Adult Literacy

Early February found us in the bush preparing to start new adult literacy classes. The ladies in the first pictures are from Iyarat. They are so excited to have the opportunity to read.

The men you see, hoped to join the class with the ladies in this village, but we told them we would have to start another class for the men in the future. We have tried, but other than these few men, we couldn't get enough together to start a class. Hopefully, the future will find us there teaching the local men also.

This is our lovely teacher. She is young, but seems very dedicated to helping these "mamas" learn.

The next week, we started two classes in a community further down the road in a place called Saikere. We began two classes there -- one for 10 men and one for 10 women. They are so excited. I brought numerous reading glasses to Kenya last fall. This is one of our male students so excited because he can see well again. What a blessing!

Helping these precious people learn to read and do simple math is a joy. So many of you have helped make this possible. We buy the materials and they pay about twenty-five cents per class time to come and learn. That twenty-five cents per student per day goes to pay the teachers. The cost of training materials for 10 students is only $200. If you want to sponsor a village, please contact me at rabquilt@yahoo.com and I'll give you the information you need to help us make a difference...one life at a time.

Health Camp and Community Fair

On December 10, 2009 we had our First Annual Starfish Charities Community Fair. It was a day filled with fun, fellowship, and the very serious business of a health camp. Along with some very willing Kenyan institutions, we provided free general medical check-ups and treatments, HIV/AIDS testing and counselling, free eye exams and treatment and free immunizations. Below are some local politicians checking out the health tent.

The individuals in the yellow caps and T-shirts are our wonderful volunteers. Without them, we couldn't have had the success that we had.

The Maasai women from surrounding communities brought their beautiful beadwork to display and sell.

A very exciting part of the day included the fun and games. Below you will see the women competing in a rungu throwing contest. The "rungu" is a Maasai club made from the root of a certain bush. It is typically used by the men and boys as they herd their animals into the bush. Along with their spears and knives, it provides protection from wild animals.

The women were very impressive with their throwing -- especially since its not something they use in their daily lives. But the men -- already accustomed to throwing the club -- threw them distances that were astonishing.

Even the smallest children were able to participate in games. We lined them up and encouraged them to kick the soccer ball into the goal. I don't think any of them actually kicked that far, but it was great fun and their sweet smiles attest to the fact that they enjoyed themselves.

They also received a prize of candy just for participating. Who could resist?

The highlight of the games for me was the women's tug-of-war. Man, I have never seen a group of women so determined to beat another group of women. What fun!

We ended the day with a soccer (football) game played between two rival local teams who had participated in a tournament earlier in the week. Kenyan's love their football and it brought smiles and cheers from everyone.

All in all, the event was a huge success. There were approximately 300 adults and numerous children under 10 who attended. We are in the throes of planning and organizing this year's event scheduled to take place August 27 and 28th. We are adding more booths, fun and games, and additional medical facilities this year

On December 10, 2009 my ministry, Starfish Charities, had the privilege of hosting the Starfish Charities Annual Community Fair on our property. I will do another blog entry with additional details of that day, but for this blog, I want to tell you about three very brave women whose lives have been touched.

Lion's Sightfirst Hospital in Nairobi, participated in our event by bringing a team to do eye exams, treatment, and evaluation for cataracts. It was determined that these three had cataracts and that very day, Lion's transported them to their hospital in Nairobi and scheduled them for surgery the following morning. It was possibly the first time they had ever been in a hospital, much less for surgery.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and found them smiling and full of joy and praise for the wonderful thing that had been done for them. Pictured below (left to right) is Nepapa, me, Esther, and Lokuso.
Lion's paid 100% of all the expenses for these three women -- their surgery, after care, meals and medicine. They are a wonderful organization and we have had such a positive experience working with them.

On Sunday morning, I sent James Weche with my car to pick them up and take them to their homes. Esther only had a cataract in one eye, so after she heals, she will be finished. She was so excited about getting home and seeing her family again.

Nepapa and Lokuso had cataracts in both eyes, so they will require an additonal surgery in January. Each of these ladies' families were so anxious to see their "mamas" again. Can you imagine after the bandages come off and they can see clearly again how exciting their lives will be! Thank you Lion's for making a difference!

Isn't she beautiful?!

On November 21, we graduated our second women's literacy class. We started with 10 students but only 8 were able to complete the studies. Some want even more!

We had such fun honoring these 8 women. Pictured below is the outdoor kitchen where some ladies from the community came to cook lunch for us.

Our wonderful, dedicated teacher, Lillian tested the students so she could rank them according to their comprehension and achievement. Pictured below is a portion of the test she gave them. I know it seems very basic and in fact, it is. But to these precious women being able to write their alphabet is a huge step.

We began the ceremony with a word of prayer and then the students, led by their teacher Lillian, filed in singing a song about God's goodness and faithfulness.

As they settled into their places, they continued singing and praising God.

Even the children participated in the celebration. It is such a joy to see their enthusiasm.

These are some proud mamas enjoying being the center of attention for the day. They should be! One of them shared that a benefit of learning to read was being able to find a person's name on their cell phones. Yes, many of them have phones, but since they couldn't read, they would have to hand their phones over to someone else to find a number so they could talk. It is one aspect of literacy I never even considered. We truly do take so much for granted.

This baby was in class throughout every session. This young mother is in her early 20's and was our youngest student.

Pictured here is our oldest student who is somewhere in her 80's. Her eyesight isn't good so we gave her some very strong reading glasses. She was so thrilled with the improvement and became even more determined to learn to read. What a blessing.

After the speeches, handing out of certificates, and honoring each and every student, we had to celebrate with a beautiful -- as well as delicious -- cake.

Our proud students with their certificates!

Again and again, I am reminded of the the joy this work brings to my life. Thank you for helping me make a difference.

Global Outreach International in Tueplo, Mississippi is my mission organization and I am so excited to be part of their team. They are supportive, caring, loving, and encouraging. And unlike many mission organizations, they give each missionary 100% of the donations received. They are an amazing group of people.

They celebrated their 40th anniversary in early November of this year. I had the privilege of being in attendance and participating in their annual conference.

Included in the conference this year was a special exhibition for the school children of the greater Tupelo area. This exhibit was an interactive trip through east Africa featuring Kenya and Uganda. Pictured below is me in my Maasai garb and my very capable helpers, Anna and Will, a brother and sister from Tupelo.

As groups of school children came through the exhibit all day on Wednesday and Thursday, we told the Maasai story over and over, which included the lifestyle, dress, and a few customs. It was an excellent opportunity to expose my ministry to numerous people.

A very talented team of individuals created a mock village with their beautiful artwork. It was very effectively presented and I count it such a privilege to have been invited to participate.

I'm not sure how many students from public, private and home schools toured the exhibit, but some estimates were between 850 and 1,000.

What a wonderful opportunity to share my work and educate so many people about the Maasai culture. Thank you Global for a job well done!

My birthday is July 7th and every year my dear friend in Oklahoma sends me an email to Kenya asking me what she can do with or for me for my birthday. Its so wonderful to be remembered, but it is often difficult to think of a response to her question.

This year, I realized that I have missed 7 Fourth of July celebrations because I have always been in Kenya on American's Independence Day. So, I quickly wrote her back and told her I wanted to have an "I'm Proud to Be an American". She rallied numerous ladies in the Poteau, Oklahoma area and started planning. I was told they had so much fun just looking for red, white and blue items in September!

Below are four of the 8 or 9 male helpers who came to cook and just generally stay in the periphery while us ladies' just acted crazy. These men are all veterans and we honored them with blessings and thanksgiving for their service to our country.

In lieu of a birthday cake they made these yummy cupcakes and displayed them beautifully! They not only looked yummy -- they were yummy!

These three sisters really got into the spirit of the event with red, white and blue headgear. So precious! They even had on red, white, and blue socks! I just had to be seen with them for this picture.

A 4th of July party in October wouldn't be complete without the requisite hamburger and hotdog cookout -- complete with potato salad and all the other trimmings!

What party with friends is complete without Karaoke! We sang so many all American songs like "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" "American the Beautiful" and so many others. What fun we had because none of us were pros.

The evening started with The Star Spangled Banner and I cried my way through the entire song. The tears diminished after awhile, but I am such an American at heart and I loved every minute of it. What a wonderful memory!

The Blessing of William

There are times in our lives we encounter people who have a tremendous impact. For two years, I have watched William ride his bicycle up and down the country road near our property as he delivers groceries and other things to people in the community. It touched my heart to watch this old man trudging up that steep hill, but he always had a smile on his face as I honked and waved.

I was alarmed at the growth on his face. I asked Jeremiah to find out where William lived and ask about the growth. We learned that he lives very near our property and that the growth started about 16 years ago. God really touched my heart with compassion for this old Maasai man even though I had never spoken to him. So I asked Jeremiah to arrange to take him to a local charity hospital for evaluation to determine what needed to be done.
A few weeks ago we delivered him to the hospital for surgery to remove the growth. The surgery was a success! After four days in the hospital I took him home. His wife came running to the car with a tearful face praising the Lord for His blessings.

She told me that although they could never repay the cost of the surgery, I was guaranteed daily prayers for myself and my ministry as long as they live. I think that is an abundant payback. By the way, the cost of the surgery, doctor's visits, and medicines was a whopping $250!