God is faithful - Amen!

Went to services today at AIC Fellowship in Eldoret, they have two services in English and one in Kiswahili. We were told the English service started at 9:30 so we were getting ready to leave by 9 when Ruth told us service started at 9. So needless to say we missed that service and ended up going to the Kiswahili service at 11 (the first English service was at 8). We did hear the last few minutes of the English service and it reiterated what Pastor Joshua had said yesterday about giving the children the best of what we have not just our leftovers. The sermon was on the prodigal son and how the father gave the son the “best robe”. Mother Teresa said the same thing – we must not think that the poor and orphaned are less deserving of the best we have to offer. Christ died for all of us and He told us to take care of the widows and orphans.

I am humbled by how the families we’ve met are totally relying on God. They have no one else to rely on – no work, no government assistance, no church assistance (because of lack of funds), they have total reliance on God and He is ALWAYS faithful! I’ve heard some wonderful testimonies and miracles happening with the families and the people who are faithful to God. That strengthens my faith immensely and shows me that God is working in all our lives. I thank God for His faithfulness and provision and want to keep that prayer of thanksgiving in my heart daily!
Here are a couple of pictures from Eldama Ravine that I was unable to download. The first is Daniel from the children’s village and the second is the dedication of items for the children. The one thing that we have made sure of is that when anyone receives items they know that it’s from God, not from the muzungus! God is providing these items through all of you and we want the children to know that God loves them and will provide for them. I forgot to tell you that when we first stopped at Eldama Ravine Francisca told us that some of the children had been fasting and praying for our safe arrival five days prior to our arrival! These children who have very little food were willing to give that up for prayer and fasting on our behalf – and God hears the cries of His children! Amen! Francisca said she would ask where someone was and they would say they were going to the “prayer room” for prayer. What an encouragement these children are to me – they too have total reliance on God in all things – Praise His holy name! Another testimony from Eldama Ravine – the children said they wanted meat on Sunday after church. Francisca told us that meat is rare and if they get it each child will on get one small piece, so she really didn’t think it was going to be possible to get that much meat for all the children. Well the children prayed at church for meat and when they got home a deer was at the gate of their home! She said that deer are around but in the forest never near the homes! So they killed the deer and all the children ate meat that night! God does hear the prayers of His children! I have so many stories like this one that once you hear them there is no way you cannot believe in the saving grace of our Father. We talked about how if you ask for a fish you won’t be given a stone and God heard these children and answered them. He is father to the fatherless and husband to the widow – I’ve seen God at work here and it’s something I will carry with me always.

Please pray for the Kigen family – Evelyn, Lucy, Shem, James and Jonathan, whom we have been staying with. They have been wonderful hosts and we’ve had some wonderful conversations about differing cultures. Ask Chuck when the next time is that I will kneel before talking to him!

My love to everyone back home and know that God is alive and well here in Kenya!

Blessings upon blessings!

We spent the afternoon at Neema House (Grace House) with Pastor Joshua and his wife, Miriam. They have a home for children infected/affected by HIV/AIDS. What a blessing it was to meet with them and play with the children! It was also encouraging to hear their testimonies about how God has worked and continues to work every day in their lives. From Pastor and his wife leaving a paying job to heed the call God placed on their hearts, to expansion of facilities, to food for the children – God provides for them all every day! The house was noisy with 28 children (most under the age of 5!) but was a warm and loving environment. Pastor said people ridiculed him for building such a nice building for the children to live in, but he told them that these children were given the same grace as all of us and that Christ died for them too. He wants them to have a home and hope for the future and by the looks of it these children are loved beyond comprehension. Several of them were abandoned in the hospital because they were infected and some were brought in by well wishers when they found out the child’s parents died. One child they found in the bush where he had been left by either a parent or relative – many of the children had to be named by Joshua and Miriam because they were abandoned at as young as 2 weeks. The little boy always wanted to touch Chuck's hairy face and the little girl, Sharon is a miracle baby. They were told she wouldn't live past a couple of days because her organs were shutting down. But God granted a miracle and she's alive and well - Praise God! Please pray for Joshua, Miriam and the children of Neema House for God’s continued providence and blessings to be poured out upon them. These children are considered useless, but this home is giving them a sense of worth through Jesus Christ and His love.

Please continue to pray that we remain in God’s will. Things are progressing well and I can see God’s hand on so many things – what an awesome experience to watch!

Family visits

This is Magie’s sons and sisters. They are wonderful hosts and it was great meeting her dad. He had to leave today for Uganda but we had a great visit.

Then we visited Ruth’s family. From the back is Mutuku (our driver), Ruth’s sister-in-law, Ann, Ruth’s sister, Esther then Ruth, in front is Ruth’s brother, Mutuku, and her father, Peter. We had a wonderful visit with them as well.

After our visits I retired to my room early to read and get on the internet! Yes we have a mobile modem now. It’s not the fastest but I can get on the internet wherever Safaricom is located – which is pretty much all over Kenya!

Another day in Eldama Ravine

We spent the afternoon at Eldama Ravine and had fun with the kids. Chuck took the boys to get uniforms and shoes while I interviewed all the girls and got pictures of each one. Then it was the girls turn to go to town and I interviewed the boys. Lydia and Symon were very helpful in translating for me. It went very well and I got some good shots of the kids. Before we left they dedicated all the supplies that were purchased and we all thanked God for His provision and love for us all.


Then it was back to Johnny and Kate’s before taking off to Eldoret tomorrow (after stopping first at Eldama Ravine for a little bit!)

Sorry about the pictures, I wasn't able to download them. Hopefully I can try again tomorrow.

The road to Eldoret!

The board at Eldama Ravine is working quickly (with the Lord’s guidance of course) on getting some projects started so that when we swing back through there will be some progress. They are working on the toilets – getting the water working so they will flush and getting cement floors poured around the toilets. We are putting up a store (storage room) behind the girl’s dormitory (that’s the picture of the girls dorm with the area for the store). Praise God for His providence and remember that your donation goes directly to helping the impoverished children in Kenya – we make sure of that!
Then it was off to Eldoret to see Magie Kigen’s family and Ruth Banda’s family (remember Magie is the director of Eldama Ravine Children’s Village and Ruth is the house mom at Nice View Academy). The landscape is beautiful as you can see. And when we went through town I was bummed that we would be gone before the bodybuilding competition!
It’s a long, bumpy drive but we made it safely and we thank God for His protection.

It was a good day!

We spent the afternoon at Eldama Ravine and had fun with the kids. Chuck took the boys to get uniforms and shoes while I interviewed all the girls and got pictures of each one. Then it was the girls turn to go to town and I interviewed the boys. Lydia and Symon were very helpful in translating for me. It went very well and I got some good shots of the kids. Before we left they dedicated all the supplies that were purchased and we all thanked God for His provision and love for us all.

Then it was back to Johnny and Kate’s before taking off to Eldoret tomorrow (after stopping first at Eldama Ravine for a little bit!)

A day of shopping for supplies for Eldama Ravine

While we were shopping for supplies in Nakuru I saw an image that will forever be in my mind. Four boys, ages from around 12-14, stood in front of the truck and were sniffing glue. My heart went out to them and I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do. I prayed for those that were helping the street kids and I prayed for those boys – but I felt like the people who say “God bless you” and move on. It gave me a better perspective on how much help is still needed for the children at Nice View, Mercy Child and Eldama Ravine. Without a place to go these kids would be on the streets like these boys – with no home, no food, no love. I was able to talk to the kids at Eldama Ravine and tell them how thankful I am that God brought them to a home where people love them and take care of them. Thank you Lord for bringing me into their lives to see the transformation in them and be a part of their lives in some small way.
Chuck spent about an hour playing Frisbee with the kids and they loved it! There was laughter all day long and the Chief of Eldama Ravine asked us if we could hear what was happening. He said there was joy in the air and the children were happy and full of laughter now. What a blessing that is to be a part of!

I'm thanking God for 25 wonderful years of marriage to my best friend!

Eldama Ravine Children's Village at last!

We went to Eldama Ravine Children’s Village today and what a blessing that was! These kids are such a gift from God and I thank Him for allowing me to meet them personally. These are all the kids because some of them were in school. We had a tour of the facility and Chuck and Francisca already have projects in the making! So remember that these projects take cash – please consider a onetime or monthly donation so that these kids can continue to see hope in their lives and be given the necessities in life. This girl, Gladys, was walking around and I asked Francisca if she was ok because she looks so skinny. Francisca told me that she’s very healthy now that she is at the Village. When she first came to them she was “hard to look at” because she was only skin and bones and very unhealthy – but now she is smiling and playing with the other children and is eating a lot - of which I can attest to because I watched her! Praise God for His faithfulness to these orphans!

Off to Nakuru

Before reaching Nakuru we stopped at Mercy to see everyone and Mama (the house mother there) was so happy with everything that has happened so far that she started to cry. To see her get so emotional over a few blankets and uniforms really humbles me. The things we take for granted in the US always hits me while we are here. Please, again, prayerfully consider helping this ministry so these children can continue to receive the necessities in life that we tend to take for granted.
As I’m sure many of you heard, we were involved in a “smash and grab” in Nairobi. We are fine so now I can tell you about it. A car pulled in front of us and another behind us, then a bunch of guys surrounded the car and started banging on the windows. They opened Ruth’s door and when Chuck looked around to help her someone reached in and took his cell phone from the counsel of the car! We didn’t notice at first but when we started to drive away, Mutuku, our driver, said people do that to get things out of the car. So Chuck looked around and saw that his phone was gone! But by that time it was too late to do anything so we just kept driving. We were all pretty quiet for awhile and wondering how we were going to get in contact with Johnny and Kate since all our phone numbers were on Chucks phone. But he remembered that we had the computer which has all his contacts on it. So we got over it pretty quickly and were just thankful that no one was hurt. As a matter of fact, Ruth said she probably hurt the guy who opened her door since she slammed it on his head! But you always think about those “what if’s” afterward, but again I’m just thankful that no one was hurt.
But then we had a treat! Before arriving in Nakuru we stopped at a rest area for lunch and saw storks and a monkey eating out of the garbage. He was cute! Then on the highway we saw a herd of zebra! They were crossing the road so we had to stop and wait for them. That was pretty awesome and a great way to get the “smash and grab” out of our heads. God’s creations always amaze me!
It was a pretty eventful day and we were happy to be at Johnny and Kate’s and we thank them immensely for their hospitality – especially with 16 (I think that’s the total – sorry Kate if it’s not!) people already in their home!

Off to Nakuru and Eldama Ravine

We are off to meet with Pastor John Brooks in Nakuru and meet the children at Eldama Ravine. Hopefully we will be able to post during the week, but we'll see. Oh by the way, we got Robert to the airport last night. We gave him some pointers so he can get around the various airports. I believe he had a wonderful time with kids - he was sad to leave them but also very excited to get back to his family in the States. Please keep the children in your prayers and that we will continue to walk in God's will in this ministry. Thank you for all your prayers thus far.

Another shopping day in Nairobi

Another day in Nairobi after stopping at Mercy to see the kids for a few minutes. Today we got mattresses, uniforms and school shoes. After purchasing the uniforms we got a call from Pastor Mwangange (the founder of Mercy) saying he had five more orphans at his office that he would be bringing to Mercy. This is why your support is so necessary – children are orphaned everywhere here and without someone to take them in and feed and clothe them where would they go? Touching Jesus every day in these children is a humbling experience and I pray that you will consider helping.
We had to get a truck to haul all the mattresses but we finally got everything back to Mercy around 8:30pm. When we opened up the back of our vehicle and the kids saw the stacks of shoes they started clapping and saying “thank you” and singing a song that said “what can I say to Jesus but thank you”. That said it all to me. What gratefulness they have in their hearts for everything and they know that it is because of Jesus that they are being given these gifts. Thank you for helping that become a reality in their lives. And I’m not ashamed to ask again and again for your support – when did we see you hungry, when did we see you thirsty – these children are hungry, thirsty and open for God’s love.

Meeting the kids at Mercy Child Foundation

Haven’t gotten the internet to work yet. I think I loaded it incorrectly on the computer so we have to unload and reload. But that will have to wait until we get back from our safari (journey). We went to Mercy Child Foundation today and found out that it is only 20 kilometers from Nice View! So that changed out plans a bit because we thought it was closer to Nairobi so we’d be staying there, but being so close to home it’s only about 20 minutes to get there. We visited the children and they sang us some songs and we got to hang out for a bit. Then we handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, pens, pencils, rulers and the best part was the footballs! Thank you to Colorado – the kids loved the balls! The children here are just like the kids in Tala the first time we met. Shy and not really sure what to make of us, but after handing out stuff I think they relaxed a bit. I had time today to interview just three girls but what a delight they are. Nancy is very helpful as my interpreter and Doris is very shy yet has a very commanding voice when she speaks. Then it was off to Nairobi to purchase some much needed items. Blankets, backpacks, towels and some school supplies were at the top of the list for today. We will be going again tomorrow for another load of items – so please remember every dollar you contribute counts and helps support these orphanages.
What a blessing God has bestowed on us yet again – to meet these beautiful children. These children who now know that others care about them and that reality may bring them to see the ultimate giver of love, Christ. Please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry on a monthly basis so that Mercy Child Foundation, Nice View Academy/Orphanage and Eldama Ravine Children’s Village may continue to feed, clothe, shelter and educate these children who are in desperate need of these necessities. God is working through these children and I know that the future of Kenya is in their hearts.

Slow day

Chuck is feeling much better – we are just thankful it wasn’t malaria! I told him I’ll have to pack our own medical supplies to use at the clinic if we need an injection for malaria – but I said I’d take the pills instead of the injection. We are working on getting the internet working at the Academy so hopefully that will work – as they say in Kenya – it will work!

We didn't have time to stay for the bible study but we were able to drop off the Proclaimers and they were a big hit. When we are able to attend the next bible study I will let you know how it goes.

Meeting old friends!

Today we met up with our friend Zoom. He remembered how to do pound from last time and he was very happy to see us again. We gave him some clothes and some shilling to get his tooth fixed and told him we would be around for a couple of months. Then we went to school where we shooed the cow out of the dorm area, Robert hung up mosquito nets (of which I had to emphasize to the kids to actually use now that they were up!) and we gave Josephine, Gideon’s househelp, some clothes and shoes for her children. It was a slow day but God was working throughout it all! Plus, Chuck was feeling a little better – thanks for the prayers!

Prayer for healing

Chuck woke up feeling rotten today. Please pray for his healing. We left the house late and went to the school. After arriving there we found out that Tati was sick, most likely with malaria, and needed to go to the clinic. So Chuck had some bills to pay in Tala – rice, corn, salt, tea, sugar – those types of items (which we paid to supply the Academy until the end of November) and while there I found some new friends! Then we took Tati to get an injection for malaria. The malaria treatment is very quick and he should be feeling much better by tomorrow. We also gave the clinician the box we brought with us from Project Cure. He was like a kid at Christmas with this stuff. His wife is a nurse and she kept commenting on the high quality of the items and he told us that most of the items he couldn’t afford for his clinic. He said it was by God’s grace that our relationship with Gideon came together with him and I thank God for being a part of this to help the local community have a little bit better health care available. I can’t say enough of how your support has helped this community, especially Nice View. Please pray about your involvement and ability to help these children. The post date on this is actually in the evening, but if I put pm you guys won't be able to read it until tomorrow the 19th! So I left it for am - weird huh!?

Sunday services

This is Chuck with his friend, Tom. They met last time and he found us right away and sat with us during services. It was a long service – a little over three hours! There was a lot of singing and collections, but a new pastor was there and he actually had a very good message. He was able to speak for about 30 minutes! But I don’t know how many people were paying attention after 2 ½ hours! He spoke on Galatians 2:20 – to not look back at the past, to focus on the now, and not to worry about the future because God is in control. He was very good and I learned that the church is hoping he will be their new pastor. We learned of some news today (that I will not go into here) about the church and ask that you keep the church leadership in your prayers. I am looking forward to attending this Wednesday’s bible study and I will be sure to fill you in on how that goes. After church we picked up Robert from the Academy – he had left with the students before the service was over – and went home for a very late lunch. I did get the privilege of having mwaitu (grandmother) sing for me – isn’t she beautiful!? Chuck went to bed early because he isn’t feeling well (keep him in your prayers) and we had several visitors stay until around 8:30pm. At that time I excused myself from having dinner and went to bed! It seemed like a very long day although it was mostly time at church! Thank you for your prayers and please keep the church and its leadership in your prayers.

Another glorious day in Kenya!

What a day! Pauline, Ruth and I unpacked all the suitcases and organized the store (storage room). These shelves were empty until we filled them up with your generous donations! And on one wall we lined suitcases filled with clothes. Robert made several friends and showed a couple of the boys how to play hackie sack. We were anxious to see how the kids would react to Frisbees so we had to throw a couple out to them. They didn’t know how to play with it but after much practice they were doing pretty well. (I have video tape which I will not attempt to put on the blog from here!) But they played all afternoon until dinner time at which time Chuck and Robert served dinner. They were relieved of their duties by Ann (the cook) and Mutie (the night watchman) because they were serving too much food to each child and they would run out. Lucky for them Ann and Mutie saved them! Then after dinner Chuck handed out sweets to end the day. It was a busy day for all but a glorious one and I pray that God was pleased with what was accomplished. By the way, here are new additions to the Academy!

Our First Day!

Ok, in case anyone is wondering, yes I am serving Chuck and Robert! I told Pauline that I had stopped doing that the minute I hit Nairobi going home but would begin being the African woman once again. After a late breakfast our first stop was the Acacia (the supermarket) for some supplies and sweets for the kids. We were told that the workers at the Acacia were wondering when they should start stocking sweets again and Pauline told them NOW since we were landing that very day! Then it was off to the Academy and it was so exciting! I even forgot to get my video camera out for the welcome program but I so enjoyed it that you’ll just have to trust me that it was fantastic. But I do have pictures for you! (and here’s one of me using my new camera!) Hugs were handed out like sweets and it was glorious to be with them again. I thank God for this opportunity to be with His children again. I can’t speak for Robert but I believe he had a great time too. While we were touring the Academy with Robert he made some new friends and even served them dinner! Pauline and Ruth were quite surprised to see Robert’s interest in the kitchen and when I told them he cooks at home they couldn’t believe that a man would be in the kitchen.
It was such a joy to see our Kenyan family again and get right back into life with them. Thank you Father for your love, your work in our lives and the opportunity to share that love with these children. I look forward to sharing more stories and pictures with you soon. God is good all the time!

Travel Day

First a big thank you to everyone who helped get our luggage to the airport at 3 a.m. (Joe and Allen you know who you are), my kids and Rachael for coming out so early to see her husband off to Kenya. We were very thankful that God gave us a cordial person at the Northwest counter where we had to check in 30 pieces of luggage! We had over 2100 lbs going with us – and praise God for His providence! After that we just had to wait for our plane to depart. That's Robert admiring the "big plane" like a kid! Robert and I took some motion sickness meds (I did not want another Heathrow experience for me or Robert!) and we were on the flight to Detroit. No issues there really because it’s a short flight (4 hours) compared to the next flight of 8 hours and then another for 9 hours! Rachael he did great on all flights – a little sleep deprived but relieved when it was finally over. We got our visas, corralled our luggage (all our luggage - Praise God!) and found Gideon and Pauline. Then it was about an hour drive to the academy to drop off most of the luggage. That took another hour then we were finally able to go home and there we found an extension on our home for Robert! I'll get photos of that later. So now he has his own bedroom and bathroom for privacy. Gideon and Pauline worked feverishly for a month getting it ready because they wanted to make their visitors feel comfortable. And Pauline said that when Robert brings his wife and kids back they will have a home to come to! We had a very late dinner (around 1:30am) then it was off to bed. It was so exciting to see Gideon and Pauline again! Now I can’t wait to see the kids tomorrow. Please pray that this trip is in line with what God has for us to do.

Almost ready!

As you can see we had quite a jumble of stuff in our living room for a couple of days while we packed the 1 ton of material going with us! But after it was all said and done we have 30 lugagges/boxes going with us. Magie (the director of Eldama Ravine Children's Village) came by to see all that God has provided for the orphanages and we praised God for His providence and faithfulness. Thank you to everyone who donated items for us to take with us. Please pray that all the items make it to Nairobi from begining to end. Now we are doing last minute details, getting our carry-ons packed and spending time with the kids before taking off. Thank you for your continued prayers that this ministry remain in God's will. I look forward to greeting my kids again at Nice View and meeting my new children at Eldama Ravine and Mercy Child Foundation. Watch the blog for pictures (from my new dontated camera - thank you Jeanne!) and updates from the orphanages. What a safari (journey) God has brought to us and I want you all to be able to participate with us even if it is only through pictures. God is good all the time and that is His nature!

Leaving again!

I can't believe it is coming up so fast! We leave August 12 at 2:30 in the morning! We are going to start packing and getting our literal TON of stuff organized to go. As you can see our garage and closet are full and ready to be packed! Thank you to everyone who donated items to go with us. I can't wait to see the children's faces when they get their new clothes, books, toys, sports equipment and shoes. Not to mention all the school supplies also going with us. I found out last week that since Nice View Academy has been in existence they have placed 27th or 28th (out of 28 schools) overall for their testing scores. Their last scores for the first half of the year they placed 3rd! We were told this is because of several reasons: 1) they now have adequate school supplies. 2) more text books (instead of 20 children sharing a text book it's now only 4 children sharing). 3) the teachers have adequate teaching tools and that makes them excited to teach and 4) the children have seen that someone cares about them and their future (all of us but ultimately God) and this makes them ready to learn and want to better themselves. They now have hope for the future because God touched your heart and you were moved to help. Thank you for all your support, financially and physically, and please continue to pray that God's will be done in this ministry.