The Beautiful Days of January

The first few days of the year were quite hectic what with the earthquake and activities and missions in Kenya. But since then I've been taking things slowly. This year I feel the need to take care of my energy levels and rest more so I've been looking at ways I can do that yet still keep in touch with people and continue blogging.

I've been spending a lot of time on organizing myself for better health and wellness. That includes all aspects of health:  physical, emotional, spiritual & mental.  I won't go into the details of each area like I've done in years passed.  That would be time consuming and I'm not into doing that this year.  I'm also not into choosing a guiding word for the year. But I do have everything clear in my mind as to what I want to work on and how that will guide my daily and monthly activities.

The last week or two have been quite enjoyable. I've just been taking my time to do this and that and moving at a comfortable pace as opposed to the frantic pace I seem to always set for myself.  I've managed to reconnect with several friends who had been going through some difficult and/or very busy periods. It's always nice to reconnect with people who you've lost touch with.  I actually have several more people to reconnect with but there are only so many people one can keep in good touch with. Of course I cannot forget my friends in Kenya who are often on my mind as well as my sponsored boys in Kenya and Ethiopia who need to hear from me on a regular basis. Since last Fall I've been trying to make sure they hear from me more often.

Reading is always a big part of my life and this year I started off reading two books: A Girl in the Woods and the Orphan Train.  The first book I happened upon when I went to a movie in November. A woman was lined up for the show and intently reading the book. I asked her what it was about and made a note to read it and borrow it from the library.

A Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis's exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada.  She went on the hike after being raped in his first year of college.  The story is not only about the hike but about her survival and growth from teenager to young adult.

I picked up the Orphan Train at a second hand shop.  The book is about trains that ran between 1854 and 1929 from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children to be adopted or fostered.       

Both of these stories are based on true events. I would recommend both of them if you are at all interested in the subjects.  Though I cannot say either of the books were my all time favourite reads, they both taught me something.

Last week I attended an educational seminar on health matters and I learned so much. I took many notes and all of it will come in very handy this year. In fact, I have already started to put the knowledge to work to try and improve my health and wellness. That is always a goal of mine and every few months I tweak what I am doing to try and keep moving forward in a positive way. While I was at the seminar, I met a retired teacher who invited me to join the University Women's Club. I haven't given an answer yet but I know the club is on it's annual membership drive and will be until late next month.  I've actually considered joining this group before.  The membership dues are rather high and I already participate in a number of similar activities through free groups (or groups that charge a very nominal fee).  Whenever there is such a  large expenditure of funds involved (I'm talking hundreds of dollars annually in  membership dues alone), I always think the money could be better spent on  missions needs in Kenya. Especially now that the Canadian dollar is so lacking in strength on the world market.

A big part of  my focus this year will be on health and wellness.  This is true every year because I have a number of chronic health issues.  Mostly on this blog, I address the diabetes issue just because it is all consuming condition and eats up a lot of my time (no pun intended). As I begin the new year, I'm studying a lot of health and nutrition information; both from the seminar I went to last week and from a fitness consultant I 'met' on line last year.  I've also made a good start on using and applying the information I've learned.

Food shopping is a big part of health and wellness management and anyone who runs a household (whether it's a household of one or a household of several)  knows that it is very time consuming to manage all the household needs. Shopping is a big part of managing the household and with the ever increasing prices of food and the falling loonie (Canadian dollar coin), it becomes more time consuming and challenging to shop healthy and eat well.

Just last week I discovered that the celery I'd purchased a came to almost $5 for the bunch and it wasn't even organic!  I purchased it without even looking at the price because celery is something I use a lot.  The situation has become so alarming that the local news station did a story or two about the skyrocketing prices. I like to purchase multiple varieties of vegetables each and every week as well as fruits so I'm going to be more adventurous and change what I eat slightly since I'll mostly be buying those things that are on sale.  There is only so much I will pay for a particular vegetable or fruit or meat for that matter.  So far I've been managing to do most of the shopping for a reasonable amount of funds each week.  It takes a lot of planning and effort to shop the sales but I enjoy this part of the week as long as I'm not too rushed in the doing of it. It is also a time when I usually check to see what bills need to be paid.I can't complain too loudly because I read in internet news very recently that  3 out of 10 Kenyans (mostly those in rural areas) do not get a daily meal. I'm still eating daily and that is a blessing so nothing to complain about here but there are adjustments that must be made.

I've also been looking into sources of cashew nuts and almond nuts so I can begin making my own cashew and almond milk. The nuts will be raw and organic so it is quite a splurge for me in terms of costs since nuts have to be imported.  Given the long drought in California the nuts have to be imported from Asia.  Some of you may remember that I tried making brown rice milk last year.  It turned out okay but I wasn't a big fan of it and it took too long because the rice must be cooked first.   With cashew and almond milk you simply soak the nuts first though some people don't soak them at all.  I purchased a Vitamix blender last year to make smoothies, flours and nut milk.  So far I've made a lot of blended green smoothies but haven't yet tried making nut milks or flours. I've cut down on the baking (a lot) due to the need to manage my blood glucose levels better.

The other place I practice careful shopping is at the local pharmacy. I've been making sure I only buy those things I really need but also looking for those things that will get me a lot of in store points.  By doing this I managed to get 4 free movies tickets last week. A friend and I went to see the  movie "Brooklyn". I enjoyed it but it turned out rather differently than I was expecting. It's always a good thing when a movie or book isn't overly predictable.  Movies are another luxury so I try to get as many free tickets as possible. I have a points card so that when I go to movies I get a few points for it and if I purchase concession foods I get a few points there too. Eventually I get enough points to go to a "free" movie. I tend not to buy concession foods because they aren't healthy but now and then I treat my niece to a movie and I must buy her popcorn or she will throw a hissy fit, lol. When I went to the movie with my friend, I took some hot tea in a thermos and some home made popcorn with nutritional yeast for flavouring. I also took an apple and protein bar as it would be awhile before dinner.

For all my careful shopping at the pharmacy I accumulated enough points to spend $195 (Canadian) in store. It took a few months to accumulate the points but now that I have them I will use half to purchase health supplements as needed and the other half to purchase daily/weekly items (milk, eggs, bread, toilet paper, etc.).

The weekend saw me doing some minor alterations.  A top I'd purchased with Christmas money gifted by a friends had some loose beading on the bodice which needed tacking down.  The top is actually too large but it was on clearance so I bought it. I sewed the sides in and made the armholes a bit smaller.  It feels much better now though there is still plenty of give in the fabric. I do tend to shop on clearance items mainly these days so I also managed to purchase a summer dress and some earrings with the same Christmas money gift.  Again, the dress doesn't quite fit and will need a few simple alterations. I've already made great use of the earrings as they match the beading on my top (as in the photo below).  The top looks a bit wild but it is a great summer top and matches so many plain coloured items I already have in my wardrobe.

Early in the week I plan to go fabric shopping to make some more dresses for my mother.  It was Fall 2015 when I made her 2 dresses (2 tops and 2 skirts) but I find the dresses are a little too baggy in the front area.  I want to make some that fit better. I always ask her for her colour choices and try and buy them if they are available.  This time she has selected purple and turquoise for 2 separate dresses.

Now I leave you with some sky photos I took on a beautiful day late last week. In fact, I was on my way to the movie. I could not believe that the trees were already beginning to bud.  We've had a lot more sunny days this winter than we usually have and now the weather too is quite warm during the daylight hours.

In case it isn't so obvious why I titled this post "The Beautiful Days of January", it is because I feel great about the slower pace and good process I'm making on a number of fronts. I'm also very happy with the weather we've been having.
I also have great news that the Pokot man that was injured by 3 black mamba snake bites is now doing much better and ready to be released from hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. Jonah of Missions of Hope, Kenya had to return to the hospital for a check up a week after release and was able to get an in person update from the man.

The Pokot man's hospital bill is enormous and he cannot pay it. Neither can I help him.
But he is still so very appreciative that I was able to send the deposit which enabled him to get medical treatment and save his leg. He is believing for some miracle from the hospital concerning the hospital bill.
 I like his positivity and optimism.
 ~~~
How about you dear reader?
How is your January going?
Are things progressing well?

What about on the food front?
Have you too noticed the high cost of food and how are you managing to deal with it?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

A Few Perspectives on the Sky

These first two photos were taken in East Vancouver. The first photo is taken on West Hastings Street. I noticed the medicine wheel on the side of the building and the decorative "feathers" hanging down. I think this is a health center of some kind.

The second photo was taken at a skytrain (light rapid transit) station. I was trying to capture the crescent moon in both but didn't have a zoom lens with me. In fact I just used my phone camera for these shots as I was on the way to meet a friend and didn't have time to get out the larger camera.

This last photo was taken the day before yesterday in Timboroa, Baringo County of Kenya. 

This county is located in the Rift Valley Province. If you can pinpoint Eldoret on the map below you travel in a southeasterly direction to get to Timboroa (just past the Burnt Forest which is not on the map). Find Kericho Town on the map and travel in a northeasterly direction. From Nakuru, you would drive in a northwesterly direction.It is a few hours drive and about half way to Eldoret.

 It looks to be a warm day with a bit of cloud haze.

Photo Credit: Jonah, Missions of Hope:  Timboroa, Kenya

Joining in with Skywatch Friday today
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

A Shakey Start to the New Year 2016

The start to the New Year 2016 has been a bit nice and a bit not so nice.

First I start with the nice bit.

I closed the year by attending my first ever performance of The Nutcracker.  Though I expected it to be good it was even nicer than I expected with all the beautiful costumes, sets and classical music. I think my favourite part was all the scenes with the Snow Czarina in them. She was beautiful and danced all on pointe.  She made look so elegant and graceful but I was thinking "Ouch!"

Of course I couldn't take photos during the performance but here are a few shots taken just before show time and during intermission.

There was a good crowd considering it was New Year's Eve Day. There were still a lot of good seats in one section of the Orchestra.

Only a few members in the orchestra pit.

I hadn't noticed these beautiful chandeliers when I went to the BC Ballet in late Fall.

The final bows were taken.

Now on to a not so nice event.

Two nights later as I was thinking of heading to sleep, the entire area from Victoria on Vancouver Island to Vancouver and south of us, experienced a moderate earthquake.

It was like several shakes of the building, then one loud shake which felt like the entire building was lifted and "plunked" down hard. At the same time as the hard "plunk" a very loud bang occurred. It took 5 minutes on Twitter to establish that it really was an earthquake and another hour for the local television news to start broadcasting. I took that time to locate my emergency kit (how prepared was I?!!) went through it and added some clothes and tried to decide what to do.

I stayed up for another 3 hours before deciding that things had settled down.  I'd heard on the news that the quake was not along the fault line that goes all up and down the coast from Alaska down past California.  Aapparently California had experienced an earthquake of about the same strength several hours earlier.

That is how things started off in my part of the world this New Year's.

Across the world in Kenya where I do a lot of missions work some of you will remember the widow from Mauche, Kenya who recently lost her husband. If you haven't read about it yet you can read more here.

My friend and work mate, Jonah from the Missions of Hope, Kenya, had just finished helping this widow and another young man get medical treatment.  Immediately thereafter he had to rush home and help out with an Initiation Feast

About 16 young Kalenjin boys had just completed their initiation rites. This is a time when young teen boys go away in the bush for one month. There they are taught and guided in the cultural ways, wisdom, rules of personal behavior and cultural rites. The initiation rites are a rite of passage when the boys are also circumcised and after the passing of knowledge they are considered young men who know their place in society.

Once their training is finished, they gather together with family members and community and have a time of feasting and celebration before they make their ways home and back to school.

These are some of the young boys in white shirts, their mentors in purple shirts & family members.

Immediately after the initiation homecoming, Jonah and a team of volunteers went to Pokot country on another feeding mission. They go about once a month and they generally go to different Pokot communities each time.  The first person they came across was this emaciated, elderly woman in the photo below.  She touched their hearts so much and the team members were glad to be able to feed her and several other needy people.

Everything was going well during the Pokot missions outreach but tragedy struck on the 2nd night.

Jonah and a Pokot man who was hosting him were both bitten by a poisonous black mambo snake.  This is probably the most dangerous of the snakes in Kenya and people often die from it's bite.  The Pokot people immediately tried to suck out the venom from these two men and administer traditional herbs.  But these men urgently needed to get to hospital which was many hours away. Someone had to drive all night from Eldoret (located several hours south) to fetch the man and take them to the nearest hospitals.

Jonah was driven to the missions hospital in the small community of Kapsowar where he was immediately attended to and given good treatment.  The Pokot man was taken to Eldoret but we lost touch with him and what was happening.

In Kapsowar the hospital staff did what they could.  But their equipment is a bit outdated and could not detect whether venom remained in Jonah's leg. It seemed likely that venom remained because he was unable to walk or stand and he wasn't healing as expected.

He humbly asked if he could be transferred to a bigger hospital.  Of course, being a a matter of life or death or loss of limbs, it was imperative that he be moved to a larger centre. As he could not walk or stand and he had no family or friend there to escort him he had to go by ambulance.  It took almost another day before an ambulance could pick him up and transport him to the City of Eldoret.  Once in Eldoret, the leg situation was quickly stabilized and improved tremendously.  The equipment was able to pinpoint the venom remaining in the leg. We give thanks as he is now able to walk again and medical staff are ensuring his blood doesn't clot. I'm not certain how long he will need to be in hospital.

The good thing is that Jonah is now in the same hospital as the Pokot man though they on different wards.  It seems the Pokot man unfortunately had not been given medical aid because he doesn't have insurance and he doesn't have any money to pay a deposit.This often happens to poor Kenyans and many of them die while waiting for medical assistance or their conditions radically deteriorates because they cannot come up with funds.

This goes on despite the government officials making public announcements that no Kenyan should be denied medical treatment for lack of funds.  Hospitals have been told that they should administer treatment and worry about billing later. This however is not the practice on the ground.

The poor man had been suffering and in pain for almost a week!  He needed immediate medical help otherwise he was in real danger of losing his leg.  As soon as I heard this I came up with the deposit.  That night the man had successful surgery.  I'm praying for his full recovery so that use of leg is not impaired.

He is very grateful for my help.  Apparently, I have been repaid by him in the form of two goats which are back in his home area.  I intend on letting him keep his goats as he will likely need them to try and pay the hospital bill.  I am just happy he didn't lose his leg. Life is so very hard for these people.  It would be even harder on one leg.  Medical supports are almost non-existent especially in the isolated areas.  It is hard enough to get medical supports like wheelchairs or crutches when you live in the big cities like Nakuru and Nairobi.

Unfortunately the people In Pokot villages live so far from medical help.  Even if they lived closer to fully equipped hospitals, they don't have ready cash on hand to pay for deposits and medicines.  In Kenya you must pay a deposit (which can be quite substantial depending on what treatment you require) before you get any medical treatment (even though the government says otherwise).

I am grateful that both of these men's lives were spared. Jonah suffered one snake bite which was painful and debilitating.  But the Pokot man suffered three snake bites. Both of men are very lucky to be alive.  The longer you are away from medical help, the less likely you are to survive. I think they might have died if the local people did not try and help to suck out the venom and give traditional herbs because it took at least 8 hours for Jonah to get to a hospital and the Pokot man at least 12 hours as Eldoret is even farther away.  Apparently snake bites are very common in the Pokot (northern) areas of Kenya.  The hospital in Kapsowar sees these kind of patients regularly and while Jonah was there as a patient many of those admitted had snake bite injuries.

Thankfully Jonah has medical insurance and it is quite extensive (and good coverage).  But he still has to pay for everything out of pocket (ambulance, hospital accommodation, drugs, doctor, nursing, x-rays, etc.).  He has to save all receipts and make application for reimbursement.

This will be his first attempt to try and get money back from the government for medical purposes.  I'm praying that they do really reimburse him. In Kenya you can never be sure of what is going to happen where government agencies are involved.  If you are reading this, please pray for these two men and their financial needs.

Well my friends, we just never know what is around the corner.

It could be good or it could be bad.

Though my year has started off on shaky ground, quite literally,

I'm hopeful that much better things are ahead.

I'm also grateful that there was no big damage done.

I  give praise that these two men did not die
Through God's grace and man's medical wisdom, both of them will live another day.
Hopefully they both will have many happy years to come but they need continued prayer for full recovery.

~~~~~

God bless you and keep all of you and give you a good start to your new year.

Photo Credits: Mine and are all taken with phone. The last two photos belong to Jonah of Missions of Hope.

Last Trip in December

My brother and I made the journey to spend Christmas with our mother.

We left early in the morning but not too, too early. 

The sun was rising.

But over the water there was a bit of fog.

Near the City of Chilliwack you could see the sun rays peeking through the clouds.

I always love the approach into Merritt as seen in photo below.

As we got north of Merritt, the sky was a glorious colour and the sun was brightly shining. It was a perfect winter day.

The weather was still nice as we arrived in Kamloops.

Here is the view from my hotel's breakfast room the next morning.

I enjoyed watching these ducks on the river while I read the paper and ate breakfast.

I also enjoyed the big bear and the beautiful Christmas tree.

On Boxing Day (December 26th) it started snowing in the mid afternoon.  It snowed all night long.
The hotel which was very quiet the day before filled up during the snow storm as travellers sought the safety off the roads.

The next morning after visiting mom one last time, we headed back to the big city.  The snow abounded everywhere.

Just outside of Merritt, this is what the sky looked like.  I like the way the sun is trying to shine through the cloud cover.

The overnight snowfall made everything look like a winter wonderland and it continued snowing for the entire return journey except for the last hour of our trip.

We were travelling on Sunday and the traffic back to the city was very heavy.  I guess most people had to work on Monday.

It was rather chilly in the mountains. The roads had just been plowed so all was good as far as driving was concerned.

Right around Langley City the traffic slowed right down and there was long line of immobile cars. We turned on the radio to find out why.  Fortunately the radio announcer immediately mentioned that there had been an accident and that the last of the line up was being cleared. Thankfully we were barely detained and the traffic started moving again.

I am always glad to travel; especially to see mom.  But I'm equally always glad to get home.

The next morning, I was greeting by a sunny snowy scene (final photo).
It has been bright and sunny since then and quite cold.

 I have a long faux fur coat and that has kept me warm. I don't get a chance to wear it often but now and then it comes in handy.

Over this coming week the weather forecast is for a bit of rain, a bit of sunshine and some snowy days too.

I've been enjoying the break in our weather.  Usually we get long rainy days which can sometimes last weeks without a break though the last few years the weather is not normal.  The national meteorologist says "expect the unexpected".

I hope you enjoyed my picture tour. 

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.

I look forward to your visits and your comments and to visiting your blogs in the coming year.

Blessings.
Joining up with Our World Tuesday this week
and
for the first time, I'm also joing Mersad's Through My Lens meme.

Thanks for stopping by.

Note: All photos taken with my phone except for the last one taken with my Sony camera.

Time for New Beginnings

Time for New Beginnings. . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Addison, Blue Mountain Arts, 1989 

This is a time for reflection as well as celebration.

As you look back on the past year and all that has taken place in your life,

Remember each experience for the good that has come of it and for the knowledge you have gained.

Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have reached.

Remember the love you have shared and the happiness you have brought.

Remember the laughter, the joy, the hard work, and the tears.

And as you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of the new one to come.

Because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings and the celebration of life.

Year End 2015

Hello friends,

It is almost Christmas and I hope you've been enjoying yourself so far.

This will be my last post until after Christmas as I will be spending the intervening days with family and friends.

As I close out the year and reflect back on things, I realize I didn't get to do many of the things that were on my 'to do' list.  This year was also the first year in some time that I did not write out my goals for the year and post them on my blog. I  posted my goals for several straight years and then reviewed them in a post at the end of each year.  But last year I felt I wanted to have a more leisurely year.   I did have a leisurely year in the sense that I did not pressure myself to "perform" but my goodness the year was absolutely non-stop busy and I had some "hits" and "misses" in terms of progress.

Probably the biggest thing I did not get around to doing this year was to travel to Kenya.  There are a number of good reasons for  delaying my trip which I won't go into. I still hope that I will travel there soonest but am not quite sure when. The delays were out of my control but I believe there is a reason and a season for everything and I am certain that when I do get to Kenya I will enjoy my trip immensely.

Since I did not get a chance to travel to Kenya it was a highlight for me to host the Kenyan Boys Choir to dinner one Autumn night while they were on tour in Canada. Meeting these fine young men gave me a chance to learn about their hopes and dreams and their achievements thus far.  It gave me such a thrill to know that Kenya's future is in very good hands with such fine young men as these.  They had a long tour in North America and returned home in middle of this month. Right at this moment they are at Diani beach on Kenyan's beautiful coast. They will be giving their final performance of the year on December 24th, 2015 before returning to Nairobi to spend the rest of their holidays with family and friends.

Beyond not travelling to Kenya, I didn't get to undertake a number of personal tasks (unnamed) and I did not get a number of craft projects done or books read.  All of this is okay as they items are really targets to keep me moving forward rather than firm goals that must be accomplished.  In terms of reading, I've manged to complete 35 of  the 45 books I planned to read. I'm currently on my 36th book called Girl in the Woods but doubt I will read another 9 books before the end of the year.

In terms of craft work, I still haven't finished my African hexagon flower crochet blanket.  But I did manage to get some sewing done for my mother (2 dresses, 2 tops, 2 skirts 3 full length slips) and finish 20 knitted dishcloths.  The dishcloths I've been using are getting rather old and it was time for some new ones. The dishcloths are also great little gifts at Christmas and for birthdays.  One new craft or hobby I learned this year was  making bar soap.  This was a long standing wish which was finally achieved even though it wasn't planned.  After taking my workshop 3 weeks ago, I was finally able to pick up my 2 bars of soap yesterday. I look forward to using them in the New Year.
.

In the Spring and Summer I managed to put in the garden once again.  I hosted my niece for her annual visit and celebrated my nephew's graduation from the Bachelor of Arts Program before seeing him off for his much anticipated European vacation.

In the heat of the summer I was a tourist in my city and attended the Bloedel Conservatory and the Van Dusen Gardens which was a real delight.  The end of summer saw me preparing a small birthday dinner for my mother.  Of course visiting my mom several times throughout the year is always on my agenda and it takes considerable time, effort and energy to prepare for each trip.  There is always sewing and multiple shopping expeditions in advance to make sure she has everything she requires until the next time I can pay her a visit. Christmas holidays and sometimes her birthday,  are the times of year when spend an extra day or two visiting her rather than making a day trip.  On these special occasions we can have a nicer visit.

In the Autumn I had the pleasure of enjoying several cultural events after a long period of hiatus from attending any. I got to a performance of contemporary ballet and a couple events with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.  I will round out the year by attending my first (and likely only) performance of "The Nutcracker".  This year I enrolled in a short class in Spanish which I enjoyed very much.   I hope to continue with the language lessons when I have more time on my hands.

This year I had a huge project which occupied much of my time. I helped a friend build a house and do it on a budget. Actually the project wasn't to build a house from scratch but to renovate it, adding a bedroom, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen.  I would say this project met with some success but the house isn't quite complete. There are still closets to be built in the bedrooms and the kitchen cupboards need to be finished as well.  My part in the matter was helping find materials and suggesting things such as indoor and outdoor paints, tiles, bathroom fixtures and faucets. My advice was only partially accepted.  I guess that is understandable since the house is not mine! I hope my friend enjoys the house for years to come.  I found it fun to be involved in the project and it was all a learning experience for me.

Autumn arrived & I thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful weather & photo opportunities.

Autumn of 2015 also saw me spending a bit of time enjoying our beautiful Autumn foliage and taking a lot of photos.  I also got around to cleaning out some clutter and trying to find ways to better contain my "stuff".  I purchased a few helpful aids like these trolleys on wheels (in the photo).   I admit that I didn't get the bathroom sorted yet.  I got distracted with other things.  This will be a carryover project to the new year.

The rest of the year  was busy with trying to keep on top of my health challenges and get some much needed dental work done.  I had plenty of  to-ing and fro-ing to the laboratory for tests, various eye specialist appointments, some much needed dental work (which continues) and my first colonoscopy. I continue to spend a lot of time trying to eat right and get healthier. It is a never ending task with some setbacks and a few  successes.  I don't want to dwell on any of it right now as this post is already too long.  I just want to say am grateful for the small successes I have had and hope to have more in the year to come.

For those of you who read me on a regular basis, you will know that my heart is in missions work in Kenya.  There is always tremendous opportunity to help others and I've been heavily invested in ministry to communities there as well as to individuals.

There were several missions to feed the hungry in the Pokot territories in Kenya. I've written about those initiatives on this blog from time to time.  Some of the photos below are from my earlier posts about these missions trips.

 

Opportunities to minister to individuals were also very present in 2015.  There was one young man who had TB and diabetes was near death.  We got him into a hospital where he received good care and convalesced for several weeks.  He had to be quarantined due to the TB but since he has been out he has  been rehabilitated to the point where he now has a job. He is also on medication to control his diabetes. This is very costly for a villager.  But I am hoping that the cost will be significantly reduced in the New Year due to a Kenyan government health initiative to make medicines more affordable for the poor.

I assisted one young man to get out of jail and get some medical helps. Even though he had a job he started abusing substances and was in great  need of intervention.  This is a very sad story because the young man is very bright but has issues stemming from childhood traumas which he has yet to deal with and accept.  His single mother works so hard to support the family.  It is hard to say what will become of him.  I am hopeful that the medical help and counseling he received will go some way toward helping him change his direction in life and get on a good path.

Then there were the two women who required hospitalization when they were about to give birth.  In a very sad turn of events, one of the women lost her child and ended up in hospital for a long time because we did not have the funds to clear her bill.  Some of my readers were able to assist with the hospital bill but in the end the family had to sell their cow in order to fully clear the bill and be released.

Another of the women was from west Pokot area needed urgent medical attention due to fistula (complications from female genital mutilation). We were able to get the woman the help she needed and back home again despite several twists and turns which including the highway to her home being washed away due to El Niño rains. Both of these woman are now home in their respective villages and doing as well as can be expected.

Who could forget baby Fidelis and her need to get to Canada for surgery?  Baby Fidelis and her mother had a rocky start getting to Canada due to a man who allegedly misappropriated money raised for the baby's travel needs.  Fortunately, the President of the nation and several high level government officials heard of the baby's plight and intervened. The baby underwent successful surgery last month after months of preparation at the children's hospital in Toronto. Baby Fidelis and her mom will be returning to Kenya very soon.  If I am able to get some new photos showing what she looks like after healing, I will share them in a future post.

The help required in Kenya isn't always medical and food related. though food and medical needs are my personal priorities especially where widows and orphans are concerned.  A close runner up is education and training because that can enable people to become self-sufficient.  Two young men needed assistance this year:  one to get vocal training lessons to further his already popular career as a singer. Finding a vocal coach isn't as straight forward as it sounds. First there is the high cost involved.  Then there are the issues of  time and distance issues so technology is a huge factor in enabling lessons to be taken from afar.  This poses cost and access issues for the student in Kenya.  I did manage to find one Los Angeles option which we are now trying for several months to evaluate effectiveness. What the young man needs is professional feedback and he should be able to get some through a process of video exchange.  Another young man is a student in his final year at a university in Nairobi. Once he finishes his Bachelor's degree he hopes to continue his studies in Canada.

Japheth (Left) at his recent ordination.

Last, but not least, there is the woman who lost her husband about 2 weeks ago and left totally adrift both financially and emotionally. With limited resources, we managed to build her a house and buy seeds for a garden, take the family of mother and 3 children to the big city of Nakuru for medical check up, get medicine for the baby who had tonsillitis, buy maize, beans and flour for the family to have food until the mother can make a few shillings.

The poor child baby was crying a lot due to a lot of swelling in the neck. He also had difficult to talk and needed soft food so we bought some milk and bread for the baby to eat while recovering from tonsillitis with medicine.  Thankfully one pastor friend, named Japheth, provided my friend, and this family a place to lodge when they unexpectedly had to stay overnight in the city while waiting for the doctor to examine the baby. .  Japheth may also have contributed to the doctor bill because the overnight stay in hospital was not expected and would have meant a much higher bill.  Last, but not least, the mother and her 3 children moved into their new home on Monday about 10 kilometres from where they were living in a rented home.  We needed to hire transportation to move them and their few belongings.
 

Here is a long shot of the house. The corn field to the left  of the house belongs to neighbours.

We didn't have enough funds to purchase any chickens for eggs, material for a chicken coop or goats.  The mother would have preferred goats to chickens so her baby and 2 other children could have fresh milk to drink.  It would also have been nice to buy some blankets and a few mattress or two so the family doesn't have to sleep on the dirt floor.   It has been cold and raining in many parts of Kenya due El Niño.  It is difficult to keep warm when there is no heating in the homes. See here for some photos of what it looks like when it rains.

In the end we built the family a wooden home instead of a tin home because a tin home can be quite cold when it rains.  The wood is treated to prevent rot and termite destruction (they get a lot of termites in Kenya) and sits on concrete (not a basement) perimeter.  I though the builders did a good job of building this modest house.

Close up of the house. We bought a lock to safeguard the premises.

You can see that the area where the new house is situated has a lot of forest and is on a hillside.  You can also see some of the trees in the front and back of the house which have been cut down to make way for the building.  To the far right of the photo you will see the newly turned garden.
 
There may be others of you who would like a chance to help this mother as she isn't quite set up yet. 
Outstanding needs include:

-  more beans, maize, cooking oil, flour, drinking water
-  1-2 goats 
-  2-4 chickens
-  materials for chicken coop
-  feed for chickens
-  mattresses & blankets
-  school needs (uniforms, shoes, books) 
-  paraffin or solar lamp (light source).  

You can reach me at kerichojoy[at]gmail[cot]com

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Let me take this time to wish each of you a very

Merry Christmas

I pray for peace, joy and love in your life over the season and for all your loved ones too. God bless. xox