The Pigeon War Continues

Today we were able to spend the whole day at the baby center. And it was a very busy place! Jeff Stanfield was here as well as Robyn Moore. There were some Kenyan volunteers for the babies and we were so excited in the afternoon when several of our newly hired caregivers came for training! That means we will be able to open both wings and receive more babies!

It was a gorgeous sunny day - the nicest we've had so far! It was so cute to see all of the little babies laying on blankets in the grass enjoying the sun and fresh air! It is also a lot more fun for the team to be able to spend time outdoors with the kids instead of cramped up in the playroom! Although 3 of our team members got a pretty good sunburn. And 3 of our team members got peed on! Not the same three except one and I won't tell (Kristy) which one that was! Judy mentioned that for such a tiny girl, Lydia can sure burp loud!

In the afternoon we had to break away from the babies in order to put the storeroom back together. The men had finished installing the shelves and according to Jamie it was in record time! The rest of us moved all of the clothes, diapers, shoes and miscellaneous supplies back into the storeroom. Wow what a difference the shelves make! Now it is much easier to see at a glance what supplies are running low!

The pigeons remain a formidable foe. The fishing line and spike strips did nothing to stop them from perching on the water towers. They simply landed in between the spikes! And carefully balanced on the lines. We joked that maybe we should add some hoops, a trapeze and a little bell they could ring with their beaks! At least then they could provide some entertainment with their pigeon circus! Did you know pigeons eat rocks? I think they enjoy dropping them and letting them roll down our metal roof at 5:00am even better than eating them! Sometimes it sounds like a bowling ball they are dropping! Never-the-less, the pigeons still have the upper hand. Back to the strategy room!

Visiting Salgaa

We headed out right after breakfast this morning to minister at Salgaa. The local church began a ministry to the women there, some of whom were involved in the commercial sex business and are HIV positive. Pastor Habib and his team have been working there for the past six months. They are offering hope to many who have none. They have seen several give their lives to Jesus and begin to turn their lives around. Our only instruction was to show Jesus' love by showing them our love. We split up into groups and visited several homes. A group from Kabarak University also joined our various groups. It was interesting to see how the women lived and to talk with them about their lives. After praying together, we went to the church at Salgaa and sang songs and heard testimonies from many of the ladies. One ladies story in particular really touched the team. She had been involved in commercial sex but when she gave her heart to the Lord she knew she couldn't make money that way anymore. She had started a small business but lost it all in the riots. So she wasn't sure how she was going to pay back her loan and provide for her family. She had sold almost all of her furniture when she finally received some money from her beaded bracelet business. When one of the groups went to her home she was so excited to show them the two chairs she was able to buy. She had the most beautiful smile and the love of Jesus shone thru her eyes! After the Kenyan women gave their testimonies, Linda then gave her testimony and the team could see how the women were encouraged by Linda's faith thru very difficult times in her life. Thank you Linda for being willing to be used by God to minister to the women of Salgaa. We were offered a soda for a time of "swallowship" before we left.
Ashley (who is now fluent in Swahili) met her future husband Felix who is a student at Kabarak.
After lunch in town the team went to Elim's Curio Shop to do some shopping. We always like to visit Elim's because 10% of the profits go to a street kids ministry in Nakuru. When one of the shopkeeper's, John, found out we were buying some things for the Auction at NMC he wanted to donate something. We thought something small would be nice but he kept insisting we take the large giraffe. So if it makes it home in one piece, you'll have to watch for it in the auction! We were able to spend a little bit of time tonight with the babies. But look forward to a fairly free day tomorrow!

Meeting the Babies

We finally were able to meet the babies this morning! They were very excited to have wazungus visiting. It didn't take long for everyone to fall in love! In between playing with babies, the team painted steps, went to the grocery store, built sound absorbing panels and made meals.

There has also been much discussion on how to keep the pigeons from roosting on our water towers. The first solution didn't work and the pigeons invited their friends over to laugh at the attempt. We have some very determined team members though that intend to get the last laugh!

For 5 hours in the afternoon, several of the ladies sorted clothing from our team and from other teams. The men were making shelves for in the store room so that all of the wonderful donations could be neatly put away. This all has to be finished before Friday because the Board Meeting will be held in the conference room where all of the clothes are at. Thanks so much for everyone who so generously gave - our needs are well supplied!

Judy's Song

After supper tonight Judy shared that God had given her a song about her experience in the Mathare Slum. She sang it to us and it was beautiful! She gave me permission to share it on here.

In the slums of Africa
I looked into his eyes
And saw these precious tears
Little arms stretched up to mine.

Reaching down I picked him up
Tiny hands around my neck
Just wanting to be loved
His head upon my chest.

Never the same
No, never the same
Forever my life's changed
I knew that God's love came
The day I held an
Orphan in my arms.

Our eyes were filled with tears as she shared her song.

Robyn Moore told us today that it is encouraging for her to come to the baby center because she can rejoice in how well our babies are being taken care of. And for that we are encouraged to continue the good work that God has called us to here.

The Great Rift Valley

A tradition for our teams on the way from Nairobi to Ngata is to stop at the Rift Valley overlook. It is a beautiful spot and hard to capture. Ashley took a panoramic picture that is close ask her to see it! Before we left, Linda did something she never thought she would do! We spent the next few hours driving in the rain to Ngata. The Baby Center Gate was a welcome sight. We actually did not see the babies the first day! It was cold and yucky and dark by the time we got settled in. Everyone is chomping at the bit to see the babies in the morning!

Visiting the slum

Today was a heartbreaking day! From the torn clothes to no shoes to no diapers, the conditions were less than favorable for little ones. It had rained the night before so traveling into the slum meant skating down the hill on a sheet of mud. You had to go with it or you would land in the mud! We all made it and stepped inside the gate of the Good Samaritan Orphanage only to be met with more mud. About a million kids poured out of a small room and met us in the courtyard. Even though it was rainy and cool, the kids were so excited to see us and had big smiles on their faces. They sang several songs and then just as we were ready to begin the bible story it started pouring down rain. We moved into the small room the kids originally came out of. There really wasn't room but we all squished in as Robyn read the parable of the Farmer and the Seeds. The rain stopped so we went back out into the courtyard and passed out peanut butter sandwiches. They finished them and then we tore the remaining halves into thirds and passed them out again! It was hard to see them get so excited about a half of a sandwich! One of the team members saw a little boy take a bite out of his sandwich and then stick it in his pocket to save for later. Then, even though the ground was still very wet, we passed out crayons and coloring pages. They colored using chairs, a table, the wall and each other! One of the team members asked the pastor how he could continue to work there week after week. He said it was because that is where his heart is. When he looks into the eyes of the orphan often he sees only emptiness, but he hopes to plant the love of Jesus and pray it takes root in their hearts. As we left, we felt guilty that we could leave but they had to stay there. On the way back up the hill the missionary told us we could not have gone in there alone. The only way that we were safe was because of the missionaries work and the good they have done there.

We have arrived!

We arrived a little ahead of schedule tonight and had very smooth flights. All of our luggage arrived as well - Praise God! When we were leaving the airport we were stopped by customs and asked what was in our suitcases. When we told them we had gifts for the baby center they wanted to know if we had a certificate of donation. We told them no they said "How do we know you are not going to sell these?" Jamie said "All I can say is look at us! Do we look like someone who would do that!" The officer laughed and then waved us on thru. Margie was there to meet us and took us to the Gracia Guesthouse. It was so good to have a bed to stretch out on! Looking forward to visiting the Good Samaritan Orphanage in the Mathare Slum tomorrow morning with Robyn Moore.

On Our Way!

We are just getting ready to board our flight! All is going well and we look forward to what God is going to do in us and thru us!

Front Entrance of the AGC Baby Center

Swine Flu!

The swine flu has hit in Kenya. We received word that several schools around the Ngata area have been closed because of it. Please be in prayer for the health of our babies. The caregivers and staff at the baby center are being extra cautious to avoid bringing it in. Please pray that the illness passes thru the Ngata area quickly and it's victims recover fully!

MoMo and Ben Video - June 2009

These videos of MoMo and Ben don't acurately show MoMo's true personality. He appears shy and quiet here, but he is usually quite active and outgoing!