Wednesday: The Sipili Conference

Today, we drove to Sipili about an hour from Nyaharuru. Half of the time was spent traveling about 5 miles over some really rough road. At one point, we switched over to a landing strip to avoid the washout road with bolders in the middle of it. We made it to the Olivet Hotel were the Pastor and Wives conference was being held. This was the first conference of this time that they had ever had. All total we had 28 people in attendance with 12 couples. First, we had tea. Then, Bernard asked the participants to share something that they were thankful for in their family, children, marriage. Then, they were to share one challenge that they experienced as the Pastor’s family. Bonnie and Floyd co-taught the basics of the relationship of husband and wife in marriage while laying a Biblical foundation for the relationship. The participants received this very well and were engaged in the discussion. The fact that Bonnie and Floyd “tag-teamed” teaching the session was a first for the group and gave a living lesson of the teaching. For lunch, the Olivet prepared a type of garlic rice, fried cabbage with carrots, greens, and beef in tomato-type thin sauce. All was very good. As an added treat, everyone had a soft drink of choice for dessert. In the afternoon, Floyd met with the Pastors and Bonnie met with the wives. Our translator, Peter, provided a great cultural lesson and a very funny experience that we will never forget. Floyd and Bonnie were sharing problems identified by Pastors/Wives in an international survey. One of the problems mentioned was sexual problems. Peter wanted to be a gentleman and in his culture did not want to offend. He translated “sexual problems” as “sleeping problems” . Some of the group knew English and started to give him a hard time. One said, “Surely, you know there is a difference between “sex” and “sleeping”. Everyone had a big laugh. But, this was also a great lesson in communication affected by cultural differences. When the conference ended, they were still giving Peter a hard, lighthearted time. Bonnie and I will never forget it. We finished the afternoon with tea and began the tortuous ride home. We took a “better” road that turned out to be just as rough just longer and dustier. Pictures nor words do the roads to and from Sipili justice. The ruts were dried and deeper than the car tires. Rocks covered the road. There was a whole lot of shaking going on, bumping, and banging going on. The day ended with a very nice dinner at the Thompson Falls Lodge. Tonight was a buffet that was outstanding. Highly recommend it. Tomorrow we are back to Bernard’s. We are having dinner with the newly weds in November Robert and Lucy. We saw Robert on Tuesday—he had picked up a little weight.

Tuesday: Happy Day and Dancing Photos

Today, we went to see Mary Kabaru at the Happy Day Academy. Last week after 10 years since she started Happy Day, the Ministry of Education approved Happy Day as an officially registered and recognized pre-school and Primary School. Seems strange to us, since her school had won numerous awards by the Ministry of Education for excellence. Last Wednesday, Mary truly experienced a Happy Day! The third floor addition is almost finished. Just the last touches to get it ready for the students. This is the last phase of construction for Happy Day. After its completion, the enrollment will reach about 250 students. We traveled from Limuru to Nhahyruru. Experienced a few rough roads, some rain, but a great trip. Looking forward to being in Sipili tomorrow with the Pastors and their wives for a conference on marriage and ministry.

I just wanted to share with you the last time of prayer and worship with our Daily Bread Life Children's Home Family, Iringa. We danced the night away praising God with joy.

Floyd, Bonnie and Bernard Arrive In Kenya!

A short text message from Floyd let us know that he, Bonnie and Bernard made it safely to Nairobi and the Teleios "home away from home" - The Kentmere. Tuesday will find them in Nyaharuru, Sipili, leading Pastors' and Women's Conferences. On Thursday they return to Limuru for a few days with newlyweds, Robert and Lucy Mutheitia, and the Mwangi family while they discuss plans for continued work in Gatunguru. Sunday will find them in worship at Koinonia in the morning, then heading to the airport for the journey home. Please continue to pray for traveling safety while they're in-country. Pray, too, for Floyd and Bonnie as they engage pastors and women leaders of the Sipili area in training and study.

Sunday: Water! and Worship!

Thank you for your prayer! Early this afternoon, the drillers hit water at 83 meters (272 Feet). They went to work in the dark by 1 PM. There was water. This is great news. Now, the well will be cleaned, the pipe set, and then wait. In a week or so, the water flow will be tested again, the water analyzed for minerals, etc., and a pump and power will be selected. Everyone is celebrating at the Asante Sana Children's Home and the Nzihi village.

Today, we began our worship at the Kidete Baptist Church. The church mission is nine years old. In April 2004 Floyd and Mpeli preached in the village to start the current church. Worshipping with them is always a special time. Bernard greeted the church. Everyone was doing good. No musical instruments (cannot afford and no one who is trained to play), many small children, traditional dress--a true village church. Spiritually, they are one of the strongest churches. We traveled to ACTS Fellowship, Iringa, for worship. This is the home church of the children and staff of Daily Bread Life Children's Home, many students from Tumani University in Iringa come to ACTS, also, there professors/teachers are a part of the fellowship. The ACTS church is much more modern in how people dress, sound system, etc. There is a lot of dancing and more contemporary music--a praise and worship style. Bernard greeted the church. Bonnie greeted and said goodbye for now. Floyd brought the message challenging the church to live out its name, ACTS Fellowship. When we returned home the rains came. Tonight will be our goodbye to the children of DBLCH. Tomorrow morning at 11:40 we fly to Dar Es Salaam to catch a 6:30 PM flight to Nairobi. We hope to keep you updated but we will be traveling a great deal in Kenya. On Wednesday, Bonnie and Floyd will be talking with Pastors and Wives about their family life and serving in ministry together.

Saturday: NEW WELL DRILLING BEGINS NZIHI

This afternoon, the drilling machine and support trucks finally arrived at the Asante Sana Children's Home, Nzihi. For the past months, the children's home staff was hauling water every day for the children. The Nzihi village water supply was affected by decaying infrastructure and quadrupling of villages served by the water supply. The end result was little or no water. The supply was inconsistent. We shared this information in 2012 and a Teleios partner responded by providing the funds for the drilling.

Today, the drilling began. Everyone is so excited. Of course, there is no guarantee that they will hit water. Where now the dust flies, we believe that the water will flow.

Bernard, Bonnie, Mpeli, Neema, and I (Floyd) spent the day traveling from Mbeya to Iringa. After four fast paced days, we started mid-morning for home (Iringa). There is construction on the road so it takes a little longer than usual. We had a safe journey. We were all excited to get back to Daily Bread Life Children's home. Tomorrow, we will worship at Kideteti Baptist Church and ACTS Fellowship, Iringa. We are also going by the farm for one last look. Again, thank you for your encouragement and support.

Friday: The Mission and the Last Conference

Today we began early leaving for our conference at Mbozi which on the way to the Zambia border. Before going to the host church of the Mbozi conference, we stopped to pray with Pastor Duncan and his wife, Mary, at a new church mission in Ilolo. Floyd and Pastor Ephraimu led in prayer for the mission. The mission is almost one year old and has over 10 members—many children greeted Pastor Duncan jumping up and down hugging him and reaching up for him to pick them up. As a note, Pastor Duncan and Mary provide a home for seven orphans in the area. The mission is located in a very difficult area. Most people are afraid to even go to the area. Ilolo is famous from witchcraft and many other criminal activities. Yet, Duncan and Mary are confident that God has called them to serve here. We received a warm welcome at the church and began teaching. The group was composed mostly of pastors and their wives. Today we changed our teaching schedules. Floyd taught, then Bonnie, and Bernard finished. The two previous days we each taught about an hour at a time. Today, we each taught around one hour and forty-five minutes. Bonnie had the toughest job as the church was hot inside during her teaching. Bernard taught in the afternoon and clouds kept it cool. Floyd taught first in the morning and it was okay. Bonnie did a great job of teaching. Raymond, Sadiki, and Ephraimu and his team led in the worship and music. At one point the it seemed everyone was dancing at the front of the church. Bonnie and I joined in. They really enjoyed that we would join them—they had not had wazungu (white people) join them in dance before. We had a delicious meal of beef in sauce; roasted chicken, great rice, pineapple, and avocado. As always we had water and soft drinks. The pastor the church led in the giving of gifts to the Daily Breach Life team. Mbozi is a big peanut area. Each one of us was given about a kilo of peanuts. Bonnie and Neema called the women together and gave out the gifts from American women. The women were encouraged to use the knitted cloths as reminders that someone is praying for them. They committed to pray for those who knitted the cloths even though they do not know any of them. The Mbozi women loved the cloths. We left Mbozi stopped by Duncan and Mary’s house for coffee. Then, we headed back to our home over the past four days. We stopped by to see Mpeli’s mom (who is home from the hospital) and his father, James. Women are generally known by the children’s name. So, Mpeli’s mother is known as Mamma Mpeli. James Mwaisumbe is a pastor who has started five churches over the year. We had a great time talking with them and sharing in prayer for Mamma Mpeli and James. Tonight, we were shocked. For the first time, we received everything we ordered and it took only 1.5 hours to get our dinner. The young lady who served us did a great job. A young man also took care of a “towel” crisis and sprayed for mosquitos for us. When we arrived, there was one towel for Mpeli and Neema, one towel for Floyd and Bonnie and no towel (nothing) in Bernard’s bathroom. Mpeli and Neema went back to spend the evening with his family. Tomorrow is a late breakfast and then heading back to Iringa. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during the conferences of the past week.

Thursday: The Spirit was with us today

Today, the team (Mpeli, Neema, Pawdre, Bonnie, Bernard, and Floyd) were in Mbeya for the teaching conference at Ilomba Baptist Church. There were four different Baptist Associations represented, Moravian pastors and ministry leaders, and others from the area. Some of the participants travel two hours to come for the day long conference. The worship throughout the day was a time of joy and a powerful movement of the Spirit. The singing and dancing were unbelievable. Toddlers to elders joined in the woship celebration. Each day our worship has been led by Raymond Mwalisu and Sadiki Juma Nguza(both of Acts Fellowship, Iringa). Pastor Ephraimu Mwasasu, a very popular Christian artist in East Africa, is a part of the conference and leading in worship. Ambele Chapanyota also a very popular Christian artist in Tanzania led in two sessions of worship. The congregation was highly engaged in singing and dancing during the worship times. One elder had his cane and danced with joy and delight as he sang along. Throughout the day, the powerful presence of the Spirit of God was evident. In the teaching times and in the praise and worship times, there was an awesome presence of God. Bonnie and Neema met with a group of women led by Monica. She has a dream of a preschool for the area. The women were able to purchase property by raising funds through their work. The land has been very productive and the revenue from the corn and other produce sold has made it possible to begin construction. The property also had clay and sand for the making of bricks right on the property. The women through their own efforts have brought the building to its present point. Monica has been ill over the past months and the work has stopped. The preschool is meeting in the church building right now. But, this is only temporary. They will need help to finish construction; because, the roof timbers and tin sheets will have to be purchased. Bonnie is working with them on getting the specific information regarding their partnership needs. Joining us today was Harry Mwasanjala, Neema’s father, pastor and former leader of the Baptist Convention of Tanzania. We first met Harry in April 2004. Harry is the one who introduced us to Mpeli and the rest is history. Harry and Bernard have known each other for a long time through common work in East Africa. Also, Harry “adopted” Bonnie as his daughter about three years ago. He is a chief in his tribe and Bonnie became a part of the tribe and a queen. Today, Harry announced to the gathering that Bonnie and I were his people. This was a very special time for all of us. At the end of the conference, all of us joined Raymond, Sadiki, Ephraimu's team, and others dancing together. This was a great time celebrating our time together and God's grace and blessings of the day. Bonnie presented the women participating in the conference cloths knitted by Pat Reid and friends. Bonnie shared with them the sisterhood of women praying for each other (especially for them). She asked that the cloth be a reminded to them to pray for their sisters in the USA. Tonight, Bernard, Bonnie and I stayed at the hotel while Mpeli and Neema went to visit with his mother at the hospital. Bernard ordered Goat Ribs. Each night, ordering dinner has been a very interesting experience. Tonight was no different. When Bernard’s order came he had a beef steak covered in a ginger and garlic gravy (oops!)—sauce. We had a great time laughing about the joy of being surprised.