THANK YOU, LORD......Oh Thank you, Jesus....!

HERE IS A MAN TURNED AROUND!      His nine friends are running around carousing, but THIS man isn't - he has stopped, turned around, and displaying his deliverance from Leprosy with a face filled with amazed joy, his bandages hanging loose in the wind, he looks back to the One who heard the cry of them all, with Thanksgiving and deep Gratitude in his soul.     YES, you are right, he is the ONE leper who did not go on his way with the rest.     He wanted to convey his thankfulness, his very deep thankfulness for what had been given him.    The Nine continuing to joyously appreciate their healing, seemed to take it as a surprise, and like winning a lottery see little reason to thank anyone, save Lady Luck.
THIS man, by  this time, perhaps, also with tears in his eyes fell down in the dirt in front of Jesus.   And Jesus said to him ' ARISE, Go your way. Your faith has made you whole - you are Saved.  The story is of course told by Luke in his gospel chapter 17v11-9      I hope to be speaking on this on Sunday, God Willing.

I had been reading Jeremiah, and once more came to chapter 5 and verse 7 of his Book in the Old Testament of the Bible.     This what it says in the King James Bible -

'How shall I pardon thee for this?

Thy children have forsaken me, and 

sworn by them that are no gods: 

when I have fed them to the full

they have then committed adultery, 

and assembled themselves by troops

in the harlots houses.

Shall I not visit them for this?

Being UNGRATEFUL 'children'  (neglected by their 'elders') they turned immediately to the lust of the flesh, and went a whoring.     God was out of their mind.    Why do WE say Grace at all our meals with all our children in the Homes? - because we want to underline our Thanks that is due; it needs to be seen as a necessity - Food and Provision do not just appear on the table by magic,  or by chance.

Paul, writing to the Church in Rome (YES, to the Church) says in chapter 1v21 -  'Because, when they KNEW God, they did not glorify Him  (in the Amplified Bible - did not honour, or give Him Thanks, but instead became useless and godless....'

NOT ONLY do men find it easy leave God out, and even not to see or recognise His hand in all the blessings of life, they have found it easy to be thankless to one another; to their family, their husbands and wives, their friends and associates - and yes, even the people of God seem not to remember too often the words 'Thank you'.      I thank my unchurched Mother for teaching those simple words to me before I ever read the Bible.     Just think of those TEN Lepers again for a moment.     Nine of them were Jews, Israelites, The People of God and the Bible.    But 'Thanks' was not in them'.    They took their blessings, ALL of them I believe, for granted, and said nothing.    90% of the Group knew about God.    Suppose this were true also, today, about the Church, generally speaking - ninety percent of them plain selfish, and without an ounce of thanksgiving in them.      

Only ONE leper of the TEN found GRATITUDE welling up within himself, forcing him to turn back and run to Jesus...to THANK Him.     He was NOT a Jew, he was stranger, one they would normally kept away from as a heretic.  He was a Samaritan.     Just ten percent of the group, and they were all lepers - you might say they could have represented sinners in general;   10%  of the sinful world.    And the Bible does say we are ALL sinners, basically, but here we are told 10% might turn from their godless lives and sin, and GIVE thanks for a new life offered and given to them.      A lesser number than even Billy Graham believed came to the Lord in any one of his Crusades.     Shocking isn't it? -  what we are seeing here in Kenya, and in the society in general.     Writing to Timothy in his 2nd letter, Paul assures us that it WOULD be worse in the Last Days - and it is.       Am I being do negative, too harsh?     I wish I could believe otherwise but I cannot.       THIS IS THE TIME for all who are responsible in bringing up children to TEACH them how to be GRATEFUL, how to be Appreciative, how to be just plainly THANKFUL for EVERYTHING even the air they breathe.    The GIVER looks for Thanks,

He is coming soon.

P.S.   I apologise if you do not approve of my picture above.   I do have another of the leper kneeling before Jesus, less 'grotesque'.............but I felt in my self the REALNESS of the one in my picture; one can almost SEE the dawning of the hugeness of what he has received....and the pain of being unable to say Thank you quick enought!      I hope you will forgive me, and the artist.

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MOVING ON I must explain that we have had to fight against 'ingratitude' both among the children and even staff, at times.    We still run up against it,  perhaps because we ourselves, waiting on the Lord for EVERY need, sometimes painfully, and uncomfortably, are constantly found in the case of the ONE Leper.     Thanks just flows into our eyes, and into our voice, and leaves us, as he, prostrate at the feet of THE GIVER.     Knowing Him, loving Him, and being utterly beholden to Him, how can it be otherwise.   We can do nothing but run every back into His Arms.

There are times when days run out for some of the children, grown up, and needing to stand on their own feet.   Some do not like this time, do not want to leave us, do not want to fend for themselves, and, annoyed that they MUST move on,  they often turn, like a revengeful animal, to curse us.     We find it hard to bare, but we walk with it till they finally do walk through the door.    Some have still a long way to go, and many have known little to be thankful for, prior to arriving in Testimony.     We are doing our best to teach them, against the tide of the current drift in society around them in school,  Something to pray about?     Oh YES!, and something to search our own hearts about.     Just think of a world without natural affection, or gratitude.    It IS coming.

TO THE LEFT and right, IS A MUCH USED AND PRIZED TABLE TENNIS TABLE!    It is not new.   In fact it was presented to us by brethren from Westhoughton Pentecostal Church in the UK way back in September 2012.   Pastor Martin Speed was the one to set it up and challenge the first children.  Since then it had been in constant use,  Then an accident put two of the supports out of commission, and try as we could we have been unable to obtain the needed replacement part.  Meanwhile the DEMAND for it to be in use caused it to be secured and propped up, even with bricks.      This last week DARYL  came across exactly what was needed to properly repair the table.     All it had needed was a 'caster' or roller, on a bracket!    It had to be special, and it just was not here.    BUT now Daryl has actually managed to MAKE such a fitting, and it works perfectly.     Here, in the photo, you can see it in Daryl's Office the day it was set in order and a test game played.    Great JOY among many to see it going on.    And yes we thanked the folk in Westhoughton Church, and we have thanked God for inspiring them to provide a gift that at once encourages sport and healthy entertainment whilst at the same time brings people (children and staff) together.      We are now planning to use part of the OLD Jacaranda as GAMES room, and then the Table Tennis will be installed their.

AND FINALLY THIS WEEK, a view of one of the Farm Plots.   Unseasonable weather had slowed things down a little this year, but we are beginning to catch up, and see a return to the good order of previous years.       Tomatoes are finally growing up, and their 'string' supports in place, and in the garden surrounding the Green House, vegetables are now also planted rotationally to give us an on-going supply for both the Homes and Kitchens.    The 2nd Farm plot had been given a 'Rest' and only now will it be planted out again.    A lot of activity and good help from our seniors still on vacation from College.
THE TOMATOES shown here are in their 1st Planting, and the 2nd Planting of seedlings will be going in soon to give us an ongoing crop to take us through most of the year.  This will keep the Homes AND School supplied with the chance to also SELL those we don't eat.

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The retaining wall of the Swimming Pool has
also been rebuilt during the week, and all seems
well, and no sign of a deeper problem.  The wall can be seen to the right of the photo to the right..  Quite a lot of activity over the last week, and most of this due to the efforts of Daryl.   He has his hands full, but full of ideas and energy.


And LASTLY a recent photo of our our COWS.

This is our Dani!    We think she is the prettiest.  In this photo she is in her Beauty Parlour having a general beauty treatment!    She is a darling.

She has a baby heifer, but black and white.

then below are her two 'sisters' (though not related), and not so pretty.     They are all doing fairly well at present, and enjoying, if not the cold, at least plenty of grass in this current rain.

They supply all the milk for the Homes at present, and are cared for mainly by Mica Yego who is Dad in Tyndale Cottage,     He seems to be good to them, and he has a true of animals, especially cows.

We have just about used up available ground for agriculture and animal husbandry - not much; just about half an acre.     The poultry are also doing well as well, and so far we are keeping the rats at bey.

We have only two regular men working.

As we walk around, we are so grateful to all those who, over the years, have assisted us to make this small home farm possible.   The most Thanks to friends in Australia who most consistently helped us.      It has been a much appreciated benefit to us all, especially at times of financial drought!     

This week we were notified by the Bank that a donation had been discovered sent to an Account which was not closed but not currently used.      It had been sent to us last December, and had remained sitting unnoticed in the account until their last 6 monthly statement for 2017 arrived this week - and all our other Homes' accounts were empty!      What a Surprise!    What a wonderful Provision at a time of special NEED.     We were lifted up!     And our Thanksgiving was ardent and real, both to God our Father in Heaven, and to our friends in the UK who heard His Voice on our behalf, because of Jesus..     Blessed be the Name of the Lord.........more and more and more as we look around us.

Our love to you all, and our everlasting THANKS to you all in Jesus Name.

John, Esther and Daryl Green