An international missionary outreach dedicated to evangelizing the lost  by sharing the gospel according to the scriptures

 

Bryce Homes Kenya
 

   
 

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Send a check or money order to: 

Understand The Times. International
PO Box 27239
Santa Ana, CA
U.S.A.
92799

Or

Understand The Times, Canada
PO BOX 1160
Eston, Saskatchewan,
Canada
SOL 1AO    


 

 

 

 

Bryce Homes Kenya Update
October 2014
 

  

Bryce Homes in Kenya – Water Filtration for All, Small Business Project Going Well, the Threat of Disease, and More

We are happy to report that all of the twenty-four Bryce Homes in Kenya now have water filtration systems. Understand the Times began to place  water filtration units in each Bryce Home in June after Roger Oakland, founder and director of Understand the Times, returned from visiting the homes this past spring. Many of the children and widows were suffering  with disease and sickness because of unclean and contaminated water.


It became apparent that one of the greatest needs for our widows and their families was water—both uncontaminated drinking water and water for other basic needs (bathing, washing clothing, etc.). Where our families live in a remote area, they are required to walk long distances to get water from streams, ponds, or community boreholes and then carry the water in five-gallon pails back to their houses. Not only is there the problem of the water source being a long distance away, such water also contains many pathogens that are the cause of serious life-threatening diseases.
 

Understand the Times was able to obtain water filtration systems from a company called Sawyer that provides such filters to many organizations that help the poor around the world. The Sawyer filters are inexpensive yet durable and easy to use. Thanks to Understand the Times and Lighthouse Trails readers, we have been able to purchase enough systems so that each of the Bryce Homes in Kenya have one. In addition to the water filtration systems, the families will all be receiving a water collection system as we have mentioned in the past. Some of the families already have them, and we hope all the families will have them soon. This allows for the collection of rain water that can be used for drinking, bathing, cooking, and personal hygiene

 

 

 

Small Business Opportunity (SBO)
We are also pleased to report that all of the Bryce Home widows now are participating in the Small Business Opportunity (SBO) program started by UTT. The small home-based businesses are up and running. As we have explained in other reports, UTT gives each widow $75 as a start up amount. She, in turn, buys raw materials or finished goods that she sells. Florence 2, the overseer of the project (and one of the Bryce widows), checks in regularly with each widow to talk about the progress and to remind the widows to save enough of their earnings to turn around and buy more material or product. The testimonies coming in from the widows have been wonderful. Each of them is testifying how this and the other Bryce Home projects have changed their entire family life. And best of all, when we hear these testimonies, they give the glory and thanks to God.

Solar Panel For Pastor Achilla
We are grateful for some special donations that came in that helped to pay for a new solar panel system for Pastor Achilla’s house. The decision was made to purchase the system after he had gone without electricity for several weeks, making extreme hardship not just for his family but also for the Bryce Home project. Being as Pastor Achilla is the head director of the program, it is essential that he be able to use his computer and also have light in his home. During any given week, many people come by Pastor Achilla’s house for some kind of assistance or to have a meal. We have found Pastor Achilla to be a very kind and giving man, and we are glad we were able to help set him up with solar energy. As God provides, we would like to see all of the Bryce Homes have solar panels in the future. Currently, most of them do not have any form of electrical or solar power.

Vitamin C And Ebola
As you can imagine, many of the Bryce Home families suffer from poor health. Most of the widows became widowed after their husbands died of AIDS. Needless to say, some of the Bryce Home widows (and children too) have HIV. For privacy sake, we don’t mention which ones do, but even if that wasn’t an issue, there is the ongoing threat of disease and sickness to all of the families. After hearing that Vitamin C could possibly help those with Ebola, we decided to try to make sure that the Bryce Home families each had a small stock of Vitamin C if they became sick with Ebola or other similar diseases. While we know that this is not a sure cure, it is an affordable and easy-to-obtain substance that can help improve the overall health and immune system.

PLEASE PRAY
Please join us in prayer as we ask the Lord for wisdom and guidance in moving into the next stages of development for the Bryce Homes in Kenya. It was just about 3 years ago that the project was launched after Roger Oakland made a trip to Kenya where he saw the tremendous and dire need in the lives of these Christian families in Kenya. Since then, twenty-four families have become Bryce Homes in Kenya. New houses have been built, clothes and bedding purchased, family agriculture developed, latrines have been built, cookstoves and stove pipes installed in all the new homes, and much more. And best of all, the widows and children are being taught the Word of God by Pastor Achilla, Pastor Nelson, and other area pastors who have discernment; and many in the community are turning to the Lord in seeing His goodness and mercy. What many of them are saying now is, “God has not forgotten us.”

For those who may not realize it, this project is supported solely by UTT and LT readers. If you would like to help support these dear families, click here to go to the Understand the Times donation page for the Bryce Homes in Kenya. There is a short piece, below, answering some questions about the program. Also check out our newest slideshow (see below) for recent photos of the Bryce Homes in Kenya. And thank you for your prayers and support.

Five Things You Might Be Wondering

1. Does the Bryce Home project have a U.S. building that it must maintain?
Answer: No, there are no U.S. overhead building costs whatsoever.

2. Does the Bryce Home project have a staff it must pay?
Answer: The pastors in Kenya who run the program are compensated for their time, but there is no paid staff in the U.S. or Canada.

5. Is there an emphasis on teaching the Word of God to the Bryce Home widows and children?
Answer: Definitely. While the program does put donations toward practical needs such as housing, food, clothing, water purification, latrines, standard education for the children, and start up money for agriculture and other businesses for the widows, there is regular instruction in the Word of God presented by Pastor Achilla, Pastor Nelson, Pastor Lawrence, and Pastor Daniel.

 

 

June 2014

Kenya Water Program

While visiting our Bryce Homes in Kenya in March of 2014, it became apparent that one of the greatest needs for our widows and their families was water—both uncontaminated drinking water and water for other basic needs (bathing, washing clothing, etc.). Where our families live in a remote area, they are required to walk long distances to get water from streams, ponds, or community boreholes and then carry the water in five-gallon pails back to their houses. Not only is there the problem of the water source being a long distance away, such water also contains many pathogens that are the cause of serious life-threatening diseases.

It was also obvious to me that there was a very doable solution to this problem. When I returned from Kenya, we reported on the need to collect water from the roofs of the newly constructed houses that our donors have helped to build. Since then, in these past three months, we have been able to construct three water-collecting systems that cost approximately $500 each. Eve troughs collect water runoff when it rains that is then drained into large clean plastic tanks that store the water. The tanks are situated at the corner of each house, and the water can be obtained by opening a valve whenever needed.

 Below are the photographs of the three widows and the water-collecting systems that have been constructed so far.


  

Widows Finter, Terri, and Benedetta are overjoyed and very appreciative for the way the new water-collecting systems have transformed their lives. The following is a short testimony that Finter sent to us through Pastor Achilla, which expresses her appreciation in her own words:

I am glad and glorify the Lord Jesus for provision of this water tank. It has enabled my family to get clean rain water for drinking. Because of this, the common infections brought on by water-borne diseases, especially cholera and dysentery, have ceased.

Myself and the children have now been relieved from the burden of transporting water from the river using buckets carried on the head. Simply, it has given us peace.

The people in the village have also surprised us as many come to request even a glass of rain water to quench their thirst and even to take with them to their homes. I have always given the testimony of God's favor whenever people come for water.

This provision of the Lord has reminded me of the LIFE GIVING WATER which our Lord Jesus gave to the Samaritan woman (John 4:14). May the Lord be glorified. Amen. Thank you to all the people who have stood with me. May God do to you the same as you did to me. By doing God will’s, may He reward you all.

God bless you all,

Finter

In the future, as funds become available, we have plans to construct more of these water-collection systems in the remaining Bryce homes that we have built with metal roofs. In the meantime, we are working on a plan to supply Sawyer water- treatment/filtration systems so that all of our 24 homes will have a way to purify water for drinking.

During the month of June, Pastor Achilla and an associate will be picking up 10 of these units from a supplier in Nairobi. At the same time, they will receive instructions on how to maintain the units so that clean and uninfected drinking water will be available for these 10 homes. The remaining 14 homes will also receive these same units as soon as possible.

Evangelism

Finter’s testimony perfectly fulfills the vision Understand The Times and Lighthouse Trails have for our Kenya Bryce Homes Program. While we feel compelled to let our readers know about the physical needs our families face and come alongside and assist them, this is only part of our goal. More important is the fact that these families are now sharing the light of the gospel to those who live nearby, and the love of God is spreading to others.

In a future report, I will be sharing an update about our Small Business Opportunity Program for widows. For as little as $70 per widow, we are able to provide seed funds to the widows who will be able to start a small business which provides an avenue towards self-sufficiency.

We thank all those who have partnered with us in the Bryce Homes Kenya Program. When we first met the widows and children who were to become the Bryce Home families, most of these widows were living in mud shacks with grass roofs (that leaked badly during rainy seasons) or old deteriorated plaster houses that also leaked. The floors were dirt, and both the children and mothers did not have adequate beds and blankets and often had only one meal a day. Cooking was done in an open fire on the dirt floor (which caused a terrible fire-threat and respiratory problems because of the smoke). The children’s clothing were little more than rags, and most of them couldn’t  attend school because they had no government-required uniforms.

Today, the lives of these Christian widows and children have completely changed. This is an incredible testimony of the Lord’s goodness and mercy. And your support has made the success of this program possible.

Please scroll down to read all of the reports.

March 2014

Report 11 Final Report

From the Kibera Slums to a Homa Bay Paradise

Another chapter of our Bryce Homes Kenya story relates to an amazing transition that has occurred for Pastor Vitalis and his family who have spent years in the Kibera slums of Nairobi living in deplorable conditions and circumstances. I met Pastor Vitalis for the first time when I arrived at the Nairobi International airport on my first trip to Kenya in November of 2011. As I had a layover of several hours before connecting with a flight to Kisimu, Pastor Achilla had arranged for Pastor Vitalis to meet and help me make my connection from one terminal to another.

Pastor Vitalis was my first contact with anyone from Kenya. He told me about his experience living with his wife and large family in a mud shack in the slums of Kibera. At the time, we were in the process of considering expanding our Bryce Homes Program to Kenya. He showed me a photo of where he lived and the number of children he was caring for, most of them orphans whose parents had been killed by the tribal massacres that had devastated Kenya as the result of a recent political election.

We had a meal together which brought up the topic of food. When I asked him how he was able to cope with such a large family living in the poverty conditions he had described, he opened up and gave me more details. “At best, there is only enough food to have one meal a day”, he said. Then he made a statement that I will never forget: “We usually eat some rice or beans just before we lie down at night so that hunger pains do not keep us awake.”

The following year on my second trip to Kenya when I was accompanied by my friend Byron Hardy from Canada, our connection from Nairobi to Kisimu was not scheduled until the following afternoon. This gave us time to get some rest as well as an opportunity to meet with Pastor Vitalis and his family in the Kibera slums. As his family had become part of our program by then, I wanted to see for myself the conditions they were living in and how we could help them.

Pastor Vitalis met us at our hotel, and after we hired a driver, we headed off to the Kibera area, which was about thirty minutes away from where we were staying. Finally we arrived and found a place to park. Both Byron and I were somewhat hesitant about stepping out of the vehicle. I have been to many slum areas before in other parts of the world. What I was seeing with my own eyes this time was as if I had landed on another planet.

We walked through the winding trails over very rough terrain. It was difficult to navigate the open streams of sewage that flowed everywhere. Garbage was strewn everywhere although in a few places it was concentrated in open piles. As Byron and I were the only white people in the area, we felt somewhat conspicuous. Finally we arrive at the Vitalis home. The door was a sheet that provided privacy from the outside world. Inside there was another sheet dividing the mud hut into two rooms. Byron and I were offered the two chairs that were in the one room.  We were asked to sit down and were offered a sliced bread. The children crowded around, and the entire family was introduced.

As Pastor Vitalis had been part of our program for over a year, I was able to ask him some questions regarding what differences his family had experienced. As I looked around from the location where we were doing the interview, a myriad of thoughts flooded my mind. While we were attempting to come alongside and make a small difference, the impact on the lives of this family was of paramount importance. Then I thought about the area where we live in Canada and the United States and the luxuries of life everyone takes for granted. Then I thought out loud: if only I could transport some of the people who live in abundance to this location so they could see, hear, and smell the sights of the slums of Kibera. Wouldn’t they be willing to invest just a cup of coffee per day to assist a Christian family in need who lives in these conditions?

 God Answers Prayer

Moving Pastor Vitalis and his large family of 16, which includes 10 orphans that he and his wife provide care, has been on our list of things to accomplish in Kenya for some time. When Lighthouse Trails and Understand The Times decided to do a special fundraising program in

December of 2013 focused on adding latrines and new homes, moving Pastor Vitalis and his family out of Nairobi became a priority. As Pastor Vitalis was born in the Homa Bay area and grew up there, he was known to the chief in that region. When he inquired about the possibility of moving back, it was a matter of him making a trip to see the chief and securing a deed for a plot of land.

Once the land was secured, plans could proceed with the building of a home when funds became available. When our donors heard about this need, they responded, and we were able to go ahead with construction. Pastor Achilla traveled to the site and hired a builder to clear the property of bush and start the project.

When I arrived in Nairobi on my March 2014 trip, Pastor Achilla met me, and we spent the night in a hotel. The following morning Pastor Vitalis and four of his children met me at the hotel, and we discussed the upcoming move to Homa Bay.  They were enthusiastic about the move, which should occur around the middle of April. All sixteen children will be registering in a new school located near their new house.

On my final full day of touring the Bryce Homes, we were able to start early in the morning and drive to the location where Pastor Vitalis’ new house is presently under construction.  While we first travelled towards Homa Bay then northward to the location by a paved road, eventually we branched off to a dirt side trail. After what seemed like an eternity, we approached the site where construction of the new Vitalis home was taking place. As we got closer, I could see that the area looked like a paradise compared to the Kibera slums where they are presently residents.

While Pastor Vitalis’ house is partially constructed, it will only take a matter of another couple of weeks to complete the process. Wooden poles are dug into the soil and provide the structure for the walls. Smaller branches are attached to both sides of the vertical poles. Metal sheets supported by wooden rafters form the roof.  Then water is mixed with dirt to make mud that forms the walls and floor. Finally when the mud dries, plaster is made from mixing cement, sand, and water, and the walls and floors are coated. Windows and a single door are added, then the house is complete.

When the house is finished, it will be painted inside and outside so that it will be white. As well, a latrine/shower will be built on the property, a cook stove and chimney will be installed, and eventually eves troughs will be added to capture water off the roof for storage in a large plastic tank.

The area surrounding the home where Pastor Vitalis and his family will live is extremely fertile. Fruit and vegetables can be grown, and livestock can provide meat, milk, and eggs. In the near future, the family will be able to participate in a small business program and work towards self-sufficiency. Pastor Vitalis can start a Christian fellowship in the area and spread the gospel.

What a Miracle!

This transition from hell to paradise, from the Nairobi Kibera slums to a fertile area near Homa Bay, from my perspective is a modern-day miracle. While some may insist that miracles require demon deliverance, being raised from the dead, or cured of a terminal disease, the Vitalis family story shows me God can be involved in changing impossible situations to bring hope and a real difference in people’s lives. While this story is just one example, it reveals how God is working in Kenya through the Bryce Homes Kenya Program. This is God at work in a supernatural way using ordinary people and ordinary circumstances.

Now think of this! There are also 23 other Bryce Homes in Kenya that have their stories to tell. On this trip, I made the decision to increase the number of Bryce Homes from 20 to 24. This means there are now over 150 lives being impacted that can share testimonies about the goodness of Jesus and the difference the Bryce Homes Program has made to their lives.

Is it possible this is only the beginning and that God has a plan for us to share this vision on an even broader scale? As support is provided from individuals and churches who seriously care about missions, we are committed to follow the Lord, wherever and however He leads.

 

Kenya Report 10

 

The Miracle

The Bryce Homes in Kenya are not all located in one concentrated area. At present, there are twenty of them scattered in the area. As you can understand administering a program to widows and families in such an expansive region is characterized by many difficulties. However, this is how our Bryce Home Kenya administration team has set up the program. This expansive outreach spreads out the support and gives opportunity to share the gospel over a wide area. This is the vision of the Bryce Homes Kenya program incorporated from the beginning.

The families situated in the area are all located within a few miles of each other. The widows and the children in this area are regular attendees of Pastor Achilla’s or Pastor Nelson’s churches. Delivering food to them is not such a huge task. In every case, a vehicle carrying supplies is able to drive close to the homes to make the drop off. In a few cases, the driver has to make a detour from a trail and head across an open field or pasture dodging the odd tree or large rock. Delivery of monthly food supplies can be accomplished in several hours.

Not so for two homes or the six homes clustered in the area. To reach these eight homes all in one day is a challenge. There are three major obstacles – the roads that are not fit for vehicles, the cows and goats who share these trails, and the weather. While the first 20 miles of the trip can be made on a modern paved road, this is the only portion of the trip that is reasonable. The road branches off and becomes a winding trail where drivers do their best to navigate rock piles, cows, and washouts that act as speed bumps and hinder speed beyond a few miles per hour.

However, these goat trails, as I call them, remain passable as long as it has not rained recently. There is still another major hazard. My experience has shown me as the result of several of these trips, if there are dark clouds forming in the sky, you better be prepared for a flash flood as small lakes of water and rivers form in seconds making your way impassable.

 As it is not possible to carry thousands of pounds of supplies on the backs of a few men to their final destinations, the drivers are determined to transform their vehicles into “boats” and treacherously proceed crossing huge mud holes and small rivers.

Finally, after encountering several of these “near-stuck” experiences, the delivery mission finally reaches its destination and the goods are dropped off. In some cases, it is just impossible to reach the vicinity of the home by vehicle and Nelson, Achilla, and Walter load the bags on their backs and carry them by hand. On occasion, motor bike drivers come along and help carry the supplies on the final leg. All in all, monthly deliveries are riddled with adversity and hardship and always take more time than expected. If you start out at sunrise, you can expect it will be after sunset by the time the days activities end.

Perhaps as you read through this report, you are asking the question: If there are plenty of widows and orphans in more accessible regions, why would you choose to travel into the wilderness into areas that are nearly impossible to reach? I have to admit, after my first experience of being shook up and thrown around in the front seat of a van for over 12 hours, I was asking the same question. However, now after seeing what God is doing in these remote areas, I have a new outlook and have grown to appreciate these widows who were chosen to be part of the Bryce Homes Program because God is not a respecter of persons including whether or not they live in accessible places.

In fact, it seems God is blessing the widows because they have suffered even greater hardship because of the location in which they live. Pastor Achilla, who himself was born and raised in the Kenya, has felt a responsibility to assist widows and children who have been left fatherless from the very beginning of the program.

I will never forget the first time I visited Kenya. When we arrived, we were met by a large group of children and about twenty widowed mothers who were singing songs welcoming us.

Most of the widows and orphans gathered there that day had never seen a white person before. However, in their desperation, they sensed that God had not forgotten them in their misery and that possible help was on the way. While their hopes and dreams may have seemed impossible at that time, we have now seen God’s hands at work. Through Lighthouse Trails and Understand The Times, donors worldwide have caught the vision and assisted us so we have been able to supply food for eight families on a monthly basis as well as build six new homes and six new outdoor showers and latrines in the  region.



Testimony frShow Miracles Have Unfolded

All six widows sponsored shared testimonies that revealed how thankful they are to God for answering their prayers. Isolated in a remote area when they were forced into a situation to look after their children alone was an unbearable situation. Because other families living in the community were as poor and desperate as they were, there was no way to reach out and ask for help.

Chief Jared, who oversees the community, made a special trip to the area and followed us around as we visited each home. As an appointed representative to the community by the Kenyan government, he told us that what he has observed and reported is being discussed by many other communities and true Christianity is being observed in action.

Future Projects

As previously reported, there are a number of projects we are praying about for the Bryce Homes Program in Kenya. These include capturing water from roofs in storage tanks, water treatment in order to purify drinking water and implementing small business opportunities so families can work towards self-sufficiency. This will make a huge difference and will open up the possibility that more widows and orphans can be added to the program.

As well, we have a plan to add a pastor/evangelist devoted to teaching the Bible and being a spiritual leader for all of the families in the area. In the near future, we have plans to build a small church so that families can gather to worship. By a church, I am not referring to an elaborate building with stain-glass windows and a paved parking lot.

A wonderful miracle is underway in the area. May God continue to pour out His blessings as the months go by as prayers continue to be answered and the gospel continues to be spread. My heart has been touched by what I have seen and heard and am committed to tell others so that they know about the good work God is doing through the Bryce Homes Kenya Program.


 

Report 9

Helping Widows to Become Self-Sufficient

Life in Kenya is difficult enough.  However, when a mother who has several children loses her husband to the ravaging disease known as AIDS (or some other all-too-common disease in Africa), her life becomes a horror story. Imagine if you can what happens when the man who fathered your children and provided food and shelter for your family suddenly dies and you are left alone. How does a widowed woman, who barely survived before the death of her husband, continue to live and support her children when she is on her own? Can you image the despair and hopelessness that overcomes her?

Families with widows as the only parent brought about by AIDS makes up 60% of the population according to one government official. Worse yet, in many cases both parents have been wiped out by this disease and grandmothers who are also single are called upon to raise their grandchildren. They have no income, no food, and no way to make their quality of life better.

While there are government agencies and global fundraising organizations dedicated to looking for solutions to the problem of AIDS, the fact is, there are a myriad of widows left helpless in dire situations. Families go to bed every night hungry and crying for food. The clothes they wear are nothing but torn rags. They huddle under thatched leaky roofs when it rains and shiver on mud floors without any mats of blankets so that sleep is impossible. Such is the life of countless fatherless families who belong to the family of God and the body of Jesus Christ in Kenya.

The widows in the Rarea that God has called us to reach out to and care for are all Christians. When we met them, they were regular attendees of Pastor Achilla’s church or cared for by associate pastors who volunteered their services to care for those more needier than themselves. Pastor Achilla is well known in this region, not only as a man of God but a man who has great compassion for the poor and needy. Whenever and wherever I have traveled with him, people approach him and greet him. He is a true pastor that makes people a priority and loves and cares for those in need.

Before we partnered with Achilla and his team, he was already doing all that he could to encourage widows. Numbers were being added to his small congregation on a weekly basis. The burden to minister to their needs seemed like an insurmountable and overwhelming task.

It was this attitude and vision that caught my attention in November of 2011. The Bible encourages members of the family of God to reach out and care for widows and orphans and respond accordingly. In the book of James, chapter one and verse 27, we read: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction….”

Such a concept is a foreign idea for most churches and church leaders today. Their concept of spending the resources they have been given by their supporters usually goes towards buildings and empires that can be seen as marks of success. Missions programs that invest in lives far away are not good “business” decisions. “Real religion” in the modern world has turned God’s Word upside down. It is more about “more for us” and less and less for others. Widows and orphans are forgotten about and ignored.

This westernized mentality that drives the purpose-driven, church-growth mindset has always troubled me. For years, I thought and prayed about how this could be changed. Then there was a breakthrough. As our ministry was in the process of moving towards our Bryce Homes International Program that was born in 2006 in memory of my son Bryce, it seemed that a partnership with Pastor Achilla and his team in Kenya would be a perfect fit to fulfill God’s calling upon my life. This partnership, which later expanded to include the promotion by and support of Lighthouse Trails, has now proven itself for over three and one half years.  

The Road from Dependency to Self-Sufficiency

However, when God is truly in the lead, one never stands still or in one place. God is almighty and sees what is best and the steps that are required to move on. While the Bryce Homes Program has been a great success, there has been a question or concern that has been consistently at the forefront of my mind. While food has been provided on a monthly basis along with clothes, homes, and latrines to make life easier, there was something missing.

The purpose of designing the Bryce Homes Program was never to become a welfare agency by becoming a never-ending pipeline guaranteeing assistance perpetually so that entire families could grow up depending on others instead of helping themselves. Such a system, in the long run, would be harmful and destructive. I pondered. There had to be a better way so that through time a transition could be made from total dependency to self-sufficiency.

One of the main purposes and objective of my March 2014 trip to Kenya was to investigate the possibility of adding another dimension to our program. I wondered if any of the widows had ever thought about small businesses they could start that would subsidize the support they were receiving through the Bryce Homes Program. The results were delightful. Every single widow that I interviewed immediately responded to the question. I have many of these responses recorded on video and will later publish the report as a short documentary.

What surprised me was the fact that none of the widows had to think about the answer to my question, even though they had not been told beforehand what question I was going to ask. Every single widow already had prayed and dreamed about a time in the future she could set up a small business and not have to rely upon donor support. In fact, many of the women had previous experience with the small business they were desiring to start before their husbands had passed away. The death of their husbands had not only left their children fatherless and without their main source of income but also the widow herself, who had been a secondary bread winner, was no longer able to continue as all her efforts had to be concentrated on helping her children survive.

When you see and hear the responses the widows gave me when I told them about the coming Small Business Opportunity Program, you will discover for yourselves why God has been leading us in this direction. For now, I will show a photo of the widow and then briefly describe what kind of small business she wanted to do.

 

Small Business in Kenya

I must say that I was somewhat surprised by the entrepreneurial enthusiasm I sensed from these ladies who range in ages from 25 to 75. The concepts of making, buying, growing, and reselling were not new to them. For most of them, they or their parents had small businesses at one time in their lives. This is what life is all about in Kenya. This is how people survive and make a living. When a widow becomes a widow, she not only loses her husband, she also loses her potential to have a job. Worse yet, she knows that she becomes a liability to the community rather than an asset.

Knowing what I now know and seeing the countryside through eyes that have been opened wide, a flood of ideas and thoughts have poured into my mind. There is now a way to move on and start small business experiments one by one. It is not a matter of purchasing or renting buildings or forming a corporation with a fleet of cars or hiring staff. Each widow and her family can establish her own business right in the area where she is located. The widows may have to rent a “piki-piki” from time to time to catch a ride to the bigger markets where they will secure the goods they are going to resell, or they may have to set up a temporary “Kiosk” or display table. Although these costs are next to nothing in our standards, for them a penny is more than they can afford. What they need is “seed capital” to get started. Once they get going, their own creativity, coupled with hard work, perseverance, and good business practices, will become their lifelines to the future.

How Many Products are Sold In Rural Kenya   

 

Supporting Small Business is a Positive Solution for All

I see the small business program as having many positive benefits. While developing a small business, the whole family will participate and reap the profits in several ways. Rather than growing up expecting others to provide for them, the children will learn principles that come along with working hard for a living, and then this knowledge can then be passed on to the next generation. One of the requirements we will teach and enforce is accountability. Financial records will be kept and overseen as a way of measuring the progress and success of the program. We are already considering one of the widows to oversee records and encourage the women.

Now, think of this. What if these newly founded widow-entrepreneurs were to add another dimension to their lives and develop into widow-evangelists impacting the people and locations where they buy and sell their goods. A number of them plan to walk around their neighborhoods and play the role of door-to-door saleswomen. What a perfect opportunity to share the love of Christ and tell others about the good news and become door-to-door evangelists.

I am convinced this idea to assist our widows to start up small business programs has been inspired from above. In the future, we will be establishing a special project and letting you know what will be required to assist with the startup funds. While this figure has not been determined as yet, the amount is expected to minimal. If you are a business man or business woman, you will understand most businesses start out with an idea and then through time have the potential of growing. What would happen if some of our widows were eventually able to support themselves and even consider helping others less fortunate than themselves?

Like James stated under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, genuine or real Christianity is demonstrated when Christians are given the vision to support widows and orphans rather than being consumed with ourselves. I pray that God will use this program in order to touch many lives that will count in the present and for eternity.

 

Living Water for Kenya

You don’t need a scientific mind to understand that water is one of the main essentials for life. In fact, a primary foundation of basic biology is the declaration that without water there is no life. The Bible also uses water as a comparison when discussing the quality of spiritual life and following Christ. Jesus said, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

For those who live in technologically advanced parts of the world, it is hard to even imagine what it would be like to be limited by water in any way. If we are thirsty, we turn on the tap or go to the fridge and grab a cold bottle of water. We shower or bath daily, flush our toilets, and water our gardens and flowers without hesitation. Seldom does anyone ever consider what it would be like to be in a situation where water would be a limiting factor or worse yet even a threat to living. The availability and quality of water is a given for most who are reading this article. We consider this common necessity for life a God-given reality that we deserve.

The Outcome of Unclean Water

A trip to rural Kenya can be an eye-opening experience for someone like myself who has never had to struggle to access a plentiful water source for daily needs and especially good clean water to drink. The list of problems and potential disasters that face the people associated with water sources or lack of sources can be very discouraging in Kenya. The only running water that can be found is usually in a muddy, insect-infested stream. 

While boreholes, also called wells, can be dug, if water is found, it is sometimes salty and not fit for human consumption. The digging of wells is costly as it is done by hand, and the depth they must be dug is often very deep. Often the well is dug in vain, and even though the funds have been spent, there still remains no water source.

Wells have been dug and water is accessible throughout most of the year. However, many different families access the water from these boreholes by dropping down pails attached to a rope. The pails are often dirty and full of germs. Walking on the surface of the well are cows, goats, donkeys, and chickens that deposit fecal debris continually. It is questionable whether or not water in the city is any safer to drink than in the country.

The biggest problem with water, when water is found, is that it is one of the leading causes of sickness and death in Kenya. Most people living in rural areas do not understand why they are sick and have no way of finding out as they cannot afford medical care. In other words, their bodies are constantly fighting some life-threatening situation; they don’t know what it is and they have no way of getting help to get rid of it. What a miserable way to live.

During my trip to Kenya last week, my driver, Steve, informed me that contaminated drinking water in Kenya is perhaps the most significant problem that rural people face. Coupled by the lack of education and an understanding of the cause of disease, they often equate the illnesses acquired from infected or contaminated water as “dark spirits” that are harassing them because they have done something wrong. While our Bryce Homes (which are run by Christian believers) are not vulnerable to this type of mentality, which comes out of tribal customs and beliefs, they still are subjected to the illnesses that come from unsanitary conditions. Dysentery is the normal response and is considered normal.

However there is much more for widows, orphans, and all others to deal with. Some of the waterborne diseases acquired through drinking contaminated water.

Hepatitis A - viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; spread through consumption of food or water contaminated with fecal matter, principally in areas of poor sanitation; victims exhibit fever, jaundice, and diarrhea; 15% of victims will experience prolonged symptoms over 6-9 months.

Hepatitis E - water-borne viral disease that interferes with the functioning of the liver; most commonly spread through fecal contamination of drinking water; victims exhibit jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, and dark colored urine.

Typhoid fever - bacterial disease spread through contact with food or water contaminated by fecal matter or sewage; victims’ exhibit sustained high fevers; left untreated, mortality rates can reach 20%.

Then on top of this, add the parasite factor. Parasites can affect every organ in the body and cause horrendous damage and trauma. All of these things seem unfair and certainly unbearable. Such is the price one pays to live in a beautiful land plagued by poverty and disease that is accompanied by the lack of means to do much about it.

Based on my limited experience travelling around visiting our homes and speaking with my drivers and the Bryce Homes Kenya leaders, the symptoms described above are manifesting constantly with the people we are attempting to help. If these people remain subject to this same problem of contaminated water on a continuous basis, the problem of poor health will only continue, if not get worse. Although we are providing food, shelters, clothes, and good latrines, all of this soon becomes meaningless to someone who is dying from a disease caused by contaminated water.

Water Collecting and Water Purification

As we have previously reported, in an attempt to make the quality of life better, we have already constructed 12 new Homes for our families with metal roofs to keep them dry when it rains. On my March 2014 trip, while travelling from home to home, a sudden revelation popped into my mind. If the metal roofs are doing the job of keeping our people dry, then why not collect or capture the water that is shed by the roofs in a tank so it can be used. Actually after the idea came to me, I wondered why it had taken so long. When I was a young boy living on a farm in Canada, this is how our family collected water for washing and other daily practices.

When it rains in Kenya, it really pours. At particular times of the year, the certainty that there will be an afternoon downpour is 100%. Why not collect this water for human use rather than letting it fall on the ground and then run away. Sure enough, my idea was not new as later I noticed that some of the schools in the area were using this concept.

So here is step one. We will start with the Homes that are in the greatest need.  Some are miles away from a well or from a river. How much more convenient it would be to have water just around the corner – the corner being one of the corners of their own house. Lawrence, who does construction work (assisted us in the building of the latrines) has looked at the situation and has already come up with a plan. He is also capable of doing the eves trough (gutter) installation. After this is completed, we will construct a solid elevated base at one corner of the house where a plastic storage tank can rest and be secured. Every time the rain falls, water will be collected thus providing at least one good source of water for daily use.

In the near future, we will be obtaining quotes regarding the costs to assemble this simple yet vital way of trapping water. We will start with a few and see how this works. If successful we will add more as time goes by.

Purification of water for drinking purposes is an absolute necessity if we are going to improve the quality of life for the families we are supporting. It is a matter of doing some research, finding the proper device, securing the funds, and then putting this project into place.

When we have done this, we will be putting together a water collection/water treatment program similar to the latrine program.

When we told several of the widows that we were considering a program to help them with their needs related to water shortages and purity of water, they all were joyful. Later I will be documenting these interviews by producing a short video to post on our web site and YouTube.

Widow and grandmother Benedetta was even more than ecstatic. As soon as Pastor Achilla translated so that she could understand what I was saying about the coming water project, she broke into a dance and started to sing. “Praise God, Praise God, Hallelujah. Amen and Amen,” she squealed at the top of her voice. Then she broke into tears, “My knees get so sore now when I carry the buckets back and forth to the river for the water for cooking, drinking, and bathing.”

I looked over and saw the pails she was taking about on the ground.

Water Evangelism

So if Jesus proclaimed that believing in Him was the key of life and that “living water” would flow from us so that we would be a spiritual influence on others, what about the idea that the provision of natural purified water for those who are in need could also be a tool to share the gospel? Is it possible that sharing the good news of the gospel can go hand in hand with sharing physical water and making it pure to drink?

While true biblical Christianity must never confuse the true gospel with the “social gospel,” the true gospel recognizes that while the spiritual condition of a people is supremely important, their physical welfare cannot be ignored (see James 1:27; 2: 15-16). If food, clothes, houses, and latrines show that God cares for those in need, what about water, the most important and basic component of life?

Maybe those who have been given this pure water as a gift from brothers and sisters from around the world who care for them can share this precious gift with friends and neighbors who are not yet believers. Thus, the fulfillment of Jesus’ own words will become a reality in Kenya – believers in Christ will be filled to overflowing with spiritual water that they can share with their neighbors as they endeavor to evangelists for Christ.

 While secular organizations also recognize the importance of assisting the poor and needy with the procurement of clean water, they lack the leading and direction of the Spirit of God and the Word of God. My prayer is that our Bryce Homes Program in Kenya will always be led by the Lord in the truth of His Word and that it would always proclaim the Gospel foremost. I pray we will develop a water collecting/cleansing program that will bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ. Lord willing, may we become known as a Bible-believing organization that leads the lost to Jesus by using “water evangelism” as a witnessing tool.
 

 

Report 7 Kenya

New Homes and New Latrines

I have never been enthusiastic about short-term missionary work that uses the “drop and run” method of handing someone a gospel tract then heading home never to be seen again. While God can use any method or technique to plant seeds of truth that later can be germinated by the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit, God has led Understand The Times in a different way. The way this has happened is truly a God thing. We did not come up with an idea or method and then put it in action by human means. By simply being led by circumstances divinely appointed, we came alongside nationals who are already strong believers and discovered they had a desire to reach their own people but lacked the means to do so.

This is exactly what has happened in Kenya. While Christianity in Africa is tainted (to put it mildly) with “every wind of doctrine” known to the Body of Jesus Christ (largely thanks to Western teachers), the contacts to whom the Lord introduced us were not only like-minded and grounded in the Word, they demonstrated themselves to be ministers of the gospel who operate with accountability. This is the first prerequisite that must be fulfilled in order to put together a team for implementing a program with an organization that is based halfway around the world.

As I have mentioned previously, the obvious lack of food required for nutrition for orphans and widows was the first indication to me there was a physical need that had to be addressed if we were going to be effective as ministers of the gospel in the country of Kenya. How do you tell someone about the wonderful salvation provided by the grace of God when each evening he or she goes to bed with hunger pains so intense sleep is not even possible? While those of us who live in developed countries have no idea what this kind of experience would be like, for the poor and desperate in Kenya this is just everyday life.

Further, while in the areas we are attempting to reach there is the possibility of producing food such as maize, beans, and rice, widows who have been left helpless by the loss of their husbands also have a problem with the lack of  regular water supply. They are held captive by a hopeless situation. Since nutrition is one of the main factors relating to health and growth, illness is common place in Kenya. This further adds to the woes of fatherless families who are attempting to cope with life.

The first phase of our outreach program in Kenya was to provide nourishment to the families we incorporated into our program on a monthly basis. This is done as our three leaders purchase the food in bulk, pack it in bags according to the size of each family, and then deliver it by hiring drivers and rental cars.

The supplies not only include rice, maize, and beans but essentials for cooking including salt and oil. Soap for washing and cleaning bodies is a luxury that most had never experienced, but now they have this too. The next phase was to provide blankets, clothes instead of the rags they were wearing, and mattresses for the widows so they did not have to sleep on the mud floors.

While the food problem was being addressed, it soon became apparent that the majority of the shelters our widows and families were dwelling in needed to be replaced. The typical conventional huts that Kenyans build in rural areas are made of mud walls and thatched roofs. Their durability to the weather is not long lasting, and they soon become leaky shacks not fit for humans.

Following my second trip to Kenya in March of 2012, we asked Pastor Achilla and his team to secure bids for the construction of a few new homes. Understand The Times and Lighthouse Trails shared this need with our readers. First one home was built covered by a metal roof with four rooms instead of the typical two, the walls were painted white inside and out, and a stove was added in one of the rooms for cooking. These stoves, new for Kenya, were designed in Kenya. They have a chimney, which vents the smoke outdoors alleviating another major health problem.
 

 

To the present date, twelve new homes have been constructed in Kenya.These homes have become a landmark or a trademark for the Bryce Homes Program. As these plastered-painted-metal roof-with chimney houses are popping up everywhere, the word is being spread that God has not forgotten the poor and needy in Kenya. Government officials are taking notice and expressing their gratitude for the program, asking our leaders how it can be expanded further.

Now families can sleep at night and not fear their roofs will fall in on them or that a downpour during the night will force them to cover up with a plastic sheet. No longer do they have to inhale smoke that damages their lungs nor do they have to worry about their shelter catching fire as they sleep. While we have assisted in supplying beds and furniture, more furniture is needed. Keeping with our motto “As the Lord makes a way, we will move one step at a time.” The needs are so great we recognize our limitations and proceed with caution.

So far, I have documented several of the steps that have been made in order to establish the Bryce Homes Kenya program now impacting a country for the glory of Christ. For myself who has traveled to Kenya four times to monitor the progress, I have found a number of signs or indicators that have shown me God is leading us and that this is a “work of God,” inspired by God, and for the glory of God. The smiles on the faces of the widows and the orphans who are now accustomed to seeing a white man who has come from a far-away tells me and our Kenyan leaders that their faith in God has grown leaps and bounds since my first trip in 2011.

Adults and children are sharing their faith with others who are asking them, “How can the changes that have happened to you be possible?” They have observed that God has noticed them in their misery and has answered their prayers. They have been removed from their pit of despair and given hope, and now they are looking for ways to be a blessing to others who are still less fortunate. People around can see that Christianity is not a belief system just based on mindless emotion and hype. They see a practical display of the Christian faith that provides a plan by those who have the means to assist those who have nothing in the name of Christ as a demonstration of a real faith that makes a difference in the world. Many, because of their observations, are asking questions about how one becomes a Christian.  Others are powerfully seeing the hand of God and are coming to know Jesus Christ. Achilla’s church is growing, and there are plans to plant more churches in surrounding areas.

While food, clothes, stoves, furniture, and homes have been stepping stones to faith, perhaps the most significant project that has made the greatest difference is a project I never would have expected. On my last trip, Pastor Achilla pointed out to me the reason so many were sickly was because there was a need for outdoor latrines for the deposition of human waste. This may sound strange for us based on our western culture, but it is a fact of life in Kenya. We only know about the conveniences that go along with hot and cold running water – toilets and showers. Few have ever experienced the use of the raw outdoors when the call of nature comes on a daily basis.

Not so in rural or even urban Kenya. The nearest bush, patch of weeds, prickly sugar cane field or behind the biggest rock in site is the location where one retreats for relief. Basic hygiene dictates that such practices soon lead to disaster when body wastes are not confined and isolated. So necessary action became apparent – something needed to be done to find a way for this problem to be solved.

So Pastor Achilla, Pastor Nelson, and Walter were asked to do the research. Lighthouse Trails and Understand The Times informed our readers of the need. Thus the Christmas/Winter 2013 Building Project was born. When donors found out about the project that would construct latrines for all our families the funds poured in from all over the world.

Deep holes in the ground were dug, brick walls and partitions were built and plastered, cement floors were poured, and finally metal roofs completed the frames. These small buildings were also designed to have a second function. A second compartment complete with a door, provided privacy for an enclosed shower.

Finally, came the last and most important feature. The first latrine was built with the typical “hole” in the floor. Apparently, that is the way it has always been done in Kenya. However, because of our North American point of view, the Bryce Homes Winter Construction Project established a new precedent and initiated a new style of latrine so that one could sit on an elevated seat.

While you may be bewildered why I would even consider mentioning these details, there is a definite point. What I discovered while visiting each home and interviewing the widows is that all were verbally ecstatic about the latrines and how they worked. The new style was an absolute hit, especially for the older widows.

In fact, the latrines have now become a major factor that has developed into another evangelistic tool for the Bryce Homes Program. Neighbors who come by to visit want to see the “new thing” that has come to Kenya. Private showers and “sitting” toilets have developed into a major witnessing tool. Who would have believed that a latrine could bring such an unexpected result?

 

While visiting Kenyahis time, I met with the Chief of the region. He had travelled there by motorcycle especially to meet me and thank me personally for the difference the program has made for the community he oversees. (I have his interview on video tape, which I will be sharing at a later date). The one thing he was emphatic about was the difference the latrines had made to the widows in the area. “No longer do they have to go and hide behind a bush when they are showering,” he said. “Now these women can live a life that gives them dignity,” he further declared. “Your contribution to our community has made my life easier. I am most grateful and thank the Almighty God for your coming to Kenya.”

It was obvious to me as we visited the homes the difference there was in the way I was accepted since my last trip. The love and gratitude expressed to me was very obvious. It was like I had become part of their culture and that they understood how much I cared for them as human beings. (Again, at a later date I will put together a video that will share these comments).

To demonstrate their appreciation I was given four chickens by four different widows topped off by a huge bundle of bananas by a fifth widow. Knowing how little these widows have and what they gave, I was reminded of the story of the widow in the Bible who had virtually nothing, but all she had, she gave to Jesus.

I am certain now that the houses, showers, and latrines that have been constructed through the support of our donors have made a tremendous difference. Only God knows where this will lead in the future. I am praying that I will be given the opportunity to return to Kenya again to see.

 

 

 

 

Kenya Report 6

Bryce Homes Kenya: Past, Present and Future

The reports we have been posting on our website about our March 2014 Bryce Homes Kenya tour until this point have been brief and centered on specific events. For the ones remaining, my plan is to provide more background information and develop the topics. As you will see, the remaining reports will be more like a small chapter for a book, that Lord willing, will be published sometime in the future.

One thing I need to say in this introduction is that missionary work in any country or place around the world must be a calling, not a job. Missionaries cannot be “driven” by some organized plan by man. They must be called, hear the call, have a compassion for the lost and needy, and then respond.

Further, missionary work must never compromise the gospel of Jesus Christ or ignore or water down the Word of God by incorporating a montage of religious beliefs. The Bryce Homes Program worldwide from its inception has been dedicated to reaching out to the poor, especially orphans and widows, by coming alongside and supporting national Christian leaders to administer physical support and spiritual guidance.

This is exactly how and why the Bryce Homes Kenya Program was born. When I first visited Kenya in November of 2011, I was not specifically searching for another project or for more work for our small non-profit organization. In fact, this came at a time when most of our church support had abandoned and shunned us following the position I took on the emerging church through the publication of Faith Undone.

However, what may have been meant for harm and discouragement, God redirected for His glory. While “church-growth corporate programs” encouraged by pastors with “church-growth mentality” continues to “drive” congregations to build bigger kingdoms here on earth, God has allowed me to move on and away from their plans and follow His leading. We are not interested in kingdoms built by man. We want to be conduits that God can use to serve others by meeting needs in hopeless situations while being ambassadors for Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ. So far, the countries of Myanmar, Kenya, South Africa, and the Philippines have been the areas where we have been led to establish Bryce Homes Programs by the Holy Spirit.

The Growth of the Program in Kenya

Every missionary endeavor in which I have had the opportunity to participate has begun with a small idea. I have learned that in missions, ambition is not the key to success.  Nor is the size of the program a means to measure what is important and what is not. Our God is the One in charge, and He is the One who is building His Church. We are only His hand extended as we walk in His will.

As someone with a science background, I have been trained to make observations, and in the case of missionary work, it is important to identify the needs and then see how they can be met through limited resources. When we have shared these needs with others through reports or live presentations, God’s people have responded generously.

While a few pastors still have a heart for missions, their churches are usually already supporting others they know or believe in. Usually these are small churches that are struggling to exist. This is how God works. Being a missionary should not be a competition to see who can be the best fundraiser. We have not appealed for church support although we are blessed and encouraged when that happens. God has shown us there are individuals all over the world who are desiring to invest financial resources in a Christian-based organization dedicated to truth and integrity while these donors disperse their hard-earned funds for the cause of missionary work.

At this point, it would be helpful to show group photos of all twenty Homes, which by the way, I was able to capture on March 2014 trip. However, for now I will provide photos of a few.

 
 

One of my purposes for this trip was to document the numbers of children supported by each home to make sure the support we are sending each month to purchase food is sufficient. I was startled by what I discovered – 16 widows, 123 children plus the husbands and wives from the four Homes established by our Bryce Home leadership which makes another 8. This means that presently there are 147 human lives that are benefiting from the support we send every month.

As the program is never static, there are always needs that we address from time to time. So far, the Homes we have added have a connection with Pastor Achilla’s Church in some way. Widows and children attend but the church does not have the financial means to provide for their care. This is where Lighthouse Trails and Understand The Times have been able to play a role. We have made the needs known, and God’s people have responded.

Some may be wondering what are the approximate costs to provide monthly support for each of the 20 Homes in Kenya each month? Remember, there are also costs that we must factor in for the expenditure of delivering the supplies by hiring drivers and the small honorariums that our leaders receive for their hard work. According to my calculations based on all the information I have gathered on this trip, the amount per Bryce Home works out to be about $150 per month.

Aside from the monthly support costs, the program has funded the construction of 12 new homes and 16 latrines that I will mention in a later report. Rather than ask for individual specific support to sponsor specific children as we have for some of our Bryce Homes in Myanmar, we have found that this is too time consuming for our small organization that operates with mainly volunteer help. While all support designated to Bryce Homes Kenya goes to these costs which I have outlined, we are considering looking at an option whereby supporters can adopt an entire Bryce Home or as in the past designate the funds to specific purposes.

The Future of Bryce Homes in Kenya

The reason I am proposing a change is that while I have been here on this trip, I have become aware of the need and possibility of establishing four new Bryce Homes, bringing the total to twenty-four. Two of these Homes will be widows and their children – Widow Florence and Widow Beatrice. Widow Florence is already actively ministering to the other widows in the area by praying with them and encouraging them. She will also play an active role in administering and overseeing the Small Business Programs we will be assisting the widows with in the near future.
 

Another idea that was derived from this trip relates to the vision God has given us for Myanmar in that we provide Bryce Home assistance to pastors and evangelists with families. These diligent workers, although they work to provide a living for their families, are not able to make ends meet. As well, they have filled the corners of their homes with orphaned children who have come to them pleading for help.

As I have been strongly convicted, our support to them will accomplish our two main goals – providing for the needy as well as helping build up more ambassadors for Christ that will be impacting Kenya. One is Pastor Lawrence who was the person in charge of construction of the 16 latrines that we recently built. The other is Pastor Dan whom I have met on each of my previous trips.

 

At a later time, we will be publishing their testimonies, telling you more about their families, and making it possible for their sponsorship.

For now I will conclude this report. As usual, over these past days, I have been waking up early in the morning desiring to record in writing the recent images and ideas that have been burned into my heart so that others can share them with me.

Obviously, not everyone is called to be a missionary. I had no concept as a young Christian thirty-five years ago that my final years of this earth would be devoted to such a cause. However, God has a way of directing and redirecting our paths, especially when there are bumps in the road and life seems to difficult to go on.

Only God knows what lies ahead. For now, I want to be faithful and place my hand in His and move on.
 

 

Report 5 March 2014 Kenya

A couple of days have passed since my last report from Kenya was posted on our Understand The Times website. The reason has not been related to the lack of material to write about. The fact is that the days have been long and grueling, and I have not found time to do any writing. This may be hard to understand for those who have never encountered missionary work in the land of Kenya. As for me, a person who  has made this same trip on four previous occasions,  it is expected that by day’s end, the body and mind will be completely exhausted.

The Bryce Homes Program in Kenya has blossomed beyond my imagination. When I booked my trip for March of this year, I underestimated how much time I would need to visit representatives from all twenty families of the Bryce Home Kenya Program. Further, these Homes are not all located in one small community. Much of each day is spent travelling over unbearable trails through the wilderness. The wear and tear on the body takes its toll.

However, while my time here has been difficult and tiring, it has also been enjoyable and extremely rewarding. Further, I have a greater appreciation for the work that our Bryce Homes leaders have faithfully demonstrated over three and one half years. They make these journeys distributing food and clothes on a monthly basis. Without their team effort and their desire to serve the Lord, the program would not be possible.

I have spent some time thinking about what would be the best way to adequately report to our readers the observations I have made while in Kenya on this trip. I came here to evaluate the program and have learned a lot. As well, I have been given insights regarding how Understand The Times and Lighthouse Trails can assist the program in the future.  It is also important to let our donors read reports and see and hear about the progress. Without our donors, the program would not be possible either.

While I usually take ample camera shots and video footage to document my trips, this time I learned that I need to carry an extra chargeable battery for my Canon camera as well as an additional memory card. I have collected enough material to make several mini documentaries based on the interviews and live footage that I captured. In the future, this will give me several projects that will highlight my March 2014 trip to Kenya.

Some of these topics will deal with observations that I made from projects that have already been completed since I was here the last time. Other topics will present a vision for future projects based on the needs I saw and how those needs can be met. Following is the list of topics I have chosen:

·        Bryce Homes Kenya – Past, Present, and Future

·        New Homes and Latrines

·        Water Sources and Water Treatment

·        Widows With Small Business Opportunities On the Way to Self-Sufficiency

·        The Miracle

·        From Kibera Slums to Homa Bay Paradise

·        Rural Kenya: The People and the Country

I think you will find these reports fascinating. For those of you who have been faithfully supporting and following the Bryce Homes Program in Kenya, I am sure you will be blessed when you see what God is doing in Kenya as light shines into the darkness and many lives are being changed.

For now, let me say that we are committed to allowing God to work through us and be open for the program to expand in the future. While the needs far exceed our ability to transform entire communities, it is very apparent that progress is being made and Bryce Home by Bryce Home, the light of Jesus Christ is shining and making a huge difference.

 

Report 4  March 2014 Kenya

After having an early breakfast at my hotel, we went to Pastor Achilla’s house and loaded up a vehicle with food supplies and headed out to the countryside on our way to Bryce Home Thirteen.

As usual, the weather in the morning to mid-afternoon at this time of the year the area is beautiful. One of the first things I noticed was how the road we were traveling on had been vastly improved since the last time we had made this same trip. Apparently the new Kenyan government has made a commitment to the people to improve the country by turning cow and goat trails into roads that are now passable by cars. As always the road was cluttered with motor bikes which transport the people from place to place. Pastor Achilla pointed out to me one particular driver that had three people hanging on for their lives as they sped by us.

While I have always found the countryside beautiful because of the recent rains, the abundant green foliage made our trip spectacular. On several occasions, I asked our driver if he would stop so that I could capture the scenery on camera.

 

 It was also apparent that my visit this time was in the midst of planting season. The techniques for preparing the soil and putting the maize seed into the ground varied from place to place. Because I still follow farming as a significant part of my life, once more I asked our driver to pull over so that I could take more photos.

Finally after travelling for about 40 minutes, we arrived at Widow Finter’s house. The last time I was there, it was under construction. Now it has been finished although the home needs to have furniture and mattresses for sleeping. At present, they sit and sleep on a cement floor.

Finter was delighted to show me the area that had been cultivated and some of the plants that were being grown. The red tomato-like plants are actually a type of pepper plant. They had been harvested from her garden and were being dried in the sun. When dried, the seeds would be extracted and ground up for a spice that is apparently popular in Kenya. She also has a patch of potatoes.

When I asked her about the new latrine that had recently been built for her, she broke out with laughter and joy. She compared what it was like in the past to the present when she and her family had to sneak out into the sugarcane field nearby when nature called. Further, she could not say enough about the “new style for Kenya” toilet that replaces “squatting over a hole in the floor” with being able to sit down in comfort.

The other aspect of the latrines that we have constructed is the fact there is also a second compartment for a shower. By a shower, we are not suggesting that this involves hot and cold running water. Water is brought to the shower in a pail, poured over the body in a cup by cup procedure and then drained into the deep hole dug beneath the latrine.

These latrines that were funded by donors through the Lighthouse Trails/Understand The Times Christmas donor project have been a real blessing to our widowed families. In total, 16 were constructed ithe area. The neighbors surrounding the Bryce Homes marvel at the construction, especially the new sit-down feature, and the word is being spread how the Bryce Homes Program is impacting Kenya, not only physically and spiritually, but also culturally.

Finally, after taking photos of the family and individual shots, I walked around the house. As water is so difficult to come by in this region, an idea came to mind. Why not harness rainwater of the newly constructed metal roof and store it in a storage tank at one corner? Further, because there is a great need for purified water to drink, and many are getting ill because of bacterial and parasites, the time has come to find a system we can incorporate for making the water safe to drink.

Before leaving, I asked Finter if she had any ideas of what she would like to do if given the financial support to start her own business and thus move in the direction of self-sufficiency. She told me she had been thinking about this very thing for a long time and knew exactly what she would like to do – set up a small shop or roadside Kiosk where she could sell soap and household items. As you will see in later reports, all the widows we asked this same question all had excellent ideas. All we will need is a small amount of seed capital to get these widow-entrepreneurs off and running.

I was also delighted to find out that Finter is teaching Bible classes in her area and many of her neighbors are hearing about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This truly is what is at the heart of the Bryce Homes program that has now been implemented around the world. Light is being brought into the darkness and lives are being changed.

From Finter’s location, we continued on our way to visit Widow Florence, also located in the same area. I will report about this visit next.

 

Report 3  March 2014 Kenya

A meeting was arranged at Pastor Achilla’s church Sunday evening in order to gather the widows and orphans in the area in one location to greet me. I have been to this same building several times before at other meetings.   As we approached the tin structure, I could hear the sound of voices singing  loudly.

Over a time period of about two hours nearly every adult at the meeting was introduced and each person had a few words to say in welcoming me. I shared a short message that I felt the Lord gave me from Isaiah 61: 1-3 explaining how the death of our son Bryce and the Bryce Home Program, although a heartbreak and a tragedy for our family, was the inspiration that initiated a plan that has now brought joy and happiness to many unfortunate families nd around the world. I could see many heads nodding in agreement as this portion of the Word of God was very meaningful to them.

Some of the Bryce Homes children had prepared several songs especially for this meeting. Also, the widows of the families from the Bryce Homes stood up and introduced themselves. Later six more widows who also attend the church but are not yet part of the Bryce Homes Program were introduced.

 

At the end of the meeting as it was getting very dark, the rain started to pour down on the tin roof. Pastor Achilla gave me a final opportunity to address the group before concluding. I was thankful to be able to make sure the meeting would end with the correct emphasis. It is understandable that those who have received assistance from the Understand The Times and Lighthouse Trails donor base see humans and human organizations as their lifeline. Because this was obvious from the comments, it was necessary for me to tell them not to focus on human sources and resources and to make sure they were looking to and thanking Jesus Christ alone. I told them we are only conduits the Lord uses as vehicles to bring the blessings they have received

Also without the diligent work of our ministry team the Bryce Homes Program would not be possible. Each month we rely on Pastor Achilla, Pastor Nelson, and Walter to purchase the supplies and then distribute them to each home. Also when new homes and latrines have been constructed, this is done by their careful oversight. God has truly put together a team.

I also encouraged the widows of the Bryce Homes Program to be praying and thinking of ways they can eventually become self-sufficient or at least to work in that direction. While I am here, I will be discussing with our leaders some possibilities. There are so many other widows and families with the same basic needs who have not received support in the past. Further, as children in the program become young adults, they will have to pursue options that will allow them to move on and be an asset to their church and community thereby being a blessing to others.

Today, we will begin visiting the Bryce Homes in the area and making first-hand observations. I will be video-taping interviews that can be later posted as short YouTube programs so that our donors can hear and see for themselves how their resources are being invested.

Report 2  March 2014 Kenya

Our hotel in Nairobi was comfortable; however, my body has not adjusted to the 11-hour time difference. I slept for short periods of time waking up abruptly wondering if the sun was about to rise. Finally, I got up and went downstairs to the lobby to use the hotel business facility to print out some papers I had forgotten to print before I left home.

During this process, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I looked around, I was startled to see Pastor Vitalis standing behind me. Then I remembered that Pastor Achilla had told me he was coming to the hotel before we left for the airport to see me.

Pastor Vitalis had brought four of his children with him to meet me. Back at their home in the Kibera slums were one more of his own and eleven orphans. We discussed the plan for his entire family to move out of the slums in Nairobi to a home we have built for them in western Kenya near our other Bryce Homes. He shared with me his vision for developing the land that his new home is located on and starting a small business for his family to sell fruit, vegetables, and poultry.

After Vitalis left, Achilla and I had breakfast and then headed to the airport with our driver. Our flight to Kisimu was less than forty minutes where we were picked up by our driver Steve. On the way, I nodded off several times then wakened as my neck was snapped back and forth as Steve navigated to speed bumps designed to slow down the traffic as it passes through small villages.

When we arrived at Homa Bay, located right on Lake Victoria, we took a tour of the fish market. As Kenyans love fish, I offered to buy a large pan full of Talapia as a gift for our driver and also our Bryce Homes leaders.

Later in the day, there will be a gathering at Pastor Achilla’s church that I will be attending.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Understand The Times is an independent non-profit organization in Canada and the United States.
Understand The Times is not affiliated or dependent upon any other organization or denomination.
Understand The Times is accountable to a board of directors in the United States and Canada
and accountable, first of all, to Jesus Christ and His word.

 


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