On Friday I was blessed to attend the one and only concert of the Watoto Children's Choir performed in Vancouver, British Columbia. I've heard of this Ugandan choir for many years and have seen them on television but never had the opportunity to go and hear them live. This year's concert was held at the Vancouver Chinese Pentecostal Church in East Vancouver. Pastor Ivan Chu gave a few brief introductory and welcome remarks before turning the stage over for the evening.
This young man and his wife (not in photo) lead the contingent of the Watoto Children's Choir that travels throughout Canada for six (6) months each year. His wife conducts the choir. Together they have been travelling with the choir for the past 4 years.
the children give a very high energy performance. I love the expressions on their faces. When they are not dancing, speaking and singing, they are very serious about the message of the gospel. They are also very young. The girl in the front with black suspenders is only 7 years old. I believe the eldest child is 12. There are also 11 adults who travel with the children, some who are playing the instruments, some who are looking after sound and so on.
The young girl in the red dress is living with her mom and travels with the Children's Choir. Her family is the recipient of help from something new the Watoto Ministries is doing, expanding their help and support to single mothers. This girl's mother makes jewellery which is then sold by the choir when they tour. This is how the mother can support her family.
I was impressed by the heart of worship of these children.
I was moved by the lady in the black print top (red bow in her hair). Her mother was captured twice by Ugandan rebels. During the 2nd capture her mother was murdered and she became an orphan. Watoto Children's Home gave her refuge and she now travels with the choir. There are many equally touching stories.
I was very moved by the children's concert and by the heart of love the adults seem to have. I know they were very tired as they have been touring for the past 6 months. They will be finished their touring this week and then have a break before returning home to Kampala.
I managed to make a video of their opening song "Signs & Wonders" which is also the name of their choir's latest recording and 2018 Tour. I hope you enjoy.
If you would like to learn more about the Watoto Ministries, please click here.
Thank you for visiting.
I leave you with a few shots of the sky on Monday about 5:30 a.m.
It's my first post in the month of May. Things have been very busy of late and they continue to be so.
I started but didn't finish planting the garden. I should finish the planting soon but had to take a break due to workmen trampling through my garden to clean windows. That is now done for another year as is the annual fire inspection. Next will come the annual carpet cleaning. This year it seems like they are doing everything all at one time. It's all okay because it is better to get it out of the way IMHO.
The weather here has been fantastic. Perfect blues skies today. I had a wonderfully long walk. Something I haven't done in absolutely ages for many reasons. But today was a beautiful, quiet, peaceful kind of day. Not too hot and not too cold and was just right for strolling.
It allowed me to take a few photos to share for Skywatch Friday. However the sun was very bright so the photos have been touched up a bit. Nothing too fancy though as I don't have Photoshop or such like program.
The sky was a gorgeous blue and not a cloud in sight.
I took an extra long walk today and saw places I haven't seen a long time.
I thought these two old houses were a nice subject.
I said I had good news and bad news.
The good news is that the weather has been very lovely. We've had a few cloudy days but we've also had a few very warm and sometimes hot days.
I love these two old buildings. The top one with it's bay windows is nice.
The bottom one reminds me of buildings in New York City with the lovely red brick.
I found this beautiful salmon coloured poppy nearby.
The bad news is the weather has been far too hot for this time of year and we've been shattering temperature records, left right and center all across the land. It has contributed to raging fires in the far north of my province and in the province next door. There are devastating aftermaths and thousands and thousands of people have had to be evacuated. I heard on the news today that the only way the fire will be extinguished now is if the rain comes. They will need a lot of it.
In my last post I provided some very brief updates about the young man that many of you are praying for. If you missed the post you can read it here.
I learned that the open wound on the boy's face is caused by the tumour. It was the central point from which the tumour grew out of the boy's face and spread. It was the "stem" so to speak.
The boys release has been delayed because the doctors are trying to ensure the wound heals first and it isn't healing that quickly so they've been trying to help dry it out. They have also been watching his blood and giving him medicine or supplements (not quite sure which) to boost his white blood cell count. Some of you will know that white blood cells are important in protecting the body against foreign invaders that would cause illness or infections and are needed for recovery. The doctors have also been administering blood to counter the young man's anemia.
The open wound and scarring have made it difficult for the young man to
chew and eat but today I heard he has graduated from runny porridge to
mashed potatoes. A friend in Kenya has also been trying to get the
boy's chemotherapy administered in his hometown due to the expense of
being in Nairobi for long and the expense of travelling back and forth
from his home to the big city with escort.
At last today the hospital
has said they would release the boy for treatment in his home community
as they are satisfied the public hospital is properly equipped. That
means he should be released soon pending health clearance and clearance
of the hospital bill (a significant challenge). This is good news and
in the "nick of time" because his escort no longer has a place to stay
in the city. He was staying with a helpful student but there have been
problems with student unrest and new rules from the university
administration strictly prohibits guests.
Please continue to pay for this situation if you feel led to do so.
Thank you for coming along on my walk today.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time, enjoy your weekend.
As for me, I am going to try and work on the garden and join friends for a barbeque.
I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season so far.
Personally I am trying to keep everything very low key this year. I have only just put up the Christmas decorations last night. I've decorated my mantle and put a wreath up in my living room window as well as some red jingle bells on my entry door.
I've opted to use a miniature tree with lights and red baubles on my table top rather than put up a large tree this year. But first I have to finish altering some nightgowns for my mother for Christmas presents as I use the dining room table for sewing. I should finish sewing on Monday. Then I will decorate my miniature white tree. Right now I'm using up every corner of my floor space in the front rooms for my arts and crafts supplies and other necessary furnishings so I don't have a space to put up my larger tree. I don't mind not having a larger tree to decorate because I find it a tad too much work for me. Especially since December is always a very busy month and I'm not even home on Christmas Day on any year.
In this season where "tis the season to be jolly", we celebrate friends and family and often that means giving them gifts that they've either requested or we think they will like or appreciate. It makes most of us feel good to give a gift from out hearts to those we love. Truth be told, many people receiving the gifts do not really need them but it has become a tradition to give gifts at this time of year. I'm all for the giving of material gifts to loved ones so long as it is within reason and one doesn't rack up a lot of debt to do it.
I would much rather give practical helps and gifts to those I know truly need it and to many I do not know, especially the widows and the orphans. This year I am wondering if any of you would like to give a gift to those you do not know? People who live on the other side of the world in a small town called Mauche in the East African country of Kenya.
This is a sad tale of a young woman, now a widow and single mother whose husband succumbed to the ravages of HIV last week.
Besides leaving his wife, he left behind three children behind ages 1 1/2 years old, 6 years and 8 years old. They have nothing. No home, no money, no way to get food.
It is a case of the father and the mother having to live separately for some time due to the need to find any work they could find. After a long separation the man went elsewhere for what he might ordinarily get from his wife. He suffered the consequence, got ill and died.
He died a bitter man and it is a real shame that he was unable to get the right help or he might still be alive today.
My friends and I have been trying to determine how we can help the destitute family left behind. I don't have a lot to really help them in the best way possible. But we have come up with a plan and if I can get the help of a few of my readers, it would go a long way toward putting this family on it's feet to becoming self-sufficient.
Like many people in Kenya the mother has family land. Currently she lives in rented housing located about 10 km from her land. She won't be able to pay the rent when next it comes due.
We plan to buy materials (materials required are wood, nails, iron sheets and labour) to build a tin shack on her property. We also hope to provide some funds to buy seeds and fertilizer, possibly a chicken and a rooster so that baby chicks can be produced, raised and sold for income. We cannot afford a cow for this family and especially the children to have milk.
My friend was thinking to borrow a cow but that isn't likely realistic since most people in the village also need the milk from any cows they might own (many people do not own a cow because they are expensive). But it would be good to buy a diary goat or two to provide the milk and goats are much cheaper (about $100 Canadian or $70 US). It is also necessary to buy wood and wire to make a chicken coop for the chicken and rooster and seeds for the garden. They also need some food to eat until the seeds can take root and produce a harvest and two of the children need to go to school.
Right now it is raining. A lot.
These ladies in the photo are the neighbours. The houses in the
background are a better grade of housing than what we can afford to
build. It would take 4 times the funds I've sent for such a house. We
simply cannot afford that and need to get this family into temporary
housing as soon as possible.
My friend has to travel from a village several hours away to help this woman and to oversee the plans to help her so the funds I send are properly expended and workers do not take advantage of her. He can't stay more than a night each time. There is no bus or transport to this area and the cost of return travel is very expensive on a boda boda taxi (motorcycle taxi) at 3000 shillings ($42 Canadian or $30 US). It will take 2, ideally 3 trips, to oversee the work and buy whatever needs to be purchased.
The motorbike cyclist had a very difficult time to get back up the hill and return home.
Neighbours condoling over tea.
Just think of trying to keep warm with no real sweaters or blankets. There is no indoor heating in such homes.
In order to make a simple drink of tea you must make a fire in a pit like the one in the photo below. It is a lengthy process.
I will end the pictures and story here.
I would not ask for your help if I could do it all on my own.
But I fall short of being able to get this family on their feet by myself.
Any amount you can offer would be a huge help!
Only you know what you can do. If you can do something,
kindly let me know or simply send a donation
to kerichojoy[at]gmail[dot]com
If you have any questions, you can write me at the same address or
you can complete the contact form to the right of my blog post and I will respond as soon as possible.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of Him.
1 John 5:14-15
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us.
Ephesians 3:20
I have been in Kenya for about 3 weeks now. I am going home tomorrow. I always feel sad a day or two in advance of my departure as I never know when exactly I will be back. However, I do believe that God will make a way for me to return if it is His desire that I return.
I had only notions of a holiday of rest and recuperation on this trip because the the past year has been mentally and physically exhausting due to health issues of my own and of my loved ones also. It has been a taxing year in every way. I didn't have a whole lot of advance planning or funds to do some good works which I always love to do when I visit Kenya. I won't go into details but I had even less funds than I anticipated due to some challenges just prior to departure and shortly after my arrival. I didn't think I would be able to do much here in Kenya besides visiting the little boy Kigen who I so much wanted to see at the Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital (read more about him here). I hope to say more about Kigen in the coming weeks and give you an update about him and his family.
But you know God is so gracious and good to us. I've learned that if I just do whatever I am able and whatever he puts before me without struggle and anxiety, He will honour that. In this instance, it meant going to Nakura town from time to time where I am staying in Kenya. It meant paying attention to the homeless on the street and talking to them as the Lord provided opportunities. It meant showing love and kindness to whomever crossed my path. It was in this way that I met a young boy whom I had met when I was last in Nakuru 6 months ago. I instantly remembered him due to his ready smile. I learned that his name is Moses and he hails originally from a northern town which I've written about on this blog from time to time. The town of Marigat.
A day or two after reconnecting with Moses, I also met his friend named Hillary Joseph and took them both to lunch along with an artist friend named, Sammy. Over dinner, I learned that the boys were living together in a small shack just outside of the city and they both wanted badly to go to school. Though I couldn't help them with their school needs, I did ask them if they were hungry and took them to dinner for hot food and a drink. Over dinner I learned a bit more about them and how they were fending for themselves. Hillary in particular was insistent that he wanted to go to school. I explained that I could not personally help them but that I would be praying for them to find a donor. Sammy and I both encouraged them to stay strong in faith and go to church. I also encouraged them not to listen to the young boys and men on the street who taunted them and tried to pressure them into taking drugs. To try to encourage them further, I shared about my own personal story of trials and tribulations as a child and how I believed God helped me to have a hope and a future. I told them that they too could have a better future if they continued believing in God. That night as I left them I noticed that Hillary was sniffling with a cold and gave him a small sum of money to buy Vicks and told him I would pray for him to get better soon.
The very next day I ran into the boys again. This time they had a friend named Martin with them.
From left to right, Martin, Hillary Joseph and Moseswaiting for lunch at the Guava Cafe.
At one time all of these boys lived together in an orphanage but now none of them was a resident there. Moses and Hillary in particular wanted to learn academics and go to school but since they had no money and no adults to care for them, they were begging on the streets daily for their survival and the life was hard. Martin was doing small jobs here and there finding whatever work he could to pay for his daily bread. Martin did not live with the boys but knew them from the orphanage and connected with them from time to time. Apparently, at the orphanage they were all trained in singing and keyboard playing but they didn't receive any real academic training. Instead the children were being trained as performers and were bussed around the country to perform. They were driven from town to town and after performing would sleep on their transport bus overnight before journeying on to their next destination and performance. Eventually all of the boys ran away from this life to try to find a better life.
The two boys I had fed the night before were very happy when I saw them again. Hillary in particular, was beaming from ear to ear and telling me how well he had slept after my prayers for him. I invited all three boys to join me at one of the cafes catering to foreigners; the Cafe Guava. I guess it was their first time at the cafe and they were so very happy to be eating there even though it was only chips and a soda. Again I encouraged them to trust in God and to have faith. No matter what happened, whether they were to go to school or not, I encouraged them to trust in God for a better future. I gave them more real life examples of how God undertakes.After lunch I took the boys to the street market and bought them some winter jackets as they were both shivering and cold the night before. It had even been cold in my hotel room though I had a number of blankets and these boys didn't have bedding so you can imagine how cold it was for them. They were so happy to receive their new jackets and were joyfully modelling them to one another. As for Martin, I offered him a jacket too but he said he would take a shirt instead. That same day, I met a blogging buddy for the very first time in person (more about this later) while at the cafe. I introduced her to the boys and asked her if she would also remember them in prayer. Later that night she wrote me and told me that the boys were on her prayer list.
From left to right: Hillary Joseph, Moses and Moses.
On my way to the cafe for a drink I passed by another little boy. He begged for food as he was hungry. I wanted to feed him but I thought I would come back to him and look after him on my way back to the market place in a very short while. In the meantime, the restaurant I thought I was going to was closed, so I ended up at another cafe close by.
The boys came back with Moses while I was having a refreshment and I invited them all to join me for chips and juice or a hot drink. They gladly did so. As we sat down, along came the boy I had passed by earlier. I waved at him to join us. I learned that his name was Clinton and he was very hungry as well as cold since it started to rain just moments before.
Here is Clinton after having a dinner of beef stew, rice and vegetables and a hot drink of cocoa. Isn't the glory on his face so lovely? I felt very protective of this little one. He is 13 years old and the 2nd eldest in his family. He seemed so alone and forgotten. I am sure he enjoyed the fellowship of some adults and the two older boys who he knew in passing as they all beg on the streets. Please pray for him that he will be able to go to school.
Here are Hillary Joseph and Moses proudly displaying their new lantern or torch light. This is a rechargeable lamp. It doesn't need to be plugged in when it is on and it will last several days before needing to be recharged. When it needs to be recharged there are neighbours who can help the boys. I tested the lamp and it gives off excellent light.
My adult friend Moses suggested that I purchase some groceries for young Clinton to take home and bless his family. I was happy to do that as it was in my heart to do so but I didn't quite know how to do it. My concern was not only what to buy, but how the young (and small) boy would actually get the groceries home. After a short discussion, we settled on a list of food items and a way for the boy to get home after the shopping expedition. I asked my adult friend Moses if he would go with the young boy to do the shopping and he agreed. After spending the afternoon together, my friend was very keen to encourage the young boys and to help them in whatever small ways he could. He also showed me a proposal he was working on for a business plan to help orphans in this city of Nakuru. I told him I would pray for his vision to come to life.
Now for the best news of all. After we sat down to eat, young Hillary was smiling broadly and told me how they had looked for me the day before because they had news that God had answered prayer. It turns out a young man from the United Kingdom had met them on the street the day before yesterday. After finding out that the boys are believers and that they go to church and do not sniff glue like others on the street, he offered to put them both in school. On Sunday, he will take the boys to buy the school uniforms and the shoes they need as well as books they will need. On Monday he will take them and register them in school and look after whatever else they need. He has even agreed to send money to help the boys with their daily support needs while they are going to school. God is great. Praise His Name!
Hillary was beaming throughout the telling of this wonderful news and I could not contain my excitement and joy at how marvelously and quickly, God has answered the prayers of myself and others for these young boys. Prayers to give the boys a hope and a future. Not only that, but the boys had a second offer of assistance from a man who comes from South America. But as they already had a donor they informed the visitor that they did not need his generous offer of help as God had already provided for them. Imagine this abundance of blessings when the boys had been trying years to get sponsors.
God is so wonderful and has shown such love to these boys by providing for them and demonstrating his abundance. Their joy was manifest on their faces as they related to me the story of their blessings and they told me how much I had helped them. At that point of course, I became somewhat teary eyed by the goodness of God. After sharing with them and after tears all around, we took our leave from one another and offered to pray for one another until we meet again. My adult friend Moses, has offered to keep me regularly informed by email about the boys' progress and also to teach them to use the internet so that they can keep in touch with me directly. I look forward to hearing more about how the are enjoying school and how the Lord is blessing them. I will continue to pray for wisdom, provision and protection for these boys.
Giving so children can live. This is my simple joy. Not just on Saturday but anytime I can and as often as I can. The needs are so great. Join me as you are led to help these and other dear ones in Kenya.
In everything I have pointed out to you [by example] that, by working diligently in this manner, we ought to assist the weak, being mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed (makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive.
Acts 20: 35
Come join in at Simple Joy Saturday hosted by the wonderful Jan in Australia.
