Hey All,

I posted some photos from my trip at this link. I'll publish more info

shortly. Keep these folks in your prayers please.

God bless,

Bob

http://picasaweb.google.com/BobHillebrand/BobSTripToKenyaV?feat=directlink

　

Thank you for your prayers.  I am home safe and without trouble.  I feel very good about how everything turned out.  I tried to be faithful to the fact that God had all the work to do and I just needed to be faithful and available. 

I will write more soon but some key highlights of the trip are: Encouraged the Pastors and caretakers, Established an operating plan for the home and closed open issues with the original donor family, Completed the solar power installation, fixed the swings and installed ventilation in the kitchen, Completed a basic amateur dental and eye exam on all the kids. Shared a message with 3 different churches at Sunday services, shared a message with 400 kids at a primary school, and completed the grain storage building and bought a years supply of beans.  Best of all I feel at peace where we left off and know all is more encouraged.

Join us in prayer for God to bring us the children He wants in our home to fill the 17 vacancies we have in His time and for praise for a great trip.

God bless you,

After today I will leave the orphanage and travel on to Kimilili andWebuye visiting Samuel, Jonathan, and Alex's homes and families.  Sunday I will share a message at Jonathan's church, a large one in Webuye of about 500 memebers.  Monday afternoon we travel to Eldoret where I fly out.  It seems I just got here.

The last few days have been very productive and rewarding.  On Wed.  I spoke at the Sarura Primary School to about 500 kids.  I talked about focusing their lives on loving God by reflecting onto others the love God has shown and continually shows us.  I explained that this is why God created us and any other effort we do for other reasons, even if it is fun at the moment will not bring us joy in the long run.  Trying to bridge the cultural, social, and age gap, I used an analogy of a Lion working on a farm.  God did not make him to work on a farm so doing so will make him and everyone else around him miserable (especially the other animals).  The Lion honors God by being a Lion.  The Farmer honors God by being a Farmer if God created him to be one.  There is no opportunity for greater joy than to find yourself in the purpose God created you for and doing what God has a will for you to do.  I feel that in my life, especially at the moment.  I asked how many had already given their lives to Jesus and most raised their hands.  It was a very cool experience for me.

Yesterday I finished the two main projects, Expanded Solar Power and the Kitchen Ventilation.  The Solar project was kicking my butt in that I hit a different roadblock every day that prevented my progress.  A trip to town for what I lacked or what broke usually got me going until the next road block.  The last one was my cordless drill charger quit working.  I couldn't debug it because my voltmeter battery was dead.  I couldn't change the battery because the tool I needed "left".  After solving these and using all my 28 year old schooling on electronics, I needed to call my electrical guys for help but the phone network was down for 24 hours.  Not willing to be beat, I devised a 3rd world battery charger using a solar cell, block of wood, and 2 nails.  This was exactly what the instruction manual strongly warned against, citing explosion, lethal lithium gasses, and general havok.  I was successful and completed the panel mounts and installation.  The solar panel system worked so well and charged the 100 amphour extra battery I bought so fast that I went to town and got a 3rd battery.  They will now have very reliable, extensive, and free energy here now.  The drill also allowed me to construct and mount a smoke hood above the cookers and get the smoke out of the kitchen.

We also finished fitting the swings with new ropes to replace the steel chains that the kids just flat wore out.  I'll bet the swings did not quit moving since we installed them in January.  They sure were happy when we got them going again and the seats have not been empty.  We have also accumulated nearly a years supply of beans and stored them in the new store building we completed.  We purchased some new shirts and with the shirts I brought (Michigan, Go Blue) all the kids had a new play shirt.  Today is a fun day with the kids and I need to get some quality time to tide me over until the next visit.

Last night I met with members of the Mudenyo family and had a great meeting.  They pledged complete support of what we are doing here and expressed how thankful they are that the God praising vision their father had in giving the land to the orphanage is being used in such a loving way.  I feel the way is clear for us to faithfully work according to how God has called us.  I feel that we communicated completely, are focusing on the future and raising loving humans, and we have great support from the family.

At this point I have the pleasure of feeling that I have accomplished everything I set out to do and have seen God work good out of our perseverance.  I feel that God put me here at the right time and that we have been blessed with improved morale and direction.  I plan to enjoy the day and praise God heartily because we are all blessed.

I had a nice weekend staying with Pastor Moses and his family.  His home site is one of the prettiest places I have seen in Kenya.  He has nearly a 360 degree view from his hilltop of layers of mountains, green valleys, and hilly tree lined farms.  The sunrise and sunsets are spectacular and the quiet he enjoys is incredible.  During my quiet time this morning watching the sunrise, I noticed for a 1/2 hour that I could not hear a single sign of humanity.  It reminded me how immersed we all are in society and civilization and have to carve out some time for God.

Moses invited me to give a message on Sunday at his church, Sarura Bible Church.  Worship lasted over 3 hours for the 30 adults and 20 kids in attendance, a full house in the little traditionally constructed Kenyan church.  My message about how God loves us and how we can show our love back in response was inspiring to me to prepare at least and was warmly received based on feedback and 8 people responding to the invitation for special prayer at the alter.  Listening, committing, giving, serving, and praising is some good ways to respond to God and reflect His love to others.  I have to give ample credit to Rick Warren.  A love offering of a bag of beans was collected for the orphanage.  What an honor it is to let the Holy Spirit speak through me.

This morning I visited the Sarura Primary School a public government school of 540 students where Moses is a teacher.  I enjoyed the tour and was surrounded by 200 students asking questions.  The Head Teacher asked me to return on Wednesday to speak to all the students.  Imagine this, he wanted me to speak about focusing ones life on God and His purpose for us versus indulging in earthly desires.  Yes, this is a government public school.  God is still in Kenyan schools and in daily life.  People are not ashamed to proclaim Jesus Christ.  I look forward to speaking, what an incredible opportunity.

I also visited the government public school where all our orphans attend, The Kitale Ndugu Primary School.  This school was much poorer and has many challenges for their 660 students.  For example, their pit latrine is full and their is no other, no option to empty it, and no funds to build another.  The buildings were in poor repair and most classrooms had no windows and holes in the walls big enough for me to climb through.  The teachers are paid and supplies are available at least and they were focused on preparing students.  We got to encourage the staff and bless them with our prayers.

The projects will be completed during the next few days.  I also have another orphanage I would like to visit.  The children will be out of school starting Wednesday.  I look forward to playing with them.

Blessings,

After a crazy trip out to the country in the dark driving a challenging vehicle with no lights (but a blessing no less), I am happy to be at the home of my Rafiki (friend) Pastor Moses, the Director of our orphanage, wife Elka, and 10 children.  Through the miracle of laptop and cellular modem, solar panel and 12v lights, I can blog.  I will have the pleasure of sharing a message in Moses' church, Sarura Bible Church, in Sarura Village, about 15 miles out of Kitale in the morning.  The message I plan to share is related to the overall feeling I have being here ... God loves me and I can't show it enough to God how much I love Him.  Some of the ways though are listening, obeying, giving and serving, and best of all just enjoying His creation of our world and relationships.

Pastor Moses writes here...while being quietly watched by some of his kids, Hannah, Deborah, and Gester.....
I thank God for His Mighty Love and His Mighty Deeds.God loved us even when we did not know Love.For Bro. Bob to visit and do what GOD has given him-- thus the work of God Here in Kenya - it's a sign of God's Love.May GOD bless the people that are in His Service.

The projects are moving along, I have all my supplies now, the kids are great.  They are a great joy and ready reminder of why I am here .... they are the twinkle of God's eye.

Thank you all for your continued prayers.

I arrived in Kitale on Wed. after a trip of no problems (Hakuna Matata).  I am well and all is well here.  I feel like coming to my 2nd home.  This is winter here.  Only reaches 80F during the day and 60F at night.  Everyone wears hats and coats.  I of course think it is great.  Everything is green and the maize, which is everywhere is 8' tall.

We have been hard at work regarding the challenges we have been seeing and have met with all parties to resolve.  It is too much to go into but in summary, all truth has been brought to light and we have prayed for God's peace and will.  15 kids have been removed from our orphanage and moved to a new one built by some Godly men from Australia who have been working with the Pastors that are guardians of the children.  They will be well cared for.  The building and organization is impressive.  This is very hard on all of us but we remain focused on our mission to love the remaining children, plan for adding more, and praising and honoring God for the opportunity we had to love and care the the ones who have moved to the new home.

We have reviewed the property here and a lot of work has been done since our last trip in Jan.  The crops are doing well and we have the new store building nearly ready to store all the grain we will harvest plus a years supply of beans we are purchasing at the current low harvest prices.  The main project is the solar panel expansion.  We purchased 2 panels at 110 watts each plus another battery, controls, and inverter.  This will add over 350% to the current power capacity.  I will be installing them over the next few days.

I am enjoying the kids.  Most of the 23 left here are under 8 years old (the sweetest ones).  We are enjoying your prayers and I look forward to reporting more.

Mungu Akubariki Sana (God Bless you very much)

Hello All,
I wanted to pass on one last update before I leave today.  I am returning to Kenya today till 11 August.
This is a short notice trip necessitated by spiritual struggles aimed at the
orphanage and ministry in Kitale.  Going there is the quickest way to move
forward and continue our mission of supporting the kids at The Lord's
Servants Home to grow up as productive loving people.  I will travel alone
this time and have a full agenda of issues that we will be addressing to
insure the stability, prosperity, and safety of the children long term.  The main urgency for
this trip is to sort out some external problems affecting the home but also
to take any opportunities and new relationships that God is presenting for
His glory and will.

I know you are praying for me and I am encouraged.  I was reminded that the
Holy Spirit has all the work to do, not me, and like every trip, my only job
is to be faithful, funnel God's love in a practical way toward His children,
and to grow more Christlike in my own character.  Takes a lot of pressure
off and I can just enjoy working for Jesus and serving faithfully.   I'm
excited about what can happen, it will be what God wants to happen, and I
know that I will be praising Him for it.  God has been pouring His love out
on me and I get to help pour it out in Kitale.

After God handles the spiritual battles, because He has provided, there are
several things that I know I will be doing such as:  Installing more solar
power panels and batteries, building a solar water heater, building a solar
oven, upgrading the swings, doing basic eye exams, doing basic dental checks
and training (maybe even an extraction :), delivering a lot of evangelism
materials, delivering a message in churches on Sundays, and most of all just
reflecting the love God shines on me (especially on the kids).  I am excited
also about doing the things that I don't know about yet and experiencing the
lessons God knows I need.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.
God bless you,
Bob

    I have spent the last week retelling stories of our adventures and I reflected on what was the moment that defined this trip for me.  On our last day, the kids sang for us and recited poetry, we prayed with them over the new playground, and we gave the kids over 12 years old, their own Bible.   That was touching enough as we explained that our Sunday School class back in America is reaching out to them with God's word, but we also gave them a children's story bible that they were to read to the little children.  As I explained that this is what God wants of all of us (The Great Commission), to share the word, their faces lit up and I could tell that they really got it.  I could feel the Holy Spirit present and I felt like we just commissioned new workers for Christ.  Forrest and I are still thrilled by that moment.  Less than 3 years ago, these children were just surviving.  This trip, I felt I was meeting my children who are happy, thriving, and growing not only physically but spiritually.  Most importantly, beyond daily needs, they are being shown how to love and serve.
    Another moment was when I was delivering a message to 400 people on Sunday service at the New Hope Center Church in Webuye.  As it often happens when you do something for others, God uses it to touch you.  My message was of Hope of a better world by the Change in our hearts caused by God's Love, showing up as acts of Love through our Service.  In research I saw how Jesus was all love and service and I became so encouraged in the truth of that.  During my message, I went into the congregation and washed the feet of a man, explaining that Jesus did this beautiful thing to show us how to be servants and to love.  I choked myself up.  I used the only clean T shirt I had and when I returned to the pulpit, I realized that the shirt was from a group at church and on it was written, "Love In Action".  I did not plan that.
   I have always known God to do much more for me when I am on mission with Him than I do for others.  God is good .... all the time.

Forrest and I arrived home safely last night just in time for the Super Bowl.  We had a trip so engrossing that I realized during the trip home that it was Super Bowl Sunday and I had no idea who was even in it.  We were blessed with good travels, weather, and health.

I will put a summary together but in general we completed everything we started such as the Soccer Field, Solar Power System, and Playground as well as a number of smaller projects and improvements.  We have a method for better communication and we had two weeks of quality time with all the kids.  On Saturday, our last day, we played with the kids, prayed with them, and gave the older children Bibles.  They sang to us, recited some poetry they wrote, and gave me a group hug I won't forget.

Our last sight was of 40 kids swinging, see-sawing, and climbing on the playground equipment we built.  The kids made me remember all during the trip what the point of all this was about.  Sharing God's love and serving as a means to honor God for the Grace He showed us.  Still, I took more from the trip than I gave.  There is great Joy in knowing our role as a child of God.

We have a lot more to do as we prepare for these children to grow and develop into loving productive adults.  More time to discuss that later.  A detailed update will follow.

Thank you all for your prayers.

We are doing great but a bit tired from the altitude (7000 ft +) and very hot sun.  We have one more day here and it will be a busy one to wrap up all our projects and initiatives.  Today we moved ahead.  The solar power installation is complete and we are enjoying electric lights and ability to charge phones and cameras and compuer.  We got on the internet tonight for the first time in a few days and Skyped our families, what a treat.   All the kids got haircuts today with an electric trimmer by the older kids.  The playground is well used and only the swings remain to be completed.  We are having to fabricate simple things like u-clamps and eye-bolts because they are not available.  We will be breaking ground hopefully on the grain and tool storage building which will open up needed space in the dorm for the kids.  Shadrack, a new child arrived yesterday which is number 40.  He is a shy and scared 6 year old but what a cute guy. 

We visited the He Is Academy yesterday and have begun the work on the floor and plastering the walls.  The 140 kids there are doing great and are much happier with desks and a building getting finished versus last year.  The work will be completed by this weekend.

We struggle a bit with the pace of things here in Africa but we have much to feel blessed about.  Things moving slow causing us to wait is a good time to just enjoy the beauty of the area and the people.  I really love it here.  I have been complimented that I drive like a real African now.  I have even eaten termites like the African children, this is termite eating season after all.

Thank you all for praying for Forrest and me.  I look forward to sharing more upon our return.
Bwana Asifiwe (Praise God)
Bob

This is my first good opportunity to write.  We have been very blessed by good travel, being healthy, sleeping well, and enjoying the children and fellowship of the Pastors and Caretakers.  Kenya has a nationwide teacher strike which started the day we arrived so the kids are with us, 39 of them all trying to help with the hammering and sawing.  I am writing on the laptop we brought using a cellular internet connection in an office at the orphanage lit by electric lights powered by a battery and solar power system.  All improvements that we implemented.  The children all cheered when we first turned on the lights a few days ago and it was the first electric lights many of them have seen in their lives.  We finished building a soccer field with goals made from eucalyptus trees and are making progress on the swings, jungle gym, and see saws.  We are having difficulty obtaining common hardware like eye-bolts and tools like drills and good hand saws.  The wood is hard as a rock.  We have dug the existing well 7 feet deeper and hit clean water and implemented a sand bio-filter to make clean drinking water.  We are working on several other improvements.  We each gave a message at a church of about 400 people on Sunday and it was a Holy Spirit moment about Hope, Love, Purpose and Service.  Church service lasts about 4 hours here and has several speakers.  Forrest is getting over his culture shock and has enjoyed it from the first.  I am thanking God for the technology that allows me to communicate.  My Father is in a hospital recovering from surgery and I have been able to speak with him by phone and Skype and pray with him and Mom.  Keep my Dad and us in your prayers as we give each day to the Lord here.
Mungu Akubariki
Bob

We are on our way.  Keep us in your prayers and look for our blogs from Kenya hopefully.
God Bless

     We have 7 days before leaving to Kenya.  I am still accumulating supplies and equipment.  The NWA website says we can check 2 bags each at 50 pounds per bag.  I knew that but was wondering about the overweight and 3rd bag charge, I'll be trying to avoid that.
     We will be bringing 2 sets of laptop computers and solar charging systems to the two Pastors that manage the Lord's Servants Home, Moses and Samuel.  The goal being to improve communications with me and professionalize the home.  I am excited about the improvements to planning and Child development as well as opening a window to the world for the children and workers.  I said all this to say that if all goes well, Forrest and I will be able to post blog entries from Kenya.
     Forrest and I covet your prayers for us not only while we are in Kenya but during this time of preparation.  I always describe this time as when we are vulnerable to attacks from the enemy because we are planning to step out in faith and work with God, something the enemy would want to stop.  Personally I feel right now that if this was a spiritual football game, I have just been sacked 3 times in a row, it is 4th and 40, and I have no punter.  The good news is the fans are real faithful and the Coach wants me to go for it.  It has been a rough week.  I believe that anyone going on mission trips is likely to be attacked with doubts, spiritual problems, and even health and family issues.  This is why people preparing for trips need your prayers.
   I hope to speak again from Kenya.

        I worked with CUP Ministries to deliver 10 meals to needy homes a few days before Thanksgiving.  This turned out to be pretty difficult since the homes were spread all over the city and many did not have phones so we could know when they would be home.  Paul B. and Rick W., guys who work with me delivered a meal each on their way home and over the next 3 days I delivered 6 more.  All the recipients were thankful and a few let me have a short visit with them and even pray for them. 

        The last one I delivered was to a lady named Melissa who was very nice and was in a rented house with her daughter.  She invited me in because she could not carry the box since she was recovering from a car accident a few months earlier.  We chatted about family and how big a dinner she was going to have then I noticed a tapestry on the wall with Jesus on it.  I asked Melissa if she was a Christian and she said “yes but not really”.   She was in a mood to talk and we sat down and discussed what it means to be a Christian and how to trust your life to Jesus and then we prayed to receive Christ.  We talked more about what God wants from us and what Thanksgiving means.  She has had a rough time of it and was on the streets not 3 months ago but was counting her blessings.  It was a real blessing to me.  I passed her name onto David Godwin so he can have a minister call on her.

        This left me with 2 meals that we could not deliver because no one was home.  I drove to CUP on Wednesday morning and it was closed.  I called David to ask him what I should do with the meals.  He said to find poor families and I said that I don’t know any but let’s ask God to bring us some.  While still on the phone a woman drove up and needed one meal, then another drove up and needed everything except the turkey, stuffing, and pie, then an elderly couple drove up who said they had been all over the city but nobody was giving out food.  I asked them if the turkey, stuffing, and pie would bless them and they were excited.  We were answers to each others prayers.  All this took about 10 minutes.  There is nothing cooler than being where God can use you.