Well, the weather hasn’t been that hot but it’s been hot enough for David and Yvonne. By now the rainy season is usually over but we’ve had a lot of rain, particularly on Saturday and Sunday in the late afternoon and evening, resulting in us all being caught in a downpour, having to shelter for an hour and walk back from the stadium (actually just a playing field) through some floodwater. On Sunday, David and I and Mary took our big boys back to their school in Oyugis after their half-term, and had an interesting journey back to Kosele in the Landrover, driving through torrential rain along a road that’s in bad condition at the best of times.
David and Yvonne have been enjoying their visit here and learning to get by without some of their home comforts. They have been visiting the school, playing with the younger kids, visiting homes in the community and shopping in the bustling market in Oyugis. Today we have all been helping to build a house. The funding for the new house came from part of the money raised through the ceilidh which we organised in Paisley - and Yvonne’s employer, Santander, doubled the money raised. The house will provide a new home for Julita, a young widow with 4 daughters who has been living in a tiny 1-room house. Our part in this ,along with some church members ,was helping to apply mud to make the walls of the house. It’s hard work when you’re not used to it!
David has been taking football training for the older boys and we hope to organise a friendly match against another school nearby. Yvonne has been helping some of the children with their maths homework and also visited the young mothers group at the church and saw them making beads. Another day we went with 37 of our older girls and two teachers to the county primary schools music festival. Our girls were doing a traditional dance and song from the coastal region, and did so well, coming first in their class and beating 5 other schools. The music festival was good – most of the choirs and dancers were of a very high standard.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Rado and Safari
The Encounter, or Rado in Dholuo as we are now calling it, went very well on 12th and 13th June. The aim of the Encounter is to facilitate the work of the Holy Spirit in consolidating people in their faith and taking them forward in areas such as forgiveness, breaking curses, deliverance, and knowing the love of their Heavenly Father. Eight church members completed the two-day seminar, and all of them were very responsive to the teaching and to the times of ministry. This was the best of the three Encounters we have done so far in Kenya and it confirmed Dorine and Kennedy in their roles as leaders who are anointed to use tools such as this to take our church forward.
The next day we headed off by taxi to Kendu Bay and then by matatu (mini-bus) to Kisumu. There are Chinese restaurants even in the heart of Africa and that’s where we had lunch and then to the airport for a short flight to Nairobi, where we arrived in good time to meet David and Yvonne arriving from Amsterdam. They had a good journey apart from being tired. A new experience for them coming to sub-Saharan Africa, and also for us welcoming our family to Kenya!
After an overnight at Sam’s guest house we were picked up by our driver, Matthew for our safari to the Masai Mara. Plenty to see on the way – the bustle of Nairobi, the amazing view from the escarpment over the huge Rift Valley, Maasai tribesmen in their traditional brightly-coloured blankets herding their cattle, goats and sheep, and plenty of wildlife even before reaching the National Reserve. Our driver proved to be something of a mechanic as well as he kept the vehicle going despite problems with the fuel pump.
Even a small corner of the Masai Mara is outstanding in its wildlife – thousands of gazelles, impala, topi, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Seeing lions, giraffes and ostriches in their native habitat is great, but for me the highlights were a herd of elephants making their way through the savannah, and a pair of cheetahs that we saw close up. Wonderful!
Another long journey on Sunday over rough tracks and some decent roads brought us to Oyugis and then the very bumpy road to Kosele. David and Yvonne have met so many new people they must be confused, and been welcomed to the whole school at Assembly. They’ve also had the chance to visit the little boy Dan whom they sponsor and his family at their home. They will have a good time here as long as they can stick the heat!
The next day we headed off by taxi to Kendu Bay and then by matatu (mini-bus) to Kisumu. There are Chinese restaurants even in the heart of Africa and that’s where we had lunch and then to the airport for a short flight to Nairobi, where we arrived in good time to meet David and Yvonne arriving from Amsterdam. They had a good journey apart from being tired. A new experience for them coming to sub-Saharan Africa, and also for us welcoming our family to Kenya!
After an overnight at Sam’s guest house we were picked up by our driver, Matthew for our safari to the Masai Mara. Plenty to see on the way – the bustle of Nairobi, the amazing view from the escarpment over the huge Rift Valley, Maasai tribesmen in their traditional brightly-coloured blankets herding their cattle, goats and sheep, and plenty of wildlife even before reaching the National Reserve. Our driver proved to be something of a mechanic as well as he kept the vehicle going despite problems with the fuel pump.
Even a small corner of the Masai Mara is outstanding in its wildlife – thousands of gazelles, impala, topi, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Seeing lions, giraffes and ostriches in their native habitat is great, but for me the highlights were a herd of elephants making their way through the savannah, and a pair of cheetahs that we saw close up. Wonderful!
Another long journey on Sunday over rough tracks and some decent roads brought us to Oyugis and then the very bumpy road to Kosele. David and Yvonne have met so many new people they must be confused, and been welcomed to the whole school at Assembly. They’ve also had the chance to visit the little boy Dan whom they sponsor and his family at their home. They will have a good time here as long as they can stick the heat!
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Back to Kosele
Hard to believe but this is actually our sixth trip to Kenya. Each time we’ve travelled the same route – by KLM via Amsterdam – this has proven to be the cheapest and easiest way from Glasgow to Nairobi. We prefer travelling by day but this means a very early start to catch the 0600 Glasgow-Amsterdam flight. Arriving at Nairobi Airport we had the quickest ever passage through Passport Control – found a short queue and the official accepted our multi-trip visas, even though they were in our old passports, so we didn’t have anything to pay. Minor scare while we waited for our luggage – we got 3 bags very quickly off the carousel but took ages to find where they had put our other one. Our friend Sam met us at the exit and we were soon at his guest house.
Wednesday’s objective was to go into central Nairobi to get our Work Permits stamped in our passports. After the bomb in a shopping centre in central Nairobi on Monday we were more aware of the security situation, so we didn’t hang about too long. Reuben, one of the national Elim church leaders, met us and guided us through this last stage.
On Thursday morning we took an early flight to Kisumu and were met at the airport by Dancun. The only other part of the immigration jigsaw was, we thought, to collect our “Alien Cards” from the Kisumu Immigration office. This was achieved very quickly, but when we looked at the cards in detail we saw that they had already expired! The frustrations of Kenyan bureaucracy! Nothing else we could do but apply for renewal, which involved getting our fingerprints taken again, and we go back in a few months to collect the cards. Then we can officially be Aliens!
Spending 2 and a half days travelling and dealing with officialdom is well compensated by arriving at last at Kosele and being welcomed by the schoolchildren, staff and church leaders. It’s good to see them all again. Such a good welcome even though we’ve only been away 3 months. Since Thursday we’ve been resting, getting unpacked, sorting out our room, shopping, and renewing acquaintances with people here and in the church.
One of the good things about the weather here is that when it rains, it usually rains at night or in the evening, so that is what we’re experiencing just now. Next week we’ll start to get back into our routine again – we’ll be having a meeting with Kennedy and Dorine and with all the church leaders and preparing for another Encounter which may be held on 12th and 13th June. After that we look forward to meeting David and Yvonne on the 14th June as they make their first visit to Kenya.
Wednesday’s objective was to go into central Nairobi to get our Work Permits stamped in our passports. After the bomb in a shopping centre in central Nairobi on Monday we were more aware of the security situation, so we didn’t hang about too long. Reuben, one of the national Elim church leaders, met us and guided us through this last stage.
On Thursday morning we took an early flight to Kisumu and were met at the airport by Dancun. The only other part of the immigration jigsaw was, we thought, to collect our “Alien Cards” from the Kisumu Immigration office. This was achieved very quickly, but when we looked at the cards in detail we saw that they had already expired! The frustrations of Kenyan bureaucracy! Nothing else we could do but apply for renewal, which involved getting our fingerprints taken again, and we go back in a few months to collect the cards. Then we can officially be Aliens!
Spending 2 and a half days travelling and dealing with officialdom is well compensated by arriving at last at Kosele and being welcomed by the schoolchildren, staff and church leaders. It’s good to see them all again. Such a good welcome even though we’ve only been away 3 months. Since Thursday we’ve been resting, getting unpacked, sorting out our room, shopping, and renewing acquaintances with people here and in the church.
One of the good things about the weather here is that when it rains, it usually rains at night or in the evening, so that is what we’re experiencing just now. Next week we’ll start to get back into our routine again – we’ll be having a meeting with Kennedy and Dorine and with all the church leaders and preparing for another Encounter which may be held on 12th and 13th June. After that we look forward to meeting David and Yvonne on the 14th June as they make their first visit to Kenya.
Monday, 28 May 2012
Off again
It’s Monday evening and we’re getting packed up. As usual, we seem to have accumulated a huge pile of stuff to take, but after a while chaos turns to order and the stuff all disappears into 4 cases, and the right things into our hand luggage. Need to tidy up the flat and try to get some sleep tonight, but the thought that we’ll have to be up again before 4.00am could mean that we will struggle to settle down to sleep at all!
This is actually the 6th time we’ve done this journey, Glasgow-Amsterdam-Nairobi, but it’s always gone smoothly and we quite enjoy it. We arrive at Nairobi at 2015 which is 1815 BST. Praying that we’ll go through Immigration quickly and that our multi-entry visas will still be accepted. We expect Sam to meet us and drive us to his guest house which is on the airport side of the city. On Wednesday we need to visit the Immigration office in central Nairobi to get our (missionary) work permits and the necessary stamp in our passports. Reuben, one of the leaders of Elim Kenya, will meet us there again – he has been so helpful to Terry and us through the process of applying for work permits.
On Thursday morning it’s back to the airport for the short flight to Kisumu. Mary will have organised a taxi for us so after visits to the travel agent, Immigration (hopefully to get our Alien Cards) and the supermarket, it’s a 2-hour drive along by the shore of Lake Victoria and then up the hill to Kosele.
A long journey but we look forward to seeing our friends in Kosele once again and taking up from where we left off just 3 months ago. It’s a slightly strange experience moving from this “world” in the prosperous and seemingly advanced West to our other “world” – in a poor rural community in the middle of Africa. Despite all the struggles and the problems affecting people’s lives in Kosele they have a joy that is infectious, that doesn’t rely on material possessions but on relationships, and in particular on faith and dependence on God. We are happy indeed to be going back to join them for another while.
This is actually the 6th time we’ve done this journey, Glasgow-Amsterdam-Nairobi, but it’s always gone smoothly and we quite enjoy it. We arrive at Nairobi at 2015 which is 1815 BST. Praying that we’ll go through Immigration quickly and that our multi-entry visas will still be accepted. We expect Sam to meet us and drive us to his guest house which is on the airport side of the city. On Wednesday we need to visit the Immigration office in central Nairobi to get our (missionary) work permits and the necessary stamp in our passports. Reuben, one of the leaders of Elim Kenya, will meet us there again – he has been so helpful to Terry and us through the process of applying for work permits.
On Thursday morning it’s back to the airport for the short flight to Kisumu. Mary will have organised a taxi for us so after visits to the travel agent, Immigration (hopefully to get our Alien Cards) and the supermarket, it’s a 2-hour drive along by the shore of Lake Victoria and then up the hill to Kosele.
A long journey but we look forward to seeing our friends in Kosele once again and taking up from where we left off just 3 months ago. It’s a slightly strange experience moving from this “world” in the prosperous and seemingly advanced West to our other “world” – in a poor rural community in the middle of Africa. Despite all the struggles and the problems affecting people’s lives in Kosele they have a joy that is infectious, that doesn’t rely on material possessions but on relationships, and in particular on faith and dependence on God. We are happy indeed to be going back to join them for another while.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Last post? - for now
Time has run away from us and we are now getting prepared for the long journey home. We are looking forward to seeing all our family and friends but wonder how much we will miss our friends here in Kosele – they certainly say they will miss us!
The last few weeks have been busy and gone quickly and there are still some things undone on our “to-do” lists, people we hoped to visit that we have not seen.
We feel the church here is in a stronger condition than when we came in June. A lot has been done in practical terms – two of the leaders employed part-time to do church work, the start of a discipleship programme (Encounter), the launch of Farming God’s Way training, a bicycle to help Kennedy get around his pastoral visits, and now use of an office for the church leaders complete with computer and internet access. More importantly, God has been working in people, not least the men and there is a more positive, “can-do” attitude amongst the men. The young mums have also been encouraging – there were 11 of them here this week and they are now branching into crafts and hope to form a co-operative.
Hilda spent most of last Saturday trying to find a local hospital that could deal with an emergency – a little boy who had signs of an obstructed bowel. Finding a hospital that can do an ultrasound and even blood tests at a weekend is nigh on impossible, and after trailing round 5 hospitals in Oyugis and Kisii we eventually sent him with his parents back to Kisii in a taxi. This was on the strength of a promise that a doctor would be there. We expected him to have to be transferred to yet another hospital on the Sunday for an emergency operation but the Kisii hospital actually did it at midnight on Saturday night. This gave us hope that he would soon be well again, but something went wrong and he sadly died on Wednesday. We can forget sometimes that this is a third world country and the resources and standards of healthcare are very different from what we are used to in the UK.
The construction work at Hope and Kindness has been completed. The four new school classrooms are now occupied by the junior classes and they are finding the accommodation very spacious after the small rooms they were in temporarily. The visitor centre is also finished and is looking “very smart”, as they say here. It has a large lounge, a good kitchen and 6 bedrooms and could sleep up to 24 people. It has its own showers and Ecosan latrines – outside of course! The standard of accommodation for visitors here now is not luxurious by Western standards but it is very comfortable and great progress from what it was like on our first visit here.
It was finished just in time for the first group of visitors that we were expecting – a team of 5 people from the multinational IT company Cisco. They were only here for a few days, but did a lot of work and enjoyed themselves so much, especially getting to know the children. They are now on their way back to London but another Cisco team, this time of just 3 people, have arrived today. Also, a lady called Barbara from South Africa is here for a month to work mostly with the children in the Home. She has a lot of experience and we believe will make a real contribution to the work here.
We had a nice little break in Kisumu a few weeks ago – we acted like tourists for a couple of days and visited the impala sanctuary (actually a small zoo – really interesting) and the Museum. It has been really hot here and we didn’t have any rain from early December until mid-February but there are signs that the long rains are now approaching. We aren’t looking forward to a cold wet Paisley but it will be so good to see you all again soon.
The last few weeks have been busy and gone quickly and there are still some things undone on our “to-do” lists, people we hoped to visit that we have not seen.
We feel the church here is in a stronger condition than when we came in June. A lot has been done in practical terms – two of the leaders employed part-time to do church work, the start of a discipleship programme (Encounter), the launch of Farming God’s Way training, a bicycle to help Kennedy get around his pastoral visits, and now use of an office for the church leaders complete with computer and internet access. More importantly, God has been working in people, not least the men and there is a more positive, “can-do” attitude amongst the men. The young mums have also been encouraging – there were 11 of them here this week and they are now branching into crafts and hope to form a co-operative.
Hilda spent most of last Saturday trying to find a local hospital that could deal with an emergency – a little boy who had signs of an obstructed bowel. Finding a hospital that can do an ultrasound and even blood tests at a weekend is nigh on impossible, and after trailing round 5 hospitals in Oyugis and Kisii we eventually sent him with his parents back to Kisii in a taxi. This was on the strength of a promise that a doctor would be there. We expected him to have to be transferred to yet another hospital on the Sunday for an emergency operation but the Kisii hospital actually did it at midnight on Saturday night. This gave us hope that he would soon be well again, but something went wrong and he sadly died on Wednesday. We can forget sometimes that this is a third world country and the resources and standards of healthcare are very different from what we are used to in the UK.
The construction work at Hope and Kindness has been completed. The four new school classrooms are now occupied by the junior classes and they are finding the accommodation very spacious after the small rooms they were in temporarily. The visitor centre is also finished and is looking “very smart”, as they say here. It has a large lounge, a good kitchen and 6 bedrooms and could sleep up to 24 people. It has its own showers and Ecosan latrines – outside of course! The standard of accommodation for visitors here now is not luxurious by Western standards but it is very comfortable and great progress from what it was like on our first visit here.
It was finished just in time for the first group of visitors that we were expecting – a team of 5 people from the multinational IT company Cisco. They were only here for a few days, but did a lot of work and enjoyed themselves so much, especially getting to know the children. They are now on their way back to London but another Cisco team, this time of just 3 people, have arrived today. Also, a lady called Barbara from South Africa is here for a month to work mostly with the children in the Home. She has a lot of experience and we believe will make a real contribution to the work here.
We had a nice little break in Kisumu a few weeks ago – we acted like tourists for a couple of days and visited the impala sanctuary (actually a small zoo – really interesting) and the Museum. It has been really hot here and we didn’t have any rain from early December until mid-February but there are signs that the long rains are now approaching. We aren’t looking forward to a cold wet Paisley but it will be so good to see you all again soon.
Friday, 20 January 2012
2012 already
Sorry again for our long silence on the blog – don’t know where the time has gone. Here in Kosele, Christmas came and went without any commercialisation. Having spent two Christmases here, we may find it hard to adjust back to Western excesses and
indulgences!
There was a special Christmas meal for children and staff in the Home – chicken and beef being a real treat where the diet is mostly vegetarian. ‘Sodas’ (Coke, Fanta or Sprite) are always a welcome treat as well.
The church was full on Christmas Day and then people were able to go home and cook with the rice, beans and oil that had been given out to church and community members on Christmas Eve. Also, after the service everyone had a soda and biscuits and sweets. All of these were bought, thanks to the kind donations of our church in Paisley and friends of Hope and Kindness in England. In previous years, a meal has been cooked for 200-300 people, which has been a lot of work for a few people. This year people were in their own homes and because of the amount of food given out I believe many more people benefitted.
We had hoped to go away for a couple of nights between Christmas and New Year but because of events here that was not possible. We may manage to do this by the end of this month.
Six of us were involved in delivering a two-day training seminar on Farming God’s Way last week to a group of people from the church and community. This was repeated for another group this week. The trainees appeared enthusiastic and we are hoping that most of them will put the things they have learned into practice on their own land, and that this will be a small beginning for a transformation of farming in this area, lifting people out of poverty and dependency.
Here it is extremely hot and sticky just now. The rains have totally stopped. Planting will start again towards the end of February – so more rain will be appreciated then. There has been a lot of illness recently in the Home and amongst our neighbours – mostly a mild form of malaria but a few young children have been very ill and we have had to take them to get medical attention quickly.
Last weekend, Ian went to Nyahururu with Kennedy (one of our church leaders) to speak at a one-day Elim regional conference there. It involved most of the day travelling there by matatu (mini-bus) on Friday and the same coming back on Sunday. Ian thought it went alright but it can be hard to tell when everything is being translated. Nyaharuru is very close to the equator but because it is over 7800 feet above sea level, they found it much cooler than here.
The group for young mothers that we started recently has been going well. This week we are learning about dental hygiene, and next week a heavier subject – family planning! One of the young women, whose husband died last year, has had a new baby son. However, one of the twins, the little girl, who was the more severely affected by malnutrition, became very ill and died. The death of a child is never easy – this is the third child we have known here who has died.
The school has started back again and the new Agricultural College has opened. The five pupils who scored highest in their KCPE exams are going away to High School and the others will do the agricultural course – a mixture of academic and practical work - for 2 years and then sit International GCSEs.
All wildlife i.e. termites and bees have now been exterminated from the house. Occasionally we have a visiting frog or cockroach and last night we had a lizard but it didn’t stay long! The new buildings are nearing completion and the children can look forward to moving into their bright spacious classrooms at the end of January.
One of our neighbours and church members came last week looking for help – a “twister” wind had lifted the whole roof off her house and dropped it some 25m away. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the results with my own eyes, as there had been no wind here. We managed to find some “community assistance” funds to help her get it reconstructed.
It is less than six weeks until we return to the UK. We are hoping that the worst of the winter will be over by then! We’re looking forward to seeing family and friends again and catching up with everyone, having a rest, and reacquainting ourselves with some of the food we like – cheese, chicken bhoona and ice cream to name a few!
indulgences!
There was a special Christmas meal for children and staff in the Home – chicken and beef being a real treat where the diet is mostly vegetarian. ‘Sodas’ (Coke, Fanta or Sprite) are always a welcome treat as well.
The church was full on Christmas Day and then people were able to go home and cook with the rice, beans and oil that had been given out to church and community members on Christmas Eve. Also, after the service everyone had a soda and biscuits and sweets. All of these were bought, thanks to the kind donations of our church in Paisley and friends of Hope and Kindness in England. In previous years, a meal has been cooked for 200-300 people, which has been a lot of work for a few people. This year people were in their own homes and because of the amount of food given out I believe many more people benefitted.
We had hoped to go away for a couple of nights between Christmas and New Year but because of events here that was not possible. We may manage to do this by the end of this month.
Six of us were involved in delivering a two-day training seminar on Farming God’s Way last week to a group of people from the church and community. This was repeated for another group this week. The trainees appeared enthusiastic and we are hoping that most of them will put the things they have learned into practice on their own land, and that this will be a small beginning for a transformation of farming in this area, lifting people out of poverty and dependency.
Here it is extremely hot and sticky just now. The rains have totally stopped. Planting will start again towards the end of February – so more rain will be appreciated then. There has been a lot of illness recently in the Home and amongst our neighbours – mostly a mild form of malaria but a few young children have been very ill and we have had to take them to get medical attention quickly.
Last weekend, Ian went to Nyahururu with Kennedy (one of our church leaders) to speak at a one-day Elim regional conference there. It involved most of the day travelling there by matatu (mini-bus) on Friday and the same coming back on Sunday. Ian thought it went alright but it can be hard to tell when everything is being translated. Nyaharuru is very close to the equator but because it is over 7800 feet above sea level, they found it much cooler than here.
The group for young mothers that we started recently has been going well. This week we are learning about dental hygiene, and next week a heavier subject – family planning! One of the young women, whose husband died last year, has had a new baby son. However, one of the twins, the little girl, who was the more severely affected by malnutrition, became very ill and died. The death of a child is never easy – this is the third child we have known here who has died.
The school has started back again and the new Agricultural College has opened. The five pupils who scored highest in their KCPE exams are going away to High School and the others will do the agricultural course – a mixture of academic and practical work - for 2 years and then sit International GCSEs.
All wildlife i.e. termites and bees have now been exterminated from the house. Occasionally we have a visiting frog or cockroach and last night we had a lizard but it didn’t stay long! The new buildings are nearing completion and the children can look forward to moving into their bright spacious classrooms at the end of January.
One of our neighbours and church members came last week looking for help – a “twister” wind had lifted the whole roof off her house and dropped it some 25m away. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the results with my own eyes, as there had been no wind here. We managed to find some “community assistance” funds to help her get it reconstructed.
It is less than six weeks until we return to the UK. We are hoping that the worst of the winter will be over by then! We’re looking forward to seeing family and friends again and catching up with everyone, having a rest, and reacquainting ourselves with some of the food we like – cheese, chicken bhoona and ice cream to name a few!
Friday, 9 December 2011
9 visitors and a wedding
Sorry for the long silence – where has the time gone? We can’t even say that it’s because we’re busy in the lead-up to Christmas because Christmas is such a low-key event in this culture – the other extreme from the commercialised Western Christmas.
We hear the weather at home has got cold and snowy. Here, after a few weeks where we have had a lot of rain (which really brings the temperature down) we are having a couple of hot sunny days. We are praying that the rains will slow down now, as people are complaining that their land is waterlogged, their houses are damp and the cobs are beginning to rot on the maize plants. A couple of weeks of sunshine would restore hopes of a great harvest.
We’re well, keeping going with supporting the church leaders, helping out here at Hope & Kindness, farming (!), visiting people and helping to assess needs, taking photos and practising speaking Dholuo.
Last Saturday we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of one of the teachers – a bizarre experience indeed. The invitation said “from 10.00am” but the bride was not in the church until sometime after 2.00. The procession of 8 flower girls, 11 bridesmaids, 13 men and boys forming the groom’s escort and various other bride’s helpers took a full hour to sashay into the church. Unlike British weddings, it seemed like they had the party in the middle of the service, at least in terms of the amount of celebration and dancing! A great experience, if you could avoid a headache due to the high noise volume!
We’ve had visitors staying with us here. Two Danish girls doing a “gap year” and spending 4 months in Africa stayed for two weeks and spent a lot of time working with the children, particularly doing art with them. In the middle of that we had another team from the international company Cisco, which supports the school and home. They were really busy for the few days they were here – painting the classrooms, helping to build a house, and organising the kids in a “talent show”, amongst other things.
All these visitors really joined in the work here so well; they all seemed to enjoy their time here and the kids loved them. It’s been a pleasure to have them but it has also been nice now that they’ve all gone away and we have the house to ourselves again. Even Terry has gone home for a few weeks and the school has closed for the long holiday. Most of those children in the home who have a grandmother or aunt or other relatives to go to have gone off for a holiday. Only 14 children are still here.
There’s still a lot happening here – building work is progressing well and there’s a lot of maintenance work getting done on the site. Yesterday we had another practice session for the people who will be involved in training others in “Farming God’s Way” – we hope to be ready to offer the training to church and community members from early January.
The group for young mothers has got off to a good start with up to nine mums and their babies and toddlers attending. They have been very attentive to the teaching on nutrition, hygiene and vaccinations that Hilda has brought so far. The men’s and women’s groups and the church generally are also encouraging.
This Sunday we will start with the Pre-Encounter teaching for the 4 people (English speaking) who will be our “guinea pigs” for the first Encounter – this is scheduled for 14th and 20th December.
We hear the weather at home has got cold and snowy. Here, after a few weeks where we have had a lot of rain (which really brings the temperature down) we are having a couple of hot sunny days. We are praying that the rains will slow down now, as people are complaining that their land is waterlogged, their houses are damp and the cobs are beginning to rot on the maize plants. A couple of weeks of sunshine would restore hopes of a great harvest.
We’re well, keeping going with supporting the church leaders, helping out here at Hope & Kindness, farming (!), visiting people and helping to assess needs, taking photos and practising speaking Dholuo.
Last Saturday we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of one of the teachers – a bizarre experience indeed. The invitation said “from 10.00am” but the bride was not in the church until sometime after 2.00. The procession of 8 flower girls, 11 bridesmaids, 13 men and boys forming the groom’s escort and various other bride’s helpers took a full hour to sashay into the church. Unlike British weddings, it seemed like they had the party in the middle of the service, at least in terms of the amount of celebration and dancing! A great experience, if you could avoid a headache due to the high noise volume!
We’ve had visitors staying with us here. Two Danish girls doing a “gap year” and spending 4 months in Africa stayed for two weeks and spent a lot of time working with the children, particularly doing art with them. In the middle of that we had another team from the international company Cisco, which supports the school and home. They were really busy for the few days they were here – painting the classrooms, helping to build a house, and organising the kids in a “talent show”, amongst other things.
All these visitors really joined in the work here so well; they all seemed to enjoy their time here and the kids loved them. It’s been a pleasure to have them but it has also been nice now that they’ve all gone away and we have the house to ourselves again. Even Terry has gone home for a few weeks and the school has closed for the long holiday. Most of those children in the home who have a grandmother or aunt or other relatives to go to have gone off for a holiday. Only 14 children are still here.
There’s still a lot happening here – building work is progressing well and there’s a lot of maintenance work getting done on the site. Yesterday we had another practice session for the people who will be involved in training others in “Farming God’s Way” – we hope to be ready to offer the training to church and community members from early January.
The group for young mothers has got off to a good start with up to nine mums and their babies and toddlers attending. They have been very attentive to the teaching on nutrition, hygiene and vaccinations that Hilda has brought so far. The men’s and women’s groups and the church generally are also encouraging.
This Sunday we will start with the Pre-Encounter teaching for the 4 people (English speaking) who will be our “guinea pigs” for the first Encounter – this is scheduled for 14th and 20th December.
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