Isch's Kenya Mission Trip 2011

1. Isch’s Kenya Mission Trip
October 2011
Through Christian Assembly Church,
Los Angeles, California
With Living Room Ministries & Kimbilio Hospice,
Kipkaren, Kenya

2. Thank You
to all of our supporters who helped to
make this trip possible for us!
Our lives and hearts have
been forever changed.

3. Why a mission trip to Africa?
It is hard to pinpoint what exactly was our motivation to apply for this trip, other than it is what our
hearts called us to do. We had been hearing about the wonderful deeds that Juli McGowan had been
doing in Africa for as long as we had been at Christian Assembly. Each time that a new update of her
work was shared, it left us wanting to hear more, to do more. When the announcement at church was
made that a team was going to be heading to Kenya to work alongside Juli, it took split seconds for us to
look at each other and say, “Let’s go!”
This mission trip looked different than what might typically be thought of as the purpose of a mission
trip. It was not a trip to build a church or home, to teach, or to evangelize – it was a mission of presence
and awareness. We went to Africa to learn what it means to so humbly love and care for the poor and
sick. We went to the remote village of Kipkaren, to show the sick and dying that they are not forgotten.
Their bodies may be broken and failing, their hearts may be aching, and they may feel completely lost,
but they are not forgotten, and they are not alone.
Juli’s ministry, Living Room & Kimbilio Hospice, has helped many by providing palliative care,
compassion, and hope. It was a genuine blessing and honor to come up alongside Juli and her team, to
see and learn from their compassion for others, to encourage their efforts, and to support and lighten
their workload.

4. It’s time to travel!
After months of preparation, our trip had arrived! We drove down to southern California and met up with our
mission team of nine. Before heading to the airport we were busy packing extra bags to a full 50 pounds, with
supplies for the hospice – medical supplies, sheets, blankets, books and a few toys for the children. We
traveled with 14 bags of supplies!
We “lost” 2 bags in Nairobi,
but they were later delivered
to the hospice. 
The Team being commissioned at Christian The Team at the hospice, sorting Standing at the entrance to Kimbilio
Assembly before leaving for Africa. through all the supplies that we were Hospice. “Karibu” means welcome.
blessed to bring with us.

5. Travel Around the World
On October 6, 2011 we departed the Los Angeles Airport to fly to Amsterdam. After an 11 hour flight, we
landed for a short 2 hour layover and were back on a plane to Nairobi. This second flight took another 9 hours;
we finally landed in Africa!
It took us a few hours to go through customs, retrieve our luggage, and find out information on our missing
bags. After making it out of the airport we were whisked away to a missionary hostel to sleep for about 4
hours.
Before we knew it, we were on
an hour flight to Eldoret. We
landed about 7:40am
(9:40pm PST on October 7th).
Next we drove 2 hours to the
village of Kipkaren, Kenya.
Total travel time approximately
36 hours

6. Here we are with our team
at the Eldoret International
Airport (Kenya). The airport
had very few people at it, (Above): Piling into the ambulance for the 2
definitely different than Los hour drive to Kipkaren.
Angeles International! (Below): Loading our luggage on top of the
hospice’s ambulance.
Driving through Eldoret. Notice we’re on the opposite side of the road! There were a lot of
motorbikes and bicycles that would dart on and off the road.
Coca-Cola everywhere in Africa!

7. Our Incredible Welcome
Tears fill our eyes and warm our hearts
as we remember the tremendous
welcome we received from the Kenyans.
Before our trucks pulled to a halt at the
gate of the Kimbilio Hospice, we could
hear the joyous singing of our
welcoming. Children from the
orphanage, hospice staff, community
members, and patients who were able
to come out, were at the gate singing
and dancing. It was hard to wrap our
heads around the ceremony they had
put together for our welcoming – we
were only 9 Americans who they had
never met, but to them, we were
already family.
We were ushered in to their community
with a ribbon cutting, bouquets of
roses, a tree planting for each of us, and
more singing and dancing.
Click here to see a quick video of our
welcome!!

8. Kimbilio Hospice
Kimbilio Hospice (Refuge in Swahili) is a 26 bed, inpatient hospice
that houses adults and children living with terminal illness.
The services provided by staff include: management of pain and other
symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support.
Within this facility, there are also counseling services available to
support families during the patient’s illness and bereavement as well
as a training institute for health care workers, caregivers, and
community members to be empowered with knowledge and skills in
palliative care services.
Kimbilio Hospice opened in May of 2011.
The hospice is largely self sufficient
with 2 acres of passion fruit (to eat
and sell), a large vegetable garden,
and a fish pond with 1000 tilapia (to
eat and sell).
Daily you will see most patients
sitting on the veranda (left), enjoying
the fresh air, scenery, and each
others company. An incredibly
therapeutic and spiritual place.

9. Living Room Ministires
In 2009, Living Room Ministries International was established to address the many injustices that remain
for those living with life-limiting illnesses in Kenya. Guided by the belief that every person was created in
the image of God, Living Room’s work is about more than treating a disease. We are caring for a person—
physically, psychosocially, and spiritually. Race, tribe, religion, educational level and ability to pay do not
determine a person’s value and do not interfere with the care provided by the Living Room team. Our goal
is to achieve the best quality of life for individuals and families facing advanced disease.
We urge you to find out more: http://www.livingroominternational.org
See Flovia’s transformation. A true
living miracle!
We had the privilege of meeting and
playing with Flovia at the
orphanage.
Juli & Flovia

10. Guest House
Our living accommodations in Kipkaren were far beyond what
we were imagining we would be residing in. We stayed in the
guest house of David and Allison Tarus; dear friends of Juli and
instrumental members of the community and hospice.
The guest house had a living room, full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 3
bedrooms, and the outdoor upstairs terrace. There was one
single bedroom, and the other two rooms had 3 double-sized
mattresses (in bunk beds). Every bed had mosquito netting
hung to surround. There was running water and electricity
inside the house; most homes in the village do not have any of
these amenities. We were told that at any time the power or
water could go out. We got lucky, the lights only went out a
few times.
The Guest House.
(Below): David & Allison
David and Allison blessed us by arranging to have two ladies, Tarus with Juli.
Miriam and Stella, cook all of our meals. They made us very
Americanized Kenyan food – such as pasta with lentils as the
sauce instead of marinara sauce. The food was good, and it
was comforting to have full-bellies with “homestyle” food.
Enjoying cokes by
candlelight on our last night
when the power went out.

11. Hiking
The day after we arrived, Juli lead us on a hike, weaving on and off the dirt road, through gardens, next to homes, and on
footpaths. Finally, we made it to our destination, we were atop a huge outcropping of rocks with panoramic breath-
taking views of the African countryside. Worth the hike!

14. Childlike Truth
As we walked, many children from the homes we
passed, began to follow us. They were curious about
the muzungus (“white people”) and where we were
going. It was a delight to have the children travel with
us. The littlest of smiles, waves, or dancing would bring
out their laughter – a melodic laughter of pure joy from
their hearts.
In many of our pictures you can see the children
wearing what we (Americans) may view as old clothing,
mis-matched, the “wrong gender”, un-seasonal… but to
them it doesn’t matter. What you see may be the only
items of clothing they own. Many go without shoes as
well, not because it’s hot, but because they do not own
any. Even though these children have very little in
material possessions, they were genuinely happy. It
was an utter shock to the soul – these children were
happier than most people in America… how is it that
they can have so little, and be so happy?

15. This series of pictures depicts one of our team members,
Ken (in red), taking pictures of the children. In the first
picture you see Ken taking a picture of the children who
walked with us. Then you see the children run towards
Ken to see the picture. And finally Ken is engulfed by the
children who want to see the picture.
Many of the children had never seen a
camera before. And most had never
seen their reflection, or picture of
themselves. You needed to point out
who was who in the picture(s),
because they did not recognize
themselves.
Listen
to the
Symphony

16. Walking to Kimbilio
Most days we would walk the 40 minutes to and from the hospice to the guest house. Here are some pictures along our daily walk.

17. What does your commute look like?
Juli’s is awesome!
A continued view of our walk to Kimbilio.

18. Hope Moses
Here are pictures of just a few of the
patients at the Living Room who shared
with us their life-story; some cannot
speak, but their stories were shared.
The light in their eyes and the smile on
their faces tell volumes of the care
being received at the hospice. Each and
Jacob every person illustrated to us what it
means to have true joy amongst pain
and suffering.
Mercy (5)
Isaiah Paulina & Caroline
Osoro (3)
Chepchumba (8) Samuel

19. Support & Encouragement
One of our main goals in coming to the hospice, was to support Juli and her staff. Since we were the first team to come to
Kimbilio, the tasks and assignments were not solidified. Our days were very fluid; help out where needed, encourage the staff,
love the patients, support.
(Below): We are stitched quilts to be
hung as wall décor in the common room
and bedrooms. This brought in a lot of
colorful uplifting adornment!
Names from Left: Dar, Silvia, Kari.
(Above): Kari sitting on the veranda, holding Moses’s hand,
listening to a music therapist sing.
Names from left: Joseph, Caroline, Kari, Moses, Teresa.
(Above): Chris working hard with the
kitchen staff. The staff cook 3
nutritious meals and at least 2 (Right): Nurse Michelle listening to
wholesome snacks daily. Meals patient’s ailments and treatment
happen at different intervals courses, assisting with wound care, and
throughout the day, keeping all offering suggestions. Dar (in pink), a
patients and staff well-fed. It is a social worker who is helping to assess
day-long non-stop process! family and social situations to provide
Names from Left: Nicholas, Ken, the best holistic support for each
Kari, Greg, Chris. patient. (With Nurse Rachel)

20. A Breath of Fresh Air
(Above left): A view of the 2 acres of passion fruit on the property.
(Above right): Silvia working to harvest and prune the passion fruit vineyard.
(Below left): Gene and Greg are teaching Jacob how to play chess. Jacob was a
(Above): Osoro is a 3 year old boy who came to the hospice history teacher in Nairobi before an accident occurred that left him paralyzed from
in a desperate attempt to receive help for a large disfiguring the chest down. Jacob loved the intellectual challenge of learning chess!
tumor on his face. His mother found the right place to care Names from left: Jacob, Gene, Greg.
for his needs. Since his first round of chemotherapy, Osoro’s
tumor has shrunk considerably! He will need to receive (Below Right): Ken is working to make pieces, for their homemade chess board, out
several more rounds of chemo. Read more about Osoro’s of wood and metal scraps.
incredible story.
Osoro was a bit afraid of white people. He had never seen
any before coming to the hospice, so he shied away from any
eye contact or attempted communication. Osoro is from a
different tribe and doesn’t understand Swahili or English.
But Cassidy’s warm heart and spirit soften Osoro’s heart.
Osoro connected with Cassidy, they played soccer and blocks
together! When it was time to leave for the day, Osoro gave
Cassidy a hug and cried when he left. What a treasured
memory.
Names from left: Rachel, Osoro, Juli, Cassidy.

21. Days Full of Care
Eddah (left) and Emily (right) helping Chris and Michelle holding Mercy
to make pull-string bags to be sold and Chepchumba.
to World Vision and to visitors.
Silvia spending time with Teresa and Mary. The team on a morning home visit.

22. Home Visits
One day we walked with Henry (left) into the
surrounding villages to check in on patients living
with HIV/AIDS.
We were able to visit two homes on our outing.
Both families graciously invited us into their
homes and shared their story with us. These
families were hurting badly medically and
economically. However, there was never a
sense of defeat – they were HIV+, but still had
light in their eyes and hope in their hearts.
(Above): Henry took us all throughout the
(Above): Standing in front of the hospice with
The hospice continues to support and assist the countryside to get to the homes. We walked
Henry after our home visits.
community based program, about 6 miles!
(Below): Some children we met along our walk.
Tumaini na Afya (Hope and Health). This (Below): We trekked a good distance along the
organization was born in response to the needs railroad tracks.
of the community surrounding HIV in October of
2004. The nature and vision of Tumaini na Afya
focuses on the prevention of HIV/AIDS,
mobilizing those who are already infected with
the virus for treatment services, as well as
continued follow-up and care within the
community.
Some of the ongoing programs within Tumaini
na Afya include: HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns;
HIV 101 trainings targeting school aged students;
home-based care for people living with
HIV/AIDS, other chronic illnesses and orphans
and vulnerable children.

23. Gifts from St.Catherine’s
In the beginning stages of the hospice, Juli and the
head staff had visited a Catholic hospice, in Kisumu,
Kenya, to see how they were running their care
center. A year later Juli received a call sharing that
the Kisumu hospice, St. Catherine’s, was closing and
that Mother Superior wanted to speak with her in
person. Juli and her head team travelled to Kisumu
for the conference. In their meeting Mother
Superior handed Juli a list of hospital supplies and
asked if the Kimbilio Hospice could use any of
them. On this page-long list were supplies that the
Kimbilio staff has been praying for and saving to
purchase. The team’s mouths dropped when
Mother Superior said, “It’s all yours. Come pick it
up next week.” Incredible!!
That “next week” fell right during our visit, so all of
our male team members drove out to Kisumu to
pick up these items. The drive to Kisumu was a
long 3 hours, on bumpy roads, in the back of the
ambulance. When our team finally arrived, they
were amazed at all the items that were being
provided; PLUS there were numerous extra gifts
being donated in addition to the long list previously
provided. What a blessing!
Kimbilio received over $100,000 in medical
equipment from St. Catherine’s Hospice. Gifts
included 7 hospital beds, geriatric chairs, bedside
tables, wheel chairs, and many many boxes of
medical supplies and clothing!

24. Children’s Home
Most evenings we walked to the Empowering Lives International
children orphanage to participate and listen to the children’s
nightly devotions. As soon as we stepped foot on to the property
of the children’s home, children would run up to us, hug us, giggle
and talk with us (in English). We would be led by hand to the
small round structure where devotions would be held. The
evening of devotions would include packing in to a small domed
structure with 100+ children, singing, dancing, reciting Bible
verses from memory, and the sharing of a story/lesson and/or
personal testimony.
Two evenings, our team participated a bit more by teaching the
children songs and performing two small skits – David and
Goliath, and Daniel and the lions den.
Click here to hear the children singing at their nightly devotions.
To find out more about the children’s home in Kipkaren, and
about the great movements Empowering Lives International is
doing in Africa, click here.
(Above): Silvia and
Michelle with some
children at the
children’s home.
(Right): A picture of the
homes and common
space structures at the
Kipkaren orphanage.

25. Church
Every Sunday the community of Kipkaren convene at church, eager to whole-heartedly worship God, learn, and love. There are many waves of devotions in the 3-4
hour long service. Each service begins with singing and dancing, then a small sermon, next more singing and dancing, then at least an hour-long sermon, followed by
tithing, and then possibly a combination of more singing, a sermon, or testimonies from the church community. Any person can get up during service and share
their personal testimony, impactful Bible teachings, encouragement, and words of wisdom. It was inspiring to see the pure-hearted devotions of the Kenyans. The
members of this community have so little, yet give so much. They are starving, dying of illnesses, orphaned, widowed, poor, broken, yet they give praise for the
good in their life. What a lesson to witness; what a lesson to emulate.
The church has room to seat about 220 people inside. When you walk in the double doors at the back of the church, you see a room packed to it’s brim with green
plastic patio chairs, a small stage in the front, and a foldable table with an electronic keyboard and two microphones placed on top. The church is simplistic, but
incredibly inviting and spiritual. Every seat in the church is filled, there are people crowding around the doors, and children sitting in all the outside window sills to
hear the message. Wow!
Being guests of the community, we were ushered to the front two rows of the church. It was nice to have an unobstructed view of the stage, however, this also
proved to give easy access to pull our team members up on stage to dance with in front of the congregation! The amount of dancing that was done, inside the hot
church (no A/C with 200+ people), truly was an invigorating cardio workout.
Powerful. Moving. Inspiring.
Our team standing outside the
church. These are the double
doors in the back of the
church, where people are
crowded around to worship
and hear the messages.

26. Kipkaren River
We went on a hike to see the
Kipkaren River. This used to be the
only source of drinking and bathing
water for the village (look at the
brown color of the water). Living
Room Ministries raised money to drill
several boreholes, providing clean
water at many of the schools/training
centers, orphanage, medical clinic,
and hospice. There is also a
community spicket at the hospice,
giving access to clean water for all the
villagers.
The bridge that Kari is standing
in front of was built by Living
Room Ministries. There used to
be a rope bridge crossing the
river, but it was destroyed in a
storm. After this happened, the
community on the other side of
the river would stand on the
shoreline and call out, singing for
help; they asked to bring them
Jesus. Without the bridge, this
community had no access to the
church or way to cross the swift
moving river. Living Room
answered their prayers by
building this sturdy bridge.

27. World Hospice Day
Celebrating on the Kimbilio Hospice veranda.
The day we arrived to Kipkaren was World Hospice Day, however, the staff decided to postpone celebrating it for a few days for our
welcoming. It was amazing to be in Kenya to celebrate Kimbilio’s first World Hospice Day! All of the patients were brought to the
veranda, in mixture with staff from the hospice and medical clinic, community members, and our team members. It was a packed on
the veranda! We were able to hear stories of how instrumental Kimbilio has been in everyone’s lives, the extraordinary care and love
that is provided, heart-breaking and heart-warming testimonies, praises given to the Lord, and kudos to the staff, all interlaced with
laughter, smiles, and joy. Juli and her team change the lives of every person they come into contact with. We are still in awe that we
were able to spend two weeks in Africa with this remarkable community. The Kimbilio Hospice is a miraculous, spiritual, and healing
home like no other.

28. Our hearts have been moved,
our emotions transformed,
our minds inspired,
our spirits stirred.
We are ready to go.

29. Seeking
Go where? Well, we’re not sure yet. We feel compelled to do more,
be more, share more. Our time in Africa opened our eyes to the
great need in the world, and to the vast differences between the
American lifestyle and the poverty most of the world lives in…
If you have food in your refrigerator
Clothes in your closet
A bed to sleep on
And a roof over your head
You are richer than 75% of the world
While in Kenya our hearts were broken by the poor - poor in spirit,
poor in family, poor in food and clothing, poor in health, poor in
education. Our hearts were broken, but then knitted back together
with the thread of the importance of the field of missions. We have
been forever changed, inspired, and set in to motion. We are ready
All those people goin' somewhere to go back out to serve others.
Why have I never cared?
Since returning home, we have been researching opportunities for us
Give me Your eyes for just one second to serve more long-term overseas. We are searching to find the right
Give me Your eyes so I can see fit for us, where we can use our talents, skills, and education to help
Everything that I keep missing those in need. We would love for you to trek with us on this journey
Give me Your love for humanity of figuring out what is next for us; please pray for us, ask questions,
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
inquire on where we’re at in our process, support us in this new life-
The ones that are far beyond my reach
changing challenge. We are very excited to see what doors God will
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
open for us! Thank you for allowing us to share our hearts with you.
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Listen to Brandon Heath “Give Me Your Eyes”

30. Asante Sana! (Thank You in Swahili)
Thank you for sharing in this journey with us! If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. Please
call or email us 
Here are two of our online albums from our trip. There will be pictures in both that are not shown in this presentation; there is
just too much goodness to fit it all in! And when we receive the pictures from our trip’s photographer, we will share them with
you also!
Mission Trip: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.645926072049.2113316.23801571&type=1&l=84edc9c606
Safari: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.645937139869.2113317.23801571&type=1&l=ac8a99731d
Team’s Blog while in Kenya: http://livingroomteam.blogspot.com/
At our good-bye celebration we were
adorned with colorful Maasai Kangas.

31. Did you know?
Click for more details...
Cancer Rates in Africa… are expected to grow by 400% over the next 50 years.
80% of Cancer Patients in Africa… have advanced incurable disease at first presentation to a health facility.
Palliative Care is… an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families.
Water Problems Affect… half of humanity.
40 Million People Live With… HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004.
72 Million Children… of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005.
24,000 Children… Die Each Day due to Poverty.
Half of the World… over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.