Another ROCK!!!

The Open Arms village is located on 52 acres in Mlango, Kenya about 30 minutes from Eldoret. The scenery in this rural area is superb during the wet season when the rains have turned the landscape into rolling hills of green vegetation. 

A work team from Milestone Church in Keller, Texas learned that it is also VERY rocky. They had the task of clearing an area about 50’ x 25’ for the floor of the Open Arms Academy dining room. It did not seem like much of a challenge until we attempted to level the space. Every implement that was put into the ground found a rock, root, or stump. Each time we removed a large rock there was another one underneath or nearby. Some were heavy boulders that required several men to lift or roll them into the growing pile of rocks outside the boundary. It took three days to complete the work! 

 

Some were discouraged at the end of the first day thinking we had not made much progress. It was all a matter of perspective. If we only looked at the work site, it did not look much different than before we started. When we looked at the huge piles of rock and debris in the perimeter, it was evident that much had been accomplished that day. 

We are reminded in scripture (Philippians 4:8-9) to meditate on whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, …the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly…. 

The words “Where is your focus?” are hand written in the margin of my Bible next to these verses.

Crop Damage

The Open Arms village is located in the rift valley of Kenya. The area is known for growing maize, which is the staple food for the country. During the wet season, the local fields are covered with the bright green vegetation.

Farmers in our community were racing the weather to get their fields cultivated and planted in time. It appeared that the wet season was going to be earlier than usual when we got the first heavy rains in mid-March. Normally, the wet season begins the first week of April. 

I left Kenya from April 4^th to May 12^th and was shocked to see struggling maize crops in the fields when I returned. Our Open Arms Kenyan staff informed me that the farmers hurried to plant their maize when the rain came early, and then they experienced a four week dry spell. The rain returned the second week of May.

It was really sad to see so many crops failing from the month-long drought knowing how much the people depend on the annual crop for their livelihood. Most farmers were deciding whether to start over or plant beans instead of maize, because beans are a faster growing crop. Many chose to plant beans in the spaces where the maize had not germinated. Now fields with beans and maize growing together are seen throughout the territory. 

Open Arms maize

The soil at the Open Arms village is very rich. We were blessed to see a quick recovery of our maize when several weeks of continuous rainfall caused a growth spurt. Some of our maize stalks are seven feet tall! 

neighbor's maize

Sadly, many of our neighbors continue to struggle with slow growth of their crops even though the rains returned.

But wait … there’s more!

Once the crops started to recover from the wet-dry-wet weather pattern, we experienced a hail storm. Hail is not common in this region. It shredded the leaves on the maturing plants, and knocked some down to the ground. The maize leaves looked like a grade school craft project the next morning. They displayed some very beautiful and intricate patterns. 

Our OA gardeners assured us that our maize would still grow, even the stalks that lay on the ground. As long as the roots are still in the soil and the stalks are not buried in mud, they will produce ears of maize. The stalks that were fully matured in some of our neighbor’s fields will not produce maize, because the pollen was knocked off the tassels by the hail.

I am once again reminded how much farmers (and consumers) depend on the weather. This unfortunate weather pattern could result in hardship for the families in our area and a maize shortage for the country.

VBS

Matt and Cheryl Tallman brought a group of students from George Fox University and Linfield College to the Open Arms village in Kenya during the month of May. The group provided Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the Remand Centre (juvenile detention facility), Kambi Teso slum in Eldoret, and Open Arms Academy (school at the OA Village). The African children were not familiar with VBS, but they really enjoyed the activities. 

The university/college group performed a skit depicting the story of David and Goliath as told through a pair of puppets. Children were recruited to be characters in the skit. They were provided with plastic capes, balloon helmets and swords, and paper shields for costumes. Goliath was created by putting a boy on Matt’s shoulders. It was reported that one of the OAA community children reproduced the play when he got home from school. He assigned characters to his family members and directed them in a reenactment of the story.

Other VBS activities included drawing and coloring crowns while they learned about Ruth. They dawned balloon crowns and played games as queens and kings. The Western game of Simon Says was transformed to The King/Queen Says.

group hug for Matt & Cheryl

The original plan was to only do the VBS for the preschool children at the Village. The class 1-3 children saw how much fun the “babies” were having in the morning session that they requested their own VBS. More balloons were pumped up and formed into helmets and swords during the lunch hour, and the group rallied to do another VBS session that afternoon.

I think some of the children went to bed with balloons 

on their heads that night.

Work Teams

There are always projects underway at the Open Arms village in Kenya as growth continues on a regular basis. Work projects range from landscaping to building construction. We are thankful for all of the work teams that come to the Village. They are always eager to roll up their sleeves, and do the dirty work. 

 The most recent work teams came from Oregon - New Hope Church (April) and George Fox University (May). 

One down (foreground) & starting on the second

Both teams were impressive with their demolition skills as they carefully took down some of the original mud houses to make room for a Medical Resource     Building. 

The floor leveling and frame post setting phase of construction on the new kitchen was interrupted momentarily by a tree falling into the work site. It narrowly missed one of the workers, but no one was injured and only one post was knocked out of alignment. Ted Whiteman fired up his chain saw. Once the fallen tree was removed, the post was reset and construction resumed.

The useable materials from the old buildings were salvaged to construct a new kitchen for Open Arms Academy (OAA). Our cooks are very happy with their more spacious kitchen and new location.

New kitchen

Another work team from Texas will build a covered eating area near the new kitchen in June. The “cafeteria” will be welcomed by the 208 children enrolled in the OAA primary school. It will provide shade during the dry season and a dry place for dining when it is wet.

Asante sana (Thank you very much) work team members!