A different world

Good afternoon friends and family. It is Wednesday afternoon and we have had some problems getting a connection the last few days. My main thing is to introduce you to a new friend named Pastor Jack but before I do that I will update you on some things that we ask for your prayers. Today while we were at Pastor Jack's home the neighbors were carrying their three year old daughter who had just passed away. We were told by Jack that this woman's name is Benta and she is one of he women who do the cooking at Boaz's church each day for the children. Yesterday Boaz told us in the morning that the electrician whom we had met on the building project got up to come to the jobsite and collapsed and died that morning. Please pray for his wife and five children not only have they lost their father but the one who provides for them. Everyone we meet here is touched by death in ways that are difficult to comprehend. Almost all the reasons are easily corrected with medicine but this is a luxury that they can not afford.

So now about Pastor Jack. I first met him at the building project as he was there just helping the foondies (builders) doing anything they asked him to do. He is not a construction kind of guy but was receiving a few schillings a day (1 dollar) for helping. He walks one and a half hours from his home to Boaz's. To get to his church he walks three hours and has been pastoring there for fifteen years. Of all the pastors I have met he is the most humble,meek soft spoken man I have met up to date. Extremely kind and polite until.....he stands before the pulpit and shares what Christ did on the cross for us. This man had a passion and fire for the Lord that absolutely blew me away. No dog and pony show but a man whose faith and love for his savior was so real that if I was not saved I would have been that day. He lives in a very small home on his fathers property with his wife,three children and twenty orphans. His house has a small living room, small bedroom and a thatch roof that desperately needs to be replaced. When asked about his living situation he says that it can be difficult and tight but they are happy and he knows he is doing what God has called him to do.My commitment as a servant is deeply challenged by the way these men lay down their lives.

I am loving our stay here and each day is an adventure. Tomorrow we leave at 6am to go with Boaz and Joseph to Tanzania to meet with some pastors from that area to go over details for an upcoming medical mission that is happening in June. This weekend they are doing a church plant up in the mountains and will go through the villages evangelizing and inviting people to come on Sunday for the first service. We are talking about approximately one hundred pastors and elders coming to this area and then sleeping in their cars or tents or just on the ground. So the rest of this week will be very busy but I am excited about the things God has planned for us. The house is going great, they finished plastering the interior walls today and were working on the plumbing and a concrete counter-top for the kitchen. I am missing my family but as long as I am busy the days are flying by. In the picture you see Pastor Jack and his daughter, his church building and the rules.

Your brother in Christ, Shane

My day with Pastor Daniel

Sunday Shane and I separated again so that we could each visit and preach at different churches. Each of the pastors here want us to be their guest so we are trying our best to visit as many as we can. I went with Pastor Daniel to the Samaria First Baptist church somewhere south of Awasi (google map it). The church is in a drought stricken area. The photo to the right shows the local water supply. It is a river, but as you can see it is running very low and slow. This photo was taken during the hottest part of the day and there are still many people there. Earlier in the day (when I couldn't get to my camera) it was packed with people and livestock.

To get to the church I had to ride a matatu (a taxi van) and then transfer to a boda boda (a motorcycle taxi). Here you see Pastor Daniel on the boda boda ahead of me riding back from the church. The area looks like a desert, but I was told it is a green grassland when the rains come. I took this picture while I was riding on the back of a boda boda so excuse any problems...you do have to hang on, too. Daniel said it is an hour walk from his house to the church which he usually walks every Sunday. The matatu and boda boda were luxuries for his guest. I think it is about 7 or 8 kilometers, and his time estimate, as with most Kenyans, is based on "African time."

The church is held in a typical mud-walled building. Since the Samaria Church is new, there are no doors or windows, there is a dirt floor and the remaining "mud work" must be delayed until the rainy season starts (usually by the end of February). The congregation is small but lively and God-fearing...I won't even attempt to explain it, you must see it to know. The attendance was small Sunday even with the news of a visitor, because many have to travel 6 kilometers or more each day to get water...and if the walk isn't tough enough the return trip includes carrying your water. Making the journey to church is also a long walk for many of the fellowship.

This is Benta, the church secretary and Pastor Daniel inside their church. They are both very dedicated to their calling and their church members. You should hear this little woman preach. I had lunch at Benta's home which was a simple meal of stewed chicken and ugali, but it was meant to be special to honor their guest, and I was. On the way back to the church, where we caught the boda bodas for the return home, we stopped at a blind widow's home to look in on her.


If I had half the love and commitment to God that these folks...

...I teared up today at Pastor Joesph's church when I talked about leaving here. And if you know me, that's a big deal.

Every day a new thing...

Good morning to all our friends and family. I would like to send a special shout out to my good friend Jed "The Deacon" Lynch. As you can see from the pictures the house and cho (bathroom) are moving along quickly.

The cho will be a real blessing for Pastor Joseph's church as until now the children and adults go into the sugar cane field that is next to the church and use that for their cho. The man who owns the field will come over during church service and interrupt the teaching and start yelling his displeasure with this. Only Pastor Miles could deal with something like this and not be disturbed or annoyed by this type of interruption.

















The man you see me with in the picture is Peter. He used to be a priest in a Kenyan cult known as the "Legend of Maria". Did you know Jesus had a Mercedes Benz? Anyway he accepted the "Real Jesus" and is now a deacon in Pastor Joseph's church. He tore down the building they used to worship in and donated the land to Joseph where they built the church that is having the cho built.

Pray for Rick he is not feeling good today. Other than that things are going very well and we have nothing to complain about. Thank you for your prayers we will be back soon. Also want say hello to my two new grandchildren that God blessed us with. Hunter James Michaels and Samantha Grace Phillips. I look forward to getting to spend time with them when I get back.

Your brother in Christ, Shane

Here is Shane stirring the pot, again....

A note from the IT staff

The TCFinKenya IT staff would like to remind you that many times there is more than one new post. Several of our followers have missed some on our better work by just looking at the top posting. Today, for example, we are uploading 4 new posts.

And, if you are reading this from a PC (using Windows or Linux) you can double click on any photo to view it enlarged. If you are using a Mac...you're on your own. We have uploaded large image files and they should look pretty good enlarged.

In the photo you see me and our new intern, Moo Chin, who has the bad habit of licking the modem.

The roof is on...

Work on Boaz's new home is progressing well. As you see in his photo the rafters are almost finished, and Samuel the builder (and Pastor) says that the "iron sheets" will start going on by noon.

This is the back of the house. The foondie is placing bricks in between the rafters.

This is another photo of Shane actually working...no this isn't one of those photo ops he likes me to put up. Unloading this lorrie was hard work. I even broke down and helped. It carried the interior doors, cement (for the wall plaster), nails, and the iron sheets. Here they are moving some of the iron sheets.

Kanyipola Cho Update

The cho (outhouse) project is going well. Today they should have the floor and the walls completed. The foondies told us it would only take 5 days to complete. To the right you see the design which was chosen. Considering the intricate architectural features, there may be some cost overruns. The foondies, however, have told us that the project will come in on budget.

This is the same pit that Shane was seen digging in a few posts back. It is shown here with a foundation ready for the floor.

Here the foondies are starting to build the concrete floor.

This is Shane a his best...sleeping in the church as the others work.

Hello from Kenya

Good morning to all our family and friends back home. It is Wednesday morning here which means it is Tuesday evening in Sactown. Want to start off with some good news!! At approximately 8:30 Tuesday evening Samantha Grace Phillips arrived and I am grateful to be blessed with my 9th grandchild. So Mike and Jessica have added a beautiful granddaughter into our lives and I look forward to meeting her when I get back. Yesterday one of the many things we did was go and visit Mama Cecilia to see how she was doing and bring her some food. She was lying in the sun when we got there and stood up on her own to greet us. It is good to see her up and walking this is a big improvement from when we first met her. The pictures you are seeing are of a typical corn grinder in Kenya,  her on her bed and her standing. We took about 75 pounds of corn to be ground and took it to her home. She also has her five grandchildren and her son living with her so this will help them also. The longer we are here the more we learn about the culture. The biggest thing we are becoming aware of is how many people we meet are HIV positive and how many of our new friends have lost loved ones to this disease. We will continue to update you as often as possible and things are going great. The next two weeks are going to be very busy with the things that Boaz and Joseph have planned for us. Thank you for all your prayers.
Your brother in Christ,Shane