Praying for a Return Trip and More

Our church has already set the date for the next team to go to Kenya.  Michael and I are praying that God will again provide the funding for us to go.  We also feel drawn to take our oldest child, Michaela on a mission trip to Honduras.  (I will tell you more about that in a future post.)  She has shown an interest in foreign missions.  We know that God will use this trip to teach her so much about Himself. So we are asking God to provide the $3000 we need for Honduras and the $600 deposit for Kenya by September 18^th, which is the deadline for the deposit, and the remainder of the funding by November 30^th.  I feel a little silly saying (or typing) that.  Michael and I are not great speakers or Bible teachers.  We are not in the medical field.  What do we possibly have to offer that God would want to use?  What can we offer that would justify the money we are asking God to provide?  The truth is we have nothing to offer but a willingness to go and a desire to grow.  It may not be much, but it’s what I’ve got and I’m laying it at the Lord’s feet. 


At our recent garage sale, Michaela sold lemonade
and Abigail sold jewelry she had made.  They are both
trying to save up the money to get their passports.
Their brother, Nathaniel, and cousins helped.



We did a garage sale this past weekend and did not even raise a 10^th of what we need for Honduras.  I have put out flyers advertising my services as a tutor but so far no one has called.  My little accountant brain starts crunching the numbers for the thousandth time and the voice of Doubt whispers, “This is ridiculous. This is impossible.  You are a fool.  God isn’t going to send you again.”   I don’t know what God has planned and that’s okay.  I have to keep reminding myself that, with God, there is purpose in the pursuit.  God taught me so much while we were trying to raise the money for our last trip; Even if we had not been able to go, it would still have been worth going through the process. 



Please pray that God will provide the money we need.  Pray that Michaela’s faith will be strengthened. 

Seeds Orphanage Needs Your Prayers

 

When we arrived at the orphanage the children were
standing outfront singing "Welcome Visitors". 
It is the sweetest little song you will ever hear.



Seeds Orphanage is located in Kitalie in western Kenya.  It is home to 42 children ages 6 to 17.   Richard and his wife Helen oversee the orphanage.  During our visit Helen shared some of the children’s stories. 

 

Helen (left) and Richard (right) pose for a picture with Mary,one of our team members.



  

Thomas (front center) is a bright
13 year old who has only
been at the orphanage for a few
months.  He broke down in tears
as he tried to tell us how greatful
he was to be there.



Stories of a little boy abandoned in the bush to die; a young girl prostituted out by a family member; and a child hidden on the floor beneath rags because of a disability.  These children have all come from heartbreaking circumstances.  At the orphanage, however, they have a very real understanding of what it means to be given a new life.  Here they are safe.  Here they are fed, and cleaned and taken to school.  Here they are loved. 

  

It was a little tough to explain the concept of "Red
Light Green Light" to children who had not seen
traffic lights.  But after a few practice rounds they
got the idea and had a great time.

  



Hannah gets a new hair-do.  I think we
ladies all left with a few braids. 
The kids even wanted to braid Michael's beard.



Their stories stick in my mind but their sweet smiles are forever in my heart.  They like bubbles and stickers and playing games. 

The little girls like to braid long hair (especially since most of them must keep their heads shaved for hygiene reasons.) 

The little boys like to climb trees and roll toy cars through the grass.   

The children have two swings, two
teeter-totters and a few other toys
that they share.

 

"Give me picture"  The kids loved to have us take their picture and show it to them.



After singing and dancing for us 
the childreneach told us their name,
what grade they are in and
what they want to be when they grow up.

The younger kids like to play dress-up with the hats, sunglasses and backpacks of their visitors. 



The older kids take to their leadership roles well.  They led us in groups on a tour of the house; and directed their younger “siblings” in a program of songs, dances and poems. I wish you could hear their sweet voices.

  

During the tour of the home we
got to see thechildren's
bedrooms.  They sleep 8 to a room. 
Each room has a house parent. 
The bond between the kids and
their "parents" is very heart-warming.







No washers or dryers. Laundry
for all 42 kids must be done
by hand and hung to dry.



  

The current location is a rented home.  The future location will be a new house on a farm owned by Seeds Ministries.  The foundation has been poured.  Bricks are being made right on the property.  Unfortunately the rented home has just been sold by the landlord.  
  

This is the current house.



Now Seeds Ministries has until June 1^st to either finish the house at the farm or find a new house to rent.  Either option requires God’s divine provision. 

  

This is the foundation for the new home at the farm.  The farm is currently home to 1700 chickenswhose eggs are sold to support the orphanage. Crops such as corn and sukuma-wiki (a typeof green) are also grown.



Finishing the new house will cost roughly $29,000 (USD).  Finding a house big enough to house 42 kids, 5 house parents, and 1 social worker will be difficult at best. 



All the bricks for the new home
are being made right at the farm. 
The bricks in this picture are ready

to be used.  We also got to see

some in different stages of

the process.  Making the bricks

themselves will save alot of money.





I don’t understand why kids who have already gone through so much should have to face more difficulty.  I don’t understand why Richard and Helen, who have labor so faithfully through harsh circumstances, should be faced with more stress and trials. 

God’s ways are not my ways but I know His ways are best.  When He took the Israelites out of Egypt and led them to the banks of the Red Sea He knew all the hardships they had endured.  When He allowed Pharaoh and his army to pursue them, leaving them no hope of escape, He had not forgotten their pain. 

God wanted to encourage His people by giving them an awesome display of His power.  I am praying that God will once again provide a miraculous path and that He will lead these 42 precious children through to their new home.  I hope you will join me in prayer.



God's Blessings for Harvest Academy

I told you in an earlier post that I am praying for the three feeding stations that we visited in Kenya.  The list of needs for Harvest Academy is longer because it is not fully funded.  I had been praying that God would provide for its funding by December so that Mike Curry of Light Ministries could deliver the good news in person.  Additionally, I was asking God to provide for a well to be drilled sometime next year.   I thought I was being so bold in my prayer.  As it turns out I was not bold enough.  Earlier this month I received word that, beginning in April, Harvest Academy will be fully funded.  A church in Arkansas has decided to sponsor this feeding station.  This means that Harvest staff will be able to purchase adequate food for the children each month and the teachers will now be paid.  Other needs, such as books and supplies, will also be met as the budget allows.  To go from receiving $250 a month in funding to $1500 would have been an abundant blessing in itself but God didn’t stop there.  He has also prompted a couple to provide the money to drill a well on the property.  

I feel just like I did when God provided for Michael and I to go to Kenya.  I have seen God move in a powerful way and I want so badly to be able to express all that I am thinking and feeling but words just fail me. (Listen! Did you hear that?  It was the sound of those who know me best gasping in amazement.  I never lack for words.)  I stand in awe of God’s power and His perfect plan. 

On the Job Training

Maybe you have thought about going on a mission trip but you feel like you don’t have anything to offer.  I’ll let you in on a secret.  Your going on a mission trip is not really about what you can do.  It is about training you, teaching you, growing you closer to Jesus and a little more like Him.  I am NOT saying that everyone must go on a mission trip to grow spiritually.  However, if God has laid foreign missions on your heart, then He is calling you to the classroom – the classroom called Mission Field.   

Several people told me that my time in Kenya would be more of a blessing to me than it would be to the people I served.  I didn’t really like the sound of that.  I didn’t like the idea of spending large amounts of my money (and other people’s) so I could be blessed.   I wanted to be used by the Lord, to serve others, to bless others.  Maybe you can relate.  Before God can use me or you, however, He must mold us into something useful. 

As I was preparing for this trip, God was teaching me. While I was in Kenya, God was teaching me.  And since I have returned home, God is continuing to use this mission trip to draw me closer to Jesus.   Whatever His plans for me, I know I am more useful to Him now.  So don’t think of it as a mission trip.  Think of it as on the job training. 

Thankfully God is also the Master Multi-tasker so while He is teaching you He will use your willingness to serve as a means to bless others. 



Can you blow bubbles,

  

or pass out stickers,



or oversee the use of
crayons and glue? 

  

Can you snap a picture
and show it to a child,



 

or sit and play beauty salon,



or draw a sunshine with
face paint,



or play airplane



or swing with a child?





Can you share something

you’ve learned with

a small group,



  




or serve a cup of porridge,



or help behind the scenes,





or a thousand other tiny things? If the answer to any of these is, “Yes”, then God can use you in the classroom called Mission Field.

He Who Brings Out the Starry Hosts One by One

We had just finished a delicious meal at Richard and Hellen’s house. They are an amazing couple.  I will need a whole separate post to even begin to tell their story.  After a sweet time of fellowship and prayer our team began to say our goodbyes and spill out of the house into the clear Kenyan night.  I was saying something to Michael when suddenly I stopped mid-sentence and claimed in my dramatic fashion, “Oh m-man! (That would be “man”, but pronounced as a two syllable word for dramatic effect.) Look up!  Look at the stars!”  One by one as they came out of the house most of our group had a similar reaction.  Perplexed by our reaction, George, one of our drivers said “You do not have stars like this in America?”  Someone explained that we do but we can’t see them because of the lights in and around cities.   Someone else tried to explain that oxymoron we Americans call the Planetarium. 

If you have never been way out in the country on a clear evening (or to the Planetarium).  I cannot begin to describe to you what we saw.  I can only tell you that it was truly stars too numerous to count, millions of them, and it was BEAUTIFUL!

I have always loved Isaiah 40:26 which says

 “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
   Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
   and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
   not one of them is missing.”

I could vaguely recall the few starry skies I saw as a child.  Actually, I couldn’t recall the sight, just the feeling of being awe struck at the display of God’s majesty and power.  My memory of that feeling was enough to help me understand the verse.  Which is good because, contemplating the two stars you can see from my house today doesn’t inspire much majesty.  Calling both of them by name doesn’t sound very impressive.  (Although, making even two stars appear on command is still pretty impressive.)  When I stood outside Richard and Hellen’s house however, that verse came to mind and it carried more weight and meaning than it ever had before.  It was as if God said “Now lift your eyes and look to the heavens, Autumn.  Who created all of THESE?  I call each one forth by name. And because of MY mighty strength, none of them are missing, even when you can’t see them.”

If you ever find yourself beneath the Kenyan sky (and I pray you do) on a clear night, away from the lights of Niarobi, LOOK UP! 

Then try to explain the concept of a planetarium to the Kenyans around you and not feel foolish. “Planetarium…You know…. that building you go inside ……and then you pay money ….and they turn on a special movie……and then you see the stars.”

Mt. Elgon

A Faith That Can Move Mountains – Or Build on Them.

I don’t imagine very many outsiders have had the privilege of standing on Mt. Elgon, looking out across the valley below. It is a valley dotted with huts made from mud and sticks with thatched grass roofs.  There are no electrical lines.  There are no telephone lines.  There is no road.  I’m not sure there is really even a path in some places.  Only experienced drivers can navigate the bumpy slope.  There is often unrest among the neighboring tribes.   Yet this unlikely place is the site of the future GFE Pastor Training Center.  

We were privileged enough to be at the ground breaking celebration.  The congregation gathered under a tin roof supported by a wood frame.  It is not a temporary structure erected for the day’s festivities.  It is their regular place of worship.  Nearby string stretched taunt between sticks marks off the dimensions of the new Center.  There is also a stack of stones, not imported from some distant quarry but pulled from that very ground.   These stones will be used to lay the foundation and build the building.  Mike Curry, who partners with GFE and was the visionary for this project, highlighted God’s goodness by asking “Do you know what the most expense building material in the US is?”  He explained to the pastors and congregation that it is the very stone that God has provided as part of the land. 

It has taken years of prayer and trust in the Lord to get to this ground breaking.  It will likely take years more to get everything built.  But when I stood on that spot with those people and saw their joy I knew that someday many outsiders will make the bumpy ride up the slope of that mountain.  They will come to train pastors who are eager to learn.  They may even be able to see the little wood and tin structure standing as a testimony to God’s power and faithfulness.

I may never have the privilege of seeing the finished structure. Yet I count myself blessed to have sat in the shade of a tin roof and felt the gentle breeze on my face as I gazed across a beautiful valley and witness the joyful thanksgiving of a people with faith.  A faith that did not move past this difficult mountain but trusted God to build on it.

These three pictures were taken on the "road" to the site of the Pastor's Training Center on Mt. Elgon.  Good thing we had to skip lunch that day.

 

Most of the homes we passed were a traditional
hut like the one on the right.  Some, like the one on
the left, had tin roofs.



The local congregation and their place of meeting.  As
honored guests we sat in chairs while everyone else
sat on little benches, the ground or just stood.



We were treated to a performance
of song, musical instruments and
dance.





The view is beautiful!  This picture does not do it justice.



These are just a few of the GFE pastors who recently
completed an intensive training course under Bishop
Ben Bahati. 

  
Many of the pastors who were training under Bishop Ben had never had the chance to become legally married to their spouses.  So recently GFE held one massive wedding ceremony and made all the marriages "official".


Shy but sneaking a peak.
(You know I can't go a whole post
without adding one "cute kid"
picture.)



The Congregation

Left - Bishop Ben Bahati, head of GFE, takes a turn at the groundbreaking.  Center - In the background you can see some of the stone that has already been gathered from the property.  Right - Bishop Ben, Jeff, and Ben's father who has been designing and constructing buildings in Kenya for a very long time.  He will be heading the construction of the new Pastor's Training Center.



Light School and Feeding Station

Giving medicine for a very bad cough



Located in the town of Kakamega, Light was  the second feeding station we visited.  It was the first one where we were together with the medical team from Rock Creek Church.  In addition to sharing a Bible story, crafts and our usual fun the team was able to minister to some physical needs.  Children were given de-worming medicine and treated for a variety of illnesses. 

Fungal infections and lice
are a common problem.



One of the teachers translates instructions to the mother of this very sick little girl.  She
had a fever of 105. The medical team was
able to give her Tylenol to bring down her fever and antibiotics to help her little body fight off the infection.



In the afternoon the feeding station was transformed into a medical clinic for the surrounding community. 

Eye infections were another common problem.

While the medical team worked, the rest of the team entertained the kids (and adults) with coloring pages.

You're never too old to color!
We started handing out coloring sheets and crayons to the kids who were waiting with their parents to see the medical team.  We quickly realized that the adults didn't want to miss out on the fun.  Whether they were reliving a sweet childhood memory or enjoying it for the first time, there were lots of smiles and giggles.  The kids had fun too.

To read more about the work being done at Light School and Feeding Station click the page at the right titled Pray for Light Feeding Station - Kakamega.