Christmas Plans for 2014

Hello friends,

I hope you've all been doing well and keeping warm.

Since I last posted here it has been cold with a light snow fall some of which remains on the floor of my patio. It is rather early for us to have snow. Normally we have rain at this time of year but in late Fall we've been having a lot of sunshine and cold weather. It warms up when the rains fall.

A typical Kenyan village hut.

I have been under the weather again. I seem to be under the weather a lot during our rainy season. I get very tired and my body seems to be "fighting" off  a cold all the time. At least this year I haven't felt cold indoors as I often do and I'm so grateful for that. I'm working on improving my circulation and I think it's working.  One big noticeable difference is that my lower limbs aren't numb and cold as they usually are (more about all this in a future post).

I'm gearing up for Christmas both here and for sending Christmas cheer to Kenyans.  I've been discussing my ideas with my friends as to what we can do for the people in one village near Kericho and for internally displaced peoples in a small IDP camp.

My friend said that for 500 shillings (about $6.50 Canadian), we can buy rice, cooking oil & flour so that the people can make chapati (a type of Indian flat bread). This is the normal diet of the villagers. The hard part is they cannot always afford to eat a meal each and every day.  There are approximately 50 families in this one church in the village that  I would like to help. Total - $350.

These village ladies were so happy with the food supply on one of my Kenyan visits.

It would be nice to add a bit more money ($50)  so that some candy or sweets and sodas can be purchased. My friends could then call all the villagers together after church or on another day and distributes the food to the villagers in one central location.  The extra funds will provide a bit of a party/celebration.  Whether I can host a small party like this remains to be seen. TOTAL $400.

Children everywhere love a small treat especially when it is rare.

I also want to give about 10,000 shillings (approximately $130 Canadian) to a woman name Grace. She looks after about 20 orphans on her family compound.  She does it out of the goodness of her heart through her own funds as well as on land she has donated.  She has enormous needs for food and a better  dwelling for the children.  I can't help with the dwelling but I can help a bit with food this Christmas.  The funds will cover  3-4 weeks of very basic food needs. TOTAL NEED $130.

When I got to Kenya there were so many women that wanted to meet. Before arriving in Kenya my friends in Kenya helped coordinate the building of new jiko stoves for each household.

Last, but not least, are the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). They need many things.  My friend tells me that the ladies in particular need sanitary and hygiene products.  There is no water at the camp but there are latrines so disposable products need to be purchased.  These kinds of things are a real luxury for women and girls in so many Kenyan communities. Lack of such supplies affects girls and their education because they have to stay home at that time of the month. It also affects women who are often the sole economic providers for their families.  It will cost about $200 minimum to provide one or two month supplies for the girls and women in the camp.

This is one example of the difficult conditions of IDPs. It really is important to try and help them.

It would be good to provide the IDPs with a bit of food too. There are 28 families in the small IDP camp.  If we provide the same food as for the villagers, it will cost approximately $181.00. Canadian. It would also cost a modest sum to pay for fuel for those who will transport the goods to the camp ($13.00)  TOTAL $394.

The photo above shows the distribution to the IDP camp in Christmas 2013. You can see that some of them are so joyful.

I don't actually know if I can fund all the needs I've described but I would sure like to try.

I will simply ask each of you to pray for these needs to be met.

Some difficult decisions may need to be made about what can be funded and what can't. It is hard to make such decisions when you see the true needs that exist.

I'm hoping to an post a report here about the distributions once they are made. Timing for that will be closer to Christmas.

Decorations I made for mail exchange last year with Tammy in Texas.

In the meantime, I am preparing to visit my mom at Christmas and have a lot to do before then. Several family members will be joining me for the out of town journey. We expect to have a good time and my mother is looking forward to the visits.

Do any of you send cards anymore? I've cut way back. This year I'm not sure I'm organized enough to send cards on time.

My friend, her sister and I will attend one of the free showings of the Annual Singing Christmas Tree this year. This extremely popular concert is  performed by the good people of the Broadway Church in the city.

 

God bless you as you begin to prepare for your Christmas.

If anyone reading this wants to contribute to the needs I've described in Kenya, please let me know.

Stay safe and stay warm. 

Skywatching on Wednesday

Hi friends,

It's been busy around these parts. I'm sure you've all been very busy too, especially those of you preparing for Thanksgiving (USA) and Christmas (world).

This Christmas and in about a month's time, I will have a guest come and stay for a few days. I'm feeling the need to get cleaning and get organized though I probably won't really do much to get ready until the month begins. That is when I hope to put up the tree.  There have just been so many other things to do and the time has been flying by! I seem to say that time is "flying by" more and more. I wish it would slow down a bit.

Location: 5th Avenue & Burrard Street

This past month has been busy with lots of routine medical visits. Some are quarterly and some are annual but for some reason they all seemed to come along in the last month.  It's also a good time to try and plan ahead for extra medical costs like medical and dental and re-examine insurance plans to see how these help with the cost. That kind of thing. It takes time to do it all. One thing I haven't got to in ages is a dental visit. I haven't got a dentist anymore and keep putting off finding one. It is hard to find a good one who will work within the standard fees that are usually covered by the insurance company.  Also, my doctor reminded me last week that have two annual medical tests that I haven't done yet. I will have to find time for those.

It is not good to put things off and usually I don't but this year I just can't seem to squeeze enough hours out of a day.  We all have the same number of hours to work with. I'm always amazed at what some people manage to get done!  You have to have good time management skills and good health in order to get a lot done in the time you have.

You can see the beautiful blue in the sky in this photo.

Each week or alternate week, I manage to get together with at least one friend.  I have one friend who is especially good about scheduling regular get togethers so we get out often for a coffee and a chat or a to see a movie. This past week we went to see a movie about Professor Stephen Hawking called "The Theory of Everything".  It was based on a book written by his first wife. The movie was quite good as showed what a good sense of humour Professor Hawking has and it was also touching and inspiring at the same time. The movie is also about his first wife and what she had to deal with in taking care of her husband when they could not afford in home care giving help.  She was a woman of faith and I'm sure that helped her to carry on though that isn't the focus of the movie.  If you have a chance, go out and see the movie. It isn't about God as such but about Professor Hawking disease and how he managed a brilliant career in spite of it. One of the professor's quotes is, "While there is life, there is hope". That's a wonderful view of life for anyone.

On my way to the movie, I took a few moments to capture the sky in photos spread throughout this post. You can see we had a lovely day.  Even though it is the middle of November there are still leaves with glorious Fall colour on some trees. That day (Wednesday) the temperature had warmed up a lot and by 6 p.m., the usual Fall and Winter rains had started once again.

Enjoy the photos.

If you haven't already read my post about gearing up for Christmas in Kenya, you can read it here. 

I'd love to hear from you. 

I'm joining in with Skywatch Friday this week and Our World Tuesday. 
Have a wonderful week!