The Rogers' Family Neighborhood

.Rogers Fam Dec 2010c.pdf

A hail storm this afternoon surprised us all in Ilula! It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Over 70 young people have converged daily this week for a very special ELI youth camp here in Ilula, Kenya. Things wrap up tomorrow but we have seen the hand of God helping strengthen the lives of these young people. Over 30 of the youth are from our children’s home. Tomorrow we make the 1 ½ hour drive to Kipkaren Children’s Home for a special Guardians Day!

Today (Friday Dec 10) a dozen people will be coming to the Ilula Training Center to celebrate the new course their lives have taken. These are all men and women from various areas of Kenya who at one point were totally addicted to alcohol and their lives were in ruins. Today these friends are celebrating months and in many cases – years of sobriety! Testimonies – food – prayers – songs – fellowship – celebration for what God has done!

Today – Friend of ELI /Volunteer – Linda Brownell made it safely from So. California (Hillside Community Church) to the children’s home in Ilula!

Today – John Busienei – ELI Children’s Home Director – Kipkaren, Kenya is in Nairobi on behalf of the ELI Children’s Home receiving a special award for excellence. More details to come.

Tomorrow (Saturday) here in Ilula is the Guardians Day. This is a unique time where siblings – aunts and uncles – grandparents of the orphans in our care come to fellowship with their loved ones and see the “Home”. There will be a very special program that the Children will present and many speeches and songs.

Today Nathaniel brought me some of his school work – specifically his journal that he writes in each day. Here is what he wrote today “ There was a man who was very nice. He dide (died). Everyone was sad. Until he was back alive! His name was Jesus.”

Over the past several days ELI staff here in Kenya have been participating as facilitators at an important event in the village of Semit. Here over 40 women from four different denominations gathered together for a four day confererence. Many walked for hours to attend. Yesterday was the closing ceremony and as a final word the women sang (see AUDIO POST) and shared a cake with the 150 people who had gathered for the Sunday Closing Ceremony. As pastors from different churches moved together with a plate of cake – giving each person a small portion they said as the cake was taken: “Taste the sweetness of Unity in Christ”.

The women are going back to their villages encouraged both spiritually and economically as our staff shared insights from Gods Word as well as skills for living and breaking the cycle of poverty for the past four days. The journey to reach this remote place is breathtaking by both foot and also by 4 wheel drive as we taught about God’s love together with skills for empowerment in Semit – otherwise known as “The Hanging Valley”.

Today Amy and other staff took a daring road down to an escarpment called Hanging Valley (Semit). Here a womens conference was launched with our staff and Amy as the keynote speakers. Tomorrow Don and two ELI interns will drive an hour and then hike down to the conference. Don will be sharing about Gods love for their community and inviting all to surrender to Christ. We will all be back in Ilula on Sunday.

Today our son Nathaniel turned 8. Yesterday monring he came to my room quite eraly and with a smile informed me “Daddy, today I am seven and tomorrow… I become a man!” He went on to say “Daddy, Do you know how you acan tell if your a man?” I was all ears ” You become a man when all of your baby teeth fall out.” Not bad insight. Of course he was reminded by his older brother that he STILL has some more baby teeth to loose – so – it seems for Nathaniel that manhood is still a few teeth away.
Fortunately this did not hinder our celebration and a brief party which included about 100 of the children from the home.