Kaole Community and slum

Monday, June 7, 2010
(Post by Loura, My Mom)
A new day, a new week and a new place...at least for me.. Jenni was here last year! Pastor Fred and Alice and the children, John, Karina and Reva, came and picked us up yesterday after church at Pastor Edward and Alice's. It was bittersweet in that Jenni and I needed a little change of scenery , but at the same time, have grown so close to our new Kenya family. It was hard to leave them for this 3 weeks, but we will be back. If it was this hard to leave after a week and a half, how hard is it going to be to say goodbye to come home to America!! But we are here now, At Pastor Fred and Alice's. It is entirely different from Kawangware. Much quieter, less people...probably a little safer. Here there are indoor toilets and showers at Fred and Alices, but you have to be careful with water because it is rationed. Still, not everyone here has the convenience of indoor plumbing...there are many here also who live in stick and tin homes or no home at all. Off in the distance, I can see some mountains, which helps me... I miss the mountains. I got up this morning and looked out to see where the sun was rising, but it was not over the mountains... it must set this way!! I will look tonight to see! Last night I finally got to meet Christine and Moses and Grace and her grandson, Pavo. It was so very good to finally meet this person that has become my Kenya sister!!!

So it is morning now...Jenni and I are getting ready to head out with Alice to Candlelight school. They have a session in the mornings that Alice calls music therapy. I will write more later!!
We went to Candlelight this morning. I enjoyed so much meeting the children. We went to each class and met them and spoke with them about ourselves for a few minutes. We stayed in the fifth grade class for the longest. They were so full of questions about America... do we eat snake? What karate movies do we like? Who is our favorite actor/ actoress? What is our climate? Do we have snow and what is snow like? It was so fun to tell them about America because they enjoy so much hearing! Then Alice took me on down to the baby, preschool, and 1st grade classes while Jenni stayed up at the main school with the teachers she had made friends with last year to visit. I think I would be happiest there all day. They are so young and tiny , just still babies, so many of them!! So many stories that Alice shared with me about their lives... some left behind by their momma's because the daddys had left or were abusive. Sad stories!

Tuesday June 8, 2010
Last night Syd picked up Jenni and I and we went and picked up Jenni's boyfriend , Timmy Jarvis, at the airport. On the way, we stopped for gas and to get money from the ATM. As we were getting ready to pull out of the parking spot, a young boy, around the age of eight came to Jenni's open window and with glazed over eyes, asked if we could give him 10 shillings for juice. As Jenni was reaching for her purse,Syd turned to her and immediately told her 'no'! She told her that if she wanted to do something, to let Bonnie , who works for Syd, run into the market to get him juice and a snack, but that he was a glue sniffer and would use the money to buy more glue.... not food. Many street children resort to sniffing glue to numb themselves against the pain of the hunger and starvation they are feeling. It is highly addictive, brain damaging and often deadly. So many, from very small do this. It is so sad and so heartbreaking. The image of that thin, young boy and his sad , glazed over eyes will always be with me. This little boy may not live much longer. It just breaks my heart. By the way, Bonnie did go get him something to eat and some juice.


Timmy is now safely in Kenya!!!

Jenni has been experiencing some allergy issues and woke this morning very conjested and just not feeling too well... please keep her in your prayers. She stayed in this morning to rest. I went on to Candlelight to teach Bible. I just prayed and asked that God would set me aside and speak to the children through me and that they would understand me in spite of this nasal, southern drawl that I have! Marc had emailed me a picture of Nephelum skeletons that had been dug up by archeologists and I took my laptop and showed them one of the pictures and the message was about the Nephelum (giants) in the Bible and Goliath and how David killed Goliath because God was with him. I spoke with them about how problems in our lives today can seem so gigantic. That the giants that they face today of hunger, sorrow, loss, lonliness, etc. can be conquered by faith in the same God of David. I told them that God speaks in His Word about the importance of knowledge over and over and that they needed to keep learning and go as far as they could and that God would use that knowledge to fight the giants in their lives. I was so shocked when the 8th graders stood and clapped and cheered and no teacher was there to tell them to. God is so good because they got it.... PRAISE GOD for answered prayer!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!!! How I love HIM!!

Jenni is feeling some better this afternoon. Please pray for her. And pray for that little boy at the gas station. Pray for all of these hungry, hurting children. Pray that God can show Jenni and I how to communicate and portray how things are here , to others at home in America... that we can be eyes for others to see.... that hearts will be stirred to compassion.... that change will come! These are some of my prayers... will you join me? ~ loura

Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)
The Sheep and the Goats
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."