The November Team and their Work

Hello, Everyone,

As promised, we are sharing the trips from November, December and January. This story will be of the November team.  Three extraordinary people went on this trip.  Here are some highlights from their mission trip.

First, meet the team.

Meet Karen and Richard Farrand.  Richard is our former pastor, who is now retired but continues to teach Sunday School and do mission work.  Karen has a degree in  Christian Counseling and is a former Bible Study Fellowship Leader.  She also continues to teach and do mission work.  Richard and Karen have spent years serving in Africa.  They have been to Nigeria, Ghana,  Malawi, and Zambia.  They are due to return to Zambia in September for a two month rotation .  Richard and Karen were the people we shared with when we felt the call to serve in Kenya.  They and Sunset Beach Community Church supported the efforts to purchase land and drill a borehole for the community.  They traveled with us to Kenya, in 2013 and it was awesome to have them back to see all that God has done in the interim.

And this is Tammy Mokma.  Tammy learned of this trip in Richard's Sunday School class.  We were given her phone number.  We spoke by phone  and she booked her ticket the same day.  That tells you a bit about Tammy's personality and the fact that she let the girls braid her hair while she was there tells you the rest of the story.  She was the teacher to the little children.  She is energetic and taught with imagination and passion.  The kids learned a lot of good lessons.

We love how God puts teams together and how His will is done by groups that have special gifts...for Karen, teaching and counseling,  for Tammy, having bible lessons with the little girls and babies and in general being a friend to the teenage moms and older girls, and for Richard, preaching the word, sharing end-times prophecy and advising us and our staff.  Each team is unique and special and as usual we stand in awe as we see what God has done in His all-knowing way. We left Raleigh, NC on November 13th and landed in Kenya on November 14th, with quite  a long road trip ahead of us.  We arrived at our home and got unpacked and setted in.  We finally got to start our actual mission on Friday, November 15th .  We enjoyed our traditional trip to Promise Springs Rescue Center after a trip to Nyahururu for Richard to visit a dentist to have a crown replaced.  No travel is wasted if at all possible. While we were nearby,  we picked up one of our form four leavers after her last exam.  A form four leaver is the equivalent of a graduating senior in our country.

This is Rahab.  She is one of four form four leavers this year.  She was so excited to be finished but reserved in her expectations of the future.  She would only say, "We will see what my scores show."  You see, in Kenya, the form four leavers take a National Exam.  Their scores determine which schools they can attend and what courses best suit them.  It was such a pleasure to watch her as we drove away from her school for the last time.  She had a big smile.  Occasionally, she would take a deep breath much as we do when we know we have finished a job and done as well as we could.  We are so proud of all four of these girls.  Please pray for them as they eagerly embark on their future studies and careers.  Rahab will be attending Kenya Medical Training College to learn how to work in a medical records department in a  hospital.

The girls greeted us with singing and dancing, which has become their custom when we have teams arrive.  This is only part of our group.  They go to different schools and arrive in a staggered schedule depending on the school they attend. They are always excited to greet the people who have come to serve them!

They take time to welcome the visitors and share a little about what happens at the Center.

On Saturday, November 16th, Karen and I were speakers at Kingdom Destiny Church's Virtuous Women Conference 2024.  This conference was held in a city about an hour and a half drive from our home.Karen has spent a lot of time studying end times prophecy.  She spoke on that topic.  These women are not taught this often.  I piggy-backed onto her theme and did a talk called "The Dash".  It focused on the Judgment Seat of Christ and how we should be living our lives daily.  We all need to be aware that  there is a  day in our futures when we will be accountable to Jesus for how we lived the lives He gave us here on earth.  We always take the girls along so they are able to learn and fellowship with other Godly women. Florah interpreted for Karen as she spoke. While Karen, Tammy and I were at the women's conference, Ken and Richard went to another church where Richard taught pastors.   He  took them  literally on a trip through the Bible with focus on end-times and how that should impact the way they live today.  He did this over and over in different locations throughout his time.  We are thankful that he planted these seeds to be looked at more closely by pastors in the areas where we serve.

Sunday, November 17th found us at The Gospel Church of Kenya, Wiyumiririe.  Richard continued to take the congregations through the Bible to end times.  This is Florah's home church and we try to visit as often as possible.The girls always are asked to share when we visit churches.  They love to sing and dance.  They performed to a song called Victory Chant  We all were impressed.  They taught the song to us before the team left.  In Kenya, worship is not the calm standing and singing of songs.  It is active with dancing and much animation.  Early on in our ministry, we worried a little about this but the words of their songs are reverent.  They are just more joyous in their worship and most Americans love it once they get accustomed to the change.The girl with the red sweater and braids is Sarah.  Sarah is musically inclined and you can see the joy on her face.  She writes her own songs.  They are very touching, thanking God for what He has done for her.Richard gave the sermon that day.  His interpreter was very dramatic and really enjoyed his job. Sunday afternoon, we  gathered under the gazebo to fellowship.  We answered any questions the girls had for the visitors and we got to ask them questions, too.  It was a blessed and sweet time, with lots of good topics and lots of giggling (maybe some embarrassment to the girls as their sisters from the center shared stories). They all take it in stride and we all laugh...a lot!!!Then we went inside to start learning the song and dance from church that morning.  Sabbaths at Promise Springs Rescue Center are truly times of fellowship and sharing.  

On Monday, November 18th, we were able to fall into somewhat of a routine.  We all stayed in our home, so we cooked and ate all together.  Did I mention that Richard was there to give advice?  Some of the best advice he shared with us after his years of living in African countries was to buy a toaster and a hot pot to heat water for washing food and dishes We have to wash all our food and dishes with boiled water and white vinegar to protect us from bacteria and keep us safe.  We were doing things camping style and he showed us ways to save time.  We acted immediately on the toaster and shortly after on the hot pot.  That was GREAT advice and quite a help to us at our home.

We started this Monday by joining the center staff for their weekly devotion and prayers.  It was such a sweet time of fellowship and worship!Then for our week, each day, Karen spent hours with the girls.  She taught them lessons on these topics: The Gospel and Who Christ Is; The Big Picture of Life to Eternity; Sanctification, How To Grow In Christ; Homosexuality; Forgiveness; and Spiritual Warfare.  She spent hours teaching, worshipping with new songs every day from the U.S.  and the girls shared their songs.  There was also a question and answer session each day.  Karen spent months preparing and praying over each girl to ready herself for this time.  She was patient, loving, kind.  All of our girls come from some type of traumatic background and this was a solid foundation for them to start on their healing process or remind them of what healing is based on...Jesus and His love for us.  During the course of her time, one of our girls asked Christ to become her Savior and we are still seeing changes in her today.  Meanwhile, in the early childhood development center, Tammy taught the little children and the smaller girls.  She taught on:  Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion's Den, Naaman, and The Paralytic Healed.  She had the children's attention each time I would walk over to check on them.  Our house mum, Loice, who is an early childhood development teacher, helped.  Loice and Tammy formed a strong friendship.  Tammy collected a lot of teaching material to leave with Loice to be used after her departure.  What a blessing that is!After the lesson, there was play time before lunch and nap.  Did I mention that Tammy was energetic?

In the afternoons, we did crafts or learned songs.We made pillows from pieces of cloth that were stuffed and then the edges only had to be tied into knots. The material was cut and made ready for the craft to go smoothly by Karen's bible study group.This was a great success and the pillows can still be found on the girls beds today.  The boys didn't mind making pillows either!We also made butterflies out of napkins and clothes pins!Well...the butterflies ended up being hair bows, for girls and staff...but imagination is a great gift!

I just did my normal work, checked on everyone and ran errands.  

AND Ken and Richard were EVERYWHERE doing EVERYTHING during the course of the week.  They took a tour of the Internally Displaced Peoples camp and while there, they met with a football (soccer) team formed by recovering addicts.  They did some advising and counseling.Richard may have tried to take a refresher course in riding a motorcycle and he may have been banned from that activity by his wife, me, and even Francis, the guard.They met with a group of younger boys in Florah's home.  They spoke with them about the temptations they would face in the course of their lives and how to make good choices.  These boys were encouraged to become an accountability group for each other.  When Ken and I were there in April, the group was still meeting and helping each other on their respective journeys.There may have been games of chess with Francis in the guise of helping him to learn?There were definitely more pastor's seminars...with happy students!Another teaching session in a different location!

Before Richard would agree to return to Kenya, he made us promise that he would not just be sitting being a tourist.  At the end of the trip, he agreed that we had kept our word.But not all work is work.  You can accomplish goals while playing.  The girls need male role models in their lives.  Ken and Richard did a great job of showing them what family oriented, God-centered men look like in every day life.

Evenings were spent in some very competitive card games but also in preparing for the next day.  Karen would go over her lessons.We would do dishes and prepare for crafts, in this case a way for the kids to make a rainbow.

Then Saturday, November 23rd came...and the event of the girls' week (probably) and surely one that Tammy will not soon forget.The braiding of the hair!  It took hours!  I am not exaggerating!  It took literally hundreds of beads.  I made two trips into the local village for beads.  The girls may have been a little overexuberant on these, but it was a once in a lifetime event.  

Sunday, November 24th, found Ken, Tammy and me at the local Baptist Church, where we met with the pastor to arrange for a future trip and Karen and Richard at Kingdom Destiny Church. Karen had been invited to give the same talk as she did at the Women's Conference.Pastor Gikonyo, who works with us is the Pastor there.  He interpreted for her.

That afternoon found us back at the center and this time the girls were teaching us...to do bead work.  They are good at it!  We quickly learned it takes patience and good eyesight.  We were slow learners to say the least.  And some of us added to the noise, confusion and the girls' delight by trying to play the traditional drums.  We all knew our time was coming to an end and we made each minute count.Back at home, we had a special celebration with Florah's family and the rescue boys.  They provided a cake to thank Richard, Karen and Tammy for their friendship and love.And we shared devotions in the light of lanterns because there was no electricity.

Monday, was a rainy day and our schedules were way off, but we made it to the center to say goodbyes.Karen with a last word of loving advice!Tammy with her last lesson, the healing of the paralytic.  The kids got to take turns carrying their friends to Jesus!And Richard to give his extra clothes to the male staff whom he had befriended...and to receive bracelets that the girls had made for him!  

Tuesday, November 26th was Safari Day!  Tammy had never been to Africa before so a Safari was a must.Baraka the rhinoceros was pleased to see her and let her pet him as  her a special treat.

On Wednesday, November 27th, this team left our home for the long trip to the airport and then the even longer flight back home.  What is special about this is it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  They sacrificed their normal Thanksgiving to go and teach girls, babies, and pastors in a faraway land.  We know they were exhausted as they returned, arriving mid-day on Thanksgiving Day and trying to celebrate.  We are so thankful and so are all the people they touched.

There is only one way to end this story:

1 Peter 4:10-11 "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

Next up the December and January teams combined!

Blessings to you all and thank you for your support and prayers!