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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
LBF:Greetings from the Nortons
Jambo……greetings from Africa………again we started our beautiful day with the natural sounds of Kenya. What we mistook for monkeys in the trees turned out to be turtle doves in the open rafters of our sleeping quarters and the crows here have become our alarm clocks, waking us up at approximately 6am. However it’s a joy to wake up early here…we take a morning walk…..blessed by the sights of gorgeous blue clouded skies, sunlit cornfields, brick red deeply rotted roads, caused by the heavy rain the night before, and the best part is that we share the path with the precious Kenya children. They greet us with smiling faces as they are on their way to school. It’s a sheer pleasure to exchange morning greetings with them. Normally we arrive back just in time for our deliciously prepared breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, toast with honey or jam, bananas and chai (sweet tea and milk), however this morning I (Deb) ran ahead of the team, in order to get to school on time. I was given the opportunity to teach the Bible lesson to the upper elementary students. I read from the Bible the story of the feeding of the five thousand then told the story from the perspective of the little boy that brought the basket of fish and bread. This opportunity was blessing for me.
I (Noel) Mike, and John, have been working along side of the Kenyan men rebuilding the fence around the large demonstration farm, Shamba. We are enjoying our fellowship with them. Bernard is interested in learning Spanish, so it’s funny to be learning Kiswahili while teaching what we know of Spanish to Bernard. We work well together and are getting a lot of work done. Let me put it this way, we are sleeping well at night! I went in to the Town of Eldoret with David Kosgo, Brian Albright, Amy Parker, and two sick little boys from the orphanage. I am amazed at the patience and at how well behaved the children here in Kenya are. In spite of the very hot and bumpy drive into town, the waiting at the clinic, the hardware store, the ELI office, and the auto mechanics, the boys were little troopers. At the hardware store we purchased parts to build two go-karts, (push carts) for the children to play with.
Debbie and I are so impressed with how devoted to God and loving these brothers and sisters in Christ are. They love to invite you into there homes for Chai, cookies, fellowship together. They are so loving and gracious. We are enjoying the building of relationships. And we are blessed.
Prayer requests:
Please pray as we continue our stay here in Ilula…….that we keep up our enthusiasm for all that we are doing. Asante sana.
I (Noel) Mike, and John, have been working along side of the Kenyan men rebuilding the fence around the large demonstration farm, Shamba. We are enjoying our fellowship with them. Bernard is interested in learning Spanish, so it’s funny to be learning Kiswahili while teaching what we know of Spanish to Bernard. We work well together and are getting a lot of work done. Let me put it this way, we are sleeping well at night! I went in to the Town of Eldoret with David Kosgo, Brian Albright, Amy Parker, and two sick little boys from the orphanage. I am amazed at the patience and at how well behaved the children here in Kenya are. In spite of the very hot and bumpy drive into town, the waiting at the clinic, the hardware store, the ELI office, and the auto mechanics, the boys were little troopers. At the hardware store we purchased parts to build two go-karts, (push carts) for the children to play with.
Debbie and I are so impressed with how devoted to God and loving these brothers and sisters in Christ are. They love to invite you into there homes for Chai, cookies, fellowship together. They are so loving and gracious. We are enjoying the building of relationships. And we are blessed.
Prayer requests:
Please pray as we continue our stay here in Ilula…….that we keep up our enthusiasm for all that we are doing. Asante sana.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
LBF:Greetings from Michele
It is Tuesday morning and we are all amazed and how full each day is! Although we have only been here a few days, it feels as if we have lived many more in this little ELI village. We began our day with a walk “around the block.” Let me tell you, it is the most amazing block I have ever seen! We were blessed to see children walking to school down long dirt roads, bordered with corn fields and mud huts. The children all looked at us with wide-eyed amazement. They are friendly and greet us in English with “how are you?” Each child wants a handshake or a hug.
The team worked on so many different things! The men worked on fencing and digging holes all afternoon. They kept waiting to have the promised Kenyan lifestyle of relationships over work! The women taught at the local school, organized a craft for the orphanage, sorted the paper project, and attended a women’s prayer meeting. At the end of the day, we lead the children’s evening devotionals.
I (Michele) was blessed with the chance to meet with the orphanage parents. They shared with me some of the difficulties the children are having with school. I met with some of the children individually and was able to identify some of their developmental problems. In America, these children would be diagnosed with developmental disabilities and coming to see me in my clinic. Here, they are just identified as “slow” and struggle through school doing the best they can. So it was a blessing to be able to meet them and work with them. My Swahili, however, is not quite as good as my English! Afterwards, I was invited into one of the parent’s homes (which is a mud hut with a grass roof) for Chai tea. I remembered that in Kenya, people prefer to talk about their lives and families before business. So I spent some time talking with them about marriages and children and then we were able to discuss some of the problems with the children. What a blessing! What I have learned from the Kenyan people is that the knowledge of God is much better than any learning or education we can get in the world. And that the power of God is much more powerful than our own abilities or talents. The Africans live in God more than I have ever seen. Every conversation is seasoned with the love of God.
Each evening after dinner (which, by the way, the food here is awesome! I always eat second helpings!), we have a meeting where we meet a few of the Kenyan staff, they share their stories, and we share our stories. Last night, Russ shared his harrowing story of how he finally made it to Kenya. It turns out Russ is quite the story teller! The Kenyans love him. We are all glad he has joined the team.
Thank you for your continued prayers. I know you have been praying for Owen and I have a good report: He slept the entire night! He was so happy this morning and just a lot of fun to watch. I am working hard at getting him to say “Michele” and he is talking so much! He is learning a new word almost every day and his balance is getting much better with all of the mud and rocks and challenges. He is also allowing the Kenyan children to carry him around! So blessings from God are all around!
Thank you so much for your notes on the blog! We are really enjoying them!
Prayer Requests:
Continue to pray for Owen to sleep and eat well. I am praying that this trip will be huge blessing for him, Amy and Russ.
Pray that God would continue to open up our eyes to His power, His grace, and His love for us and the Kenyan people.
Pray for Sara’s voice- she has had a head cold for the entire trip and is not able to lead us in singing as she had planned
Pray for the Kip Karen orphanage parents- the orphanage in that village is opening soon and the parents have been training in Uganda. They are graduating and the directors of the Ilula orphanage have traveled out for the ceremony. Pray for the ceremony, the travels, and the parents.
Pray for the Kenya Anti Alcohol ministry- they are traveling to high schools and doing educations ministry
The team worked on so many different things! The men worked on fencing and digging holes all afternoon. They kept waiting to have the promised Kenyan lifestyle of relationships over work! The women taught at the local school, organized a craft for the orphanage, sorted the paper project, and attended a women’s prayer meeting. At the end of the day, we lead the children’s evening devotionals.
I (Michele) was blessed with the chance to meet with the orphanage parents. They shared with me some of the difficulties the children are having with school. I met with some of the children individually and was able to identify some of their developmental problems. In America, these children would be diagnosed with developmental disabilities and coming to see me in my clinic. Here, they are just identified as “slow” and struggle through school doing the best they can. So it was a blessing to be able to meet them and work with them. My Swahili, however, is not quite as good as my English! Afterwards, I was invited into one of the parent’s homes (which is a mud hut with a grass roof) for Chai tea. I remembered that in Kenya, people prefer to talk about their lives and families before business. So I spent some time talking with them about marriages and children and then we were able to discuss some of the problems with the children. What a blessing! What I have learned from the Kenyan people is that the knowledge of God is much better than any learning or education we can get in the world. And that the power of God is much more powerful than our own abilities or talents. The Africans live in God more than I have ever seen. Every conversation is seasoned with the love of God.
Each evening after dinner (which, by the way, the food here is awesome! I always eat second helpings!), we have a meeting where we meet a few of the Kenyan staff, they share their stories, and we share our stories. Last night, Russ shared his harrowing story of how he finally made it to Kenya. It turns out Russ is quite the story teller! The Kenyans love him. We are all glad he has joined the team.
Thank you for your continued prayers. I know you have been praying for Owen and I have a good report: He slept the entire night! He was so happy this morning and just a lot of fun to watch. I am working hard at getting him to say “Michele” and he is talking so much! He is learning a new word almost every day and his balance is getting much better with all of the mud and rocks and challenges. He is also allowing the Kenyan children to carry him around! So blessings from God are all around!
Thank you so much for your notes on the blog! We are really enjoying them!
Prayer Requests:
Continue to pray for Owen to sleep and eat well. I am praying that this trip will be huge blessing for him, Amy and Russ.
Pray that God would continue to open up our eyes to His power, His grace, and His love for us and the Kenyan people.
Pray for Sara’s voice- she has had a head cold for the entire trip and is not able to lead us in singing as she had planned
Pray for the Kip Karen orphanage parents- the orphanage in that village is opening soon and the parents have been training in Uganda. They are graduating and the directors of the Ilula orphanage have traveled out for the ceremony. Pray for the ceremony, the travels, and the parents.
Pray for the Kenya Anti Alcohol ministry- they are traveling to high schools and doing educations ministry
Monday, May 29, 2006
Playing hard
Mike has been having a blast with the kids, wrestling, chasing and being chased.
Sunday afternoon, we spent time playing volleyball and soccer with the kids. We all discovered that playing sports at 7,000 feet above sea level is more challenging than in California!
Click on Mike's picture to see more photos.
Sunday afternoon, we spent time playing volleyball and soccer with the kids. We all discovered that playing sports at 7,000 feet above sea level is more challenging than in California!
Click on Mike's picture to see more photos.
LBF:Greetings from Brenda
Greetings to all of our families and friends in the States!!! We arrived in Ilula as planned on Saturday evening and were welcomed by this wonderful group of children and those who care for them with a ceremony that moved us all to tears as we were greeted with hand shakes, hugs and beautiful roses. It was such a blessing to all of us. We ate dinner, and met many of the Staff here and then enjoyed a good nights rest.
Sunday morning began with breakfast at 7:30 and then joining different Sunday School classes with the children. It was such a blessing to hear them recite memory verses, worship the Lord in Swahili and English, and to participate in their Bible Stories. After Sunday School we headed to church which began at 10:00 and lasted until around noon. We enjoyed the college students sharing songs with us as well as one of the childrens groups. We had a chance to introduce ourselves and share how God brought us to Kenya. We head sharing from various Staff members who had been away and were blessed by all of their stories. The Spirit of God is so alive here and it is so great to feel the unity that we all share in Christ.
After lunch, Samuel, the director here took our team on a tour of the grounds and shared his vision with us. It was great to be able to see all of the things we hear about and to be able to share in his vision for this place. God is truly using ELI to change the lives of people here and empower them to provide for their families and to know God and his love for them and His power to change them. Samuel is an amazing person and has such a heart to help as many people as possible.
We then joined the kids for an afternoon of recreation. We played volleyball, soccer, and a variety of children’s games. It was fun to get a chance to spend some time with the kids and get to know some of their names and their precious little personalities. Mike wrestled and played with some of the boys and they were amazed at the hair all over his body. They thought it was so funny and couldn’t stop touching it. So many of the children already know all of our names and they come up and call us by name and we feel so inadequate. There is a little girl who is also named Brenda and she was so excited when we first met. Since that first night we have had fun greeting each other and share a special bond.
After dinner we had a meeting with Samuel, Brian and the staff to plan out our week. I have to admit that so far I feel we have all received so much more than we have given. In one day we have shared so much and our heart have been united in Christ’s love so I know that after a week here it is going to be very difficult to say goodbye.
Prayer Requests for our team
Pray that Owen will adjust to being here, sleep and eat well and stay healthy.
Continued health and safety for all of us.
That God would use us to encourage and love these people in tangible ways.
Praise God for getting Russ here and allow he and Amy to get some rest as well.
God bless all of you and thank you for your love and support and we can’t wait to share more with you when we get home. Feel free to leave notes/comments on this blog. It gets printed and given to us each morning. We'd love to hear from you!
Love,
Brenda
Sunday morning began with breakfast at 7:30 and then joining different Sunday School classes with the children. It was such a blessing to hear them recite memory verses, worship the Lord in Swahili and English, and to participate in their Bible Stories. After Sunday School we headed to church which began at 10:00 and lasted until around noon. We enjoyed the college students sharing songs with us as well as one of the childrens groups. We had a chance to introduce ourselves and share how God brought us to Kenya. We head sharing from various Staff members who had been away and were blessed by all of their stories. The Spirit of God is so alive here and it is so great to feel the unity that we all share in Christ.
After lunch, Samuel, the director here took our team on a tour of the grounds and shared his vision with us. It was great to be able to see all of the things we hear about and to be able to share in his vision for this place. God is truly using ELI to change the lives of people here and empower them to provide for their families and to know God and his love for them and His power to change them. Samuel is an amazing person and has such a heart to help as many people as possible.
We then joined the kids for an afternoon of recreation. We played volleyball, soccer, and a variety of children’s games. It was fun to get a chance to spend some time with the kids and get to know some of their names and their precious little personalities. Mike wrestled and played with some of the boys and they were amazed at the hair all over his body. They thought it was so funny and couldn’t stop touching it. So many of the children already know all of our names and they come up and call us by name and we feel so inadequate. There is a little girl who is also named Brenda and she was so excited when we first met. Since that first night we have had fun greeting each other and share a special bond.
After dinner we had a meeting with Samuel, Brian and the staff to plan out our week. I have to admit that so far I feel we have all received so much more than we have given. In one day we have shared so much and our heart have been united in Christ’s love so I know that after a week here it is going to be very difficult to say goodbye.
Prayer Requests for our team
Pray that Owen will adjust to being here, sleep and eat well and stay healthy.
Continued health and safety for all of us.
That God would use us to encourage and love these people in tangible ways.
Praise God for getting Russ here and allow he and Amy to get some rest as well.
God bless all of you and thank you for your love and support and we can’t wait to share more with you when we get home. Feel free to leave notes/comments on this blog. It gets printed and given to us each morning. We'd love to hear from you!
Love,
Brenda
Sunday, May 28, 2006
LBF: Update on Russ
I got a call from Russ in Nairobi this morning. He's made it, and is resting in Nairobi for the day. This afternoon, he'll be flying to Eldoret. What a relief and a blessing that he's only one day behind the team!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Life Bible Fellowship: They're here!
The team arrived safely this morning--minus Russ... All the luggage made it here safely. Thanks for praying. Owen did great most of the time, they say. (Crying for only 4 hours out of 19 isn't bad!)
The Duffys arrived last night and were happy to greet the others this morning.
As I'm typing this, they're sitting in the lounge of Mayfield Guest House, waiting for their rooms to be cleaned so they can go take showers and get horisontal for a while. Sarah has her guitar out and they're singing. It's like camp!
Their luggage is already on its way to Eldoret in a shuttle bus. It should be there before the team arrives.
We're flying to Eldoret at 4:30pm. When they arrive at the children's home, there'll be a BIG welcome.
Thank you for your continued prayers for the team.
We'll post updates from time to time so you can follow their journey.
The Duffys arrived last night and were happy to greet the others this morning.
As I'm typing this, they're sitting in the lounge of Mayfield Guest House, waiting for their rooms to be cleaned so they can go take showers and get horisontal for a while. Sarah has her guitar out and they're singing. It's like camp!
Their luggage is already on its way to Eldoret in a shuttle bus. It should be there before the team arrives.
We're flying to Eldoret at 4:30pm. When they arrive at the children's home, there'll be a BIG welcome.
Thank you for your continued prayers for the team.
We'll post updates from time to time so you can follow their journey.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Journey to Sudan - May 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
Many greetings to all of you! It is amazing to think that it is already May. Last month (April), our theme among the Empowering Lives Staff in Kipkaren, Kenya was "Victory and Celebration," and we were sure blessed to witness many victories for which we praised and thanked God.
This month's theme is "Love in Action." We are beginning the month with putting God's love into action in the country of Sudan. We begin the journey tomorrow from Kenya to southern Sudan with a dynamic team of nine (five Kenyans, three Americans, and one South African).
We will be partnering with Stephen Reech, director of Empowering Lives Sudan. In September 2005, Stephen returned after many years as a refugee in Kenya to his original home in the village of Kolmarek to begin a ministry of empowerment to his people, the Dinka. In February 2006, an ELI team (including ELI Staff Juli McGowan and Don Rogers) went on a scouting trip and returned with stories which opened all of our eyes here in Kenya and broke our hearts. The idea of taking a medical and pastors team began to come into view. As soon as the idea was mentioned, God quickly began opening the doors, and on 3rd May (tomorrow) we are headed to Kolmarek in Southern Sudan until 9th May.
I am so excited to be a part of this team. It is going to be an adventure of discovering unknowns. Some of our team members have never even flown on a airplane before! We are all excited for this opportunity to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the people of Southern Sudan. We are also excited to go with our notebooks and pens and listening ears to learn all we can about the Dinka tribe and the challenges they are currently facing. I will have a lot more information to share when I return as this is a new journey for all of us. Please keep our team in your prayers during this next week. If the satellite system works, we will be sending updates during our trip to this same blog address: www.empoweringlives.blogspot.com.
Also, if you would like to learn more about ELI Sudan's Director, Stephen Reech, please visit the following website, http://empoweringlives.blogspot.com/2006/02/steven-reech.html.
Thank you very much for your prayers and support!
Blessings,
Allison "Chebaibai" Tjaden
ELI - Health Ministry
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