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.