Masai Mara

We had an exciting day at Masai Mara and were able to see one of the great natural wonders: the wildebeest migration.  With all of the animals in the park, the lions have a veritable buffet!  Here are a few pictures:

Our last bit of excitement came on the way to the airstrip.  We weren't expecting to see much (in fact my camera was in its bag), but Cliff yelled, "rhino."  They're very rare--only about 15 in the whole park.  But this momma rhino charged our jeep!  Thankfully she stopped about 20 feet away.

We're now in Amsterdam on our long, nine hour layover.  We are certainly looking forward to getting home!

Jeff

Crocodile Park

This morning we met the BCC children at the "Crocodile Park."  It was an adventure for all!  Here are a few highlights:

Around Nairobi

Today we took in some of the sights of Nairobi.  Here are a few pictures from today and from the week.

(What's Adam going to do when we go to the Crocodile Park with the BCC Children tomorrow?)

Wow, that was a fast five days!  It's hard to believe that we've finished the VBS and medical clinic. In some ways the vbs has been less relational (because of the huge numbers), but we have ben able to impact far more children throughout the neighborhood.  Cliff's Bible story today came from John 21 with the great of fish and the commissioning of Peter to "feed my sheep." Cliff had the children write the names of people they could talk to about Christ. They had a whole wall of the school covered with the names.

At the medical clinic we had the day of childhood pneumonia and other respiratory problems. One baby had a 105 degree fever at admittance. It was down to 100.4 by the time they left. It's so satisfying to be able to make such a difference, though we hate to think what happens through the rest of the year. If our medical team was not here, some of these children would probable not have made it.


Tomorrow is a day of relaxation and recovery, and Saturday we'll get together with the 32 BCC children at a "crocodile park" (sounds interesting?).  We'll keep you informed!


Thanks for your prayers!


Jeff

Prayer Request

One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of our time in Kenya is the intimate encounter with extreme poverty. We've reconnected this week with Alice, a single mother of three. A tiny woman, Alice must carry her severely disabled child, Morgan, everywhere. Morgan has what is most likely an extreme case if cerebral palsy. Alice is raising two other children under the age of ten. Alice has no education and no job, and basic survival is a major struggle. Cynthia got to know Alice last year and learned that the family had no food and that Alice was suffering from despair.  Cynthia prayed with her and gave her scripture to read, and our group gathered what snacks we had for a few day's worth of food. This year Cynthia talked with her after she saw Dr. Bechtol, and she was doing better. She shared that her community was helping them with food and even providing school fees for her daughter. It is hard for us to imagine her future, as Morgan gets too big for her to carry. Join us in praying for her and the children. In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul describes our present sufferings as leading to a "weight of glory." Though it's hard to imagine her lowliness and suffering in this life, we live with the hope that one day Alice and her children will be magnificent, indeed.

Both VBS and the medical clinic ran smoothly today, and all on our team are well.

Blessings,

Jeff

A Cold Day in Africa

One of the most common questions we get on returning from Africa is: “So was it hot over there?”  For the record it was a high of 63 today--overcast with a touch of drizzle!  

In spite of the chill, it was a good day of ministry at the BCC.  The clinic went smoothly (maybe our smoothest day ever).  The two severely sick children from yesterday returned and were much better, and there were no big surprises at the end of the day.  

The shock has worn off the faces of our VBS team with their 300 children, and they’re working well.  David Jenkins had the children acting out the story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the sea.  The 20 or so children whose role was  playing the sea wiped out the horses and riders with relish.  I kept thinking we would need a trip to the clinic after that, but the children loved it.  I hung around Mike’s recreation station when the 20 four year-olds rotated to him (mainly because I thought it would be entertaining to see him coax the preschoolers into doing organized relays.)  To my shock, he did it!  They were bouncing across the field with a ball held between their knees, kicking up clouds of red dust, with huge smiles on their faces.  

Thanks for your prayers!

Jeff

Surprises Abound

We’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon since we arrived.  Each time we asked how many kids we’d have at VBS, the number changed.  We came planning for 32.  Then we were told 130, then 150, then 120, then 180.  Cynthia heard 230.  We ended up today with 300!  Our team of 6 working with VBS suddenly had 10 times the number of children!  They made it through with great attitudes.  

Cliff’s Bible story today was about Noah and how God protected him.  He asked what God protects them from.  Their answers: disease, kidnappers, and evil men.  Its quite a different list from what our children might say.

The medical clinic had a very smooth day, with somewhat ordinary cases through most of the day. Of course the most serious cases came at the end of the day as Lee helped a 5 year old with pneumonia and Richard a young woman with a serious infection on her face.  Please pray for these children as they return for additional treatment tomorrow.  

I’m so proud of our team.  With lost bags (finally found this morning) and massive changes in plans, they’ve done great!  

Jeff