Well - we have all been home for almost a week now and to say that it is an adjustment returning home is an understatement. Not only the recovery from jet lag and getting adjusted to our own food again...but an adjustment to every day life. I know we will never take forgranted a comfortable place to sit and some of the little luxuries we just expect in our lives.
For the first few days, I didn't have the words to even describe the trip or our experiences - our time in Kenya was so radically different than our lives here it took some time to put our thoughts together and begin to articulate what we have learned through this experience. In some ways the time in Kenya felt like a dream. But, as we talk through our experiences, read through our journals and look at our pictures our thoughts are coming together and I feel better able to articulate things. Maybe my brain has also recovered from the lack of sleep!
My thoughts so far (and I'll speak on behalf of the group)...
Somehow we have to take what we learned, what we saw and experienced in Kenya and incorporate that into our lives here in America - our experiences were LIFE CHANGING and I know each of us on the trip will never approach our day-to-day lives quite the same. However that doesn't minimize our stresses, problems and struggles here. I had a friend talk to me about some of her stresses and problems while we were gone and she said, "but I know that is nothing in comparison to the problems you saw and what people to through in Kenya". While this is true - I want to make sure to not minimize our problems here - they are our reality. And, I don't know why we were born into life in America and not in Kenya - that is a part of God's plan for our lives. I hope we can learn to approach our lives here with a new way of thinking, a new paradigm...and a rewnewed energy to do the best we can with what we have been given and help the children in Kenya in any way possible.
We are also experiencing a bit of a let down (or at least I am) - which makes complete sense, but was another piece of the puzzle I wasn't quite prepared for. When planning for such an experience, you tend to focus solely on your time in country...what you will do, what you need to plan for, what the culture will be like. But, you fail (or at least I did) to plan for life after such an adventure. I have to admit that life seems a little quiet now...not that I entirely mind the extra time to relax and focus on areas of my own life I have neglected for some time...but there is a definite let down.
We are giving ourselves a couple of weeks to recover and clear our heads and then our team will be coming together, gathering pictures and developing a presentation to share with people about our time in Kenya and what our next steps are with the Kenyan Orphan Project at Glorious Academy. We will be sharing this with our church family and are open to talking with other groups or churches...just let us know if you are interested and we'll see what we can schedule!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Home Sweet Home
We are safely back home from our trip to Kenya - a trip that was amazing and certainly life-changing in so many ways. We all feel blessed to have the opportunity to be part of such an experience and thankful for the prayers and support of so many people.
Because of our limited internet availability in Kenya, we didn't get to post pictures while we were in country. So, I wanted to take some time to share some of our pictures with you as pictures often tell a story in a way words cannot.
Please enjoy the pictures! We will be preparing a presentation with photos and our experiences in Kenya to share with our family and friends and anticipate doing several presentations at our own church and others that may be interested in learning about our time in Kenya and the work of the Kenyan Orphan Project.
This is a typical shower/toilet in a hotel in Kenya. This is a picture of the one in our hotel in Nairobi. We were very thankful we had a shower that we could use on a regular basis. The water was not always warm, but just being able to rinse off was a blessing!
The kids are playing in the open lot we have purchased to build an orphanage. They are all wearing new tshirts we brought for them and tennis balls we brought along - they were so happy and so thankful!
Tanya is teaching class 3 - we are working on plurals and English. Class 3 has kids from ages 8 - 12, depending on their testing level when they started school. They also taught us Swahili!
View of downtown Eldoret - traffic was always crazy, people everywhere and a sort of organized chaos!
Another view of buildings in downtown Eldoret.
Kevin, Tanya and Melissa with Velgon outside her home - she was all smiles and so excited that we came to visit her home after school. She walks over 1 hour to school each day and lives in this very small mud hut.
Two of the boys are playing and building houses at the school - they are very creative and use sticks and blocks to build with!
Driving through town one afternoon we came across the fire station and this is the firetruck the city of Minneapolis donated to the city of Eldoret (they are sister cities)! The truck still bears the Minneapolis name along side the Eldoret name. An ambulance was also given to Eldoret by Minneapolis! What a fun connection!
The church ladies are hard at work preparing meals - they worked so hard while we were there preparing porridge for the kids in the morning, our morning tea, lunch for us and the kids, afternoon tea for our troup and then often our evening meal! Often they would cook in a very small dirt floor kitchen (behind the aqua colored door), but this afternoon they prepared the meal outside. They are amazing women and we are SO appreciative of all they did - the lady working over the stove is named Caroline and she walked about 50 minutes home from the church after the dinner meals - it was often 8-9pm by the time she cleaned up the dinner dishes and was able to leave for hom. And she always had the happiest heart and biggest smile!
Some of the school kids outside the church.
We all planted fruit trees outside the school before we left - this is a typical tradition in Kenya.
Kevin with some of the youth group members from the church - Pastor Abu (in the black t-shirt on the left) is the youth pastor of the church.
On our very last day in Kenya we took in a game drive at Lake Nakuru National Park - this is Tanya, Amy and Melissa in our "safari hats"! What an amazing experience that was!
Because of our limited internet availability in Kenya, we didn't get to post pictures while we were in country. So, I wanted to take some time to share some of our pictures with you as pictures often tell a story in a way words cannot.
Please enjoy the pictures! We will be preparing a presentation with photos and our experiences in Kenya to share with our family and friends and anticipate doing several presentations at our own church and others that may be interested in learning about our time in Kenya and the work of the Kenyan Orphan Project.
View of downtown Eldoret - traffic was always crazy, people everywhere and a sort of organized chaos!
Kevin, Tanya and Melissa with Velgon outside her home - she was all smiles and so excited that we came to visit her home after school. She walks over 1 hour to school each day and lives in this very small mud hut.
This is the Nursery class - they have kids in this class ranging from 2 - 6 years old! The classrooms are very small with dirt floors and no lights. They only light they have comes through a small window.
Two of the boys are playing and building houses at the school - they are very creative and use sticks and blocks to build with!
Driving through town one afternoon we came across the fire station and this is the firetruck the city of Minneapolis donated to the city of Eldoret (they are sister cities)! The truck still bears the Minneapolis name along side the Eldoret name. An ambulance was also given to Eldoret by Minneapolis! What a fun connection!
Friday, August 19, 2011
People...not time!
We apologize for not updating more frequently - getting on the internet is more difficult than we imagined - we have been using a cyber-cafe...with very slow computers! I will try to cover a few days in one post.
We have had a busy week - the children completed their 2nd term exams. We have all fallen in love with the children in the classes we are teaching. The children of Kenya and at Glorious Academy have beautiful servant hearts. When they have morning porridge, the oldest students serve the younger ones. When we arrive at the church, they all rush to the van to help us carry in our bags.
On Tuesday evening, we made an American meal for the teachers and school leadership. We served almost 30 people a spaghetti dinner with coleslaw and we even had s'mores for dessert. We found a store called Nakumatt (like WalMart) here in Eldoret where we can get almost anything we need! There was lots of laughing from the Kenyans while they ate spaghetti, so we are not certain if they liked the meal. However, most came back for seconds!
After exams on Wednesday, we took some of the children home in the van (those who live farthest from the school). These children walk over an hour to the school (on a good day with no rain). Velgon is a 9 year old girl who lives with her mother in a tiny mud hut - her mother is HIV+ and leaves Velgon alone for months at a time while she is out prostituting. We have no idea what this little girl does for food during these months. Her mud hut is no bigger than 10 ft x 5 ft with absolutely nothing - no furniture, no bed mats, no water, no electricity. We only saw a few pieces of wood and a tiny charcoal stove for cooking. It was heartbreaking seeing such an extreme existance - but the most amazing thing was how incredibly joyful Velgon was t have us at her home. She was filled with joy and so happy to have visitors!
We have been blessed to learn that people in Kenya, while they have few material things, they care so much about people! I think when you have less "stuff" you care about people more - what a gift learning that lesson is! Life in Kenya is about people, about relationships - people are first...not schedules or to-do lists! They will stop in the middle of a road or intersection to roll down the window and shake a hand and say hello!
We also visited Angelin's home that day - she is a 6 year old girl who lives with her grandma and a two year old brother. There are 6 mounded graves outside the front door of her home where her parents and other family who have died of AIDS are buried. I cannot imagine walking past that every morning - how heart wretching! Again, Angelin beamed because she had visitors at her home.
These are the beautiful children we came to serve and help - just to do what we can to show them that they are loved! The heartbreak of seeing children live like this was overwhelming and cemented the realization that life for these children is about survival..it's about day-to-day existance.
We spent most of Thursday in the marketplace and exploring downtown Eldoret - we even drove by the Fire Station and saw the Minnapolis Fire Truck that the city of Minneapolis donated to Eldoret (the two are sister cities). Minneapolis also just sent over an Ambulance and some trainers were just here last week to train the Eldoret Fire Department on EMS training.
We also toured two hospitals on Thursday - a large governmetn hospital and a small private hospital. The differences between hospitals in America and Kenya are as different as our cultures! All I will say for how is that the shoes they wear in surgery are mudboots spraypainted white. They gave me a tour of the surgical suite and just had me take off my shoes to enter the "sterile" surgery suite!
We concluded the week on Friday with the end of term celebration at the school - the classes did presenttions and the top performers in each class were recognized. We ended the celebration by presenting each student with a backpack filled with school supplies, a small teddybear and a toothbrush/toothpaste. They were overwhelmed wtih happiness at receiving the backpacks - a special thank you to everyone at home who donated clothing, backpacks, school supplies and so much more - you have touched the hearts of beautiful children, you have made them feel special and brought smiles to their faces. We were blessed to be able to give these gifts on your behalf.
Lives were touched and these children know they are loved!
Thank you for your continued prayers - we only have 2 more days in Kenya and we are getting excited to return home! Tanya
We have had a busy week - the children completed their 2nd term exams. We have all fallen in love with the children in the classes we are teaching. The children of Kenya and at Glorious Academy have beautiful servant hearts. When they have morning porridge, the oldest students serve the younger ones. When we arrive at the church, they all rush to the van to help us carry in our bags.
On Tuesday evening, we made an American meal for the teachers and school leadership. We served almost 30 people a spaghetti dinner with coleslaw and we even had s'mores for dessert. We found a store called Nakumatt (like WalMart) here in Eldoret where we can get almost anything we need! There was lots of laughing from the Kenyans while they ate spaghetti, so we are not certain if they liked the meal. However, most came back for seconds!
After exams on Wednesday, we took some of the children home in the van (those who live farthest from the school). These children walk over an hour to the school (on a good day with no rain). Velgon is a 9 year old girl who lives with her mother in a tiny mud hut - her mother is HIV+ and leaves Velgon alone for months at a time while she is out prostituting. We have no idea what this little girl does for food during these months. Her mud hut is no bigger than 10 ft x 5 ft with absolutely nothing - no furniture, no bed mats, no water, no electricity. We only saw a few pieces of wood and a tiny charcoal stove for cooking. It was heartbreaking seeing such an extreme existance - but the most amazing thing was how incredibly joyful Velgon was t have us at her home. She was filled with joy and so happy to have visitors!
We have been blessed to learn that people in Kenya, while they have few material things, they care so much about people! I think when you have less "stuff" you care about people more - what a gift learning that lesson is! Life in Kenya is about people, about relationships - people are first...not schedules or to-do lists! They will stop in the middle of a road or intersection to roll down the window and shake a hand and say hello!
We also visited Angelin's home that day - she is a 6 year old girl who lives with her grandma and a two year old brother. There are 6 mounded graves outside the front door of her home where her parents and other family who have died of AIDS are buried. I cannot imagine walking past that every morning - how heart wretching! Again, Angelin beamed because she had visitors at her home.
These are the beautiful children we came to serve and help - just to do what we can to show them that they are loved! The heartbreak of seeing children live like this was overwhelming and cemented the realization that life for these children is about survival..it's about day-to-day existance.
We spent most of Thursday in the marketplace and exploring downtown Eldoret - we even drove by the Fire Station and saw the Minnapolis Fire Truck that the city of Minneapolis donated to Eldoret (the two are sister cities). Minneapolis also just sent over an Ambulance and some trainers were just here last week to train the Eldoret Fire Department on EMS training.
We also toured two hospitals on Thursday - a large governmetn hospital and a small private hospital. The differences between hospitals in America and Kenya are as different as our cultures! All I will say for how is that the shoes they wear in surgery are mudboots spraypainted white. They gave me a tour of the surgical suite and just had me take off my shoes to enter the "sterile" surgery suite!
We concluded the week on Friday with the end of term celebration at the school - the classes did presenttions and the top performers in each class were recognized. We ended the celebration by presenting each student with a backpack filled with school supplies, a small teddybear and a toothbrush/toothpaste. They were overwhelmed wtih happiness at receiving the backpacks - a special thank you to everyone at home who donated clothing, backpacks, school supplies and so much more - you have touched the hearts of beautiful children, you have made them feel special and brought smiles to their faces. We were blessed to be able to give these gifts on your behalf.
Lives were touched and these children know they are loved!
Thank you for your continued prayers - we only have 2 more days in Kenya and we are getting excited to return home! Tanya
Monday, August 15, 2011
Let's All Do the Conga!!!
Sunday morning... We enjoyed our first African worship service today - the joy and enthusiasm and energy and praising God was beautiful! The air wa filled with the sounds of whistles, hooting, calling, and spontaneous prayer. They are beautiful dancers who's bodies feel the music and are so inspired to praise and worship our Lord. Several times throughout the service a spontaneous conga line would form and would wind all the way through the church, out the doors, back in again - finally after 10 minutes the conga would stop and the service would continue. A church service in Kenya lasts neary 4 hours - I doubt anyone in the US would sit in church that long!!
The Praise Team asked me to join them - and knowing NO Swahilli or what they were singing I joined the team in dancing and clapping (and I am sure I looked quite silly!!)
On Saturday afternoon, Anne took us to her dress shop - for us girls there are no words to describe how excited we were...the piles of beautiful fabrics, the pictures of all of the patters/style on the wall! We each picked out fabrics we liked, a style of dress and Anne's dress maker (Kevin) will have the dresses made in 3 days...you can tell Anne loves the dress shop as well - she was smiling and so excited to help us pick out our favorite fabrics and a style of dress we would most like! I think we could have stayed in that dress shop all day long and I would have lovd to purchase several more outfits...next trip I think!
We are all doing well...we are healthy, are falling in love with the children and enjoying all of the new sites, sound and smells of life in Kenya.
Thank you for your prayers...more as soon as we can get to a computer again (we are at a little hole-in-the-wall Cyber cafe now...it's upstairs of a little shop and the ceilings are less than 6 feet high!) Tanya
The Praise Team asked me to join them - and knowing NO Swahilli or what they were singing I joined the team in dancing and clapping (and I am sure I looked quite silly!!)
On Saturday afternoon, Anne took us to her dress shop - for us girls there are no words to describe how excited we were...the piles of beautiful fabrics, the pictures of all of the patters/style on the wall! We each picked out fabrics we liked, a style of dress and Anne's dress maker (Kevin) will have the dresses made in 3 days...you can tell Anne loves the dress shop as well - she was smiling and so excited to help us pick out our favorite fabrics and a style of dress we would most like! I think we could have stayed in that dress shop all day long and I would have lovd to purchase several more outfits...next trip I think!
We are all doing well...we are healthy, are falling in love with the children and enjoying all of the new sites, sound and smells of life in Kenya.
Thank you for your prayers...more as soon as we can get to a computer again (we are at a little hole-in-the-wall Cyber cafe now...it's upstairs of a little shop and the ceilings are less than 6 feet high!) Tanya
Mary Weds Titus
Our trip in Kenya is going well - last Saturday, Cheryl received a special honor. She was able to travel with Anne to pick up a bride - Anne was in charge of picking up the bride and driving her in the wedding processional. They went to the church where the men of the church decorated the van with streamers and then Anne and Cheryl went to fetch the bride (the roads were horrible, they were driving through a market area full of goats, chickens, cows and pigs). Finally they arrived at the bride's home - they came out of the house carrying her. Along with her came 17 bridesmaids of various ages all dressed in pink. There were also 18 pageboys dressed in black suits.
Everyone in the community gathered around the car - cheering, hooting and blowing whistles as Anne and Cheryl drove the bride back through the streets to the church for her wedding. When they arrived at the church, the bridesmaids got out first - they danced into the church followed by the bride (her train was carried by two little girls dressed in white). Although we can't upload a picture (we will share pictures when we get home) the bride was dressed in white, a very typical American wedding dress. Anne and Cheryl were just the processional drivers for the wedding - so they were't able to stay but Cheryl enjoyed seeing a glimpse of this piece of Kenyan culture.
Everyone in the community gathered around the car - cheering, hooting and blowing whistles as Anne and Cheryl drove the bride back through the streets to the church for her wedding. When they arrived at the church, the bridesmaids got out first - they danced into the church followed by the bride (her train was carried by two little girls dressed in white). Although we can't upload a picture (we will share pictures when we get home) the bride was dressed in white, a very typical American wedding dress. Anne and Cheryl were just the processional drivers for the wedding - so they were't able to stay but Cheryl enjoyed seeing a glimpse of this piece of Kenyan culture.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles
Friday morning at the school began like we believe every day begins at The Glorious Academy - devotional time in the church and then porridge and play time in the play yard. The play yard is the land our church helped purchase and is the future building site for the orphanage.
This morning we brought three bottles of bubbles to play with the kids - there is no way to describe the pure excitement and joy...giggles and squeals...laughter and so much fun! The kids all came up to us and said "Teacher...and me, and me" asking if they could blow bubbles. We had to tell them to blow slowly, slowly...pole, pole (in Swahili..."pol-ee, pol-ee"). It was amazing to see such pure joy - we are now wishing we brought more with us!
We had a chance to teach the students again - Amy was teaching in Class 2 - she taught maths (and yes, they add an s on the end), swahili and english. They wanted to skip lunch and have her teach science! The children are all so incredibly eager ot learn. Melissa was taking pictures of each child with their name on a badge so we can take their photos back and match them up with pen pals in the United States. Lee and Sandi were taught Swahili in Class 1. They were in the advanced Swahili class - learning grammer and how to change words for plurals. Kevin and Tanya taught Class 3 (there are 8-12 year olds in the class). One thing we are learning is that 8 year old kids are the same all over the world (they reminded us very much of our 8 year old son, Arik!!) We taught math and science and were amazed at the children. They love to learn - Kevin taught about the parts of a tree and what we use trees for.
This afternoon our amazing adventure will continue - Abu (the youth pastor here) asked Kevin to speak at a youth conference he is coordinating in Eldoret today and Saturday. He is expecting 300 youth from all of the Baptist churches around the Eldoret area. Kevin will be speaking for 2 hours this afternoon and teaching a class on Evangelism - all of the MAD4Christ youth in Kevin's youth group at home will recognize that Kevin has been talking to them about Evangelism for the past several months...isn't it amazing how God works all of this out! Kevin had no idea he'd be asked to teach youth at a conference...but what an amazing opportunity! We are teasing Kevin that he will now be an international youth speaker!!
Thank you all for your continued prayers! God is good and we are so happy to be here, we are welcomed by the most amazing people with beautiful hearts and spirits who show the love of God to everyone they meet!
This morning we brought three bottles of bubbles to play with the kids - there is no way to describe the pure excitement and joy...giggles and squeals...laughter and so much fun! The kids all came up to us and said "Teacher...and me, and me" asking if they could blow bubbles. We had to tell them to blow slowly, slowly...pole, pole (in Swahili..."pol-ee, pol-ee"). It was amazing to see such pure joy - we are now wishing we brought more with us!
We had a chance to teach the students again - Amy was teaching in Class 2 - she taught maths (and yes, they add an s on the end), swahili and english. They wanted to skip lunch and have her teach science! The children are all so incredibly eager ot learn. Melissa was taking pictures of each child with their name on a badge so we can take their photos back and match them up with pen pals in the United States. Lee and Sandi were taught Swahili in Class 1. They were in the advanced Swahili class - learning grammer and how to change words for plurals. Kevin and Tanya taught Class 3 (there are 8-12 year olds in the class). One thing we are learning is that 8 year old kids are the same all over the world (they reminded us very much of our 8 year old son, Arik!!) We taught math and science and were amazed at the children. They love to learn - Kevin taught about the parts of a tree and what we use trees for.
This afternoon our amazing adventure will continue - Abu (the youth pastor here) asked Kevin to speak at a youth conference he is coordinating in Eldoret today and Saturday. He is expecting 300 youth from all of the Baptist churches around the Eldoret area. Kevin will be speaking for 2 hours this afternoon and teaching a class on Evangelism - all of the MAD4Christ youth in Kevin's youth group at home will recognize that Kevin has been talking to them about Evangelism for the past several months...isn't it amazing how God works all of this out! Kevin had no idea he'd be asked to teach youth at a conference...but what an amazing opportunity! We are teasing Kevin that he will now be an international youth speaker!!
Thank you all for your continued prayers! God is good and we are so happy to be here, we are welcomed by the most amazing people with beautiful hearts and spirits who show the love of God to everyone they meet!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
We have arrived!
We are so excited that we have arrived (safe and sound with the protection of God) in Eldoret, Kenya. We landed in Nairobi on Tuesday evening - the airport was a busy open airport with no doors or windows - we have best described the atmosphere as organized chaos.
Pastor Martin, his wife Anne and his youth pastor Abu came to pick us up at the airport and arranged our overnight accomodations in Nairobi. They then drove us Wednesday morning on the "scenic" route to Eldoret through the Great Rift Valley. Never in our wildest dreams would we imagine to see baboons along the side of the road and zebras grazing in the fields. After two years of planning, praying and coordinating we are here and it seems like a dream come true!
As we arrived in Eldoret Wednesday afternoon, we settled into the Smart Island Guest House and then went right to the church for a welcome - the only way to describe the welcome we received is overwelming! We were moved to tears - music was playing, the church members and children were clapping and cheering and jumping up and down in excitement! We each received a lei and a small Kenyan flag as we were welcomed into the church and were seated in places of honor at the front of the church.
The hospitality and heart of the Kenyan people is amazing - they are quick to smile and laugh and are so curious about who we area. One little girl told her father that whenever she sees a white man, she thinks she is seeing Jesus! A little girl came right up to Kevin as soon as we arrived, he knelt down and she just stayed there hanging onto him. The same little girl (she's a very outgoing and extroverted little girl about 2 1/2 years old) came up to Lee and sat on his lap during the welcoming service. She was also the same little girl who greeted us when we came this morning.
This morning (Thursday) we arrived at the school around 9am and led the children (44 in attendance today) in morning devotionals today - handing out salvation bracelets, tshirts and suckers to each child (we were quite popular!)
We will try to post pictures and additional updates throughout our time - thank you all for your prayers! We are excedingly blessed, humbled and in awe of what God is doing here.
Pastor Martin, his wife Anne and his youth pastor Abu came to pick us up at the airport and arranged our overnight accomodations in Nairobi. They then drove us Wednesday morning on the "scenic" route to Eldoret through the Great Rift Valley. Never in our wildest dreams would we imagine to see baboons along the side of the road and zebras grazing in the fields. After two years of planning, praying and coordinating we are here and it seems like a dream come true!
As we arrived in Eldoret Wednesday afternoon, we settled into the Smart Island Guest House and then went right to the church for a welcome - the only way to describe the welcome we received is overwelming! We were moved to tears - music was playing, the church members and children were clapping and cheering and jumping up and down in excitement! We each received a lei and a small Kenyan flag as we were welcomed into the church and were seated in places of honor at the front of the church.
The hospitality and heart of the Kenyan people is amazing - they are quick to smile and laugh and are so curious about who we area. One little girl told her father that whenever she sees a white man, she thinks she is seeing Jesus! A little girl came right up to Kevin as soon as we arrived, he knelt down and she just stayed there hanging onto him. The same little girl (she's a very outgoing and extroverted little girl about 2 1/2 years old) came up to Lee and sat on his lap during the welcoming service. She was also the same little girl who greeted us when we came this morning.
This morning (Thursday) we arrived at the school around 9am and led the children (44 in attendance today) in morning devotionals today - handing out salvation bracelets, tshirts and suckers to each child (we were quite popular!)
We will try to post pictures and additional updates throughout our time - thank you all for your prayers! We are excedingly blessed, humbled and in awe of what God is doing here.
Monday, August 8, 2011
A Prayer for the Children by Ina Hughes
I wanted to take a moment to share with you the following prayer - this was prayed as part of a beautiful commissioning service to "send us on our way" yesterday at church. I had never heard this prayer before and it broke my heart. Please pray this with us... THIS is the reason we are going on this trip!
We pray for children who sneak popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never "counted Potatoes", who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
who have no soft blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who cannot find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.
We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of their friends,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles make us cry.
And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried - and for those who must,
for those we never give up on - and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother with love - and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.
We pray for the children. Amen
Thank you for your prayers - Tanya
We pray for children who sneak popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never "counted Potatoes", who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
who have no soft blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who cannot find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.
We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of their friends,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles make us cry.
And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried - and for those who must,
for those we never give up on - and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother with love - and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.
We pray for the children. Amen
Thank you for your prayers - Tanya
Thursday, August 4, 2011
It's Almost Time
I feel compelled to at least write some sort of a post or update prior to leaving on our trip, but I have to be honest...my head is spinning, I'm a mix of emotions and I am just trying to get everything done before we leave! I am amazed to realize this is actually happening...in only a few short days we will be in Kenya and working with the kids! After two years of talking about a trip like this and at least a year of intense planning and coordinating we are down to the final hours! We honestly feel blessed to be able to be part of a trip like this and have the opportunity to work with the kids and embark on such an adventure!
We have been overwhelmed by the support of family, friends and community - those who have supported us financially, in prayer and with donations - we are taking 8 suitcases (each team member can have two 50 pound bags on international flights) of items to donate to Pastor Martin and the school...school supplies, crayons, notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners, toothbrushes, kids clothes! We were also blessed by a donation of 60 backpacks from the Grand Casino...wow! Not sure if we can fit everything we have in our 8 extra suitcases...but we'll pack up the rest and pay for shipping once we get back!
More to come as we get closer to departure...I think I'll have some good "airport" time and will try to update from there! I'm hoping we can get to a cyber-cafe in Kenya from time to time to update from there...with pictures and blog updates!
A few questions we've been getting...thought I would answer for the group:
-Is it 100 degrees there? It's actually pretty similar to our weather...temps in the upper 70's but with humidity feels like mid-upper 80's
-we're almost exactly at the equator - so 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night
-we're at a higher elevation...about 7000 feet elevation
-not sure how many hours we'll be in the plane (not thinking of that to be honest...!!) Maybe 18-20 hours of actual time in the plane...that's alot!!
Let me know what other questions you have - we look forward to reading your comments and cannot thank you enough for your prayers, support and encouragement! Tanya
We have been overwhelmed by the support of family, friends and community - those who have supported us financially, in prayer and with donations - we are taking 8 suitcases (each team member can have two 50 pound bags on international flights) of items to donate to Pastor Martin and the school...school supplies, crayons, notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners, toothbrushes, kids clothes! We were also blessed by a donation of 60 backpacks from the Grand Casino...wow! Not sure if we can fit everything we have in our 8 extra suitcases...but we'll pack up the rest and pay for shipping once we get back!
More to come as we get closer to departure...I think I'll have some good "airport" time and will try to update from there! I'm hoping we can get to a cyber-cafe in Kenya from time to time to update from there...with pictures and blog updates!
A few questions we've been getting...thought I would answer for the group:
-Is it 100 degrees there? It's actually pretty similar to our weather...temps in the upper 70's but with humidity feels like mid-upper 80's
-we're almost exactly at the equator - so 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night
-we're at a higher elevation...about 7000 feet elevation
-not sure how many hours we'll be in the plane (not thinking of that to be honest...!!) Maybe 18-20 hours of actual time in the plane...that's alot!!
Let me know what other questions you have - we look forward to reading your comments and cannot thank you enough for your prayers, support and encouragement! Tanya
Thursday, June 23, 2011
This is Just the Beginning...
We wanted to share a picture we just received from Pastor Martin - this is a picture of all of the kids standing on the piece of land we helped purchase...why is this particular piece of grass so special? This is where we pray we are able to build an orphanage for these beautiful children! Maybe not this summer...but we are trusting God and walking step by step alongside of Him in faith that we will be able to help Pastor Martin build an orphanage and a home for these kids soon! What an amazing thought! And what a blessing to be part of something like this!
Well...our trip is coming closer and closer! We leave for Kenya on August 8th - flying through Amsterdam and landing in Nairobi on August 9th. Our time in Kenya will be filled with working at the school, visiting families of the school children in their homes, some construction and physical labor and Pastor Martin is planning a soccer tournament for 500 youth the last Saturday we are in Eldoret...WOW! And we barely know how to play soccer...we may have to ask Kevin's brother, Bruce, for some tips when they visit us in July! We will fly hom from Nairobi...tracing our path back through Amsterdam on August 21st, arriving in Minneapolis on August 22nd.
Our team has been blessed and overwhelmed by the support, encouragement and prayers for our trip - we absolutely feel your prayers and need them so much as we prepare for this amazing trip. Thank you for your interest and questions about our trip - it's so much fun sharing with you and we will do our very best to post pictures and blog updates along the way!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Kenya Mission 2011 - team picture
Our Team...
Front Row: Tanya Pietz, Melissa Pearson, Amy Stauter, Sandy Poppe
Back Row: Kevin Pietz, Cheryl Stauter, Randy Stauter, Lee Poppe
So...we had a little fun! Our team is so excited to get to Kenya, we are literally "Jumping for Joy"!
Check out the animation and crazy faces! We have to practice the timing on our jumping for the next picture!
Back Row: Kevin Pietz, Cheryl Stauter, Randy Stauter, Lee Poppe
So...we had a little fun! Our team is so excited to get to Kenya, we are literally "Jumping for Joy"!
In the Beginning...
Where to begin? The Kenyan Orphan Project began in 2009 when Pastor Martin Shikuku traveled from Eldoret, Kenya to Aitkin, Minnesota (in April...it can be pretty cold in Minnesota in April!) Pastor Martin and Pastor Randy Stauter (our pastor at Glory Baptist Church) had been communicating via email for some time...thanks for the wonderful invention of the internet, the two pastors had discovered each other and that they both pastored a "Glory Baptist Church"...one in Kenya and one in Minnesota.
Pastor Martin had saved some money to buy a van for himself, which would save him 14 miles of walking to and from his church each day...but instead of buying the van, he heard God telling him to buy a plane ticket to Minnesota instead...never having personnaly met Pastor Randy or having any idea where Minnesota was! That's faith, right?!
While in Aitkin, Pastor Martin spoke at our Missions Conference...his faith, passion and love for Jesus were evident from the very first minute you met him - he is one of those people who "ooze" Jesus...with such light and joy! Listening to Pastor Martin talk about the school he created and the children he cared for and worked to hard to provide schooling for was a life changing experience... Our hearts were broken for what was breaking Jesus' heart!
What is amazing is that our Children and Orphan Outreach Ministry had been praying for a way to become involved with orphans somewhere in Africa and had explored what we could do in Kenya, but God had always gently shut those doors...we had no idea when we met Martin how quickly God would throw those doors open!
Over the past two years, our small church in central Minnesota has been able to financially and prayerfully support the Glorious Academy at Glory Baptist Church in Eldoret, Kenya - the school has expanded from 14 to 52 children. We are able to help give them food each day, medications and some school supplies. What a blessing that has (and continues) to be...how amazing how God provides to take care of their needs if we just ask him to use us! (and by the way...if you ask God to use you, please be prepared to hang on for an exciting and amazing ride!)
These children need so much more...it is our goal and prayer to help raise funds and build an orphanage...a HOME for this children who do not have a home, no warm bed to sleep in at night, no blankets, no comfort, no safety! We have been able to help Pastor Martin purchase land next to his church...we are so excited to see how God provides and to be able build a home for these children. Will we be able to start building the orphanage this summer? We're not sure...this is a faith journey for sure! An experience where God is stretching each of our team members...helping us grow in faith...showing us how to trust Him more...to rely on Him!
We are traveling to Kenya the first part of August 2011...we appreciate your PRAYERS more than words can say! We hope you find this blog interesting and a fun way to keep in touch with us as we continue our journey...
Pastor Martin had saved some money to buy a van for himself, which would save him 14 miles of walking to and from his church each day...but instead of buying the van, he heard God telling him to buy a plane ticket to Minnesota instead...never having personnaly met Pastor Randy or having any idea where Minnesota was! That's faith, right?!
While in Aitkin, Pastor Martin spoke at our Missions Conference...his faith, passion and love for Jesus were evident from the very first minute you met him - he is one of those people who "ooze" Jesus...with such light and joy! Listening to Pastor Martin talk about the school he created and the children he cared for and worked to hard to provide schooling for was a life changing experience... Our hearts were broken for what was breaking Jesus' heart!
What is amazing is that our Children and Orphan Outreach Ministry had been praying for a way to become involved with orphans somewhere in Africa and had explored what we could do in Kenya, but God had always gently shut those doors...we had no idea when we met Martin how quickly God would throw those doors open!
Over the past two years, our small church in central Minnesota has been able to financially and prayerfully support the Glorious Academy at Glory Baptist Church in Eldoret, Kenya - the school has expanded from 14 to 52 children. We are able to help give them food each day, medications and some school supplies. What a blessing that has (and continues) to be...how amazing how God provides to take care of their needs if we just ask him to use us! (and by the way...if you ask God to use you, please be prepared to hang on for an exciting and amazing ride!)
These children need so much more...it is our goal and prayer to help raise funds and build an orphanage...a HOME for this children who do not have a home, no warm bed to sleep in at night, no blankets, no comfort, no safety! We have been able to help Pastor Martin purchase land next to his church...we are so excited to see how God provides and to be able build a home for these children. Will we be able to start building the orphanage this summer? We're not sure...this is a faith journey for sure! An experience where God is stretching each of our team members...helping us grow in faith...showing us how to trust Him more...to rely on Him!
We are traveling to Kenya the first part of August 2011...we appreciate your PRAYERS more than words can say! We hope you find this blog interesting and a fun way to keep in touch with us as we continue our journey...
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