A Pause - Blue Monday, January 24, 2011

Hi friends,

I have organized a schedule of posts for the next week or so while I'm travelling. I hope you enjoy them.  Right now though I would like to draw your attention to two worthwhile posts which you probably won't have had a chance to read.

First, there was the installation of the new Bishop for the Africa Gospel Church in Kenya. The installation of Rev. Doctor R. Langat was a huge event which included his family and many dignitaries in attendance. You can read about his installation here. There was also gospel music by the renowned singer, Emmy Kosgei and performances by traditional Kenyan dancers.

Second, there is a serious drought problem in some parts of Kenya. This has led to a build up of tensions and clashes in various communities over food and water.

My friends are doing their part to try and assist the people. Please see their efforts in a photo essay here.  I was so proud of my friends. They are of humble means but they go above and beyond the call of duty to assist and lift up their countrymen.  It is very touching to me to see this kind of love in action.

Feel free to leave a comment at either of these posts and say a prayer that the wounds would be healed and that these people would have adequate food and water. You can see by their faces and by their bodies, that the challenges are taking a huge toll on the people.

For more Blue Monday, join Smiling Sally and many others here.

Wordless Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Hi friends,

I thought you might be interested in seeing two very short videos about the water drilled in Marigat, Kenya and the people who will receive the gift of water. For more information about this project see Jonah's blog here.





Meet others here for more Wordless Wednesday.

My World Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Hi friends,

I  am so blessed to bring you this guest post from my friend Pastor Jonah who writes to share the excitement of locating the well water in Marigat, Kenya! It really blesses my heart. If you haven't read the background to this project, you may do so here.


Otherwise read on about this huge blessing of God.
 

We have located the water in Marigat, Kenya.  I am so excited!

The engineer in charge, Bernard, informed me that we have enough water. More than we need. What a joy this is! For those who study water, Bernard talked of 10 cubic meters. Apparently when drilling water they often get 2 or 3 cubic meters. So we are truly blessed. Bernard is so excited. That is the excitement that comes with getting water for indeed water is life.

By Friday we will have test pumping for 24 hours just to check if the machines measured well. What an excitement this is.

The villagers here have done their part. We have had enough food for the hard working men. The chairman of the project has donated a big big goat for them, and the chief will do so too. This was all done yesterday at the sight of water. Earlier I had bought some food too for the group just to get us started.

We look forward to the celebrations of 'officially' getting this gift of water from the donors, the Is There Not a Cause team from Trinidad. We are looking forward to that great day. Already gifts of goats and sheep have been given for that 'Big day' which we hope will be maybe October, November or December. Whenever it is, I look forward to it.

In the other pictures, you can see us trying to cross over the River Perkerra. The water was down and we thought we could go and purchase some food in Marigat town. For me it was a tough choice and I had to be courageous to cross this river.

For a peek into what other people are doing on Tuesdays click here.

The Gift of Water

The water situation or the access to clean drinking water is a problem of major proportions for many Kenyans.  In 2007, I travelled to a very hot part of  Kenya to a community called Marigat, located north of Nakuru. There I was introduced to a missionary, a Kenyan national, who was hoping to build a church for the people and bring water to them as well.

I could not raise the funds myself to build a proper well in the community.  Neither did I know anyone or any organization that could bring water to the people. I did what I always do in this situation. I prayed and I scoured the internet for anyone that could help the people I had met; whether it was regarding water or any of the many other needs required in the villages I had visited.

One day, one such group I wrote to was located in Trinidad and Tobago. The group is called Is There Not a Cause. With very little information, the Executive Director, said that her group would visit my friend, Pastor Jonah and his people in Kenya.  While she couldn't be specific about the kind of help her group could provide, she promised to do something.

Many months later, this group did indeed visit Kenya. You can read more about their arrival in Kenya here . I was so happy to hear that they made it to Kenya.  In fact, I was overjoyed!  You see it had been my experience up to that point in time to have many people promise to do something for these Kenyan friends of mine.  In the end those who made promises failed to follow through.

This group indeed made good on their promise. They did many things while in Kenya and brought much relief to the people. You can read the series on their missions trip by clicking here.  On the trip to the community of Marigat in August 2009, one of the young people on that trip  felt touched to help the community get a well and the gift of clean water. You can read about their visit to Marigat here.  After the team returned home to Trinidad they raised the funds needed to dig the well and slowly the work of putting the well in place began.

In November 2009, a water survey was done and the geologist found water in Marigat. This was a huge blessing. Please read the story here.  In February 2010, preparatory work was still on going. You can read about some of this background here.

Well you can see that it has taken just over a year.  But at last the other day, Pastor Jonah sent me a message to say that the drilling trucks were on there way to Marigat to begin drilling the well>  Jonah also said that he was on the way to meet the lorries and the drillers and also the community members of Marigat. You can imagine the excitement and surprise I had. I can also imagine that the villagers in Marigat were even more excited than I was as they have literally been waiting for years and years to get clean water!!!

Here are a few photos of the lorries and the scenes in Marigat this past few days.

The lorry convoy makes it's way from Nairobi to Marigat.

A close up of one of several lorries on the way to Marigat, Kenya to dig the new well.

A drilling lorrie gets stuck in the mud. The irony is that this area doesn't get a lot of rain or water to make mud on the roads.

Here the people are praying before the digging begins.

This is a typical village hut in Marigat. A mother and her child who will benefit from the community well stand in front of their home.

Representatives from Life Water International meet with the beneficiaries of the well. Life Water has been contracted to over see the drilling of the well.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you or any of your friends would like to help some of the Kenyan villagers, please read more about the Missions of Hope, here and here.

Needing Water

My friend Pastor Jonah sent me this photo. The stone pile in the photo represents the place where people in northern Kenya are hoping for a bore hole and a well. If you can help, please let me know. The people of Marigat desparately need water as it is very hot and dry there.