This little guy is walking right through the mud and the filth.
This type of public transportation is referred to as a mini-bus.
This is a "jua kali" industrial area. The items you see on display were made out of recycled iron. "Jula kali" means "fierce sun". That term is used because the workers do the manufacturing out under the hot sun.
A walkway in a slum area
These top two photos are from Kibera, Kenya's largest slum (located in Nairobi). The people live in houses made of mud and/or iron sheets.
The other three photos are from Kayole, one of Nairobi's "estates". By Kenyan standards, it's not a slum. Most of the people in these types of neighborhoods live in "flats" (apartments). The buildings are constructed with stones (similar in size and shape to a cement block) and cement. Many of the flats are only 10x10 feet square. All flats on each floor share a toilet, sink, and "bath" room.
This is Agnes with her new sewing machine. My mom and I have been making it possible for her to take sewing classes over the past couple of months. Now she has the machine! Please pray for her to be able to succeed with this new venture. She and her husband, Charles, really struggle to provide for their four boys. As I said my goodbyes to them, Agnes told me, "I believe when you come back, I will have reached somewhere.”
This is their whole family.
This is Jeremiah, Karo, Jim, and Joy Kibisu. Please pray for them as they raise their family, pastor their church, and attend a Bible college.
Please continue to pray for Joe's health to come back to what it should be.
Deng, Emmanuel, Mawien, and Wek are refugees from Sudan. I head up a team at my church that has been instrumental in sponsoring them in secondary school. Please pray for their education.
Joining them in this picture is Joseph and Lino... and me.
I've known Mark Deng Deng for a number of years now. He's also a Sudanese refugee that's been living in Kenya after escaping the atrocities in his own country. He's recently decided to return to Sudan. He believes he can assist others as they strive to rebuild their war-torn nation. Please pray for his safety and that he can avoid any health issues.
Masudi, on the left, recently finished his secondary school education. Please pray that he can find something to further his growth in life - either more schooling, a job, or something else.
Pray for my homegroup in my absence. Emily (in the pink blouse) will be hosting and leading the group.
Derrick and Jeremy were recently blessed with these uniforms for the Kenya Scouts. They are very excited about them!
This is their parents, George and Linet. Please pray that George can sell some of his art work. He's been given a loan to start out in his own business. It has long been his dream to make a living with the work of his own hands. I have several of his items in both my Nairobi and Matunda houses.
Please pray for Rose (and her brother, Sammy) as they both attend school. Life hasn't been easy for them since their mom died just over a year ago.
Pray for Vera and Ben as they start out their new life together.
As always, please pray for Bishop, Margaret, and their family and ministry! We're celebrating Angela's birthday in this photo.
Collins is in his final year of secondary school. He'll be taking his exams in November.
Ben is a very talented young man. He really wants to find a job or to be able to attend college. As you can see from the photo, he loves to read!
Nathan and his son, Laban, are trying ice cream for the first time ever. They weren't too impressed with it. Please pray for Nathan; he's a small-scale farmer. He and his family barely eke out a living.
Joseph and Agnes, Karo's parents, are also in the same situation as many, many small scale farmers in Kenya.
What a pretty bride!
The proud parents
Thank you for your prayers. Please keep on praying. I’m pretty sure we’d be willing to accept a miracle even if it comes at the very last minute. But we are also willing to bow to God’s good will for our lives. We are the created, not the Creator. We don’t choose, He does. We don’t know the whole picture, He does. Death is an exercise in trust, maybe the ultimate exercise.
Every moment is precious; let us not waste any of them. Love, serve, sacrifice, give more than you take, live lives of integrity, and leave things better than you found them. Seek after the face of God.
- Maxine Talbert, a lover of Christ, friend to Kenya, example to me, and eagerly and courageously expecting to see her Lord face-to-face very soon
