Feed The Children

You, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.
Lamentations 5:19

You have heard it said over and over, The children are the future of a nations... each one of these adults were once children... Both have AIDS. They live in a small one room home smaller then most of our bedrooms.


Saturday morning I woke up early and found myself flipping through channels on the TV. I came to a half hour plea for help from Feed the Children. Where were they pleading for help? Kenya, Africa. I saw hundreds of children in need of food. Children with out parents due to AIDS, desperate just to be loved and told it is going to be OK. Children way to young to be on their own yet they lived on the streets begging for food. According to the head of Feed the Children there are hundreds of thousand children in need of food in Kenya alone. In the years that I have been traveling to Kenya I have seen this up close. I began to cry. There are so many!! It was then that God reminded me that for the kids of CMIA there is hope EVERY DAY!! That hope comes from what God is doing through David and Jennifer Hatley. Through the many people who daily feed and love on these kids. And from those who take their vacation time to go and be with them... In a sea of hunger and pain CMIA provides an island of hope. In only 38 more days you too will be a part of bringing that hope and love to the kids of CMIA.

IN 38 DAYS YOU TOO WILL BE BRING HOPE AND LOVE

TO THE CHILDREN OF CMIA!!

Single In Kenya

Today I got a letter from Janet. It is the second one I have gotten from her since my last trip there. She is 33 years old and single. Not an easy thing in Kenya. I love Janet's heart though, she know her life will only be complete if she is serving God. So Janet uses her amazing voice to lead worship.

More and more Kenyans are finding themselves still single at older ages. Something that is looked down upon by many. But God has a plan for them.

When we go some of us will be encouraging these wonderful singles. Our talk will be based upon a song my best friend wrote:

Lord, I am glad you didn't let me look ahead,

To see the trials I would have to face.

I would have lived my life caught up in fear and rage,

and missed a lot of joys along the way.

On this journey I have had my share of tears,

lonely days when it was hard to understand.

But you whispered to me gently child I'm here,

and I knew that you were holding to my hand.

Every step that I have taken

Every valley I walked through,

I have seen that your grace can not be shaken

Every step brought me closer Lord, to you.

I have know a peace that I can not explain,

when everything around me fell apart.

For your promises brought hope within my pain,

and you would heal the wounds inside my heart.

When my feet could not go on another mile

for the road had left me tiered and oh so week.

I would hear you whisper child come rest a while,

then you would hold me close and weep along with me.

Every step that i have taken

Every valley i walked through

I have seen that your grace can not be shaken

Every step has brought me closer Lord, to you!

Be in prayer for those who will be speaking to the singles with me as well as those who will be there to hear. They will be coming from Langata and near by villages to hear what we have to share. Every step of their life has been to bring them closer to God. This is just one of those steps....

What an awsome day Saturday was...

We came together as a team...

there was no rain...

and we didn't loose that much to the wind

THE BEST PART IS WE MADE...

$1720.81

This total does not inclued what my sister Kim

took to sale on Ebay for us!!

Now that we know what a Great team we are

I can't wait to see what happens in Kenya!

WE ARE UNDER 50 DAYS!!

WE ONLY HAVE 49 MORE DAYS TILL WE LEAVE!!

THAT IS ONLY 7 MORE WEEKS!!

From this point on it will go by even faster....

Matthew 18:2-6
Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Are you praying for the children you will come in contact with?

Kari has a friend who works with young children.

Each of those children have taken one or more photos of a child from CMIA home

and is praying for them.

They will pray for their child from now till we come home!!

Imagine... Children praying for Children!!

BE PRAYING FOR OUR GARAGE SALE THIS WEEKEND:

Pray for SUN!!

Pray for PEOPLE!!

Pray we raise a lot of FUNDS for the trip!!

The Garage Sale is Coming

The countdown continues....Only 53 more days.

Can you believe it!?!?!?!

We now have only one more week before our BIG Garage Sale!

It will be listed in 2 newspapers and on Craig List.

So we hope to get a lot of people!!

Be praying now that people will come and buy lots of stuff.

We have our plane tickets!!

I am so excited.

This is the point when we know who is going

and what kind of team we have...

This one is awesome!!!

Don't stop collecting funds...

The last part of your $3500 is due June 15th.

That is only one month away.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.

This is my God, and I will praise him—

my father’s God, and I will exalt him!

The Lord is a warrior;

Yahweh is his name!

Exodus 15: 2-3

56 MORE DAYS

Are you getting excited!!
Are you getting worried!!
Are you getting nervous!!
Is there things in your life telling you you can't do this!!
Do you feel like it will never all come together!!
Maybe you are having second thoughts about going to Kenya!!



Don't worry. These thoughts are all normal.
You are going to do a great work and Satan will try and stop it.



I want you to remember the orphans and how much joy they have while they have so little material possessions. Then try to give your worries, fears, anxieties and concerns over to Jesus. Let Him carry your burden and have orphan joy that you woke up today, you don't have a horrible disease and you have a full belly!!



I am so excited to be going to Kenya with each and everyone of you.
God has great plans for us there. I can see it already.
56 more days and we are off!!
I can hardly stand it!!

For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which one of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you? O men of little faith? ... Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -Matthew 6:25-30,34

Sunday

This Sunday you will get to sample some dishes served in Kenya.

You will have things like

Chapati: a flat bread served all over Kenya (my favorite!!)

Ugali: A Kenyan staple often used to eat the other foods with since they don't use silverware

Maandazi: a donut like dessert

Chicken Tika: you will have many kinds of Chicken while we are there

Pilau rice and stew: another staple you will have often

When in Kenya food is as good as money.

The first time I was in Kenya I had the honor of visiting my sponsor child through Compassion Int. At her home I was offered 3 eggs. No one else ate because there was not enough to go around, those 3 eggs were all they had. I was their guest and so it was all given to me. Although I felt silly eating when no one else was eating and I knew it was all they had, I learned it was a great honor for them to be able to give me those 3 eggs and watch me enjoy them.

It is an honor for your host to serve you a large meal and it is rude to refuse food when it is offered. It is also rude to finish eating and to just sit there while others are still eating. Eat slowly so you don't finish before your host or you will be required to take more. Unlike America it is also rude to leave uneaten food on your plate. Remember, pace yourself because you will be eating a lot in Kenya.

Langata Compound

This is the front entrance to the Langata compound. The building you see in the background is the church. If you were standing right in front of the gate, you would be looking directly at the front door of the offices. Inside that front door is the reception area that used to be a bar (the church was a night club.) Go past the reception area and take a left and you'll find two classrooms and the computer lab. Go straight past the reception area and there is a door to the HIV/AIDS extension. A right after the reception area takes you to the office of David Hatley and Pastor Hassan. If you step inside this gate and look to your right you'll see three or four classrooms in a seperate building.If you could look to the right (down the gravel road we're standing on) you would see the main orphage compound.

Only 61 more days and you will see this in person!!

The next photo is the road we will walk down each morning to go and see the children of Langata GCC.

Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh an my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:23-26

AIDS

Here we have some of our kids at the Langata extended home. Each of the children who live here are HIV positive. Have you had a chance to read up on the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Once again I will recommend the book "There is no me without you". Most of our children have been touched by AIDS in one way or another. Grace Children's Homes offers a normal life for these precious children. They get to go to School, Medications, A home built for their special needs, Healthy food and LOTS OF LOVE!! You will get to meet each of the 19 children now under the care of CMIA. God had a plan for each of these children. They are full of life and I just know you will love them!!

Please remember, do not make comments like "Oh, I just want to take him/her home with me." or "I just want to make him/her my own." These comments can lead to misunderstandings. Last year we had a few people make these comments at the Makindu School and one little gal with AIDS who had lost both of her parents and was living with her Aunt thought I was there to take her home with me. She had heard the comments and assumed that is what we were there for. She told her Aunt goodbye!! Imagine the hurt when I didn't take her with me. It broke my heart and hers.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," Jeremiah 29:11-14

Sunday Meeting

Jambo Everyone.

Our next meeting is coming up fast.

This Sunday @ 1pm

Green Room at CHCC

This is a pot luck so please bring something to share.

We will be meeting a gal who just moved here from Kenya. She will be able to answer

questions about Kenya and its culture.

We will also be going over some more things we need to know about our trip.

We will also finalize our plans for the Garage Sale.

Have you gotten your shots yet?

Do you have your passport?

Have you sent out a second letter to your supporters?

Are you praying for the team and those in Kenya we will meet?

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. may the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You O God; may all the peoples praise You. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him. -Psalm 67

65 more days till we are off!!!!!!!

Bwana asifiwe