"Dadas" in Kenya

Our team is a week away from its departure to Nairobi. Nine strong, our team has backgrounds varying from college pupil to seminary student to marketing guru to music ministry assistant.

In the initial stages of our trip planning, we were dubbed the Good Shepherd group because the Good Shepherd orphanage in Nyaharuru is our main destination in Kenya. So, why “dadas”? Our missions pastor, Julie, explained early in the trip that dadas means “sisters” in Swahili, and as our trip formed, she started calling us dadas in our trip e-mails. The transformation made sense, because as the group got to know one another, we truly began to form a sort of sisterhood—one that I anticipate will grow as we travel together.

Here are some basics on the trip, for you who are just learning about it or for those who need a refresher:

• We depart to visit our friends in Kenya on July 28, arriving the evening of July 29. Julie will already be there, hanging out with two of our friends in Nairobi who have spent time with us at Centenary.
• After a few days settling into Nairobi and assisting our friends with their projects in Nairobi, we’ll head by van north to Nyaharuru, which is a town about three hours north.
• We’ll spend time visiting with the children of the Good Shepherd Home, their guardians, and the gentleman who oversees the orphanage, Simon.
• Activities planned for the kids include Scripture-themed crafts, singing, sports/activities, and we hope to simply express to them/remind them of their worth and God’s love for them.
• We’ll have some sessions educating the young women on health issues such as HIV prevention, and just answering questions about health that they might not feel comfortable asking. (Our nurse on the team will be helping us guide those discussions.)
• Same with the women who also care for these children: We hope to serve as encouragers for these women and several team members will be teaching some cooking classes, guiding some sessions on training in grief counseling (they deal with grief a lot, on account of the losses due to AIDS and other illness).

Ultimately, we just want to be available on this trip, for whatever God might have for us in our connections there.

The team was commissioned yesterday, we pack this week, and off we’ll go. I will try to provide as frequent updates as I’m able during this time via this blog, and we’d appreciate your prayers as we head out next week.