NINE YEARS of writing this Blog has now gone by! Some 471 Saturdays, covering an average of 3 pages each, giving an approximate total of 1,413 pages of approximately 593,460 words.! Wow! And I still have this current year to complete to make the DECADE! Well I am left with a very interesting record of life here; I am glad I kept it going. But if by God's Grace, I manage to get to the end of THIS year- THEN I think I will end it there. It is a good record, and reflects well the preceding three decades of being part of Testimony Faith Homes in Eldoret, Kenya. We shall see!
THIS IS ELECTION YEAR, and as usual the Government is beginning get the jitters, and there is a lot of tinkering with the existing Election Laws once again. Everyone wanting to hang on to what they have - especially their 'seats'- in order to increase their chances of adding to their hope of increasing 'their' gain. It is hard to see how this reflects the Governments desire to improve the Country, or even the individual Members of Parliament desire to improve the Government. It is expected the Election will take place around August this year.
We pray that the RAINS will have come and relieved the continuing DRYNESS before the water entirely gives up on us, and maybe leave no one still living here that can vote.
SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY including ours have now re-opened. and the hum of 700 extra kids on the compound has replaced the almost total quietness of our resident 150 souls.
So far there is still a little water circulating in the taps, but 800 continual calls upon our sanitary facilities may not be sustainable..............a very real threat to our comfort and our hygiene.
IBTI was a College concerned with training young people who wanted to serve the Lord in Evangelism and Pastoral work mainly overseas, not not exclusively so. It was not well funded or in any way Endowed, and looked entirely to God to answer prayer for its maintenance and progress. I learnt much there that prepared me for the rest of my life here in Kenya. And I also met a young Indian brother who was leaving as I left. Dr. Henry D. Joseph from Chennai, who was to commence his own Bible School and a chain of churches, children's homes. He remains very much alive today in Chennai, the grandfather of my son in law, Prem Joseph, currently pastoring in Rochdale, Lancashire our daughter Elisabeth. THEY met in IBTI as they also studied Bible together, and were married in Chennai in 2000. So many links in a life............
AND HERE WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER YEAR. At the beginning of the 48th year of our existence. No longer one small family of 8 but THREE family cottage homes containing more than 90 today. It was meant that each home would be FAMILY for whoever the Lord sent, totally integrated with the married couple and their own kids in each house. We did not envisage that any would leave before they were able - after school, college, or university and having found a job TODAY that has had to change since the Kenya Government has insisted that no person 18 or over can be permitted to live in a Children's Home. This has forced us to separate those boys or girls over 18 into separate Hostels until they are able to leave - yes they remain on our compounds, but not supposed to MIX with the 'families' they grew up with since they 'arrived' It has affected many of them very badly - as if they were suddenly orphaned again. We have had talks with Government about this, but to no avail, and we found no sympathy for any of our points of view - BUT, at least the children have not been thrown out; were not cast out into the street, and in the end I think it will not be so bad. ON the other hand we have found another factor that has crept in upon us recently, in the last eighteen months. Most of those coming to the Homes are brought by the Children's Department, and we have stressed we only wish to help children who have lost Mother AND Father, and who have no family willing or able to care for them. HOWEVER, cases brought to us with this understanding are suddenly discovering Family and Relatives OUTSIDE, who, now that the children are nearing a time when they will commence work and earn a living, begin to introduce themselves. Of course their lack of interest during all the years previously does not go disregarded with our young people, BUT now there are those among us who feel that those children who suddenly find themselves with long lost family and relatives, should be repatriated to them post hast, and save US the cost of keeping them. This is also a government policy - even though when these 'repatriates' are sought after the so called 'relatives' back off and even disappear. Blood is obviously not always thicker than water, and Christian Charity not always based on belief in God's Faithfulness to provide to the conclusion of a need.. WE began by promising every child we would always stand by and with them till they could stand on their own feet, regardless, SOME have had to leave us (very few) over the years due to getting mixed up in crime outside, but we have never lost sight of them. This remains HOME, a home for the homeless. It is unlikely that we will easily agree to seeing children, who grew up with us, ceasing to think of TFH as home, and ourselves as their family, and also see them yanked back and away to an unloving, and even uncaring life among the family that in the first place deserted them. Pray for , and for all of us seeking to walk in God's Will and Purpose to stand against these trends. A very REAL challenge for the Year, and perhaps the Future ahead.
Love your Family and hang on to them; they need you. Always persevere with them.
Much Love to you all,
John, Esther, and Daryl Green
ABOVE IS A PHOTO OF CIRCA 1964/65
It shows the assembled Staff and Students of
The International Bible Training Institute in front of Hook House
where I, and later our daughter Elisabeth studied the Bible.
I am not in this photo, but was just about to arrive with a dear brother from Derbyshire, Frank Ford, who was studying through with me. At the end he married and went to SPAIN and I, still unmarried, went off to KENYA, each of us finding the Calling of the Lord faithful and true. Frank died late in 2016 and left a flourishing church and congregation, the fruit of another fifty years - about - of dedicated ministry.
 |
| Dr. Henry Joseph |
IBTI was a College concerned with training young people who wanted to serve the Lord in Evangelism and Pastoral work mainly overseas, not not exclusively so. It was not well funded or in any way Endowed, and looked entirely to God to answer prayer for its maintenance and progress. I learnt much there that prepared me for the rest of my life here in Kenya. And I also met a young Indian brother who was leaving as I left. Dr. Henry D. Joseph from Chennai, who was to commence his own Bible School and a chain of churches, children's homes. He remains very much alive today in Chennai, the grandfather of my son in law, Prem Joseph, currently pastoring in Rochdale, Lancashire our daughter Elisabeth. THEY met in IBTI as they also studied Bible together, and were married in Chennai in 2000. So many links in a life............
AND HERE WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER YEAR. At the beginning of the 48th year of our existence. No longer one small family of 8 but THREE family cottage homes containing more than 90 today. It was meant that each home would be FAMILY for whoever the Lord sent, totally integrated with the married couple and their own kids in each house. We did not envisage that any would leave before they were able - after school, college, or university and having found a job TODAY that has had to change since the Kenya Government has insisted that no person 18 or over can be permitted to live in a Children's Home. This has forced us to separate those boys or girls over 18 into separate Hostels until they are able to leave - yes they remain on our compounds, but not supposed to MIX with the 'families' they grew up with since they 'arrived' It has affected many of them very badly - as if they were suddenly orphaned again. We have had talks with Government about this, but to no avail, and we found no sympathy for any of our points of view - BUT, at least the children have not been thrown out; were not cast out into the street, and in the end I think it will not be so bad. ON the other hand we have found another factor that has crept in upon us recently, in the last eighteen months. Most of those coming to the Homes are brought by the Children's Department, and we have stressed we only wish to help children who have lost Mother AND Father, and who have no family willing or able to care for them. HOWEVER, cases brought to us with this understanding are suddenly discovering Family and Relatives OUTSIDE, who, now that the children are nearing a time when they will commence work and earn a living, begin to introduce themselves. Of course their lack of interest during all the years previously does not go disregarded with our young people, BUT now there are those among us who feel that those children who suddenly find themselves with long lost family and relatives, should be repatriated to them post hast, and save US the cost of keeping them. This is also a government policy - even though when these 'repatriates' are sought after the so called 'relatives' back off and even disappear. Blood is obviously not always thicker than water, and Christian Charity not always based on belief in God's Faithfulness to provide to the conclusion of a need.. WE began by promising every child we would always stand by and with them till they could stand on their own feet, regardless, SOME have had to leave us (very few) over the years due to getting mixed up in crime outside, but we have never lost sight of them. This remains HOME, a home for the homeless. It is unlikely that we will easily agree to seeing children, who grew up with us, ceasing to think of TFH as home, and ourselves as their family, and also see them yanked back and away to an unloving, and even uncaring life among the family that in the first place deserted them. Pray for , and for all of us seeking to walk in God's Will and Purpose to stand against these trends. A very REAL challenge for the Year, and perhaps the Future ahead.Love your Family and hang on to them; they need you. Always persevere with them.
Much Love to you all,
John, Esther, and Daryl Green
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