Two Types of Cars (By Breanne)

Every car tends to have its own personality, this personality is what makes a Mitsubishi Pajero and an Izuzu Filly absolute opposites. First, our Filly, or more specifically, Momma's Filly, is a van that is always clean, neat, and white; it is quite spacious too. Of course one would not expect a man's vehicle to be neat, and it is NOT! Our Pajero (Daddy's car) has candy wrappers in the floor, old soda bottles, grimy tools, and who knows what else! The seats probably have not been vacuumed in years and it smells of mildew. Second, my dad's Pajero seemingly falls apart each time it is driven. One cannot even imagine how many times the mechanic comes to fix it in just one month; unlike our van, which holds together well on rough roads, even though it does not have four-wheel drive. Lastly, if our Izuzu Filly were a person she would be a white-gowned young lady with dark lashes. On the other hand, our Pajero is like an old man, run-down with years, he would have a gray beard and would eventually die of pneumonia. A smooth ride in our van is much more relaxing than bouncing around in the back of our Pajero that rattles with tools.

Psalm 22:27 & Philippians 2:10-11 (By Abigail)

Psalm 22: 27—“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.”

Philippians 2:10-11—“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of the things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These verses tell us that at one point and time everyone will bow to the will of God. They will either see God as a loving Father or as a righteous Judge. It is up to us Christians to see that more and more people see God as their Father instead of as their Judge as the Bible mentions.

My favorite verse is Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This is the verse that helped me get saved!

Psalm 22: 27—“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.”

Philippians 2:10-11—“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of the things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These verses tell us that at one point and time everyone will bow to the will of God. They will either see God as a loving father or as a righteous Judge. It is up to us Christians to see that more and more people see God as their Father instead of the terrible aspect of God (to those who are unbelievers) that the Bible mentions in Deuteronomy 10:17.

Written by: Abigail

In my school I just finished my science book, and I am going on to health. And I am so excited too. I have been learning about a variety of vertebrates like: birds, fish, snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, frogs, and salamanders.

We have been learning Swahili. I like talking to my friends in Swahili. They like to talk to me in English. So I talk in Swahili and they talk in English, and we have lots of fun playing together. I have some pen pals at Jacksonville Christian Academy (our home church's school), and I want tell them some of the words I have learned.

kutaka - means "to want"
maji - means "water"
nipe - means "give me" (this is the polite way to say it)
chini - means "down"
juu - means "up"

I will write more another day!
Written by: Kay-Leigh

Isaiah 42:5-7 (By Abigail)

“Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

“To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42: 5-7

This passage I find encouraging, because it first points out, in verse five, that God is in control of everything even down to the very breath we take. That breath of air that we often take for granted. And verse six is encouraging as well, as the Lord promises to hold our hand to guide us as a light, I believe, a light of the gospel. Then on to verse seven with the light of God’s Word penetrating through the darkness of the world, and bringing souls to Christ. I hope this has been encouraging to you to know that God is there, and that others see the light of Jesus Christ in you though it may not seem like it at the moment.

“Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

“To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42: 5-7

This passage I find encouraging, because it first points out, in verse five, that God is in control of everything even down to the very breath we take. That breath of air that we often take for granted. And verse six is encouraging as well, as the Lord promises to hold our hand to guide us as a light, I believe, a light of the gospel. Then on to verse seven with the light of God’s Word penetrating through the darkness of the world, and bringing souls to Christ. I hope this has been encouraging to you to know that God is there, and that others see the light of Jesus Christ in you though it may not seem like it at the moment.

Written by: Abigail Shelby

Often we go to pass out John and Romans and tracts in the areas around the churches my dad has started here in Kenya. The first few times I started going on visitation where the people were not familiar with English, I was hesitant. Because I knew that if I handed a tract to someone, I would need to also tell them that they were welcome to the local church that was having a special service for the anniversary or anything else that was going on. The talking part I was afraid to do, but I also knew that the members of the church needed the example of a bold Christian even if it was just over something as simple as that. But when I heard what my mom said to someone she was visiting with, I was able to follow the conversation and start a conversation with someone else. The only problem that sometimes came up was that the person asked something that I was not expecting he would ask. Now my problem is that I cannot always find the right words to answer their question, but I can understand practically anything they say. Usually there is someone with me and they take it on from there. But now my brother and sisters and I are having Swahili lessons, and I hope that after I have studied the language I would be able to speak fluently in it. For now, though, I am thankful that I can speak as much as I do, and that I can understand quite a bit. I also find it a great blessing to be understood in the little that I can speak.

My favorite verse is Matthew 28:19,20 which says “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” This verse I think is telling me that I need to be a missionary to a foreign land.

In science class, I have been learning of the vastness of the universe, yet it is so orderly, so neat and precise. The universe is made of uncountable galaxies, but they are not randomly tossed into the heavens but organized into clusters and groups. Each galaxy is not just a random group of stars, but organized into an elliptical or spiral shape. Every galaxy is then divided into solar systems, like our own. Then each solar system is divided to a main star then planets, comets, and asteroids. Our great universe could not just come about; it could not have evolved; as Isaac Newton said “I am compelled to ascribe the frame of this system to an intelligent Agent.” This Agent that Newton speaks is God.

My Favorite Place (By Breanne)

A hill in the outskirts of Kisii presents a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. The name of this hill is Mount Manga. From there you would first see each house surrounded by its own field; these houses are close together and each detail is distinctly recognized. But as you gaze farther and farther out, you do not see each house with its field, but the fields all begin to blend together into a large patchwork quilt. If the haze is not too dense; from this vantage point, it is possible to see Lake Victoria! Now if you would look slightly to your left, there are two smaller hills (that are contained within the valley) can be seen. First one, then the other behind it; between these hills lie the downtown section of Kisii. This breathtaking view is my favorite place in all of Kisii!

Kisii (By Breanne)

In the highlands of Kenya lays a busy town nestled between two hills. On the slope of one hill stands a two-story, colonial, stone house like sentinel guarding the marketplace below. At a second story window peers a bystander, watching the action occurring along the heavily used paved road. This highway is always teeming with traffic, not only automobile traffic, but also pedestrians and motorbikes. The traffic here is not any kind of traffic you will be familiar with in America, this traffic is native to Kenya and Kenya only (well maybe in other African countries too!). This traffic is push and shove, accidents are common, and the people just walk across the road as if it were empty! If an accident does occur, the road has no shoulders to pull off onto. The shoulder (a narrow, steep dirt path), when there happens to be one, is used as a sidewalk and a place to sell wares. Watching from above could keep a bystander occupied for absolutely hours!!

Riding in a Matatu (By Breanne)

Matatus are the main transportation vehicles in kenya, a matatu is really a compact 14 passenger van. If you want to go for a ride, first they tell you to climb over the seats until you get to a back window seat. Here in Kenya, in order to take less trips they cram people in until no more can fit (up to 35 and sometimes more if there are children!). Finally, there is no more room, but the pressure on all sides of you makes breathing almost impossible. You look around trying to find a way out, and you notice that everyone else is holding something in their lap. Some are carrying children, others have fresh produce, and some are holding chickens! The smells begin to overwhelm you, and you realize that you are by a window; you manage to get it open with some difficulty. As the window slides open, you notice that you are driving through the main Kisii Market with its cows, goats, rotten vegetables, stagnate mud puddles, and fried fish out in the hot sun. The smells seem to hit you all at once, you are tempted to shut the window, but you decide against it. You begin to feel nauseated as your driver swerves recklessly in and out of traffic. The noise inside the matatu spikes as children scream, terrified. Though it may seem to be too much for you to take our form of transport ion; the people here do it all the time!!

The Perfect Brother (By Abigail)

We need a good relationship with someone who we consider as being the person we would want to follow in our Christian life. Someone, you could choose to be around a lot, almost as if he were a close sibling. For example, we take on the character traits of the one we hang around the most, and the one we pay the most attention to. We should choose someone we will like and agree with, but we also want someone who will definitely influence our walk in faith positively. We should first look at ourselves to see who we are as a Christian, and who we influence. We should then consider who we want to strive to become. There are three categories from which we can choose from whom to follow: the most popular Christian, the most thrilling Christian, and the most humble Christian.There is the most popular one. The one who knows what it takes to be an influencing example of Christ, but he lets popularity get in the way. He desperately tries to be a Christian who tells others about Jesus, but professes he is a Child of God with arrogance and a tinge of pride. Instead of emphasizing that Jesus is the One who saved him, he goes on to say that he is the one that can now get to heaven by what he himself did (accepting Christ as his personal Savior). This idea changes the meaning of Salvation, and it gives the anticipating sinner a wrong impression of the Gospel. But only a few can spot his downfall; they follow in his steps, regardless of what he says. Here we have an opportunity to see the end result, and we find out that this is the type of person we do not want to be influenced by.Another choice widely available would be the most thrilling Christian. One who has great speaking ability and can give his audience emotion and retells dramatic accounts of the Scriptures. He uses this ability to reach out to the lost. But too often we see that he is consistently forcing Christianity "down their throat." He points out the sins that others do, and he does not let anyone forget what they did wrong. The problem is that he does not point out his own sins to everyone as he does to others. Something else is that he does not even mention a hope for those who do wrong. People decide to reject everything he says, because of his pounding, grating attitude. Remember that the Bible says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with that judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." In other words, we should leave the judging part to God, and we should keep track of what we do wrong and not "worry" about the wrong things of others. We find out through this Christian that by what we say can turn others away from the Gospel.Our last example is the most humble Christian. This person often waits patiently to be noticed; He does not openly proclaim He is present. Only when we listen cautiously can we hear His still small voice. In most instances, He gets our attention by circumstances or hard times in life; but even then the majority of people never notice Him. Only When we look closely can we see the lives He turns around, the sick He heals, and those faithful witnesses He blesses. Then, only when we decide to trust in His grace, we realize that He had been knocking on the door to our heart the whole time - patiently. Here we see that Jesus Christ is the one we should follow.Jesus left behind the best example of the Christian walk, better than anyone else would be able to be. Though other Christians may seem to be pretty good examples, there is always something that will bog them down. We may not know exactly how to act in a particular situation or what to say at a given time; but if we ground ourselves in the Scriptures, we will be influenced incredibly. We now know who we should choose, but we should consider if we are a good example for those around us or not. Are we the proud Christian, or the misleading Christian? Or are we truly striving to be a picture of who Savior is, the Perfect Brother?Written by: Abigail Shelby

Thanksgiving (By Breanne)

Thanksgiving is one of the most savory of the holidays. Thanksgiving reminds me of our family's time together. Thanksgiving at our house, is completely packed with good things to eat, such as Momma's delicate herb-crusted, oven-roasted chicken; for some reason when Momma bakes this dish it reminds me of the pilgrim's meal, simple yet delicious. Cranberry sauce, which reminds me of fall; with its sharp tangy-sweet flavor, is more of a modern addition to the classic dinner. Without rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans, this meal would be unfinished; a main dish without the condiments would be like a house without furniture. Last, but definitely not least, pumpkin pie; the spicy aroma of cinnamon always saturates our house on this thankful holiday. It's not only the smell that helps incorporate a thankful attitude; but having my family around me, assists me in realizing all the blessings that have been showered down on my life.

Written by: Breanne Shelby

Hello! 

    Boy, has this been a relaxing week, well, compared to the last few weeks. This week we only had school, Bible Institute, and Miss Alice (the lady who comes to help clean the house, was involved in a minor motorcycle accident, resulting in, a sore leg) not being able to help out here; but when you compare that with getting up at five o’clock to prepare breakfast for twenty people, working outside in the hot sun for about ten hours each day, and then coming home in the evenings to prepare supper, (again for twenty people) for two weeks straight; this has really been a relaxing week.
When we first got back from Siaya I was not sure how I would be able to adjust back too normal life, but it seems to go much better than I had anticipated. Though I am still extremely tired at night I am now able to stay up till 9o’clock without falling asleep on the couch first.
My Science Project is on Acids, Bases, and Salts.  If you have any interesting facts that I could use, feel free to tell me about it.  (We are a little low on information right now).

Grandparents (By Abigail)

There are many types of grandparents when it comes to how the react to their grandchildren.

THere are cases when some grandparents are not able to see their grandchildren often. But when they are able to, they spoil them. They give them every kind of sweet one can imagine. They also give them toys that they want and literally everything! Whether or not the parents approve is not even thought of. This behavior may not last long, but it lets the child know that his grandparents love him and miss him when they are apart.

Other grandparents are those that keep the children giggling. Acting like a clown. And playfully arguing about what the child knows. When a child has the knowledge that one plus one equals two, the grandparent will start a playful argument that one plus one really equals eleven! This behavior lasts throughout the child's lifetime - the grandparents consider them as children no matter what age they are, right?

Grandparents mostly are very good at story-telling. For the first part, they are usually experienced at it. And second;y, they have a very wide range of their own personal stories of growing up and such. This gives the grandparent a time to teach the younger generations through illustrations of right and wrong, and good and bad. But they can also teach history, Bible principles, and farts that the children will need to know in their lifetime.

Most grandparents have traits of all three examples given in this composition, but usually there is one trait that best stands out when grandparents are around their grandchildren.

Written by: Abigail Shelby

Hi!  I just lost my first tooth! I pulled it all by myself.

I am 6 years old, and I really like living in Kenya.

More coming soon!

Hello! More coming soon…