Chapati-CHOP

What a great day in Kenya!!!! Today was filled with many blessings for our entire team as we visited Comfort the Children International (www.ctcinternational.org), worked at Naomi’s Village, and celebrated the day by eating at a lovely Kenyan restaurant.

The passion that God has given me is one of love for people with disabilities, so this was a dream come true as we visited Comfort the Children today. CTC is an organization that is focused on giving kids with a disability in this area a chance to receive an education, as well as give their mothers a way to earn an income to care for them. There are nine woman that work at this organization that have been left by their husbands due to the birth of their child with a disability. Many of the kids with disabilities in this nation are cast out of society, locked in dog kennels, tied to trees, or even killed because this country has very limited education on how to care for these wonderful people. They believe that there is no chance for them in life and literally treat them like animals. Comfort the Children has started a movement, in what I believe, will impact this community as well as other communities in more nations. They have given these students an opportunity to receive an education and just be loved by people, as well as educate the community that these people are still God’s children. People with disabilities are not “nothing”; they are something so significant to this world. God has created them in the U.S. and Kenya and every other nation for so many reasons. Today, the mothers were so encouraged by listening to stories I was able to share about the same population I work with in the States. They seemed so surprised that there were kids in the states just like theirs. They had no education about disabilities until now!! We were able to go into the classrooms and just play around with the kids. I was able to play with a boy named George, who has Down syndrome. He completely was putting on some karate chop moves on some of us, climb all over us, and just sit and laugh about some random things. The kids sang to us, which really made many of us tear up. It was wonderful standing in the midst of something big. God has such big plans for this population in this area and it will be great to see what He does here. I was clearly shown the love of Christ today through the people of this organization and these kids.

At Naomi’s Village today, we were able to clear out more rooms of the orphanage so now it is another step closer to serving these kids. It is amazing to sit in the rooms of this building and just imagine the giggles, laughter, and see the smiles on the kids faces. I can just see the life that is in this place before it is ever finished. Another great thing was just to sit and listen to the passion that the Mendonsa’s have for this place. God has given them incredible hearts and it has been a huge blessing to serve Christ alongside of my fellow Baylor Bears the past few days.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for our team as we go back to the IDP camp for movie night tomorrow, as well as for continued health of our team.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

-Lindsey Castilleja

Black Boogers

Impromptu Worship on the Mountain

Students at the IDP Preschool

Hello Everyone!!!  I apologize for the brevity of this post, but the wifi is still out and for time's sake I'll just give you guys a quick overview of what today looked like for our team.

Today was a wonderful day filled with a trip to the IDP camp and some dirty work at Naomi's Village and also we were able to show some support at Will Mendonsa'a soccer game!  At the IDP camp we were able to play with those beautiful, smiling children again.  We made little shakers for the children out of paper plates, staples  and dried split peas.  Our goal was to walk into their classroom and teach them the "Jesus loves me" song, but i think what happened to most of our team members was a few moments of awkward silence followed by the loudest roar of shakers you've ever heard.  I don't think we were even able to teach them the song, but it was still amazing to see those kids laughing, dancing and singing about with their shakers.

I know you all are wondering what this post title is all about so here's the story: At Naomi's Village we were put to work cleaning out a partially completed (oxymoron, i know) room.  Y'all, this endeavor involved a lot of dust.  I'm not kidding, a lot of dust.  This resulted in everyone having a nose full of black boogers.  But nonetheless we all had a blast, complete with wheel barrel racing and plenty of booger jokes.

My favorite part of today was coming home to a beautiful Kenya sunset and seeing a couple of my team members soaking in the beauty with worship as Joe played his guitar.  For time sake, we were unable to upload pictures, including a pic of the moment i just described [edit: pics are now updated].

Thank you all for your prayers!  They are both appreciated and coveted.  Please know that we are well and having an amazing experience here in Kenya.  We all feel amazingly blessed to be a part of this trip and just to feel the warmth of another sun and to see the children of God from another land.  We love you and miss you all!


-Jennifer Matos

Dusty Room at Naomi's Village

We're Here!

Bob and Julie Mendonsa with Doreen and Kamau

Hello friends and family! We first need to apologize that we have not been able to update you all yet. This is the first opportunity we have had to use wi-fi, so hopefully we did not worry those who may have been expecting a notification of our arrival. Needless to say, we are here safely, and have been so blessed already.

We arrived late last night and got settled in to the missionary house, and jet lag set in, so we all crashed fast, and woke up early this morning. The first place on our agenda was Naomi's Village. We took a long, bumpy, wild ride in the "green hornet"and arrived safely at Naomi's Village...barely! For those who had been on this trip last year, it was such a tremendous blessing to see the progress of the orphanage. Last year, they left a land that was virtually bare, and this year, there was a beautiful orphanage that was getting close to completion. For those of us who are here for the first time, it was a blessing as well to finally experience the orphanage. We were able to visit with the workers over a cup of Uji (pourage), and chapati (tortillas). They also allowed us to join them in a game of volleyball. It was really great to see that the Lord's hand is so obviously on this place, and He is showing it. The workers seemed so eager to complete this project, and get the orphans in here.

After Naomi's Village, we made our way to the IDP Camp (Internally Displaced Persons). I can speak for the entire time when I say that we were all greatly moved by the things that we saw today. As we pulled up to the camp, all the children knew that we were coming, and were sprinting towards the cars, yelling, with huge smiles on their faces! They were so excited to see that we were coming. Immediately after getting out of the cars, we were surrounded, and the wild and crazy fun began. Some of us played soccer, some of us made up games that the kids loved, some of us just held the children, that virtually refused to let go of us. After hours of games and fun, the children left for a break, and we were able to sit down with the workers of the camp to hear their stories about how they got here. These new friends of ours have had some very difficult experiences, seeing family members murdered, having their houses burned down by the very people who were teaching them about Jesus, being separated from their families. Some of them have yet to see their families, as they all had no choice but to scatter for their lives. There was a particular worker whose name was Doreen, and during our share time tonight, she was a huge topic of our conversations. She said a few things that really challenged our team, and brought some necessary convictions. These people have almost nothing, except the Word of God, which means they believe what it says, because they have no other choice. Jesus truly is their only hope, and they stand on that with all that they have. They have such a passion for the Word of God, they have so much joy amidst so much suffering, and they immediately want to give what little they have to us, because God's Word says to. They don't have anything, but the little that they have is not their treasure. They have such a heavenly hope, and are so faithful to pray and provide for all the little children, in hopes that they will be able to find victory for their next generation, whether they themselves get to see it or not. The kids loved the things that were so meaningless to us, yet so meaningful to them. One of the highlights of the day was when we brought out the bubbles. It's a great sight to see a hundred kids chasing a slew of bubbles all over a field. They truly blessed us today.

Last, we would like you to continue to pray for us. Pray for our team, that we would continue to grow together, and lay down our own personal struggles at the cross, so that we would not be distracted from the gospel going out to this place. Continue to pray for provision for Naomi's Village, as well as the IDP camp. And most importantly, please pray John 6:44 that God would draw people to His Son, and that He would bring salvation all over this place. We love you all, and will update more soon!

Blessings!

-Joe Crenshaw

Who, What, Why: Kenya 2010

Buy a bracelet, build an orphanage

Our team is selling "I Support Naomi's Village" bracelets for $10. 100% of the proceeds will go to support the completion of Naomi's Village. Contact your favorite team member to buy yours now :)

Ministry Opportunities in Kenya

I just wanted to give everyone a quick overview of what sort of ministries we will be involved in when we get to Kenya:

• NAOMI’S VILLAGE
  Naomi’s Village (NV) is the orphanage that Bob & Julie recently founded (Mendonsa's blog). It is still under construction, is expected to be finished in January, and will become home to up to 100 orphans upon its completion. Our team of 13 incredible men and women will do various projects to help work towards the completion of the facility.
  

• INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS CAMP
  In 2008, nearly 3,000 men, women, and children were displaced from their homes due to post-election violence. They now live in tents or makeshift homes with no running water and electricity. We will have opportunities to love on and serve the people there including but not limited to story & music time with the preschoolers and a movie night at the camp. The Lord has opened up a huge door for Bob and Julie to do ministry among these people and we are eager to love on and learn from these men and women who literally have nothing, yet are filled with joy in the Lord.
  

• COMFORT THE CHILDREN, INTL
  (www.ctcinternational.org): CTC is a school for children with mental and physical disabilities and their mothers. In Kenya, children with special needs are viewed as cursed and are virtually shunned from their communities. Not only does Comfort the Children offer a day program for these children, but they employ their mothers as well, thus providing income for them to take care of their children. Our team will have an opportunity to partner with CTC, local schools, churches, NGO's and the government for their monthly Ubuntu Day- an opportunity for the town of Maai Mahiu to work together to improve their living conditions. Pray also for opportunities we will have to encourage and bless the mothers and children who occupy CTC.
  

Come Support Naomi's Village!

This Saturday, August 28th, our team is hosting an all-day fundraiser at the Chick-Fil-A on Main Street in Lewisville. Order a party platter or stop by for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and 20% of your proceeds will go towards the remaining construction of Naomi's Village, the orphanage we will be working at in Maai Mahiu, Kenya that will house 110 children upon it's completion. To meet the team, learn more about Naomi's Village, and make an additional cash or check donation, please stop by between 12:00-3:00.

To catch the vision of our trip and to meet some of the sweet faces that your Chick-Fil-A proceeds will surely benefit, please watch this video:



Love,
The Village Church Kenya 2010 Team