Disappointments

Hello friends,

We want to thank you all for praying us through this day. We were up early (infact we didn't get that much sleep) and met Sam Mutisya who had driven down from Limuru to join us as our Kenyan guardian ad litum. On our way into the courthouse this morning we received a call from our lawyer telling us that we had been cut from the list of cases (along with 23 others) to be heard today. After many tears (sobs actually), and I have to admit anger (against I'm not sure who), we believe that this is all part of God's plan for our family. It seems it would be much easier if we knew exactly what that plan was, but I guess that's the beauty of handing our lives over to Christ. We get to leave all our troubles with Him and He will guide us through. So even though we are all disappointed today, we know that God is still working on this and He is in control and with that we find peace.

Right now it looks like sometime in January will be the next available date for us to go to court. We will keep you all posted. Thank you all so much for your prayers.

Love Aaron, Erica, Tristan, Emma and Ava

Thomson's Falls

Thomson's Falls, one of Kenya's most impressive waterfalls, is formed by the waters of the Narok River in Kenya's central highlands. It plummets over 72 meters into a densely forested ravine on the outskirts of the town of Nyahururu.

Together with some local Kikuyu people

dressed in traditional regalia at Thomson's Falls.

After a busy week of ministry in Eastleigh, the Hepburns joined us for a drive north out of Nairobi and along the sweeping farm land and pastures of the Rift Valley and through the steep slopes of the Sukukia Valleys toward Nyahururu. Along the way, we stopped for a short stroll along the still waters of Lake Elmenteita that is home to thousands of pink flamingos. On our drive we crossed back and forth over the equator several times as we drove East toward the Falls. At each of these points along the road, there is often an entrepreneuring Kenyan ready to demonstrate the impact of Northern and Southern hemisphere on spinning water -- yes toilets do flow counter clockwise south of the equator. We were surprised to discover today that even the direction of the hair on the crown of our heads is affected by the hemisphere in which we are born.

It was a great day to relax. We enjoyed a picnic on the lawn of the Thomson's Falls lodge, and had a front row view of many wedding parties as they arrived to have photographs taken by the falls. It was a big day of driving but worth every km!

Coming up this week!

Although the development course will continue in Limuru, we will be spending most of the week in Eastleigh with the ladies of Iftin, the Eastleigh Community Centre's Closing Ceremonies, and a series of professional development workshops with the teachers at the centre. Please pray for the ongoing ministry of the centre.

Also, we are very excited for our court date for Ava's adoption this Friday. We are praying that everyone who needs to be present at the hearing will be there, and that everything will fall into place for the adoption!

Volunteering in Kenya

Over the past two years, we have had the pleasure of hosting several short term missions (STMs) in Eastleigh and Northeastern Province. From one day exposure visits to stays that lasted several months. If you were ever interested about the experience of a short term volunteer,you might want to check out the Hepburn's blog as they write about their experiences of Somali minstry in Eastleigh.

http://kenyahepburns.blogspot.com

Fear Factor

Mr. Hrvatic, Tristan's fourth grade teacher

and intramural coach, gives Tristan the bad news!

Today in intramural sports, Tristan's blue team competed in a fear factor-like "survivor challenge": After constructing a bridge with an odd array of things (tire, skipping ropes, skateboard...etc), the team was given a list of things to eat in a challenge (camel's milk, dates, lemons, baby food, raw onions, and fire water were among the menu).

Tristan was selected to eat the baby food.

He said, "I almost choked. It tasted gross!

How do babies eat that stuff!"

After their gross-out meal,

the team raced for their smelly shoes!

Oh the fun of fourth grade!

Diploma in Integral Mission

The second gathering of the Diploma in Integral Mission began today in the quiet tea hills of Limuru, over looking Nairobi. Canadian Baptist Ministries and Carey Theological Seminary have developed this diploma program and have begun the first cohort in Kenya for Global Field Staff, Sharing way staff, and national partners. Erica and I took part in the first course on "Sustainable Community Development" in May while we were with the Praxis group.

Gord King introducing Dr. Martin Luther King's

historic "I Have a Dream Speech" in his discussion

on the prophetic voice and contextualized theology.

This week Gordon King, the director of The Sharing way, is leading the first of two courses that are being taught in the diploma program. It was very powerful to be in a room of African leaders from Kenya, Rwanda and Angola as we watched the the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King speak prophetically about his dream for civil rights and then to listen to their discussion of the unimaginable changes that have followed in the last fifty years including the victory of a black man in an American presidential election. It was very interesting to be apart of this conversation as it weaved in and out of the text of Isaiah's prophetic proclamations in Isaiah 9 and 11.



Suraj Komaravalli, who serves with Canadian Baptist Ministries in India, is team teaching with Gordon King. Today as part of his presentation, he shared about his own experience of the power of God amidst the persecution and injustice against Christians in India.

It was also great to see one of our Praxis members continuing in the course: Rev. Joseph Mwangi is an ABC pastor in Nukuru.

Our friend and colleague Zahra also took part in the training.

It is certainly a privilege to learn

together as a global community

(This table alone represents five different countries and cultures)

Mistletoe Market

Erica and James working a table for Eastleigh Pottery at Rosslyn Academy's annual Mistletoe Market.

Eastleigh Pottery is an important part of the ministry of the Eastleigh Community Centre. Not only does it provide a valuable training program in pottery for many young men and women, but it contributes revenue that helps sustain the outreach programs of the centre.

This past year, Erica and James have been working together on developing a ceramic bead project with the women of Iftin and the Pottery Ministry. It is our hope that such a project would provide a reliable and fair income to some of the most vulnerable families within this community. Please continue to pray for the ministry of the community centre and for people like James who serve in such important leadership roles within the community.

Cooperation

Joy and Don Hepburn getting to know

some of the Somali Women of Iftin.

With exams complete, the Somali women of Iftin have finished their first English module at the Eastleigh Community Centre. Before we begin the second part of their ESL course (which officially starts in January 2009), we are working together on building trust and team work among the ladies. This is of foundational importance as we strive to form self-help groups and micro-Enterprise initiatives among these women in the coming years. We are so thankful for the Hepburns who have joined us in this work. Please pray for them as they introduce cooperative learning methods and strategies to the teachers and students of the Community Centre.

There are numerous barriers to cooperation that overshadow much of the Somali refugee community: clanism, mistrust, unforgiveness, a spirit of independence, and a fierce survival instinct are but a few of the factors. For many people living in exile, overcoming these sources of disunity is key to experiencing a fuller life.

Working together --

One small step in the right direction!

Today in our ESL classes, we had the women form groups of three and compete in a scavenger hunt of sorts around the community centre and neighbourhood. The ladies gave their team various names, like: "Fresh flowers", "Lion Girls", and "Stars" (The flower theme was by far the most popular among the names chosen). It was wonderful to see the ladies pulling together, translating their clues, and figuring out the puzzling challenges. It soon became apparent that the teams that worked best together, were the ones that were moving ahead!

Erica with the scavenger hunt winners -- "Team Stars!"

In the end, it was a narrow victory by team "Stars" who not only finished first in time, but were able to complete all but one of the fifteen challenges.

We are all winners!

It was a great day and a fantastic way to kick off of month of cooperative learning. We are very excited for what God has in store for these special women!

Friendly Swim Meet

Emma preparing for her first race in lane 2 at the International School of Kenya's (ISK) invitational swim meet with Rosslyn Academy this past Thursday.

Cheering Section!

Tristan and his friend Katie Hrvatic

(also a great swimmer on the Rosslyn Swim team)

cheering Emma on during one of her heats.

Coming from behind!

In Emma's first race (freestyle), she was a little confused by the starting whistles and had a long delay on the blocks. Although she didn't jump in until the rest of the other girls were already in the water, she pulled up from behind and finished second. Way to go Emma! This was also Emma's first time to race in breast stroke, and she raced bravely. She also did well in her third race, backstroke. We are so proud of our little swimmer!

It was a fun afternoon for the students of both ISK and Rosslyn as they competed together while the sun slanted down into the horizon.

Ava enjoying a view from the stands with Joy & Don Hepburn.

Answered Prayers!

Ava's Case File has been found!!!!!

We were overjoyed to receive a call today from our lawyer that at long last Ava's adoption case file (which was miss filed with the Kenyan high court) has been found! We will be in court on the morning of Friday, November 28th, to have our adoption case heard by the judge -- we are so very excited! We pray that all the parties will be present for the proceedings and that the judge will look favorable upon the adoption. Thank you all so much for uplifting our family in prayer.

Hepburns

Don and Joy Hepburn

ready for an adventure in Somali Ministry

The Hepburns arrived on a rainy Friday evening to join us for about a month in Eastleigh. They will be serving at the Eastleigh Community Centre with the Somali women's ESL project and assisting with the primary school. One of their main focuses will be in encouraging the teaching staff at the community centre, and providing a series of professional development workshops for the teachers.

Today we took part in a time of orientation with two other STM groups, who have also just arrived in Kenya. The orientation took place at Acacia Camp near the home of our team mates, Tim & Diane Bannister. Despite a late night and jet lag, the Hepburns were up early enough for us to take a short drive and walk with some of the local giraffe and wildebeest. We are thankful for a great day and the Hepburns' safe arrival. Please join us as we pray for their next month in Eastleigh.

Don and Tristan hiking out into the Swara plains

for a close encounter with the giraffe.

OBAMA Day!

Kenyans took to the streets early this morning to celebrate Barack Obama's election to the White House. For nearly a year now, we have seen countless Obama bumper stickers, posters, and t-shirts around Nairobi, but the support of Kenyan's for Obama has escalated greatly over the past few weeks as the US election neared. His image seems to be everywhere. Large prayer vigils took place last night, primarily in his ancestral homeland in Western Kenya. Today, people have been jubilant, and we have met many people waving banners and proudly displaying "Obama 'O8" in Eastleigh and Westlands. We were very surprised to learn that Kenya's president, Kibaki, has also declared Thursday as a national holiday in celebration of Obama's victory.

Here is a news clipping from one of our local networks:

In downtown Nairobi and in Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums, people dressed in suits on their way to work joined those who had stayed up all night watching the election returns to dance and chant Obama's name. Similar excited scenes took place in Kogelo, western Kenya, where many of Obama's Kenyan relatives had gathered at the home of his grandmother, Sarah Obama. Police had locked out the media and well-wishers from the Obama home, but the family was expected to make a statement about the victory later in the morning. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki congratulated president-elect Obama on his victory and designated Thursday as a public holiday for Kenyans to celebrate the 'historic achievement.'' This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya,' Kibaki said in a statement. 'The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success. 'Obama's late father was Kenyan, although he abandoned his son when he was only two years old. Despite the fact he has only visited Kenya a handful of times, Obama is considered a hero in the East African nation. Many Kenyans feel that while having an African-American in the White House may not bring concrete change for Africa, it will bring a new self-respect for black people everywhere. 'In colonial times black people were considered unimportant,' said Joseph Mjomba, a 21-year-old student. 'Now we have a black man in the White House.'

Happy Halloween

We hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

On Friday evening, we visited our friends Mel and Kerry and the children at the Nest's half-way house. Although "trick or treating" wasn't an option for us here in Kenya, we had a fun time with friends making pumpkin cookies and again later that night at home sharing candy and watching old movies.

Unfortunately, for Aaron it was the beginning of a not-so-fun weekend, as earlier that day he suffered from food poisoning while we were meeting over a project in Eastleigh. He was sick all night and spent Saturday in hospital. He recovered over Sunday and he is feeling much better today.

This week:

We will be in Eastleigh for our classes and a medical information time with the women of Iftin and our colleague Diane Bannister. The ladies will also be writing their first term exams for the ESL classes. We pray that they will all do well!

We continue to pray for Ava's case file to be found. It seems that the Kenyan court has misplaced an entire bundle of open adoption case files. We hope that the files are found or we will be facing a major setback.