Safe in Nairobi

Our plan was to get on the road as early as 7am so that we could take it easy making stops every hour or two. However, when making plans in Kenya you just expect them to not work out exactly the way you've planned and yesterday was exactly that.  We didn't get on the road till 1pm!  Why?  For many reasons including the rental car apparently didn't have insurance and the driver had to renew that first which took forever. 

We rented a minivan which I'm very thankful for. I didn't realize how much stuff I'd packed until we began putting it in the car!  But can you really blame me?  Packing for an unspecified amount of time, for a one year old, my pregnant self and post pregnant self, for a birth and a newborn.  And since comfort is one of the biggest priorities to me right now, I took everything but the kitchen sink, or maybe that was in there somewhere too.



Notice how much stuff!

 

 

 

And we wouldn’t be proper Luyha Kenyans if we didn’t travel with “Ingokho,” chicken.  That’s right.  We may not have taken the kitchen sink but we did take along two of our chickens.

There are two live chickens in that box right there

Anna did good most of the trip entertaining herself with things
like water bottles.

I am very thankful we didn't wait any longer to make this trip.  Any later than 34 weeks pregnant and I might have been having this baby on the way.  There were parts that were quite bumpy and uncomfortable.  No rest areas to stop at, which means hiding behind a bush or tree on the side of the road.

Changing Anna

 



Daddy is good at getting her to smile for the camera =)

By the time we arrived at the house we were staying at it was past 11pm!  After offloading our stuff and setting up everything for bed my head hit the pillow at almost 2am!  Needless to say we are all exhausted and very thankful that the trip is over and we can settle in. 

The house is beautiful!  We are so blessed to be able to stay in this beautiful, spacious home as we wait for baby Lwoyelo.  Thank you Lord for such amazing provision! 

My very dear childhood friend, Lilian, has graciously offered to come with us and stay for the entire time. She will be my "personal assistant" and make sure that I don't have to worry about things like washing laundry by hand, making meals from scratch and keeping a clean house.  She is also a midwife in training and attended Anna's birth.

Tired Selfie with Lilian

I'm also waiting for another very dear friend of mine, Emily, to join us in a few weeks to help out as well.  Emily and I were college mates and she is very much a sister to me.  She is amazing at back rubs and pampering. 

So between staying in this luxurious home, having my hubby and two friends to pamper me, I’m in good hands. =)

 

 

 

 

July 4th in Kenya!

As missionaries many times its holidays that remind us of just how far away we are from friends and family.

No matter how different you are, what State you come from, or even what country, on the mission field you are automatically family.  So today we celebrated Fourth of July with family from England, Russia, Kenya, Ohio, California, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas and Kentucky and we had a blast!  Thank you Dennis and Michelle Freeland for hosting all us crazies. 

Just part of the group.  We all rode in the same car.

 

 

Some America Trivia.  How did my husband get more right than I did?

 

 

We all brought various meats and yummy dishes, played games and had a cookout just like we all would have done if we were back home in America. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there were a few differences.  Some of our family here are Brits.  They made sure “we Americans” knew how proud they were of that fact too.  A grand entrance with the British flag on top of their vehicle and the British anthem blaring left no doubt of that, haha.   

The Brits =)

 

 

Of course we Americans couldn’t be shown up so to quote one patriotic Louisiana lady, Michelle, “They brought flags but I am the flag!” 

 

 

 

That's how we do it!

 

 

And of course what would Fourth of July be without sparklers?  Now we can’t do fireworks and can’t really even do sparklers here, but we can sure try.  We found some sparkling birthday candles and that was enough for us. =)

 

 

You can't tell from the pictures but they did sparkle a little, kinda sorta, ok ok it
was pretty pathetic =)

 

 

As we wind up our day of celebration and all our family and friends State side are waking up to begin theirs we can’t help but wish we could be in two places at once.  I know each of us today felt a little sting but yet we are so thankful to be surrounded with friends and our family here.  We all miss home and today especially. So as you pick out your patriotic outfits and have cookouts and go watch the fireworks, remember us as we do you. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone!! And Happy Birthday America!!

 

 

A visit from my brother!

My brother Luqman is in Kenya!  He is currently studying to be a doctor at Stanford University and is here doing research.  We are VERY proud of him!! I can’t begin to express how awesome it is to be with family.  He’ll be here just long enough to meet his new niece in August! 

At first Anna was shy but it didn’t take her long to warm up to her uncle.  In Kenyan culture Luqman is supposed to give Anna, his niece, a calf or goat.  In honor of that Luqman gave Anna the money to buy a milk goat which we plan to do once back from Nairobi.  Anna happily received the gift

Anna accepting the money for the goat =)

 

Traditionally there must be song as the gift is given.  Here we are singing a traditional Luhya song for such an occasion. 

 

 

 

It was fun to show my brother our project and walk around the town we both grew up in. 

 

At the site

 



Trying out John's weights.  My brother always has been buff =)

 

Walkin around the old neighborhood

 

 

 

Doreen Update

Since Doreen joined our family in July 2014 it has been an interesting journey.  After losing the only mother she had ever known, Doreen came to us full of conflicting emotions.  She has never been part of a structured family so it has been challenging for her to adjust.  In the past months we have seen much growth in her and we are thankful. 

Took Doreen out for her first hamburger

 

The school she was attending when she came to us was a coed boarding school near where her grandmother lived.  It was a very rural and basic school with no field trips or laboratory and had very limited resources.  The teacher to student ratio was terrible.  Her grades were not good; she was failing most of her classes.  We quickly realized that Doreen is a bright student with potential but the environment she was in was not good.  She had gotten herself into the wrong crowd and as we all know, peer pressure at that age can cause poor choices to be made.

After much prayer we began searching for a better school closer to home.  Because of her poor grades we were turned away again and again.  We had almost given up when God opened the door at a Christian private school in a town nearby called Bungoma, Beulah Girls High School.    We knew it was a divine thing when we walked into the principal’s office.  The principle and founder of the school is one of John’s old high school teachers who was a big influence on John.  She runs an all-girl boarding school and has a huge heart especially for girls who are having various difficulties both in their personal lives as well as academically.   She really is a mother figure to her students.  After sharing Doreen’s story with her she agreed to take Doreen under her wing. 

 

 

Doreen began attending Beulah Girls in February.  Since that time we have already seen improvement not only in her grades but also in her character and as a whole.  Her grades are slowly getting better.  She comes home for all her school breaks.  That’s an extended weekend every month and half, a month after each three month term and an extended Christmas break. 

We are thankful to be Doreen’s family and play the role of guardian/parent to her.  The teenage years are hard for anyone and with Doreen’s past they seem to be particularly challenging for her. There are a lot of behavioral issues that we have had to address with her as we try to help her grow into the young woman we know she can be.  She’ll be an adult soon and our prayer is that when she finishes school and leaves our home to find a life of her own, she will have learned valuable life lessons and be able to make wise choices for her future. 

John recently went to see her for Academic Day, it’s a bit harder for me to make it these days without our own vehicle. 

 

John with Doreen and Linzy who was one of John's former students at
Serve Academy where John was a primary school teacher for five years. 

It's hard to capture Doreen smiling =)

 

Doreen is a little shorty =). 

 

 

Fun guests

A few weeks back we had the privilege of hosting our Bethany Mission Sending Agency leader Dan Germo and our field leader Tim Kelly. Anna was shy at first but quickly warmed up to them and even let Dan carry her =). 

 

It was the first time for them to visit us since we moved to Kakamega and for them to see firsthand what ministry on ground here looks like.  It was fun taking them around town and showing them our hostel project and sharing our vision for the student population in Kakamega. 

Behind us are the hostels we've built. Read More...

 

It was really encouraging to have our mission leaders pray over us and the ministry we are doing here.  It is such a blessing to be part of a bigger family and team and to know that the role we play in Kakamega fits into a much larger vision for Kenya, Africa and really the world.   

We took Dan and Tim around town showed them the two large Hindu temples in Kakamega.  This is one people group that is largely unreached.  There is a big divide between Kenyans and Hindus.  Part of our vision is to see the local churches and believers begin reaching out and break down that divide.  Read More...

 

 

They asked us about our plans for furlough.  John has never been to America and it has been too many years since I’ve been home to see family and all of you.  My parents would LOVE to meet and hold their mocha grandbabies =).  We need to spend time with our home church in Ohio, FBC, as well as our mission agency, Bethany Int., in Minnesota.  For various reasons it just hasn’t worked out for us to travel to America yet but it is something that has been weighing heavily on our hearts and prayers. 

After much prayer and brain storming we agreed that next summer, 2016, would be a good time.  Please keep this in prayer as we make plans to travel.  We will keep you updated as we get closer and begin putting things in motion.  Right now please just pray that God would open the necessary doors with immigration for John and provide all that is needed.    

Saying goodbye till next time

 

Student Ministry and our Hostel Project

Student ministry is another aspect of our ministry here.  Kakamega has a very large university student population from all around Kenya.  We believe God has strategically provided us with tools for reaching this group.  The piece of land John inherited from his late father is located between two main campuses and we are developing it by building hostels which we rent out to students.  Our vision is to reach them with the gospel as well as the message of the Great Commission.  If we can plant the seed of missions in them now while they are still planning their futures we can see a rise in Kenyan missions.

The last update we shared about this building project was quite a while ago. You can read how it began by clicking here.  Since that time much has happened.  Construction has been slow for various reasons but we are excited to share that the final block of four units is complete!  Soon all 16 units will be full of students and we can begin focusing more attention on the ministry aspect rather than construction.  Relocating to Kakamega a year ago has made it possible for us to focus more attention on this project.

Laying the foundation slab for the last four units

It is has been a long road with many hiccups along the way.  John has worked tirelessly to see the fulfillment of the vision God gave him for this property years ago and we are so much closer now than ever. 

 

Getting bricks

 





Progress



Bringing a picnic to Daddy at the site

John made himself a make shift bench press and weights from cement blocks

to keep fit =)

 

 

 

 

We have plans to begin student movie night with popcorn and soda where we will begin by showing The Distant Boat Movie.  We pray this will spark conversation that will lead to follow up small groups where discipleship can grow.  And who knows from there. 

For now almost 100% of the income the hostels generate has gone back into construction and paying land rates, basically taxes, on the property.  We have hopes that this will soon change and that we can begin paying off our business partner which will lead to us being sole owners and can then manage the place according to our vision.  Up to now management of the property is divided with our partner which has caused some clash in vision and kept our hands tied to some degree. 
 

Putting on the roof.  Almost complete!

We want these hostels to be known in Kakamega as a moral and God-fearing establishment.  Our desire is to see the students who come to us leave having been transformed by the Gospel and made commitments to be part of the Great Commission in whatever way that looks for each individual. 

Completed units behind us!!

 

 

First Year of Ministry in Kakamega

We have been in Kakamega for about a year now.  We are excited to be the first Bethany missionaries in this part of Kenya. However, it is in no way a new location for John or me.  We both grew up in Kakamega and God has given us a heart and vision for this place since long ago.  Our time in Nairobi served as a training period for us in preparation for beginning ministry in Kakamega.  Our ministry vision remains the same though, to mobilize the local Kenyan churches and believers for missions.

The Kenyan church as a whole is still in the baby steps of embracing their role and responsibility in the Great Commission.  We have seen much encouraging growth in this area during our time in Nairobi and we want to see that same growth happen in Kakamega.  While statistically Kenya is 80% Christian, there are still many unreached people groups living within Kenya.  For too long Kenya has received missionaries from the Western world, not to say this is bad, but it is time for Kenya to take a more active role in also sending their own missionaries.   While statistically Kenya is 80% Christian, over 20 people groups are still unreached and John & Pearl are working to help the Kenyan church embrace their responsibility in missions and reaching the unreached. Kenyans are uniquely

We are working to help the Kenyan Church embrace their responsibility in missions and reaching the unreached.  Kenyans are more uniquely equipped with the tools and cultural understanding to reach those unreached within Kenya and neighboring countries than Westerners. 

The challenge we face is, how to bring a shift in the worldview and theology of the Kenyan church?  We meet with key church leaders and believers, training and discipling them to become “fishers of men”.  One tool we use is The Distant Boat Movie, following up over a 6 week period to digest what was presented in the movie and how they can apply it to their lives and to that of the local church.  We also work with churches to begin and set up mission programs and provide opportunities and guidance for those who feel a personal call to missions. One way we do this is connecting those interested with Africa Center for Missions, ACM, in Nairobi. We hope to eventually take groups on short term mission trips for hands on experience and exposure as well. 

In Kakamega alone there are two largely unreached people groups.  There are no local churches currently actively or effectively reaching out to these groups.  Because of this there is much division among the people and discrimination happens.  We want to see God plant a great love in each believer for those around them and for the local churches to begin having vision on how to reach out more effectively. This requires a deeper understanding of Scripture as well as personal conviction of our responsibility to be witnesses.  Was it not Oswald J. Smith who said, “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once.”

We recently met with a small group of key church leaders and a few fellow missionaries in the area in our home.  We shared the need for Kenyan based and run missions and for the local churches in Kakamega to rise up and take responsibility first for reaching those within Kakamega.   

 

 

 

We were not sure what the response would be.  The past year in Kakamega has felt like we are pushing against the grain.  There have been many occasions where after sharing with a local pastor or believer the response is to disregard what we’ve shared and begin asking us for funding for their various church projects or to ask us to bring them Westerners who have money.   But we had prayed over this meeting and it was evident that God had handpicked each person present to be there that day. 

The response was very encouraging and exciting!!  One of the men was a missionary from Ghana who has set up a Bible training center where he offers free classes for locals to get better rooted in correct Biblical theology.  He was very excited about what we are doing and wanted to discuss how we can work together.

Another of the men is the chairman of the pastor’s fellowship in the area.  He wanted to know the names of all the people groups in Kenya still unreached because it was simply “unacceptable”.  He said he was going to bring this to the attention of all the local pastors at the next pastor’s fellowship and would set up a day, after we return from Nairobi, where we would come and share with all the pastors.   

This is the open door we have been praying for the past year and we are very excited for what God has planned.  We showed The Distant Boat Movie trailer and there is discussion on having a full showing at the pastors fellowship and then eventually in various churches and forming follow up discussion groups etc…
 

 

Showing the trailer

After a year of praying for God’s wisdom, making connections and lots of both encouraging and discouraging encounters, we believe we are now starting to see a foundation being laid.  Please join us in praying for more open doors and open hearts.  That God would continue to lovingly challenge the local churches and believers and to give them His heart for all peoples. 

 

 

The closing prayer led by our friend from Ghana.

Part one

 

 

Part two

 

 

Part three