Empowering Lives Children's Homes

Illula Update

2009-05-13T16:17:00.004+03:00

Children closed school for April vacation and they were very happy to be home with their parents and to help with the various activities like at the dairy unit and kitchen garden. Most of them performed very well during the end of first term exams and they said they enjoy their new grades. The grade 8 kids are so excited to be candidates for high school this year and are asking for your prayers as they look forward to doing their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams in November. They look forward to joining high school next year and pursuing their dreams

Farming

The kids’ were so excited to work in the dairy doing cleaning, milking and feeding the cows. Most of them now know how to milk cows and they enjoy doing it so much. They love helping their parents to milk the cows and feed the animals. They also helped at the kitchen department to plant kales, cabbages and carrots. Most children were also busy harvesting their crops from their small gardens and planting more crops.

The grade 4 to 8 children were home for two weeks then they went back to school for two weeks holiday coaching.

Easter Celebration

Our children enjoyed the Easter Holiday by remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They had Inter-family competitions to mark the holiday. They played soccer and volleyball. The inter-family competitions makes the children united and close to each other as brothers and sisters.

Birthday Celebration

Those children celebrating their birthdays in April had a wonderful birthday celebration. A cake was baked for them to celebrate their birthdays and the day was a success. The kids’ appreciate the fact that they are growing and most of them have been assigned counselors to counsel them especially now that they are in adolescent ages.

Watoto Marathon

Our intern Jeff Bates who had been training the children every morning on athletics organized a “Watoto Marathon 2009” for our children. The children were very excited about the event. There was a 10 Km and 4 Km races. There were other sporting activities too like volleyball and soccer. The winners were awarded with certificates and presents like pens, notebooks and watches. One of local Radio and TV station took videos of the event and the children were so happy to see themselves on TV.

AWANA Ministry

During the last week of April, the children attended AWANA (Approved Workmen are not Ashamed) ministry which was organized for them by their Sunday school teachers. They learnt new songs, memory verses, bible stories and played games. It was a good way to end the April vacation as they got prepared to go back to school on May 5^th.

Stories from Ilula Children’s Home

2009-03-27T17:46:00.002+03:00

Outreach Missions

Our children have continued to become a blessing to the communities around and far. On February 1^st, the Tumaini choir went to a place known as Kipsangui for a mission. There was a homecoming party for one of the recovered alcoholics who had been recovering at Ukweli Training and Development Centre. The people at Kipsangui were very much blessed from the testimonies, songs, dances and memory verses from the children.

On March 8^th, Kids’ representatives from all the families went to Osen, Baringo for an outreach mission. The children were so excited as they had to spent the night there. The songs, dances, testimonies and memory verses from the Ilula kids blessed the people of Osen so much. One of the children called Gideon Kiptanui touched many people’s hearts from his testimony. He shared to the people how his parents died when he was still very young and didn’t have a chance to know them. He went on to tell them how he encountered a hard life back at home with his old grandmother. He used to work very hard at the farm so that they could get food to eat. He sometimes skipped going to school so that he could work at the farm. He shared how life changed completely since he was brought to the orphanage. He met loving and caring people, got good food, a bed to sleep on and clothes to wear. He didn’t know how to read and write but he was taken to a good school. He thanked ELI and his foster parents for taking good care of him. He told them, “I would like to be an engineer in future and later a member of parliament.” Gideon encouraged the people of Baringo to love orphans because there is a hidden treasure in them. He encouraged them to love and care for other orphans back at home. To the children who had attended the crusade, Gideon challenged them to love their parents with all their hearts. He said, “Parents are very important people.”

Another mission the kids attended was to Pemwai in Baringo. There too, the kids’ were a blessing and one of the children Kenneth Toroitich who comes from Baringo, met his relatives. They were very happy to see him grown, healthy and they hugged him as tears of joy rolled down their cheeks.

Mid-term exams and Half-term

All the children did their mid-term exams on February 28^th before breaking for half-term. Their performance was good. During their half-term break, the children did a lot of activities at home. Since every family has a duty at the dairy unit and kitchen garden, most of the kids spent their time feeding the cows, milking though they are still learning and cleaning the dairy. One of the kids that showed great interest in dealing with the cows was Hillary Kipngetich. He spent most of the time at the dairy ensuring that the animals were well fed. Those children that worked at the farm did watering, weeding and harvesting crops. The children also did general cleaning on their rooms and compound.

Kids’ Health

A few children who were complaining of headaches were taken to the hospital for medication and are now doing well.

Guardian’s Day

Guardians visited the children on March 21^st. The children were very eager and excited to meet their guardians, relatives, siblings and friends. They had prepared songs, poems, memory verses and dances to present to the guardians and visitors. Guardian’s started arriving as early as 9.00 am. They walked in and were taken to meet their children. The kids were so jovial to meet their relatives and siblings. Some of the children had almost lost hope that no one came to see them but when they heard that their relatives had arrived, they ran and hugged them joyfully. The kids took their visitors around showing them their rooms, lockers, garden, dairy and their school. The guardians had time to spent with the house parents getting to know how their children are doing.

Vincent Ngunzulu and Beatrice Jebet gave speeches on behalf of the other kids. Vincent congratulated the house parents for the good work they are doing. He challenged the guardians to love their children and orphans. In academics, he shared that they are doing very well and that some of them are in grade 8 this year. He said they are working very hard and would like to join some of the good schools like Mangu High school next year. His dream is to work with a government office in future. Vincent thanked ELI and all the sponsors. He said, “If it were not for ELI, we wouldn’t be what we are.” He thanked all the sponsors and asked for prayers for ELI and its sponsors. All the guardians and guests were so much moved from Vincent’s speech and they applauded him joyfully.

Beatrice thanked all the guardians for coming and was also thankful for the wonderful occasion. She thanked ELI and all the sponsors.

Mr. Toroitich (ELIK Operations Director) gave a speech on what ELI is doing and thanked all the staff for the good work they are doing. He appealed to local donors that ELI is a non-profit making organization and that donations are welcomed from everybody. He encouraged the guardians to have their children go to school and to spent more time with them.

Mr. Rono (ELCH-I Director) who was the master of ceremony, shared to the guardians about the missions our children have been attending, kids’ physical, mental and spiritual growth. He informed them that those kids who are/will be 14 years by December will visit back home for a week or two. He informed the guardian’s on the change of guardian’s day from March to December. The guardians were very happy of the change to December because they felt in December there would be great harvests, they would have time to travel because it is a holiday and would also have money to buy gifts to the children.

Guardians were excited to see their kids grown and smart in their school uniforms. They encouraged the children to work hard at school and to respect their foster parents. Every family presented a song and memory verse to the visitors and Tumaini choir had a song, dances, poems, and memory verses to present.

The day was a success!

Update written by: Caroline Kiptoo

Kipkaren Report

2009-02-19T16:55:00.007+03:00

Justus Kiplagat
Being a new year 2009 the children were very excited to join the new classes/grades. The term has started well, Justus Kiplagat (pictured below) one of the boys from Rutto’s family is extremely happy to join class two (second grade). He came from a poor background where he used to look after other people’s cows. Upon joining the Children's Home it was his first time to enter into a classroom. It is encouraging to see how hardworking he is. He is very thankful to every one who has contributed towards his success. Justus is aspiring to be an engineer so as to help others the way he is being helped. He is a very humble boy and very willing to help others.

Outreach Mission
We thank the lord for a recent outreach mission. Last week at Kipkaren market place our children held a crusade. We saw God using our kids to touch many lives through singing and dancing. Many people came to listen.

One child Patrick Kiplagat (pictured below) shared his testimony. He told how God has been merciful to him for he could not imagine he could be alive now. Patrick was raised by a single mother. At the time that his mom died Patrick was very sick and was covered in wounds . His grandmother was not able to take care of him. At that time Patrick decided to look for his father whom he knew to be a herdsman.

Patrick borrowed shs 70 {1dollar} for transport,then ported a vehicle for 10 miles looking for his father. Finally he found him drunk. Instead of ushering Patrick in he chased him away with the reason that the boy has bruises and wounds. The father took Patrick to the middle of the forest and dumped him there. Patrick remained in the forest for two days before he was picked by a good Samaritan and was taken to a nearby clinic.

He was later transferred to a district hospital for further treatment. Patrick was living in the hospital when the Home Based Care team from ELI found him. After hearing his story the staff completed a case study to see how they could assist this young boy. He was eventually brought Kipkaren Children’s Home where he now lives.

Patrick thanked the E.L.I, Churches, friends and Organizations who have been standing with him in prayers and financial support towards his life. His testimony has touched many lives.

In the month of December last year we visited a church where the boy shared his story and one member of the church named Cheruiyot was impacted and moved to purchase school uniforms for all 96 children living in the home. We received these new uniforms in January of this year. Below are pictures of the children receiving their new uniforms. We thank the Lord for the lives of these children.

Illula Closing Day Ceremonies

2008-12-19T20:04:00.006+03:00

Samro School closed for the end of the year vacation on November 20^th 2008. The Ilula kids were very happy to close school for December vacation as it is one of the longest holidays in the year. They are excited about the fact that Christmas will be celebrated soon. On that day, the children ensured that they were very smart (well dressed) because their parents were to be present for the closing ceremony. They even went to school earlier than usual because of the excitement.

Kevin, Ruth, Elias and Edison (above) from the orphanage were the happiest kids as they were graduating from Top class to join grade one next year. They were very happy to wear the graduation gowns with the other children from their class. Parents with children in Top class had bought them gifts to congratulate them for their hard work and for graduating from Nursery to Grade 1. The orphanage parents were among those who presented gifts to their children.

The children from the orphanage performed very well in their examination. Dennis Kipchirchir became position 6 in middle class. Elias Kibiwott who was graduating from Top class led his siblings by becoming position 7. Emmanuel Kipchirchir became position 1 in grade 1. Raymond Kipkogei became position 1 in grade 2 while another child Nicholas Kibet became position 3. Irene Jepleting and Benson Kiptoo became positions 1 and 3 respectively. Gideon Kiplimo, Linda Jemutai and Adam Kipngetich became positions 1, 2 and 3 respectively in grade 4. In grade 5, Thomas, Hellen and Sharon led that class. In grade 6 Beatrice Jebet and Edward Kigen emerged positions 2 and 3. Evans Kiprono, Vincent Ngunzulu and Hillary Kipngetich became positions 1, 2 and 3 respectively in grade 7.

All the other children in the various grades performed well also. Samro School kids had entertainment to present to the parents/guardians and other invited guests. The grade 4 kids moved the whole crowd to singing and dancing when they performed their song “The Importance of Education”.

The children are now home helping their parents with various activities and resting after having a busy school term. They are looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the New Year. They are very thankful to God for the protection, guidance, knowledge and wisdom he gave them throughout the term and year in school. The grade 7 kids who will be joining grade 8 next year are so excited that next year they’ll be candidates!

Illula Evangelism Outreach

2008-11-13T14:43:00.005+03:00

Praise God! Last week here at Ilula, we had a one week evangelism at a place known as Kamwago, Chepkorio division in the Keiyo district. Ukweli Training and Development Centre had organized one week evangelism and the AA team and the Children’s home joined them in sharing the word of God.

The Ilula kids’ Tumaini choir were part of the team that went to Kamwago over the weekend. They ministered to the people through testimonies, songs and dance and memory verses. Most people were moved to tears every time the children sang or shared their testimonies of how God has changed their lives completely.

Above, some of the Ilula Tumaini choir kids’, Hellen, Beatrice, Alex, Victor, Gideon and Dickson.

One child Gideon Kiptanui who comes from Chepkorio shared his testimony of how God has been good to him since he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior and since he was brought to the orphanage. Gideon shared how his parents had died when he was still very young and didn’t get to know them. He was left under the care of his grandmother who struggled hard to ensure that Gideon got food and went to school.

Gideon thanked his former teachers back at home very much for teaching him and assisting him emotionally, socially and financially. He thanked his grandmother and the neighbors for being there for him. Gideon thanked ELI for its vision and mission of empowering the poor and oppressed so that they may know, serve and worship God without hindrance. Gideon still remembered very well the very day that he was being picked to be brought to the orphanage by Mr. Rono (Director Ilula Children’s Home). He shared how he ate Chips and sausage at Eldoret town before proceeding to Ilula (though he didn’t know the names of the food at that time.) He shared of how he only knew one language Kalenjin when he arrived at the orphanage but can now speak in English and Kiswahili fluently. He had not known the importance of education at the time he was back at home and could sometimes stay home without any good reason. He said he now understands the importance of education and his dream and vision is to become a member of parliament in future. As Gideon was sharing his testimony, many people were seen sobbing and thanking God for Gideon and the ELI ministry at large. Gideon is in grade seven and is among the top 3 students in his class.

Gideon

Mercy Chesang shared in her testimony that she still remembers very well how her mother died from being struck by lightning. She thanked God for the wonderful parents at the orphanage who are taking care of her and her siblings.

Chesang

The Tumaini choir and the ELI Ilula team was a blessing to the people of Kamwago, Lelboinet, Samich, Chepkorio and Keiyo as a whole. People were taught about Dairy cows and the need and importance of practicing Zero grazing. They were motivated to work hard in whatever they did and above all to Love God with all their hearts, souls and might as the bible says in the book of Deuteronomy 6:5.

The AA team throughout the evangelism period visited the alcoholics to encourage and persuade them to do away with alcohol and drugs and to give their lives to Jesus. Although it was very cold throughout the week, the evangelism was a success and many people turned up for the meeting. As we were coming back to Ilula, many people were promising to put in practice whatever they had learned and that they will come for 3 days training at the Ukweli Training and Development Centre. They were very thankful for the mission and for reaching out to them. Asante!

By Caroline Kiptoo

Ilula Children’s Home Secretary

Ilula Report (October)

2008-10-16T12:28:00.003+03:00

~by Caroline Kiptoo

ELI Founder/International Director Don Rogers arrived at Ilula last week on Wednesday 8th and was welcomed by the children and staff at Ilula. The children were very happy to have him home and wanted to know more about how their friends Joshua and Nathaniel (Don and Amy's sons) were doing. They were very happy to receive letters from Joshua’s friends in the US.

The children did their mid-term exams last week and are awaiting their results. Most of them are certain that they did well and are hoping for the best. We have 10 children from the children’s home in grade 7 and they are working very hard so that they may get promoted to grade 8 next year. Most of them are excited about joining grade 8. Let us continue praying for them that God may help them do well in their studies and future endeavours.

The children spent time at their small gardens over the weekend weeding and planting vegetables. They are very happy and proud of their gardens and what they produce. They also had inter-wing soccer competition and the western wing won both the boys and girls.

Ilula Vs Kipkaren Sports Competition

Moi Day (October 10), is a day that has been dedicated for visiting the sick and the poor here in Kenya. On that day, the Ilula and Kipkaren staff had volleyball and soccer competitions in Ilula. It was a day full of fun as all the staff members from both sides and the children had really awaited the day.

The weather was favorable for the sports. The matches began with volleyball men and Kipkaren men won 2 sets to 1. Volleyball women were won by Ilula 2 sets to nil. The climax of the day was when the men teams from Kipkaren and Ilula played soccer. It was a very exciting game and Kipkaren won 4 goals to 2.

The children from Ilula cheered both teams. The Kipkaren Children’s Home Director was very impressed about the activity and commented, “This should continue!” Pastor Lucas Rono, a parent at Ilula Children’s Home, was one of the organizers. He said that the games were fun despite the fact that each team was fighting for the trophy. He went on to say that everyone was contented with the results and appreciated the efforts of Kipkaren and all the players that participated.

Don was the guest speaker and in his speech, he appreciated the efforts of all the participants for making the occasion successful. He thanked the organizers of the games and commented that, “This brings unity and fellowship to know one another as ELI family.” He challenged the staff members from the book of 1st Corinthians 9:24. He went further to encourage the staff members to search on spiritual matters and that they should not lose hope because of defeat. Don reminded the staff members of having love, hope and faith in whatever they do. In general, he commented that the day was very good. He shared a story about himself as a runner one time that made the staff members motivated and encouraged to finish the race in whatever activity they do.

Thank you, again

2008-10-07T14:37:00.000+03:00

Ilula turned 5!

2008-09-26T08:15:00.006+03:00

Ilula Children’s Home celebrated their 5th anniversary on Sunday September 21st. It was a wonderful time as the children and staff members joined the community members in celebrating God’s love and goodness.

Every family had a chance to present a song and memory verses. Some of the older kids represented the rest in sharing their testimonies. The children really made people laugh through their testimonies and everyone was thankful to God for what he has done, what he is doing, and what he is yet to do in the lives of the Ilula kids.
Leonard Kiprop 13 from Kosgey family was among the children who gave their testimonies. He thanked God for what he has done to the children’s home and to himself. He made the crowd laugh when he said “I came here when I was speaking in soprano but I am now speaking in bass.” Leonard is one of the children who talks less and likes working in his small garden. He has planted beautiful vegetables and strawberries and all the other children admire his garden a lot. Leonard shared about the talents that God has given them. He said he wishes to be an electrician or technician in future because he is very good in fixing broken radios, repairing bicycles and watches. People were so amazed at what Leonard can do. He was very thankful to ELI fraternity that gave him the opportunity to explore his talent.
Kevin Serem 13 and from Kosgey family too talked a lot and made the people to laugh. There was a lot of applause when he finished sharing his testimony. He thanked God because of getting a chance to be admitted at the orphanage as he was among the last children to be enrolled. He shared how he had arrived with a deteriorating health but after getting medication, his health improved greatly. Kevin was very thankful to ELI for providing for their food, medical, education and the loving care they receive from their parents. He shared how it is very easy to be taken to hospital here when one is sick unlike back at home where it was hard for them to go to hospital when they were sick and if at all they had to go, the hospital was so far. There were problems of getting medical fees back at home which forced them to resort to herbal medicine which were so bitter and could not heal them. He mentioned the herbal medicine in Kalenjin (sakitiek) which made the people to laugh even more.
Gabriel Kiptanui 13 from Rono family said he has benefited a lot from ELI and said that it is God who has worked through ELI for him to succeed in various fields like academics that he is doing very well, health wise, spiritually and even physically. He thanked the parents for taking good care of them teaching them the word of God and that he is born again now. He thanked them for taking good care of their clothes and other emotional issues. He was very happy that he has parents to take care of him after losing his own biological parents. He gave special thanks to Babu and Gogo (Mr. and Mrs. Rono, children's home directors) for providing them with guidance and counseling. He thanked all the other staff for playing a big role in their lives.
Gideon Kiptanui from Kiprotich family thanked God for the effort ELI is doing for them to be well catered for. He appreciated the good food that they get. He commented that they cannot fit into the clothes they brought from home now and the ones they were given when they arrived. He thanked the assistant parents for ensuring that their clothes are clean all the time.

Mr. David Kosgey talked on behalf of the parents and he shared that it was very tough for them when they started. They had to do all the work from bathing the children, serving them food, cleaning their rooms and gazebo to giving attention to every child. He was thankful to God that now the work is much better with the assistance from the children who are now grown up and have been assigned some responsibilities.

Mr. Laban Rono the Director Ilula children’s home commented “This far, the Lord has provided and taken care of us.” He thanked ELI as a whole for providing finances and support to the home. He said without them, it would have been hard to care for the children. He commented on the growth of the children since they arrived to date that they have grown tall, they have added their weight and some of the boys have broken their voices. In the side of education, he extended a big thanks to Samro School for providing good education to our children. He also thanked them for their school fee which is much better compared to other schools. The director thanked the community members who have played a big role in supporting the orphanage especially during the post election skirmishes early this year. The community played a big role in providing security to the home. He advised the children to respect every person from the community because they are part of us.

Mr. Samuel Teimuge the Ilula Children’s home board chairman appreciated the entire home for their efforts all the time in taking care of the children. He commented on a lot of changes in the children physically, spiritually, emotionally and academically. He went further to thank the children for their hard work and respect they had towards their parents, teachers and the elderly and towards themselves. He appreciated the work the children are doing in their small gardens in planting vegetables and other crops. He showed the people some of the healthy vegetables the children had taken to church from their own gardens. He motivated the children on what they want to be in future. He gave a good example of John Rono who is well known and a friend to the kids that is now studying at the university to become an engineer. He urged them to pursue their careers.

The climax of the celebration was marked with the cutting of the cake which was done by Mrs. Angelina Rono with the help of the house mothers. Mrs. Rono commented on the children’s development that there is a great change!

Health
A few children were taken to the hospital last week and are now fine. The sewage at the children’s home which had polluted the environment was sucked and the children and parents especially at the western wing are now enjoying the fresh air.

Visitors
Mr. Daniel Ndungu a visitor from Eldoret town visited the children with 1 bale of wheat flour and 25kgs of rice. The children were very happy and thankful to him for his continued support. Mr. Ndungu has been visiting the children severally with different gifts. Another visitor called Sharon visited the children and brought them some clothes.

The AIC Kenya Bishop visited the orphanage. He was actually coming to meet a group of pastors who were having a meeting at the Ukweli Training Centre. It was a big surprise for him to find a large group of children singing for him at the round about. He appreciated what ELI is doing and promised to send some food to the children. He was especially encouraged by Vincent Ngunzulu’s testimony of what God had done in their lives.

School bags
The grade 2, 3, and 4 kids from the children’s home received new school bags. They were very grateful for the bags and promised to work harder at school.

Games Competition
The Ilula staff continues to prepare for the volleyball and soccer competition between them and their colleagues from Kipkaren River. They look forward to the competition early next month. The Ilula kids seem so excited about the competition and they can’t wait to see their parents play that day. They have been encouraging them and motivating them everyday to put more effort in their practice.

News from Congo and Sudan

2008-09-25T11:52:00.005+03:00

Click on these pages to see a full-screen version of the newsletter.

If you'd like to sponsor one of our kids in the slums of Bukavu, Congo, or in Southern Sudan, please contact Diana at our Upland office.

Kipkaren News: September 22

2008-09-23T11:03:00.003+03:00

~Report submitted by Emily Rop

The children are doing well, busy preparing for their mid-term tests.

Saying good-bye to Jane
The children and the entire home were happy seeing off Jane Sawe who was going to a Teachers Training College after completing high school. Jane has been working in the children's home kitchen for the past two years. She is one of the first orphaned children to be taken care of by Empowering Lives.

Jane said “I thank for giving me a chance to serve with the orphans. I was served also: I was able to share my heart with them and give them encouragement and hope in Christ who is the the author and perfecter of our faith.” She continued to encourage the children that God has provided a home and loving parents. The day was colourful and full of compassionate love. Everyone imagined how Jane could be today if it were not God to touch the hearts of other people to support Jane through Empowering Lives. People shed tears of joy for what God is doing He is a father of the fatherless.

Visiting the sick
Last week, our children had an opportunity to visit a sick neighbor. Betty has been sick for a long time and the children were able to assist her to do laundry, cut her grass [with machetes], fetch some firewood and water, and pray for her healing. I thank God for the compassionate hearts our kids have.

Washing machine
Nowadays, even the assistant parent have time to visit the needy since we have been given a washing machine. For the past two years, the assistant parents have been doing the children's laundry by hand. Having a commercial washing machine is not only saving them time, but it's especially good on their backs and their hands.

Staff activities
The staff of Kipkaren have been busy preparing for friendly matches between them and the staff of the Ilula Children's Home early in October. It will be fun to see them compete and to see who will take the trophy. Also, our staff had an opportunity to be taught how to use fire extinguishers. We use open fires for cooking, and paraffin lanterns whenever the power is out. It is important for us to know how to put out a fire.

Visitors
Our children were visited by students from a nearby secondary school. They had an opportunity to interact with the students, and the students blessed them with different gifts like soft drinks, biscuits and bars of soap. The students promised to pray for our children.

Bereavement
We had a big challenge two weeks ago. Our director, John Busienei, lost his sister through a tragic road accident. Fifteen people from Bush's village lost their lives, four of them were members of the same family. Our children felt for their directors. Some children went to console them in their home through singing and praying with them. Despite these challenges, God saw us through. His mercies were new every morning. Glory and honour be to his name.

Health We haven’t had any major problems recently except common colds. The kids are growing well. They are going on practicing new songs hoping to make a recording sometime.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

More news from Kipkaren

2008-09-01T09:21:00.002+03:00

~by Emily Rop
Children's Home Admin Assistant

This week, our children were ending the youth camp and they are ready to resume for their studies. Some of our children aged 12 years and above had a wonderful encounter during the camp time, they had an opportunity to interact with other youth from different places hence they felt part of the community. They stayed for five days in the camp. When you'd run into them while they were at camp (which is hosted at the training center next to our children's home) they were very excited!

Some committed their lives to Christ, nine of them were baptized and truly their lives are transformed.

One of them named Linus Kipkoech testified and said that he will never miss another camp because the teachings about how to overcome temptations and forgiveness enabled him to forgive his uncles who took their property and some of the cash their parents had left when they died, and they were taken to an aunt's place where they could not go to school nor wear good clothes yet the uncles were using their money to educate their children. Since his parents died, Linus' heart has been wounded, especially when he remembered his uncles. After the camp he no longer holds any bitterness in his heart rather than to pray for them and he said let the will of God be done.

Healthwise, the children are doing well. Juli and Michelle, our nurse practitioners, did general examinations on all the children and she was amazed on how our the children are doing growing strong and healthy. We thank God for his care and protection. This month of August we didn’t have many cases of malaria.

Our maize is now ready for harvesting. The children roast it in the evenings as they share their live experiences and past stories with their parents . Our children did commendable work of transplanting trees about two thousand and we still have another four thousand which we intend to transplant as we are looking for market for the remaining so that we can sell and get some income.

Our director whom the kids call Babu and Koko (grandfather and grandmother) came back from their leave. The children put a ribbon on the gate then the directors had to cut it as they entered the compound. The children sang and hugged them as they shed tears of joy! You could see the children felt a sense of belonging and the orphaned spirit is not seen any more.

The kids are back to school and their spirits are very high promising to work hard as they continue to trust upon the lord to remind them whatever they have learned.

Kipkaren News

2008-08-22T09:13:00.002+03:00

~by Emily Rop
Children's Home Admin Assistant

It is with great joy that we share what the lord has done at Kipkaren children’s home this week. We are doing well. God has been gracious and merciful to us all. We thank God very much for what he continually does in the lives of our children, we have seen children develop in all aspects of life spiritually, academically emotionally and even physically.

This week the school has closed for August holidays, our children this time round improved so much both in position and marks in their respective classes.

Teachers are doing commendable work in training and guiding them to be good future leaders who will lead and show good example to people they will get opportunity to serve in future. You could not imagine how this kids were when they first came. Some were 10 years old and they had not seen a classroom before! They had been looking after other people's cows. One of those kids is Victor Nyukuri, who is now in class two, and Justus Kiplagat who is in class one. Both boys can now express themselves, read and write. It is amazing and we thank everybody who is contributing for their upkeep.

This week we had visitors from Califonia: David and Judy Blackford. They have been a blessing unto our children and entire home. They prayed, counseled and encouraged our foster parents following the post election violence, some of our foster parents came from the community that was most affected. We thank God that now peace is restoring and the evicted families have started to settled.

The Children’s Home directors went for their annual leave and the kids are missing their granny night where they could share stories, riddles and songs together . They will be back on 24th of August and Mr Ezekiel Moiben has been in charge of the home during their absence.

Holiday
The children are enjoying staying with their parents, assisting them by doing daily chores like weeding flower beds. During this time, they have planted one thousand trees and are aiming to plant another three thousand before the school reopens. Parents too have the pleasure in helping them do their evening studies seeing them one by one thus learn their strong and weak points.

Educational Tour
Beside helping their parents at home, the children wish to go out to see wild animals, visit other children’s homes at least to get new ideas. Finances are an issue, though we are trusting God to provide for future trips as to break the monotony of staying in the same place from time to time.

Spiritually
Our children are growing spiritually. This is evidenced from the testimonies and sharing they give. They have very powerful testimonies they have started sharing their past experiences without fear. They also confess that since God has provided a home for them they don’t feel any pain any more in their hearts. They have kept on presenting choirs in the church during presentation time. We are for the idea of recording these songs so that we can sell and get a source of income but so far finances is an issue at the moment we are trusting God for a sponsor to support us in recording and producing these songs.

News from Ilula

2008-08-18T09:06:00.001+03:00

~by Caroline Kiptoo
Children's Home Admin Assistant

Bwana Asifiwe! Praise God! It has been a successful and busy week for all of us at Ilula this week. Glory and honor to God for seeing us through and for answering our prayers. The Lord has continued to guide our paths. The children are home for August vacation and are enjoying every bit of it. During their end of term II exams, their performance was above average in general. Their languages especially English has improved a lot. Most of them can now communicate fluently in English. They will be going back to school on Monday, August 18th for extra coaching for two weeks.

Birthday Celebration
There were 3 children celebrating their birthdays in the month of August. The celebration was colorful! The three children and some staff members celebrating their birthdays in August joined hands in cutting the cake and ensured that at least every person tasted it. Pastor Dave and Judy who were visiting Ilula from Kipkaren were part of the visitors who made the party a success. Judy encouraged the children to celebrate their birthdays and be thankful to God for everything he has done in their lives.

Visitors
Pastor Dave and Judy from the US who had been at Kipkaren visited Ilula Children’s home early last week. The children were glad to welcome them with a bunch of flowers at the round about. The visitors were so happy to meet the children and they looked forward to interacting with them, getting to know them and playing with them. Dave and Judy also conducted a one day seminar with the house parents on having Visions. The parents benefited a lot from the seminar. They also spent most of their time with the children cheering them at the field during soccer competitions, playing with them and taking meals with them. They left on Tuesday to go back to Kipkaren. As they bid goodbye to the children and staff, they encouraged the children to love one another as God loves us. They were happy to have been a blessing to the children and staff and to have also received blessings at Ilula.

August Vacation
The children have had lots and lots of activities to do since they closed school two weeks ago. They have been very busy cleaning their rooms, gazebos and the compound ensuring that everywhere is clean all the time. They have also been helping at the kitchen garden to weed and plant more kales. The older kids have been working on their small garden beds behind their houses weeding and planting more crops. One child who loves gardening a lot was blessed when he received some water melon, pepper and cucumber seeds from his sponsor.

The kids have also been participating in sports. There was inter-house competition in soccer between Chepsat family Vs Kiprotich family and Rono family Vs Kosgey family. Every family cheered their team and for sure it was a success. It is quite encouraging that the Ilula children understands and appreciates that at the end of every game, they are all winners. Despite the fact that in a game there are winners and losers, the Ilula kids appreciates that we are all winners. One child said “At ELI, we are all winners!” isn’t this great? Praise God!

VBS which is normally conducted during the holidays started yesterday August 14, 2008. Edna one of ELI’s staff who is concerned with the Children’s Ministry led the VBS. The children are enjoying it very much and are learning a lot. They are being taught bible stories, memory verses, missionary stories and new songs. They will have a chance to present what they have learnt in VBS on Sunday at church.

This week at Ilula Children's Home

2008-08-05T17:16:00.007+03:00

~ by Caroline Kiptoo
Ilula Children's Home Administrative Assistant

It’s a pleasure once again to share some of the activities that have been going on in Ilula this week. The Lord has continued to be good to us and has protected our children from sickness especially being a rainy season. No children were taken to the hospital this week.

Dedication & Opening of New Gazebos
The two new gazebos were dedicated to God and officially opened on Monday 28th July. Ribbons were cut by the director, assistant director, parents and children representatives to officially open them. The children were very excited to finally use their own gazebos. They moved in the same evening and served their food from there. The children’s home director Mr. Laban Rono encouraged the parents and children to take good care of the gazebos. He told them to maintain cleanliness as usual and to ensure that the tables and benches were taken good care of. He went further to encourage those families that remained in the older gazebos to appreciate and continue praying to God for funds to be found so that theirs could also be renovated and be put iron sheets like the new gazebos and to be painted too. He thanked the families for the good work they have been doing and living together in harmony and encouraged them to continue with the same spirit of togetherness. He reminded the children that as much as every family will be using their own gazebo, we are still one family in Jesus Christ.

The children are very happy to share family time together in their gazebo. Mrs. Mary Chepsat (one of the parents) said, “It is now very easy to serve food to my children, to monitor them as they feed, to help them do their homework as they will be in one place and to take good care of my family as a whole.”

At the Kosgey family, Priscah shared that her children are rejoicing and thanking God for being in their own gazebo. She reported that her children have already come up with a duty roster on who is responsible for cleaning the gazebo, cleaning the tables and those helping to serve food. Priscah said that they are training them to do some of the activities by themselves as they will be going for their annual leave soon. They want them to be responsible children.

One of the Kosgey children that were excited the most about every family using their own gazebo is Apollo Gitahi. Apollo (9 years old) requested his parents to be the leader of their gazebo and promised to work hard to ensure that everything is in place. Apollo is now the leader in charge of cleanliness at Kosgey’s family. Apollo’s mother Priscah was amazed at Apollo’s determination to be a leader despite the fact that he is still young and there are other older children at her family.

Games Kits
All the children now have new games kits given to them at Samro School. They came home yesterday rejoicing and praising God for the games kits. They said they will be wearing them during inter-house, inter-wing and inter-home competitions. They are now putting more efforts in the various sports games and can’t wait to meet their siblings in Kipkaren River Children’s Home for their next match. The younger children at Ilula are trying to emulate the actions of the older children. For example one of the boys Edison, was trying to jump very high in high jump so as to beat his older brothers. Every time the bar was lifted he wanted to try and jump over it like his brothers did.

The Needy
Ilula children have a big heart for the needy and sick people. As the Kosgey family’s children were watching news on TV recently, they saw a young child with a heart problem who needed a lot of money to undergo heart surgery. One of the children, Hellen, challenged her parents about what they would do about it. Her parents replied they would pray for him and at that moment they all believed and prayed to God to heal the young boy. After the prayer, Hellen seemed not to be satisfied and requested her parents whether they can contribute some money to help the child. We thank God because our children are concerned and care about other needy people and the less fortunate.

Duties and Responsibilities
Day by day, Ilula children improve in their duties and responsibilities. One area they have really improved in is the area of marking their clothes so that they don’t get lost. One boy Vincent had found it very hard to knit his name on his clothes. It was not until he received his new games kit that he ran to his mother’s house to ask for a needle and thread to mark his kit. His parents were very proud of him as he did the job perfectly though it was his first time. All the parents have observed a great improvement in time keeping from the children. They have noted that the children have learnt to be where they are needed at the required time. They have also improved greatly in the side of personal hygiene and general cleanliness. One parent reported that children ensure that they are clean before going to the gazebo.

Food
The children enjoy the delicious meals prepared daily for them by the kitchen staff. One of their favorite foods is githeri (mixture of cooked maize and beans). As I was visiting with them one lunch time, I noticed most of them enjoyed eating githeri. Some went to an extent of picking the maize in their plates first then finishing with beans. They normally have githeri 3 times a week. On Tuesday, they were very happy to eat green beans and maize. Mr. and Mrs. Chepsat had harvested their beans and blessed the children with some. The green maize was purchased from town.

Baptist & Hillside
It was so sad to lose one of the cows Baptist early last week after suffering from pancreas injury. The children were very sad to lose one of the cows that gave them milk. Just one day after Baptist died, Hillside calved. The children were all smiles when they heard the good news. One child said, “Thank God that Hillside has calved! Now we can get enough milk.”

Thank you for caring about our children at Ilula. Please let us know if you have questions, or if you would like to sponsor one of our children.

This week at Kipkaren Children's Home: An accident at the bridge, the blessing of a washing machine, and more

2008-07-26T21:31:00.004+03:00

~by Emily Rop
Kipkaren Children's Home Secretary

We opened Kipkaren children’s home in the year 2006. We praise God for his grace, mercy and love since it was started. The home has been running well though with some challenges. For two years now, assistant parents have been washing clothes for 24 children by hand. That means that they stand bent over and doing hard scrubbing every day! We have been praying for a washing machine.

On 15th of July 2008, our prayers were answered. We receiced a commercial washing machine! Our children sung to welcome the machine, they were very happy you could see them jumping around and talking much about the machine, something they had never seen before! They stretched their hands to touch the machine and they slowly escorted the car to the administration block ceremoniously while singing and praising God for the gift.

We really thank God for every person who contributed to purchasing the machine in one way or the other. In a week's time, the assistant parents shall be able to enjoy the device and let their hands to heal out of the scars they acquired during their dedication to wash for the 24 children. They really showed God's care to the fatherless by working tirelessly.

Local Visitors
Last Sunday, 20th July, our children had a wonderful time with students from a high school named Kapsabet Girls who visited us to encourage the children, love and share with them the joy of the Lord. They encouraged the children about education and made friendship with them. They worked around the home and school you could see our children happy, felt loved and finally they blessed them with different gifts: bars of laundry soap, toilet soap and tissues. They visitors also promised to continue praying for us. Our director Busienei appreciated them and he said a true church is the one that looks after the orphans and the widows.

The Bridge Broke!
Normally once a month we visit a nearby church with the children from our home, which is across the Kipkaren River. The bridge was build by one of the ELI teams to assit the community and the children who are going to our school. Without the bridge, the children would have to take a detour of travel 5 miles on foot to reach the school!

Last Sunday, after visiting the nearby church, our children had to cross the bridge to come back to the home. On reaching the bridge, children crossed in groups, the first group crossed with Mr Matekwa who is a foster parent. When they were in the middle of the bridge, one of the bridge cables snapped with a huge sound! They fell down flat on the bridge! Though the bridge didn't collapse into the water, the children's legs were dangling off the edge and everybody was scared. After a minute of confussion and suprise they came back to their senses and supported one onother off the bridge. Glory be unto God that no one fell into the river! It is our prayer that a permanent bridge be build for easy transportations. Many people have lost their lives by crossing this river.

Health
This week we had many children diagonised with malaria though we thank God for the healing they are improving very much. Being rainy season, malaria is very common in this area. Despite of all this challenges the children are busy preparing for their end term exam. Also, one of the girls had to go to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital to get a filling. At the moment, she can smile without any fear of embarrasment or pain. We look forward to the day when our clinic's dental wing can open so the children can receive dental care locally.

We thank God so much for changing the lives of our children spiritually, academically, and even physically.

Beatrice: Our first athletics and drama competition

2008-07-25T18:00:00.000+03:00

It was in the month of May when our teachers informed us that we would go to Kipchoge Keino Stadium for athletics. We were as happy as a king in the palace. We started our practice because practice makes perfect. Our games teacher, Mr. Kogei, took us for cross country training, and we ran throughout our village of Ilula. It was hard but we had to do it.

We did our practice for about three weeks then it was time to go for the competition. We were to meet other schools from the zone. We were very excited to travel to town. We were six children from my family (Rono family) who were to go for the competition. Our parents ensured that we were smart and ready to go. We prayed before we left for school that morning and they gave us some pocket money.

After finishing our Friday assembly and devotion, we boarded the car to Kipchoge. Our father Mr. Nixon was driving us and we enjoyed as we saw many things on our way. We met other students from other schools and there were bigger children than us. The long races started followed by the short races and the other activities.

After everyone had participated we waited for the results. We were very happy to learn that two of our students were to proceed to the district level: Joyce and Rose. We jumped up and down thanking our Almighty Father for enabling us to win. We came back to school very happy.

In the month of June after the athletics we started getting prepared for drama festivals. We prepared poems and shahiri. Some of them were entitled “Pesa” (Money), “Mwalimu Fidhia” “Donda Ndugu” and “Maritha”. The one about money was saying that money is not a very big thing and that we should not boast about it. I presented a solo verse in “Maritha”.

Our music teacher Mr. Edonga Ekai trained us on how to recite poems. He didn’t want to inform us where we were to go but he promised us that if we practiced well, he shall tell us. A list of names of those who were doing very well was read and I was glad I was among the group.

We presented at the zonal, district and two pupils managed to go to the provincial level. Hillary and Fridah went to Kericho for four days and they tried their best.

We thanked God for enabling us to reach the provincials. We are praying that next time we shall get to the national level.

Scophia: The day we went to Kipchoge Keino Stadium

2008-07-23T18:00:00.000+03:00

It was on a Thursday evening and we had prepared the school team and they were practicing hard. They knew that practice makes perfect. We had prepared ourselves because on Friday we would face tough competition.

On Friday morning, I was so excited because I was among the team traveling to Kipchoge for athletics. I woke earlier that usual, took a shower and wore my best uniform. After taking my breakfast, I walked to school. At the assembly we prayed for those going to Kipchoge that they may have a safe journey and that they may participate well.

We reached the stadium faster that I expected. We went round the field where we were going to run. There were so many students from various schools who had come for games. After sometime, we were all assembled at the field to be told what to do. There were many big boys and I was so scared of them I thought if you could step on them by mistake, they would beat you seriously.

My team was the first to run and so children representing all the zonal school lined up to run. We ran as fast as we could but the race was tough. During the short races, one of the runners was disqualified as he was a trained runner.

Rose Jepchirchir was participating in walking race. She was in first position all through until when she heard the bell. Rose did not understand that she had one more round to go so she stopped and the two students behind her overtook her. She never gave up but continued and she became position three. Joyce Jerotich also managed to be among those who were to continue to the District level in the long races. We were given glucose then we ate lunch and came back to school happily.

I thank God for enabling us to participate in games. I am praying that next year we are going to get to the national level in athletics and make our school famous in the country.

Hillary's thoughts on sports and speeches

2008-07-21T18:00:00.000+03:00

On 23rd of May, our school was going to compete with other schools in Eldoret [in athletics]. We did not have enough time to practice, and we had not even competed against any other schools.

We went right to the stadium (Kipchoge Keino Stadium), participated, and waited for the results. Some of the sports we participated in were in 3000m, 8000m, high jump, long jump, walking race and javelin.

When the results were out, some of our students were able to proceed to the district level and the others did not, but we never gave up.

Came the drama festivals, we were ready to participate in it again. We had composed and recited many poems both solo verses and group verses. I was presenting public speaking in “umuhimu wa Amani” (The importance of peace) and another one on HIV/AIDS.

We performed at the zonal and when the results were out some of the children were to proceed to the district level. Our school which was a little known became famous and by now it could be known in the whole province.

Thank God I was able to make it to the provincial level at Kericho with my sister Fridah. We came back to school and polished where necessary. The public speaking topic that I managed to present in Kericho was the one on HIV/AIDS.

We traveled to Kericho and met many schools with children in different uniforms. When it was my time to go to the stage to perform, I stood in front of the adjudicators and I was really shivering but before my presentation, I prayed twice to God to give me the courage to do well. I tried my best and when the results were out, I was position 10 overall.

I thank God for that and for the far he had brought me. I never gave up and I hope next year I am going to proceed further to the national level. I know that it was just a trial as it was my first time and I took the first positions in the zonal and district level.

I am expecting even better results next year!

This week at Ilula Children's Home

2008-07-18T16:37:00.002+03:00

~ by Caroline Kiptoo | Administrative Assistant
Ilula Children's Home

We thank God for his love, care, provision and protection upon our lives in Ilula Children's Home. Everyone is doing well and all the children are healthy. No one has been sick this week and we praise God!

It has been a busy week for the children as they are revising for the end of term II exams starting next week. The older children have also been helping a lot with laundry in the evening after school because our washing machine is broken. They have known how to wash their clothes and are willing to help the assistant parents do the washing. The younger children help with chores like washing their rooms, corridors, brushing their school shoes and picking their clothes from the clothes line.

The nursery school kids had an exciting week as they received games kits from school on Wednesday. They were very happy and they want to wear them all the time. Brian, Kelvin, Edison, Ruth, Caleb and Carole made sure that they passed by the office to show me their new games kits. They are so excited! We have 8 children celebrating their birthdays this month. They were happy to have a joint party and to celebrate with the NewSong team while in Ilula. Diana Jelimo who is being sponsored by Dan Perrine was among those celebrating their birthdays. She was very happy to celebrate in the company of her sponsor.

Our children are very concerned about their education and their future lives. They would like to be doctors, teachers, pilots, engineers, surgeons, artists etc. They are working hard in school and get encouraged by seeing other people who have made it in life. For example, this week Virginia Rono (Laban Rono's daughter) graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University in Nairobi. Our children were happy, encouraged and challenged to work harder when they saw Virginia arrive home in her graduation gown. They hugged her and congratulated her for the good work. Some of them even tried to fit in Virginia's gown. Many children were heard afterwards saying, "I want to work hard so that one day I can wear a gown like Virginia's".

Chepsat's and Rono's children can't wait to move in to their new gazebos. They are so excited and makes sure that they visit their new gazebo's 3 or 4 times a day. They do so especially at lunch time from school to see the progress of the gazebos and whether there is any new thing which was not there in the morning. Every family shall be able to have their own gazebo where they will be taking their meals, devotions and family time together. The kids are very curious to know when they will move to the gazebos.

The Ilula children enjoy sports/games very much. They like playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. They normally play after finishing their duties every evening and during the weekends. They say they want to retain their trophies they won last year in Kipkaren Children's Home during this year's competition. Dancers continue every evening with their practice. They normally present at church on Sunday's and during other function.

The western wing children harvested their carrots and black night shade this week. They sold them so that they can buy seedlings to plant other crops. It is a rainy season now and the children are preparing their small farm beds for planting. They get encouraged and motivated when they harvest the crops they planted themselves. The eastern wing continues to take care of their rabbits and hens. They feed them 3 times a day and have a duty roster to ensure they are attended to everyday.

The children enjoy spending time with the intern Alwin. They like playing with him, working with him and hearing stories from him. One child said, "I like our new intern, he is very strong and above all loves Jesus and he teaches us the word of God everyday".

Two of our children Hillary and Fridah represented Samro School in the Kenya Music Festivals. They went to Kericho (provincial) for 3 days. Hillary was presenting public speaking while Fridah was doing a solo verse poem. Although they did not make to the National level, they are encouraged that it was a good trial despite being their first time. All the children are determined to get to the Nationals next year.

It has actually been a successful week in Ilula. Praise the Lord!

Moving Forward

2008-05-16T23:16:00.005+03:00

by Ilula Children's Home Director Laban Rono

At llula Children's Home, we have been kept by God who has been our security and refuge. We have been praying and have been prayed for by a lot of people in Kenya and outside Kenya. We thank God for the safety that He provided to all of our children and the compound. It was a blessing also to see the District Commissioner come to our aid when he gave us four police officers to take care of the home during the day and night times.

Children were asking questions about their siblings and relatives during the troubled days. The home parents have done a lot of counseling and guidance to assure them of peace coming back in the country and the safety the government is providing to the people of Kenya.

One of the children who was helped a great deal was Hellen (12). Hellen was so relieved when her two sisters reached the orphanage after traveling from their aunt’s home over 30 miles away. They had come to enquire as to how Hellen was doing and if she was safe.

Hellen (on left) with Brenda and Scophia

Hellen was only nine when she arrived in 2004 with her only brother Edison. He was three. Hellen had Tuberculosis (TB), which she contracted from her dying mother. We thank God that it was the type of the TB was not contagious. Hellen could not play, run, do manual work or even wash her own clothes. Her health was bad and she seemed sad quite often.

On completing treatment, Hellen improved and she became happy and social. She joined grade 2 that time with a performance ranging between 50 to 60% mean grade. She has since then improved from being among the last five in exams to among the top five.

During the end year exams in grade 4 in November 2007, Hellen was ranked 6th position out of class attendance of 32. She managed to score total marks of 414 out of the possible total of 500! Her former negative attitude towards education has changed and is now very positive and hard working.

When children are doing Bible devotions in their family or in Sunday school, Hellen takes the role of leading and even teaching the other children by helping the adults. She can read and speak English and Kiswahili fluently, something she could not do when she arrived at the home. Hellen can now run, jump and do all sorts of chores happily. She is good in basketball and soccer.

Of recent, she has composed two songs and learns four memory verses from the Bible every month. She gets some mild chest pains during some cold weather and she is advised to wear heavy clothing that time. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up and upon completion of her schooling. She appreciates all the care and help she gets from the orphanage. She says she thanks and prays for her sponsors’ every day.

Become a child sponsor

2008-02-09T20:37:00.001+03:00

Would you like to be a part of changing a child's life by sponsoring one of the ELI orphans in Kenya? There are several children in Ilula and Kipkaren who need partial or full sponsorship.

Contact Diana Hom to find out about current needs at any of our children's homes.

How you can help

2008-01-08T14:16:00.001+03:00

Please check out the ELI blog for how you can help during this time. There is great need for additional support due to prices having skyrocketed as a result of the unrest, as well as ELI having provided assistance to internally displaced peoples.

Update from Laban at Ilula

2008-01-06T13:58:00.000+03:00

Things have gone bad ever since the outcome of the elections. There is tension all over. Houses
were burned even as close as 600 meters from the children's home. Gunshots from the security forces were heard trying to stop mobs that were causing all that was going on.

We have been trusting in God though the situation has caused fear and anxiety among the children as well as adults. There have been up to 200 people taking refuge at the children's
home. We have no security as the government cannot provide now. They concentrate mostly
on those in makeshift camps for those displace and urban centers to take care of property
from damaging and looting.

Thank you for your prayers!

Don Rogers and his family were here that time and they managed to get some organised flight to Nairobi. They are safe, planning to fly back to US on the 11th. They were able to purchase some food for Ilula and Kipkaren in Nairobi and sent it by plane to Eldoret. We received the food on the 5th with Kipkaren staff who drove through numerous mob roadblocks to Ilula.

Shops and banks have not opened yet. Schools and colleges have been pushed to reopen on the
14th& 15th Jan.

The Red Cross was here yesterday promising to bring food today for the displaced people
and include the children. We hope they will do something though we are told the organization is really stretched with the magnitude of the problem.

We will keep you updated of our situation. Keep praying for us for God's protection on us.

It's a miracle that no child nor adult became sick at all from the start of the unrest. [We would not have been able to get anyone to the hospitals.] Also, hospitals are busy with the wounded and medicine is scarce now.

The grace of the Lord has been sufficient for us. We had wonderful prayers and encouragement with staff yesterday and the Lord moved mightily to give us more courage and strength to go on trusting and believing in GOD'S MERCIES AND DELIVERANCE for his children people and our nation KENYA.

Please keep praying.

Everyone here greet you and appreciate your concern. Things are cooling down at least a bit.

News from Laban at Ilula

2008-01-05T12:44:00.000+03:00

This is an excerpt from an e-mail from Laban. Please check out the ELI blog for more news from Don and Amy.

God has been with us keeping us safe from the insecurity around. Your prayers are the source of our courage and faith in God who will bring the calm and peace we so need in our country.

Violance is reducing in many parts of the country with so many people displaced. There is need
for humanitarian aid and resettlement. Our major prayer request is for our leaders in government and opposition to agree and communities to go back to normal life as before.

Shops and business are still at standstill. Food is scarcely available. The children, parents and my children are all here. We have been hoting upto 200 children and women from the community since the unrest, but most of them have gone back to their houses or to the makeshift camps.

We have faith God will bring all these to an end soon.

Jesus the saviour answers prayers.

God bless you all.

Laban

Oh, what fun!

2007-12-17T23:40:00.001+03:00

Dennis, smiling
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry

Click on this picture of Dennis to see more photos of the ELI Children's Day celebration of last week.

This Friday has been declared a "Day of Love" at Kipkaren Children's Home. Community members have been encouraged to "adopt a child" and to come and visit the child as a family. Community members are also digging into their pockets to buy new shoes and clothes for all the kids.

Unfortunately, I will not be here on Friday to take photos of the events. Nevertheless, you can be assured that the children truly will be loved!

ELI Children's Day 2007

2007-12-12T19:11:00.000+03:00

This day, judged by the kids' comments, was an enormous success! Kenyan grown-ups love speeches, but I had asked the kids what they wanted to do, and they said, "Play!" So we cut the speeches to the absolute minimum, and made as much time as possible for playing.

And did the kids play! There was volleyball, basketball, and football (soccer.) Though Ilula's teams easily defeated the younger Kipkaren team in the first two sports, they had to work hard for the champions' trophies of the day: Football Champions. Kipkaren has already vowed to go and bring back the trophies next year.

And the kids and staff alike already talking about having the next Kids' Day in Ilula. "Can the children pleasee spend the night here?" one girl was asking the director as they walked their friends to the bus. Of course, it wouldn't be possible. But the girl immediately decided that "Next year, when we go to Ilula, we'll have to spend the night."

The games were fun. The food was incredible! (We had slaughtered a VERY large bull for the occasion.) But I think the best was simply to see small groups of kids playing, or sitting in various spots around the Kipkaren campus, visiting. Some kids hardly left the hand of their new-found friends all day!

I wish I could be a fly on the wall the next few days as the children relive today. Many (two entire rooms) were literally up out of bed by 3 am today, simply too excited to sleep any longer. So they got dressed, clean their rooms, and waited for the bus to bring them. And with them already talking about the next time, I'm pretty sure they'll be falling asleep with smiles on their faces today, knowing that they all made new friends today.

McCright Girls: Overdue Update, At Last

2007-09-09T15:55:00.000+03:00

habari! its sunday afternoon and this is the first time ive been able to contact for a while. my apologies. kelly and i are well. for the last few weeks i have been working at the clinic mostly, giving injections, mostly for malaria. I saw a patient yesterday that was suffering from a very serious form of malaria that attacks the cerebral spinal fluid and permanently disorients its victim.
so far about 4 cases of tb have been through the clinic this week.
i learned how to screen for hiv yesterday. it is commonly found when tb is present.
i assisted in the birthing of a beautiful baby girl yesterday,it was a complicated pregnancy their nurse, Magan and i were the only ones working, so when the the baby wasntpresenting properly and the m other quite pushing just after the head presented, magan was forced to manually push the baby out externally, and i had to gently pull out the little babe. it was crazy awesome. i hope to be involved in another soon. at least one baby is born in the clinic a week and its hatching season. speaking of chickens, i walked into a friends hut early this morning, only to find a chicken on chair just chillin out. it hopped off the chair and out of the hut, leaving behind an egg freshly laid right on that chair!! haha!
anyways, times going by fast, and kel n i are getting excited to see our stars and stripes, but still enjoying village life. we miss you all very much. love you all. xoxox allison joy felter mccright (chepkoech)

Kipkaren kids

2007-08-02T20:14:00.001+03:00

I took individual shots of the Kipkaren children earlier this week and thought I'd take a fun group shot, too.

Olesya Boreyko: Thoughts on Culture

2007-07-30T20:00:00.001+03:00

It's less than a week left for me here. So strange, I'm praying to value each moment. Yesterday Chelsey left - the other intern. I went to her good bye party. So sad to say good bye, and, though sometimes I really miss my comfort and communication I have in Kaliningrad with my family or in LCC with my friends, I know that this experience is changing my life forever. God is opening doors of new opportunities for me. He is showing me what He sees and feels while looking on these people and their struggles. And one cannot be ignorant once he or she saw Africa through the eyes of God. My life is a tool which God will use how He wants. And He wants to do so much for these people!

You know, I see my life now not like a combination of random events, but a goal-centered logical path where everything happens for a reason. My life is planned ahead for me by God. And it's not like I don't have a free will, but rather free to obey Him and come into complete satisfaction and happiness, or search for something till the rest of my life in the pursuit of things which don't matter in the long run. So, I am open to obey God, and do the work He planned for me. You know, we can do incredible things! We can change the world and give the glory to God!

Yes, I'm leaving in a week, but I'm taking Africa with me in my heart. And though I really enjoyed seeing animals on the safari, Africa is not about them. Like I've already said, Africa is people. I've been thinking a lot about our differences and simularities lately. Yes, I am and I will always remain a mzungu (white person). I guess i know how black guys feel back at LCC in Lithuania when everybody stares at them. Yes, people stare, and point fingers screaming mzungu sometimes. But there is more to it. I've heard a saying - God is colorblind. I wish we ourselves would forget about our colors and expectation of the society and community, but look on ourselves theough the eyes of God 'cause we are created according to His image.

There are many cultural issues I've been observing during my time here, one being how women are treated. It is astonishing. Yes, culture is on the first place in the lives of Kenyans. And to change their lives one would need to change his/her approach toward Kenyan culture. I could speak hours about that 'cause it's in my heart right now. But for us, I just wish we would not be ignorant of the world around us for now. It's a first step in a change that will take lifetime.

Chelsea Bentley: The End of the Beginning

2007-07-23T22:23:00.000+03:00

It is so hard to believe that I only have two days left here in Ilula. I had to start saying my goodbyes Sunday in church, and my brief goodbye at the end of staff devotions today had me holding back tears. I am going to miss this place so much. It has absolutely become like a second home to me, and the people here have become my family. Though I am very much looking forward to seeing all my family and friends back home, I can't even imagine what life is going to be like without 50 smiling little Kenyan faces and hugs every morning and every night. And what will it be like to have something besides ugali almost every night for supper? I think I may actually miss ugali, and I know that I will miss drinking chai all the time!

The past week has been really wonderful. I have spent a lot of time just enjoying the company of my kids, and I have learned a lot from them. It is hard to believe that I have only known them for six weeks. The days of feeling like a complete stranger here are long gone - these children are my brothers and sisters now, and I absolutely love them, their parents and all of the staff here. I love laughing with them. I love dancing and singing with them. I love praying with them. I love talking with them. I love serving them. I love serving God with them. I love them!

God has taught me so much in the past six weeks, and above everything else, I think this journey has really cemented the desire and drive in my heart to spread the gospel and bring the hope of Jesus to those who have lost all hope in this life. I don't know exactly what shape this calling is going to take or where the path is going to lead me, but I know these six weeks were only the beginning of a lifetime of international cross-cultural ministry. I praise God for the beauty and the diversity that he has created all over this earth. While on safari this weekend, I was able to really see some of that beauty in nature, and I have seen even more of it every day in the hearts and the faces of the people of Kenya.

Click here to see more photos of the safari.

God has been so good to me, and I cannot praise him enough for the blessings I have received from him during my time in Kenya. I pray that he will continue to use me and mold me as I return to my "comfort zone" with a completely transformed outlook on the world around me. Bwana asifiwe!

Chelsea Bentley: Heartbroken and Hopeful

2007-07-18T14:28:00.000+03:00

This week, I discovered what it really feels like when God breaks my heart for something or someone. I thought it had been broken for Africa and for the lost a long time ago, but this was a whole new experience. I met a family of four neighborhood children face-to-face for the first time on Friday, but Adele had told us all about them a week or so before that. If you want their full story, you can look at her blog. It brought me to tears just hearing about the conditions these little ones were living in, but they completely captured my heart after seeing them and interacting with them for just a few hours on Friday.
When Olesya and I went to take them their medicine on Saturday evening, we found only the two young boys in the house. The boys are only four years and eighteen months old, and they had been left alone in a dark house with the embers of an open cooking fire still glowing on the floor in the corner. As I was giving the boys their medicine, their father returned. He had been out looking for the two girls, whom he hadn't seen since he arrived home from work. We waited a few minutes at the house, hoping they would return, and when they didn't, we went back out onto the road and tried to look for them. Their dad went with us, and we asked neighbors and people we met on the road if they'd seen the girls. By the time we made it back to the ELI compound, there were still no signs of them.

I went to find Adele to tell her that the girls were missing and found her with the team and some of the staff as they were finishing supper and debriefing time with prayer. I tried to be respectful and join them in prayer, but I just broke down crying as my thoughts continued to dwell with the kids. Adele took me outside, and I told her that we couldn't find the girls. She said they were probably sleeping in a field somewhere, and it completely broke my heart. We prayed for them, and there was nothing more we could do. I felt completely helpless. I went and said goodnight to my kids, and when I returned to my room I continued praying for little Nancy and Joanna out there alone in the dark.

On Sunday morning, I was given the opportunity to dance in church. It was a dance that I had done many times before, but I have never felt so completely connected to it as I did on Sunday. I was nearly brought to tears as Ray Boltz' "Watch the Lamb" played and I danced and acted my way through the story. Thoughts of the kids were still laying heavy on my heart. Adele left in the middle of church to go get them. The girls were not home yet, but she brought the boys to church for the first time. Toward the end of the service, the girls showed up, and my heart was completely rejoicing.

Our kids from the children's home really reached out to all four of the children. One of the most incredible sights I have ever seen was that of a small group of our girls taking Joanna, the oldest girl, and washing her hands and feet for her. WOW! How much more like Jesus could they have possibly been in that moment? The children ate lunch with the team, then Alisa, Adele, and I took them home.

Yesterday, I took the kids their medicine in the morning. I was still quite a distance away from them on the road when I saw Nancy and Joanna sprinting toward me with wide open arms and huge smiles on their faces. I thank God for the joy and healing that he has brought into their lives in just a short time. I have learned so much from them, and God has really put them in a very special place in my heart. I hope and pray that someday I will come back to Ilula to find them completely healthy, educated, and, above all, loving Jesus. In the short time that I have left here, I intend to do all I can to be God's hands and feet in the lives of these little ones. God has brought me here "for such a time as this," and I intend to make the most of it for Him.

(For photos of these children, click here.)

I only have about a week left in Ilula. My kids and my house parents are already begging me to stay longer, and there is a big part of me that wishes I had the resources to do it. However, I know that God placed me here for this short time so that he could use me and teach me and mold me into the person he wants me to be. I have learned so much from the people here, and I pray that I have been able to bless them at least half as much as they have blessed me. I pray that God will continue to use me as the time speeds by and my departure from Kenya approaches. I pray that he will make me a blessing to the children here, to the staff, and to the community and that I will have an impact for Him that will last far beyond the brief time that I have been here.

Olesya Boreyko: Karibu - Welcome Home!

2007-07-11T22:53:00.000+03:00

Karibu is welcome in Swahili. And indeed, the welcome K received here was the most warm, loving and amazing welcome I've ever received in my life. I've arrived in Kenya on Monday, and it's been a blessing for me since. Today is Friday - my day off, so i have an opportunity to go to the town and use Internet cafe.

I cannot describe all the emotions I have from the last several days. I feel like I'm watching a movie with me in it because it's still so surreal and unbelievable that I'm here in Africa working as an intern in Ilula children's home with 50 boys and girls.

I've arrived safely to Nairobi, though it was a hard trip with three plane rides and one car ride of seven hours. In total, I traveled for almost two days, and when I finally came to Eldoret, I was exhausted, but happy that I'm here at last.

The most amazing thing was the greeting I received in Ilula. When I came there in the evening, I was greeted by 100 children and staff of this home. They were lined up singing songs and greeting me. I went from child to child, shaking their hands and hearing over and over again - Welcome home! That was so surreal, it almost made me cry because I was so overwhelmed. Africa, as one of me friends here said, is not animals - it's people. And that is true indeed. People I've met here are the most friendly, warm and loving people I've ever seen. They welcomed me to their family from the first day. Every child is been a great blessing for me, and the house parents are the huge encouragement and example of faith and love and strength.

I pray that i would do everything God wants me to do here, and I would serve as a channel of His blessings for these people. So far, I have been the one who has received love and care, and who has learnt a great deal from these incredible people.

Chelsea Bentley: Joy, Love, and Peace

2007-07-11T19:24:00.000+03:00

I usually write my blog entries on Fridays, but I just didn't know what to write about when it came to that time this past Friday. I had a wonderful week last week, but there was simply nothing stirring in my heart to write about. Now that a few more days have passed, I feel like I can write something meaningful.

Last week was full of all kinds of joys, and if I wasn't already in love with this place and these children, then last week certainly did it for me. The children and all of the people here are so loving and welcoming and such a joy to be around. I love working alongside them and even just being handed work to do for them, because I can see on their faces how grateful they are and how much God is using me to bless them.

I spent a good part of my time last week in the office organizing shelves and taking inventory of all the supplies. I also used some of the supplies that the APU team brought and some of the things that others had donated to make school kits for each of the children. I never dreamed I would sit on the floor of an office in Kenya surrounded by 1,000 crayons for 3 hours, but I did. And it was wonderful! The joy and awe on those children's faces when they opened up those bags and started pulling things out were worth every moment of the work that went into putting them together.

We said goodbye to the APU team on Friday morning and celebrated their time here with a big supper on Thursday night. It was wonderful to hear about all the work they had done and the little ways that they had blessed everyone. Personally, I was blessed by the simple fact of their presence, their smiles, and their constant encouragement. Thank you Zack, Diana, and the team for everything that you did. The kids are still talking about you guys and praying for you just like they said they would.

I got to work on some more dances with some of my kids on Saturday. I am teaching them some of our old ministry team mimes and dramas, and they really enjoy learning and laughing at me as I am teaching them. They love to dance, but their style of dancing is so much different from mine that everything I teach them strikes them as quite comical when they first see it. They seem to be having a lot of fun with all of it, and I am hoping that we will be able to take it "on the road" somehow before I leave here.

Sunday was an interesting day. I was feeling really homesick and discouraged after church for some reason, and I ended up just sitting in my room sobbing and telling God that I was ready to quit and go home. I don't really know what brought it all on, but Satan was really trying to keep me down. I slept for a few hours that afternoon and didn't return to the kids until devotion time. That was when God decided to remind me why I am here and why I can't go home yet. The kids were just singing and praising God, and since the parents weren't around, I was in charge. I let them sing for a while and watched them, and I saw them through my Jesus-eyes and loved them so much for the way they were freely praising God. Later that night, all the kids were singing together to welcome a visitor, and I was so blessed again by their joy and their unashamed, undeniable love for God. I have felt his presence by my side in such a real way since Sunday evening, and I know that he is guiding my every step and using my time here in a mighty way to bless the Kenyans and to teach me more than I could ever have learned at home.

Last night when I received word from my mother about a death in our family back home, I was sad, but God was with me. He was holding me up with his victorious hand, and he has continued to do so throughout my day today. I have so much peace in spite of the fact that Satan is using every trick in the book to try to distract and discourage me. This is such a peaceful place, even in the midst of raging thunderstorms, and God is using his people and his Spirit to teach me about that peace. I am not afraid, and I am not letting Satan's lies interfere with God's voice of truth. I have a peace that surpasses understanding, and I am resting in the knowledge that God, who has already won the war, is fighting every battle on my behalf.

Chelsea Bentley: Rain Down on Me

2007-06-30T16:54:00.000+03:00

In church on Sunday, the APU team taught us this simple little song:
Holy Spirit rain down on me
Like the African rain
Rain down on me
I am thirsty; rain down on me
Like the African rain
Rain down on me

Thanks to the stormy weather we have had most of the week and the fact that the kids sing it all the time, I haven't been able to get that song out of my head. It is such a simple little chorus, and there have been several occasions this week when I have prayed those words and been so blessed by the Spirit of God.

I am learning to appreciate the simple things in life,especially all the things that we take for granted as Americans. Since we couldn't do much work outside in the pouring rain this week, I learned how to mend clothes and spent three days in the office with the sewing machine and huge piles of my kids' clothes. In America, most of the clothes that I was mending would just be thrown out or shoved in the back of a drawer somewhere, but when you are a child in Kenya who has only one drawer of clothing to begin with, it is a different story all together. I am not an experienced seamstress by any means, but to them it doesn't matter. As long as the holes are closed and the garment is wearable, they don't care what it looks like. These kids are so appreciative and consider themselves so blessed to have a single drawer full of clothes, three full meals each day, and a school where they can go and get a good education. They are teaching me so much about how blessed I am, and in turn how I should be thanking God by blessing those around me each day.

There are times when I wonder what kind of an impact I am really making for the Kingdom as I am ministering in a place where everybody already knows Jesus. Then I walk up to the house and have a whole group of children just waiting to give me a hug or a high-five or ask me "Will we dance today?" Jesus didn't just say, "Go and save people and then leave them to figure their faith out on their own." He said, "Go and make disciples," and that is the work that I am doing. God has already saved them, but he is using me to continue the work of turning these children into fully devoted disciples so that they can go out someday and do the same for others. I know that teaching them dance and drama is going to open up a whole new world of possibilities for ministry after I leave here, and I pray that God will take those possibilities and use them to make an impact in this community and beyond. "Holy Spirit, rain down on me and on these children like the African rain. Bless us so that we may be a blessing to others." That is my prayer for the next four weeks.

Ilula Intern: Karibu Nikole -Welcome Home!

2007-05-14T10:08:00.000+03:00

It is so wonderful to be back in Ilula. Since I was last in Ilula in December 2005 my relationship with the Lord has deepened immensely. I now know what it is like to live every moment with God. That was a concept that the Kenyans had taught during my first trip and over the last year and a half I have worked hard figuring out how to live every moment with God in the western world. So I was excited when God led me back to the place where he first truly taught me what it is like to be with him all the time.

As I approached Ilula, the children were all lined up and singing their welcome song. At first I was a bit nervous that they didn’t remember me because they were so shy. However, after the numerous speeches and prayers, they all came running to me. “Nikole, do you remember my name? Do you remember when we played kickball? Remember when I chased you with grasshopper?” – They were delighted when I could answer their questions.

I sank right back into the life here. Getting up early to serve chai, peeling potatoes for lunch, napping in the afternoon, and devotions at night. Devotions are some of my favourite times: I call it "goosebump time." It is the most moving experience to have fifty African children singing at the top of their lungs in a small gazebo where the sound just echoes. I get goosebumps every time. The children can repeat memory verses by the dozen. They have the most amazing memories. Something that I strive to acquire.

God has given me a heart for the older girls. I see so much beauty in them. It’s an inner beauty that can only be achieved by God. His light just shines through them and I continue to pray that they grow up to be mighty women of God and the best they can be in Christ. I am excited to see what God has planned for their lives.

It is a known fact that white people don’t have nearly as much rhythm as Africans. Even if we are clapping on the beat, it still looks funny compared to the Africans. One night I was in one of the girls room and they were mimicking the way white people worship. It was hilarious because they hit it right on. They began to sing their own worship songs, singing and dancing all around the room. All of a sudden, one of the girls burst into tears. The Holy Spirit, in that moment, had touched her. It went from mimicking wazungu to actual worship. Thank you Lord for showing this girl how real you are and touching her heart in that moment. I walked home crying because I felt so blessed.

My journey has barely begun and I have already learned a lot about the Kenyan culture. I am thankful that God has given me a heart for this nation and I pray that I fulfill the mission that he has brought me to Kenya for.

Asante sana, Yesu!

Ilula Directors' Update | April 2007 (Exerpts)

2007-05-09T17:06:00.000+03:00

Holiday School Vacation & Children Coaching
Children attended school for two weeks extra coaching with the rest of the children from the community from the senior classes. They were also able to help around the home by doing gardening, taking care of cows and did lots of chores on their compound.

We still have the problem of school bags. The children, parents and teachers have been praying for all the children to get school bags especially during this wet season of the year.

Over 40 children had their uniforms and shoes replaced because of size and aging.

Renovation of Parents’ Huts
Parents’ huts were renovated. Putting up ceiling boards and repainting was done. The parents and their children were extremely grateful and appreciated the work. The funds however are exhausted leaving one hut, David and Priscah’s ceiling in their hut not constructed nor repainting done. The prices of goods went up from last year’s budget we made.

Parents on Annual Leave
The 24 children of Philip and Ruth were taken care of by the assistant parent (Peris) and Nelson and Dorcas (in addition to caring for their own 26.) It was the first time we did that to cut the cost of having to hire an extra couple for the two weeks they were away. It worked well and the children were happy and disciplined though we do not know how it will be when they will be fully in adolescent stage.

Visitors
We had a group of 4 women including Professor Margaret Kamar from Moi University visit the children donating jackets to all the children including the biological children.

Jens Bergmann from Germany and Michael Maito made a one-day visit to the children’s home.

Some visitors from DRC Congo and Mumbai, India visited the children’s home while attending training at Ukweli Training Centre.

A team of 8 from California lead by Don Rogers visited the children’s home before and after going to Sudan.

Sunday School
The Sunday school teachers held an evaluation meeting and to talk about current and future challenges.

25th Wedding Anniversary
The children’s home directors Laban and Angelina Rono celebrated their silver jubilee anniversary in the month. It was well attended and a blessing to the couple, their children and all who attended. The kids, too, learned a lot from it as it was seen from them writing to their sponsors that their "grandpa and grandma" celebrated their anniversary.

Birthday Celebrations
A birthday celebration was organized by Adele and the house mothers for those kids who had their birthdays between January and April. They cut a cake and received cards. About 35 kids celebrated their birthdays by sharing a cake prepared by Mary and Ruth. We will be celebrating birthdays once a month for the children celebrating in each month.

Borehole
We are planning on digging a borehole on the orphanage property. The orphanage would benefit from having not to pay for city water for both irrigation and washing purposes.

Child Sponsorship and Letters
Some children received e-mails and some letters brought to them by Don Rogers. It was a month busy with writing lots of letters to be taken to the US by Don Rogers. Over 80 letters were written by children to sponsors. All the letters and email replies were taken back to the US office by Don. Three children received cards and gifts from their sponsors brought to them by Adele. They wrote thank you letters.

It’s great and motivating to see and read what the kids learn and share to their sponsors every time they write to them. They love sharing every simple thing they learn daily in their lives. It's amazing that most sponsors even know or have read about their kids’ teachers yet they haven’t met them.

Kitchen Garden
The kitchen garden is green with vegetables since the long rains have begun. The children from the western wing harvested sweet potatoes from their imitation vegetable beds behind their huts and they were happy for their as they copy and duplicate what is done at the training centre.

Ilula Guardians' Day 2007

2007-04-05T00:04:00.000+03:00

In the words of Caroline, secretary of the children's home (and big sister to the kids)...

"Our third guardian's day was great. We had over 450 visitors who visited our children. We were very happy because most of the children who were not visited last year were visited this time round.

Collins and Diana who are with the Kosgey family have never been visited during guardian's day. They have been visited only once since they came to Ilula. We waited for their guardians and when it was about 3 in the afternoon, we despaired. Thank God because at about 4 o'clock they arrived. The guardians were welcomed with mixed feelings by their children. Diana cried so much on seeing her guardians especially her grandmother. All the other relatives who
accompanied her grandmother started crying when they saw her crying. It was actually a sad and happy moment that though it had taken them long to come, they showed up at such a time where most children get to be visited.

Apollo was another child who cried most of the day because his grandparents didn't show up. We didn't understand why because they have been the first to arrive during guardian's day. We had someone to represent his guardians and he was happy at last. We will share more about the function when you'll be back just wanted to highlight a few things to you."

Third Annual Guardians' Day

2007-04-01T01:05:00.000+03:00

Today, grandparents, distant relatives, neighbors, or simply anyone who cared for the orphans at our Ilula Children's Home after the passing of the kid's parents, traveled to Ilula for the annual guardians' day celebration.

Unfortunately, I'm not yet home to cover the event. Someone had given the children's home a digital camera, so I hope to post some photos once I'm back in Ilula (right after Easter.)

For more on last year's event, click here.

Sudan Orphanage Update

2007-03-15T16:58:00.000+03:00

Construction has begun of our newest childrens's home in Southern Sudan. Parents have been hired, and orphans are eagerly awaiting moving into new homes. All of the orphans at this facility were born during the war, and children have lost their parents to the war. These kids have this far spent their lives either on the run or in refugee camps.

A team is going to Sudan in April and will bring back some pictures.

During the construction of the school, additional classrooms will also be built at the adjacent school.

Please join us in praying that the construction is completed before the rains return.

Ilula Directors' Update | February 2007 (Exerpts)

2007-03-14T05:07:00.000+03:00

Rift Valley Fever

In January, there was a scare from Rift Valley Fever, a disease carried by cows. The government has things under control, but for safety, our children are still not given any beef.

New Vehicle

A donor blessed us with the gift of a much-needed new vehicle for the children's home. The children sang songs of praise and dance with joy when the vehicle was donated.

Dairy and Kitchen Garden

The dairy cow, Nokia, calved a healthy heifer that is giving us up to 25 litres of milk per day. Our children now drink 30 litres of milk per day.
This month, we planted 6 varieties of banana trees as well as some avocado, orange and mango trees.

Visitors

Michael and Emi visited us. This California couple took video clip and photos and did interviews with the children and staff.
A team from a nearby orphanage came for a 2-day training on orphanage management and childcare. Their goal is to bring all their staff to our home for training.
A nearby church group visited the children and brought two bags of maize. They talked to the children and prayed for them.
We also had another group of visitors who are interested in starting an orphanage. They were impressed with the work God is doing in our midst and gave us a donation of Kshs. 2,000 for food to the kids.
NewSong team visited from California. They had a great time with the kids and conducted training for the parents. We all appreciated their visit. The team brought mail from sponsors and took with them reply letters from the children to be mailed from the US office to individual sponsors.

Housekeeping

We've had trouble with the roof of the gazebo on the east side. It's been leaking, causing the East Wing families to have to eat in our kitchen. Supporters sent a gift to replace the roof. The children are excited to be back in their own gazebo for meals and devotions.

School

The children recently took their mid-term exams--their first exam in their new grades. They all did very well.

Spirituality

The older children have been assisting parents with conducting evening devotions and leading songs in Sunday school classes. Some are able to share from Scripture and encourage others.
Men’s fellowship is on Tuesdays. The orphanage mom’s prayer group still meets on Mondays, while Bible study meetings with assistant parents are done on Tuesdays. God is moving and blessing staff as well as the children.

Beautiful pictures of our kids

2007-03-13T21:19:00.000+03:00

Photographers Michael and Emi Heddens recently visited Kenya and took breathtakingly beautiful pictures of our children.

Visit their blog to see some of their photos.

The kids continue stealing visitors' hearts

2007-03-13T21:13:00.000+03:00

A team from NewSong Church in San Dimas, California, recently visited both of ELI's bases in Kenya. Here's an excerpt from their closing entry:

We are going to miss their infectious laughter and precious little smiles. Each night, Daren has led them in a few songs that they have come to enjoy... "Noah's Ark" and "Waddley Acha". We wish you could share in their sheer glee, as they laugh hysterically at the goofy faces and animal noises. It is impossible to escape the grasp of them stealing our hearts.

Ilula has shown us the success that the children's homes are having in raising up intelligent, beautiful kids who will undoubtedly impact the future of Kenya. Each child has a their individual dream according to their giftings... some desire to become a pilot, a nurse, a doctor, an engineer, a farmer, a politician, or some other wonderful career. We are confident they will succeed in reaching their goals. Even the young ones seem to know what they want to do and are making tremendous strides in that direction.

Read more about the NewSong team's experience.

It's a boy!

2006-10-23T22:31:00.000+03:00

Emmanuel Kimutai Kosgey was born around 10pm. Both he and Priscah are doing well. He weighs 4.1 kg (around 9lbs).

Victoria seems to love her new baby brother! Most of the girls in the Kosgey family seem to have made peace with the fact that it's a boy.

Emmuanuel Kimutai was brought home this evening, less than 24 hours since his birth. His sister Truphena explains that his Kalinjin name (Kimutai) means that "they thought he would come the next day and he came the next day." The kids were there to sing and welcome him home.

Everyone seems thrilled to know there's a new baby, though some still have interesting theories where babies come from.

Recently, I had to explain to the boys who sometimes take care of my chameleon that the chameleon keeps having babies (though they cannot live) because they overfeed her. (It really is a chameleon trait! It doesn't seem scientifically possible, but it is!) But then I had to explain that it doesn't work that way with people.... I thought, these boys are probably thinking that Priscah had a baby because she ate too much!

On that note,
Good night from Ilula

New Baby Coming

2006-10-23T07:44:00.000+03:00

Moments ago, David and Priscah Kosgey left for town. Priscah's having a baby today. I'll post news as soon as we know more.

On Life in Kenya - Kiki Honda | Intern

2006-10-15T18:37:00.000+03:00

Almost a Real African
So I now have an impressive qualification to add to my resume: milking cows. I tried milking the cow at the children's home this past week. I must admit, the guy at the dairy was pretty impressed by milking abilities. haha. He said I just have to do it a couple more times and I'll be a professional. While I was milking the cow one of the fathers from the home happened upon us and said "Wow, Kiki. Now you are almost a real African. All you have to do is carry water on your head, wood on your back and a baby in front." But slaughtering a chicken was also added to the list. Needless to say, I don't think I'll ever be a real African.

Improving
My ability to speak Swahili is improving. I can now manage to tell people what I've done throughout the day. Nili conga viazi na kuta ngama alafu kucheza na Favor alafu kuta mboga. =) (I peeled potatoes and cut meat, then I played with Favor and then I cut veggietables)

In the Midst of Amazing Servants
ELI has opened up another children's home in the other village they do ministry in (Kipkaren). Recently, I was able to visit the new home with the directors and parents from the home in Ilula. It was a blessed day and it was cool to see the work going on in the new home. It's a really nice facility, too. At the end of the day, before we were about to leave, we had a short time of worship with the directors and the parents at the home in Kipkaren. Standing there singing "Asante sana, Yesu" (I thank you Jesus...) with these people brought me to tears. These people are amazing. People who have given up so much to bring happiness and a new life to children who have lost everything. When I think about the work these parents do I am constantly awed, inspired, blessed and touched. Standing in that room singing praises to God I realized, wow, I am in the midst of amazing servants. Yet through their songs of worship I was reminded that the reason why these parents are so amazing is because they work for, serve, love and honor an even more amazing God. I know it's only by the grace and work of God that they are able to do what they do, and I consider myself so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve and worship alongside such humble, loving, self-sacrifical, God-fearing people.

Be Still and Know that I am God
A couple of weekends ago, I was able to visit the Kakamega rainforest. It was so beautiful. the forest has over 400 different species of butterflies and even more specicies of birds. It was so peaceful to just sit and listen to the sounds surrounding me. It's like those tapes that help you fall asleep... you know like "The Sounds of the Rainforest," but it was real!

I was able to spend some time in quietness with God while there. I thought I'd read through a Psalm, and usually I'll read the pslam of what day it is. Being September 23rd, I didn't really want to read Psalm 23 because it kind of reminds me of funerals, so I doubled the date and read Psalm 46. But I know that was God leading me to the verse. It starts out about talking about how God is our strength and our refuge, and then goes on to say how the earth will fall and give way. I thought to myself, "Great... that's encouraging!" But then God spoke to me. Through this verse he reminded me that yes, the earth will give way, it will crumble and be destroyed, but God is everlasting. The beauty of the forest surrounding me can be cut down, burned up or destroyed, but the beauty for the Lord is forever. The peace I found in the forest can be disrupted and disturbed, but peace from the Lord is everlasting. And then, at the end of the psalm it read, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations (America or Kenya), I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Be still and know that He is God. And as I sat there... silent... in the quietness of the forest... in maybe that same whisper that came to Isaiah... I heard God whisper to me... "Kiki... I am God."

Muddy Mishap on the Way to Blessings
This past week I was able to do some home visits. What a blessing! One home I visited was of a couple named William and Periz. They both work at the children's home, one in the kitchen and the other as an assistant parent. I've meet both of them during my past two trips to Kenya, but have never been able to visit them until this year. It was a blessing being able to talk with, encourage and pray for Periz. I always enjoy home visits and the ones I went on this past week were definitely a blessing.

Here's a funny story, though. John, the son of the director at the children's home, took me on a home visit on Wednesday. As we were walking we came upon this patch of the road that looked pretty muddy. As we approached, I saw that, yes, indeed, it was VERY muddy. John walked through the mud first and said where to step where the mud was drying, and thus more solid to walk on. Well, if you know me at all then you know that sometimes I don't have the best luck in situations like this. I took a couple of steps and about halfway through the muddy patch I stepped down where [I thought] it was safe... but to my horror I felt my foot slowly sink into the mud. My whole foot was COMPLETELY covered in mud. (I was wearing sandals) I was a little embarassed... but looking back I see the humor in the situation. John tried not to laugh at me and lightly commented "Hey... if you cover your whole body with mud then you'll look black like us!" haha... Oh well... just a small muddy mishap on the way to the blessing of a home visit. =)

Flexibility, Heat & Family
Within the first couple of days of arriving in Ilula, the children in grades 4 and 5 began telling me about a class trip they were going to be taking on October 6th, and throughout those 6 weeks it was constantly brought up. Everytime it was discussed, it was followed by, "Will you be coming with us?"

Finally, the day before the trip, the children asked me again if I was going to go and they said they really wanted me to go. So I talked to the director of the school about it but found out there was no room on the bus. When I told the kids they were sad, but said the would pray for me to go. The next day, the day of the trip, I was fetched at 7:45 and was informed that I would be going with them after all. I was given 10 minutes to get ready. Haha!

One thing I've learned as I've been able to go on missions trips is that it's important to be flexible. It was a fun day. We visited a city called Kisumu, the 3rd largest city in Kenya, and went to a museum. It was a 2 (or so?) hour bus ride, but it was cool because on the way we passed through all these tea, sugar and coffee plantations. The museum displayed a lot of traditional Luo (one of the tribes in Kenya) artifacts and had several animals. By American standards it probably isn't all that spectacular... but the blessing was being able to see the joy and excitement in the faces of the kids. It was HOT, though.

After the museum we visited Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. It was very peaceful there and the salty breezes reminded me of home. =) The journey was fun, but the best part of the trip was being able to experience it with the children.

That night when we got home, all the younger kids were so excited to welcome their older brothers and sisters home. They served them dinner, and I was blessed by their eager, serving hearts to serve their siblings. After dinner, all the kids crowded around in a circle on benches inside the gazebo to talk about the day. The kids who went on the trip shared their excited highlights from their journey. One girl, Cicilia, who didn't go on the trip, talked about how in devotions Dennis, age 3 and one of the youngest in the family, had been dancing while they were singing. So all the kids started singing loudly, encouraging Dennis to dance. At first, he just looked around at all the children encircling him... and then suddenly... he started to bounce. His bouncing then moved down to his feet and he danced around in little circles in the middle of all the children. In that moment came a realization. I looked into the smiling joyful, loving faces of all the children, all eyes on little Dennis dancing, and then I truly saw it. '

Wow, this truly is a family. These children come from different places and different tribes. They've lost their parents, and with that so much hope and promise. But God by His amazing grace and mercy has specially chosen each child and brought them to this place... not only to live... but to become a family. With this realization... and looking into the beautiful, joyful eyes of the children... I found tears welling up in my own. I love these children so much... my heart is filled with so much joy just being with them.... but in that moment I was reminded that there is Someone who loves them so much greater that we can comprehend.

From NYC to Kenya and Back - Thoughts on being an intern in Kenya

2006-09-30T17:21:00.000+03:00

by Christy Thomas

How could I have known what to expect of a country halfway around the world? How could I imagine the sights, smells and tastes of a place so far removed from everything I knew?

I departed in that state of not knowing what was coming my way. The best images I could conjure up in my mind were vast desert expanses and wide-eyed starving children that haunt us from infomercials.

Because I was entering such an expanse of mystery I thought I also couldn’t have expectations. Au contraire! I quickly discovered I had quite a few expectations that had rooted themselves deep in me and made adjusting a little stickier than I anticipated.

First of all, I expected to fall in love with Kenya immediately. When this didn’t happen (and was far from what my heart was feeling) I couldn’t help but get frustrated with myself and begin to question everything that I had initially thought would come out of the trip. Often it was just plain difficult, uncomfortable and vulnerable to maneuver culture and this new world that I was immersed in.

Second, I had created such resentment inside of me towards American Culture that I naively forgot how all cultures have their strengths and weaknesses. I am grateful that I had the chance to see tangibly that we in the west aren’t necessarily always better off or privileged, nor is American culture always wrong/right.

Thirdly, I expected to immediately connect with the children and also the Kenyan staff. But, it wasn’t and never is about my timing, and it took much longer than I expected to find a way to those children that was real and truthful, as well as to other staff and interns.

Yet, in spite of the parts that were difficult and trying, and often caused me to wonder how I would survive my three months there, I discovered a place that I fit: a place where I could offer of myself and receive from those around me, especially from the mothers of the children’s home and the oldest girls. I discovered that Ilula could be “home” to me in its own unique way.

Back in New York City, my mind is recurrently flooded with images from my time in Kenya. Instead of the wide-eyed starving child I picture the children that I got to know intimately.

I hear their laughter, see the mischief and joy in their eyes, and remember the energy that they infected me with. And somewhere, deep inside me I hope that spirit of Life is one of the many marks that Kenya left on me.

I also cannot escape the wonder that the Kenyans’ lives inspired inside of me. I think specifically of the parents that awake before dawn to begin a day that has basically been the same for the past two years. They get some variety, but for the most part, the same chores, challenges, and long hours await them each morning. Nevertheless, they never failed to greet me with a broad smile and firm handshake, emanating their gratefulness to be alive and healthy. Their lives testified of a firm grasp on a joy much larger than they—and to this day, weeks after leaving Kenya, it continues to challenge me and bring me to my knees in prayer.

What would it look like for me to approach my long days of school here in New York City with that kind of spirit?

I know it would start with grace.

Being back I’m constantly wondering what God really did with my heart while I was there in Kenya. I’m left wondering where this life adventure will lead me and how the varied pieces of my life and self fit into a beautifully purposed mosaic crafted by God. I thought I’d have more clear answers, but currently I feel that there are simply more layers. But they are rich layers with much to soak up and discover.

In the meantime, I smile picturing those precious children. I know they are learning to love and be loved; learning to trust that the Lord is bigger than all their pasts, and living amidst laughter and security.

In short, they are living out a testimony of hope for the lost and seemingly forgotten; they are preparing (whether they realize it or not) for a future to be used in MIGHTY ways for His glory and they are grateful. I hope somehow that you can travel there. That you might one day feel their hands holding yours, their tender touch stroking your skin, that you could hear their laughter surround you, and catch their mischievous gaze across the gazebo.

technorati tags:Africa, cross-cultural ministry, missions, culture shock

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Mile Two in a Marathon

2006-09-18T00:38:00.000+03:00

Celebrating 2 years
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

Today, we gathered outside the training center classroom for a celebration: Two years of Ilula Children's Home. It was a beautiful day, the sun baking down hot at times, then again hiding behind the clouds. (It literally started raining as the final "Amen" was said, more than 3 hours after we gathered.)

The children sang and danced. Various people shared. (Brian shared that running a children's home isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. And we're just at the second mile marker.) I think, though, that the one story that was never really shared spoke the loudest: the story of Thomas Lishudi.

One of our staff members noticed Thomas herding cattle. He looks different, is obviously from the Turkana tribe. She enquired and found that the young boy was an orphan. He had absolutely no relatives that anyone knew of. She arranged for him to be brought to the home.

Today, when the Ruto family got up to share some songs and verses, Lishudi stepped forward and did a dramatized version of a long passage in the Bible. "My son!..." he'd say, (though it was hard to make out the rest of the passage due to his strong accent). "My son!" again and again... Truly, Lishudi has come to know what it is to be God's son. In Christ, he has found a family, a home, a community that loves and encourages him.

But his story is not the only one of hope. There are many others. Ninety others, in fact. Among those is the story of Hillary and Sharon, the first two kids who moved into our home. Two weeks ago, their baby brother, Dennis, was finally brought to live with them. When their mom passed away and their older siblings started caring for them, little Dennis was just a year old--too young to be brought to Ilula. But two weeks ago, he was finally brought to live with them, and today, Dennis was dedicated to the Lord.

Thank you to each of you who have invested in the lives of these children.

Click on the first picture to see more photos from today.

More, and more, and more

2006-08-01T15:25:00.000+03:00

The number of children at Kipkaren Children's Home grew by 24 yesterday, now standing at 55! And more are ready to come...

Read about yesterday's intake on Adele's blog.

Karibu nyumbani! (Welcome home!)

2006-08-01T00:30:00.000+03:00

Today, the Kipkaren Children's Home received a plethora of new kids: 24 of them, in fact, now bringing the total to 55 children.

I was privileged to be a part once again of the journey to pick these dear ones up and will write more about it tomorrow as well as upload pictures.

What strikes me time and again, however, is how the relatives/neighbors who had been taken care of the children don't hug them to say good-bye, nor shows much emotion in their leaving. (Granted, one aunt seemed concerned and told one boy "We WILL come to visit," while two friends at different homes cried their little lungs out because they, too, wanted to come with us...)

Though hugging and showing affection isn't part of this culture, I love that when these children arrive at their new home, there's a whole line-up of people who tell them how excited they are to have them and who introduce them to the world of hugs. Even kids who have been there for only a few weeks are blossoming! It's amazing what love can do!

The power of motherly love

2006-07-27T09:00:00.000+03:00

I just returned from one of my last lunches with the children.

What sweet hearts these children have.

I am encouraged that these children that were once forgotten, abandoned and mistreated have been showered with love from their supporters, the staff here in Ilula, the visiting teams and interns, and even their brothers and sisters. Even more amazing to me is the selfless love that these parents daily heap on these children.

I think of one mother in particular who adopted an older boy who was extremely rough. Life had dealt him a sequence of circumstances that some adults couldn’t even fathom, and for him it was all before he reached the age of 9. To name a bit of his story, he was orphaned, adopted and immediately abandoned, adopted again, mistreated and left to fend for himself on the streets. I’m told that when he first arrived here he was a tough kid and more often than not was just plain mean. I guess it only makes sense that he had built such a hard exterior in an effort to protect himself. He was causing some trouble and resisting anyone’s attempt to break the walls he had built, but one mother with hope in her heart and a plan of unconditional love decided she was willing to take him on.

Tears come to my eyes now as I reflect on this. As I am not yet a parent, I can only imagine the unconditional love required of a parent when a child is in a pit and seems utterly unlovable. The wisdom they have to know those are the moments when the child is most in need of the very thing he is pushing away takes my breath away. Of course, this is but a trace of what God has modeled for us – finding us again and again in the moments when we are furthest from Him and most unworthy of His care. And in spite of that reality and the evidence that testifies against us, he scoops us up and welcomes us back to himself, with celebration and rejoicing.

I have lived here for two months now and am amazed at how this young boy has softened even in that short amount of time.

Oh, the testimony of powerful and relentless love.

Oh, the courage of this mother, and all the other mothers that this testimony.

Oh, the joy, the hope, and the love found in a simple unashamed smile shared between a mother and her adopted son who may still be rough on the edges but is unquestionably becoming a new boy with the capacity to love and be loved.

Oh the pride of this mother in a boy that many have cast aside but whom she decided to treasure, cherish and believe in.

If only you could hear her constant praise and declaration of her love for him.

“And he that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5

~ Christy Thomas, Intern

Christmas art

2006-07-25T08:57:00.000+03:00

ELI is undertaking an addition to the paper project with Heavenly Treasures to make Christmas Cards to sell in the states. About a week ago all the children were asked to draw Christmas pictures. ELI staff then selected 16 of the older children who had drawn particularly well to draw some more pictures: this time with a little more direction. Their pictures of angels, nativity scenes and Christmas trees are precious and I know these 16 children felt especially honored the day they were given new crayons, pencils and beautiful clean white paper.

We have some fine ten- and eleven-year-old artists here in Ilula, so be on the lookout for their world class work coming soon!

~ Christy Thomas, Intern

On basketball and going-away parties

2006-07-20T08:53:00.000+03:00

John Rono and some of the boys, working on building
the new basketball court

The Whalen team, Jared, Adele, and I drove up at 3:30 on the dot – exactly the time the festivities were to begin. We weren’t worried about being late because, after all, its Kenya time! We carried the six watermelons Jared had generously purchased into the kitchen to cut. The two men that were working at that moment had never cut a watermelon before so we quickly discussed a size that would feed over a hundred mouths and then got to work. With only two knives I had one of them make the initial cut into quarters and then finished the slicing. My mother, who loves watermelon, would have been tickled to see the size of the bowl we filled with watermelon slices. It looked like a regular American summer function!

Just as a team member and I carried out the watermelon, the kids were returning from school. They were decked out in their school PE uniforms and appeared ready to play (though I’m not sure they knew exactly what they were going to play).

The father of a visiting Whalen Family team began warming up the children. Imagine 90 children doing arm circles, push ups, jumping jacks etc in front of this basketball court with a pink ribbon tied from goal to goal. It was quite a sight. Once they were warm they sat down and awaited the opening of this new basketball court – a project of Jared Kreutzer (a summer intern).

Samuel Teimuge, the director of the Training Center, ran the ceremony alongside of Jared. They began with the story of the making of the court. Much had gone into the whole thing and it took quite a lot of persistence from Jared and other Kenyan staff here in Ilula. Next, one of the training center staff named Josiah did some karate. I’m not sure the kids have ever seen anything like that – there was all kinds of oohing and aahhing. And. if you watched the sidelines for the remainder of the afternoon you could see the kids imitating the moves he had performed.

The ribbon was cut, the rules explained and the first team selected. One backboard is the Kenyan flag and the other the American flag – it seems that it will forever be Kenya vs. America. :) Understandably, the Americans (though out of shape and struggling because of the high altitude here) “killed” the Kenyan team. But I am happy to report that each day after school there are two teams, America and Kenya, playing each other and learning day by day how to perfect their dribbles, passes and shots. They should be more than ready by the next team’s visit.

Besides the addition of basketball into these children’s days they also spent many hours last week perfecting their football (soccer) skills with the visiting team the Whalen Family. Things were a little confusing as they adapted to new and stricter rules, but by the end of the week I’d say we had our own Ilula World Cup :)

You can imagine with all this physical activity that these children would be eating a lot! And how thankful they are for the treats they get when interns, like Jared, Rachel and myself, leave. As a special evening they make a special meal including soda and chapati (a Kenyan staple similar to tortillas) for the children. These kids know its coming and its a welcome break from the routine meals they have day after day, week after week. They even keep track of how many good-bye services the west and east sides have had respectively. I think currently the east side is winning :)

~ Christy Thomas, Intern

On sewing, ballet moves, and a soulpatch

2006-07-14T12:10:00.000+03:00

Last night I offered to help one of the mothers sew (embroid) names on the inside of uniforms. I decided I’d take it in with the girls to enjoy their company while sewing. Now, I went through Home Economics and used to make my own sewing projects growing up but I’ve NEVER claimed to be all that good!

The first name I sewed was a bit crooked and couldn’t compare to the ones I’d seen so I asked one of the older girls to show me how they do it. She began this fancy stitch and it looked great. “Ok, I thought, I can do what she just did.” Now keep in mind that while I’m trying to perfect this new stitch I have 2 girls climbing on me, playing with my hair and arms, and pulling the sweater to the angle where they can best see. (Because, of course, the observer has priority over the actual sewer!)

The night continued with me attempting to improve amidst children getting out homework and bombarding me with questions. And all the while I’m thinking I’m so thankful for the playful spirit and laughter in this particular girl’s hut; it’s a hut of sincere joy that infects me whenever I spend time there.

A little while later Jared, another intern, entered to say hello. The girls don’t see too much of him and they immediately were overflowing with questions. Picture a 22-year-old guy trying to explain a “soulpatch” (patch of hair below your lip) to 12 girls under the age of 11 that don’t speak English all that well. I couldn’t help but laugh!

The night ended with me girding up my skirt to show them some ballet steps. I forget how completely foreign it is for them to imagine much less see dance. For us, little girls have images in their heads from when they’re very small, but for these girls, dance equals the motions you do while singing worship songs.

How odd to think that the place I call home (New York City) and the art form I pour most of my time into is a reality that these Kenyans cannot begin to fathom.

I wonder what the world holds that I cannot begin to imagine . . .

~Christy Thomas, Intern

It's 9pm, and the kids are sleeping in their new homes for the first time...

2006-07-07T21:05:00.000+03:00

We picked up 14 children today and relocated them to their new home: Kipkaren. Right now, the kids are in their new beds with new linens, new siblings, new parents... For most of them, tonight will be the first time in their lives that they've slept in a bed. Amazingly, these kids were incredibly excited when we picked them up today. They've been prepared well for the day.

After lunch and a tour of their new home, the children played soccer with a visiting team from Nuevo, California. Tonight, they had devotions, dinner (a second full meal in one day? another new thing to many of them!) and visits with their new families.

For more information on the events of today, read Adele's blog.

Final Countdown

2006-07-06T20:02:00.000+03:00

Tomorrow, I'll have the honor of picking up eight children and bringing them to their new home. It can be a very hard day for those children (plus 10 more who are brought by other staff members).

Will you please pray for these precious kids, to be able to understand that their guardians aren't rejecting them, but doing what is best for them? Please also pray for the new parents as well as all of the children's home staff to be sensitive to God's leading in helping each of these precious ones adjust?

We covet your prayers.

Update on Kipkaren Children's Home

2006-06-30T12:34:00.000+03:00

This week, our directors met with the District Children's Officer and she gave ELI approval to accept the first 14 children. We are hoping to receive them next weekend. Before we accept them we still have some things to finish up. The bedding and mattresses for the children's huts should be delivered the beginning of next week. We are having the kitchen equipment installed next week as well. The sidewalks are being finished and we are wrapping up a temporary source of water or the toilets while we dig the borehole and water tower.

Please continue to pray for us during these extremely busy days in Kipkaren, especially as the team prepares for the arrival of the children.

Boys' Talk - by Jared Kreutzer, Intern

2006-06-28T10:07:00.000+03:00

This past week was hunting week on the west wing. The boys over there, since they do not have many normal toys, make their own out of whatever they find lying around. Well, they started making bows and arrows, so we spent a day making bows for all the boys. They were climbing in trees and tearing out branches, I guess I should have told them first to not do that. By the end of the day, every boy had his own bow. Even the smaller ones, they had little twigs with string, a miniature bow.

I could tell quickly that I would need to teach them some safety rules, for they were finding nails and making sharp arrows and just walking around shooting them straight up in the sky. So we had a hunters' safety session, which concluded with target practice on a Spiderman doll. The next few days were spent hunting rats around the kitchen. Whenever the boys would see a rat, they would all get so excited and take their bows and sticks and rocks and whatever they could find to throw at them. It was so funny the fist time they killed a mouse, they had it trapped in a bucket and brought it out to the field. They all stood around it, tall like warriors, ready to kill their prey. However, when they let the mouse out to kill it, the warriors turned frantic and they all ran away and were screaming. The mouse in the meantime was running through all of their legs as they tried to step on it. It was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. I was on the ground laughing the whole time.

Also, big news around the west side. Nelson and Dorcas had their baby on June 20, at 3:05 am. He is Victor Kiprop Rotich, named Victor to signify the victory which we have in Christ, and Kiprop, which means “it rained” to signify that it was raining when Victor was born. The girls had been praying for a girl, and even thanking God that it would be a girl, but all the kids were excited to have a new baby brother. Later that evening, I let the Rotich kids call Nelson and Dorcas on my cell phone and all the kids got to talk to their parents, who have been away for 3 weeks. Each child, after talking to their parents, would run around the room so excited, jumping around. It was precious.

Happy Birthday
The same day Victor was born, it was also Margaret Asinyen’s birthday. So I bought a watermelon and we had a birthday party. Many of the children forget when their birthday is here, so a lot of them will come up to their parents and ask, “When is my happy birthday?” So we celebrated all the “happy birthdays” in June. The children were so excited about the watermelon. The kept running around saying, “so sweet, it’s so sweet.” All the boys saved the seeds after they were finished. I think they are planning on trying to grow their own watermelon patch.

Let's Play Ball!
There is a big construction project underway at the children’s home. It is a basketball court, The last week was spent digging an area 20 X 12 meters to allow a marum (clay) basketball court to be built. The children have been so excited and many of the boys have been helping everyday with the digging. All that is left now is to spread and compact the clay for the court and then get the goals up. I’m sure that by this time next year, we’ll have NBA scouts coming to check out our players!

Announcing the birth of Victor Kiprop

2006-06-20T23:22:00.000+03:00

This morning at 3am, Dorcas Rotich, one of the orphanage mothers, gave birth to a beautiful, healthy young boy: Victor Kiprop. Kiprop is his Kalinjin name, and it means that he was born while it was raining.

Victor weighs 4.1kg (I believe that's 9lbs 7oz). Both he and Dorcas are doing well, and the dad (Nelson) and older brother (Levi) are beaming with pride! So are all the other children at the children's home.

Unedited note from one of the kids

2006-06-14T20:27:00.000+03:00

Today, I was given this note by one of the girls. A friend of mine had sent her a jacket, and this is the thank-you note she wrote:

Thank you for give me jacket.
I am so happy because you give me.
I love Jesus so much.
And I love you so much.
I love my parents
and my teachers all of them.
My school is called Samro.
Jesus love very much.
I love you
and Jesus love you.

Store of Moses

Moses and the ten commandments to see who is watching baby Moses.
The Egyiptian princess diceded to keep the baby for herself. She called him Moses.
Moses brought up like an Egyptians prince.
Finally Pharaoh said the Isrealites cold leaves his land.
The israelites headed for their promised land. The israelites baby be were to be killed.
The cruel Egyptian hand made laves. (slaves? ed.)
The Israelites had live in Egypt.

My name is Winsam Jeptoo

Memory verse

Ephesians 5:26
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Little Intercessors

2006-06-06T22:32:00.000+03:00

Tonight, as I went over to read to some of the kids, I discovered that everyone from the West Wing was in the gazebo. This is unusual, since it was 8:30, and at that time, everyone's usually in their rooms, getting ready for bed.

When I opened the door to the gazebo, all the kids were on the floor, kneeling and praying for Mama Joshua who is in the hospital. I just stood there and soaked in the moment. What a beautiful sight!

When they were through praying, they were excited to see me there and wanted me to read to all of them, which made my job way easier! Usually, I read to one room at a time, so I got 4 rooms in one! Oh yeah! After reading, we talked about the story (The Rainbow Fish) and how they, too, could give away their beauty to others. They started mentioning how they could bless others by sharing the fruit of the Spirit, the Gospel, by helping others, and if one mentioned they could do so by loving others, at least 10 echoed that same thought. And they also mentioned they can bless others by praying for them, like they were doing...

It's times like these that I wish you could be right here to appreciate the moment!

Adele

Kipkaren Children’s Home

2006-06-05T19:45:00.000+03:00

This month, the second children’s home is opening at ELI’s Kipkaren Training Center, about 90 minutes’ drive from the Ilula Children’s Home. Please pray for the staff as they prepare for the arrival of their children. Pray especially also for the children. The adjustment to life in the home can be traumatic.

Having Fun on Independence Day

2006-06-05T11:42:00.000+03:00

We had been told that Thursday (June 1) was a national holiday, but I had little idea of what to expect of Kenyan Independence Day. It didn't seem like there were typical celebrations planned, either. Perhaps there were big celebrations in Nairobi, but in our village, the biggest excitement seemed to be that the children would have no school, and that the visiting team from California would get to play games with them.

The childrens home directors had asked the visitors to plan something fun in the afternoon, and since the team had discovered some mitts while helping us sort through other supplies, baseball was the plan. The Kenyans had never played baseball before but boy were they quick learners! The children played first with some adults intermingled on each team. After about an hour or so the adults decided it was time to play their own game. Can I just say I have never enjoyed watching baseball as much as I did that day! The sidelines of the playing area were loaded with children, mothers and the few Americans, like myself, who simply wanted to watch.

The Kenyan men were all smiles as they set out to conquer this new game, and laughter would erupt as they swung at the ball and raced from base to base. I think it was the happiest Ive seen the parents thus far - sweet joy. Everyone near that field was blessed, infected by a joyful spirit, the kind you find at some summer picnics, neighborhood parties, or even our own Independence Day celebrations.

It was a wonderful afternoon to top off the week of goodness the American Team provided. Some of the highlights of their visits were when they led morning devotions at school. The story of Noah and Moses would never be the same! While the kids were at school, the team worked on other projects around the compound.

Four oclock would roll around and sure enough, 30 minutes of exciting, encouraging, tutoring would ensue. (One of the team members is an occupational therapist and was able to work with specific children with learning disabilities.) At 4:30 a sport or craft would follow, depending on the day. It is quite a challenge to do a craft with 50 children that dont understand American English all that well, but this team succeeded! The children were left calling, See me! to show off their precious crafts of which they were so proud.

All in all, Id say it was a packed week of fun thanks to the patience, generosity and commitment of the American Team.

From Kenya,
Christy Thomas
Intern

Hand Wash Only . . . No More!

2006-05-27T16:18:00.000+03:00

Doing laundry might be one of the least liked choresespecially in a culture where it's done by hand. Just imagine the task it is to then do laundry for 24 children!

"It would take me from 8am to 5pm every day to stand and do laundry," explains Paris, assistant parent to the Rutto family. "After doing that for more than a year, my hands really ached. They even started to be white!"

But late last year, the childrens home was blessed with an industrial-size washing machine, thanks to Christian Assembly in California. "We really thank God for the machine," Paris says. "May God bless the people who donated it!"

Left: Assistant parents Sally and Sarah, doing laundry by hand.

Below: The ladies love the fact that a machine is now lessening their burden. Not only do their hands feel the difference, but their backs are no longer feeling the strain of washing 24 children's laundry all day, every day.

Update on New Children's Home

2006-04-29T12:05:00.000+03:00

Kipkaren home
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

Later this year, our second children's home will be officially opened.

The rooms are bigger than the rooms at our first home. Families will not share a gazebo/dining room, but each family unit will have their own gazebo.

As soon as the children's home is complete, we're starting construction of our own elementary school adjacent to the home.

Please pray for us as we're hiring new staff: dorm parents, teachers, cooks, grounds staff. The directors have already been hired as have some of the parents. In fact, the directors have been in Uganda for training for the past few months.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of the progress on the home.

Easter Break

2006-04-18T22:22:00.000+03:00

Rogers
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

It's Easter break and the kids have been keeping themselves busy with all kinds of activities, including gardening.

Here, Rogers is looking at Vincent who's decided to split across the double-dug bed. Click on Rogers' photo for more of the Rotich kids' gardening fun.

2006-03-20T21:51:00.000+03:00

Empowering Lives Children's Home Ilula seeks to provide emotional healing, spiritual nurture, education, and basic needs to orphaned children in a family setting using Christian principles of honesty, integrity, and respect for man and God, and to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to be God-fearing, successful, and responsible people of Kenya, East Africa, and the world.