Recent Photos from Marie sent this May.
More photos from Mary in the month of March. You can take a peek at the new church cabinet, donated in large part by Russ Schmitt. This keeps all of the church ware, books, and school supplies in good condition and very safe.
Also pictured is the Sunday School choir and the teachers and elder people of Holy Cross Emmaus of Milimani.
Here are some recent photos received from Mary Sagala. There are many shots of the progress being made on the guest house. This is located on Anna Sagala’s property. After the completion of the guest house, construction of Anna’s new home will begin. This is something undertaken by Anna and her family members to improve their home property and have a place for many friends, family, and other visitors to be able to stay.
Also shown is the distribution of Christmas gifts of toothpaste and toothbrushes which were purchased back in November but given out for the Christmas celebration. The children either received a small toothpaste and toothbrush or a gift of similar value.
Marie Sagala has recently brought us up to date with many things happening in and among the school children and church folk in Milimani.
First off, Julia Otieno is still hospitalised from having part of her leg amputated. This was due to complications from diabetes. A fundraiser to offset the medical costs will be held at their home on the 18th of this month.
Desks have been constructed and purchased, outfitting all five of the classrooms of Emmaus Hill school adequately.
Since my departure in the middle of December, 9 people have been baptized in the church and a very trustworthy elder has joined the church fully.
The school enrollment for pre-school through standard 3 now stands at 152.
The school staff consists of 6 teachers, 3 of whom are fully trained, the other 3 having many years of experience in education.
Pictures of all these recent events are on their way.
I had the chance to talk briefly with Mary this past week. She informed me that Samson’s wife, Julia had been in the hospital as a result of diabetes complications. Unfortunately her condition worsened to the point of needing to have her leg amputated. Mary and Anna have since visited her in the hospital up in Kitale, about 45 minutes north of Milimani. This will be a challenge going forward as she is still very active in her home and community. Please pray for Julia and her family, petition our mighty God that He would give her strength to adjust to a new way of living and that she can get as much support from family, friends, and church members as she needs.
For all the readers on the other side of the globe, I arrived safely and on schedule back in Phoenix late Thursday evening after only some minor delay in one of my flights. Regarding the question of future plans, I have been trying to not think about it too much, just taking this time now to catch up on sleep and adjust to life back here. Thanks for all the prayers regarding safe travels. I wish all of God’s richest blessings on the Christmas celebration for the people of Holy Cross Emmaus, I will certainly be with them in spirit.
Group Picture After Church. (Not Pictured - the over 65 women’s group, head teacher, one seminary student, assorted others) I actually got everyone to smile, an accomplishment I’m quite proud of.
Great Day. It couldn’t get more eventful if it tried today. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of our church members rejoin us who comes from very far away. Aggry makes the longest journey out of anybody, even by bicycle. He had been unable to make it for these last two months because of a motorbike accident, but he has fully recovered and was very happy to be with us today.
I shared a sermon based on the words of Moses in Deuteronomy as the children of Israel are preparing to enter the promised land. It will only be the word of God, bound closely to the people’s hearts, that will sustain and bless them in the days ahead. Four young girls, one boy, and an older man (mzee) were baptized in the same service. After which we celebrated the confirmation of 18 people, ranging in age from 12 up to 80 and beyond and consequently shared together in the Lord’s Table. There are a number of others who were not able to make it to church today due to circumstances beyond their control. Everyone was very grateful and humbled by all of the greetings, prayers, and congratulations from their brothers and sisters back in the U.S. Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love, no matter how many miles, continents, or oceans may get in the way. There was no room for sad farewells today, only reason to celebrate. I’m sure the emotions will catch up to me eventually, once there’s time to reflect on the past 5 or so months. But for now I am simply astounded at what God can do and has done in the hearts of his people. To be called to be a part of that work, even though there is much responsibility, heartache, and trouble that comes along with it, is nothing less than a privilege and an honor.
Am I looking forward to coming home? Of course. Will I miss this place? Sure. But I know that wherever the Lord may lead us, we will have a fine time, later on, catching up in our permanent home, which has been prepared long ago.
So for now, it’s time to pack it all up once again and hit the road. Time to prepare for the transition back to life in the states, which, I’ve found isn’t always so quick and easy. I simply request your prayers for a safe journey, that the work of God would carry on mightily here, and that the many children in our church and school would grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I think I’ve waxed sentimental enough for one day/one blog post. Time to make sure my fantasy football lineup is set and to clean up this place. See you in Phoenix.
One of the final hurdles is out of the way leading up to the return trip in two weeks. The November and December sessions of seminary in Kisii were combined into back to back weeks. I wasn’t able to join them from the beginning of last week because we had the team from Eldoret come up to the church and school property to complete the survey to find water. They did extensive work and found the best place for drilling. We will soon receive the full report along with a list of potential drillers located throughout the country. The good news is that they found a substantial aquifer. The bad news is that this aquifer is 250 meters below the surface. I will wait until I have opportunity to see the official report and get quotations from drilling companies before I get too excited or discouraged regarding the well project. Either way, we have the permit now, and all the preparations are done.
I would like to share the full accounting of experiences from my time in the Kisii area, but most of the things are definitely “had to be there” moments. First off, it rained….and rained….and rained. Every day, gigantic downpours. At a certain point it has devastating effects on travel. For example, On Sunday, coming from Etago where we had a worship service with the congregation at St. David’s KINSHIP Academy. The sem students headed back up to Chotororo and I headed the other direction back to Kisii. Later that day, the showers came and flooded the roads. One matatu was swept off the road in a deluge, after the driver ignored the pleas of the passengers to slow down. Getting up to Chotororo is another matter altogether. Motorbikes can only reach so far until it’s time to start “footing” as they say. Maybe I’ll be one of those grandparents one day who talks about walking uphill to school…in Kenya.
As tiring as the back and forth travel can be up to the school, we had a good session. It was very encouraging to see some of the teaching over the past year having taken root with most of the students, as indicated in their exams. They know how to have a good time and get along splendidly, with seven different tribes and two different countries being represented there. On the last day I was with them for teaching I had a moment where I knew, even though I was bone tired, that I would miss it. I pray that they continue in their faithful study and are able to serve the people in their respective communities.
In the evenings, upon returning to Kisii, I’ve had the chance to spend time with Samwel, a tailor who owns a shop located below the place where I stay in town. As long as I’ve known him he’s had such a wonderful insight into the Word of God and I’m encouraged that now he is beginning his own ministry down in Awendo. We’ve spent many evenings talking about any number of subjects, exchanging valuable information about one another’s culture, all while his sewing machine is going and churning out the next project before the deadline. I’ve even gotten him started on the Davis’ beginners Greek grammar so he can dig in and do his own exegesis. Good times.
After many days of public transport, trudging through mud and rain, and ending up with mud on my shoes and pants, I was given the courtesy of being called a Kisii man. Until Next Year, Kisii, Farewell.
The 2011 School Year for Emmaus Hill School has come to a close. We are very blessed to have teachers and supervisors who are striving to help this school succeed. It’s not always smooth sailing, but the result of their work is evident in the students who have been in the school since its opening. This is the only option in the area for many who could otherwise not afford to send their children to school. Here’s the breakdown of our student body for the 2011 school year.
95 total students enrolled
Standard 2 - 13 students (5 girls and 8 boys)
Standard 1 - 18 students (9 girls and 9 boys)
Top Class (Kindergarten) - 26 students (14 girls and 12 boys)
Middle Class (Pre-School 2nd Year) - 12 students (5 girls and 7 boys)
Baby Class (Pre-School 1st Year) - 26 students (8 girls and 18 boys)
10 of the students are total orphans
28 of the students are children of single parents
57 of the students have both parents
Next year, God willing, we will be adding an additional teacher and enrolling up through Standard 3.
Just a clip from the morning drive out to church. Most people ask “How are you?”, but I love the pre-emptive “I am fine” from the neighborhood boy.
Time for exams before the end of the school year.
