Hello,

Happy Easter! I hope you have had a great week and Easter weekend.

Apologies for the lack of updates but now I would like to share about what I have been up to and what I will be doing. I will share my updates on a bi-weekly basis but if you’d like to be in touch about anything specific please let me know.

I have now been in Nairobi for 4 months! It has gone so quickly. There have certainly been a lot of changes, both good and challenging. On the good side, the weather has been lovely as it is mostly sunny and dry. I’ve also experienced that most people in Nairobi are very friendly and are open to helping me when I butcher their language on my poor attempts to articulate something. It has also been a great experience, in terms of learning how to live life in a way very different to the Western world. For example, occasionally living without electricity or running water. Or being involved in the preparation of an animal you are about to eat.

There have also been a fair few challenges. On my second day in Nairobi, I was bitten by a dog, which lacerated a nerve in my hand, causing me to lose feeling in my middle finger. Fortunately, after having surgery and recovering, I now have complete control over my fingers again. Additionally, I had trouble setting into my workplace as myself and my boss in Nairobi did not see eye to eye on a couple of important matters. And, lastly, I have a neighbor that plays music far too loud in the early hours of the morning.

Safe to say, there have been a lot of changes but I can surely say, I am happy to have gone through this process. This time in Nairobi has allowed me to challenge my preconceived thoughts of the world and ways of doing things, grow as a person, mature, and has helped me to grow spiritually, and develop my relationship with God.

What does a typical week look like?

I split my time between three main things. For a couple of hours a day, I have language study, learning Kiswahili with a private tutor. I do this to better connect with the locals and the children that I work with. I am also finishing my TFEL course, to gain experience and gain a qualification for teaching English. The rest of my time I spend at work, at ACK Christ Church in Westlands.

Since my time working at Christ Church, I have primarily been made to work with the Youth. I spent most of my time either looking at ways to improve or alter the ‘kids to kids’ program or looking at programs for the church youth and how to improve the Sunday services. I’ve even had the opportunity to lead services and preach.

I have also had the privilege to go to Kawangware and Kangemi to visit the local slums and recruit 11 more children to attend the ‘kids to kids’ program. This experience was eye-opening as I was able to experience their living conditions and their lack of resources. The 11 new children have attended the program for the past two weeks and are now settling in, and enjoying themselves.

For a reminder, the ‘kids to kids’ program is run by ACK Christ Church and offers children from the local slums, education, nutrition and spiritual guidance. These children are usually aged between 7 and 12 and our goal is to educate them in order for them to continue studying at secondary school. It is important to mention that most of our students have had either very little teaching or no prior formal education. In addition, these children are given two meals a day and have two church services a week.

I am now starting to feel more settled in my new job and my work relationships appear to be growing. I am hoping that these relationships continue to grow and develop. In addition, I am also praying that the ‘kids to kids’ program continues to grow and that we can offer more children education, nutrition and spiritual guidance. Another prayer that I have, is, that our youth church continues to grow. We are currently seeing new teens giving their lives to the Lord and we are continuing to pray for more still.

Thank you very much for your support. If it wasn’t for your giving I would not have this incredible opportunity of being in Nairobi and being used by God.

Many blessings and God Bless,

Aaron Stanbury