Hello to all of Jullie's "Weekly Blog Fans". You have the second string in today since Jullie is off with Trevor doing the the band outreach to several schools in the regions around Nairobi. Timothy and Sallie will be doing outreach today with RVA. They do this once a term where the different classes get together and do something for the surrounding community to serve and help where they can. This morning I will be relaxing with a hot cup of coffee and writing to you.
Over the last couple weeks, we have had several Engineering Ministries International people here from Uganda and the U.S. helping us finish up on some items. Jullie's "Water Guy Extraordinaire" (Paul Berg) has been here assisting to get the RVA water spaghetti figured out and balancing the water treatment so that it actually functions as necessary. They made great progress in developing plans and procedures for improved safety and emergency operation of the RVA water system that steps up the overall health safety of the RVA Community. It is not that RVA had frequent problems, but as RVA grows (like everywhere else around here) it good to know that the prevention steps taken will better minimize a problem down the road when you least expect it.
John Sauder, (EMI East Africa Director), our boss, was here last week to conduct exit interviews with us, look over the general progress or the works we are involved in, and evaluate future partnership with EMI and Kijabe.
And finally, Tony Sykes has been here for about 1.5 weeks getting used to the "lay of the land" as he prepares to return next month and relieve Jullie and I of our oversight of the RVA Arts Building and the Bethany Kids Children's Centre and finish those works over the next several months. He was working in South Su)@n where they were forced to leave for security reasons and now has some time on his hands before he can go back there to work. It is amazing how GOD works things out in his planning and timing.
As we have spent time reviewing the different projects, in the big picture, I am amazed at what has happened here in Kijabe and how so many things have ultimately worked out for the good. When in the trenches on a daily basis, struggling to get a pipe laid for the sewer, an electrical cable run to provide uninterrupted power to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) or to get roofing on the new children's center (which was supposed to be done 3 months ago), one can get frustrated (as you know I have frequently). However, when looking back at the myriad of tasks, systems, and facilities that have been repaired, upgraded and built, I can't help but be amazed and wonder how GOD does work all things out in his timing. Things have not worked out at the speed Jullie and I envisioned when we came here 3 1/2 years ago but they HAVE worked out and the hospital and community are better for it. And we learned a very valuable lesson that we would not have known otherwise. It is not about the task and what we are building.
WHAT???
Sometimes we can get misguided as to what GOD wants from us. GOD didn't need us to come and build a building. Others can do that and they do all the time. He wanted us to do something more than that. It is about community, partnering with others to help them with skills they don't have, and developing long term relationships. As I read in another missionary blog recently, the mission trip doesn't end when you return home. Hopefully those long term relationships develop to continue helping others in need, mentoring those here (even via long distance), and teaching them something that that they can "pay it forward".
In our time here, we have been involved with many groups of different people doing many different tasks and it wasn't about what we did. What I am thankful to have seen here is that the people we have been working with changed from individuals who knew only their specific trades, worked essentially alone and, planned little for tomorrow morph into teams that now understand what they others are doing, how their work affects the work of others, how to look ahead and ask questions as to minimize mistakes, and to plan such that the works don't need Jullie and I to be here.
All this couldn't have been done without our prayer and support groups all over the world encouraging us, praying for us and supporting us. Your work also is that long term relationship that makes a difference in the world. You may not have been here with a shovel in hand but it was just as important. May GOD bless you and keep you.
I will leave you with my favorite bible passage.
Rom 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Jim
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Water for days not hours!
Hello All,
Its been a good week (but not without its problems).
The Bethany Kids project had a big one. The roofing sheets came - Yea! Some of them were cut to the wrong length - Boo! How could this happen? The general building company we have, actually started as a roofing company. We thought for sure this would go OK. Apparently, they took the measurements off of the drawing and not off the building. This is a huge mistake and is still not sorted out. The company that made the roofing sheets was very generous this year and made a donation to Bethany Kids. We sure hate to go back to them and ask them to redo the sheets. Please pray for this one!
The Art Center up at RVA is sort of progressing. We had the fixes to the beams completed:
This is not exciting or pretty stuff to you probably, but it is to me! It is good to see it without all the holes! We also think the new contractor will be on site next week. Just waiting to finish up the preliminaries and they and we are ready to go.
I go to town this morning to pick up an EMI Volunteer from Oregon. He is going to help me with the water system up at RVA. I am very excited about that! By the end of the week I hope to have so much information that I will be able to write procedures till the end of June! Not sure if RVA will like that, but at least they will have captured the details of the system and will know how to operate it properly and how to improve it. I ordered and received 4 buckets (20 kg each) of chlorine last night. This was not an easy thing to coordinate as they were located down in the industrial area of Nairobi and the original person who was going to have it here for me couldn't get there. It is not like running down to Home Depot! Trevor helped me unload it. How many Moms are giddy about receiving Chlorine!
We are doing a study of Ruth with David Platt. You can download his material at http://www.radical.net/media/series/series_list/?id=57
Ruth is a love story - how God loved even this Moabite woman. God set up the circumstances so that she could work for a man who was part of Naomi's (her mother in law's) family when she and Naomi had nothing. He saw that she was taking care of Naomi and had come to a land where she was a foreigner, just to be with and take care of Naomi (she was a widow). If you read Chapter 2 of Ruth, you see all sorts of coincidences that put her in a position of being protected by this distant relative. Has that ever happened to you? Things just kind of fall into place and even when times are difficult, you feel at peace? It has happened to me many times. I always see these times as God leading me. It was really clear to both Jim and I when we first thought about moving to Italy some 17 years ago. It was a shock to each of us to find out that the other was thinking hard about that option when we thought that was the farthest things from each other's mind! And hence began the journey of crossing cultures (several times I might add)! Isa 58:11 says, "The Lord will continually lead you, he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water." I don't know about you, but I really need this "watering" everyday! The world pursues the "bigger and better" constantly. The moment we realize that we are under his protection, we are free to do his work and help care for others and shine a light where there is only darkness.
The hospital's water supply tank is really on its way to being finished soon. There is another engineering missionary here that is leading that (way to go Andy)! It will be wonderful to have 600m3 of water supply! The water is constantly an issue here and the supply is now measured in hours, but when this is complete it will be measured in days. And, the new water supply is chlorinated. I grabbed a few pictures from Andy's blog:
We are so grateful to all who have worked so hard on making this a reality!
I have to get going, so that I don't run into much traffic. Not really sure if you can avoid it with timing because it is constant! Hope you have a good week. We have a very busy one here with the water system evaluations and band tour coming up this week end and senior safari soon too.
In His Hands,
Jullie T
Its been a good week (but not without its problems).
The Bethany Kids project had a big one. The roofing sheets came - Yea! Some of them were cut to the wrong length - Boo! How could this happen? The general building company we have, actually started as a roofing company. We thought for sure this would go OK. Apparently, they took the measurements off of the drawing and not off the building. This is a huge mistake and is still not sorted out. The company that made the roofing sheets was very generous this year and made a donation to Bethany Kids. We sure hate to go back to them and ask them to redo the sheets. Please pray for this one!
The Art Center up at RVA is sort of progressing. We had the fixes to the beams completed:
This is not exciting or pretty stuff to you probably, but it is to me! It is good to see it without all the holes! We also think the new contractor will be on site next week. Just waiting to finish up the preliminaries and they and we are ready to go.
I go to town this morning to pick up an EMI Volunteer from Oregon. He is going to help me with the water system up at RVA. I am very excited about that! By the end of the week I hope to have so much information that I will be able to write procedures till the end of June! Not sure if RVA will like that, but at least they will have captured the details of the system and will know how to operate it properly and how to improve it. I ordered and received 4 buckets (20 kg each) of chlorine last night. This was not an easy thing to coordinate as they were located down in the industrial area of Nairobi and the original person who was going to have it here for me couldn't get there. It is not like running down to Home Depot! Trevor helped me unload it. How many Moms are giddy about receiving Chlorine!
We are doing a study of Ruth with David Platt. You can download his material at http://www.radical.net/media/series/series_list/?id=57
Ruth is a love story - how God loved even this Moabite woman. God set up the circumstances so that she could work for a man who was part of Naomi's (her mother in law's) family when she and Naomi had nothing. He saw that she was taking care of Naomi and had come to a land where she was a foreigner, just to be with and take care of Naomi (she was a widow). If you read Chapter 2 of Ruth, you see all sorts of coincidences that put her in a position of being protected by this distant relative. Has that ever happened to you? Things just kind of fall into place and even when times are difficult, you feel at peace? It has happened to me many times. I always see these times as God leading me. It was really clear to both Jim and I when we first thought about moving to Italy some 17 years ago. It was a shock to each of us to find out that the other was thinking hard about that option when we thought that was the farthest things from each other's mind! And hence began the journey of crossing cultures (several times I might add)! Isa 58:11 says, "The Lord will continually lead you, he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water." I don't know about you, but I really need this "watering" everyday! The world pursues the "bigger and better" constantly. The moment we realize that we are under his protection, we are free to do his work and help care for others and shine a light where there is only darkness.
The hospital's water supply tank is really on its way to being finished soon. There is another engineering missionary here that is leading that (way to go Andy)! It will be wonderful to have 600m3 of water supply! The water is constantly an issue here and the supply is now measured in hours, but when this is complete it will be measured in days. And, the new water supply is chlorinated. I grabbed a few pictures from Andy's blog:
Here it is on the far right behind those trees.
Great picture Andy!
We are so grateful to all who have worked so hard on making this a reality!
I have to get going, so that I don't run into much traffic. Not really sure if you can avoid it with timing because it is constant! Hope you have a good week. We have a very busy one here with the water system evaluations and band tour coming up this week end and senior safari soon too.
In His Hands,
Jullie T
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Birthday squared!
Hello All,
Can't believe it is Birthday week end already! Trevor will be 18 on the 18th (isn't that a special day), and Sallie will be 10 on the 18th. These are big numbers for everyone, so it is really a special deal. Trevor and "the gang" are going to form a MEAT club this afternoon (Men Eating Animals Together). They are going into Nairobi to a BBQ place and pretty much all they have is meat - 15 different types of steaks and they just keep serving until you cry "Uncle!" They took the scale with them too - for a pre and post weigh! We celebrated Trevor's birthday dinner last night with ribs that we found at a local place. Jim put them in the pressure cooker for several hours and they were very nice. We will have our last cake (hopefully) tomorrow night! Birthday week end is fun but it sure is a lot of calories.
The Bethany Kids wing is moving along well. They made a video this past week that shows the progress. There is a link to it here: Bethany Kids Video. Jim went into town this past week to order tiles. I let him go alone because I had been in previously and picked out the colors with him! It is 18 tons of tile! They are going with a simple white in the bathrooms with a blue accent tile at the top and the bottom. It should be easy to keep clean and have a simple look to it.
We have been busy trying to sort out some education issues with Kenyan friends this week.
For Yvonne (Rose's granddaughter): She is now in class 3. She is doing so well. She continues to be at the top of her class of 33 students. We have not put out the call for her support in a while, but I have enough funds to get her through class 5 term 1 (out of 3 terms). So, I was able to see the director yesterday and work it out such that we put all that money into their account and they will write us a letter saying she is paid up till 5th grade term 1. I was so glad to get this done. You think these things would be easy, but they are not always. Communications are hugely difficult at times. But, the director was very nice to talk to and he understood what I wanted to do and agreed. This brings up another aspect of living here. Some people back home don't understand how we can be missionaries and still have a house helper. They think this means a cushy life. That is a whole conversation, but one aspect of this is that when you take on someone like a house help, you take on responsibilities for their family. This includes medical issues (which we have had this week), and education and other things. We heard a missionary from the south pacific speak about how 20 years later, he is still involved with his house helper and her family. So, it is not about sitting back and not having to clean the house and do laundry that takes hours or other chores. It is a commitment to them and their lives that you make when you take them on. A bit different aspect of hiring someone to clean toilets I think!
Anyway, Yvonne is doing so well and we are proud to be behind her.
Another situation all together is a young lady we were trying to help in high school. She had switched from one school to another when we first got involved (last year). Now she wants to switch again! She is having issues at the school and actually got expelled. Jim went there (Naivasha) to talk to the head master and she was willing to take her back. We thought this was really good news, but to this young girl, it was not. She refuses to go. We have told her we will not support her if she chooses to go to another place (this is a more complicated story than I write here), but is seemingly choosing the route of no education. It saddens us, and has been a huge challenge for us. Please pray that this will resolve this coming week and she will concede to go back to school.
The Upendo Village project is very close to finishing! They thought they would be done by the middle of May, but will at least finish before their scheduled time of June 2. This is amazing! We are in the process of trying to hire this same contractor to finish the RVA Art Center for us. Please pray that these negotiations will also go well (they happen first thing Monday morning).
Something that I have been waiting for all year happened this week! The map of locations of all the chosen colleges for the kids in Trevor's class is out! It is so much fun to see how they will be scattered everywhere!
Sallie and the elementary kids had a field day this morning. They play all sorts of games. She is kind of getting bored with it all (how many times can you play ring toss?), but went anyway. We had a good time and she got to have her face painted with a unicorn.
Can't believe it is Birthday week end already! Trevor will be 18 on the 18th (isn't that a special day), and Sallie will be 10 on the 18th. These are big numbers for everyone, so it is really a special deal. Trevor and "the gang" are going to form a MEAT club this afternoon (Men Eating Animals Together). They are going into Nairobi to a BBQ place and pretty much all they have is meat - 15 different types of steaks and they just keep serving until you cry "Uncle!" They took the scale with them too - for a pre and post weigh! We celebrated Trevor's birthday dinner last night with ribs that we found at a local place. Jim put them in the pressure cooker for several hours and they were very nice. We will have our last cake (hopefully) tomorrow night! Birthday week end is fun but it sure is a lot of calories.
The Bethany Kids wing is moving along well. They made a video this past week that shows the progress. There is a link to it here: Bethany Kids Video. Jim went into town this past week to order tiles. I let him go alone because I had been in previously and picked out the colors with him! It is 18 tons of tile! They are going with a simple white in the bathrooms with a blue accent tile at the top and the bottom. It should be easy to keep clean and have a simple look to it.
We have been busy trying to sort out some education issues with Kenyan friends this week.
For Yvonne (Rose's granddaughter): She is now in class 3. She is doing so well. She continues to be at the top of her class of 33 students. We have not put out the call for her support in a while, but I have enough funds to get her through class 5 term 1 (out of 3 terms). So, I was able to see the director yesterday and work it out such that we put all that money into their account and they will write us a letter saying she is paid up till 5th grade term 1. I was so glad to get this done. You think these things would be easy, but they are not always. Communications are hugely difficult at times. But, the director was very nice to talk to and he understood what I wanted to do and agreed. This brings up another aspect of living here. Some people back home don't understand how we can be missionaries and still have a house helper. They think this means a cushy life. That is a whole conversation, but one aspect of this is that when you take on someone like a house help, you take on responsibilities for their family. This includes medical issues (which we have had this week), and education and other things. We heard a missionary from the south pacific speak about how 20 years later, he is still involved with his house helper and her family. So, it is not about sitting back and not having to clean the house and do laundry that takes hours or other chores. It is a commitment to them and their lives that you make when you take them on. A bit different aspect of hiring someone to clean toilets I think!
Anyway, Yvonne is doing so well and we are proud to be behind her.
Another situation all together is a young lady we were trying to help in high school. She had switched from one school to another when we first got involved (last year). Now she wants to switch again! She is having issues at the school and actually got expelled. Jim went there (Naivasha) to talk to the head master and she was willing to take her back. We thought this was really good news, but to this young girl, it was not. She refuses to go. We have told her we will not support her if she chooses to go to another place (this is a more complicated story than I write here), but is seemingly choosing the route of no education. It saddens us, and has been a huge challenge for us. Please pray that this will resolve this coming week and she will concede to go back to school.
The Upendo Village project is very close to finishing! They thought they would be done by the middle of May, but will at least finish before their scheduled time of June 2. This is amazing! We are in the process of trying to hire this same contractor to finish the RVA Art Center for us. Please pray that these negotiations will also go well (they happen first thing Monday morning).
The Upendo Village project almost complete!
Something that I have been waiting for all year happened this week! The map of locations of all the chosen colleges for the kids in Trevor's class is out! It is so much fun to see how they will be scattered everywhere!
This is just the East Coast section.
See that northern most name?
That is Trevor - going to MTU! Does someone know where we can find some warm clothes?
Sallie and the elementary kids had a field day this morning. They play all sorts of games. She is kind of getting bored with it all (how many times can you play ring toss?), but went anyway. We had a good time and she got to have her face painted with a unicorn.
Sallie and a friend with face paint and a chameleon
Not sure if you have heard about the travel warnings for Kenya lately. The British have even come to evacuate their citizens from the coastal area of Mombassa. There was another bomb attack in a neighborhood in Nairobi this week and a few weeks ago, there were 2 attacks on the coast. We have the Senior Safari scheduled for a few weeks from now on the coast. Please pray that we will get the all clear from the administration to go. It sure would make several unhappy Seniors to have to spend their safari time on campus! Also this week, the head of the police announced that "as of today" which was last Wednesday, there will be no tinting on car windows. Not sure how he can just make laws and declare that they will be in effect "today," but he does. So, that all to say, we pulled the applied window tint off and it is just the factory applied stuff left. We don't want to give the police an excuse to stop us. We feel like just hunkering down here and not going anywhere! Hey - movie and popcorn tonight I think!
Hope you all have a great week. We are down to 9 more weeks of school and then 5 days and then home (not like we are counting or anything).
In His Hands,
Jullie T
Here are some interesting pictures:
Need to haul a lawnmower around?
Make sure YOUR funeral home has the best refrigeration!
The view out my bedroom windows - see the Sykes?
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Girls on Ponies!
Hello All,
We have had another good week. Sorry this is so late to be posted for those who look at it early Saturday mornings. I still love to get up and do my blog on Saturday mornings, (and since we are 7 hours ahead of the East Coast, I can do it at my leisure and you can still see it when you wake up!) but today I was taking the girls to go ride. I found a little stable over near Village Market so we rode and went to Village (a mall) for lunch to celebrate Sallie's 10th Birthday that will happen next week end. The schedule is pretty full next week so we decided today was the day. It is actually nice to do it now because Trevor will be 18 on the 18th also and it is hard to eat 2 cakes in one week end! This way, we can spread out the calories just a bit!
We have had another good week. Sorry this is so late to be posted for those who look at it early Saturday mornings. I still love to get up and do my blog on Saturday mornings, (and since we are 7 hours ahead of the East Coast, I can do it at my leisure and you can still see it when you wake up!) but today I was taking the girls to go ride. I found a little stable over near Village Market so we rode and went to Village (a mall) for lunch to celebrate Sallie's 10th Birthday that will happen next week end. The schedule is pretty full next week so we decided today was the day. It is actually nice to do it now because Trevor will be 18 on the 18th also and it is hard to eat 2 cakes in one week end! This way, we can spread out the calories just a bit!
Girls on ponies - you gotta love it!
Sallie is 10 - Can you believe it!
We had a great time riding and came home to eat cake and ice cream. It doesn't get any better!
Trevor has been living at a friend's house this past week. They are out of town and he is house-sitting for them. They have a great coffee machine so Trevor doesn't mind so much. He also likes the peace and quiet, but slept through dinner last night (he's been coming here to eat - its the only way I can get him to come back!) He completed 2 AP exams yesterday - these are 3 hours each, so was pretty tired and forgot to wake up to come to dinner - oh well! He made Pizza and cappuccinos for some Statistics study friends on Wed. They had a good time although not sure how much studying was done?
We are very close to moving forward with the RVA Art Center again. Negotiations are underway and we hope to have it settled this coming week. We are experiencing that thing about cultural differences about how what we see and hear and feel is just the tip of the iceberg: then you have the 90% below the water line. I can talk to someone from my culture and not even have to say certain things and they know what I mean. But, when you have a conversation with someone not from your culture and you think you are being clear, there is always some misunderstanding. It continues to amaze us. Pray that the outcome will be good for all involved.
The Bethany Kids is moving along slowly also. It is fun to see it being plastered and looking more finished. Here is a picture of the gutters (which have been the bane of Jim's existence in the last few weeks)! I think they are not very pretty (actually, pretty hideous), but that is just my opinion!
Only 10 weeks left to the school year! You can see I am counting it down. If you ask Jim he can tell you how many days left till we leave! We had a Caring Community last night with a bunch of 7th graders. We made pretzels and had ice cream floats. The recipe for pretzels was the Auntie Ann's and they were delicious! We must perfect this technique so I guess we will have to do it again - Darn!
My good friend Tracy is leaving this week for a 3 month furlough. It is time to say good-by again. I don't like that part. They are from Minnesota so hopefully we will see them sometime again.
So glad you are following our journey. We are coming to a close here, but will be starting again (as usual). We have seen clearly how God can use people like us in the world and are grateful for the chance we've been given to be here. Maybe there is another building in our future somewhere??
In His Hands,
Jullie T
Saturday, May 3, 2014
The Great White North
Hello All,
The progress at Bethany Kids is going slow but we are definitely seeing some good changes. They are using lime in the plaster for the walls and they are white. It is neat to see it all taking such great shape. The roof material is all here and we are looking at a month or so before it is up. Here are some pictures:
Looks like the new programme has mid July finish date. We will wait and see!
Well, Trevor pulled the trigger for Michigan Technical University this week! We are very excited for him, but he has a total apathy about the hole thing - it is funny. We finally got their financial package on Wed. night. It was right where we needed it to be so we were very happy. And, last night he was figuring up how his AP classes will figure in. He took 3 last year and 3 this year. Exams are this week. If he does as well as he did last year, he will get about 25 credits for them all! That is about 1.5 semesters. He is happy about that at least! But now, we will have to get him outfitted to live in the great white north (Houghton, Michigan is at the north western tip of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan)! That will be a big change from our constant 70's here.
The RVA Art Center is a challenge right now. We are still at an all stop. We are trying to figure out how to get started again (who to use and what the cost will be). But, we are confident that it will work out in time and we will see action on the site again.
I have a water expert coming in about 3 weeks to help me sort out the supply water situation up at RVA. I am very excited about that! EMI put me in touch with a "water guy" I have been sending a lot of questions to. He is in Oregon. He volunteered to come and I (and RVA) are very grateful. People were asking me what he does and I would reply, "He's the 'water guy'." So, I asked him about it and he sent me a write up on what he does. Now I call him my "water guy extraordinaire!"
Phil 2:12-13 ".....continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort - for the sake of his good pleasure - is God." I like how this is a continuing story. It is encouraging Christians to continue to work on themselves for Him. And, God puts the desire in us to do so. I find this to be very true. It is a never ending story. There is so much to learn. And, the more I learn the more I want to learn. It goes back to what I said a few weeks ago about the cup (us) being filled by the pitcher (God). I hope you are filled with His love so that you can send that out this week!
We finally got the CT scanner parts a week and a half ago and the team got them in and it was functioning! It has been down since September. They had to install a new tube and another part that cost about $20,000, then shipping at $600 and customs at $6,000! This is more than the original donated CT scanner! There is an issue outstanding with being able to print. They will hopefully have that solved soon because the que lining up to get images is very long! You can pray that it will be up and running so that these patients do not have to go to Nairobi to get scans done.
We drove back from Naivasha last week and stopped to get some sugar cane. The kids really like it. I don't like sucking on straight sugar cane, but where can you get 2 big canes for 20 shillings each (about 25 cents)? Trevor was buying. Just before I took this picture, a young boy came up to him to shake his hand. He was so excited to see the white man buying sugar cane - don't ask me why except for the fact that they see so few whites in Naivasha. It was so funny!
The kids started school this week. The first of 12 weeks is down! It already feels like it has been several weeks already. We have a lot going on but without Senior Store duties, it will be much easier. We have to finish planning the Senior Safari (June), but the place is picked and the transportation is determined, just details to work out.
Yvonne had a birthday this week! She turned 9 on April 30 and didn't even remember until another relative called to wish her a happy birthday! She is Rose's (our house-help) granddaughter, whom she is raising because her mother died 4 years ago. She is doing well in the school we have her in. She is always the top of her class and is even taking computer classes (even the high school kids don't normally have computer class). We love her and are so glad she is flourishing.
Please pray for us as we continue to try and "leave well" from here. Transitions can be tough and with so much to do during this time, we won't even have time to process it all before going.
He is good and we will continue to be driven by Him to do the work He has for us.
In His Hands,
Jullie T
PS - A few more pictures Mom:
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The progress at Bethany Kids is going slow but we are definitely seeing some good changes. They are using lime in the plaster for the walls and they are white. It is neat to see it all taking such great shape. The roof material is all here and we are looking at a month or so before it is up. Here are some pictures:
This is the light shaft that goes down to the basement
It actually looks like a building!
Looks like the new programme has mid July finish date. We will wait and see!
Well, Trevor pulled the trigger for Michigan Technical University this week! We are very excited for him, but he has a total apathy about the hole thing - it is funny. We finally got their financial package on Wed. night. It was right where we needed it to be so we were very happy. And, last night he was figuring up how his AP classes will figure in. He took 3 last year and 3 this year. Exams are this week. If he does as well as he did last year, he will get about 25 credits for them all! That is about 1.5 semesters. He is happy about that at least! But now, we will have to get him outfitted to live in the great white north (Houghton, Michigan is at the north western tip of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan)! That will be a big change from our constant 70's here.
The RVA Art Center is a challenge right now. We are still at an all stop. We are trying to figure out how to get started again (who to use and what the cost will be). But, we are confident that it will work out in time and we will see action on the site again.
I have a water expert coming in about 3 weeks to help me sort out the supply water situation up at RVA. I am very excited about that! EMI put me in touch with a "water guy" I have been sending a lot of questions to. He is in Oregon. He volunteered to come and I (and RVA) are very grateful. People were asking me what he does and I would reply, "He's the 'water guy'." So, I asked him about it and he sent me a write up on what he does. Now I call him my "water guy extraordinaire!"
Phil 2:12-13 ".....continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort - for the sake of his good pleasure - is God." I like how this is a continuing story. It is encouraging Christians to continue to work on themselves for Him. And, God puts the desire in us to do so. I find this to be very true. It is a never ending story. There is so much to learn. And, the more I learn the more I want to learn. It goes back to what I said a few weeks ago about the cup (us) being filled by the pitcher (God). I hope you are filled with His love so that you can send that out this week!
We finally got the CT scanner parts a week and a half ago and the team got them in and it was functioning! It has been down since September. They had to install a new tube and another part that cost about $20,000, then shipping at $600 and customs at $6,000! This is more than the original donated CT scanner! There is an issue outstanding with being able to print. They will hopefully have that solved soon because the que lining up to get images is very long! You can pray that it will be up and running so that these patients do not have to go to Nairobi to get scans done.
We drove back from Naivasha last week and stopped to get some sugar cane. The kids really like it. I don't like sucking on straight sugar cane, but where can you get 2 big canes for 20 shillings each (about 25 cents)? Trevor was buying. Just before I took this picture, a young boy came up to him to shake his hand. He was so excited to see the white man buying sugar cane - don't ask me why except for the fact that they see so few whites in Naivasha. It was so funny!
The kids started school this week. The first of 12 weeks is down! It already feels like it has been several weeks already. We have a lot going on but without Senior Store duties, it will be much easier. We have to finish planning the Senior Safari (June), but the place is picked and the transportation is determined, just details to work out.
Yvonne had a birthday this week! She turned 9 on April 30 and didn't even remember until another relative called to wish her a happy birthday! She is Rose's (our house-help) granddaughter, whom she is raising because her mother died 4 years ago. She is doing well in the school we have her in. She is always the top of her class and is even taking computer classes (even the high school kids don't normally have computer class). We love her and are so glad she is flourishing.
Sallie, Yvonne and Em
He is good and we will continue to be driven by Him to do the work He has for us.
In His Hands,
Jullie T
PS - A few more pictures Mom:
See the Sunbird?
just a morning snack
Calvin, our missionary dog in his favorite spot
Jim and I at the Internet Cafe
The bark of a very cool tree
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