Jambo!

Okay, so sorry for the long delay in posting on the blog.  We arrived late Wednesday night around 3 in the morning and pretty much immediately fell asleep.  Thursday morning we woke up to have breakfast and discovered that the Wifi was broken and waiting on repair so we had no way to contact or update people except through Cristin Mills phone.   We spent Thursday getting acclimated and buying project supplies at the store.

Friday morning we visited the USA (oosa) River Disabled school.   This school is very well managed and teaches disabled children a trade such as baking, sewing, weaving, shoe making, etc.  They have a clinic in the school that treats kids with club foot and makes orthotics for all sorts of different needs.  Many of their teachers are former students.  We enjoyed spending time meeting the kids and did a puppet show for them (The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado) and donated 100 kg of black beans, 100 kg of chick peas, 25 kg of wheat flour, 25 kg of white flour, 100 kg of rice, 10 kg of salt, a big drum of cooking oil, and 200 kg of sugar.  We also enjoyed buying their baked goods and handmade items to help support their school.

After the USA River School, we visited the Suya Highscool where we went last year.  Jon and Zack did the "belt trick" object lesson which teaches them to know Gods word so they can't be tricked into false teachings.  Callie and Pauline Stein shared their testimonies and Jon preached on Gods grace and Christ being the only way to heaven.

After that, we visited an orphanage we had never been to before called Huruma Childrens Trust.  Please pray for this orphanage!  It is not well managed and in very poor condition.  They are located directly across from the landfill, where smoke is constantly blowing toward their facility.  Many of the children had bronchial conditions that need medical care. The children were dirty and covered with flies and sores.  Their building had huge cracks in it and they appeared to be out of diapers.  They had wanted us to paint, but after seeing the conditions,  We are looking into industrial cleaning and trying to assess the areas of most dire need.  We are hoping to get all of the babies into town to be seen by a doctor first.   Anyway, it was pretty overwhelming for our students (and adults) to see these kids in such horrible conditions but they all held those babies the entire time they were there and came away resolved to make a difference.  We will be going back there on Tuesday and will keep you updated.

Saturday, we visited the Olevolos Orphanage where we went last year.  This is the way all orphanages should look!  The owner/director Mama Jane is amazing and takes such good care of those kids.  She has a large garden where she has taught each child to plant and tend to their own patch of crop.  Last year, we donated funds and helped begin to build a chicken coop there.  The kids are so happy to have fresh eggs to eat every morning.  When Jane was talking to the kids, she reminded them that our group was the one that provided the coop and chickens.  When she asked one of the kids " Who should we thank for our eggs that we eat every morning, one of the littler ones said "the chickens!"  They are all adorable and obviously love Mama Jane.  We were able to donate a large amount of food, sang and performed a skit for them based on the Max Lucado book, "You are Special".  It was a stark contrast to the orphanage we saw the day before and we all left feeling encouraged because of how well Mama Jane exemplifies Gods love for them every day.  We drove straight from there to the airport to pick up Cousin Steve, who has been a full time missionary in Africa for over 35 years.

Today, Sunday, we split into three groups and went to three different churches.  Did we mention that church services here start at 6:30 a.m.  That is early!  After church, We had a little time to rest this afternoon, except for Jon and I who spoke to a small group about our testimony of our experiences with our own children's disability.   We had dinner and spent most of the evening practicing for VBS which we are hosting Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week.  Please pray that kids will come and that it will be a good ministry to this community.  A few went to the airport to pick up Brian Millet, who will be coming in around midnight tonight.

So hopefully the Wifi will continue to work and I will try to update the blog each day.  Thanks for your prayers!