have had some trouble with it in the past. If you go online to the AIM website and try it and still have trouble, please let us know and we’ll do what we can to help!
Travels so far
illinois
ohio
virginia
pennsylvania
north carolina
alabama
arkansas
kansas
Travels to come
June 21- leading worship at Trinity UMC, Hutchinson, KS (2 services)
June 28- leading worship, speaking on missions, at GracePoint Community Church, Denver, CO
July 5- speaking at Trinity UMC, Hutchinson, KS (4 services)
July 12- leading worship at Pine Ridge Presbyterian, Kansas City, MO
July 19- leading worship, speaking at First Pres Galesburg, IL
July 26- speaking at Trinity Pres, Aledo, IL July 31- we leave for Kenya!
New videos
We also wanted to share a couple of quick videos with you, if we haven’t had a chance to personally sit down with you this furlough and show them to you. Click the video to watch it in your browser.
Orientation
AIM’s official video on what it’s like to sell everything and move across cultures and survive the first two years. Told through the eyes of Andy and Lesa Brown.
Captivate
Tim Lang’s story of his 9 months in Africa, living with us, working with Andy on the On-Field Media Team.
1st term thank-you
A sincere thank-you to all our supporters who made our first term in Africa possible. This video is for you.
Overwhelmed and blessed
We have been overwhelmed by the warmth and friendship of everyone we’ve seen on this trip. We feel truly blessed to have so many loving friends and family and it has been wonderful to see and hear about what God has been doing in each of your lives. We don’t want you to think for a moment that your prayers and support for us aren’t significant… they are! It is your prayers and encouragement which keeps us going. You are the Body of Christ at work and you are participating in our work, the work of AIM, and God’s work in Africa!
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:3-6
In Christ’s love, Andy, Lesa, Robbie, Avery, and Sydney
Almost a year ago I was tasked with creating a video to be used across AIM to show what the orientation process looks like. Who better to have do that than the video guy whose family was just wrapping up their first term at new missionaries?
Anyhow, we recently released this video, and it is now being distributed to all AIM missionary candidates, but we thought we’d share it here as well so you can enjoy what our last 2 years have been like!
By Andy on October 20th, 2009
