December 2010 Praise and Prayer Requests

Please join us in praying for the work in Eburru and in praising God for the mighty ways in which He answers our prayers!

Praises:

• Over $76,000 has been raised through DHI to support Camp Brethren in the past year
• Over $10,000 was raised to trough the Back to School campaign, thanks some very generous donors
• Feeding program start-up is thriving with 4 goats, 2 cows, 200 chickens, and plentiful rainfall strengthening the crops & water supply
• Cindy, Phil, Andy, Anjanette, Francis, & Kelly will be heading to Eburru in January to continue our partnership
• 25 church members were baptized in Eburru last month
• Kenya Power Generating Company is drilling for a future power station that may create local jobs

Prayers:

• Guidance for Pastor Paul as he continues the work at the Eburru church & for Pastor Steve as he starts a church plant in nearby Thome
• Selection of an overseer for the feeding program animals
• A new 4th grade classroom was created for some children who were “hanging around” the school and not receiving an education.  Pray for them as they study to pass their exams and progress to 5th grade
• Cindy, Phil & team as they prepare for their January 7th – 23rd trip and seek God’s plan for their time in country
• Wisdom for DHI’s leaders as they undertake 2011 planning

October 2010 Praise and Prayer Requests

Please join us in praying for the work in Eburru and in praising God for the mighty ways in which He answers our prayers!

Praises:

• Over $44,000 has been raised through DHI here in the USA in 9 months
• Two classrooms, a dining room & dorm renovations are funded; the block work on a third classroom is also funded
• Teachers ‘ salaries are being paid monthly
• Purchase of 4 goats (including one new, healthy kid) 200 chickens and 2 cows
• Dr. Kimmel from Kijabe is helping at the clinic 3 days a week
• Rain continues to fall & the crops keep growing!

Prayers:

• Guidance for Pastor Peter as he pastors the existing Eburru church and for Pastor Steve as he starts a new church plant in nearby Thome
• Safety on the many construction projects currently underway at Camp Brethren
• Wisdom for the upcoming fund raisers and for willing workers
• Kevin W.’s October 20th – November 5th trip to Eburru
• Frontline missions team preparing to serve in Eburru November 12-27
• David’s Hope missions team preparing to serve in Eburru January 7-23

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.

August 2010 Praise and Prayer Requests

Please join us in praying for the work in Eburru and in praising God for the mighty ways in which He answers our prayers!

Praises:

• Over $32,000 has been raised through DHI in the first seven months of 2010.
• Katie and Kari getting to help in Eburru and share their updates with us
• Solomon (age 4) is now thriving thanks to the feedings. He is able to run & laugh and is at the top of his class thanks to DHI and Nutty Butta peanut butter
• 67% of Kenyans voted peacefully for the new constitution this month
• The Kenyan government Education Officers visited Camp Brethren’s school and were pleased with what they saw.  This is an important step in accrediting the school

Prayers:

• Safety, health and ministry opportunities for Brandon while he spends August in Eburru
• Team member recruiting for the planned January 2011 DHI trip to Eburru and wisdom for the team leaders, Phil & Cindy
• Strength for Steve & Mary and Jonathan Njenja as they and others coordinate the Camp Brethren programs
• Construction of a dining hall which will serve 200 children and 2 dorms which will house 20 boys and 20 girls
• Upcoming DHI fundraisers and volunteers to help organize and run the campaigns

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.

July Praise and Prayer Requests

Please join us in praying for the work in Eburru and in praising God for the mighty ways in which He answers our prayers!

Praises:

• Lots of rain should lead to a good harvest – 2 acres are ready for new cabbage seedlings to be planted
• Purchase of 2 pregnant female goats and 1 male goat and for the nutrient rich milk this will provide to the children
• The new classroom and dining hall foundations are completed
• Eva, a third teacher, has been hired and the school is operating at capacity
• Recent increase in numbers of patients served at the medical clinic
• Over $26,000 has been raised by DHI in the first seven months of 2010

Prayer Requests:

• Katie & Kari as they spend time in Eburru July 25 – August 9
• Brandon as he spends time in Eburru July 31 – August 28
• For preparations that are underway for a winter DHI trip to Kenya and for Phil & Cindy, the trip leaders
• For the Camp Brethren leadership team in Eburru  as they coordinate all the activities, programs and new growth in Eburru
• For the DHI leadership team to have wisdom in how to direct funds and best support the work in Eburru

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.

Katie & Kari in Eburru: Eburru Needs You

Our trio is now a duet. Becca is flying back home today and Kari and I arrived in Eburru last night. It is so nice to be back. So much has been done here since I left 18 months ago. We stopped by the David’s Hope school on our way to camp yesterday and it brought tears to my eyes. Since 15 Americans decided to start David’s Hope International and we have had so many gracious donators, 93 students now are getting an education for the first time and that is just the beginning of the good work that is being done here.

We had a nice long talk with Pastor Steve last night and this is what he had to say: “It is so hard for you to paint a picture of what the situation is here for the Americans. They are still living in the comfortable homes and you are here. They don’t know that many of us have gone without food today.” Several times a week the pastor and his wife Mary will drive 55 km (but it is a 2 ½ hour drive due to the horrible road conditions) to the remote village up in the mountains of Northern Kenya so that they can work at the clinic and school they started here. Mary is a nurse and works in a hospital during the week and here at the clinic in Eburru on the weekends. Although she would sometimes like a day off she knows that there are children waiting to be fed, taught, and treated here.

Luke 12:48  tells us “From everyone who has give much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” As Americans we have been blessed and given much. How are you using what God has given you?

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. – Proverbs 28:27