1000 Kenyan Leaders - Part Two

hello friends,

i still have more information from my week long stay at the leadership conference. it was a very busy time for me and those that attended the conference. there were many "sideshows" and i intend to give u a few of them today and maybe part of this week to give you a better idea of what was happening here.

Women:
i observed that the women really love to sit in front of the conference hall. they were always the first in the hall too and were the initiators of the whole program in the hall.

Food:
to get food you were expected to queue up to the cafeteria. the food served mainly was 'ugali' (made from corn), beans/meat, chicken, rice etc. i learned this past week, that it is difficult to keep people in the line. everyone wanted to be the first. i had a hard time doing this 'job' of being a prefect.

Waiters:
our waiters are people who are used to the workings in the kitchen and serving large groups. they usually serve up to 600 students in the school, but at the same time they felt that our conference was a big one for them and a little more challenging (our number was 1000) as it contained people of various ages. watch this spot from time to time, to hear more great stories coming along.




Pastor Jonah

1000 Kenyan Leaders

hello

we had a wonderful one week leadership seminar this past week here in kericho. we really learned a lot from the facilitators who came from far and wide. what a joy it was to sit with leaders who have been teaching about leadership around the world.

i really love getting to know the delegates myself. we had over 1000 leaders from Kenya. it brings great joy to my heart as i learn that indeed we are all in the same battle, and some of the struggles i was going thru are the same struggles that my friends are going thru.



thanks for your prayers for this meeting. what a great joy this seminar brought to my heart. adding to my joy in attending this meeting was that i was appointed as one of the leaders to coordinate the meeting. after a week of meetings i am just heading home to have a warm shower (we usually have cold ones), a good rest for the weekend and service on Sunday.

have a great day and God Bless
Jonah

The Joy of Jikos

hello friends,

we are witnessing more jikos coming up.
what a great joy this is. many new people in the village want to own this precious thing after seeing others in the village and how it is helping them.

in my last update on jikos i wrote that we hope to have at least 10 jikos set up in village homes before Christmas. we still need 7 more to make it possible for us to make 10 before the start of this year's Christmas. this would help us to make a difference in a quarter of our households. [here are some photos of the 3rd hut to receive jiko in the village.]



pray that we can achieve this. we do hope to have great smiles from the families in our community for their blessings. and these smiles bring us great joy when we can give joy to them.

otherwise know we are really so excited that we and you...can make a difference in the lives of these dear ones. let's wait for more of these great smiles.

Jonah

Suffer the Little Children

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hello friends,

ministry to the kids is the greatest joy of all.
over the past few weeks i have been going out in the village with my brothers and sisters to reach the little ones for Christ.

what a joy to meet them in their current situations and to see them happy. i realized that at the end of the day, getting the boys and gals to be friendly takes just a short time.

I love it when I can share the love of Christ with these little ones.


Mark 10:14 Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.


enjoy the pics
and God Bless
Pastor Jonah

Enjoying His LIGHT and LOVE

soon we shall celebrate and and enjoy the "fruits" of this wedding that recently took place here. this is my great expectation as the young couple [in photo above] who married looked very excited. we are so happy that the two young people love God and are ready to serve Him.

many, many years ago, our weddings were traditionally done in the pitch of the night. but when the LIGHT [of God] came calling we had 2 change and now we do this [wedding ceremonies] in the middle of the day.

what a joy it is for the whole community, including the children, to witness this wedding. this is what is happening here as you people in America celebrate your Thanksgiving holiday.

Psalm 118:19 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: His love endures forever."

Because He lives,
Pastor Jonah

Awakened by "Jikos"

my village is getting awakened again and again by the new jiko's that have changed the way the village is viewing itself. everyone is talking about them [jiko stoves], and the people are very excited.

in the pictures, u can see me comparing the old form of stoves

From Awakened by "Jikos"

we have been using with the newer kind that consume very little firewood.

From Awakened by "Jikos"

i have also spent time talking to the women in the village about the need to change and embrace this newer wood efficient jiko.

From Awakened by "Jikos"

we are planning and hoping that before the start of Christmas, we will have at least ten of these jiko stoves spread all over the community. this dream can be achieved with your help. if you wish to support a jiko stove or two, a breakdown of costs is provided below...also, we would be pleased to send you some photos of the stove(s) you are sponsoring if you will send us your email address.

thanks for your prayer and your support.

God bless.
Pastor Jonah

Project Cost for making, delivering and installing one Jiko Stove:
Jiko (pot) Ksh.600
Cement 850
Bricks (20) = 300
Transport= 1000
Labor = 1000
Total: 3750 Kenyan Shillings or $48.00 US (approx. 6 months ago the cost was $61.00 US). Now is the time to give and make the funds stretch to meet Kenyan needs.

Rain of Blessing

this past sunday [november 16,2008] i can say was a blessing in two ways. we had the message preached and, at the same time, the rain ..rained on us ...just after the first service! [rain in kalenjin culture symbolizes blessings]. my speaking was cut short by the rains and everyone had to run here and there to take shelter.



i later checked and found out that our temporary structure is in dire need of repairs. we need to find another 'tent', so that it can cover us. please pray that we can get this; or even a simple polythene just to cover us when the sermon is going on.

but as u can see, we still had a great time, though walking home was slippery after the service. Enjoy the pics and pray with us.

Jonah

A "Jiko" for your Thoughts

hello,

i am just so excited to announce that we have our first pioneer jikos ready and in use...

this is what we are thinking will be the face of Kenya, Africa in the months and years to come.....
Electricity and gas here in Kenya amount to being used by a small number of people, less than ten percent of the population, why..it is expensive and beyond reach of many....

and this economy wood saving jiko...i hope will dot many homes in the villages both in my community and the rest ..as it is affordable...and it's advantage is that it will save our forests and keep the rain coming.

This indeed makes me so excited today as i see this mama enjoying using it ..it makes ma heart warm...hope it makes yours too.

have a great day

jonah

Note

Project Cost for making, delivering and installing one Jiko Stove:
Jiko (pot) Ksh.600
Cement 850
Bricks (20) = 300
Transport= 1000
Labor = 1000
Total: 3750 Kenyan Shillings or $48.00 US (approx. 6 months ago the cost was $61.00 US). Now is the time to give and make the funds stretch to meet Kenyan needs.

President Elect, Barack Obama

hello friends,

we join you folks in the united states in welcoming your next president to the White House. this was indeed a historic election. America has proven again that it is the home of Democracy.

we, here in kenya, Africa have been following this election carefully. we hold a small attachment to OBama himself, whose father came from KOGELO village here in kenya, though he was raised almost in totality in hawaii, by his gracious and most loving grandmother. personally we owe a lot to this woman, who sacrificed a lot for Obama to get to a good school, etc. she is our Hero, though she went to the Lord a day before the elections.

Kenya has been celebrating...and we surely love Obama. we pray that He will rule America, with humility and prosper its people.

Long Live America,
Jonah

Thoughts on U.S. Elections

hello folks,

i know u are going to vote on Tuesday. here in Kenya we are praying that the best candidates win. we are truly learning a lot from you folks in the way you run your campaigns and we do hope that this will be the best election ever for the United States.

here in Kenya, the newspapers have been awash with pictures of McCain and Obama as though they were fighting for their seats here. some of the newspapers here have even gone an extra mile and endorsed their candidate, though we are over 14 hours away by flight and thousands of miles away. the world has really become a global village.


we are hoping that the elections will be peaceful and that the best candidate wins. the world is waiting; waiting with bated breath, to see who between Obama and McCain will be the new occupant of the House. i mean the White House. Vote wisely and know we are praying for you all.

God Bless
Jonah