August Youth Conference in Nairobi

Wow is the best word to describe the 2010 "Count Me In" August Youth Conference in Nairobi!

Once again the event was held at the Clarence Matheny Ministry Center and this year there were over 600 youth from all across the nation.

Our group traveled the farthest distance (arriving some 10 hours after leaving Rongo) and if you've never taken public transportation with 30 kids in Kenya, well let me just say that the journey is part of the experience!

We were abundantly blessed during the 5 day event that consisted of daily teaching & breakout sessions and outdoor activities. A major highlight for our kids was when the CML soccer team made it's way to the football (soccer for our American readers) finals. This competition, provided us a chance to shout and cheer for our team and to learn a "God lesson".

Out sized and outnumbered by the other teams, someone said "we look like grasshoppers next to them". They were bigger and better equipped.... and standing next to our smaller kids, most of whom didn't even have shoes, I have to admit even my heart sank for a moment.

It was a great opportunity however to remind ourselves that God doesn't look at outward appearances but instead looks at our heart, our willingness, and our faithfulness. This is something we have been trying to teach our youth and were now getting a chance to apply in real life.

So -we encouraged our players to dedicate themselves and the game to the Lord with the goal of glorifying Him in how they played and to believe that with God all things are possible. We likewise encouraged the cheerleaders to continue cheering no matter how far down the score was and to not loose hope. And so they did. We were down several times but never defeated and went on to overcome the odds and in the end took 2nd place over all!!!

God is Good...all the time!

Odds and Ends.

Is this Discipleship?

What does discipleship look like? In the first picture below our youth help build a home and in the second picture some local children watch The Lion King in our living room Is this discipleship?

Jesus had a couple of things to say about discipleship. He told us to "love one another" as He loved us and that by doing so, the world would know we were His disciples. He also said to "go make disciples of all nations.... teaching them everything He had commanded".

So it seems we are to both "be" disciples and "make" disciples. Relationship is a requirement for both and relationship simply requires love, giving of one's time, honesty, openness and a willingness to teach and be taught. You don't have to be a Pastor, have a degree or be super spiritual.

In the CML Ministry, we have formal discipleship sessions and teachings but we've found that the discipleship with the most impact is done in the midst of day-to-day life. How we live our lives, make decisions, share our resources and chose to spend our time teaches those watching more than words ever will.

Chicken Project and Garden

Our chicken project is growing daily and we have gone from the 2 chickens we started with (Fred & Ginger) to well over 100.

This Project will help feed the youth that visit the CML Center through out the year and is also being used to teach responsibility and basics principals of business and agricultural management. With most eggs in our area imported from some distance away, we have a dream of one day selling eggs on a large scale to help raise money for the ministry and kids in school.

Below, work begins on the new chicken house that we hope to have completed within the next few days.

Our garden is also growing. Weekly the youth weed, water and tend the garden and we are eating the fruit of our hand. We also thank God for a great maize harvest. Maize and sukumawiki are staple foods which we eat daily.

Here you can see the sukuma and a few banana trees and below some of our maize.

A well for CML

Water is an essential of life, and you can imagine how much we use when there are 30 or 50 kids staying with us bathing and washing cloths! Yet our compound has never had a permanent on-site source of water. Up to now we have caught rain water in tanks or gone some distance to a spring for water. All that is about to change.

Recently we started digging a well (by hand) and are excited to report that we've reached water at 35 feet! There is still a need to dig further, cement top and part of the inside and of course get a pump... but we're "well" on our way!

Youth Conference

Sunday night (Aug 3rd) we leave with 30+ kids for Nairobi to attend the 2nd Annual East African Youth Conference. Please pray for us and all the youth attending and also be in prayer for the staff at Clarence Matheny Ministries who host the event and the visiting mission team from Convergence Church in TX, who are facilitating and sponsoring the Conference.

Kennedy

Kennedy is 16 years old and has been battling chronic osteomyelitis since 2006. This re-occurring bone infection has left him with limited use of his left leg, stunted growth and caused him to miss much school. After taking him to Kisii hospital for test and X-ray's we were told that surgery to clean the bone and repair damage to his knee was the only way to save his leg. His mom, a widow, has no financial means to speak of and the cost was way beyond what our budget would allow. Non of this dampened his hope for the future however nor our belief that God could work a miracle.

That faith was rewarded this week when Kennedy was admitted to Nyabondo Rehabilitation Center, where he will receive the much needed surgery on Monday. Three times a year visiting surgeons travel to this remote area (Nyabondo is about 2 hours from us) to volunteer their time and services FREE to those with disabilities that are unable to afford medical treatment.

Lord we thank you for the love you have shown this young man and we thank you for those who serve you and help others through the giving of their time, skills and finances!

Library

The books are stamped and marked and the room is ready. More bookshelves are on the way and soon the unofficial library will become official!

New Granddaughter

And finally, we have to brag about our newest granddaughter, Addison Emilia Sharpe. Born July 30th, we think she is just beautiful! Congratulations Alex and Brittany!

Kenya gets a new Constitution

Less than 12 hours after the polls closed in Wednesday’s referendum in Kenya, provisional results showed supporters of a new constitution headed for a landslide win.

According to results from the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), the Yes side had 4,141,521 votes (67 per cent) against the No camp's 2,054,946 (33 per cent).

For Kenya as a country, a Yes vote is a form of national redemption. In December 2002, Kenya became the first country in the wider Eastern Africa where an opposition ousted a long-ruling party through a democratic vote.

But the euphoria soon dissipated as the opposition coalition descended into bickering and the same kind of corruption that had discredited the Moi regime. The post-election violence that followed the December 2007 poll, enveloped Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, in a cloud of despair and self-doubt.

With this referendum, the interim election commission organised easily the most efficient and open vote in Africa. And, after being caught asleep on the job last time, this time the security services left nothing to chance.