NEW BEGINNINGS

SAFELY BACK IN ELDORT, and thrust into active service once more at breakneck speed. We left Heathrow on the 28th June, and were met in Nairobi early on the 29th by Joe, Mary Kibe and their daughter Mugure. We journied about 40 ks to their home in Ngong where we were joined by other members of the family, and later still in the evening by Daryl who motored up from Eldoret. We had a happy reunion and time of fellowship.

The next morning we departed for Eldoret, and Testimony Faith Homes arriving about 4.30p.m. our time. A LOT of Greetings awaiting us there. AND a lot of CHALLENGE!! But before proceeding further Esther and I just want to again THANK our family and friends in the UK who welcomed us, feted us, and gave to us renewed impetus and strength to face unfinished ministry here amongst the children of Kenya. Since our arrival we have found ourselves plunged into a great deal of activity demanding immediate attention and energy - and we have not felt so FRESH and VIGOROUS in applying ourselves to it for a long time! We have therefore suddenly realised that indeed we received EXACTLY what we needed in being away for the work here, and in having what amounted again and again to what seemed an almost 'forced' rest. We ourselves I think had not realised how much we both needed renovation! We have returned like NEW people, finding renewed vision and adventure bubbling up everywhere - and still in the midst of a very adverse economical scenario.

Prices still soaring on basic foodstuffs and some basic commodities just not available in the entire area - for example maize meal, cooking bananas which for the foundation of our diet quite unobtainable. The government so far seems unable or unwilling to sort the situation out. Countries around us such as Ethiopia, Sudan, and Eritrea are all suffering severe and prolonged lack of rain and thus famine greater than they have seen for perhaps as long as 60 years. But Kenya although also experiencing drought in one or two regions has had rain enough to produce annual harvests.......but where did those harvests go to? We have had enough to actually feed ourselves, yet now the government is in denial and refuses to accept that it is in any way to blame for what they now claim in a national food shortage. Of course it is as usual the man in the street, the unemployed, poor that suffer the most........and we also with them.

We arrived with just a thousand pounds in hand to throw into the Housekeeping need and then threw ourselves into considering how to bring down our own cost of living within TFH. Daryl, Esther and I met together with our Houseparents to consider options, and we came up with the following ideas.

FIRST to turn our hand to providing our own vegetables, milk, eggs, and even chicken meat in a bid to reduce our monthly food bill by almost a thousand pounds. Rather ambitious, but not impossible as it turns out. FIRST we took a long look at the lawns that surround Testimony House and Jacaranda Cottage, as well as some of the School amenities that have encroached on our ground. We saw that some of these areas could be put to agricultural use and it has been decided to -

(a) Create a Small Market Garden

by resiting the School Nursery playground from Testimony House grounds

to the School playing fields, AND by ripping up some lawns on the Jacaranda

Cottage side - 1 and a half acres altogether! We have now already had it

ploughed up and made ready for planting - WE have rain!!!! We hope to put

down some MAIZE, and also enough green vegetables, onions, tomatoes,

and even root crops

to feed our community of 150 hungry kids.

(b) Adventure into Animal Husbandry

by establishing a small (two cow) Dairy to supply MILK,

and also a Chicken Project to provide for EGGS and CHICKEN to eat.

RIGHT NOW the actual structures for these projects are in the process of being researched and put up. Additionally we intend to

(c) Centralise the Catering & Laundry

for the 4 Children's Homes. Each house has cooked its own food in its own

kitchen with it's own cook. But now we are going to use only ONE kitchen;

the one in Testimony House, to cater for ALL. Food will be prepared and cooked

there and then distributed to the Homes in 'Hot pots'. This will be in respect of

daily Lunch and Suppers. This will reduce the number of cooks we need.

The Houseparents will prepare Breakfast for their own children in their own Homes,

and also evening tea before bedtime.

Similarly the New Room of Testimony House, which adjoins the Kitchen

will become the Laundry for ALL four Homes with one woman

in charge.

To assist this to run well we are having to put in two economic wood stoves for cooking in the Central Kitchen and two washing machines (very simple, durable top loaders) in the Laundry.

We hope to have most of this at least beginning to run as planned within one month. It will mean laying off surplus domestic staff - about six in all. Altogether we expect to save between 2 and 3 thousand pounds per month finally.

Ushering all this in, our Board of Management met last night and delightedly encouraged the whole enterprise. They also saw fit to appoint Daryl, who was holding the fort here whilst Esther and I were away to be Executive Director over all the ministry of TFH. I myself will still be here as General Secretary responsible to correspondence, finance, and local public relations. I shall conduct most of this from Green Cottage, and Daryl will move into my Office. In the end everyone seemed to think

this was a very good initial move to secure the

ongoing future and direction of the work here.

DARYL was eight when he arrived here with his brother in 1980. He was educated in Testimony Primary and Secondary Schools and the Kenya Highlands Bible College, Kericho in 1997. He married Carol, his wife in the same year, and both found employment with us in the Homes until now - Daryl with just a short break - and Carol until she left Teaching in our School to start a small educational institute of her own in Town. They have three children, Jesse, Rebekah and Jeremy, and live in their own rented house about two kilometres fro us.

Daryl also has a Diploma in Business Management which he obtained at night school. As many of you will know Daryl has had a challenged Christian life, but it has been good to see his fight to overcome, and we believe that he is back on track for Jesus, and stronger and more sure of himself than before. His family also rallying around him.

I have run on and on! Tyndale School staff and students (25) of them are here right now all helping with implementing some of the above projects and enjoying time with our children. They have offered to help with the purchase of the the capital items mentioned above, and also with the building of the chicken house!!! And they knew nothing about it all till they arrived and found us in the midst of these innovations.

God Bless you all - we are all watching and waiting together.

Lovingly in Jesus

John and Esther