Tag Archives: holiday

Christmas party…Part IV

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(Find out what happened in Part I, Part II and Part III)

After the movie everyone found a seat and Chuck said a few words,

Gideon then addressed everyone to wish them a very merry Christmas,

Pastor Mutie prayed for the food then it was time to wash hands…

and eat!

no one left hungry or thirsty!

Watching the kids enjoy the chicken, rice, cabbage, potatoes, chapatti and soda was was fun.  Many had not had chicken in a very long time and being told they could go up for second helpings was a real treat.  Although many were full with the heaping plate of food they received the first trip!  However some of the older boys took up the call and went up for more chicken!  It was truly a blessing to be involved with this outpouring of love towards these kids…and the day wasn’t over yet!

Christmas party…Part III

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Before you get started on Part III of the party I wanted to let everyone know Saved By God’s Grace has an anonymous donor who will match ALL donations made to the Land & Water project from now until December 30th!  Last minute Christmas shopping…click here for more details and to donate.  Thank you donor and thank you for your prayerful consideration to this project.

(You can catch up on the Christmas party details here and here.)

The oven fires were stoked,

the whole chickens were brought to the kitchen in buckets,

then cut into smaller pieces,

Puss was keeping a close watch on the chicken and he actually snagged a wing and ran,

then the cooking began,

The kids from Mercy arrived and greeted everyone,

As we waited for the movie to begin…

tea was served – to the kids first!

Then it was time for the movie, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,

So far everyone was having a great time and all through the movie they were smelling the yummy smells from the kitchen and waiting for what was to come next!

Christmas party…part II

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The last post gave you information on beginning preparations for the Christmas party last Saturday and this post will continue with those preparations.

Veggies were chopped and set aside for cooking…

Serah chops veggies like an expert!

Ann coordinates "her" kitchen!

These 2 happy faces helped with various jobs…water for the kitchen, firewood, desks moved etc….

As more kids arrived they were put to work setting up the chairs…

Next time you’ll see more kitchen work…boiling, cutting up chicken, frying and mixing large cooking pots of food and tea!

Christmas party…part I

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Since I’ve already put you off for a couple of days on getting you information and photos on the Christmas party last Saturday I decided to bring it to you in pieces…doesn’t everyone love the suspense!?  We took so many pictures and I didn’t want to over stimulate you at one time with all the wonderful folks who helped and attended the party.

Preparations began actually a few months ago with fund raising from North Point Ministries in Midland, MI for gifts for all the kids.  This process took us about 2 weeks to get all the outfits (shorts and shirt for everyone) and Rose helped us with this…

Rose is a mom to a sponsored secondary student...she is hoping to find a home (right now Rose lives with her sister's family) with the money she's earned from this project

Then several days before the party it was organized to have 70 chicken slaughtered and prepared for cooking…

Thanks Nzomo for prepping the chickens and delivering them Friday night!

chair rental…

Thanks Roy for delivering Saturday morning and thanks Richard (pictured) for organizing

ordering soda and setting up delivery for Saturday morning…

a parent from Nice View owns this store

and scheduling rides for the kids at Mercy to come to the party…

2 matatus for all the kids

That brings us to Friday when veggies were bought during the day, then Friday night food preparations began.  Sorry I do not have any photos of them cooking ALL NIGHT LONG…but they did a fantastic job and yes they looked very tired Saturday morning but still had a smile on their faces to greet everyone!

Saturday morning Chuck and I arrived at the Academy around 8am and the movie room was set up…

Chuck and Lewis bring the movie equipment to the "movie room"

Desks were brought into the "movie room" for more seating

Wambua and Richard hang our movie "screen"

Thomas, our gate man at the Academy was our bouncer for the day (side note-he was helpful because we had heard several groups of kids who do not attend Nice View were planning on coming for the free food and one child actually came in a Nice View uniform and she isn’t a student here.  This was a Nice View function and we wanted to make sure we had enough food for the sponsored/orphaned students) had his table set up just inside the gate…

Thanks Thomas for being our #1 bouncer!

During this time the kitchen was rocking…

everyone worked together like a well oiled machine. Thanks group!

and the cooking smells wafted all around the compound…

everyone was hungry by the time lunch was ready

The next party post will show more details from the kitchen…what an experience and a far cry from the food preparation areas in the US, but I have to say a big thank you again to Jane, Ann, Serah, Richard, Christopher and Wambua who worked tirelessly Friday night and all day Saturday chopping (food and firewood), cooking and serving all the watoto (kids) who came to the party.  God provided EVERYTHING for the day to run smoothly…the people, funds, food and friends.

Delivery?

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This was the scene outside my front door this morning as I sat reading my daily devotional (and these aren’t all the chickens):

Guess it’s going to be chicken all around for Christmas dinner!  And talk about delivery…we have one chicken who is so bold to walk into our house whenever the door is open.  He’ll be the first for dinner :)

School’s out for the….year!

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A little reference to Alice Cooper’s Schools Out :)

Nice View held a rewards ceremony for the top students the last day of school which was yesterday, Monday.  I am happy to report that the majority of students who were top of their class are sponsored students…meaning Nice View has deemed these pupils are in need and their family cannot afford the school fees, uniform or supplies.  Out of those students 2 are sponsored by someone in the United States and I would like to extend my thanks to those sponsors for their commitment to these kids’ education.

Here are the top 3 students in each class:

Each student received 2 exercise books and 2 pencils:

The top 2 girls and 2 boys in the school received backpacks and they were so proud and excited!

It was different from assemblies in the US…goats in attendance for one thing

The teachers wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year then we ended the assembly with prayer

During the few minutes I addressed the group I asked them to remember why we celebrate Christmas…it’s not what gifts we receive or don’t receive.  God has already given us the best gift of all.  Please pray the kids have a restful, peaceful and joy-filled holiday and return to school ready to tackle yet another year.

Happy Labor Day!

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Didn’t realize it was this weekend until I started reading on Facebook all the yipees for a long weekend.  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and may the Lord bless you with a relaxing Monday…although I’ve been told that Labor Day means you work especially hard on that day!  Come on, who’s with me on that!?  That’s what I thought…have a great day!

Wednesday’s song…

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This Jesus Must Die from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar.

As we approach Easter let’s remember it was each of us singing this song that day…but God forgives us our sins.  “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Romans 10:9  ”For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”  1 Thessalonians 5:9