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!