The Ridge Fellowship’s mission group to Nairobi Kenya July 8th-21st. Pictured left to right Hector Cortez, Jordan Weber, Darrell Koop, Kenneth Koop, Michael Bolanos, Julie Bolanos and Jeff Sanchez.

Our work began at the orphanage called the Hobbs House of Hope which houses 18 children.

Our church donated funds to build a ceiling in the kids dormitory.  *PS. We were able to give a third of our Christmas Offering – thanks again for those who gave! You can see the results of your generosity.  Here we are unloading wood.  It was great to have the kids help.

We began by building a scaffolding to reach the ceiling.  The ceiling will help regulate the temperature, provide privacy and reduce noise.

  Completed scaffolding!

Here’s the ceiling at the end of the week.

We also got to play with the kids  – each of us loved that so much!

 

 

 

 

Jordan was able to pray with two of the boys as they committed their lives to Christ.  Pictured below is Brian as he received Christ!  I am so proud of Jordan, although he is only 13 years old God is using him in big ways.

While we were there they were getting ready to add a building for classrooms and a library. They hired men to dig the foundation beams.  All work was done by hand.  The men you see are making $3 a day for this type of labor all day long for several weeks.

Here we are moving the dirt by hand.  How we longed for a Bobcat or a front end loader.

We put dirt in low spots and to back fill along the sidewalks and slabs.

Below:  My dad gave each of the kids their first personal bible! He wrote their name in each one.  As a Gideon, its so rewarding for him to give God’s word to others.  Not to mention the big group hug he received from all the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The orphanage allowed us to write our church name on the wall as a remembrance.  It was so rewarding for me personally write our vision statement: To SHOW Christ to our World and realize that it was coming true before our eyes!  We were showing Christ to orphans and people in Kenya Africa.

Pictured above are the directors Pastor Peter and his wife Jemimah expressing thanks for our service, time, love and offering for the ceiling by giving us a certificate.  I have to admit in my 20 years of doing missions this is the first time that I have received a certificate of thanks.  It was a very nice touch.

We had big day on Sunday attending church in the slums of Kibera.  It was very moving to sense the presence of the Holy Spirit as we sang while at the same time smelling raw sewage just outside the window.

 

 

 

Jeff gave the message, yes he’s wearing suit!  He was a natural African preacher.

Also Jordan gave his testimony. I can’t wait for him to share it at The Ridge!

Below: After church we headed out into the slums carrying a nine foot cross…

Each member of our group and members from the church took turns carrying the cross.  It’s hard to describe the feeling of carrying  a cross like Jesus did.

At different places we would set the cross up and present the gospel.

 

 

 

 

 

God was so faithful in drawing people to himself!  Pictured below is a young man who is praying to receive Christ!

 

Another way we served was to visit the local school that was located near were we stayed.   There are between 70-90 children who attend  each day in that metal building behind them.   Below is a closeup picture of their school.

What do you notice?   How about no lights, no electricity and no space! This class room has several ages grouped together in a 12×30 space.  What would your local PTA say about this?

Special thanks to those of you who donated school supplies before we left.  Pictured here are the kids with some of their supplies! Because of our generous Ridge family we brought with us 6 suit cases full of supplies.  Most for this school and some for the orphanage.

In addition to passing out school supplies, Michael, Julie and Jordan led the kids in doing a craft and then we were able to play with the kids during their recess.

We also had some down time and went to the Maasi Mara for Safari.  We stayed out in the bush in camp run by the Maasi. Pictured is one our hosts.

It was a great safari, we saw over 40 different types of animals including elephants, giraffe, zebra, wildebeests, ostriches, cape buffalo, antelope, lions and cheetahs.

THE END!

Just kidding. There really is no end to what God can accomplish through His people.

We saw seven people ranging from 13 to 69 fulfilling The Ridge’s vision to SHOW Christ to our world.   If they can raise money go over seas and touch many lives, through serving, loving, and giving including at least eight Kenyan’s who’s lives are impacted for all eternity by praying to receive Christ.  Imagine what could happen if hundreds of our church members decided to make a difference? We really could change the world, one life at a time!

 

For more about The Ridge Fellowship or the Kenya Mission Group go to  www.RidgeFellowship.com