April Update

APRIL UPDATE

April isn't over yet, but so much has been going on we just couldn't wait to post an update!

We've had family members visit for the funeral of William's Aunt, finished Term 1 at the school, taught Bible Study classes, hosted the April Discipleship Camp, spent a day at the home of Collins Okoth and had Jullianne Waldrop from the U.S. visit with us for 2 weeks.

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!

Term 1 officially ended on April 4th, followed by two weeks of "tuition" (remedial classes). The kids have now gone home until May 2nd and we sure do miss their smiling faces. Before they left, our visitor Jullianne Waldrop, had a chance to help at the school - teaching Bible lessons, doing arts & crafts and teaching math and English. Below are few pictures.

Here Jullianne and the children are attending tuition do a "creative drawing" exercise. Even Madame Perez, the Head Teacher, participated!

This is Jim. Jim is actually too young to be in school but he was so cute & excited about drawing that we didn't have the heart make him leave. Jim is William's nephew and an orphan. His dad died a few years ago so Jim is now staying with us. When school starts back in May we'll enroll him in Baby Class.

Everyone was so proud of their art work and happy to show off their pictures!!

Besides doing a creative art class, Jullianne also taught the Bible Class one Friday.

Here she is sharing from scripture the story of Jesus welcoming the little children. She went on to talk about how He also knows and loves each of them. The students then made hearts to take home to remind them of how great His love is for them!

Below Prizier and the various classes display their hearts.

As you can see from the pictures it was a blessed time for all!

AWARDS DAY

Awards Day was held the last day of school to acknowledge those who have performed exceptionally well. Joined by students, teachers, parents and members of the community, William and I thanked them for their hard work and help in making the first Term a success.

Madame Perez leads the students in a song.

Parents and well wishers look on.

Below Jullianne Waldrop congratulates the top students and awards them a prize. We just loved this boys boots!

As a special treat all the students received toothbrushes and toothpaste compliments of ABC Family Dentistry in Greeneville, TN!

April Discipleship Camp

The CML Ministry holds Discipleship Camps 3 times a year and this April marked our our 11th Camp. The camps are always a favorite of the students - providing them opportunity to receive in-depth Bible teachings, develop critical thinking skills and practice their social skills.

Our theme was based on a Beth Moore Bible Study called "Believing God". The teaching sessions revolved around 5 Faith Based Statements; (1) God Is Who He Says He Is (2) God Can Do What He Says He Can Do (3) I Am Who God Says I Am (4) I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me and (5) God's Word Is Alive & Active In Me.

Here William is teaching about the "Attributes of God".

In this session I was speaking about "Moral Purity & Media".

Jullianne shared a personal testimony and encouragement during the session on "Relationships".

Between sessions the kids hang out and continue class discussions.

Lawrence enjoying a good laugh!

Everest read a poem he had written about loneliness.

Outdoor games were always preceded by warm up exercises. This may be what Lawrence was laughing at...lol!

Below -Brian, Everest, Charles, Jack & Collins lead praise & worship.

Tilly and Elisha are both CML Scholarship graduates who now volunteer as Camp facilitators. Below Tilly is speaking to her peers about "Self-Esteem" and Elisha was teaching the session on "God Can Do What He Says He Can Do".

Pastor Tim joined the Camp this year and taught several sessions, including this one on "I Am Who God Says I Am".

The third day of Camp we had an unexpected hail storm. Within 10 minutes we received several inches of hail that destroyed our garden and surrounding crops.

Crops like the sukuma wiki above, are staple food items in our community. It will take months for them to recover from the damage done by the hail.

VISITORS.....

With the funeral of William's Aunt on April the 2nd, we've had several family members visiting. I just had to take a picture when Movine, one of William's sisters, left with her children. One of the most common means of transportation used for short distance travel is the "piki-piki" or motorcycle. Below Movine and her 3 children all managed to squeezed onto one bike!

We also had a chance to visit the family home of Collins Okoth before Jullianne had to return to Nairobi. As you can see below, his sisters, cousins and mother Tabitha (right of Jullianne) all welcomed us. We had a delicious meal and the day provided a wonderful time for fellowship and making new friends.

March Update

We have had several days of rain recently and I never thought I'd be so happy to see that wet stuff coming down! Our water tanks are full again, crops are being planted, the evenings have cooled down and best of all no more waiting in the water line at the spring. We are so excited I won't even complain about the house being flooded the other day. Besides, other than ruining William’s computer cord (which wasn’t good) it gave the house a good washing!

Besides the excitement caused by the change in weather, here's what else has been going on in March.......

CML ACADEMY

Term 1 is almost over and the school will close for Holiday on April 4^th. This last week of exams has been a busy one but also encouraging as we see an improvement in the pupils school performance and overall development.

Below are pictures of each class.

Madame Maurine (left) and Madame Grace (right) teach the Kindergarten classes. Here they are with the Baby Class. Can you believe these classes are already learning two languages....English & Swahili!

Nursery Class

Pre-Unit Class

Madame Monica with Class One.

Mr. Collins with Class Two

Madame Perez (far right) is the CML Academy Head Teacher and also instructs Class Three

Mr. Marklinus teaches Class Four

We are grateful to our teachers for their good work and efforts in helping the students come up in such a short time and look forward to Term 2.

Many people ask about our current school needs, and while our goal is for the school to become self-sufficient we realize that may take some time. For now here is a partial list of things still needed:

School uniforms. We have 23 students without uniforms or proper footwear. For $20 you can purchase a child’s uniform and a pair of shoes & socks.

Continuing education for untrained teachers. Like most schools in Kenya, we enlist the help of both “trained” (certified) and “untrained” teachers. We have two “untrained” teachers that we would like to assist in becoming certified. They would enroll in a local two-year program that is conducted during the school holidays and provides them with a certificate recognized by the Ministry of Education. The cost for each teacher is $725. For both the cost would be $1,450.

Classrooms & kitchen for Pre-K classes. Currently the Baby class, Nursery class and Pre-unit classes, 43 children in all, conduct their classroom studies in the church sanctuary next to our house and the kitchen is operating out of what is supposed to be a kiosk/storage building. It is our sincere prayer to construct a building for these classes and kitchen on the property where the other school building is located.

This is the building we are currently using for the school kitchen.

All 3 Kindergarten classes are squeezed into the same room used by the church as the sanctuary...and each Saturday chairs, tables, charts and blackboards have to be moved.

While we would like the building to be built with brick and cement, but funds will dictate the type of building we can afford. Estimated cost $5,000.

We need construction help as well as financial help. If you have a group that is willing and able, we have local tradesmen that can do the technical stuff!

Please contact us at thechristianmile@yahoo.com if you’d like to help with any of the above needs.

TRIP TO MAASI MARA & RUSINGA ISLAND

I just love surprises...especially good ones! By far my favorite surprise this past month was getting to visit with some wonderful folks from Texas.

Invited by our friend by Beth Plumlee to join her energetic group, we visited the Maasi Mara for the 1^st time and traveled with them to Rusinga Island where they conducted a free medical clinic and attended 2 school dedications. What a treat to see such willing hearts and hands and to make new friends!

Beth & William are all smiles!

Below are two pictures of one of the class rooms built by Beth's mother "Mimi" (Beverly) at the Dr. Williams Primary School

Here Mimi poses for a picture with Charles (left) and Brian (right). Charles & Brian are orphans from Rusinga Island that Beth & her family have sponsored since they were small. Both boys are very bright and excited about finishing their education and pursuing their future. When not in school the boys stay with us and have become a blessed addition to our family!

The computers being used by these students are solar powered!

The new Science Lab built by the Bray family.

The Bray family during the Science Lab dedication.....what an investment in the future this family has made!