Prayer Request For My Daughter As She Commences Her Mission To Kenya

Conor, our prayers for Mary and your family continue. How’s she doing? Are you feeling better? It’s tough, I know, having a child so far away, but she’ll be home before you know it. This mission, as I calculate it, is 1/3 over, and we in our comfy stateside homes can barely conceive of all the good your Mary has done in that time. God Bless her.

Thank you for asking, she is doing quite well. Her mother and I, of course, remain wrecks until her return. We correspond with her regularly by email and less frequently by telephone - I have international calling on my cell phone.

It's hard to believe that she is one-third through her expected tour. There is a possibility she may come back a little early - we have a family wedding at the end of July.

I'll try to get a detailed report from her so that I can update everyone on the thread. Here is a photo of her soon after her arrival with one of her charges:

She has some more recent photos - I'll try to get them posted as soon as possible.

Nos genuflectitur ad non princeps sed Princeps Pacem!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

Wow. Thanks. You can see by the huge smile on her face that Mary’s exactly where she needs to be (hopefully just for now?). Talk about ‘doing the Lord’s work,’ she’s putting herself where others only talk or philosophize. Stay proud, dad. You all remain in my daily prayers.

An update from my daughter Mary in Kenya:

The Nyumbani Village Project aims to establish a self-sustaining, community-based, residential village that will accommodate both those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. The goal of the project is to house approximately 1000 double-orphaned children and 100 grandparents who have lost their security in society by the premature deaths of their own children. The children are provided with a family-like structure under the stewardship of grandparents and ensured parenting, healthcare, and education services within the village or in the outside community. (USAID Assessment 2011)

During my first month at Nyumbani Village I spent time working on different projects within the various departments at the village. I toured the sustainability programs, worked in livestock, and finally the home care department. Nyumbani has developed a program, “Trees for Children,” to grow Melia hard wood trees over the next 10 years to generate income to more than cover the cost of the village. I worked in the nursery propagating the seedlings with women from the local community that work there on commission. Even though we were not able to have conversations past simple greetings and questions, we had fun working. They laughed when I tried to speak the local language (Kikamba) and they liked to share 10 O’clock tea with me.

The livestock unit in the village is integral to the functioning of daily life for the children and grandparents. Right now 7 of the 20 cows in the unit are used to provide milk to the families twice a day. There are also a large number of goats that are milked to enrich the diet of the children. Local chickens are bred to lay eggs while barillas are purchased and grown to sell for meat in the local community. One day the live stock manager pointed out all the pregnant cows to me and I told him to call me when one is giving birth so I could watch. Last week the call came and I ran all the way from the office just in time! The only problem was that it is a boy and they wanted another girl for milking.

The program I found that was in need of the most assistance was the “Sanitation and Hygiene Program” within the Home Care department. As all of the families in the village come from very impoverished places in the region they are not educated on basic hygiene practices and its importance for the health of the children. There are two high school graduates within the village that volunteer in the program as Home Visitors. They go to visit all of the houses over the course of the week to check on their cleanliness, whether there are any major family problems, and to instruct the families on keeping their homes clean and safe. I have been assisting the two girls, Tina and Jacqueline, in this task. We often find ourselves frustrated because some issues are out of our control—waiting for maintenance to replace a broken window or for procurement to buy new mattresses for the children.

Another major problem is the housing of chickens within homes. In the rural areas owning animals is a sign of wealth so it is very important to people to have animals. The grandparents are allowed to keep chickens but they are not provided with proper chicken houses so they usually keep them in the house with the family at night. They may keep them in the indoor toilet/shower, the store room with the food, or in the kitchen with the pots and pans. It has led to a problem of chicken lice within the houses that affects the children. Even when the grandparents have the separate chicken houses they are often in need in of repair as they are poorly constructed structures. The girls and I have struggled to come up with a solution to this problem as there are not any funds to construct permanent chicken houses in the village and the grandparents would not be willing to give up the chickens as they are a source of income.

Working in this program is challenging but the small successes we make are rewarding and it has been a great way to get to know the children and understand the culture. During the month of April the children are on vacation from school so when we visit the houses we can talk to the whole family about sanitation and hygiene issues. I have gotten the chance to know them on a personal basis and they can come to me about more personal problems. There are also special cases that have come to my attention such as children needing to be assessed for learning disabilities or grandparents that need help solving family arguments.

Being involved with Tina and Jackeline has also given me the chance to meet the other high school graduates that are working to improve the village as they wait to go to college or get a job. The houses in the village are arranged in clusters of four ranging from numbers 1-23. Each cluster has one leader, usually one of the children that are in high school or have graduated and are more mature. They are responsible for organizing general cleaning in the clusters on the weekends and assisting in houses that are struggling. We meet once a month to discuss issues in the clusters and any special projects to implement (e.g. cleaning clusters with a lot of litter or aiding a house with a very old grandparent).

The village also has a rotary sponsored “Interact Club” that engages in village wide projects to help make the village a nicer place. We have started a monthly village litter collection as well as cleaning of the social hall. They also collect scrap metal, slash the bushes around the houses, and help in general cleaning within the clusters in collaboration with the cluster leaders. The club has a garden that they are working on during the school vacation with plans to plant flowers around the new administration block when construction is completed. The president of the club is currently a student in the polytechnic school learning dressmaking and is one of the older girls in her house which means she is responsible for a majority of cooking and cleaning. Even with all this responsibility she coordinates the club and its activities to make a positive impact in the village.

The social workers in the village have invited me to go on home visits for potential admittance in the village. I took this opportunity as I wanted to understand the process of evaluating new additions to the village and to know the environments most of the children were coming from. On our visit we went to a place called Mwingi which took 2 hours of driving on winding, dirt roads through the mountains. In an extremely rural and poor area we visited 4 families that day; we left at 8 AM and did not get home until 10 PM. Of the 4 families there were two that demonstrated immediate need and should be brought to the village. A brother and sister of 4 and 5 years of age were living in a compound with their great grandmother who was physically disabled. They slept outside every night until the local church built a semi-permanent home. The children have not been tested for any diseases as the grandmother was unable to take them to the clinic and would forget appointments. When the children were sick it often went unnoticed until someone from the church visited the home to check on them. They were brought to the village 1 week ago. The first few nights were rough for them as it was the first time they had slept in separate rooms but now they seem at home and happy.

Overall living in the village has taken a lot of adjustment. It is in a very rural area and semi-arid climate. Kenyan natives on the staff often complain to me about the heat and how dry it is here—this place is not common to the climate in Nairobi and especially Western Kenya. We use solar power that is only available in some buildings so we all must get used to sharing outlets if we want to charge our phones. Even cooking can be a challenge because we don’t have modern kitchens here. Most of it is done outside with a 3-stone fire or you can cook inside with the bio-gas system we have set up.

The staff and I work Monday-Friday from 8 AM until 5 PM and find ourselves very tired at the end of the day. Most nights we just relax at the guest house, have dinner and play cards or other games. The weekends are slow unless we can get a vehicle to the closest town, Kwa Vonza, and go out to eat. But mostly it is a time to rest, catch up on laundry and go to church.

Nos genuflectitur ad non princeps sed Princeps Pacem!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

Thank you so much for sharing your daughter’s story with us. She is one brave girl....and I know you are bustin’ your buttons with pride in her accomplishments!

God keep her safe as she goes about doing good in the name of the Lord.

(((hugs)))

An update, everyone, for someone we’ve all been praying for..

Conor! Thank you!

God Bless Mary, and you. I know I couldn’t do it. But, it is an experience of a lifetime that will inform much of what she does in the future. Your girl has a big, big heart. Thanks so much for sharing her first-hand experience.

Prayers continue

Great update with a lot of details. Teaching them to fish — rather than giving them a fish.

Fantastic report, Mac...thanks for the update.

Prayers continue for Mary and her mission, and for her parents.

Thank you So Much for this Update, Conor!
God Bless Mary and Surround her with His Lovingkindness,
Envelope her in His Goodness, Provide for her Every Need, and Keep her Safe.

(((((Hugs and Prayers)))))

Thank you for the update. Prayers continue...

Thank you for the update on Mary.

Praying for Mary in Jesus’ Holy Name.
Amen.

BTTT

THank you so much for the update! How fascinating to hear of the challenges... and the solutions this young woman and staff and the villagers are finding.

Praying particularly for the God-solution to the cheap sturdy chicken house problem.

God bless all who love our God and are in the family of those who praise Him.

Lord God, hear our prayers for Mary and for her mission and safety.

Thank you for the update.

Prayers continue....

Thank you so much for the update! I know you must be so proud and yes, relieved to hear from her. She is doing meaningful work there my FRiend, and we will continue to pray that she continues to do so until it is time for her to return safely home!

May God bless and keep you all.
Tatt