Urgent Prayer Request

We received an email from Staci from the baby center. She praised the Lord that they had finally received a truckload of water. They are still in desperate need of our prayers in the following areas:

1. Water supply continues to be a serious problem.
2. 2,200 refugees at Ogilgei (a village near Ngata)
3. Pastors and Red Cross workers who are trying to help
refugees on limited funds and limited strength.
4. Staci and Wycliff as they continue to minister in new
and unique ways to all those God puts in their path.
5. Continued safety for the babies at the baby center and
all those who work there.

She praised God as He continues to supply for their every need. Please continue to pray for Kenya, the needs are great but our God is greater!

Dan's talk with Margie

Dan Jacobs talked with Margie Helmuth this morning. She is doing fine but the situation in Kenya can be hard to deal with day after day. Almost everyone knows someone who has been touched with the violence. Today it was a friend of Margie's. His brother was killed overnight. Her heart hurts for the senseless violence that took her friend's brother and that has claimed far too many Kenyans. Please pray for healing for all of those affected by violence. And please pray for Margie. Pray that God will be especially near, that He will hold her in the palm of His hand, that she will be encouraged by the love shown to her by God. Pray that she will continue to be a light in a dark land. Pray for her friend as he grieves the loss of his brother. Pray that God will give him comfort and healing.

December 2007 Baby Slideshow

Comment from Jon Andrews, Youth Minister at Wakarusa Missionary Church

I am so gald that you all are home safely. Alison, Preston and I have been praying for you all. I want to thank you all for doing what you have done with/for the baby center.

I have been reminded during your trip of 2 things. #1 God tells us to go, if He says it we should do it. #2 The importance of modeling to students faithfullness. God has placed a burden on your hearts for the baby center, and you have been faithful.

We're Home!

...."Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow -- what a ride!'"
This quote was sent by Margie Helmuth soon after we returned home from Kenya. It serves as a reminder to us that we are not meant to sit in our lazy boys until the Lord takes us home to be with Him. We are to be out doing the work He has called us to do. Most of the time it will not be in a dangerous location. But if it is, we will remember that God is in control. He will give us peace that passes understanding.

Brussels

Saturday, January 6th
We were not able to get a flight out today so we had to stay overnight in Brussels. A real bed sounded good so we all decided to make the best of it. The Brussels Airline Representative who helped us recomended we leave our luggage so it would make it on our connecting flight in the morning. We reluctantly agreed and headed over to the hotel across the street. The beds in the rooms were the softest most amazing we had ever seen and such a welcome sight. We were tempted to just stay in the rooms all evening but the front desk had mentioned that a train left from the airport and took you to downtown Brussels. We decided to try it and we were so glad we did. It was beautiful! We even had waffles that we bought from a concession stand. The Square had a large nativity scene still set up. It reminded us once again of the reality that Jesus was born, He died and He rose again and the WHOLE WORLD is changed because of Him. He is why we travel half way across the world to care for babies. And He is why we walk across the street and love our neighbor. And no matter what happens in our life He is why we have hope for tomorrow.
Matthew 12:21
"In his name the nations will put their hope."

The Waiting Game

Friday, January 5th - Saturday January 6th
After we were released from the airplane we went to find the place where we were to eat lunch. It was very busy so we found a cool section of carpet covered cement and made "beds" to take a nap. There were many other people from our plane also sleeping along the walkway. After a short nap we went up to eat. It was a typical Kenyan buffet and pretty good! Some of our group who hadn't had any Kenyan food on our trip weren't as thrilled. We then went back to "our spot" only to find several other people there. We found a new place to lay down and tried to pass the time playing games. The airlines would not allow us to leave the airport. And at one point I told Jamie "NO ONE can help us but GOD! We were so thankful for all of the phone calls we received. They were a big encouragement to us. We were told from several people that a lot of Christians were praying for us and we could truly feel their prayers. We all felt pretty exhausted though so we dozed off and on. At one point an area with an actual couch opened up and we moved there. I'm not sure which was harder the floor or the "couch". Finally at midnight they called us to go thru security at the gate as our flight would leave "soon". While waiting the Brussels Airlines Representatives took down all of our connecting flight information so they could have everything ready for our connections once we arrived in Brussels. At 5:00am we finally boarded the plane. It only took about 45 minutes to repair the airplane but then they had to take it up for a test flight. I was a little nervous about taking the same plane but felt as if there was no other choice! Thankfully the flight was uneventful. There were several people who had become very angry over the whole ordeal and were passing around a sheet to sign if we wanted to sue. Our group passed it along without signing it as we felt it was wrong to sue and Brussels Airlines were doing the best they could under the circumstances. And most of the choices they made were for our safety. It felt so good to finally land in Brussels! We even had a crazy hope that we would somehow be able to connect to Chicago yet today. Mackenzie had a basketball game tonight and it would be awesome if she were able to make it!

Angels Standing Guard

Thursday, January 3rd -
We were all ready to go by 7 am this morning. We gave some last hugs to the Jacobs family and to Staci. Then we prayed together and set off for the airport. We couldn't believe how clear the roads were. There were no road blocks and hardly any traffic! We had to go thru two police check points to go into Nairobi but had no difficulties at all! When we got to the park where the rally was supposed to take place there were no people except the riot police and military who were lined up along the sides of the road. Jamie commented that they looked like angels standing guard as we passed thru safely. We arrived at the airport at 9:30 and were so thankful to have the trip we had all feared behind us. We felt God had protected us and before long we would be back home with our families. When we went to the door of the airport we were told we could not enter yet because we were too early. We had to wait outside on the curb until 5:30! Luckily it was a nice day! While we were waiting a reporter from Nairobi Television came and asked us if we would tell on camera why we had come so early to the airport. Desmond Tutu was in Kenya that day so there were clips of him talking as well as other prominent Kenyans and then there was Jamie! We thought it was quite funny! We finally were able to check in and went to eat at the Java House. Unfortunately they were out of everything except hot dogs and tomato and cheese sandwiches! Our flight finally left Nairobi at 2:00am and most of us were asleep before the plane left the runway. Jamie was awake though and could see sparks coming out of the left engine as we took off. The engine quit for a moment and then started up again. We continued on for about 20 minutes then the engine quit for good. When the pilot announced we were returning to Nairobi we all groaned. Many people were trying to get out of Nairobi and we were heading back! When we saw the emergency vehicles lining the runway we understood the gravity of the situation. We were thankful to make a safe landing and then began our 7 hour wait on the plane on the runway. The plane'e engine needed a new part that was going to be flown in from Brussels on the flight arriving at 11:20pm tonight.

Our Last Day

Wednesday, January 2nd
We were so excited to wake up this morning and realize we actually had electricity! We hurried thru breakfast as the girls were especially anxious to go down to the babies. After talking to their driver, the Jacobs decided to stay and go home when originally planned. They would not be able to travel to Tenwek because that would take them directly thru the towns where a lot of the trouble had been and was continuing. But if they went south and then west they would be able to go to the Masai Mara without any trouble. Dan was also wanting to speak to Mwangi and the other workers before their family came home.
About ten construction workers showed up today. There was a deep concern for them and if it was safe to have them work today. After a time of prayer with the men, Dan and Jamie decided to send them all home with pay. They were from different tribes, and while there would not be any trouble inside the walls of the baby center, it could cause trouble once they left, especially if it was starting to get dark. Mwangi was unable to come today and as we had not been able to contact him by phone, we were quite concerned and prayed God would protect him and his family.
We packed our things and tried to take advantage of the rest of the time we had here.
Margie came out today and it was good to spend time with her. The water truck also came today! PRAISE GOD! We had been praying for his safe passage and he was finally here. We all said we will never take water for granted again. My daughters even vowed to take shorter showers when we got home. I hope that lasts!
Although we didn't talk about it, we all were thinking about how the next day might go when we had to travel to the airport. We had heard from home that there was going to be a prayer meeting at the church today at 4:00pm Indiana time (midnight Kenya time). We were so humbled and excited that our congregation at home was gathering to pray for our safety. Although we were all wondering about what tomorrow might hold, we all felt peace and actually joy. The country we were in was on the brink of a possible civil war and we were at peace! Phillipians 4:7 says And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And we felt that peace in a very real way. Of course there were times when doubt and fear entered our minds but God was faithful to remind us of His goodness and power. He also reminded us of verses we could hang on to. For me, I began to have a lot of fear after I had talked to my son. He saw on TV that the British Government told all of their citizens who were in Nairobi to stay in their hotels and delay their travel plans. I began to wonder if it was wise to take our group into Nairobi tomorrow. It especially hit me as I went to bed - what would I do if someone tried to hurt our daughters or the other two young ladies with us? I was having a hard time falling asleep until I remembered a verse Jenny Shaw had sent to me when Jamie went on his first mission trip. It was Psalms 4:8 - I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. I realized that no matter what happened the Lord would be with us and HE was our safe dwelling place not the baby center! I soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The New Year

Tuesday, January 1st
There was no electricity again when we woke up this morning. All of the caregivers did come to work though! Staci had asked our group if we would be willing to care for babies if some or all of them were unable to make it. Today was the day we needed to make a decision about coming home. Raila Odinga was calling for a rally at Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi. He said there would be a million Kenyans there to swear him in as President. We discussed leaving a day early so we would be in Nairobi and that much closer to the airport. We also discussed leaving two days later in hopes that everything would be over by then. We learned that Staci's parents delayed their arrival from January 2nd to the 10th and the airline didn't charge them anything! Our regular driver also wanted us to wait a week but we told him we would rather not wait that long. It was finally decided that we would leave the baby center at 7:00am on Thursday to hopefully get to the airport before anything happened. This was going to put us at the airport almost 14 hours ahead of our flight but seemed to be the safest and best choice. Pastor Dave asked us to OK it with Terry Duncan of WGM as he had issued a no travel request for all of the WGM missionaries in Kenya. We did, and Terry felt our plan would work fine and suggested an alternate route to the airport. We were told by both Pastor Dave and Denny Yoder that people were praying for us. It was such a comforting feeling as there were so many "unknowns". Dan and Dana were also to make a decision by tomorrow if they were going to leave early and come home with us. We once again painted railings and windows. And of course spent as much time as possible with the babies. The Jesus Freaks group from church had sent 20 onesies that the students had tie-dyed. It wasn't easy, but we were able to get a picture of each one on a baby! They looked so cute! The men again "dipped" water from the rain tanks because the pumps weren't working. Shadrach's uncle was able to get water from somewhere nearby and drove it to the baby center on a tractor pulling a 3,000 liter tank. That helped, although they still didn't plan on doing laundry today. This morning at Chai one of the workers told me that the men in her area stayed up all night to guard their homes. Normally Chai time is a time to relax and chat with the Kenyans who are working that day. This trip though most of the conversations revolved around what was happening in their country. We all played Catch Phrase after supper. It was fun, but we all felt a little down tonight because we realized that tomorrow was going to be our last day here.

New Year's Eve

Monday, December 31st
Still no electricity this morning when we woke up. And with no water truck coming today or tomorrow showers and toilet flushing needed to be severely limited. We heard from Staci that there was trouble last night by the hotel in Ngata from Staci. And we heard some of the workers had homes burned near them. We painted the upper railing today as well as the windows on the upper level. The men went into town using an alternate route as the main highway bridge was blocked by stones. They found one store open and it was very busy. Margie followed them into town as she was hoping to get some work done today. While the men were gone, Dana and I brought out all of the clothes, plastic pants, etc. that we brought from the people back home. It was fun organizing all of the little clothes. Staci came in to help us decide what was needed right now and what should go into storage. The item that she and the caregivers were most excited about were the plastic pants as they are not available here in Kenya. They were almost completely out of them because the frequent laundering wears them out quickly. Lucy and little Moses came over to check out the new clothes and held them up to themselves and said "Auntie - Smart!" (Smart is another word for pretty or handsome.) Some of the things future teams could bring are plastic pants, socks, vaseline and zip-up jackets. They will also need some bigger clothes as the babies are rapidly outgrowing the current sizes! The country is still in a media blackout, so most of the information we are getting is first hand from Kenyans or other missionaries. We also have some information from the states as they are slowly starting to cover what is happening here. Our families back home are starting to be concerned about us as they have heard some of the stories on the news. We decided not to go into town for New Year's Eve. The church also canceled their traditional New Year's Eve Service. After homemade pizza for supper, the girls (and Carson) made up a game using the dice from Yahtzee. You had three rolls to get a yahtzee. But before you roll you need to name what would happen to another player if you rolled a yahtzee. Michelle was the first to lose when Monica rolled a yahtzee. She had to paint her entire arm the next day when we were painting. Fortunately for her they changed the rules mid-game so Michelle was able to cancel hers because she later rolled a yahtzee. Some of the other players weren't so lucky though. It's amazing how creative you can be without TV! Since tomorrow was a holiday we decided to "sleep in" and then decide on a plan for the day. Everything was different now and our plans for the week were changing daily.

AGC Church and Lake Nakuru

Sunday, December 30th
We all attended service this morning at the Africa Gospel Church, Ngata. The message was very good. Pastor Charles spoke on why fear is doubting God. If we are Christians and believe God is in control then we shouldn't live in fear. Many of the Kenyans were frightened even to come to church because of all the unrest. He encouraged the congregation to be brave so they could show others their faith in God. We left right after church and went to the Lake Nakuru National Park. We ate lunch at the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge. It was a very warm day so not as many animals were out. We enjoyed the day, especially the flamingos and baboons. We were on Baboon cliff when our driver came and told us they had just announced on the radio that President Kibaki had won re-election. Our drivers seemed pretty anxious to get us home as the sun was starting to set. As we went thru town there were many people out along the streets. Many were yelling but they did not seem angry, just excited. Our driver just kept honking his horn and going full blast thru town. One kid hit the side of our van with his hands as we were passing by, but again he did not seem angry. Several people were waving what looked like palm branches and I remarked "What is this, Palm Sunday?!" A group of about 20 young men were traveling side by side in a long train down the street as if they were in a parade. They were also excitedly shouting. On the outskirts of town it had gotten quite dark but we felt like we were out of danger when suddenly our driver swerved to the other side of the road. I thought for a moment he was going to lose control and as I looked back I saw the small car we had been following off the side of the road. Monica also noticed large stones in the road and thought maybe the car had hit one. Our other van came upon the car and rocks just as Jamie was finished talking to Pastor Dave during the 3rd service. The driver was starting to stop when Jamie and Dan both yelled "Don't stop, keep going!". They continued down the road in an "S" pattern as by this time there were more piles of rocks and small groups of people on the highway. We were all relieved to be back to the safety of the baby center but wondered what the next few days would bring. Margie decided to spend the night as nobody knew for sure if the roads would be open or safe to travel back on.

Love Wins

Saturday, December 29th
We had decided the night before that we should try to get the group picture of all of us with all 29 babies today. Dana had made shirts for each one with the logo "Love Wins" and their names. Pastor Dave was doing a series with that title when we kicked off the fundraiser for the baby center. We didn't expect any workers today as we assumed they were still on holiday. We worked on sanding the iron grates in the windows we were later going to paint. Jamie and Dan worked on sealing the block in each of the rooms. When Margie got there we began getting all of the babies ready for the picture. You think a family picture is hard to get ready for! Most of the babies cooperated pretty well. Although, in my best picture none of the babies are looking at the camera! You would think at least one of them would be accidently looking in the right direction! Margie invited us over for New Year's Eve. She said part of us could stay in her home and the others could stay at Jim & Alice Vanderhoof's. We had a short meeting with Staci regarding the future of the baby center and how NMC could best help. It went really well with some new ideas for teams as well as partnering on some different levels. We all came away encouraged and excited for the future. We worked on painting the railing on the upper level. Denny Mast dubbed the color of the paint "January Day in Indiana Gray". It looks nice though. And on this beautiful sunny day it is hard to remember what January looks like at home! After supper everyone was so tired that we all went to bed very early.

Sad News

Friday, December 28th
That evening we received a call from my mom telling me that my 93 year old grandfather had passed away. My first reaction was relief as he had been in the nursing home for a long time and could no longer walk or do anything for himself. And for the most part he couldn't communicate with us. Then the grief hit me that I would no longer see my grandpa's sweet smile this side of heaven. Jamie said he would fly me home for the funeral if I wanted. I considered it for a moment but felt strongly that God did not bring me half way around the world to turn right around and go home. I am so glad that I had spent my Wednesday's for the past year or so with him and my grandma. Maybe that should be a prerequisite for making a trip like this: To make sure if something happened to you or to someone you love while you were gone that you would have no regrets. Or maybe that's the way we should live our lives everyday! I will miss my grandpa but am confident that I will see him again someday in heaven.

Peter - December 2007

Peter was still a shy little guy when the NMC work team visited the baby center in December 2007. Although he slowly warmed up to many team members. In the top picture he was being held by Monica Lengacher. In the picture with the yellow shirt he was eating dirt! Boys will be boys! Peter is now a little over 1 year old.

Our Journey Begins

Wednesday, December 26th thru Friday, December 28th
I have heard Pastor Dave say when commissioning teams that it is so important to pray for them because "you can get into any country - you might not get out!" Fortunately at the time I didn't think it pertained to our beloved Kenya. We had been told the elections might possibly take place on December 26 when we were originally making our plans. But after conferring with several different missionaries felt we were going to be fine as long as we were out of Nairobi before the President was announced. They moved the elections to the 27th so we felt sure there wouldn't be any problems for our group as that was the day we were arriving and we were leaving early on the 28th. We were a little concerned when we found out another group that had arrived the same day as us had arranged security to travel with them back to Nakuru. They said we could join them but as they were not leaving until later in the day on the 28th, our drivers felt we were still safer to go on our own but leave by 7:30. We stayed overnight at the home of Missionary Robyn Moore who was back in the states for surgery. After breakfast and time spent in prayer, we set off. We had no problems leaving Nairobi even though part of our journey was a couple blocks from the Kibera slum where much unrest was expected to take place. What a relief it was to arrive at the Baby Center and see Dan and Dana Jacobs and their family who had been there for 2 weeks. And what anticipation we had to get to work. We settled into the guesthouse which is right above the nursery. (Can you imagine 29 babies 2 and under below you when you "sleep"! Our next project might be a soundproof ceiling installed in the nursery!) Then we went to visit the babies. Although there are only 5 more babies than when we last visited in March, they have all grown bigger so the room seemed much more crowded (and noisy!) At first they were quite frightened of all the new faces, but it did not take long before the older ones were saying "Auntie (or Uncle) - look!" I'm still convinced that somehow we got all of the cutest babies in Kenya residing here!

Simon - December 2007

Simon was about 10 months old when the NMC work team came to Kenya in December 2007. Simon always looks like he is thinking and studying everything around him. He will probably grow up to be a scientist or professor!