SEVENTEEN YEARS, AND THEN GODSPEED!!

LAST NIGHT, Friday, many of us came together in Jacaranda Cottage to send one of our 'sons' off and away.    Mark Epa had been with us since October 1999.  He was then ten years old,    He had been born with both feet set back to front.   An operation had been performed to turn them round to their normal position, and when he joined us, Mark was still having to wear leg irons as part of the process to ensure things remained well.     He, of course, did not like them at all, since they restrained him - or were supposed to restrain him - from too much strenuous exercise - like playing soccer.   Well, of course, he did so anyway.    He was a boy of playful nature, and determined to do whatever others boys did.    He was always full of energy and humour.    But he did not fare too well in school since he was playful there too, and became a pain in the neck of his teachers.    And when the time came for him to finally be rid of the leg-irons he took good advantage to increase his independance.
In fact by the time he found himself in his final years in school we all almost gave up believing he would ever seriously view his own life and future.     Very likeable and courageous, but in other ways he could be arrogant, and ill mannered, as well as even reprobate.     THEN, suddenly, with no explanation, returning back to school in his LAST Secondary year, having been suspended briefly for having been found with Miraa, a completely NEW and reformed Mark appeared.    
He finished his Form 1V Exams, and then enrolled to study Theology with A.I.C Bible College in Kapsabet.     He was very sure and determined about what he wanted, and from that time his whole life and purpose has been to serve God, and proclaim the Gospel which had been revealed to him.      In November he will be twenty seven.....Truly, it can be said of him 'Blessed are the feet of those who bring Good Tidings';    Mark's feet are already miraculously blessed, and if ever there was a real demonstration of the truth his very own feet proclaim it,    He was born going backward, and born again to go FORWARD for Christ Jesus.      Esther and I were there last night to join others who are part of his story in the Jacaranda Family where he grew up. Some, who grew up with him, and having already LEFT, returned to celebrate with him.   It was great for JOY Esther and I to stand with him in the photo above.       He Graduated from Bible College this year, and was immedately offered a Pastorate by A.I.C. to which he will go today.     He goes with little, materially, but with much Faith and Trust in the God who called him, and lifted him higher.
Pray for him, as he joins KIMORE A.I.C. as pastor.

WE HAVE HAD SOME VERY HEAVY RAIN this week!     Of course this is tropical Africa, and one should expect heavy rain, but the fact is that for some years HEAVY rain has been dwindling here in Eldoret area.    Good to see, feel and hear it since it assures us that SOME water will at last soak down to restore the water table.   These are NOT our 'Long Rains' however.    Just what is understood as the planting season rain, to get the seed in the ground and able to germinate.


ANOTHER PHOTO OF 'OLD' JACARANDA COTTAGE.   To the left you can see what was is the oldest part of the house, with the octagonal roofing.   This is the area the Day Care Centre is currently occupying.       To the RIGHT you can see the STONE or cement block end of the house....... We are now all set to convert   this end into a HOSTEL FOR GIRLS who are 18 and over.  We had mentioned this before when we set up Testimony House as a Hostel for BOYS, 18 and over, in conformity with current Government demands.      Since the boys moved in during December they have been seen to have benefited from the change.   We have 38 in the Hostel and they all seem to be delighted to be of an age together, rather than having to linger in a 'family situation' with a lot of young brother sisters when they feel a need to be seen as adults.
THE GIRLS have already seen the apparent improvement in the boys, and have been waiting eagerly for us to find a place for them as well.     THUS within a very short time we should be able to take care of necessary conversion, and see them move in.  About 14 of them!
The Roof of this part of the house will be used only for storage, and the dorma windows will be shut down and roofed over.   There are two dormitories below, plus kitchen, dining/lounge, and extensive bathroom and toilet fascility. There will also be space for a Warden to make sure they maintain good behaviour.   At present, since the Jacaranda Family moved out last year, the house has remained empty and unfurnished. We would value you prayers as we lift our to our Father in Heaven to provide what will be needed to give these girls a continuing sense of home.

This will mean that boys and girls in the Homes, as they grow older, will not have to leave the vicinity of the home they grew up in, instead of having to find lodging in the town.   The Children's Department have approved this plan, and indeed it may help to provide an answer for other Family Institutions.     We are very happy at the prospect.

Well, it is getting on for 8 p.m. our time.    It is still raining.    The electric power has been going on and off most of the day, and this has meant I have had to be interrupted in writing this today.  We are expecting FOUR more children on Monday - two boys and two girls under 10.      So far we have received ten new children since the year began,.....Mark Epa is the first of many others who are LEAVING home.     It is always an Ebb and Flow situation.  

We do send our loving Greetings to you all and thank you for walking with us in this Ministry.   God Bless you all and give you Joy in the week ahead.
Ever in the Love of God,

John Esther and Daryl Green

LET US ALL LOVE ONE ANOTHER IN GOD'S SPIRIT

THIS PHOTO APPEARED TODAY, and it is now almost FIVE years since it was taken in St Matthew's Church, Rastick, in England.    Yes, it was 2011, and it was the last time we were both in England.    But it was not the first time for us to be there in Rastrick.     Our connection goes back through years to 1968, in fact, and the fellowship and interest in me first, then the ministry, and my wife and family, has continued on with prayer and support.      All very special brothers and sisters in Christ, and we have been very Blessed in knowing them, and prospering from their prayers and love in Jesus.     WE have also remembered THEM in prayer and thanksgiving, and especially this year when their area has been battered by storms and excessive bad weather, causing flooding, and chaos to many.     But our deep appreciate and affection to all the 'family' that make up this Body of Christ, and also to all those others 'family members' in Jesus who pray for us and who have walked with us in this ministry - all of us in the midst of an evil and godless world.
This photo turned up unexpectedly, yet also appropriately since our long time friends Ian and Diana from Huddersfield are with us today for a few days - they have also managed to visit our friends in Rastrick and even to show slides of the work..     It has been a special and remarkable happiness for us to have so many from Yorkshire in England coming to know us and to take an interest in Kenyan children.     I spent the first five years of my life in Yorkshire, near to Harrogate, and I believe those years have remained with me.       Precious years they were, since they instilled in me a great love of open space and beautiful countryside.     We have spent many special times there with Ian and Diana over the years, in their home, and also in visiting Francis and Elain Wainaina in York, Sheffield and finally in Starbeck, Harrogate.       It has been quite amazing and satisfying to be able,  once again return to childhood haunts, including the Church I was Christened in in 1942, and the Primary School I attended for my first four school years - I was even able to sit in the same chair, in the School Hall, that I had occupied then with my 'mark' still engraved upon it!

AND HERE I AM, with Esther, further north in Keith, Scotland, also in 2011 on my sister Pat's Birthday. on 27th April.    My first time in Bonny Scotland, and a time of enchantment as I took in the land of my dreams, AND the wonderful event of finding myself with a sister I had not known about all my life until about few months previously.     Pat is a year my senior.    She was able to visit us in 2012 for a month, but since then we have been unable to meet or even communicate.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY my dearest and ONLY sister.      You will be in our thoughts especially when the DAY arrives.   You are always in my prayers, and affections, and I am trusting and believing that the God I have lived for and believed in through my life, will also communicate His Love to you.

AND ANOTHER PHOTO of my dear wife on one of her Birthdays, blowing out her candles - I cannot quite remember which Birthday this was, though it was probably recorded and published in one of our past Blogs!!
Have you noticed ?   Esther was wearing the SAME dress in each photo!    NO it isn't the only one she has - just a favourite of hers - still going strong even today.   A thrifty woman well fit for a Scotsman!

OUR LIFE WITH THE CHILDREN continues to occupy both of us as, day by day. life ebbs and flows about us here in Testimony Faith Homes.
We now provide home and family to 140 boys and girls - more than 40 over 18, and almost at the END of their stay with us.   They have now almost completed their education, at last, and are preparing to leave and enter the world around them, grasping the nettle of their their own responsibilities and Independence.

In the Photo below these four happy boys are far from that day, and time of life.

Clinton  Isaac, and Calvin from Drakely Cottage on the far right, with Joel from Jacaranda in the middle.

They still enjoy the comparative freedom and light heartedness of just being cared for,,   Still in Primary School they love to play as well as study, and seem to have no anxieties - at least for the time being.
We are GLAD for them, and happy their Father in Heaven has given them the Love they need to BE
free and secure enough to enjoy their childhood.

We are finally grateful and glad to say that the small legacy promised to us has arrived.     We have been able, for the first time in more than 10 years, been able to see a long standing debt wiped away by the love and grace God.    We had almost, at times, despaired of seeing this day, but even though pressed to share the burden width those who know us, we felt pressed MORE to be quiet and wait upon the Lord.   He is Faithful
We now look into the matter of seeing if we can use what may be left in providing a Hostel for our over 18 year old GIRLS.     We have had this in prayer as well, and we had thought that this donation might at least in part help us to convert an existing building into a small Hostel as we had shared before.      We first have to finish costing and discovering how this might be done - probably by the end of May we will have made a decision. Pray on for us.

God Bless you all.    And REJOICE with us that even if we are POOR, our Father in Heaven does not forget us, and if we are patient WILL deliver us from ALL our anxieties.

John, Esther and Daryl

COMINGS AND GOINGS

YESTERDAY EVENING  this young couple, now a little older than when we first met in 1986, came to be with us for the next five days.     Their visit is remarkable because, although we have seen a lot of them in the past (they lived in Kenya from 86 - 01) and every year for the last 12 years they have also visited with a team of School students from Australia -  this will be the FIRST time since they left Kenya that we have had time just to be together with them as family.    In their fifties now, and with all their children grown up they decided to take a little time off.   Truly a special delight to and for us.    WE hope to see them both again in July when the NEXT Tyndale Team from South Australia fly in for yet another visit.      Their input as people and as a School has been enormous over the years.    They have especially been a great blessing to us, and later on to Neema Children's Homes and even New Life Homes in Nairobi.   People with BIG hearts and OPEN minds,  People, many of whom, love JESUS, as well as others who seek a meaning to life, and ways to reach out to their fellow men and women on Planet Earth.   We are very proud of Mike and Dani Potter and very grateful that our Father in Heaven made them to fall in love with us, and with the children of Kenya generally.   If you have access to the Internet try and see the Video their School made of Testimony Homes in 2013  -  Type in -

  https:www.testimony Faith Homes - Kenya You Tube      

PAULA & GEORGINA arrived home in England safely without any ill effects for their fortnight with us, and within a few days were busily engaged in life in the UK once more.   We missed their happy and vibrant personalities enlivening us and the children. Georgina also did a 'home video of their time with us.  It comes over fast and busy, but gives a very good idea of the full and fast days spent with us, and is a worthy record and memory of their visit.   We hope they will come again.

See https://www.youtu.be/ljdtDwm3u8g

Mike and Dani will be here until the 21st April, and then Ian and Diana Hogley will arrive on the 22nd for about a week or so.      Really a blessing to have so many coming to see us.    The weather has remained fairly enjoyable.    Not quite so sunny, but enough to make the day enjoyable, with gentle breezes, and fluffy clouds becoming heavier and rain laden toward late afternoon/evening.  Average temperatures 78f afternoon and 74f at night.

THIS WEEK, and most of the time Daryl has been away (he returned on Wednesday this week) we have had to shut down the swimming pool.     This has meant it could not be used of course, and many who were used to taking advantage of it, at a small fee, from outside, have been very disappointed.    We called for a qualified man from Nairobi to come up to help us, and he was with us this morning.      His Report indicates that the School was conned almost from the beginning by the Contractor who built the Pools in the first place.     For now though he says we should replace two of the three Pumps in order bring them in line with the last one bought.   He discovered that the Media (Filters) had been badly maintained, and also needed to be overhauled and re-filled properly with the correct material.   This is only part of the package needed to be done before we can get things started up again, and Pool cleansed algae, and fit to use again.    Not welcome new for the School, financ ially, but we hope to begin reclamation as from Monday.   Pray for us please, as this in the way of being an Emergency for the school.

ONLY A SHORTY this week.     But we need your prayers even more than usual, and we ask you to be on the Alert of the Holy Spirit on our behalf, to undertake as we seek to deal with the Wiles of the Devil, and also as we seek to let the Spirit of our God rule in our hearts.

Lovingly to you you all,

John, Esther. and Daryl

LOOKING BACK

WELL, HERE IS AN INTERESTING PHOTO,  It is a photo of Paula WHITE  (on the left) and her 23 year old daughter, Georgina (on the right).    The are standing on a terrace of Kerio View Lodge in Iten,   Paula is in her 50s and although she may look a little 'tipsy' in the photo, held up firmly by Georgina, she is a very sober and energetic sister.
PAULA came to visit us first in February 1984, thirty two years ago!   She left in March the same year, and we did not hear a word from her again until 2011.       It has been especially good and happy to have here again with Georgina, and we have enjoyed them immensely.    We managed to play Monopoly, Scrabble, and Ludo for six players with them.    They were good at everything including CARDS, and cheated whenever they could (in a very open and hilarious manner) both with us AND among the families in the other 4 homes.    They have made a lot of friends.
TODAY they both leave us for Nairobi to take their Flight back to England.    They are certainly browner than when they arrived.

REMEMBERING 1984 I came across this little Article written by Bob Grahamslaw, about the same time that Paula was staying with us.     At that time Bob and his wife Joy were Houseparents at Jacaranda Cottage.    An interesting glimpse into the work of being 'Dad and Mum' to 35 kids.

JACARANDA COTTAGE  -  It is March 1984.       'It is 8.30 p.m.   I have just come and sat down in our Dining room.    The boys are studying their school homework from today's Classes.  I'm sure they would rather be watching the telly, or playing football, as any other typical lad would.   But from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. they have to slog away at more School work - and I have to make sure they do so, as Dad in the family.   My wife, Joy, and I have been at Jacaranda Cottage for four months now, and to be truthful, we have found it the biggest challenge of our lives!!           

When I look back and think about how I used to be, and the problems I used to give to my Mum and Dad, like unwillingness to wash myself (My Mum was always looking in my ears to see if 'potatoes were growing inside', and would often say 'Potatoes would grow in the dirt I see in your ears!'     I was the only boy in our family, and if you you multiply her words by 26 you will get some idea of how things are here with us and our 'boys'.   There are a lot of times when I have to be the stern father to keep things together and in order, but at other times I can go out and play football with them. JOY looks after the smaller kids, supervising them, making sure they brush their teeth, reading bed-time stories - and just being with them through the day's chores and moments of need.     These small boys (there were no girls in their day) helped us both a lot in settling down as parents in Jacaranda, as they seemed to immediately have confidence in us, and in calling us Mum and Dad!    The older ones have been a bit apprehensive towards us, trying us out, to see how far they can go.   But I think that now they are getting to know us, and I believe they too feel confident with us now.

Both Joy and I are glad to say we know Jesus as our Personal Saviour, and we try to live as unto Him.  We hope and pray that Jesus may shine through us, and that as these boys grow up they will see the love of God in action, and that they also will commit themselves to Him Please pray for us along these lines

          (Bob and Joy eventually left us and returned to England, where they have turned their family
          home into a Foster Home, still caring for needy children in the Denton area of Manchester)

========================================

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS have been quite difficult for us,since our February expenses were inflated by College Fees, and although we did our best we found ourselves at times forced to spend more than we could afford.     In order then not to borrow or take goods on Credit, we just did not spent at all except on weekly essentials.     This meant we lived at a minimum, but we DID live.   Bills remained owing.      However, we did receive the odd Gift from here and there, other than from AENON, and it was these that allowed us to pay our minimal way.     These were truly Gifts of a Life Saver quality.
There has still been no further news of the Legacy left to us via UKET.      We begin to wonder if it will in fact ever arrive.      We had been SO encouraged when we first heard it was on the way last November, but in fact it has been a huge disappointment to hear nothing at all since then.   Another emphasis on Jeremiah 17v5 - 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.'      So easy to depend on a brother or sister, but GOD abhors it.     Best not to 'hear' the promise of men, and instead to HOPE only in the LORD.   And, of course, we have lived without it.     God looks always on the heart, and to what He finds there,     That will finally determine His Mercy and Grace toward us.    

School closed yesterday for a three week April Holiday.    Everyone at home now, and enjoying a little freedom from the continual and demanding class work.

Daryl has been off work due to what the doctor defines as 'stress'.     He concluded his Leave on Friday, and has now gone to Mombasa for a further break until next Wednesday.

The expanding Town, and it's population seems to attract more and more who are turning to DRUGS of one kind or another.     The commonest currently is Marijuana.      Schools, and children from across the society - including ourselves - are being targeted more and more, and almost daily one or two cases come to our attention.       This is a very real threat to our society here, and of course it is the precursor of even worse substances and greater mayhem among our youth..     Pray for us that the Lord will protect us and give wisdom to us.

Our Love in Jesus, as always.   Our prayers ever go up to His Throne for you.

John, Esther and Daryl Green

S0 MUCH OUT OF SO LITTLE!

CROWDS OF PEOPLE!!   In the first photo all those you can see are FAMILY members - and yes they represent some of my wife's own family - her sister and brother in law and their children.  Also our own biological children, beloved adopted children, AND more than a sprinkling of those children God BROUGHT to us to care for, for a while, in our home, who also perhaps adopted US into their family..    From two loners to such a CROWD!    It is a miracle.

THEN, below our Team workers, more than a hundred teachers, house parents, cooks, gardeners, cleaners, office workers and others who sprang from just one, when we began, to become a small army all working together for the good of the CHILDREN.    Children who having needed a home, were without one, and who found one with the Door open when they passed by.   Just one in the beginning and then year by year more and more until now 300 have come and gone, whilst a 135 are currently with us today.    What a CROWD indeed.   And they are spreading all over.

All MY life I had been alone.   I was the only child in my family (my adopted family),  and was still single when I arrived in Kenya in 1968.  And NOW, forty eight years later I am surrounded by a crowd who all can be called 'My Family', and of course the first, who was to become the Mother of them All I had not even met with I arrived in Kenya. My dear wife, Esther!  AMAZING.
Of course none of this happened over night.   48 years is quite a period of time.      In addition to this there was the Advent of Testimony School in 1981 when we started Nursery School.    In 1983 Primary School began with three classes, and in 1987 we extended to Class 7, and finally in 1994 we opened Secondary, and today, including our current 135 orphans we have a School Population of 800+.            NONE of this could have happened in the way it did without GOD being in the picture - even the Prime Mover.     None of this could have come to pass without the Prayer of many, not just ours.    No, God, by His Spirit, carried our needs into hearts near and far, some who have never ever set foot in this place.    Some who God used just once to provide our need, and others who became strong pillars of support and encouragement.     Our growth has not been sensational.    We have never been rich or replete.   Our Father in Heaven has always kept us dependant on HIM; He has shown us that when we forget HIM, for a moment, we cut off our life line.     No we have never been rich, but we have eaten every day, and more and more children have found life and future - just because HE LIVES.      Esther and I have been in the centre of it all, and witnessed to it all.      It will always be a miracle in our eyes.

THIS WEEK, we have been happy to have Paula White with us.    She and her daughter Georgina will be with us for the next week too.      They arrived by air at the Eldoret International Airport on Saturday - TWO and half hours late!      For a 45 minute internal flight one has to wonder why?   And to wonder why even more when this lateness seems to have been characteristic of the Airline  since they first opened some many years ago.      I have never discovered their 'service' to be anything else than frustration.    They ARE the cheapest - so be warned if you plan to FLY up to Eldoret - Think twice before entrusting yourself to 'Fly H540'!        PAULA was here in 1984 when she was about twenty for about three months.     We have been very happy to see her venture back again, and with her daughter as well.   They have been kept busy by the younger children in our three Homes, and even now as I type they are on the lawn outside with a whole gang of them playing with Frisbees.!!

IT RAINED LAST NIGHT, and today it is cooler.     The clear blue sky has gone, and so has the oppressive heat that we have had recently.   Today the sun is still shining though, and although there are fluffy white puffs of cloud above, it is still very pleasant to sit outside, and even to play strenuous games!     We think it may now  give way to a little more rain - enough for the farmers to plant their fields and to hope for a harvest.      It is refreshing, and we can now sleep comfortably at night without being uncomfortably HOT.

Esther and I have not been so well over the last couple of months - suffering from a persistent and very scratchy cough which has really troubled us.     Just a cough and nothing else!    We think it was probably the unusually DRY air, and the consequent increase in dust.     This week we are feeling much better, the cough is abating.    Thank you, to all those who may have prayed for us.  
For us, as a couple, retired but still at the centre of things, life has been quite challenging and at times even difficult.      We have retired officially, and there are new younger ones now taking over the reigns.       No problem with them, but with the staff, who (since we are not yet dead and still remain on the premises), still feel we are in charge. still coming to us for advice and help instead of to the NEW and current administration.      They will get used to it in time.

We love you every one,      Please do continue to remember us, and to pray for us.     We will never NOT need your prayers.      God Bless you and keep you safe.

John. Esther, and Daryl Green