I (Adele) just walked into my home after a marathon couple of days for all of us.
When the team got back from Sudan on Wednesday, they were happy to take showers and drink lots of fresh water. Wish you could see them devour the ice cold watermelon I gave them as they were heading to take showers... Later, we sat on my porch and chatted about their experiences. You'll want to ask them MANY questions when they get home. They have lots of stories to tell!
The team had both shrunk and grown. Micah, Kevin and Jen had gone straight to Nairobi, and Tammy joined the group from LA. She arrived on Wednesday night.
On Thursday morning, we headed to Kipkaren. They were welcomed by the Kipkaren children, after which they had tours of the centers. They were in Kipkaren on a historical night: The first night ever that there was electricity in the area! (Other than that from generators or solar panels.)
On Friday morning, we headed out bright and early to a nearby town for an AIDS campaign. It was in a small village where people are still very afraid of talking about HIV/AIDS, so the crowd was a bit smaller than usual (maybe 1500 as opposed to 3000+). More than 400 people got tested, of which 7 were HIV+.
The afternoon's events were interrupted by heavy rains, but about 30 minutes later, the soccer team was back on the field and the crowd back in their positions, cheering. Then followed the prize giving, after which we headed home. The Salvation Army Band from Kitale was still playing their hearts out by the time we pulled out and headed back to Kipkaren. (A band from Nairobi was also present, but not the usual band we have. They didn't play as much since it seemed like the very rural crowd enjoyed the Salvation Army guys more than they enjoyed the city boys!)
The band from Nairobi had a concert for the kids from the children's home after dinner (ask the team about it--I headed home for some down time), and then, BAM! there was a massive thunder storm and heavy downpour. It was wonderful! But the lightning hit something, and now there's no power in Kipkaren again... Power should be back soon!
Today, the team had some much-needed down time. They came to Eldoret to walk around the market, buy postcards, relax at Poa Place (poa means "cool"), the local hang-out for families. (It's a swimming pool and playground for kids.) I was not with them since I joined Laban and Angelina Rono's 25th wedding anniversary celebrations, followed by a birthday party for 35 of our kids in Ilula.
Tomorrow, the team will participate in church activities in Kipkaren, then go for some home visits. On Monday, they'll come to Ilula where they'll visit the ELI Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center. Jervaun leaves on Monday evening. The team will spend the night at Ilula and will try to connect via e-mail at that time.
On Tuesday, they'll head back to Kipkaren, see the ELI clinic, and on Wednesday, they'll get to be a part of a Children's Ministry event at Kipkaren.
Thursday's back to Ilula. They fly to Nairobi early Friday morning to spend the day in the city (shopping & seeing touristy things), and then they'll be off, home-bound!
Please keep them in your prayers this week. I'll upload photos to my Flickr account later this week. I just realized that the USB cable for my camera is in Kipkaren... Sorry you can't see photos right now.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Sudan Update: Finishing Up
Today was another great day in Sudan. The team is doing well.
Today held a day full of activities at the Empowering Lives School. If you can, imagine all of the children meeting under a large roof, no walls, no desks, no classrooms separating the children... The teachers have separated the children into groups then the teachers walk around the large area with chalk boards teaching the children. There was a segment of time that ELI staff Dan Davis took the teachers to another area and had discussions with them and a time of encouragement.
The rest of the team had all of the children during this time playing jump rope, games and using parachutes. They loved the parachutes! To end the team's time at the school they had a great time of prayer with the teachers.
After lunch there was a break for anyone who needed some rest time to rest. A few joined in on the construction at the children's home. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be the team's last full day in Sudan. We will be getting up early to hike to the local cattle camp. Some of our children that attend the school live in the cattle camp. The team will be able to gather some of the stories and see the reality of these children's lives.
Today held a day full of activities at the Empowering Lives School. If you can, imagine all of the children meeting under a large roof, no walls, no desks, no classrooms separating the children... The teachers have separated the children into groups then the teachers walk around the large area with chalk boards teaching the children. There was a segment of time that ELI staff Dan Davis took the teachers to another area and had discussions with them and a time of encouragement.
The rest of the team had all of the children during this time playing jump rope, games and using parachutes. They loved the parachutes! To end the team's time at the school they had a great time of prayer with the teachers.
After lunch there was a break for anyone who needed some rest time to rest. A few joined in on the construction at the children's home. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be the team's last full day in Sudan. We will be getting up early to hike to the local cattle camp. Some of our children that attend the school live in the cattle camp. The team will be able to gather some of the stories and see the reality of these children's lives.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The Bridge: What Day is it?
Bwana Asifewe!
Julie and Kay here. We finally took posession of the computer to send an update. Well, Gary's taking a nap. It's 2:15pm as we begin to write. Obviously the power has returned. It returned during the night that it went out. I guess Gary and Shad were just too worn out from all the activities yesterday to post something.
And we're sorry that there won't be any pictures with this update because we don't really know how to do that :)
On Saturday, we were able to enjoy God's amazing creation as we had a 'day away' where they took us up a mountain to a view point that overlooks part of the Great Rift Valley. We realize that the previous sentince doesn't even do justice to what we saw, but we promise to show you pictures when we return. As we traveled up and down the mountain we were able to witness more of the Kenyan lifestyle, too. To say this is a beautiful country would be an understatement.
We stopped in Eldoret at an outdoor garden/restaurant place and had ice cream!
On to Sunday
Sunday School begins at 8:30am for an hour. It's for preschool-highschool. They're divided into 4 groups. Mick, I suggest we do this at The Bridge :) So we divided up amonst the groups and each got to share about ourselves and a Bible story. Then church started at 10am. WOW!! It was an amazing experience. All of the different age groups took turns singing in front of church, which is the dining hall at the training center. I believe Gary has talked about their singing in a past blog. It's something that is hard to describe, but I would compare it to what the angels sound like in heaven. It's pure, genuine worship. There was a time of testimonies. Anyone was welcome to come up and share what God had done in their lives.
Dorcas, a house parent and the choir director, lead her choir in some more amazing worship that was proceded by prayer. During their prayer time, everyone prays at the same time. Some literally cry out to God while others sit quietly in their seats. The children were also involved in this. The level of noise was almost deafening, but beautiful. We were then asked to introduce ourselves and give a short testimony of our lives. We followed this with some worship music and John preaching!
In the afternoon, we visited one of the house parents. Their youngest son, Emmanuel is sick. Please pray for him. He's 4 months old. They brought him to the hospital and saw signs of malaria. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the children playing kick-ball. Julie and I were cheer leading coaches. They thought we were crazy! They eventually joined in. Devotions followed where Gary gave his testimony and encouraged the children to grow in wisdom.
After dinner a few of us returned to the Children's Home to read stories and visit with the children. They're so precious!
On to today (though it's only 1/2 way done...)
Has Gary mentioned how much chai we consume in one day? It's probably an average of 5 cups a day per person! So we were schooled in how to make chai today! We'll make it for church some time.
We joined the whole ELI team for staff devotions. We again had the opportunity to share who we were, a bit about ourselves and words of encouragement. We appreciate that they constantly take time to share words of encouragement with one other as it builds each other up. We have not heard one complaint out of anyone's mouth. There are a lot of struggles, yet they choose to praise God (Bwana asifiwe!) It's sad that it's so unlike our culture. But don't worry. Julie and I are coming home to change that!
Work continued on the imfamous WALL. If you're thinking of constructing one out of bricks and concrete then talk to John, Julie and Charlene. It was a tough day of work because they felt they were more a hinderance than a help. So, our work on the wall is completed. The wall is not completed, but our work is. :) Shadrach and I were not given a 'wall job', so we went to the garden to help Lorence weed the onions. His garden is work of art. He told us that if you enter someone's garden that it's rude not to leave with some food. So he gave us each a passion fruit! YUM. And Gary . . . um. . . we're not sure where he was. Just kidding. He was working on a pamphlet about goats. Or as we like to call them, "The poor man's cow", which I will be milking in 3 hours!
Well, we're off to play with the children. This will be our last time with them as we leave the training center at 7 tomorrow morning. They're having 'closing ceremonies' for us. It'll be a night filled with lots of tears, but we know they have great parents to take care of them.
Thank you for your continued prayer. It plays a big role in what is being accomplished here at the center.
Julie and Kay here. We finally took posession of the computer to send an update. Well, Gary's taking a nap. It's 2:15pm as we begin to write. Obviously the power has returned. It returned during the night that it went out. I guess Gary and Shad were just too worn out from all the activities yesterday to post something.
And we're sorry that there won't be any pictures with this update because we don't really know how to do that :)
On Saturday, we were able to enjoy God's amazing creation as we had a 'day away' where they took us up a mountain to a view point that overlooks part of the Great Rift Valley. We realize that the previous sentince doesn't even do justice to what we saw, but we promise to show you pictures when we return. As we traveled up and down the mountain we were able to witness more of the Kenyan lifestyle, too. To say this is a beautiful country would be an understatement.
We stopped in Eldoret at an outdoor garden/restaurant place and had ice cream!
On to Sunday
Sunday School begins at 8:30am for an hour. It's for preschool-highschool. They're divided into 4 groups. Mick, I suggest we do this at The Bridge :) So we divided up amonst the groups and each got to share about ourselves and a Bible story. Then church started at 10am. WOW!! It was an amazing experience. All of the different age groups took turns singing in front of church, which is the dining hall at the training center. I believe Gary has talked about their singing in a past blog. It's something that is hard to describe, but I would compare it to what the angels sound like in heaven. It's pure, genuine worship. There was a time of testimonies. Anyone was welcome to come up and share what God had done in their lives.
Dorcas, a house parent and the choir director, lead her choir in some more amazing worship that was proceded by prayer. During their prayer time, everyone prays at the same time. Some literally cry out to God while others sit quietly in their seats. The children were also involved in this. The level of noise was almost deafening, but beautiful. We were then asked to introduce ourselves and give a short testimony of our lives. We followed this with some worship music and John preaching!
In the afternoon, we visited one of the house parents. Their youngest son, Emmanuel is sick. Please pray for him. He's 4 months old. They brought him to the hospital and saw signs of malaria. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the children playing kick-ball. Julie and I were cheer leading coaches. They thought we were crazy! They eventually joined in. Devotions followed where Gary gave his testimony and encouraged the children to grow in wisdom.
After dinner a few of us returned to the Children's Home to read stories and visit with the children. They're so precious!
On to today (though it's only 1/2 way done...)
Has Gary mentioned how much chai we consume in one day? It's probably an average of 5 cups a day per person! So we were schooled in how to make chai today! We'll make it for church some time.
We joined the whole ELI team for staff devotions. We again had the opportunity to share who we were, a bit about ourselves and words of encouragement. We appreciate that they constantly take time to share words of encouragement with one other as it builds each other up. We have not heard one complaint out of anyone's mouth. There are a lot of struggles, yet they choose to praise God (Bwana asifiwe!) It's sad that it's so unlike our culture. But don't worry. Julie and I are coming home to change that!
Work continued on the imfamous WALL. If you're thinking of constructing one out of bricks and concrete then talk to John, Julie and Charlene. It was a tough day of work because they felt they were more a hinderance than a help. So, our work on the wall is completed. The wall is not completed, but our work is. :) Shadrach and I were not given a 'wall job', so we went to the garden to help Lorence weed the onions. His garden is work of art. He told us that if you enter someone's garden that it's rude not to leave with some food. So he gave us each a passion fruit! YUM. And Gary . . . um. . . we're not sure where he was. Just kidding. He was working on a pamphlet about goats. Or as we like to call them, "The poor man's cow", which I will be milking in 3 hours!
Well, we're off to play with the children. This will be our last time with them as we leave the training center at 7 tomorrow morning. They're having 'closing ceremonies' for us. It'll be a night filled with lots of tears, but we know they have great parents to take care of them.
Thank you for your continued prayer. It plays a big role in what is being accomplished here at the center.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Bridge: Day four
Bwana asifiwe! (Praise the Lord!) Today, we took a walk out into the surrounding community and met two ladies who have been trained through the ELI training center.
The first lady, Esther, showed us the bread baking oven she now uses to bake and sell her goods. We enjoyed her rolls and muffins. We also had an opportunity to pray with her and ask God's blessing on her and her business. It was amazing to see how excited she was about working and how she had been empowered by ELI.
When we went into her home, there were beautiful blue skies, yet in the middle of our prayer (about 20 minutes into our visit) the wind kicked up strongly and a torrential downpour started. We waited it out for a few minutes and it passed. We were told that in the Kenyan culture this is considered a sign of blessing. Esther gave us some of her rolls and donuts as a gift to take with us.
Next, we went to the home of a lady named Paris who works as an assistant parent at the children's home. She also has a business of raising baby chicks which she sells to the community for extra income. She told us how she is using her income from the children's home to pay for her sister's schooling. It was incredible to just be walking down a dirt road in the middle of Kenya and soaking in the experience.
We continued to work on the brick wall today and it now stands taller than John. It should soon be finished and we hear we will be doing some more demolition tomorrow.
This afternoon we spent more time playing with the children again. They are such a joy to be around and are truly contagious. They are opening up more and are talking much more with us. I spent some time with a girl named Scopia who showed me the children's garden that they themselves work in and run. They do amazing work and are so proud. She shared with me that she wants to work hard and do good because God has done so much and has forgiven her sins and she is saved. Also I asked about school and she said she likes it very much because it is her future. It was really touching to hear her enthusiasm. This is common among all of them. We also went to devotions with them. It is awesome to hear them sing praises. We try to keep up with them.
We have a great time at our meals with the staff. We usually laugh until we cry. They shared how good it has been to have us here as an encouragement and to bring laughter and joy with us.
It is wonderful to see the messages everyone is leaving. It is incredible that half a world away we can receive the love and support from all of you. We cherish each and every one, even though everyone is complaining that they are mostly for me. :)
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