Update on Joe

“It is in our intimate relationships with people who are poor, or more accurately our friends who happen to be poor, that our tainted views of God are transformed. It is our intimate relationships with our friends on the streets or in red-light districts that open our blinded eyes to really see Jesus for who he is. Through their desperation and forced vulnerability, they help us see what intimacy with God looks like. We are compelled to follow our friends who are poor, to God’s heart.”

- Christopher Heuertz, Simple Spirituality

I bought a hamburger the other day for Joe. He really enjoyed it. On another day, I added some "chips" and a coke. He was thrilled, saying he hadn't had a "soda" for over a year!

He's supposed to be eating lots of protein to assist his body in recovering from the TB. He very rarely gets meat, though.

He told me that when he started the treatment 6 months ago, he weighed only 36 kilograms (80 lbs)! He's gained some weight, but not nearly enough. Now he weighs 46 kilos (101 lbs). He's also still quite weak.

Guess we could legitimately call him a "100 pound weakling".

I'm slowly getting the inside of his house painted. It takes me two hours (one way) to reach his place from where I live. I usually paint for about four hours and sit down for a cup of tea and chat with him for another hour. It makes for a long day. I've gone twice now. I think I'll finish up with the painting in two more visits.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act.”
Proverbs 3:27

This is Jeroboam. He's a keyboardist for a nearby church and also an electrician. He's re-doing the wiring in Joe's house. Now Joe will have an outlet! He's really been wanting to listen to a radio.


He loves to read. I recently gave him a Bible. He was so happy! He's had to borrow one lately.

“God is in the business of taking people just like you and me
and using us as conduits of hope and justice to the oppressed.”

- Joel Vestal, Dangerous Faith

Life's Little "Necessities"

I hope you'll take the time to try this little exercise.

Just do some counting and add up your points.

You may want to go grab a pen and piece of paper first.

And maybe a calculator.

Do you have a roof over your head? if yes… 5.00

Is your house heated? if yes... 1.00

Do you have A/C in your house? if yes... 1.00

Number of cars you own x 4.00

Number of beds in your house x 2.00

Number of toilets in your house x 3.00

Number of water taps/faucets x 3.00

Number of showers per week x .50

Number of phones you own x 1.00

Each computer you own x 2.00

Hours you’re online per week x .25

Each TV you own x 1.00

TV hours watched per week x .25

Number of videotapes x .05

Number of CDs or DVDs x .10

Each item of clothing x .01

Pairs of shoes x .25

Number of loads of laundry per week x 1.00

Number of electric appliances x .50

Number of plates or bowls in kitchen x .01

Number of meals you eat in a day x 1.00

Every vitamin you take daily x .05

Number of daily glasses of water x .25

Every year of school you’ve attended x 1.00

My total is 66.80

Joe’s is 24.34

What’s your total?

(From Joel Vestal's book, Dangerous Faith, with a few modifications)

Some Interesting Information

80% of the world's population lives in sub-standard housing!

One half of the world's population is malnourished!

Some Sobering Information

Only 30% of the world's population is able to read!
What would your life be like, if you couldn't read?

This one may be hard to read. It says, that 59% of the world's wealth is possessed by only 200 people.

The other 6.7 billion people in the world share what's left over!

How the world really shapes up (VICTORIA MOORE - March 2007)

We all know what the world looks like. However, this computer-generated modified map - or cartogram - redraws the globe with each country's size proportionate according to the distribution of the world’s wealth.


Compare, for instance, Africa with the US.

Imagine... Only one person in 100 throughout the world has a college degree.
Likewise, only one person in 100 throughout the world owns a computer!



(I used statistics from Dangerous Faith, by Joel Vestal, to make these pie charts)

Weekend in Nakuru

Jim on the back of a boda boda

Playing a bau game at Hyrax Hill museum
(I believe this is the oldest game in the world.
It goes by many names, including Mancala)

The view of Lake Nakuru from the top of Hyrax Hill

On the edge of Menengai Crater

This extinct volcano cauldron is one of the largest in the world It's an incredible 30 square miles! There are numerous steam vents (some can be seen in the photo). This was my first time to see Menengai, but hopefully not my last!

Tour at Kebirigo Tea Factory (during trip to Kisii)

The plucked tea leaves arrive from the shamba in a lorry and are unloaded. This factory receives 200,000 kgs of tea leaves every day during the rainy season! That's over 200 tons! During the low season, they receive 40-50,000 kgs per day.

The tea leaves are spread out to wither. When the leaves arrive, their moisture content is 100%. After 5-6 hours, this will reduce to 65.5-66%.

Derrick and Jeremy tried to do the spreading like the workers.

Linet is showing “two leaves and a bud”.
This is what the workers "pluck" from the tea plants.

Our Tour Continues

The next step in the processing is called CTC. It stands for cutting, tearing, and curing. After that comes CFU. This is where the continuous fermenting units are located. An enzyme in the tea leaves reacts to oxygen in the air. This is a naturally occurring process and takes approximately 90 minutes to complete. When it is completed, the tea leaves will have a coppery color.

The fourth step is drying the leaves. Below is some of the firewood that's used to dry the leaves with hot air.

By the time the leaves come out of the dryers they are almost black in color.

The 5th step is cleaning. “Magnets” grab all the pieces from the tea leaves that shouldn’t be included in the final product. The 6th step is sorting the various sizes of cut leaves. There are several grades: BP-1 and PF-1 are primarily used for exporting. PD and D-1 are very fine (almost like dust) and are used for tea bags. F-1 is the finest and is primarily consumed in Mombasa.

Step 7 is packing. Kenya exports much of its tea leaves to the UK, Germany, France, and the US. There are also some extracts removed from F-1 tea leaves. This is used for making such things as shoe polish and beer.

The final step is called Quality Control. There are trained “tasters” who taste the various grades of tea hourly. They primarily taste for acidity. BP-1 has a low acid content and D has the highest. The tasters don’t add milk or sugar.

Now when we see a tea shamba,
we’ll know how much work it takes for us to enjoy a cup of chai!

All four of us thoroughly enjoyed our tour! The boys will undoubtedly remember it for years to come. It actually was amazing that we were allowed in. Standard procedure is to send a letter requesting a tour a month in advance. Not only did we not do that, but we had two children with us, and... I was allowed to take unlimited photos!

I'll bet you're glad I didn't post all 40 of them!

September Prayer Letter

These statistics about TB were in the paper just this last last week:

• Kenya is ranked 13th in the world of the "most burdened" countries with TB.
• 70% of Kenya's cases are between the ages of 15-34 (which includes Joe).

I believe the following quotes are very applicable to my friendship with and assistance towards Joe.

Grasp tightly what is real in life.

- Malawian proverb

Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!

- Proverbs 31:8, 9

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. (NIV)

Make friends with nobodies. (The Message)

- Romans 12:16

I believe that in our own journeys we should seek out relationships with the poor and oppressed… Jesus said that what you have done to the poor by feeding, clothing, and loving them, you have done to Him (Matthew 25:40). Perhaps one reason Jesus so strongly emphasized ministry to the poor is because He knew that we would meet and experience Him in the midst of loving and serving the poor.

- Joel Vestal, Dangerous Faith