Cheers for Water!

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Water is so essential to one's life that without it we cannot do much, either in our surroundings or even for our crops and animals. Marigat is an area that is dry, although there was a great change in vegetation this time when we visited. This time we saw some green vegetation and a more fertile soil.

This trip was a blessing to me and I felt really good, after going there for several years now, I was at last, able to take goods news. You can see how dusty the road is on the way to our destination of Marigat.

We pass the equatorial line that divides Kenya into two parts, north and south.

A word of prayer accompanies our mission here. As always prayer is so much needed and in this case we are praying that today we will find water potential in this dry land.

Did you know that Kenya has ostriches?

I don't understand it all but the car and many other things are needed to conduct the survey. I stand by.

Even a rooster comes to look at the work.

The drought in this land has been too much for many cattle and local wildlife.

I was happy to travel with a water geologist (this is the person who works on water) and conduct a survey on water availability in this very dry land.

After travelling most of the morning, we arrived and we were so much welcomed by the host pastor and community leaders. I was so happy to be with them and share the joy's of finding water at last.

After the hard time we had driving there and the long journey. What a joy we had! It is really a great joy to see hope of getting water after so many years of prayers.
Thanks so much for your prayers. The years of praying and hoping for a well has been an endurance race for us. It is not yet finished but we give praise to God for helping us this far!

The Kids of Kericho!

Dear friends, I want to share a wonderful poem written for the children I minister to in Kericho. This poem was written for the Missions of Hope, by my good friend Stuart, from England. He has such a heart for the children and we appreciate so much his prayers and the prayers of his lovely wife, Michelle.

THE KIDS OF KERICHO!

MANY HAVE NO PARENTS

THEY HAVE NO PLACE TO GO

STRUGGLING FOR SURVIVAL

THE KIDS OF KERICHO

MY HEART IS FULL TO BURSTING

I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW

AND SAY A SIMPLE PRAYER OR TWO

FOR THE KIDS OF KERICHO

IF I WAS TO WIN THE LOTTERY

THATS IF I HAD A GO

I KNOW THERE'D BE A BIG FAT CHEQUE

FOR THE KIDS OF KERICHO

I PRAY FOR PASTOR JONAH

MY LOVE FOR HIM DOES GROW

I SEE HIS HAPPY SMILING FACE

WITH THE KIDS OF KERICHO

I SIT HERE IN MY WHEELCHAIR

IN SURROUNDINGS THAT I KNOW

BUT MY HEART IS THERE IN KENYA

WITH THE KIDS OF KERICHO

BEFORE I LEAVE THESE PASTURES

I PRAY MY STRENGTH WILL GROW

AND FATHER GIVE ME PLENTY

FOR THE KIDS OF KERICHO

by STU

Light

You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Psalm 18:28

Hello,

I have had the chance of getting a new lamp for my house and I am so happy. This has really helped me to study with ease and I will not need to buy kerosene again for my lamp.

[Caption: a kerosene lamp]

[Caption: the new battery operated lamp].

I will only need to buy batteries and 'there', I get the light.

This kind of lamp was started by a few boys who were touched by the great need of the villagers because this kind of lamp saves a lot of power and money that could be used for buying food or paying school fees.

[Caption: Study made easier by the new light]

Enjoy the pictures.

Crosses for Missions

This is a post from my friend and patron Joyful Servant . I am happy to hear of this blessing and invite all my readers to order one or two crosses for yourself or your loved ones. God bless!

I am excited to reveal a new opportunity to my loyal readers and to new readers.

Many of you know that I am deeply involved in missions to poor villagers, mainly to the widows and orphans in Kenya. We operate on very few donations to try and bring relief to the many people in the village who struggle to eke out a living in a country hard pressed by famine and poverty. Pastor Jonah's time is strictly voluntary as is mine. I try and support Pastor Jonah and other village leaders as best I can, including through helping build a web presence for the Missions of Hope.

Recently, I was blessed with a donation of hand crafted crosses with a request to sell them and use some of the profits for the mission field. I cannot tell you how happy I am about this blessing because it provides an exciting opportunity to help the mission field in Kenya in time for Christmas. The villagers will be so happy that they can celebrate Christmas like others throughout the world if we can sell enough crosses to help them. At the same time, you, the reader will have a chance to do some Christmas shopping and buy stocking stuffers for one or two of your favorite people. "Yes" Christmas will soon be here!!!

I have a very limited supply of crosses to sell. So if you want one please be quick to speak up. You will see from the two photos that these crosses are designed to be worn by men and women alike. My small shipment will be arriving very soon and then I will be expecting one more smaller shipment. I am hoping to sell at least the first shipment in time to be able to get your cross to you in well enough time for your Christmas tree. The price for each of these handcrafted crosses is $25.00 (US) plus $5.00 for shipping and handling.

Your hand crafted cross will come with a card which reads:

100% hand crafted by Christians in the USA

The Disciple's Cross is made up of three distinct components. The simulated leather cord reminds us of the leather straps used to beat our Savor; the wrapped wire stands for the thorn branches twisted into a crown to mock the King of Kings; and, of course, the nails represent the large spikes that were driven into the hands and feet of the Lord of Lords.

As you carry your Disciple's Cross with you, consider the sacrifice that Jesus made for you and take up your cross and follow him.

(c) 1994 By Disciple's Cross. All Rights Reserved.

Matthew 15:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."

These wonderful crosses will be cherished by your loved one (or by you) for years to come. Profits made from the sale will be used to make a jiko stove/oven in the village of Kericho to help make the lives of village women safer, healthier and just a little bit easier. You can read more about the Jiko Stove Project here and in the blog here Missions of Hope.

[One of the women who received a jiko stove in 2009]

To order your crosses or crosses now, please send me an email with your complete shipping address and remit payment of $30.00 (US) via Pay Pal (includes price of the product and shipping charges) to kerichojoy{at}gmail{dot}com. Funds must be received before crosses are shipped.

The crosses come in several different colors but there is only one cross in each color. Let us pick the color for you and it will be an adventure, like a "surprise box". You won't be disappointed.

If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

God bless you and thank you for your support

Reforms to Kenya's Constitution

Hello,

We had a meeting on the forthcoming reforms concerning Kenya's constitution. USAID, the American NGO and the Citizen's Assembly (http://citizens-assembly.org/) welcomed us for a discussion which focused on the key contentious issues in the re-drafting of the constitution.

[Following the post-election crisis that occurred after the contested elections in December 2007, the U.S. Government committed to provide a $100-million recovery package that has three main components: peace and reconciliation, support for reform, and restored livelihoods and communities.]

We are now fully focused on the new constitution and we do hope this will become a reality in the coming months. Otherwise we need lots of prayers to make this a possibility.

God bless,

Home to Glory

Hello friends,

This week has been very busy as we have had three funerals this week alone.
This is not a good thing for a community that was rejoicing over harvesting enough corn for this year in a country deeply plagued by famine. We praised God though for giving us the opportunity to give those who died a good send off. We are happy that the three women who died have made their contribution to society and we are striving to make ours too.

Amongst the three who died were two women who were under the age of 40. The third woman was an elder who was over 80 years of age.May God rest their souls in eternal Glory.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV)

Kibet is Very Excited

Hello friends,

This is just a short praise report to let you know that a little boy named Kibet was able to get some medical help for his leg.

A few weeks ago Kibet was very sick with the problem in the leg. I first showed his photos in a story here . One of God's servants responded and we are so glad she was able to send us some help so he could get medication.

Kibet was very excited, and he could not hide his joy to us as we also brought him sandals to keep his feet dry and clean and a blanket to keep warm.

Please continue to pray for the entire family as they share the few other resources they have
It brings lots of joy to help these families get basic things that some of us take for granted.

[Caption: Brother Thomas checks over the oranges we will take to the children.]

[Caption: The children are enjoying the oranges and the blanket.][Caption: The children say goodbye to us.][Caption: This little girl also needs to see a doctor]

Continue praying for us too as we move one step at a time. A few dollars can be stretched to meet more needs.

Thanks for your continued prayers.
Brother Jonah
Contact me here if you can help

The Season for National Examinations

The candidates for the year 2009 are about sit their national examinations. As usual when tests are coming, prayers are greatly needed and we had to travel to lay hands on these dear ones. Our main focus was for them to know the Lord now and forever in their lives.

We read verses in Ecclesiastes 3, where it says, there is time for everything.

The exam candidates for this year are looking forward to the future. We refer to them as the remnants of the 4 year high school education program, as many have dropped out of school. Causes of drop out are mainly due to youth pregnancy between the ages of 12 -17. We really need to save our girls from these problems. It would be great to get help to construct a boarding school especially for girls.

Thank you for your prayers for these candidates and for the many girls that did not make it to this day. We are heading to more schools next week.

See our photo album slideshow for the day here

God Bless

US Ambassador Visits Kericho

The US Ambassador, Michael Ranneberger, had a short visit to Kericho on Wednesday and we warmly welcomed him. He is such a great man.

I heard him speak and for the first time, I felt that he has a great heart for this country. He had a very busy day while here, and we do hope he will be able to mingle with the more Kenyans as he travels around the country.

He told us to keep an eye on reforms etc. He also spoke via radio and a planted Tendwet) tree. I could see also that he loves young people a lot.

God bless.