Today's News

Today the camp staff made made it safely  down a very long, very bumpy road to Mt. Suswa where they will be working until Saturday.  They will be working with Maasai, which is Kenya's tribe that is famous for the way they have held on to their traditional, nomadic lifestyle.  Spending time in Maasailand is always fun and adventurous.  They will be camping and have hired some ladies from the village to do their cooking (this is a great way to help out the village financially).  They are working with a family who has been in Kenya for years and they are currently doing relief/ mission work throughout Kenya.
While they are at Mt. Suswa, the group will be helping with a variety of projects including building a greenhouse, visiting homes with pastors, and working with the kids.  Since spending time with the Maasai is such a cool cultural experience, they have also planned some activities like making walking sticks, throwing rungus (clubs) and spears, cooking, etc.  Tonight after sharing tacos with the Maasai (a first for them I am positive!) the staff was able to hear a word from one of the national pastors on the Love of God.  Afterwards they went on a nature walk to collect firewood and laid out the plan for building the greenhouse.  Here are a couple of pictures to give you an idea of what the camp staff's surroundings will be for the next few days.

This is what a typical homestead looks like in Maasailand

Traditional Maasai warriors

While the camp staff were traveling, the Southside team was hard at work for our sponsorship program at Rehema Children's Home.  After almost a year of work with our sponsorship program, this spring we revisited the past year and discussed what we needed to get in place to move forward.  We saw a need to put a new documentation system in place.  Southside was a huge help in this process this morning.  Curt took pictures of the kids from classes 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 while the ladies wrote down the stories for each of those 135 children.  Once we compile this information, we will be better able to give potential child sponsors detailed information on their child.  This will be a big step forward for our sponsorship program.  If you've never seen pictures of Rehema, here is where the team is.

While Curt and the ladies were working at Rehema, the other men visited homes, prayed with people and invited them to the well dedication that took place this afternoon.  After lunch the team worshiped the Lord with the community, thanking him not only for this well, but for being the Wellspring of Life.  Jim spoke and encouraged the church.  They were also able to give the community the charge to care for the new well, giving them ownership and responsibility to make sure that it is  taken care of.  The well is pumping and the tractor has tilled the ground.  Tomorrow the team will be laying the drip irrigation system.  Now everyone is enjoying another night in their host homes.