FAITH COMETH BY HEARING

JOHN MATUMBWE aged 9 when he first came to us in 2005, is a destitute child, whose origins have remained a mystery. He had been dumped, quite literally, at a 'Street Children's Rescue Centre' in Eldoret Town. He was thought to be stone deaf, and so there was no communication sought either way, and it was assumed he was mute as well. BUT in 2005 we admitted John to Tyndale Cottage here at TFH, and Mica and Catherine Yego soon discovered that he was NOT stone deaf! He WAS deaf however, but could hear when an effort was made to speak loudly and carefully. He was a happy child and of an easy and peaceful temperament. Now he is 14, and we have had nothing but problems in trying to find help for his deafness. WE have sent him to doctor after doctor, consultant after consultant, until finally they could only say that IF he was fitted with Hearing Aids he might do well! The devices they prescribed all cost well over 500 pounds each and could not be discovered in Kenya! It is amazing how UNHELPFUL the medical profession can be at times. THIS MONTH we have been introduced to a Catholic Clinic about 200 kilometres away from us. We sent John there with Mica, and they have already fitted him with an Aid costing only 20 pounds! They think his other ear will need an operation next year, but with the hope that he will be able to hear after that. Suddenly the sun is shining for John. SO THRILLED to be able to HEAR so much that had escaped his notice, and SO anxious to learn! He can lip read a little, and he is of course attending our School. He has taken in a great deal, but now the world is opening up for him. Please do remember him in prayer. How wonderful that he may now be able to hear the Word of God, and find added reason to BELIEVE in Him as Saviour. ALL of the children in the photo are 'Throw-away' kids from the streets of Eldoret. They all came to us at very young ages between 2 and 5 years and although every effort has been made to trace their families (if any) no progress has been made. But they are a happy crowd, and Tyndale Cottage is very much their home, and Catherine and Mica much loved as Mum and Dad.

ELDORET TOWN, according the Municipal Council is a still a Town of some 300,000 souls. However, recent research has put the number, including women and children at around 900,00 to one million. Such has been the expansion over the years. When Esther and I first arrived here in January 1973 there was said to be only 40,000! The town centre was originally laid out with wide roads (wide enough for an ox-waggon to be turned around full circle without hitting the curb), side walks, lined with ornamental trees. Today there are some new buildings and even multi story blocks of offices, but generally the street scenes have not changed apart from crumbling side walks, and fewer trees; the increasing numbers of both people and vehicles. The MAIN road through t0 Kampala in Uganda and our own capital, Nairobi, passes right through the centre. A busy thoroughfare, and often impassable with traffic blocks. It is said that 60% of the population is unemployed and under the age of 20 years. It LOOKS like that. A good climate, never too hot, and quite pleasant generally through the year ...... Still a little unpredictable seasonably these days. Never-the-less it is inclined to be a progressively congested city, pressed upon on three sides by what amount to slum areas where the majority live in unplanned ramshackle estates. The escalating cost of living more and more restricts general welfare, and it is for this reason, mainly, that children are coming on the the Town Streets to beg, steal, and ply some trade or means to make a living. For all the current attempts to solve this problem it seems unable to go away, and instead grows the more, whole families having been born on the street and still living upon it. Of course to some extent Street People exist in every Country; a universal manifestation of our day and age! IN THE PHOTO above we are looking EAST from the Town Hall (bottom left) towards that side of town where we live in Testimony Faith Homes - just where the seen buildings seem to merge with greenery - about a 30 minute walk to the town centre. The Lord gave us a nice place to be, with no slum area in our immediate vicinity, and therefore quieter and less open to crime and violence as other parts of the town boundaries. Hard to think I have been here for 38 years already. I may be the longest service missionary left in the area!

Our old PEUGEOT is being repaired. Had to cut the chassis in half and then weld it back together - it was so much bent out of shape. All done, and the body work replaced and where necessary beaten back into shape. Still some parts to find (not readily available) but we think it WILL be back on the road. We did not take the Workshop Manager in town into our confidence financially so, unknown to himself, he has been working step by step in faith with us and OUR faith toward God. I look forward to sharing all about it in a very positive, and I hope challenging manner when we go to settle our account. God is SO wonderful to give us so many extra opportunities to share the Good News.

ONE week to go before the School Parents and Price Giving Day. Hope the weather will be free of RAIN by then. We are still hoping for our usual crowd of five hundred or so parents to attend, but we shall also then only be a few days away from the much talked about Constitutional Referendum on 4th August. The government is already putting security personnel in place - Eldoret is full of uniformed guards - as a deterrent to expected riots. A lot of people feeling stressed out about it, and this may stop them from attending outside functions until the final Results are over and calm restored. Yesterday the DAILY NATION'S headlines read 'FEAR, TENSION IN HOTSPOTS' - Frightened by threats of eviction, a trickle of displaced persons is heading back to IDP Camps. But this time it's different (from 2007); 15000 ADDITIONAL SECURITY OFFICERS ARE ON THE GROUND AND 9,000 MORE ARE ON THE WAY. But OUR trust is in the LORD, and will ever remain so no matter what is happening around and about us.

Our Love and Prayers are always rising up for you. God Bless and Keep each one of you through the coming week.

John and Esther
!

AUSTRALIAN INPUT 2010

THIS IS THE 2010 TYNDALE
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL MISSION TEAM - 35 of them, including staff and two parents. Mike Potter, the Headmaster, is third from the left (top) and his dear wife Dani far right (bottom). All and every one worked themselves to a frizzle with zeal and zest. This has been the 5th Team to come out to us, bi-annually, going back to 2000. ALL have always impressed us with their excellent spirit and willingness to put their all into their work and fellowship. They have worked with paint brushes, spades, machetes, saws, hammers, their bare hands and muscle. They have provided needed Repairs and Redecorations we could not afford, and contributed to medical and recreational needs, and most of all made it possible for us to initially commence and build the first of the two Homes put up in 2007 - Tyndale Cottage. Their outgoing friendship have encouraged and uplifted our children as well as giving them Role Models and Examples to emulate. All this inspired we are sure, by the Holy Spirit, and a Vision and Purpose put by him into the Potters.

THIS MORNING they have left us.

As usual, as the buses came to pick them up and return them to Nairobi en route for Australia once more, there were emotional farewells, with floods of tears, and loving hugs as friendships made were suddenly challenged by sudden separation..............

THIS YEAR their main task has been (for us) the building of a six foot tall fence made of tin roofing sheets between Jacaranda Cottage and the neighbouring plot - some 100+ metres! The old rotting timber fence had first to be pulled down and the undergrowth cleared. It was a big task.
They worked hard and produced for the first time SECURITY for that compound, and safety too. Yesterday, as we all admired the completed effort, I suddenly was reminded of the words of an old

refrain 'Don't fence me in'.. I listened this morning to the 1944

rendering by Bing Crosby - very interesting.
'Oh give me land, lots of land under starry skies above'

Don't fence me in!

Let me ride through the wide open country that I Love;

Don't fence me in !

Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze,

and listen to the murmur of the cotton wood trees

Send me off for ever, but I ask you please,

DON'T FENCE ME IN!

As we admired the new Fence these words just flashed into mind. We were building this fence to keep wild dogs and even snakes OUT of the Jacaranda Cottage compound with its three Families comprising some 90 or more children and adults. It was meant protect, and also secure. We thought it would also discourage some of our more adventurous children from finding a way out of the compound without being discouraged. It was built in love for the good of those it surrounded.

BUT the words of the song suddenly were there to declare how opposed we all are to being 'fenced in - even out'. Many years ago when I was a teenager I remember watching a sheep nose its way under a wire mesh fence in order to get at some lush grass just out of reach. The fence was just a metre away from the edge of chalk cliffs more than a 100 feet above rocks and crashing surf. Leaving some of its wool on the wire the willful sheep forced its way through, but as it settled to eat the ground crumbled beneath her and she, with the cliff, hurtled downwards into the roaring sea below. She was not glad for the fence; she had been blind to it, and unable to accept its restriction. She broke free from it and paid with her life. Yes, and the Bible says WE, like sheep, have all gone astray and followed our own way....willfully, willingly blind and unheeding to where we are actually going.

And immediately to mind also sprang Isaiah 5 and the words concerning God's Vineyard....

My well beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.

And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof and planted it

with the choicest vine, and a built tower in it, and also a wine press therein.

And He looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes.

Knowing our proneness to sin, God has done His best to keep us safe, and to secure our lives pending the time we might come to fruition and the knowledge of Salvation......but not all are glad or even appreciative of His Love and Mercy - they seek for their freedom and the removal of every restriction. We see this in our children as they grow up. As they mature and progressively discover their own strengths and the attractions of the world around them, they seek to press against the laws that kept and protected them from their birth. Often they shake off what they believe are 'shackles' and jump over the 'fences' into supposed Liberty and Freedom. And then........ . Well of course God is even then Merciful and Compassionate, but we also know His Spirit will not always struggle with a Man's Self-will (Genesis 6v3). And then....?

In verse 4 of Isaiah 5 God asks this question - a question often asked even perhaps by parents of their children, or a friend........

What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?

Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?

NOW I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard!

I will take away the hedge and the wall - THE FENCE

The ground shall be trodden down.

It will be laid waste.

It shall not be tended or dug.

Briers and thorns shall grow upon it.

No rain shall come upon it.

(It will face destruction)

WITHOUT the Fence - the WORD - of God we will be defenceless, and facing ruin and desolation. Without the Fence we are without protection, without prosperity, without all well-being. Without the WORD, Yes, without JESUS in our lives, we are without Leadership and Guidance. We shall be open to every marauding and destroying influence, overwhelmed and encroached upon by every devouring evil.

As all this flashed through my mind I wondered what would happen to the three Christian Homes now so safe and protected if we removed the FENCE - the REAL FENCE that encircled and protected all the souls that lived and safely grew within them. What would happen if the Word of God that governs Testimony Faith Homes as a whole were to be torn down, or in some other way removed or allowed to be depleted or forgotten? How important for us in Testimony Faith Homes, and indeed for each one of us as individuals and perhaps Leaders in our Christian lives, to make sure the JESUS is up front in our lives, His Word surrounding and demonstratively seen keeping our lives.

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THE HEAVY RAIN HAS CONTINUED through the week - and it has remained COLD.

A five ton truck bringing firewood for the school boilers has just arrived - managing to pull down a good part of one of our trees as it did so. Wood is expensive now as you would expect in a Country like ours where almost every forest has been exploited and robbed of its trees for purely selfish purposes with little or NO thought for replacing what has been taken away. Soon the government may put a total ban on a great deal of business related to timber. This will affect a large sector of the community still reliant on fuel such as charcoal.

THIS WEEK in the Daily Nation, it has been announced that with immediate effect ALL NEW private dwelling houses and commercial buildings such as schools will NOT be given Planning Permission unless they make provision in the Building Plans for a Solar Heating System. NOT to do so will result in fines upwards of 1000 pounds sterling. Additionally we are warned that ALL such houses and institutions both private and commercial will be expected to now plan to provide themselves with Solar Heating within the given Grace Period of FIVE years. It will be costly, and I am not sure what percentage of the population will be able to accommodate this rule. BUT I do believe it is a good and necessary move. For once I concur with the Government! We need to conserve energy against diminishing supplies. Lack of trees have been partly responsible for our own change of climate and reduction in rain fall, which in turn is affecting hydro electric power.

Have a Blessed and Useful Week in Jesus Name

John and Esther

A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR...?

THE KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY, which is still looking for ways to sqeeze money out of Charitable Children's Institutions, has this week offered FREE SUGAR to ALL of them in our District!! Apparantly they had a stock pile of confiscated Sugar (1400 x 50kgs bags) and need to get rid of them. Testimony have received 24 such bags, and all those other Registered Home in our area similar amounts. We are hoping they will release more in a few weeks!! one 5okg bag of sugar today in kenya is worth Ksh.4,000/- and lasts us 1 week only. Still a BIG saving on our immediate housekeeping bill. THUS on the one hand they are taking, with the other giving. OR perhaps it really is a case of - "A spoonful of Sugar helps the Medicine go down!"

THIS MORNING, I am blogging in Green Cottage sitting room. I thought, as it was Saturday and cold in my Office, that I would install myself at the dining table and quietly get down to business. BUT my darling little wife had also decided that this morning would be the time to clean out all the cupboards in the dining room dresser, AND pile up everything she found in them on the table in front of me, so that in the end I felt as if I had suddenly become the proprietor of a Second-hand shop!!

Esther is more than well - and thus continously has new 'brain-waves' that take her off on some new gambit and occupation. TO-DAY is one of her cleaning days! Ah well, it's too late to unplug my computer and return to the Office, soooo.....I will continue on, surrounded with bri-a-brac, and a sense of being just another item up for dusting and perhaps even re-evaluating!!

DARYL has also just dropped in - 12 noon our time - for his breakfast!! Also deposited on the table with everything else! - Mozart is vainly trying to set a less frenetic mood in the background.

The Daily Nation has also just arrived. It warns us that there is just 25 days to go before the National Referendum takes place on whether or not to adopt the proposed new Constitution. It also announces that 'Leaflets, warning and intimidation mar campaigns' of the various adherents of the YES and NO camps throughout the Country. Intimidation, and the fear of a repeat of the kind of unrest experienced in 07 is in the air, with many moving away from sensitive tribal and political areas. AND, whilst all this is bubbling around us, the Members of Parlaiment continue to seek after their PAY RISE which will - according to the Paper in front of me - give MPs in Kenya 'The highest salaries in the world, based on the size of the economy.' Even though the Prime Minister has stood against the increase, and stated that he himself will refuse to acceept it, the MPs are rooting to get it, one way or another, against public opinion . They know that if the Proposed Constitution is voted IN their current right to review and raise their own salaris will no longer be there, AND they will be TAXED - something that at present they escape. In wanting to raise their salaries NOW they hope to get away without losing too much IF they become taxable. That's the way the cooky crumbles. The GREED of the Ruling Class (part of a 9% minority) cannot be imagined, and it is almost out of hand, and a real threat to national peace and stability.

The REFERENDUM is supposed to take place on the 4th August. Baring this in mind, and the current climate in the Country Esther and I have finally felt that our place is here and not in the UK at such a time. Thus we have decided to remain here for the balance of 2010. Perhaps 2011 till look more auspiscious and allow us time and space to plan a short break away.

THE RAIN continues, and also the CHILL in the air. Not a lot of sunshine to lighten the day.

WE HEARD RECENTLY, that someone living in Eldoret and communicating to another living in the USA, had said on 'Face Book' that 'DAD' (that's me) had 'softened' a bit and was not so strictly against GAYS as he used to be. Well I think I must make my position clear though I have hoped it already was - to all and sundry - and once again without wishing to be offensive or to cause undue hurt. This is my opinion based as it is upon the Word of God as it stands in the Bible. Humanly we ALL have the right to our own opinion, and thus I see no reason why mine should be objected to more than another's. The Truth and Validity of ANY held opinion must be weighed against its outworking in daily life and society, AND against the revealed and proved eternal WORD of God.

SO I must re-iterrate my belief that all homosexuallity in thought, word and deed, is ungodly, unnatural, and inconvenient to humanity, and that such practice will risk the wellbing of body and soul, physically, phsycologically, and spiritually, both here and now, and for eternity.

THUS I CANNOT in love and compassion condone the willful puruance of such a lifestile. I would not invite a gay couple to live together in my house or even find myself glad or approving of their intimate relationships or activities anywhere else.

HOWEVER, this does NOT mean that I have ceased to love or care for such, but only that I cannot love or accept their way of life. God Himself tells us that He loves ALL souls, but that He cannot live with our bad habits or lifestyles. He seeks to SAVE us and to SEPERATE us from what harms us - even at the expense of being miss-understood. He will not be close or have us to live with HIM - AND our sins! It is never easy to be told that we are wrong, when our wrong gives us pleasure. We immediately want to defend our position.

But if we are wrong at any time, then that 'wrong' will - if not turned away from - hurt us, perhaps even kill us.

I do not and cannot take the position that we are BORN GAY. But I do concede that many of us may have ínherited' a gay disposition. A mother taking Heroin during her pregnancy will almost certainly be reponsible to her baby being born with an adiction to the same drug. The most famous and world renowned of our Genetisists do not agree that there is a GAY Gene. And even if one were to be found it would not follow that ALL 'Gays' are having such a gene!

EITHER WAY the condition of a homosexual (male or female) is 'unnatural' to the normal sexual state and orientation of a human being. GOD made Man - as a species - Male and Female.

NONE should - because of inclination, or lack of perception - accept what is wrong with them without effort to put the wrong RIGHT - at whatever cost, effort, or sacrifice.

To willfully remain in a state that God cannot approve of seperates from God.

You MIGHT say that the Christiana believes that this is why God sent Christ - to pay for our error and sin - and it IS so. BUT because God has forgiven sin, and DOES forgive the sin we confess and repent of, it does not follow that when we then continue to willfully LIVE in sin, that He will then continue to overlook it. There will be a price to pay. He will not always spare us, or struggle with us................ His Righteous Justice will require righteous judgement. IN His view He has not only provided means for our Forgiveness, BUT also means to come away and out from under the need to serve and satisfy ourselves and sin. He has given us His Holy Spiriit to stand with us and give us the power to turn away from sin.

SO my dear ones...... if you are GAY tempted to be so, or even struggling against that disposition, be sure of my determination to show you the Love of God, but NOT to necessarily tell you that you are safe and right to be gay, or to have a gay relationship.

I may not shirk from sharing my fears with you, and to point out the commandment to you. If that should annoy you, or give you cause to feel I am an 'enemy' - then I must bare it. But I will never compromose my love or care of you by denying to tell you the truth and give you heartfelt loving warning of where your life is taking you.

SO let us all learn to pray for each other - though we may not all be able to live with each other.

Let us pray for the Love of God to confront our imperfections, and to make us men and women enough to accept what He shows us and to respond to Him. He wants to own each one of us as His child. He wants and longs for our heart's desire to be that we should be reconciled with HIM.

Our love to all our readers, friends and family

John and Esther

NOT WITH OUR TAX MONEY!!

THIS IS A VIEW OF THE KENYAN PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBER - EMPTY! Currently it caters for 222 MPs., although they are rarely all in attendance. They seem to come and go at will. This week they have sought to give themselves yet another Pay-rise. This time in the region of Ksh,1,241,000 per month each! This would be in the region of $15,512 per month! The consensus of Non Governmental Organisations in Kenya have described the MP's wage rise as "Theft with impunity, outright selfishness and the greatest betrayal of the people they represent in Parliament." An MP's 'Sitting-Allowance' alone has been raised by 100% which would put an additional Ksh.1. million per year on the taxpayer's burden. The response has been public outcry across the Country'In total the public will now spend Ksh.4.3 billion per year to pay the 222 MP's salaries and various Allowances.' . And WHO is the brave heart proposing to bring this Bill to Parliament? Why it is the Minister of Finance himself. Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, MP. One wonders how it can be that he should propose such extravagant and uncalled for measures at a time when the Country is in dire economic distress. Is he a puppet of parliamentarians and their greed. He was unable to speak against the determination of MPs NOT to allow themselves to be taxed on their earnings last year ....and NOW? One feel incredulous that any sane person, with even the slightest integrity could be prevailed upon to suggest such selfish, and canabalistic measures!
TODAY Mr. Kenyatta has told MPs that the current Budget has no cash for a pay rise!! He claims that he was not behind the Bill, and would not have presented it when the time came!! Is that true? Or is he just backing down. When one wants to be President one day, one might, after all, try not to upset the people who might vote for him - at least not until afterwards. When will Kenyans wake up and ask themselves who they are voting into office, and why? Surely the man in the street, who votes in faith for the man or woman he or she hopes will improve the lot of the average Kenyan, has the right to be protected rather than robbed by the one he votes for. What do MPs do all day (when and if they are actually 'sitting' so lucratively in Parliament) apart from using the people to enrich themselves? Are they not milking the cow whilst at the same time denying what is needed to produce the milk? They take away the 'grass' and tell the cow to grow fat and yield more milk - on DUST! And just to feed a badly chosen FEW! Where is Justice? Where is Integrity? Where is Truth? Members of Parliament of whatever category are like secular Shepherds. They are there to lead and guide the sheep, providing good pasture, peace and prosperity. Yet they are now like the FALSE SHEPHERDS described and written about in the Bible. The verses given below and taken from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel chapter 34v2-10. They should be food for thought for every Religious AND SECULAR leader, and a warning that each one of us that has a responsibility to others should seriously take to heart.

"Woe be to the Shepherds of..........?.?.......that do feed themselves!

Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

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

neither have ye brought again that which was driven away,

neither have ye sought that which was lost.

BUT with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

AND they were scattered and became meat to all when they were scattered.

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

THEREFORE, ye shepherds, hear the voice of the Lord

As I live, says the Lord God

Surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat for all

I will require my flock at your hand,

and will cause you to cease from feeding the flock.

Neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more;

for I will deliver my flock from their mouth that they may not be meat for them.

GOD IS RIGHTEOUS JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH. We should FEAR to ignore His LAW.

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LAST SATURDAY evening - well it was really 3a.m. on Sunday Morning...MANU had a serious motor accident. He had borrowed our old Peugeot. We are unsure even now as to why he was out in the town so late, but it seems that he had taken alcohol. He was seen driving alone at speed going the wrong way in a one way street. He came upon a round-a-bout FAST and in trying to avoid it drove the car head on into a brick wall, narrowly missing a shop window. He was NOT wearing a seat belt. His head hit the windscreen and the steering well pushed into his stomach. His left leg was pressed under the dashboard. He passed out. When he came round he phoned us and I got up, and calling Daryl we both hurried into town. Whilst Manu had been unconscious he was robbed of his money and his shoes! Amazing. Perhaps they thought he was dead. We got him out of the car some 40 minutes after the accident actually happened. Early morning bystanders just standing about; no one had tried to help him. No Police fortunately. Entire front of the car was crumpled but the engine was untouched. So much for the strength of the older makes of Peugeot 1992! Saved Man's life - or was it an Angel? Yes, I believe it WAS an Angel. We took him to hospital and he was admitted. No bones broken, headache, and stomach cramps. He was kept in hospital for four days and is convalescing with us till tomorrow. He is fine now. NO more driving any of OUR vehicles though. They Peugeot might not get repaired quickly - if at all - since spare parts are VERY hard to find these days for that model, and also even more expensive. Might have to sell it for scrap. We thank God for His Mercies and continue to pray for Manu.

LAST NIGHT ALL OUR CHILDREN watching the Ghana Match and waking the dead when they SCORED, and crying with real tears when they LOST. Soccer!!!! The whole world is caught up with kicking a ball, whilst the End of the World is in view!

God Bless you all yet again for yet another week. We love you too!

John and Esther

SO MANY CHILDREN!

MORE AND MORE CHILDREN ARE BEING ABANDONED. A dozen or so are in this photo, and they have all been committed to the care of Testimony Faith Homes. BUT they do not live with us, and are not physically cared for by us. Horace and Phyllis Leister together with their two young daughters care for them. The Leisters are from the USA, and Phyillis is a woman called of God to just love and care for kids. Her husband Horace is a builder and he is the Home Provider - the one to actually BUILD the family home. So far they all live in a rented house not far from us whilst the NEW house is being built adjacently to the rented one in the same compound. Horace and Phyllis work with a Mission known as 'Children With Hope'. They have been in Eldoret for more than two years, but still the Government hasn't Registered their Children's Home. This meant that although they were having time space and funds to care they were unable to legally have one child to live with them as long as they were unregistered. NOW the Certificate should come any time soon......but in order to assist them Testimony Faith Homes offered to have children admitted to themselves, and then fostered them out to the Leisters Home which is called Tumaini Children's Home, just kilometre away from us. They were, as a couple, legally allowed to Foster children privately under their family name. This means I have to visit them often to make sure the kids are safe and cared for - and they ARE. This is a work of love and sacrifice. To have so many babies and toddlers in your own house, demanding your every attention 24 hours a day does need sacrifice. It has been a great blessing to know them all, and to see the Love of Jesus in action. Even if physically we are not part of it, we feel somehow part of the family. Some of these little ones are physically and even mentally disabled as well. No one is refused, but how many more can they take? ------ well the way it looks they will just go on opening their arms and their hearts to as many as are brought to them!
I just thought you would like to know about them, and the fact that TFH is not alone in reaching out to the needy children around us; there are many. Wonderfully Jesus works with all of us, welcoming so many into His Kingdom. SIX of the tiniest ones in the lower photo were brought to us, and then fostered by us to Phyllis just two weeks ago, and Esther and I were in their Home this last Wednesday. What joy and real happiness to see them already safe and settled. SOON, when their Certification has arrived, TFH will be handing each of these little ones permanently to Phyllis and Horace. TFH will have no more responsibility for them. BUT it will always have been a privilege to stand behind and with them. I am sure we shall still want to watch them grow and develop as God gives us life and Strength.

NEXT WEEK on Friday we are expecting 35 Staff and Students from Tyndale Christian School in South Australia to arrive. Some old friends and faces, and some very new. They will be with us for 14 days, and some will also be helping Joshua and Miriam at Neema Children's Home, going to and fro daily from us. These young people and their mentors have ever shown themselves to be willing for anything; hardworking, generous hearted, and very out-going. We are always blessed by their times with us all, and we especially rejoice to know Mike and Dani Potter and their family who are in fact very much OUR own family in every way. God is so good at bringing people together. You may remember that Tyndale Cottage is named after them.

To the left is a photo of the 2008 Party that were with us. The School visits bi-annually, and each student works in out of school hours to provide their air-fare and other costs. They come to work and to give of themselves freely. This year they will probably be building fences and painting and even laying foot paths! They will this year be again staying in the LILLIE HOSTEL, which stands just behind Testimony House and can sleep 40 comfortably. Maybe the last chance they will get to stay there, since NEXT TERM we are letting it out to Testimony School as a Dormitory for Girls learning in the Secondary Department. Our Secondary School both for boys and girls has been a DAY school since it opened, but many have been pressing to attend from a distance, and we have not been able until this year to consider providing at least some boarding space to accommodate them. The School will also rent an adjacent property to assist boarding some 40 boys. Quite a new venture.

ESTHER AND I have felt the Lord leading us - if possible - to spend two or three months in the UK as from late August this year. Previously, I had felt very unable to travel, but since the operations this year I feel very different, and relatively free to go anywhere and do anything!!!

We have missed seeing our UK grandchildren as well and feel we need to at least to catch a glimpse of them again before they have become adults! However I would also like to take any opportunity that might arise to visit friends and churches that pray and support the ministry here, and who have encouraged and been our stay for so many years, when we have been almost invisible here. If you thought that we could meet up somehow so that we could share a little, first hand, of our life here in Eldoret, please do let us know, or get in touch with Allan Nicholls or our son Steven Green - I'll leave the contact details for both at the foot of this Blog.

If we do come, who will we leave behind? Well we will leave Anthony Ndungu who has led the School since it began in 1983 to be in charge of the School, and then leave Daryl our son to watch over the Children's Homes. A shared responsibility. We discussed this last night at the AGM of our Board, and they were quite at ease and happy with this arrangement.

Please pray with us that He will Guide and provide for every detail. This is the first time that WE ourselves felt led to journey out of Kenya. Every previous occasion it was God that dug us up and out of here - not always when we felt happy about it. But this time the leading has come from WITHIN, though no less from the moving of His Spirit upon us, we believe.

God Bless and be with you all

John and Esther

Contact Addresses:-

Mr. and Mrs. Horace Leister,
Tumaini Children's Centre
Box 3828 ELDORET 30-100 Kenya
E-mail hpleister@gmail.com

Mr. A.E. Nicholls, MBE., FRGS., Secretary The AENON Trust

137 Belvedere Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 4PA - England

Telephone: 020-8303-5216

E-mail - allan_nichols@btinternet.com

nicholls_allan@hotmail.com

Mr. S.I. Green,

20 Waverley Road, Baxenden, Accrington,

Lancs., BB5 2TT, England

Telephone 1254 871208

E-mail s1green@o2.co.uk

S1green@onetel.com.

MEDIA CONDITIONING

THIS HAPPY COUPLE ( I couldn't resist them) HAVE BEEN MARRIED WELL OVER 40 YEARS, AND PLAN TO STAY MARRIED FOR THE NEXT 40 AT LEAST. I have included their photo here because of the Kenya DAILY NATION's banner headlines today, and the two double page spreads inside expanding on it. The Headline reads A MARRIAGE CRISIS. The varied articles within are all very negative when it comes to Christian Marriage in particular, painting such a daunting picture of the problems confronting both partners, and giving the impression that 'Come We Stay' partnerships are likely to be more successful and enduring! According to the survey carried out by INFOTRACK, the NATION says '3 out of 10 Kenyans are unhappy with their married partner - approx 29%. Although they go on to say that 40% ARE happy, the Paper then prints a number of related articles revealing the growing trend toward Broken Marriages.
In addition there is open discussion concerning the lack of seriousness with which 'traditional' ties are seen. It is expected that both parents will have 'affairs' on the side. Then again the old complaints put forward in mitigation of marital failures, such as 'Infidelity'; nagging partner;
interference of in-laws; desire for more Educational Qualification by one or other of the partners;
inequality of financial income, seem to form a general attitude that no marriage can last.
This is turn brings out the question which gives way to the loose 'Come we Stay' relationship which is neither binding or committed. Reading all that was printed I was persuaded, yet again, that in reporting 'NEWS' the Media generally adds to social problems, and conditions the public to its own views and opinions which are not often founded on the TRUTH.
Indeed I must go further and say that in my view the Media at Large is a tool being used to mould attitudes in Mankind generally that are intended to take him away from God and Godly concepts, and thus from his 'likeness' to God, and his humanity.

Looking at my smiling 'anonymous' couple above I am quite sure that over the many years of their marriage, as also with mine, each has had to contend with many expected and unexpected situations in the partnership. There will have been differences of opinion, clashes of temperament, even irritation if not anger toward each other. Nevertheless the marriage went on - NOT for the sake of the children, family expectations or pressures, but because we genuinely loved each other when we Married, and because we brought GOD into it as a Third Party to make sure we were KEPT in love for each other. I WILL concede that without GOD there is every rotten reason for believing a marriage WILL fail. BUT what hope have our children, grandchildren, or even the World at large, if we downgrade the concept of marriage? If we Scrap the God given concept of Marriage, and we scrap home and family - we become even LESS than a society of Apes! Dr. Richard Leaky might have erred in saying we have evolved from apes! Perhaps instead we are devolving below them. The TREND seems to be in divesting ourselves of all that once identified us as HUMAN..

'What right have to expect nations to stand by their promises, and to keep their vows to each other

if men and women do not do it even this most solemn and sacred union of marriage?

We must start with ourselves.

We must start at the Beginning.

We must observe the Law of God (Not Moses) in our personal individual lives.'

(Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones)

'MARRIAGE seems to be a very fundamental necessity. It is the crucible in which a human being may learn about Love - the Love that GOD Himself is, the Love that comes from Him alone. It is in Marriage them men and women will learn to suffer each other, that consequently others. also. They will learn to forgive each other. They will learn unselfishness and Patience toward each other.

The will learn of God, and about Submission and Meekness. Marriage, I believe, may be a Divine Illustration of the union there is meant to be, and will be, of ALL things with the Creator; with God Himself. Thus Marriage as the perfect state is of supreme importance.

The Springboard of Life is Marriage. It is IN the coming together of a man and a woman that TRUE LOVE becomes visible and tangible. A home and family are created and an environment built that can demonstrate every facet of God's Character and Personality to the the Husband and Wife first, and thence to all around them. This is why God initiated Marriage in the first place, and we need to examine the order in which it was given.' (The Wolves Are Among Us by John A. Green 1989)

Instead of downgrading and discouraging Marriage we should be extolling its virtues and broadcasting its successes and

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SO SORRY I AM LATE TODAY but the day took me out to a neighbours Thanksgiving with Esther, and we got home later than hoped. It was a good time, well spent, with the Lord the centre of Praise as a Mother gave Him Thanks for bringing back her son from American where he had been for ten years - an especial blessing since her husband had died a few months back this year.

Some may remember him (those old boys or girls who lived with us in the 70s and 80s. His name is Julius Omondi OGANDA.

The Ministry of Works are laying a new surface on our School driveway today as well. They have not finished, and hope to do so tomorrow before the School opens again after Half Term.

All done by hand except for the compacting and rolling of the asphalt. Not so perfect as it might be done in UK or USA but good enough for us, and expensive enough as well. The School has had to find a thousand pounds sterling to put it down. The rest of the driveway, almost as much again, that gives access to Testimony House and then also to the School main driveway, also needs attention. We are hoping the Contractor may have pity on us if he has any material left over, and patch the worst parts for us free of charge!! Pray with us!

The School actually commenced Half Term on Thursday this week. The weather has been very WET and cold - not very jolly for a holiday - probably not the best for laying a driveway either!

Please pray for Brother and Sister Rop who are Mum and Dad in Jacaranda Cottage. Beartrice has been suffering on and off with haemorrhoid's, and has now been told she must have an operation. Her blood count has been down (due to bleeding) and is only now after medication getting up to a safe level. Joseph has also not been well has had a bad attack of cerebral malaria which took him to hospital as from last Tuesday. Fortunately they have an Assistant in their House, so the children are safe and well looked after. We hope the Lord will undertake for them both and heal them.

NOW I must top once more as it is getting late. Please pray for US all at this time, and assist us to Wait upon the Lord with Patience and Faith as always. God Bless and keep YOU all during these increasingly difficult times.

John and Esther

STIGMATIZED!

THE PLIGHT OF CONVICTS LEAVING PRISON, having served their Sentence, and also of those completing community Service or Probation for some Petty crime committed is often overlooked. It is said that as many as 80% or more find their way back to Court, and even Prison within 18 months! WHY should this be so? For the majority it is because they were unable to find employment. Fingerprinted by the Police, and with a Record, it is rare for a prospective employer to have either the compassion or faith to risk employing such. At least in prison there is 'something' to eat, somewhere to shelter from the elements......one thing leads to another. Of course there are some who are purely and simply set upon a life of crime and anti social behaviour. BUT there are many others - a majority in fact who, - if they could find the means, - would want to 'go straight' and keep away from crime. The little Graphic above declares how ones 'finger-prints, can find you out - for good or bad. For example Many Employers now insist on any one seeking to work with them obtaining a Police Certificate of Good Conduct. This costs Ksh.1,000/- and is only given if your finger prints are not on Record as evidence of your involvement in any previous conviction. HOW might these people be helped in a State that has no Welfare Benefits, a huge Unemployment Problem, and a failing Economy? Indeed the situation is so acute that, as was seen in 2007 during the Unrest, many were willing to 'murder their own grandmothers for a shilling'! REAL hunger can push people to the limit and over.

In June 2009 a Revolving Fund was begun. It was implemented through discussion between myself and the District Probation Department with whom I have worked and assisted since coming to Eldoret in the early '70s. So far about Ksh.70,000/- has been put into the Fund.

The idea is that small amounts up to a maximum of 10,00-, can be loaned interest free to any young or old first offenders on Probation or having served a Prison Sentence who may wish to set up a small business. Funds so loaned are used to buy equipment or stock to assist in setting up such business, and agreed to be paid back by monthly installment within a fixed period of time.. funds thus repaid will be given out again in further loans.

SO FAR we have seen some FOURTEEN assisted in this way. They have managed to see their efforts rewarded and their business enterprise succeed and many have already repaid their loan in full. Thus we can see that this fund proving money so invested is well spent. Not only does it inspire and encourage those in need individually, but it also is contributing to the reduction of crime in our society. We are pursuing this and hope to encouraged more to put some money into it so that many more can be lifted out of poverty and temptation to rob and steal.

The general JOY and SURPRISED happiness this adventure has caused in quite amazing. It is seen how a VERY LITTLE aid can achieve so much when there is a willing heart and a will to work hard. We are the FIRST to augment such a Scheme in this area of society. We may also be the first partnership between government and the private sector that has seen productivity toward the general good.

The UG CHILDREN'S SERVICES FORUM discussed the Tax Problem facing Joshua and Miriam Mbithi's ministry and how it will probably affect the rest of us. Considerable concern was demonstrated. Joshua and Miriam are STILL being pressed to pay Ksh.11 million in back taxes on donated income for the last TWO years only! Legal advice is now being sought, and we are believing that there will be a solution forthcoming.

YESTERDAY we had the Public Health Inspectors in to check us out. Part of the requirement for Re-Registration of the Society. They were very impressed and gave us a clean bill of health. Thus our Application is now complete, and will be sent off to Nairobi next week. A costly enterprise, but glad it has now come to an end - just wait for the result in patience!

TOMORROW I shall be speaking at our Sunday Fellowship, and DARYL will be Leading the Meeting. He continues to be seen clinging to the Cross once more, and we continue to pray for him that the Holy Spirit will provide him with all he needs to overcome himself and the Enemy. JESUS is all the Strength we need. A broken heart and humble spirit is all HE needs to impart that Strength mightily within us.

We are continuing to study the Letter of Jude together, and have gone on looking into the need to STRUGGLE to hand on to our Faith - our Salvation. Jude progressively reveals himself as a man sold out to the SIMPLE GOSPEL and the all important need to WITNESS to it and about it.

So many in our world are of a different ilk. If we have faith it is often without any witness - without any ACTION to demonstrate it. Jesus was always a 'demonstrator' - speaking and DOING the words and actions of GOD alone. He did nothing of Himself. Much harder now in this present degenerate generation of self centred souls. We are now almost overwhelmed by our necessary comforts - or at least in the pursuit of obtaining them.

This generations is in fact reminiscent of Haggai's. in which the people's thought was far from caring for the Temple of God, so taken up with their own homes and affairs were they. Haggai 1v2-10. The world-wide recession, and the current awful constrictions coming upon The United Kingdom and other nations must surely be the result of national neglect of God worldwide. Where are the Men and Women of God standing up to call the Nation to Repentance? Are they afraid to speak - to go against the tide - to be a Mighty Minority for God? Are they without the heart of God, caring not the Lord was Crucified, caring not for those He died? Where are the Voices proclaiming the Message, the GOOD NEWS that Satan would cover up, make souls blind and deaf to? There is a need to SOUND THE ALARM, a need to ROUSE up the sleeping church of God, to RALLY ROUND the Banner. Lets get ready and GO for it. This is the character of JUDE. He says if you don't have this spirit burning in you it is possible you are not doing the Will of God, and even though you have the 'label' and the 'name' you may not be SAVED in that Great and Terrible Day. You may be living in empty life - you might be a Cloud without water! Ah! Woe is me if I am deceiving myself. OPEN my eyes, UNSTOP my ears Lord God, in Jesus name, for I would do YOUR Will and not my own. Let me stop and examine mySELF - let me truly know and and reconfirm my belief that I AM Born Again into that NEW life that Jesus ever holds out to me and daily supplies to me. WAKE ME UP to renewed FAITH in the Good News, the ONLY news of Joy and Happiness that can motivate a difference in my life.

God Bless you all, and be uplifted and encouraged, for if God IS for you, WHO and WHAT can succeed against you.

Lovings in Jesus

John and Esther