The Nursery is Coming….The Nursery is Coming…..

You have read correctly! The Nursery is Coming…to Isiolo!

Before we continue, several thank you's are in order!

First, we thank Ron and Juanita Lewis for having the heart of God, which translates into a heart for His children, in Isiolo. Thank you for successfully launching, promoting and managing the fundraiser to Rebuild the Nursery, in Isiolo.  

Secondly, we thank ALL donors for your willingness to participate in this fundraiser, for the sake of the children. We are grateful for your sacrifice and humbled by your response. Please accept our heartfelt thanks and gratitude.  

Lastly, we would also like to thank each person who prayed for the success of the fundraiser. Because of your sincere and earnest prayers, hearts were touched and individuals responded to the leading of the Lord. 

We are happy to report that demolition began on Tuesday and was completed on Thursday! Hallelujah! It was "our plan", along with the contractor, to have the building completed today, Friday! However, according to the contractor, the demolition was more of a challenge than he imagined. Apparently, there were a few strong components remaining in the structure. Who knew!  

Below, you will see photos of the old building, the demolition process, including a few surprises, as well as preparation for the new foundation. Take a gander at the progress.  

 

 

Why did they stop working?

Oh!  Wow!  A scorpion.

And a snake skin!  Yikes!

Stay tuned for more updates and the completed building!

Baraka (Blessings),

Rev. Sonia and Rev. Sonji

Let the Demolition Begin...

"X" marks the spot...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have you ever made your request known to God with a hint of doubt, fear or worry? Have you ever prayed, believing God would answer, yet you were concerned about the naysayers, complainers and doubters? If not keep living, as Grandma would say.

In all honesty, these are just two, of many thoughts, that lingered in the back of our minds as we attempted (for over a year) to raise funds to Rebuild the Nursery, in Isiolo. But God! As usual, he showed himself mighty and strong. Once again, he reiterated our two ministry scriptures.  

1. you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaish 58:12b

and

      2.  so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:20

With these two words of confirmation etched in our hearts, we appreciate those who prayed for the success of the fundraiser! THANK YOU! We are especially thankful for the 23 individuals who GAVE, for the sake of the children, in Isiolo! THANK YOU!

With a final goal of $3,000, a total of $3,370 was donated, in slightly under two months! You could say we are tickled pink, or purple, since one of us doesn't like pink. LOL!

Demolition begins TODAY! The contractor is set to tear down the old building today. By Wednesday, he will restore the foundation and prepare to REBUILD. Ain't that good news!! The "plan" is to have the building completed on Friday, Dec. 4th. We solicit your prayers for:

• a successful demolition, without injury to the workers
• the safety of all involved during the rebuild
• the rebuild to be completed on schedule, within the agreed upon budget
• a standard of excellence in all things

Thank you in advance for your prayers. We have already seen the hand of God in this process so we trust and believe he will complete the task, all for His glory!

Special thanks to Ron and Juanita Lewis. God touched their hearts to launch the fundraiser, after reading about the need for a new nursery, for the safety of the children and all for His glory! THANK YOU!

Stay tuned for updates and photos of the completed building!

Baraka (Blessings),

Rev. Sonia and Rev. Sonji

Yesterday! Today! Missing Bigma!

Yesterday, I was completely overtaken with thoughts of you.  So many wonderful memories of a life well lived.  You have remained in my heart and on my mind since the day you left us so many years ago.  I understand why God loved you so. Your smile, your unconditional love, your flapjack biscuits and your long warm embraces made a bad day good.  There are days when I still can't believe you are no longer here...Bigma!

Bigma, is my Great Grandmother.  Yes….IS!  Because she lives on.  She lives in my heart and she lives on through my Dad, Ginny Poo, Grandma Ida, Aunt Teenie, Uncle Joe, and so many dear family members...Bigma!

She was our rock.  A rock that taught us how to stand on our own, whether we wanted to or not :-) ...Bigma!

What was so special about yesterday?  As I sat in church, it was as if Bigma passed right by me..and sat. This has never happened to me before but I welcomed the experience. An elderly woman entered the sanctuary and sat right next to me. She was Bigma's complexion and build, though somewhat shorter.  In the midst of praise and worship, with a big smile on my face, I turned to the woman and said, "Good morning". She looked up, smiled politely and said "Morning".  Wow! I thought. She even sounds like Bigma and she smells just like her too!  I exhaled and inhaled even deeper; not once, not twice but three (ok, four) times, trying to pinpoint exactly which one of Bigma's  scents had arrested the attention of my olfactory senses.  I still can't pinpoint the specific scent…but that's ok.  It's ok because even today, I am still reminiscing about my time with Bigma, as I attempt to make that determination.

Was I smelling her homemade biscuits?  Was I smelling her pinto beans, with the floating ham bone?  Was I smelling her infamous baked chicken?  Was it her sweet potato pie or her rice pudding, with extra raisins?  Was it her fried fatback or the smell of a home cured ham, baking in the oven?  Honestly, I don't think it was any of those scents but I enjoyed the memories that were conjured up as I remembered Bigma. Simply put, I think it was a soft fragrance the woman possessed, that until yesterday I only smelled on…Bigma!  All I know for sure is that this lovely woman, with a sweet smile and an even sweeter spirit was sitting next to me.  And I am STILL convinced she was placed there so I could take a walk down memory lane…I did, and I am doing, just that.

I'm grateful for the memories I have of Bigma.  So many wonderful memories.  Yesterday, I had a tangible representation of her sitting right next to me, in one of  her favorite places….CHURCH.   We sang some of her favorite hymns.  As a matter of fact, every song we sang, yesterday, during praise and worship, was a hymn.  We even sang "on Christ the solid rock I stand."  I'm so sure she sings that one daily.

As the service came to a close I had a decision to make.  How could I connect the woman and this reminiscent experience, without appearing weird?  The conversation in my head went like this...  "You smell like my Great Grandmother.  You look like her too.  Oh, she's deceased." LOL!  Somehow I didn't think that conversation would be an encouragement. At least, I wanted to shake the hand of Bigma's look - alike and wish her a blessed week.  Lord, is it possible? If so, how? I murmured to myself.  

And then it happened!  Pastor Eric said the magic words, "take the hand of your neighbor and say the final blessing (maybe not his exact words, but you get the picture).  So the woman and I held hands and said the final blessing together.  Prior to releasing her hand I said, "have a blessed week."  She smiled and said the same.  Whoa!  

Thank you Lord, for answering my questions…..which were actually silent prayers.  Another one of your beautiful daughters just made my day.  In my best Mike Tyson voice….I was totally ecstatic.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  2 Cor. 13:14

And Yesterday!  Today!  Missing Bigma!

It's not always easy serving cross-culturally so many miles away from family.  But in moments like these I am reminded of the depth, height and width of God's love for me, in the midst of serving.  Most importantly, I am reminded through His word.  

By Rev. Sonia C.

Above and Beyond! Wow! Really?

Ever had a friend and/or friends that go above and beyond?  Has your heart ever been so full of gratitude until it's hard to find the right words?  Well this just happened to us….

Roof with missing aluminum sheets and beams.

We prayed for creative ways to raise funds in order to Rebuild the Nursery in Isiolo.  We tried just asking for support and then we tried a t-shirt campaign.  And they both failed miserably. But the need still remained. So we prayed again. Then, one evening, a couple of weeks ago, we received a Facebook message. A good friend wanted to help raise funds to REBUILD the NURSERY in Isiolo. Wow!  Really??? With much joy, excitement and anticipation, we responded with gratitude and scheduled a Skype call to discuss the idea. A few days later….the 60 Day Campaign began, on October 1st. $325USD raised thus far. THANK YOU! The total amount needed is $3,500USD.   Simply amazed and overjoyed.

So this is where YOU come in….

Click on the the link and see our God-Sent Angel! And make your donation as you read... Rebuild Nursery in Isiolo

Here are few more details about this fundraising campaign.  

Frontal view with broken/missing door. 

We "must" rebuild, the Nursery, for the safety of our children. The original classroom was constructed several years ago, by a volunteer men's team from the US. Since that time, the condition of the building has drastically deteriorated, to the point that it is unsafe for our children and indeed the community. The Nursery is in the same community as The Lord's Well, a huge success and blessing to Aremiet and surrounding villages, so the community knows this is not our best work.

Who? "60+ pre-schoolers" attend the Aremiet Nursery School, which is located in the Aremiet Village in Isiolo. The one-room building where the children meet is literally falling down around them.  Half of the roof has blown away, the doors have fallen off, large pieces of the cement wall are collapsing and the dust from the dirt floor causes respiratory illnesses.  

Why Rebuild? The Local Government has asked us to rebuild NOT repair the building.  Yes! The need is just that critical. Funding for this project will enable use to tear down and rebuild the current structure, adding a cement floor. Eliminating the risk of injury and possibly death. We have secured a capable and legitimate contractor, who is ready to complete the assignment but we must have the funds, in hand, first. They are waiting on us!

Please share this Blog with others and help Rebuild the Nursery in Isiolo!

DONATE TODAY!

Thank you, 

Sonia and Sonji

℅ Our Isiolo Babies

Help Rebuild Our Children's Nursery in Isiolo, Kenya!

HOW KEN-YA HELP???  We are so glad you asked….

HOW?       CLICK HERE to place your order!
By clicking HERE you can order an item with our logo and donate to rebuild our nursery at the same time.  Your order can be shipped anywhere in the United States.

WHAT?     A lovely KenYa Believe It Shirt!
We will receive a percentage of the total cost for each item sold to raise money for the new nursery. We must raise $3500 USD.  We must sell a minimum of 125 shirts for this campaign to be a success. We need YOUR support to make this happen.

Additional Photos Below

WHY?        To REBUILD the Nursery, in Isiolo. The building is now falling apart and has been declared A HAZARD for the children.   The front door has fallen off, the windows are gaping holes, large portions of the cement has fallen away and most of the roof has been blow away by the Isiolo wind.  The community has patched the structure as much as possible to no avail.  Since the nursery was built several years ago, by a mission team we led it is our responsibility to rebuild the structure.


WHERE?    AREMIET Community ("the bush"), Isiolo Kenya.

WHEN?      NOW!  We have only 10 days remaining in this fundraising effort.  Your order will be processed once we meet our goal of 125 items sold.  Every day counts!  Every order counts!  YOUR order counts!

If you would like to make a monetary donation for this fundraiser please click HERE for more information.

We look forward to processing your order soon!

Baraka (Blessings)!

Rev. Sonia and Rev. Sonji

Training Your Mind to Mind…

Hey hey hey!  It's a new week, filled with new things and you all know what that means…a new post with many new lessons from our previous Bible Study Session! :)

I'm truly excited to share what this past week's session was all about! It is my hope and prayer that you too, shall be as blessed as I was. The focus of the study was 'Guarding Your Mind'. Here, one of the key scriptures was Colossians 3:5-6,

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to the earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming."

Scary, huh? I'm pretty sure that none of us would like to be on the receiving end of God's wrath; the same wrath that destroyed the whole earth, all but one man and his family during Noah's time!? Thank you very much, but I'd rather sit that one out! (Get all the juicy details of this story in Genesis chapter 6).

The only way to ensure that we stay away from these earthly desires is by filtering what we feed our minds. The mind works under a very simple principle: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Living in this 21st century makes it that much harder to guard our minds. However, this is no excuse.

The world that we live in today is so sex-saturated that everywhere we turn, this agenda is being propelled. The media industry is growing everyday, and with it comes the notion that 'sex sells'. From billboards, to newspapers, magazines, steamy romantic novels and films, sex outside of marriage is now acceptable in the society we live in. Celebrities have become the standard, and many people no longer regard God's stand on sex being saved for the marriage bed.

Many young men and women are buying in to the lie that pre-marital sex is the ultimate way to show someone that you 'love' them. Others take sex very lightly and have multiple sexual partners; so long as you avoid unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, there's no harm, right? WRONG! God is very clear on this issue: "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." - 1st Corinthians 6:18

(Fornication - voluntary sexual intercourse between two persons not married) 

Now that we know what we ought not to do, it begs the question, 'so what CAN we do?' One of our facilitators, Reverend Pass, gave us a very good analogy to help us understand how the mind works. She took the centre of a roll of toilet paper and placed different pieces of paper that had been cramped together into it. The different pieces represented garbage that we let into our minds through the movies and series that we watch, the books, magazines and internet stories that we read and the music we listen to. After placing three papers in, the roll was stuffed.

However, when Rev. Pass placed a fourth piece of paper representing God's word, one of the garbage pieces fell out from the opposite end of the roll, and was replaced. She kept adding more wholesome paper (representing prayer, fellowship with other believers, service to God etc), which would replace the rest of the garbage. After some time, the whole roll was filled with positive pieces.

Likewise, we can apply this concept in guarding our minds. The only way to replace the junk that's already in there is by adding on the positives. It will take time, not to mention discipline and sacrifice, (because you will have to let go of some of your favorite tv shows, romance novels and love songs) but it's worth every effort in order to achieve God's standard. Train your mind to mind what gets into it!

That's it for today...I hope you've been challenged in one way or another! Much love for all the support.

Best Regards,

Olyvia Kahuthu

Learning and Applying More Truths...

Thomson's Falls, Nyahururu Kenya

Hello there everyone! It's been a while since our last post on the ongoing study that the Reformed Bad Girls are undertaking on sexual purity. This doesn't mean that we haven't been meeting up and sharing in our growth; quite the contrary, actually! We've been having a wonderful time, not to mention learning great insights as we meet up every Saturday morning.

For the past two weeks, the main topics of discussion were 'Avoiding Self-Destruction' and 'Avoiding the Destruction of Others'. For starters, these themes required a whole load of honesty from everyone within the group; honesty to oneself, to God and to the rest of the group. It was no easy feat, but since the study began a few weeks ago, we've all gotten rather close and that makes it easier to open up. Also, the key issues discussed in these sessions were not entirely new concepts, but they were very insightful.

Under the first topic on avoiding self-destruction, one of the key things discussed was 'Making Friends with the Mirror'. If we are all honest with ourselves as ladies, it is safe to say that at one point or another in our lifespans, we have all disliked this, that or the other about ourselves. For some of us, the insecurities come and go, but for others, there may be years of struggle. Sometimes, these insecurities come from within, while other times, the media and those around us may make us feel "ugly" and "inadequate" based on the world's standards of beauty. Whatever the case, it is important to focus on God's perspective, rather than that of men.

So let's take it from God's perspective. Psalm 139:13-14 says, "For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Here, the psalmist, David, expresses his understanding of himself. Unlike most of us, he wasn't shy to recognize the fact that God took His time to create man, and by virtue of this, it is safe to say that we are wonderful! It's not enough to just say it though, we ought to believe it in our hearts. Only then will we be able to fully beat down our insecurities.

Fun fact: What did David mean by saying he was "fearfully" made? The Hebrew word that is translated “fearfully” is yare. In Vine’s Dictionary it means “to be afraid, stand in awe, fear”. When used of an exalted person it means “standing in awe”. This implies honor, reverence and respect for the person. To be “fearfully” made means to be “awesomely” made. Yes, you are AWESOME! Ken-ya believe it?? ;-)

On the topic of avoiding the destruction of others, two key things that we looked at were flirting and dressing to impress. Flirting is one of those things that may come naturally, especially during the adolescent years. Young ladies want to get noticed by the guys, and if they don't, they tend to "help" the guys take notice by their words and their body language; this is usually where suggestive dressing comes in as well. The tops get lower, as the skirts rise higher. Most times, the young lady may have no intention of pursuing anything with the man she's flirting with; she just does it for the attention. What many of us forget is that guys are very easily aroused by visual things, therefore, it would be highly unadvisable to light a fire that you won't be able to put out. Do not flirt with a guy and expect that he won't act on his passions. Be your brother's keeper; do not be a stumbling block to him.

In conclusion, we all agreed that we would strive to live like Proverbs 31 women; desiring to be beautiful from the inside out, and not using what we have to manipulate others, rather to build up God's kingdom.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

  - Proverbs 31:30

I pray you have been blessed by this long post! :-) until next time…

Best Regards,

Olyvia Kahuthu

The Journey Continues....

Hello there! It's a new week, full of new blessings! And with every new week, there's always a weekend to look forward to...I mean, who, doesn't love those?!

This past Sunday afternoon, the Reformed Bad Girls (RBGs - see previous post for description) convened for the second ongoing study session on sexual purity. How exciting it was to meet up with the ladies once again and catch up on how everyone was doing. This past week's study was slightly different from the first one, but it was
just as amazing!

The topic of discussion was based on building lives of sexual integrity. In this chapter, the author explained how being a woman of sexual integrity doesn't mean that one is boring, frigid and never has fun with a guy; rather, a young woman of sexual integrity is free to enjoy the excitement and fun of a romantic relationship without the
worry of compromise.

A human being's sexuality is comprised of four distinct aspects: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions. In order to uphold sexual integrity, all four aspects ought to be balanced. To explain this further, the analogy of a table is used. The four legs of a table represent these four dimensions; and in order for the table to
stand, all four legs must be whole.

To drive this point home, the Revs came up with a neat way of practically explaining the tabletop analogy. We were all split into groups of two individuals each, and every pair was given an envelope containing a number of different items. The aim of the exercise was to create a table using only the contents of the envelope that had been provided.

The most interesting thing about this exercise was that every group had a different set of 'tools' to create a table of balance. There was one group that had a piece of paper, four wooden sticks of different sizes and some glue stick. Another group had a piece of paper, band aids and four wooden sticks. And yet another had paper, wooden sticks and two sisal ropes. It was hilarious to see how some of the tables turned out; a few of them didn't even have the capability to stand on their own!

Many lessons were drawn from this exercise. There were a few that really stood out:

• Everyone's situation is different, but God always provides a way of escape from the temptations that we face. (1st Corinthians 10:13)

• We may slip, and we may even fall in our journey of sexual integrity. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that there is no hope of standing again. With Christ's help, we can achieve balance in our
lives once again.

• It is important to identify what leg/aspect of an individual's life is causing imbalance. In so doing, they will be able to address the issue and deal with it so that a life of balance can be achieved.

Wow..! Great insights right there, huh? Believe it or not, that was just a tip of the iceberg of how deep the discussions were. God is surely moving in that study, and all glory goes back to Him. I'm really looking forward to sharing many more interesting lessons that we're learning every week.

Until next time, God bless you!

Olyvia Kahuthu

An Exciting Journey of Faith!!!

High Shoals - Chattahoochee National Forest
Photo Credit: Sonia Crawley

Oh how I looked forward to Saturday the 7th day of February, 2015! It was the day that we would embark on a thrilling, freeing, challenging and somewhat scary Bible study that prompted each one of us, the Reformed Bad Girls (RBGs), to be 100% honest with God, ourselves and eventually the rest of the group. Before I go on with my story, I believe it would only be proper to share a brief of how the RBGs were formed.

Roughly two years ago, there was an announcement in the youth section of our morning church bulletin at Ridgeways Baptist Church, inviting all young ladies above the age of 18 to begin a study entitled 'The Bad Girls of The Bible'. The aim of the study was to get familiarized with the not-so-innocent female Bible characters and draw lessons from them to apply in our own lives. This sounded like an exciting study; unlike any of the others I had been a part of...so I joined! Fast forward to the present, and we now have a group of young ladies who I not only consider my friends, but also my sisters.

For the past year, the RBGs have been meeting regularly, for monthly fellowships which involve catching up and sharing each other's lives and experiences, loads of tasty food, hearty laughter and of course, great insights and encouragement from the 'leaders' of our group; Rev. Crawley and Rev. Pass. Before we all jump into conclusions about why I've put 'leaders' in quotes, allow me to explain: The Revs, as we call them, have been such a blessing to each one of the RBGs (my sisters can bear me witness). In as much as they are leading the group, spiritually and in terms of organizing our fellowships, we all consider them as our big sisters in Christ. Their servant leadership qualities have served as a wonderful example. We can now safely admit that we consider them as our friends, more than anything else, really. Fellowshipping with them, and watching them 'do life' continues to be an inspiration to those of us who have been fortunate enough to interact with the Revs. It has been and continues to be such a blessed experience to follow them as they follow Christ.

Now that we're up to speed on who the RBGs are, we can get back to my main story.

During our monthly fellowship in January 2015, Rev. Pass made an announcement that we would soon begin a study on sexual purity. The book we were all supposed to purchase and begin to read before our next meeting had a very captivating title; Every Young Woman's Battle. The aim of the book is to help young ladies all over the world to guard their minds, hearts and bodies in a sex-saturated world. The journalist in me was very curious to see what lay in the 'mystery' book, so as soon as I got my hands on my personal copy, I dove right into it! And boy was I excited to see the topics that we would cover; they are very real issues that constantly affect myself and my peers.

Now, despite all my excitement, a part of me was also a bit nervous about delving into this new study, seeing as total honesty was one of the requirements to successfully complete it. I wasn't too sure that I was ready to face my personal struggles, past and present alike. Furthermore, I was a bit concerned about how much the other ladies in the group would open up and reveal about their own lives. The last thing anyone would want to be in such a setup, is judged. You wouldn't believe my shock and amazement when we had our first meeting, that beautiful blue-skied sunny morning, and secrets were revealed, struggles were shared and a few tears were shed. Yes, the process of opening up and being honest is not easy, but by what I observed that morning, it is definitely, without a shudder of doubt, worth it. God is already using this study to transform lives within the group, restore broken hearts and heal open wounds. Honestly, I cannot wait to go through the entire study, to be delivered from all the bondages in my life that I may or may not be aware of, and in turn, help others who are struggling with the same. This is one very exhilarating journey that I cannot wait to share with my sisters in the faith! God is surely up to something, and I believe it is something AMAZING!

Olyvia Kahuthu - Jesus Lover by birth, Missionary by calling, Journalist by profession!
God Bless!