Friday, November 30, 2018

KISII REPORT #25

Please remember that the Log Church orphanage is located in an extremely poor area and the present situation is very unhealthy for the children. They constantly are fighting sickness because of poor sanitation. It is not that they do not care or do not know better, but it is just that the conditions are so desperate.


Pastor Joel and the church have graciously been caring for these orphaned children, but they themselves have very little. It is difficult for us to imagine what it is like to care for 42 children and provide them with food, water, clothing, schooling, housing and all the other essentials when they do not even have enough for their own families. That is why we are helping.
One of the workers with some of the children

Besides that (I am only speaking for myself personally on this), we have those words from the apostle John when he said, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

It is one of the two verses that the Lord gave to me when I was dragging my feet about getting involved. I could not continue my life and just ignore this situation after God went to great lengths to lead me into it.

This said, let me show you a little about the sanitation needs at the orphanage. I have mentioned that the plans for the orphanage include two latrines, one for the boys and the other for the girls. This is part of the overall improvements in sanitation that we are hoping to establish for the children.
 

The photos are of the two latrines presently at the orphanage. The one made from blocks is one that we made last year after the former one had collapsed. It is a nice latrine, but insufficient for the large number of people that must use it.

The other photo is the other latrine currently in
use. Of course you can see how inadequate it is and how difficult it would be to keep oneself clean.

When you consider the number of children and when you consider that they are in constant contact with the soil and even sleeping on the dirt floors, perhaps you can understand why stomach illnesses are very common, along with other parasites that enter in through the skin.

Also remember that these are children—not adults. Even the most responsible of children do not always do things properly, and these children are orphans, some of them rescued from the rubbish heaps. Sanitation is a new word to them. It must be taught to them.

With the two latrines that we are building in conjunction with the dormitory, along with the cement floors instead of dirt, we hope to greatly alleviate these problems of illnesses.

Pastor Joel with two of the boys
Clean water is yet another major difficulty there. The children need to carry the water about a kilometer, and as you can see in the photo, it does not come from a very clean source. I did not see this when I was there so I am not clear on the specifics, but I intend to go and look at it when I return next month (January).


Water needs to be carried about a kilometer to the orphanage.
 
There are several questions that I have concerning the water situation, but I will wait until I am there to see how it is.
 
 

I know that the answer is a bore hole (a drilled well), but it is not small undertaking. In the words of Joel, “Praise to God, clean water can be obtained at the deep table of 129 metres down.”

 
Right now we are doing nothing in regards to water, but we will see what God will do in
the future. We work as God provides. Thanks to all of you who have taken on part of this burden along with us. I can tell you that it is really appreciated!

A bit more money has come in for the tin roof sheets. We still lack just under $1500 to complete the roof, but we have seen that God will provide for these children of His

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

KISII REPORT #24

Construction of the dormitory for the children is somewhat on hold at the moment until we have enough money to buy the tin sheets (or the “iron,” as they call it) for the roof. But as you saw in the previous Kisii Report, we have the logs for making the trusses and rafters, and that is currently happening.

As we wait, I thought that I would take the opportunity to show some of the other things around the orphanage.

Some have asked me why the people there cannot grow enough food to feed the orphans. Here is a photo of the land that they have to grow crops. It is an area of about a quarter acre.


How big is that?

In our increasingly urbanized US, not many people have any idea what a quarter acre is unless it is compared to a city lot, or as more common in these days, comparing it to a football field. (I recently heard a news report about the recent devastating Carr Fire in Northern California, comparing the area burned to the number of hundreds of thousands of football fields instead of the number of acres! This alone is a commentary of where our culture has moved).

Well, look at a quarter acre in this way: If Aaron Rodgers completes a pass for a 25-yard gain, that area gained is about a quarter acre. Or if you prefer, if Aaron Rodgers is sacked for a 25-yard loss, the Packers just gave up about a quarter acre of field. A nice gain (or devastating loss) in football, but hardly enough to feed 42 children plus Joel’s family and the staff.
OK, now everyone wave!

The crop that is grown there is called locally sukumu wiki (kale), which should be to the considerable delight of all you health food enthusiasts out there. The fact is, it is a good food to grow for them.


After

Besides the dormitory which is being built, I see that they have also have taken advantage of the construction happening in the orphanage to upgrade the swing. It is the only playground equipment that the children have.


Before


When I was there a year ago, I had purchased those chains because the nylon rope that they had kept breaking. But I see that they also have put in some concrete footers for the uprights.

I wonder if they still have the football (soccer) that I bought. They before had none. One of the boys came up to me and said so politely, “Sir, we would like a ball that we could kick.”

The signs that the children are holding are not legible on the photo, but they say:

 
“Thank you donors,” “Thank you for the building.”
“Thank you for the food.”
“Thank you for the clothes.”

Joel tells me that these statements of gratitude were written from the hearts of the children. I believe that it is true. The thankfulness of the children is one of the things that was so notable to me when I visited.

God willing, I will be back in about two months.

 

Sunday, November 25, 2018

INVESTMENT ADVICE FOR THANKSGIVING

These days with the various responsibilities that have been given to me, I spend a good amount of time visiting with old people. I am not talking only about old people like me, but people who know that even under the very best of health circumstances, their days left on this earth are few.

At that time of life, all pretense is gone. All need to impress anyone has disappeared, and it becomes evident what is truly important to these old folks.

As I visit with these people, do you know what we talk about more than anything else?

Friday, November 16, 2018

KISII REPORT #23

I must say that it is encouraging for me to see the step-by-step progress on the dormitory for the children. Seeing the photos as it goes up, it is apparent that the building is more complex than what I had at first envisioned.


I think that I mentioned before that they are putting in two latrines, one for the girls and one for the boys. I am sure that this will help the children stay much healthier, since as it is now, it is impossible for them to maintain a clean environment.

There will also be a place for storage of food. Buying food for 42 children requires constantly looking for the best prices, which come when they buy in bulk. Having a safe and clean place to store the food will enable them to better do this.

The preparation for putting on the roof is being made. There are trees around the Kisii area, but they are a precious commodity. So far we do not have enough funds to purchase all that are needed to make the roof structure. However, the man who is selling the trees is allowing them to cut all the timbers that they need so that the work can progress. We gave him what we had now, and will pay the balance as God sends it to us.

I am pretty impressed on how straight these planks being cut by chainsaw appear. I have tried to do this in the past, and it is not as easy as you might think. I blamed my chainsaw. My boards did not come out so straight, but I did make some pretty good wedges.

We will keep you all informed the best that we can. Progress is being made. There is still a long way to go, but the Lord will see this through.
It is a journey of faith for all of us. As the children see their home being built and as they pray daily for it, they also see how God answers.

There is still the metal to buy for the roof, and this also is a large expense. But we are all amazed at how many people are helping in this effort. Each one is doing so as they are prompted by God.

Thanks so much to each of you!

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

SAMSON—A WEAK MAN WITH A STRONG GOD - Judges 14-16

“The woman bore a son and called his name Samson. The young man grew, the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol” (Judges 13:24-25).

It is with these words that we are introduced to the life of Samson. The names of those towns are not important to us at this point. They only tell us where Samson was living with his parents. What is important is the phrase, “The Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.”

This word “stir” used in this way causes me to ponder it a little.

Friday, November 9, 2018

KISII REPORT #22

In the previous Kisii Report, I mentioned that meagre words could never express the gratitude felt for all the donations to help the children in Kenya.

Early this morning I received this email from Pastor Joel. Click on the READ MORE link below to read it.

It looks like they did a great job in expressing in what is a second language for them their expressions of thanks. Even the orphans had one of them write on their behalf. (I added the photos)

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

THE VOW OF THE NAZIRITE - Judges 13

If you thought that the story of Jephthah had some unusual twists, hang on to your armchair for the story of Samson.

I believe that most people in western cultures know something about Samson. Most everyone has at least heard of him. Perhaps you did not remember that Samson is listed as one of the long line of judges of Israel, but probably you do remember that he was incredibly strong until he got his hair cut, and that his wife Delilah had given away this secret of his strength.

Unfortunately for those of us who are trying to explain the story and find applications in it for our own lives, these are not the strangest aspects of the life of Samson.

Thursday, November 1, 2018

KISII REPORT #21


 
As you can see, the concrete plate beam has been finished to tie all of the walls together. This is a big step. It is difficult work tying the re-bar together and pouring the concrete on the top of the wall.

In the past, and over the years in various developing countries, I have been involved with several works with this type of construction. Every part of it is physically exhausting. The mixing of the cement powder with the sand/gravel mix is done by hand in what we used to call “volcanoes,” then hoisted to the top of the walls using buckets.

It has been quite a few years since I have done this work in these places, but in my memory, it seemed it always had to be done on only the hottest days when there were no clouds to give some relief from the sun. I remember sore backs, dripping with sweat, drinking tepid water since that was all we had, and being too tired to eat. 

But I also remember the satisfaction of helping to provide something for the people that they would not otherwise have. Some who read this blog post will remember some of the work teams that Vivian and I led in various countries. Some of you were even team members on those work teams. “Get dirty for God”

The next step is the roof. It is quite a large expense ($5,640) but we trust that God will also supply for this as well. Right now we have more food to buy and some school bills to pay.

 
A big “thank you!” for all who have contributed to this work. It is impossible to express with mere words how much it is appreciated.