God Bless the Children

5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,

    the sea, and everything in them—

    he remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed

    and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free,

8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,

the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,

    the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the foreigner

    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

Psalm 146 (New International Version)

Various children we met in Kenya along with their living conditions.

God bless them all. 

 

 

You can help bless them too. Donate here:
 https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/149000
Or mail your tax-deductible donation to:
Tumaini Volunteers, Inc, PO Box 726, Wausau, WI 54402

2017 Kenya Log Entry 5

Finally, Monday afternoon we rode out to Southern Cross Academy to see the work on the rabbit project. The week before, Tumaini Volunteers had wired the money to Marafiki, so that they could buy the building materials to start the hutches. 

 We were pleasantly surprised by how much work had been done. They assured us that the hutches would be finished by the next week, before the rabbits would be delivered. 

 When we returned to the school two days later, the hutches were looking good and were almost done. The plan was to take the rabbits to their new home the following Tuesday. You will have to wait a few days to read about how that turned out. 

 In the meantime, in case you are asking yourself why we started this project, here’s why. 

2017 Kenya Log Entry 4

On Saturday, after Val and I ran a few errands around Kikuyu town, we checked out a park one of the other volunteers had told us about.  

Mugumo Park, for the most part, looks like a kiddy park, with a pool, a pond, kiddy rides and even a bouncy house.

 

 There are things for the adults though, such as these little cabanas for small private parties or meetings. 

And a nice restaurant. 

 Amenities even include a flushable toilet, albeit a squatting one.  

 After Val and I had checked it all out, we decided to order lunch. 

Which took a while to arrive, as they cook everything fresh, which I suspect meant they had to slaughter the chicken, and possibly perhaps even the goat, first. 

 It was worth the wait though. And worth having our cook chop it up in front of us. 

2017 Kenya Log Entry 3

Kenya is such a country of contrasts. From extreme poverty to incredible opulence. Our first full day there, back on March 31, we needed to get some spending money – Kenyan Shillings – out of the ATM and also stock up on drinking water and snacks. It was decided we would take care of this at the Hub shopping mall in Karen. 

 First, we had to walk for about a half a mile through our little neighborhood. 

 But it wasn’t boring. 

 When we got to Kikuyu Road, we had to catch a matatu. 

 In all my travels, I really haven’t been able to get a credible picture of the inside of a matatu. For starters, it’s not safe to whip out your camera or phone and snap pictures. Someone might just want that piece of electronics bad enough that they will snatch it from you or wait until you pocket it and pick that pocket. Also, it is just plain rude. These people who ride matatus every day of their lives and have no other choice really do not want you trying to capture their mundane lives. 

Nope, not a single picture of a matatu, inside or out. All I have are pictures of the roads we traveled, when we were traveling them in a private van. 

You will just have to use your imagination.  When we got to the Hub, however . . .

 Well, we had to try to imagine that we were still in Kenya. We could have been back in the States in any mall in any large city. 

 The next day, we walked through this market place back in Kikuyu. It just still blows me away. Contrasts. Yup, all about contrasts. 

Love One Another

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 (NIV)

I must admit – I keep going back to Kenya because I get out of it as much as I put into it. I always go planning on loving on these kids, but it turns out the kids have just as much love to give in return. 

  

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing these pictures, and others, telling you where we were and what we were doing, but some times, pictures need no explanation.