Merry Christmas From Kenya

December 24, 2008

 

Dear Christian Friends,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

            “There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

            “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

            “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14

We just arrived home from church this evening, as our family attended lessons and carols at All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi. It was an absolutely beautiful service, and the message was very clear: “In the beginning was the Word…” Yes, the incarnation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is what it is all about. 

As Holy Scripture says, Jesus came for the world – the whole world, and this message was underscored throughout the service. Not only were there readings by Africans and Brits alike, there were carols sung in six different languages or dialects: British English, French, Latin, Kiswahili, Calypso and an African-American spiritual. It was across the board, and the point was well taken.

As we reflect on 2008, we realize it has been a tough year for Kenya. The beginning of the year was marred by political and ethnic violence. Inflation has run amuck, and an on-going food shortage has made life very difficult for most folks here. Currently, we are under-going a gasoline shortage (for what we reason we are not sure) that is hampering everyone’s ability to travel. Unfortunately, the average Kenyan isn’t aware of the economic storm that will eventually reach Kenya, as it has the rest of the world.

Yet in spite of all this, we have our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we sung “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” this evening, the words “tidings of comfort and joy” truly stuck with us. It is the knowledge that Jesus is indeed with us that allows us to make it through these tough times. But not only is He with us, he give us the opportunity to become his children, all of us, from no matter where on Earth we come, and for these things we are eternally grateful.

And because he is with us, he has allowed us to have a remarkably successful year. Our family is healthy and happy. The children are doing well in school. We are looking forward to our two interns Michael and Rebecca Rhodes joining us in January. Several of our projects are doing very well, and the mission work is expanding. All in all, it has been a very good year for the Tipton family, as we go forward with the knowledge that Jesus is willing to guide us every step of the way – “Glory to the newborn King!”

Therefore, we would like to leave you with this blessing this evening: Christ, who by His incarnation gathered into one all things earthly and heavenly, fill you with His joy and peace: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.

 

Horace, Anne, Horace, Jr., and Mary Shea

 

 

 

October Newsletter

October 15, 2008

Dear Friends,

We pray that all is well with those of you who are far away from us.  The recent economic news is enough to make all of us tremble at times, but we have faith that God has a plan in all of this and that His plan will prevail.  We know that it is painful for those of us who have life savings in the stock market or a house on the market, but we are also acutely aware of the effect that a global economic slowdown is likely to have on the farmers here.  We are praying that the Lord will lead us in finding creative solutions for these farmers addressing income generation as well as food security.

Our work continues to progress.  We do experience frustrations at times.  Some of that appears to be growing pains and learning from experiences that we have here.  There is no substitute for hands on learning sometimes.                                                                          Moby Dick                                                           

In Mang’u, the farmers are harvesting passion fruit.  We have distributed scales to the farmers in sub locations to make the weighing of their harvest and record keeping more convenient for them, and we are assisting with their marketing. In Murang’a the farmers are continuing working on their passion fruit, getting them healthy, so that they can begin harvest as well.

In Ngare Ndare, we are working on getting the very best Moby Dick flowers out of the field to the buyer, as a tight market is demanding perfect quality. It seems that here is where the first effects of the economic crisis are taking hold. Our buyer told Horace that he can only sell those flowers in the Netherlands that are perfect. “The market isn’t like it was a year ago,” he said.

In Kabete, the farmers continue to grow their bird of paradise flowers.  This area seems more affected by drought than the others, and some of the farmers’ plants are showing it. Horace recently met with a man who has a 120 foot well, which he relied on for irrigation as well as household use. The well had run dry. Thankfully, the rains seem to have begun. Please pray that they continue for the next couple of months. We need it.

In Juja, our demonstration farm is progressing nicely.  Soon, we hope to have a harvest of vegetables that we will take directly to consumers.  However, it too is not without challenges: namely wild animals.  A hippo is eating the broccoli; a dik dik (very small antelope) is eating the cucumbers; and zebra are eating the sweet corn. Yes, farming in Africa has its own unique problems. On a positive note, we do hope to have real sweet potatoes (very unusual here) by Thanksgiving!

Also, in Juja we have begun a very exciting research and demonstration project with our passion fruit farmers. Partnering with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the Kenya Horticultural Development Project (KHDP) and a private company called Real IPM (integrated pest management), we are helping to develop radically new techniques for growing passion fruit. It involves the use of drip irrigation, the laying of plastic over the seedbeds and both organic and non-organic fungicides. There are plans to publish the results when work is through, and a manual will be developed for this method of growing. We also plan to use the farm in Juja as a teaching and demonstration tool for other passion fruit farmers.

Family life is progressing well.  Both children stay very busy with all their many activities, and both had excellent report cards.  It is still soccer season for Horace, and Mary Shea has continued with basketball and swimming.   The animal members are also doing well.  Our newest family member is Zoe.  She is a boxer puppy, and she is about 8 months old.  She is very sweet, and if you know boxers, you know what we mean by her being so ugly, she is cute. 

Living in Nairobi is never without challenge, but lately we are experiencing water rationing.  We regularly go without city water on the weekends now.  We do have reserve tanks, and with a little effort (filling tanks and pumping our own water into the reserve), we are getting by.  We have all become much more careful about water consumption, and we are learning to cope with the situation.  Thankfully, we have enough water for the athletes to bathe during the week!

We are very excited to announce that we are getting two interns in January: Michael and Rebecca Rhodes, who are recent graduates from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Their arrival is truly an answered prayer for us. They come with the highest recommendations, as we know they are both very Godly people.

On another note, we want to thank our dear friend the Rev. Don Smith and his family for renting our house in Memphis for the last year. It was a real blessing.  Don has recently taken a call from a church in Fair Hope, Alabama, and we are thrilled for him, and we know he doesn’t mind living on the coast either. However, we are now faced with the difficult task of having an empty house. We, therefore, have decided to put it on the market, in spite of all the economic turmoil. So, if you know of anyone who is interested in a very cute, smallish (2000 sq. ft.) house in East Memphis, let us know.  If you don’t know of anyone , please pray that this house sells as quickly as possible.

Finally, please note our change of address in the U.S. Our new address is:

Planting Faith Ministries, Inc.                                                                                                               c/o Buddy Dearman                                                                                                                                                          999 Shady Grove Rd. Suite 400                                                                                                          Memphis, TN  38120

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, and may His face shine upon you always.

Yours in Christ,

Horace, Anne, Horace, Jr. and Mary Shea

 

 

 

 

 

September Newsletter

I recently sent this via email.  If you want to be included in our email list, let me know.  I attached a PDF file for sharing.

Blessings,

Anne

September 1, 2008

Dear Friends,
We are safely back in Kenya after our short visit to the US. It was a whirlwind trip where we had the opportunity to visit with friends and family. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to spend with everyone or get to see everyone that we wanted to see. Horace was able to accomplish quite a lot for work and meet with several new churches and individuals to share with them our work and vision for the future of Planting Faith.
The jet lag affected us more than previous trips. We would blame it on age, but even Horace, Jr. & Mary Shea were affected this time. We all seem to be back on schedule this week though. School has begun, and the children are into a full routine of activities. Horace, Jr. will be playing Junior Varsity Soccer and Mary Shea will be involved in basketball and swimming. We keep a family calendar on the computer which went from empty to full in about 60 seconds. So much for the slower pace of Africa!
After being gone for six weeks, naturally we are a bit behind in our work, but we are catching up quickly. Horace has visited with several of the projects. In Mang’u the farmers are beginning to harvest passion fruit. We have a marketing meeting scheduled for later this week, as things seem to be progressing nicely there, and in Ngare Ndare, the farmers will be harvesting their Mobydick flowers soon. Horace will travel there tomorrow to observe their progress. In Kabete, the bird of paradise flowers are growing well. This crop was planted in late March, so they have about six months to go to reach harvest.
The Murang’a group has had an issue with fusarium – a deadly fungus for passion fruit. About 25% of the entire crop is affected. Last week we brought an agronomist out to their farms for a lesson on diseases. The solution to their problems will require intense management, including increased fertilization, pruning and soil drenching. Some of their diseased plants will be salvaged; while others will have to either be replanted or re-grafted from the original root stock. Horace has visited them several times, and things appear to be improving.
In Juja, we are in the beginning stages of starting an organic vegetable farm and market for the farmers of the Thika area. We are currently researching which crops we can grow to market locally for delivery service to Nairobi. Our plan is to develop the market and contract with local farmers to grow the produce. Ultimately, the farmers will be the owners; we will just get the wheels in motion.
Eventually we plan to move this work to a research and demonstration station that Planting Faith hopes to purchase in the near future. It is an exciting development for Planting Faith as we have long hoped to provide a demonstration station to the community. The idea is that on one side of the farm, we will conduct meaningful research which is relevant to the local farmers’ situation. After we have completed researching a particular crop or livestock, we will then move it to the demonstration side of the farm, so we can show it off to the farmers. We hope that it can be a model farm for any subsistence farmer in the region.
Please pray for all the farmers with whom we work that they will succeed in their endeavors, and pray that we can make our demonstration farm a reality as well. It is only by the grace of God that any of us shall succeed.

Yours in Christ,
Horace, Anne, Horace, Jr. and Mary Shea

Misty Monday in Nairobi

Hello All –
Just a short update to let you know that things are fine here.

We are experiencing August in Nairobi – which can be a bit dreary. Today is overcast and misty. We had some sun over the weekend which was very nice.

We are experiencing a water shortage here in Nairobi. We are having to be very careful about our water usage in our home. Stories about the exact cause of the shortage vary between a shortage of rainfall (which was not entirely evident this year) or lack of maintenance in the dam that stores the water for Nairobi. Apparently, it leaks and has not been repaired or maintained in the past few years. Water is coming from the city supply to our house at the moment, but it is running with very low pressure.

Horace is on his way down to Immigration to complete his work permit renewal today. Mine is not ready – which is typical here. The head of the household’s will the completed before the spouse. I am waiting to hear when mine will be ready.

This week, Horace will be traveling to see their progress first hand. So far, he has visited Juja and Murang’a. Murang’a farmers are dealing with a disease problem in the passion fruit. Thankfully, most of that can be treated with proper pruning. We will provide further updates later this week.

We have begun work towards the demonstration farm which will be used for researching locally marketable produce. Our goal is to start a home delivery service of organic vegetables which will be grown by local farmers. We are excited about the prospects of that new project.

All is well with us here, and we pray that all is well with you. Please continue to pray for the farmers with whom we work.

Blessings,
Anne

Back to Work & Back to School

We are back in Nairobi after a short trip to the US. We enjoyed our time there, but probably didn't spend enough time with anyone. For those of you that saw us in early July, I have recovered from my monster case of poison ivy. No more steroids - I was beginning to feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy!
While we were there, we enjoyed seeing family, friends and supporters. We thank everyone for the hospitality and fellowship during our travels.
We returned to Nairobi last Friday night. The trip was not so bad, but it was the first time that we have not stopped somewhere on the way and rested. What a difference that makes! Jet lag has been rough for the whole family this time. We are not yet on a regular schedule, but hopefully all will be normal soon.
The next few weeks will be spent catching up with our projects and starting the research process for 2009 projects. We will update you as we progress with our work.
Well, here we are at the beginning of school. Horace, Jr. begins 9th grade which puts him in high school. Mary Shea begins 6th grade, which puts her in middle school. Both are ready for the challenges, but it is hard to believe they are making these transitions. The main comment today for Horace from some old friends is "He's huge!!".

Travel and Lack of Communication

I apologize for the lack of communication on the blog. There are many reasons and excuses that I could give, but I should have been better about making an entry.

Shortly after the last blog entry, time started flying by!!! Honestly, it seems like I just posted that last entry.

We had a wondererful experience with a team from the Falls Church in Virginia in June. They visited the Ngare Ndare group and built a grading shed and a charcoal cooling house. Pictures can be found on our Picasaweb site under Planting Faith. You can link to it from the www.plantingfaith.org website. The Lord was at work that week as the team and the farmers interacted with work and fellowship.

The day after the team left, our family packed up for a quick trip to the US for some much needed time with extended family and friends. We now have one week left before we return to Nairobi to school and work. We are excited about what lies ahead, but we have been very thankful for the great times we have had this summer. What we have left now is the mad dash for chocolate chips and ranch dressing mix to take back in our luggage. We are still working on getting Horace Jr.'s learner's permit, but let's just say that frustrations that we feel with getting things done in Kenya helped us prepare for the hoops we are jumping through to make that happen. He did take the test and passed with 100% (they didn't seem to object to taking my money for that of the process!). At issue is our residency and if he is eligible to receive the permit.

A definite highlight of this trip was the celebration of my Dad's 80th birthday. We had a great night with Dad's friends and co-workers as well as our family. Both my sister and brother were there as were my two nephews. One of Dad's comments was how much times had changed. When he was young, travel might have consisted of going a few hours away to Savannah or Augusta. During the last month, not only did we travel from Kenya, but one grandson went to Australia on business and the other went to Greece for university study. It really is amazing to think about how things change in a lifetime.

We return to Kenya August 8th in time for the new school year. It will also be time for the harvest to begin in several projects. Please pray for the farmers and their families as that process begins. Also, please pray for safe and smooth travel as we return.

We are so thankful for the blessings that we have received. One of the greatest blessings we have received is simply time - the time to spend with family and friends. We are also thankful for your prayers that sustain us.

My prayer is that each of you would have a healthy and happy end of your summer.
Anne

May Madness

Swimming, track and rugby… those are the words that dominated this week in the Tipton family.

Mary Shea swam in the first swim meet that Rosslyn has had since the completion of the new pool. She did quite well in her competition. The most difficult part of the day was the butterflies she was experiencing before the meet. They were swimming against ISK (International School of Kenya). The competition was fierce. Our new swim coach was formerly at ISK, so it was an interesting day.

Mary Shea also competed in the U13 track events this past Friday. Mary Shea is a natural in track, and she makes it all look so easy. She won 3rd place ribbons in the 400 meter and the 800 meter races, and she won first place in the long jump – 9’3 ½ “! They competed against ISK and children from several local children’s homes.

Horace had a big rugby week – four games! If you are at all familiar with rugby, you can appreciate what effect that had on him physically. And, if you know Horace, you know that he was determined to be in the thick of things for the entire game each time. He did quite well – without injury (which pleased Mom). The climax of the week, and even the season, was winning against Rift Valley Academy on Saturday morning – the final score was Rosslyn 36 – RVA 0. RVA is about an hour away, but it is over 7000 feet in elevation there. Not only was the sport a challenge, the elevation makes endurance a challenge. Needless to say, the boys were quite happy with the result. RVA and Rosslyn are fierce rivals in every sport, and the victory was especially sweet.

Next week is music week as we wrap up with performances and recitals. The end of the school year is never calm, but we do enjoy seeing all the results of the hard work the children have done all year long in lessons and practice. Thankfully, both children are maintaining academic success as well as extracurricular success.

We hope you all have a blessed week!

Anne

May Planting Faith E-News

…Spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ by elevating subsistence farmers to sustainability.


May 1, 2008


Dear Friends in Christ,

Greetings from Kenya,

If you have not seen our blog, please check out http://plantingfaith.blogspot.com/. We try to update it weekly with news of our work here.

Things seem to have settled here in the past few weeks. While there are still occasional accounts of trouble within different parts of Kenya, these incidents appear to be isolated and more of a crime issue than an issue of post-election violence. We do pray that peace and reconciliation will continue among all of the people of Kenya. We believe that it will take quite a while for the process of healing here, as there are many who have felt the effects of the tragedy of late December and early January.

The international news here lately has placed quite a bit of emphasis on the issue of a global food crisis. Indeed, the media is finally looking at a problem that has been in existence worldwide for some time. The inputs necessary for agricultural production make it quite difficult to profit from farming in many parts of the world. In a country like Kenya, where such a large percentage of the population depends on agriculture as a way to earn a living, this has a tremendous effect on the economy. Coupled with the economic troubles from the recent election troubles, it is quite a challenge to continue in agriculture. However, now more than ever, the farmers here need the encouragement and knowledge of how to build upon their successes to move from subsistence to sustainable farming. Our projects provide a way for these farmers to earn cash income in addition to providing food for their families; these projects do not take away from the provision of food for these families. The projects also provide cash to that will be reinvested in agriculture within each community for many years to come.

Our work continues to progress, and we are entering quite a busy time. All four groups have now planted and are eagerly anticipating harvest. In all groups, we are looking for methods to contain costs in the present market of inflated prices of inputs.

The two passion fruit projects are roughly at the same point on the time line. Business classes are completed in Mang’u. This group is now working toward installation of the posts and wires necessary for trellising of the plants. They are now into month 6 of their passion fruit crop. The Murang’a group has had a few complications along the way, but they are now also working toward installation of posts and wires for trellises. Their business classes are near completion.

There are two groups that are growing flowers for export. The Ngarendare group is growing Moby Dick flowers, which they should be harvesting by July. Their business classes are also near completion. They will be hosting a short term mission team in mid to late June, and we are looking forward to that experience. The Kabete group planted their Bird of Paradise flower seeds Easter Monday. This group has only recently been formed, and their business seminars are still being scheduled. The flowers take a bit longer to harvest than passion fruit, but the plants produce for several years.

Discipleship training has been an important part of our ministry focus. We are most thankful to have had the assistance of Dave Chaves, an Anglican missionary here in Nairobi, assisting us in this aspect of training. With his assistance, we have been able to cover the business training, discipleship training and technical assistance simultaneously. Dave has a real gift of establishing relationships with the farmers, and we have all enjoyed his presence.

We have also recently had the exciting prospect of a new employee for Planting Faith. Michael Rhodes is graduating this weekend from Covenant College and is planning to join us for a one year internship beginning in August 2008. He is presently in the process of raising his support for next year, so please keep that process in your prayers. We have received the most glowing reports about him, and we feel blessed to have him joining us next year.

The Lord has certainly blessed Planting Faith with plenty of work to do and funding to make it all happen. But, most of all, we feel that the prayer support we have been receiving has been what really keeps us going. Thank you for all of your prayers. The past few months have been stressful to say the least, not only for us, but also for our family and friends at home. Your encouragement in words and prayers has been a lifeline many times.

Family life is going well. Both of our children are at transition points in school as Mary Shea moves from Elementary to Middle School and Horace moves from Middle School to High School. They are both looking forward to the changes, and we feel that they are both ready for the changes and challenges in the coming year.

Please continue to pray for this ministry and our family as we wrap up the school year and continue our work. The month of May always seems to bring a hectic schedule whenever schooling is involved, and it is no exception here. We also continue to pray for you at home, and thank God for giving us the blessing of your support.

In Christ’s Service,



Horace, Anne, Horace, Jr. & Mary Shea

Last Update for an April Monday

April 28, 2008


This has been a relatively uneventful week as far as the political scene in Kenya is concerned. The President and the Prime Minister have been touring IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps around Kenya. The goal is for them to witness the magnitude of the problem and the conditions in which these people are living, but the news coverage has mostly been about controversy surrounding the order in which the various politicians speak. Apparently, that order signifies their relative importance. The current national crisis is how to get these people back to their homes and if that is even possible. We continue to pray for healing and reconciliation among people groups here. There will be much work to be done for quite a while.

Our work continues to go well. Horace traveled to Ngarendare last week to visit the group there. This was a trip that we had scheduled the previous week but had to cancel due to uncertainty about safety on the roads. Last week, there was rioting by a gang called Mungiki in some parts of Nairobi and surrounding towns. No one was quite sure what it all meant by the evening before our scheduled trip, so we chose to cancel. He had a good overnight trip on Thursday, and returned Friday afternoon. The farmers there are currently working toward lowering their input costs. Here, as in most parts of the world, we are watching prices soar which makes it very difficult for struggling farmers. We are taking steps to address this problem with all of the farmers.

Next week, we will be back in Mang’u. Though our business seminars are complete in that location, we will still maintain regular contact with them regarding the technical aspects of farming as well as finances. Particular loan repayment schedules are being recorded, and the work is tedious. Soon, we will see the fruit of their work being harvested. That is always an exciting time for all of us.

Family life is going well with the exception of a rugby injury. Horace, Jr. has injured his knee and has had to take a break. We return to the doctor tomorrow to re-evaluate. The doctor took a very conservative approach of a week’s rest before recommending further testing. If he feels there is still trouble, we will do testing this week to determine the problem. It has been very difficult for him to sit on the sidelines this past week. He really loves the game. Please pray that his knee heals and that he can return to normal activity. Thankfully, Mary Shea has been without injury although her routine of track and swimming has taken quite a bit of energy these past few weeks.

It is difficult to believe that the month of May is upon us. Thursday and Friday will be school holidays this week. Thursday is Labor Day here as it is in many parts of the world. The school has blessed us with the additional day which makes for a nice long weekend. We have no plans except rest and maybe a bit of spring (or fall as it is here) cleaning. After this break, begins the mad rush for the last month of school of sporting events, music concerts and recitals as well as scouting ceremonies.

We continue to be blessed by your prayers and encouragement. They mean so much to our family. Although, we do not anticipate violence here in Kenya, we do continue to request prayers for healing and reconciliation here. There are so many people affected by all that has happened since the December 27th election. It is very difficult to imagine healthy relationships between the different people groups here. We do know that all things are possible through the love of Jesus Christ, so please pray with us that He will touch lives here each and every day.

Have a blessed week!

Anne

Ups and Downs in the New Kenya

April 21, 2008


Things are improving on the political front. The new cabinet – though bloated in size with 40 new ministers and 52 assistant ministers – has an interesting composition. For each minister, the assistant minister was selected from the opposing political party. The hope is that they will be working together to fix some of the problems that brought us turmoil after the recent election. Please keep them in your prayers as they take on that task.

As one man commented to me last week, you sleep happy and then you may wake up to chaos. That is what happened last Monday morning. Though we were in no danger, the first thing that I heard was that school was having issues with buses because of protests around town. Of course, I was thinking, “What could they be protesting? The cabinet has been named, and things appear to be improving.” Well, the trouble came from a group of thugs that has been outlawed called the “Mungiki”. They are somewhere between an inner city gang and the mafia. They are allegedly part of the paid criminals that were causing some of the unrest in the country after the election. Two politicians were recently arrested for funding their escapades. Last Monday, they declared a week of mass protest because their leader has been held in jail on a weapons charge. The leader’s wife was murdered last week, and the group is blaming the police. However, it is speculated that she was probably killed as a result of fighting within the organization. At the end of the week, the government announced that they wanted to “dialogue” with the Mungiki, and the protests were called off. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens with that.

While we did not witness any trouble, we did cancel one of our classes due to uncertainty of safety on the roads. The school that our children attend had to cancel after school activities that Monday, but otherwise, it seemed to be a normal week. Thika did have quite a bit of trouble as businesses were threatened not to open because of the protest. Murang’a also experienced the troubles with businesses being forced to close. All reports are that things are back to normal now.

This week, we will try to get back on track with a make-up class. We are also beginning the task of sorting out the loan particulars for the groups in the different areas. Lots of number crunching is ahead in the next few weeks as we sort it all out.

We will write more later to update you on our groups. For now, please pray for continued peace and a willingness to let the healing process continue in this country. As always, we appreciate your prayers.

Blessings,
Anne

Nairobi News

April 14, 2008

Today, Anne and I were running errands in Nairobi, and as we drove around from location to location, we couldn’t help remarking on how much potential this country has. Compared to other developing nations, Kenya is industrious and resourceful in spite of its extreme poverty and multiple infrastructure problems.

It appears the government is slowly working its way out of the election controversies. Yesterday, a new cabinet was named, whereby both parties are represented equally, achieving the first in a series of challenges for reconciliation in the upcoming years. I believe Kenyans are up to the task.

It is for some of these reasons that we believe so strongly in working here. We see the potential for change, and we really want to honor God by being a part of it in some small way. Our four new groups are progressing nicely. In Kabete, we have 50 farmers who have recently planted bird of paradise seedlings. These plants will generate a healthy income for all of them for many years.

In Mang’u and Murang’a, we have nearly 100 farmers planting growing passion fruit. Recently, a representative of an international NGO, the Horticultural Development Corporation, told me we need to be planting more passion fruit because currently farmers cannot meet the demand for the export market here in Kenya.

In Ngarendare 60 farmers are planting mobydick flowers for export. Most of them are new growers of this particular flower, but they are eager to learn. We recently went on a tour of some larger flower farms in nearby Naro Moro to learn about the production and grading of this particular flower. The tour had the desired effect: all came away with a sense of optimism, seeing how others were growing the plant successfully.

Unfortunately, there are those here who don’t seem to want their country to succeed. Crime here is rampant, and there are those who still wish to stir up civil unrest. Consequently, we are on our guard always. We are not traveling in areas that may be potentially dangerous, and this unfortunately slows our progress at times.

A fellow Anglican missionary friend of mine recently told me he thought it would take a full generation to fully heal the bitter animosity that exists amongst two of the major tribes in Kenya. I must admit that I agree, regardless of my optimism, but I will close by saying that I believe the vast majority of Kenyans do want genuine peace and reconciliation among all people of this land. Please pray that the few who don’t want peace do not get their way.

All God’s Blessings,

Horace

Happy Easter from The Tiptons

We pray that you and your family
have had a Wonderful Easter!

We are headed for the coast for a vacation. This next week is Spring Break from school.

We are looking forward to spending the week relaxing. The children will have many friends around at the same hotel.

We will update you on our work progress when we return.

Blessings,
The Tipton Family

March Newsletter

Dear Friends,

If you have not seen our blog, please check out http://plantingfaith.blogspot.com. We try to update it weekly with news of our work here.

Now that peace has come across Kenya, there seems to be a wave of optimism amongst the people here, who desperately long for sources of hope. In this case, government and opposition leaders have signed a power sharing agreement that has brought an end to the violence that wracked the country in January and February. Everyone is now praying that the peace is indeed lasting, and it appears that this will be the case, as the international community is doing everything possible to make sure both sides keep up their ends of the deal.

Our work is now going well. We just started a new farmer group in an area outside Nairobi called Kabete. This group will be growing the bird of paradise flower for export. This is truly a long-term investment, as they won’t harvest for 12 months, but once they begin, the plant will live and produce income for them for years to come. In Mang’u and Murang’a, the passion fruit farmers are doing well. Their plants are growing taller and will need trellising very soon. In Ngarendare, the flower farmers are preparing themselves for harvest. Because most of them are new to the crop they are growing – Mobydick – they are going to visit a farm in the village of Naro Moro this week where they can witness firsthand the harvest and grading of these flowers.

Because life came to a standstill in many parts of the country during January and part of February, most everyone will tell you now they are working double-time to catch up because of all the lost time. Anne and I are no exceptions. We’ve been holding two farmer meetings per week, teaching, checking crops, holding discipleship lessons and just managing the general welfare of the groups, since the signing of the peace agreement.

The question remains, however, is how did a country which professes to be 85% Christian let this happen. In a number of sermons and talks we have heard, this question is posed by Kenyans to Kenyans. While the answers vary, one common theme amongst everyone is that renewal in Jesus Christ is truly needed here. Only He can bring about the true reconciliation that is needed amongst warring people groups, and that of course, is reconciliation through Him in truth. Maybe in some small way we too can be a part of this process. Only the Lord knows.

Life on the home front is pretty normal. Mary Shea broke her arm last month, but now has her cast off and appears to be fully healed, as she has gone back to swim team practice. Horace has just wound up his basketball season. His team made it to the semi-finals of their tournament play. Everyone on the team was pleased with how they played this year, even though the season was interrupted because of the violence early on. Rugby season is coming up soon.

We recently sold all but one of our Labrador puppies…yahoo! We have one left who is unfortunately very sickly and must get well before we can even think about selling her. However, as easily as the others sold, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Spring break is coming soon, and all of us are happy for the much needed break. We are going on a short trip to the Kenyan coast (thanks to the sale of the puppies) and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Everyone is very excited, especially the kids because a lot of their friends will be there as well.

As Easter approaches, one can’t help but be reflective on all Christ has done for us. In times such as we have had in the last couple of months, the message of the Cross truly brings it all home. Had Jesus not died and rose again for our sins, life would truly be chaotic all the time, but because of His grace, we can see glimpses of His glory shining through even in times of despair. We once heard that one cannot truly experience Easter unless he experiences Lent as well. We cannot agree more emphatically. This will truly be a Lenten season that we never, ever forget.

Yours in Christ,

Horace, Anne, Horace, Jr. and Mary Shea

March 10 Update

Greetings from Nairobi! Once again we find ourselves in the strange position of living in a hot and dry climate when friends and family in both the US and the UK are experiencing severe cold weather. Our prayers are with all of those facing these winter storms. We truly hope they are the fun kind of winter weather with beautiful snow and warm fires inside rather than the bitter cold and dangerous ice and wind. And, I hope some of my teacher friends and family were able to enjoy some snow days!

Last week, we felt that we were once again running a somewhat normal schedule. Tuesday, we were in Murang’a to have a business seminar with the passion fruit growers there. Things seem to be going well. There was some need for some replacement plants on some of the farms, so we took care of that also. Things seem to be progressing fairly normally without any unusual problems. Everyone will, of course, be glad to see the first fruits being harvested. We have a few months before that will happen however. They are ready to install posts and wires for the trellising of the plants.

Friday, we were in the Kabete area. Even though this is very close to Nairobi, we felt we were in a very rural area. The growers there are just beginning a flower growing business – growing Bird of Paradise flowers for the export market there. We had an introductory meeting in which contracts and the format was explained in detail. We will be meeting with this group in May, as they have chosen a quarterly meeting format. The group is full of optimism about the project, and it is always a blessing to be in the middle of that feeling.

Tomorrow, we head to Ngarendare, which is close to Nanyuki near Mt. Kenya. The growers there are farming the Moby Dick flower for export. We will be having a business seminar and discipleship class as well as viewing the crop. We will be spending the night in Nanyuki. We are blessed to have two fellow Anglican missionaries, Amber and Anne, staying with our children while we are away. Thursday, we head to Mang’u for another business seminar.

Family life is going fine. We have all been healthy, which is a true blessing. Saturday was Horace’s basketball tournament at RVA (a rival school about an hour away). While they played well, they lost in the semifinals. Next, we move on to rugby. Mom will try to watch the games, but I have to tell you, it is difficult sometimes! Thankfully, this week is free of sports and activities for him. The rest will be welcomed. Mary Shea continues to swim, so we will have that activity this week. She has parent teacher conferences this Friday, so she is eagerly anticipating the day off from school.

That is about all of our news. The details of the political settlement are still working their way through Parliament, but all looks like it will be settled soon. For the most part, all is very calm here, as the people were very weary of the turmoil that wracked the country during January and February. There is no doubt now that the peace will be lasting, and there is a great deal of optimism as for what the future holds for Kenya.

We appreciate your prayers as always. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Blessings,
Anne

Monday Morning Update - March 3

Technology can be a wonderful thing, but I am learning the lesson to always double check on its accuracy!!!

I received a message Thursday that our entry had been posted on the blog, but it was not the case as it was evidently lost in cyber space. So, I went to repost this morning. I guess the blogger site felt guilty. It posted it twice to make up for last week. UGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! I am attempting to fix the problem. Maybe you can have patience for me. This certainly seems to be a rough Monday morning.

We are trying to get back on track after all of the turmoil for the past two months. The overall atmosphere in this country is so different than just one week ago. Many are quite hopeful of the future that this peace deal will bring. At the same time, there are many sobering reminders that Kenya has a lot of work to do to heal and achieve lasting peace among all people. Many organizations are looking at ways they can address these problems. People who once worked together peacefully were torn apart over the elections and resulting violence and there is a climate of hostility in some places that will be hard to overcome. Now, Kenyans begin work to live together in peace and understanding.

We are all doing fine and getting ready for a busy week.

Tuesday, we head to Murang’a to meet with a farmer group. They are growing passion fruit. We will hold a business seminar and a discipleship lesson with the group leaders. Horace will be in the field checking the crop. It will be the first time I have been there since before Christmas. Horace has visited the crop, but we have not had a large meeting.

Friday is another busy day. We are meeting with a new group in Kabete – which is very close to Nairobi to start a flower project. They will be growing the Bird of Paradise flower. We will be starting the seminars and discipleship lessons with them.

While tourism and travel to Kenya has been disrupted, it has meant the cancellation of some of the short term mission teams that were coming to work with us. We are pleased to say that we are now beginning to make plans for teams coming. That is indeed great news. Please pray as these plans are finalized and details are worked out.

Family life is going well. Mary Shea is back to normal activity, although swimming certainly gave her a challenge (20 laps just to warm up!). Horace is gearing up for a basketball tournament this weekend. He plays his electric bass in chapel with the worship team today, and I hope to make it over to attend. Spring Break is in just three weeks, and I have to say, they are counting the days! We have sold two puppies, and we have two ready to go. Tangawizi, our sickly one, is fat and happy here, but she is not quite ready to leave us – or the medical treatments.

We will continue to update you as things develop, although, I will be checking for more accurate postings on the website. We are so thankful for your prayers and encouragement.

Have a Blessed Week!!

Anne

GOOD NEWS!!!!

MY APOLOGIES - THIS IS THE SECOND TIME WE HAVE POSTED A BLOG ENTRY THAT IT DID NOT ACTUALLY MAKE IT ONTO THE BLOG. FOR THOSE OF YOU WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK, READ BELOW:

BREAKING NEWS: Praise God! A peace deal has been signed by the government and opposition parties in Kenya. This is huge! Kenya is now on the roadmap to reconciliation between parties and more importantly, different ethnic groups. Under the new power sharing arrangement, a prime minister’s position has been created. This person, who will undoubtedly be the opposition leader, will be selected by the majority party of parliament (which the opposition is), and he can only be fired by parliament as well. The prime minister will be “head of government” – meaning that he will be in charge of all government ministries. The president will be “head of state” – meaning that he represents Kenya in all international affairs.

These are the short-term goals being implemented right now. Long-term, the parties have agreed to seek real reconciliation amongst people groups and to write and pass a new constitution addressing many of the current injustices on items such as land ownership. The road ahead will no doubt be difficult, but with the Lord’s help, Kenyans are indeed up to the task. Today at a town hall meeting, the U.S. ambassador said that Kenyans are indeed being held to a higher standard than other people from developing nations. The reason for this is that their country is a model for development around the world. He believes that in spite of the fact that other developing nations have tried and failed at power sharing, Kenya can and will succeed. By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, they will no doubt succeed.

Please pray for the Kenyan people now that this task is before them. Unless we feel like it is necessary, we will probably be updating our blog only on a weekly basis now, and our content will generally be centered more on our daily work and lives. But if you feel the need, please contact us at plantingfaith@gmail.com. We love hearing from you.

Blessings,Horace and Anne

Wednesday Update

A bit of good news is available on the Kenyan political scene. Opposition leaders have called off mass demonstrations which were scheduled for Thursday. In Kenyan parlance, mass demonstration usually means an excuse for violence. Many were holding their breaths today, until this news surfaced. Now many are very relieved.

Kofi Annan continues talking with the president and the opposition leader, and the president of Tanzania, who is also the chair of the African Union, is now in Kenya trying to help facilitate negotiations as well. Condoleeza Rice even weighed in on the matter yesterday, reiterating her notice that actions would be taken against anyone attempting to scuttle the talks. The leaders of this country must feel as if all eyes are upon them. If they would only listen to the people they would realize that peace is the only real issue the vast majority of Kenyans care about.

Thursday I am planning on going to a town hall meeting at the U.S. embassy. The ambassador is speaking. I will fill you all in on his perceptions of the political situation as soon as I can.

Blessings,Horace

Tuesday Evening in Nairobi

Hello from Kenya. Everyone here is very frustrated with the political leaders who have stalled in their mediation efforts. According to mediator Kofi Annan, the talks are “temporarily suspended,” while he begins direct negotiations with the president and the opposition leader in order to speed the process up.

The sticking point of the mediation process seems to be the powers of a newly created prime minister post within the Kenyan government. Apparently, the presidency has far more powers than one would have in a western democracy. Naturally, the government wishes to hold on to as much of this as possible, and the opposition wishes to garner some of these powers from them. Unfortunately, neither side will budge in their push for power. The government wishes to make the P.M. post a presidential appointment with very little authority, and the opposition wishes for the P.M. post to be head of the government. There is obviously a wide chasm between the two, and neither is giving ground.

Please pray that both sides will see what this is doing to their country. The average man on the street simply wants everything to be back to normal. In many ways things are very normal: we sold two of our puppies today; Mary Shea got her cast off; Horace got a 100 on an algebra test. Work is now progressing nicely, as we are about to start a fourth group of farmers, growing the bird of paradise flower. Nonetheless, people are starting to air their frustrations with the leadership of the country.

Please pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to the political leaders, guiding and directing them to make good decisions for the nation. We will update you in a few days. Hopefully there will be some positive news.

Blessings,Horace

Sunday Evening in Nairobi

Hello Everyone!

It has been a quiet Sunday at home today. The children have enjoyed their time off from school, but tomorrow it is back to reality! Tomorrow is also the day that Mary Shea can resume normal activity with her arm.

We are headed into another week of uncertainty with the peace talks. The official word from Kofi Annan remains optimistic, but both sides are full of comments in the press which makes them sound far apart on the issues. Tomorrow, negotiations are to continue. Everyday, there is another story of frustration on the part of those people here that are trying to bring back the economic successes they once enjoyed. Tourism is naturally suffering, and that will have quite an impact across the country in many other businesses.

In church today, the Bishop of Thika discussed a meeting he chaired of ACK Bishops that were Luo and Kikuyu – the main opposing ethnic groups here in Kenya. He talked of frank exchanges and a beginning or reconciliation and healing among the group. There has also been much in the paper lately about the need for mediation and reconciliation to extend beyond the Serena Hotel – where Kofi Annan’s talks are being held. In order to achieve lasting peace, reconciliation must extend across society to all people.

We had a sad conclusion to our week with bad news here and in the US. I wrote about a good friend of ours who was serving here in Nairobi until last July when he went back to the US because of a brain tumor. We received word Friday that he had died. His wife had written Thursday to let us all know that he was in the final hours, but it was still difficult news. Jim is no longer suffering, but we are all sad at the loss for the family and for ourselves. Up until the end he had two concerns, and they were the same that he had during life: his family and the people who didn’t know Jesus. He will be sorely missed, and I am sure his impact in many parts of the world will long be felt.

Shortly after that news, we received news that one of the CCS (Christian Community Services) employees in the diocese had died. John Muchamo was a very young man who had only been married two weeks. He was admitted to the hospital last week with severe headaches and suffered a stroke while there. He worked in the Mang’u area with those affected by HIV/AIDS. The people there often referred to him as St. John because of his compassion in dealing with everyone.

Family life is going smoothly. Horace attended his youth group today. That is truly a blessing for us and for him. Some young adults who are counselors at the summer camp here that our children attend stay here year round and minister to our children. They build relationships by coming to school for lunchtime visits as well as athletic events. On Sundays, they host youth groups for both middle and high school students. It is a wonderful gift to the community as they aren’t just ministering to missionary kids; they also work with children from diplomatic, Kenyan and Asian communities.

There is not much news to write about at the moment, but we will work on another entry at the beginning of the week. Continue to pray for peace in Kenya. We greatly appreciate the prayers that sustain us here.

Have a Blessed Week!
Anne

Thursday's Update

Hello once again. We have had a short week due to a planned school holiday. A big improvement over emergency school closure! The kids are enjoying the idea of a break. The teachers are working today for their self-study for accreditation purposes. They will have their break tomorrow.

News from the mediation efforts is still a bit rocky. One day things are looking more positive, and the next their will be statements from one or both sides about their dissatisfaction with the process. Kofi Annan was quoted in the paper today saying that the talks are still progressing as needed even though “discouraging comments” may be coming out from both sides. Apparently both sides have agreed to a Prime Minister idea, but they still disagree on details.

Condeleeza Rice was in town Monday and met with Raila Odinga, President Kibaki and Kofi Annan. She also met with business leaders. She emphasized that the US did not intend to force or dictate the terms of an agreement, but that the US fully supports those Kenyans who have grown weary with this process and are ready for healing. While President Bush is on the continent traveling to development projects in Africa, he is noticeably absent from Kenya. He has toured Tanzania, Rwanda and is now in Ghana. He is headed to Liberia next. He is touring the successful efforts of US development.

Work is progressing. We have now scheduled all groups for upcoming seminars. We are looking forward to getting back on track. We are being reminded that nothing happens quickly here; just the scheduling process can be tedious at times. Horace continues to visit farmer groups in the field offering technical assistance where needed. Things seem to be progressing fairly well.

One exciting development this week was the installation of a pump in the well at ACK Thika Diocese Namrata Shah Children’s Home. This is a home for orphans that has been waiting for electricity since before we came to Kenya. The poles for it have been visible for quite some time, but they were waiting on the power company to make the final connections. They received a gift for a well a while ago, and it is intended to water their shamba (garden or small farm). Through a generous gift from Hand In Hand, a UK Christian Charity, they were able to purchase a pump to use to fill a tank for irrigation. The pump was purchased in November and has been patiently waiting in our pantry until electricity reached the children’s home. Finally, Horace had a call that electricity had been installed. Today, he traveled to Thika and installed the pump. He said the sight of the pumping water was wonderful, and it quietly and efficiently fills the tank. Now, they will be able to water a garden to be used for their own food and perhaps have extra to sell to help offset their costs.

News on the home front is mostly good. Mary Shea had her cast removed Tuesday and is looking forward to getting back to her normal busy schedule. We just have to wait for Monday, and then she is allowed normal activity. Horace will be busy working on a friend’s Eagle Project for scouts tomorrow. Our 7 week old puppies are healthy except for one which seems to have been born with a weak immune system. She has been quite miserable with several problems for about 10 days. Other than that, I am happy to report we are quietly doing well.

We are so thankful for our opportunity to be in Kenya, as our family has truly been blessed in many ways. It is not easy for us to be away from our extended family and friends in the US – especially during special times. This Saturday is one of those special times as our nephew John will be getting married in the US. Please join us in praying for the wedding festivities and the union of John and Anna. We pray that they will enjoy many happy years to come.

We pray peace will continue here in Kenya, and we praise God that we have so many supporting us and this country in prayer.

Have a blessed weekend!

Anne

Saturday in Nairobi

Hello from Nairobi. We are having a beautiful weekend. When I think of all of the people in the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps, I am thankful the weather is pleasant. To think just 6 weeks ago many of these people were living peacefully in houses that they had worked to build, and now they are sleeping in emergency shelters and tents – a truly sobering thought. They deserve better than they have received.

It is quiet where we are. I would say that we are nearly back to pre-election normal here in Nairobi. Kofi Annan had a press conference yesterday in which he expressed optimism that a deal is “close”. He also stated that he had not intended to be here this long, but he does expect to remain in Kenya until a satisfactory deal has been made between the two sides. The media buzz is saying that the goal is some sort of coalition government, but there has been no formal agreement. Obviously, much work needs to be done, but all agree that things seem to have moved much more quickly than expected. We hope and pray that all of this progress continues toward meaningful agreements and peace. Kofi Annan has also called a meeting with Kibaki and Odinga for Monday. The committees representing the sides will continue negotiations Tuesday.

International pressure is mounting on the parties believed to be responsible for violence with denial of visa rights for them and their families to many countries, including the US. There is also discussion of freezing assets in foreign countries. While President George Bush is currently on a tour of Africa, he will not be visiting Kenya. The goal of his trip is to highlight the successful development initiatives that the US is involved with in Africa. Although the international press often ignores these things, there is actually quite a bit of humanitarian investment in Africa by the US. He is, however, sending Condoleeza Rice to Kenya. She is expected to be here less than 24 hours, but she will be meeting with Kibaki, Odinga and Annan while she is here.

Interesting media tidbits this week that I am sure don’t make the international news concern the role of the church here. The National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK) had quite a strong self-condemning statement this week in that they confessed that many in the pulpit have been preaching partisanship rather than healing of the gospel. While it is a relief to see this confession and move toward healing within the churches, it is also distressing to think that our religious institutions could have been part of fostering the hate and tribalism that exists. With this confession, one hopes, will come some sort of move to foster a healing and reconciliation process within the churches.

Our work is continuing to build back up to a normal pace. We are thankful for that. Thursday, we traveled to Mang’u with Dave Chaves, a fellow Anglican missionary who helps us out with our projects. We also took along James Njeru, who is a CCS (Christian Community Services of the ACK) employee helping with our projects. Horace visited shambas to view the passion fruit’s progress, Dave taught discipleship classes, and James and I taught the business classes. When I teach the classes, a translator is necessary in most all areas where we work. It was a good day in which we covered some beginning planning steps to improve our businesses. Things go very well, and the farmers are receptive to the lessons. Our hardest lesson of the day was to think creatively to solve problems. Quite naturally, naming the problems is easy, but thinking of creative solutions is a bit tough. We find that so many farmers and small business owners here tend to do the same things that everyone else does. This only floods a market and increases competition to an impossible degree. We talked quite a bit about how to find out what the market wants and needs are and how to find ways to address business that are different from everyone else.

There are a few minor problems on the passion fruit, but otherwise the crop looked quite good. Horace feels they will be under control shortly, and he didn’t see anything that was a major cause for concern. One of the hardest lessons that he faces teaching is that the flowers and fruit at this point must be pruned to allow proper growth of the vine. It is understandably difficult for these farmers to “waste” these fruits, but it is necessary for the future of the plant. Poles and wires will go up soon for the trellising of the vines.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouraging messages. We will be posting again early next week.

Have a blessed weekend!

Anne

Prayers and Praise

Still not much news from Nairobi… We understand that Kofi Annan has put a gag order on all sides of the mediation efforts. We don’t expect to hear much coming from them for several days. I think it may be another instance of “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”. Sometimes, the political posturing gets a bit tiring – ok, not just sometimes, it is probably more like most of the time. I cannot imagine the frustration of being a mediator between them.

Today’s basketball game was against Rift Valley Academy – which, being another American school for missionary kids, proves to be quite the rival school! We won 17 – 4. Horace played an excellent game. (His uncle Joe will be happy to know he had his share of fouls – some called fairly and some a bit questionable.) We have a few weeks with an empty sports schedule as we wait for the basketball tournament in early March. The schedule has been strange this year with all the troubles in January.

We do appreciate your prayers for us, our family and this country, but tonight I feel a special need to ask for prayers for friends of ours in the US. Jim and Elaine served here as missionaries. They were truly bright spots in our lives. Their three children, Josh, Luke & Anna were students at the same school as our children, and Anna was one of my students. We worshiped with them on Sundays, ate dinner at our favorite cheap restaurants, enjoyed intramural sports at school and went camping with them. Elaine held my hand and kept my sanity in check when Horace, Jr. received an especially hard hit in rugby once – even going out onto the field to give him a quick medical check as she is a trained nurse. It reassured me, but more importantly, it saved my son the embarrassment of having a mother who went down to the field. Last July, they found out Jim had a brain tumor. They rushed him from Nairobi to the US, but the situation was already pretty grim.

Elaine’s updates are always full of love and grace – she was a trained hospice nurse and has said repeatedly that she know she will use these experiences to be a better care giver in the future. I recently received an update from Elaine talking about Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. As you can well imagine, Elaine has been reminding – or forcing - herself to rejoice daily in anything she can consider good. Jim is not always alert anymore and has suffered terrible pain. However, one day recently, Jim had a great day where he was alert and really with his whole family. She said that she didn’t have to remind herself to rejoice that day, she just did. She talks about how God gets us through everyday, but sometimes He sends those messages to us to let us know how deeply He really cares for us.

Of all the whining and complaining I have done about the many inconveniences we have experienced, I am ashamed to say that very few times I have stopped to realize that we have never truly known suffering as many have in this country and around the world with various forms of suffering. I am also ashamed to say that I don’t think I have rejoiced in the good news half as much as I have complained and whined about the bad.

We do praise God for our family’s safety in the turmoil as well as the glimmer of hope of reconciliation and peace for Kenya. We praise God for all the scattered stories we hear of good news that don’t make the international media. We also praise God for the inspiration of our friends Jim, Elaine, Josh, Luke and Anna – even in the midst of their suffering, their lives continue to be a light to others.

We have had computer issues with our old trusty laptop – which someone not too long ago described as a dinosaur computer (OK, I might be whining again). One morning this week, it simply greeted us with a plain black screen. Once I got it back up, I immediately backed up all our pictures on a disc (and I did praise God that I had that second chance to save them). So, bear with us if we are a bit inconsistent in getting a blog written while the computer issues are being sorted out.

Blessings,

Anne

No News is Good News for Kenya

We are very sorry we haven’t updated sooner, but we are thankful that there is not much to report right now. We were waiting for some news out of the negotiations, but it appears that all will be relatively quiet until some agreements are reached. Kofi Annan was quoted in the paper warning the media not to speculate on the contents of the talks, and, of course, the paper proceeded to speculate about the contents of the talks.

We have now lasted over a week without any school activities cancelled. Horace’s basketball team had a game cancelled Saturday morning, but perhaps they were just afraid of the competition??

It does appear that there is a possibility of negotiations producing fruit. We’ve been a bit reluctant to write this, because we know that as soon as we do, something could blow up in the negotiations, but so far so good. The two sides have apparently outlined what they propose, and it seems there may be hope after all, as there are points they do agree upon.

The problems that remain with Kenya will take some time for recovery. Not only is there the basic mistrust between ethnic groups, but there are so many people who have been displaced from their homes, work and school. There are some that feel that these people should simply be sent back to their “original tribal home land,” but for some of these people that is a foreign land. We pray that they will be able to settle in a peaceful place that is their choice and not have something forced upon them.

The economy will suffer here. Tourism and agriculture will be the most heavily damaged areas. While some problems simply stem from fear and insecurity in certain areas, others come from damaged infrastructure, such as factories and equipment. Kericho, for instance, is a major tea producing area, and processing equipment was damaged there. With the damage done to the economy, no doubt jobs will be lost and poverty will increase.

After church two Sundays ago, we were off to lunch at a tourist spot called the Safari Park Hotel, which generally has a pretty large spread on Sundays. Normally, it is packed. In fact, vacancies in the hotel are rare even in the off-season, which we are in now. However, our car was one of only a few in the parking lot, and there were only two other tables being used in the restaurant. This really made it all hit home. In fact, the latest reported figures say tourist arrivals were down 90% in the month of January. Tourism, which leads the nation with a billion dollar industry, is really and truly bottoming out.

We want to thank all of you for your e-mails and messages. Your encouraging words really lift us up, as do your prayers. Please know that everyone is safe and sound, as life gets back to normal in East Africa.

Blessings to you all,

Horace and Anne

Finally! A new posting!

Hello All –

Happy Super Tuesday to all those in the US! I hope you voted. I started trying to write this Saturday, but things have evolved into quite a busy weekend and beginning of the week, so here I am Tuesday night trying to get it finished. I just don’t seem to be able to get a blog written and posted before things change a bit – or we don’t have working internet – or we don’t have electricity.

We had a town hall meeting today with the American Ambassador and members of the Embassy staff. It was a helpful update. They are very encouraged by the reports they are getting from Kofi Annan’s mediation efforts. The two agreements that have already been signed came more quickly than expected. Granted, they are now in the more seriously contested issues, but he felt that both sides will be open to negotiation and compromise eventually.

They spent quite a bit of time answering questions from the audience, and overall, they were frank, but optimistic. They gave us helpful information about Warden contacts. Being with so many Americans in Nairobi, our ward is actually quite a small area and the warden lives just behind us a few streets. The warden is the person who delivers emergency information via cell phone, although we all receive emails directly from the Embassy.

Their advice was to proceed with our work here and be aware of our surroundings, avoiding known areas of trouble – which we are already doing. They do not forsee our current situation of relative security in Nairobi to change any time soon. They did qualify that with the advice to stay away from the known trouble spots, including Kabera and other slum areas. For some in ministry, this is quite difficult because that is where all of their work is. However, for us, it does not pertain.

I know that it is hard to look at Kenya’s situation as having hope for some of those not as familiar with this country or the continent of Africa, but the reasons the Ambassador gave for optimism were encouraging to me, reminding me of the basic stability of the people. First, Kenya has a well established community of business people and civilians who have invested quite a bit in the basic democratic structure of this country. While it is obviously far from perfect, they are more established here than most countries. Second, Kenya has a very high literacy rate which makes citizen more likely to assess the situation at hand for themselves without blindly following leaders. Third, Kenya has the best media outlets in Africa that are dedicated to the free press and are free from intimidation from outside sources. Fourth, both sides have a tremendous amount to lose and gain in this process. Kibaki does not want to be viewed by the world as a leader who stole power, and Odinga does not want to have the legacy of tearing this country apart. Lastly, he said that from his personal conversations with all parties, he has come to the conclusion that they will work toward agreement.

The Ambassador also told us that the US is privately putting some pressure on individuals who they believe are involved in supporting violence. They have received spoken and written warnings that their visa status is to be reviewed if peace does not come soon. Many of these individuals have children who are living and working or going to school in the US, and many of them were educated in the US, so that is having a tremendous impact on them. It seems they have evidence pointing to certain individuals and their part in funding the violence. The positive about that disgusting bit of information is that intelligence is yielding valuable information for finding those responsible. Once the funding dries up, for many of these “bands of youth”, the violence will be discontinued. These wealthy individuals seem to be exploiting the large population of unemployed youth for their causes, so it appears that the “chaos” may just well be a paid show without true commitment to the causes.

We, of course, continue to watch what happens in our community and the country as a whole. We are thankful for the organization and communication we get from the Embassy. They have an policy that states we as private citizens receive the same information that Embassy employees and their families receive.

The last few days have been a bit busy, but it was topped off yesterday in the first three minutes of Mary Shea’s basketball game. She fell backwards onto her elbow and was in quite a lot of pain. We took her straight to the Children’s hospital where our pediatrician’s office is. Thankfully, he was just finishing up his day and was available to take a look. He sent us for a quick x-ray and then called the orthopedist to see us. The orthopedist waited for us even though he was also finished with his normal office hours. He said that she had a slight crack in her elbow and put her in a cast right then and there. He checked it this afternoon, and he expects her to be in a cast only two weeks. The timing was an absolute blessing as another Mom took Horace, Jr. home after his basketball game and we were only about 30 minutes later picking him up from their house on our way home (2 and ½ hours from injury to home). The bad news is that she will have to sit out of swim team for about three weeks. She is disappointed, but we are all thankful that it was not any more serious. Horace’s team won their game 22-10 with the second string mostly, so we did not even miss seeing him play very much. Mary Shea broke her arm last year, but it was simply a fall outside her classroom. She says that saying she hurt it in basketball is a much better story to tell. She is in MUCH better spirits tonight, and the pain is almost gone.

I feel like if I actually get this on the blog, it will be a miracle, so say a prayer of thanksgiving if you have been able to read it. Please continue to pray for peace and stability. Please also pray for Mary Shea’s arm.

Blessings,
Anne

Good News Breaking in Nairobi

Today was a quiet news day for us – not by choice. We were without electricity from midnight last night until the middle of this afternoon. Power outages here are more the norm for our lives. We always have plenty of candles and flashlights handy, but we are without the TV. There were scheduled sports events at school which I will write more about later.

Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the UN was in town today to give assistance to the peace process. He must be quite effective because it appears there might just be some good news tonight – which is a very welcome event in our household and across this country. On both the CNN and BBC websites, they are reporting “BREAKING NEWS” that the two sides have reached an agenda for a peace deal. This is not the peace deal, but it is an agreement on how to move forward. Apparently, this spells out exactly what issues will be covered in the next 2 to 4 weeks as they broker peace.

The really good news is that there has been an immediate agreement to end inflammatory language, break up gangs who are using violence, and the right to peaceful assembly for all citizens. These gangs are actually being referred to as “militias”; however, one of these groups in particular, the Mungiki, has been in Kenya for some time. They operate more like the gangs that we read and hear about in the US, committing crimes and operating on the fringes of society.

I heard a story today that yesterday the Mungiki attempted to enter a community to rid it of Luo people. But, both the Luo and the Kikuyu people in that community refused to be intimidated and chased them out. If that kind of cooperation could spread throughout Kenya, the political negotiations would not be necessary. I believe the good and decent people of Kenya are weary of the intimidation and fear. I believe they are acting in faith to fight against corruption.

Prayers are being answered, and it certainly seems to be positive. Please pray that the negotiations will continue to be productive. Also, please pray for the people of this country. They need stamina and courage to continue.

On a family note, Sports Day was a great success. Mary Shea was first in the high jump and second in both of her races. She did quite well in the long jump, but we are not sure if she placed. Horace did quite well in his races also – coming in second and third place. I helped Parent Teacher Fellowship make and sell sandwiches for a fundraiser – we didn’t do so well as we were competing with Korean lunches. It was a wonderful day for me – just to return to a bit of the normal routine of family and school.

We appreciate your prayers and encouragement every day. Please keep them going. If you could also add our families in the U.S., that would also be greatly appreciated. They are stressed from what they see on the news, and our ability to convince them of our safety seems to be lacking somewhat.

We will continue to update you as we know more.

Praying for a peaceful weekend for you and for us,

Anne

We Really Are OK

Yes, it is bad. But we are safe.

I can’t lie and say things are normal here, because they are not. There is always the “what if” in our minds as we go about daily activities. But, we do feel it is as normal and safe as possible for us right now. Please know that if we thought we were in danger, we would not be here.

That being said, there are things that we cannot and will not do. I don’t have a wild desire to drive across town, but our normal routes are OK. I won’t be visiting the Nairobi Game Park anytime soon – as you would drive right by Kibera, one of the slums that has had the most violence. However, we drove to Westlands today to take a diseased passion fruit plant for testing at the KARI labs, and that was OK. Yesterday, Horace drove two hours north to Murang’a to visit one of our projects. He felt fine about the drive and the area in which he was working.

Mary Shea started swim team practice this week. Other than being totally exhausted (in a good way), all was fine. Horace had two basketball games. They won one and lost one – by two points from a last second shot. We have Sports Day tomorrow – which is a day with track and field events for Grades K – 8. The high school is having a Luau tomorrow night at the new pool. All these things seem quite normal, and they are.

I, however, am not traveling outside of Nairobi for the time being. This is not because our work areas are unsafe; it is because there is always a possibility that school would have to dismiss early one day due to trouble in some parts of Nairobi. Though our school is in a very safe location (around the corner from the UN and the US Embassy and next door to US Embassy housing), they have to consider navigating buses all over Nairobi. They simply will not take any chances.

What this means is that we are behind schedule on our work. The passion fruit and flowers don’t know that, so they aren’t going to stop growing. The farmers still need technical assistance along the way. We are postponing the business classes for now until we can be assured that school is on schedule.

I read a list today of the “possible signs” of stress which was published in our school email newsletter. It said we aren’t supposed to beat ourselves up if we aren’t very productive right now, so I guess I will have to go with the expert advice. It also said that watching the news can cause increased stress in an already stressful environment (OK – a clear statement of the obvious). I am sure you can relate somewhat that the news media does tend to focus on the most graphic and horrific images they can possibly find. I am finding that they repeat these particularly disturbing pictures regularly on both BBC and CNN International. I am sure what you are seeing is just as bad, and I do realize that you worry for us. We are blessed to have many at home praying and caring for us – not only now, but also the past three years of our work here.

We do appreciate the prayers, and they are a great comfort to us. There are so many people here in dire straights. There is a flower farm in Naivasha that we know of that has been inundated with refugees. As one of the managers told a friend of ours, they are farmers and business men, not aid workers. They feel totally overwhelmed with the responsibility to help and clueless about how to do it. At one camp in Limuru last week, in just one night, 15 babies were born. We have options – such as a safe place to live, transportation readily available, food, water, electricity, clothing and all our possessions. There are people here that are not so fortunate, and they truly need your prayers.

We pray that politicians will be able to put greed and pride aside as they negotiate a deal for peace. This is a miracle for any politician to do, but more so in this case, it seems. That will truly take the power of prayer, of course, but we do feel that it would be God’s will for this to happen.

We will try to keep you updated as much as possible. Thank you for the emails and the prayers. Keep ‘em coming!!

Blessings,
Anne

Tuesday, January 29th

Several people have written today very concerned for our safety, so I write to clarify what is going on in the country and with us in particular.

The situation is indeed serious, but we are following the lead of the U.S. embassy. When they say move, we will indeed move, but at this point they have given no such indication. I know it is hard to believe, but everything in Nairobi seems normal. There was some violence surrounding the death of the M.P., but it calmed before noon. In fact, Anne and I were in downtown Nairobi this morning (also a long way from the violence today) and had no idea anything was going on today until we got a phone call informing us of the clashes.

There are some hotspots around, and we are avoiding them at all cost. In the suburbs where we live, we are no where near any of this. (For those of you in the Memphis area, try to imagine being in Marion, AR, if Orange Mound were in a riot. It is a real concern, so the best thing to do is to stay away from there.) In fact, people in other parts of the city who do live nearer to the bad parts are planning on sending their kids to our house if there is trouble with school closures or something. But right now that has not happened.

The kids’ school – to which we live very close – is also being extra careful. They sent some kids home at noon today being fearful of certain bus routes, but at the end of the day, everyone felt it was – while still a necessary precaution – more or less a false alarm, as there were no incidents on the road.There is one small ray of hope in this situation. Tonight, the opposing parties "agreed to agree" in negotiations led by Kofi Annan, setting down criteria for talks which are to begin tomorrow. Prior to this, both parties’ leaders denounced the violence and called on officials below them to do the same and to be physically present in their constituencies to see that there is no violence. If they do follow through with this, then we pray things will calm down soon.I know what you all see in the news is shocking, and I don't want to belittle it; however, I do think a lot of the news paints with a pretty broad brush. I travel to and work with people who really aren't even aware that much is going on. While they are not near Nairobi, it is still apparent that there are many peaceful parts of the country, which at this point, seem untouchable. I pray it stays that way.
Horace

Monday, January 28

There is much going on here in Kenya, but we want to assure people we are in no danger in the suburbs of Nairobi. As one friend told me, “We don’t really live in Africa. We live 15 minutes outside of it.” Everything we are seeing is on the news, just as you are seeing it too.

However, things seem to be going from bad to worse. I wish I could put a positive spin on it, but when people are killing one another for the way they were born, it speaks volumes about the situation. Yet it is deeper than just ethnicity. Poverty is playing a huge part in all of this. We don’t see the middle or upper classes involved in any of this. These are the people who have nothing fighting against the people who have just a little bit (so says the BBC).

Several cities and towns in the Rift Valley have erupted into tribal clashes in the last several days. Many have died, and many more are now homeless. One can only pray that it will all come to an end soon because certainly no one has a handle on the situation. The political elite are still preparing for the negotiating table, and this is one positive sign. Yet at this point, those who are fighting are doing so not for political reasons any more. We are pretty new here to be commentators on such matters, but apparently this sort of thing has happened around most elections, as different ethnic groups vie for the best agricultural land whenever there is a chance of change in the political elite. This is by far the worst to date. I do want to strongly emphasize, however, that this situation is no Rwanda. Both foreign and national analysts have stated this over and over. The two situations do not compare.

Many have been asking where the church is in all this, and to a certain degree some of the churches have been deafeningly silent. However, Anne and I heard a great sermon this weekend, when the preacher asked, “How can we call ourselves a Christian nation – 83 percent of the population – when we let this happen?” The preacher, a Kikuyu, also challenged the congregation when he said, “Have you invited your Luo neighbor to church?” That is really the question of the day, isn’t it?

As I said, in our neck of the woods, things are very peaceful. In fact, I spent all day in Thika and Mang’u, where one of our projects is located. We plan on going to Murang’a on Wednesday to teach a business class and check the farmers’ crops. So in that respect, life must move on. We are going about our business, muddling through as best we can. Please keep us as well as all of Kenya in your prayers this day. We all need them.

Horace