Tuesday, Dec 6

We had a full day today. Getting around has been very strategic and time consuming due to the lack of fuel all over Kenya. (Think of the gas station lines of 1976). We headed into Kitale to meet with James Mark a pastor from Kisii. He left Kisii on Monday, overnighted with a relative and came to Kitali this morning just to turn around after the meeting to travel all the way back to Kisii today. The travel is difficult enough but James Mark also had to be excused from some government training just to come.

James Mark is very passionate about his faith and how he is living it out in his life. Almost from the moment we settled in he began to share what has been on his heart. He is young and has realized that he needs a ‘secular’ job to support his calling to the ministry. These pastors of the poor here seem to end up supporting their members. He also wishes to be married. His church meets under an awning of tree branches situated on rental property so he also would like a rain proof meeting place that belongs to the congregation.

The last time we were here we visited the Kisii church. I shared with Ekklesia, the Victory class and Titus 2 how James Mark’s love for Christ consumed my attention. Here’s this young pastor gathering believers in a small tea farming community in Kenya. His location looks like something from Gilligan’s Island; he has a hand full of congregants, mostly children yet he is praising his heart out singing to God. James Mark has been using a guitar that is literally held together with screws and pieces of aluminum. But yet he praises.

Through the sharing of his story, someone was moved to gift James Mark with a guitar. Today we were able to transport that gift and deliver it to him. It was great! As we started he prayed about God giving his church favor to have some instruments with which to praise God. So when we finally presented him with the gift he was so overwhelmed I don’t think he completely understood that this was for him. It was great! He opened up the case, took out the guitar and started into his opening praise song – Jesus Come and Reign. Now mind you we are in a restaurant with 4 rooms of people and James Mark gets up and plays for 4 or 5 minutes just praising God. I love this guy. What an example of the church being in us wherever we are and living it out loud! What a joy to be allowed to be a part of this experience.

The rest of the day was pretty much just as great. We were building relationships with three other families throughout the day. I have to wonder how the English rule in this country has devastated this peoples’ ability to take initiative to think for themselves. What we take for granted as freedom does not seem to be intuitive here. Improving the quality of life seems to start with the sharing of some very basic things they need to see they can do for themselves. A large challenge indeed, but nothing too big for our God!

Monday, Dec 5

Today has been INCREDIBLE! This morning we played host to George and Jessica Mufoya and their one-week-old baby daughter, Deborah. They joined us on our shamba (farm) for tea and sandwiches while we talked about all the changes going on in their lives. George has moved to Nairobi and taken a job there in order to make a better life for his family. Unfortunately, right now the rest of the family remains behind on their shamba in Charangoni Hills. We talked about the difficulties this creates as well as the hopes of having them together in Nairobi and what this will mean to their way of life. We also talked about how George plans to branch out in ministry beyond the work of LCM, and how his wife eventually wants to be certified to teach Early Childhood Development classes in the government schools.

After a wonderful time of sharing and prayer, we went to Sibanga to meet Timothy and Rose Mahindu, also the proud parents of a new baby – eight week old Jeremiah. We came back to the shamba together and again enjoyed a time of sharing a meal while talking about how God has been working in our lives these past months. Language is still a barrier but it is amazing what can be communicated just through the act of being together and sharing a meal.

Our time now concluded with the Mahindus, we walked them down “Kittony Lane” toward Sibanga and along the way picked up our friend, little Zipporah. She is a young girl we meet often who lives on a shamba near Mama Zippy’s. We asked her mother if she could go to the market in Sibanga with us and mama told us to go ahead and Zipporah would follow. The next time we saw Zipporah, she had changed from her play clothes into her Sunday finest! We walked the rest of the way to the market, the three of us holding hands until we reached our destination in the marketplace. Ellen saw this as an awesome picture of God who comes to where we are and invites us to come along with Him. Like little children, we want to look our best for the Father so we hurry to wash up and put on our best clothes for Him. Then we join hands with Him and He leads us on a journey through this the trials of this world to a final destination of eternity in His presence. Once in the market, we asked Zipporah to take us to a soda shop and there we purchased a drink for her and several of her little friends. Of course, Dawn couldn’t leave without giving a Bible to the shop owner!

After we had walked Zipporah home and continued toward our own shamba, two of her friends who had been at the soda shop followed after us and asked for their own Bibles. Who could resist those precious girls and their simple request?!

Sunday, Dec 4

This being Sunday, we were so looking forward to seeing Pastor Isaac at the AIC Imani Sirwo church in Sibanga and then having lunch with him and his beautiful family afterwards. God, it seems, had other plans. Pastor Isaac called us on Saturday evening and told us he had been unable to get transport out of Nairobi so he was unable to be with us for worship – BUMMER! The past two times we have visited Kenya, we have not been able to connect with him. Their worship was incredible! I don’t think there was a single person who didn’t share a song with us. We gave Bibles to the youth who are in high school grades, explaining that the knowledge they gained in school was valuable but that which they received from the Bible was invaluable. After the service had ended, Pastor Isaac’s wife, Grace, along with his children, Louise and Emmanuel, were our guests for lunch at Zippy’s home. We enjoyed some great fellowship with Grace while watching the children play football (soccer) after our meal. We walked the Gikonyo family down the lane into the marketplace and said our goodbyes, continuing on to the LCM church which was having prayers. After worshipping with them in their rental building, we walked with them down another lane to a piece of land they have purchased and are constructing their own building. We thanked God for what He has done and asked for his blessing on the work. After a long day, we arrived back on the farm just at 7:00PM which is when Zippy likes for everyone to be in for the evening. Did we mention this was an INCREDIBLE day of worship?????

Saturday, December 3

The Seed Lady
Today we wanted to spend the day with our hostess, Zippy. Often we come and we feel as if we do not get to know her on a personal level. So we asked her to pick what she would like to do. I’m always afraid we’ll end up at the beauty parlor or as they call them here, the ‘saloon’. Much to my relief she chose to go to the National Agriculture Plowing Competition. Each district sends their winner from their plowing contest to this event to see who will go to the international competition. It seems a lot like 4H but for the adults. Today there were 3 categories – gimbe (hoe), ox team, and tractor. 60% of this countries farming is done by gimbe. This is back breaking work. We got an education today.

Well Ms. Dawn was not going to let a little event with the Prime Minister of Agriculture keep her from sowing her favorite kind of seed. So as Zippy introduced us around Dawn would back track and start a conversation. At one point she was talking to the man emceeing the event. After she had given him a Bible he put her on the microphone to address the crowd. She related to their efforts in their farming and said we come to Kenya to plant, too. But we plant a different kind of seed. That seed is the Word of God. For the remainder of the event people kept approaching her requesting a Bible. Some asked if she was selling them. Others were young people in their early twenties. I’m not sure if this scene could be repeated in the U.S. with the same result. These people are hungry for their own copy of the Bible. And that’s something we can never have too much of.

Dawn has made the gifting of Bibles a focus of each of the last three trips. She has such a passion for sharing Christ through this method that I have decided to call her the Seed Lady. All in all it was not a bad day in Kenya. 

Friday, December 2

We look back in fascination and humility as we recognize how God orchestrated this day. Breakfast at 9:00 and then we were off to Kitale with Zippy and her driver. Once there, we had some business to take care of at the bank so as we waited our turn we struck up a conversation with the young man who sat down next to us. Ekesia told us that he had once worked for Planned Parenthood in Kenya but became convicted of the fact he was working for an organization which supported abortion. (He attends a Catholic church in Kitale.) Conscience persuaded him to resign and he took a job at a business where he worked for several months. His co-workers began to ostracize him because his lifestyle was conservative and they made false allegations about him to his supervisor. He was eventually confronted by this supervisor who told him he could either resign or they would force him out of his job. Ekesia and his wife discussed the situation and agreed that if his co-workers did not want to work with him, he should not stay where he wasn’t welcome. So for over a year now, Ekesia has been looking for another job and trusting God to provide that job while meeting his family’s needs in the interim. As he recounted his situation, the story gave me goose bumps because his story sounded nearly identical to my own circumstances! I shared with Ekesia from Colossians 2:6 where Paul told the Colossians, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” How do we receive Christ? The answer is, “by faith”. And if we are to walk in Christ in the same manner in which we receive Him, then we are to walk by faith, as well. These days, Ekesia and I are spending a lot of time walking by faith! On the surface it may seem a coincidence that two people in two cultures on opposite sides of the earth could share such similar circumstances. But if you think that, you are forgetting just how AWESOME our Father truly is! – Dawn

God through our finances
After our time at the bank we met with Justus Arani the Watergate Cyber Café (WCC) manager. Two years ago we brought a team to Kitale/Sibanga to establish a cyber café. This is bit like Starbucks but instead of expensive coffee and free wifi the internet service is the commodity that is sold along with other office services such as copy making. The idea behind this business was to generate funds for pastors that serve very poor congregations and do not receive a salary of any sort. Sounds simple right? Well nothing is that straight forward in Kenya. Through many twists and turns and two location changes the WCC is still struggling to be even self supporting. So a decision has needed to be made whether to continue to pour funds into the operation.

For two years I feel as if God has connected me with Justus for some reason. We do not share all the same beliefs but focusing on that has not been my motive for relationship. For whatever reason God has put it on my heart to care about what goes on with Justus. I think caring is one thing. To actually be able to walk along side someone and possiblly speak into their life you must form a trust. Within that trust I hope Justus has seen something of Christ in me and understands that Christ is why I care.

Today was another step in that caring process. Dawn and I were able to sit with Justus and have him share his dream of using his recent schooling to start a business. We had been discussing this through emails but it was great to sit and share chai and hear his passion and knowledge about this task. We felt free to challenge him on several aspects of his plan that he had not considered and give him some new ideas. At one point as he was responding he said ‘wow, Dawn really has my neck in a hold’. I love Kenyan descriptions. We were able to have some honest conversation about a shortcoming on his part with the WCC. And beyond taking what we have learned from the other 5 micro loans we came up with a way for Justus, as Ken would say, to have skin in the game. So we resolved that in exchange for the micro loan that Justus would take complete responsibility for making the WCC a profitable operation. This is skin because his new business’ success depends on the WCC being open.

After a fruitful session Justus took us to his home where we met with Rhoda his wife, their 3 yr old daughter, cousins and aunts. What a delight to see a very functioning family unit. Mutual respect for each other. An example is Lillian, a cousin, has been living with them while she attends university. Last week she became very ill and had major surgery. They are taking very good care of her and other relatives have also come from a distance to assist. Maybe the difference I’m trying to express is that this family is not seeing this as a trial or a burden. So many times here these events seem more like a burden to just get beyond. So it was wonderful to witness the love in this home. We will continue to see what God has for us in this journey. - Ellen

Thursday, December 1

When we left Ohio, we arrived at the airport two hours before our scheduled departure checked in our luggage, and went to our gate. We boarded our plane 30 minutes before it was scheduled to depart, and it departed and arrived at our next destination on time.

Thursday we left the guesthouse at 9:30AM and arrived at the airport at 10:30AM for a 12:30PM flight to Kitale. We checked in our luggage, paid excess baggage fees because we were carrying international luggage weight allowances but were traveling on a domestic flight, and went to our gate. We were informed at 1:00PM that our flight was delayed approximately one hour. At approximately 3:00PM we were told the flight was still delayed and that the airline was paying for our lunch at a nearby restaurant. Can you see the handwriting on the wall here???? When we returned from lunch about 4:00PM the airline representative took us straight to their ticket counter where we were informed the flight to Kitale had been canceled and we would be booked on their next flight out – TOMORROW! Through a series of events we managed to be booked on a flight to Eldoret which took nearly three hours because it stopped over in Kisumu. Once we arrived in Eldoret at around 7:00PM the airline arranged for a driver to take us to Sibanga. After a traffic jam, pitch blackness (no street lights here, folks!), and pouring rain, the other passenger who was diverted with us asked the driver to find a gas station so he could “use the facilities.” It’s now 9:00PM, we had started this day on the road at 9:30AM and I wanted to scream, “Didn’t your mother teach you to do that BEFORE you left home?????” Finally in Kitale to drop off our passenger, we drove on to Sibanga where we arrived at Zippy’s home a little after 10:00PM where dinner, of course, had been kept warm for us. And THIS, my friends, is why you don’t plan on trying to get a lot of things done on any given day in Kenya!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Today we started by meeting with a good brother Pastor George. We know him from our time in Sibanga with the Liberty Christian Ministries. George has recently made the difficult decision to leave his family in Cheringoni to come to Nairobi for work in his carpentry trade. His fourth child arrived on Monday and he is yet to see her.

Ever since I first met Pastor George the one thing I always knew was that he has always responded to the Holy Spirit working in his life. As he shared with us today I knew the same thing was true about him and this move to Nairobi. Although he is separated from his family for a while he is making a better way for them in the future. When he brings his family to Nairobi he will leave a brother in Christ access to his farm thereby making his life better as well.

Pastor George has no doubt that he will resume his ministry work here in Nairobi. He has a heart for young people here and he wants to use the sharing of his trade as a way to share the gospel. He hopes to take a few university courses that will get him certified with the Kenya government so he can offer this program for youth.

It was a blessing to see Pastor George making good yet difficult choices to improve the quality of life for his family. George has much to offer and a really big heart for God and His people. We enjoyed a great prayer time with George before we had to say good bye.

As we have been waiting for a response to see an attorney here we have had to kill some time. We made a trip to the Westlands today to a huge market of shops that sell Masai art. I will never do well with the barter system but Dawn made out real well and almost enjoys the act of barter too much. I think at the end of the day the shop owners and the shoppers did ok.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

This morning was very a-typical for us because we found ourselves at a local shopping mall! Shopping is something both of us barely tolerate in the USA so for us to be shopping in Kenya, we HAD to have a purpose. We wandered into a bookshop where Ellen acquired a couple of books about small businesses in Kenya which seemed like a good way to get the creative juices flowing for our upcoming talk with Beatrice (who works in the Kenya Ministry of Labor) as well as with our friends in Sibanga. The business owner was intrigued by our choice of books so we struck up a conversation with him about what it takes for a business to become successful in Kenya. “Hard work” was his reply. “Nineteen or twenty hours a day.” Great! So no great pearl of wisdom here. But as we talked he shared about how his business his grown and that it involved keeping up with the changing popularity of book categories, scanning book titles in these categories , narrowing down to a sampling and reading these to know which will probably be the top sellers in his store. He persuaded us to put our selections aside and check out the section on Kenya. He said it would be a shame for us to leave, not having had a good sampling of his stock! He was a salesman, too, because we added a third book to our pile and then prepared to check out. He presented us with his business card in case we had trouble finding books we wanted in the future, as well as gift bookmarks!

Now we moved on to a camera shop to look for a USB cable to download from a hand-held video camera to the computer. The man we met was Hindu and he was impressed to see we write down the cost of our purchases. He told us of how his father regularly sent him funds while he was attending university and instructed him he could it spend it any way he saw fit but he had to give his father an exact accounting of every rupee. The shop owner told us he still has those journals and has shown them to his children to try and teach them the importance of having control over their money. Hmmmmm. Another small business lesson? Then he talked of his family relationships, how he had wanted to pursue a degree in geology but his father compelled him to remain with his brothers in the family camera shop business. He then went on to tell how as a young man he wanted to marry outside of his culture and his father refused, telling him if he married the woman he loved that he would no longer be part of the family. True love won and he married the girl of his dreams. But the sad reality came back to haunt him when his brother’s daughter married a man of a different culture and no such ultimatum was given to her. He said he understood that the times have changed but that principles should not. Wow! Are we getting business lessons everywhere we turn?

The highlight of the day was when we met Beatrice Kituyu at her office this afternoon. Beatrice works in the Ministry of Labor and is in the middle of negotiations with medical workers to discourage them from going on strike because of the difficult economy and their meager wages. Although she was interrupted several times to deal with this situation, we had a profitable conversation that lasted over an hour. At the conclusion of our meeting, Beatrice suggested she make arrangements later in the week for us to visit wo local businesses at the end of our trip which are success stories of people who banded together and formed a group which was able to meet specific marketplace needs. One of these businesses is a milk processing plant and the other is a chicken processing plant. This should make for some interesting pictures to post on the blog, don’t you think? 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Our last day to worship with Kenyan friends was spent in Kisii. We met Pastor James Mark at his open air church after walking along several muddy paths (not to be confused with the muddy roads!) we reached a pavilion type structure made from small diameter trees covered with a few meager branches and their leaves. We had been informed late Saturday evening that James Mark had arranged for three services today; two in the morning and one more after lunch. After the morning messages, we were taken to James Mark’s rental home where the women of the church served up a feast of chicken, chipati, spinach, and ugali. After lunch, Matt and Brian went back to the church for the last session while Ellen and I loaded up a backpack full of Bibles and started looking for opportunities to pass them out as gifts. Early on in our journey, “Mamma Rose” hooked up with us and became our escort. Two of the people we gifted with Bibles were teachers and one young girl aspires to be a teacher. Teachers are special to me because here in Kenya they are permitted to teach about God in their schools. In fact part of their curriculum is based on knowledge of the Bible. We had some great conversations and met some more beautiful people. When we were ready to meet back up with the rest of our group, Mamma Rose asked for one of our Bibles even though she had told us the print was too small for her to read. When I asked her what she would do with the Bible if we gave it to her, she said she would have her children read it to her. How awesome to evangelize two people at one time! Mamma Rose now has her very own copy of the Bible.

Our next stop was the home of Eucabeth, a women who had experienced demonic attacks for a long period but since she accepted Jesus as her Savior she has never had these problems again! She is a member of James Mark’s church and wanted to bless us with dinner and have us bless her home. Dinner was served up as chicken and rice along with bananas and fried potatoes. We actually got back to our rooms early tonight and are looking forward to a good night’s rest before we set out for Nairobi on Monday.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

What an interesting day today has been! We left Zippy’s shamba at about 8:30 and arrived in Kakamega about 12:30. Bishop Musilla and a few of his church leaders were waiting for us at the Golf Hotel where we treated them to lunch and talked about the direction their churches are moving. Afterwards, Bishop took us to one of the orphanages his church operates and the children sang and danced for us. They were a wonderful testimony to being content in their circumstances. After sharing a special message just for them from God’s word, Ellen and I made peanut butter sandwiches for over 50 children. They LOVED it, and we even had peanut butter left over which we left behind for them to enjoy.

Back on the road and we were headed to Kisii, a town to which we have never before been. James Mark is the pastor who invited us and we are going to encourage his church members during the service tomorrow. We got a late start so we did not arrive at the guest house where we made reservations until shortly after 8:00PM. Some of our group is taking a late dinner while others are just crashing for the night. Tomorrow should be a very exciting day as we make more new friends.

Friday, April 15, 2011

This was a day worth waiting for, in spite of the fact we were up at the break of dawn to catch bodas into town where we met our friend Sammy Wafula. He and some of his ministry partners arranged to take Ellen and I to the Pokot area to spend some time with some unreached peoples. What a long haul it was to get to this place! We were told that if we wanted land in this area, it was FREE but as I looked around I understood why! The area reminded me of the Arizona desert; sandy, dry, and not a lot of shade. Pokot is very remote; so much so that there are no schools for all the children and no medical care within range. We were told that some people have died while walking to the nearest hospital. The only water source is what the government has hauled in and it only arrives every two to three days. Did we mention Pokot remote?! The drive was well worth the travel, though, as we were welcomed to the church by singing women and children. Kenyans sure do know how to worship God! A unique experience to us this time was the use of two translators. One pastor translated from English to Swahili and the second one translated from Swahili to the Pokot dialect. Ellen spoke first and before I could speak the pastor asked us to move outside because there were too many people to fit into the small church. It was really neat to see people sitting on benches in an open air meeting. After the service we were invited to the pastor’s home for lunch and chai. Then we were back on the road for the long drive back to the shamba. It was a very long day, but also very rewarding.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Today after Matt and Brian wrapped up their week of teachings, we were invited to Pastor George Mufoya’s home for tea, which actually turned out to be a full meal! He asked us not to rat him out to Pastor John, the senior pastor, because he had been instructed to only provide tea since John was serving us a meal. But it’s a huge honor for Kenyans to have guests in their home and it was hard for George and his wife Jessica to stop at serving chai!

Next stop was Pastor John Nabruk’s home for yet another meal and to help celebrate his daughter’s 3rd birthday. After the traditional American singing of the “Happy Birthday” song, we presented young Valentine with her gifts and Ellen and I helped her cut her cake. She actually sat with Ellen and I for a little while. As with many of the children here, she’s just not sure about our white skin!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

What a fantastic day we had today! For starters, Zippy took us to a local children’s home (orphanage) called In Step Foundation. Ken and Carla are the missionaries on the ground there who orchestrate this incredible vision for saving Kenya’s abandoned children. I’m not sure words can adequately describe what we saw so we are encouraging you to go to their website, now listed as one of our links. There are currently 93 children residing at this orphanage, many of them infants, who are not only receiving food, clothing and shelter but endless amounts of love. Other things in store for this ministry include a clinic which will not only provide health care for the children of the orphanage but for the entire community. Patients will be able to be seen by a doctor at no charge and will only pay the cost of any medicine for which they have prescriptions. Ground has been broken for a greenhouse to help with growing food for the children instead of having to purchase it at the market. The property has a well with water so pure even foreigners can drink it without treating it first. For this reason, the orphanage provides FREE water between 8:00AM and Noon every day since water (especially SAFE water) is difficult to find in the more rural areas of Kenya.

Our big event for the afternoon was meeting with Samuel Wafula of International Gospel Evangelistic Ministries (IGEM) and some of his ministry leaders in Kitale. Ellen and I both shared words of encouragement to them and asked them to describe to us the area of ministry in which they work and what are some of their challenges and blessings. It was inspiring to hear these men and women talk about carrying out their ministries despite the distances some of them must travel and the hardships involved in their disciple-making efforts. We were invited to come back and spend time traveling to some of the remote areas in which IGEM currently serves in the harvest field.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Today was all about evangelism through manual labor! One of our young friends owns a motorbike which was in need of repair so Ellen and I decided that between the two of us we should be able to figure everything out. Pretty basic stuff like swapping out rear shock absorbers and replacing a chain and sprockets. Unfortunately Kenyan men are not acquainted with women who do this type of work and we had help coming from every direction! We did finally get the work finished but because we had to go in to Kitale to look for a replacement part we did not finish until dusk. We also learned that Zippy has a motorbike which she has not been able to start. We were looking forward to having a shot at firing it up for her but she was missing one very important part – the ignition key! All in all, an interesting day of building relationships as we helped the young man who owned the bike, impressed Zippy with our “mechanical prowess”, and chatted with the many curious onlookers.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Today was a typical Kenyan day! We expected to leave the farm at 8:30 and were picked up at about 9:45. Our driver took us all the way to Eldoret where we had been told there was a motorcycle parts shop that would have all the parts we needed to help two of our friends get their bikes back on the road in a safe condition. After driving for two hours, we learned that the shop that would best help us was back in Moisbridge – just 45 minutes from our farm! Upon returning to Moisbridge and locating the shop, we found it to be closed! While waiting for the owner to return we found another shop which had almost everything we needed and we finished our trip home for the day.

While in Eldoret we had the opportunity to meet up with Dawn’s friend, “Bones” who pastors an Africa Gospel Church (AGC) there. This was their second meeting and we were pleased to learn that he has been asked to accept a transfer to one of the AGC churches in Nairobi. It is a good opportunity for him and we will still be able to meet with him each time we wrap up our visits to Kenya and stop in Nairobi for the night.

But the best part about today was that our driver, Kilel, does not know Jesus and we had a captive audience for the drive to and from Eldoret. He told a troublesome story about how “the church” had imposed unreasonable standards on him when he was a child such as receiving a caning if he did not attend Sunday School!) We left him with one of our Bibles and a prayer that he will soon be attending church with his wife and children and worshipping our God.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

We’ll be writing separate blogs about today’s events because we split up in order to attend two different churches. Ellen attended Imani Sirwo at Pastor Isaac’s request in order to accompany Brian who has never been to this church. Dawn attended the AIC Kimoson where Pastor Titus Kibet is serving.

The Kimoson service was different in that it is the first church I’ve (Dawn) attended where there hasn’t been dancing as a part of the worship celebration. The service was shortened because the church has committed to going into the community for outreach prior to their Easter celebration. The youth went out as one group to reach their friends, the women went out as another group, and the men went out as a third group. I had taken several Bibles with me to hand out to some of Pastor Titus’ members who may not own a Bible but he suggested we divide the Bibles among the groups going out and take them with us into the community. What a great idea!

Pastor Titus kept me (Dawn) with the men’s group and we launched out into the area. We visited several homes where we had opportunity to share with people about the love of Jesus and left some of our Bibles. At one home after sharing the Gospel with the man of the house, he asked us to go to the house next door and pray for his elderly mother. When our time for the outreach was over, I was taken to the home of a woman who had arranged to have a meal prepared for me even though she had been called away! In Kenya they rely on neighbors to receive guests when they are away. How many of us in America even KNOW our neighbors, let alone would entrust them with our homes????? I was entertained by three ladies who were very conversational in Swahili but not English. One thing I have learned during this trip is that many Kenyans understand English even though they don’t know how to speak it. So my three new friends knew what I was saying but we had to have a translator to tell me what they were saying. My favorite part of this whole day came next. The ladies wanted me to go to the home of a woman and pray for healing because she has been having nosebleeds. Then they took me to one of their homes where I was served chai and heard the wonderful story of Lilly and Gabriel. Lilly is a 28 year old mom and Gabriel was about 18 months old when he was kidnapped and taken to Tanzania. He was missing for three weeks before Lilly got information about where Gabriel was at and was able to bring him home. We prayed for healing for a family member there who had malaria. The ladies took me from one house to another asking me to pray for people – what a thrill! Our last stop was the home of Wilson. When we arrived I saw him sitting in a wheelchair, wrapped in a wool blanket on an 80+ degree day and wearing a scarf around his head. His feet and his head were the only parts of his body which were exposed. His feet and legs were grossly swollen and his mother lifted his blanket to show me that his hands were in the same condition. Wilson told me he has had this condition for five years and when I asked what the doctor’s diagnosis was he said “a sprained muscle”! He said the condition began shortly after he took a fall and hurt his neck. The reason he was wrapped in the blanket and scarf was because his hands are so swollen he cannot use them and when flies land on him he can’t even swat them away. It was obvious that if God does not intervene and heal Wilson he will suffer tremendous pain before finally losing his limbs and/or dying. When I laid my hands on his ankles to pray they were feverishly hot. After praying, I told Wilson I expect him to send me a photograph of himself STANDING UP soon!

Pastor Titus finally had his way and we stopped our visiting. I said goodbye to my friends and Titus and I headed off to his home where I was about to be introduced to “Dawn Cherob”. Cherob means rainy season and he explained that in Kenya a child’s middle name usually described something about the time when they were born. When little “Dawn Junior” was born it was apparently pouring down rain! She’s a beauty!!! Born March 24 she is just three weeks old and quite content to sleep. A little cherub, I thought as I gazed on her sleeping face! Zippy has now taken to calling me Cherob because it comes from her tribal language of Tujin. I like to think she is calling me cherub (as in “angel”)!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Many of you have seen the lovely beaded jewelry we have brought back which is made and sold by the Kipsongo women in the Kitale slum. Jane Nabruk, Pastor John’s wife, has told us that where once there were many Kipsongo women involved with the LCM church, most fell away when they did not think there was anything for them to personally gain by continuing in fellowship at the Kitale church. However, there is a core group of four women who have remained faithful during not only their own hard times but also those of the church. Today we met with a representative for those women, Patricia, and explained that we wanted to help these ladies in a meaningful way, not just by handing them shillings. Patricia would be an excellent shopper in the states! She had us trudging from one end of town to the other looking for the best bargain in beads and accessories needed to manufacture more of their jewelry. When all was said and done, she was carrying a bag so heavy it ripped, and had more varieties of beads than you could imagine! She was very grateful and expressed appreciation for supporting her and the other ladies in such a meaningful way.

We can happily report that Matt and Brian arrived safely in Kitale today. After over 20 hours of flight time and layovers, the guys were still eager to visit the Tumaini orphanage in Kitale. One year ago when we visited this orphanage, Pastor Isaac told us of the director, Eliud, who had been involved in a head-on car accident and was the sole survivor. We even had the opportunity during that trip to visit Eliud at his home and pray with him. This afternoon we saw Eliud back on the grounds of the orphanage and walking with the use of only one crutch! Praise God that Eliud is able to be back among the children he loves so much. It was such a blessing to be able to share with the children the clothing that was gifted to them by the Troutner family and to give Eliud the generous donations of cash by several members of Ekklesia. He has shared that the orphanage is struggling to come up with funds to purchase seed for their maize crop and these funds will help to put food on the table for the children for whom Tumaini provides a sanctuary from the harsh realities of life as an orphan.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Today was all about business. Two meetings with two individuals who are being offered the opportunity to receive a microloan in order to establish themselves in business. The first candidate, Jane Nabruk, has tapped in to the motorcycle repair market in Sibanga but needs to expand her inventory. The second candidate, Sammy Napaul, is a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) driver who rents a motorcycle from someone else and would like to purchase his own. This will be a fantastic opportunity for both to learn about business and about budgeting. Ellen is offering her business expertise to help these folks get started.

Brian and Matt have arrived safely in Nairobi. Their plane was a little delayed but they are resting at the guesthouse before their flight to Kitale tomorrow morning. We’ll meet them at the airport, take them to the Tumiaini orphanage for a visit, and then bring them to Zippy’s farm where they’ll get a well deserved rest before launching into the busyness that comes with Sunday mornings

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Early this morning we went back to the construction site of Zippy’s buildings to meet with her workers before they began their day. We took the opportunity to share with them some encouragement from the Scriptures and before we left we gifted each of them with their own copy of the Bible. We learned some useful Swahali – “nikona zawadi” is “I have a gift.” It’s a great icebreaker if you want to give someone their own copy of the Bible.

After spending the day in town running errands, we took boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) back to Sibanga. Once there we called our friend Leonard who, when we left him in October, was struggling with an alcohol addiction. We had hoped to meet with him one-on-one but as is typical in Kenya, several friends and relatives were also invited to cokes and tea at a local café. We had opportunity, even in front of these men, to share some words of encouragement about Leonard’s spiritual walk and after a couple of hours we made plans to meet again soon. Please pray for Leonard – we are not sure he has experienced freedom from his addiction.

This evening during dinner Zippy shared with us that she has since spoken with her construction workers and all expressed an appreciation for the words of encouragement we spoke to them this morning as well as the Bibles with which we gifted them. We learned earlier today that if someone receives a copy of the Bible in English and they are unable to read English, they give it to a family member and ask them to read it for them. What a great way to evangelize your family!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Today was not a day full of meetings and connections although a good cross-cultural lesson was learned; but more about that later. Zippy invited us to the ground-breaking ceremony she was having for the portion of her farm which she is developing into a conference center, guest houses, a restaurant and a petrol station. An invited pastor gave some words of blessing and Zippy shared her vision for how this construction would help many people in the area by giving them jobs. After a prayer of dedication and the soda refreshment we’ve come to know at most gatherings of any kind in Kenya, it was off to our next assignment - the proverbial task of “running errands.”

Once we could make our way back to Sibanga we decided to drop in on Rose and Timothy Mahindu to see how their auto parts shop is doing. We can happily report that it is being blessed and with the planting season upon Kenya, the Mahindu family has been able to increase their inventory for the supply and demand cycle of their business. Timothy was in Kitale so we were only able to visit with Rose but we also made arrangements to take lunch with Timothy and Rose next week where there will be more opportunities to rejoice in the blessings of the Father.

We decided to walk through the marketplace and hand out some of the Bibles we have on hand using the icebreaker, “I have a gift.” (nikona ziwadi in Swahili) The first couple of offerings went well but we immediately drew a crowd and the next thing I knew a man snatched a Bible from Ellen’s hand before she had barely removed it from her backpack. My cop instinct came back and as the man reached so did I, taking hold of his wrist to prevent him from running. What was I thinking! The guy was “stealing” the Word of God! Whether he took it because he wanted a Bible or because he thought it was something of value he could sell, what did it matter? God would put it in the hands of the person for whom it was intended, if He hadn’t already. So I relaxed my grip and off he ran. The lesson learned: even when gifting people with copies of the Bible, we need to be strategic about how we go about it. Otherwise the enemy will use the opportunity to create chaos and take God’s glory away from the moment.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Time enough was set aside today to drive to Moisbridge and visit with Timothy and Faith (and, of course, their three beautiful daughters Marcy, Karen and Linda). When we were here last October, this family had just moved to a new area about a 45 minute drive from Sibanga in order to establish a new LCM church plant. Since this time some tremendous spiritual growth has been seen in both Timothy and Faith but their physical struggles have continued. The children have had health issues and Timothy has been unable to find work which will sustain him and his family since his church is unable to support them at the present time.

The original vision of the Watergate Cyber Café in Sibanga was to establish a business which would provide internet service for the community, jobs for some members of LCM, and small incomes for the pastors of LCM so they could focus on preaching the Gospel instead of being consumed by the lack of everyday material needs for their families. After 18 months, the cyber café is not yet viable but is making great strides toward fulfilling that original vision in a slightly different twist. All of the income the cyber café has generated to date has been placed in a bank account in Kenya and it will be distributed in the form of microloans during this trip to help two pastors develop their already existing (but struggling) small businesses. Pastor Timothy operates a boda boda taxi service and Pastor John’s wife, Jane, has a small motorcycle parts shop. The microloan opportunity will eliminate the struggle for these two pastors between providing for the basic needs of their families and being in the harvest field preaching the Gospel and making disciples. This evening has been set aside for tea and reflection on the relational opportunities we have had so far during our trip, as well as prayerfully considering the opportunities that lie ahead of us before our return at the end of the month.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Our calendar today called for Dawn to take a test for a Kenya driving license but while at the guesthouse in Nairobi on Friday we learned that a foreigner can drive on their existing license for up to 90 days, and we also learned that Kenya licenses must be renewed every year. It didn’t make much sense to take a driving test with this information in hand so we changed up our plans.

We got our first motorcycle ride of the 2011 season today when we each hopped on the back of boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) and rode into Kitale town. We first met with Justus to see the new location of the cyber café. It was moved to a larger area while we were still in America and they are still getting settled in to their new space.

Next we paid a visit to the market to pick up a belated baby shower gift for Grace (refer to the Sunday, April 4 blog) and then headed over to the Iroko Boulevard Restaurant where we took lunch and waited for Pastor John to arrive. He had requested a time to share his heart with us and during this meeting he talked about our past relationship with the people of LCM and also about his forward look to our future relationship. Our relationship truly has been through some trials but the fact we are still in relationship means we are committed to moving forward, however that may look down the road. Relationships are not always easy but the strongest ones are the ones that get cooperation from all parties.

When John finished sharing his heart with us, we enlisted a taxi to take the three of us back to Sibanga and we met with members of the LCM finance committee to gift them with enough funds to pay this year’s school tuition for all seven of the pastors’ children. The generous outpouring of love from Ekklesia, Redeemed and New Life Hilliard made this blessing possible and all of the committee members expressed their gratitude at how much it means for the pastors’ children to be able to attend schools which have high standards of education.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Today we spent a wonderful time worshipping with the community of believers at the Liberty Christian Ministries church located in Sibanga. Young Timothy Mahindu preached and as always, the children danced to praise music at the beginning and end of the service. Today the boys left the girls in the dust when it came to both style and enthusiasm. I feel like a judge for the first season of Kenya Idol!

After the service ended we went to the home of Grace and Andrew, members of Pastor Isaac Gikonyo’s church. Grace is expecting a baby in the next three weeks and was throwing herself a baby shower. Apparently Kenyan tradition is to wait until after the birth of the child because of all the possible complications but Grace wants to start a new tradition. So women from the church came for food and fellowship, each bearing gifts of food items they purchased for the soon-to-be mama because it will be difficult to get to the marketplace with a newborn baby on her hip! Of course those of you who know Ellen and I understand that we feel quite out of place at festivities of this type but at least they didn’t play any of those embarrassing baby shower games! After we had taken lunch, we moved outside the small home to sit in a circle and sing worship songs. We can tell we are no longer visitors by the fact a Swahili songbook was given to us and we were instructed to “sing Kiswahili”.

After an impromptu teaching by Dawn from Proverbs 31 and some more worship songs, we prayed for Grace and thought we were headed back to the farm when we were met by Pastor Mahindu. He told us the leaders were waiting for us back at the LCM Sibanga church so we made our way back and listened to the end of a teaching by Pastor John and then witnessed a living, breathing example of a community having “all things in common” when members of both the Kitale church and the Sibanga church presented offering money to assist with the completion of a restroom facility for a small piece of land the Sibanga church has recently acquired and to which they are planning to move soon.

Our hostess Mama Zippy, as busy as ever, was finally home this evening long enough to sit down and take dinner with us. It was fun to get caught up on each others lives. Ellen and I learned that we have had milk cows named after us on Zippy’s farm here in Sibanga as well as in Baringo. Hmmmmmmm. We’re not sure if that is supposed to be flattery or something else!