UPDATE

SATURDAY 5TH APRIL 2008

 

CABINET BREAKTHROUGH! - Kibaki and Raila agree to form 40 Member Cabinet. 

KIBAKI AND RAILA HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!

 

THE QUESTION is WHAT have they done?     On the face of it, it looks as if they have completely ignored the plight of the general population in favour of enriching themselves and their immediate supporters in the Government.     A Cabinet of 40 Ministers will need about 60 Assistant Ministers in support!     A MEGA Cabinet indeed.     I include a few Press comments in bold type from the Daily Nationn of yesterday.

 

Employers reject 40 member Cabinet

as opposition mounts!

 

KENYANS TO PAY HUGE AMOUNT!

Kenyan taxpayers will have to cough up huge figures to sustain the grand coalition Government

A MINISTER  EARNS ABOUT Sh,850,000/- as an MP in addition to Sh.200,000/- in Allowances, adding up to Sh.1,050,000 in a single month.   Say £8,600 or $16,900 a month at current values.     40 Ministers will therefore be costing the Country approximately 42 million shillings from public coffers.  Sh.504 million a year.

ASSISTANT MINISTERS will take home Sh.950,000/- a month each.

 

Kenyans have been calling loudly - even desperately - for a LEAN Cabinet of some 20 - 24 members that would cost in the region of 50% less than the current concept.  BUT NOW our TWO wonderful leaders have gone for the MORE, and of course both of them are going to earn even more than an ordinary minister.    AND ALL THIS in a 3rd World Country heavily reliant on foreign financial aid and support, already nearing economic collapse.     

This is certainly a far cry from President J.F. Kennedy's cry of 'Don't ask what your Country can do for you but what you can do for your Country!     Well obviously this is not in the minds of our Leaders who are leading their people to starvation.

WANTED;  PEOPLE IN POWER

CAPABLE OF FEELING SHAME!

MEN AND WOMEN OF HONOUR!

 

But instead what we seemingly have are insensitive, selfish materialists prepared to bleed the man in the street dry - worse than any Shepherd of any flock of sheep anywhere.    The word of God to the false shepherds of Israel recorded in Ezekiel 34 apply surely to people like these in ANY Country.

WOE to the shepherds that do feed themselves!

Should not the shepherds feed the flock  (prosper it)?

Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool,

ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock!

The diseased have ye not strengthened

neither have ye healed that which was sick

neither have ye bound up that which was broken..........

 

It is worth reading and meditating upon the whole chapter, for God is not mocked when those made in His Image are so mistreated for the enrichment of others amongst them.      Such Government cannot be considered SAFE government.   PRAYER might still turn their hearts and minds around - or at least find ways to induce such change...........

 

BUT Kenyans are very peaceful people.   I have said this before, even in the face of recent events.    In forty years I have seen and understood this, and even now they have believed for peace - at any price.....    They will take the load put upon them for the sake of that peace.     It will be a heavy load with the cost of living already up by something in the region now of 40% on basic commodities since the beginning of January.       AND of course there is the growing threat of World Recession.

 

BECAUSE OF THIS

I can say almost without doubt

Kenya and its People will rise above it all

and continue to make their nation one of the best.

 

There have ever been factional infights in localised regions, and these come basically from ignorance of lack of education.     It is slowly being eradicated, and will cease in the end.    GENERALLY Kenya is still a Sunny, Welcoming place to come to, with much to see and to experience, and a place to make many good friends that will warm your heart and do you good.     PRAY for her, and believe in her in Jesus Name.

 

ooooooooooooooo

 

FINANCE reached the Homes just in time at the beginning of the week.    Just in time - sounds as if we were near death!     Well not far off since EACH DAY finance is on the move out of here in one way or another;  it flows until it is gone.   No way of stopping it unless God Himself stops it, and there are times when it looks as if He HAS stopped it since we have less then a day in hand at times.      BUT the words 'JUST in time' also suggest that they were IN TIME, and of course we know that GOD has the TIMES in His hand.          AENON Trust is about the ONLY source of our income except for a few individual friends in Australia and America - not more than three or four.    AENON is a Trust that accepts donations on our behalf from anyone that wants to send.   Gifts arrive at different times and then Allan Nicholls arranges a Transfer sometime in a month.   WE are unable to know how much might have come in until it arrives, and we cannot tell WHEN it will arrive - BUT it is always just in time!    It IS a miracle to us.

It is truly WONDERFUL in our eyes.

 

Tonight we have just seen off one of our senior boys from Testimony House - Edwin Ngovia.   He is admitted to a Ugandan University to take a Bachelors Degree in Commerce.   He is very excited about it.       He is traveling overnight and will start his first Semester on Monday.      It has cost us £1000 to get everything together for him.

Another reason that Transfer from ANEON was JUST in time.      Wonderful to be able to look back and SEE the deliverance of God - as the Psalmist wrote

If it had not been the lord who was on our side,

now may Israel say..

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side

..then the waters had overwhelmed us

and the stream would have gone over our soul

...........................

Our help is in the name of the LORD

who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124

 

But we feel guilty sometimes since WE get to see the JOY and the FRUIT of His Providence which YOU have been used to give to us.   You often do not even know about it.     We will try to rectify this from time to time as we have opportunity.

 

TODAY was School Sports Day.     Esther was very busy of course with the 800 odd children from the Homes and locality.    Started at 8a.m. and finished at 2p.m.    Crowds of parents from outside attended, and the day was fine, and a great and joyful success.     The event was held in our rather rough School Field, and all the parents cars were parked all over the lawns of Testimony House - an amazing sight.   All our Teachers of course present, and most of our Homes staff as well.   Daryl was also busy doing what he likes best - messing about with electronics for the public address system.

 

BUT I was not there.      I had been booked to open a Christian Industrial Workshop and to also give the Address.     It was the brain child of a Danish Family that we are close to.     He fabricates 'Steel Frame Churches' and this last year built more than 200 for congregations all over Kenya, Tanzania and now into the Sudan.   Dozens of missionaries, pastors and church workers attended.    A wonderful witness to the Glory of God.     So I was away till mid afternoon, and found everyone gone home.

 

It has been a busy week with many extraneous meetings.    Days flash by with increasing speed, so that I can hardly believe tomorrow is SUNDAY AGAIN- the last one was surely only yesterday!ll

 

BUT one of our 13 year old boys from Tyndaly Cottage disappeared on Thursday morning during break.   No one saw him leave, and we have been unable so far to trace him.    Had to notify the Police yesterday.     He is an intelligent, God fearing boy, and we have had many a good time talking about the Word of god.    We are all in prayer that he may be restored to us.   His name is Stephan OUMA.          In almost 40 years we have only had one other actually disappear.     Runaways are not our scene.

 

Our son Michael is leaving Kenya tomorrow after a two week stay,    We ourselves only saw him for a few short days, but nevertheless it is a great and happy joy for us to know that he is now Engaged to be Married to a young Christian Kikuyu lady.  They have known each other since their teenage.       Wow!      He is 34 a little older than I was when I met and fell in love with another beautiful Kikuyu young lady called Esther.  We hope they will be as happy as we have ever been.

 

ENOUGH for this time.    We love and pray for you all.   God Bless you

 

 

John and Esther