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We are waiting at the airport in Nairobi. We will be boarding in a
few hours. The trip has been completed. God and his people have been
very good and gracious.
Thanks to all for their prayers and sacrifice. We are looking forward to arriving home once again in Joplin Saturday evening.
Sincerely,
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Mike Schrage for the Kenya team
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Friends,
Our team completed their time in Kitale as we head back to Nairobi today. A special musical presentation was given on our behalf yesterday at Bahati Academy School for the work the team did. We as guests were given the opportunity to speak to the kids and gave our heart-felt wishes for them to use their opportunity in school to get a good education. Later the staff at the Children’s Home shared (and some even cried) as we were saying our good-byes. New friendships have been forged, new appreciation for the kingdom of God cherished, and renewed vigor to serve Him established. For some of us returnees it was good to reacquaint ourselves with old friends. The proliferation of cell phones made it even possible to speak with some that found out that we were here in Kenya and they went out of their way to come and others call to reconnect with us. In the end, we built much more than desks. We built friendships We learned from our African friends a whole new meaning to the word compassion, hospitality and generosity. They know how to practice the gift of hospitality. We are all healthy and so very grateful for the opportunity to serve and to represent College Heights Christian Church as we joined you here in Kenya to be the hands and feet of Jesus. As the saying goes, “ you may leave Africa but Africa will never leave you.”
Sincerely, Mike (for the team)
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We are ending our time in Kitale today. It has been a good and learning experience. The Children’s Home with its 52 children and the primary school of 220 pupils are moving forward. It is neat to see the Lord working through the staff here to impact these children with hope and education. These are two things that many in Kenya today do not have in their lives.
Visiting village churches on Sunday, teaching classes in the school this week interacting with the children and staff at the Home, and constructing wooden desks for the school have been some of the learning experiences along the way. This service woven in with learning about the African cultural aspects regarding different foods, different tribal customs, different languages like Kiswahili, different worship styles, different family practices and different government priorities’ have all helped expand our horizons of how big our God is and how he loves diversity!
We leave tomorrow for Nakuru to begin the journey home. We will arrive in Nairobi on Friday and complete the trip with a little shopping and repacking and again visiting the offices of Good News Productions, International and Mission of Hope.
Thanks for partnering and praying with us.
Mike Schrage (for the team)
PS We continue to pray for everyone in Joplin and while so much was lost (most importantly lives and health) the reality regarding material possessions is that so many of the people we have served this week could have put all of their belongings in several suitcases. It just kind of sobering to consider….
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Yesterday, Sunday, Mike and I went to church at the Children's Home. Mike got to give the sermon there and did a fantastic job of switching between Swahili and English, it was amazing to listen to. After the service the Children's choir got up and sang a couple songs. I don't have a clue what they were saying but it was like any other children's special with one kid swaying the wrong way and the other totally off in their own world, but very entertaining! I got to visit with some of the adults there who had grown up in the home and returned for the reunion they had this weekend. A couple of the young men that grew up in the home are now a graphic artists in Mombasa and doing very good. Today Meghan and I got the privilege of teaching English to a couple of the classes at the school. The headmaster is very trusting, he just gave us a lesson and left us in a classroom with the students. It was a great experience though. Each day the Lord is revealing His work in new and amazing ways. The workers at the home are so dedicated to raising the children in a Godly way and you can see that in the kids who live here. The Lord is showing me so much about myself and his children around the world. The earth is huge and so beautiful in it's diversity! I am beyond blessed to have been able to experience this amazing culture and share life with these wonderful people. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our team, please pray for safe travel as we get ready to head home in the next couple days. God bless.
Shaylea Coffey on behalf of the Kenya team
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Greetings from Kitale. We have finished our first week at the children's home!! Hard to believe the trip is flying by. Tomorrow, graduates from the school and home are returning to Kitale for a weekend reunion. We are very much looking forward to hearing their stories. Next week we will be at the home Monday-Wednesday teaching and continuing to build desks for the bahati school. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. See you soon!!
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Jambo! Our trip to Kenya has been full of surprises and many blessings. We began in Nairobi where we visited Missions of Hope and got to walk through the slums. It was truly shocking to see the way people live. 10-12 people in 10x10 cement rooms, one right next to the other. And although these people live in poverty, their sense of community is something to be admired. Today (Wednesday) was the first day we were able to go into Kitale and see the Children's home. But before we got to the home we went into town to get a few supplies. As we were waiting in the truck, children of all ages began to gather around the truck, talking to us. We noticed that the children had plastic bottles that were empty except for a yellow, sticky substance in the very bottom. Jason Beagle, a missionary to Kitale that is working with our team, informed us that it was glue. See, these street children are known as "glue-sniffers". In order to take the edge off of their hunger, they sniff glue and get a temporary high. Many times these children don't live past age 20. For me, it was even more heartbreaking than the slums. After seeing this, we went to the children's home where everyone was so joyful and excited to see us. It was encouraging to see these kinds of attitudes in Kenya, shining light into the slums and the streets. Can't wait to work more with the people of the home. Keep praying!!
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Greetings from Kenya!
Sorry for the delay in blogging. It has been a real challenge finding an opportunity to send back some information.
The five of us, Randy and Shaylea Coffey, Meghan Melton, Roger Newby and me (Mike Schrage) arrived Sunday afternoon local Joplin time (or specifically 11:00 PM Nairobi I time). Two friends for Mission of Hope were there to meet us.
We spent the night in a hotel of fair accommodations near to Mission of Hope. On Monday morning we toured Mission of Hope, heard about the impact that College Heights and Lifted Up International is making in its partnership to those destitute and living in the slums. Mission of Hope has grown exponentially in ten years and now has 400 staff operating schools, clinics, various technical training institutes and a business program that utilizes CHE (Community Health Evangelism and micro-finance principles).
In the afternoon, we traveled to the office of Good News Productions, International – Africa another partner of CHCC to deliver 100 pounds of equipment to the staff, meet and tour the facility, hear about some recent productions and pray for their leadership.
The next day we traveled by hired mini-bus (shuttle) to Kitale – a journey of nearly 8 hours. We arrived in Kitale yesterday afternoon. Our hosts Jason and Amy Beagle have had some medical challenges and so as with any trip plans -- have changed which is OK with us. We know that the priority is not necessarily making 80 desks but knowing God is leading us as we continue to work at hearing the hearts of those we meet. By the way the Beagles are on the mend and tomorrow things should get back on track.
The main three-fold purpose of the trip is to encourage and pray for missionaries, staff and children at the orphanage and school. Secondly, to construct 80 new wooden desks that were partially sponsored by the one-less-gift program at CHCC. And finally to teach and share with the children at the orphanage and school.
That sums up the logistical aspects of the trip to date and I will leave it to others on this great team to write additional things from their perspective. We have seen the Lord working and I am pleased to be with this great group of servants. We are all well but do miss not being in Joplin at this particular time, but daily in our prayer times pray for all affected by the tornado and for strength and wisdom for all like those at CHCC ministering to those in need.
Sincerely,
Mike Schrage
PS Along the way we have met several who have heard of the tragedy in Joplin and have conveyed their concern in thoughts and prayers.
PSS I ‘ll let another on the team tell you about the million-size slum in Nariobi, the glue sniffers in Kitale suffering from hunger or the traffic challenges and crowds. As one Christian worker wrote: Africa is not for the wimpy!