Matt: "The Female Giraffe I Named Dave"

Yesterday was a "free day." After consuming the mocha that I added sugar to and that burned my hand while I was keeping it from spilling on the bus, we went to a giraffe park to feed/kiss giraffes! Despues de our African massage, the friendly giraffes greeted us with smiles. Actually, they didn't greet us and they didn't smile, but they looked pretty cool. Some people, like Josh and John, predecided (is predecided a word?) that they wanted to kiss the giraffe. I was...on the fence? Peer pressure and the encouragement of a picture of me kissing the giraffe led me to...well, kiss the giraffe. I put a piece of the food between my lips and the female giraffe I named Dave kissed me. It was...pretty gross cuz its tongue was...rough and full of unnecessary saliva. Anyway, it was one of those things like, "I'm glad I did it, but probably wouldn't want to do it again." Kind of like when people say they've watched The Pursuit of Happyness and don't need to watch it more than once. (That was probably an unnecessary analogy but yeah...)

We went from giraffes to the Hyodo's home. Most of us plopped down on the ground and slept for about an hour. (Josh is on my left playing pinball...he's pretty bad...) Oh! I made up a joke yesterday! Want to hear it! Oh good, everyone but my family and a few other people want to hear it! Well, here it goes.

What is a farmer's favorite piece of furniture?
...
...
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A COWWWWWch. hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Okay. Back...to...the...er..blog....

The dinner we devoured was delicious. The youth then played Apples to Apples, which I didn't get any green cards for...(Nicole got three but hers were, "wide, messy, and terrible." haha. I was blessed to hear Mike's testimony later that night. God has truly worked in his life in amazing ways. I clearly saw that God can take any heart to transform and redeem it for His glory.

Today was a different story. Today the team visited Eastleigh to witness to kids drastically different from ones we have seen earlier on the trip. Our destination was Made in the Streets (MITS), an organization meant to rescue teenagers off the streets of Eastleigh and claim their lives for Jesus. Our program was loose and all of us pretty much didn't know what was going on. Worship started with Lord I Lift Your Name On High and Every Move I Make. When I first scanned the group of teens, I was extremely doubtful that they'd want to participate in anything we had to offer them. I was wrong. They all stood up, sang the songs, and surprisingly, did the motions! I really learned to not judge a book by its cover and to have more faith in the Lord. Later in the afternoon, Trenton told the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. We followed with group discussion to connect with the kids as much as we could. Many of them were guarded, distracted, and uninterested. We tried anyway. Trenton took the approach of asking questions like, "Where did you come from? What do you think a good life is? Why did you run from your home?" Something I should explain about Eastleigh is that the kids on the streets are runaways: victims of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. What I saw in them was a sense of hopelessness and weariness. These kids were not like the joyful little children in the slums. These kids were slashed by oppression; they merely wanted to survive. My heart broke in a different way for them.

The program closed with a few worship songs, and then we left for the Heart. I have seen many different aspects of poverty here in Africa. My mind attempts to sort my feelings out in an organized and logical fashion, but I just can't wrap my mind around all that I have seen. I am praying that Jesus continues to open my eyes to the brokenness of this world--to the things that break His heart.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

With love,
Matt