Aug 3 - Our First Day of Work

We woke up this morning to gray skies and a light mist. During the night it poured down rain so we knew we were in for a muddy day.

When we arrived at the school we were greeted by men who had already taken the roof off. There were children waiting by the gate so happy to see us. How can you not just love all those smiling faces.

The men got right to work while we ladies waited to see what the weather would do. They were worried it would be treacherous for us if it started to rain. We helped the ladies with making tea and butter sandwiches for a snack. The ladies work over an open fire in a tiny room. The smoke doesn't all go out so the ladies breathe this in daily.

The picture to the left is of Susan.  She is 40 years old and has 3 children, the oldest being 27 years old.  She also has an 11 month old grandchild.  She has gathered wood twice a week for the last 20 years to sell to the people of the community.  It is a very strenuous job that takes her an entire day.  She would like prayer to find a daily job that pays more and is less taxing on her body.

The family to the right is John and Virginia, on the far right and left. They have their grandson living with them and a neighbor, Margaret is visiting who is 80. They all are dealing with health issues and live in pain on a daily basis. Little John would like to find another job and continue his education. Please pray for both of these situations.

When we got back to the school, lunch was ready and the men had gotten a lot done. We had a traditional Huruma meal of ugali and sakimawiki which is corn mush and sautéed greens. It was really good.

After lunch we headed back to work and visited more families. We were so great full for all the parents who came to help by cutting back bushes, filling holes, and general cleanup.

Keep us in your prayers as we still have a lot to do!

Aug 2 - Visiting Schools

Today we would be visiting all the schools and meeting lots of kids ... Beautiful kids. Our first stop was at Liberty Vision where we walked down this enormous, treacherous red clay road full of holes. It had a small ravine running along side it. There were goats, sheep, and chickens all along the way. There were kids everywhere ... The kids were so happy to see us and would grab our hands and walk with us. The smells were overpowering and garbage was everywhere. It's hard to imagine people living in such conditions but they do.

This is the small branch bridge that seemed like it would break easily that we crossed. Paul said this trench wasn't there last year. 

At the bottom of the hill was a river where some were washing their clothes. There was a small little girl up from the river and she was crying for her mother. Joy picked her up to soothe her crying, little did she know she had no underpants on and she was poopy. 

This is Liberty Vision school that Chipo runs. The building is make of a railroad car. This class was for the baby's or 3 year olds.

The children all have to take off their shoes before they enter the classroom. As you can see below their shoes were so very worn and some were 3-4 sizes too big.

These children can't go to school because there is no room for them ... Some are on a waiting list.

This picture is of the 4 & 5 year olds ... They sang a beautiful song for us!

Our next stop was Huruma Nursery School that we support. How wonderful to see the kids and to get an idea of what work is ahead for us. We have been asked to raise the roofs of the classroom and put ceilings on all as it gets so hot during the summer months. The heat from the metal roofs make the classroom feel like an oven and the kids have a hard time concentrating.

We are also going to put concrete on the floors to make them smoother and easier to keep clean.

This is the only play structure they and as you can see they love it. 

The kids having fun with one of the two trikes they have. 

Pastor Henry and some workers have already started the work of digging a ditch to place the pipes from the water source to the kitchen. It's going to make it a lot easier to cook and feed the children there lunch when this is complete.

We then headed to Cheleta Primary School, which is the government school grades 1-8. We were greeted by the head teacher Mr. Titus. He welcomed us and was glad to see us and show us around. The area you see below is the parade area where all the students meet and stand in the morning. 

We were escorted to the standard 1 classroom where one teacher was in charge of 84 students. The government can't afford to pay for another teacher. They did have another lady in the classroom but she was a volunteer.  There is a nationwide teacher shortage due to a lack of taxation money.

All the students from Huruma were asked to come up front. Suzan went thru a list to see which students were from our nursery school and took pictures of each one to bring back to those at our church who prays for that child or supports them financially. It was so heartwarming to see them smile big and come up front. 

Two of the girls we met at Cheleta, very sweet and they had just taken their final 8th grade test to determine what school they would go to next year. If they are one of the top 2 in their class the government will pay for their high school. If not, then their parents will have to pay which is around $1000 US dollars. For some, this means they don't finish high school. This is very true for most of the children of the slum areas. 

What a day, a wonderful day, filled with laughter and some tears. Our prayer for these children is that they learn that Jesus loves them and with Him, ALL things are possible!

   

 

Aug 1 - our first day in Nairobi

After being up close to 30 hours, it was amazing how easy it was to get up. The breakfast bell rang at 8 and our day began. After breakfast we started unloading all the gifts that we brought with us. It's crazy how much can fit into 15 bags. Tommy did a great job of packing and everything arrived unbroken. We noticed that the airlines unwrapped each jar of peanut butter but none of the jam. After we got it all separated, we then put it back into suitcases to transport to the school. Thank you to so many who donated, sewed, bought, or gave time to the kids. What a blessing you are to the children here.

We walked to the store to exchange our money and get lunch. Helen picked us up and took us to the Karura church where we met with the pastors there and they prayed over us and explained how thankful that we not only support the school but are willing to help with the work and visit the families. 

Pastor Henry, Pastor Christopher, Pastor Rob ...

Pastor Rob, Julie, Hellen, Tommy, and Patricia (the children's ministry director)

Some have said "why don't you send the money you used to come" ... But it's about relationships and being willing to come and serve. To the pastors here that speaks volumes. 

We returned back to Heart Lodge, had dinner and then devotions with Pastor Rob where we talked about putting on the whole armor of God. We were asked which piece meant the most to us, some said the shield because it gives them strength to do the work that needs to done here. We all agreed that we needed to be prepared for whatever would come our way.

Good Night

The second flight - Nairobi Airport

Our second flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi was 8 hours. We had to go to thru another security to get to the gate area. Our plane as you can see is huge, a double decker. For some reason we're not on the top floor where first class sits. 

When our van comes to meet us a group of men begin helping us load. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings as they are so graciously helping us load. When asked to give them money for helping we Do. They ask us for 5 or ten or even 50. Some of us don't know what to do so we give them money. 5 dollars here, 10 there, 5 there, another 10. Little did we know they were meaning shillings.... We gave them dollars. Lesson learned .... Wait to follow Suzan's lead. Schillings are a lot different than dollars.

It's so amazing at how chilly it is here, it feels wonderful to me but you can see the Kenyans with heavy coats on. 

We made it to heart lodge and unload our 30+ bags. George, who runs Heart Lodge shows us to our rooms. I am shocked at how beautiful the rooms are and so big. The greatest part of it all, we can flush our toilet paper - woo hoo!

We are asked to go to the dining room as they have a snack for us. How amazing that its 10 p.m. And they give us something wonderful to eat and it's warm. We are blessed

The top picture is of a meat veggie filled pastry, so delicious and the bottom pic is of a lemon type cake. I need to get the recipe!

Goodnight everyone!

Da Plane ... Da Plane ... Da 10 hour Plane

We got to the airport without any problems. Some of us got a Starbucks as we knew it would be awhile before we could get another. Some people were worried they wouldn't get much food on the plane but they were wrong, they feed us quite often and not too shabby either. 

Our layover in Amsterdam was a much needed break after the 10 hour flight. While we're waiting to load for our next flight, Rob and I are betting who gets to sit next to the loud, screaming kids.  Another exciting thing that happened was Paul got a thorough pat down! 

Team Prayer Requests

Suzan – Safety and health and for God to work in the heart of each team member. That the Huruma families will know God’s love as we build relationships. with them.

Joy – Pray I feel at peace leaving work. Also, that I can love on the people there and share the love of Christ.

Paul – For guidance in finding a new home and direction in my life. Rom. 12:12

Julie – Pray that I will fly well, with no fear. Pray that I will let God be the lead and I will be a good listener. To show God’s love.

Heather – Pray God will give me peace as I travel, calm my fears and most importantly that God will give me guidance as I serve in Africa & develop relationships with people in Huruma.

Brandon – Pray we have a safe flight with great pilots.  Pray for lots of courage and strength.

Andy - Pray for the safety and security of my family and the Huruma Team.

Tommy – Spiritual sensitivity and alertness to all that’s going on in Huruma and Nairobi. Answer to prayer - God planted the Africa mission call in my heart at age 7. Until now I have been waiting for His timing. Fulfilling God's call touches my heart like nothing else. It is my life's purpose.

Rob – Pray for a very specific part I should play in the ministry in Kenya. Pray for my personal strength and joy as we serve.

VBS Kids Gives Big!

The end of June NACC put on a VBS program for primary kids. The mission project was to raise $400 for 80 food packages for the Huruma families of our Nursery School students. Enough food to feed the family for at least a week. The children were excited to help and soon the “Boys” and “Girls” pail filled each day with their offerings. By the end of the week they had brought in $646.00 – over and above the need. It was decided that the extra $246 would help buy Kiswahili Bibles for each family. Along with those offerings our Middle School Students had their week long Extreme Vacation and they jumped onto the challenge too. Those students were able to raise an additional $486 which will be used for Bibles and play equipment,

There were some sweet stories that illustrate how God touches the heart of children. One young girl had gathered up groceries from home and brought them in for us to take to the Huruma families. After playing a game of soccer with a ball made out of plastic bags like the children in Huruma play with another boy brought in 4 soccer balls that he wanted the Huruma kids to have so they could play with “real” balls. Before VBS a little 8 year old girl came up with the idea to make nap blankets out of fleece and the VBS kids were able to tie 23 blankets to take. Another 8 year old girl had gone door to door in her neighborhood collecting donations by selling her little crafts and raised over $100. God was and is touching these children and I am sure we will not be aware of His working in their hearts for years to come.