NewSong Team Update

Praise be to God!
A NewSong update by Peggy & Diann

After 41 hours of travel by car, train, bus, plane, and plane, and plane, and waiting along the way we arrived safely in Nairobi Friday night, June 27. We spent the night (or really the early morning hours for most of us, since one of our suitcases got left behind at the Nairobi airport and had to be fetched) at a missionary guest house in Nairobi.

On Saturday morning, after having to adjust our packing a bit due to a weight restriction, we flew in a 20-seater plane for Eldoret. (Our remaining two cases came the next evening.) Seeing the landscape from this vantage point was beautiful. We were picked up by the Ilula Children’s Home Director Laban Rono, the Ukweli Training Center Manager Patrick Kiprop and the Short Term Teams Coordinator Joel. They drove us through town and out a ways to the Ilula Children’s Home.

We received a beautiful greeting from the children as we pulled down the driveway onto the campus. All 90+ children were lined up in a semi-circle formation, from smallest to biggest. The four little ones at the start of the line held a bouquet of roses, one for each of us. As we walked down the line, each of them extended their precious little hand to shake ours and they put left hand over their right forearm as a gesture of honor to us, all the while saying: “Welcome” or “Welcome Home.” It was a greeting that overwhelmed our senses and emotions. The people here are very gracious, grateful, and kind . We received several warm welcomes by different staff and children in word, song, and dance before the welcome ceremony was concluded.

From that time until now, five full days have flown by. The people here, both ELI staff and villagers alike, are warm and loving people who value relationship. They have shared the stories of their lives and asked us about ours. The sharing has been rich. Time is not as important as people, and it is measured more by the event than the minute—although they do plan a daily and weekly schedule and pack a lot into each day. They are very grateful for us as their “visitors” and are so open and eager to listen and receive what God can speak through us. We have had several formal opportunities, and many casual ones, to minister; here are some highlights:

• interacting with the staff of the Children’s Home, adult Training Center, and the Director of Operations for ELI Kenya over meals and in rich conversations
• Duke and Peggy, primarily, spent three days of seminar discussions with the Children’s Home house parents; Diann sat in on the last two and contributed
• a few hours of seminar discussion with 13 men and their two leaders in the 30-day alcoholic rehabilitation group—they live on the grounds and graduate Saturday (four are being baptized!); it was a powerful time
• Dan met with the teachers and headmaster of the school next to the Children’s Home to discuss improvements in teaching and student growth
• Diann was the main speaker at a church service on Sunday in a beautiful area at 8,500 feet elevation; three congregations came together for it and we were the first team to ever be taken to this area
• we all spoke to a group from the church that afternoon about their community concerns and gave ideas, challenge, and encouragement
  

Each of these opportunities has been a privilege to be used by God as well as the many small conversations and interactions we have had interspersed among these. These wonderful people have hearts that are open wide to God’s truth and calling and have touched our hearts and deepened our faith immensely.

Tomorrow* we leave for 8 nights in Kipkaren and begin again to bond with God’s dear servants and to serve the least of these in Jesus’ precious name.

By His grace and for His glory,

NewSong Church Kenya Team
Dan Perrine, Duke and Peggy Draeger, Diann Enderby

* The team has since arrived at Kipkaren and are enjoying the new Kipkaren guest houses on the banks of the Kipkaren River. So far, they've been on tours of the various ministries at this base, and right now, they're at the graduation of the new DBSP class, a small-business training program. Tomorrow, they'll be spending some time at a children's rally (300+ are expected) as well as at an AIDS campaign.

Please keep praying for the team, for good health & for God to show them his heart.

APU: Becca says...

Ahhh…What a beautiful day! Kenya is like nothing I have ever experienced; everything from the African trees that we have all imagined to the soothing songs the children at night. I have never seen so many people so happy for what little they have, and so grateful for the daily gift of life. The kindness seeps from this training center, and the love extends even farther than that. The joy is astounding as it continues to change our perspectives, on the exponential enormity of God and what He can do in our lives if we just say yes.

I have been so blessed by this place, even from the moment I walked onto this complex. The children greeted us with songs of praise and presented us with bouquets of roses as well as with prayers. It was truly the warmest welcome that I have ever received. All of the parents, staff and the directors are the nicest people, and though they may not remember all of our names yet, they are very intentional about letting us know that they care and that they have been praying for us. We have become a family.

Our days have consisted of a little manual labor in the morning, which is known as keying, but through it we are learning discipline and making great friends. The kids take a lunch break and distract us from our work…but we are always glad to be distracted because it means a little more time with these incredible children. They are all so intelligent, knowing at least 2 different languages, and they know there bible better that most American Christians I know. They have such a passion here that we seem to lack in the states. We fill the void with TV and work, while they fill their minds with Gods grace and forgiveness. The afternoons may vary, but we have gone on a few home visits which are so eye opening.

We then do devotions with the kids, have dinner and then my favorite part of the day, reading to the kids. We have an hour to go into one of the dorm rooms where we will read a short story, but then things get crazy. So far I have really tired to use this time to get to know the children. Sometimes we just talk, or sing and dance. The girls have really shown an interest in swing dancing surprisingly enough, as well the Can Can…? Anyway, our time thus far has been amazing and I know that God is really working on each of us individually.

Just a short shout out to our family and friends…we love you all and we thank you for all of your prayers. We never could have made it here without you.

Love you all, Becca

NewSong: Final Update

Our time has been wonderful! Sadly, we will leave in a few minutes to share devotions with the children for the last time. We are going to miss their infectious laughter and precious little smiles. Each night, Daren has led them in a few songs that they have come to enjoy... "Noah's Ark" and "Waddley Acha". We wish you could share in their sheer glee, as they laugh hysterically at the goofy faces and animal noises. It is impossible to escape the grasp of them stealing our hearts.

Illula has shown us the success that the children's homes are having in raising up intelligent, beautiful kids who will undoubtedly impact the future of Kenya. Each child has a their individual dream according to their giftings... some desire to become a pilot, a nurse, a doctor, an engineer, a farmer, a politician, or some other wonderful career. We are confident they will succeed in reaching their goals. Even the young ones seem to know what they want to do and are making tremendous strides in that direction.

Tonight we will celebrate with the Kenyan leadership at a closing ceremony, all that God has accomplished during our short time with them. It is with mixed emotions that we embrace the close of our time here. While we are excited to return home to all of you in America, we are already feeling the pain of leaving these new friends behind. There is no question that Empowering Lives International is making a difference. Please join us in continuing a commitment to uphold this organization and their many arms of ministry in prayer. The staff here lead humble, courageous lives offering all they have to God's service. We stand in awe at the commitment and sacrifices they are each making every day. Although life here in Kenya is difficult, it is satisfying when you see the results that the training centers, schools, and children's homes are making.

Tomorrow morning early, we fly to the Masai Mara to enjoy a brief safari. We plan to take lots of photos of the wildlife and scenery before departing from this beautiful country. We have already seen the true beauty Africa has to offer through its people and culture. We hope this safari will only further round out our experience with the natural sights that the wilderness has to offer. Friday we board our international flight to return home to all of you. We look forward to sleeping in our own beds again Saturday night.

We love you and await our opportunity to share the many adventures we have embraced.

Thank you for your love and support,
The 2007 NewSong Kenya Team

New Song: Annie reports

When we arrived in Kip Karen around 8 pm, the entire center was their to greet us. It was amazing! The warm welcome was felt the entire time we were in Kipkaren.

The children are amazing! They smile every time they see you and enjoy the simplest of games. We have been blessed to have spent every evening with them singing songs and reading stories. We will attempt to post some pictures tomorrow but we have had some "technical" difficulties up to now. Technical difficulties include no electricity during the day or running water. It was interesting to use the "toilet" in the middle of the night with all the frogs! Yuck! They use the word "cho" or toilet but not bathroom as that means a place were you bathe.

Another amazing thing is how friendly everyone is. Wherever you go, people stop to shake your hand, greet you and tell you to have a good day. This happens A LOT as everyone walks everywhere. (Very few people have enough money for cars.) We also spent some time visiting with some local Kenyans in their homes. They spent time sharing their stories with us and treating us to chai.

We also spent some time with the American missionaries that live there. (Juli McGowan, Allison Tjaden, Dan and Jen Davis) These people have given up their comfort, their homes in the USA, modern conveniences, all to help the people of Kenya. WOW! I cannot begin to describe the type of courage it must take to give of oneself so completely. We will miss their company as we leave for Ilula.

We will either send an email or get the blog page to work in the next few days. Look for pictures by Friday.

We hope this email finds everyone doing well.

The New Song Team

Annie Welch

Daren Bachman

Duke Draeger

Dan & Myra Perrine

New Song Update from Kenya!

I’ve been trying to reach the team for the past few days, but haven’t been able to reach them. Annie finally called me this morning with news from the team.

Everyone’s doing really, really well. They’re all getting over jet lag. Says Annie, “We’ve been having a good time. We’re enjoying the atmosphere at Kipkaren. The kids have especially been amazing! We’re falling in love with them. They’re stealing our hearts! We’ve been playing with them after school, singing and leading their evening devotions.”

According to Annie, it didn't take a lot to get used to the bathroom arrangements and such. Thanks for your prayers!

Their first two days (Monday and Tuesday) were spent with the 33 students who are currently in ELI’s 9-month bio-intensive agricultural training program. They conducted leadership training, did exercises in team building, and Dan and Myra presented a variety of talks.

Yesterday, Duke conducted a marriage seminar for all the couples who are serving as parents at the orphanage. Duke loved it and is doing really well, too!

While Duke, Dan and Myra were at the parents’ training day, Daren and Annie went to Edwin’s home with ELI staff Juli and Allison. The 12-year-old Edwin sadly passed away yesterday after years of heart problems and surgery. Allison and Juli have been friends with Edwin for several years, visiting him in the hospital, raising funds for his surgeries and more. Daren and Annie were touched to be able to be with Edwin’s family during this difficult time.

Yesterday was Daren’s birthday. The team had taken carrot cake mix, and after dinner at ELI Kipkaren Director David Tarus’ house, they had carrot cake and celebrated the big 4-0 with Daren.

Today, they've been busy doing a leadership seminar for ELI staff and were all still in the training when I got to speak with Annie.

They’ll call me again early next week with an update and will also try to send me photos at that time to upload.

Again, thank you for being part of this journey with Daren, Duke, Annie, Dan and Myra!