Pictures of well drilling from Margie

Patience is a Virtue

I talked with our Kenya partners concerning the well progress this morning. We are drilling but the process is going slow. If the well driller does not make significant progress today he will bring in heavier machinery on Monday to speed up the process. We are currently closing in on 100 feet at this time. I've realized again that God's timing is perfect and I must wait and trust Him. I will continue to keep you posted on the progress being made.

Jamie Lengacher
Psalms 46

News on the well from Jamie per Margie

The process has finally started. The well driller began drilling today and just passed 70 ft. as of 7:30 AM this morning Indiana time. We should know very soon if we will have a sustainable water supply. Keep praying for this project. Pray specifically for Billy Wayne Fuller. Billy has been a WGM missionary for a long time in Kenya. He has taken the lead on this project for NMC and has been outstanding. We value Billy and his wife Jenny who have become dear friends of NMC.

Jamie and Bernie Lambright at the spot where the well will be dug!

A note from Jamie

On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 4:08 PM, Jamie Lengacher wrote:
I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone at NMC and beyond for the support they have given to the baby center. God has taken us on an unbelievable ride over the last two years. We have went from having very little vested in this project to being heavily vested. God has taken ordinary individuals and given them a burning passion for the “throw away children” of Kenya. NMC has went from having a very small voice to having one that is being heard in board and leadership meetings. One of our goals has been to create income streams to help sustain the center within Kenya. Over the next year the water and farm projects will be monumental in reaching the goal. We should have a well drilled within the next week and be on our way planting more cash crops at the farm. Things are happening quickly and I’m honored to be a part of it. There are so many of you who need a big THANK YOU! I knew our church was generous but I never understood how generous. Even in the most depressed economic times many of us have ever seen the resources keep coming in. God is good all the time! I will keep the blog updated on the water progress. I cannot wait for that first load of water to be delivered FREE! One of my greatest pleasures during this project has been watching new team members develop “baby center fever”. Its not a bad thing but an anointing of the holy spirit on them. Watching people of all walks of life get their hands dirty for these little ones is a God thing. We have people who pay for their own trips, people who get support from others, people who sell their cows to come, people who save for years to come. The point is if you are willing He will provide. I want to thank our most recent team for making our trip one to remember. When you laugh and cry together you develop quite a friendship. I challenge those of you who are thinking of getting involved in a mission to “get in the game”. You will not be disappointed because Jesus will never disappoint you. Jamie A. Lengacher

Simon - October 2008

These pictures are of Simon when the October NMC Work Team was in Kenya. He is now almost 2 years old! As always Simon was a quiet, studious little guy whom we all fell in love with!

Moses (Mo Mo) - October 2008

One of my favorite pictures of Mo Mo is the one above. It just shows the emotion and heartbreak of the orphan. Mo Mo is such a great little guy and he will make a wonderful son for someone. Please pray that Moses and all of the little ones at the baby center find a place to call home.

Random thoughts about our trip to Kenya

• "Good morning sunshine!"
• Hello rain!
• Watch out they pee!!!
• Wet paint in the sink, on the floor, but none on the wall.
• "The best dip ever!!!"
• Fahrenheit to Celsius?...we don't have a clue.
• Ruffles, pink clothes, and tights are ok for boys, right???
• Auntie! Auntie! Uncle! Babu???
• Need a sedative? Try a swing.
• Fall asleep before 9pm? Hakuna matata. We'll wake you up in time for milk!!!
• They'll sleep anywhere and on anything.
• In case of emergency, we provide our own cow midwife!!!
• Climbing like monkeys, laughing like hyenas, screaming and crying like howler monkeys, but in the end they are all precious little angels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jodi Polhemus & Stephanie Wong

More bumps and dust and a cheetah!!!

This morning started out with a game drive on our way out of the park. We spotted a group of vans and went to investigate. When we got there we discovered that someone had spotted a cheetah way out in the distance playing with a tiny baby gazelle. It was fascinating to watch the cheetah toy with its prey. Then we continued on our bumpy, dusty journey on the typical roads of Kenya towards Nairobi. Tomorrow we plan to do some shopping and bargaining in the market before we catch our flight to London around 11pm. Please pray for a safe journey home and that all our flights will be on time and all our luggage will make it to Chicago.

Jodi P. and Stephanie W.

Our Goal: A Rhino!

We woke this morning to two elephants eating trees off our back porches. It was so amazing to be so close to such enormous wild animals. We then headed out for an early morning game drive in order to catch the animals at their busiest. We had good luck as we were able to see the elusive leopard lounging in a tree. Number 4 of the big 5. We saw many herds of zebra and wildebeast and various other animals. We were just heading in to breakfast when the drivers got the call that there were lions close by. We found two male and one female laying very near the road and were able to get a close look at these majestic animals. We were also able to take a lot of great pictures! We went back to relax at the hotel until the afternoon game drive. The local monkeys were up to no good and went into two of our rooms. After diligently warning everyone to not leave their door open because the monkeys would get in, Jolinda decided to just run a few doors down to borrow a transformer. When she arrived back moments later she realized she had not shut the door and walked in on a monkey sitting on her bed. He had helped himself to a sucker and mint out of her bag. Then later, after feeding the monkeys some peanuts, Brent and Joan were surprised that one of the monkeys decided to boldly open their patio door and run in to the room for the jar of peanuts. They stood there in shock and yelled but it took a guard and a rock to get the jar back. Our team was unaware that at lunch our drivers prayed that we would find a black rhino in the afternoon. And only heard about it after we very quickly found a black rhino right out in the open that afternoon. We also enjoyed a beautiful African sunset before heading in. The hotel treated us to a "Bush Dinner" by candlelight out under the stars complete with Lobster and Steak Kabobs! The Masai dancers took turn seeing how high they could jump. The one who jumped the highest was supposed to get the girl. And in this case Abigail was chosen. She respectfully declined. Pete also joined in on the dance and a great time was had by all.

Masai Mara

After a 4 hour trip we arrived at our hotel in the Masai Mara National Park. The road back to the Mara is as bumpy as usual, and again we were wondering if it was really worth it! Then we saw the giraffe standing right by the road and pulled close enough to touch it. We also saw elephant, buffalo, zebra and various other animals all before getting to our hotel! On our first drive we saw three of the big five animals: the elephant, lion, and buffalo. David, who is one of our drivers/safari guides managed to get his van stuck while trying to cross an area that was steep and muddy. He tried to get out of the ditch with everyone in the van but was unsuccessful. He eventually had to have all 7 of his passengers get out of the van (which is illegal and dangerous to do in the park) in order to get the van out of the mud. While those 7 members of the team waited in the grass the other 7 of us stood in the other van (where we were safe) and kept our eyes open for predators. We also were entertained by the hippos at our hotel as well as vervet monkeys. A bird came in the window and was eating the butter at the next table from ours so we all checked ours for beak marks! We truly enjoyed God's magnificent creation and his protection on all of our travels.