We’re thrilled to have Mary share the photos and experiences from her family’s recent trip to Nairobi.

Our latest trip to Kenya was just about 3 weeks ago..and it was our BEST of the past 8 years…

Why?

Well…the LORD allowed us to see the fruit of HIS PLAN for our Faith House girls.

Oh my word…they have all been working SO HARD within their individual goals…and they are becoming such great reflections of JESUS!!

Under the unbelievable leadership of Gretchen…they are TRULY becoming women of GOD…and contributors to their society..as has always been the goal of Faith House Africa.

We just were HUMBLED by HIS work!

Having one of our 3 children come with us…our son, David and his wife, Suzanne…well, that was just BEYOND the BEST. Our family has HAD TO hear about our love of Africa now for 8 years…oh yes, they’ve been “interested”…but to ACTUALLY SEE it…what a difference…they have “caught the bug”…they understand that GOD is ALIVE and WELL on that continent…oh yes…

Going to Africa IS life changing…but SO FAR from anything one can imagine.

You can’t “take with you” something to give away over there…NO…you COME HOME with something that is LIFE CHANGING…that’s HIS LOVE…being LIVED OUT in front of your eyes…you are touched…you are embraced..yes…you experience HIS blessing.

We are already on the countdown for when we can return!!

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For Faith House, Christmas is a time of developing traditions, sharing fellowship with each other, and reaching out to say thanks to the many people who help make Faith House a reality. Most of all, Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whose life and sacrifice is the real reason Faith House exists.

While many of the Christmas traditions so familiar in the Western world were originally unfamiliar to our Kenyan students, the girls are now excited for the return of the holiday season and the activities that come with it.

Decorating the Christmas tree is a new tradition introduced to many of the students at Faith House. Making and decorating Christmas cookies is always on the agenda, and the students take some time out to write personalized Christmas cards to Faith House supporters.

We at Faith House are thankful to each and every one of you for the support you’ve provided to the ministry this year. We hope you enjoy this slideshow of the Faith House Christmas celebration.

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By 6 a.m. (usually before) breakfast is laid out in the kitchen—chai tea, rolls, fruit, sausages, peanut butter, jam . . . different selections for each day.


At 6:25 the girls are out the door, through the gate, down the long driveway,

and out at the street waiting for the arrival of the private bus hired to take them to school.

Faith House high school students attend St. Catherine’s Girls’ Secondary School.

Though the school is open for boarding, our girls are day students. Our goals of providing a home environment and discipleship training are better accomplished at Faith House.

At 5:30, after a long day, the girls return to Faith House, sometimes still in their uniforms,

sometimes coming directly from afternoon athletics,

sometimes coming in their scout uniforms.

They arrive to find snacks laid out for a time of relaxing,

chores

and visiting.

Several girls are assigned each day to help with dinner preparations including food prep and setting the tables.

Dinners are varied, attractive and nutritious.

Sometimes the girls talk during the meals, sometimes they joke and laugh, and sometimes they simply eat quietly, unwinding from the demanding school schedule.

After dinner several girls are assigned each day to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen.

As soon as the dishes are cleared, the girls gather in the living room for devotions and prayer.

Studies fill the evenings as the students work individually,

and in small groups, doing homework assignments, helping each other understand difficult concepts, and always preparing for the KCSE exams which hang over their heads to mark the end of high school.

Most days the lights are on for dinner and evening studies. But some nights, light for meals or studies is provided by candles and lanterns.

By 11 p.m. lights are out, the girls are in bed, and the house is silent.

But water in the Faith House neighborhood was precious. The main water supply had been off and on for the past few weeks. The house storage tank had been drained more than once. It seemed a waste to spray water on a car.  And yet Noah’s dull finish betrayed a lack of attention.

Most of the girls ignored the need. They were so busy with their studies!

But Margaret was at loose ends. She had finished high school. Her computer classes required little homework. Her classes to become a dental assistant wouldn’t start until September. Was there a way she could wash the car without wasting water? Resourceful, Margaret gathered supplies: two small buckets filled with water, a rag, some soap, and a small glass jar.

With a smile of determination she got to work.

Splashing water from bucket onto the vehicle , she attacked the layers of red dust and dirt.

Neither Noah’s size nor his condition deterred Margaret from her task.

Under her hand, Noah was beginning to shine.

But Noah is a tall vehicle, built for carrying many passengers, and Margaret is so short that she has lived with the nickname “Little Margaret.” Cleaning the top of Noah would prove quite a challenge. Without a ladder, Margaret would not be able to reach Noah’s roof to polish the dirt away.

Not to be defeated, Margaret searched for one final piece of cleaning equipment. She would MOP the top of Noah.

A few more splashes from the bucket and jar, and Noah was ready for his next trip on the dusty Nairobi roads.

And Margaret proved that with a little creative ingenuity, almost any problem can be solved.

Jane’s immediate response: “I am not easily discouraged.”

Jane has faced family tragedies and overwhelming disappointments in her life, and yet her sweet smile and confident testimony bear witness to the trust that defines her life, that God will enable her to overcome, no matter what comes.

Jane is now a student at A.I.C. Kijabe School of Nursing. She is one of several Faith House girls who discovered nursing as a true caring profession while working with American Christian nurses during community clinics at Rafiki Village in Kenya between 2002 and 2008.

Observing visiting nurses like Mary Reeve and Susan Hegel and Lizzy Hill (among many others) our girls saw patients treated with kindness and respect and encouragement. They watched nursing practiced as a ministry to seriously ill patients who desperately needed compassionate care, and they discovered nursing as God’s calling, not just as a career.

Jane is one of the girls who saw the opportunity to serve God by serving as a nurse. Through high school, she concentrated on her studies, giving up some leadership opportunities to focus on the sciences required for admission into a Kenyan nursing program. Her efforts were rewarded with a high place in her graduating class and admission to nursing school.

Kijabe Nursing School is a Christian school associated with the renowned Kijabe Mission Hospital. Located on a ledge overlooking the beautiful Rift Valley in central Kenya, it is a truly breathtaking location for a school.

The 3 1/2 year program produces nurses, well-trained in a variety of clinical skills and able to work in hospitals, or even to manage clinics in remote areas of the country.

Spending an afternoon with Jane was one of the special treats we received on our recent visit to Kenya. She gave us the grand tour of her school, the adjoining hospital, and even her 4-person dorm room. Graciously, she put on her uniform for my pictorial record of the visit.

She and Dan talked medicine, and, because she is currently on a pediatric rotation, Dan was able to share with her his love for pediatrics. I watched and listened and marveled at the way that God has privileged Faith House to offer opportunities to such precious young women.

Ending our afternoon with snacks and quiet conversation in the dining hall, I asked about her family, particularly her mother, and marveled that her mother must be so very proud of her. She answered that her mother did not really want her to study nursing. Why? Their family had been in hospitals and had many whom they love in hospitals and had seen the way nurses in Kenya treat their patients–not always with kindness and compassion, often very harshly. “But,” said Jane, “I told her–someone has to change things!”

We had been at Faith House in Nairobi for almost a week. The routine was becoming normal. I was working on my computer, recording my notes and observations, when Leah suddenly entered the room.

“Mrs. Jane, come with me!” My usual response: “WHY?”

“You’ll see . . . Close your eyes . . . In fact, cover your eyes!”

She led me down the hall, out the door, and onto the porch. I worried about falling and wondered what this mischievous young woman had in mind. “NOW, open your eyes!”

And there, above the trees, hung a beautiful full moon! This photo doesn’t do it justice, but it’s the one I took!

Once again I was arrested by the fact that I was looking at the same moon I watch in Texas. The moon is God’s way of reminding me how connected I am to everyone in His world.

The whole time that we lived in Kenya the full moons reminded me of home. My family . . . my friends could see the same moon. And when we returned to Texas to live, the same moon reminded me, month after month, of those I had come to love in Kenya.

Somehow, the world seems smaller when I remember that on opposite sides of the world we see the same moon.

Zippy’s story is so much broader than her excellence in academics. She is a leader at her school. Early in her time at JKUAT, school officials came to her class, asking for someone to consider becoming their class representative. The other students all urged her to run. But Zippy saw that she could do so much more for the whole university community if she ran for student-wide office.

She ran for and was elected Academic and External Affairs Secretary, one of fourteen students in places of leadership who meet with the administration and department heads of the school to set direction for the school and advocate for the 5000 students.

Everyone at JKUAT, from gatekeepers and foodservice workers, to students, to the professors and the principal and the dean of the school, knows and loves Zippy.

On a recent trip to Nairobi and Faith House, we enjoyed a delightful lunch with Zippy at a near-by restaurant. Returning her to campus after lunch, we were stopped at the university gate by the campus guard.

We fumbled for the necessary documents to claim the right to enter, but at one glance into the back seat, the guard saw Zippy. His face lit up, he smiled and waved at her and passed us through. Zippy explained that she had worked hard to get to know all the campus staff and that they had been very helpful in her campaign.

She has used her office as a platform to discover the needs of the school and to do something about those needs. The school had no Christian Union so she wrote a proposal to the dean, which was accepted. Now more than 25 students plus some staff members are part of the Christian organization.

Students complained that there were no covered places to wait for buses, so Zippy wrote another proposal to the dean. Now there are benches and shelters at the bus stops on campus.

And she was in charge of “Community Week” on campus. Along with six committee members she developed a week of service projects following the theme, “Caring for the Environment.” Activities included planting trees, cleaning road ways, mentoring students in need of help, taking a group of students to Kibera (Nairobi’s largest slum, and one of the largest in the world) to help clean that community, and a sponsoring a blood drive that would reach into the private sector.

She said that the week was just the beginning of serving the campus and beyond. Her eyes twinkle as she talks of what might come next. Following graduation, Zippy may work as an actuary, but I fully believe that, wherever she is and what ever job she does, she will touch and change her world.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting many of the insights and photos Jane gathered during their visit. Some of the stories we’re planning include the example of leadership from one of our senior students, an inside look at a typical Faith House day, an encounter with a rhino and her baby, and giving Noah a bath…

Here’s just as taste of the scenes they experienced during the visit. Click on any of the thumbnails to view larger images and captions, or click the link to just view the slideshow. Stay tuned for many more stories to come!

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Everyone had a great time, and we’re looking forward to many more anniversaries in the years to come! Here are some of the photos of the girls celebrating together.
 

 
 
The Clothesline Relay race (left to right: Pauline, Purity, Esther, Joyce, Liz). Purity was the main cheerleader the whole time!
 
 
 
 

 
The Human Knot (holding hands and then untwisting without letting go)!
 
 
 

 
 
 
The Human Pyramid, Kenya-style (Sheila on top, Beatrice & Teresa smiling).
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Margaret W and Regina make their ideal men out of modeling clay!
 
 
 

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This year the celebration was a bit more familiar. They still adorn themselves with stars as they decorate the tree with stars and angels and sparkling balls. And they learn to roll out and cut Christmas star cookies, decorating them with icing, sampling the sweets as they work. Meals at Faith House are nutritious and delicious, but the Christmas feast surpasses all that they are used to– meat, vegetables, bread, soft drinks– such abundance!

Learning the spirit of giving, the girls draw names and each is given a small amount of money to shop for a special gift for her “secret pal.” Anticipation reigns as each girl waits to see how her selection will be received. Shrieks of excitement and laughter punctuate the opening of each present. Hugs and thank-you’s express the gratitude and sense of fun in the giving and receiving.

Central to the whole celebration, the day closes with the reading of the Christmas story from Luke 2. “And there were in the same country, shepherds, abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, an angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not! For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord! And this shall be a sign unto you: you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace, good will to men.’ And it came about that when the angels had gone away from them back into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Come, let us go and see this thing which has comet pass, which the Lord has made known to us!’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, lying in a manger.”

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