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