“I WILL TRANSFORM HER VALLEY OF TROUBLES INTO A DOOR OF HOPE” HOSEA 2:15

Over this past year, we have seen how God has powerfully moved, opened doors, broken down barriers and provided the right people and funding to make our joint vision for Kasarani into a beautiful reality.  The words hope, progress, restoration and transformation clearly describe what is happening in this village!  

Just a few days ago over our midterm break, we had the opportunity to go and visit Kasarani and we are spilling over with excitement!  The construction of the ‘Door of Hope’ main feeding centre building is now completed and it is magnificent!  The hall is spacious with high ceilings and bright big windows.  There is room to seat over 200 children so there is lots of room for this feeding program to expand!    Once the walls are plastered and concrete floor is poured the place will be beautiful.  We also have plans to hang blackboards on two of the walls to be used for after school homework assistance or for training seminars.  We will also be hanging up four of the beautiful quilts made by the ladies quilting group back in Canada – the verses inscribed all over these quilts will be a constant reminder of God’s promises to these kids! 

We have also constructed a separate kitchen and storage rooms in the back with a serving window into the feeding centre hall. The kitchen is about triple the size of the tiny smoky space that they currently rent – it has several sky lights and big windows so it will be bright, cheerful and well ventilated.  We are having two fuel efficient brick stoves installed for cooking which should significantly reduce the amount of charcoal that is currently needed for the lunch program.  A local metal-smith in Kasarani has now installed eaves troughs and a water drainage system which will be connected to a 6000L water storage tank.  This water tank will be used to irrigate 2 large vegetable gardens within the feeding centre complex – these vegetables will include onions, spinach, tomatoes and kale.

They have now started construction of a row house with four rooms.   By mid-March we are planning that all the structures, flooring and plastering will be completed and then the windows and doors will be installed.  We are also working with a local boy named John who will design and construct a large fenced in chicken coop at the back of the feeding centre where we plan to house at least 50 ‘layer’ chickens – the sale of eggs will be a consistent source of income for the centre and the feeding centre kids will also benefit from the extra protein.   John will also be responsible for preparing the vegetable gardens, planting fruit trees around the perimeter as well as starting the ‘beautification’ process with flowers, shrubs and passion fruit vines.  

We have been told that several people in the village are starting to ask questions about these new buildings and wondering what it is for.  When they are told it is a place for feeding and training orphan children they are surprised that such a nice place would be built for these kids which are often rejected and seen as a burden.     Here comes the perfect opportunity to share that God clearly instructs us in the Bible to love and care for the orphans and that they are so special and important to Him. The other day, a friend of mine gave me a little stack of encouragement verses that she had written out for me.  One verse particularly jumped out at me from the book of Hosea 2:15.  It says  ‘ I will..transform her Valley of Troubles into a Door of Hope.’  Isn’t that a perfect verse for the Door of Hope feeding centre?  We just see how God is working within this community – full of troubles, depression and despair, and providing a beautiful sanctuary which will be a Door of Hope, empowerment and healing for all the precious children who enter.

Now for the acres!  Talk about a complete transformation!  Wow, it’s hard to believe that just two months ago, the place was like a barren, dusty desert.  After visiting before Christmas, we had left quite discouraged but we prayed hard, and recommitted the 3 acres to Him.   God was faithful because on December 23^rd, the rains finally came.  As a result of months of drought we ended up having to replant parts of the acres and we decided to test other types of drought resistant seeds including peanuts, Kikuyu beans, pumpkins and sorghum.  The only crop we didn’t replant were the potatoes – it was like the seedlings remained dormant in the dusty soil until the rains finally came.  I wish you could come and see with your own eyes how well the farm is doing.  It is a field of green – yes, these truly are the Acres of Hope!

The potatoes are amazing, they are green and flowering!  Potatoes will be a main crop now that we have seen their success.  If you are looking for a good movie to watch, we suggest the movie ‘Faith like Potatoes’ – an inspiring true story based out of South Africa – (we watched this movie just the day after our depressing visit to the acres back in December, and after watching, we were encouraged.)  We will be harvesting the potatoes in the next three weeks – some will be saved to be used in the feeding program and the rest will be sold so that there are funds available to buy seed for the next planting season.

In early January the maize was replanted (some plants survived but few) but it is really interesting because in the place where mulch was already in place, the maize is sturdy, bright green and strong and some plants already have tassels.  In the place where there was little or no mulch, it looks much thinner.  So right there on the farm is the perfect training example of the importance of using FGW methods.  Once again, seeing and comparing is believing!  Justice and Din have also planted close to 100 trees around the perimeter of the acres.  These include a variety of fruit trees.  They are using drip irrigation techniques using plastic bottles to keep the seedlings well watered.  On the weekends, Justice has been working with feeding centre kids to collect more mulch and spread it on the land in preparation for the next planting season.  More and more townsfolk are coming to the acres and excited to see the transformation – there is no other farm (without the use of irrigation) in the area which is comparable to this one! 

I have another verse from Hosea for the acres:  Hosea 6:3  ‘Let us acknowledge the Lord, let us press on to acknowledge Him.  As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.’

The whole purpose of Door of Hope feeding centre and acres is that the current orphan lunch feeding program continue and possibly even expand, but also providing these kids with a safe and nurturing environment whereby they can come after school or on weekends to participate in programs and training such as Farming God’s Way, bible classes, animal husbandry and other life skills.  We hope to draw from expertise in the community to come in and volunteer to teach or support these programs.   These next few years will be an interesting challenge, to see if the program can evolve into a profitable self-sustainable model. 

Door of Hope Youth Training Program:  We are currently working on developing a youth training program to start in January 2011 whereby older orphan youth (starting with 2 boys and 2 girls) are selected through an application process to come and work for the program for one year in exchange for a scholarship for further education.  They would live in the rooms within the feeding centre, and their room and board would be included.  These are to be orphan kids who have graduated from high school but have no further sponsorship for any higher education, or in some circumstances, kids who’ve graduated from Grade 8 who cannot go to high school, again for financial reasons. 

The whole idea behind this youth initiative is to encourage, train and empower.  Orphan youth who do not have the means for further education are just left behind.  They are often marginalized, devalued and rejected while others are able to move on and succeed.  The sobering reality is that this lack of self-worth often leads these kids into a downward spiral effect which just feeds into the ongoing cycle of desperation and poverty. With boys, if they cannot find work, they often become idle with no sense of purpose. This can lead to self destructive addictive behaviors or entering into gangs for a sense of acceptance and self-worth.  Girls often become servants or ‘house-girls’ for wealthier families which commonly leads to mistreatment and abuse.  They are also at higher risk for pregnancy and contracting HIV.  We hope that by offering this program, these high-risk kids can be offered hope and a future.  By working hard, receiving mentorship and Biblical training, and being given opportunities to lead, strategize and problem solve, we trust that they will rise up and make change for themselves and their community.  

This one year program will be rigorous and have a strong emphasis on biblical training and discipleship, leadership training and also learning practical life skills.  These youth will be trained to brainstorm, think out of the box and implement outreach initiatives within the community – such as clean up, tree planting, youth seminars, vacation bible school programs and even sports outreach.

The girls would be responsible for tending to the small scale chicken business as well as food preparation for the daily feeding centre lunch program.  They would also get training in leading Sunday school and facilitating structured after school programs for the younger feeding centre kids.  The boys would be responsible for maintaining the acres and learning about Farming God’s Way, managing a tree nursery and tree planting program in the community.  The girls would also learn the FGW techniques and use them at the feeding centre in the gardens there. 

After one year, if the youth met the program requirements, they would be given sponsorship to an apprenticeship program or a local polytechnic program depending on their interest.  If high school was needed, they would be sponsored to go to the local high school in the community as a day student.  We would like to set up a program whereby these kids would be sponsored through both local and foreign donors. 

Now we are focusing on strategizing and setting the right leadership and accountability structures in place.  Pastor Charles and his wife Beatrice will be involved in directing the overall vision and management of the centre and programs but we are also looking for another couple to live in the feeding centre to lead the project including the youth training program.  They will also need to have farming skills, understanding and interest in youth development and the goal of self-sustainability, business skills and lots of ideas and creativity.  Realistically, this needs to be a paid position – and we fully endorse the idea of funding a Kenyan couple to fill this position as opposed to a foreigner stepping in.  So far we are speaking with two individuals who we know and trust and we are also praying that God will guide us and grant us the discernment to make the right decisions for this project to move forward.  This is all a work in progress and we really value your ongoing prayers.

Dorm Life – We continue to be busy with dorm life and our roles here at RVA.  This past term our school was hit hard with the H1N1 virus and half of our dorm boys ended up in the infirmary!  I was also hit hard and it took me a good three weeks to recover to the point where I could function normally.  Last weekend was the midterm break for second term and now the boys have returned and we continue on for another five weeks until our next long break in April. We are currently planning with the boys their dorm party and we have come up with an idea to have an Ethiopian meal here at the dorm, followed by some outdoor games and a movie.  Most of our guys are involved in basketball this term and every free opportunity they have, they are down on the courts practicing.  Andrew and I enjoy being spectators at their practices and cheering them on – we are still waiting for their first tournament.  I continue to enjoy making weekly dorm treats, birthday cakes and birthday breakfasts.  We also invite two boys per week to come and join us for dinner on Monday nights – this is a great opportunity to spend more one on one time with each of them and catch the ‘real scoop’ of what is going on!  Andrew continues to work on IT related issues in the business office and also recently spent three weeks teaching drivers ed!  I enjoy teaching preschool and leading a bible study here at RVA for the ladies who work in missionary houses.  We are so thankful for Din who is our Kasarani project manager – he meets with us once a week and travels back and forth to Kasarani – managing all the aspects of constructing and completing the feeding centre – he has certainly been a God-send and we are so appreciative of his hard work!

In January we celebrated Hannah’s 7^th birthday which was a knight and princess theme.  All the kids in Grade 2 (10 of them), came dressed up for the festivities.  We had a carnival with different stations where kids could earn candy prizes.  The favorite game was a big scavenger hunt outside in our maize patch!  Beatrice stays occupied with daily ‘play-dates’ with her little friends here at RVA – they spend a great deal of time outside playing in the mud and picking leaves and flowers to make salads!  She also attends preschool here at RVA which I help teach. She will be very happy to go to full-time kindergarten when we return home!  Both girls attend a ballet class once a week with a dance instructor who drives in from Nairobi to teach.  They are busily preparing for their big performance of the Nutcracker!  We have just received good news that when we return to Canada in the fall, that both girls have been accepted to go back to John Knox Christian school. 

Our Future: At this point we have investigated further opportunities for future missionary service here in Kenya, but so far there are no current openings that we feel match up to our skills, needs and interest.  We also realize that we want to be back home – close to friends and family (especially as my dad’s health continues to rapidly decline). We are really excited by Farming God’s Way and the importance of transformational development – especially as we have seen and had direct involvement in what is going on in Kasarani.  We believe God will use what He has started in our lives for whatever His plan is for our future.  As the Door of Hope program evolves and moves forward, we will continue to support and encourage the leadership and initiatives from afar.  We can actually see that it will be a positive thing for our physical presence to diminish so that the local community can rise up and work together to make this a continued success.   We believe that God will use what is happening in Kasarani for bigger purposes that we cannot yet see.  Once we return home we will remain very much committed and involved with this community and hope to come back and visit as we can afford to do so. 

We continue to pray and trust that God will open the right doors for our further service in His time –either in Kenya or elsewhere.  As we reflect on what we have learned and on what God has done these past 18 months, we are amazed and so thankful that we have had this opportunity to serve Him and see Him move in such powerful ways – we wouldn’t trade these experiences or time for anything.  But for now we’re far from being finished both at RVA and with the ministry in Kasarani – we are here until the end of July.   We really value your ongoing support and prayers.

In His Service and for His Glory,

Andrew, Sue, Hannah and Beatrice Faber