Oligers 4 Africa

Compassion

2010-10-10T17:36:00.004-04:00

Biira (Uganda)

Yemelin (DR)

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done"

In a poverished stricken area, Birra and Yemelin work hard for there families. Doing chores that we wouldnt never imagine having to do. These girls have dreams, hopes, and aspirations! Would you help them to acheive these dreams? I am looking for Sponsors for Yemelin and Biira. For only 38.00 a month, you can be a part of changing there lives forever! Your tax-deductible contribution of just $38 a month connects your child with a loving, church-based child sponsorship program that provides:

Food and clean water
Medical care
Educational opportunities
Important life-skills training
Most important of all, your sponsored child will hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.

If you are interested in Sponsoring Yemelin or Biira please email me and I can help you in making a difference in there lives! You wont regret it!

Make a world of diffrence in the life of a child today

Janell

Mountains and more

2010-08-13T21:38:00.010-04:00

"Savior, He can move the Mountains, My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save".

For I know the plans I have for you "declares the LORD", plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Our Recent trip to Oregon/Washington

We had such an amazing trip. I am always excited to go to Oregon to see my family. This year, we decided to take the opportunity to go to the Seattle area for a number of purposes. Our main goal was to visit World Vision Headquarters to get a feel for the work environment there, as it is our desire for Bob to get an accounting job with World Vision. We had an amazing time there, as our half-hour tour turned into over two hours of time with the Tour guide answering detailed questions about employment, talking about living out there, etc. It was a God-given time! Our second purpose was to learn of the land and of the living. We had several suburbs we wanted to check into, and we got to most of them. We saw neighborhoods, saw schools, visited parks, and even local donut shops! (lol at Bob) We met such wonderful people, in totally unexpected places (like one of the donut shops), who gave us great information. Third, we wanted to see mountains. And mountains we saw! We took the Mt. Baker highway up to the Mt. Baker area, where the kids were able to play in snow, while in shorts and sandals! We drove up to Mt. St. Helens, and took in the awesome amazing views of the re-growth of God's nature from the expolosion 30 years ago. And everywhere we went, there she was. She? Mt. Rainier! She is the most amazing mountain! Two things the Lord always brought to my mind was the lyrics from Mighty to Save; He can move the mountains....when you are admist all the mountains, it really made that truth so much more amazing. As we long to live there admist those mountains, God was reminding me of His other truth from Jeremiah 29:11. As Bob and I dream about living there, we also think, what if he doesnt get a job...what if...what if? Its at those moments, I lean on my Lord, my Savior, who saves, who can move the mountains, who can provide Bob with an amazing job, and I am overcome with peace and joy, knowing He has plans of hope for us. He knows our hearts desire. He knows how my heart aches for my family out there, and how I desire to be closer to them. He knows it all; He already has His plans in the works. We need to trust in Him, listen to Him, and prepare ye the way for Him and His plans. So we have come back home with a list of goals to accomplish within the next year, in preparation for a likely move. About 8-9 months ago, we had a list of a few things we wanted to see happen before we even thought about moving. First, we had to sell our house. Okay, well 3 weeks later, and it was sold! My Mom, who is going to go with us, also wanted to wait till her Dad passed into the hands of the Lord before moving. The day after my Mom returned from her vacation in Oregon, her Dad passed away. So, we definitely see Gods hand at work. Please pray for us, that we will earnestly seek God's will and follow His ways. Pray that we will be able to meet our goals that we have set for the next school year, so that we can start applying for jobs late April, and hopefully move during next summer. Even if it seems impossible for us to meet goals, we know that God is able! Just as He is able to move the mountains. - Janell

Life Update

2010-05-01T19:58:00.002-04:00

Here is a quick update: We have found a beautiful 3bdr. home to rent in our same area of town for a very very great price! However......

The current tenants are buying a foreclosure home. They are having major issues with the bank and there loan etc. They were supposed to close 2 weeks ago and already have moved out. But they are still there. One day they are told everything is smooth you will close in a few days......then we are told we can move in shortly. Then the next day rolls around and they are told a different story, and we are told we can't move in for a few weeks. And on and on it goes.

Right now as of last night (HA) we are looking at not being able to move in until May 17th. We HAVE to be out of our home by 4:00 May 19th. Cutting it very close.

In the meantime we have been looking for other places to go, and there isn't anything.....So we still feel the Lord leading us into this home, and are trusting the timing will all work out. Please pray for this situation. For the current tenants to close on there foreclosure SOON! allowing us to move sooner than later. They are "supposed" to be meeting with a bank on Monday. So hopefully we will get CONFIRMED good news after that meeting.

God is good all the time, and prayer is powerful, we have seen its power through this process that began back in Feb. when our house went up on the market. So we thank you so much for your prayer support.

Run On

2010-04-18T21:46:00.001-04:00

Sorry folks for the run on sentences and thoughts of earlier post~ I am not an English Scholar. So for those that are or think they are (Bob) my apologies! LOL

For I know the Plans I have for You

2010-04-18T20:32:00.002-04:00

Jambo!

Well our closing has been moved up two weeks, so we will be closing on our house Tuesday! God has been so good! We have asked Him to show us His plan in bold ways, and that is exactly what He has done. We asked Him boldly to show us His plan and to either boldly open or close the door to World Vision. He has done that.

Bob applied for an accounting job at World Vision March 11th; and up until Friday we had not heard anything from them. We felt that in the meantime we needed to pursue housing here just incase, so I have been looking and looking at coming up with nothing. Until last week, I saw an add for a HOUSE for very inexpensive rent in our same area. (all the other places were duplexes) Of course I jumped on it. I got a response from the landlord that she had an overwhelming amount of responses to her ad, so she wanted us all to fill out an online app. Bob and I felt like we were up against an army. But were reminded of who that army battlefield belongs to. The battle belongs to the Lord. Wed night I got a call from landlord stating we were her #1 pick, and we saw the house Friday; loved it and signed a contract. When we got home Bob checked his email and got the rejection letter from World Vision. Was this Gods plan or what! As we are a little disappointed in not moving to Seattle right now, we know that Gods plan is for us to be here a little while longer, and we will still pursue a future in Missions, and a possible future with World Vision. We see Gods hand all over this plan in so many more ways that I could share but would take awhile.... (hee) But will share that our landlord is not making us be tied down to a designated 6m0 or year lease. She herself is a dedicated Christian in support of us leaving for the ministry at some point. For this and so much more we stand in AWE of God.

For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers! We know God has great plans for us, and with the sale of our house, we are now 100% in an Open place for Him to call us to His plan!

Pending........

2010-03-24T10:55:00.003-04:00

HOUSE PENDING UPON INSPECTION!

We got an offer on our house this past Saturday! And after going back-n-forth a few times we accepted! It was exactly one month to the day that we had put our house on the market! God is good!

So our inspection is THIS Saturday at 10am. Please pray for us. We are not aware of any major problems but you never know.... God has been so good in reminding me of His promises! In Bible Study this week, our lesson was on Worry. It was a great reminder for me to go through His word, being reminded that He is in control, and will take care of everything! Thank you to all who have and continue to pray! You are a blessing!

To God be the Glory; Great things He has done~

Bob and Janell

Changes

2010-02-22T18:56:00.002-05:00

Since were all about change right now, thought I'd change the blog up a bit. So you will notice a new Bio for us, as well as a new Headliner and scripture.

Many have asked us about Africa. Yes we still LOVE Africa, and yes we someday hope to be there. A few weeks ago I recieved an email from Missionaries in Jordan. They have served there since 1999. There son is diagnosed with dyslexia, and through struggles in the International school of Jordan, they feel he is not getting the specialized education he needs. So they have made a difficult decision to return to the States to allow there son to have the best education needed for his special need. For me, this was a letter of confirmation, as I have been thinking and praying a lot about Noah and his Asperger/dyspraxia diagnosis, and how he requires extra care in the education field that I know he would not be able to get overseas. So for now, we feel led to work with a Missions Organization here in the States, allowing Noah to get the best education services possible. So that is where Washington, Colorado, and North Carolina come in, as we desire to work with World Vision, Compassion Intl. or Samaritans Purse State side for the time being. Due to having family in Oregon that is an "Open Harvest" we are strongly desiring to work with WV. But are open and will go where the Lord leads. Hope this answers your question, and gives you a better idea of our thinking right now!

Blessings!

Saddle Up the Horses

2010-02-22T11:34:00.004-05:00

Bob posting:

Friday night (Feb 19th), the house officially went on the market, as we completely feel that God is closing the door on our ministry here at 6426 Palmer Drive. We are fully trusting that He has great plans for us, plans that might take the boys and I away from the only area we've ever lived in, including the only home Jake has known. Washington? Colorado? North Carolina? Tanzania? Kenya? Well, He hasn't conclusively shown us where or what yet, but we known He's got us right where He wants us - open and willing. Please pray for:

1. Us to continue to be very open to God's call in our lives. Pray that we would not be stubborn or hesitant, even if that calling is to do something or go somewhere that we wouldn't have imagined or perhaps (humanly) desired. If God plans to exercise His sense of humor, I could be doing music ministry in Beijing....haha!

2. That we grow closer in our relationship with Christ. More prayer, more reading of the Word than ever before as our spiritual walk matures ever so deeper every day. We want to take every thought and action captive for the Lord - pray that we be constantly desirous of that.

3. God to open the doors that need to be opened and shut the doors that need to be shut, so we have a CLEAR vision of where He wants us to be down the road.*

4. For our house to sell, and preferably quickly, so we can be ready to go where God wants us to be as soon as possible.

5. That Satan would be bound in all of this by God's almighty hand from doing evil and throwing up walls & roadblocks into our path.

6. I ask that you pray for me, specifically, as I am admittedly nervous about this transition, as I have lived in Ohio for forty years and have worked at my company for over a decade. Changing what I've known for so long is rather intimidating!

*As many of you know, we are feeling a strong tug towards service at World Vision in suburban Seattle. If that does turn out to be God's desire, we need to sell the house & secure employment w/World Vision in the upcoming months.

Thank you for your prayers to this point, and for future ones as well! We pray God will bless each and every one of you, especially that you would know an intimacy with Him like never before!

I'll conclude with some lyrics to Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "The Great Adventure", because I totally feel this is my life right now:

"Let's follow our Leader into the glorious unknown, this is a life like no other - this is the GREAT ADVENTURE!".

Time to saddle up the horses........

Moving ahead

2009-11-10T12:18:00.002-05:00

Moving?????

We had a Realtor over last night, and are feeling blessed. She gaves us a list price that was higher than what we had in mind, and had many words of advice and encouragement. Together as sellers and a Realtor we are placing our Trust in the Lord! So we go forward, with making some minor improvements, such as fresh coats of paint, carpet cleanings, de-cluttering, and some little wall repairs here and there. In hopes to have our house dressed for success by March, and place that sign in our yard by April 1st.

Where are we going? We don't know. That's the greatest thing. What we do know is we are OPEN.

Openess: attitude of ready accessibility.

Accessibility to the Lords Will in our lives with being involved in Missions. In our minds we have Africa, Tacoma Washington; headquarters of World Vision, and Colorado Springs; headquarters for Compassion Intl. What the Lord has in His mind, we are not exactly sure of right now. But we have Faith in the unknown.

Together as a family we are praying for the Lords Will. Right now for Noah, his top is Africa. For Jacob his top is Washington. For Bob its a toss up between Washington and Colorado. For me it's a mix of our time being in Africa and in the States nearer to our Oregon family.

Please be praying for us. That we would remain open, and faithful. That as a family we will daily grow closer to Our Lord, and to one another. That we can find someone to come alongside and help us get our house ready. (ya...Bob needs much help in this lol)

We are in no hurry to sell. Our goal is to move when Dave Graduates from High School which is in a Year 1/2. With the economy we know it could take that long or even longer to sell, so we place our Trust in the Lord and begin the process.

Thanks for your love, support, and prayers.

Speaking

2009-09-02T10:58:00.002-04:00

For those that are in the area, wanted to let you know that Bob and I will be speaking at our church's Missions Conference on Monday Sept. 14th at 6:00, and then again on Tuesday Sept. 15th at 7:00. Come to one of our sessions and hear all about our trip!

P.S. On a family personal note, please be in prayer for our youngest son Jacob who is 8. He is struggling badly right now with ADHD, and anxiety, depression etc. We are asking the Lord for complete healing! Join us in that prayer~

Pray for Rain

2009-08-16T20:29:00.002-04:00

National Post:
Kenya is experiencing its worst drought in 20 years. Livestock are dropping like flies, devastating the herdsmen and farmers of the Maasai tribes, and the UN is deeply concerned about the possibility of famine.

Talked with Pamela today; electricity and water is being shut off 3 days a week in Nairobi and surrounding areas. Many people are struggling with hunger. The latest business is getting water; from wherever you can and selling it. Which is scary, due to some of the places they are getting the water.

Please join me in prayer for the Kenyan people. For God to pour down the rains in Kenya.

I am reminded of the story of Elijah, who earnestly prayed for No rain, and for 3 1/2years there was no rain. Then he prayed for Rain; and down it poured James 5:18 tells us, The grass turned green and the crops began to grow.

Let us have faith like Elijah and earnestly pray for Rain for Kenya~

Homesick

2009-08-07T09:33:00.004-04:00

Our diagnosis:

Inverted Homesickness!~

The way in which missionaries unlearn the love of the old home, die to their native land, and wed their hearts to the people they have served........

Daily we think about Africa, pray for Africa, long for Africa, and pray about the journey of getting from here to there!

There is a lot to consider when thinking about moving to Africa. At times it seems overwhelming at other times we have the Peace of God, that He is in control and will lead and guide us in His ways and timing. We have been in contact with the area director of AIM (African Inland Mission) and have found out great details of what it would be like serving with them overseas. As with Most NGO's you have to raise support. This is the area Bob and I are very afraid of to be honest. When you look at the amount that has to be raised monthly with our current economic situation here in America it just seems impossible. But we all know Jesus word "what is impossible with men is possible with God" Will you join us in prayer as we earnestly seek God's plan for us. We have been told by many Missionary friends and NGO's that the process from getting here to there is anywhere from 18months to two years. In two years David graduates from High School, in which we feel better about leaving at that time; as well Noah will be finished with his elementary years here in America another good time of transitioning if we do go overseas. As two years may seem like a long time, we all know how time flies by. And we all know it could take that long to sell our home, which we are hoping to put on the market next June. So lots to pray and think about and plan for, and lots of seeking. All we for sure know now is that we are open and willing. God will take it from there! We greatly appreciate your prayers for us during this journey.

"And we know that All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" Rom. 8:28

settling.....

2009-07-14T12:04:00.003-04:00

Well we've been home a little over a week, and were starting to settle back into some sort of a routine. Today is the first day I have felt good and alive. My sciatica is doing better, now that I am on meds for it and have seen the Chiropractor 5 times!

We've been busy with other Dr. appts. had both boys at the dentist today, and last week had Jacob into a new Dr. one that specializizes in ADHD, as he has been having very negative side effects from the patch. So he is now on a different med, and we are praying this one works, with no bad side effects!

I am back to watching one child for the rest of the summer, so we have been having fun going to the pool, and movies etc. Now if I can just get myself to stay home and unpack that would be good. But no fun :) The end of this month we will be taking off again for a week, to go to our Church's District Camp Resort in Vermilion Ohio for a week of Bible and Missionary Conference. We are looking forward to being up there hanging with family, and talking more Missions stuff!

As we settle into being home in the States, we are continually seeking the Lord and His will for us in Missions. We have been in contact with an organization, and are praying about our future. There is a lot to think about, plan for etc.....and we want to make sure it is all done in God's timing and will. Please continue to pray for us and God's leading. We also feel led to continue Missions work while here in the States. I am hoping to lead a Womens Missions Bible Study, and Bob and I together will continue to spread our zeal for Missions to all those around us, and hope to get involved in some projects state side.

Well I am sitting here staring at a huge paper pile, that I should attempt to get to. But wanted to take just a moment to update.

In September we are hoping to have a special time at our home of sharing our Kenyan stories and eating some good Kenyan food. Details to come in August!

Blesssings to all

Back in the United States

2009-07-06T08:19:00.003-04:00

We're back in Ohio. Kids were up at 6am this morning, wide awake and ready to play. I was up at 4am. Guess we're gonna have some jet lag issues...lol.

Please pray for Janell as she is having some leg & back issues w/pinched nerves & some numbness in her leg. She had a rather miserable flight home yesterday & didn't rest too comfortably overnight. Otherwise than that & the "extended stay" in Brussels, as Janell mentioned above, the return was uneventful. And a HUGE thank you to Jessica for handling the baggage issue for us - they were waiting for us when we arrived in Cleveland last night. Jessica, we cannot tell you how appreciative of that, we are!

We definitely miss Kenya, and it's very, very clear that we are going to return someday. The only question now is - "for how long?". All four of us can see ourselves making Nairobi, home.

That said - please pray for us for our future plans and where God will help us serve. Once again, thank you so much to all of those who have been praying for us and/or gave financially to this trip. We felt amazingly blessed by the Holy Spirit while there and hope that we were a huge blessing to those we served while on the ground there.

URGENT

2009-07-04T06:02:00.002-04:00

We are in Brussels, safely arrived from Nairobi. However they overbooked our flight from Brussels to New York, and needed 5 people to opt to take a flight tomorrow morning to New York, in return they would give each 700usd in vouchers on American Airlines. So Bob and I and the boys decided to take the option, as we LOVE to travel, and now have free airline tickets for our next Family Vacation!!! Jessica went on home to New York, as her hubby is anxiously awaiting her arrival!

PLEASE PRAY FOR JESS, AS SHE GET'S INTO NEW YORK SHE WILL HAVE TO TAKE ALL OUR LUGGAGE THROUGH CUSTOMS!

THEY WILL HELP HER OUT THEY SAID, AND SHE DOES HAVE A 3 HOUR LAYOVER, SO THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME.

IT'S JUST GOING TO BE A HASSLE WITH 7 PIECES OF LUGGAGE!

WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO HER FOR DOING THIS!!!!! SUCH A BLESSING!

So we are now in Brussels at the Airport Holiday Inn, with a pool for the kids and now a good night sleep before another 8 hour flight home in the morning! We are praising God for the extra sleep tonight for the boys before the next flight!

Lions & Tigers & Bears - OH MY!

2009-06-30T11:46:00.001-04:00

Okay, perhaps only the first one. But boy did we see a lot of animals! We are wrapping up our 2-day safari to Amboseli National Park, and the wildlife seeing was out of this world!

But to me, of course, was the view of one of the greatest volcanoes in the world. Rising 16,000 feet above the savanna floor, and over 19,000' tall in all, was the stunning Mt. Kilimanjaro. Absolutely amazing to see it dominate the entire skyline for over 50 miles from end to end! Wow.

So what wildlife did we see? Well, there were innumerable zebras, wildebeests, gazelle & elephants. As in 1000's of the first three and hundreds of the last one. Lots of musk ox/water buffalo (whatever they're called). A dozen or more hippos and water bucks. And about 12-15 lions, including a number of cubs & a fresh kill (yummy!).

Of course I'm not going to forget about Janell's favorite - the giraffe. Alas, there apparently are not many twigas (Swahili for giraffe) here in Amboseli right now, so we've only seen about ten. Janell is obviously not overly thrilled with that...lol.

Janell, Jake and I have had a few bouts w/minor illnesses this week - mostly a cold for Janell & stomach issues for Jake and I. However, it's nothing we cannot handle, except that all three of us had to miss our last church service on Sunday, the worst day of it. BUMMER!

Anyhow, thanks again for your continued prayers & support. We are absolutely in awe of Kenya and could certainly see ourselves serving permanently here. God created some of the most beautiful people and land in the world, and combined them in Eastern Africa!

Praise His holy name & thank you, Lord, for allowing us to share Your love here in Kenya!
Bob

2009-06-27T13:18:00.003-04:00

Well today was our last Saturday here. Our last VBS! I asked to speak to the kids at the end of VBS today, and should've known better, as of course I started crying! Shocking I know. It was great to have Bob there today! All the kids are mezmorized by the big Mzungu guy! It's cute.

Tomorrow we will enjoy our last Sunday service; and then we are having ALL of Pamela's family here for dinner! We leave for Safari early Monday morning, and won't be back till late afternoon Wed. so we don't have much time left with them, which is very sad, and makes me cry a lot. But I try not to think of it, and am trying to live it all up right to the end!

Enjoy the pics! We have had Internet at home now for a week, and it's been so nice to be able to load pic easier, and to not have to always walk to the Internet Cafe!

So Kwaheri for now, and enjoy the pics! Yesterday Pamela and Bob and the boys enjoyed a 12 hour day going on a tour 2 hours outside Nbi, to Hell's Gates, Nakuru Lake, and Mt. Lagenot. Jessica and I spent the day at an Orphanage holding and feeding babies! It was a great day!

P.S. we were able to purchase hundreds of bags of rice to hand out to the children at VBS to take home to there families! Thank you for your financial support which allowed us to do this :)

the boys in a hot spring with a Massai

Bob's team at VBS won the untangle game!

Pamela and boys at Hells Gate

Pamela and boys with a Lava Rock

Bob and Jess giving out Rice after VBS

Random Pictures

2009-06-23T14:56:00.003-04:00

Jacob and Pamela's nephew Shadrack! eating burritos

me and "my" Kibera kids! the girl I am holding LOVES to rub my arm!

me and Pamela's neice Samara! I love naked brown butts!

in America we have exersaucers! In Africa we have plastic tubs to play in

Pamela and Jacob doing a Word Search together

P.S. we are NOT ready to leave :(

God is Good

2009-06-23T13:41:00.004-04:00

Read note below~!

front shop area, door and window

more of the front shop area

more of front shop

in back of shop which will be an apartment....looking through door to shop

outside looking at front of shop, which will be renamed for sewing business

Hey all, wanted to let you know we were able to find Pamela's Mom an Amazing shop for her sewing business within walking distance to her home! The place is on a Main Road, where vacant shops are unheard of! And it was such a God thing of how we spotted it! Here are some pics of the shop. Hopefully next week we will have pics to share of the shop filled with her business stuff!

Random thoughts and stuff

2009-06-20T03:59:00.002-04:00

Just some random things that have crossed my mind while here:

Yay: Bob arrives tonight

I miss having a microwave

At resteraunts here when you order a drink (soda) they ask if you'd like it warm or cold........there is a theory that drinking cold soda will give you a cold.......hmmmmm (pamela)

I wish Kayla was here!

They don't have hard taco shells

The boys LOVE brown eggs

When we get up at 10:00am, they laugh as that is mid-day for them.......Hee

It makes me mad that there are so many Orphans and the govt. makes it nearly impossible to adopt and give them a better life

I wish I could vacuum the living room rug; instead we use a course brissel broom

I did not like the Market brokers, chasing me around the market to get a sale

Glow sticks that we brought are a HUGE hit! Especially when the power goes out; the neighbor kids come to us for light!

To keep your shoes clean you gotta wash them atleast every other day

I love brown babies with runny noses and bare butts!

Thank you all for your prayers! and for support..... we have been able to purchase stuff for Pamelas mom to start her business, and will be able to get football supplies for Pamela's brother in laws football ministry!! It's been a blessing to serve and help in these ministries! And you are a part of that! :) Blessings to you

2009-06-17T15:12:00.003-04:00

Habari to all!

Well, I got a chance to speak to Janell at length today - two phone calls, half a dozen emails and perhaps 20-25 text messages. GREAT chance to catch up. Here's some stuff we chatted about:

Electricity - Unlike clothespins, electricity is not overrated...lol. The power had been out for two days, then the groundskeeper was able to get it working again, and now the entire neighborhood's power went kaput. As of 9pm their time (2pm ET, 11am PT), they were without electricity. Unfortunately, they lost most everything in their fridge - bummer!

Boys - They are having a great time. Jake has said that he "maybe" he wants to live there, because of all the new friends he & Noah have made. Both kids have plugged in quickly to local kids-scene and have made tons of new mates! In fact, when the schoolkids (it's still the school year over there) get home, they come straight to our place to ask for the boys!

Ministry - It is going great and they are seeing things come along wonderfully in their various ministries. This past weekend, a whopping 125 kids showed up for their VBS that they are running! And the soccer camp has been a great success so far. Please keep praying that the Kenyan's minds & hearts remain open to God's grace for them! Thanks for your support here!

Donations Part - Some of the things that our support money has gone to include supplies for the Vacation Bible School (crafts, etc.), supplies for the soccer/Bible camp (soccer balls, cones, etc.) and materials for Pamela's mother to run her small business (she is a seamstress) and generate revenue to support her and her family! The Kenyans have been extremely grateful for these things, that couldn't have happened w/o your support! Thank you!

Please continue to pray for the four of them, as well as myself as I head over on Friday! Please especially pray for Jessica & her hubby, Steve, as they are really struggling w/being apart from one another. They have only been married two months, so a full month apart is understandably very tough at this early stage of marraige!

And while you're praying, praise God for no health nor safety issues to date, and for putting so many people in their path, that are open to the Gospel, to minister to!

In His Grace,
Bob

2009-06-17T08:31:00.003-04:00

Since Janell wasn't able to go into full details about the electrical issues, here they are via email from Janell:

"Now onto our new issue. yesterday after returning home we noticed there was no power. so we thought okay another round of a short power outage. then about 4 hours later i went outside and noticed everybody else had power but us. so we try to talk with people and figure it out. the guards took us to the main switch for the whole compound and the fuse for our house was disconnected. So we went to house number 1 where they know the number for our landlord and she said the power company was out earlier and disconnected some as well as hers. and she had paid for her electricity and was not late, so she called them and they came out several hours later and apologized and reconnected it. well by time we got back and found this all out it was 8:00 and electricity company was closed. so we got up this morning to try to call power company and pamelas phone is dead. ugggghhhh so she has headed downtown to the company to figure it out. the girls paid for 2 months of power and we checked our balance and had hardly used any so they must have mistankly pulled ours instead of someone elses. they dont have them marked. so we are going on now 2 days of no power and a refrigerator full of warm food. we are so pissed. and of course the system works so differently here. but pamela said she was going to ask for compesation for there mistake of our lost food.it rained all night so it is a muddy pit here now. Welcome to Africa! :)"

And from Jessica in an email to Nancy (her mom):
"It's SO very hard being away from Steve and only being able to get a message every 2 or 3 days. It’s getting harder and harder as each day passes. It’s so hard to have no communication. I feel so separated. As for calling Pamela’s cell - Pamela has to constantly buy what is called "airtime" He phone uses airtime to place calls to anyone, to receive calls from anyone and to send and receive texts so, when all her airtime is used up, she has to wait till we go into town the next time and buy some more airtime. Also lately we've been having problems with our electricity (we currently don’t have any but should get it later today) and her phones dies. We visited the market yesterday and will be going one more time when Bob gets here. They have almost anything you can think of (coffee, baskets, wallets, placemats, knives, bracelets, key chains, paintings, figurines, coasters, etc). So we paid for some more VBS supplies... tonight is our 2nd night of soccer. The soccer program is helped run by Pamela’s brother-in-law, Everence. Friday we are going to buy some extra soccer balls, some cones and some penneys for them.... the number of kids that show up to play and how far they walk is incredible. Last soccer night we gave them some glow bracelets and tonight I think I’m going to share a few verses and then were going to pass out some candy to them. Tomorrow will be our first day helping out with a program called music for life. We’re still not sure what exactly well be doing. It could be anything from laundry, to stapling, to teaching etc. Friday we are going back to visit in the Kibera slums. We bought some bubbles to blow and play with the kids. We’ll also pass out some candy to them.Saturday will be our second day of VBS. Last Saturday there were close to 150 kids and we were running out of supplies. Praise the Lord! This week we are expecting it to double!"

As you can see, there are definitely some issues that we need to be praying about. Also, please pray for my trip over, as heavy thunderstorms are predicted for Friday afternoon in both Cleveland and Chicago, in addition to some possible complications w/my British Airways flight from London to Nairobi.

Bob

UPDATE at 10:16am (about an hour later): I was able to speak w/Janell on the phone and the power came back on as I talked to her. Albeit illegally. (long story). They should have full, legal power back in the next 2-3 days. The electric company admitted their mistake - they attributed the last payment to the wrong account.

prayer

2009-06-17T06:32:00.002-04:00

Jambo friends and family!

I only have a few minutes left on internet. But need to ask for prayer! We are having issues with our electricity, perhaps Bob can write more details. But it was a mistake on the power companies end, and we are having problems getting them to fix it. So we are now going on day 2 with no power, which isnt so bad except that we just stocked the freezer and refrig with food that is now all BAD!!!! and it's not cheap to buy food. Please pray that this issue will get resolved today, and that funds will appear for us to replace our food supply.

Also pray for Jessica and her husband as they miss each other extremely, and Satan is using that to get them both down. Pray against the enemies schemes in this situation.

Asante Sana

more pics

2009-06-14T08:35:00.002-04:00

jacob and monica at the National Reserve

Jacob with his new football (soccer) team

noah chatting with a new friend! he finds them everywhere!

leaving Kibera, mama flo on my left and sister Pauline on my right (pams sister)

pics

2009-06-14T08:09:00.005-04:00

Jacob playing at kibera slum

getting ready for vbs with my african mama and a baby i decided to adopt that day

jacob and his new bf Joseph

Habari my friends and family. Was not able to load pics for my last post, so am here again to try for a 2nd time!