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This post was written by one of our twenty-something MITS Handmade Tour interns,
who apologizes in advance for obscure cultural references or lame puns.
The weird paradox of mid-length missions is that you can
simultaneously feel like you’ve been somewhere forever and that you just
arrived. We lived that paradox for 25 days in Kenya.
The foreign leg of The Handmade Tour comes to a close as we
all arrive back in Nashville for Impact 2014 (but more on that later…). Like
any great movie, our month in Kenya was filled with interesting characters,
plot twists, happy endings, and a surprising amount of popcorn. If our movie
had a title, it might be Catch me if you
Kenya or Safari Wars Episode V: The
Baboon Strikes Back or The Fault in
our Cars. But we’ll settle for something a little more generic. So without
further ado, we present to you, The 2014
Handmade Tour: The Kenyan Leg. We promise it’s more interesting then it
sounds, and it’s not about a Kenyan’s leg, either.
Scene 1: In the MITSdle
of it all.
Most of us had never even been to Africa before, so a lot of
our time was spent trying to gain an understanding of what Made in the Streets
is all about. We spent many of our mornings helping at the learning center,
rolling around with toddlers at the Nursery, learning alongside skills center
students, and helping cook the kids’ lunch. We got to spend so much time with
students and staff alike. Of course, even in these seemingly straightforward
tasks, we were often met with adventure. Like the time Scott had to roll
hundreds of chapatti. Or that time
Amy learned she was teaching an English class approximately 90 seconds before
class began. Still, if you wanna know what life at MITS is for the students,
just ask us. We know; we were MITS students for 25 days.
Scene 2: See you
letter.
 |
| Scott and Shannon helping students write sponsor letters |
One of the goals for our time in Kenya was to help each
student at MITS write a new letter to their sponsor and take updated pictures
of the students to put in hand-painted picture frames. Most weekday afternoons
we had eight or nine students over to our house for cookie eating, letter
writing, frame-painting, and picture-taking. This time not only helped produce
material to send to sponsors, but it gave us an opportunity to spend time with
each student in a more intimate setting. We learned more about each individual
student, and played at least seven thousand rounds of “Matthew Matthew,” the
national game of Kenyan schoolchildren. We’ll show you sometime. During the
summer, we’ll be lookin
g for sponsors for the new intakes to MITS. We can’t
wait to share their stories with you!
Scene 3: The Street
and Narrow
We took a few trips into town to view the “before” of MITS
students. We visited the Mathare Slum, home to an estimated one million
Kenyans. We also did a few base visits around town. “Bases” are essentially
localized group of street kids. They are places, often a large pile of trash or
a hill by the highway, where street kids commune and live. We were able to
visit a few of these bases, sharing encouragements and praying with the street
kids there. We get to see so many joyful and hopeful faces at Made in the
Streets, and when we see the lives all the students came from, we are, frankly,
dumbstruck. It’s a testament to God’s ability to transform lives.
Scene 4: Never a Dull
Day
Nothing ever goes as planned in Africa. And so, our time in
Africa is riddled with various fun moments and stories. Like the time we almost
killed a cheetah, or the time 200 hyenas almost killed us. Like the time six
MITS staff members thought we had poisoned them, or the time we ate three
breakfasts before 10a.m. Like the time Scott and Chris had to push a van down
the highway during Nairobi rush hour, or the time Shannon flooded an entire
house. Our trip was anything but boring. Actually, it was everything but
boring. But don’t think we’re gonna spoil all of those stories right now! Come
and see us on tour and ask!
Our time in Kenya was so full that it would take a lot more
than one feature-length movie to describe it all. Even an
Avatar-length movie. But that’s why we love the Handmade Tour.
Because now, we’re back in America; and we get to spend the next 7 weeks
travelling across the U.S. and talking to YOU about Made in the Streets, the Handmade Tour the Say No to Glue Campaign, the new Frontline program for highschoolers, and more. We'll be at Impact in Nashville, TN until June 21st-stop by and see us outside Allen Arena. And be on
the lookout for a stop near you. Because the MITS movie never really ends, and
you might be the star of the sequel.
Be sure to follow us this summer on the Handmade Tour.
I
arrived in Kamulu on Thursday, June 12, 2014 to serve as an education intern.
While here, I taught middle and advanced math classes, middle and advanced
library, and advanced plus biology. My daily class schedule generally consisted
of 2-4 classes, with the exception of Wednesdays. In the middle math we worked
on fraction operations; and in advanced math we worked on converting between
centimeters and millimeters, as well as finding circumference of circles, and
area of polygons. In the library classes I spent several weeks reading a
chapter book aloud to the students, discussing aspects such as vocabulary,
plot, making predictions, etc., and then they completed a short book report
when we finished the story. In advanced plus biology, I picked up where Angie
had left off in the chapter on diffusion and osmosis, and then continued into
the next chapter on plants. On Wednesday mornings and part of Thursday morning
I was in the children’s centre, spending time with the children there. We
played, read, listened to music, and sang songs. In the afternoons I worked on
lessons and then tutored students on math homework or simply on math facts
during homework time.
My time here at MITS has been an
invaluable learning experience. I have been forced out of my comfort zone in
many aspects. While I teach these same mathematical concepts to my students in
the States, there is no language barrier preventing their understanding of my
lessons. So when a student at MITS was struggling, I had to determine if they
simply did not understand what I was saying, or if they truly did not grasp the
concept. In addition, I have no had trouble in the past with earning the trust
and respect of my students in the States. However, this was a difficult task
here. It took a couple weeks for the students here to realize that I knew what
I was doing in the classroom, that I cared about them, but I expected them to
follow the rules. I have developed precious relationships with these kids as a
result of my time here. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the
students and staff of MITS, and look forward to serving them again in the
future, both from the States and hopefully in Kenya as well.
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