Kindfund

Our hurt and pain trouble Jesus deeply.  He waits to be invited to help. His compassion is tinged with anger at the cause of our distress. Whether it is our health, malicious gossip, family tension, disappointment with other people, pressure at work or any one of a myriad other things; Jesus remains unchanged. He sees all and his heart is deeply yearning for us to come to him and receive all he has for us. Peter put it, ‘Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you.’

Why are we so reluctant to hear his, “I am willing.” Come to him, leave the hurt and pain with him. Let his healing balm free you from the chains of hurt and resentment. Let joy begin to fill you today. Join the leper from the incident recorded in Mark. Be another touched by Jesus.

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Much has been happening in Kenya in the seven weeks since we returned home and already we are counting down the days until our return along with Maureen on 21st June. If you have access to our website you may have been keeping up to date with some of the developments below.

The Construction of the 48 bed Children’s Home at Wamba

Preparation had begun as we were leaving Kenya and work commenced on 17th March. This has been a tremendous undertaking for our team without our direct support. Foundations were quickly dug, the site fenced, temporary facilities put in place and accommodation generously provided for the management team and key workers at houses used by visiting Government officials at the Catholic Hospital in Wamba. All main supplies had to be transported over 100kms across dirt roads. The foundation slab was completed in just over two weeks. Stephen Cowan, a Presbyterian missionary from Co Down kindly brought his hydraulic brick making machine a 12 hour journey by poor roads and in just over two weeks made 30,000 bricks from site soil and 10% cement. This 2nd phase allowed us to employ a lot of local labour, benefitting the local community.

As I write this preparations are underway to build the walls to the lintels and complete internal walls. The bricks are grooved and fit together without cement so this phase can be completed quickly. The inside will be plastered with a thin coating of cement. The wooden trusses and corrugated tin roof will follow before final fitting out of windows, doors and internal plumbing. The photos below give some idea of progress and the attractive setting below Wamba mountain:

Pray for the successful completion of the project in the next 6 – 8 weeks.


Ibrahim experiences God’s love

We have been trying for almost 12 months to arrange for Ibrahim to have an operation to correct his hair lip. First a visit to the regional hospital at Wamba 40 miles away on a dirt road to find that they could not help until a specialist surgeon arrived. A visit to Meru 50 miles in the other direction proved successful. Nancy’s message, “Praise God He has done it and Ibrahim is beautiful.” She stopped the bus when he was on his way home and woke him to take the photo for us. The first picture is of a young woman who had broken her arm 6 months previously and needed it reset.



These are just two of the more dramatic examples of children and the poor being helped by your desire to show God’s kindness.

Two weeks of Holiday Bible Clubs

In the middle of supervising the building the brick making phase allowed Nancy time to run two consecutive bible clubs from Mon to Fri during term break in April. This brought together on the site at Ngaremara some of the orphans and poor children in the Kindfund programmes.

Nancy, Clifford, Kim and the team at Ngare were supported by Rueben, a retired, blind teacher of the blind and accomplished worship leader. Children and young people supported by Kindfund to secondary schools, from the Blind unit in Isiolo and from the Children’s Home in Isiolo, from the Govt Primary School where Cliff and Kim take a class for bible study as well as the orphans attending the daily programme at Ngare all joined the activities. In the first week approx 60 attended with 30 of these camping over and in the second week over 100 with 60 camping.

What an experience this turned out to be for the children. The theme for the clubs was ‘Knowing God and making Him known.’ The programme included bible teaching, games, good food, and outreach to the local communities of Ngaremara and 5 kms away Attan. Nancy reports, ‘The children wanted the camp to go on for another week. There was a lot of joy and happiness. Many have made commitments. We promised them we would repeat with another camp during term break in August.’
Are you free in August? Please pray for these camps and the ongoing needs of the children

Other programmes are all continuing without interruption. Jewellery is being made by the women for us to bring back in September, the Rendille were visited with food for the three nursery schools at the end of April and the hand pump installed there in Feb was serviced. Pray for Nancy as she visits secondary schools to pay 2nd term fees during May.

Engineers in the British Army are planning to build a kitchen for Kindfund starting September at Archers Post where we feed 120 orphans and poor. The cost to us will be approximately £5,000. Pray that this project originally planned for January proceeds without further delay.

How to Help: Thank you for praying for 1200 children and adults on Kindfund programmes.
- Pray – when we work we work. When we pray God works.
- Sponsorship from £5per month (ask us for a pack) or gifts to Kindfund, Manoo, Kesh BT93 1TL.
- Invitation to share about the work, to display jewellery or purchase a gift card (Tel. 028 6863 1562).
- Share this prayer letter with a friend or fellowship

Announcement: Kindfund AGM 7pm Fri 6th June 2008 at Manoo. All supporters welcome.

‘All…who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord commanded them to do.’ Ex.35:29.            
      
Contacts: 028 6863 2459, 028 6863 2783, 028 9082 5737, 028 9185 7739