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Africa Journal Editor's Note: Ken Camp, managing editor of The Baptist Standard, newsjournal of Texas Baptists, traveled with a Buckner vision group led by President/CEO Ken Hall. Camp recorded his thoughts and impressions about his first trip to Africa in a daily journal. View a slide show of images from the trip
At the ministry’s office, Getahun presented copies of his annual report for 2006, showing how more than 400,000 people benefited from the varied social ministries. With an annual budget of $500,000, the ministry includes foster care, programs for street children, basic skills development training, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, food services and educational ministries. Bright Hope not only places children in foster homes, but also helps foster families become self-sufficient by offering micro-loans to help them start small businesses. Similarly, they help farmers by providing them high-yield seeds, and the farmers repay them by giving back seed from their next harvest. Getahun told us the greatest challenge he has faced has been fundraising, and his greatest frustration has been spending time raising money when he could be spending that time in ministry. The merger with Buckner will lift much of that burden and allow him to devote his energy to supervising the people involved in direct, hands-on ministry to children in need. On the way to a ministry site, I had the chance to visit with Getahun and learn more about him. He grew up in Shashamane, a small city in southern Ethiopia. When civil war broke out in Ethiopia and the communist government conscripted young men for the front lines—essentially using them as cannon fodder—he escaped to Kenya. He spent the next two and one-half years in a refugee camp outside Nairobi. An American missionary-evangelist witnessed to him while he was in the refugee camp, and that is when he committed his life to Christ. Since Kenya did not allow all the refugees to resettle in their country permanently, Getahun applied to the United States and was accepted there. Working his way through school as a taxi driver in Dallas, he first attended the Christ for the Nations Institute and then earned a degree in Christian management from Dallas Baptist University. He later earned degrees in theology and Christian counseling from a university based in California (not Dallas Theological Seminary, as I had been told earlier). He also served as a minister at the Ethiopian Baptist Church in Dallas. When he returned to Ethiopia with his wife to tend to some family affairs, he saw the need in his home country. “I saw a child in a dumpster, eating what he could find. I couldn’t stop crying,” he said. “The Lord moved me and used that to call me to Ethiopia. I determined that if it cost me my life to save one child, I still would come back.” He and his wife, Tegist, started their ministry with 20 children they rescued from the streets. They rented a house, a sewing machine and shoe-making equipment. Then they began training the youngsters in as seamstresses, tailors and cobblers. Getahun holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ethiopia, and he undoubtedly could live a more comfortable life in America. But he and his wife have chosen to invest their lives in caring for the needy of their country. Three years ago, they adopted three abandoned girls, each from a different family of origin. Their adopted daughters now are 4, 8 and 12. “I think God is happy with us because we keep our attention on the needs of the poor,” he said. We saw an example of the shoe-making and sewing classes that Bright Hope/Buckner offers in Addis Adaba. Many of the women in the classes are mothers who had turned to prostitution to support their children. We also met a group of foster children and their caregivers. They welcomed us warmly, eager to shake our hands and have their photos taken. They welcomed us in limited English, and they seemed genuinely appreciative of the gospel song we sang for them. After lunch, we had to change hotels, since the Sheraton was overbooked for the weekend. Then we spent a little time shopping for souvenirs for family and friends back home, and we visited a wonderful little coffee shop. Believe it or not, we spent the evening at the presidential palace at a state dinner. Ethiopia’s president insisted on entertaining us royally with a five-course dinner. He seems deeply moved by Buckner’s desire to help meet the needs of children in his country. Yesterday, when we were in Bantu, a little girl seemed startled when she saw Jay Abernathy. Her mother explained through an interpreter, “She saw you in a dream.” Someone later explained that we probably were the first white people the little girl had ever seen, and many of the rural people believe white people are angels—particularly a blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy like Jay. If being an angel means being a messenger of God, maybe they are right. We have a message to share, and a God-given responsibility to share it. Tomorrow, we return home. But we don’t have the luxury of going home as the same people we were a little more than a week ago. We cannot claim ignorance of the needs children face in this part of Africa. We must tell the story of orphaned and abandoned children, and we must support the ministries that are reaching out to them. We cannot turn our backs on Dickson, Getahun and those other people who are meeting the needs of poor children in Jesus’ name. We cannot forget the faces of smiling children at the Baptist Children’s Center, the hugs we received from toddlers at the New Life Home or the empty stares of the hopeless children in the streets of Korogocho. We cannot forget the young mothers in Addis Adaba who are learning an honest trade so they no longer feel trapped into selling themselves to save their children, nor can we forget the foster families who are becoming self-sufficient at the same time they are rescuing children from the streets. To whom much is given, much will be required. In God’s name and for the sake of God’s children, we cannot fail to act. Friday We’ve seen people picking through trash heaps in an urban slum in Nairobi, looking for food scraps to eat. And we’ve dined with the president of Ethiopia at a community feast in his hometown. We’ve spent the night at Addis Ababa in what is probably the most luxurious hotel I’ve ever seen, and we’ve driven a few blocks where old women and little children stood begging on a street corner. We’ve seen jungles and savannahs, skyscrapers and thatch-roofed huts. We’ve learned to say hello in Swahili and in Amharic—at least, I hope that’s what we were saying. We’ve seen what Buckner and its partners have established in Kenya, and some of the fruit it is bearing. And we’ve seen the genesis of a new partnership develop with Buckner in Ethiopia, where the ministry is beginning with the blessings of the government. We’ve seen what is in Kenya; we’ve caught a glimmer of what can be in Ethiopia. This morning we traveled by bus from downtown Addis Ababa to Bantu, a rural area where President Wolde-Giorgis has given 10.2 hectares to Buckner to build a school. On the way, we grew to know and love Pastor Getahun Tesema, who has headed the Bright Hope ministry in Ethiopia for six years as a partner with Buckner. Getahun grew up in Ethiopia but fled the country in 1989 at age 22. He spent two and a half years in a refugee camp in Kenya. “I had been brought up in the Christian tradition with all its formality, but that is where I developed a personal relationship with Christ,” he told us. Eventually, he moved to the United States where he worked a taxi driver, attended Dallas Theological Seminary and was part of the Ethiopian Baptist Church in Dallas. But he felt called back to his homeland, and he returned to Ethiopia to found Bright Hope ministry. The ministry ranges from evangelism to economic development—a vital need in a country plagued by unemployment and 70 to 80 percent illiteracy. Buckner partnered with Bright Hope in its ministry to orphaned and abandoned children. Ethiopia is home to 4 million orphans—about 500,000 of them affected by AIDS. In Addis Ababa alone, 300,000 children live on the streets. Today, we saw the beginning of two ministries to address that need—a school in Bantu and a baby home in Addis Ababa. We were privileged to participate in the groundbreaking dedication ceremony for the educational center in Bantu. Phase one of the building program will be a school for about 300 pre-Kindergarten to 4th grade children. Phase two would extend the curriculum through the 8th grade. Eventually, Getahun hopes the school also will include a post-primary component, with preparatory school for college-bound students and vocational training for young people who want to enter the work force. Ken Hall and Getahun joined Ethiopia’s president in setting the cornerstone for the building. Both the president and Ken spoke to the assembly, which not only included people from throughout the community, but also national media representatives and the district governor. Ken received title to the land for the school, and he promised construction would begin as soon as the building materials could be secured—a commitment of about $500,000. He also announced that Bright Hope formally was merging with Buckner to become an Ethiopian-led ministry, and he pledged that the school would exist to serve the people of Bantu. “In accepting the title to this land, we give it back to the children of Bantu,” he said. After the ceremony, we joined the president and other dignitaries under a tent for a lavish feast of traditional spicy Ethiopian dishes. We noted the large quantity of food, and Ken explained that after the president and his guests were served, the entire community would be able to participate in the meal. Getahun explained about 200,000 Oromo people live in the Bantu district, and they are among Ethiopia’s poorest people. He hopes the school will be a model that can be replicated elsewhere. His dream is to see 20 schools in 20 districts within 10 years, benefiting up to 1 million children and youth. Getahun also intends to start a church that will meet at the school, because there is no evangelical church in the area. After lunch, we returned to Addis Ababa where Getahun showed us the baby home that is under construction. The three-story building that is going up in the western part of the sprawling city blends in well with the neighborhood—respectable-looking and built to last, but not opulent and Western in its appearance. The home will take abandoned and orphaned babies birth to age 3. Buckner will have an adoption office at the baby home, handling both domestic and international adoptions, again with the permission and blessings of Ethiopia’s president. A social worker will help place the children in adoptive homes. Tomorrow, we will learn about Buckner’s foster care program in Ethiopia and meet with some foster families to hear their stories.
Thursday Clive and Mary Beckenham opened the New Life Home in Nairobi in 1994. The Kenyan government registered the home to provide care for orphaned and abandoned children—particularly children with HIV/AIDS. Since then, the ministry has expanded to include homes in five other locations. The facility is not a Buckner-sponsored ministry, but Buckner has a close working relationship with the home, which is affiliated with Barnabas Ministries. Some children who aged out of the New Life Home have gone on to live at the Baptist Children’s Center, and Buckner has provided some financial support to New Life. When we arrived at the site, we were struck by the contrast to the slums we saw yesterday. As we entered the sparkling-clean, state-of-the-art facility, we looked at before-and-after photos of children who entered the home. One particularly striking pair of photos showed an emaciated, listless-looking child who entered the facility and the same child—bright-eyed and well-fed—two weeks later. Not all children who enter the home survive. In some cases, the AIDS virus is too far advanced. But when many of the babies are taken off infected mother’s milk and given proper medical treatment, they not only survive but thrive. In a play area for creepers and crawlers, we found nine babies receiving hugs, kisses and plenty of attention from a half-dozen workers. Before we could enter the room, we all were required to wash our hands. After seeing that area, a worker showed us the isolation nursery. New arrivals go first to intensive care and then to the isolation nursery. Babies who contract communicable diseases also are kept in the isolation area so other children—particularly babies and toddlers with compromised immune systems—are not put in danger. We saw women rinsing diapers, loading them into washing machines and then hanging them out on a 64-foot clothesline to dry. We met a group of student volunteers from a Pentecostal college in Norway who were on a mission in Kenya. And we experienced the joy of cradling, hugging and playing with the children. The New Life Home was inspirational—literally. It offers a model that can be modified and made culturally appropriate in other settings in Africa. Ken Hall explained that Buckner wants to build a home for abandoned babies—some HIV-positive—in Ethiopia, where we will fly later this evening. Wednesday Nairobi’s Korogocho slum is home to somewhere between 350,000 and 600,000 people—roughly half of them children and teenagers. The average lifespan of a boy in that slum is 14 years. Girls live a little longer, but many end up dying of AIDS after turning to prostitution, just to survive. Euticauls Wambua Nzengu—“Pastor Eutychus”—has spent two decades serving there. He grew up in eastern Kenya, the product of a polygamous marriage. Eventually, he came to Kenya seeking a job and went to live with his uncle, who was a pastor. Twenty years ago, he came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. And almost immediately, he felt God calling him to work with the children of Korogocho. For nine years, he worked with the children at Highridge Baptist Church and started the youth program at that congregation, which meets in a room at the Kariobangi Baptist Youth Center. Later, that church sent him out to plant another congregation—Baptist Chapel—which, in turn, has launched three mission churches. Ever since the Southern Baptist International Mission Board withdrew its support from the youth center, Pastor Eutychus has directed its programs as a local church ministry. A few months ago, 60 students from early preschool to about the fourth grade attended daily classes at the center. Today, 210 children from the slum fill seven classrooms. Older teenagers have the opportunity to learn a trade—hairdressing for women and woodworking for men—in the center’s vocational education program. Students receive a nutritious meal at noon—the only meal many of them are sure to eat on any given day. The center does not have an ongoing medical clinic, but it has hosted visiting physicians on occasion, and they averaged about 500 patients a day. When we arrived at the center and Ken Hall caught sight of Pastor Eutychus, he quietly said to a couple of people standing near him, “We’re on holy ground right here—holy ground.” Indeed it was, but the surrounding area was anything but that. Looking over the walls around the center, it was easy to see—and especially smell—Nairobi’s largest garbage dump. We saw trash pickers making their way through the rancid mounds, looking for anything of value. And we saw women washing out plastic trash bags in a dirty stream so they could sell them to someone who needs plastic sheeting for shelter. Eutychus told us we were fortunate today. It was one of the rare days the smoke from burning trash was not wafting over the slum. He said TB had become endemic in the area because of the persistent smoke. Tim Watson immediately made the connection. When Jesus described hell, he compared it to Gehenna—the smoldering garbage dump on the outskirts of ancient Jerusalem. This place really is hell on earth, and Pastor Eutychus literally is trying to snatch these children out of hell—in every sense. Our group was privileged to deliver bags of donated sweaters to the youth center. Unfortunately, the student population had grown so rapidly in recent months, we didn’t have enough sweaters for all the children. So, Eutychus selected about a dozen to receive sweaters today, more will get the remaining sweaters soon, and Buckner will send additional sweaters later. Our team sorted the sweaters by size, and then several people helped the lucky few children try on their new sweaters. Today was Jay Abernathy’s birthday. He told us he couldn’t imagine a more meaningful way to celebrate the occasion. On Sunday, we saw poor-but-beautiful children filled with joy, living at the Baptist Community Center. Today we saw children in rougher circumstances, but hardly less joyful, attending classes at the youth center. But outside the gates of the center, we saw children who looked at us with eyes that held no joy, no hope. Just across a rough, dirt road littered with debris, I saw a toddler playing just outside the door of his parents’ shanty. Less than two feet away, raw sewage ran in a drainage ditch. The Kariobangi Baptist Youth Center is just a small candle burning in a dark place—an oasis of hope in a sea of hopelessness. But we also saw reason to hope. While we were at the youth center, we met Joseph. He told us he grew up “a stone’s throw away from here. This is home to me.” He described some of the hardships he faced growing up in a slum where most families live on less than $1 a day. He helped his family by doing domestic chores and working as day laborer, but he also managed to go to school. Joseph went on to become a house parent at the Baptist Community Center we visited on Sunday. He resigned recently when he married Elizabeth, who works with Dickson at the Nairobi Baptist Center. Because of the living arrangements at the BCC, married couples cannot be house parents in an all girls or all boys dorm. But Joseph was too valuable a worker to lose, so he was made an assistant to help with the ministries. He told us: “Thank God, he saw me through, and I feel God calling me to minister among other children who are struggling as I did.” Pastor Eutychus, likewise, has made the decision to follow God’s call and invest his life in the lives of slum children. He undoubtedly has received offers to go elsewhere. He has held key positions in the denomination—in Kenya, on the African continent and within the global fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance. He is a brilliant and articulate man. But he has chosen to remain. Ask him why, and he answers: “If Jesus came today, I know he would be here. And if I leave, who will continue this work?” Today, we went to hell. And we saw Jesus at work there. Tuesday Yesterday morning, we left Nairobi on a single-engine turboprop plane and flew west over the Rift Valley, landing on a dirt airstrip at the Masaai Mara wildlife preserve. We spent most of the afternoon yesterday on a photo safari, then we rose before daybreak this morning for another early morning photo shoot in the wild. Our guides drove open-top 4X4 Land Cruisers down dirt roads through the preserve. We saw so many cape buffalo, impala and gazelle that we became almost blasé about them. Since we were divided among two or three vehicles, different members of our team saw a variety of wildlife. I was amazed to see two different elephant families, a herd of about a dozen giraffe, a cheetah nuzzling its mate and—most impressive of all to me—a lioness making her way across the savannah gently holding her tiny cub in her mouth, whileanother older cub ran along behind her trying to keep pace. Later, we visited a Masaai village. Our guide explained that everyone in each village was a blood relative, so they always married from outside their village. Members of the village hold all things in common—their cattle, sheep, goats and the money they collect from tourists who buy their handicrafts. The sight of families—both in the animal kingdom and in this different culture and people-group—caring for their young and sharing with each other reminded me of the reason we are in Africa. God has raised up some of his people here to provide love, nurture and a sense of belonging for orphans who might otherwise never know what it means be part of a family. We can help be a part of that. Along the way, I felt like all the members of our team really began to bond with each other. Kyle Henderson led us in playing silly word games while we waited under a thatch-roofed shelter at the airstrip, waiting for a plane that was late. Some of the pastors told war stories about a few of the early churches they or friends of theirs had served. We compared the ages and interests of our children. Team members brainstormed ideas about how their churches could plug into the kinds of ministries Buckner is doing in Kenya and wants to do in Ethiopia. And some opened up their hearts and lives in moments of transparency, sharing their deepest struggles and prayer concerns. Ken Hall said the scheduling of the photo safari early in our trip was by design. In part, it allowed us a stress-free time to relax and let our body-clocks adjust to the change of time and season. It also gave us an opportunity to enjoy recreation together and become comfortable with each other. He told me much of what we will see and experience the rest of the week will be intense and emotional, and we need that comfort level with the other team members so we will feel free to talk about the experience and process it. Tomorrow, we get to deliver sweaters and book bags to the children at a Buckner-supported slum ministry. Sunday Dickson Masindano, the director of Buckner Africa, was our host. Dickson is an impressive fellow. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi and a master’s of education degree from Hardin-Simmons University. He grew up in a rural village in northern Kenya, Kiminini. He pursued his graduate degree in Texas because he learned about Hardin-Simmons’ counseling program from an HSU alum, and he wanted to be able to offer counseling to people who were being tested for HIV. About the time he graduated, a close friend’s father and a member of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas told him Buckner needed a Kenyan national to direct its ministries in that country. Since then, Dickson not only grew the orphanage to a wonderful 48-bed facility but also turned the complex into a center that truly serves its community, complete with a medical and dental clinic, a school and a vocational/technical training program. He also developed the foster care system for the nation of Kenya, which is now essentially administered by Buckner. As we drove through the slums around the center, it was amazing how there was a church on virtually every corner—Cathedral of Praise, Believers’ Bible Centre, Deliverance Center … you name it, they have it. Ken Hall told us Nairobi is not lacking for the message of salvation, but, unfortunately, as preached historically by our forefathers it focused almost exclusively on the sweet by-and-by, offering little hope to the poor in this world. The Baptist Community Center on the campus of the BCC offers both the saving message of Jesus Christ and the life-changing, transforming power that comes when people meet human needs in his name. We worshipped at the Munyao Memorial Baptist Chapel on the center’s campus. The singing was joyous and exuberant with lots of clapping, swaying and enthusiastic singing. Tim Watson from Longview preached the message, focusing on the passage in Psalm 133 about how good it is for brothers and sisters to live in unity. He talked about how by working together, we can do so much more than any of us can do working alone. Dickson, Tom Okore (director of the center) and Tony Wenani (pastor of the on-campus church) gave us a splendid tour. We ate lunch with the children of the orphanage, a hearty meal of rice, flat bread, beef stew and vegetables. Dickson told me since Buckner became involved with the orphanage, the children still have their worries, but no longer do they worry about when or where they will have their next meal. About 96 percent of the children who come through the residential program were orphaned when their parents died of AIDS. The remaining 4 percent are there because of economic reasons or abandonment. This afternoon, a few members of our team were feeling the effects of jet lag, so they went back to the hotel to rest. The remainder stayed at the orphanage and made crafts with the children. I’d have to say Kyle Henderson and his new young friend probably had the best looking craft, but I think Jay Abernathy, Carol McEntyre, Cindy Henderson and David Slover probably made a lot more. Steve Akin printed out digital photos of the children, and the kids made jigsaw puzzle frames for the pictures. Tomorrow, we will visit the wildlife preserve and go on a photo safari before hitting the ground running later in the week to see more of the ministries here in Kenya before heading up to Ethiopia. We made connections in London with the other members of our team—Ken and Linda Hall from Buckner; Jay and Paige Chastain from Longview; and Steve Akin and Kyle and Cindy Henderson from Athens. Most of us didn’t know in advance that British Airways changed its security regulations last week. Now the airline only allows one carry-on bag per passenger—not two, as we expected. That meant most of us were pulled out of line and had to check bags. It slowed us down a bit, but we still made our flight to Nairobi in plenty of time. We had another lengthy flight, but this time nearly all of us slept much of the time. Exhaustion is taking over. We arrived in Nairobi before 9:30 p.m., and we were met by Dickson Masindano, who heads up all the Buckner work in Kenya. After we retrieved our bags—well, all but one of Susan Bush’s, which didn’t make it—we loaded vans from and headed to the Holiday Inn. We were in our rooms by about midnight. Tomorrow will be a full day as we go to the Baptist Children’s Center. Friday I enjoyed having the opportunity to visit with Lee Bush from Athens on the trip to Chicago. He heads Red Dot, a metal buildings systems manufacturing company that involves its employees in missions--largely through Buckner--with a goal of doing good, offering hope and transforming lives. The company's mission statement is "pleasing God by turning our success into lasting significance." Lee told me how Buckner had been a key venue through which the company has worked toward fulfilling that mission in the last few years. He and his wife, Susan, have made several trips with Buckner to Russia--where they adopted two children--and to Guatemala. They have sent several employees to Kenya to work there, but this is the Bushes' first trip to Africa. The first leg of the trip was the easy one. It's 15 degrees outside here at Chicago, and there's snow on the ground, but it's a sunny day. The hard part of the journey is yet to come--8 hours to London, a couple of hour layover, and then another 8 hours to Nairobi. I'm eager to be there to see what God is doing through the Baptist Children's Center and the other ministries in which Buckner is involved. But at least the long trip gives me a chance to get acquainted with the other team members. Besides the Bushes, so far we have two Buckner employees--Margaret Elizabeth Perry and David Slover; two East Texas pastor, Jay Abernathy from Palestine and Tim Watson from Longview; and myself. We're meeting up with Carol McEntyre from Knoxville, Tenn., here atChicago, and the rest of our crew will meet us in London. I'm eager to have the plane rides behind me and to start seeing all the ministries--and all the needs--in Africa.
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Saturday
