Kenya Mission: Sunday Evening

Greetings one and all,

Sunday is our last full day in Meru.

The morning began at Mwanika Church by attending the 9:30 service, where Pastor Nancy preached on the power of persistence over time rather than aggressive abrasive behavior. The relationship Mwanika and FUMC has to grown where we learn from each other and share a faith.

After the service we were able to greet many friends old and new. They are grateful, most of all, for sharing WHO we are and by traveling great distance to be with them, more than WHAT we have done. Though they are most grateful for the great changes in their community through our partnership as well.

After lunch at Thiiri, some of the group went on a nature walk led by 2 recent BLISS graduates who are young entrepreneurs starting a touring business. They gave the walk high marks for all the information shared on culture and the natural environment. It lasted 4 hours.

Bishop and Florence Imathiu joined us this afternoon for a visit at Thiiri. Florence was just released from the hospital on Monday and is doing quite well now. It was quite pleasant spending time with the 2 of them.

We then had dinner at Thiiri with Moses and his wife Dorothy. We have been greatly blessed by our time together. Dorothy was recently promoted to deputy principal of another day secondary school. She brings much wisdom and energy this small young school. I know she will move it forward and have a big impact there. Moses told us there 1,200 people at the celebration yesterday. Many times more than they planned.

We need to pack yet tonight and then we head off on safari at 7 am to Lake Nakuru. It will take at least 5 hours, probably more being on Kenyan time. We will travel around the north side of Mt Kenya and then through Nanyuki before heading west into the Rift Valley. The elevation decreases significantly from Meru (5,000 ft) as we head to Lake Nakuru. It will be much warmer. The Lake is famous for its bird wildlife, especially flamingos, pelicans and storks. In addition, we should see rhinos, giraffes and be able to view the lake vista from an elevated observation point. There will be much to see. Kenya has tremendous natural beauty.

Safari lodges often do not have good internet access as we have had this week at the Thiiri Centre. This may be the last of the updates. We will try and soak up as much sunshine and warmth we can to bring back to you. But we've heard rumors that the cold, snowy winter rages on to greet us when we return on Friday.

Your family and friends send their greetings and love,
See you Friday!
Gary

Kenya Mission: Sunday Part II

Hello again,

Here are a few more photos.

Kenya Mission: Sunday 7:30 am

Jambo!

Saturday was the BIG celebration for BLISS' 10 year anniversary. It was very special. We arrived at about 9 am and returned to the Thiiri Centre about 4:30 pm.

The students and staff were busy preparing for the day when we arrived. Everyone had a job, imagine 500 people making preparations at the same time. From cooking a meal to setting up science demonstrations in the lab to moving a sand pile that was in the way, we were impressed with all the efforts.

The event got started at about 10:45 am with a cultural extravaganza put on by the BLISS students, as well as student groups from Gichunge Primary, Kithoka Primary, and Kithoka Polytechnic. There was drama, dancing, skits, and singing. Many performances were elaborate and almost all done in Kimeru. A highlight of the day was the music directed by the new music teacher. The band put on an exceptional performance. We were impressed by the BLISS choral performances as well.

There were many, many, many speeches in true Kenyan fashion. We loss track of the number. The best speaker of the day was Quinn Johns who related his experience of being in Kenya for the first time and being at BLISS and Gichunge. Students and families were ecstatic in their response! You should be quite proud parents, Melanie and Eric!

In the midst of it all, there was a time for EVERYONE to join in a circle dance that went into a spiral.

There was a ceremonial cake cutting. Our group presented the Anniversary Photobook that we put together. Our church was presented a BLISS flag inscribed with an expression of gratitude to FUMC.

The entire day was filled with endless gratitude and joyous celebration!!! They were so appreciative of us JUST being with them on this special occasion. The great distance we traveled had great significance for them.

We were blessed and blessed and blessed. It was indeed a very SPECIAL day. One we will long remember. There are a few photos to help share the experience with you.

For all the team, who are too busy to write, but send their greetings and love,
Gary

Kenya Mission: Saturday 7am

Jambo!

We have had a full experience this week! We have seen great progress in the community and at the same time have seen the GREAT need that remains.

Our day on Friday began with walks to the students' homes. Our team broke into 2s or 3s and were escorted by 2-5 BLISS students to see their homes that were 2 - 7 miles away and visit with their families. This was a special time to see first hand the homes of students and to learn more about their lives, challenges and joys. The high school students come from the poorest of the poor in the community. Their homes are extremely modest, usually with dirt floors, no indoor plumbing or electricity. In spite of the challenges they have great hope and dignity, and are deeply grateful for the opportunity that education provides.

There were many preparations underway Friday afternoon for the BLISS celebration on Saturday. The students were busy with cleaning chores at the school, practicing performances and running errands in preparation. We also completed many wrap up activities to finish off our service week.

During our team devotion time on Friday evening, we reflected on the experiences of the past week. There were many poignant moments. One person was adamant that he was not poor even though he did not have any money. We learned much about human dignity and respect for every person independent of their current situation. There were many insights shared this evening, this was just one.

Today will be a very full day at the BLISS 10 year Anniversary Celebration!

For your family and friends,
Gary

photos of home visits

Kenya Mission: Friday 7 am

Good morning, all!

Another full day... It has been an amazing time together.

School devotions were held at Kithoka Youth Polytechnic on Thursday and were led by Eli Kline and Pastor Nancy. Youth that do not qualify for secondary school often attend the Polytechnic to receive vocational training. The school has changed dramatically over the past year with enrollment now at 187 and many improvements to the facilities.

At Gichunge Primary School, porridge is served at 11 am each morning. Porridge is a mixture of corn flour, millet and sorghum, and has the consistency of cream of wheat. The teachers make sure that children who do not have food at home get extra servings. We were even able to help serve the children one morning. This is an important new program that our church is supporting.

Dixie and Al met with the Scouts at BLISS today. They presented them with first aid kits, neckerchiefs, and scouting manuals. Each of the 35 scouts received a letter with a photo from a member of Troop 4 in an letter exchange.

In Biology class, Al, Brad and Jazz dissected an animal heart, lung and kidneys for the students. The students particularly enjoyed the demonstration of lung inflation by a tire pump.

Bishop Imathiu escorted Jeff Punch, Greg Hulbert and Larry Dittmar to Meru University to meet with the Vice Chancellor there. They spent about 3 hours discussing their respective institutions and possible interactions.

This evening we had dinner with Bishop Imathiu, and he shared some of his life story, including the time he traveled to S. Africa to meet with President Botha to demand the release of Nelson Mandela. He did not release Mandela but he release a friend of Mandela's instead. He also shared some of his other experiences of leading the Methodist Church of Kenya during a time of tremendous church growth.

It is hard to believe our week is almost over. Our time has passed quickly.

From all of us here in Kenya representing you,
Gary

Kenya Mission: Thursday 6:30 AM

Jambo! Everyone,

Wednesday was another full and enriching day of being in service to the community here. Our day started with school devotions at BLISS and were greeted by many warm smiles and familiar faces. Our devotions were led by Taylor Erhardt and Pastor Nancy with singing by the Mission Team and Kenyan students as well. They have many strong voices. Our devotions were concluded by distributing backpacks to the 160 new Form I (freshman) at BLISS. This the first year of 3 sections of first year students. There were 400 requests to attend BLISS this year. The enrollment is now an amazing 480.

About 10 of our team went to the Kithoka Amani Children's Home for a day of service, by working in their shamba (garden) by building some raised beds for vegetables. Dr Karambu is the founder and director of this amazing facility that provides a home to children that have been abandoned, neglected or at risk. Her goal is to make the home sustainable without dependence on external resources and hopes to achieve 90% this year. There are 31 children that make their home there. Dr Karambu gave a tour of the facilities to the full team and an overview of all the different ministries she directs, focusing on peace and justice issues for women and children.

Others continued working with children at Gichunge Primary School and interacting with the teachers. They now have electricity at school! The lights went on yesterday after a multiyear journey to implement it by another group. This opens many opportunities.

The Feeding Program for the the 2 primary schools is moving forward and feeding about 700 children 6 days a week. Their corn crop is in poor shape due the bad timing of the rains. As a result, they will not be able to produce their own corn for the coming year and will depend on us to provide the food materials. This is a disappointing setback but in time will become sustainable through new approaches.

Activities in science and agriculture continued at BLISS today.

It's clear that our relationship has matured with the community by the friendly and comfortable interpersonal interactions. We feel quite blessed to spend time with our partners here. There are many challenges to move forward, but have built some resilience by working together.

For everyone here,
Gary

photo by John Kline: Mission Team at nearby project of the Amani Children's Home.

Kenya Mission: Wednesday 6 AM

Jambo! Family and Friends,

Our day on Tuesday started with school devotions at Kithoka Primary. This is the other public primary school in the immediate area of BLISS. Jazz Johns and Pastor Nancy led the devotions. We sang, had a reflection and prayed together. The school children also sang for us. Even though we did not always sing in key, they enjoyed our visit. We stayed for a short time to visit with the children and teachers. They were most welcome and warm. The children learned (almost) to play Duck Duck Goose. They enjoyed touching our hand, arms and hair. Light skin is a novelty to them.

Part of the team returned to Gichunge Primary School to teach lessons and crafts. A lot of time was spent with the teachers and Celina, school principal, to learn more about the development needs of the children and school. It's clear we have reached a more level of interaction with the school as they were very open about their plans to help the children learn. Their performance on the National Exam in 2013 was poor. Moses, the BLISS principal! serves as a mentor to both of these primary schools. They will definitely do better on the next exam if they hold to their plan. The needs remain quite basic: textbooks, math kit( ruler, compass, protractor ).

Some of the team returned to BLISS, our youth joined the students in their classes and even taught lessons when the teacher needed to leave. They handled the challenge and even taught a lesson on "What is puberty". It is amazing to observe their relationships with the Kenyan students. They are always eager to step up and join in whatever needs to be done.

Others spent time at BLISS with Emmanuel, agricultural teacher, on soiling testing and plant diseases. Al Metz and Brad Stotz have been a valuable resource to the teachers.

Larry Dittmar spent time with the school band and offering guidance to the new music teacher. Timothy has all the right stuff to take the music program far.

Kathy Macdonald spent time with 2 recent BLISS graduates who are developing a business to provide walking ecotours of the community. They provided many cultural insights and much valuable information about the environment here. A small group even took a 2walking tour through the rural community here.

Others of us spent time working out details on the Scholarship and Feeding Programs with Moses and Dickson. These are 2 of the most dynamic leaders in the community here. As always, we had a productive and joyful time together.

Our long day ended with the mission team having devotions together.

God is good all the time! And all the time God I'd good!

For the full Mission Team, and especially for those who have NOT had time to write you,
Gary

Kenya Mission: Tuesday 6am

Good morning from Kenya!

Our first day of service was blessed and full. Our day started with devotions at Gichunge Primary School and were led by Quinn Johns and Pastor Nancy. The children enjoyed the time together and responded with songs of their own and the their national anthem in both English and Kiswahli. We were greeted joyfully with open arms and warm smiles. Some of the team spent time at Gichunge with the children and teachers observing and learning about their progress and challenges.

The rest of the team went to BLISS, where the youth joined their peers in class (see photos) and made many new friends. I'm always amazed how quickly youth connect with each other. There were many smiles and laughs.

In the afternoon, we spent time with Rev Marilyn who gave us history of the missionary movement into Kenya and some of the ministries occurring in this community. We even visited the Kaaga Methodist where the first missionaries arrived in 1863 in the community here.

Larry Dittmar spent time with the new music teacher at BLISS, who started in May 2013. He had the pleasure of observing their practice session, that went well over 1.5 hour. Larry was thrilled what he observed!

We had devotions in the evening after dinner and spent much time getting crafts ready for Gichunge on Tuesday.

We went to bed very tired but very enriched by the hospitality of the whole Kenyan community and their warm welcome.

We are all well.

On behalf of all your family and friends, who have time to write you,
Gary

Kenya Mission: Monday Morning 6:30 am

Good morning,

Sunday was a full day! We started by worshipping at Mwanika Church. This was the first Sunday that their newly appointed pastor preached. It was joyful and spirited worship service with much singing and celebration closing with communion. It was wonderful to connect with old friends and new ones. We stayed for just the 9:30 am English service. Next Sunday we will stay for both services.

We had lunch at Thiiri Center, and met some Rotary Club members who were working on a nutrition project with school children. Sunday afternoon was our time to adjust to jet lag and relax a bit. The youth enjoyed time with local children a game of soccer then swimming in the pool.

Some of the group spent time at the Kithoka Amani Children's Home KACH to plan our weekly activities there. We were inspired to learn of a new approach to make feeding program self sustaining through a comprehensive agricultural program based upon an approach taken at 3 other schools in Africa. We will learn more on Wednesday.

We spent time with Marilyn Brenchley learning about the challenges at the Gichunge Primary School for both children and teachers. Most children come from a disadvantaged and challenging home environment.

In the evening, we had a time of planning and devotions after dinner.

We are eager to get started on our week. Know that we are all well and having a full experience.

Our service adventure begins....

On behalf of your Mission Team,
Gary

Kenya Mission: Sunday 7:30 am

Good morning, Everyone,

It is a quiet Sunday morning as we get ourselves ready this morning. Breakfast will be at 8 am and then we head for Mwanika Church.

Our journey to Meru yesterday went very smoothly. We arrived at Thiiri Center, where we are staying at 5:30 pm. The temperatures were in the mid-70s and partly sunny. We enjoyed our time together in the vans. We left Nairobi about 8:30 am, had a pleasant lunch at Nanyuki, stopping afterwards at the Weavers Shop on the north side of Nanyuki. The Weavers is a women's cooperative for woolen textile goods. The women receive 90% and the coop gets just 10% for overhead.

Mt Kenya was shy yesterday, as they say here, hidden in the clouds. You get a sense of the vast expanse of Kenya on the west side of the mountain. They grow wheat and have greenhouses for growing flowers. The maize crop was noticeably in poor shape. This would normally be harvest time, but it looks sadly underproductive.

As we got nearer to Meru we got to see the busyness of the markets and people conducting business in the open markets. There Re many new building in the area. We look forward to exploring the progress in the community.

Rev Marilyn Brenchley met us at Thiiri on our arrival. Their new housing is open and we are the first guests in some of the rooms. The new facilities allow then to host larger group now and the space is more flexible. Marilyn is doing well herself and will be traveling to her original home church in Washington state mid week to be with them there.

We are greatly blessed in our time together. Hope your day is blessed and joy filled also!

On behalf of the Mission Team,

Gary


The photo below was taken just before departure from the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi. Photo taken by Kathy Macdonald.

Kenya Mission: Update

Greetings everyone, from Nairobi! Jambo sana! It is 6 am Saturday here.

Our flights to Kenya went smoothly. We were on time and there were no weather delays. On arrival in Nairobi, our processing through the airport took about 2 hours though. We had just one tub delayed. Everything else made it fine.

Everyone is in good spirits and we overall had a very manageable experience in our outbound journey.

The first thing everyone noticed when we landed was that we could see the ground. There was no snow! There were some light showers but nothing major.

Our first night's stay at the Methodist Guest Home has been restful. We meet for breakfast at 7am, then meet with our travel agent for a short briefing, and then head toward Meru. We travel around the west side of Mt Kenya, stop for lunch at a trout farm. We should arrive in Meru about 4 pm.

Our adventure begins....

On behalf of the whole Mission Team,
Gary