We didn’t visit Sister Pauline today because we had some business to attend to in Tala before school. The afternoon was quite busy because the construction crew is getting ready to pour the slab for the first floor. It was pretty neat watching them get the planks ready – they cut a tree down from the property, trim the bark off it with a chain saw and then cut individual planks. They are pretty accurate with the cuts, but watching them actually making the planks is amazing! They plan on pouring the cement tomorrow and get it formed for the first floor. It’s going to be exciting to see it go up! Thanks to all of you for making this possible! God is working here in Tala and not only us, but everyone around can see it!
Then just before we were about to leave it started raining. And when it rains here you don’t do anything! So we sat in the office working on computers, talking and reading. There’s no rush around here to get anywhere or do anything! I want to go over to the dorms and see how they look now after a rain. Before we got the stone poured in the courtyard it got very muddy and messy for the borders, but now we have stone down so it will stay a little neater. Please keep the students, staff and workers in your prayers for safety and good studies (although I don’t think that is good grammer!)

Here’s a picture of the dorm area with the new stone after the rain. The teachers who stay here loved it because it wasn’t messy with mud and the kids weren’t slipping around. So we’ve started putting stone in the school yard area too so that will be less muddy during the rains.

Another hot day today so no visiting, but Pauline had school business in Machakos so we went with her there. The land there is beautiful and it’s kind of like Phoenix, in a valley. But their mountains are very green compared to Phoenix. They also have a spot as you progress down into the valley that when you stop there and pour water on the ground it will run uphill not down! We tried it and it’s true! We also left the car in neutral and watched as it rolled uphill! It was crazy! When we got back to the Academy we didn’t have any computers plus the electricity was down so I took a nap! So it was a very lazy afternoon. Before we left a group of girls were marching and singing. The leader is a student and very good at organizing the girls. She got them all together for this picture! I had to shoo the boys away because it’s a “girls only” club! Then just as we were leaving a child cut his foot on a latrine door so we had to take him to the doctors. Nothing to serious, thank God and thankfully we were still at the Academy with a vehicle to take him to the doctors! It’s those little miracles that we sometimes forget to see, but I thank God for them.
Tonight for dinner we had fresh Talipia from the market. My stand on food here is don’t ask, don’t tell! We are being very careful with the water though and Pauline is a big help in that area because she doesn’t drink the water either! We picked the fish up before dinner already prepared but it had its head and tail on! Grace (Pauline and Gideon’s daughter) and I couldn’t look at it so they had Evelyn cut the heads off. After that it was quite tasty! But Pauline thought it was funny that I didn’t like the head on the fish. I had a laugh with her though because she couldn’t believe that I eat crab! I told her when she comes to the states she’ll have to try it since I’m trying so many African dishes! Then we received a call from the doctor who said he’d have to take the boy into the hospital because he had torn his tendon in his heel. He’ll be ok but it was a little more than just a bad scrape. Keep him in your prayers for quick healing and no infection.
Tomorrow we are visiting Sister Pauline at the Holy Rosary College just down the road from the Academy. The campus was broken into a few nights ago so we are going to offer our regrets for the situation. Thankfully no one was hurt but it gave us some conversation because the two night watchmen there ran away when the intruders came in! So we asked how our night watchmen would react and Gideon said they would stay and protect the children. We have some wonderful, God-fearing people working here. Please keep the staff and students of Nice View in your prayers. Tuonane kesho! (see you tomorrow!)

I am still trying to get used to “African time”! There seems to be no planning, just wake up, decide what you are going to do that day and then figure out how you will do it. Even the timing throughout the day is not scheduled. Just whenever you get around to doing something it will begin to get done (not finished!) We were having tea when a student (Kaffa, who is the son of the head mistress Kathryn) came into the office to introduce us to a new student, Jimmy. Kaffa was very proud to be brave enough to come and introduce Jimmy to the “white visitors”! Chuck told Jimmy that we would get him a t-shirt since he wasn’t here when they were handed out and Kaffa quietly asked, “A bible too?” We told him of course! Word is spreading quickly that God is doing something at Nice View and to see the hope and excitement in the children is a blessing that only God could have created.
No visiting today because it was very hot. The day started out misty but very quickly became hot and humid. So it was a slow, African afternoon! I did get some stuff done on the computer – but no internet. We are trying out Pauline’s internet to see if that works faster than 9.6 kbs! If so I may try to put some pictures on the site. If you see a picture you might want to go back and re-read the entries because I’ll try to put past pictures on to bring you up to date. And by the way, my chicken tasted delicious! I said I probably wouldn’t have been able to eat it if I’d watched it get slaughtered! The women all thought that was pretty funny.
Even though we were frustrated tonight with communication issues we thank God for the little bit we had! That’s one thing I’m learning here, God is providing everything in His perfect timing and what little we receive is a blessing. That is the opinion of everyone at the Academy – God’s providence is perfect! We are seeing God’s love through the many people we meet. They have a heart for these children and I thank God for the opportunity to be here with them.

Bibles and chickens!

What a blessed day today! We handed out the bibles today and the kids were really excited. When Chuck was getting them ready some of the kids came to the window and asked if they’d be receiving anything today. So we made sure that all the bibles were handed out. Even the teachers and the adults around the compound received a bible. Everyone was very happy and thankful for the gift. Because of your help these children and adults will be able to read the word of God! We even had the youth pastor of the AIC church come by and say that he would be willing to teach a bible class to each grade once a week. Bwana asifiwe (praise God!) for others reaching out to these children and showing them the love of Christ in action.
Now on a lighter note, I received my chicken today! I have a picture but you won’t be able to see it until I get back! ! Pola (sorry!) My kids know how much I love birds (that’s sarcasm!) and I was holding the chicken in the picture. I was smiling but it was a very nervous smile. And no I didn’t slaughter it! I left that to Ruth because she is more adept at it and has done it several times before. It will be our lunch tomorrow so I will let you know how he tasted! We were also brought some mangoes from a mother of a student who is very thankful that we are here to help the children. I thanked God for them and their thoughtfulness in giving us such a significant gift – food from their table of what little they have.
We got some background on Ruth today, she told us her story and she is a very strong woman of faith for what she has gone through. Her husband was murdered several years ago and her children were taken from her to stay with her husband’s family – that is the custom of her husband’s tribe. She was actually supposed to be “inherited” by her brother-in-law but since she is a Christian, she refused. His family was ok with that as long as she left the children. She did say that they are taking very good care of them and she is able to speak with them often. So please pray for her continued strength as she “mother’s” all the children at the Academy.
Tomorrow we plan on visiting some more families. I love going out to meet them and see where they live because they are such genuine people. Your prayers are felt here as God continues to bless each and every day. Thank you Lord for your providence in every aspect of our lives.

You are now up to date!

Wimuseo? (How are you?) Today we decided to go into Nairobi. I’m not thrilled with going in since it is such a busy city and a lot of pollution. They definitely do not have emissions testing, or an EPA! But before we left I met a mother and a grandmother of three students (Gideon, Rosemary and Kelvin). They were the students that we went to visit their homes and they wanted to come and thank us for helping their children. I told them that God has brought us here and we are thankful for the opportunity. Gideon’s mother is bringing me a chicken tomorrow as a thank you. I had to ask the stupid question though – will it be live or ready to eat? Of course it will be live and then I had to ask who was going to slaughter it? The answer was a resounding, Tammy! I begged off on that very quickly and said I would watch but I don’t think I could actually slaughter it. We’ll see what happens tomorrow!
So in Nairobi we were able to get some school supplies for the kids. Like pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpeners, chalk, rulers, compasses, protractors, notebooks for writing homework problems, and a set of books for the teachers to help them teach what tests will be given to the students when they move from class 8 to form one (8th grade to 9th grade). Those will be very helpful to increase the standard at the academy. Thank you all for your prayers and your patience as we struggle to get internet! Pauline and Gideon don’t see the rush to get information to you because we are now on African time! I have it down during the day, but when I want to get on the internet and update you it gets very frustrating!
Tomorrow I will be taking more pictures and information from the kids. As soon as that is finished I want to go around and film the classes in progress, so I need to get to that because they are on break the month of April. Please continue to pray for God’s will to be done here in Tala and His providence will continue to bless those being helped.

Worship services in Tala, Kenya!

We left for church around 9:45 and got to the AIC (African Inland Church) in Tala with enough time to meet a few people. We seem to be the local celebrities which enables us to meet a lot of people in town! Here at the AIC they have a service in English for the secondary students at 9 am along with Sunday school for the younger children (Grace and Eric attend that class) then at around 10 the second service begins and that is in the Akamba language. They have about an hour of worship, with singing by the choir, the youth and young adults. They are quite animated in their singing and I can’t wait to show you some video. But with our slow internet that is impossible here. That will have to wait until we are back in the States! During the offering the people who couldn’t afford the tithe would bring in produce from their shamba (farm) and after the offering was taken they would auction off the produce and the cash would go to the church. That was a little strange because I felt like I was at an auction! But it was neat to see the people get involved. They introduced us to the church and the pastor is very excited to have us working with Gideon, the Academy, and the local destitute children. I’ve noticed that everyone I meet is willing to give me everything they have. Pauline said that what little they have they get much joy from giving it to those in need. We went to a fundraiser after church for a local pastor and his family to raise money for the tuition of his children’s education. (It is said that schooling is free in Kenya, but there are annual fees that need to be paid, so it is far from free.) People were happy to give 10, 50, 100 schillings of what little they have in order to help someone else. Pauline said they do this quite often for other needs of members of their church. This helps everyone to feel as if they are in a community and helping one another. She said the pastor is changing things up a bit in the church and requiring everyone to have a task at the church. That way if someone is doing two things, they will now only have to do one because everyone will have a job or responsibility at the church. It’s their way of involving people and making them feel responsible for their church. It was such a blessing to see everyone giving to a cause they felt called to give to. Another way they helped raise money was by selling boiled eggs! You can purchase an egg at the market for about 7 schillings, but they were starting the sale at 100 schillings each! After we purchased our eggs we sat down to eat them while others were still purchasing. Then they started to reduce the price until finally they left it up to the individual as to how much they could afford! It was a great way to raise some money and Pauline said sometimes they will bake a cake and do the same thing with tiny pieces. When we left the pastors wife gave us a pumpkin as a thank you for what we had contributed. These people are very concerned for the education of their children and it was a good thing to see in the midst of true poverty. Please pray that these adults will continue to make education a priority and with your help we can achieve the level of excellence that is needed for this country at the Academy. Mungu is good! (God is good). Here is a picture of the van we had to tie the door shut on!

To Komarock Shrine

We slept in a little today, getting up around 7 and having breakfast around 8. Then we headed out to Komarock Shrine. It was very beautiful and serene. We were able to meet Father Thomas who is in charge here and saw the beautiful, rustic church! It’s very different than any attraction in the States – for instance, no fences/guardrails/blockades around the top of the shrine. You can climb on the shrine and believe it or not no graffiti! So we spent the morning there then over to the opposite side of the hill (the hill is divided, one side is catholic, the other is Protestant!) to the Kangundo Bible College. They have 33 students and when they finish their four year term they are dispersed into the neighboring villages to preach at the churches. They were very nice and were very happy to pose for a picture! And don’t cry Tarrin but here is the college’s library!
We took a quick tour of Pauline’s school where she works, Father Heeron’s Secondary School, which is like high school. Still very rustic but bigger than our Academy.
Then for lunch we had Ugali, which is maize flour mixed with water and looks like a cake! When Pauline asked me what it was I told her it looked like a cake so now that’s the joke when we have Ugali, we are having corn cake! And we have that with spinach and eat it with your hands, that’s the African way!
Now we are working on getting internet. Sorry for having all this to read but I’ve been writing daily in Microsoft Word until we are able to get this all on the blog! Hope you have enjoyed the reading! God has truly blessed us with this opportunity and I pray that you will be touched by what you have read here and the pictures you see of the children at the Academy and at their homes. These children and the people caring for them are giving everything they have to us and I pray that I can take what they’ve given me and show you their love and thanks for all that’s happened, through God, here at the Academy. Kwa heri – goodbye. May God bless you and keep you in His embrace.