Saturday, June 03, 2006

The Ride


The Ride
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.
On Friday, the team took boda-bodas (bicycle taxis) to visit ELI's alcohol rehab center. They had a blast being driven on bikes, though Brendas driver (an older man) lagged behind and they lost the team! Fortunately, people along the way were able to point them in which direction the wazungus went.

After an hour of touring the rehab center and having chai at the directors' home, they headed back on the bicycles.

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Gina planting trees


Gina planting trees
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.
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LBF:Greetings from Sara

Habari! Greetings! I wish each and every one of you who are reading this were here with us. I can’t begin to explain Kenya. The smells, the sounds, the tastes, everything and anything is indescribable. I am so in love with these people, children and adults alike. I have never been surrounded by people that were so in love with Christ. It takes my breath away, literally. For those of you who know me, you know that I am not an emotional person, but since I have been here I have had to constantly calm my heart because I am so happy. I tear up just thinking about thinking about spending time with the kids. I wish that you could hear them sing… It would break your heart! And that’s okay… J I can honestly say that I have never been happier in my whole life than I am at this moment. Bwana asi fiwe!! (Praise the Lord!) I know without a doubt that God has hand picked this team and that he has been faithful to help us to share his love with these people, and in return we have all be so blessed by them as well. These kids know more about the bible in their young age than many adults that I know.

Okay so I have to fill you in on the current activity. Thank God Almighty that I am happily seated here with my ipod on (Cold Play) writing you this blog, because across the way they are currently slaughtering a goat. Personally I think that I will pass on the visual and sit here chatting with you instead.

Now that I have rambled on and on, let me fill you in about our events yesterday. We woke up, we had breakfast, and then we proceeded to prepare for the day. Our journey begins with a Bora Bora ride. Now you may be wondering “what is a Bora Bora?” Well, a Bora Bora is a bicycle with a set on the back of it similar to that of the backseat of a motorcycle, but not really. Dad I miss the Harley!!! HAHA Okay back to the update. So we rode on the Bora Bora’s for about 20 mins or so. I’m not really sure how far we went, but it was so much fun! Poor Brenda ended up with an old man as a driver though and he was not able to keep up with the rest of us. We our destination was the alcoholic rehab center. The center is great! The have a place for the guests to stay, a place for them to have chapel, and a place for them to heal. They are currently working on raising enough money to finish showers and toilets. After viewing the center we went and had Chai with the family who runs the center. We sat and shared a little about ourselves and just enjoyed everyone’s company. When we were done it was back on the Bora Bora’s for our journey home. It is so neat how friendly the people are here. As you are riding there are people all over the place that are waving hello and saying “Habari!” Which is their version of “Hey how’s it going?” My favorite part of the ride was just to close my eyes and breathe in the fresh air. It is so peaceful here!

Today we are planting some trees and helping out here and there. We are also packing and saying our goodbyes tonight, because we are leaving tomorrow morning! Ah! I hate goodbye’s… I am going to miss everyone so much! We will be heading to Kip Karen tomorrow to yet another orphanage to help and prepare for the children that will be moving-in in a couple of weeks. Just so you know if you don’t hear from us for a while it is not because we fell off the face of the earth, but because we either have little or no electricity in Kip Karen, so no internet! Pole! (Sorry!) I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and blogs that we have been posting for you!

Prayer requests:
For Health for the team
For Owen to continue to adjust
For the delivery of Dorcas new baby!
For the health of the kids here
For a safe journey to Kip Karen, Safari, and on our journey home
For God to Bless our team and to use us here in Kenya!

I love you all!
Tutawanana!
-Sara

Friday, June 02, 2006

The kids are so proud of their craft projects

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LBF:Greetings from Gina

Habari asubuhi (good morning)! We are all having a wonderful experience in Africa. The children are beautiful and we love their company. I (Gina) am having the greatest experience of my life. The children are amazing and love to hang all over you and have your personal attention. I have been able to help Michele with the individual needs of the children. I love tutoring the children and playing sports with them. I feel so blessed to be able to come to this beautiful place.

Wednesday started out very exciting. We had Mandazi (donuts) for breakfast and then quickly departed to put on a skit for the school. The skit went very well. We did Noah’s Ark with props and animal sounds. After the wonderful skit we went to our different tasks. Brenda and I worked in the orphanage, organizing all of the donated crafts and clothes. Then Debbie and I planned the craft for the day. Sara read to Henry, a boy with chicken pox. The men worked very hard to complete a beautiful fence. Michele helped cook in the kitchen and prepared for the tutoring of the children later in the day. The whole Kenya team was able to tutor the children with their homework. The point of working with the children was to reward them for doing good things. Once they were done they got a lolly pop. Then we did our craft and after our craft we played with bubbles. They loved the bubbles and loved playing with us outside. After they played outside they had their devotional where Michele gave the message in one gazebo and Mike gave the message in the other. We ate dinner, heard about the life of Jonah and Mary, who are house parents and then we read stories to the children.

Your comments are greatly appreciated and we enjoy hearing from all of our family and friends. Please spread the word that we are posting blogs so that all of our family and friends know they can comment and read about the trip.

Prayer requests:
- The health of all our team.
- One of the house parents (Mary) - her mother is not a believer.
- Dorcas – that her baby delivery goes well, and that the baby is born healthy.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Heading Home


Heading Home
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.
The girls (Sara, Debbie, Gina, Michelle and Brenda) heading home after a home visit on Wednesday.

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