Maasai Development Project

The Maasai Development Project Blog will be used by members to post updates particularly while on trips to Kenya. Here you can view these posts and make comments.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Oct 22 Monday


After breakfast (toast with peanut butter and fresh mangos on it) we headed out towards Kajiado again, but this time turned on a little dirt road just before Kajiado and headed out to Mashuru to visit Gracie! Now some of you might not know Gracie - so let me update you. Gracie was found by the road side about 3 yrs ago. She was two years old, her feet were badly burned and infected. Her mother had abandoned the children and Gracie's grandmother was atempting to raise her. MDP workers picked up Gracie and her grandmother and took them both to hospital. After they were released MDP placed Gracie in the care of a MDP Adult Lit. Teacher's mother. About a year ago Gracie's grandmother died of AIDS.

We drove for almost 1 1/2 on a very dusting, bumpy road before come to a small town. We crossed a dried river bed and found two small school boys walking home that knew where Gracie lived. We continued down the road for awhile, then the boys told us to pull off the road and follow the cow path..... which we did, until the truck could go no further. Our driver got out of the car and walked with the school boys the rest of the way while Jan and I bird watched near the vehicle. Soon out of now where, along the little cow path came Gracie and her caretaker.

At first Gracie was afraid and appeared worried that we were going to take her back where she had come from, but they assured her we were here just to visit and bring her two new dresses, a Bible and a teddy bear. It was not long before she was smiling and eager to play. She has grown so big and her feet are completly healed. She is in Nursery School now and is doing well.

It was awesome to spend sometime with her and realize how far she has come - thanks to all of you who make a difference by sponsoring children. I believe with my whole heart that God is using MDP to make a difference one child at a time!

*The name Gracie was given to her because if it had not been for the grace of God she would not be alive today!

Kim

Oct 21 Sunday

Sunday morning found us heading over Ngong Hills and dropping down into the valley below to the town of Magadi which is known for it soda and salt lakes. The sun was out and the temp. must have been in the 90's. The land is very dry and the scrub bushes and acacia trees are mostly brown. We were amazed as we drove by herds of cattle and goats - that they look so healthy!

We had a meeting with Pastor Njau who is the Central Kenya Conference Pastor for the Ngong/Magadi area and some of his church board and congregation were part of the meeting. God blessed the meeting and we walked away encouraged - knowing that once again God had shown us the HE was in charge. We were all so impressed with Pastor Njau and his leadership abilities.

At the end of the meeting Pastor Njau presented Thomas Kindi (a MDP lay pastor in the Magadi area) with a motorized bicycle! Yup, you heard it right.... a bicycle that had had a little petrol tank and motor put on it! It was a classic! God is good - ALL the time!

Sabbath - Oct 20

We headed out bright and early for Sabbath School and Church near KMQ just past Kajiado. We bumped down a dirt road, through a dried river bed and up a slight hill to the base of a small mountain (depending where you live it could be a hill) Sabbath School was in a small church made of metal sheets with wooden benches. When Sabbath School was over we headed up the mountain side (the climb was about 1/2k) and hiked for about 5k before coming to a little church meeting area under a tree with no leaves for shade. The temp. was about 90 and we were lucky for the few clouds that floated over. The church members showed us the church they were building that had two walls completed, but still needed the rest of the walls, roof and floor. They pleaded with us to help them raise the money to complete the church - so I am throwing it to you - ANYONE INTERESTED? (just a couple of hundred would do the job!)

Jan preached the sermon and Patrick translated. I got to sit on a bench and amuse all the small children as they felt my hands and bare fit and played with my hair. About 1:30 we headed back down 5k to the village below to enjoy a meal of chapatis and stew inside a manyatta. After lunch we visited for a while before heading back home - tired, sunburned, dirty, but spiritually satisfied. What a blessing it was to worship God out in nature and see the Maasai people who are so thirsty for God that they will travel from any distance by foot to meet together and share His love regardless of the building they have or don't have to meet in.

Thursday/Friday Oct 18 & 19th

The sun streamed through our windows bright and early and we head out to Kajiado to the Rescue Center. The road is rough and is a little over a hours drive for where we are staying. The landscape is open savannah with giraffe, zebra and other grazers along side of the road. We spent the day at the Rescue center visiting with Jacinta the Head Mistress and updating the girls bios and pictures. Jacinta shared with us how one of the girls (aged 15) had gone home for break and come back to school pregnant. After giving birth the mother of the girl had been called to come and pick up her grandchild. The situation was not good for the little baby as the grandmother and three children herself, no husband, no income and was pregnant herself. Because the girl who had had the baby was not circumcised before giving birth the baby was a "taboo" for the area. We were concerned for the life of the little baby boy and decided to encourage the grandmother to bring the child to us and we would find a home for him.

The mother will not be able to return to her home till she has finished ALL her schooling due to the fact that she will be beaten to near death and then circumcised. God impressed us to contact a lay pastor's wife in another district to see if she would be willing to take the baby into her home and raise him. Allowing the mother to come to her place during school breaks in order to bond with her baby and have a safe place to go during the holidays. The lay pastors wife agreed to take the baby - and so we spent the next day shopping for baby items, diapers, clothes etc.
As the sun sunk behind Ngong Hills - we also fell into bed! Tired out both mentally and physically.

Tues/Wed Oct 16 & 17th

We got to the house Monday evening about 9:30pm and took a little time to un-pack and settle in before heading to bed. Sleep did not come easy as the time change is 7hrs ahead of EST in the US. Tuesday we allowed ourselves sometime to adjust to the time change, finished un-packing and picked up some groceries. There was plenty of work to do in the office.
Kim

Arrival in Kenya

Hi - from sunny, dry Kenya! We arrived without any problems and God has been blessing in wonderful ways. I hope to take a few minutes this afternoon to update you on what we have been doing. So check back in later - Keep us in your prayers!Thanks - Kim