KISII REPORT--WORKING TO BEAT THE RAIN

Since we began the plans for the dormitory, it has been my prayer that we can see the children sleeping there before the rains. The rainy season last year was devastating for their health. Those rains come in about a month.

It has been wonderful to see how God has supplied to get us this far. The people of Kisii are astounded to see how the building has risen so quickly in this poor village, and we have worked closely with the health officials to make sure that we are providing a healthy situation for these children that God has put under our care.

The plastering of the walls (inside and out) has been finished. I spoke with Pastor Joel about having the orphans sleep there now (after we get glass in the windows and maybe some paint on the walls), since the children are still in those two small rooms in a rather unhealthy situation.

 

He told me that the person who owns the rooms where the children presently sleep has given one and a half free month’s rent for the children, and that the health official has advised the orphanage leaders that we finish the toilets before allowing the children to stay in the dormitory since it is all part of a healthy environment.

Perhaps his thinking is that if we do not do it before the children move in, it may not get done at all. Whatever is the thinking, it is a good idea to get them done.

Installing the toilets and septic system are a big step further for which we presently have no funds. These items will cost $2088.

In order to bring the dormitory to completion, including glass for the window frames, putting in a ceiling, painting and stringing electric lights, the total cost comes to $5932

We are trusting our God to supply all these needs. He has called us to care for these children of His, and our faith is in Him.

 

Got questions? donaldrhody@gmail.com

 

KISII REPORT: NEXT STEP--PLASTERING

The plastering of the interior and exterior of the dormitory is now underway. We are grateful that God has provided a way for us to do this. As always, the building remains a step-by-step process as we have funds. But God has begun this work and we know that he will bring it to completion.

The plastering consists of a cement coating inside and out to provide a smooth surface. On the inside, it helps to maintain cleanliness, and on the outside, it prevents weathering.

We move ahead in faith trusting God to supply what is needed, and it is our prayer that the children will be able to move into the dormitory before the rains begin, probably later next month. 

Of course, the other needs are constantly there (food and other daily needs, and of course the school costs) but we are also trusting the Lord to supply those needs. 

The church itself continues to reach many people for the Lord, and the pastors and others often walk many miles to bring the message of salvation to the people of this, one of the poorer regions of Kenya.

 

We praise God that he has not forgotten these people, and neither will Vivian and I forget or abandon them. God has not, so how can we?

God questions concerning this work? Email me at donaldrhody@gmail.com

RUTH THE MOABITESS— FOCUSED ON BLESSING

In the Old Testament book of Ruth we have the story of two widows. Like the book of Judges, we do not know for certain who wrote this book, but also like the book of Judges, it is widely believed that it was the prophet Samuel.

Whoever the true author of the book of Ruth was, and if it was indeed the same person that wrote Judges, I am sure it was a pleasure for him to close that book and move on to the story of Ruth.

KISII REPORT- IT IS NOT ALL JUST BRINGING DRESSES FOR CUTE LITTLE GIRLS

It would be nice if my involvement with the orphanage in Kisii was all bringing new dresses for cute little girls, but unfortunately, the reality is much different.

We presently are facing several difficulties, the most urgent of which is food. The difficulty with this right now is that there is none.

I did not specifically ask Joel this time, but on the previous occasion when they had gone without food for almost a week, I asked him if they had had nothing at all to eat during those days. He told me that they did have some corn meal and they have water, with which they made a kind of watery porridge to have once a day. I do not know what it is now, only that the children are going to bed without having eaten.

The food reality is that it daily takes $150-$200 to feed and provide other daily requirements for the children and the orphanage staff, of whom there are about a half a dozen adults. This is every day.

“It seems like a lot,” you say?
It is a lot, but that is the reality.

Another reality is that, as encouraging as it was for me to see the dormitory coming along so well, the building is still not ready to be occupied. If we are going to have the children sleeping there when the rains begin, we need to be able to continue working. Right now it is at a standstill, since we have no funds.

The next step is to plaster inside and out. The plastering is for much more than just aesthetics, since on the inside, the plaster makes it possible to keep the rooms clean. Outside, the plastering keeps the rains from seeping into the joints and causing structural problems.

The floor also needs to be resurfaced. It already is hardened from the mixing of the concrete when they prepared it for the brick mortar and beams. They mixed the concrete by hand on the floor. It is level and it is somewhat even, but it is not smooth. It needs to have a coating.

On the ground outside the perimeter of the building, we need to put a hard surface as well to keep the entire ground from becoming constant mud during the daily rains.

The cost of all of this work is about $2000.

This is the next step for the dormitory. There are several others as well. Among these are finishing the toilets, which the health and sanitation department of Kenya tells us needs to be a flush system with a holding tank.

This of course requires the plumbing and tank itself, but also a cistern, since there is no well.

 
I will write about all of these additional dormitory costs in future posts, but the rains will begin possibly later next month, so we need to get moving.

Another reality is the schooling for the children. For the 42 students, this totals to approximately $1000 per month for the nine months of the school year.

“Our Father in heaven, please provide the daily bread for these, your children. This is the most critical need right now. Also please provide for the continuation and completion of the dormitory before the rains begin.”

KISII REPORT--A NEW DRESS FOR VIVIAN

I was a bit hesitant about bringing the little dress to the orphanage in Kenya. Someone from our church had given it to me to bring, but it seemed a bit too fancy. And I only had one. I did not have one for every girl in the orphanage, and I did not want to create envy among the children.

I told this to the lady who gave the dress to me to bring for the orphans. Nevertheless, there was something about the spirit in which she gave it that caused me to want to take the dress along with me. I did so on this last trip.

Somewhat timidly, I showed the dress to Pastor Joel. I explained to him the situation, and simply told him that I did not know what to do with the dress, so I was giving it to him to decide.

The following day, Pastor Joel told me that when they had met as the staff of the orphanage, they talked about it. “We decided to give the dress to Vivian,” he told me.

I do not know the reasons that they decided in this way. When I gave the dress to Joel, I did not give him any preference of what they should do. I was just glad to hand off this dilemma to someone else.

The people do know that Vivian is also the name of my wife, whom they call their “Mum,” but they told me that this was not the reason. I also had told Joel that it was not my Vivian who had given me the dress, but someone else from our church. I frankly do not think it had anything to do with the name, but I did not ask questions. It was their decision.

Later that day when all the children had gathered after school, and before the crowd of all the children, two of the pastors made a presentation of this gift to little Vivian. Every gift seems to be given in this way. They make a little performance of bestowment when they are given. This one was a new dress for Vivian Mosoti.

I later thanked the pastors for doing this, and then I confided in them the same doubts that I had expressed to the woman from our church.

“I did not want to create envy among the children,” I said to them.

“What is envy?” Pastor Joel asked.

“Envy is when one child receives something that the other children wish they had, and they begin to resent the one who did receive it.”

Joel gave a little laugh. “Oh, that happens in the world,” he responded. “But it does not happen in the church.”

I thought to myself but did not say out loud, “You do not know the church in America.”

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You can learn your life lessons from preachers with huge churches and even bigger homes, if you like—the ones who have gone to school for effective communication.

I still prefer to learn mine from the humble of the earth.

“But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” Psalm 37:11

HOW TO WALK BY FAITH

“…For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

These are the words of the Apostle Paul in describing the Christian life. We often hear about “living a life of faith” as well as “walking by faith.” We are fond of calling ourselves, “people of faith.” These are all very pious sounding words, but sometimes we do not really understand what it means to walk by faith.

WHY I WENT TO KENYA (conclusion)

You will notice that the title of this final installment of this series of posts is slightly different than the rest. Instead of saying, “Why Am I Going to Kenya,” it says, “Why I Went to Kenya. It in the past tense, because I returned home last night. Vivian drove down to the Central Wisconsin Airport to pick me up.

It was not until I arrived at Chicago that I remembered that this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday here in the United States. Everyone was talking about it at the airport—either about that or about trying to find a flight home. So many flights had been cancelled in the previous days due to the record cold temperatures that everything was backed up.

I don’t care about the Super Bowl this year. You might accuse me by saying that it is because the Packers are not in it, and that admittedly may be part of it. If they were playing, I would have more interest. But that is not all of it. Even when my state’s home team still had hopes of post-regular season possibilities, my interest in the season had waned down toward zero.

During the past several decades, the sports industry, just like the music industry and the movie/television industry, has been elevated to a level in our society that it does not deserve.

 

This is made evident by the fact that the most well-know stars of these fields have become the spokes-people of our culture on almost any subject. When an opinion is needed on world affairs, a cultural shift in society, or even about what is right and wrong, it is to the sports stars, the movie stars, and the rock stars that we turn.

Increasingly, I am tiring of all of it. These are not the people that I care to have shape my opinion on anything. All three of the afore-mentioned industries are entertainment industries, and they are little more than that. The place of their professions in society is not to guide us into higher levels of thinking, but simply to provide diversion for us for a few moments—that’s it!

Perhaps it is possible for them to produce shows and music that have somewhat higher values, but while they have excelled at computer driven graphics and recording technology in order to better amuse us, they have remained primitive in  the more redeeming qualities.

In general, these industries that are mainly meant to entertain have outgrown themselves in levels of importance because our society has diminished itself in its ability to think critically. We have come to believe if someone has the ability to give us a few moments of amusement, then they are worthy to lead us in every aspect of life.

Freshly back from my time with the people of the Log Church of Kenya, this contrast of priorities of life hit me hard. These people of Kisii, who despite the fact that they themselves are among the most needy of the earth, have still opened up their lives to provide food, shelter, and a supportive community for the orphans of their area.

These are the kinds of people whom I would rather shape my world view.

“The Bible instructs us to care for the orphans and the widows,” the three pastors of the church told me in a meeting one day. “We decided to begin with the orphans, because they have the biggest needs in our area.”

Pastors Douglas, Joel and Vincent

I have always gained the most insight into life from the lowly of the earth, and I have worked with many in many different societies. The rich and the famous have had relatively little to offer me on living a life.

Part of this comes from the fact that they usually have too high an opinion of themselves. It is the humble man and the humble woman, the ones who live life where it actually exists, who have the most to teach.

And when history has come to a close, when all the Super Bowl rings have been been burned into ash along with all the Emmys and the Oscars, it is the work accomplished in the orphanage that will remain.

Thanks for coming along with me on this journey. I will continue to write of what is happening with the orphanage—not daily, but more like weekly.

I hope you continue to follow.