Need Prayers for Moses... If you are not familiar with this story, you need to start with the blog entry "Naibor and Seeking His Continual Presence"

Please pray for baby Moses.  Josphine returned with the baby and mother to the hospital today.  He is severely dehydrated again in addition to being severely malnourished.  The mother said he began vomiting and diarrhea again on Saturday night.  The doctor has admitted him and has indicated that he will require in-patient care for a minimum of 3 weeks depending on how he responds to treatment.

The mother is needed in the hospital with Moses which has left her other 3 children at home without care.  Josphine delivered food for the children at home and also found a neighbor and friend of the family who was willing to watch them until Josphine can locate a  relative or other feasible solution for the next 3 weeks or so.  Their home is also in desperate need of repair and looks as if it could cave in if not mended.  Josphine is looking into those resource needs as well.  We are so grateful to many of you who have already helped to provide thanks to a good friend in Kenya who accompanied Josphine and helped to spread the word.  I was reminded of God's grace when I read these words from Josphine...

"I am so glad that God sent this baby our way, otherwise, I don't think he would have survived.  Our God is so faithful and mighty.  I am happy too that He is walking the earth in our shoes and touching others with our hands and loving others with our hearts.  I am so humbled to be used of Him."

Update on baby Moses

Please pray for Moses.  In an earlier blog (Naibor and Seeking His Continual Presence) we shared the story and video clip of this baby who was suffering from severe malnutrition.  Josphine returned to Naibor yesterday to check on him and he is not doing well.  She took him to the hospital where he was treated for dehydration and he is to return next week to see the nutritionist.  Josphine took him back to his mother after buying more food to leave with her.  An elder in the community, Peter, is checking on Moses daily and providing updates to Josphine by phone.

We covet your prayers for this baby and all those who are suffering due to this severe draught and famine.

Does this sound like your grandmother? Part II

I have decided to adopt this grandmother as mine.  I never knew my maternal grandmother and my father's mom passed away many years ago.  I think there is something wonderful about sitting with a grandparent and listening to their stories.  There is so much wisdom to be shared by one who has lived much longer than you even if they don't necessarily share that wisdom in words.

I went back to visit this lady before I left Kenya.  I have yet to get her name (I just call her mom) and she simply refers to me as "her girl". She took me inside her small home made of mud and sticks and we sat on her bed which was also made of sticks and had a few torn blankets on it.  There is another small bed for her grandchildren and a small fire burning where she cooks. The roof is so low that you cannot stand up while inside.  She doesn't really seem concerned by any of this.  She is simply delighted to have a visitor to sit and chat with.

It had been six days since we first visited with her.  Her husband who had already been gone for a week at that time still had not returned from Mt. Kenya.  There had been no rain.  She began to share a little with me about her needs and those of the community.  She showed me her empty water jug.  No food in the house. She said they used to have cows for milk but lost them in the last drought.  I think they still have goats which is why her husband has taken them to Mt. Kenya is search of water and land to graze.  We were interrupted by a woman with 2 children who came in to show me that the children's feet were clean after having the jiggers removed last week.  She seemed to be indicating that because the jiggers were gone the children could attend school now and she asked us to help send her children to school.  The closest primary school is more than a 2 hour walk away. Children are required to wear uniforms to attend school and these children didn't even have adequate clothes. Some had shirts but naked bottoms while others had random clothing torn and rotting.   We visited for a few hours and then left them with corn flour and beans promising to return as soon as God provided a way back.

I am sitting in my office now watching the rain outside with a renewed sense of blessing.  I am wondering what my Kenyan grandmother is doing right now and how her day was.  I am praying for God's provision.... for her.... her family.... her community.  I am praying that the LORD of the harvest will raise up the workers who will go there.  I am praying that He will send those who can provide to Project 82 so that we can continue with relief efforts during this severe famine while exploring opportunities for long term solutions.  I am praying...

Does this sound like your grandmother? Part I

Its been a few days since I've been able to blog and yet I have been eager to write about our last day visiting communities in Lakipia. We spent the day visiting a cluster of smaller villages further still in the bush. When we came upon a grouping of bomas (homes made from cow dung, soil and sticks), I was instantly taken with an elderly woman who was sitting on the ground with two young children. There was something in her eyes that drew me to her. I joined her on the ground and began to chat. She was wearing only a piece of fabric wrapped as a skirt with no covering above. She spoke excitedly and my friend that was interrupting could hardly keep up with her.

She told me the children were her grandchildren and pointed out her daughter who was sitting a short distance away nursing a small baby. She said that her husband had gone to Mt. Kenya to find water and land to graze their animals. He had been gone for a week. I saw no sign of water or food in their home. She explained that they had not yet walked to the dam for water that day. I learned later that these villages were too far from the river (although the river is currently completely dry) and so they get water from a nearby dam that is also dirty and full of disease like the river water.

We just visited for a while and she talked with great animation and excitement in her eyes. Then she began showing us her feet and hands as well as the children's. They were infested with jiggers and she was asking us to remove them. We did not come prepared for that but she would not relent. She didn't seem to care as much about food and water but she really wanted those jiggers removed. (If you don't know what jiggers are.... they are small parasites that live in the dirt and burrow their way into the flesh of your feet or hands and then lay eggs. They will literally rot your flesh.) Josphine had a safety pin and so we did what we could removing the worst. You cannot imagine the smile on her face. Later when we went back to town, we bought some medical supplies and our friends went back the following day and finished what we had started.

Its hard to imagine what your priorities might be when faced with desperate circumstances. A severe drought leaving no water for drinking or cooking or planting food. There is no water to bathe to keep the jiggers from eating their way into their skin. No water for their animals and nowhere to graze them. There is no school in the area to educate their children. The closest medical clinic is a two hour walk away. There are many widows and orphans due to preventable causes related to the conditions they are living in. For this grandmother, the priority was jiggers. I don't know how long it will be before they are re-infested. Sometimes I look into the eyes of an older woman like this one and I wonder if most every day of her life has been like this day. I wonder if she has struggled for 60 plus years just to survive. I wonder if anyone has ever told her that she is beautiful.... loved..... adored.... smart..... courageous....even powerful. This woman had a profoundly powerful impact on my life. I wonder if I can (or Project 82 can) have a powerful impact on hers. I can see it..... can you?

Photos of Grandmother

Lekiji.... this is home

Lekiji..... a little further down the road from Naibor. Actually, the road ends and we traveled deeper into the bush passing elephants, baboons and a few giraffes along the way. Lekiji is about 2000 acres of bush land that is bordered by 4 privately owned animal conservation ranches. There are two rivers that run through the land although the Uasonyro River has completely dried up and the Nanyuki River is very low. The land was given to this community some 20 years ago at a time when most of the people living there were working as casual day laborers on the nearby ranches.

There are about 1600 people living on these 2000 acres (almost 100 people per acre and no pit latrines). The drought is magnifying the usual problems and in Lekiji, even when the rains come, their shambas (gardens) are trampled by elephants and other wildlife. The water from the rivers is contaminated resulting in high prevalence of water born disease. This community has also suffered from a high infection rate of HIV AIDS as education on the disease and how it is spread did not reach the community until a few years ago. The youth population was almost wiped out as a result and there are many orphans living with widowed grandmothers or in child-headed households.

On the brighter side, there is a primary school educating 300 children. The school is presently administering a feeding program provided by the government due to the drought crisis. Every child in the community (about 750) receives one cup of hot beans and corn each day at lunch. There is also a church in the community. I sensed a tremendous bonding of the community as we heard story after story of the hardships many had faced and yet there always seemed to be someone reaching out to help with whatever little they had to offer. More than anything though, I was so completely taken by their smiles and how warmly they welcomed us into their community and their homes. Sometimes when I see the conditions and suffering in these communities contrasted against the backdrop of children laughing and women smiling with a casual presence as they invite you to sit with them, I am riddled with unbelief and humbled all at the same time.... And then I smile as I think about how God uses these people to bless me so deeply, ministering to my heart and I pray that He will allow me to return the favor. Here is a short video of our visit. Maybe there is a blessing here for you today.

Naibor and Seeking His Continual Presence

Today we visited two new communities... Kimakandura and Babong, both in an area known to locals as Naibor. After a relatively short ride from Nanyuki (about 20 minutes), the tarmac ended and we took the dirt road into the bush. The impact of the extended drought was easily visible as the only water source for these communities, the Nanyuki River, was almost completely dry. Everything looked brown, dry and dusty.

These communities are home to about 3000 people mostly from the Turkana and Samburu tribes. The eldest in the communities have been living there for about 20 years after working as day laborers on nearby animal conservation ranches. Today, however, they are unable to find employment on the ranches and have turned to charcoal burning and brewing alcohol for sale in efforts to earn enough shillings to provide food for their families.

We visited in the homes of many older widows who have taken in their orphan grandchildren but have no real way of providing for them. Several families that we talked with had not eaten in 2 or more days. We were able to take corn flour and porridge to be given to 70 households who were caring for orphans and in desperate need of relief intervention. The reality, however, is that what we provided will only last a few days in each home. Just before we left, we visited a mother name Theresa who has 4 children. Her youngest is 18 months old and looked about the size of a sickly 4-6 month old baby. We were all heart broken as we watched him try to feed from her breast but his skinny arms and legs told you instantly that she had no milk.

As I walked through these communities today visiting with so many and hearing their stories, I kept telling myself to look for the assets here and not just the needs. I don't want to imply that there were no assets.... I was amazed by the sheer will of these people to survive doing whatever necessary and constantly looking for new solutions that might make the difference. I was equally saddened however to witness that in their present environment, the amount of hard work and determination of their efforts would not likely have much bearing on their ability to change their current reality. And so I thought about the scripture from my morning devotion and tried to make sense of it in light of all of this...

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Dt 4:29

Today we were able to provide a little relief and possibly even a little hope by giving the gift of food to these widows and orphans who are hungry and are suffering. But mostly, we just prayed with them and for them as we are seeking the LORD our God with all our heart and soul knowing that He desires to be found by each one of us. Sometimes we simply cannot understand why He would allow such adversity to come upon us but His continual Presence with each of us is an absolute promise. Today I am praying that His continual Presence with the people of Naibor will comfort them as only He can. I am also praying that His continual Presence with those of us who are so greatly blessed, will provide the wisdom and courage we need to be that physical manifestation of His comfort.

Tomorrow we will visit a community called Lekiji that is deeper in the bush. We are told the conditions there are even worse than what we experienced today. That is hard to imagine. Please join us in prayer for these people and ask God to provide us with the divine wisdom that we need to see as He sees.

Theresa and Moses Video