February 5, 2013

Making contact and a difference. Post #7

There is no greater gift to a child than time. Here is an except of an update from Tony and Terri about some time spent with two of the kids……..

When we arrived at the Lord’s Servants Home, we briefly made contact with the two children we sponsor. Elizabeth is 8 and Austine is 13. Elizabeth was fairly quick to warm up to us but Austine appears to have a learning disability and was somewhat withdrawn. We had to make an effort to find him to spend time with him. We prayed about what we might do to break down this barrier and asked for advice from Bob and the local Pastor. We decided to take the two children into town for ice cream and a trip to the store for some new clothes. I also bought a spoke wrench to try repair a bike which Austine indicated he wanted repaired. Thursday afternoon Terri and I took the kids to Khetia’s (The local Super Store). We bought them some shoes and clothes then stopped by the snack shop for ice cream cones and a cold soda (Terri and I initially skipped the cones). It became clear that neither of the kids had ever eaten an ice cream cone. I then got one and ate it. After watching me they quickly got the hang of it. Austine began to open up at this point. Yesterday (Saturday) morning Austine didn’t have school so I asked him to help me with my pipe work. We seemed to hit it off pretty well after that. I helped him fix the bike last night. Austine also helped Terri with her duties and so we are excited that these breakthroughs will present more opportunities to encourage and support these two children going forward. Elizabeth always wants to hang around Terri now and always wants another picture taken. We spent some time with the kids this evening (Sunday) and began to say our goodbye’s. We were surprised when Austine left in tears. We have had some good talks and hopefully have had a positive impact on his life. We will continue to pray for both of these children and support them as the Lord leads.

……..Tony and Terri

Tony showing the kids how to do it,,,

Terri with the kids

The slides we installed are favorites.

Noah could be pushed on a swing all day long.

Posted in Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013 Trip, Lord's Servants Home

February 5, 2013

God is a great Boss. Post #6

Greg and I are still here, Tony and Terri are on their way back to the States. It has been proven to us many times that God is more ambitious and with a better plan than we can ever be. It is humbling to me to realize I have set my goals too low…that almost never happens. It is commonly said that God is in control but this trip we have seen a perfect plan unfold before our eyes that we had nothing to do with planning. It’s like God is saying to us….quit worrying about the details and plan B and C, I’ve got a plan in mind…just go and enjoy the kids. Our projects and kid time are going great and even the vehicle trouble we have been having has worked out to our benefit. God is good!

Tomorrow we will have the pump installed in the completed well, we will have pumped water into our completed elevated tank and pipes, we will have pressurized well water in our kitchen, bath house and toilets, and to the community distribution spot at our gate. We have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow to discuss clean healthy water distribution to the community, beginning within 2 weeks when the water quality test results are in. This is all in a week and a half and under budget.

Thank you for your prayers!

Here are a few photos….

Placing the tank up on the 18′ stand

Someone had to go in to secure the pipe couplings….

Hooking up to the piping.

How many guys does it take to thread a pipe?

Joy with a bike tire “hulahoop”. No…her name is Joy.

OK OK…you can have anything just turn off the cute powers.

Catherine with baby Stephanie

Mail day for the kids…this means so much to them

Greg talking about his blessings….

….and a beautiful view of the countryside.

Posted in Projects, Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013 Trip, Lord's Servants Home, mission trip, Projects

February 1, 2013

A Shower…what’s next Ice Cream? Post #5

Well it rained hard on us today but we still got a bunch accomplished.

* The well is pumping water now with a temporary pump overnight to flush out and they will be complete tomorrow. We made arrangements to purchase a pump and chlorinator and install them early next week. The piping and tank will be ready. It is amazing that a project of this magnitude can happen within 1 week when it wasn’t expect to even start. Praise God is all I can say.

* The first shower was taken at the LSH. We installed an elevated tank and piping.

* The first toilet flush was made at the LSH. Needs a little work but it flushed.

* 50 Ice Cream headaches occurred simultaneously today at the LSH

We dished out 6 gallons of ice cream. For some, their first.

Belinda and Rose…smiles tell it all.

* Terri did a great job subbing as a Nursery School teacher this week!!!!!

Terri and her kids.

Thanks for your prayers!

Posted in Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013 Trip, Lord's Servants Academy, Lord's Servants Home, Nursery School

January 29, 2013

We Hit Water!!!! Post #3

Imagine thinking about and praying for and working hard towards something, having setbacks and roadblocks, and finally giving in that it just won’t happen under your control. Then it breaks loose and not only happens, but happens way faster than you can even keep up, cheaper than you planned, and more perfect than you designed. That is us and the new water well project.

We hit water today after only drilling a few hours. We were prepared to drill to 100 meters deep but in 40 meters, the drillers went through 2 aquifers and then hit a solid layer of quartz. They drilled on some yet but will stop and set the pump at about 37 meters. The water flow is excellent and the driller estimated it at 6000 liters per hour which is way more than we could deal with. He exclaimed that after 300 wells drilled in his career, this is the best one he has done. He was really excited.

We will be laying pipe tomorrow to hook the well into the tank setting atop the 15′ tank stand which will be finished tomorrow. By the end of the week, we hope to have all plumbing done and water to the community distribution site. We will need to have it tested and a chlorinator installed first before distribution to the people in the area. I spoke with the local church Sunday and they will assist with that and make sure that people know it for what it is, provisions from God and human effort showing the love of Jesus in a practical way.

I’ve had a great day. Praise God!

Lots going on. Drilling, water flowing, tank stand in background being welded, trenches for piping.

My Buddy Nicole

Many new friends I met at Misanga Primary School. They now know how to high five and play Simon Says.

It is Tuesday night here in Kitale. We continue to enjoy our time here in the Lord’s Servants Home. Terri has been really connecting with a lot of the kids here during her time as the “teacher” for 25 preschoolers. They all want your attention, want to please and need as much love as one can give. Her biggest struggle has just been seeing so much need and feeling rather helpless. The spiritual and physical needs are tremendous. Terri also helps with the cooking each day. There is always a lot of chopping, peeling, cutting and dicing for dinner and supper. She has gotten to know the ladies that work in the kitchen and has made some quick friendships.

The highlight of the trip so far was when Terri and I were able to drive in to the hospital and visit the maternity ward where Dorothy (the caretaker) was having her first child. By the time we arrived, Dorothy had delivered the baby. We were in the waiting room hoping for a chance to see her. She had the baby a little after three and around five she walked out of the delivery area. We greeted her in the waiting area with her precious new daughter Stephanie. She was so tired and had to spend the night at the hospital so we visited, gave her a few small gifts and then left her there to spend time with her mother and other friends. The hospital is quite an experience but again there just isn’t time for that here. Mother and daughter are doing well and we thank the Lord for this wonderful gift.

I have started driving a little and am feeling fairly comfortable on the left side of the road while avoiding pedestrians by the thousands, bicycles and motorcycles by the hundreds, animals by the dozens, and various other challenges on the 25 minute drive into town. It is quite an experience and I’ll leave it at that……..

Tony and Terri

Posted in Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013 Trip, Lord's Servants Home, mission trip, Projects

January 28, 2013

Drilling a well, got a baby, having fun. Post #2

Welcome Stephanie!

Here is and update…Dorothy, our Social Worker had her baby today. I drove her to the Hospital at 2:00 am and Stephanie was born at about 3:00 pm Kenya time. They are doing great.

Everything is going much better than anticipated. Our new well drilling project is going miraculously and our spiritual time yesterday was great. Here is an update by Tony Yoder and some photos….

Hello all,
Well, it has been a long two days. Yesterday was quite an adventure. I told Terri, we could have been on Amazing Race…..After a very nice stay at the Hampton House in Nairobi we got up and packed our bags. We headed back to the Nairobi International Airport. Problem is we had a ticket from Nairobi Wilson Airport and not the International Airport. We didn’t realize they were at different places. When we checked in at the East Africa airlines counter they said “you are at the wrong airport and you’d better hurry. They ran out with us and hailed a cab. The lady babbled something to the driver that I didn’t understand, threw our bags in and away we went. Whatever she said, he was motivated. Almost as bad as a Q Cab from JFK to LGA when you offer a big tip to get to your ride home. Anyway, we made it by the thinnest of margins. They charged me through the nose for my overweight bags but I was not in much of a position to argue because they held the plane a few extra minutes since the International Airport had let them know we were coming. I told Terri, “its a good thing the pilot wasn’t me because I wouldn’t have waited on someone to stupid to know which airport they were flying from.” What fun!!!

We arrived in Kitale which is a very small airport. No lights or approaches the way it looked. The 1900 was barely able to turn around on the runway so it is pretty narrow. Bob and Greg did not meet us as planned because they were having their own adventure trying to rent a vehicle in another city then drive to Kitale. Two pastors and the driver came to get us in a small Toyota. They had hoped Bob would be there and when he wasn’t we just piled in and went. We put three of our five bags in the trunk then climbed into the car. Terri was in the front with a bag on top of her and three men including me were in the back seat along with our big suitcase. We looked like a bunch of clowns in a bug at the circus. That was quite a long 10 Km drive to the Orphanage. The last Km of road is horrible. I expected us to bottom out at any moment but we made it ok….

Since we arrived before Bob and Greg, we just made ourselves at home. Had a lot of fun with the kids and just got to know them all a little better. The people here have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. We are so blessed. Bob and Greg finally arrived with a vehicle. It wasn’t the one we had hoped for and aside from having one headlight, being a little whimpy and missing a lug on each wheel, we will get along fine with it. Their adventure in getting this vehicle (such as it is) would take too long to tell here.

Plans for the water system are way ahead. The well drill is coming monday. We are going to start laying pipe and power lines as well as putting up the storage tank and stand on Monday. All I can say is when you get under that warm shower tonight, count your blessings. I spent many a night in Ecuador in places without running water but we always had a river to jump in and take a bath. Here you put in a long sweaty day and then take a bath from a basin.

Today we put up playground equipment. We put up three swings and two slides. The kids stood in line for a long time to go down the slides and the swings have been going non stop. Terri has been working with the ladies and will be helping teach preschool through second grade next week. One of the teachers quit unexpectedly so this will be a good opportunity for her to help out. Terri gave the ladies the aprons that Mom made and they were so grateful. They said to make sure to thank mom. The girls are not allowed to have painted fingernails in school so Terri helped some of them paint their toenails today with the nail polish that Katlyn sent for them. I have had the boys helping me out with much of the work I am doing and we are having a good time with that. Tonight we hooked up the big screen TV that Bob brought. The kids are having movie night and watching “Jungle Book” and “Veggie Tales”. They are having a ball.

Thank you again to all who are praying for us. We appreciate the love and support that you all have shown us in this.

Tony and Terri