Sports Day

The primary schools in Kenya hold sports competitions for boys and girls beginning in late January. The sport events include volleyball, netball, handball, and football (soccer). The children from Open Arms Academy (OAA) enjoy sports, and competing against other schools in the area, with hopes of progressing to the national competition in April.

This year, OAA had teams competing in all four sports for boys and girls. The process of advancement is different than what we are accustomed to in the USA. Instead of school teams advancing when they win at a certain level, players are chosen from the final two teams (in that day’s tournament) to compete at the next level. The focus is on individual athletes rather than teams. 

(photo by Ted Whiteman)

Open Arms Academy had five girls and one boy compete at the division level on Friday, March 21^st. The girls (Ruth, Phylis, Leonida, Maureen, and Rebecca) competed in football, and the boy (Danson) played netball. The teams they played on won their games that day. All six were selected to play at the next level on district teams.  

(photo by Karleigh Vroman)

As expected, the competition at the district level was more challenging for our young athletes. The district competition was held on Friday, March 28^th. All of our OAA students competed well. 

The five football girls were selected for the next level of competition! Their selection to the county team is the furthest any of our OAA student-athletes have ever advanced! They will play three games at the county competition, which will take place on Friday, April 4^th.

There are three more levels of competition for the primary schools– county, regional, national. With God’s help, our female OAA student-athletes will continue to advance in the competitions.

We are very proud of our OAA athletes!

Cecelia

I was invited to preach at Pastor John Maloba’s church. It was humbling to be a guest at Hopewell Baptist Church, which is basically a wooden shack attached to a stone building. The space was large enough for six rows of four plastic chairs. The children sat on a wooden bench along the exterior wall. Of course, they had a VERY LOUD sound system with one speaker directly in front of me and the other outside broadcasting to the surrounding area (common for churches in Africa). 

The children were lined up to greet me when I arrived. Two women put foil garlands around my neck, and the children sang a marching song as we proceeded into the building. There were two teachings before I preached. They had a small worship team (barely enough space for 4-5 people up front) that worked us into a sweat during the offering. Worship is aerobic in Africa! The service started at 11:00am and I preached at 12:20pm. My sermon theme was from Mark 10:46-51 “What do you want Me (Jesus) to do for you?” We ended with an invitation for prayer. Several came forward to receive pray for physical or emotional healing, job needs, etc. (Note: Some were healed instantly. Others gave testimonies of healing and victory the following Sunday.)

The women presented me with a gift at the end of the service. They wrapped a beautiful cloth around my waist as we sang a song together. Then we went outside where the congregation had formed a line for the pastor and me to pass by each person to shake their hand. Next thing I knew, I was in the middle of the circle of church members to pray a blessing over all of them. A group photo was taken before we ended our time together.

The pastor then informed me that we were going to his house for lunch. It was a delicious meal of rice, beef stew, and chapatti (flat bread)! The pastor and his wife asked me to pray for their family after the meal. They kneeled down on the dirt floor while I prayed for them.

One of the church members was not able to attend the service, because his mother was not well. He asked us to come to his house to pray for her. So off we went to make a “house call.” The woman, Cecelia, was sitting on a sofa and showed us her very swollen right leg, ankle, and foot. I asked to look at her x-ray, and they pulled out her medical file. She had been in great pain for three months with a blood clot in her leg. Of course, the medical bills had drained their finances and she was still not well or able to work. 

We started to pray, and God began to heal her leg. The swelling was visibly decreasing as we prayed, but we knew Jesus was at work when tears of joy started to run down her face and she exclaimed, “Asante Jesu! ” (Thank you Jesus!) over and over again. She knew Jesus was healing her, and the pain was leaving her leg. 

Pastor John called Cecilia the next day. She reported having a good night of sleep without pain. That was her first pain-free night in three months! 

Tuesday night I received a text message from Pastor John that read:

GOD is good. Cecelia is healed there is no more swelling. I wish you can come see the miracle of God. Total healing. I’m in the house with her now. She is very thankful.

I sent a prompt response:

Praise the Lord! Great report. Greet her for me.

When my phone rang shortly after sending that message, I knew who it was. Pastor John put Cecelia on the phone and we exclaimed “Bwana asafiwe! (Praise the Lord!)” simultaneously. She was VERY happy and thankful to God for healing her. 

Praise be to GOD for what He is doing among His people throughout the world!!!

Moving Day

The Open Arms village is located in Mlango, Kenya (about 30 minutes from Eldoret) on 52 acres. Within the village are several children’s homes with Kenyan parents, an assistant, and 20 children; a baby house for 15 infants; and a primary school - Open Arms Academy (OAA). Property has been purchased to build a permanent school about a mile from the village, but construction has been halted by governmental red-tape. Thus, we have been using various buildings at the village for classrooms.

There are several dilapidated mud-walled structures at the village that were on the property when it was purchased. Those buildings have served a variety of roles, including children’s homes for our first two families. Most recently, they have been utilized as classrooms for the younger aged children in OAA – preschool through class (grade) 3. 

The three preschool classes (ages 3-5) were moved into a temporary, tin-walled building several months ago. An identical structure was recently built for classes 1-3.

 

Thursday, March 13, 2014, was moving day for classes 1, 2, & 3. When I arrived at the mud buildings that afternoon to help move desks, I found all of the children sitting at their desks outside the buildings. They were waiting for a “surprise” that was highly anticipated. 

The older children recited a poem, which was photographed and video-taped by a multitude of mzungu (foreign visitors) before the processional across the village to the new classrooms. The parade was led by the head teacher (Lillian) and Open Arms president (Rachel

Gallagher) while the children sang a spirited song.

They were greeted by a gauntlet of older children who welcomed them to their new classrooms. Once they had all arrived at their destination, the head teacher requested Open Arms co-founders David and Rachel Gallagher to cut the ribbon. Cheers and applause filled the air as the severed ribbon fell to the ground. The keys to the three new classrooms were handed to the respective teachers. 

The teachers were nearly trampled by the awaiting children as they open the doors to the new classrooms. The children ran around the rooms, arms raised high, with screams of glee. Such exuberance reminded me of participants in a home makeover episode. Too bad we did not have a bus available to unveil the new building.

Habiba Update

I introduced you to Habiba in a December 2013 post. She was so excited to hear that I had returned to Kenya that she invited Pastor John Maloba and me to her house. We gladly accepted.

It was an amazing day that had God’s handprint all over it! Pastor John sent me the follow message, along with several photos, at the end of the day:

Dear Sister Pr.Tara,
Praising God for what He done today when we visited Sister Habiba a Muslim lady who got healed during the last year' medical camp and in prayer tent.What a joy in our hearts to meet her again. She is a loving mother and very welcoming.This is God.Visiting a Muslim home and reading the bible then mention NAME JESUS is not easy in the Muslim people .glory to God.Thanks for your great love for Muslims and to all people.The old man is going to be well after we prayed. I thank God he accepted Christ Jesus in his life.I hope the last pics is going to be nice as Habiba has the Muslim dress.
with thanks .
pastor John.

A truly miraculous day! Habiba invited a Christian pastor (John) and woman (me) to her home. We had a wonderful visit and she called me her “close friend.” Imagine that!  It was wonderful to see how God had healed her completely the day we met in August 2013 at one of the Open Arms medical camps. I could tell, as soon as I saw her, that Habiba was well. (Note: Habiba had a serious health condition when she came to our medical camp.)

Pastor John found neighbors to take a photo of the three of us. Then we all went inside Habiba’s house for a time of fellowship and prayer. The three neighbors are Christian. Habiba allowed Pastor John to read from his Bible, and share a short message with the group. They asked me to say the closing prayer.

Then we went with one of the neighbors to pray for her sick father-in-law. I discerned, when I saw the old man, that he was in late stage of congestive heart failure. I asked if he believed in Jesus. The daughter-in-law said “no.” The next words out of my mouth were, “This would be a good day for that.” I knew his days on earth were drawing to a close. The man allowed the pastor to share a brief message and pray for his salvation, because he was too sick to speak. However, he did say, “Asante Jesu (Thank you Jesus)” at the end of the prayer.

Next, Pastor John and I prayed for the old man’s healing. We started taking photos with the man after the prayer, and then helped him to his feet. Then he started to walk! (His daughter-in-law told us he had stopped walking several days before.) We were assisting him at first, but then he asked for his stick and pushed us away. YES!!! He walked to the door and back to his bed with only a narrow stick. (Note: Habiba witnessed all of this – salvation prayer & the man walking. She was cheering for him!)

At the end of the day, Habiba and I walked hand-in-hand to the end of her road. She is an incredible woman who has been widowed five years, and is caring for her four orphaned grandchildren. All of them live in a very small mud-walled room, with no water or electricity. Yet she emphasized several times, while we were with her, the importance of being thankful to God.

God is great! I cannot work (until I get a work permit), 

but God CAN!

P. S. Habiba has been checking on the old man and encouraging him daily since our time together. She reported to Pastor John (several days after our visit) that the man was improving. He is able to walk outside, visit with neighbors, and walk back to his house. Woohoo!

Walking on Water in Kenya

We have a church at the Open Arms (OA) village that meets in a tent. It started out as just our Open Arms families meeting under a tree, but has expanded to include the surrounding community.

The church has grown tremendously! We cannot fit all of our attendees into one large tent. We are setting up two tents each Sunday, and the children sit on the ground outside until they leave for Sunday school.

We met with the women from the community in July 2013 to ask if they wanted to start a women’s fellowship group. Much to our delight, the group has been meeting regularly the past few months with about 12-25 in attendance. They have been meeting in women's homes.

Recently, we met in a home across the river. It looked like we were walking on water as we crossed the river. The rocks were just below the surface of the water at the top of a wide waterfall (only 2-3 feet drop). It was a great hike as we walked down the hill from the OA village, across the river, and up the hill on the other side until we got to Grace’s house.

Grace lives in a typical mud-walled, tin-roofed house for this area. A hanging cloth serves as the door that separates the sitting room from the kitchen.  (I stifled a chuckle when a chicken walked through the kitchen during the meeting.) Most of the furniture consists of a thin pad on wood slats, and a cloth thrown over top for upholstery. Many houses I have visited in the area are decorated with old calendars on the wall and greeting cards hanging on a string. Some have foil garlands draped randomly on walls or over doors.

Otherwise, it was much like the women’s fellowship I attend in Oregon, USA. We started with the singing of some hymns and praise/worship songs, and then one of the women shared a teaching from the Bible. That was followed by the sharing of prayer needs, and I was asked to say the closing prayer (such an honor my first meeting). A collection was taken to cover the expense of the food. Then the chai (Kenyan tea made with milk, water, some tea leaves, & spices) and mandazis (donuts) appeared. The women enjoyed talking while munching on the treats.  

After a sufficient time of food and conversation, we proceeded back down the hill to walk on water and return to our homes at the Open Arms village.