Worship, Giraffes, the Nile, and Heading Home

Wow!  So it's been a few days since we've last been able to post.  Below is a synopsis of the team's endeavors the last couple of days written by the Westmont coach.

After church on Koro Farm in Gulu.

Uganda is a beautiful land full of beautiful people who are in the middle of restoring communities. We have been able to see this taking place in Kampala (in Nairobi as well) and especially in Gulu. 3 years ago when we worked on the farm the Chapel was still a pile of bricks knee high. Yesterday (Sunday) we sat in the completed Chapel of the New Foundations Church on the farm with a packed house and a lot of singing and dancing. Roxanne and Jenny led worship and had the entire congregation yelling/singing. Jeremiah followed with a sermon on Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the wall and the community and how the story of Gulu parallels that story in many ways. Christine Adams and Alison Glasco shared parts of their story with the congregation and I couldn’t have been more proud of their willingness to encourage the church body in this way.

Following church we went to a local village SOI is strongly connected to: Lajwatek. We worked in this village on our last trip in 2010. At that time the people responsible for the work being done in the village were women. There were no men, at least none that were sober. Three years later the village is thriving with a day care, men who serve in leadership and strong women still leading the way. It was both a wonderful experience for us and necessary for them to see us back, to grow the relationship, to see the progress.

Women welcoming us at the village Lajwatek.

We finished the day with our last “match” and a lot of laughter. We met the SOI staff out at the farm to play with them, to fellowship and to encourage their work. Some of the staff joined us for dinner as we celebrated Dan’s birthday in true Westmont Women’s Soccer fashion: with song and dance. Each class made up a song and dance for Dan with incredible pun’s like: “You don’t wear the Ribbens construction shirt, it wears you,” or, “Gifts don’t come in packages, they come in Ribbens.” This produced the kind of laughter that comes deep from the gut and causes your face to cramp. I don’t know if the SOI staff watching thought we were crazy but they got a laugh as well!

Last match against SOI staff on the farm.

This morning we began the trek back down to Kampala with a layover at the Parra Lodge for a Safari. We spent the first afternoon on a game drive where we were able to see water buffalo, warthogs, antelope, MANY giraffe’s and A LION!

Tuesday morning we began with a 2 hour boat ride on the Nile seeing many crocodile, hippo’s and even an Elephant. We finished with a hike up to beautiful Murchison Falls and the longest bus ride ever! (you can ask the girl’s about this, the sauna bus and the tic-flies).

As I finish writing this blog post (which I began on Sunday ? ) it is now Wednesday and we wait in the Entebbe airport in Uganda. The girls are journaling, laughing, buying chocolate they haven’t had in a few weeks and hopefully beginning the process of reflection. Cat Adams, our group leader, led us through a wonderful debriefing this morning suggesting we begin formulating our response to the question we know many of you will ask, “how was your trip?” She encouraged us to have a 1 minute response, a 5 minute response and a 30 minute response. As I question the girls on some of their highlights here is a preview of the different responses:

Top 10 (mind you, this is an initial stab at it)
1. The Prison Game
2. The many clinics we ran (specifically with the women)
3. Home visits in the villages
4. Practicing with the Good News Team
5. Nairobi clinic (200 kids, 20 balls, playing on a marshland) as well as the school
6. Hearing Testimonies (both within the team and outside of it)
7. Koro Farm in Gulu (especially the villages they are connected with and their welcome of song and dance)
8. The different AND powerful worship in all of the cities
9. Eating a Rolex (and grasshopper)
10. The “Bash” (ask a team member about that)

Nailing down a top 10 is difficult and the list will change as people enter different levels of reflection. At the very least, in case you never get a chance to chat with a team member, know this was an incredible trip. We are very proud of the girls- their energy, their joy, their willingness to jump in and share, their success in all of the games we played, their love for each other and everyone we came into contact with. They represent Westmont and Westmont Women’s Soccer well.

Praise God for the ways in which we learned, we grew and we engaged with each other and those around us. We are incredibly grateful for Robert Katende, Sam Lutalo and Wilfred the bus driver from Sports Outreach who took care of us and shared their lives with us during our time in Uganda.

Until next time (hopefully 2016)…thanks for coming along this journey with us.

Blessings,
Kristi Kiely

Goals, Prisoners, and the Gospel

Well, the team safely arrived in Gulu yesterday.  Pretty much in record time too--7ish hours, which included two bathroom stops and a walk across the roaring Nile River.  Not bad for a group of 30.  Robert, Sam, and Wilfred had to serve as shepherds to get us across and to the bus.  We quickly checked into the Churchill, ate a pineapple and banana snack, and headed to Koro.  We were greeted by singing and dancing by the Victory Girls.  Their dancing was followed by and SOM orientation and a tour of the Koro Community Center.  It was a great day to reenergize and think about where we have been already.  Many an early night.

 It’s good to be back in Gulu! It’s good to be on the farm, good to be with the Acholi people and good to get our hands dirty. Sports Outreach in Gulu has developed 40 acres of land into a wonderful farm (Koro Farm) modeling sustainability for the rest of the people in Gulu. The vision for the farm is incredible and we are thankful to get to be a very, very small part of it. We split up into four groups today: one group did farming, one did construction, another worked at the school with the children and one group made home visits to families in the “bush,” greeting them with encouragement and prayer. It was a full morning followed by an extraordinary afternoon. The afternoon experience is best told by Jenny Martinez as she was one of our speakers today. She writes below…

We pulled up in the van and looked through the door to the Gulu prison. Steel doors, thick bars, and a dirt courtyard were our first glance at our next few hours. To some of us it was exciting, a new world we knew nothing about. To others of us, it was terrifying. Either way, I don’t think we could’ve anticipated the experience of the next few hours.

After the security guards were convinced our medical kit full of tape and pre-wrap was non-threatening, we walked through the gates into the courtyard. A dirt “field” stood, mostly lined-- if not by chalk then by the lines of inmates who sat five people deep at certain points along the pitch. The “field” was complete with three trees, and a few metal poles sticking fifteen or so feet out of the ground.

The plan was three 9 v. 9 games, each with 2 fifteen minute halves. Our first group took the field, and after pre-game prayer and handshakes, the first game began. The drums on the other side, shouts of the inmates, and occasional blast on the resident vuvuzela left high standards for future Westmont crowds. Hundreds of inmates were in attendance, a sea of yellow prison uniforms against the dark wall of the building on the shady side of the field.

The first game went by fast. Cheers broke out as the Westmont/SOI side was awarded, and scored, a penalty kick in the first ten minutes. Later in the match another round of whoops and cheering broke out as a cross from Angela off a short-corner play led to a header goal from Richie—epic. We had originally laughed when the SOI staff member had apologized for “shorting us” on time and only “leaving us” two hours to play. But by the end of those two hours, I don’t think there were many on our side who were ready to leave.

 

After all the games were finished, more handshakes were exchanged, and one of the main prison guards gave the word for the inmates to come gather in. Immediately the hundreds of inmates surged towards our sideline and took a seat on the dirt. Mal and I had decided to be the post-game “sharers.” Somehow the 500 Gulu prisoners gathered before us weren’t quite the side-room of about 15 prisoner players that- I will admit- I at least had been picturing. The team prayed over both of us, and after a team introduction, Mal and I were each allowed to speak. A translator communicated for us with the prisoners, which conveniently doubled to provide us a few extra moments to think. I will never forget sharing the gospel today. Speaking to 500 Gulu inmates about a God who loves them, wants to be near to them, and who has made that possible through the death and resurrection of His son who is offering them a place in His kingdom in exchange for the place in their hearts was incredible. Mal went next and shared about the journey of coming to Christ in her life. She shared her personal experience and spoke with confidence about how God has met her in places of difficulty and consistently shown his love to her. The inmates were all-ears. They listened with more respect than we had been warned to expect and we left the prison with silly grins on our faces—blown away at how God had met us, how God had been faithful, and how today he showed up on a dirt field in a prison courtyard in Gulu. We are thankful.

-           Jenny Martinez (senior, forward)

We are thankful today for many things- here are a few:

-          The staff at the Farm

-          Jenny and Mallory’s testimonies to the inmates (and all of us really)

-          Food

-          The entire prison experience

-          Our protection on this trip

-          The model of Sports Outreach Ministry- that it’s rebuilding all of Gulu

-          Time with the team to process

We wish you well back at home. Amen.

Blessings,

Kristi Kiely (special guest: Jenny Martinez).

Soccer makes the world go round...

We've had a harder time with the internet here in Kampala than in Nairobi plus we've run short on our days. I think they are shorter in Uganda.  Westmont Coach Kristi Kiely made a post late last night over the last couple of days and another one a few minutes ago.  I have included both accounts below.  Sorry for the delay.  Inaccessibility happens.  Thanks for reading!


Tuesday, May 14

Kibuli slum after the clinic.

Today was our last work day in Kampala before heading up to Gulu tomorrow morning. We opened with morning devotions with the SOI staff. Angela Brown spoke on John 10:10, Missy Robertson spoke on our identity in Christ and Dan Ribbens spoke on the very nature of God being good. As excited as we are to head up to Gulu we will miss the staff in Kampala as they have encouraged us in Christ, in our playing ability and in the way we love others.

We left the office headed to the field for another training session with the good news team. We tried to show them more of what we do, which included Roxanne Love taking the entire group of 40 people through some weight training (planks, squats and burpees)- see below.

Some of the girls running a clinic.

After lunch (always pineapple and Chapati-it’s like nothing other) the girls split up again into 4 groups to work in the slums. The purpose of today’s work was to see the feeding program and to run clinics with the children. The feeding program is a big part of what SOI does here: they provide 1 meal a day to the kids they’ve identified as the ones in most need. Here is a brief overview of each of the slums:

Bwaise: 3 players, 4 balls and 70 kids. It was interesting to say the least.

Kibuli: they got to see the feeding program in full and despite being low on energy pulled it together for a great clinic.

Katwe: For those of you who are familiar with Phiona and the chess program (Queen of Katwe) this is the slum she grew up in. Alison Hensley took some lessons from Phiona’s brother as he shared with us about how chess has taught him how to problem solve.

Nateete: Denae Crump out-ran a bull that was chasing her but they were able to make the clinic work anyway, bulls on the field and all. Most satisfying was the moment they got to the field and one of the SOI staff members had 40 kids lined up in a plank, a movement he had only learned that morning.

Training session with the Good News team.

It was another wonderful day and we will miss our time in Kampala…but we are very excited to be heading up to Gulu in the morning and more importantly for a rest day. The girls hit a bit of a wall today but as the great teacher, Rodney Suddith says, we will do our best to end on empty.

As you continue to join us in prayer we do have some specific ways you can be praying:

-Energy!!! The girls have been going hard for 7 days. They have 8 more to go but they need to refuel and we hope tomorrow’s long drive to Gulu will provide some of the rest they need.
-The staff in Gulu as they prepare for us.
-The hearts of us on the trip as we head up to Gulu: both a beautiful and very hard place.

We hope you are all well at home.

Signing off…

Kristi Kiely

*love you mom.

A nutshell view of three days in Kampala

Hello everyone!


Sat-Monday, May 11-May 13

Greetings from Kampala!

After the match today

I return with good news…we won our match today! Before I fill you in on the game I want to take a minute to fill you in on all of our time here in Kampala.

Lets go back to Saturday which was our first full day in Kampala. Saturday is typically a slum work day for the SOI staff and this past Saturday was no different. We began the day in 4 different groups at 4 different slums for some good-for-the-soul manual labor. Most of us worked in the trenches to help with the irrigation. Following our work we ate lunch and prepared for our afternoon “match” with the Good News Team (the team of SOI). Thankfully our match turned into a training session/mixed game because they are very good. For most of the girls it’s what they noted as the high of the day for them: being connected through the game of soccer with people from a different part of the world who love God.

Sunday was church and as anyone who has been to Africa knows, church can last the better part of a day. The best part is that we were able to return to the same church in the slum we worked in on Saturday. We were able to serve and work alongside the people in that community and then worship with them…and worship we did. The girls described church in Africa as: free, joyful and lots of dancing. Most of the groups had to at least introduce themselves, some had to sing and some chose to dance on stage (Kaci Mexico and Kelsey Steck) with the worship team. It was a beautiful thing to get to worship in and with a different culture. After church and lunch and a brief rest we spent the afternoon training in preparation for our game on Monday.

Team with the SOI staff after morning devotions.

Monday (today) was a very full and wonderful day. We began the day with morning devotions at the SOI office with the SOI staff. From there we split up into groups again to go to the different slums and run clinics with the children; some of them saved some of them not, some of them with parents some of them not, some of them in school most of them not but ALL of them understanding the language of football…the world’s language. It’s funny how a small white ball can connect you in deep and meaningful ways that promote change and growth and community. We were able to see, in part, the work the SOI staff does on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. It’s hard work but it’s important work.

This afternoon we played Makarere University here in Kampala. They finished 2nd this past year for the league of East Africa and there was a lot of pressure for us to win. We did- thanks to 4 of our freshmen! Angela Brown had 2, Kaitlin Swift had 1, Katie Moyer had 1 and Kelsey Steck had 1. We won the match by a score of 5-2 and while the girls enjoyed the game (winning is fun) they enjoyed the time they spent with the other team after the game more. The girls split into small groups and shared the gospel with the girls on the opposing team. They also learned that being a young adult is universal and they shared similar struggles and questions as they try to figure out who they are going to be in this world.

It was a great day.

We ended the day in true Dan Ribbens fashion- doing something cultural. More than half of the team ate cooked grasshoppers. Salty but not too bad.

Thank you for your prayers, we covet them. All of the girls are processing what we are doing and what’s being done in us differently but ALL of them are loving the people of Uganda very well.

As always, thanks for following.

Until next time…most likely in Gulu…

Kristi Kiely

*love you mom.
**love you Brooke. Especially mom and dad.

Experiencing Mukuru

Greetings from Nairobi!

We made it. After 36 hours of traveling, we made it. We arrived in Nairobi late last night (Wednesday) and since we are only here in Kenya for a couple of days there is no time to waste. We were up and out the door by 7 am and headed for the slums. Sports Outreach has a school in the slums and they gather each morning to begin with devotions and worship before working with the school children. We were privileged enough to join them.

After devotions we split up into three groups: a group who stayed at the school to work with the children, a group that went out into the slums to make home visits and a group that went out into the slums to meet with HIV positive women. I got to go with this group. We met 5 different women all with similar stories and the same toughness: strong women, infected with HIV most likely by their husbands, all of whom had left or died. Our job: simply to encourage. In moments like those when you struggle for words to speak to encourage a seemingly hopeless situation the words of David and Paul in the Psalms, Ephesians and Philippians become extremely important.

This morning Cat, one of our group leaders, gave the devotion on her love for Peter and his story being one of great redemption after he denied Christ 3 times and then becomes one of the disciples that is the most bold. Therefore, we should go forward in boldness. I am very proud of the way our players stepped up in boldness today; jumping right in to everything they were asked to do…both the fun and the uncomfortable alike.

Tomorrow is our last day in Kenya and is extremely full. We begin again at 7 am with devotions and worship at the school. That is followed by running a clinic for hundreds of slum kids, a match against a women’s team, the sharing of testimonies, food and then jumping on a plane to head to Uganda. I will share more when we get there.

For now, if you would like to join us in prayer here are some things we could use prayer for:

- “You need to be ready in every season to share a good word.” (Rodney Suddith) Pray that we would continue to be aware of what God is doing in our lives so that we can share it with those we come into contact with.

- That we would bring Peace and encouragement to all those we come into contact with.

- For the Sports Outreach Staff in Africa as they host us (it’s ALOT of work!).

Thanks for joining us!

Until next time,

Kristi Kiely

* love you mom.
** Jody and Lisa- great to see Jenny and Tine. They made it with us!

Westmont Women's Soccer Team Heads to Africa

We are leaving! After 3 years of planning, fundraising and praying we are headed back to Uganda and adding Kenya to our travel itinerary. For those of you that don’t know- 3 years ago we spent 2 weeks in Uganda working alongside Sports Outreach in service to the Kampala and Gulu communities. We are thrilled to be returning.

We spent a few hours on Sunday morning at a team retreat in preparation for our trip trying to quiet ourselves after a busy semester and finals last week. It was a wonderful time of worship, thoughtful reflection and lots of packing. We are so grateful to the many people who donated cleats, soccer balls, clothes, bags…etc. We are happy to be able to bring over as much as we are.

We hope you will follow us along the way. We hope you will enjoy our stories, feel connected to the group and most importantly, that you will pray for us and with us. We begin by asking for prayer in these specific areas:

- That we would be able to bring the “Peace of God” wherever we go. Not just in word but truly able to bring and share the Peace of God to the people we come into contact with.

- Safety and health.

- That we would be open to being uncomfortable in many ways as we are stretched and challenged in the days to come.

21 players, 2 coaches, 6 additional leaders (Cliff and Diane Lundberg, Trisha Beaudin, Roxanne Love, Cat Adams and my personal favorite, Jeremiah Kiely), lots of soccer balls and lots of joy. Join us in this adventure!

We will see you in a few weeks!

Signing off…

Kristi Kiely

***To see the preparation for our trip in a blog made by the team you can go to:

http://westmontwomenssoccer.blogspot.com/