What’s been happening here? Not too much, but enough to keep us too busy to write a blog post for the past couple of weeks. The main thing in the diary has been preparing for and taking part in another 2-day seminar on Farming God’s Way. Those people who have tried the method on their own farms over the past few months have been encouraged by the results – the main problems have been getting enough mulch (grass and leaves to cover the ground and keep down weeds), keeping animals and birds off the growing crops, and water-logging due to lots of rain and poor drainage. These last two issues would of course be problems even if people were doing farming by the traditional methods.
For a couple of city dwellers, we’ve learned a lot about farming through Farming God’s Way. Our role is helping to co-ordinate the seminars, which are delivered almost all in Dholuo now. Last week we weren’t sure how many people to expect but 17 turned up on the first day, mostly from the community but not many from our own church. Hopefully they will all try out the methods and spread the word in their own areas.
We’ve been meeting individually with the church leaders and reviewing the leadership structure in the church. Next weekend we’re expecting a visit from two of the national leaders of Elim Gospel Church Kenya and their wives. They’ll be doing some leadership training and we’ll also discuss the proposal for our little church here to officially join up with the denomination.
Last week one of our oldest church members, Bernard, died. Bernard was brought to church every Sunday in a wheelchair by some of our older boys. We will miss him from the church – his usual place at the front will be empty. Bernard was increasingly frail and bent but he didn’t miss church very often, and liked to greet the church members. When he was younger, he went away to work on the tea plantations near Kericho, and it was there that he came across horses. (Horses are not found at all in this part of Kenya – only donkeys). When we visited him last year, his eyes lit up when he talked about these wonderful creatures!
The Land Rover is back in business after being off the road with electrical problems for a week. A group of us were halfway back from Kisii, our nearest large town, when it broke down. A guy from the petrol station in the nearby village agreed a price to tow us back to our mechanic’s place – but as he only had an old Nissan saloon – about 1200cc I would guess – he didn’t manage to tow us right up the hilly track to the garage. A second vehicle had to be hired to complete the job! Our good friend Douglas came to our rescue with his minibus and transported passengers, shopping, sacks of potatoes, timber etc for the remaining journey back to Kosele, only delayed slightly because the road was still blocked by a bus which had been stuck in the mud all day. Safe home before nightfall! No AA or RAC here but we get by thanks to people’s ingenuity and helpfulness.
We’re now on Facebook (Ian N Hilda McMillan) where we’ve posted some photos. One photo is of our newest residents at Hope & Kindness – two greedy female goats (named Oink and Annabel by Terry’s daughter Ellie, who’s been visiting).
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Perspective
Today at the women’s Bible Study group several of the women shared the issues they were facing in their lives right now. Just hearing these helps us to put our own minor problems and frustrations into perspective.
• A’s daughter was having a baby and haemorrhaged so badly that she lost her life, although the baby was saved. She probably would have been OK if she had been in a hospital in Britain. Who will now feed and take care of the baby?
• M went away to her granddaughter’s funeral and on her return home found that her 17-year-old son had just taken his belongings and disappeared. Where has he gone and why?
• Another lady was pressured by her husband into getting a loan from a women’s co-operative. The loan is due to be repaid but her husband has probably spent the money on drink. She was asking him for money but he has chased her away with a machete and she has not gone back home today.
Apart from these, other church members are struggling with ill health in themselves or their families, with poverty and hunger, and with mistreatment by husbands. Others are HIV positive but most cannot bring themselves to admit it openly. Life here in Kenya can be harsh but people know that church is a place where they can receive some care and compassion. How much we need to see this community changed by people finding a real relationship with God and putting his ways into practice!
On a lighter note, our senior school girls did us proud by going to the provincial round of the Kenyan Schools Music Festival and being placed a very commendable 12th out of around 75 presentations for their traditional dance/song. They nearly didn’t make it to the festival at all as the bus which was due to pick them up at 6.00am allegedly broke down on its way here and they didn’t get away until after 9.30.
Two of our teenage visitors are starting their journey home tomorrow having spent a couple of weeks playing football and touch rugby with our kids and improving our sports field with new paths, new goalposts, netball pitch and volleyball court. A big improvement - and they’ve been a big hit with the children.
• A’s daughter was having a baby and haemorrhaged so badly that she lost her life, although the baby was saved. She probably would have been OK if she had been in a hospital in Britain. Who will now feed and take care of the baby?
• M went away to her granddaughter’s funeral and on her return home found that her 17-year-old son had just taken his belongings and disappeared. Where has he gone and why?
• Another lady was pressured by her husband into getting a loan from a women’s co-operative. The loan is due to be repaid but her husband has probably spent the money on drink. She was asking him for money but he has chased her away with a machete and she has not gone back home today.
Apart from these, other church members are struggling with ill health in themselves or their families, with poverty and hunger, and with mistreatment by husbands. Others are HIV positive but most cannot bring themselves to admit it openly. Life here in Kenya can be harsh but people know that church is a place where they can receive some care and compassion. How much we need to see this community changed by people finding a real relationship with God and putting his ways into practice!
On a lighter note, our senior school girls did us proud by going to the provincial round of the Kenyan Schools Music Festival and being placed a very commendable 12th out of around 75 presentations for their traditional dance/song. They nearly didn’t make it to the festival at all as the bus which was due to pick them up at 6.00am allegedly broke down on its way here and they didn’t get away until after 9.30.
Two of our teenage visitors are starting their journey home tomorrow having spent a couple of weeks playing football and touch rugby with our kids and improving our sports field with new paths, new goalposts, netball pitch and volleyball court. A big improvement - and they’ve been a big hit with the children.
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Update 5 July
David and Yvonne are now home again, after a long journey, with both the Kisumu-Nairobi and Nairobi-Amsterdam flights being delayed. They didn’t take home much in the way of suntans, but just lots of photos and video footage, many happy memories and some great experiences of Africa. On the way home they stopped off to see Lake Victoria and visited the craft market in Kisumu, where Yvonne displayed her new skills in haggling – making big savings on the top prices the traders started off by asking for.
David had spent some time training and coaching our older boys for football, and a friendly match against another school was arranged. However, in true Kenyan fashion, it was to take place the day after David left for home. However the boys did David proud – actually playing 2 matches and winning both - on penalties!
Since they left, the visitor centre has filled up again with 4 teenagers from England who are here for 2-3 weeks. They are all working with the schoolchildren – taking art, sports and giving maths tuition. It seems like they will have a good time here.
With our own visitors away we have got back into our main role here, working with the church leaders. We all met last Sunday with the 8 people who did the “Encounter” in early June, to get feedback from them. We are so encouraged – they were all so positive about the Encounter itself and the changes it brought to their lives. We could see it in their faces! They each testified about the new freedom, lightness in spirit and closer walk with God they are experiencing. The church leaders feel that even these few people being changed has improved the atmosphere in the church and the joy in worship. This gives us confidence as we plan the next Encounter and hopefully also a Youth Encounter during the school holidays in August.
We’ve also been doing some strategic planning with Kennedy and Dorine regarding their respective roles in the church and the potential for expanding their responsibilities. We continue to be impressed and inspired by these two people, by their humility and dedication and their commitment to serve God here in Kosele. This church has come through many trials but we are all filled with hope for what God is going to do here over the next few years.
We’re also jointly on Facebook now (Ian N Hilda McMillan) – made possible by the improving network connections here in the middle of Africa – so another way to keep in touch with home!
David had spent some time training and coaching our older boys for football, and a friendly match against another school was arranged. However, in true Kenyan fashion, it was to take place the day after David left for home. However the boys did David proud – actually playing 2 matches and winning both - on penalties!
Since they left, the visitor centre has filled up again with 4 teenagers from England who are here for 2-3 weeks. They are all working with the schoolchildren – taking art, sports and giving maths tuition. It seems like they will have a good time here.
With our own visitors away we have got back into our main role here, working with the church leaders. We all met last Sunday with the 8 people who did the “Encounter” in early June, to get feedback from them. We are so encouraged – they were all so positive about the Encounter itself and the changes it brought to their lives. We could see it in their faces! They each testified about the new freedom, lightness in spirit and closer walk with God they are experiencing. The church leaders feel that even these few people being changed has improved the atmosphere in the church and the joy in worship. This gives us confidence as we plan the next Encounter and hopefully also a Youth Encounter during the school holidays in August.
We’ve also been doing some strategic planning with Kennedy and Dorine regarding their respective roles in the church and the potential for expanding their responsibilities. We continue to be impressed and inspired by these two people, by their humility and dedication and their commitment to serve God here in Kosele. This church has come through many trials but we are all filled with hope for what God is going to do here over the next few years.
We’re also jointly on Facebook now (Ian N Hilda McMillan) – made possible by the improving network connections here in the middle of Africa – so another way to keep in touch with home!
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Our visitors
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.
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, 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.
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