2010 Year in Review – Feeding Services

The feeding program at Camp Brethren Ministries (CBM) is designed to provide each student with one well balanced meal every school day. As the 2010 school year draws to a close, there are currently 126 full time students attending the Camp Brethren Ministries (CBM) school in Eburru, Kenya. These kids receive a hot lunch everyday around 1:30 PM prepared in the CBM school kitchen. Typically the meal is a stew of sorts consisting of a combination of various locally grown vegetables like spinach, tomatoes, corn, carrots and cabbage as well as a protein such as red beans and a starch like rice or potatoes. Today, the kids eat outside as there is no indoor area to dine. However, with the completion of the dining hall in 2011 the students will have a “cafeteria” to enjoy their lunch in for the first time. The dining hall will be large enough to support 250+ students at one time.

CBM owns farmland both on the school campus and in various areas of Eburru and the nearby town of Naivasha. Many crops have been planted on this land throughout the year and with the aide of local farming expertise and significant rains, the Lord has provided quite a harvest of food to help support the feeding program. Today much of the food for the program, but not all, is provided by the CBM farms. Some food still has to be purchased from local markets. However, with the procurement of livestock this year (2 “super” cows, 4 goats, 200 chickens) coupled with better utilization of the farmlands, the goal is to fully support the feeding program from CBM resources while also providing a new source of income for the ministry as a whole by selling excess food.

2010 Timeline (view larger)

2011 Goal

Some Feeding Services projects DHI is raising funds for next year include:

• Enlarging the kitchen
• New large wood burning stove and two smaller supporting stoves
• Furnishing of the dining hall with tables and benches
• Charcoal bread baking oven for kitchen

2010 Year in Review – Medical Services

With the nearest full-scale hospital one hour away, locals in Eburru have very limited resources when it comes to quality medical care. Camp Brethren Ministries (CBM) has helped fill this gap for the last few years by offering medical assistance to the local community. Today, the staff at the medical clinic consists of two nurses who volunteer at the clinic when they are not covering their full-time nursing shifts at hospitals and one onsite lab technician.

Word is getting out in the community about the CBM medical clinic and as a result we saw the total number of patients increase in 2010. With the medical supplies DHI was able to provide in 2010 as well as the 10 maternity beds procured for the maternity ward, the CBM medical clinic is a reputable facility providing a range of quality services not readily available to many locals in Eburru. In 2010, CBM saw an increase in expecting mothers coming to CBM to give birth. October was the highest number of births to date with 6 and we anticipate that number increasing along with the number of daily walk-in patients if we can provide a full-time nurse to meet the demands of the community.

2010 Timeline (view larger)

2011 Goal

Some Medical Services projects DHI is raising funds for in 2011 include:

• Hire one full-time salaried nurse
• Restocking of medical supplies and medication

2010 Year in Review – Education Services

In 2010, the local Kenyan ministry, Camp Brethren Ministries (CBM), saw their vision for delivering quality education in the name of Christ to the children of Eburru realized when they opened their first schoolhouse. Previously, they had been teaching a select number of children in existing, makeshift buildings. In January 2010, the first official CBM schoolhouse was opened and education for kindergarteners and 1st graders commenced. During the 2010 school year, the need for a preschool class and 4th grade class were recognized. Both classes were added and are temporarily housed in existing structures. By December 2010, the total number of students enrolled in the 4 grades at CBM school had reached 126. Supported by 4 full-time Kenyan teachers and a cook for lunch, the CBM campus has become a bustling area of activity between 9am-4pm Monday through Friday.

2010 brought a lot of ongoing construction to the CBM school campus. As the new school year begins in January 2011, returning students will experience many new changes to their education environment. One of the changes will be an increase in overall students at CBM as two new classrooms will be opened and 2nd grade and either 4th or 5th grade will be conducted in those new classrooms.

2010 Timeline (view larger)

2011 Goal

Some Education Services projects DHI is raising funds for in 2011 include:

• Build a playground similar to a western playground with a playhouse, slide, swings, etc…
• Additional classrooms to support 3rd grade in 2012
• Additional boy’s and girl’s restroom
• Opening the Boys and Girls Orphanage (on the CBM school campus)
• Furnishing of the Boy’s and Girl’s dorms with bunk beds, lockers, mattresses, and more
• Furnishing new classrooms with desks, chairs, etc…
• Hiring of an additional full-time cook
• New uniforms for students

Katie & Kari in Eburru: Kari’s Highlights

I think Katie and I could write a book on all of what God has shown us and how He has grown us through this experience.  Below are just a few short vignettes about the people and ministry happening in the remote, Kenyan village of Eburru:

Church Kenyan Style- The last two Sundays Katie and I have had the blessing to worship with the African Inland Church (AIC ) here in Eburru. Pastor Steve started the church here in 2004 and it has since grown to be the largest church in the areal. Let me tell you, this Kenyan church knows how to praise the Lord in song and dance.  The young men are playing the drums, the children are performing traditional dances, and the older women are banging on the tambourines.  Church service begins at 11am and goes well into the afternoon.  This past Sunday there was a special time for people to come forward with specific needs for the church to pray for.  How awesome it was to hear prayers going up in four different languages- Swahili, English, Kikuyu, and Turkana.   Although our words were varied, our hearts were united in the Holy Spirit.

Teacher Eva- Currently, there are 3 teachers that work here at the Camp Brethren Mission School- Ms. Nancy, Mr. Kago, and Ms. Eva.  I have really enjoyed getting to know Ms. Eva, the lead teacher.  What I love about her is that she ALWAYS has a smile on her face!  This joyful teacher lives in a simple one room “apartment” that is attached to the clinic.  She uses a small coal burner for cooking and heating water for her bucket showers.  At night, she has a paraffin lantern for light and an outdoor “squatty potty” for her bathroom.  Even with such rustic living conditions, Eva radiates the joy of Christ to all around her.   While at the market the other day, I asked Eva if she ever has a down day when she feels sad or lonely.  She explained, “I may have a minute or two when I am sad, but joy quickly returns to me.”  I further inquired    how she maintains such a joyful spirit.  She quickly replied, “ I sing praises to Jesus.”  Our conversation ended with us standing in the “parking lot” of the market singing Eva’s favorite song, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.”

Ministry of David’s Hope International (DHI)- As you probably know, I am here serving alongside Katie Futrell who is part of DHI.   This non-profit organization was formed by a mission team that served in Eburru back in Dec of 2008.  God gave this 16 member team a vision to continue serving this small village and, thus, DHI was founded.  Wow, how God has blessed their ministry!  Through their efforts and funding, in less than 1 ½ years, a school of 90+ children has been founded, a maternity ward to the clinic has been added, and plans for an orphanage have been drawn up.  Through these projects, lives have been saved- physically and spiritually.  I am humbled to have had the opportunity to serve with this organization and am excited to see how God continues to work through them.

We look forward to sharing more stories and pictures with you when we return.  Thank you for making this trip possible through your support, prayers, and encouraging emails.  We truly feel like we have an extended team through you.

For God’s Glory Always
Kari:)

Katie & Kari in Eburru: Homeward Bound

Well, today is our last day in Kenya. We will be flying home tonight and should arrive at Dulles by 1:50 pm Tuesday. It was hard to leave Eburru yesterday but at the same time I think Kari and I are both looking forward to showers that aren’t in a bucket and toilets you don’t have to squat in.

On that note, I was thinking about how different the school in Arusha was from the school in Eburru. In Arusha we had running water and electricity but not in Eburru. As a teacher from the States you really have to be creative in how you teach with such limited resources. The closest copying machine is two hours away in the city of Navisha,. My school alone has four copiers and I complain loudly when one of them breaks. Also, the students do not have textbooks as the school can not afford it. Instead, there is one text book for the teacher to use and she will write on the board for the students to copy in their composition books. It is pretty time consuming and I am hoping this is something DHI can help provide in the near future. I will be going back to my American school in September with a different perspective on things.

The last two days I was able to work with Brandon Neil, a fellow Frontliner and DHI supporter. His background is in business and I could already see he is going to be a great help with the business side of things. On Saturday we went to a local café in Eburru center. It is owned by a lady named Mary who is an active member of Pastor Steve’s church. However, a few years ago she was not a Christian and her café was then a bar. When she got saved she did not know what to do with all the illegal moonshine she was selling. So the church decided to do a “liquor pouring” offering. They would give some money to buy some of the liquor and then they poured it out. Mary is now part of the women’s ministry of the church and a light to the community. However, her restaurant is not bringing in enough income. This is where Brandon comes in. On Saturday he sat down with her and helped her figure out her expenses and profit. He plans to teach basic book keeping classes to some of the businessmen and women of the church since it is something completely foreign to them. We also came up with the idea of selling something that the other cafes would not offer in order to bring in more business. We helped her make guacamole – something they have all the ingredients to make but have never heard off. We served it with their chipotas (flat bread). I even went around the town giving little samples to the townspeople, telling them they could only buy it at Mary’s café. Brandon plans to continue to work with her for the next two weeks and hopefully we will get her a sign to put outside her door that says “American guacamole Exclusively sold here!” I thought it was pretty amazing that God could take my one of my weakest areas (I took economics twice in college ) and still use it to help those in need.

Katie & Kari in Eburru: Vignettes of our Time

Dear Prayer Team and Supporters!

Wow, I cannot believe that I have been in Africa for over a month. God has and continues to bless our time here. I feel like I am becoming quite the native. . .I am becoming “fluent” in my one word Swahili vocabulary, I can walk to and from the school by myself without getting lost, and I begin and end each day with my Kenyan chai tea:-) Look out- this mzungu is becoming quite African in her ways:-)

Katie and I are now in Eburru, Kenya serving with David’s Hope International. Below are a few vignettes of our time here in the past week.

1) “Jack & Jill of ALL Trades”- Pastor Steve and his wife Mary are the inspiration behind the church, clinic, feeding program, and school here in Eburru. They work tirelessly serving in whatever capacities are needed. For example, in addition to his responsibilities as a pastor, husband, and father, Pastor Steve can be found hauling construction material to and fro, hosting mission teams, providing transportation for hospital visits, playing keyboard at church, and a myriad of other tasks. Mary works long hours as the head nurse at the mission hospital in Kijabe where they live during the week. On the weekends, she serves at the clinic and church in Eburru and always is the “hostess with the mostess” for visitors. I thought I had a lot of energy until I saw Mary in action:-) What self-sacrificing servants of the Lord this couple is!

2) Eburru “Retreat”- Eburru is a remote village tucked away in the north central part of Kenya. If you look up Eburru in the encyclopedia, it will actually describe it as being in the African bush. Although this isolated place lacks in the modern conveniences of electricity and running water, it overflows with natural beauty and the friendliness of the people. Each night we lay our heads down beneath the black African sky illuminated by the shining stars and we wake up to the sounds of chirping birds, gobbling turkeys, and a cocka-doodling rooster. The perfect alarm clock- God’s creation!!:)

3) Faith of Children- The children of Eburru have captured my heart. Before the school and the feeding program which is sponsored by David’s Hope International was here, many of the children would go for days without food- let alone any nutritious food. As a result, these young ones are quite small for their age. For example, little Mary is 7 years old, but she is the size of my 3 year old niece, Abby. Although these precious ones may be small in stature, but they are big in heart.

My favorite part of the school day is break time when we have chapel hour. My heart melts seeing the smiles and the joy of the children as they praise God. This week the students learned Psalms 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need.” Wow, these little ones may not know where their next meal is coming from, yet they are confident knowing that their Heavenly Father will provide all that they need! The great faith of children- a lesson we can all learn from.

I pray that these stories encourage you about what the Lord is doing here in Africa and also encourages you in your walk with the Lord. As the children of Eburru exhibit with confidence, we serve a God who is a Provider:-)

A Humbled Teacher,

Kari:-)

Katie & Kari in Eburru: Solomon

I mentioned before about he feeding program at the school but I wanted to share a very touching story about a little boy named Solomon.

Back in December DHI sent a small short term missions team to serve in Eburru.  Monty, a girl on the team, was able to bring a large supply of Nutty  Butta, a peanut base nutritional supplement. It is packed full of protein and there is research being done on its effects on malnourished children.  When the team arrived their attention was brought to Solomon, an extremely malnourished four year old boy.  Mary told me that his mother came to her in the clinic and told her that they were just waiting for the child to die. She had given up on hope that there was anything that could be done at this point.  Mary and the team started giving the child the supplement and enrolled him in the school immediately so he could have the advantage of the feeding program. At first Solomon did not have the energy to even smile. He would sit and watch the other children play. He came to school wearing layers but when those layers were taken off it was apparent the child was skin and bones.

Well, Solomon is in the class I have been working with and the teacher told me he is now top of the class!!! I actually took a wonderful video of him working the classroom but of course the African internet connection will not let me upload it so you will have to wait until I return. Mary says that the child would most certainly be dead by now if it were not for the team that came with the supplies or the feeding program.  Solomon now runs and laughs during recess and he loves going to school.

Katie & Kari in Eburru: School Days

“We have had many teams visit Eburru but your team that started David’s Hope International was the only one that caught the vision.”

These last three days working at the  school have been so good. It is hard to believe that it only started 6 months ago. Currently, the school has three teachers and three full classrooms but every day people come wanting to know if we have room for their child. They like our school better than the other primary school in the area because they can tell quality education is being offered. Not only that but they are being taught the word of God daily.  The pastor and teachers want the children that are the most destitute  to be the ones that are accepted into the school….the children that would never have a chance of education otherwise because they would not be able to afford it (education is not free in Kenya). One of the best things about the school is its feeding programing. Many of the students that go to the school were extremely malnourished before but because they get a cup of porridge in the morning and a bowl of beans, vegetables, and grains for lunch many of these children are now at a healthy weight. In fact, most Kenyan schools would be on break for the next three weeks but the David’s Hope School has decided to stay open because if the school is closed, the children do not get to eat.  Because of the funds raised through David’s Hope the school now has a garden and three goats (two are already pregnant ) in order to have self-sustainability as these will provide vegetables, fruit, grains, and milk for the feeding program. In fact some one already asked if they could buy the offspring of the goats which will also help bring financial sustainability.

Pastor Steve says that Kari and I will be “pioneers” since we are the first American teachers to visit the school. In addition to helping the teachers and leading chapel hour, the pastor also wants us to develop a “training guide” on how the school runs so that other education teams that come to work in the school will have an idea before hand of what is being taught.

Live from Kenya! Update from Monty

“Only one life, twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last. Don’t waste it”

I have seen so many things over the past week, I am on sensory overload. We started at Kibera slum where somewhere between 1 and 3 million people live. I saw things that will be burned in my memory forever. We walked in initially and it was a lot of mud huts. As we got further in, we were on a hill overlooking miles of tin roofs on top of huts for as far as you could see.

I watched a lady wash fresh greens in dirty red water that she had scooped out of the run-off ditch, which was full of trash and waste. It represented so many wrong things on so many levels. It was filthy squalor and it was filled with millions. And growing. It is easy to see the natural progression of an unhealthy life in Kibera that leads to illness, crime, or prostitution. It would take an army of people and perhaps a half a century to turn a place that size around. When you think about healthcare, education, clean water, infrastructure- it is still very hard to wrap my mind around how and where you would start.

We were invited to visit a women’s group meeting. It’s strange that I haven’t seen a lot of men here, I don’t know where they all are. Anyway, the women sang some of the most beautiful songs. I couldn’t understand a lick of what they were saying but felt so honored that they allowed us to sit in and listen to them sing praise music to God. For me it was a bonding moment with these women. I feel like they let us in on something personal to them, yet I knew that they were singing to the same God that I have learned about my whole life. It is amazing to me that I can travel to the other side of the world and listen to people, who are suffering more than I will ever know in my lifetime, praise the same God that I learned about in my Sunday school classes as a little girl. These are women who told me from their own mouths that they do not know where their next meal will come from. Women who are experiencing shame and embarrassment for being poor, who don’t want their community to know that they are suffering and need food. They have the same feelings of pride and shame that I would have if I were in their place. It was such a comfort to see them bond in their group and praise the same God I have learned about my whole life, it was like we had a great old friend in common and that made my heart warm and peaceful.

On Jan 1 we participated in community day and did several feedings. Hundreds showed up. I cannot think of a better way to spend the first day of a new year. The community showed up and participated in running races, where I saw several women TAKE OFF their shoes before they ran. Welcome to Kenya. Even the old old men with canes participated in running races.

When it was time for the feedings, the food didn’t look like enough to cover the whole crowd, and culture demands that children eat last. We said a quick prayer for the food to last. The men, women, and children were divided into groups.

I had an opportunity to serve the children and gosh they were so hungry. We served them white rice and they were desperate and pushing in line to get to it. They had no plates so we served rice into their hands. Sometimes it was too hot and they would drop it, which really hurt my heart. Half way through they came up with their shirts cupped so we could put the rice in there. Filthy clothes used as plates. What we would discard and throw away is what their little bodies were desperate to get. I’ve played with several kids for days and thought they were three or four years old. I found out yesterday that one of them, who is smaller than my 3 ½ year old niece , is seven years old. I guess this is how the lack of proper nutrition affects your physical development, especially when your main source of intake is rice.

We fed them again at their graduation ceremony. This time they were able to benefit and eat the meat of the bull we bought and slaughtered when we arrived. You know I did NOT watch nor was I anywhere close by. However, one of the locals commented that he was shocked that we did not kill in the yard. One of the girls on my team replied, “I live in an apartment complex.” Cracked me up.

While worlds and miles apart, the good work that God is doing for these suffering people has connected us all. It is my prayer that the children and families of Eburru realize that we are loving them the same way that God loves all of us, 1 John 4:11 says “since God loved us, we also ought to love one another.” And Psalm 9:18 says “the needy will not be forgotten.”

Lastly, I would like to offer some explanation to my purpose here. I believe that God has commanded us to help e and love each other. Matthew 25:40 says “whatever you did for the least of one of my brothers, you did for me.” I also believe that what we do in faith, God will see through. Philippians 1:6 says that “he who started a good work in you will bring it to completion.” While our time here is limited, I can rest easy knowing that God will finish what has been started here and according to Romans 8:28, he “works for the good of those who love him.”

Live from Kenya: Blogs from the Field: Team Kenya 2009/2010

This just in! Team Kenya was somehow able to get internet access and sent along a few blog posts for us to have a look into what the trip has been like for them so far. Take a look at their stories and stay tuned as we hope to have even more to share later in the week!

December 28: Team is on its way to Kenya.
By Phil

Nine members of David’s Hope are en route to continue the service to the people of Eburru Kenya. As we write we are in the Paris airport resting from a long flight in from Dulles and resting up for 2 weeks of loving kids. We have taken over a small section of gate F55 with bags strewn on the seats and sound asleep bodies covering the floor. Monty has been traveling the longest, her journey began early Sunday morning as she flew from her home in Augusta, GA to Atlanta to DC and then met up with the rest of the team for our 7 hour flight to Paris. In a few hours Monty will get on another plane headed to Nairobi, Kenya. Angela has already been putting her photography skills and brand new camera to good use snapping pics of John as he sleeps seemingly lifeless on the floor. Fortunately John, one of our co-leaders did awake and is currently doing some pre-trip bible study. Brother and sister Nathan and Becca are sitting side by side trying to stay warm and hydrated, not a cheap task given that bottles of water cost $7.50. Always organized and encouraging Jillian has passed out little bags of goodies to everyone, which people pull out from time to time to much on. Denise made our trip through security more fun by quoting verses from James with a hilarious accent. Francis, no stranger to travel, growing up in Brazil, Canada and the U.S., now working for the World Bank, found a delicious pastry shop here in the airport with delightful ham and cheese sandwiches. Phil, who cannot figure out why he is not tired, has been spending some time coming up with activities for the business seminar.

December 29: We’re Here!
By Denise

Wow! We are only a few days into the trip, but yet there is already so much to share. First off, our journey to Eburru has been long and quite eventful. Three days after we stepped foot in Dulles Airport, we are finally settled in our cozy mud huts in the beautiful, green land and spotting zebras, baboons, and screeching large birds overhead. What an answer to prayer to see a green Kenya! After 10 months of drought, Kenya has been blessed with a few months of rain. Things that I will remember from the last few days include: walking through the slums of Kibera and seeing the most beautiful children living in absolute filth, meeting a dentist from NC who has lived 23 years of his adult life in Kenya and considering it “without sacrifice”, singing songs in Swahili with children, and sleeping in every airport and van ride that I could. It’s been full. It’s been blessed. And I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

December 30: No Regrets
By Francis

Today we visited the hospital in Kijabe founded by Africa Inland Missions. It was quite an amazing experience to be stepping into one of the mission agencies that I studied in Perspectives class. While in that hospital, we met a missionary dentist. Dr Richard shared with us his story of how he came to Kenya with his family. I was strongly touched by something by his words: “I have no regrets”. I could see his conviction of his words in his eyes. This man came to serve in Kenya and lived a life with no regrets. How can you live such a life without regrets yourself?

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