Habitat of Humanity: Kenya 2009 – We made it…

Category : Habitat for Humanity

This is just a quick post to say that we made it back in one piece. We survived the crazy food, the insane roads and their drivers, the no running water, the pit latrines and sleep deprivation. We survived the hard labour in the sun and even the Masai and the Lions.

The team were awesome. We completed more than our scheduled build and met some truly fantastic people. Both Kenya, and her people, are beautiful. It all added up to a truly inspiring and humbling experience.

Over the next few days I will be publishing a more detailed log as I try and make sense of it all. I fear my head is still in Kenya.

Lot’s to ponder…

The boys celbrating the build

Habitat of Humanity: Kenya 2009

Category : Habitat for Humanity

The time is nearly here we I will be off with a team of 14 people to the Bomet region of Kenya. We are going for 10 days or so to work with the in-country affiliates in building housing for local people that is fit for human habitation.

The group is made up of some of our former youth group members from St Simon’s Church in Southsea as well as a good few randoms to mix things up a little.

We are flying out early, early, early on the 8th Aug for the trip which I’m sure is something that non of us are quite prepared for. I expect we will be challenged and changed by the experience. To be honest, this is indeed one of the main reasons we are going. While we would like to do some good in the world we are under no illusions about going over there and being hero’s. This trip is as much about helping to find some context for us, as young Christians (well maybe I’m not that young but the other chaps are), for our faith where the only other expression is an increasingly out of touch Church set-up.

How does our Christianity play out in the real world?

It will be interesting to see what impact it has. And if we are able to do a little good in the process then all the better.

Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976, with the sole aim of ridding the world of poverty housing. Using donated money, materials and labour we work in partnership with people in need of shelter to build safe, decent homes in over 90 countries around the world. Today we have built, repaired or renovated over 300,000 homes, helping over one and a half million people in more than 3,000 communities.

We have done a great deal of fund raising for the trip. We hope to leave the charity with a healthy donation if nothing else. The leg waxing extravaganza was a particularly entertaining experience. That is, entertaining for everybody watching.

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Donations are still possible, even at this late state by going to my just giving page.

Please do pray for us on our adventure. Coming back in one piece would be nice.

On our return I’ll be sure to post a little update on how it all went.

The next few months

Category : Beer and Bible, Bible, Bible Study, Church, Exodus, Habitat for Humanity, Information, Youth

There are a number of exciting new things going on in my world that I intend on documenting here on threedays. I thought this a good opportunity to get this old girl going again. These things are;

  1. Beer and Bible
  2. The Exodus Study
  3. Habitat for Humanity: Durban 2009

Beer and Bible

Every Wednesday night a growing group of us gather in a local pub to have a pint or two and discuss a portion of scripture. The idea is that we read the passage before hand and come armed with questions, thoughts, things we donâ??t understand, as well as the things have inspired us and together we move through the scripture.

There is no real agenda and the whole evening is allowed to drift organically and itâ??s led to some really good discussion. The idea is for this evening to be a real entry level option. Itâ??s for people who do not feel like the standard home / cell group is for them. And people right on the fringe of Church life can find a place to come and get to know people.

Itâ??s a bit experimental; some weeks we have spent more time talking about the football than about the passage. We are certainly getting to know each other a little better and we are discussing subjects and delving into things that otherwise would go untouched.

Currently we are working through Luke and I intend on having some for of documentation of events available on this site.

The Exodus Study

We will come up with a better name for this. *smile*

For some time now there has been an obvious undercurrent of desire at St Simonâ??s to have the opportunity to do some more in-depth Bible study. A recent course was run to test the water as it were. â??Godâ??s Bookâ? was run in March â?? April as a six overview of the whole bible. Around fifty people attended (just over one third of the Church) which for a mid week group is quite staggering.

With the obvious hunger establish and a call for more from the attendees of â??Godâ??s Bookâ? we are going to be running a regular six week Bible study course. I will be writing and leading a course (with one or two others) that will take us through the Book of Exodus from late May into June.

The plan is for course notes and other materials to be posted here.

Habitat for Humanity: Durban 2009

For some time now we have been wondering how to engage the older teenagers / young adults of our church with their young faith. With traditional middle class church increasingly alien and irrelevant to younger people they tend to disappear off the edge of the map when the youth programme stops meeting their needs.

Habitat for Humanity is a charity who build suitable accommodation for those in parts of the world where slum or street dwelling is the norm. They aim to lift people out of poverty and into an existence fit for a human being. Their is work that is ongoing and uses local people and resources to develop the projects.

When the opportunity arises they facilitate groups from around the world to go and join in the work. This raises much needed funds and equipment as well as the profile for such projects which does make a real impact on the long term goals of the charity.

However,  I am under no illusions here about saving the world. The primary reason for us going to help try and provide a context of faith for these young people struggling find their place in Christianity. If we happen to do some good along the way then that is a great bonus. So in late August I am taking a team of twelve to Durban, South Africa to build a house.

Lotâ??s of planning and a fair amount of fundraising to do. I plan to document it all on this site.

Busy, busy, busy

So there is plenty to keep me busy in the next few months and plenty to write about here.

Should be fun.