Blog July 17, 2017

Happy Monday! As we say to the kids during their break this morning from preschool classes.  We arrived at the Children's Home 10 days ago to a very warm and exuberant welcome from the kids and staff.  Since then the days have been filled with teaching the younger children reading and math readiness skills, reading the new books we brought over and over again, doing writing with the older kids and art with everyone, and getting reacquainted with everyone.  We watched The Queen of Katwe with the older kids last weekend- a true story of a girl growing up in a slum in Uganda who uses her love of the game of chess as a way to overcome many challenges in her life.  The kids could relate to to much of the movie and reacted with a loud cheer when she won the an international chess tournament.  So... as you can imagine, after washing clothes and other chores this weekend, we spend several hours learning to play chess.  Mama University was off to a great start last week with classes on loving and working with orphan children with abandonment and rejection issues- I really love this time with the women who are such a vital part of this ministry.  Sarah has been working with the preschoolers and loves her time with the babies!  Scott is doing physicals on the kids this week and is continuing to work through issues to open the community clinic here in a temporary building.  My favorite time of the day is bedtime- stories, prayer, lots of hugs and kisses until everyone is cozy in their beds to sleep. The sponsor Facetime calls with the kids have been wonderful so far and we are excited to all the children who are sponsored to have this opportunity to connect with and thank their sponsors during this trip.  We have watched some science movies on the human body and God's creation of space with the older kids.  We are so encouraged with the questions from the kids and prayer time with them during nightly Bible Study as well.
   Many of the older kids are beginning to communicate their stories- memories of their families and the nightmares so many of them have lived through before coming to Falco.  I believe we are seeing a miracle of God's healing love and redemption beginning to play out in Joshua (name changed)- a six year old boy from the home.  We met Josh when first coming to Falco over a year and a half ago. We learned from the social worker here that Josh came to Tanzania with his mother, brother and little sister as destitute refugees from Ethiopia when Josh was about two years old.  While begging for food along a road, his older brother was hit by a passing car and killed.  The story goes on that Joshua's mother then abandoned the two younger children.  Josh and his little sister were placed at a government orphanage until Josh aged out at age three.  After coming to Falco, he was diagnosed
with a chronic disease.  A memory is etched in my mind of seeing Josh for the first time a year and a
half ago of a little boy with dark circles under his eyes, his mouth open and almost unresponsive to others around him.  As I watched him in his preschool class, Josh's face was turned toward the ceiling; he did not sing with the other children or seem to be apart of his surroundings.  Josh seemed to be in his own world refusing to be touched or interact with anyone.  My heart went out to this little boy and I have often wondered if the trauma and abandonment he experienced caused him draw deep within himself.  Although Josh grew a little physically each time we visited, I saw no change in affect or desire to connect with others.  When we arrived 10 days ago, I noticed Josh out of the crowd of children right away.  We had committed to pray for him while away and I was excited to talk to the mamas about him.  Josh looked right at us as we approached him and the other kids. Then, for the first time, I saw him smile!  For the next nine days, we made a special effort to talk to Josh many times a day.  He gradually began looking at our faces when we greeted him and sometimes would even bless us with a smile.  Last night while doing the goodnight routine in the little boy's house, I approached Josh's bed very slowly.  He surprised me by scooting closer to the edge of his bunk bed so I could touch his arm.  As every night before, I prayed over him and said, "Good night, Josh! I love you!"  As I turned to leave the room, I heard a small voice softly say, "Love you, too, Mama."  I quickly turned around to hear the other little boys in the room cry out, "It was Josh. He say that.".  Tears came to my eyes as I came to his bed again and touched his face.  The mama who was with me in the boy's room for the night routine came to me and said,"God is so good!"  Yes, yes He is!  Over Josh's time at Falco, God is doing a new work in this precious boy.  God is working His healing power in his mind and heart and helping Josh to come courageously out of himself to connect with others.  The other little boys cheered loudly for Josh from their beds.  We had all witnessed a miracle
in this little boy's life and, once again, were reminded that God is so good even in the midst of such brokeness and pain.

 

We have safely arrived at Falco and were warmly welcomed by the children and staff.  It was great to see everyone.  All is well here and everyone is healthy and happy.  We had a wonderful church service yesterday morning and it was awesome to again be present as the children were worshipping with their entire beings, raising their beautiful voices heavenward.  

 

One of our suitcases did not arrive in Tanzania with us so we filled out all the appropriate paperwork but not expecting to ever see it again.  This suitcase had a lot of sponsor gifts, letters to the kids and other important educational materials.  Saturday evening, we had the kids pray that this suitcase might be located.  To our astonishment, a van arrived here right during our church service the next day and delivered the missing suitcase!  We know that in the whole scheme of things, this "problem" was relatively minor but it was a great testimony to the kids that we can go to God with even our "small" problems and He is faithful!

 

We are still waking up at 2-3 in the morning ready for the day but hopefully our sleep schedules will get squared away soon!

 

Blessings,

Scott and Kathi and Sarah

Dear family and friends,

We can't believe it has been almost 3 years since our last post.  There have been so many changes over this time it has been staggering.  God has redirected our paths and we have been serving at a different children's home in Karatu, Tanzania for almost 2 years.  The organization is called Falco Children's Village and can be found at www.falcoschildrenvillage.com.

The children's home presently has 78 children and had needs that matched up to our giftings perfectly.  We have started a new child sponsorship program and have 31 children sponsored in the first 6 months!!  In October 2016,  Scott applied for a grant that was approved to start construction of a small medical clinic on the compound.   This clinic will provide care for the children, staff and surrounding village.  Kathi has been busy with the spiritual development curriculum and is starting to lay the groundwork to open an international school to serve the children at the home as well as the surrounding community.

With God calling us to ever-increasing involvement in African orphan care, Scott will be shifting gears at the end of June and starting to work part-time in Urgent Care again.  This will free us up to be able to spend more time in Africa.  We will be heading back the first week in July and will return in September.

Please pray for us as we enter this new but exciting phase of our lives and follow God's leading.  We will post updates here in the coming months so stay tuned!!

Again, our thanks for your support and prayers!

Blessings,

Scott, Kathi and family

Jambo to family and friends, We are finishing up another week on the Hill with the kids and community!  The birthday celebration with special devotion, cupcakes, small gifts and a bonfire worship was lots of fun for everyone last Saturday!  After an awesome worshipping the God who made us and made all the stars that were in the sky that night, the kids were in awe of the clearly seen white Milky Way band across the sky, several of the kids and staff stayed up late with our family after seeing the Jesus Movie to lay on our backs under the stars. The kids were presented with their tie dye t shirts they had made the day before and wore them on Tuesday to a special worship and picture taking time on the mountain.  One of the children commented that with all the kid's wearing their colorful t shirts "they looked like a rainbow from God".  Well said!  We have been spending our nightly devotions really focusing on Jesus with scripture reading, Bible stories, new worship songs from America, lots of prayer time asking Jesus to help us to believe that He is indeed everything to us.  Scott is working hard in the hospital down the hill in the nearby town.  He is continually being challenged with seeing patience with trama and diseases uncommon to his U.S. patients.  James has been his "assistant" on these days and takes his new position very seriously.  Matthew and James are doing down to a friend's home in that same town this morning to watch a pig slaughtering in preparation for a pork roast we all are excited to go to tomorrow night.  There were no other volunteers from our family to go with the guys. She has "recruited" our entire family to help with homework from 7:30 to 9 every school night.  The kids know not to ask Mom for any math questions which adds a predictable laughter every night.  Sarah loves hanging out with the older girls and reading Bible stories to the little ones.  The daily after school volleyball games are helping Sarah get ready for her season in the fall.  Today, the Smith family is leading an education team to the Hill for a week to teach at the local school. It will be cozy in the guest house each night! The students and teachers are all so excited to have this opportunity and I know that the U.S. teacher's hearts will be changed forever during their experience here.  Please pray for the mamas and young ladies who will attend the all day Seminar this coming Saturday.  The excitement for this event in this community is at an all time high!  We believe that God has a wonderful plan for speaking to all these women.  Lives will be changed when these ladies, whose lives are so very difficult, encounter the love and grace of the Lord.  Please also continue to pray for physical and spiritual protection for our family.  We also are asking God to be in our words and all our interactions with others each day and to give us spiritual eyes to see beyond the battle into the hearts of these precious children.  The stories of their lives prior to coming to the children's home are heartbreaking, their passion for the things are God is inspiring and any time spent with them is a true gift to us. 

                                                                                             Friday, July 18, 2014

 

Dear family and friends,

     Six days on the Hill!  We are enjoying every moment with the kids and friends this week!  We await the kids getting out of school for fun like volleyball, chalk drawings, Bible story reading, talking and sharing along with nightly devotions (Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!) and all six of us helping with homework.  Today we are preparing for the weekend- popcorn and movie tonight, t-shirts with tie-dye after school, Jesus posters and crafts for Saturday along with the long awaited birthday party celebration at night.  The kids remember blowing out the candles, although it was not clearly communicated to not eat the wrappers and candles with the cupcakes, and singing their own Kenyan version of “Happy Birthday”.  Scott has worked down at a hospital in Kilgoris with the Drs. Magita for a few days this week and is experiencing a high learning curve to treat malaria, typhoid and other diseases common to this area.  Kathi was happy to reconnect with the mamas of the community a few times this week for Bible study and to discuss the upcoming Mama’s Seminar on Saturday, Aug. 2.  They are very excited to be hosting probably over 150 women of all ages on this day for worship, Bible teachings, prayer and fellowship.  Please pray for the women of the larger community for this day that they would experience God’s love, forgiveness and provision in a new way and that they all would leave renewed in their faith.  A young mama shared with me that, last year at the woman’s seminar, she wrote a prayer on the small slip of paper asking God to bless her with a long- awaited daughter.  She then nailed it to the cross.  God answered that prayer and I was able to hold the beautiful “Cross Baby” (as her mama refers to her as) earlier this week- God is so good!  Matthew and James are working on a shelving project for all the new books donated by Oasis.  Megan is starting a reading program with the kids soon to strengthen their reading and comprehension skills and to build excitement in reading all kinds of books. She has been having a blast helping the kids with their yearly sponsor calls to the United States.  The looks on both the kids and sponsor families’ faces are so precious!  Sarah, James and Matthew have really enjoyed reconnecting with the kids this week and are looking forward to many more hours of hanging out together in the next weeks. Even though we have been gone from the Hill for a year, there is an appearance that time has stood still in a way for this community. Despite this,  the kids at the children’s home have grown and changed quite a bit both physically and, especially, spiritually. Their testimonies are filled with a new sense of God’s presence, love and provision during this past year.  In their eyes, we see a hunger for the things of God and even their worship demonstrates a growing faith and trust in Jesus. Please continue to pray for our family, the children and the community here.  We are continuing to sense a need to pray for His spiritual and physical protection and wisdom during our time here (which we are reminded daily is too short).  There is nothing we can bring to this “table” that is worthy of anything- of that truth we are so sure of.  Our desire is that God will work through us- that our words would be His words, that our actions and decisions would reflect Him only. 

                                                                                                       In Christ,

                                          Scott, Kathi, Sarah, Megan, James and Matthew

                                                                                               Saturday, July 12, 2014
Dear family and friends,
     We have been in Kenya for three days now!  The flights were basically uneventful and we drove into Kijabi (one hour from Nairobi) around 2 am on Thursday. Megan greeted us at the airport and we are enjoying every minute with her.  She is doing so well and is loving serving the Oasis ministry and the kids during this past month.  Megan is enjoying living and working with the Smith family- and, of course, any day spent with the kids of the Oasis Children's Home are the best! Today, on Sarah's birthday, we joined the Smiths and Ruzga's hiking Hell's Gate gorge.  Seeing zebras, warthogs, monkeys, giraffe and gazelle while descending into a very deep gorge and then praying that each one of us will make it back out again ended up being a wonderful birthday memory for Sarah.  Tonight, we have prayed with our good Oasis friends and are very, very, very ready to make the trip to the Hill tomorrow morning!  We have had some restless nights courtesy of jet lag, but tonight the excitement of seeing the kids and friends on the Hill will probably make it more difficult to sleep.  We are so very thankful to the Smiths, Oasis for Orphans, our family and friends and especially to our God who is able to "do more that we can ask or think"- He is truly the God of miracles!   What a gift we have been given to have this month!  Please pray for the baptisms of the kids, the community women's conference, the birthday party celebration, Bible studies, building projects- we are so looking forward to all things wonderful things, but also to just being with the kids again.  Please pray also for our health and physical safety, for wisdom and discernment, for relationships to grow with the kids, staff and community and that glory will be brought to God through everything.  We are looking forward to sharing with you this month.

All God's Blessings,

The Derse Family

Some final thoughts upon our return...

Greetings from the Derse Family from back here in the United States!  Ann and Rick Smith have asked us to share with you some highlights of our 5 months living at The Hill in Kenya for the July Oasis newsletter.  We immediately said “of course,” and started quickly making a list of all the different activities and projects that we were involved with there but quickly realized that we are still trying to understand how God moved through us to minister to the people there and, just as important, how He changed our hearts forever in ways that we are still struggling to fully comprehend.  We spent months planning our “to-do” list before our trip only to quickly realize once we arrived in Kenya, God’s plan was much different than ours’ in ways that we could never fathom.  What follows are what we feel were some of the highlights of our ministry opportunities and we will try our level best to convey what we feel God was trying to accomplish throughout and what He was trying to teach us and how He was transforming our hearts in the process.

 

It was evident to us upon our arrival at The Hill that God had prepared these children’s hearts for significant growth in their spiritual life.  What a privilege and blessing it was for our family to see God moving so very powerfully in this area of their lives.  Over seventy of the children prayed the salvation prayer and invited Jesus into their hearts for the first time!  What an incredible praise!  It was great to work hand-in-hand with the staff to develop Bible memorization and implement Bible curriculum to help provide for continued spiritual growth of the children. 

 

We are also so very thankful to have been welcomed into Pastor Andrew’s small community church and for giving us many opportunities to share.  Kathi and Scott were able to preach several Sundays to this congregation.  Quickly after our arrival in January, Kathi discerned a huge need in the spiritual lives of the women in the community and felt burdened to help in this area.  She joined the weekly women’s Bible study and this grew rapidly- drawing 30-40 women every Wednesday to study God’s word and we witnessed significant healing of hearts and relationships.  This culminated in an all-day women’s conference which was attended by 108 women from the surrounding area to hear God’s word through several different speakers and to worship together.  God also gave James an awesome opportunity to serve God’s people there.  He was able to film and produce music videos of the church choir performing several worship songs.  These will soon be uploaded onto YouTube for viewing.  The choir was very excited at the prospect of bursting onto the internet as the newest worship sensation!  Matthew and James also spoke on pursuing careers based on the giftings and desires that God gives us.  This was an important message for children of this community to hear as there is a real cycle of poverty and hopelessness which squelches many of the hopes and dreams of the young people there.  Sarah spent many hours in the kitchen learning the finer points of making chapatti and how to prepare meals for 100 hungry kids as well as helping out with the afternoon preschool and just running around playing with the kids.  Megan, returning to the Hill after finishing her spring semester, came with tremendous enthusiasm and passion to love each one of the kids as well as organizing and conducting the annual sponsor calls.  Trying to coordinate these calls with all the sponsor families given the 8-hour time difference, peoples’ busy schedules and the communication challenges in a 3^rd world country was no small task but seeing the kids’ faces light up when talking to their families was definitely worth the effort!

 

Our entire family was involved in various building and other projects.  James and Matthew worked diligently on building many large storage cabinets.  Matthew learned much about building and construction and was also able to mentor several of the young men as they assisted him in these various projects.   A huge thank-you goes out to Nate and Kurt for helping them get started on this project!  Every dormitory room received a fresh coat of bright paint and 8 new sets of bunk beds were installed.  It was amazing to see how happy the children were with their new “digs.”  Friday nights were movie and popcorn nights.  The 3 hours spent every Friday afternoon popping over 100 bags of popcorn was a burden of love.  This was all the kids could think about towards the end of the week and it was great to see them lose control as we handed out the popcorn and started the movie.  We enjoyed many special Bible studies, nightly devotions, anatomy/physiology lectures and numerous special events (group birthday party, staff appreciation party, bonfire devotions, all-week Easter celebration, etc.).  All of these activities became important avenues for us to build relationship with these special children. 

 

As we reflect back upon this amazing experience, we are aware of the many mistakes and cultural faux pas that we made but the staff and community were more than gracious to us and welcomed us into their lives and loved us anyway.  For this, we will be eternally grateful.  Despite encountering significant spiritual warfare, times of discouragement and life-threatening illness, the privilege and blessing of loving and serving those 98 children has had the greatest impact on all of us and we will forever be changed because of it.  All six of us miss each one of these beautiful children deeply.  We can still see their faces, hear their laughter and singing and feel their arms around us.  God has imprinted these kids on our hearts forever.  We have seen God move in miraculous ways and He has taught us that He is indeed faithful and His ways are absolutely beyond what we could ever plan for, hope for or expect.  Thanks to all who have supported us financially and, more importantly, with prayer.  We know that it was through this on-going prayer that God was able to further His will there with children on The Hill and the Massai people.  It was also a privilege to serve alongside the Smith family and we would like to extend to them our thanks and love for all that they did to support our family during our stay in Kenya. 

 

In God’s Service,

 

Scott, Kathi, Megan, Matthew, James and Sarah Derse