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