Wings of Mercy takes over Mombasa...

Joy and I piled in a bus with about 50 of the students from Wings of Mercy, and traveled to Mombasa for an end of the term field trip. Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, and since many of those kids have never left their surrounding areas, heading to the big city for the day was extra exciting! Using your gifts of support, we were able to pay the way for many of the kids. Once again, we were able to see your donations bless the kids in an unforgettable way. For us, it was very bitter sweet. We tried our best to soak up every minute, knowing that it would be our last time being with them.

Our first stop was the international airport. We all filed through security (a first for just about everyone there except the two of us!), weighed one of the boys on the luggage scale, and then were taken outside to get a unique, up-close view of the planes taking off and landing.

Next, we headed to Haller Park where we saw crocodiles, snakes, water bucks, giraffes, a HUGE tortoise (which we were told was 300 years old?), and ended up eating lunch with a bunch of monkeys! Another really great experience for the kids!

We ended our day at a beach in Mombasa called, Pirates. It was so beautiful and the kids LOVED it! They played in the water, took paddle boat rides, walked on the beach, and had a ton of fun. It was such a perfect way to our time here with them!

We can't even express how much we have enjoyed being around those students. They all have such a special place in our hearts and pray that God will continue to work in all of their lives.

Pearly Whites!

Our second hygiene lesson for the students was about brushing their teeth. We showed them how to brush and gave them all a travel toothbrush set (brush, mini toothpaste, and a holder). In one of the classes I asked how many of them had their own toothbrush at home and only about 4 out of 13ish raised their hand! Many of them literally use sticks as their method of brushing their teeth...they'll just pick one up and chew on it/scrape their teeth with it. NOT the most efficient way to brush, but I guess its better than nothing! They were SO excited to get their new sets. When I passed them out, one boy named 'Said' said "Oh, God bless you!"...then a few more chimed in in agreement. We are so glad we're able to share some basic items with them that they otherwise wouldn't have!

On a Spiritual Note...

The students had their end of the term exams last week, so since we did not have classes to teach, we went out into the village with Pastor Fondo to do home visits (basically hut-to-hut witnessing). We when first heard of the plan, we were a little skeptical of the impact we would really be able have. We both questioned if the people we talked to would really make a genuine decision to follow Christ, or if they would only be interested because it was coming from a mzungu (white person). Funny how even after seeing how God works we still question Him!

We ended up talking with 3 different groups of people, and we both had the opportunity to share our testimony with each one. Pastor Fondo translated for us and then invited them to make a decision to accept Christ’s gift of salvation. Thirteen people ended up praying with him! Praise the Lord. Now, the important thing will be to follow up with them and help direct them on where to go next. One of the women we talked with wanted to come to church, but wasn’t able to because of her work; so, without hesitation Pastor Fondo offered to come to her home and meet with her Sunday evenings instead (because what else do pastor’s have to do on Sunday’s, right?...this guy is like a little energizer bunny for Jesus!).

Pray that those we talked with will not just continue on with their lives like normal, but that they will begin to seek out what it really means to follow Christ!

Girl Talk!

Our third and final health/hygiene lesson was only for the girls. (Men feel free to skip to the next section if you have sensitive ears!) J We had a special “Girl Talk” time where we educated them about their menstrual cycle. We talked about what is happening in your body, what to expect, what normal symptoms are, and how to take care of yourself during it, and even showed them how to use a pad. The girls were very receptive to the information and it was clear that many of the girls had never been told anything about their period. We were so thankful they were able to overcome their fears to ask questions or request a pad, which we provided at the end for those who wanted one. We were so thankful for how well it went!

On a funny note…after the lesson, one of the girls named Faith said in a defeated little voice, “Oh how I wish I were a boy, there are so many problems we are going to be having!”

More school supplies!!

It’s felt a little like Christmas around here! The preschool/kindergarten classes were really in need of some supplies for the kids. They had NO toys and very few helpful teachings aides…can you imagine keeping 40 or so children occupied all day without those things?! Pretty challenging. So, to help them out we purchased several educational games (matching shapes, word games, number games, etc.), legos, and a soccer ball. The teachers were SO so thankful and know the new materials will not only keep the kids busy, but will really help them learn and develop their skills.

We were also able to purchase even MORE books for the school. After teaching English in class 6 & 7 with only a few books for the whole class to share, Joy has experienced first hand how important it is for them all to have a book. SO, with more of the donations we were able to purchase enough English books so that everyone can have their own copy!

Fruitful Thursdays...

Thursday’s have been our day to meet with the women in the church for a Bible study. Our first meeting we shared about Love…how Christ shows us perfect love and how He calls us to love others. Most of them do not understand English, so Pastor Fondo has been our wonderful interpreter. The last 2 weeks, we talked about the Fruits of the Spirit and how we can develop them more in our lives. Through prayer, reading (and obeying) the Bible, and fellowshipping with other believers we can learn more and more what it means to have Christ as the focus in our live. When we do those things, He will give us a ‘fruitful’ life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.

We also did a hand-washing lesson with the women and gave them each a bar of soap. The culture is so different here, I have to keep reminding myself that even something so common to me, like washing your hands with soap, is not so common for some of the people here. Hopefully the women will make it a new tradition in their homes! J

To show their appreciation, the women sang for us this last Sunday and presented us with lesso’s (colorful fabric they wear as skirts). It was a really special time!

Saturday School!!

They are SERIOUS about their education here! Buuuuut…..when the mzungus come to town (us white people), we have to make sure they have at least a LITTLE fun at school! That’s how Saturday school (which apparently is not a punishment here, its just part of their normal school week) turned into a dance competition J WOW they can dance! Imagine about 50 Kenyan students in one small classroom, singing, drumming on the desks, and dancing like no one was watching. They really broke out of their shell. J Definitely a Saturday school to remember! J

Saturday’s with the youth...

On Saturday afternoon we’ve been meeting with the youth at the Church. The first meeting was a rainy, rainy day and only one person showed up. SO we re-located to Pastor Fondo’s house and ended up having a really great time worshiping and dancing with his family, the orphans that stay there, and the one faithful boy who showed up. J The next week we had about 20 youth come and had a great talk on Lamentations “Pour our your hearts….” We shared with them about putting your full trust in Christ and how our relationship with Him can only grow if we are honest with him and really pour out our hearts to Him through prayer. For our final meeting this last Saturday, several of the youth did traditional singing/dancing and then performed a couple really great drama sketches. The drama group is lead by one of the church members and has a vision of reaching the youth through relevant lessons that they can apply to their daily lives. It was fun to see them in action!

Sunday School

Before church on Sundays, Joy has been teaching the little kids and I have been teaching the youth. The little kids adore Joy and have been running around singing all the songs she has taught them. J She does a really great job with them! The youth don’t have quite the excited spirit that the kids do (guess that’s universal!), but they have started interacting more and even reciting some of the things they learned on our first Sunday together.

We’ve really enjoyed teaching the Sunday school classes and pray the Lord will use us to make a lasting impact on all of the ages we’re working with!

Books Books BOOKS!!

It has been an exciting week at the school! One of the BIG needs here were textbooks for the classrooms. Many of the classrooms only have one book for all the students to share, and we can now say from experience that it is very difficult to teach when the students can’t follow along! BUT…that is beginning to change J. This last week we were able to buy around 200 books for the school! Wow Wow WOW (as they say here) J. Now each classroom has several copies of the books they need. SUCH A BLESSING! We really believe that these books are going to make a big difference in the students’ opportunity to learn. We ALSO really believe that God is going to use this school to transform the students’ lives more and more and many of YOU are a huge part of that!! THANK YOU again so much for your support, we can’t say it enough! Stayed tuned, we have much more to talk about!

Praise God for His love, compassion, and provision.

Clean hands!

Last week we gave our first hygiene lesson at the school. We talked about how to do it correctly, when you should do it, and WHY it is so important. Before our little lesson, their method of hand washing was using a shared water bucket to rinse off their hands...some dipped a cup in it and poured the water over their hands, but others just stuck their cute, dirty little hands right in the bucket and swished them around. Talk about a bucket full of germs! (and there was NO soap to be found!) SO, we talked about when and how they should wash and set up each classroom with their own bar of soap and water jug (with a small top so they cant stick their hands in it!). We crowned one person in each class as the “soap master”, meaning they are now in charge of the soap and helping everyone wash their hands. So far it’s worked wonderfully! Now, each class washes their hands with soap before going to lunch. Hopefully this will help minimize spreading around the sicknesses that are so common here. We also gave the students a little bottle of hand sanitizer to keep…something very new to them! So far they’re doing a great job with this new routine, pray that they will keep it up!

A boy named Lucky...

We met Lucky on our first day here in Malindi. Pastor Fondo picked him up and brought him to the medical clinic with us, where he sat for over an hour having jiggers dug out of his little 7 year old feet AND hands. Before we say more, let’s back track a little to how exactly he got his name…

When he was 5, Lucky tried his hand at climbing a coconut tree. He was very unsuccessful and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the rocks below. Lucky was taken to the hospital where he spent about 2 months recovering. Today, Lucky has only a scar on his head and his name as a reminder of what he survived. Unfortunately, he comes from a rough home. He does not have a dad and his mom sells alcohol on the street at night…not a good environment for a boy to grow up in. Thankfully, God has placed Pastor Fondo in Lucky’s life to help watch over him.

After Pastor Fondo shared Lucky’s story with us, he has been on our hearts and we wanted to do what we could to help him out. Worried that he would become a “street boy” if he stayed at home, Pastor Fondo decided to take Lucky to the orphanage/school where we’ve been working. He literally had only the clothes on his back (which were torn up and dirty). With the money that was graciously donated, Joy and I were able to buy Lucky a new school uniform, socks, and shoes! He has been staying at the orphanage and going to school for about a week…Lucky has a whole new future ahead of him now! Today was his first day with his new look (it was also his first time wearing shoes!…it was so awesome and a bit humorous seeing him walking in them for the first time J). Check out a small glimpse of his transformation…

Our first 10 days...

Well it's been just over a week since we settled into our new home! We now have Internet access on our computer, so we will be able to keep you a little more up-to-date of our Kenya happenings. First off, thank you so much for your prayers. We know God has been watching over us and we have already seen him at work in some really great ways! There is a LOT we could write about already, so we will summarize it as best as we can to give you an idea of what has been happening on this part of the world…

Medical clinic—our first two days in Malindi were spent doing a medical clinic at the church. Close to 100 people came each day to be treated! A couple of the church members were able to share Christ with several of the people as they waited to be seen by the doctor, and over 50 people accepted Jesus into their life as a result! It is so encouraging and inspirational to see the passion these people have to share their faith…there is definitely a lot we can learn from them!

Several children came needing treatment for ‘jiggers’—nasty little bugs that bury themselves into the skin of the hands and feet. I will spare all the details, but I will say the damage they do is one of the worst things I have ever seen! Many of the kids do not have shoes, which is one of the reasons the jiggers become such a problem for them.

As far as our roles during those days…Renee washed the kids’ feet, helped with the jigger removal, and bandaged up the wounds. Joy helped treat and clean wounds and assisted the doctor as he diagnosed/treated each person who came in…they both were able to learn from each other.

With the money we raised, we were able to buy worm medication that was given to everyone over 2 years old who came to the clinic. There was enough left over to treat all the staff and students at the school as well…something they need to do at least every 3 months.

Magdalena film—Saturday night, the Magdalena film was shown on a projector screen outside Pastor Morris’ church. Several hundred people came to watch and many of them prayed to accept Christ afterwards. Watching the story of Jesus’ life in that setting made it come alive even more.

On a side note…on our way to the church that night, we were rear-ended by a Matatu while sitting in a tuktuk. Basically, we were hit by a van while sitting in our 3-wheeled taxi. No worries though, God was watching over us and all we needed was a good push to get the tuktuk going again.

Sunday—Attended our first church service in Malindi. Joy had the chance to teach the young kids about creation. She taught them the song “He’s got the whole world, in His hands…”, they recited Genesis 1:1, and then of course played some fun games. Because our driver was on “Kenya time” Renee had to forgo the lesson she was going to do for the high school class, but was able to sit in on the women’s study that Chao led. Many of the women had seen the Magdalena film the night before, so they were able to have some great discussion. As far as the service, it was filled with loud singing, enthusiastic preaching…and lots of sweaty bodies (it was very very hot and the service was almost 3 hrs long!).

For a sharp contrast, we had lunch at Fotmah’s house an Arabic, Muslim friend of Chao’s. Going to her house was like stepping into a scene from Aladdin.

Weekdays— Monday started our first day at the school/orphanage. From here on out we will be helping in the schools each day…we’re still trying to figure out exactly how they do things, but I’m sure we’ll catch on soon! We will be teaching English and Math several times a day, doing puberty and hygiene lessons, and educating the teachers on how to use the medications and first aid kit items they have available. It’s also looking like we will be the school nurses…so far Joy has already treated a young boy who had a severe burn on his arm and a few minor cases of worms and tonsillitis.

WHEW…ok, that about sums up our first full week. Thanks for reading and thank you again SO much for the prayers and support.