Found It

Looked and looked for this photo of Diane and her sponsored child, Risper, Being raised by her single father.  It is difficult to describe the joy of actually getting to meet your kids and their families.

Home!

We arrived safe and sound, a bit worn and weary, but filled with joy and great memories. I will sign off saying it has been fun reporting, and we thank all of you for your loving, prayerful support.

Thank You Juster

After a long day out, we were treated to tea and goodies at Juster Miriti's house in Karen. Juster has been a great help to us in this ministry for years, and we give thanks for her. 

One Leg Completed, One to Go

Tea and porridge in London after a red eye on Kenya Airways last night. We will soon be on our way to SeaTac, filled to the brim with joy and gratitude. Partings were tearful, especially for Peter and Josephine who were leaving family again. Pause to consider what God did when he brought the Mburugus into our midst. Every time Josephine left our house, she would smile and say, "I think one day you will go with me to Kenya." Because we have them as a link to the Meru community, the Cherish ministry is possible. We could not do this without them. 

Alex

Suzanne made a lasting impression on her Alex, and he is one great kid. He was part of a skit at the seminar with a couple of cute high school girls...such fun! I cannot figure out how to post a video so you will just have to look forward to seeing it later...Suzanne singing with a handful of kids at the church picnic in Karugwa. As she taught the song to them, other kids began to come, and within minutes she had a large children's choir singing with big smiles on their faces. I think she has the pied Piper gift with little ones!

Ditty Queen

When you see Suzanne, please ask her to perform "Two Leaves and a Bud," preferably with her van companions, but make time for it as there are multiple verses!

Fearless Leaders and Others

Karen, Peter, Josephine and Emily have worked on the logistics of this trip for over a year, as have members of the Hope Board in Meru. It was virtually flawless thanks to them, and we all give them a great big Asante SANA...thank you very much! 

As for the rest of the team, you be the judge...do you think it is time the head home tomorrow? (Around 1:45 Tacoma time...FYI, arriving midday Wednesday.)

If you are wondering where Sharon is in the family portrait, we left her in Meru! Not really. It has been my pleasure to post these photos and captions during our trip. I took the photo because I am the blog boss!   We cannot thank you all enough for your prayers and support, and sponsors, know that you have blessed hundreds of great kids and given them hope for the future. Blessings abound!

Before We Say Goodbye

We visited. The elephant orphanage today where babies are rescued, rehabilitated and returned to the wild. They are usually orphaned because of poachers in search of ivory. These appear to be reddish in color from rolling around in the red mud of Nairobi.

Don made a new friend, a resident warthog at the orphanage.

we also visited the shop of Josephine's cousin, Moses who is an artist employing 25 local men and women to finish the carvings he has taught them to make. You will see some marvelous examples of these when we get home! Please pray for as we prepare for our journey tomorrow!

Wildebeest Migration

They come up from Mozambique through Tanzania into Masai Mara to mate, have babies and spend the summer, returning in the fall. This is not one of our photos but we saw thousands of these curious critters while on safari. Our guide said they look like three animals in one...head of a bison, body of a horse, and hind of a antelope. It was fun to see the little ones frolic like goats. Our guide said that elephants don't like them because they are too noisy and rambunctious which is why we got to see an entire family of elephants on the move the other day. We will have film footage of that when we get home!

Thompson's Gazelles

We saw hundreds of these little beauties at Masai Mara,so beautiful and graceful.

Monkey Invasion

I will have to stop laughing in order to write this. As Suzanne is leisurely enjoying the afternoon, she looks out her tent window to see a monkey dash into Mburugu's tent where Josephine is getting ready for dinner. It seems the monkey smelled the bananas in their tent and popped in to have a bite. Josephine let out a yelp and shooed him away, but not before he snatched a loaf of bread, and somehow sent out word there was food in tent #22. Suddenly there were monkeys pouring out of the brush as we scurried back to zip up our own tents. One of us, who shall remain nameless (rhymes with Tiane Fultz) was pretty shook, and created her very own Masai Dance to scare the monkeys away. Actually, what really had us worried a bit was the way the ruckus brought out the huge baboons across the river who watched the show with bored amusement.. You may be sure all tents were tightly zipped up that night!

 

Sunrise over the Savannah

Went out in search of lions this morning at 6 a.m. Watching the sun rise here near the equator, and watching it set in the evening has been spectacular, really beyond description as those things often are. Pray for us as we have a long road journey today, back to Nairobi where we will meet for prayers with the International Justice Mission on Tuesday and then fly home, arriving Wednesday. The ways in which we have each been blessed are past counting. Indulge us when we return home and attempt to share just a smidgen of what we have experienced. Mungo akubariki SANA...Asante Yesu!

Patience

Some of our crew patiently wait, cameras at the ready, for hippos to come up and cause a ruckus! Many of us heard baboons fighting in the middle of the night near our tents! We aren't in Kansas any more!

Bones  decorate the savannah...and the camp, signs of an ecosystem at work!

Safari

After a great mission week, we are treating ourselves to a safari on Masai Mara. Don and Sharon gave each other this very special adventure to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary coming up Sept. 6

There will be stunning photos to share when we get home, but my camera is acting up a bit so this just a quick hello from beautiful Kenya!

Masai men performed for diners at Fig Tree Tent Camp last night, and it was beyond cool! They even got Emily up and dancing which was especially fun!

Got Emily

Fridah

Please pray for this dear girl who was abandoned at the hospital she is 6 years old and has CP. Notice the VBS quilt? When we saw the conditions at the hospital, we gave the quilts to children without. We know they were intended as decoration, but as we remembered that the name of our ministry is "Cherish" which means to keep warm in Hebrew, we opted to provide warmth over decoration. A few of the VBS art pieces were displayed here for us, but they will make a more permanent display later. One of Fridah's nurses,Lucy, expressed such heartfelt gratitude for these gifts of love! Thank you so much.

Matthew 25:40

Jesus said, "Whatever you have done for the least of these you have done for me."

Yesterday we visited an natural spring near Esther's family home. While there, this poor soul arrived carrying her baby who looked longingly at the spring and asked for a drink. He is considerably older than he appears. While someone fetched him a cup of water, Josephine lovingly conversed with Mama and gave her money for bread.

Earning their Dinner

Esther taught Karen, Emily and David how to don sack skirts(to protect their legs) and pick tea for the market. Each farmer has a minimum of 875 bushes, and the pickers must pick just "two leaves and a bud accumulating 20 kg baskets filled. The Cherish Team didn't work fast but they got the hang of it!

Life in the Village

This wonderful, joyful woman permitted us to invade her kitchen where we helped stir fermented porridge and grind millet on a stone! She is Auntie to one of our sponsored girls, Maureen.

Happy Reunion

Many of you UPPC folks will remember our frien John who lived and worshipped for a time. John is now back home with his beautiful wife and daughter! It was great to see them and meet Eldine at last.

Words Cannot Capture

Words fail me as I attempt te share the happiness and joy we all experienced today as 200+ kids and family members gathered under a glorious Kenyan sky to sing, worship, attend workshops and just hang out together.  The children took the roof off the hall as they sang and danced. Mamas, dads, grandmas and grandads greeted us with such warmth and blessings. It was truly a blessed day for which we thank God. Sponsors, know that your kids are so grateful for your prayers and support. We hope you will consider writing a letter to your sponsored child from time to time. They were encouraged today to write to you, and they expressed real love for you when we spoke with them. May you feel the love flowing your way from Kenya.

Colleen meets Fether

Another great day, this time with Hope Guardian, Amalia. We visited Fether's home and met her mama and sweet little sister, Maureen. Fether is an excellent singer, and we hope to hear her perform at the seminar.

African Roads

Thank God for mechanics! Can you identify our team members?

Boys of Karugwa

Just a few of the kiddos at fellowship gathering after church in Peter's boyhood village.

Zipporah

Zipporah is the chairwoman of Mburugu's home church where we worshipped today...and Sharon preached! Yes she did! Zipporah is also Headmistress of Karugwa Primary School which has electricity because one of our sponsors, Turi Jane, once donated the money to get this done. Zipporah told me today that being able to use computers has changed the lives of these children!

Prayers for Emily

Because she was not feeling well, Emily remained in Nairobi with Juster and family. We pray that she is feeling well and can join us in Meru for the seminar on Tuesday. Please say prayers for her, as we are missing her here in Meru.

Grace

We got a special treat when Grace sang for us. This dear child was rescued by Justin Mburugu wither sister, Lucy. They are sponsored by the Repenning family and are thriving under the care of Ibrahim and Edith!

Ibrahim Gitonga's impressive farm

Josephine's dad is a highly respected elder in his village, and it is easy to see why. His stock and his crops are beautiful and bountiful!

Nyweri

What fun we had tiday in Josephine's  villagewelcomed by the women of the village who performed for us with song and dance. They even got some of us into it!

 

We enjoyed a lovely lunch in Nanyuki on our way to Meru, giving us all a chance to get to know each other a bit better. What a great team of folks! Asante Yesu. Thank you Jesus!

Meet Bernard

This fine young man joined us for devotions in Nairobi Thursday. He sends love and deep gratitude to Clare for making it possible for him to complete nursing school and get a good job at Nairobi hospital. We were thoroughly blessed by his story, and learning about his lifelong relationship with the Mburugu family. God bless you sponsors. By God's grace you have been privileged to help change lives!

taking a break on the road to Meru

RAFIKI VILLAGE

Rafiki means friend, and it had special meaning for Suzanne when she was reunited with old friend, Julie Peterson and her husband, David, missionaries at the village. There are ten such villages in Africa, each one dedicated to the care and education of orphans, and what extraordinary work they are doing! Please remember the workers and children in your prayers, and thank you Julie for the great tour. )Julie is standing next to Suzanne in this photo, David, the tall guy behind her.)

a Long Overdue meeting

At long last, Don got to meet Eric, our first official sponsored student in Cherish Ministry to Meru. Eric completed high schooli in 2004, went on to university, graduated and now holds an important job with safaricom. He spent the entire day with us yesterday, and will speak with our current sponsored kids next week. Tomorrow we will meet his wife, Mary who teaches in. Meru, as well as their baby girl,Prudence. Eric gives meaning to our mission here...to encourage, equip and empower children through education and the love of Jesus. These young people bless and inspire us! 

Forging new relationships

Jayden and David enjoyed getting to know Andrew Miriti as we toured Rafiki Village. We have seen two very different models of rescue centers for "OVC's"...orphans nd vulnerable children. It is wonderful to hear how God has drawn others into service for such as these, and good to realize there are many ways to reflect his love to others.

Watoto wa mungo!

These " children of God" live with their devoted house mama at Nyumbani orphanage in Nairobi. Each mother nurtures 14 children in her cottage. The children, at one time abandoned, are in treatment for HIV and appear to be thriving in this loving environment.

A Little Jet Lag Anyone?

A Sweet Reunion

Eleven years ago I was introduced to an infant girl who had been abandoned and then rescued by the  folks at Nyumbani Orphanage. When they found her she was near death, but, in 2003 they had hope for her recovery. Her name is Latia, pictured here with me in her family home at the orphanage today. It is impossible to say what joy it gave me to see her sweet smile and tell her about our meeting all those years ago. 

Please join us in giving thanks for this remarkable ministry, and pray that they continue to serve the kingdom by providing homes to sick, abandoned little ones!

The Eagles have landed

We are all safe in our rooms at The Methodist Guest House after a very long day. Thank you all for your prayers. Already the Kenyans are making us feel warmly welcomed. Good night and Lala salama...sleep well! Don is just about to unfurl his mosquito net!