May 23, 2011

Good News Alert....Finally!

Moving into Nairobi Proper

Our move into Nairobi proper has been one of our smoother moves (sorry to those of you who helped us our last midnight move into Allen Park, MI :). A few months back we were made aware of a home near Emmanuel Baptist Church (the church we are attending and ministering in) in Nairobi. We had only begun to look into a place to rent and were unsure we should jump on what appeared to be as good of a deal as we would find.

After signing a lease, then trying to back out of the lease because of all the uncertainty, and finally trying to get back into the lease (and all the myriads of details that go with changes like this), we were able to move our necessities into a home only 5 minutes from Emmanuel Baptist Church.

We had never really unpacked ourselves since our arrival in Tanzania and Kenya, so we have been busy trying to get all things in their proper places and arriving at something that resembles a routine.

For now, we have left our container with the library in it on the 'sold' mission land till we can move it at a later date. Reorganizing the container (for the umpteenth time!) and moving into our newly rented home has been a mammoth task.

Renting a home in Nairobi has its own special challenges (electricity outages, under-qualified repairmen, water shortages, no online banking, huge potholes everywhere, terrible traffic jams, etc.) that have kept us on our toes. This week alone we've had 2 days of no electricity, and a number of hours with a dangerous brownout (which will damage all sensitive electrical equipment).

But by living in Nairobi we are much closer to people, our church, our future training center, and many living conveniences. So we are NOT complaining! :)

One of the aspects of our ministry will be theological training. Our original plan was to use the mission land outside of Nairobi to do this. But the Lord has seen fit to move us from that land and into Nairobi. Although the space is smaller - our location is a much more strategic and convenient place for city dwellers.

In addition, Emmanuel Baptist Church (EBC), pastored by missionary Joel Weaver, has been looking high and low near EBC's current location to find a suitable place to hold meetings (the land has been for sale and we thought we could not afford it).

EBC has been renting a spot in this very high priced area and has never had its own land or building...till now. Very recently the owner of the land where EBC has been meeting has agreed with EBC on a price for the land. It's an enormous amount of money (so let me know if you have a rich uncle), but it is perfect for the church and for our future training ministry. There's plenty of classrooms for church and school, and we can greatly increase the parking lot and still have room to double the size of the church tent.

The building picture above (one of a number of buildings on the 1 acre of land) will be what we will use, Lord willing, for the library and classrooms. It is going to need a major renovation, but structurally the building is fine (if you don't count the termites eating the ceiling :). The building can hold 2 classrooms, the 15,000 book library, a few offices, possibly a small apartment for visiting teachers, and a verandah for more personal fellowship and discipleship.

This building is located on a paved road that runs north and south through the western side of Nairobi, and is strategically located not far from the city center. There's plenty of student housing options, shopping stores, minibus stages (i.e. matatus), and whatever else would be needed nearby.

Nairobi is not what many from the West think of when they think of Africa. The city is one of the most prominent political and cultural cities in all of Africa and it sits immediately adjacent to a large game park full of wild animals.

Thousands of Kenyan businesses and over 100 major international companies and organizations call Nairobi home. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the headquarters for the UN in Africa & Middle East is located here as well. In addition, Nairobi is established as a hub for business and culture. The Nairobi Stock Exchange is one of the largest in Africa. The Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network defines Nairobi as a prominent social center.

Would you pray with us that the Lord would allow us to be a part of a biblical church planting movement that is an example for all of East Africa, and that our efforts at theological training would go far beyond what we could have ever imagined? Pray that God will get the glory and that we'll be humble servants in his hands.

What's life like in Nairobi? Well, it's much like any other urban center, although there are some differences. See this picture show from CNN for a better visual image. The picture below is our maisonette (townhouse) on the western side of Nairobi. We moved in there only a few weeks back and are still getting settled. Nairobi is a city of great contrasts - great wealth surrounded by grinding poverty.

Some of the big differences  from the US in our area include: double-barred windows on the main level, steel gates at all doors, a big concrete wall with razor wire around the entire compound of 21 homes, and LOTS of kids playing in the streets since the backyards are very small. There is the ubiquitous speed bump or two on our street and far more on most roads. Frequent electrical outages are also the norm. We have three water tanks on the property to collect water whenever possible since the city inconsistently pumps water. All drinking water must be filtered unless you are interested in a shorter lifespan.

Our compound of 21 maisonettes is somewhat unusual because it has not been turned into a high rise apartment building with no elevator waiting for the next earthquake...yet. In the top left of the picture above, you can see a large apartment building going up behind our townhouse with a lovely view of our back yard and home. Land is so expensive in this part of Nairobi that most of the lots are being turned into income generating apartment blocks.

• our move into Nairobi was relatively smooth even though we didn't have a legion of helpful friends assisting us.
  
• The tax situation appears to be tolerable, and we believe we can stay in Kenya and continue the ministry we have been preparing for.
• The Lord has been gracious to us and supplied all our needs.
  
• The Lord is sovereign over the affairs of men (even evil ones) and He's well worth trusting in difficult times. We are excited about what He's going to do next in relation to our work in Kenya (see above)!
  
• It appears the Lord is providing a great location and a quality building we can use in coordination with a local church.
  

• Pray that the Lord will make all things clear in our short-term future. There's much to do in language learning, culture learning, preparing to renovate a building, curriculum planning, etc.
  
• Pray for wisdom in relation to many decisions that need to be made regarding family needs, and future ministry.
  
• that we'll be able to disciple our children consistently in godliness especially during times of transition, stress, and difficult decisions.
• that we would rest in our God and His loving providence during these difficult times (transition, frustrated plans, etc.).
  
• for our language and cultural study will be VERY profitable and that we continue to learn Swahili.
• for our neighborhood. We live in the midst of internationals from all over the world (Kenya, Dutch, German, Ethiopia, Eritrea) who do not know Christ. We long to see the Lord Jesus magnified by all the peoples of the world. People will go from this city into all the world and take what they have learned with them. Pray for the conversion of the millions who do not know Christ in this city.
  

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2. Moving to Nairobi

3. The Future: Theological Training in Nairobi

4. Strategic City to Impact the Region

5. Life in Nairobi

6. Praises

7. Prayer Requests