Here are a few more pictures from the January '08 trip....
(you should be able to click on the pictures if you want a bigger view)


Good Shepherd Orphanage
I had the benefit of visiting a new orphanage in Nyahururu, Kenya that I was told was a great example of how an orphanage should be run. My friend, Pastor Simon Mwaura, started this home called Good Shepherd a little over a year ago. His goal is for the home to be completely self-sufficient within a few short years. They have a huge garden that provides all the fruits and vegetables the 50 children need and lots of cows, chickens, rabbits and ducks. They have been able to hire workers to harvest maize in some nearby leased land. This provided enough maize for the year for the children and much more they were able to sell. Of course, a lot of these revenue-generating options are tougher in Lodwar where water is scarce. But, it was a great learning experience to see how Simon and his wonderful staff run the home and how we can apply that in Lodwar. Here are a few pics of the home, their gardens and a couple of the sweet children from the home.


Admist all the violence in Kenya, it might be easy to forget the beauty. But, not for long. Right near the Good Shepherd orphanage, we were able to visit Thompson Falls, a beautiful waterfall and gorgeous cavernous areas.



The Basket Project in Northern Kenya
While in Lodwar, I spent time with the women who make baskets. They have nearly completed the recent order I gave them including many beautiful pieces. Below are pictures of them with many of the baskets. We took as many of those as we could in the truck with us back into Lodwar (about 50 miles). Then, we had great discussions about how to get the next load into town. It's never boring! After they get into town, we will be working in the next few weeks to get them to Nairobi. That stretch of road (about a 24-hour drive) has been affected by the violence so we will have to wait and see what happens.



Now what would a trip to Kenya be without a little adventure?
These pics won't do it justice but just imagine with me. The small plane on the left is the Cessna 5-seater that we used to get out of Lodwar. This is like many of the planes I have taken there before, but this time we had to make two stops to pick up other people before we got to Nairobi. These two stops were actually in more remote places than Lodwar - hard for me to believe! It's hard to make out, but in the picture on the right we are about to land on the dirt strip at the first location. Unfortunately, there is a huge herd of steers crossing the runway and they are not moving fast. The pilot decided to buzz them to get them to move. Not even a flinch. We were 6 inches over their heads and they couldn't care less. Meanwhile, we are short on gas. We do a loop and come back around, coming down again to "shoo" them away. Again, not even a flinch. Three more loops and buzzes and Amanda and I are getting queasy for sure! The steers never flinched but finally the last one stepped across the runway and we were able to land. It was a great roller coaster ride!





Christ Compassion Rehabilitation Center
I got to spend some time with my friends at CCRC, a home for street boys and girls. The sweet girl in the pink is one of the last children to get through the chicken pox. She was not feeling great but sure put on a sweet smile.


Some of the children have formed a choir and they put on a great performance for us! Click the link below to see a video of them. (My video skills are not quite up to par but I'm getting there!)