Aug 6 - Kids, kids, in our hair!

We've begun to think we've brought the Oregon weather with us. It drizzled all night and the skies are overcast and it's cold again.

As usual we wanted to control the chaos so Heather had the bright idea to bring out the tables and chairs to get the kids to color and draw pictures. Suzan started with the ABC's and then asked the kids to draw pictures of animals. They started to sing the ABC song and other Sunday school songs. Tea and buttered bread was served to everyone for their snack.This went well for awhile until the kids decided the plastic chairs were better on their heads than to sit on. Heather and Suzan decided to put the chairs away for safety's sake.

The men got right to work installing the ceiling strips in the baby classroom. The electrician came to do the wiring and to make sure this was done properly. 

As we waited for our lunch to be prepared, Joy decided to get her hair braided by the girls there. They were pulling her hair every which way. They told her "if you want beautiful, don't feel pain!" 

Heather and Julie went with Hellen to do some visiting. They stopped at Hellen's nieces house, Pauline, who is the mother of one child with one on the way. She is a hairstylist and her husband is a gardener. She works at a salon and she wants to help her husband go back to school to teach. Their desire is to be able to move out! 

At the same time teacher Beatrice and Suzan visited the mother of Vivian who's daughter is in the baby class. She told them that when she can get work, she makes 200 shillings a day, which is about $2.50. This is what it costs to feed a family of five for one day. So you see it's difficult to pay rent, pay for school needs, when you need food.

Lunch was ready and again we ate ugali and sukumiwiki. Suzan and Joy helped with cleaning up after lunch the area for the men. 

Julie and Heather went out to visit again. This was a disaster. Heather slipped in the mud, fell on her hands and knees, continued to slide over onto her backside and then rolled over onto her stomach as she kept rolling down the hill. Poor Heather had a whole audience of watchers! They felt so bad for her, one girl ran to get water to help! The kids actually thought that Heather was dirty when they were even more so.

By the end of the day the men had completed one ceiling, started another, and was a third of the way done on yet another. They really worked hard today. Pray for them as there is still a lot left to do with only four full working days left.

Good Night everyone!

Aug 5 - Working on the school & Visiting

Most of us didn't realize how chilly it would be here. The Kenyans say this is very unusual to be as cold as it is but as soon as we get to work, the coolness is nice.

Upon arriving at Huruma Nursery School, we are greeted once again by wonderful people. Jerusala is on the committee for the nursery school and helps out where she can. Beatrice the middle class teacher, 4 year olds, is busy in the kitchen getting things organized for the day. Maurice and Samuel are ready to get started on the construction and give guidance to the men. Today they want to get the ceilings done and finish the roof. This will require a lot of sawing, measuring, and hammering. No electric equipment allowed, just crooked saws and muscles! The women even get into helping with the project. The young mothers are there willing to do what they can as well, whether its caring the wood, pulling nails, and even sawing the boards, it's really nice to see.

The ladies go to take the supplies to store at Karura Chapel. Hellen is overwhelmed with the generosity that is given to the school.

When the ladies got back they helped make tea for everyone, around 50, plus all the children. They were given a pastry that Regina's sister had made which was delicious, it tasted like donuts with no holes!

The ladies headed out to visit homes, their first stop was Maurice and Salome's home. They have two children, Joyce - 8 and Brian - 9 months. Maurice has been helping us with all the building and has very good english. He teaches children in the Githagora slum how to use computers. Salome gave her heart to Christ in January of this year. We are going to make sure she gets a bible before we leave. Her prayer is for Maurice to get a good job and for the family to move out of the slum and for her children to get a good education.

The ladies next stop was at Pauline's house. She is 30 years old with four children, Mary - 6, James -14, Ann - 7, and Grace is 2. This is the home where a team from Karura came and rebuilt her house which had been infested with jiggers. Her husband passed away in 2008 of alcohol poisoning. She admitted that she had been closer to God at one point but has fallen away. Her life has been very difficult. We encouraged her and prayed for God to open doors so she can find a job and save some money to start her own business.

When the ladies get back to the nursery school, it's time to eat. Today's menu consists of beans, rice, and a pea soup. It's actually very good and we feed about 75 in all. It takes most of the morning to prepare the meal and it's not ready until about 1:30 p.m.

Here the men continue to work on putting the support beams in for the ceiling. 

Most of the group then heads out to visit the New Dawn School which is the high school for the slum area. Students go through an interview process to attend the school and the panel hears their stories before they make a decision who attends. If students don't make it then they really don't have another option to go to school. Irene Tongoi has done a wonderful job at the school and it's really grown. At this point they have 160 students.

The school is made up of cargo containers that are stacked three high. The rooms have been painted and look nice. Irene is most proud of their new library and computer room. There are other schools that are nicer than New Dawn that don't have computer rooms. She feels she is giving these students a better chance at succeeding. Pastor Rob spoke to the students on Psalms 139 and encouraged them to see that they are each made special. Brandon was asked to talk about how God had turned his life around from the destructive path he was going down right after high school. His testimony was very encouraging to the students there. Our time there ended with them serving us tea and snacks. Thank you Irene and your staff for all you do for the students in Huruma. May God continue to bless you and New Dawn.

We headed out to meet the rest of the crew to go back to Heart Lodge. We were tired from the hustle and bustle of the day but felt revived by the words of our pastor and from what we had accomplished.

Thanks everyone and we'll talk more tomorrow.
God Bless!

Aug 3 - Hippopotamus Meatballs

We were invited to got to Chipo's house for dinner so when we got back to Heart Lodge, we hurried and got cleaned up so we could leave. Chipo's husband, Prince, came to pick us up. There wasn't enough room in the van for all of us so two of us sat in the back behind the back seat, literally in the trunk. It was a fin ride with all the speed bumps. :)

The family had prepared a wonderful meal for us. It was spaghetti and meatballs with bread and salad. The girls had made chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Andy asked Prince what the meatballs were made of and prince without hesitation said hippopotamus! 

They live on the fifth floor of an apartment building and we almost had to carry Suzan up. Chipo and her family are amazing, their love for the people in Huruma is so evident by how much they do. 

Thank you Chipo, Prince, Carmelle, and Caleo for being so wonderful. May God continue to bless you and Liberty Vision. 

Aug 4 - Worship

"There is no higher calling, no greater honor than to bow and kneel before your throne. I am amazed by your glory, I am embraced by your mercy. Oh Lord, I live to honor you." As we sang these words, the presence of The Lord was so evident in our midst. We counted it a privilege to worship with the people of Karura Chapel. 

What He Came To Do

Kibby Kariithi spoke this morning on providing education and healthcare to all so that they can grow up to give back. These are some of the scriptures that he used

Luke 4:18-19

Isaiah 9:6-8

Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-12

Matt 25:31-36 

Isaiah 57 & 58

Today our idol in Kenya is money. Serve The Lord in your daily life by clothing those who need it, feeding those who need it, serving those who need it. 

How do you invest your money? Do you put it to work for The Lord? 

Bridge International Academies

After our wonderful service we were invited to Hellen's house for lunch. She and her neighbors made a wonderful meal for about 20 people. We couldn't all fit her house so her neighbor allowed us to use her house.

The picture above is a traditional meal which was absolutely wonderful. To the right of the chicken was a dish called mukimo which is mashed potatoes with peas and beans and a leaf that is traditional african fare. The also served a flat bread that is called chapati .... Yum-O!

This is our beautiful hostess, Hellen Wairimu, she did an excellent job. Thank you Lord for her and her love for you. She is such a blessing to the Huruma Ministry.

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