bob & Julie's blog
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
When our family packed up and moved to Kenya over a year ago in Aug. 2008, we never imagined so many visitors would come join us in the work God is doing in Kenya. Sharing a variety of experiences with those we love and with those we barely knew before their arrival, has opened our eyes anew to the beauty of the body of Christ and God’s plan that we live out this journey in deep community with one another. Surviving Nairobi traffic and its ridiculous round-abouts, eating a plate of nyama choma (roasted goat meat) together, hearing mentally disabled children at Comfort the Children quote Scripture, worshiping in the slums of Nairobi, playing with children at an IDP camp, digging out the foundation for Naomi’s Village, or watching doctors at CURE open up a human body - these things have united us together in a powerful way.
Our guests brought with them energy and encouragement, which we desperately needed. They also brought gifts for our family, medical supplies for the hospital, stuffed animals, candy and activities for children at the hospitals and IDP camps, clothing for the poor and needy here, etc! A heartfelt thank-you to those who sent gifts with the visitors/teams that came our way.
Those who were not weak of stomach found themselves dressed in scrubs, observing Bob or Tim Mead in action in the OR at CURE. Even Emily and her friend have watched an operation. (“When can I scrub in, Daddy?”) The team from our church, The Village, watched an amputation of a young boy’s leg. Excited but also sad at what they just observed, they recognized that although this boy lost his leg, he gained the ability to walk as CURE will fit him with a prothesis.
Kenya Shared
Sunday, November 15, 2009
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CURE Hospital, a 1 minute walk from our front door, treats disabled children throughout Kenya. The work done by the surgeons along with the entire CURE Kenya staff is remarkable and life changing for the children and their families. Disgrace and shame are the culture of disability in Kenya. Children born with abnormalities are hidden away and shunned by their own family members. A father will often leave his wife if she has a child who is not “normal.” Along with physically treating these disabled children, CURE is educating the Kenyan public in an effort to change this harmful mindset. Playing with the children, reading books to them, and praying with their families are some of the ways our visitors have loved and encouraged these precious ones.
Lauren Oliver, good times in the OR
Michael Mitchell, all smiles in the CURE playroom.
This little girl loved having Dena Oliver read to her.
CURE reaches patients in remote areas of Kenya by way of mobile clinics. Several of our guests traveled with Bob and the CURE team to different parts of Kenya to see hundreds of children with disabilities (see the previous post from March 2009). Often overwhelming for the first time visitor, these mobile clinics help to clarify the need for hospitals such as CURE in developing countries like Kenya.
Freeland Ackley in Mombasa
Ty Clark in Machakos
Emily and Lauren, making string bananas to entertain waiting children at the CURE Machakos clinic
We’re so thankful for those who have joined us at the Kijabe Feeding Program we have administered since 2004. This work began due to the generosity of Nancy and Amy Harris, who completely sponsored feeding the children and their families for the first 2-3 years. Others have since given generously to continue this work. The program provides food for 35 families with distributions taking place on Tuesdays and Fridays. To see the beautiful children in the feeding program go to:
Bob Shirley and his family raised money from their boys’ school in Colleyville, TX, to provide for a month of food for the children in the feeding program!
Only a dream and hope until just this week, the building of Naomi’s Village Children’s Home has begun and is now reality! For the latest info. see “The Orphanage” page. Lord willing, children will be calling Naomi’s Village their home by Aug. 2010.
After the presidential elections in Dec. 2007 violence erupted in Kenya as various tribes protested the naming of incumbent Kibaki as the winner. Kibaki is of the Kikuyu tribe, the majority tribe in Kenya. People who were neighbors for years, knew each other’s children, and sat together at church turned on one another in the most heinous of ways. Homes were burnt to the ground, women raped, men murdered, and children left abandoned and scarred. Forced to flee for their lives,
thousands found themselves living in Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps set up by the government. Home for them is now a tent in a dirt field shared by 10 or more family members. Most have no beds, but sleep on a piece of plastic thrown down on the dirt. The team from Lost Orphans International, the team from The Village Church, and Ty and Mande Clark all visited one IDP camp with us on separate occasions. The men and women in this camp are forward looking people who have resolved to make a new life for themselves. Sweeter children could not be found anywhere. These people need so much - food, water, clothing, housing, and counseling as they still try to process the past atrocities. Pray for the relationship God is establishing. The Eldoret IDP camp is located just across a 2-lane highway from the Naomi’s Village site. Many of the workers on the building site are men from the IDP camp, and we are certain some of the children who are orphans will soon live at Naomi’s Village. Playing with the children and visiting with the adults here makes for an incredible day!
Celebrating the purchase of the land with Ty and Mande, whose company Veritas raised the money for the 5 acre plot at the Hope Benefit in April 2009.
The work crew getting started on building Naomi’s Village!
These 2 little boys wandered over to see the action on Day 1 - of course, they loved Ernie, the builder from TX who has sacrificed his livelihood and family time for the next 8 months for them!
Who knew waiting for the sheet to drop on your head could be so much fun?!
About 5 minutes after our arrival at the IDP camp, the skies broke open and the rain poured! We took shelter in a dilapidated tent with as many holes as areas that actually kept the rain out. Pipe cleaners to the rescue! We made letters, numbers, and silly glasses!
The play parachute brought color and excitement to the otherwise monochromatic area. Before leaving, we used the parachute to cover the dilapidated tent we spoke of above.
Our good friend, Pastor Geoffrey, planted a church in the Lunga Lunga slums of Nairobi a little over one year ago. You haven’t experienced Kenyan worship until you’ve come to the Wells of Joy Church in Lunga Lunga. About 2 months ago disaster struck as some of the leaders held a late night prayer service at the church. Only a few blocks away in the slums, a shack caught fire. Frantic knocking on the church door interrupted the prayer meeting. Festus, one of the leaders of the church, rushed to his house and found it burned to the ground. Inside were the remains of his wife and only son, a 7 month old baby. Pray for Festus. Pray for this young church as they search for God in the midst of the rubble and pain.
One of our favorite places to visit is Comfort the Children in Maai Mahiu. CTC runs a day center for mentally disabled children and their mothers. The moms have been taught to sew and make bags to support themselves. The children are loved and nurtured by caring workers who pour their hearts into these precious little ones. Understanding the unfair stigma of disability in Kenya, we can see what makes CTC’s work so important. We can’t even begin to imagine for each one of these children helped at CTC how many are hidden away in shame and disgrace. We are hopeful about the relationship forming between CTC and Naomi’s Village. Only a few kilometers away from each other, we want to work together to bring the love of Jesus to Maai Mahiu.
No trip to Kenya is complete with out experiencing the lighter, the beautiful, and the ridiculous side of Kenya. Beautiful sunsets over the Rift Valley, animals in their true habitats, pink flamingos surrounding Lake Nakuru, “kissing” giraffes all cause gratitude to rise up in our hearts as we thank the God who created it all for our joy and His ultimate glory.
Festus’ wife, Kristine with their baby boy, Joshua. This is the last time we saw her - only days before the fire.
Festus and Bob at the church in Lunga Lunga, about 4 weeks after the death of his wife and baby.
Mothers of disabled children who attend the CTC Day Center. They were busy sewing bags when we arrived for a visit.
Timothy, who has cerebral palsy, is always full of smiles and so happy when we see him. He especially loves it when the other children sing.
Steve Klueber showing off his handiwork in the OR.
On safari with the Shirleys and Steve Klueber we came upon this lion enjoying his fresh kill.
kissy-kissy!
Will at Lake Nakuru National Park, famous for it’s pink flamingos (see the stripe behind him).
After a hard day’s work, The Village team gathered together for God’s show...the incredible sunsets over the Great Rift Valley.
