more Mon 18 Oct Romania team - worship / dentistry

Romania trip

Since it's working so well tonight (10:35 Mon) i'll try and update you as to what has been happening.

This is the group of worship leaders that Roger and I taught on Friday night and Saturday afternoon-night

Here is Julie, Annie, Fred and Danielle. Annie is a Romanian who came to the Lord in her teens and went on to become a Doctor. She will be helping out most of the week

Danielle is putting fluoride on this girls teeth.

The last picture is of a gypsy family. the husband and wife both had work done. Just as an aside, several people had as many as 3 teeth pulled in one sitting. just Novocaine -

Romania mission team - Monday 18 Oct

Monday in Romania

I’ll try and put a picture up tonight. It’s of a woman who is only 57 years old. You would not believe it by looking at her though; she looks like she’s around 65 or so. She came up for some teeth work, but when they took her blood pressure it was 260 over 140. no one could believe it! All the nurses were saying that she should be dead by now. We sent her home without doing anything. Tonight at our team time we prayed that God would do a miracle in her so that we could work on her teeth tomorrow.

when i have more time i'll catch up everyone on what happened the first several days.

Today is the first time the internet is working well enough to send this.

Romania mission team - background

Adapted from an email sent last week by John Sarno
"8 MCC people will be in Western Romania primarily working with the Roma people (gypsy). We are going over with the mission Remember The Children, the mission that Andy Baker leads.

Most of our trip will be taken up with dental hygiene, but there will also be other opportunities to meet and work with people who need to hear of God’s love such as handing out shoes and hats, leading VBS style after-school classes, construction and anything else that Andy sees as a need. I’ll also have the opportunity to do some teaching in the area of worship with local gypsy worship leaders and will also help in leading worship there in a gypsy worship service. Now that sounds like a fun worship service. :)

Please pray for us as we minister to and with these people.

Andy Baker
Bryan Cornell
Heather Hill
John Sarno
Julie and Fred Parker
Lyn Murphy
Sara Tamasauskas
Emilee and Dwayne Draper who attend another church will also be going with us. Emilee went on a mission trip to India with us in the past.
Kristi Cornell is our home-base contact person

DR team Wednesday update

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

We awoke in the morning to another good day which the Lord had made. We agreed that we would rejoice and be glad in it! The day’s agenda was simple…follow hard after Christ and “be Jesus” to everyone we encountered.

The entire team and the church leaders set out for sail to enjoy a boat ride and the beach together. This was a wonderful time of connecting with one another both as a MCC DR Mission team and as a grander mission team, the Church. It was wonderful to watch Pastor Ignacio, his wife Paula and their son Samuel enjoy their time together! We played hard, laughed a lot and soaked up every minute of time our God had graciously given to us. A powerful moment for our team was when Fernando, a young leader in the church, led a time of prayer for us while wading together in the beautiful blue Caribbean water. God’s presence was so powerful in those moments as the sun shone down so brightly. It was a special time of unity amongst fellow believers and I personally felt encouraged and strengthened in my inner being. As we headed back to shore, Jill, Jenny, Tom and Scott walked to the front of the boat and did a cannonball into the water. They shouted “All in and making waves…CANNONBALL!” I cannot put into words just how powerful that moment was for me. It was a physical expression of my desire to surrender all and to follow God wherever He is leading.

In the afternoon, we departed for Madre to participate in a prayer service teach a CHE lesson and to share a drama about the Good Samaritan with the kids. The worship was time was lively and Spirit-filled. Young and old were gathered together to sing “Hallelujah, Gloria a Dios, Jesuscristo es el Senor!” Dorinda was able to reconnect with a special little girl, Pamela. It was beautiful to watch the two of the reunite. It was difficult to take in and process such poverty, and it was hard to leave and say goodbye knowing that so many are without Christ as Savior. We will continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to move in this community and for greater things to come, FOR HE IS ABLE.

We returned to the church in the evening for a night of Women’s ministry. It was a powerful night of women united in Christ. We served cupcakes, tea and fruit punch. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the women with the cupcakes, as they have never had them before!! They did not know how to eat the cupcakes so they found small plastic spoons to eat them with, while the Americanas devoured them with their hands. It was quite a sight!!! Dee shared a powerful devotion about how we can experience God in our lives every day to the full, despite our circumstances. The Holy Spirit spoke through our “Mighty Mouse” (that’s what we like to call our powerful, little Dee). God allowed each of us to connect with the ladies in a very deep and meaningful way. It is hard to describe in words just what took place around a few plastic table and chairs, but God was at work and we were all deeply blessed.

We four men also planned a special evening to minister to four of the local pastors and key leaders (8 total). It was the quintessential “guy’s night out” including pizza, soda, ice cream, dominos and Dutch Blitz to bless our four friends. It was great to get these guys out where they could laugh and have some fun with the boys.

There is a lot pressure on leaders here to “perform” and grow the church. That tends to keep these guys pretty isolated and makes it hard to have friends, buddies, just guys to do guy stuff with. So our goal was to just have FUN! Mission accomplished!!! The extra pound or two we all gained though through lots of pizza and ice cream was well worth it. It was especially good to see Pastor Ignacio laughing and yucking it upJ! We had noticed at the beginning of the week we was a bit distant and seemed depressed. We wanted to join our team to the ministry he is called to here in Monti Cristi so early on we invited him, his wife and 9 year old son Samuel to be a part of our team…that has made a HUGE difference in his demeanor day by day. If you remember from our initial post his father passed away 2 ½ weeks ago and he has been struggling ever since. He told us yesterday that our team has helped him through his pain by sharing life together…GLORIA A DIOS. The other guys (Pastor Damian and leaders Mendes and Fernando) also had a laugh fest. It felt like a pressure valve had been released and levity was the result…some of the weightiness was gone. By the way I (Tom) won 5 of the 6 dominos games we played…sure, I know what you’re thinking…I should not have crushed our Dominican hosts so badly…yeah, whatever…HAJ!

So as we prayed last night over these guys we reminded them of our night out on Wednesday and pleaded with them to have times like this on a regular basis and to invite other maturing men to join in for the laughs.

To cap off the night for our team Irv had the testimony and devotion…way to go IRV…God is faithful!

D.R. team Tuesday update

Tuesday, October 12

Greetings from the Dominican Republic…this is our fourth full day in the service of our Lord here in this wonderful place. We have been blessed with great weather that has been fairly cool with rain in the evening cooling things down even more! We start every morning with an awesome breakfast prepared with love by Fransesca, Chava and Maribell.

We have had many successful events that have blessed us all with the way they have been received by the people here.

This afternoon after lunch took gift bags we prepared this morning to present to the patients in the local hospital…it is a very sad place with none of the conveniences we are accustom to in America. There is a NP on our team and she says the medicine and procedures used here are equivalent to the way things were done in the early 1900’s in the US. There are no sheets or even toothpaste and toiletries available unless the family members bring them in. The items we had to distribute came from our kids at Mt. Kidmore and Camp Kidmore and they were very much appreciated, the bags include soap, tissue, toothpaste & brush, lotion, shampoo and deodorant.

After we returned home and had another amazing lunch we took some time to walk around the area that is close to the church and mission where we stay…it is very disturbing to see how the people here have to live, open sewage dilapidated houses and very meager belongings, but yet they are proud and very welcoming when you stop at their house and always produce chairs for us to sit in. They are very generous people full of love and are not really sure it seems sometimes, about us Americano’s. The children have a special place in my heart and I spend most of my time playing with and trying, with some surprising success, to communicate with them. The way they sing worship songs with such enthusiasm has touched the heart of every team member.

Also tonight was the first ever CHE lesson done here in Monte Cristi, we were invited to Pastor Ignacio’s house for bible study and he allowed us to do a CHE lesson! Tom Moen, Bill Beyer, Jill Shuck and myself (Dorinda Veydt) did the river crossing lesson and watched with great joy as the people there, about 17 of them really began to “get it” especially the Pastor, his face lit up and continually nodded with agreement as the lesson progressed to include comments from everyone there on what they had seen! At the end of the lesson we sang more worship songs accompanied by Pastor Ignacio on guitar and after that Pastor asked if anyone present would like to accept Christ as their savior and two people raised their hands and accepted Christ!! It was an amazing night…

One of the most important things we wanted to accomplish here on this trip was to open communication with Pastor Ignacio and build up relationship, and to tear down walls of miscommunication. The men have really rallied around him and have gotten thru to him that as the teams from Mountain come we want to work with him in reaching his people. I cannot explain in words the difference in his countenance he is very open and relaxed with us, spending much time with us in fellowship along with his wife Paula and son Samuel.

A second group from our team went to another Bible study at a church members house in Los Maestros, that was mostly from youth group and they came back with glowing faces and remarks about an awesome message given by a young man named Fernando whom we all need to lift up in prayer as he could be the next generation to serve the people here in Monti Cristi .

We are all doing well physically and emotionally stretched but all feeling very blessed to be on this trip together in Christ.

D.R. team Monday update

Buenos Diaz, and thank you for your continued prayer. Monday, day 4, the adventure continues and we are blessed to see God’s mighty hand working here with us.

Today the team visited Alta Gracia, an elderly woman who had just suffered a stroke two months ago. She is confined to a wheelchair and was in some discomfort and pain. Alta, we believe, felt much better and her spirit was lifted, when the women in our team began reading scriptures and singing songs and just loving her. Alta Gracia loves the Lord and has such a kind spirit. Melissa massaged her left arm and hand to help soothe her and gave Alta Gracia’s daughters advice on how she could sleep more comfortably and position her arm in a better way. The men were going to repair Alta’s roof. After assessing the damage, the men developed the game plan, knocked down some of the loose pieces and determined what supplies were required to repair the roof. We ordered the material and supplies needed to complete the job. However, we were disappointed when the materials could not be delivered til later that afternoon. It would have to be completed another day.

In the afternoon the team headed to a private Christian school. The school is run by Ebony, an American Christian, from Detroit, MI serving in the Dominican Republic. There, we set up four different stations: balloons, face painting, freeze dance, and jump rope. The kids were so excited and actually performed and sang a song in English. They were magnificent, their voices were beautiful and touched our hearts. We organized the children by grade 1^st-4^th and rotated them through the four stations. It was fast and furious painting faces and making balloon animals for seventy five kids. Even though we had 75 kids we made over 150 balloon animals and swords. The children had a great time running around having sword fights and barking dogs could be seen flying around the play ground, laughter and joy could be heard all around. Jill was dressed as a clown and brought joy and laughter to the children as she moved between the different classes. When we departed Jill drove which was just hysterical, she kept her clown suit and wig on while we were blowing the clown horn driving through Monte Christi. The looks we received were just as funny. It is not every day they see a clown driving a van filled with laughing Americans.

In the evening the women arranged to have a baby shower for Damian’s wife Suyapa. She is expecting to deliver later this week. It is certainly exciting for the team members that have known Suyapa and Damian for years, and are anxiously awaiting God’s great gift. During the baby shower laughter could be heard for blocks as the woman played games to include over 20 games of “baby shower” Bingo. It was definitely a special time for Suyapa and the women who support the church.

The men spent their time in fellowship. Scott and Irv went with Damian, Fernando, and Mendy down to the water front enjoying the cool night air and fellowship. Damian‘s English is significantly better then Scott and Irv’s Spanish, thank goodness. It was a challenge, but the evening was a great time and Irv and Scott even learned a few new words of Spanish and about Monte Christi. Tom and Bill spent the evening with Ignacio talking about Monte Christi, the church, the mission, it was a great time of encouragement and lifting each other up.

For team time we went to “Many Breezes”, the top of Alberto’s house under the stars and soaking up God magnificent creation. Scott gave his testimony and led a devotion on prayer. The team continues to draw closer together and work well together serving the Lord. We want you all to know we are eating well, the food here is absolutely awesome. We can honestly say we will not be losing any weight on this trip. We thank you again for your love and prayers and look forward to sharing our God stories with you.

Brothers in Christ

Irv & Scott

Dominican Republic team update - Sunday, October 10

Thank you for your continuing prayers for us. These past three days here at the DR have truly been very enriching . The presence of God is very real in every situation. It gives us the opportunity to talk to Him and ask Him how we should respond to what we see, to look around us in His eyes of love and feel how He feels for these people. I breaks my heart to see how God feels for the places we have been.

We attended a service at Buenos Aires in the morning which is just a few miles away from Monte Cristi where we stay. This is clearly a more impoverished area. We were warmly greeted by a throng of children, who were just so excited and happy to see us. I never knew how kids could so easily pour out such sweet love on us. They did not treat us as strangers , they just embrace us, sat beside us and love on us in their most gentle and sweetest ways. I couldn’t explain what I felt but as the children sang various songs in worship, tears kept streaming down my face. They were just so into it. I love their voices and God gave me a glimpse of how please He is for the way these children come to Him in worship. Their innocence and humble spirit is what God needs from us. Many of them really smell bad despite their seemingly clean clothes. I wished I could bathe them and teach their parents to take care of them well. But right there God showed me the insurmountable tasks the pastor of this church has to take. Are they prepared for this? Who can they raise as leaders in that church when the parents of the kids are absent. I thank the Lord, I know now what to pray for.

The children responded so well in the skit we presented about the good Samaritan. They were so happy with the art works that they did and with the lollipop each of them got. How I wish we could give more than this, just to make them get thrilled with many of the things many kids in America enjoy. But in the end, poverty could be their richest gain since it is the love of the Lord that they can rest on.

In the evening, we attended the service at Monte Cristi . It is reassuring to see a young boy from a bunch of young girls danced for the Lord. Again, there were just a handful of adults. I feel sad for such a big building that was built for God, and yet it is not filled. The children here are better dressed than the kids in B uenos Aires. We did the same thing that we did at Buenos Aires with these kids and I pray that what they have seen and learned will grow in them.

In both services, Bill Beyer, one of our team members who speaks Spanish preached.

There is so much work to be done here. It is the building of the church that is badly needed not the physical structure because they have one made of stones but spiritual bodies who will be in these buildings. Please pray for wisdom upon the pastors on how to start the rebuilding, how to win people for Christ. Please pray for a few currently being used to help to remain steadfast. Five to six people are in regular attendance in both these churches. Your prayers, our prayers will help resurrect this place where the Lord is hardly noticed.

With gratitude,

Dee Barretto for the DR team

Domincan Republic team - first full day

We are very blessed to have a great mission staff here at the church. Francesca is the cook of the group and has been feeding us well. None of the kitchen mission staff speak English, but they smile and laugh so much, you can’t help but feel all the love from all of them. Maribell is a helper who is deaf and mute, and she works very hard to make us feel welcomed. She is so funny and loves to imitate us. Chava and Rita have shown us new ways to vegetables and make some dishes. We have eaten together, shared stories, and prayed together. One definite thing that is seen, is that God gives us no real barriers when it comes to love.

We have experienced very hot days above 90 degrees, as well as evenings with down pours of chop rain. The electricity and water seem to go out the same time every day here, so we are appreciating the trash can filled with water and bucket to dump over ourselves to cool off. The most amazing thing about awakening in the morning is that the roosters truly wake you up. I have never heard so many roosters crow for so long! There is also very loud music heard from the streets that can go on all night long.

I personally have had multiple feelings of being overwhelmed since arriving. It is so unbelievable to see people who live in shacks as their homes, most without any electricity, and children wandering outside for hours. People ride more mopeds than travel by car, and with 3 or 4 people on them (it is common to see small children and babies being held on them too). What is interesting is that they seem quite content with their lives, mostly I believe because they know no different. It makes me wonder if we really do appreciate all that we do have, and if we need all that we do have.

Thanks for your prayers—continue them for a productive week ahead!

Melissa Cummins, for the DR Team

From the men’s ministry perspective we had a great day Saturday. There were 47 men who travelled with their families, some coming from as far away as two hours by bus. If you have been to the DR you understand that that might be a life threatening experience. If you haven’t you would not believe it any way.

We had some great worship, and a talk by Tom Moen to set the tone for the day. Early in the day, Tom had a translator but after going thru a few small group discussions during the day He was comfortable speaking with and praying with the men in Portuguese. As with the women, smiles and a willing heart somehow allow people to communicate. During he day we discussed the role of Fathers in the family. In context, Dominican men for the most part are not involved in the upbringing of their children and there are not Rec Council Baseball and soccer leagues that the kids participate in and parents run around to. The mend went thru some scriptures and then had small group discussions and we pray for the conviction of God’s Word in their hearts to change ingrained cultural and generational practices which are dysfunctional and harmful to the sanctity and unity of the family structure and parental responsibilities. IT IS A BIG DEAL, BUT WE SERVE A B IG GOD. We heard some heartfelt discussions and reports from the small groups. We hope to have stirred up some feelings that will lead to a thirsting for God’s guidance in these and other matters in their lives.

Having 47 men present was huge as men are for the most part absent in the Dominican church. Sunday in two services in two churches there were less than 10 men total at worship. Damien, one of the local pastors , has 11 men in Mens Frater nity on Saturday evenings, but says they all come up with excuses for not being in church on Sunday. We are praying for God to show the local pastors new an creative ways to engage the men here in Monte Cristi.

Existence and the reality here in the DR are really eye opening. It is opening our eyes to a poverty that we can’t even imaging from our US experience. Interestingly, there is tremendous joy in the small things of life, and our being here and meeting with people, our trying to speak their language and spending time with people in church or on the streets seems to bring them joy and maybe (hopefully) a better sense that “because God loved us first, we love one another”. We are trying to live this verse and message this week and pray they we will be a blessing to both the local church and God’s church during our visit here in the Dominican Republic.

Reporting from Monte Cristi, DR THE BOYS

Dominican Republic team arrive Fri 8 Oct

Your prayers on our behalf have been to great effect as we are currently sitting in the fellowship hall of the church here in Monti Cristi.

Upon arrival at Puerta Plata we experienced the wonderful humid heat found in this part of the world. After lunching at the Burger King...yes the BK is alive and well here, we experienced a harrowing 3 hour van ride dodging pedestrians, vans, bikes, dogs, chickens, donkeys and pot holes all along the way.

We are just now “installed“ in our rooms and awaiting supper. It has been four years for me since I was here last and upon arrival have already seen many changes. This speaks well of the faithfulness of the church here and Kingdom Participants who have given sacrifically to edify the body here.

We will tell many life stories of the saints here in Monti Cristi during our time here and posts there but let me start by asing for your prayers on behalf of the pastor here, Ignacio. He has been pastoring here for three years having come from Santo Domingo to lead the church. His father passed away a week and a half ago and it has been very difficult for him. We believe our presence and my experience with loosing my father in June of this year will be a blessing for him.

We are excited, pumped and sweating...ready to be poured out as drink offerings amongst the Lords people. Pray for us as we incarnate the Christ‘s presence and pray for us “that when we open our mouths we will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel“.

With you in making God‘s Name GREAT among the Nations...Tom (for the DR Team)

Kenya team (repost from their team blog) Oct 6

Wed - Last Day at Ewaso

Wed- things are winding down at the clinic for today, our last day here. Wednesdays are "mommy days" - lots of pregnant women come for prenatal treatment and also bringing babies in for immunizations. The team has been so blessed this week to work beside the wonderful folks here at this clinic. Yesterday we went to a very remote clinic to work with Samuel, a Maasai nurse who has been here for more then 25 years. That was an amazing experience. Four of us went to a school near the clinic and gave fluoride treatments to over 700 kids! Wow! I think each of us has been deeply touched by the Maasai people and we can't wait to come home and share with all of you. Please continue to keep the Maasai in prayer!!

from their team blog

Kenya team repost from their team blog - Oct 4

Monday with the Maasai

We had a great weekend and a great time at church yesterday celebrating and praising our God with the Maasai People. The people are so worshipful and full of energy. You would be blown away at how they just praise God. The preaching, the music and dancing. Pastor James spoke, and the service was translated from Maa into Swahalli, and then into English. Our own Pastor Dennis Curran also gave a wonderful message.

We then had dinner with Mary Nampaso. This is a remarkable women. She has been washing our clothes and taking good care of us. She cooked this great dinner at her house in her village. It was a traditional Maasai meal, shared with everyone in her village. It was amazing.

We have another full day at the clinic and seeing many patients. Jenn B. has just diagnosed more patients as HIV positive, which is always a heartbreak. Especially when it's a child. But aside from medical treatment they also provide counseling and outreach. Dr. Wells and Dawny have had many surgeriens, mostly lipomas, and many of us have been able to assist. This is an incredible place.

We have also been able to provide floride treatments to all the children (over 800) in the school next to the clinic. We will all have many stories to share on the many ways these kids have blessed us.

Kenya team re-post Oct 2

Clinic - Ewaso Ngiro

The team arrived at Ewaso Ngiro clinic several days ago, and we have been very busy. Treating teeth with fluoride (hundreds of school children) and lots of pregnant women and babies. The treatment rooms are never empty. God has managed to challenge and use each of us. The clinic director, John Sankok and his wife Grace were very gracious and hosted us for dinner in their home last night - a wonderfuly home cooked meal. Several of our team members have gotten ill, but lucky we have a team of doctors and nurses here to take care of us! We have also been to the school, where Jennifer W. was able to teach a class and Linda and Tracy entertained the kids and took lots of pictures. Dennis will be delivering the message in church tomorrow. So much going on!

Please continue to keep us in prayer. And of course, all of the folks here at the clinic. This is a very dedicated and hardworking group of people here.

(from the Kenya team main blog)

Kenya team main blog

The Kenya team has its own blog http://kenyamissiontrip2010.blogspot.com
Great pics & Yay God stories!
Some highlights from the last few days include:
"Saturday- One word to describe today, spent in Mathare Valley (one of the world's largests slums, in Nairboi) is INTENSE. Intensity of so many levels. We went to the Hope Mission school and met with Mary and Wallace Kamau, the founders of the school. As our team leader, Dawny, puts it - "They are my heros". The school is an amazing place. They now serve over 4,300 children at multiple locations. There are over 300 people in there employ. We got to go into the classrooms, to see the library, to see the classrooms that are being built, and most importantly, to see the difference that this work is making in the lives of the children of Mathare. One the best moments occured when the team split in two and went with the social workers from the school to do home visits with the children. Pictures and words can't adaequately describe all the we saw and expereinced today. God bless Mary & Wallace, the folks at the school, the people of Mathare, and most especially, the precious children."

And today's (Sun 26 Sep) update:

We Found Joy in Joska!!

Wow!! The bus, with Mary Kamau, came to pick us up early for the drive out to Joska. Joska is the boarding school for children in grades 5-8, about 700 of them, and over 95% of those children come from the slums in Nairobi. At Joska, these children recieve a wonderful education, housing, uniforms, spiritual upbringing and lots and lots of love. These kids are AMAZING. The worship at there church was amazing! The team was blown away by the amount of growth this ministry is experiencing. One of the highlights of our visit to Joska was meeting a very special young man name John. John was a Muslim student who made the decision to give his life to Christ - today!! Dennis was able to lead him, praying for him as he accepted Christ. We spent a very full day there, and the children said good-byes and there were many messages to bring home to their sponsors, and many well wishes and greetings being sent to Brandon Adams, former missionary from Mountain Christian to Kenya.

We were also blessed by being invited to Hope Missions International's founders home, Mary & Wallace Kamau. Their home, like their hearts, is a beautiful place. After a marvelous meal, they treated us to a movie - "One in a Million" - a documentary by John Schmidt, and the story of their son Baraka - a deaf orphan who has recieved nothing short of a miracle in his life. We encourage everyone to go to the CMF International website and order this heartwarming film, to get a glimpse into the life of the Kamau's, their son, and the beautiful children of the Mathare Valley.

Quick Kenya team update

From team member Tracy Jentzsch: "We are safe and sound at Grace House tonight. Had a wonderful day at Joska with the kids, amazing worship and a great dinner and fellowship with Mary and Wallace at their home.
God is good!
Thank you!!
Blessings, Tracy

Kenya team arrives safely!

Team Kenya has arrived safely in Kenya, Praise God!! We had a lovely "send off party" that met us in the parking lot of Mountain at 5 am on Thursday. Thanks to our drivers, Bill and Tom, for getting the team, and all of our luggage, to Dulles. Ethopian Airlines gets big kudos for a wonderful and safe flight. We are tired, but happily here at Grace House. After a quick bite, we managed to make it to Amanyi Aju, a beautiful oasis in the midst of the chaos of downtown Nairobi, to meet with Maggie (the manager) who gave us a tour of the facility, let us meet the ladies, and then led us to the shop so we could see their wares. Amanyi is a refuge for women, some Kenyan, some from surrounding countries, to come and learn a skill and become self sufficient. We then had time for tea at Grace House, and now the team is prepping our tools and equpiment for our first clinic, tomorrow, in Mathare Valley. We will be happy to see missionaries Mary and Wallace Kamau, and of course, the children at the school at Hope Missions International. We will try to post pictures as time, and technology, allow us.

Thanks to all for your continued prayers during this journey!

Amani ya juu ( “higher peace” in Swahili)

Many of our Short Term Mission Teams that go to Kenya have the opportunity to visit and purchase items from a place called Amani ya juu (which means “higher peace” in Swahili) in Nairobi. You may well have gone there during your trip to Kenya. It is an amazing place that receives women from a variety of countries from the continent of Africa. You can see their website at www.amaniafrica.org for the full story.

Debbie Gibbons has emailed an invitation to see and purchase items from there for which ALL proceeds are returned to Kenya.

Here is her invite…

Amani ya juu products will be for sale at my home at these times:

• Friday, September 24 6-10 PM
• Saturday September 25 from 8 AM -11 AM
• Sunday September 26 from 11:30 AM- 3:30 PM

I have a great supply of dolls, handbags, jewelry, etc. Payment can be cash, check, or credit card. ALL money will be returned to Amani ya juu.

Please come to support the wonderful enterprise of these women in Kenya.

Address: 402 Berkshire Court

Joppa, MD 21085

Home Phone: 410-679-8714

Blessings - Debbie Gibbons

MCC mission team Kenya tidbits

PLEASE PRAY…A team of ten left today (Thursday) for a 17 day medical mission trip to the Maasai in rural Kenya. Led by Dr. Wells and Dawn Ament they will be serving in the clinics Glynn and Pat Wells helped to start in the 1980’s. The rest of the team consists of Larry Ament, Jennifer Barnett, Linda Cooper, Karl & Tracy Jentzsch, Kevin Smallwood, Jennifer Wolferman and Dennis Curran.

We will soon be ramping up the most aggressive goal yet for Mountain and Short Term Missions…we want to take 100 people to Kenya on ONE TRIP from June17 to July 1, 2011. The group will be divided into 8-10 sub teams upon arrival to do things like VBS, Medical, Sports, Community Health Evangelism, Sewing, Community Projects, etc. This trip will need solid people on it so please consider your areas of ministry and who you might challenge to GO! We will have materials ready soon by way of introducing this trip.

Brandon A @ Kenya "My Final Days w/ Mission of Hope"

For pics from Brandon, check his personal blog

It is hard to believe that I have already been in Nairobi for two months. My time here has been very fruitful and I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to come as an apprentice to Nairobi, Kenya and work with CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship) and MOHI (Missions of Hope International). My flight leaves today at 11:10 PM (4:10 PM EST) and will land on Dulas on Friday afternoon. As I am excited to come home and share with you my experiences and see my friends and family again I can already tell that it is going to be so hard to leave the Kamau family, apprentices (Erin & Bethany), the MOHI staff and students.

Last week I took my favorite photos that the students took with the disposable cameras to be printed as 8"x10" and framed. On monday they I received a large cardboard box that contained about 40 completed photos mounted in the frames ready and to display. I worked all day hanging the frames in the boardroom in Pangani. Everyone that came in to look at the photos while I was hanging seemed shocked when they found out that the students took the photos and not a photographer. I was very pleased with the way the walls turned out. The room has totally been transformed.

I also had the opportunity to design a logo for the Joska boarding school to be made into a sign out front and to be used on their letterhead. It was cool that I was able to use my design abilities to help out MOHI. You can check out their new logo below.

Brandon A @ Kenya: Edwin & Brian's Birthday Party

Last month I was so excited to find out that my sponsored child was going to have his birthday while I was in Kenya. So, I thought it would be fun to throw a party for Edwin and his twin brother Brian. Earlier this week I connected with the Kosovo social worker, Charity, to help me organize the cakes, presents and the visit to their classes.

This afternoon I walked with Charity with the two cakes and presents thru the slums to visit the Kosovo center. Once their I went into Edwin's class to cut the cake, sing happy birthday a gave him his gifts. Then we visited his brothers class to do the same. Both got a new pair of school shoes and socks, and hand knit hats (Thanks Mackenzie and Aunt Marilyn). It was such a blessing to have the opportunity to celebrate their 13th birthday with them and to be able to visit their home. It is always a good day when you are able to give to the less fortunate and know that you have made a difference in their families lives.

Brand ! + Kenya mission team: Joska

This week MCC's short term missions team did VBS (Vacation Bible School) at the Pangani Center for the little kids and also did CHE (Community Health Evangelism) thru home visits. I was asked to help document the festivities thru photography. The kids had so much fun doing crafts, playing games, learning about the lord, how to stay healthy and watching puppet shows.




Before coming to Kenya I had come up with the idea of painting murals on one or more of the centers walls. I recently found out that MOHI only owns a few of their centers (most are rented) which narrowed it down to Pangani and Joska. Pangani already has a lot of murals painted on the exterior of the building so I thought it would be fun to paint the murals in the dorms of the boarding school (classed 5-8).

The middle of last week I went shopping for the paint and left on saturday morning for my hour ride to the Joska center. The staff and students were very excited to hear that they will be helping me paint a picture of an Acacia tree during sunset. I asked the head teacher to find me 4 artistic students to be my helpers. After we painted the sky, ground, and tree trunk, branches and scripture verse we had all the students from classes 7 & 8 come to put their hand prints on the wall to make the leafs. It ended up taking a little 4 days to complete the project but it was well worth it.

While at Joska I was also able to worship with the pupils in their chapel and our MCC short term missions team. It was such a blessing to be able to worship the Lord with them.

If you would like to see more photos check out my facebook photo album.

Kenya team update: Thur - Sat

Greeting from Nairobi. On Thursday, we started the morning off with the puppet skit. Each day we alternate the skit between how and why to pray, and taking care of our physical bodies and community. The rest of the morning continued to be devoted to VBS. The team continued switching roles (and be stretched in the process) between Bible lesson, crafts and games. During the afternoon we split up into two teams and went out into the neighboring slum to do Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Words can not describe the experience on goes thru as they walk thru the neighborhood and see the conditions these people are living in. Then to be welcomed into their "home", typically a 10 ft x 10ft structure built from rusted sheet metal, and to share in their challenges...it's overwhelming. They are so receptive to learn and so appreciative of Americans coming into their neighborhood with the intent to help. The CHE social workers are amazing men and women of God with huge hearts for these people. And home by home they are having an impact.

We finish up tomorrow (Sunday, May 2nd) at the boarding school out at Joska. Today (Saturday) the kids did their presentations to us giving us thanks for the week of VBS. What a touching time for us on the team. It was tough holding back the tears as each group came up and honored us with a songs and memory verses. Wallace Kamau was so gracious in lifting up the role MCC has played in the growth of their mission. He sent his best wishes and love to Ben and the rest of the staff. We ended the time with a large cake that was shared amongst us all...kids included then the team danced with the Mission of Hope staff in a traditional Kenyan dance.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please keep a member of our team, Susan Kettlewell, in prayer as her father who is fighting cancer has progressively worsened in the last few days and considers returning early to be with her father. Although it's tough leaving these amazing people, we look forward to returning to our families May 6th. Blessings from the Kenya Team!

Brandon A @ Kenya "VBS Week"

This weekend I went to the airport with Wallace to pick up the short term missions team from Mountain. The main purpose of their time in Nairobi is to run a VBS program at MOHI while the students are on break from school. Over the last two days I had the pleasure to take photos of their time with the kids. The team has prepared puppet shows, crafts, bible lessons, games and snack stations for the students to rotate thru. It was really cool to see all of their creative ideas over the past two days. The kids seems like the pupils were learning a lot and having a ton of fun.

Yesterday I dropped off the disposable cameras to the photo store to be developed, digitized and put on CD. I will be picking up the CD's tomorrow morning and can't wait to load them on my computer to see what images they were able to capture. I am really excited to see how they turned out.

Kenya team update - Tue & Wed 27-28 Apr

Having a great time here in Nairobi working with the Mission of Hope staff and kids.

Yesterday Tuesday the 27th we performed our second day of VBS in the morning with over 120 fourth and fifth grade kids. We started with the puppet show which has been a big hit (thanks Renda for the idea and Jim Boyle for the puppet stage) followed by craft time making kraft paper flowers and beaded bracelets; a Bible story period; games and snack time. During lunch several kids who were sponsored by members of our team and other MCC members showed up to greet us. That was a real treat. Plans were made to go visit these kids homes tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we did CHE house visit in the neighboring slum focusing on sanitation practices and evangelism. The story boards we created for our Bible lessons came in handy explaining the role germs play in spreading disease and sickness. During one home visit, the mother asked us to present our story boards to her neighbors. They did not realize germs existed and were responsible for sickness and disease. We ended the day visiting one of the missionaries homes, Doug and Jennifer Kurz, for dinner. They fixed an outstanding mexican meal with all of the gucamole you could eat!

Today, Wed., 28th - Our team switched roles for the VBS classes. Today we had 2nd and 3rd graders. The mornings fly by quickly as they rotate 20-30 kids thru every 30-40 minutes. It got so busy today we skipped morning tea. This afternoon we visited the slums of Bondemi and Kosovo to visit three of the homes of the kids that are sponsored by MCC. No matter how many times you visit these slums you never get use to what you see. The visits were very special and the parents we visited were so grateful....grateful for their childrens education at Mission of Hope and for our visit. Tomorrow we'll resume the VBS morning sessions and go out into the slum to do CHE home visits. Pray for our flexibility that's needed when working with so many kids while trying to cover so much ground in a compact 4 hour period. Thanks for your prayers!

Kenya team update - Mon 26 Apr

Hello from Kenya.
Today was our first day of Vacation Bible School. About 100 children from 4th and 5th grades attended. We performed the puppet skit with James (Matt), James (Susan), Mary (Vivian) and Jesus (Rick). The theme was praying each day along with reading your Bible, getting along with others and cleaning up your neighborhood.

At the intermission, we had the children clean up empty bottle and newspapers and throwing all of it in plastic bags just like basketball. They had a great time as did we.

Then we performed other activities- games (Rick and Matt), the Lesson ( Susan) and crafts (Pat and Vivian). They loved learning the American game "sharks and minnows" and made flowers out of tissue paper and beaded bracelets.

In the afternoon we gave the children fluoride treatments, along with their own toothpaste of toothbrushes. Many adults lined up to receive treatments after the kids had finished.

It has been a fantastic experience. The children are so cute and well behaved.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Looking forward to sharing tomorrow's activities with you. -- Your Kenya 2010 Team

Kenya team's Michael M's letter to team

Posted by Michael M's request (check team update post about Michaels unable to go w/ team to Kenya because of missing passport upon arriving Europe)

Dear Team,

I safely arrived in Maryland around 11pm EST on Friday. The flight home was probably my hardest flight ever in the years I have traveled around the world. I didn’t want to be flying home, I wanted to be in Kenya, serving besides each of you in Kenya, in the name of our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. I was glad that God gave me the opportunity before flying home to cry out tears of pain and sadness to him in a religious reflection room. I never cried so much in my life, even with the recent death of my grandmother last year. Unlike my grandmother’s death, this was a total shock to me as my dreams become broken and crushed. There are some things in life that we don’t totally understand, but we have to place our trust in God that he is going to work out everything for the good of His purposes and plans. Rick did give me the opportunity to stay in Holland until Monday to get my passport, but I didn’t want to upend Rick’s leadership responsibilities and affect the whole mission of the trip, to make more and better disciples of Jesus.

Please don’t let my departure affect the latter mission, be the hands and feet of Jesus to the Kenyan people.
Rick, continue to be a strong and selfless leader, being an example to the team and the people of Kenya, of what it means to be a fully devoted Christian. Thank you for being there for me in the hours before my departure. You were an encouragement to me and I look forward to meeting with you in the upcoming weeks.

Pat, you are a gentle, kind and loving woman who is perfectly gifted to share in the leadership responsibilities with Rick. Be a faithful worshiper of our Savior, being a example to the team and the Kenyan people of what it means to follow Jesus in all seasons of our lives.

Vivian, you are a confident, virtuous woman of God. Continue to be a loving example of Jesus to the team and the Kenyan people.
Susan, know that God is going to use you mightily in Kenya, as you seek out God during your team in Kenya. Thank you for all your endless energy and speaking on my behalf as I was in shock in losing my passport. Even though the passport was not retrieved, you stood out to me as a woman who speaks out for her friends.

Matt, it would have been a pleasure to room with you in Kenya. Be a man who stands out above the crowd, being an example to our team and the Kenyan people. Thank you for your time and energy in seeking to retrieve my passport. Even though the passport was not retrieved, you stood out as a man who is willing to “go to bat” for his friends.

My prayer of blessing for the team as a whole comes out of Numbers 6:24-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you,
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Know that I will be praying for each of you during your time in Kenya constantly and in the weeks to come. I will be keeping up with the Mountain Short-term mission blog.

Thanks for helping me find belonging and acceptance in each of you, reminding me of the tremendous privilege of being part of the Body of Christ. God-willingly, I will be going to a trip to Kenya in the months to come. If any of you want to contact me during your team in Kenya, you can email me at mmoore1086@gmail.com or call me at (443)299-2582.

Love,
Michael

Kenya team update

via team member Pat C

"Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya! We all arrived safely and are not getting acclimated to the time change. One member of our party, Michael Moore, had his passport stolen in the Amsterdam airport so he had to return to the Maryland since we couldn't get him a new passport.

We had an opportunity to travel thru the local slum area next to the Pangnani school which now has some 1,000 students enrolled...amazing growth. We also did a few house visits which was such a blessing to the team. We're excited to start vacation bible school tomorrow and will continue to do so for the next 6 days during the mornings, Part of the VBS is doing an educational puppet show, conducting Bible lessons, playing games and doing crafts. In the afternoons we're scheduled to go out with the social workers to do home visits focusing on Community Health Evangelism - empowering others to help themselves. Please keep us in prayer; that we would be Jesus to all we come in contact with. We will post some new activities in the coming days. Thanks again fore your prayers and support! Pat, Vivian, Susan, Matt & Rick

More ways to connect GLOCALLY @ Mountain Rd campus

• Sunday, April 25 - Emmanuel President Mike Sweeney will be with us for a luncheon in the Overlook immediately following the third service. He will also share about Emmanuel for about 10 minutes during our Perspectives Class in Timothy Hall from 5-8 that evening…feel free to come if you would like to.

• Sunday, April 25 – An individual who is the Associate in Urban Poor and Marketplace Ministries with Christian Missionary Fellowship will be here to talk about ways we can help in restricted access countries around the world. Bring your own lunch to the Choir Room after third service for a Q&A time.

• Saturday evening, May 1, 6:00pm in the Overlook - Eat and Meet (Pizza, salad, soda)

o 6:00 to 6:45 - Food and fellowship
o 6:45 to 8:00 – two simultaneous meetings…(choose one)
 Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF)
Phil Tatum - Mobilization Director – Oversees the affiliation and equipping of qualified persons for diverse ministries. Phil will talk about the variety of places CMF Missionaries serve and the current needs for additional workers…www.cmfi.org
 Fellowship of Associates of Medical Evangelism (FAME)
Shane Whybrew – Director of Development - development and fundraising with Christian, non-profit ministries. Shane will talk about the infrastructure of FAME and how they partner with medical needs globally…www.fameworld.org

• Sunday, May 2 luncheon with Christa Hayden from International Justice Mission. “International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression”. Come and look into ways we can help this organization seek God’s justice around the world. This will be after 3rd service at a place yet to be determined.


If you are interested in participating in any of the above events PLEASE RSVP to the following address gailoliver@mountainchristian.org

For more information or updates on these events please email tommoen@mountainchristian.org

Crazy Shepherd Expo @ MCC

You can learn more about MCC short term mission and how you can follow Jesus, the crazy shepherd who didn't want to leave even one sheep behind.
Come to the Crazy Shepherd Expo, Sunday 2 May 5-8p in Timothy Hall (Mountain Road campus - Mtn Center)!

Brandon A @ Kenya: Made In the Streets

This weekend I realized how amazing God is through His beautiful creations in the Masai Mara. You can see his hand when looking at the sunrise, lions, mountains, zebras, birds, buffalo, and even through the ugly wildebeest. If you know me well then you probably already guessed that I took over 500 photographs of my safari experience. I put up a few of my favorites on my Facebook page. My favorite safari moment was seeing a lioness carrying her cub in her mouth and walking within feet of the front of our vehicle. Bwana Asifiwe!

This week is packed with projects. On monday the Pangani center was busy checking in Joska students from class 7 & 8 and getting them on buses to go back to Joska. Before they left I had the opportunity to see Benson (Mom and Dad's sponsored child) again and had the opportunity meet his grandmother.

On Tuesday Franklin, Lyn (Social Worker) and myself went to Bondeni to do some filming and got to see one of the homes he lived in for 2 months while in the "Made in the Streets" program. We also filmed him telling about his childhood and living on the streets.

Today I had the opportunity to film Franking in Eastleigh, the place he lived while on the streets. It was really eye opening meeting his street friends that live under a tree with clothing hanging in the branches. I even walked on the dirt streets that he walked every day selling drugs, and living life. It was incredible to see the difference between Franklin and his street friends. When we walked up they were sleeping on the side of the road under a tree. Their clothes were dirty and tattered and I could tell they were high on drugs and didn't look like they had much to live for. Franklin on the other hand was clean, wearing new clothes, is off drugs, and has a future ahead of him. While sitting with his friends Franklin told me, "I would like my friends to get out of the streets, for God to help them, and for them to return to their homes." It has been truly a blessing to get to know Franklin's story and I hope it touches the hearts of many.

(Franklin with his street friends under their tree)

(A street kid, about 13 years old, high on glue, trying to hold a conversation with Franklin.)

After we returned from filming I meet with students from various classes to start phase 1 of my student photo project. In short, I handed out 49 disposable cameras and gave them detailed instructions on how to use them, how to take good photos, and that I wanted them to take 10 photos of things they see or do on a daily basis in the Mathare slums. I will be doing this 3 times before getting the photos developed. This will give 147 students the opportunity to be creative thru the art of photography. Out of 1,750 photos I will choose the best of the best and make an art gallery in one of the rooms of the center. This will be MOHI's first student art show! I am really excited to see what shots the kids take.

team to Kenya departs tomorrow Thur 22 Apr

From Tom M's email: "We are sending a team of 6 off to Kenya tomorrow. If you can come and encourage them/pray with them please come to the Commons in the NLC (Mountain Rd campus) at 8:15am. They will leave campus at 8:30am sharp.

Pray for them:
Rick and Pat Conniff
Michael Moore
Vivian Hollandsworth
Susan Kettlewell
Matt Richardson

Brandon A @ Kenya: Meeting Fanklin

CMF (Christian Missionary Fellowship), www.cmfi.org, asked me if I could help them with a pending video project that they are trying to make to show to Youth Group student across the USA. It will be focusing on helping kids in the slums that have been effected by HIV and how the student can help. Keith Ham and I sat down yesterday to nail down a plan on how we were going to execute this 3 part video series. During this meeting Keith told me about a by the name of Franklin and how he was found on the streets and has been in MOHI (Missions of Hope International) Joska Center in class 7 for 2 months now. We decided to use his life story to portray the life of a typical orphaned teens with HIV and how MOHI has helped change his life.
After talking with Keith about the project I went down to the Social Work office to talk to Lynn. With her help I was able to meet up with Franklin this morning to get to know him better and to hear his life story. As he was telling me about his childhood my heart felt heavy for this young 14 year old boy. I can't even imagine how hard it must be to grow up in the slums as an orphan and finding out from doctors that you have HIV at the age of 7. I start filming Franklin tomorrow morning around 10:00 AM in the Mathare slums. I will try to post some photos of him in a later post.

Keith and I were trying to come up with a good title for this video series. So far we haven't come up with anything we like. I am looking for something short, sweet & would catch the attention of teenagers. I know that some of you can be very creative so I am asking for you to put on your thinking cap and try to come up with a title option. Who knows you may come up with a title that we think would be fantastic for the short film series. So, if you would like to submit a title option please comment on this blog post and make sure that you include your title option and your first and last name. I can't wait to read the title that you come up with.

Please be pray for:

• God to be with Franklin through the filming process.
  
• Help Franklin to be able to clearly portray his life in a way that will inspire students in the US so we can help others with similar lives.
• Give me a clear vision of what needs to be filmed to help visually portray life in the slums.
• God to be with me as I try to film Franklin's story in a way that will help students have a better understanding of what life is like in the slums as an orphaned child.
• Help me as I guide Franklin through the filming process.
  

Brandon A @ Kenya "The Weekend"

On Friday all 6 apprentices (Meredith, Luisa, Bethany, Erin, David & I) were invited over to Doug and Jennifer Kurz's House to spend the night. We arrived at their home at about 6:00 PM and had a great time hanging out, eating a home cooked american meal, watching movies, and sleeping. In the morning they cooked us a pancake breakfast. YUMMY! After with breakfast it was time to head over to the Pangani Center for the Talent Show/Music Festival. I was in charge of trying to make sure that we video tape as much of the event as possible.

The festivities started at 10:00 AM and the award ceremony ended around 7:00 PM. Their were activities going on in 3 different rooms.
So I got a good workout running from the first location on the Ground floor to the second location on the 1 first floor to the third location on the 4th floor all day long. :) I am continually amazed on how many God given talents these students have been given. It was so amazing to have students from all 10 centers competing against each other. It is a rare occasion for all the schools to be together in one building. They were singing, dancing, reciting poems, rapping, doing spelling bees, and cultural dances. I told you a few weeks ago that I had fun watching Huruma practicing their talents and how I thought they were going to do good in the competition. Yesterday, the judges awarded Huruma the best in show trophy. I was spot on!!!

I did find time to hang out with the students as they were preparing for their performances. For some reason I am a magnet for Joska kids. Maybe it is my magnetic personality and good looks or maybe it's because I had a nice digital camera hanging around my neck taking photos all day. I did become friends with one boy in particular that I kept running into thru-out the festivities. His name was Simon, he is 14 years old and goes to school in Joska and I believe is in class 7. He is a very gifted child and loves to sing in the Joska choir, play the drums, write music, sing, dance, play Football (american soccer), and his favorite subject is English class. During our lunch break we decided to have some fun and had a fun photo shoot with him, some friends and myself. It was so much fun getting to know these guys and can tell that they have a strong future ahead of them. Check out some of my favorite shots from this shoot. [available @ Brandon's personal blog http://brandoncharlesadams.blogspot.com/

Today was our day of rest, we went to church at the Pangani Center, went out to eat at the city market, and then came home to rest. Around 6:00 PM we had our normal group debrief time with Wallace, ate dinner (Mexican Monday was moved to Sunday this week) and then went back to relaxing. Around 10:30 PM I had an opportunity to catch up with my my brother, Tyler and his wonderful wife, Amy on Skype. It was so good to see/talk to them for the first time since I have been in Kenya. I have a fruitful week ahead of me and better head to bed.

Purity in Nairobi

What an awesome Wednesday! Yesterday was my first day back working at the center since Easter. Because it is a short week I had a lot on my agenda of things to get done today.

I started off my day by filming Wallace in his office giving an update about Joska for Christ's Church of the Valley in PA. Wallace was the only person left to film to make this project complete. After lunch I was able to finish editing the film and am planning on sending the 6 minute video off to them tomorrow thru email. Technology is great!

After the filming was complete I went down to the social work department to go with Margaret Wairimu Ndungu to visit Purity Makena Kasunzu (a 9 year old girl in class 3 yellow). Purity is sponsored by Heather Lozada's 10th grade girls small group. So Margaret and I stopped by Purity's class and as soon as i walked in the door the student's greeted me as their guest, sang me songs and recited their memory verses. After we finished hanging out the kids in the class we followed Purity through the slums to visit with her mother at their home. Before we arrived at the house Purity greeted her mother at her general store. I greeted Mama Mercy and then we continued walking about a block to their 5 story cement housing complex. To be honest, I was quite surprised to find out that they weren't living in a tin structure like most people in the slums. God has truly blessed this family and has allowed her family to make enough money to rent a nicer house in the slums. Bwani asifiwe! (Praise the Lord!) Before entering the complex Mama Mercy insisted on buying us sodas! After climbing many steps and their small cement house was opened up I was able to sit on the sofa and have a great conversation with Purity and her Mother. I found out that the mother was not well educated so he speaks very little english and is so proud of her two daughters (Mercy (6th grade at Joska) and Purity) for pursuing their educations. Her husband left the family and divorced Mama Mercy. I had a great time getting to know this family and truly enjoyed their company. Purity is such a sweet young lady of God!

At one point on our conversation the mother told me (thru Margaret translating) that Purity wanted to go to the USA so she could meet the girls that sponsor her. The social told her that traveling to the US is very expensive and that they probably wouldn't be able to afford it. I then asked Purity if she thinks she could fit in my luggage so I could bring her to the US with me in May. She laughed and said "I'm sure I would fit." Then the mother asked me if the small group of girls would ever have a chance to come to Nairobi to visit their home. I reminded them how young their sponsors are but told her that maybe when they get older that they may be able to take the opportunity to come over and meet her family in person. I could tell that she feels truly bless by Purity's sponsors and has taken a huge burden off Mama's shoulders. Purity told me that she prays often for her sponsors and their families and loves them so much and thanks them for their support so she can get an education.

After hanging out in the house we all went to visit Mama Mercy's general store. She was able to open the store by taking out a loan thru Missions of Hope BDS program and Micro Enterprise weekly group training and meetings. She took out the loan for her buisness about a year ago and is now very close to paying it off. She sell's anything from Toilet Paper to snack food to the local community. Purity was really excited to introduce me to Pigron, her pet cat, that lives in the store. I could tell that she LOVES playing with the cat when her mom is at work.

Once we got back to the Pangani center is was about time for Lunch. After lunch I finished editing the video for Christ Church of the Valley in PA and took some photos for another church that helped put in a water treatment system so that the students could have pure water at the Pangani Center.

Brandon A @ Kenya: Happy Easter!

Bwana Asifiwa (Praise God) for such a wonderful Easter weekend! Due to power surges this weekend and my busy schedule I have not been able to write a new post on my blog. Not sure where to start. So much as happened since my last post. Maybe I should just give a brief overview of what went over Easter weekend.

Saturday, April 3 -

This saturday was very typical for us. We use this day as a day of rest and relaxation. Getting to chill at the Kamau house is so nice after a long week working in the slums. For dinner the apprentices went to the food court at City Market. I got a dish call "chicken kabob" is was so delicious. It was chicken and veggies on skewers with fries on the side and a Sprite. Soda's take so much better here then a home. Mainly because they use real sugar in the sodas here.

Sunday, April 4 -

We were asked to be guests at a church down the road from the Kamau's house. The seats are filled mainly by young ladies that attend a near by high school. We were asked to have two of the girl apprentices give a short testimony and then wanted all of us to read Luke 22-24 and sing them an american worship song. Everything went well except when we got to the low note in our song some of us started laughing and couldn't stop. It was so embarrassing but they seemed to be blessed by our bad singing. It would have sounded much better if God gifted us in singing. It would have make it so much easier. Either way we had fun. After lunch we had the pleasure of driving "up country" to visit Wallace's Mama's house. It was about an hour drive thru gorgeous mountain ranges. Once we got their we realized that it was to muddy to drive thru the dirt driveway to we ended up walking about a half mile thru the mud to get to the house. It was so much fun! We were laughing most of the way to the house, mainly because some of the girls were wearing flip flops and they kept falling off so they ended up walking barefoot thru the mud. We had a wonderful meal, and was truly blessed by the entire experience. My shoes on the other hand needed a throw washing and are still drying on the balcony.

Monday, April 5 -

Mary invited all of the neighborhood girls (about 17 total) over for a one day relationship seminar. The female apprentices helped Mary facilitate the group while David and I had the pleasure of preparing the meals for the day. At 10:30 AM we served tea, bead & popcorn. At 1:30 PM we served sloppy joes, cabbage & cheese curls to 25 people. Then for dinner we had about 35-40 guest over for Mexican Monday. For this we prepared our own taco bar which means everything is home made including the flower taco shells. We had so much fun cooking for everyone. After dinner we had a family talent show. The show didn't end until about 11:00 PM. It was such a blast. There were jokes, dances, songs, poems, skits, oh and did I mention dancing. So, Brandon, what was your talent? Thanks for asking! I hypnotized one of the neighbors "boiling" hens for my talent. Everyone was amazed when the chicken was snoring on the floor. We even closed out the evening with a dance party and a 40 person conga line that danced around the house. Good times were had by all!

Brandon A @ Kenya: Going up Country

Mary's father called all of his children to ask them to come "up country" for an Easter family gathering. Evidently the term "up country" is a relative term. It means that you are traveling to visit family somewhere outside of your home town. It's even considered "up country" when traveling south.

So yesterday we had the pleasure of going to visit Nyeri, Kenya to see the farm where Mary Kamau grew up and to meet her large family. It was so nice to be able to eat, socialize, relax, hear a short sermon, see Mount Kenya and hang out in the beautiful country side. It was such a blessing to be able to take part in this family event.

Check out some of the photos from our day in Nyeri... (available on Brandon's personal blog http://brandoncharlesadams.blogspot.com/2010/04/going-up-country.html)


Mary's Childhood Home

3 generations of beautiful women

Left to Right: Meredith Roberts, Erin Titus, Bethany Ziegler, Luisa Fairfax, Brandon Adams, Peter Githingi Mwangi (Mary's brother) & David Freeze

Brandon A @ Kenya: 1,2,3 Wow

What a day. Today I continued working on filming for the CCV video update by going to Bondeni, Mathare North and Joska. The kids (as always) were very good to work with and had fun preforming for the camera. I still have a few more centers to to visit after Easter break (Friday - Monday). It is going to be so nice to have a long weekend.

While at Joska was able to hang out with my parents sponsored child Benson and Carrie Tyson-Sheffy's sponsored child Rosemary. Both of them are 13 years old and are doing great academically. They seemed really excited to hear from their sponsors and was excited about the gifts.

Tomorrow our household and some of the other missionaries will be going "up country" to visit with some Kamau relatives. The plan is to be back home before dinner time tomorrow night. It sounds like a ton of fun and can't wait so see more of Kenya.