Kwaheri Kenya, Until Next Time...

Hello friends and family,




We are now in Nairobi. We have had a great trip. Mike and I had the opportunity to go hiking and cave exploring on Mt. Elgon one day with Butaki. The caves are amazing and some go as far as Uganda. Some have paths that lead to under ground rivers. The only draw back were the bats!! Thousands of them--I am not exaggerating! We then went for a hike where Butaki grew up. We had a bunch of kids who saw us and trailed behind. There is just something about African children. They are soooooooooooooooo beautiful. We received a call from Stephen Mairori (who found out we were on the mountain) and asked us to to come to a peace rally in Keptama (a division of Mt. Elgon) We were wearing hiking shoes and pants. The peace rally had pastors from all over and the District Commissioner for Mt. Elgon attending. They were all dressed in coats and ties, not hiking shoes and cargo pants! As we were making our way to the van, I stepped in mud and my entire foot was covered and I some how managed to get it all over the back of my pants. We arrived at the peace rally apologizing for our appearance. Stephen reassured us it was no problem as he buttoned up Mike's shirt and told him to tuck it in his pants. Yeah right, no problem. Not much he could do about my appearance. He of course stuck us in the front row facing the audience. Here we are innapropriatley dressed and me covered in mud (I can not manage to stay clean no matter how hard I try!!) Stephen then asked us to speak to the people about peace and forgiveness. It all went well and no one seemed to mind that we were under dressed and a bit unclean. Of course, the people are so polite they probably would not say anything even if they thought it.



On our last day in Kitale, we went to say goodbye to the boys at the house and Edwin was not there. He apparently ran away. We were worried and said a quick prayer for him. After we left we went to spend some time with Lucy before we had to leave. Mike (who is becoming quite the driver in Kitale) took a different route to Sr. Freda's house where Lucy lives. We saw someone sleeping on the side of the road. It was Edwin! We believe that God lead us to him. We sat on the ground and held him while he cried. We then spent some time talking with him about what happened. He unfortunately was not taking any responsibility for his part of the situation but he was willing to go back to the house to try and work things out. He has come such a long way and we were able to help him see that living back on the streets was not an option he wanted. We felt very relieved we found him and that he was willing to stay at the house and meet with Lydia and Geoffrey to work things out.



Saying goodbye to Lucy went well for the first time ever. She did not shut down like she usually does. She gave us BIG hugs and knows we are coming back. We called her today as it was her first day at her new school. She sounded excited-- Yes, Lucy has found her personality! She likes her new school very much. We are very happy and feel such a peace about where she is attending. We pray for good teachers to encourage her.



Yesterday we met with a business man named Ken who is interested in Executive Coaching. He interviewed me by giving me a real situation to coach him on. It was a blast and went well. Mike said he watched Ken's face as "the light bulb went on". He asked to meet with us again today. We went to a place called Beacon of Hope. His wife Jane started it. It is an amazing center that started as a place to help women who are HIV Positive. There is a medical clinic, vocational training, a pre-school, counseling, and training for family members in home health care to save on costs. This center is bringing people to Christ and giving them purpose and hope. Jane and Ken are amazing Christian people who are brilliant and of high integrity. Beacon of Hope is definitely a place to visit in the future.



Our only regret on this trip is that as much as we were on the mountian, we did not realize that their are many families still displaced and living in tents on the mountain in IDP camps. Had we have known, we would have spent time with these people just to share God's love and offer encouragement in any way we could. If it were not for responsibilities we have at home, we would be on the next plane for Kitale and back on Mt. Elgon to be with these amazing people. Our hearts ache that we did not spend time with them.



By the time you read this, we will probably be in the air heading home. Over all, it was a great trip and we accomplished alot. There is more to share but will do so in person. We love you all and appreciate the prayers. We both stayed healthy on this trip!!!!! Hopefully the "elephants" are not near by!