Tuesday - we began working. God blessed us with cloud-cover - it's winter now but the sun when direct is hot - the air is dry - the dust is unrelenting - the ground in the desert is covered with plants that have some VERY solid and detering features! Nearly everyting growing wild will cut, scratch or poke a hole in skin. And leave a bit of nasty juice just for irritable good measure...

The drive off the main road starts with a stretch we called "Mars" - the red clay dust was 5-6 inches deep and every tree and plant within 30 feet of the road was monochromatic red. Our lungs were probably the same! Rough roads - ROUGH! A LOT of bottled water - - - from where we stayed in Machakos to Ngaamba was nearly a 2 hour ride. Have to figure it was only (only...?) about 60 miles or so. But a rough ride - have video...

The place we're serving - Ngaamba - is in a 3 year drought - summers hit 100 degrees daily. The corn is dead - the "cow beans" are basically dead. But the spirit of these people is summed up in "Praise God!" - so grateful...

They're not starving - they are so resourceful and survive on very littlle. This water - there's so much it will do - and who knows - through our obedience - maybe God has chosen the next "Billy Graham" - a Kenyan from Ngaamba - to change this world.

Wednesday night, I led the devotions - I decided to focus on Phil. 2:5-8 - on the "path" to humility - which we've all chosen on this trip by being obedient to God's call. Which you've chosen by saying "yes" to being a part - It is such a joy to tell these new friends that "beside me" are 60 people who know the love of Christ and are living it....for these people...for His sake.

For this posting, I've been able to edit a short video - a compilation of digital photos of the work on the pipe - enjoy - and as usual - more to come!!

Saturday the 12th - We took the 30+ children to the Lake Nakuru wildlife refuge - plenty of amazement and so fun to hear the kids proclaim "zehb-rah" as we'd see a small herd - a bunch of rhino's - one waking within 30-40 feet of the bus - giraffe - hyena (nasty animals...) - and baboons. The kids were glued to the windows as this was the 1st time any of them had seen these animals live. You ladies would say "precious" - I thought it was pretty cool...

Lunch was fascinating - the baboons found us in FORCE!! There were 2-3 that must have weighed 40+ lbs. There were also a bunch of little ones - a BUNCH. And they wanted lunch.

Ours...!!

These boys were aggressive and they worked together to distract and grab food! Turned into quite a "circus" with one of the little one boldly going into one of the busses. Chased out easily - but the big ones were pretty fearless! It was a long bus ride and a few of the kids curled up against us nd fell asleep...

The food here has been excellent...dinner at 7 - meeting at 8:30 - 2 Advil at 9. Journal - exhausted - slleep at 3pm Atl time.

On day 2 Sunday - spent the day at church and then on to Havilla childrens orphanage. Wait 'till you see the pictures - the video - the singing - I am trying to think of a good metaphor that is not cliche - it was amazing - these were the strong voices of little kids who had only the basics - and those too were skimpy.

What struck me - a lot of stuff actually - too much for an email - but that we saw no fighting - no grasping for things commonly seen as entitlements. These kids were grace - it was so alive in these little boys and girls - 36 or so of them - 9 years old to 15 - and Tony, the big-big brother at 25. Singing along with Fee and Todd and Kristian - yup - they have the NP worship CD from last fall. Nonetheless, abandoned - all of them by their father and mother outright or left to themselves because of AIDS - and then at the end of the day they thanked US. Right.

It was THEY that blessed us - but honestly, I knew that would happen...

It was hard to leave as through the day yesterday and today their little hearts opened further to us and they would stand close and stay there - or take or hands to walk from one place to another.

By our standards - you'll see - they live in nearly abject poverty - but defined in the context of God's grace - it was the Taj Mahal. The blessing to me - their amazing gratitude -

Monday - we leave Nairobi for the desert town of Ngaamba (Gahm-bah) to lay some water pipe....

Leaving Thursday...

The past weeks have been very, very full. God's blessed me with 57 people who've drawn alongside to "go with" me to Kenya. I suppose some of you know I raise my hand - say "yes" - for a variety of reasons - with the obvious one being God just asked. I'm not always good at saying "yes" to Him. A malady most of us suffer - Mother Theresa is a good example of probably saying "yes" every single time. But - I ain't Mother Theresa. Phil. 1:6 applies...!!

We leave Thursday - 5pm'ish flight - fly through Schiphol (shkeep-ohl) in Amsterdam arriving a little after 8am. We hang out in the city where Rembrandt lived out the latter years of his life. At 10am on Friday, we leave for Nairobi - and arrive at 7:40pm there. That is around 12 noon or therebouts here in Atlanta. We'll be a bit tired...

The past few weeks have been fascinating. Some good - some clearly with the "accuser" working me and some others over pretty good. But Christ remains... In the middle of the past weeks, we were introduced to another group - born out of Kenya - that is working side-by-side with 410 Bridge and some with Northpoint - called Global Outreach Ministry. (http://www.goaweb.org/). Through circumstances and arrangements only God could orchestrate - Troy Johnson of GOA found us at a Sunday team meeting and brought to us the founder of GOA - Bishop David Thagana and one of his pastors - Phyllis. Phyllis is the pastor of Tumaini orphanage in Karima, Kenya - in the Kinangop Region. She is also the Sr. Pastor at the church there. She and her husband are mother and father to - as of this blog post - 87 children.

Her story - I was able to capture it on digital video - as I hope to do with many others when in Kenya. Her story - and the story of how this orphanage came to be - are very moving and very powerful. Hmmm - what a surprise. When Jesus gets in the middle of something, there appears to be nothing but power. His. Take a look at this brief segment of her telling how this orphanage came into being...

A little boy - he refused. He refused to stand apart from the love of Christ. The world had stripped him of nearly every element of possessions - those things that could stand in the way of what becomes a demand - when all else is gone and fades away - the demand that we know true Love. Each one of us wants it - each one of us seeks it. It seems so illusive in our lives though - but this one boy demanded. And you know the story by now...

We'll spend time (Sat/Sun) with the children of the Havilla orphanage. This is the orphanage that has produced the Daraja Children's Choir we saw last year at Northpoint - take a look at the video. I'm very excited to meet the people at Havilla who have given their hearts and lives to listen to the voice of God - see His vision for His fatherless children and how they will touch lives for the cause of Christ.

We'll then head to Ngaamba ("gahm-bah") where we'll help the people of that town continue to develop their water supply. Hard work I imagine - we'll all need leather gloves for this part...

Pray for our team - open hearts to allow God to trash the "stuff" that so fills us - that we can see with His eyes - we allow our arms and hands to be His - that we'll accept and know that our simple "touch" with the love of Christ may be all that He intends. All plans and "projects" be ordained as He needs and we will be as Christ - we will have the attitude that was in Him - to empty ourselves of our "American prerogative" and be made in the likeness of Christ - humbling our selves by becoming obedient - obedient to the point of the death of our "self" and seek to be only that which He needs. Right now. Right there.

Thank you again for standing beside me - and Christ in this endeavor.

In His grip with you - Clay