Salem: Saying good-bye

The team wrote a somewhat detailed report today at lunch about the last few days. But due to a technical glitch, I lost the entry.

So, as they're currently at the airport (they should be at their gate as I'm typing this), I'll just conclude with some quotes from dinner conversation tonight - 

• Several team members kissed giraffes this morning. You'll have to get the scoop from them!
• Going to the market to buy souvenirs was  quite an experience. Tim described the vendors' enthusiasm to serve them as "like piranhas going for fresh meat"!
• Derick is thinking of starring in "Farmer wants a wife." OK, not really. But he's been told by a Kenyan couple that once their baby gets born, if it's a girl, he can marry her. So the team might re-unite in Kenya in 20 years.
• For dinner, the team sampled crocodile, guineafowl, camel, and had lots of other good meat and salads. They all decided that the camel was not too good. It may take a person the entire flight to Amsterdam to chew one bite.

They really had an amazing time in our village, and we were blessed to have them. We look forward to seeing the future results of their work, especially in terms of the farmers' coop that was started this week!

Thank you for each of you who were a part of this journey through your support and prayers.

Salem: Sunday

Sorry about the gap between the last blog as we have been out all day the last 2 on projects and field trip tours to farms. Doug, Deric and Tim were able to go onto their first farm tours on Thursday after the successful seminars had ended. We were taken to two farms by David, the Kipkaren Center director, and traversed some extremely rough road with breath taking natural beauty. The first stop was at the farm of Samson who farms 31 acres of Maize and pastures for his family. With the extreme increase in fertilizers we felt in the US market, so has the cost of fertilizers in Kenya, and a number of growers here had decided to use less and some no fertilizer at all, thus their maize crops range from good to poor. The fear here is that as the crop is being harvested currently and it being short, there may be some big issues of running out of food this coming March. Meanwhile, as we toured Samson’s farm, we were able to pull a soil sample from 2 of his fields and our hope is to bring them back to the USA to be analyzed for actual nutrients in their soil to help them increase productivity. Samson was greatly appreciative of our help and talk of starting a new coop and we were blessed with a wonderful Kenyan lunch in his home made of thatch roofing and mud walls. The other farms we visited and spoke to were given some added hope as the desire to form this cooperative and gaining new “farming practices” motivated all the growers we met with. We were also able to get some samples of their feeds to bring home and have analyzed for actual nutritional content as the bags they buy have “no” information. Please pray that the Lord will help us be able to bring these samples into our customs and be able to come into the USA. The agriculture staff was greatly encouraged by all we experienced and saw and have definitely sensed that God has opened a door to help the Kenyans succeed in producing and storing more food for their people. We’ve all sensed that these people want to work and are willing to try some new things as they have been kept in the dark about new technologies over the last number of years. Friday, Tim had an opportunity to teach the ag students in their classroom for 3 hours and did some practical applications in the experiment garden as well as soil sampling techniques in the afternoon. He was amazed at their ability to take notes and he appreciated their questions and class participation.

Thursday evening after a busy day being involved in a variety of things we were divided into 2 groups and had dinner in local homes. We had good meals and interesting conversation. We continue to learn more of the Kenyan culture along with individual stories of a way of life that can be difficult to comprehend. God has done amazing things in so many lives and situations and it is humbling to hear. Unfortunately Vickie spent the day very ill but she is OK now and everyone else is well.

The First Aid/CPR training finished well this morning. Jenn did a great job teaching and modifying as needed as we did not have the usual equipment such as mannequins to practice on. We practiced most of the skills on the cement floor and used rolled up blankets and benches to practice the compression skills of CPR! The students were very involved, asked good questions and had fun while at it. Those who completed all the classes were given certificates of completion. Linda did a teaching session Thursday afternoon and will finish up on Monday. Friday was a holiday here and six of us went with many of the staff and students to another ELI location in Illula for a day of competition between the two centers. The morning included both men and women’s volleyball games and in the afternoon we enjoyed the men’s football (soccer) match. It was quite a good game and Fred was invited to play on the Kipkaren team and did well. He even got in a couple great head shots! Afterwards we stopped in the bustling town of Eldoret for dinner and some brief shopping in one of the markets. The roads can be a bit harrowing but we had an excellent driver and all went well.

Salem: Wednesday

Greetings from Kipkaren! The pastors and agricultural seminars were completed today with great success. Fred has been playing soccer with the staff and students – No injuries yet, there is a game with another training center on Friday so Injuries could be pending-please pray! Fred spoke at the children’s home today and led the children in singing "I’ve Got Peace Like A River". Fred and Jen have new friends from the children’s home, Bonyface, a five year old and Viola who is about 8. Here are some pictures and updates on the team.

Doug was able to help the farmers of Kipkaren to begin their new co-op. Thirty-one were in attendance and all signed up and 14 paid their membership fees! Tim was able to share a cost vs. return on Maize (corn) today and stirred up a number of good questions. Tim will look for options for new fertilizer uses after he pulls some soil samples from a number of farmers and gets the results from a USA lab.


The Pastor’s convention ended with 38 of them graduating and this will be celebrated at a service tonight after dinner. The pastor’s were greatly encouraged and empowered and given a great deal of encouragement through fellowship. Super Linguist H and Fred did a great job of sharing and teaching. God has really moved in a mighty way in the pastor’s conference. The pastor’s were so excited and encouraged by the seminars.


Vicky was invited to Miriam’s home for a nice visit and made chocolate chip cookies for lunch, yum. Vicky and Jenn taught Miriam how to make chili and banana bread. Most excellent feast for tonight.


Linda had an opportunity to go on her first home visit with a couple of woman from the home care team and went on an extended journey on foot over the river (literally) and through the banana patches to a young lady how has been suffering greatly from a bone and joint disease. The good news was the patient was definitely feeling better as the medication she was recently put on was helping. On her way home, Linda was blessed by seeing a number of lovely children at a school who gave her all their attention. The walk was 6 miles round trip but she had a great time seeing some of the back country and had the chance to greet many lovely Kenyans along the way.

Here are some pictures from our arrival.

Arriving at our destination in Kipkaren after two days of traveling!

Children's Home welcomes the team when we arrived.

Salem Update: Tuesday

Everything is going well. The last day of both seminars is tomorrow so our hectic schedule will slow some. They both are being well received and well attended exceeding what they expected.

God’s Word is being taught and the discussion in the pastor’s seminar has been rich. Fred and H are an awesome team.


The Ag seminar was great today with Tim and Deric both sharing about their Ag experiences with lots of questions by the farmers. Tomorrow they are going to try to form a cooperative; Doug’s job is to lead them through the formation, with trust of their own people being a big issue for them.



Jenn was feeling better today and had her 1st training session today with an overflow group. She will teach each morning all week. Linda gave a training session today and worked in the clinic.

Vickie has been busy with the cooks and visiting with the Kenyan women and children. The team is just finishing the nightly devotional with all 96 of the children at the children’s home. It is awesome to hear the children sing and share their testimonies.





Please continue to pray for strength for the team as we finish the seminars tomorrow. Doug is still having some altitude sickness issues but is doing better.

Pray for the hearts to remain open as God works in each of our lives as well as the Kenyan people's lives.

Salem: Update 1

Dear friends and family,

We apologize for the delay in getting this out to you. We arrived safely in Kipkaren on Friday to an amazing ELI welcome. There were about 200 children and adults from the center waiting to welcome us with singing and dancing. It made us feel like royalty and we were all teary eyed by the end.

Since then we have settled in to our nice cottages – much better accommodations then we expected. The food has been good and we have been made to feel very welcome and appreciated.

For the most part, everyone is feeling well although Doug and Jenn have been dealing with upset stomachs and a little light headed, that we attribute to the higher elevation.

On Sunday, Tim and H gave the sermon and the rest of us participated in small ways including performing a team song (I know some of you are laughing at this!) We were treated to an amazing display of talented singing and dancing by the children, almost like the African Children’s Choir only from the Kipkaren village! The entire service lasted two and a half hours.

Today Fred and H taught the pastoral seminar to 24 pastors and it was well received. Tim and Deric went into town to hunt for what Ag supplies are available. Doug taught about cooperative to over 80 farmers which was well received. Both seminars will continue tomorrow and Wednesday.

Linda and Jenn met with Michelle from the medical clinic to plan the week’s schedule of teaching opportunities and then spent some time at the clinic this afternoon. Linda had an opportunity to accompany Kiptoo (an RN) and a few others to the public school up the road to invite some of the teachers to the First Aid training that will begin tomorrow.

Vickie spent the day taking pictures of the seminars and working with the cooks.

We are all enjoying being here and are learning much about the Kenyan culture. We are enjoying many opportunities to minister to and build relationships with the people and we are being ministered to also.

Please pray for health and stamina as we are keeping a busy schedule in a different culture and that our hearts and the Kenyan hearts remain open. We hope all is well with those of you back home and we are praying for you also.