Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Donated food from our children and their families

"Students" helping unload food donated by our kids.
About a third of the nearly 500 lbs. of maze,beans, rice and dried fish our kids donated to the school/orphanage.


Kenya Fun

Teacher orientation which Jana addressed at Great Mercy School and Orphanage. 

Delivering one the last of our 36, 1500 liter tanks to a remote village.

More Kenya Fun

 Seminary students in Naitiri watching a video on our laptop.  We held a scripture mastery party     there. 
Kids belonging to a football (soccer league) playing with a "homemade" ball.
Elder Griffith presenting the kids one of Allyson and Moema's donated balls.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Kenya the Beautiful

Mt. Elgon, a 14,000 ft. volcano.  It has the widest caldera (cone) in the world - five miles a crossed.
The quintessential African tree.
Cool thatched village near Mt. Elgon.

Finalist

Contestant number 1
Contestant number 2
Finalist number 3

Just kidding.  There was no cutest primary kid contest, but I wish there had been.  I'm just glad my brother Lawrence isn't here!

My informal cutest primary kid contest

The contestants

Delivery of water tanks as part of the churches Food Initiative

Charity has its rewards.  This non member woman gave us a bunch of very valuable bananas and fed us lunch.
This good widow had a platform all prepared to support her tank.
My loading plan was pure genius, enabling us to deliver the tanks in half the time.

LDS Charities in action

We took a tank and gutters to this Church of Christ school and orphanage.  The woman in the green shirt and her husband run it and are not especially friendly to heretics like us but the kids needed it.
These kids loved the soccer ball (one of ten) that Allyson and Moema donated.
I had to throw two packets of biscuits (cookies) into the tank to get these kids to go in after them.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sreet kids school

These are the high school students at the school but there are all grades.  They were so grateful for the books. The woman is Edith, one of the teachers.
 This is Judith.  She and her husband own and run this school for street children.  We looked to find a place that would take George, our adopted street child, and this is the only place that would.  I think we were led to go there - the name of the school is "Great Mercy" and it certainly is.  Judith's husband works for the government.  She said they were going to build a beautiful house but decided instead to build this school.  So they just live in a few rooms in a corner of the school.  These are the classrooms.  They just build another school and they are dividing the boys from the girls.  The boys school was built a month ago.  We are taking a water tank from the Food Initiative out to them later this week so watch for photos next week.  All of the orphanages and children's homes here have sponsors from America - all but this one.   So we are going to see what we can do.
ild 
George insisted on a photo with "mama". To get them to take George we paid for his tuition which is about $1.20 a day and get him supplies like blanket, pillow, clothes, school uniform etc.  Let me tell you about George.  One day while Layne was sitting in the car waiting for me to do some shopping, George came up to him and showed him his report card and talked to him.  He was a good student but he lived with his grandfather up north where the area is very depressed.  His grandfather couldn't pay for his school uniform so he had to drop out of school and he came to Kitale with a friend.  That was two years ago and he has been living on the street since then.  We gave him food each time we came to town for helping us pack our bags and help with the rain gutters that we were getting for the food initiative.  Last week the police had a "round up" which they do each year for two days to get all the kids off the streets.  One children's home said they were getting 80 children under the age of 12 that were in the police holding station.  The police told George he would be taken to jail (which is what they do to kids over 14 and George is 15).  He had shown them our card and said he was working for us or they would have hauled him off right then.  So he was motivated to go someplace.  We were having him work for the money to send him back north but I never thought that was a good idea since he would just be going back to nothing.  So we were actually glad he was motivated to find a place to live.  And we were thankful we were led to this school where Judith is trying to care for these children - over a hundred boys and girls - without help from anyone.  She said even the government is giving her trouble instead of help in caring for these children.  We bought books for them with our children's contributions in this next picture.  God moves in mysterious ways but we believe we were led to this place.  As the local people see us with our truck from "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" helping this school, hopefully it will break down some of the prejudices the local people have toward our Church.


                                                              The kitchen
The "campus quad"

Street kid's school

Monday, April 7, 2014

Our children's money at work

One of the eight (so far) black boards we made for our Seminary/Institute teachers who have class in their homes.  Our kids financed all the activities on this page, and many more.
 Our "Boy George".  A street kid named George who we have "adopted".  These are before and after pictures of him in his new shoes and clothes which our kids paid for.  Why is he happier in his rags?
 He has literally been living on the streets, many miles from his home, starving.  We works for us, hauling groceries, helping move goods associated with the Food Initiative, etc.  He's earning money for bus fare home and for school uniforms.  There are hundreds more where he came from but it's like the star fish story - there may be million you can't save but at least there one who will benefit.
These kids let us take a picture of them and their donkey.  We rewarded them with packets of biscuits (cookies) which we give out to the kids we meet.  We are also donating soccer balls (Moema's idea) to schools and clusters of kids who are using balled rags as balls.


Sunday in Misikhu

Primary under the Eucalyptus.  Sunday was a little hot.  These are great little kids.  The three children in the white shirts are the sons of the first counselor in the District Presidency who we take lots of places.  His wife works (has a 3 year degree in Public Health) and he works for an insurance company.  They invited us to their home for a snack afterwards.  After meeting with the Misikhu Branch and hearing their testimonies we decided to go with them to South Africa to the temple in June even though it will cost us $2,000.00.  They are the branch that is getting a new building.  Relief Society was wonderful.  While sitting in Fast and Testimony meeting, we had to pinch ourselves to believe that we were having that amazing experience. 
 One of our good priesthood brethren who insisted on being photographed with the white "visiting fireman". 
The branch president, President Wamalya and his wife Catherine filling out their visa forms for Sister Flake.  We are taking them and their two children, plus ten other branch members to the Johannesburg Temple in June for their endowments and to be sealed as families.  These are Celestial people.