Little Country Church- We love Kipkaren!

We are all doing well and are loving our time here. Here's a little look into our day today:

Pastor Dennis speaks to 51 pastors from different villages from around Kipkaren. Some come from as far away as 70 km. Many of the pastors are testifying that since January when Pastor Brian and Pastor Dennis shared, their church attendance has doubled and offerings have increased to a level where they can feed their families. Praise God!

Vic spent time today rewiring one of the huts at the Children’s Home. It appears to have been improperly wired and was smoking. Tomorrow he will check the rest of the huts. Everyone is so thankful for his help.

Betty shared her testimony with the team this morning. What a blessing she is! During our afternoon spa time, Janet gave Betty her very first massage ever! And Sherry, Joanne, and Tiffany gave her a manicure and pedicure. Betty is HIV positive and has tuberculosis – but testifies to God’s goodness and how much he loves her. She radiates the joy of the Lord as she confesses, “I think I am his favorite.” Betty is a counselor and does testing for AIDS in the nearby villages. She believes God for everything and He continues to supply all of her needs.

Betty & Janet

APU: They're fast asleep

The team is really tired tonight. They had a wonderful day, and a full one at that.

Read my blog to learn about their adventures. And visit my Flickr site to see some more pictures.

Thanks for standing with them in prayer. They're doing great!

Adele

APU: Brittney Reports

Zach and Diana Rudolph, team leaders

Sue and George Bache, APU Director of Institute of Outreach Ministries

The team: Zach, Brittney, Becca, Jessica, Diana, Devon, (back) Steve & Adriel

Adriel, Brittney, Becca, Jessica, Devon and Steve

Adele says: During dinner tonight, Laban ate a termite, wings and all. This got the whole team going... OK, not everyone ate termites, but Steve and Zach did. Of course. But they removed the wings. Gross! The team is currently back with the children, reading bedtime stories. They've been doing wonderfully! Thank you for praying for them. Here's what Brittney has to say:

Well let’s see… I am going to give you an update on the past three days here in Ilula. Starting on Saturday we worked on the keying of the kitchen that Becca mentioned in the last blog. I love those four hours that we work on that because it is a time where our team really bonds and we get to share stories and laugh with one another. We also get a chance to talk with the parents and get to know them on a personal level.

Later that day, the children all got together in a room and watched Finding Nemo. Some of the children were scared of the sharks and the big fish. Saturday was a pretty relaxing day which was very nice.

On Sunday, we had our first church service. It was so amazing! Many people from the town came and joined us so we had a chance to meet some new people. Our team went up and sang them a song called “African Rain,” then Zach spoke and gave a wonderful sermon about how we all have an inheritance as God's sons and daughters. Later that evening, we went to Kerio View which was at the edge of the valley overlooking a portion of the Great Rift Valley. I have never seen so much green in my life. Becca got attacked by huge ants, Zach and I thought we heard elephants making weird noises but we were told that there were no elephants in that area, so we are not sure what we were hearing. We then received a letter from our loved ones back at home. I know that receiving these put a big smile on everyone’s face. It was so nice to get words of encouragement from the people we love. So thank you to all of those who took the time to write to us, we really appreciated it. =)

Now for Monday… we finally got the rain that we have been waiting for. It is very cold and muddy, but it is so neat to sit under the gazebo and play a game of dominoes or UNO and just listen to the rain. We all went on a home visit to the directors of the Children's Home, Laban and Angelina. They served us chai and showed us pictures of their families and their wedding. It then started pouring so we couldn’t leave. We spent a good 2 hours just sharing our stories and drinking chai.

At dinner time the power went out so we had a candle light dinner. There was about 15 people sitting around the table talking and debriefing about what we have learned being here so far and what we have enjoyed. I have learned that with love anything is possible. The four sets of parents that are here have so much love for their children. Even though many of the children come from broken homes, being abused, parents dieing of AIDS the love that these parents show them have transformed them to be such wonderful loving children.

As for today, we worked in the morning continuing the keying and we finally finished the kitchen and are moving to the next house tomorrow. It started raining in the afternoon and has not stopped yet. Zach, Steve and I milked a cow for the first time, and I must say it was very interesting. Today has been such a beautiful yet cold day. I wish I could continue writing but it is time to go do devotions with the children. We love you and miss you all.

God bless,
Brittney

Little Country Church- An incredible first day!

Our Incredible Welcome!


Vic and the Kids!

The greeting we received when we arrived in Kipkaren is beyond anything we could have imagined. These people are so loving and happy; all because they have Jesus. We have much to learn from them. Today we were taken on a tour of the compound and shown how their agriculture program empowers the people to be self-sufficient and productive God's way.

Vic attracted quite a bit of attention for his moustache - as you can see in the picture, the children gathered around just to be near him.

Tiffany, Joanne, & Sherry blessed the ladies today with manicures and pedicures and Janet gave them each a massage. Afterwards we served them chai and cookies. We don't know who was blessed more: them or us.

This afternoon Vic and Pastor Dennis worked on the two broken video projectors. They got one to work and figured out the problem with the second. Then they worked on a broken truck and got it straightened out and made it usable.

We are well and amazed at what God is doing here. Thanks for all your prayers!

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