Orientation Highlights and Pictures

We are two weeks into our 3 week long Africa Based Orientation (ABO). We have been learning a ton. I know you want to see pictures, so I will share just a few interesting tidbits we have learned… then onto the pictures!
African culture and worldview – A man of status in Africa is a man with many wives, many sons, and many cattle. Women are generally of lower status than the children and even the cattle!
Spiritual Warfare – Africans believe that the dead are living among them and attribute much of what happens to them to be caused by the spirits of their ancestors.
Safety and security –We learned what to pack in our “Go Bag,” which we need to have ready at all times incase of immediate evacuation. We also learned that AIM’s policy is not to pay ransom in case of kidnapping. Sweet dreams tonight…
Healthy Living – Symptoms of malaria are fever, headache, diarrhea, and back ache. Make sure to get treatment immediately if you have these symptoms or you can die. Lovely….
Transformational Development –Really thought provoking and enlightening approach to “helping.” Don’t solve peoples’ problems for them. Instead, gather info from them and help them to reflect, steering them in the right direction. Empowering them rather than doing it yourself.
I have also been learning some practical skills…

This is my first time doing a load of wash by hand! The result… a bloody knuckle, a sore back, and semi-clean clothes for my family


It’s hard to tell, since the kids insisted on putting their “boats” on their heads, but these are seed pods from a tree on campus. Inside are tons of seeds, which look like plastic wafers that are fun to blow and throw. The empty pod looks like a little canoe and is very useful, we have discovered, for digging in the termite mounds.


The kids have long days in their class. They really have a blast and learn tons about Africa, but they are worn out at the end of the day… and happy to be with mom and dad


This is a local Africa Inland Church (AIC) called Myuni that we had the privilege of visiting last Sunday. AIC is the religious denomination that came out of the churches planted by Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in its beginnings. The church welcomed us as their honored guests and our kids got A LOT of attention (being surrounded, petted, yanked, stared at and asked lots of questions). It’s not everyday they have Mzungu children in their village!


To divert some of the attention away from Noah, Madison, and Ty we engaged the kids in a round of Ring Around the Rosie, London Bridges Falling Down, and Red Light, Green Light (in their local language, Kikamba) while we waited for the service to begin.


One by one, the kids in the front moved to sit next to the Mzungus.


And my kids did amazingly well sitting through 3 out of 4 hours of the church service… which was in a language we do not understand!


Psalm 139:9-10 is the official Missionary Kid (MK) verse.
There is even an “MK flag.” The chameleon represents the MK adapting/fitting into both its host culture (in this case, Africa) and passport culture (US).


This hike was a highlight for me. Sitting in classes all day… my body was begging for movement!! It was meant to be a group hike up the “hill” beside our campus. Due to the rain, it became an optional “hard core hike.” Our local guide led 5 of us safely up the mountain. The rain came as we began our descent, which made for a slippery –but fun- trip down!



I was so excited to witness this and capture it on film for Michael and the kids. Allow me to enlighten those of you who cannot identify…. the dung beetle…rolling it’s pile of dung. Doesn’t get much cooler than that in our family!



I saw this on the hike and pictured God’s light shining down on Africa
I’m sure we will have more fun pictures to post. Tomorrow we get to visit a local (Muslim) mosque with our head coverings in place and the kids will be visiting a local home in the next village over. We’re looking forward to our experiences.
It seems surreal that we are actually in Africa! There have been moments of home sickness, but this is beginning to feel like home. It just feels right to be here.
We are so thankful for the faithful giving and prayers from home that are allowing us to be here, where God has called us to serve. Please pray that more important than this great training and education, we remain in Christ and His Word. Apart from Him we can do nothing.
We love you!

What is ABO?

We have just completed week 2 of a 3 week program called ABO or Africa Based Orientation in Machakos, Kenya. Our training ground is Scott Theological Seminary (picture of library above). Over the 100 years Africa Inland Mission has been in ministry they discovered the need for more intentional and formal training to better prepare missionaries for their service. We have been joined here by 20 other adults who will be serving throughout Africa in the capacity of doctors, veterinarian, theological training, missionary guest house management, working with On Field Media (capturing the work of missionaries with video and stories), TIMO team (fully immersive missionary training program reaching out to unreached people groups), and we will be teaching/serving at Rift Valley Academy. We knew we would be going through some training, but what would that really entail? I hope to give you a glimpse into our daily lives. I also will give you a rundown of our schedule…some highlights of what we have been learning will follow later!

Where do you sleep?

Our sleeping accommodations are quite nice and the basic setup is like a freshmen college dorm room. We were allotted two rooms for our family of five since each room only has two bunk beds, but we are all cramming into one room and using the other room for storage and a laundry drying area. We can sleep five in our tight quarters with the help of…the hammock!

 

What do you eat?

Here is the dining hall.

 

 

Morning Fare: We always have Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (never been more happy to eat them in my life

Lunch and Dinner: Something like this…

Madison enjoying a meal with one of her wonderful teachers, Ms. Carolyn!

One evening we were blessed with the tail end of a choir rehearsal. See video below!

Where do you go to the bathroom?

The bathroom is similar to one found in the US, however they also have “squatty potties” here. We have also learned to travel with toilet paper in our backpack!

Noah braved this one at one of the local churches we visited

They are perfect for Tyler as they don’t really have children’s sized urinals here!

Highlight: We have caught both a gecko and a preying mantis in the restroom!

Where are you all day?

Our daily routine is outlined below:

7am – Wakeup

7:30-8:00 – Breakfast

8:30-12:30 Morning Session

12:30-1:30 Lunch

2:00-5:00 – Afternoon Session

6:30-7:00 Dinner

7:00-8:30 Shower, Brush Teeth, Put Kids to Bed

-Adults-

We are in the meeting room of our dormitory building from 8:30-5:00pm with the exception of morning chai tea break, lunch break, afternoon chai tea break, and a couple short “stretch” breaks. During this time we are gleaning as much as possible to better prepare us for our ministry in Africa.

The Kids Enjoying Our Meeting Room with Projector for Movie Night!

-Kids-

We are blessed to have some wonderful volunteers teaching our children about Africa and putting them their their own kid version ABO curriculum. Don’t worry, they are not in lectures all day, but are doing crafts, being read stories, going on field trips, watching videos, and of course just having fun as they learn about their new life in Africa. So what do kids do for fun around here? Here are a few highlights!

The most fun is had by the muzungu (white) children by smashing open termite mounds and catching termites! The Kenyan children have not “caught on” yet!        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kenyan Children have other interests and skills our kids have not acquired yet! Notice how parents and teachers alike just can’t stand to watch!

    

The kids made a 3D map of Kenya in their class

        

Praise God, We Have Made it To Kenya!

Our Journey to Kenya has been long, challenging, filled with many highs and lows, but ultimately rewarding. Praise God we are now in Kenya! It really is a miracle that we are here. We are so thankful for all of your prayers, financial support, and encouragement. Here is a glimpse of our journey. If you don’t have time just read the “highs” and “lows (challenges)” below. If you have some time grab a cup of coffee or a steamy chai tea, sit back and enjoy!

HIGHS:

• Getting on the road with a minivan full of kids and a moving van with our 31 pieces of luggage traveling with us to Kenya.
• Meeting 3 other great families that joined us for checkout at AIM headquarters in Peachtree City, GA
• Flying with these 3 other families- It takes a village to raise a child or to move 12 children through three international airports
• Getting on the plane in Atlanta! There was nothing else we could do to prepare at that point...just sit back for the ride
• Kids had a great movies selection on the plane- they could each choose their own movie to watch
• Arriving in Nairobi, Kenya
• Getting to sleep at the Mayfield Guest House in Nairobi, Kenya after being awake for close to 36 hours
• The kids playing outside at the guesthouse with their new friends
  The kids saying they love Kenya
• Being greeted by family, Mark and Carolyn Kinzer, and catching a ride with them and all our luggage to Rift Valley Academy (RVA)- where we will be serving.
• Getting a sim card for around 50 cents and being able to call the friends and family in the U.S.  for around 3 cents a minute!
• Seeing our new home in Kenya that people graciously began setting up for us ahead of time.
• Having the kids say their high after their first full day at RVA was “everything” and their low was having to “leave Katie and Em's house and go to bed” (Kate and Em's are their big cousins:-)
  Feeling “at home and at peace” at RVA...like I am where God wants me to be!

LOWS:

• Packing up and selling everything
• Finding out we had no seat assignments 3 days before our travel and would not be able to sit together as a family.
• Two long plane rides with many kids
• Having to deplane in Amsterdam the “old fashioned way” down the slippery metal stairs in a high winds and cold rain with 10 pieces of carry on luggage and three children...Tyler ran away from the door back into the plane and into my arms with tears in his eyes!
• Loading, Unloading, Loading, Unloading, Loading, Unloading over 70 pieces of luggage in our 4 family group traveling to Kenya together...with most pieces being near the 50lbs maximum!
• Spending 2 ½ hours in the Nairobi Luggage claim area trying to gather and find all our luggage, determine what bags were missing, and submit a missing claims form amidst a throng of people at the claims counter, with 12 delirious children and 8 overtired adults.

Overview: God is Good, Gracious, and His Mercies are Unfailing

For more details and pictures read on:

We were hoping for an early departure, but in true Wills Family fashion we departed
Franklin, TN on Tuesday around lunchtime. Here are some pictures of the kids grabbing their last Little Ceasar’s Pizza for a long time in the back of our moving truck.

The journey to Peachtree City, GA for our checkout at Africa Inland Mission (AIM) headquarters took us around 5 hours and it went by quickly. We stopped at a backcountry gas station near Chattanooga, TN and the kids got to see some fisherman with a catfish weighing in around 75lbs. It was as big as Madison!

We were in a whirlwind of meetings taking care of all the last minute details at AIM such as our benefits, how to get access to our checking account in Kenya, making sure our computers were working so we can all stay in touch, etc. The kids had a wonderful time with their teachers and they even prepared a song for us right before our departure. Check out the video below!

We arrived at Atlanta’s International Airport with luggage for 4 families moving to Africa. All bystanders were speechless at the sheer volume of luggage we unloaded for curbside check in.

We basically took over the entire Delta section.

It was really a blessing to be flying out with other families. It takes a village to raise a child or to move several children through the airport.

We were able to help each other out through airport security, navigating the terminal, boarding and deplaning...even trying to figure out how to fill out the customs and immigration forms. The trip consisted of two legs- Atlanta to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Nairobi. Total travel time was around 20 hours. There was very little sleep on the first flight. Tyler and Madison were freaking out several times because they couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep, which resulted in a kicking and crying fit with most of the kicks landing on the poor passengers beside them:-( The movie selection was great for the kids and each of us had our own screen.
                    
We took the journey one step at a time...lets just get to Peachtree...just to the airport and check in our luggage...just make it through the first flight...the second flight…

A welcomed sight!

...and then we arrived in Nairobi and thought our journey was coming to an end...But God wanted to refine us a little more. We waited in the “appropriate” visa line for 20 minutes not going anywhere and then realized that all the signs directing traffic through the visa counters were suggestions, but in practice no one followed them. So we moved to the “Flight Crew/Expedited” line and made it through with ease. The next challenge was to gather our luggage and somehow get it through customs. We could only fit 3 pieces of luggage on the luggage carts and just our family had 31 pieces so 11 carts. Jill and I were the only ones big enough to push the carts, so we only needed 9 other people to help us push our carts through the customs line! Well we did not get chance to solve that problem because we were too busy trying to find our missing luggage. We had to go through all our luggage tags to try to determine what bags were missing, all the while searching for them throughout the baggage claim terminal. It turned out that 12 pieces of luggage (only 4 of them were ours) among our group of 4 families did not make the journey with us to Kenya and were still in Atlanta. So we had to wait/wade through a throng of people, again organized lines are not the norm, to get to the counter where we could submit a missing baggage form. Our trials turned out to be a blessing as the challenge of getting our luggage through customs disappeared. The customs officials must have retired for the evening as our hosts were now allowed into the baggage terminal to help us and we could bring our luggage out one cart at a time while others kept watch over the remaining luggage.
The ride to the Mayfield Guest House reminded me that Africa is still Africa! All the talk about how you can now get almost anything you need in Nairobi made me think that things have changed to the point where Nairobi was a little America...my ethnocentrism shining through! The last time I was in Kenya was when I was 16 to visit my family there, the Kinzers, at RVA. Let me assure you that Africa is still Africa. As we left the Airport it still smelled like Africa...something burning somewhere...trash...wood...??? The drivers still drive like they are in Africa...think anarchy on wheels. Most importantly, the people are still beautiful and kind. In a sense this familiarity comforted me. All things were not new, I have experienced some of Africa before.
The guesthouse was a blessed sight.

We were so close to getting some sleep, but not until all the luggage was unloaded from top of the Land Rover and the bus, and then huffed around 40 yards into the guest house hallway. There was a community bathroom and shower, bug nets hanging over our beds, but none of that mattered, we were going to get some sleep and we did! Breakfast came and went at 8am, but we cherished our sleep more than sustenance, so a granola bar was our breakfast as we stirred around 10am and headed to our first meeting. The kids were playing outside, running freely and safely throughout the compound.

 

It was a wonderful sight. I felt a tremendous peace and sense of accomplishment, not self-accomplishment, but that God has done a great thing and invited us along for the ride.
This peace further descended upon us as my Uncle Mark and Aunt Carolyn arrived at the guest house to bring us back to RVA for a couple days to get settled into our new home and to give the kids a glimpse of what fun lies ahead. The kids were super excited to see them as they were something familiar to cling to in a very unfamiliar land. They also heard that Aunt Carolyn was planning a party for them so they were super excited for some good food. When we arrived on campus and saw our home for the first time in person (a friend sent us some pictures she took through the window, just to give us an idea of what was to come) we were just so overwhelmed by the warm and loving welcome we received.

We had special note on our front door from some friends from candidate week, and other notes throughout the house welcoming us, people brought us yummy baked goods, and they even placed rental furniture into our home and setup beds so we could just crash and not worry about unpacking anything. God is so good and we are so thankful for God’s little workers that helped us to feel His love in a very tangible way.

We had a wonderful dinner at Mark and Carolyn’s house (pictured below).

After their first day at RVA we asked the kids their High’s and Low’s and they all said their whole day at RVA was their high and their low was having to leave Uncle Mark, Aunt Carolyn, Katie, and Emily’s house that night! God is so good! We are so undeserving of His love, yet He freely lavishes His love upon us. I know it is early in the process and there will be challenging times to come, but right now we feel a tremendous peace and contentment knowing we are where God wants us to be. Thank you all for your prayers and financial support so we can serve God here in Kenya.

Michael

Exhausted but on our way!!

Well friends, after a long... exhausting... stressful... somewhat frantic past few days... okay weeks, we will LORD-willing be boarding our plane to Nairobi, Kenya tomorrow evening - Thursday, October 4 at 5:45pm. We have about a 9 hour flight to Amsterdam. Then another 9 hour flight from there to Kenya. You might think I'd be dreading the almost 20 hours of flight time with the kids, but at this point... it sounds really relaxing!! :) It's all a matter of perspective :)

I will admit that I have been stretched to new limits these past few weeks! Utter exhaustion... physically, mentally, and emotionally... worse even than bringing home a new baby after days of labor and having to get up to feed him every 2 hours while taking care of your toddlers!

But oh how the LORD has met me here!! It is an understatement to say that I have been completely overwhelmed by His grace!! We would not be leaving tomorrow had He not picked me up and carried me through the last 30 days! Each morning He would assure my anxious, overwhelmed, exhausted self that He is with me. Then He would proceed to lavishly pour out grace upon grace all day long. So that at the end of the day I felt still exhausted but also drenched with His grace...loved, cared for,  provided for... and amazed at what got accomplished!

I have no words to adequately thank the many friends, family members, even virtual strangers that God brought along to support us on this journey. How beautiful and touching to see the Body of  Christ at work like this! Through cards, meals, prayers, emails, selling, advertising, packing, cleaning, financial giving, addressing, stuffing, organizing, mentoring, baby-sitting, getting our oil changed... all done by others who came to our rescue with their servants' hearts. You got us to Africa!! We are forever indebted to you and leave the States with tears of sorrow but hearts full of sweet memories.

We will keep you posted... from the other side!! Hallelujah! He is so great! God has miraculously brought us to this point in our journey to spread His light throughout Africa! To Him be all Glory! :)

We rented a moving truck to drive all our 31 pieces of luggage to AIM headquarters in Georgia, where we spent 2 nights checking out.

The kids enjoying their 5th Little Caesar meal of the week! :) 

We ate dinner at Shane's rib shack both  nights here in Georgia! 

The kids have had a blast in their class here while we  take care of  last minute logistics at the mission base in Georgia.