Lately we have been helping some Masai communities with greenhouse gardens. Greenhouses have become big business in Kenya. Among the Masai, its a really new idea. The Masai, traditionally, are a semi-nomadic people group. They have always lived in the vast grasslands of East Africa, moving with their herds as they follow the rains and looking for grazing land. Today the Masai have settled down a bit more as open grazing lands have been bought up by settlers. Several of our Masai pastors have decided to try farming. They want to use the income from the sale of the vegetables to plant more churches among their people. Its been fun to be a part of this effort. It means alot of travel on really bad roads, many nights out under the stars in the African Bush, but the end result makes it all worth it. Its our desire to focus our efforts on sustainable projects that build capacity among the churches that we are working with.

For the past 6 weeks we have been hosting a team of ladies from Convoy of Hope in the USA. They have been involved in all kinds of ministry and community development projects. The team has worked hard and roughed it in some remote areas. Kenya has made its mark in their hearts and they have no doubt left a little part of themselves here. Convoy of Hopes intern program is tops!

I traveled to Mt. Suswa in the Rift Valley. On Friday I spoke at a church in the village of Olgumi. I was honored to be the opening speaker for a 3 day revival and pastors came from all over the Rift Valley to participate. The same afternoon some friends from Rosslyn Academy joined me for a trip up the mountain. We camped at the top of the mountain and explored some caves that were formed when the volcano erupted many years ago. We are planning to take a group of 50 students from Rosslyn for a few days of camping and cultural studies. The motorcycle was definitely the way to go, its all dirt roads and rough terrain up there.
I'm already looking forward to my next trip out there!

Kim and I went to the Coastal town of Malindi for a few days of "down time" before school starts. It was a much needed break from the busy summer and a chance for us to spend some time alone, doing nothing! We went for long walks and did not set an alarm and left our phones in the room! We even left the kids in Nairobi!

A team of 12 from Riverside Connection Church in Oakmont, Pa. joined us for ministry in the Masai village of Olentoko. Many people in the Rift Valley are still suffering from the recent drought. We delivered grocery bags of food for 500 families, each bag containing around 50 meals. The people were very happy and quickly began to divide the bags of food we had prepared so that it could be shared with neighbors who weren't able to be at the distribution. We were really humbled by their show of generosity towards their community. Thanks to Pastor Bill Ellis and the team from Oakmont for a job well done. Camping out and living in the dust for 3 days was an incredible experience and the impact in the community was great.

A greenhouse for a Masai Community

We spent the last two days in the village of Olontoko working with some Masai friends. We have built a greenhouse there and this Masai community is going to try farming! Turning this dry and dusty ground into rich, moist farming soil was a real chore. We are believing for more than just physical fruit in this harvest field! Pray with us for a Kingdom harvest!

Sawyer filters

Sawyer filters are designed to purify water. Im told that they use the same technology as a kidney dialysis machine. We put them to the test on a recent trip to the Rift Valley. The team of 25 college kids had planned to use bottled water purchased at the grocery store but we went through about half of it the first day. We filtered water from this catchment dam and made it through the next 4 days with no problems. The sawyer filters are amazing, light weight, portable and easy to demonstrate. This community now has 4 of these filters and they are seeing the benefits of clean drinking water.