Wednesday, November 18, 2009

PSS, Water Fights, and Guitars

Hello everyone,

My life has been going pretty well. So well that i forgot, once again, to update for so long. and for that i am so sorry. Life here has been going so well and I have so many things to be grateful for. i have been staying very busy and I am happy that God has started to give me some friends who i can just sit around and watch movies with. I am so happy to say that I have a small group of guys that i feel completely comfortable with and with who i can just joke and talk and be wierd with and all that. it is really great, because i did not have that for a few months.
Thank you all so much for praying for rain, i am happy to say that we have now been receiving lots of rain which is good for food, animals, and humans. (in fact, the farmers in my area have been saying that we are getting too much rain). Today a draft version of the New Kenyan Constitution came out and they posted the entire thing in the newspaper. For those of you who dont follow world news you may not know that the political situation of kenya has been a bit sticky and shakey the past few years, so we are all very happy to see the steps that are being taken to improve on the political situation in kenya. please continue to pray for our government.
Well, allow me to tell you a few things about my life which have happened over the past month or so. at work i have been pretty much only doing stuff for PSS (psycho-social support - working with orphans and vulnerable children) but its been really great. PSS, as i have said before, was almost completely disbanded, but the TYS and I have been working hard to revive the program in our territory. At the end of October, i had a chance to travel to a medium-sized city called Kisii and was able to spend time with the PSS group there. We were able to play games, hold a seminar for the leaders, do home visitation, attend the Kids and Youth (KAY) Club, view the Income Generating Activities (IGAS), and many other things. I was able to teach the children some new games and had a chance to give a few talks on working with children. I also did a trust fall from 6 feet up into the arms of a bunch of scrawny young men. i was surprized when they caught me, but then they started throwing me up and down and i was totally impressed.
We also had a chance to view the IGAS in a place called Kakrao, where they have some very impressive businesses which help raise money for school fees and medication of the HIV/AIDS positive children. I was really touched to see the way these two communities reached out to those who are affected by HIV/AIDS and tears came to my eyes when i learned the horribly sad stories of some of these youth. but it was great to see the love and hope that the PSS group was bringing to the children and the community. They even had several youth who they saved from sex trafficking, so they can honestly say that they have saved some of these young girls' lives.
Then, a few weeks later, the TYS and I hosted PSS Refresher Course as the final step to our revival process of PSS. We brought together 28 people who have been trained in PSS in the past and brought them together to discuss our current situation, review the lessons in which they were trained, and discuss the way forward. it was a really fun time where i learned a lot, played a lot of games, and got to meet a lot of really great people. It was good to see that many of these people have a testimony connected to PSS and we hope that this sharing of experiences will allow us all to continue the PSS program in our areas.
We had a really epic water fight which ended with me dumping a huge bucket of water on my own team mate who popped me with a balloon in the back. we were able to play a bunch of games, team building exericises and so on with the children of the neighborhood and it was a great learning experience for us all.
I have been so happy to be given a chance to be more involved in my corps (church). i am now leading a guitar class in which i have 7 or 8 members, 3 of them being brand new. plus, i am sure that the number will continue to grow. there are 2 young men who have picked it up really quickly and have been performing hymns on Sunday Morning. it is so nice to see its wonderful how the old ladies of the church are so happy every time they play.
today i received a notification in the mail about my entry permit......it has finally been approved. thats right, as of today i can legally be in kenya. its a great feeling and now i dont have to worry so much about all of that. it has been a big worry on my heart, and so i thank God for taking care of it. In two weeks i will travel to Nairobi to be registered as an "alien" and then it will all be official.
Please pray for:
-My family back home
-My future plans (that God would reveal them and that I would listen)
-The PSS Program
-My Corps (Kakamega Citadel)
-Wisdom
-Language
-The Territorial Youth Program
-The Kenyan Government
Apologies for the not so great update and the long time in between entries, hopefully it will not always be so.
Thanks y'all. Much love
Justin

3 comments:

Mike said...

IM NOT MENTIONED IN THIS POST EVEN ONCE. HOW DARE YOU!
YOU KNOW THAT BY THE LEGISLATIONS OF OUR BROMANCE THAT I AM HENCEFORTH TO BE TALKED ABOUT TWICE AS MUCH AS HURRICANE KATRINA

Justin Rose said...

2 times 0 is still 0.
therefore, you were talked about twice as much as hurricane katrina.

boo ya mike

laurenjean said...

hey JAR! i am so pleased to have stumbled upon your little blog here and to hear how life is treating you in the great beyond (africa, i mean, not...heaven or something).
i will surely keep you and these programs in my prayers. it is so encouraging to read about the change that you are helping to effect. i'm proud of you, if that is allowed.