Our Kijabe visit and plans for next week

As we drove down the steep hill into Kijabe we felt like we were headed into a different country. Kijabe is in the middle of the forest. It is a small oasis created by the African Inland Mission as their missions base there. they have a hospital, boarding school for mission kids, bible college, printing press and more. The altitude is higher there as well so it is cooler than Nairobi.

So you can picture us winding down the narrow roads just past dark with anticipation of seeing friends that we haven’t seen in months. Primarily we had three objectives. The first two were to connect with two very important Kenyan families and to get reports on how the summer (or winter in Kenya) went with the teams. We also wanted to see how they were doing and to see what their plans were for the coming year. It was great to catch up with them though the time was short. We were able to schedule a meeting on Monday to go and visit a potential site for us to move the orphans too. The plan is to buy some land build a suitable house and Pastor Simon and his wife Margaret would then move in with the kids to take care of them. we are really excited about this opportunity. Please pray that God’s hand will be on this entire process.

The last thing that we were there for was to check on one of our vans (or matatu’s as they are called in Kenya). I had met a mechanic friend of mine from Kijabe in town the other day to look at the van. We were able to get it started after changing the battery and adding some oil. Paul then drove it to Kijabe we he was going to take the engine apart to see how bad it was in there. The report I got was that it needs to rings, bearings and seals but the engine is still in good condition. So, tomorrow I am going to the store to get the needed parts. If all goes well it will be running by Monday or Tuesday. Then we need to do a little body work on the sliding door and a few repairs to the seats and it will be road worthy again!!!

 

Lisa had a rough health day yesterday and I have a slight cold so we aren’t moving real fast today. Please continue to pray that God will give us what we need to serve Him while we are here. Lisa is feeling better today and I got a good night sleep so we are doing better even after 24 hours so that is a good sign!

Lisa went to her bible study today. She went to this study with other missionary wives while we were living here and whenever she gets the chance she likes to go and visit them. I will let her fill in the details later today or tomorrow, all I will say for now is that it was obvious that she had a great time there. She came up to me with a big smile on her face, always a good sign.

I just wanted to take a minute and put in a couple pictures of the new FYM team. They are a blast and we know that God is going to do great things in and through them. please continue to pray for them as they adjust to Kibera.

 
Plans for the week

This next week is filled with more visits and helping out with the teams here. some of the big things on the list are as follow.

Finding land for the orphans

Meeting with the leaders to help them feel comfortable in their roles

Visiting friends and pastors to follow up what happened this past summer and to make 
 plans for the year to come

Working on getting the vans and houses in good working condition.

Signing contracts for houses and making arrangements for payments this coming year.

Visit the orphans and the school to see how things are going and address any needs  that we see

Prayer Requests

• Continue to pray for Lisa’s health as she expends more energy than normal
• Pray that we find the perfect land for the orphanage at just the right price
• Pray that the leaders feel confidence in the Lord for the role He has them in
• Pray also that the leaders would find a good social outlet beyond the team and AIM.
• Pray for favor as we continue to meet with people and work through the TO DO list
• Pray that we get the house packed up and the things sold that we need to before we leave on the 5th.
• Pray for the FYM team as they adjust to life in Kibera. Pray that God would use them in ways they never imagined!

Thanks for keeping up on what we are doing. Lisa and I are both wiped out at the moment and so i am signing off so that we can go home and catch a nap!!

We will try and get some more pictures up soon!!!

we love you all and would love to hear from you.

Scott