Kibera

Words and pictures cannot describe the experience i had today. The team visited Kibera, the biggest slum in Africa - the slum is fourteen square kilometers and contains over a million people. Imagine the worst living condition you can imagine - the smell, the sites, the trash - and make it about 1000 times worse. We walked through the maze of rusted tin shacks to Mogosa an orphanage/ school for over 170 kids ranging from 1 year to high school age. The two story school, hidden in the center of the slum, takes up approximately the size of a small Starbucks. The children along with the directors of the school put on a performance of worship songs, poetry, and authentic Kenyan dances. The faces and the voices of the children were incredible. The songs and the dances were contagious (yes we were dancing and singing with over a hundred kids... even our professors were dancing). The joy, the hope, and the faith of these children put me in tears. To pray and worship with these beautiful people was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. There is no way i can do this experience justice... it will be weeks until i can fathom all that i was blessed to be a part of today. I wish and pray that my faith and joy could just be a fraction of what theirs is. I don't think i should write more because I am still reeling from the day. Much love.
Humbly yours, Nathan

I Made It!!!

Hello everyone... i made it here just fine. The last three days have been a non stop... i wish i could share everything with you. Nairobi is extremely busy, dirty, loud, but very western. I don't care for the city much, but we got to visit a Masai village yesterday. We drove an hour and a half out there to find the Masai doing what they've done forever... herding cattle. We saw some beautiful country. The team is headed out again today to finish the filter and do some more tests. The workers at the hotel are so friendly and helpful... willing to walk you places in the rain, so many stories. I may have the opportunity to go to stay at a Masai village with Ole and Peter... two Masai who are hired drivers, but good friends. We have been given an insiders tour of Kenya so far... not the tourist view, but the view that only a Kenyan would be able to show us. We saw a Jua-Kali which literally means hot sun, but is a place that can best be described as a sweatshop mixed filled with entrepreneurs and engineers. We had a guided tour through the noisest most tetanus ridden environment I have ever seen. More to come later... I love you all.

Nate

London!

I made it to london! What a trip so far. Delayed flights are awesome. Guess i am supposed to work on my patients during this trip. I sat with a nice couple from spokane/california on the first leg of my trip. Don is a voice actor so the whole conversation was like talking to a radio announcer with a smooth deep voice. I said goodbye to them (Thank you Ransons for your prayers!) and headed to my next 9.5 hour flight to london. Instead of sitting next to the cute girls with accents i sat with a Lebanese man name Fadi. Fadi is probably one of the nicest most genuine (talkative) people i know. For about the next 3 hours strait, i learned about the Islam faith and how it differs from Christianity. Long story short, i was humbled by this man's love for God and his caring heart. We didn't really agree upon the idea of a trinity, or that jesus wasn't who he said he was, but we still have a very deep, emotional conversation. We exchanged email addresses and as we were walking out of the terminal he wished me well on my trip, and insisted that i take his nice watch because i needed more than he did (i forgot my watch in spokane). I was about in tears because of his generosity. We hugged, said goodbye and i got on the bus to London. I am still reeling from the love a complete stranger showed me... i really dont know what else to say about that. I got to play in london for awhile... got lost several times... took a lot of pictures... but managed to make it back to my hotel in the dark. It's pouring down rain outside right now... but it's fitting. I'm pooped. The 25 hours of being awake is catching up with me. Thank you for all your prayers. I hope to update when i get to Africa. Much love.

Ready, set, go!

Yes it is true, I will be leaving for Nairobi, Kenya for the next month. To some of you this may be a surprise, to others old news. I am sorry if I haven’t kept in touch with all of you but hopefully this will give you a glimpse of what is going on in my life.

While I am there I plan on working with Clearwater Aid, the University of Idaho capstone design team that is working towards a cheap renewable water filter for the Kenyan people. After the first week in March, the U of I team will return to the U.S. and I will hopefully connect with some local pastors that are working in and around Nairobi. I am excited to see what opportunities and challenges God presents me.

I hope to be able to update a few times while I am in Kenya, but I am playing that by ear. I would love to hear from everyone, however I don’t promise to get back to you until I get back to the states. If you are reading this, you most likely have my email address, but if for some reason you don’t, you can contact me at nathan.cropper@gmail.com.

If you feel so inclined I would love prayer for health, safety, for the people God will bring into my life, that God would continue to refine me and form me, and that my life will be used for His glory.

I love you all. In Him… Nate