Pastor Joe arrives safely in Kenya!

Jambo to family and friends in the U. S. from Pastor Joe,

Today is Tuesday October 9. Arrived in Nairobi last Wed. evening after a 31 hour flight (that includes layovers). Flying

internationally makes a big difference I think in how one is treated (Have not yelled at anyone yet!).

It's hard to find a place with internet but finally I have so here I am:

Stayed over night in a nice hotel and on Thursday evening I flew to Kisumu. Pastor Dennis Meeker met me and

put me up at his new home right on Lake Victoria with a million dollar view. He showed me all around the area

including  his new school (grades 1-6) where I taught the 4th through 6 graders about baptism on Friday.

What a treat this was. But we found at least half the class of 40 kids have not been baptized. Pastor Dennis will

speak to each parent about this for permission if possible. We even found a Lutheran who was not baptised! What's

up with that?

By the way, I have a new name. The kids in the class voted 40 to 0 that my name should from now on should be Pastor

Joseph and not Pastor Joe! What do you think?

On Saturday Pastor Dennis drove me to my mission area in Maseno about 30kil away. I arrived about 2pm at Maseno University

guest house where I will be staying for the next 3 weeks. It's the first time I stayed hear and I must say the accomodations are

great - not what I'm used to. I have my own full size bed, a toilet and shower (although primitive) instead of a trickling water

spicket and a 30 foot open "drop hole" for one to do you know what. Everyone is real nice, friendly and respectful to me. Went to a student

chapel service on Sunday morning. The first hour of the service was great but I started getting "worship fatigue" after the 3rd hour. The

services here are LONG! If St. Pauls' services were 3 hours long Pastor Jim would have a congregation of 1.

I met up with my beloved friend and laison where all funds are sent from the U.S. later that day. Her name is Florence and she is one

of the finest, moral and ethical ladies I've ever known. Without Florence nothing would ever get done around here with regards to

my kids and their families receiving help. This is the lady I am now teamed up with including Nancy Rowe from the U.S.

On Monday we took a trip after hiring a driver to a town 30kil away. I went to see the family I personally adopted and check on how

they were doing. My little family of 5 including grandma were OK but had some problems. First of all they had stopped receiving funds

from me since last December. This was because of the retirement of the people I first worked with. The money was accounted for

but unfortunately they were not getting it for almost a year. I have corrected the situation and there will be no more fund problems.

Secondly and very unfortunately my little Sara who is the eldest and 17years old has vanished from high school. Grandma has not

heard a word from her since June of this year. I spoke with many neighbors and found out that either she was forcibly taken to another

Province to work as a housekeeper or worse she was forcibly married and is now far away. I promised grandma, who is obviously very

distressed and concerned with her grandaughter's disappearance that Pastor Joseph will do everything possible to locate and bring Sara

back home. How I will do this I don't know! But I have been making good contacts.

On Tuesday (today) I will be visiting two families who each has received a goat from my funds. I hear they are doing well but I must see for

myself (follow the money trail). They were both extremely poor so I'm anxious to see how they are doing. Then I'll see the families who have

received cows.

That's enough from me because I'm probably boring you by now. Plus it has just started to rain heavily and that means the electric will go out.

You never know for how long it will be off.

One more thing. Somehow (and not very often) I missed dinner tonight.  So I think I'll take a walk into the jungle tonight and wrestle

with a lion for the carcass of a wildebeast.

Blessings to you all and please keep praying, not for me, but for my kids.

Love to all,

Pastor Joseph (Joe)

Cover the team in prayers as the get ready to go to Kenya!

This is Renee making sure I am able to effectively blog to keep us all updated on any news from our beloved travelers heading to Kenya to be "His Arms."  Please help cover the team in prayer!

Kenya time, almost here!

We packed last week-end in MI with each of us, given our last minute assignments to fill in all the "cracks" and pray it is 50 pounds or less. Yes, we do each have an extra 3rd bag they will charge us for, EACH!.  But we are praying that it is not super excess fees in Kenya which it can be. However, for all of your that donated money and said "get what you need most".  Well guess what you helped purchase today?  3000 Children's chewable vitamins that just might keep our kids with HIV alive and boost their immune systems! You purchased Children's tylenol as now the clinic is less then adequate, you purchased 200 band-aids, plus 2 containers of anti-bacterial ointment, plus other over the counter meds for our kids!  What a help that was.  What a blessing!!! Asante Sana!  THANK YOU SO MUCH. 

Will check in one more time before we leave.  We have a send off prayer on Sunday from Peace Lutheran, Baldwin WI. Please include all of our travelers in your prayers.  Pastor Joe from CA, Besan From Grand Rapids MI, Jeanne from Muskegon, MI and Nancy from Baldwin WI.  May the Lord bless our work, keep us and our fellow workers safe in Kenya, and may He take good care of our families back here in the USA.

Orphan Feed

This is Renee.  Mom (Nancy Rowe) called Dad (Dan Rowe) this afternoon about 2pm our time,
10pm Kenya time.   Had a great orphan feed...tomorrow they have gifts for the His Arm's students (party time).   All is well with the travelers/missionaries.   They even had a little critter in their quarters at bedtime.   It was a gecco, who seemed to know nothing about Geico car insurance!  

Church's helping Kenya Orphans

We have several churches who continue to faithfully help our His Arms Orphan Project.  Of course, Peace Lutheran in Baldwin, Wisconsin lets us work through their offices and with their blessings. They have supported us with financial gifts, donated items for our children that mission teams have carried, and of course, spiritually encouraged us,  by holding us up in prayer.  We also must thank St. James Lutheran Church, in Montague, Michigan who has also been a huge supporter now for several years.  They have even held special mission events just to help our ministry.  And now we welcome St. Paul Lutheran, San Diego, CA who have joined in the support of our ministry as well. Pastor Joe Atwater, from St Paul's will also be traveling with this October team leaving shortly for Maseno.

Also, we must take time to thank two schools who have made great efforts in donating to our ministry. Thomas Reed Elementary School in Shelby, MI has been a great supporter of our ministry and our children. As has Amery Elementary School in Amery, WI.  It is so exciting to see the children getting behind this program and wanting other children to be able to learn just like they are doing.  Great teachers have inspired these kids, and we say ASANTE SANA/THANK YOU!

Keep the team in your prayers.  They leave shortly.  They will make every attempt to blog while in Kenya, but one must understand that communication is not a "given" in the remote areas we travel into.  We will do our best.  Perhaps we will be able to at the least, convey a message via one of our family members and a brief telephone call.  We will let you know when we leave.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support of His Arms Orphan Program!

Kenya Orphans Donations made easy!

Hi All of the His Arms Kenya Orphan Project supporters!  We are so excited to report that we now have an even simpler way to donate to our projects. When you visit our website, www.hisarmskenya.org you will see a "donate now" button.  Here you can donate amounts to purchase any of our Ebenezer projects, support your His Arms orphan, make a special donation or any number of ways to help the projects.  It is simple. Secure. And hopefully will facilitate donations to become even easier to share.  If you have a Paypal account yourself, you may use your account to donate toward His Arms projects. Or if you prefer, you can simply use your credit card to make a secure donation. As you can see, it is done to be secure, but simple.  You will see your donation listed as "Peace Lutheran".  That is the organization we work thru in Baldwin, WI so we can legally be a 501c.  They in turn keep this account separate from their general funds, and merely transfer these funds to our His Arms Mission Project and monitor all so we are keeping everything legal, credible, and that your donation may be tax deductible. We appreciate their help in doing so.

So share our website, www.hisarmskenya.org with your friends. Rest assure, we are credible and ethical in our decision making. ZERO percent of these funds are kept in the USA for any administrative fees except for the small percentage Paypal requires of us, to keep this account open. 

May you be blessed for being such a blessing to our precious children in the great Maseno area of Western Kenya!  Mungu Awabarikie.  GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Kenya Orphans helped because of generous people

Today I keep thinking of the Bible verse from II Corinth. 1:3-4 "The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."  You see I recently received gifts from people here in various spots in the USA who wanted to reach out in their pain to help our orphans alleviate some of theirs. One is from a Dad who lost his teen-age daughter in a car accident. He now sponsors one of our little girls.  Another check came from an adult daughter who lost her father, but is reaching out in his name to help the kids in His Arms.  Then one check came today from a husband who recently lost his young wife to cancer leaving behind children still in the home.  He wanted the orphans to feel love, too, even in the midst of his sadness.

I only wish all of these donors could see the face of the precious children they are helping. They may even be saving these kids lives because now they can get nutritious food, safe water to drink and have HOPE!.  I wish they were the ones that will get the hugs from these appreciative kids when the team arrives in October!  These kids will be so excited.  So my prayer is that somehow I can convey to these donors what their generous gifts mean to these precious children, how much comfort and hope it brings to them, even as God is comforting these Americans going through sad times themselves.

Lord may you bless all of our compassionate donors who make His Arms Orphan Project in Maseno, Kenya a reality!! Thank them for helping to comfort so many others!