A Truss or a jigsaw Puzzel?

Hello All,
We are slowly getting back in the groove of things.  It was not just us that took time off in Dec, it was just about everybody here!  Therefore, not much got done in the last month or so.  We got the trusses for the MCH building finally ordered this week.  The company is going to rush them so they might be here by a week from Monday (we're hoping)!  They are metal trusses that come disassembled.  It is like that big erector set you got as a kid.  You have to put them all together, matching part A with A, B with B, etc.  It is really rather fun!  Here are some pictures that we took of the trusses that we helped with at the Into Abbas Arms orphanage.

Hopefully, we will show you pictures of our Mother Child Health building with these on it in 3 weeks.

Another Mission within a Mission:  Jim has committed to go to Rwanda at the end of Feb on another design trip with EMI.  They have a team going for a second time to a hospital in Kiborgora.  It is about 5-6 hours drive from Kigali (where he will fly into).  They will be finalizing a master plan for a Christian hospital, just like we did when we came here in June of 2010.  Our experience on the ground here will be invaluable to the team.  I would like to go also, but I need to stay with the kids and manage the projects that are on-going here.  Will let you know more details later.

The plums are in full season right now.  Everyone is trying to sell us plums!  Here are some that Rose brought for us.  She has a tree in her yard and they are very good.  The kids love them.  They are a bit bitter for me.  But, they sure look pretty sitting on the table!

Today is outreach day at RVA.  All the kids go on an outreach project somewhere.  There was a dorm group that was going to "our" orphanage in Naivasha (the one we got the cow for).  I gave them all the provisions that we collected from you all over Christmas.  They are going to take them to Joel today.  There was about 100lbs of stuff (cloths, books, games, etc).  There was some really great stuff in that suitcase!  I am sure they will get good use out of it all.  Thank you all who contributed!   Sallie's group was going to bake cookies and deliver them to Moffit Bible college students.  Timothy's group was going to plant trees up at the school and Trevor was out to do some kind of building project.  He did not have many details this morning (just like a teenager)!  Timothy's group was being guided by Craig Sorley.  His ministry is very different then most of the mission here.  His ministry is called Care of Creation (www.careofcreation.net).  He is here to help with the environmental crisis facing Kenya.  He educates and promotes the care of God's creation, using the bible as the main resource.  Since they are not "main stream" here (meaning doctors), like for us, there are challenges.   Please pray for them as they face all the challenges of being here and running an organization.

The weather here has been very tropical lately.  It is absolutely beautiful in the morning, but by late afternoon it is raining.  Yesterday, it even hailed!  You can hear the storm rolling in and then it will start and just pour for about an hour.  Then in the evening when the sun sets (around 6:30) the wind starts to kick up.  It will blow sometimes till dawn, when the "beautiful" part if it starts all over again!  The roads are barely passable (thank you God for our Prado), but we get by.

Thank you all for everything you do for us!  We so much appreciate that you are behind us.  We couldn't do this with out the support of family and friends.

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

We Have Arrived Back in Kijabe!

Hello All,
We are back!  Things went well over the Christmas break but we definitely need a vacation from our vacation!
We certainly enjoyed seeing everyone.  If we didn't get a chance to see you, we apologize, but we love you anyway.
It took Jim only 3 days get over the jet lag - the Cad!  It took me 6 days or so.  I sure do not like that part! 
Here are a few pictures of our time in Michigan:

Jim's Beautiful Mother - Bernice

Sallie and Her cousin Lillie

Jim and His brothers and Dad (all together - Wow!)

Sallie and her American Girl Doll on Christmas Day

Sunrise in the cold Michigan morning

We have had a time this week.  Everyone is just getting back to work and it is taking some time to get back up to speed.  We have had a major setback with the CT scanner.  The trusses for the roof did not get ordered as planned in early December, so we ran around on Friday trying to get them ordered.  Hopefully, we will have the trusses by the end of January.  This should put us back by about 3 weeks.  Jim went into full Navy - "How could you let this happen" mode!  He is over it now and we are just trudging ahead.

The kids started school last Wed.  Timothy and Sallie complained a bit before the day, but when they got home, they were so happy to be back in school.  Amazing how that works!

Here is a picture of Sallie with her new doll and her friends.  You can see why she wanted one for Christmas!  They are so cute!

We have been bombarded with people coming to the door this week.  It is amazing how the locals all know you have returned.  I am sure they have a network!  It is time for the new school year to start for the Kenyans and people are out asking others in "their circle of friends" for money for school fees.  We seem to be in many peoples' circles!  We have a plan and want to help a few selected people.  Education is so important to the kids futures here, that we feel this is a good cause.

We hope you all had a great New Years celebration.  We were 35,000 ft in the air and trying to sleep.  I am currently trying to figure out how to use Mail chimp and I think I will be able to send the link to my blog straight to your email address.  Give me another week and I will hopefully have it! 

Thanks to all of you for all you do for us!  We so appreciate the family and friends that are in our lives.

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

Leaving Well

Hello All,
The month of Dec is very hard here on the local people.  RVA (the school) is closed down and many people go away on holiday, etc.  So, they are not here to buy the normal items that they buy from the locals.  We are getting hit up hard here in this last week that we are around from acquaintances that are going to have a hard time even getting food on the table this month.  Please pray for us that we will have a peace about what we can give (or not give).

We had such a good time at thanksgiving, and I wanted to tell you about what my house help (Rose) said.  Her granddaughter, whom some of you are helping to support through school, was with us that day, and she can not stop talking about it!  It was such an amazing experience for her.  This surprised me when Rose told me, but they just never have gatherings like that.  Yvonne tells all of her friends and even others about the big day (Siku Kubwa) at the Wazungu (white's) house.

Yvonne's graduation from Kindergarten

She has done very well in school (she is thriving there) and graduated from kindergarten.  She will start standard 1 (1st grade) in January.  She went with us yesterday to Naivasha to go on a boat ride to see the hippos.  This was the first time she had seen a hippo!  But, I guess it is a lot like when you live in a place with things that are so familiar and you just never get around to seeing them.

We wanted to go camping in Nakuru, but the rains have been excessive!  I did not want to find myself in the rain, in a tent, with 3 kids for the whole night (with the lions outside)!  Here are a few more pictures from yesterday:

We had a good time and, as we were sitting in a dry living room playing a game at night, it was pouring outside!  I was happy!

We are heading home on Tues.  I thought we would be at the point of just getting ready to go by now, but that is not to be!  We have been in meetings and wrapping up loose ends with the hospital projects every day.  We have failed with the immigration services here to obtain the kids' re-entry visas (which would cost about $2 each).  So, we will have to buy them at the airport when we come back (for $50 each)!   The constant delays are very frustrating and very expensive!  Fortunately, Jim and I have our e-permits and re-entry visas so we can get back in at a $2 cost.  We are looking forward to our visit home.  I have just gone through the kids' closets and taken inventory of items needed.  Here is a picture of what Timothy has left for socks!

He will not let me throw these away because it is his second to last pair!  You can get things like socks here, but it is not easy and the quality is horrible.  He would probably be embarrassed about this picture so don't mention it to him!

But, Sallie is in the worst shape.  I am only packing one extra outfit for her to come home because she needs just about everything new!  She is very excited to get to Target.  I may have to drug her to survive the day!  She has already asked, "What time are we leaving to go shopping and are we having lunch."  That's my girl!

One more story about cleaning out closets:  I gave a bag of Timothy and Trevor's old things to Rose to find someone that could use them.  There is a lady friend of hers that works for an organization called Little Lambs.  It is a place that takes care of orphans that either have AIDs or have lost parents to AIDs.  This lady has not been paid in 6 months due to lack of funds.  Rose came back yesterday and told me she had given these things to this lady, and she was over the top grateful!  The shoes in particular were very appreciated.  It just strikes me that something that I consider so little can be so appreciated.  Oh, the things we take for granted!

I forgot to mention something from a few weeks ago.  Timothy entered a car in the Pinewood derby and won a prize for craftsmanship!  He was very excited!

As you can see from the picture, the award has a matchbox car glued to it.  It has been all we can do to keep him from ripping it off in order to play with it!  I think he is in matchbox withdrawal!  He doesn't buy them here because they are $3-4 each (and they are $1 at home).  He has been saving his money and is planning on shopping for several, specific matchboxes.  We were very proud of him.

I may not be blogging as much while we are home, so don't be disappointed if you don't see something new.  We leave on Tues (Dec 6th) and return to Africa on Dec 31.  We went to a seminar recently called "Leaving Well."  It was for people who are transitioning from one culture to another.  Even when you have lived in a place for a long time, and then return to that same place, there are issues.  People change (you change and your friends change) and sometimes it is hard because of your expectations.  Jim and I experienced this on our first time away in Italy.  I didn't think there would be any culture shock when we returned home, but there sure was!  We understand it a bit more now, but the kids will experience it I am sure.  Please pray especially for them, that their expectations will not be too high, so they are not disappointed when things don't work out.

Thank you so much for supporting us and praying for us!
We are so blessed!
In His Hands,
Jullie T.

Cow Success!

Hello All,
Well, we have had success with cow shopping and buying!  What an adventure!  The House of Hope orphanage now has a young friesian cow (a Holstein) that they will raise and hopefully be able to get 30 or so liters of milk per day.  These cows are very expensive here, so we were able to get a young one that they can raise.  This was all with the help of some very generous donors (thank you so much)!

Bessie with all the kids and the adults

I have some other pictures of the orphanage that I want to add here. 

This is where they cook all of their meals

They are chopping Sukuma Wiki which is a staple at every meal.

This is the living room area

This is the kitchen where they serve meals from (no running water)

This is Ruthy

Joel (the founder) told us that he prayed for opening this orphanage for 9 years.  He and his wife decided to adopt a child (Gideon who is about 6) and as soon as they did that, they got the money in order to open the orphanage.  At that point, doors just started opening left and right and now they have 23 kids with 2 more coming soon.  They are 3 - 13 years old.  They have been operating since 2005 and are doing well. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day yesterday.  We got our 10 Kg (not 10 lb as ordered) turkey into the oven and cooked it in just under 7 hours!

I know this is kind of weird, but here is a picture of it in the oven.  We had some friends and other wayward people to dinner and it was a great gathering.  There were 11 of us and we ate very well.  Our friend Susan made a wonderful cheesecake with an African twist:  It was topped with Mango slices. Yum! 

The new incinerator is now operating.  It came when the rains were very heavy last Saturday and 2 of the vehicles got stuck. 

It was an all day affair for Jim to be there and help, but he finally got home at about 8pm soaking wet.  They were able to get some training done and they will be using it to burn hospital waste starting Monday.  They have just been open pit burning.  What a blessing to have!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day this past week.  We are very thankful for many things.  We will be home in just over a week and a half and will be looking forward to a break!  Hopefully, it will be somewhat restful.

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

Praises in a Cow!

Hello All,
Well, only 2 1/2 weeks left till we come home for a visit.  The kids already have plans about what they are going to eat!  There are a few chosen items that just can't be duplicated.  Timothy wants to have a whole foot long from Subway all to himself! And having real Maple syrup will be incredible.  I was graciously given some back in the spring and have been doling it out by the tablespoon full but am now sadly out!  We will be glad to visit for a while and get refreshed.

Today is the big pinewood derby race up at RVA.  They have this huge track with 6 lanes and electronic timing.  I am going to help score keep.  It is an all day process though.  Races start at 8:30 and go till 3 or 3:30.  Then, awards are given in a ceremony tonight at 6:30.  But, we have a huge conflict:  The hospital's new incinerator is due to arrive this morning!  It was supposed to be here last Thurs, then yesterday and now this morning.  Jim is pretty frustrated with the lack of ability here to do things on time (can you imagine)!  Some things are really coming to a head for him and he could use your prayers.  I should have pictures next week.  It is coming on a 40 ft container and we even had to repair the road for it to come.  The maintenance people put out 15 lorrys (trucks) of stone to try and improve the road.  They should be out there right now inching it into place.  The building that it is going into was being prepared all week.  They had to remove the roof so they can lower it in.  I am staying out of this one as Jim is worried enough about it for the both of us!

This is a picture of our friend Patrick Saroni.  He is a good friend from the Masai tribe.  He attends the local Bible college called Moffat.  His story is amazing of how he came ot be here.  His dad told him in 8th grade that his schooling was over and he had to stay and tend the cows (the Masai are great cow people).  He had meet some missionaries (Kenyan) and eventually they supported him and allowed him into their home (far from where he lived) and supported him through the 4 years of high school.  He wanted to study philosophy, but got hooked up with Moffat.  He had nothing, but was allowed in on a scholarship.  He has been going that way for 3 years now, just praying that the funds will come and basically living for his daily bread.  It is hard for us to imagine, but he does it.  His dream is to become a pastor and go back to the Masai people to help them understand the love of God.  He is currently talking to some US colleges and seeing if they have some opportunities for him.  Two of them were in Michigan.  I told him I did not think a Masai could survive in Michigan with the cold.  They usually wear just a red robe (with nothing underneath)!

This is a picture taken from the Internet of some Masai.  Patrick says they stand on one leg (like the man on the right) in order to let themselves breath!

This week we have several things to deal with for the hospital.  The Bethany kids wing is being rethought in order to bring it into budget, the incinerator will be hooked up and op tested, I will meet with some more people who can design a wet lands system for us, I am talking to the head Doctor about a scavenging air system for the theaters, and thanksgiving is on Thursday.  The school just changed the schedule and are having 1/2 day of school Thur.  I am going to stick with my original plan and have thanksgiving dinner on Friday.  That is their last day of school for the term.  They are very excited to be finished!  I have a 22 lb turkey taking up my whole freezer right now!  I had asked for a 10 lb turkey and got a 10 Kg turkey!  We will be eating turkey all next week I suspect!

Hope you have a great thanksgiving day this week.  This is my favorite holiday.  I will miss not watching football games!

 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Col 3:15-16

I have another praise to tell you about:  Remember last week when I talked about the orphanage needing a cow?  Well, someone spoke up and wants to buy a cow for them!  God is Good!  I am now hunting for a cow (trying to keep my white face out of the picture so that the price is reasonable)!  We are making progress and I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks so much!  We are so grateful to all of you!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

House of Hope

Hello All,
Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting a man in Naivasha (a town about 40 minutes from here) that is running an orphanage called the House of Hope.  He started with nothing and now has a store (to support the orphanage), a house of his own and an orphanage with 4 employees.  There are 23 kids there now with 2 more expected.  The orphanage was opened in 2005 and has been growing.  They have 2 cows (but one is very old), and some chickens and a big shamba (garden).  His vision was to have a group of kids that are from all different tribes.  Here in Kenya, there is a lot of prejudice along tribal lines.  He wants these kids to grow up together to know each other as brothers and sisters and to be a witness to others about living in harmony with God as their leader.  He has done an amazing job in getting all of this together. These kids are loved and fed and seem to be happy.  But, when we see them (through Wazungu (white) eyes) they seem to have nothing.  They are lacking in shoes and clothing just to start.  There are bright colors painted on the walls, but no games, no balls, no books in sight.  There is a nice playground in the yard, that was donated and is a blessing.  The kids are loved and that is the main thing.  We have read several books about trying to "help" people in seemingly poor situations.  All say that just giving money is usually a crutch, because people can become dependant on those gifts.  Well meaning people can come in and try to "fix" a situation that they have deemed to be broken.  I see this orphanage through different eyes then I would have 1 year ago.  They have the necessities.  They are getting fed and an education.  The man that runs it has a heart for the kids and is doing very well at providing for them.  I still would like to try and fill some of the basic needs that they have and just help them to support themselves.  We are coming home in 3 weeks and if anyone would like to help, we are planning on filling one of our 10 bags with 50 lbs of items for the orphanage.  We in the states have used items that we let sit around or even throw out that here would be deemed valuable.  So, here is a list of things that I think we can bring back for the kids that will not weigh too much (weight is a problem as we only have 1 50 lb bag):

• Clothing and shoes for ages 3-10:  girls and boys
• the shoes are OK to be sandals, crocs, sneakers and the like.
• the clothes could be anything from warm sweatshirts to fancy dress.  They do not wear a lot of shorts though.
• The kids even wear very warm hats as it is pretty cold - at least to them - up on the hill.
• Childrens' books (English is OK with pictures) (Children's bibles would be great).
• Soccer balls -small ones would be best, size 3-4 (that can be deflated) and a pump or 2
• Toothbrushes (I will ask my dentist in Cadillac if he can support this one).
• If we can raise some money, it would be great to supply this place with a young cow.  A cow can provide a source of food for many years.  It costs about $500 to buy a good cow.

Thank you for prayerfully considering helping out here.  This man did not ask for anything, but I know it would be a blessing to them to provide some needed items.  Just let me know and we can coordinate getting items to us.

Here is a picture of the kittens that Sallie has "adopted" over the last month.  They were wild and could not be handled.  But, Sallie has been patient and can now pick up all of them (at least for a little while).  We have them advertised, but no takers yet.  Not sure if we will end up with a yard full of cats!

Their mother is very nice and loves to come around.  It is good having Doctors living next door though.  He was able to watch a you tube video of a spay (Spay a cat in 4 minutes!) and do just that to her on his kitchen table!  Warning - Do Not try this stunt at Home!  Professionals only!  Now at least the mom can stay and we will not be inundated with kittens - much to Sallie's chagrin!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

Things to be Thankful for

Hello All,
Can another week have passed?  These weeks are just flying by.  We must be having fun (or just too exhausted to notice)!
We may be on the verge of getting the ball rolling again for the Bethany Kids Children's Wing.  The board met last week end in DC to decide the way forward.  We are very close to having a plan.  Please pray that we will be able to fit the structure to the budget that we now have!

I wanted to talk a minute about the things I am thankful for when living in the states.  We take so many things for granted.  When you live in a place such as this, it really brings some of these things to the forefront:

A stable government that abides by rules (most of the time)!

Roads that are not one constant pothole.

A banking system that works.

Meetings that start on time.

The love of a good dog.

The ability to shop for things in a lot of variety.

Jar lids that actually seal!

Not having a fear for your life when driving at night.

People that will tell you "No" if you are wrong.

Windows that close properly.

The fall colors.

Here are a few things that I am very thankful for while living here:

Having a good store of chocolate chips!

Making chocolate chip cookies on a rainy day.

Coke in a bottle.

Walking to the school and work.

Bird of Paradise growing in the yard.

Making a difference to the hospital (even though we are not doctors)!

Cuddling with a kid on the couch while reading a book.

Waving at a kid and having that make their day.

Being able to give $5 worth of food to feed a family for 2 days.

Seeing the monkeys in the yard every morning.

This coming week is our last week of soccer with the elementary kids (Titchies).  It has been 3 days a week from 4-5.  I will be glad when it is over, but we have had a lot of fun.  I think the kids have had a great time too.

We only have 4 weeks left until we travel home.  Jim and I are looking forward to that as much as we ever looked forward to a semester break at Auburn!  We know the 3 week visit will just fly by, but it will be a welcome respite!

Another blessing about being here is not even noticing that Christmas is coming!  What I mean by that is there are no advertisements, no TV to bombard you with sales, no stores that tell you it's getting late, no flashy signs or Christmas displays.  We are truly blessed! 

Something has happened this past few weeks that really brings to mind how precious life is.  It can be taken at any moment and you don't have any control over when or where or how.  Only God knows.  We can only live it, given free choice, to our fullest and knowing that if we follow His will we will be blessed no matter what the end.

Col 1:9-11
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

NKJV

Thank you all for everything you do for us.  Even keeping up with us on this blog is a blessing (to know that you care enough to take the time)!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.