Haller Park

On Friday afternoon we took the grade 8 class from both schools to Haller Park - their zoo. Most of the students have never been to the park so it was quite a treat! The students and team members were set in groups to get to know each other a bit better and everyone greatly enjoyed the time. Here are some of the highlights.

We began with a guided tour. It was very educational.

Giant tortoise!

Feeding the giraffe was great fun!

Up close and personal when they fed the hippos. Take a look at that tusk!

Budding photographers getting some instruction.

Crocodiles vie for a spot to try to capture the meat.

Will this one be the victor?

At the end of grade 8, every student takes a national exam called the KCPE. So much of their future depends on how they do on that exam (if they can go to high school and what level of high school they can attend) that there is a lot of pressure. This day together at Haller Park is a great break for them as we pour into this generation of young people. What a joy!

High School

Today we began our day with a visit to our high school students. Ninety seven of our graduates now attend our partner high school. It was so good to see them thriving!

We were greeted by some of our students who gave us a tour and told us all about how high school works in Kenya.

Mud & Lamps

Today was mud hut day! So the team dressed down and prepared for a dirty day. Twenty Five volunteers from class 7 and class 8 were our teachers for the day. We pared up with the students and set off to work. Upon arrival the team discovered that they were building a home for an elderly man whose house was very dilapidated. The frame for the new house was put up around the old house so the team had to do some demolition before they could begin the project.

They were a phenomenal team! Some broke up the ground and some carried water from the well. Some mixed the mud with their feet and some carried it to the work areas. Some gathered rocks and some packed the mud around the rocks and onto the frame for the house.

After a few hours and with some incredible team work, the house was finished!!! 

We left behind money with the pastor to finish the roof.

The team with the old man for whom the house was built.

The team praying for the old man.

One of the best parts of the day was connected with our student helpers. What a joy they were to serve beside!

After some serious rinsing and cleaning (especially under those nails!) we returned to the school for a hot, filling lunch and some free time to hang out with our new friends. 

Aspiring cosmetologists!

This afternoon we had the privilege of distributing the solar lamps to the upper primary students at Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. The parents were called to announce the gift. It was fun to see the smiles and hear the cheering when they were told that each student would receive a solar lamp. 

The solar lamp project was Glenn's dream. He was able to share with the parents at the meeting.

The parents were then dismissed to go to their student's classroom where a solar lamp was on their child's desk. After some instruction from the teacher, the parents expressed their joy and gratitude. 

A special thank you to all who contributed toward the solar lamp project. What a blessing it will be for these children to be able to study after dark in a smoke free environment.

Tomorrow we visit our students in the high school. We are looking forward to see how they are doing! After that we will be taking class 8 from both schools to Hallar Park - their zoo. It will be another opportunity to get to know and invest in our kids.

Please continue to pray for health and safety for the team. Pray that our time spent with our students is an encouragement to them. 

Thank you!

Intro to Bomani & Government School

Day 2 began with our first visit to New Life Academy in Bomani. This school is right in the middle of a tribal village. As we enter the compound, the children are singing a "Welcome Fox River" song. They usher us into the church building and bless us with songs, poems and Bible verses from each of the 12 classes (baby class through grade 8). 

The entire school waiting for us to arrive.

A recitation about the history of the school

The baby class (3 year olds) singing for us.

Class 7 during their recitation.

The Adult Literacy Class joined us to sing a traditional song.

We gave out team shirts to all the staff to signify the partnership between Fox River and the school.

Pastor Allan shared the story of how God made a way for the center to be in Bomani.

Then it was time to leave our school to visit the government school just down the road. Over the years we have built a good relationship with this school. We appreciate how hard they work for the best opportunities for their children. Here are a few things we learned:

• The government supplies teachers and a few supplies to the schools, but does not provide buildings, books, desks, teaching materials or other school supplies. The community must raise the funds for these things.
• There are 1200 students in the school with class sizes around 80 student per class.

The children had a few presentations for us and then, as we do each year, we presented the school with a gift of desks for one classroom. 

The assembly of younger students.

Our team sitting outside one of the classroom buildings during the assembly.

One of the upper primary classes.

It was time to return to our school and the team jumped right in!

Making Chapati

Stirring rice in the HUGE cookers!

Cleaning up in the kitchen

Serving food

Doing mounds and mounds of dishes!

After a delicious lunch and a tour of the facilities, we enjoyed some time getting to know our partners at New Life Academy.

On Sunday afternoon at the big outreach day in Bomani, we will enter a team in the volleyball tournament. We got a little practice in this afternoon before we had to say good bye to all of our new friends. We ended the day with a team meeting and a walk down the beach for ice cream. 

It was a full and wonderful day jump starting relationships that will cross an ocean and last a life time. The team is healthy and doing well. 

Tomorrow we head back to Vipingo to build a mud hut for the family in the community and before we leave in the afternoon, we will meet with the parents of the upper primary students. At that time we will present the gifts of the solar lamps that Fox River and many sponsors donated so the students can study after dark (6:30pm every night) without having to breathe in the fumes from burning lamps.

Thank you for your love, prayer and support!

Arrival Day - Intro to Vipingo

The team arrived safe and sound at 4am on Tuesday morning with all bags in tow. After taking the morning to sleep and settle in, we had a brief orientation and lunch before heading to Vipingo to meet our partners and sponsored children. 

They greated us with songs and a dramatized news show that detailed the ten year history of our partnership.

They gave us gifts of traditional dress and a winnowing basket.  

Pastor Guy challenged us to be great by serving.  

Missionary Jim Horne lead us on a tour of the facility and told the story of how God began this ministry in Vipingo.  

We finished up our time getting to know our staff partners with a game and an opportunity to hear about what these amazing servants of God do at the school.  

Tonight the team will sleep well. Tomorrow we travel to Bomani to meet our partners and sponsored kids there. Thank you for praying for us!  

Arrival Day for Early 8

Early on Saturday morning, the first small group of 8 from the Kenya team arrived in Kenya with gratitude for uneventful flights. After a few hours of sleep we had the afternoon hours to reconnect with some very special ministries that touch ours.

LIFE SPRING RESCUE CENTER

The rescue center in Vipingo takes in children who have been abandoned or rescued from unsafe situations. This center was born out of the heart of our Medical Missions Director to care for these children. That desire brought together several organizations to make this important ministry become a reality. To date, 26 children have been rescued with 14 currently placed in this wonderful home.

SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL

Many years ago a Fox River Kenya team member saw a boy with Downs Syndrome wandering the streets of Vipingo and asked if we could help him. He attended the school for several years before we knew we had to find a place that was designed to care for him. God lead us to just the right place and in February of 2016 we were able to get him in the school. When we visit him, we also visit some of the 800 children in the special needs school. This school is an amazing ministry with some incredible kids!

It was early night for the 8 weary travelers. Tomorrow we will represent Fox River in 3 different churches connected with our ministries. Guy will be speaking at our sister church, Crossroads Fellowship. Team members will be in Vipingo and Pastor Allan's church in Majioni. 

Thank you for praying for us and for the rest of the team that will be departing on Sunday to join us!

Kenya Team Commissioning

The 2017 Kenya Mission Team is ready to go! Saturday we packed the supply bags and over the weekend the team was commissioned at each of our campuses.

The first group of 8 departed Thursday afternoon and the rest of the team departs on Sunday afternoon. Will you join me in praying for:

• Safe travel
• Health
• All luggage to arrive in Kenya
• Our loved ones left at home
• Our partners in Kenya preparing for our arrival

#FRStudentsInNicaragua 2017

Oh the wrap up...  So many things to share, not enough words to even scratch the surface.

We have been home for just under a week and as we try to grasp at all we have experienced the emotions still run high! 

The Spiritual warfare was real on this trip.  Every turn we made there would be another obstacle to face.  Many things could have broken our team, many moments could have been over taken by fear, sickness, rain, mud, bugs, trees and power lines, etc... but God walked right beside us the entire time.  OUR GOD SHOWS UP!!!  He never ever ceases to leave us in awe as we walk through these trips and I wouldn't want it any other way!  In awe of how our Creator works is a really cool place to be! 

With spiritual warfare you better believe there is Kingdom work being done! 

We take a yearly trip to encourage and fuel the ministry that exists there on a daily basis.  We go and we partner with the clinic and the church in La Esmeralda!  We go with them as they do their ministry in their communities!  God is doing great things in this place through some very special people!

Fox River Students are awesome!!!  They jumped in feet first to all that God had in store for them. From handing out hygiene packs to playing games with the kiddos at the schools, the students were there and ready to show God's love. They didn't allow language to stop them from building relationships and walked away knowing that our God has no language!  Many students stepped out of their comfort zones on this trip and saw how faithful God was to meet them there and do work in and through their lives. 

Our prayer is that each of these students has walked away knowing who God is and how he works in their lives! 

As I sit here writing I wonder what 'those' numbers are... how many gave their lives to Christ, how many hygiene packs were given, how many kiddos were at VBS, teens at teen outreaches... and so on.  Are the numbers what really matter?  Do we really need to know the exact number? The people matter, the numbers do not!  I fully believe that this team made an impact, this team fought the good fight, this team conquered fears, this team FOLLOWED!  I believe that our God knows the numbers and that He has multiplied that since we have come and gone!  There are numbers, I just don't know them and tonight I'm okay with that!  One day we will stand next to the lives that were changed this week!!

As you have read before, coming off of trips is an emotional roller coaster, and this year is no exception.  As a leader I help others process and then will take my turn.  I don't know what it is about this year, but it wrecked me!  I can pin point the spot, the moment, the hour that I walked away from my heart.  It is still sitting in that place right now... leaning up against the motorcycle in front of the church as I watched my team take in the last moments of this trip. This spot brings so much peace, somewhere I undoubtedly feel the presence of God!  Needless to say, I don't feel whole.  Maybe this year this place took the remaining pieces of my heart that it didn't already have, maybe God is stirring up something inside me. Through the privilege of following Christ comes the heartache for His work!  Until He tells me otherwise I will continue leading teams over to share in the experience of joy that this place brings me!  It never gets old! 

As we recoup, as we work through our feelings, as we strive to make the changes God has asked of us... Will you pray for us?  Will you pray for those kiddos, teens, families... that we crossed paths with?  Will you pray for Pastor Denis and his team?  Pray for the ministry of the clinic and church in La Esmeralda?

Fox River has a home in La Esmeralda, Nicaragua!  Just let us know when you are ready to go visit with us!

#JuntosSiempre

Pictures!!!

We had a great week!!! Thanks for praying for us! 

Here are some pictures to show you a little bit of what we did!

Check back later to see our wrap up post!  

The last day

As I sit here this morning after saying goodbyes my heart is full and yet so heavy.  This just never seams to get any easier. 

The students have experienced life change and are leaving pieces God has asked them to set down as well have pieces of their hearts.  We have students who have decided that their lives would be so much greater if they chose to follow Christ!!!

This week was full of spiritual warfare, yet God pulled us right on through!  He is so good to us! 

Yesterday we had a great day of celebration of the week!  We were able to take our Nica team on a fun and exciting day!  We went zip lining!!! So many faced some fears and jumped!  We then had a very long bus ride down to Managua!  After we made it to Managua we went to the port for some shopping and ended the night at Pizza Hut!  We had time to share what God had stirred up in each of us this week!  God fills this time with is presence and always leaves us in awe!  

We we are so grateful for our time here and even though we aren't ready to leave, we realize what God has done this week and we celebrate and take that with us as we go!  ​

​We are waiting for the shuttle and we fly out around 12:30.  Will you pray for us?? 

Our hearts are heavy, we are still tired, health and safety... it's a very long day of travel​ and at this point we are ready to be home.

See you soon! ​