changing things up

So for the last couple of days I have been thinking about changing the way that I do blogs a little bit. I know that people seem to enjoy my current style of Blogging, but i am going to try something a little bit different, and see if it works.

So this is what i am going to do: I am going to use this blog to post some of my thoughts, things I've been reading, little blurbs on things, and the such. I will try to add at least something small every few days. Then one to two times a month (like i have been doing before) I will put up a big report of what i have been up to.

Does that sound like it will be ok? I think it sounds alright.

So instead of contacting people via email and facebook whenever I update, since I plan to update more often, I will only do so when I write the longer report things.

What do you think? Do you think that this could work?

much love,
Justin

PSS, so many youth, and electrocution

My friends,

I feel like I am constatnly apologizing in the first sentence of each blog, but once again I am sorry. I keep telling myself "Self, update that blog!" but then I don't. But today, I will. I will do my best to update more often, of that I promise.

Life is still treating me quite well. I feel more and more comfortable each day, my kiswahili is coming along well (I find myself understanding more and more words when listening to others speak and can count to 39 without thinking about which language I am speaking in - which I feel is a good step), and I am becoming better at working in an office. I have learned how to manage my time and fulfill many jobs within one day.

This month has been filled with activities for PSS (Psychosocial Support - as discussed in my last post). The TYS (my boss) and I have been spending a lot of time and energy to revive this program within the Salvation Army. There are a lot of members and facilitators, but when no one from headquarters talks to them for over a year they get discouraged, feel unappreciated, and stop volunteering their time (which is what has happened). So we have tried to spend time with these people, call them, visit them, encourage them, write them letters, and so on. And I must say, God is so good. We are seeing a huge rise is PSS activities; just within the last month the activities have more than doubled.
On the 6th of June, I went to a PSS meeting in Kisumu and had the opportunity to learn, teach, and encourage facilitators and new members as they planned on starting new programs in their area. I like PSS because it works for mental and relational healing in youth through counseling and play. That's right, play! During the PSS seminars we play lots of games. We become childlike in order to win children for Christ. I like it. We shout, run in circles, sing rediculous songs, shake the bootay, and all that fun stuff. I really think that this is a good program, and I feel like this is one of the reasons why I am here. This program is important and God wants to see it vibrant again in this place, and so do I.

Two weeks later there was another PSS meeting but this time in my hometown of Kakamega. This meeting was two days long and sought to teach counseling techniques, how to start Income Generating Projects (which PSS uses in order to raise money for school fees for the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC's) that they work with), Kids and Youth (KAY) Clubs, loss and bereavement, and so on. This was a great time where i learned a lot. We had plenty of opportunity to dance and play here as well.

During this seminar we were playing a game where our family was being attacked by lions and we had to cross over an electric fence, there were twelve squares, but each square could only be stepped in once, so some of us "strong" men (and yes of course I was included) were used to carry the twenty others over the electric fence. All was going well until my corps officer, with his 250 God-serving pounds of flesh, decided for us to send him over the fence as well. Needless to say, I should not have been a strong man. I failed horribly resulting in the "electrocution" of myself and my corps officer.

This month I also had an opportunity to take part in a Praise and Worship seminar. The seminar was ok, but God was good to us during the Crusade which followed the seminar. There were only about 30 youth there, but we decided to take our PA, keyboard, and bodies into a field in the middle of the small town we were at and started to dance and sing. This was, by far, the best worship experience I have had since coming to Kenya. We all danced and the people from the stores and houses started to come and dance with us. But then it started to rain, but we kept dancing. One person held an umbrella over the keyboard and we put the flag over the PA, but we kept dancing. After about 15 minutes the rain turned into a huge storm and we were forced to quickly end and run for cover before our equipment was damaged. Singing in the Rain (ha) is great. But dancing in the rain is better, you should all try it. (Sidenote: be careful when having a PA system outside in the rain for obvious reasons. While trying to move the PA I was electrocuted, but it was ok, it just felt like my hand was moving incredibly fast)

Many other great things have happened this month: I have preached the last two weeks and feel fairly good about the messages, I know God uses even me; I marched in a parade for the day of the African child; I somehow became the Deputy Bandmaster for a Divisional Band (even though I told them no and I wasnt there, they voted me in anyway); and many other things.

I have found that I am slightly allergic to a vegetable called cow peas and to perfectly ripened pineapples. The latter is very upsetting news. My tongue gets prickly and itchy. But I am still fighting the pain to enjoy the deliciousness. I heard a story of an American who came here and ate 3 entire pineapples in one sitting. Hit tongue started to bleed, but he still wanted to eat more. Americans are great.

My friend situation is becoming incredibly solid and I thank God for sending me some young guys to be my friends here who keep me from going crazy and working all the time. We pretty much just talk about soccer and band, they sometimes talk about girls but I try and stay quiet. They all make fun of me because my soccer team is West Ham United (Ian and Green Street Hooligans have hooked me).

Please continue to pray for:

-The Youth Section finances and calendar

-Living alone

-Language

-The PSS program to revive

-My family at home

Much Love,

Justin

New Ministries, Planting Trees, and Slaughtering Chickens

Dearest ones,

The past two weeks have gone by so quickly. It feels like I just wrote an update, but it seems like it is time for a new one. Life is going very well and I am feeling quite at home in Kakamega. I have been receiving a lot of emails and letters from the US which has been nice and would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers.

I have been eating many of the fruits that grow around my house and my office and have been enjoying them greatly, but if i am not careful I will get sick on avacadoes. It is the rainy season and our crops are growing, so our corn will definitely be "knee high by July" which is good news. It is interesting to be a part of a community where life rides on the ammount of crops that your land produces. We pray everyday for crops and rain, something that I used to find myself taking for granted.

Two weekends ago I attended a Youth Seminar in the Bungoma Division and was one of the special guests. This was a really good time of worship, teaching, and fellowship. We arrived on Friday and were welcomed by a group of youth leaders who were there for a youth training seminar. The greeted us with flowers and then had us plant memorial trees on the property. My Captains and I had a very good time dancing and singing with the youth. After dinner, the youth worshipped with singing and dancing late into the night, and it was a beautiful sight to see.

On Saturday and Sunday we held a seminar for all of the youth of the Division and had a good open air meeting and march with these youth. They love to march down the road in their uniforms and sing loudly. Even though the seminar was for teenagers and young adults, about 40 little children came gave me the opportunity to play "What time is it Mr Lion?" (because none of them know what foxes are). At the end of this weekend we were given a turkey which decided to scream the whole ride home and relieve itself all over the white uniform of my captain.

The following weekend we had a meeting for a program called ICPSS (or PSS) which stands for Integrated Community Psycho-Social Support and is a program that works for the Social and Emotional healing of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC's). This program seeks to bring healing to children whose families have been affected by HIV/Aids, extreme poverty, or other factors. This program has been dormant for the past year, since the Kenya Salvation Army split into the East and the West, and currently has no funds. However, there are still many trained facilitators and people who are dedicated to this program so our department is doing what we can to restart it. It was great to have all of these people come together for one purpose and to see their hearts for these youth.

(Sidenote: My showerhead had huge calcium deposits on it so I was attempting to clean it yesterday. I found out online that if you take vinegar, heat it up in the microwave, and then put in the shower head, the vinegar will eat away the calcium. However, I really love salt and vinegar chips and I sniff vinegar whenever it is around. So before heating the vinegar I sniffed it and it was very pleasant and then after heating it I sniffed it and I think I burned some nose hairs or something, because I still feel the after effects in my nose 19 hours later.)

Yesterday, the band led a procession through the entire town of Kakamega in order to plant trees for "Plant Trees Day". This was a good time of ministry and meeting people from other churches and NGOs.

Also, I prepared by first chicken. It was given as a gift to the Commissioners (the head of the Salvation Army in Kenya West) and I was given the opportunity to prepare it as a Kenyan would. It was my first time killing a chicken, and it did not go very smoothly, but it didnt go horribly bad either. I then had the opportunity to partake in the "most delicious" parts of the chicken - its head, neck, and legs.

God has been very good to me and I am feeling more comfortable in Kenya each day. But living alone is starting to get to me. This is the first time that I have ever lived alone, plus I am a community minded person, so it is a little bit hard and strange for me.

Please pray for:
-Language
-My family
-Living alone
-My ministry here and that laziness would not overtake me
-For continued rainfall and our crops

Much Love,
Justin

VBS, Seminars, Angry Cows, and Busyness

Hello Friends,

It has been about a month since I have updated and for that I apologize. A mixture of busyness, forgetfulness, and lazyness has caused me to wait so long. But many things have happened. Life if going very quickly now and I am finding my groove here in Kenya West.

Since my last update I have been very busy with a lot of programs. On April 11th We had a meeting for our young people who will be traveling to Sweden next year for the World Youth Convention. We found out that getting passports in Kenya is a very long and tricky process, involving many different government offices and paperwork. So we decided to start now. This was a good time of getting to know some youth from around the Territory. We will be sending 20 youth from our Territory to the Conference, which is an International Salvation Army Youth Conference. We learned a timbrel routine and everyone was amazing at Timbrels, except for the TYS and I.

The following weekend we had a DYO Seminar, which was a seminar for the Divisional Youth Officers (they are in charge of the youth work within an area of the Territory). This was a great time to learn about issues of youth work in the divisions and to teach the DYOs what we expect for them to do. It was an odd feeling because I was treated as their superior (sort of like upper management) even though they are doing all of the actual practical work and are much older than I. I really had a good time with those DYOs.

During the DYO seminar my friends Keri Shay and Kaitlin came to Kakamega to see me. They were traveling around Africa and decided to see the Kenyan Wildlife. It was really nice to see some friends and we went and saw the Crying Stone. Which is a giant stone which constantly cries (duh). While they were here, there was a Territorial Meeting for Self-Denial, which is a meeting where everyone from Kenya West gets together and gives money to The Salvation Army around the world. Our Territory raised over 3 Million Shillings (which is about $40,000). We had a good time dancing and singing with the people of the Territory, and it was a good time of worship and fellowship.

The following weekend I had a chance to be the guest speaker at a Zonal youth meeting. This was a meeting where the youth from 7 different corps (churches) got together and had a crusade (which is a like an open-air march/parade with dancing and singing) and had a youth meeting where they had speakers, teachings, and dances. The youth here love Gospel Dances, which are special dances that are a mixture between contemporary and tradition Kenyan Dances which are set to Christian Praise songs. The highlight of this meeting was the debate that took place. The youth split in two and had a debate on faith and healing, with each side using scripture to support their ideas. It was great to see people using the Bible to make their points and then people correcting others when they used scripture out of context. It was guided by the DYO who ended the debate by teaching them our doctrines.

The following week was a very busy, but great week for me. I was out in the field all week doing VBS with a local corps (church). The Vacation Bible School was for five days and was held the week right before the youth went back to school. I went out into the slums with the corps members and taught the youth about the Bible and played games with them. My favorite part was going on visitations after the lessons. We would walk each child home and pray for them, their house, and their family. To walk one young person home we had to walk over 3 miles, but it was worth it to see him active in the corps.

During VBS, I was playing soccer in a field and there was a cow tied to the goal post eating the grass of the field. Someone kicked the ball and it was headed straight for the cow. so I ran as fast as I could to kick it out of the way before it got to the cow. I reached the ball, kicked it out of the way, and turned my back on the cow, i was about 5 feet from her. The next thing i know, The cow headbutts me on the back of the thigh and puts her head in between my legs, throwing me up onto her back. So, i was attacked by a cow while playing soccer with some 10 year olds.

This past Sunday was a really good service. There was a youth talent show at church which involved 7 gospel dances, many acapella singers, two rap groups, and a young man who drew a bird and a caricature of our officer (pastor). I love being a part of a church that cares so much about their youth, I feel very honored and fortunate.

Also, in the past month my dad and his wife had a baby and I now have a little brother. His name is Titus.

I have a new favorite store in Kakamega. It is a wedding store and out in front is a sign that says "We sell everything you need for Weddings" and underneath is a list of things that they sell. Number 2 on the list is Boyz 2 Men.

Please pray for:

-Language

-Perserverance

-Useful and creative ideas

-The Youth of my Territory

-My Family

Much Love,

Justin

Work, music, parades, and Obama bubble gum

Hello Internet,
It has been two weeks since I have updated and many things have happened. (However, I am a horrible photographer due to the fact that I hardly ever remember to carry around my camera. So, many of the things I will talk about have no pictures, for that I am sorry).

I am currently the only person in the youth department. The TYS is on leave, so right now I am the Kenya West Youth Department. I have been learning what it means to work in an office and am starting to understand it. It is a lot different than the jobs I have had before, but I am enjoying it. Also, I can now tell you exactly what my job is, since I now know. The job I am doing is pretty much the Assistant Territorial Youth Secretary. I plan and run territorial and divisional events for youth, training sessions, work with our youth who will be doing missions in different capacities, teach leaders, teach and grade corps cadets, teach music, and many other tasks. It is a big job, but one that I am very happy with. I see the good that it will do, with God’s help.

Two Saturdays ago I went to a Salvation Army funeral for an officer (pastor). She died from a heart attack due to complications from diabetes. The funeral was held at her family's home and it was amazing to see the amount of officers and soldiers (laity) who came out to support the family and pay respects to the Major. The service was a little over three hours long, which apparently is very short compared to most West Kenyan funerals, and was filled with a surprising amount of joy. We celebrated her life and thanked God for her life.

The following weekend, I spent time working on my shamba, which means land, where I have been given space to grow vegetables and beans. The family that I share the shamba with had me plant about 200 seeds of corn. We will definitely not run out of corn.


I am also now a member of two Salvation Army brass bands, playing the baritone. I am a member of the Kakamega corps brass band and the United Band, which has members from all over the territory. The United band has about 50 members but, since they pay for their own travel and expenses, many do not make it to all of the practices. Yesterday, I had a chance to march in the opening ceremony for the Physically Disabled Sports Competition which is taking place in Kakamega. The Salvation Army band led the procession through the town to the soccer stadium where the competition was held. It was wonderful to watch young children with disabilities have a chance to compete and be encouraged. My favorite event was when young children with Down Syndrome ran the 100 meters. The referee yelled “twende” (go) and then the children ran while their coaches ran along side them smiling and clapping, telling them what a good job they were doing.

I am currently working on a lot of different seminars and teaching sessions that are coming up. This weekend I have a territorial youth seminar, the following weekend I have a Division Youth Officers (DYS) seminar and a Territorial Self-Denial meeting, followed by a week of Vacation Bible School, divisional music meetings, and a youth weekend in a city called Bungoma. I have a busy time coming up, but I know God will use me and has a plan for it all.

Yesterday, I saw a semi stacked with speakers playing incredibly loud rap music. When they reached my window I saw a giant banner of Obama’s face. Later I found out that this was a marketing campaign for Obama brand Bubble Gum.

this is my house

This is a baboon.

Please pray for:
- Learning Kiswahili
- Patience and understanding with cultural differences and misunderstandings
- Strength to fully commit to all that God has planned for me

Much love,
Justin

Youth, Open-Airs, and Bags of Chicken

Greetings from Kenya! My first full week was filled with office work. I needed to acquaint myself with the Territory, its procedures, the youth, and prepare for a divisional youth weekend which was held in the Eldoret Division. This was a youth weekend which consisted of youth leader training on Friday, youth seminars and an open air on Saturday, and an open air and worship service on Sunday.















I must admit that being in the office all week was kind of getting me down. I am not much of an “office” kind of guy and I was really questioning why I was here and why God would bring me across the world just to sit in an office. But then I was able to go out and meet the youth and I knew it was all worth it. I was encouraged that my office work was for a purpose and I gained energy from being with the youth. The youth openly welcomed me as there own and made me feel at home (the TYS always tells them that I am now a Kenyan and should be treated as one).

There has been very little leadership development or seminars in this Territory and it was amazing to see so many leaders eager and willing to grow in their knowledge of leading youth.

The open air meetings that we had were like none I have ever been a part of. We marched through the entire town of Turbo for about an hour and then held an open air meeting in the city center. The meeting was about an hour long and consisted almost entirely of singing and dancing. Everyone was dancing and having a good time (I was dancing too, but I know my white boy moves are much different then they are used to. I don't quite have the hip movements down yet.) Turbo is a town with a lot of drunkenness and prostitution and just by dancing with these people we were able to meet and encourage many. Many of the drunkards marched with us back to the corps (church) building and one, Emmanuel, gave his life to Christ and attended church the next morning.

I was in charge of co-leading the leadership training where we taught about leading good and attractive meetings, what are the qualities of a good leader, and what purity in our lives looks like as leaders. For the youth seminars, I taught one on abstinence and one on praise and worship. Our teachings were received well and we were already invited back to the division to teach more sessions to the youth and leaders. The young are hungry for more events, knowledge, and materials and we will do our best to meet the need of the youth.

I now feel more African. I am picking up some kiswahili, i am eating Kenyan foods (like ugali, sukumawiki, and kuku), and I am starting to get used to the way of life here. Praise God that, so far, the language barrier has not been a problem (I spoke without translation to the youth) and that I am feeling more comfortable and "at home", except for when I am stared at as I walk down the street and called "Muzungu", which means European.

We were given a gift of a chicken, so we put it in a plastic bag and threw it in the trunk.

Please pray for:

-A learning spirit

-Wisdom in what to invest time in

-Willingness to work

-To learn Kiswahili

-For the Vacation Bible School program we are currently planning

thanks,

Much love
Justin

First Impressions

Greetings from Kakamega, Kenya. I am happy to say that I have arrived in Kenya safely, have been into the Territorial Headquarters (THQ) for Kenya West, and that I have met all of the territorial staff. Kenya West is a brand new territory (it began March 1, 2008), but it is in great hands. The staff are all wonderful, kind, and capable people.

Kenya is a very nice place. The people are all very hospitable, kind, and welcoming. The weather is much nicer than back in the states, about 85 during the day and 60 at night.

The place where I live is called Shimala Vandu, which means “finishing people”. There used to be a lot of car accidents there and were many fatalities. But The Salvation Army is now there, so we are going to rename it and “reclaim the land for Christ” (which was said by my friend Captain Felisters). I live on a complex with many of the THQ staff, where there is an apartment complex, four houses, and the guest house (my place).

The THQ, since the territory is new, is on the property of the old DHQ and the offices are small, few, and crammed. My office, which consists all of the Youth Department, is about half the size of an average American bedroom and there are three of us in the office. There are other offices in closets, old bathrooms, and one office that seven officers share. But within the next few months we will move into the new THQ building.

This is our current office, with the TYS and the Candidate Secretary and myself.

This is the big, new, unfinished THQ. Its going to be amazing.

Over the weekend, I attended a divisional event for the Kakamega Division at the Musingu Corps. This was a divisional event with about 1,000 people from the division coming together to celebrate Self-Denial Sunday. This was a time of celebration with much dancing, singing, and an Army procession of all the corps marching about one and a half miles. As we were driving to church, we saw Salvation Army soldiers in full white uniform all along the road waiting for a matatus, which are small buses, to take them to the meeting. It was wonderful to see all of the singing, dancing, and giving by the Kenyan Salvationists.

I am doing well and thank you for your prayers. I could use continued prayer for:
-Patience in the tasks set before me
-Faith that I am where I am supposed to be and that God will use me
-That Kiswahili will come easy for me and that I can speak and understand it
-Strength to pursue each day fully

If you wish to get in contant with me while I am in Kenya there are many ways.

1. Contact me through this blog

2. Email me (justinarthurrose@gmail.com)

3. I am on lotus notes (for you army folks)

4. Facebook

5. Skype (i think you can just type in my name)

6. Mail - you can mail letters and the like to me. It will cost you a dollar or so to mail a standard letter (i think). If you want my address email and ask for it.

Thanks and much love,
Justin Rose