Raelyn is stepping into the next chapter of life!

Tomorrow our youngest, Raelyn Burr will graduate from High School. Rosslyn Academy has been her home since we arrived in 2006. Many wonderful memories of attending her games and going on field trips with her classes. She has decided to attend Vanguard University in Costa Mesa California and will pursue a degree in Environmental Science.

We are also proud of all her achievements, she will graduate with highest honors and recently was named Female Athlete of the year! She is excited about the next chapter, please keep her in your prayers. She will be working in the US this summer before heading off to California for her first semester of college. Our family will be based in Texas but traveling all over as we share our burden for Kenya. If we can come and share at your church or home group, please let us know soon as we are booking our calendar through August of 2020.

Praying for rain

Recently Bryan visited with the land owners and elders of the community where we built a large catchment dam to collect rain water during the rainy season. There was still water in the dam from last years rains, praise God! Kenya is experiencing record droughts that seem to hit year after year. The men stood around Bryan and prayed that rain would return as well as for God to bless the work of his hands that he might be able to build more of these systems to help other communities. We are currently looking for funds to place another dam like this one in another community. 

The dam has allowed this Masai community, who depend on cattle, to experiment with agriculture. A few of the young men have been to agriculture training and have started growing some crops. Moringa trees seem to do well in this hot dry climate and they provide nutrition for people and animals alike. They also provide shade for other crops to grow as well as high vitamin content in the leaves and seeds.

Bryan and another missionary, Kevin Smith attempted to visit a village in far northern Kenya recently. The journey was tough, with the second half being extremely rough conditions. The bikes had problems and they were never able to reach this village. The two are planning a follow up trip and will use the lessons they learned on this trip to be better prepared. There is a Kenyan missionary in this village working among an unreached tribe. Our goal is to visit and see how we can partner with this missionary to see transformational development help him reach his community. 

Roadside repairs tested our mechanical knowledge on this trip!

We managed to find a flat rock that would serve as our work table as we rebuilt a carburetor.

Our last breakdown was on the way back to Nairobi. We were extremely grateful for a large tree that was nearby. We spent a couple of hours working on the bike and realized it was beyond our ability in that environment. We managed to find a truck passing by that would carry Kevin's bike back to Nairobi. 

Sometimes getting to the destination is just as fun as being there. In this case we were discouraged but we felt like God had spared us some real difficulties as the remaining 350 miles of desert crossing would have really tested us. We will make plans to visit again once we have all necessary repairs completed and have gathered all the info we can on the road conditions and security issues along the way. Thanks for your prayers and support! Blessings, Bryan and Kim

Water is life!

The students at Olgumi Primary School would take turns going to fetch water for the schools daily water needs. One day First Grade would make the 3 mile round trip to the nearest water point and the next day another class would make the trip, filling jugs with water to bring back so the school cook could prepare lunch for the students. These rain gutters and tanks provided by a generous donation from First Assembly, North Little Rock and BGMC enabled the school to catch a lot of water during the short rains in October. They are now able to stay in school and complete their study schedules instead of spending several hours per week fetching water. When the local dams dry up, the families of the students can also come to get water for their family. The rains usually come in October and last through the first couple of weeks in November. The long rains don't arrive until April but a few surprise rain storms have filled the tanks once again and the students are rejoicing. 

Agriculture among the Maasai

Its been a while since our last post. Life has been busy with Bryan working on a Masters Degree at Eastern University. Its finally over, a long two years but the learning experience has been valuable and there have been many practical applications to our work in Kenya. Our friends in the Rift Valley have been exploring agriculture as a new way of life. Traditionally the Maasai have depended on cattle for everything but the environment has changed, both physically and demographically and this has required some adaptation. One young man in particular has shown a keen interest in farming and we sent him to a special training on farming in arid lands. He has done well and has started crops of cabbages, beans and has also begun planting trees in his home village. The charcoal production industry has decimated their land and they suffer from recurring droughts now. Honest is determined to reverse this deforestation and show people a better way. We are committed to walking alongside him in his efforts to be the agent of change in his community. The church is also taking bold steps and has committed to standing with him in preserving a space for model farms and tree plantations.

Honest with his first crop ever, the largest cabbages Ive ever seen!

We will be visiting his farm site this week and will update with progress on his latest efforts! 

Maasai Agriculture

Kisharu Primary School and Kisharu AG Church both now have greenhouses that they will be using to teach students about agriculture while growing food to supplement the lunch program that is provide by Convoy of Hope. More pics to come of the progress of this project.

We are thankful for the partnership of Redmond Assemblies of God Church, Redmond Oregon! This team has worked and loved the community of Kisharu. Hope to see them in Kenya again!

Convoy of Hope Field Team from Redmond Oregon

A great group of people from Redmond, Oregon and Convoy of Hope are here to help us install two greenhouse gardens this week! Will post some pics of these awesome folks in action.

We hope your 2016 is off to a good start! Ours has certainly been busy. Raelyn plays on the varsity girls soccer team and with practices daily after school, two games per week and tournaments....its been busy. Kimberly is enjoying her classroom of 5 and 6 year olds and making sure they are ready for first grade! Some of them came to Rosslyn Academy this year with no English background and they are on grade level and planning to move on to first grade at the end of the school year. Our ministry in Kenya has also been busy. Convoy of Hope's Women's Empowerment program is expanding! We have 30 women in the program at present and training starts this next week with the most recent group. They will complete 12 weeks of business training before launching their new businesses. For many of these women, who have had very little education, this is a big leap of faith that takes enormous courage. The smiles and success stories are very rewarding. Stay tuned for updates on this incredible program. We have also enjoyed working with student teams from Rosslyn Academy. The Cultural Field Studies program gets kids out into the rural communities and involved in ministry and interaction with people from different cultures. For most of the students, this is a highlight of their time at Rosslyn Academy. We really enjoy being a part of this program.                 Keep in touch daily if you wish via Facebook!

Malawi Floods

Malawi Floods, Feb 2015

Bryan has just returned from Malawi where he worked with Missionary Bill Johnston and the leadership of the Malawi Assemblies of God to provide food and other donated items to flood victims.

The latest estimates are that over 1 million people have been affected and more than 300,000 have been displaced by the devastating floods caused by heavy rains in Southern Malawi and Mozambique.  In one area of southern Malawi they received 39 inches of rain in 4 days!  A pastor Bryan met had survived the floods by climbing into a tree with his wife and two small children.  They stayed there for 3 days clinging to the branches while they watched everything being swept away.  The pastor showed Bryan photos on his phone of neighbors who were wading in the flood waters only to be taken away as he watched helplessly.  Tragically, the day after they were rescued by helicopter, their youngest child only 9 months old died from exposure to the elements.  They were thankful to be alive but have lost everything they owned.  The Malawi Assemblies of God is reaching out to the flood victims, providing food, clothing and plastic sheeting to cover whats left of their homes.  Convoy of Hope is providing food and water purification units to victims in the camps as well as those in our churches that have been affected.   

Cultural Field Studies

Students making a difference!

Bryan recently spent 5 days with a group of students from Rosslyn Academy working on a project for a Masai community in the Rift Valley.  For the past few years our family has been working with the local pastors and elders of the village of Kisharu to provide clean drinking water and a school lunch program thru Convoy of Hope.  This past weekend we worked with Pastor Lazaro and the elders of the community on a new income generation project.  The students, 11th graders from Rosslyn, worked on a new campsite for tourists and work teams.  They cleared rocks and brush to make way for a beautiful spot on the edge of a volcanic crater.  Mt. Suswa is a dormant volcano in Kenya's Rift Valley and the village at the top of the mountain, Kisharu, is home to 3000 Masai people.

We all worked hard during the day, and it was hot!  At night we sat around the fire, huddled as close as we could to the flames to keep warm.  A strange but beautiful place.  It hasnt rained in months so the dust was incredible but we worked on and gave it our best.  Soon the site will be ready for its first campers, and our family is considering a trip soon to try it out.  The crater at Mt. Suswa is home to a variety of wildlife including monkeys, babboons, antelope, leopard, zebra, hyena and even the endangered African Wild Dog.  Its a great place to visit and work.  Two years ago we helped plant a church in the crater and it is doing well today.  Our team attended church there on Sunday and ministered in word and worship.  At the end of the service Bryan was given a goat as a gift. It is at the home of one of our Masai friends staying with his herd of goats until we decide what to do with it.

We are thankful for Speed the Light which helped us with a vehicle that gets us to these difficult places and for BGMC who purchased the tent we use as a home on these extended campouts.  

Exciting times as we launch a new initiative with Convoy of Hope in Kenya.  The Women's Empowerment program will give vulnerable women the opportunity to start a small business.  10 women have been selected for our pilot program and they are off to a good start.  The training has gone well and they are in the process of setting up a business plan.  One lady is particularly excited about the business.  She is planning for the day when her elderly husband passes away.  She is 22 and he is in his 80's.  She knows that soon she will be a young widow with 7 children to take care of.  Her story is one of many in a land where women have little hope of becoming anything other than a child bearing domestic worker.  Our partnership with the Kenya Assemblies of God church is giving us a platform in the community and the volunteers from the church are essential to the program.  Its a great way for the church to reach out and be a tangible expression of Gods love.

Back at "home"

Its been a while since we updated our blog.  The last few months of our time in the USA were pretty hectic with packing up and finishing our work stateside.  Once we returned to Kenya, life didn't slow down much at all.  It started just a few days after we got back to Kenya with a great wedding on the beach.  Our son Reed married his sweetheart Priscilla Pennington on a beautiful beach in Watamu, Kenya.  This particular beach holds many family memories and it was a special time for all involved. 

The entire mission family came to the wedding in support of their MK's who are both AG MK's from East Africa.  We also had some special friends from our community who made the trip to be there in support of our kids.  It was a really special time for us to catch up with friends and family.

Both fathers, Bryan Burr and Steve Pennington, participated in the ceremony and Reed's grandfather, Billy Burr performed the ceremony and pronouncement of the wedding vows.  Many of the missionary "Aunts and Uncles" pitched in with decorating, photography and so much more.  Our extended Kenya Family made it very special and memorable for our family.  Thanks everyone!

This update went out in Feb. just posting here for those of you who didn't receive it.

Please let us know if you would like to be added to our mailing list.

Our apologies to everyone for the long delay in posting.  Our blog account was somehow compromised and then assigned to an old email address and it took some time to figure out what happened and how to fix it.  We are working hard to wrap up our year in the USA and prepare to return to Kenya.

Our plan is to leave June 30th or around there but we still have a lot of work to do.  We still need to raise funds, both cash and monthly pledges.  If you have been planning to join our monthly support team, we need your help now so we can get clearance to purchase tickets.  We have no doubt that God is helping us and surrounding us with a team that will not only support us financially but support us in prayer.  We have experienced Gods provision over and over in ways that only God could move.  We have been so blessed by the generosity and kindness shown to our family this year as we have traveled and shared our story with churches and individuals.  We still have some time left and some spots in our calendar that are not filled if you would like for us to come and share.  Send us an email or give us a call to set something up!  bryan.burr@agmd.org Tel. 469-309-8072

During the Thanksgiving holidays we made a quick trip to Ohio to visit family and we got to see some snow for the first time in 5 years.  

Raelyn loved playing in the snow, building snowmen and sledding down hills.  Probably wont see much of this in Texas, and we definitely wont see it in Kenya.  We will be traveling alot over the next few months before our return to Kenya and we look forward to visiting with as many of you as we can.

Its great to have the whole family together for Christmas.  The boys are home from college and Raelyn is enjoying having older brothers around again.  We are looking forward to the Christmas holidays together and will try to have as much fun as we can before the boys go back to their respective schools.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and great start to the New Year.

Raelyn is proudly displaying her brothers Art work.  Our son Riley is studying Art Education at Evangel University and some of his high-school art work was selected for an ACSI calendar.  There are 28,000 schools affiliated with ACSI and Rosslyn Academy had two students whose art was chosen for the calendar.  Riley's piece was chosen for the opening page!

Some changes are coming to our family!  Our son Reed has found the girl he wants to spend the rest of his life with.  Reed and Priscilla Pennington have known eachother since they were in elementary school and they are both now studying at Southeastern University in Lakeland Fl.  They are planning for the rest of their lives together and will announce a date soon.  Keep them in your prayers.

Raelyn is excited to play basketball again.  She tried out and made the 7th grade A team.  Their first game is coming up soon and she has been working hard to prepare for it.

New School Year

A new school year has begun and the kids, and Mom and Dad, are getting used to new surroundings.  Raelyn has taken to the sport of volleyball (Center of top photo) and she loves it.  Raelyn is in 7th grade at Maypearl MS.   Reed (in center above) is studying Film Production at South Eastern University and Riley (on right above) is pursuing a degree in Art Education at Evangel University.  Having our family spread out across the USA is a new thing for us.  It's hard to believe we are at this stage of life.

This school year will be full of travel and visits to churches all over the United States.  We will do our best to have as much family time as we can before Bryan, Kimberly and Raelyn go back to Kenya in June of 2014.  We look forward to seeing many of you during this year!

We are really happy to announce that the Kisharu Community has come together and built this brand new church!  Pastor Jackson Kodonyo on the right and Jeremiah Tanin, an elder from the community have worked together to lead the community in this building project as people sold cattle to pay for the building materials.  They are no longer meeting in the sun or under a tree and the attendance is already over 70 people every Sunday!  What an honor to be a part of this work along side our Masai brothers.  We are thankful for our support network that allows us to be a part of what God is doing in this part of East Africa.

Kisharu Assemblies of God

Yesterday was a great day for the Kisharu community.  They celebrated the opening of the first Kenya Assemblies of God church in their community.  The community sits on top of Mt. Suswa, a dormant volcano in the Rift Valley.  Kisharu is home to about 3000 people, all Masai.  For the past two years we have been working with the community doing development work mostly focused on water solutions.  The Mountain has many steam vents and we have been helping the community build steam harvesting systems that enable the people to get water from the steam vents.  Some of the systems are now producing 1000 liters per day.  Before this, water was gathered from seasonal water dams and water was fetched from the bottom of the mountain, a 2 hour walk from the village.  It was a great day with lots of celebration and worship.  More to come about the water systems in the next blog!