Update August 2008

I am sorry that I have not been blogging during the first half of this year.
Alan and I have been doing a few things that kept us occupied. One of the things we did was to team up with 2 other people to start a charitable organization so that we can team up and have better resources to raise funds for Africa. This is in progress.

Just to bring you up to date on what Alan and I have been doing, we left Toronto on June 5th and returned on August 4th, 2008.
This is how it all came about.
We had already planned in the summer of 2007, to join an Alaskan cruise in Seattle on June 13th, 2008 with Esther's old classmates who organized this a year ago. Then Alan and I both had been thinking about making a trip across Canada "one of these days" to see this country of ours and so by the beginning of 2008 we decided, since we have to travel to Seattle for the cruise, we would make this trip, so we drove to Seattle to join the cruise and then took the time to camp along the way and to drive back to Toronto across Canada, we gave ourselves 2 months to do this.
This would be a trip of a life time, it was quite an adventure and I hope to write about it some day soon, I hope.

Update on Jessica.
We are in contact with Racheal who has sort of adopted Jessica on her own. Racheal and Apollo are a young couple with 2 daughters of their own. Apollo is an accountant and he also leads worship at their church, Racheal sings and Apollo plays the key-board. Racheal is an interpreter and Apollo is the accountant for the church.
The latest news from Racheal is that Jessica is progressing slowly at school and at home is happy and helpful and is part of their family now. This is expected as she hardly had any schooling before we met her 2 years ago.
You may know of the situation in Kenya since the trouble they had at the last election at the end of 2007. God really took good care of us and we actually were back in Toronto not knowing what had happened until we were home safe and sound. We were very concern about the situation but Racheal told us they are well and life goes on as usual.
However, we have heard of some very troubling stories from the missionaries who are still there working with their ministries. The cost of food there has risen and it looks like they will have a long time to get back to what it was used to be there.
We continue to pray for them and we also need continued support for Jessica and her adopted family. Racheal has told us that the cost of yearly support for Jessica would be about $1000. So looking toward next year, we hope that we can get a few more people on board to help us with Jessica's expenses.

If you are interested to help I would be very glad to hear from you. Please email me at esthercheng777@yahoo.ca

Update on Jessica - February 20th, 2008

I want to thank the 4 people who have come forward to partner with me in sponsorship for Jessica. I hope to get a photo of Jessica very soon and will post it as soon as I receive it.
I have received a brief report that Jessica is doing well and happy where she is.
Thank you again.

Update on the 3 Orphans- check 2006 stories

Please look at the story on the 3 Orphans and see the latest update (Check post under 2006)
I am looking for 5 other people to help support Jessica's yearly expenses. It comes to $720 a year and if each of us support her for $10 a month it would cost each of us $120 a year. If you would like to help change a person's life, I am inviting you to help change Jessica's life. She is just one girl, an average African girl with no one to help her, we can be the ones to help her, give her a chance to finish school and then she would be able to make a living for herself.
Please consider this invitation and I would truly appreciate your support.
To make your contribution all you need to do is write a cheque to "Hills" and mail it to the address given at the front of this blog. Make a note that it is in support of Jessica. You will get a receipt at the end of the year for your contribution. If you would like to send me an email at esthercheng777@yahoo.ca so that I know who you are, please feel free to do so.

Agnes Iripon ( from the archives of Mzungu Mpole)

AGNES IRIPON

Thursday March 9th 2006 at the airport in Mombasa. awaiting my flight. So here I sit broken hearted…..O where do I begin, I’m waiting for my return flight to Nairobi and I know my father is teaching me. Who should I tell you about first? Florence and her family? Agnes? Sophia? My Rift Valley trip? O.K., O.K., Agnes.
So, after my spirit was broken by a 4 day stay with Florence and her family up the coast I actually stayed in a hotel nearby. I went to downtown Mombasa to distance myself. I had a great Chinese food that cost too much…moved my stuff to my new room, had a shower. Mombasa is on the coast at the equator, therefore much hotter than Nairobi. I started sweating a week ago when I got here and other than the first hour when I get up at 6 a.m. I sweat all day. Six to eight liters of water a day is normal. Taking anti-biotic for my chest infection doesn’t help any. Alright back to Agnes.

I went to Casa Blanca, a night club with 20-30 guys and 100 girls who just want to be your friend and keep you company. After about 5 minutes, Agnes came over to me and asked if she could keep me company. She is 6 feet tall slender, young and from the Turkana tribe of North Kenya. Her eyes could melt you! If every picture tells a story then her face is an entire book! After the usual touchy feely I like your size intro, I asked her why she picked me. Her English was minimal and I questioned whether I was going to be able to get the message across to her . After a soda she agreed to leave the Club and talk to me. So we got her friend, Purity, who spoke great English to come along to translate. Then I told her God sent me to give her a message. She was defiling the temple of the Holy Ghost and it was sin. It hit her like a ton of bricks and she broke down sobbing. She told me she knew God loved her and went on to tell us how she was baptized on Feb. 20th, going to church on Sundays and just this past week she was preached to prophetically about prostitution by a pastor who is called to these girls. She was so sick about it that she stayed home for 12 days, and when she ran out of money and went to the street to feed her son she picked me. Bang! Does God ever have his hand on her? I sent her home by taxi and she agreed to meet me the next day.
I met Ben her son that day and gave her money for food. Florence came along to translate. It was very heavy as she said she could not go back to the street and we talked about her moving to Shanzu and going to church with Florence. I agreed to meet her again and talk to her. I gave her some more money and sent her home. Then reality set in. I was hurting her not helping her. As Florence was saying, "as soon as she runs out of money she has no choice but go back to the street". I was making her feel bad about her life and buying her a couple of day’s vacation then she would go back. I felt so helpless to do anything. I involved Florence and it hurt her too. O God, help me, what is the solution. What come first, the chicken or the egg? Should I be doing this? O.K. Even Florence, who is spirit-filled, born-again from last fall, attending Church regularly, singing in the choir, praying in tongues, and when you do something for her, she just wants more and more!!! It is like taken for granted and if you question them – a big reaction. The more I try to help the more I wonder if I’m hurting. You buy a gift for mom and dad is not grateful, but jealous. It seems like you do more harm than good. O Lord, show me the way. It’s a non-stop assault on your emotions about poverty. Everybody just needs, wants and if you are a “Mzungu”(White Man) then they make it out to be your responsibility.


November 24th, 2006

Agnes Is Saved!

Let me share my blessing of the week I got a call from Agnes a former prostitute in Mombassa that I preached to last trip. She had been saved by a woman preacher and baptized, after 12 days off the street she needed food for her child and prayed to God to forgive her and give her another way as she went to the bar. THE FIRST ONE SHE PICKED WAS ME! little did she know I asked her why me and she said she liked my size. This was very significant for me since I was questioning my motive, was I in the flesh playing with girls or in the Spirit following the Lord Jesus Christ! When I preached to her she broke down crying and said Better I die of hunger than I ever go to the street again. Then she showed me her baptism photo and told me the story. I gave her taxi fare home and met her the next day.
I proposed many things and gave her some more money but another reformed girl that I had saved told me that in the end she has no choice and will go back. I felt discouraged to say the least. I have since stopped focusing on these girls.
Well praise the Lord all the glory to God. Agnes said she is working in a hair dressing salon and is no longer going to the street!!! I hope to visit her in Mombassa next week
Well I visited Agnes in Mombassa. She is working in a salon. Ben her son is going to school and she is not working on the street I gave her money to go home for Christmas and told her God loves her. All the glory to God.

Doing the work of God
Changing peoples lives
one person at a time
alan

Habari Yako

Usharika wetu ni "Usharika WaKimasihi unaoshika Torati" ukihusisha wale waliozaliwa kama Wayahudi na wale wa mataifa, walio pandikizwa katika jumuiya ya Israeli, kwa kumpokea Yeshua kama Masihi wao (Waefeso 2:12-13).
Tunaamini Yeshua ni Torati hai aliyekuja kutimiza Torati kwa uaminifu na siyo kuitangua. Torati ni hai na nzima, inaishi katika mioyo ya wote wamuaminio.

Kwa hiyo uchaji wake siyo hiari bali ni uhitaji kwa wote wanaodhamiria kumfuata Mashiach (Masihi) wetu, ambaye baada ya kutimiza Torati kwa ajili yetu, alilipa gharama (Asham - sadaka) ya makosa yetu, hivyo akatangua katika mwili Wake madhara ya kutokutii kwetu (dhambi na mauti). Tunakazana kutembea katika njia Zake kwa sababu tunampenda. Tunaamini kwamba Torati na neema zinaishi pamoja leo, nasi tunahitaji kutimiza Sheria za MUNGU na Neema ya MUNGU inatusamehe wakati tumejaribu na kushindwa.
Tukiwa ni usharika wenye uchaji wa Torati inamaanisha kwamba tunafundisha na kuhimiza wanachama na wafuasi kujizoesha na Torati majumbani mwao na kama maisha ya uadilifu kwa ujumla. Hii inamaanisha vilevile kusherekea moedim (sherehe) zote za Kibiblia kama inavostahili na kwa siku zilizoamriwa. Kuwa na uchaji wa Torati ina maana tunaheshimu siku ya Shabati na kuacha kufanya kazi zozote pamoja na kutokununua na kuuza, kuanzia machweo ya Ijumaa hadi machweo ya Siku ya Saba (Jumamosi).
Uchaji wetu wa Torati unaendelea hadi katika muundo wetu na taratibu za ibada. Ingawa sisi ni Wakarisimatiki (tunaamini katika vipawa na kazi za Ruach HaKodesh [Roho Mtakatifu]), bado tunapendelea zaidi muundo wa ibada ya kiasili. Shabati inaanza na ibada ya Erev Shabati "Kabalah Shabati" (kukaribisha Shabati), imbayo inahusisha litrugia, kusifu na kuabudu na kujifunza Torati kwa kujadiliana . Ibada za Shabati zinaanza saa 3.00 asubuhi ya Siku ya Saba (jumamosi), pamoja na saa moja na nusu ya kujifunza Torati ya parasha ya wiki (masoma ya wiki ya Torati).
Ibada za kawaida zinaanza saa 5:00 asb. Na kuchukua kama masaa matatu. Ibada hii inaanza na litrugia na kuendelea na maombi, sifa na kuabudu Kimasihi (pamoja na dansi ya Kidaudi), ibada ya Torati ya kiasili yenye ufasihi, D'var Torah (tafakari ya masomo ya kila wiki), na kumalizia na mahubiri ya Rabbi. Ingawa hii ni ibada ya kawaida, haimaanishi kwamba tumeambatana nayo kimadhubuti. Uongozi unaruhusiwa kugeuza ibada na yale yaliyomo, kama vile watakavyoongozwa na Ruach HaKodesh.
Sisi hapa Melech Yisrael tunajihesabia zaidi ya usharika; sisi ni jamii hai inayojishughulisha ya waamini wa Masihi, tukiwa na ibada mbalimbali na mashughuliko yanayotendeka wiki nzima. Upekee wetu unatokana na kwamba sisi sote tunatokana na wale ambao ni Wayahudi na wasiyo Wayaahudi, tumeunganishwa pamoja katika kumuabudu Masihi wetu katika desturi na mila za Torati, wakati huohuo tukithibitisha uweza na uhuru wa Ruach HaKodesh.

Bright Hope Future Children Home

Todd Iliff

Todd grew up in a small town in Northwestern Montana called Libby. At age 19 he joined the US Air Force as a heavy equipment operator. He was stationed in Las Vegas, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Iraq, and South Carolina. After serving 6 years in the military he decided to get out and go work in Iraq as a civilian contractor. Todd grew up in a Christian home, but after high school fell away from the Lord. While in Iraq as a civilian contractor, the Lord revealed himself to him and he became a Christian. Right away he realized he was being called to work in Kenya. So he quit his job and booked a ticket to Nairobi, Kenya not knowing what he was going to do or what to expect but just following the Lord. He wandered around Kenya for a few weeks looking for someone who needed some help and finally found a Pastor in Eldoret who ran a School. He stayed in Eldoret for 3 months building a dining hall, kitchen, and a school building for Gethsemane Christian Academy. After his commitment was finished in Eldoret he moved to Kitale to help start a Non Government Organization with a friend he met in Kenya. In Kitale he got involved with Bright Hope Future Children Home. He bought 1 acre of land and started building a new home for the orphans. The home can house about 40 orphans. It is a brick structure with three large rooms and 2 small ones. The 2 large rooms are for the girls and the other for the boys, the open space in the centre is for a common area. The 2 small rooms are for the house-mother and for the office. There are 21 orphans already in Bright Hope Future Children Home. They are currently renting a small mud hut a few hundred meters away from the new site. As soon as this as this home is completed they will be moved into it. The main structure on the home is complete, meaning the walls, roof and floor. All that is needed to finish this orphanage is the plastering of the walls and floors and to put the windows and doors and a kitchen structure. Todd has been here working since May, 2006.

Alan and I met Todd when we moved in to the Rhino Gate House. Todd is at present living here as he is a good friend of Budd and Kim, the owners of this house. He is looking after their affairs and taking care of the house whilst they are back in the States expecting the birth of their first child, which is due any day now.
Todd has spent all his savings and money he earned whilst in the army and in Iraq into the building of this home. We are very impressed with what he has done. Not only has he single-handedly started building this home and came so far, but he is trusting and believing that God will help him complete it. We now are doing our little bit in the hope that his story will move some of you out there to asist with the fiannances for his project. Once the home is completed there will be on-going finance to take care of the running of the home and expenses for the children.
We visited these children and they are bright and happy people, each of them have a sad story behind their history. We were told of 3 orphans, the youngest is Emmanuel who is 7 and he has 2 older sisters a few years older. Their parents passed away and they were alone since February without anyone to take care of them. A social worker found them and brought them to Bright Hope Future Children Home and they are now being cared for.

You can write to us and we can give you on-going up-dates on Bright Hope Future Childrens Home.

The Rhino Gate House

The Rhino Gate House (its like living in a dream castle)

When we arrived in Kitale we were dropped off at the petrol station as we requested.
We waited for Ryan who was picking us up. Ryan Schumacker is the person that alan connected with back in Toronto and with whom alan will be working. Ryan is with Love Mercy Ministry, and they have just bought this big drilling machine for drilling wells which at present is being transported to Mombassa.
Ryan came shortly afterwards and it was just a short drive to the Love Mercy House from the petrol station. We were very tired and we got all our bags into the room we were taken to. It was a nice big room with a Queen size bed. However, as we unpacked Ryan told us that the President of Love Mercy and his wife, will be arriving on Monday and we would have to vacate this room during their 2 weeks visit. It was a disappointing welcome for us and I guess we were not very happy about it since the other rooms were too small for us. Our 5 bags filled this big room already. Ryan suggested another house where at the moment; Todd from Montana is living in. Todd is house-sitting for a young missionary couple who has gone back to the States for the birth of their first baby. Ryan will check this out, maybe we could stay there until Noel and Mickey left.
Ryan said he had to go to town and asked if we wanted to come with him and we could decide what to do later. Alan is thinking that perhaps we could find a place to stay in town. So we went to town with Ryan.
We then visited “the Rhino Gate house” and met Todd and he was very gracious, he said Kim and Bud are happy for us to stay at their house, he would move out of the master bedroom since he doesn’t really need such a big room. We like Todd, he seems such a nice guy and we planned to move all our stuff from the Mercy House later in the day.
By 3 p.m. I was losing it, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, alan told me to take a nap and he’ll get things ready for our move. At 4.30 p.m. we were packed up again and we moved to “the Rhino Gate” house. Here there are no numbers to the houses and there are no names to the streets. We just know that this section is called “Mili Mani” meaning many hills. This is how we came to be staying at the rhino gate house, so named because each side of the gate has a rhino painted on it.
The Rhino Gate house is a very nice house, there are 4 rooms, 3 along one end, the corner room has an ensuite, the one Alan and I are in, then 2 other rooms, one has a crib; one has 2 bunk-beds. On the other side of the corridor are the laundry room and 2 bathrooms, one has a tub and the other a wash-basin and toilet. There is a door to close this section of the house. We like this as this gives us some privacy.
We come in the house from the kitchen door, which is the entrance we use to the house, from the kitchen we have the dinning room to the left of it, our section is the other side of the dining room. To the right of the kitchen is the big sitting room; in the centre is a fireplace. The fireplace divides the sitting room into 2 sitting areas.
From the sitting room area closest to the kitchen is the 4th room which also has an ensuite and is the one Todd is occupying.
This plot of land is about an acre. From the gate the drive way is an L shape turning left. On the left side of the driveway is a big grass lawn which surrounds the front and other side of the house. The drive way is lined with banana trees on the left side and as you turn left on the drive-way to the back of the house the left side is lined with plants and flowers . The driveway ends just at the entrance to the kitchen door. There is a guest-house at the back of the house, just off to the right from the door of the kitchen that is on the other side of the driveway. This house has 2 rooms and the garage. The back of the Guest-house is a grass lawn, where there are many lines for hanging clothes, and the 2 kennels which house the 4 dogs are at the back of the guest house.
There are flowers planted in front of and all around the main house and in front of the guest-house, a little further away from the front of the guest-house is a big avocado tree and there is a swing there supported from branches of the tree.
The house is enclosed on all sides by tall hedges so that there is complete privacy. There are cactus plants here and there and other flowers and plants, the garden is beautiful and well maintained. There are 3 guards that alternate their shifts, one is the main gardener that comes daily from Monday to Thursday and the other 2 guards alternate their night and day shifts between them.
The kitchen has lots of cupboard space and is equipped with everything you need for cooking, baking and storing things. Our bathroom has hot water for the shower and the wash basin.
If you have read my first story of what’s it like living in Africa where I had no fridge, no stove, no oven and no heater, you can understand why I think in this house it’s like living in a dream castle.

.