Hello to all of our wonderful friends, family, church family, and
supporters. Here are some recent news!
03/20/2006
Details on our "team": Edward is gone and has been
replaced by Jaret Arisa, his wife Ziporah, and 11 month old son Kelly. Judy
is no longer with us but Elizabeth, the girl that started with me 4 years
ago, has come back part time after having a pregnancy in her tubes. So Bancy
lives here, Esther works full time, Elizabeth works part time and Jared
lives on the compound.
09/29/2005
The birthday party was great. About 25 people came and the children had a
wonderful time basking in all of the attention. The tricycles they got have
handles for pushing them and we have 4 guys who work for Securicor (a
security company that patrols this area for private homes) pushing the
children around. It was a toss up as to who was having the most fun.
Everyone was gone by 6 and the children were getting real cranky but when I
got them to bed I gave them their mobile phones. They got all worked up
again and then mad when I took them away. Joel had more fun with the light
on his antenna than the noises the phone made.
We cooked mbuzi (goat) and rice. It was really good. The pot we cooked it in
was so big it covered the entire stove. The next day the Securicor guys came
by to see if there was any cake left. It's good to have them near as we
don't have a guard so they keep a lookout for us. We became great friends
with the commander in charge of this area and got all of their personal
mobile numbers. So they keep an eye on us.
07/07/2005
The children love the huge yard and the swings of our new place. At first we
only had one swing and a teeter totter and some old iron bars that once held
more swings. In April, Pam Hart, a visitor from Canada brought us three more
swings so we have put 2 of them up and will replace the old plastic swing
with the new flexible one. When we only had 1 swing and a teeter totter we
could not let the children swing as they screamed when their turn was over.
Now they can all swing at the same time.
A few months after we moved in we were blessed with a clothes dryer by Doug
and Sheila Ridge's church in Canada. We only use it during the cold rainy
season due to the added expense of the electricity but it's great to have.
Previously we had put clothes lines up in the garage, on the porch, and in
the sitting room.
04/08/2005
Life here keeps us very busy as God continues to fulfill the vision and
dream He gave me almost 5 years ago. The children have started going to
church with me and they are so good! They have not cried and acted up in any
way. Joel came home the first Sunday with the biggest smile on his face. He
danced, laughed, and sang for 2 days. I think he got a touch of the Holy
Spirit. It was so neat. In September we begin International Bible Study
Fellowship. We will go every Wednesday morning for 2 hours where the
children will begin to learn about Jesus, the Bible, and learn memory
verses. I will also attend the adult ladies class. We are excited about it.
The children are all walking and talking. They are learning Kiswahili as
well as English. They insist on calling me "Mama" and I love it. Joseph
speaks Kiswahili with a Southern accent. He says "Mam....bo and sass...a".
It is really cute.
I began attending a new Bible Study class on Tuesday nights from 5-7:30 (or
later) and this Tuesday was my first class. It was so awesome. We sang, John
Stern played guitar, we had praise and worship, and Eleanor Stern taught the
class on the joy of giving. The Sterns have Kings Kids in Kenya Children's
Home not too far from us. They are with Lighthouse Church. On Sunday's they
meet at Moi Stadium which holds around 3000 people. Paul and Eleanor Stern
have been in Africa for 46 years and their son, John, and his wife Molly,
have been here for about 17 years. They have 3 children of their own and
have adopted 4 Kenyan children two of which are twins. I have known them for
over 4 years.
May 1st we celebrate our 2 year anniversary and 4 months at our new
location. We love our new home and the 2 1/2 acres of yard and shamba. We
have planted so many vegetables that we won't have to buy any for quite a
while. Our gardener, Edward, is a wonderful worker and has began working
with the children during play time on Wednesdays and Fridays. He is a good
young Christian and provides a male role model for the children. They adore
him especially Merci. The boys emulate him working in the yard. He has a
great sense of humor and amuses us all. He seems very serious but we have
just come to know how much fun he is. He informed Bancy, the young girl that
lives with me, that she should call him "Mister". So now we call him "Mr.
Boy" which makes him laugh.
For Christmas Marrable Hill Chapel, my new home church in El Dorado,
Arkansas, purchased a vehicle for us. I had forgotten what a joy having
wheels is. It is a 1989 Isuzu Trooper and navigates well on the muddy back
roads of Nairobi. It's in great condition, has air conditioning, automatic
door locks, and 4 wheel drive, and to me it may as well be a brand new Range
Rover! We are thrilled to have "wheels". The children love to ride in the
car but since we don't have car seats they can only go on short trips near
the house. We have a large front porch where the children play so they can
see me when I drive up and they get so excited. They each have a Megablocks little
car and even know how to make the car sound when playing with their own
cars.
This last week my Sunday School class purchased our first dining room table.
The children had the first meal and were so happy about being able to all
eat together. They laughed and patted the table.
Next week the Anglican Women's Group from Canada who bought us our second
refrigerator is buying us a clothes dryer! God is so good. They are also
going to pay our electricity bill each month. Then soon an old fashioned
lawnmower will be added to our list of needs. The gardener is not too
excited that it does not have an engine but those are very expensive as all
of them are imported. Into All The World, our mission board from Canada,
continues to be a major supporter. Bill Lewis, the director, is also a
mentor and my Canadian "daddy" who gives me good counsel and helps keep me
on track.
As you can see we stay very busy. God has been doing such a mighty work in
my life, the home, the workers, and the lives of the children. The last two
days we have had the joy of having Elizabeth the girl who has been with me
since before the home opened. She has been off since February after having
surgery for a tubular pregnancy. She was not doing well so I went to get her
and took her to my doctor. I have been treating her incision for infection.
It's wonderful just to have her in the house. God willing she will return to
work in 2 weeks.
We want to thank all of our wonderful supporters who pray for us daily,
support us financially, and come to volunteer. Next week a missionary from
Canada who is now in Burkina Faso will visit form 2 months. In August
another lady from Canada who made all of our quilts will be here for 3
months. We recently had a young girl from Taiwan visit, another from the UK,
and an evangelist and his pastor from Texas. They brought wonderful gifts
for the children and blessed us with their presence.
Love and blessing to all of you. May God continue to bless you as you have
been such a blessing to us.
Keep the SON in your eyes,
Leigh Ross
Director/Founder
Arms of Love Children's Home
Nairobi, Kenya
Prayer request:
- Our registration as a Children's Home which has been ongoing for years.
- The country of Kenya and the continent of Africa. That God would deliver
this oppressed people and that they would repent and turn to Him.
- Our safety. We had a car jacking just outside our gate last Friday and
many have occurred recently. The compound we lived in before has been broken
into by robbers twice in the last month. Fortunately no one was injured.
Crime is on the rise with robberies, murders, and car jackings. We do not
have a guard but God has been faithful to keep His angels surrounding us and
supplying His armor on a minute to minute basis.
-
Our health. Two weeks ago I apparently ate some goat that had been bitten by
a cobra and was virtually helpless for 4 days as the poison affected my body
as if I had been bitten. I am completely healed from the head on collision
we had June of 2004 and am praising our Holy Physician for His healing
powers.
- Into All the World Ministries as they continue to support various
ministries around the world.
- Marrable Hill Chapel and Rev. Don Hargett as he ministers to his flock.
Pray for unity in the church and against division in the congregation. Also
pray for my son-in-law, Scott Taylor, as he reaches out to the youth of El
Dorado, Arkansas. Praises to God for the new home for him and my daughter
Meleah and their daughters Leighton and Lydia.
- Ridgeways Baptist Church, our home church in Kenya, Rev. Elijah Wanje and
the congregation.
- The United States of America, it's government, revival in the hearts of
people, churches, and religious leaders.
2004 Arms of Love.
