Last Thoughts...

WINDING DOWN
Our last day of work was yesterday.  The medical team held a clinic at Lolmolok which was about an hour drive from Ken and Susan's.  (An hour drive may not sound like that far, but there were 12 of us crammed like sardines in the Black's Land Rover over poor roads...we no longer have personal space issues.)  The construction team finished the kitchen structure and the stove and sink are in place.  The preschool is almost done.  The Samburu workers will finish the roof. 

Today was a day of packing and rest.  We visited Maralal town and did some local shopping.  We then went to the BTL (Bible Translation and Literacy) headquarters.  We met with the men who have translated the Book of Luke for the Jesus Film.  They are working on making Samburu into a written language as well as completing a Bible in Samburu.  Their work is very tedious and undergoes rigorous review.

OVERWHELMED
This afternoon we drove to Lare Oibor for one last photo under Grace's tree.  (See previous post.)  When we arrived most of the congregation was there.  These people had become familiar to us while we were here and we have come to love them very much.  We all prayed around the new kitchen and then the preschool.  It was after that that the church surprised us with elaborate gifts.  The women hand-made jewelry for the men and women and presented them to each of us.  We were humbled and grateful.  Many tears were shed.  We truly will miss this body of Christ in Lare Oibor. 

We ate one last emotional meal with Moses and Jane Chepkwon (pastor of the local AIC church).  It was a time of fellowship, prayer and the Word.  We are grateful for them and their service in Samburu.

Tomorrow we fly to Nakuru for a game drive and then on to Nairobi for one last night before departure.  We look forward to seeing our friends and family, but will miss the new friends we have made here.  It is awesome to know that even though you are a foreigner, we are all the same Body. 

Thanks for your prayers.  The ministry here is thriving because of them.

Mikitama yana Enkai,
Samburu 7

(I tried to upload photos...but the computer is not cooperating...again.)

Lare Oibor

Yesterday (3/21) was the first day that the construction team and the medical team were on the same site.  Lare Oibor is Ken and Susan's church plant and the people there are very dear to them and they are becoming dear to us.  The church you saw in the video at Westview was only a pole barn.  Today it is enclosed in stone and mortar.  The Compassion school is walled in and the kitchen is under construction as of yesterday.  Much has been accomplished and God has been good.  Construction is going well.  They are expecting the new wood stove for the kitchen tomorrow.  Pray for them as they do a lot of heavy labor and some are not feeling well. 



Construction on the new kitchen with the old kitchen in the background.

The medical team's primary focus at Lare Oibor is to screen all the children and de-worm them.  We saw approximately 130 children yesterday.  It was tiring, but good to be helping.  Bob and I (Heather) did see a couple of more serious things that we tended to at the end of the day. 

Michelle administering de-worming medication to a child.

Nicholle attending to the burn victim.



Heather, Brian, and Kristen debriding a burn on a young child.



Bob lancing a boil on a small boy's neck with Nicholle and Brian helping.

We were also blessed by the visit of a 70-something mama that had been praying for a church to be planted at Lare Oibor for 30 years.  God had showed her that a church would be planted in a specific location in Lare Oibor.  For 30 years she would stop at the tree near the spot whenever she walked to town to pray for the future church.  She would pray again on her way home.  Today she was there to see the fruit of her prayers and her faithfulness.  It was an honor to meet her and to see that faith can move mountains. 

Faith moving mountains in Lare Oibor.  Thank you, Grace, for your obedience to God.

Thank you for your prayers for us.  We feel them.

Heather

Baptism at Lelendu

Today is Sunday 3/20/11.  We haven't had reliable access to the internet for a couple of days and it's hard to get a lot of time to post, so bear with us. 

Today we went to the baptism/church service at Lelendu where Ken, Francis (student at the Training Center), and Timothy (one of the Jesus Film translators) baptized 59 new believers.  This was no small feat as the Samburu are fearful of the water and made for some pretty interesting imersions.  We worshiped in song and prayer with brothers and sisters from Samburu.  I am always amazed at seeing the differences yet the striking similarities between Christians around the world. 

The worship service was combined between Lare Oibor and Lelendu congregations.  These two churches began meeting individually under a tree and are now being housed in buildings.  The other interesting thing is that the churches were initially women and and the men would stand off in the distance to observe.  As you can see in the pictures below, the men are becoming much more involved.

Enjoy the photos... mikitama yana Enkai! (God Bless You!)

Lare Oibor women's choir. 



From L to R:  Pietro (83 yrs old), Francis, Timothy, and Ken.



Pietro holding the elements for the Lord's Supper. 

Prayers and testimonies given during the service. 

To Samburu District and Beyond!

Ken arranged for us to fly with AIM-Air from Nairobi to Maralal on 3/15.  We were able to fly with Reine Schmidt (he flew part of the team to Maralal on the last visit in 2007 and has visited Westview).  The flight was pretty bumpy and a couple of us literally lost our lunch (Seth and Heather...but Seth puked first!). 

Pre-flight photo of the Haupts.  Reine is the pilot on the left and Dan Stairs was his co-pilot.

We landed on a dirt landing strip in Kisima about 20 minutes from Ken and Susan's.  Some of the town came out to watch us unload the plane.  Apparently, Ken checks the runway before the plane lands by driving fast over the road and if it's too bumpy in spots he gets out and chucks rocks out of the way. 

Reine is on the left in this photo.  Check out the height difference between him and Seth.  Amazinly he seems to cram himself into the cockpit.

We started our projects the next day.  The construction team went Lare Oibor for construction on the new school/kitchen.

The church is in the background and now has stone walls!

The Medical team went to a Manyatta about 10km from Lare Oibor in a village called Loragai.

Pastor Peter's Church at Lorokai

Brian Smith and Brian the Samburu boy.  Yep, his name is Brian.  He was bit by a dog on our way out of clinic and Nicholle and Brian were able to patch him up.

Bob seeing patients at Lorokai.  Everything has to be done through a translator and can take a lot of time.  Lawrence is the Samburu translator in this picture.  He is 24 years old and is very close to Ken and Susan.  Both of his parents are dead and he is responsible for his 4 younger siblings.



More later!

Samburu 7

Photos

So I posted this a.m. thinking I wouldn't have much time.  But we were told to check out of our rooms at 9 a.m. and are not leaving for our flight until 1pm so I've had time to load up some pictures....

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.  Customs was what I call "God-butter"...very smoothe!

The Mayfied bus that that took us to our rooms.  Loading luggage is an experience in itself!

Heather getting ready for bed under mosquito nets. 

Michelle (bottom) and Nicholle (top) Haupt.   

One of our first patients.  Seth is starting to feel like he's getting a virus so pray that he heals quickly.  Nicholle is taking his temp.

Jeremiah, Susan, Brian, and Bob in the sitting room at the Mayfield. 

Dinner at the Mayfield with part of the Olathe team while the rest of us were still en route.
Left to Right: David Wood, Susan, Ken, Bob Clark, Carl Johnson

We Have Arrived!!!

Thank you to everyone for your prayers!  We have arrived safely in Nairobi without any flight problems.  We came in last night around 8:30 pm.  We obtained our visas and then cleared customs without any difficulty.  (No fees or searches.)  Ken met us at the airport and was a sight for travel-weary eyes.  He got us loaded into vans and took us to the Mayfield Guesthouse in Nairobi where we spent the night. 

Everyone is well and it is so good to see Ken and Susan.  (The boys are away at Rift Valley Academy and we won't see them until we leave.)  Today around noon we leave on AIM-Air flights to Maralal and tomorrow we start the clinics/construction.

Off to pack for the day trip!  Love to all and keep lifting us up.

Samburu-7

One Day Later

We (Heather, Jeremiah and Kristen Higgins, and Pastor Jim) are getting ready to head off to Detroit.  So far everything looks to be right on time and without hitches.

We are grateful for a few things:
1. We were not allowed to board a damaged plane yesterday.
2. We were able to get to know the Olathe Team a little before arriving in Nairobi.
3. We got a good nights rest before embarking on the long journey over.

Thank you for your prayers to this point.  Keep 'em coming!