Although Team 1 is safely
back in the US after about
30 hours of traveling from Cairo,
I thought I should do a final post before Team 2 begins their blogging. We were having problems with internet
connections and lack of band width at the clinic where we stayed, so apologize
that we were not able to get photos up. We also lost electricity a couple
times, the last one being the night before we left, and it was off for about 19
hours. That was difficult because Dr.
Rose was not able to get the last of the dental instruments sterilized, and
things put away as nicely as she had hoped.
We left in another rain storm with lots of mixed emotions, were
reconciled to the fact that we did not get to lay even one block on the new
dorm. However, the staff seemed very appreciative of the variety of things we
did accomplish from helping with computer problems, varnishing doors, arranging
library books, sorting bins of clothing, conducting workshops for the teachers,
working on the water control system, etc.
We made it safely, (although with another flight delay), to Cairo on Sunday morning,
the 25th. Carolyn and William
Farag (Elim missionaries) were there to greet us and had arranged a wonderful 2
days of touring, with a Christian guide who referenced Bible verses in with his
commentary. We were awed at the Cairo
museum by the King Tut exhibit, visited the Church of the Holy Family where
Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed during their exile, got to ride camels at the
pyramids (a highlight!), had a faluka ride on the Nile, toured the Pharoahnic
Village (replica of the times of the Pharoahs), and enjoyed the Farag’s
hospitality at their retreat center, Fountain Gate. They are truly lights in
this troubled nation. Sadly, the tourist
economy has still not bounced back, so there is much hardship. For Bill and I, it was especially a nostalgic
time as it had been 41 years since we were there as teachers at the American School
in Alexandria. Now we are grateful to be home, but even more
grateful for those who are called full time to serve the precious children at
In Step, the 11 other orphanages in that immediate vicinity, and who knows how
many more orphanages throughout Kenya – all of Africa, and the world? The needs are even more monumental than the
pyramids, but we rejoice that God has called many with compassionate, faithful
hearts to do the day to day hard work.
We were just holding their arms up for a very short while, like Aaron
and Hur did for Moses. Humbly Submitted
by Carolyn Pollock
Return to Kitale
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Addendum to Sunday’s
Blog
(I was supposed to write the entry for Sunday, but Bill beat
me to it. I am including it, mainly for
the quotes.)
Team One – July 20 – Blogged by Robert Perez
A few quotes from our team members as we were waiting for
our pickup to Martin Shikuku’s church service/grand opening of new
Johabeto buildings:
“At
the bottom of the stairs, there is one of those big beetles, but I don’t have
energy to kill it.” – Carolyn Pollock
“It’s
the size of a turtle, or a reptile. I’ve
never seen one that big” – Becky Roffe
“It
looks like it could hurt somebody” –Melody Carlin
“Even
duct tape can’t fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound” – Bill Pollock (as he
was reading a text sent to him on his cellphone)
Today is Sunday and we have made
much progress in various assigned tasks and duties. We also have found time (and energy!) to keep
things light-hearted and funny, as the above quotes indicate.
Although a few of us are sick, we
have been very grateful for the strength and wellbeing to clean, cook, laugh,
smile, lay plastic conduit, sing and play with the children, pray for each
other and the staff workers, clean and polish teeth, and many other tasks. It is good to be active and productive in the
Kingdom of God, even in small matters.
End of Addendum
Team One – July 22 – Blogged by Robert Perez
The Dental Team continues to see
patients, until the late hours of the evening.
Their endurance and stamina are amazing. It appears that once the people hear there is
a dentist in the area, they seem to come out of the woodwork (or cornfields!)
and so far, no one has been turned away. Bwana asifiwe
for our Dental Team! (We owe them a
large sausage pizza!)
Last night we lost electricity in
our buildings and in the surrounding area, for nearly 14 hours. We have no idea for the cause but were
grateful when power came back the next morning.
(The Dental Team was still working on their last patient when this
occurred, but they brought out flashlights and finished with the
procedure. There was a very good picture
taken of their working in the dark, so be on the lookout for a photo posting.)
There was a problem with one of the
water lines feeding the main building of the orphanage this afternoon, causing a
complete loss of water. It took the
efforts of Adam, Jeff, and Bill until late in the evening to resolve it, but it
was successfully completed. Tomorrow
some work needs to continue on this water pipe, but as of this evening, the
orphanage has running water. (Where can
you get a good roll of Teflon tape when you need it?)
We had some good news today: our team was tested for malaria by Julia, the
orphanage nurse, and not one of our members tested positive. Mungu
asifiwe! According to Julia, we are
the first team whose members have all tested negative for malaria.
Thank you to everyone who has been
praying for our health and productivity.
Your prayers are being answered
by the Father.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Day Six -- Team One
Team One – Day Six -- Blogged by Bill Pollock
Today is Sunday and a change of pace. Some who were still in need of rest stayed at
In Step. For the rest of us it was a day
trip and a celebration. We took a trip
to the Johabeto Home to be part of the dedication with the Martin Shikuku
family of their new campus. They had
planned the dedication for August but when Martin learned we would be here this
weekend he moved it up so we could be a part of the celebration, and quite a
celebration it was. Four years ago our
teams came to Kitale to help build new dormitories for the orphans that Marin
and Ruth had taken in. Then last year
came news that Kenya Power we taking that property to use for a right away for
an electric transmission line. They paid
for the original property but the Shikukus had three months to find new
property, build new buildings and relocate themselves and the sixty orphans
they care for. Today we visited the new site
and were part of the dedication which included cake cutting and ribbon
cutting. They held a service first with
over 100 people and the usual amazing singing and dancing. This was followed by the dedication
ceremony. Dignitaries included the area
chief, many area pastors, representatives from the ministry of education and the
human rights commission. The speeches included high praise for Martin
and Ruth and the work they are doing. Each
of the members of Team One who were there were given Hawaiian style leis to
wear for the celebration. They already
have new dorms and class rooms in place.
The campus is bigger than the old one.
The buildings reused much of the material from the old campus but they
too are bigger and better, now including indoor plumbing and electricity which
were lacking before. The next plan is to
open a technical school on the campus. God has certainly taken a crisis and turned it
to an opportunity. For me the event was
touching and nostalgic. Martin was
supported and sponsored by my parents when he was young. The new dorms are named the Ted Pollock dorm
and the Dolly Pollock dorm. They had
framed pictures of each of my parents to hang in the living rooms. We also got to see Shikuku children Carolyn
and Bill named after Carolyn and me. A news article in a local paper says that the
Shikukus plan to take in as many as 140 children. We know that any children who end up there
will be loved and cared for in a unique way.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Week One-Day Four-Thursday
Hi everyone-----it’s me Caroline McKay: Exciting, exciting, exciting!!!!! Doing dental work on these children is such a
huge blessing! So, our plan was to have
more children’s teeth taken care of today but God had other plans----seems that
has been the case since the beginning of this mission trip. So, the construction project is coming along slowly
but coming along just the same. But the
dentistry is happening as quickly as dentistry happens. J
After spending the day working on some
broken equipment Todd Pedersen, better known here as Dr. Todd, will be back to working
on more children’s teeth tomorrow alongside Dr. Rosemerie Teachout, Melody
Carlin, Beatriz Teachout and myself. This morning we went to the classrooms so Dr.
Rose could teach proper teeth brushing & give the kids their new
toothbrushes & their prize (a pencil) for brushing the right way. These children look forward to seeing Dr.
Rose because she gives them prizes: cool sunglasses, toothbrushes, pencils,
hair accessories, and more plus the ultimate prize at the very end for brushing
their teeth for three days in a row is: for the boys a soccer ball for their
classroom and a jump rope for the girls also for their classroom. Just to see these children smile and get very
excited about their prizes is such a blessing. Being here was truly a gift that
I never could have imagined would have taken place for me ever, but Praise God,
others in my life saw fit that I should be a part of this team and made that
happen. For that I am truly
grateful!! So, Kim Leach has been
working with the teachers and some of the students doing what she does: speech
pathology!!! Robert Perez is our IT guy
along with working on building some tooth brush holders with his “assistant”
Becky Roffe. Some have also been sanding
doors prepping them for varnish, while some like Angela Berardi have been covering
books for the library, laminating worksheets for teachers, while yet others are
doing clothes mending, like Carolyn Pollock, still there are others working on
pump repairs, like Bill Pollock and Gabrielle Johnson is our “resident”
photographer, she has been spending lots of time with the kids and with us
taking hundreds and hundreds of photos.
And then there is Adam Pollock, the do everything that needs to be done
guy!!!!!!! So much has been
accomplished. WOW- what an amazing group
we have here and what a complete team we make…….need something done??? Ask us
we’ll get it done----maybe not in our timing but always in God’s time J J
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Week 1 - Day 3
Habari!
My name is Angela Berardi and this is my first time at the In Step Children's home.
I cannot believe we are already
six days into this trip! There is no doubt in my mind that God has gone before
us and is with us. From Rochester, NYC, London, and finally arriving in Kenya, God predestined multiple conversations and situations to assure me that He is there,
He is in control, and because of those two truths, there is nothing to worry
about or fear. These encounters greatly increased my faith and boldness as well
as prepared my heart for the mission field currently set before me and the one
I will enter when I go home. If I took the time to elaborate on each divine
appointment, this short blog post would surely snowball into a novel. So, to
save your time, I’ll share a couple with you now.
We had just begun our plane ride
from Nairobi to Kitale when a woman in our group, who was seated next to me,
started reading a book called, “Woman, Thou Art Loosed”. I curiously inquired
if the title of her book was quoted from a verse in the Bible. She replied that
it was from Luke 13:12 and proceeded to recite it for me. Immediately
afterward, a man sitting directly in front of me turned around and began to
engage us in conversation. He overheard that we were talking about “Luke” and
asked if it was the book of Luke in the Bible. We replied that we were indeed
discussing the book of Luke and he began to ask us where we were from and what
we were doing in Africa. After we had shared with him what we were planning on
doing, he thanked us and began to share a bit about himself as well. He
revealed that his name is (Apostle) William Kasee and that he is a pastor on
his way to share to gospel to a people that have never heard it before. Pretty
radical, right? To us, yes. To him, this is typical behavior.
William spends himself and his time
reaching the lost and broken all over the world through sharing the good news
and through the gift of healing. He listens for God to give him direction and
goes, relying fully on the provision of God alone. He has converted numerous
Muslims in Pakistan, has brought healing to the paralyzed, has been jailed for
preaching the gospel, etc. Basically, he is the 21st century Paul…and
he’s awesome. To me, it was so encouraging to see someone who actually takes
Jesus’ commission seriously and lives it out loud not only in word but in deed.
His passion to know God and make Him known was not only contagious but clearly
could be seen emanating from the inside out. He was an empty and willing vessel
that desperately wanted to be used by God to reach others FOR God, and I was
reminded yet again how that is exactly
the type of person that God uses. It’s not those who use eloquent words or
those with a lot of money or fascinating talents. God doesn’t look for those that are already equipped
so that they can be called to serve Him. He equips those for whatever purpose
He calls them to.
While we were praying after yesterday's
Bible study, the words “a desperate people” kept coming to mind. I wasn’t (and
still am not) sure if I’ve arrived at the full revelation from God on what this
means, but so far, this is what I have: God needs us to be empty, broken,
willing vessels just like our brother William. We need to be as desperate for
God as we are for water when we’re thirsty. God doesn’t want visitation rights
on Sundays. He wants full custody of our hearts, minds and souls 24/7. Not only
should we be desperate FOR God but there should also be a righteously desperate
fire in our soul that NEEDS to share the very good news about Christ’s
crucifixion and resurrection with others. How can we hold the treasure of
eternal life and not be stirred to share it? Evangelism is simply one beggar
telling another where the bread is, and for us, that bread is the Bread of
Life, Jesus Christ.
Now, about the Rehema In Step
Children’s Home! We arrived at the home fairly late last night, so we basically
went to sleep immediately after we ate a quick meal. I was woken up this
morning to the sound of children laughing and squealing. Let me tell you, after
traveling for many days in various ways, hearing their laughter was the most
beautiful and most wonderful alarm clock I could have ever asked for and I
could happily wake up to their voices every day for the rest of my life.
I spent the majority of my day
meeting the children and learning their names and faces. In the afternoon, I
was asked if I wanted to hold some babies. For anyone who knows me (and for
anyone who doesn’t know me), the answer will always, always, always be “um…YES!”.
What I had thought I agreed to being sitting in a room at the orphanage turned
into sitting in a U-shaped backseat of a big van surrounded by
babies and heading to the clinic 10 minutes down the road. At the clinic, a few
children (1 newborn, 2 babies, 4 toddlers) were tested for Malaria and two came
back positive (which is not uncommon). Two of them needed shots and I was the
one who held them. I watched them squirm and cry and I felt utterly helpless
and broken for them.
Tears began to well up in my eyes
and anger started to take root in my heart. I was thinking, “their parents
should be the ones holding them, comforting them, telling them everything will
be all right…not some random, white girl from America” (although I am definitely
not complaining). I felt so burdened for them. They are so undeserving of the trauma that they've already faced in their short life. I began to make a mental list in my head of all the things I wanted to do for them. I wanted them to feel loved and
cherished and whole. I wanted to give them new socks with no holes in them so
their toes and soles of their feet don’t stick out anymore. I wanted to find a
doctor to come heal them immediately. I wanted to protect them. I wanted to
right the wrong that’s been done to them. I wanted to fix them. And that’s
exactly when God revealed to me that He doesn’t want or need me to fix them; He
simply is asking me to love them like Jesus would…and not only that, but also to be like them. Fixing
and caring for their heart is His job. Getting peed on while holding them and
wiping rice off their faces during dinner and boogers from their nose and doing it joyfully is mine. He wants me to have childlike faith. He wants me to depend on Him for
love, protection, and provision. He wants us to learn from these children, who
are content
in the face of much adversity. We need to learn to be able to say, “no
matter our lot, ‘it is well with our soul’.”
This mission trip isn’t anything
like what I expected. Before this trip, I asked God to teach me and reveal
Himself to me through these children, but I didn’t realize He would grant that
prayer so powerfully and as creatively as He already has. I guess you could say
that I’m wonderfully broken in all the right places for these kids.
“Orphans are easier to ignore
before you know their names…see their faces…hold them in your arms. But once
you do, everything changes.” – David Platt
Sunday, January 12, 2014
A new year
Once
again the time has escaped me somewhat unnoticed. Around here there
is always so much to be done, and so little time to actually get it
done because something more important seems to pop up on a semi daily
basis. So what has been going on since august?
put tow of these together for the dorm |
charcoal stove fabrication |
Edith |
a slab for a basketball court has been put into place and just needs to be swept off and get the hoop set up.
finished full court slab |
Esther |
new supply line |
When the tee fitting pushes your teeth through your lip |
In
order to fix the plumbing we needed to break the tile. Fortunately
the project finished about five minutes before the a large team from
South Hills Church in Washington had arrived on the compound.
While
here the South Hills team completed a large project, building the
stone walls and welding and painting iron fence panels to enclose the
cemetery plot on site. The plot was made much large enough with the
intention of never filling it, and leaving plenty of space to make a
quiet setting to pay respect to the few that have been lost.
Gilbert |
Then came Christmas
The day started by taking 24 of the older kids to bring gifts to a less fortunate family
We made over 300 sugar cookies, 6 rhubarb cakes, a massive fruit salad, 30 whole chickens, beef sausages (one of the kids favorite) too many chapati to count, and four sides of beef. It was a chance to let the kids eat and eat, as much as they want. For some of them this was the first time that they have had the chance to eat beyond their limits, and they were able to learn that over eating can make you sick.
Two Adams |
cookies |
decorating cookies |
shaddrach Jimmie sammy |
eat yourself to sleep |
back at it after a little nap |
Now with time before the new school year only about a week away it was past time to be started working on desks and chairs for the new classes. So that was my work and by the end of the week and working around the clock two of the days I was able to complete 15 desks and only a few chairs, enough to get started with.
new class two room |
office |
trellis going well |
Alfred has also been able to finalize the painting in the clinic, and today as I write this our Doctor has come and has started setting up while waiting on the government approvals.
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