Updates From the Field:  Kenya # 17:  November 2, 2007
Hello Friends and Family! Like most of you, I had a holiday this week.  However, it was not Columbus Day.  Yesterday, we celebrated Moi Day in Kenya.  This day is named after our second president and is set aside as a  day when the welfare of the needy should be considered.  The fact that I missed Columbus Day made me start to think about freedom. Since I have arrived in Kenya, one of my biggest struggles has been my loss of freedom and independence.  I have struggled with lack of transportation and the absence of relationships outside of The Salvation Army.  Self-pity over my situation has often overwhelmed me.  (How self-centered!).  I now have a vehicle to use, and once I learn to drive stick shift, I will be much more independent.  I am truly grateful for this, but have been reminded lately that freedom is relative. As I shared with you, I had the privilege of accompanying one of our nursery schools to the Animal Orphanage.  (The orphanage rescues abandoned and injured animals.)  We had 38 children between the ages of 3-5 who were completely mesmerized by what they saw.  About half of these children are orphans, and most have never been outside of the slum they live in.  We expanded their world ten fold by driving them about 30 minutes to a zoo. My friend from Britain was with us, and she got used to being called Captain Armida.  The children there call all white women Captain Armida.  I have to admit I get a lot of amusement from that.  The children ran and screamed and laughed and talked to the animals.  They were free from their dire daily lives, and it was hard to contain their joy.  It was one of my best days in Kenya! Later last week, the THQ officers conducted a meeting at a local women's prison.  We entered a compound where 300 women of all ages are detained. Their crimes vary, and some are even on death row.  It is interesting to note that if the women are pregnant or nursing when incarcerated, their children are admitted with them.  They are allowed to stay with their mothers until they are 4 years old.  At this particular site, there were about 50 children in residence.  We were confronted with a sea of women in simple striped frocks that eerily resembled those you see in Holocaust concentration camp photos.  As they started to sing praise songs, their voices raised in worship as they smiled and danced.  We had a great meeting and then handed out juice and snacks.  When some of the women hid their juice, so they could get another bottle, I instantly felt irritated. Suddenly, I was convicted of that.  I thought about how little these women have.  They are used to a life of fighting for anything they can get.  Most of them turn to crime because of their poverty.  It is sad to say that some may have been better taken care of in jail than on the streets.  I looked at the thick padlocks that lock them in their rooms at night and took note of the well guarded and sturdy security gate that we passed through to go back to our lives.  Though they do not have earthly freedom, I thank God that many of them have found freedom in Christ while incarcerated. Freedom is relative.  Though I may have felt a loss of freedom in my new lifestyle, it is nothing compared to the confinement some have due to poverty and oppression.  I also know that sin can imprison us.  I am so grateful for the freedom God has given me. The verse of the week is: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord"        -Luke 4:18,19 Love you all! Armida