Africa Day 3

Day 3

Friday, December 14, 2012

I did not sleep well last night.  I lay in bed awake most of the night. It was good though, I was able to spend lots of time in prayer, reading my Bible & I finished the book I had started.  I heard the big boys get up to got to the field to work.  Shortly afterward my door crept open and the next thing I knew Ashley was in my bed.  I read the last chapter of my book to her.  It was a very productive day.  Vicki, Barbara, Ivy, Ashley, Sophy & I shopped for Victorious Children’s Home.  Our list consisted of books, paper, pens, games, soccer balls, rice, beans, oil, flour, popcorn, backpacks, shoes, Dolls, a dvd player, a freezer and a stove.

Yeah God!  After all the shopping, I was hungry so we went to shieywe to eat.  It was a special treat and best of all I was able to visit with my dear friend Milcar.  I love her!  She is a dear, sweet lady.  I was also able to see her Uncle as well.  He is a good man with a heart of gold.

As you can imagine there was much excitement when we returned to VCH!  The children were so excited and praising God for his provision.  I spent the remainder of the evening sharing pictures and music with the children and playing games.  The joy of the Lord abounds in this place.  Then I was privileged to rock a sweet little baby to sleep. A perfect ending to a great day!

Boys with their new ball

Praise with her barbie and other items

Add caption

They were all very excited!

The outside kitchen

The inside kitchen

new stove

new freezer

Journey to Africa: Holland

The journey to Africa: Holland

I flew from TRI to ATL and then to Amsterdam.  I had been worried about my layover inAmsterdam because I did not speak Dutch and I did not know much about Amsterdam.  Thankfully, God gave me a very sweetman to sit beside on the plane who was actually from Harlem, a suburb of Amsterdam. Harlem is where the Corrie tenBoom house stands.  He was aretired flight attendant and his wife was currently working as a flightattendant.  He pulled out the“Holland Herald” and proceeded to tell me everything about Holland.  He said since I had a long layover Ishould get out of the airport and take a canal tour; so I did.  I bought a train ticket to centralstation and waited on my train. Then I heard the trains were not running by order of the firebrigade.  I decided that was not agood sign.  So I bought a busticket to central station and then had to get off that bus and catch the metroto get to central station.  (Sidenote: I forgot pot was legal in Holland and boy was I surpised at the smells inthe bus station.  No worries, I didn’tinhale.  LOL) Finally I made it andhad a wonderful tour of the canal. I was able to see Central station, lots of fabulous boat houses,buildings from the 15^th century,  an opera house, the Anne Frank house, The Jewish historicalmuseum, Magere Brug, The flower market, Madame Tussads, The royal palace, TheNemo science museum and the Van gogh café before I had to head back to catch mynext flight.  I wish I could haveseen the Ruks museum where the Rembrandt paintings are and the Van GoghMuseum.  I love Van Gogh!  Who knew Amsterdam would be so muchfun!   I think I would like to spend a week there.  

Africa Day 1 & 2

Africa

December 12, 2012

I arrived in Nairobi and was greeted by Barbara, Vicki’s daughter who is attending college in Nairobi.  The airline lost my luggage and I was told it would be delivered to Kakamega when it was located.  Barbara has facebook on her phone so I was able to update my status on facebook to let everyone know I arrived safely.  Barbara and I went to look for a dress in Nairobi.  It was so early and not many of the stores were open yet.  We did not have any luck finding a dress. I tried to call my friend Alanna who is in Nairobi and had no luck getting through to her.  We went back to the airport and I waited for my plane that would take me to Kisumu.  I was very tired and fell asleep waiting on the plane to come.  I met a young girl from Austaslia who was going to Kisumu to volunteer with an organization to help children in Africa.  I told her to please make sure I woke up to board the plane. I woke up long enough to board the plane and then I slept all the way to Kisumu.  When I arrived, Ms. Vicki, Ivy & Boy was there to greet me.  It is about and hour and a half drive to Kakamega from Kisumu.  It was 3:00 pm in Kissumu and 8 am in the US.  When we arrived in Kakamega we stopped at the Nakumatt (Kenya’s version of walmart).  I found a dress to wear and bought some bottled water.  We then went on to Victorious Children’s Home.  I was greeted by two rows of children singing my name and praising God for my arrival.  I was so honored to be welcomed in such a way. 

I showered and changed into my new dress and went to bed.  After a nap, I called home and was able to talk with Jamie and the girls.  I then visited with the children and Vicki.  Later we had dinner consisting of rice with goat meat, some greens, and little bananas.  Just for the record I did not eat the goat meat since I am a vegetarian.  I did eat goat last time I was here.  It is very tasty.  After dinner it was bed time J

December 13, 2012

I awoke to the sound of roosters crowing then drifted back to sleep. Later I heard all the boys leaving for the field.  Vicki is blessed with several older boys who help in the field where they have planted sugar cane.  They are growing sugar cane to sell to help pay for tuition for the children’s school.   No one had to wake them.  They just get up and happily tend the field when they are home on break from their school.

I took a walk around the property and then sat in the shade and watched the younger children play a game of “monkeys”.  Later, Boy drove Ms. Vicki & I to town.  They took me to the “farm” which is the field that they lease to grow sugar cane.  However, we were not able to go in town to purchase the freezer due to a riot at the University.  We had to turn around and come home.  I took a nap and hung out with the children.  I woke up with a phone call from Kenya Airways saying my bags were on the way to Kakamega but one of them was busted.  No worries.  I have one dress and that is all I really need. 

We had Ugali, pumpkin leaves and banana for dinner.  After dinner we had Thursday prayer time.  The children sang and prayed.  We would sing a song and them pray for a while.  Sing another song and pray again. It was a sweet, sweet time with the Lord.  Children’s hearts are so pure.  I love worshiping with them.  I learned that there are some people in town who are envious of Ms. Vicki and the orphanage and they would like to shut it down.  Ms. Vicki told them it was God’s orphanage and only he can shut it down.  The children here have so little and at the same time they have so much.  Joy abounds in this house.  Children would pass by my window today and I could hear them singing and praising the Lord as they went about their work.  The joy of the Lord overflows through them.

After prayer time I told some of the children a story.  We had a good time laughing.  Then the girls wanted to play school with me. Eleven of them came into my room.  I taught them some English and they taught me Swahili.  I am sure I will not remember any of the words in the morning but it was a fun time of fellowship.

The power was off and on most of the evening.  I asked Vicki about a generator, she said she had one but did not have fuel.  I told her we shall get fuel tomorrow!

 While talking with Boy, who has been our driver, I asked him what his favorite food was.  He said Chipotti  (I am sure I did not spell it correctly).  The kitchen ladies said it is made with white flour and oil.   I told him we shall get white flour and oil at the store tomorrow and everyone said it was Christmas.  Apparently, That is a very special treat for them.  Even the kitchen workers were excited about making it. 

The girls love to all pile in my room and “teach” me things.  We had a good time sharing stories and scripture with each other.  After everyone left, Sophy asked if she could stay a bit longer with me.  She needed to talk.  I found out that she has no shoes or Bible and would really like an encyclopedia.  I have added that to my list for tomorrow.  She was almost in tears asking me for those simple things.  I thank the Lord that he has sent me here this Christmas season to share his love and light to the children.  Many thanks to all who helped me get here.   Time to rest now.  I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow.  Praying my bags will be here tomorrow!

I hope to upload some pictures tomorrow.  The internet is so slow here. 

Shoeboxes & Shoes

& 

On November 14, 2012 we paired these two organizations together to have a grand Christmas celebration.  We packed Shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child and cut out shoe patterns for Sole Hope.  Upbeat Christmas music filled the room, a large Christmas tree was in the center of the room.  Supplies and people poured in as we looked to help someone besides our selves.  Our goal was to help children around the world embrace a bit of joy by receiving a shoebox full of goodies or a new pair of shoes.  Mission Accomplished!  We packed 385 shoe boxes and made lots of shoes.  The event may be over but you can still get involved if you missed it.  You may pack your own shoe box and drop it off at one of the designated drop off points near you this week. You may also, cut shoe patterns and mail them to sole hope. Check out their websites for more info.  Thanks to everyone from Celebration Church, Xtreme Kids & Celebration Dance Ministry for making this such a wonderful evening!

 

Taste of Hope '12

I can not begin to thank everyone who made the "Taste of Hope" on November 11, 2012 possible.  It was an amazing evening.  The "Taste of Hope" is a Thanksgiving celebration & dinner.  The Celebration Church Women's Ministry brings people from the area homeless shelters and rehab centers in Johnson City, Kingsport & Bristol to the church to feed them a Thanksgiving meal.  Julie Voudrie was the featured speaker this year and she did an amazing job sharing her personal life and tying it in with the story of the woman at the well.  Special thanks to Central Buses, Leigh Sexton & Phyllis Runyon.  I did not think I would be needed to help this year and at the last minute a table host was needed.  I was at the church delivering fabric for our upcoming Sole Hope event and was able to jump in and fill the spot.  I was blessed to sit with the ladies from the Grace House in Bristol.  I continue to pray for each one of them as they continue on there nine month journey of healing and freedom from addictions.  I was truly blessed beyond measure and the message was exactly what I needed to hear.  Have you ever volunteered to serve others and then felt like you were served more.  My cup overflows with blessings :)  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

Cooperation

We have had a great time hanging out with "Captain Cooperation" this month.  Three school assemblies and one more next week:)



 No one has a bigger influence on a child than his or her family!
That's why it's so important to share the values at HOME and at SCHOOL.

This month we are learning about COOPERATION in school:
Working together to do more than you can do alone.

We hope you'll enjoy this and get some ideas for talking about COOPERATION with your family.

   
Car Time -
Enjoy a song about COOPERATION while in the car.
Listen to a preview HERE of "Together We Can." 
It's also easily downloadable to your phone or iPod for $1.39 a
song!


Open Wide - Just for Fun:   
How many people do you think you know? 

DISCUSSION STARTER:
Malaria is a disease that people get after being bitten by a mosquito that has the malaria parasite. Once the person has been bitten, malaria infects their blood and causes them to be very sick and sometimes even die. The sad part is that this disease can be cured; yet nearly 3,000 children in Africa die from malaria every year. One way malaria can be prevented is by the use of a net that hangs over children's beds at night preventing them from mosquito bites.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
You can buy one insecticide-treated mosquito net for a child in Africa for only $10. How many nets do you think you could buy?
If you cooperate with your friends and family, how many nets could you purchase if you all worked together?
Choose three friends to educate this week about malaria.
Are there other needs that you could meet if you chose to work together to make a difference?

Rest Time - (K-2):  Zinnia and Dot by: Lisa Campbell Ernst; Meet Zinnia and Dot--two plump, self-satisfied hens who bicker constantly about the quality of their eggs. Whose are more lustrous, shapely, smooth? Their rivalry rages until a weasel bursts in and steals the eggs--all but one, a particularly prime specimen. Just in time, they realize they've got to stick together to protect their prize egg.

(3-5):  Pink and Say by: Patricia Polacco
In a true story, Pinkus Aylee, a black Union soldier, finds Sheldon Curtis left for dead and carries him home to be tended by his mother, but when the two boys attempt to rejoin the Union troops, they are captured and sent to Andersonville Prison.


Experience:
How much allowance do you get? How much do you spend on your daily coffee or soda fix? How many pennies and nickels have you collected on your bedside table? Ask yourselves these questions as a family and see if you can work together to buy mosquito nets for those in danger of becoming infected by malaria. Put your heads together as a family and come up with some ways to encourage your friends, co-workers, and community to make a difference as well. The more people work together, the more you will be able to accomplish! Visit http:// www.biteback.net/ for more information.