Rough months

It's been quite a while since we've been able to blog. The last few months have been a flurry of events. We have been back to the states twice in the last 3 months. Our last trip was to attend Ed's mother's funeral. She had been battling cancer for 3 years. We were blessed in that we were able to go back and spend 3 good weeks with her in August. It was hard to say goodbye to such an amazing, godly woman but we are comforted by the fact that she is with our Lord and Savior. She will continue to be part of our lives always by the life she lived and the truths she taught. Through us, we pray her sweet spirit can still continue to touch lives.

We have been back in Nairobi for about 3 weeks now trying to get into a routine with teaching. It's been difficult at times, but we are blessed with an amazing family back home supporting us and wonderful friends here pushing us along. We are thankful that we walk with the Lord and are continually comforted by His presence. We will write more soon....

In Him,

Ed & Tricia

Camp with street kids

This was meant to be posted months ago, but as I mentioned in the previous blog, it's been a rough few months. Doing this camp for these boys is one of the activities we have done here in Nairobi that will always be a part of us. Since I wrote this blog, 5 of the 15 boys that went to camp with us have been moved out to "the farm" which is where MITS offers the kids education and skills that will give them an opportunity to stay off of the streets. MITS would have loved to take all of the boys out to the farm, but they are limited by space. As space becomes available (the kids stay at the farm until they are 18) they try to get kids out there as quickly as possible to give them the best shot at a better life. The 5 kids that we worked with that have gone out there are doing very well. They have adjusted well and are achieving in their studies. Please keep the MITS ministry in your prayers as they strive to touch lives for the Lord.

The week of July 27th we, with Tricia's brother and sister-in-law, were blessed to be able to do a 4 day camp for some street kids with Made In the Streets (MITS). MITS is a ministry in Eastleigh, one of the slums in Nairobi, that is there to primarily work with kids living on the street. We took 15 of those boys, who were chosen by the Kenyan staff of MITS, to go out to a camp on the outskirts of Nairobi and basically had a vbs type camp with them. They were amazing kids. They behaved extremely well and were so respectful and appreciative of the opportunity they were given. We had lots of craft times, silly songs and games. We focused on 2 bible stories for the week: Zaccheus and Saul. Justin and Tiffany (Tricia's family) had chosen the theme for the week to be change (Badilika in Swahili). So we talked a lot with the boys about changing their lives for the Lord. They were so receptive to everything, it was just a wonderful thing to be a part of. It was hard at the end of the week to know the life these boys were going back to. The MITS ministry touches these lives weekly. They have 2 days a week that boys on the street can come into their compound and they do different activities with them and teach them about the Lord. The boys also have a guaranteed meal on those days. It was hard to let them go, but we pray the week was a blessing to them, because it definitely was for us. Tricia will be going out to Eastleigh on Monday's this year and is really looking forward to the opportunity to see some of the boys again and see how they are doing. Here are some pictures from that week.

The 15 boys with 3 of the MITS Kenyan Staff, Ed & Trish, and Justin & Tiffany

Back to Life

Well, our summer has flown by and we are now just 2 weeks away from our teacher inservice week! We had a wonderful summer visiting loved ones back in the states. It was a blessing to be able to got back for part of the summer.

We have been back in Nairobi for almost a week now and have already moved into our new place on Rosslyn's campus. We had a great group of friends helping and the moving went swiftly. Now, due to many early mornings (got to love jet lag!) we pretty much have everything where we want it. We are looking forward to be closer to the school and closer to our friends. It already feels very much like home! We have a few more things to do and then I will take pictures and post them. :)

Prayer requests:

Tricia's brother and sister-in -law will be in Kenya for the next 5 weeks which is an awesome blessing! This week they are vacationing on the coast and then will be back to work with the Made In The Streets ministry. Next week we will be joining them to do a vbs type camp for 15-20 street kids. Please pray as we do our best to minister to and love on them.

School starting: Ed and I both feel rested from the summer and ready to attack another school year. Please pray that as we get started we continue to be positive and encouraging. Everyday in school is an opportunity to share the love of Christ with our students. We pray we are able to do that to the best of our ability.

Ed's family: Ed's mother had surgery for her cancer at the beginning of June and is still recovering. Please keep her in your prayers that her recovery will go well and that the doctors will have wisdom in deciding the next step of treatment. Also, please keep the rest of the family in your prayers as we trust God with our wonderful mother.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. They are felt more than we could ever describe. More blogs will follow soon! (Another perk to the new place, we have faster internet!! YAY!!!)

Love,

Ed & Tricia

Spring Break and Counting Down!

Ed and I standing over the Nile. Where we stayed was literally right above the Nile. Behind us a ways is actually one of the rapids we went over. The Nile was absolutely beautiful. 

Here is our crew right after getting off of the bus in Uganda. It was a long day and we were all a bit worn out, but happy to have finally made it! :)

We are now back at school and counting down the weeks until summer! 5 to be precise! Three weeks ago was our Spring Break, and we were blessed to be able to got to Uganda for a couple of days. We didn't see much of Uganda other than  some of the landscape, but we were able to experience the AWESOME Nile River.

Ed and I have both been river rafting some in the states, but nothing can compare to rafting the Nile. It was absolutely amazing. The group we went with was made up of us and Rosslyn high school students. Since neither of us work in the high school, we really didn't know the students very well. But they were a blast and we had a great time getting to know them and really enjoyed their company. Quite a few of them were seniors so it was cool to be able to talk with them about going to college (most will be transitioning back to the states for college) and what their plans are. It was a quick few days with an all day bus ride to Uganda, a full day of rafting, and then a full day bus ride back. But it was completely worth it and is a trip we will remember for years to come. :)

The last few weeks have gone by fast. With the end of school winding down everyone is working on closing out things for this year and we are also busy working on schedules and agendas for next year already. Please pray that through this busy time we will have a blessed ending to our first year here. Please keep the staff who will be ending their time here in Kenya in your prayers as they focus on the next step God is leading them in. Also for the students. With projects due and finals coming up, this is a stressful time for students. Please pray that they will have a calmness and a peace and be able to enjoy the end of another school year.

Update

Sorry it has taken me so long to write an update on Ed. He has been out of the hospital since Friday afternoon. His meds have been adjusted and hopefully will work well with his body. We are still looking at getting his previous meds from the states, but have some hoops to jump through before we will know if that can happen or not. He is feeling well. I think he is glad to be back to a normal schedule this week. As am I. We were able to rest and take it easy this weekend which both of us needed. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate you all. God bless.

~Tricia

Update on life

Hello All. Unfortunately I am writing this blog from a hospital room this morning. Don't worry, we are okay. Yesterday morning Ed had 2 seizure episodes in our home. For those of you who don't know, Ed has had Epilepsy for about 15 years now. It has recently been under control and he went 4 years without a seizure until yesterday. Three months ago we had to switch Ed's medication because he can not get his previous kind here. We believe that is the cause of the seizures and therefore are looking at the dosage of his medicine. We are also looking at the possibility of trying to get his previous medication brought to us. Please pray that we have wisdom in deciding what to do about his medicine. Ed is doing well today. He is pretty sore from the seizures, but other than that is fine. We got to the hospital yesterday around 11:30am after the second seizure. Yesterday the doctors took blood to run tests for his blood levels. We are still awaiting those results. This morning he has an EEG test scheduled for 9:30am. Please keep us in your prayers as we make decisions.  We have no doubt that God has been watching over us. Ed has been taken care of well and I have survived my first seizure episode with him. We have been very blessed to have our Rosslyn family here for us. They have been such an encouragement. We know we have had a crowd of believers lifting us up. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers. We'll keep you updated.

~Tricia

Flying by!

Hello family and friends!! It has been awhile since we have posted, and I am sorry about that. Time has definitely gotten away from us this semester! One of my fears (Tricia) going into this semester was that it would drag on since we don't have a holiday until the beginning of April. I am seeing now, that, thankfully, my fear will not come true. We have already been in school for 6 weeks and it has been such a blur. Everyone here told us that the Spring semester flew by, but we couldn't understand how that would happen. I can't say anything really major has been going on, it has just been busy. My job has really picked up and I am enjoying staying busy each day. Ed also has seen how this semester is going by so quickly and has been enjoying teaching. 

Next week for the Elementary school here we have Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). For those of you who have been reading our blog, you might remember me blogging last semester about the Middle School and High School SEW. Now it is the Elementary schoolers turn. Each afternoon next week is set aside for SEW. From what I have been told this will look a lot like a VBS in the states. The kids will go to craft stations, watch dramas, sing songs, etc. This is a really neat thing that the school does considering the churches here do not do anything like VBS. Plus, the students we have that do not come from a Christian family get immersed with the gospel all week. It is definitely a prime time to witness to these students and hopefully their families as well. Please be in prayer for this time, that the students will really grasp what it is to be a child of God and that their ears and hearts will be open. I will fill you in about how it goes.

I realize I haven't done a very good job of posting prayer requests on our blog, and I am going to try to do a better job about that. Here are some prayer requests we have right now:

• Our marriage: Please pray that God will continue to strengthen our marriage and that we will grow closer to one another while serving here in Kenya.
  
• Our quiet times: that we will be diligent in spending time with the Lord and open to his guiding.
• Work: that we will see every opportunity God gives us to show his love to these children.
• That we will remember whole-heartedly why we are here in Kenya and not get pulled away by worldly things.
• Please keep Ed's mom, Nancy, in your prayers as she continues to battle cancer. We are praying for God's healing touch on her body.

Thank you for sharing in our adventures with us here in Kenya. We are blessed with a wonderful group of family and friends. We pray that God blesses you wherever you are in your life and walk with him. 

Ed wants to say "hi" to all of the students of CJHS and CHS!! :)

In Him,

Tricia

Lake Naivasha and Mombasa

Hello all! We hope you are having a wonderful beginning to the new year! We wanted to share some pictures with you from our camping trip and our trip to the coast. We went camping a couple of nights, including New Year's Eve, a week and a half ago. There were 6 of us total from Rosslyn that went. We went to a sight that borders Lake Naivasha. One neat thing about the site is hippo's will come up during the night to the shore to eat. We were lucky one night to see one. We also went to Crater Lake, which was just about an hour from where we were camping, to hike. We also ended up doing a night game drive which was a  really neat experience. Here are a couple pictures from that trip:

One other cool thing about the site is there is a large group of monkeys that live nearby and often stroll through the campgrounds. They are cute, but we know enough to keep our distance.

This is the top view of Crater Lake and it's surroundings.

We had a great time on our trip to Mombasa this last week. It was full of swimming and relaxing, a perfect vacation! :) We did go snorkeling one day which was really cool. We saw a lot of different kinds of starfish and some cool fish. The resort we went to was really nice and the beach was beautiful. We had a wonderful time hanging out with our friends Kelly and Matt and getting some sun! 

Kelly, Matt, Ed and Tricia 

This is the view we had from our porch off of our room. A nice view to wake up to!

We start our 2nd semester here at Rosslyn tomorrow. Please pray that we will be positive and encouraging in all the situations we may find ourselves. Pray that our students will see the Love of the Lord shining through us each day. Thank you for your encouragement. It is almost unbelievable to think we have been here for almost 6 months. We have had our rough times, but the Lord is faithful. We hope you all are blessed abundantly!

~Ed & Tricia

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I am running a little behind on getting our photos up. Below are a few from Christmas. We were blessed to spend Christmas with Matt and Kelly's family. Matt and Kelly have become very good friends to us here and it was great being able to meet Matt's parents and sister. We also had a family and friend from the church Matt works at join us. We had a nice Christmas Feast in our backyard. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.

Katie, Matt's sister, brought a gingerbread house for little Melanie to build. I think Melanie had more fun eating the candy than anything else, but it was lots of fun to watch!

Above is Matt's mom and sister: Dena and Katie. And Emily and her 2 little ones.
Above is Ed, Matt, Matt's dad Doug, and Ken who is a friend of Matt's from church. Not in a picture is me and Kelly and Moses, Emily's husband who works with Matt.
This is our lovely Kenyan Christmas Tree!! You are able to get small trees here, but since we don't have ornaments or anything, we just decided to go with our lamp tree. It worked for a little bit of holiday cheer! :)

I hope you have all had a blessed beginning of the new year! We went camping over New Years Eve with a group from Rosslyn and had a great time! I will try to post some pictures from it next weekend. Tomorrow we are headed out to Mombasa on Kenya's coast. It should be a wonderful relaxing vacation before we start school next week. Pictures of that will be coming eventually in the future too! :)

God bless!

Ed & Tricia