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| Kenya, Africa |
This
past fall, my son Todd came to my wife and me and expressed interest in going
with family friends to Africa. Our
friends, Brian and Heather Dellamater, are going with their family to Africa to
begin the work of developing a piece of property called Kijani Farms located in
southern Kenya. They need help
establishing the property with housing, etc. as they build relationships with
the Maasai Tribe and grow the farm. Todd’s
request was somewhere between asking us and telling us, while hoping that we
would say yes. Hope. At first our thoughts were “Ah no, we’re not
letting you go halfway around the world”, although we didn’t necessarily
express that directly to him. Our
thoughts focused around the limitations of time, cost, travel, and the simple
fact that our son needs to be putting money aside if he wants to continue going
to college. Later, when he shared that
they also needed someone who liked to cook over an open fire, that it would be
a wild adventure, and that we would be working with others in a team; all while
building relationships with the Maasai, it began to look interesting. He knew the passageways into my heart. Perhaps we needed to look at this trip as an
opportunity, and with a different perspective.
Both my wife and I began to look at it more as a chance for me to share
an experience together with our son; father-son bonding on another continent,
in a different country, with a significant purpose. We prayed about it daily and over several
weeks, while talking with Todd, as well as Brian & Heather. We didn’t know how it would all work out, but
the decision was made that we would begin the process, put one foot in front of
the other, and see where it would take us.
The mystery, revelation, and excitement will come in seeing how such an
endeavor comes together. Hope.
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| Todd & I talking about the possibilities on a winter hike |
Through
Global Outreach we are going with a team of twelve local people, led by Brian Dellamater,
to help develop Kijani Farm. His wife
Heather will act as our Base Camp Director here at home, while with their baby
girl, until they can all come over to Africa together later this fall. Presently the farm itself is made up of brush
and trees; all of which have thorns on them.
Apparently it’s hard for the Maasai people to imagine that most of the
trees that we have here in America don’t have long, sharp thorns on them. Kijani Farm will someday be a self sustaining
farm serving the people living in the surrounding region. Eventually it will be a farm that they
themselves will call their own, to provide what they are calling “The Kijani
Five.” The Kijani Five consists of: a
health clinic, clean water (So far the only thing on the farm site is a
recently constructed 5,000 gallonwater tank that weighs 11 tons), a school, a church
to train pastors and leaders, and of course agriculture. Together, everything on Kijani Farm is
designed to train up the next generation.
It’s about having the people of the area build into Kijani Farm (For
more information see:
This
will be my first mission trip out of the country, and only my second time on a
passenger plane. The first plane ride I
ever took (outside of a brief outing in a single engine plane when I was a kid)
was an hour and a half trip to see my sister in Atlanta nineteen years ago. Our trip to Kenya will be an 18 hour ride
with one stop along the way. Perhaps I
better bring a good book and a thick journal to keep myself busy. Hope. It
will be a trip “full of firsts.”
Two
teams will be a part of this mission.
The first group that comes to Africa will be “Team Tumaini,” which means
“Hope.” I know it’s ironic. Team Tumaini will leave the United States on
Saturday, June 3rd and arrive in Africa the evening of Sunday, June 4th. We will be in southern Kenya for 11 days and
then leave on Friday, June 16th arriving in the U.S. on Saturday,
June 17th. A second team, “Team
Rafiki” (which means “Friend”), will overlap our visit as they arrive a week
into our visit and stay a week later.
Brian Dellamater and his son Gabe will be there a few days before all of
us getting things ready. We will travel
with Brian’s other son Noah. Noah was Todd’s
best friend in high school, and they have continued to stay close throughout
college. Noah will be our guide through
international travel as he has done it many times before.
Growing
up in a Christian family in Northern, Lower Michigan there were several
different times when I experienced a “Missions Week” that our church would
organize. I always enjoyed hearing stories
from the missionary people that our church sponsored. They invested their lives to make a
difference in the lives of others throughout various corners of the world. At the same time, the missionaries were quick
to share how the people they lived with helped change their own lives. While attending Trinity College (Now Trinity
International University) I met my wife Cindy.
We earned our degrees in education, as we both had a passion for working
with kids, and became teachers at the middle school level. Within our local school community we have
taught and coached. We see teaching as an
opportunity given gracefully by God. Not
every day or situation is easy, or works out according to plan, but it has
helped develop within us a spirit of flexibility, compassion, and
fortitude. Often we see situations at
school or in life that can only be explained as a “God Thing.”
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| Training to run, work and build relationships in Kenya |
Now
on the cusp of actually going on a short-term mission overseas this June, I am
slightly giddy. I am preparing letters,
emails, and a blog entry to share the dream and vision of going to Africa with
my friends and family. Yesterday I ran
eleven miles on the trails of a local forest preserve. I imagined what this trip might entail. I pictured being able to run while I’m there. How cool would it be to say that I actually
ran with the Maasai Kenyans? Even if
that meant that I was dragging along behind them, but somehow managed to keep
them in my sight far off in the distance.
Hope. Do you think it will matter
that Kijani Farm is over 4,000 feet higher in elevation than what I’m used to
here in Northern Illinois? Hope
indeed. I’ve been doing push-ups and sit-ups
every other night just so I can feel like I can do and/or participate in
whatever comes my way. I can’t wait to gather
around a campfire after a day of work, cooking a meal, looking at a night sky
void of artificial light, and going to sleep in a tent somewhere in Africa out
beyond my wildest dreams. I look forward
to seeing Kijani Farm’s resident warthog, as well as some of the gazelles and
zebras that live in the area. I am
looking forward to seeing God at work, both through the projects that have been
planned for our team, but also for the things that are unplanned, and for what
I myself will learn beyond what I can physically and mentally give. This opportunity has the potential to change
lives in so many ways.
We are going
to need your help on this journey! First
and foremost we need your prayers; for the travel logistics, safety, unity, and
our trip as a whole. If you would like
to be a part of our Prayer Team, Heather says this, “For each of our teams, we ask people if they would like to be a
part of a Prayer Team just for your group. This group gets more updates
than our general email list... our expectation is that they would really commit
to praying for you during your preparation, time in Kenya, and return
home. Please invite anyone you wish to join the Prayer Team and get me
their email address.” If this sounds like something you’d like to
commit to then please email me, or leave a comment below, and I can pass your
email along to her. Todd and I are going
with a minimalist mentality, but with big hearts; open to serve, looking to see
God at work, and eager to humbly learn from the Maasai people. To do this, Todd and I together are going to
need to raise a total of $6500. To help
in this process, Todd and I are also applying for scholarships for first time
mission’s work, while trying to get some money into our account soon in order
to purchase airline tickets at a cheaper price.
At the same time, we would appreciate it if you could prayerfully
consider giving money to help us reach our goal.
See
you along The Way…
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**You can be a part of our team by donating to
Global Ministries at: https://globaloutreach.org/ (Tax-Deductable –
Please click on “Give,” and then click on “Missionaries & Projects.” You will see a search where you can type in
the account# of “Ingersoll 06-17.” After
you “Check Out,” there is an option under the title “Anonymous” that says, “+Add
instructions to the finance office” that gives you the ability to designate the
funds for “Mike & Todd Rhines” specifically).
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Mailed
donations need to include the team name (Ingersoll 06-17) in the memo line of
your check, and please attach a note that it goes to Mike & Todd Rhines.
Address:
Global
Outreach
PO
BOX 1
Tupelo.
MS 38802
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Tumaini = Hope
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