HE is ALIVE!!!

Happy Easter everyone!!!

I hope as you read this you remember that Jesus died and rose again for everyone's sins. HE forgives you for everything and wants to have a personal relationship with you :) Seek Him!!

This weekend has been super crazy (I tried to post last night but the wifi was down), I will lay it out for you:

Friday:
Get ready for 9:45am to go to Easter Friday service at Overcoming Faith Church which starts at 10am. Waiting...waiting..9:59....waiting.....10:05....Then at 10:10 Winnie comes to pick me up. We pile the kids in the van and arrive at church at 10:30. Praise and Worship was amazing!! It has been a long time since I have been able to worship like I do at home in church so it was lovely. There was a group from a university leading and they picked songs like we have in church. Church was decent too, but it was long. It was supposed to end at 12, but it was done at 1:30!!! And then, Winnie and I piled all the kids into the van and started for home (down a one-way) when we got flagged down and told we needed to come back to church so the kids could sing a song and get videotaped. Remember how we were driving down a one-way?? yeah so we drove the wrong way down it to get back to church. While the kids were singing Winnie decides she wants to go home, so she gets someone else to drive us. This is fine only in the end I waited for a whole hour to get the kids in the van, then he wasn't there so we had to wait for him and by this time the kids where bored with sitting so they were gone and we had to reload them...it was the definition of GONG SHOW!!! It was crazy. So got back at 2:30 to Happy Life grabbed a snack for lunch and went down to feed the babies. Chilled in the afternoon and got to FaceTime Sarah Martens which was fantastic!! Then at about 7:15 it started thundering and lightning and raining a bit. I was like "sweet, I will just grab my handy dandy umbrella and go up onto the roof to watch the lightning!!" Let me tell you how bad of an idea that was!! I thought it was raining down, like normal rain, but it was SHEETING. I was soaked in seconds. Then, all of a sudden the power goes out, just at the time of feeding. I look down over the balcony to where the older kids are supposed to be getting ready for bed and I see a single light, so I went down there to bring them another one. Between the building I am living in and that building though is this open area, which was now filled with about 5 inches of water!! By this time it has been raining for about 20-30 minutes... I was down there for a while and then I offered to go up and feed the babies so they didn't have to get soaked too. So I went and fed the babies, and it was later than usual by this time, so I was feeding babies two at a time!! It was great :) Then as I was going to be, the power popped on. Story of my life!!

Saturday:
Slept in until 7am!! Haha. Got ready for the day and went to feed the babies just like a normal morning. Basically chilled all day and fed babies. I also met a wonderful girl, Ashara, from New York City, who is here for school. We hit it off right away and we were chatting for a while!! The elections are FINALLY over...it has been almost a month, but praise God it has been mostly peaceful. There was a court case against Kenyatta (the winner), because the loser, Odinga likes to cause a stink. In the end the court ruling was in favor or Uhuru Kenyatta and he will be officially signed on April 9th. It was super loud here again when the people found out!! There is a new two week old baby here named Lamual and he has become one of my favorites :) I spent a lot of this day cuddling him. I got to Skype Kenge :) and then the kids were dying Easter eggs with Mari and Andy which they loved. I went to feed the babies for the night and my day ended with being able to cuddle with Lamual. He is pretty much the only one young enough to fall asleep in your arms, and it is awesome!!

Sunday:
On Saturday, I invited Ashara to come to church as well as another friend Olivia, who invited one of her friends, Edith. They came over in the morning ready to go to church. Today was a BUSY church day. In the past little while we have had many new children; Daniel - 10, twins who don't speak any Swahili or English, Dominic and Peter - 3 ish, another 3 year old boy, Kennedy - 1 1/2, Ray (who I thought I named Erik, but they changed it..) - 1 and Lamual - 2 weeks. These kids all came to church with us to get dedicated, like baby dedication at home, and so that was interesting because we very rarely take that many babies... But we also have kids that are getting adopted so we brought them to get prayed for!!: Abidah - 2, William - 2, Ethan, - 1 1/2 and Tendai - 8 months. It was super crazy, but it worked out. And most of the babies didn't even cry in church, thank the Lord :) I kind of felt like the mom of seven though...because I was making bottles and getting diapers changed and being busy making sure all of the babies were okay. We got back home and fed the babies and then Andy took us all out for lunch; Mari, Olivia, Edith and I. It was a buffet, which was pretty amazing. Chilled in the evening and fed the babies before bed. Got back upstairs to hear that the youth group got back safely from Mexico!! I was so pumped and thankful that they are all safe and sound. I got to Skype with Erik before bed, which made my day :)

I am definitely going to miss being a "mom" to these babies, because I love them like my own. When one doesn't want to eat, I try to sit with it until it does. If one is sick, I cuddle it because that's all anyone wants when they are sick. And if they are crying I try to make things better :) They have become my babies and it is gonna suck to leave them. I might take a couple home in my suitcase!!! Just kidding. But I am already praying that God will bring me back someday soon because I love Kenya. I am excited to come home in 23 days, and yet it will be a sad time saying goodbye.

Thank you for all of your prayers for me!! I really appreciate them. And I am sorry that it has been a while since my last post, but the power has been out and wifi has been down, and it has been a crazy weekend!! I will try to post some pictures shortly. Of the new babies and kids too!!

Love: Rach :)

You Love Me Anyway

I have no idea who you have been telling about my blog but tons of people are reading it lately!! Thank you for your support, it means the world, honestly.

So last night there was a thunder and lightning storm, it was pretty sweet. I am hoping for lots more in the next month, they are my favorite. When I see the lightning I am so reminded of God's infinite-ness!! He is truly an amazing God. It blows my mind that HE wants to spend time with me, even if I don't want to spend time with Him. Compared to God's love, mine in return is nothing, and yet He wants it!! How crazy :) With Easter coming up, God is showing me how great His love really is. What He did on the cross sucks, but I will take the free gift that He is offering to me. There is a song by the Sidewalk Prophets called You Love Me Anyway that reminds me of Easter.

The question was raised, as my conscience fell
A silly, little lie, it didn’t mean much

But it lingers still In the corners of my mind

Still you call me to walk on the edge of this world
To spread my dreams and fly but the future’s so far
My heart is so frail I think I’d rather stay inside

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me how You love me

It took more than my strength, to simply be still
To seek but never find, all the reasons we change
The reasons I doubt, and why do loved ones have to die?

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me

I am the thorn in Your crown, but You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow, but You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist, but You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss, but You love me anyway

See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace

And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life

But You love me anyway
Oh, God… how you love me
You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway, Oh Lord, how You love me

You love me, You love me
You love me, You love me
How You love me
How You love me
How You love me

God is so good. Living for Him is like no other thing in the entire world. I know that I wouldn't be in Africa right now if I hadn't surrendered my life to Him. Yes it is hard, and I have had my share of troubles and sicknesses, but I am learning to trust the Lord through these things and seek His face even more. Lately I feel like I am learning how to study the bible a bit more. I feel like I am really connecting in ways that I didn't before, and I like it!! Some days are still hard, but lately I have had more good days than bad ones. That is a little glimpse into my walk with God right now :)

I tried to post pictures too, but the wifi is too slow :( I will try again soon though!!

Love,
Rach :)

Mandazi and Matumbo

Hey!! :)

I hope you are doing well and thank you for continuing to support me in reading and prayer. I appreciate it more than you may know.

Sunday was a pretty good day, although I miss church at home terribly. That is something I am definitely excited to come home to. I had to say good bye to Dan and Tasha though, which was very sad. I only knew them for a short time but we connected so well and I appreciated their knowledge and our conversations. I do know, though, that I will always have a place to stay in Ontario, California if need be :)

Monday was a pretty chill day, feeding babies and doing laundry. But in the evening a girl by the name of Jerry cam over to teach Mari and I how to make mandazi!!! It is basically deep fried dough...but it is amazing!! If anyone wants to try some when I get home, be sure to let me know :)

It was lots of fun, but we made soooo many!! Too many.....

Today was a good day as well; got up for a run this morning, did a load of laundry and fed the babies in the morning. At 10, Mari and I headed off to Victorious-Joy Children's Home and School. It is a 30 bob Matatu ride and then a decent walk, but it is worth it. The kids were outside on recess when we arrived so we greeted them and went on inside. There we chatted with Boaz (the principal) and Mary (head teacher) about their plans and dreams for this school. We also got to meet Rose, who founded the home and hear her story and dreams. She was an orphan herself and had always promised God that she would help at least one orphan. She had her first orphan about eight years ago, and he is now in Form 4 (grade 12), and has had many since then. Her goal is to buy a big property and move there. Right now they are renting land for the school and different land for the orphanage, for which they pay 14,000/= per month (approx. $164.71 CDN). The property that Rose is looking at right now is 4 acres with a large building on it that they could start using right now instead of building. The land and building costs 8 million /=, $70,588.24 CND, ish. Victorious-Joy has been a certified organization for the last five years, and has been running on sporadic donations since. They rely so hard on Jesus and the fact the He alone is able to sustain them, it is amazing!! I would ask you to take some time to pray for this organization that they would know the direction that The Lord is taking them, and that the money for the land would come in when God says. Thank you.

Then after we stopped at Home Depo for groceries (not at all like Home Depot at home) and headed back for the afternoon feed. Did the feeding, but some of the babies got immunizations today so tey are feeling a little cranky :(. Relaxed and watched a movie in the early evening and went for supper at 6:30 to Lucy's place where I tried Matumbo. It was NASTY (thats right Dad, nasty!!). It is goat intestine...but it looks like some fuzzy thing you would find in the ocean. The taste was fine, but it felt like I was chewing on a rubber tire!? It was not my favorite thing in the world at all. The rest of the meal was great; pilau (rice), sakuma wiki (greens similar to spinach), black beans and chapot (chapati). Then we came back to feed the babies and now I am ready for bed.

I hope you enjoy reading about my daily life. I am not too sure what to blog about other than this :)

Love you!!

And please pray for the Cornerstone Youth group on their Mexico mission trip!! My Erik is on the trip as well as many many people I care for a ton and I would love for them to learn lots as well as come back home safely :)
http://cstonechurch.blogspot.ca/

Rach :)

Serving At all Costs

Alright, so I am super inconsistent with this blogging thing....sorry about that, but I appreciate all of you who regularly check to see if I have posted!!

It has been an interesting week. We got three new volunteers from California last Sunday afternoon. Mari (who was here the first day I got here) she is here until April 16th. She is super cool and has an amazing heart and desire to follow Jesus!! She brought her Pastor and his wife along with her; Dan and Tasha. They are leaving on Monday already, but they are super easy to get along with and we have had a blast this week, I will definitely be sad when they have to leave.

Since I have been here, there have been 11 different volunteers here with me, and another one is coming sometime next week. It has been so cool to have these different people in my life, because I get to get to know people from different walks of life. It has also been very interesting realizing the difference between Christian believers and non. I have appreciated conversations with each volunteer, but at the same time there is something special about having other volunteers who love Jesus and can encourage me (like the three right now). The four of us have had some amazing conversations and they have encouraged me soooo much. I definitely take community and fellowship for granted, because at home I am surrounded by, and in fellowship with, believers several times a week. And here I have gone through times where none of the volunteers are believers, and it is totally different!! This is one of the things I am thanking God for right now.

Updates:

• Cathy is back at Happy Life!! She looks super healthy, and she even has chubby cheeks now :)
• There are no babies in Isolation now, Praise God!!
• One little boy though isn't doing well. He is about three years old and he has a rectal prolapse. The poor guy won't eat and he will barely drink. I will try to find out his name, because I don't remember. Please send up a chorus of prayers for him. He will be well in Jesus' name!!!!
• The building project at Juja Farm is going slowly but surely. I have been giving your donations to Peter a little bit at a time (as I have a limit at an ATM that I can withdrawal). This money will be going towards the Juja Farm project, and before I leave I hope to be able to be involved in using the money to purchase the needed supplies!! I am excited about that so that I can report back home and say what exactly your donations were used for.
• The rainy season is definitely here, but it isn't what I expected. I thought it was rainy all day every day, because that is what Google makes it sound like. But in reality, it rains at night then is cloudy in the morning then it gets sunny, then it rains again, then it gets sunny again. So there is still sun during the day!!!

There are only 32 days left of this journey for me, which is super crazy!! I am very thankful that I didn't plan only a two month mission because that would mean I would be heading home soon and I am not ready to go. This place feels like home, which is a God given blessing :) This past week has been full of business outside the orphanage because Dan and Tasha are here for only a short time so I have been showing them around to a few places. Today I was planning on going to Liuba's house (the nurse) to learn how to make mandazi (pretty much rollkuken!!) but I realized yesterday that I miss the babies and being here with them. I decided to stay at Happy Life today to feed the babies and play soccer with the older kids. I might even paint some of the little girl's nails :) I love the fact that I feel like I should be here. This past week I have gone to Victorious-Joy School/Children's Home and back to Kicheko Slum in Mlolongo and don't get me wrong I enjoy visiting there, but I know that God has called me here to Happy Life for this time.

Several times this week I have felt very overwhelmed with the need here. There are so many different organizations and orphanages and projects going on. Some to help kids, some to help people with HIV/Aids some to educate children, and the list goes on. It breaks my heart how many people suffer here. It is a different kind of suffering here than at home though. Lots of people (maybe not all) at home are in a homeless or jobless situation because of choices that they have made or because of laziness. Here, there are so very many people who are born into a bad situation and can't get out. When I go visit these places I feel a tug at my heart to give money or help to them, but at the same time, I can't give to everyone!! It is hard for me to visit them and not help them, you know?? I know God has a plan for these organizations, and they are all awesome, but it is hard to see. Not gonna lie, there are lots of these organizations that are not faith based and that surprises me. It makes me wonder why the church isn't doing more?! Why do we stay at home in our comfortable lives when God could call us to live an amazingly radical life, but we are just too scared to accept it?! I know God calls people to be the supporters of missionaries at home, and that not everyone is called to be a missionary.

Are we really doing everything that God is calling us to do??

Are we seeking Him every day??

Are we asking Him to guide and direct our lives no matter what the cost??

Do we love Him enough to pick up our crosses and follow Him??

 

Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." ~ Luke 9:23-24

Slum {Sluhm}:

noun: a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people

 

 

What is a slum to you?? When you think of their living conditions, what do you envision?? When you think of what they wear, what do you see?? I challenge you to grab a pen and paper and write down what YOU picture when the word slum comes to mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday March 14^th 2013 I visited Kicheko Slum in Mlolongo, which is south east of Nairobi. I had no expectations going in, in fact I didn’t think too much about what it would look like. I can tell you though, it shocked me. This first picture is of new apartments going up about three hundred metres from the entrance to the slum and picture two is the entrance. It was quite ironic to me, because of all the money that goes into these buildings, and yet the slum across the street has no electricity or running water…

 

 

 

LPM -- Living Positive Mlolongo

LPM is an organization seeking to improve the lives of women and families suffering from HIV/AIDs through income generating programs, education, and more.

One of the slums they work closely with is Kicheko; home to anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people, it is hard to count.

These are two groups of kids in "classrooms" in a makeshift daycare/school.

Most parents in a slum would never even entertain the idea that their child should or could go to school.

LPM is trying to get these kids sponsored so that they can go to grade school.

The sad part is, lots of parents won't let their child be sponsored because they feel like the child should be at home to help with things.

This is something I would ask you to pray for; that the parents would understand the value of education for their children.

This beautiful woman is Penina :)

For the last seven years she has lived with HIV.

She has four children, only one of which was born after she found out she has HIV.

Her husband is an alcoholic, who isn't home all the time.

The six of them live in a room that is about 8' x 10' (pictured below).

They have one bed, a couch, two chairs and a desk.

I think she must cook outside because there was no room for a kitchen.

 

  

 

 

 

 

You could call this the "main street" of the slum I suppose...There are shops and houses down here as well and kids, sheep and chickens. It was crazy to see how these people live. There is garbage everywhere and we went on a day that was very rainy and so the whole place was a mud slop. This was with one day of rain, imagine what it is like in April when it rains every single day!! And yet the floors of the homes that we visited were spotless, because the woman who are involved in the program are proud of their homes and want to be presentable when guests come. I realize now, that this picture doesn't even show how muddy it actually was, but my flip-flops were actually getting stuck in the mud

(not the best choice of footwear, btw).

The picture on the left here is kind of hard to explain. Just past the kitten there is a doorway on the lefthand side; this is a woman's home.

But down the way on the right hand side are three other rooms which she wants to rent out, I think. So I am standing at the gate of the "gated community" as they called it, looking in.

The picture on the right is their garden...LPM has some fundraising to do and they want to use this garden to grow veggies to sell. Their ultimate goal with this fundraising is to bring tourists for day visits to this slum. While at the slum the tourists will learn how to cook, wash, do crafts, make jewlery, that sort of thing. The reason for this is that LPM wants to help these families earn money from the things that they make and sell. I'm still not too sure where I stand on this idea though, honestly, because a part of me feels like it becomes a "gawking" session, but on the other hand, it will definitely help these families earn an income. As you can see, their houses and buildings are made of scraps of tin and wood, which isn't exactly rain proof...I couldn't imagine living there on a sunny day, nevermind a rainy day in April. 

 

 

 I feel like these shoes symbolize their need. If this pair of shoes could tell its story, I bet some of us wouldn't want to stick around to hear it.

 

I was awed at the amount of garbage lying around and in piles. Where I live, Roysambu, there is a lot of garbage and it smells....turns out it is nothing like this.

A mom hard at work. No need to waste any time chasing a child around!! This way you always know where he is :)

Kenyan Slum Facts:

• There are a total of 15 slums regions in Nairobi
• In Kenya over 4 million people live in slums
• 71% of people living in urban areas in Kenya are living in slums
• Average monthly rent in most slums is 700 shillings
• equivalent to $8.35 cdn with today's exchange rate

I hope you have enjoyed seeing into a slum, as much as is possible. I would like you to look back and compare the thoughts you wrote down to the pictures you saw. How do your perceptions differ from my photos and explainations?? I would LOVE to hear your first answers as well as your final thoughts. My goal, when I get back home, is to try and make more people aware of the reality of poverty. If I can have your thoughts and stories, it would help me a lot in the future. Comment them if you would like others to read it or simply email me at rachelbergen_13@hotmail.com. I hope you accept my challange!! :)

 

 I know for me, any previous pictures I had in my head, are now replaced with {reality}. It is a totally different world than the one we live in and I am seeking God with how I can make people aware of this. If you think of it, please pray the I would be confident in knowing what God's plan is for me when I return home. I feel like, now that I have seen this kind of poverty if I don't do something or at least attempt to make people aware I am living in ignorance and I simply cannot do that.

 

Thank you for reading and pondering my photos. Love you all!!

 

Rach :)

Clinic Visit

Hello!!

On Tuesday night, I was awake a lot of the night with a terrible stomach ache and feeling like I was going to throw up every 5 seconds. It was awful. Now it wasn't the same pain I had on Sunday, that one went away, but now it had moved to my stomach. Wednesday morning I decided to go to the clinic just down the road to see what was wrong because I have been sick for two weeks on and off with all different sorts of symptoms. I was at the clinic around 10:45am and I was out by 2:30 ish. They discovered that I have a UTI (urinary tract infection) which is caused by mild food poisoning. They tested for malaria as well, which I do not have!! They are also going to check for any water-borne diseases at a later date. Thank you for praying for me during this time. I was struggling to hear what God was telling me to do. I didn't know if I should go to the clinic or if I should just keep praying for healing. I was very confused, but I think I made the right choice. It absolutely sucks being sick here. There are so many things that I want to do here, but it is hard when I feel sick. I think I have been more sick here in the last seven week then I have been at home in the last year...it is horrible. But I am learning to trust God in these things, and work through the pain.

On a completely different note; the rainy season seems to have started early!! Usually it only starts a little ways into April, but here we are in the middle of March and it is cloudy. And when it rains it pours!! The babies have been pretty good lately and I am getting to know the babies in infant B a bit more. They are super funny because they all have different personalities!! AAAAND....I got to name a baby!! I named him Erik :) cuz I am that cheesy!! He is super chunky and cute.

Today Elise, Madi and I are going to a slum. I think it will be a good experience, but I have no expectations because I have no idea what to expect. I will be posting about it and some pictures tomorrow sometime, so please look back for those!!

May the Lord bless you today and always :)
Love: Rach

Pictures Finally

 

 

 

 

 

So I was thinking today, and I have taken tons of pictures but I havn't posted very many!!

Here are a few that I have taken. I hope this helps you see what I see :)

Enjoy!!

 

 

This is called the "Playpen" where the toddlers and young kids play during the day.

Sometimes I go in there and sit with them and hold them if they cry. Some of the kids are quite mean and beat on each other :( so I try to stop that the best that I can.

 

A couple of weeks back, I had the chance to visit a different orphanage/school.

(I mentioned it in one of my posts a while back)

These two pictures are from there. The kids were supposed to be in class, but all they wanted was for me to take their pictures over and over again!! It was quite funnny.

 

These are some of the babies from Infant A. On warm sunny days they get to lay outside for a little while to enjoy some Vitamin D!! Some of them don't appreciate it too much...

 

This is how bananas grow!!! I was pumped :)

 

This is baby Micah who is with Jesus now.

I miss the little guy, but I know Jesus' lap is a way better place for him!!

 

 And this is baby Cathy, who is currently in the hospital with pneumonia.

Please send up prayers for her!! She is getting worse every day.

This is my buddy Tendai!! He is super cute.

And on the right side, you can see formula cans, a thermos and bottles. I spend a lot of my day at this table!! It has come to the point where the "moms" will ask me to go in and start the feed until they can get there, it is great!! Today I fed the entire Infant B room by myself (it was quick because most of them hold their own bottles) but it is cool that they trust me that much!! There are definitely lots ofthe moms that I have gotten close with, and it will be sad to leave them.

These big eyes belong to Jayden  :)

This kid is always full of smiles!! But right now he is sick, please pray for him also.

This is one of the three girls at Juja farm!!

I will be posting more Juja pictures hopefully soon, but this one was too cute not to post.

 

I hope you have enjoyed these few, and I apologize for not posting them sooner. Thank you again for praying and continuing to pray for the sick ones as well as for me.

 

Keep checking back for more updates and pictures!!

 

Love: Rach :)



The Ultimate Healer

Hello,

I wanted to thank you all for your prayers for me in the past 6 weeks. For the past week and a half I have been battling some sickness or another. Two Tuesdays ago I had a fever and Wednesday I was recovering from that. Last weekend I had a runny nose and head cold. Then the past couple of days I had the dizzy spells. Last night and today I was having stomach pains in my appendix area and got told by Mom and auntie Jane and Carol to go see a doctor. This morning I woke up and the pains were still there. I was praying for healing and wanting to be able to go to church, but I didn't feel like I could sit there that long. I asked the guy who was driving the Happy Life kids to church if he could please drop me off at the clinic on the way. He agreed and off we went. It was crazy because I could have gotten Tim the taxi driver to bring me to the hospital, but for some reason that didn't seem like a good idea. So we drive to the clinic and it is closed...oh well, and off to church we went!! It was a great service and at the end Bishop Peter prayed for healing for anyone in the room who was suffering sickness. At this point I started crying and asking God to heal my physical body. I was feeling a little faithless though, and I think doubt creeped into my head. We got back after church and I prayed some more and layed down for a nap. I felt pretty decent all afternoon, but then this evening I was up on the rooftop praying and my pains were back. Then God told me to go ask for prayer from some of the ladies. I went to the first ladies I found, Dorcas and Julia and asked them to pray for me. They prayed over me and asked for healing for me, and this time I went up the stairs pumped because I KNEW that God healed me this time. I kept on praying and thanking Him for is wonderful works. I serve an AMAZING God!! So after the evening feeding I even had an appetite so I ate some spaghetti for supper and I am so excited to go to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and healed and not have to worry about going to the doctor or paying for those things because JESUS IS MY HEALER!!! I know though that satan will use any chance he can to get into my head and put in doubts, and so I ask that you will please continue to pray for me throughout your day today, as I sleep, so that I may be covered and protected by Jesus blood. I want to have faith that I am healed, but satan is good at getting into my head.

Thank you for reading and for praying. I needed to share my good news with you all!!

Don't forget that we serve a mighty God. Nothing is impossible with HIM!!

Love: Rach :)

45 in & 45 to go!!

Hey there blog readers!!

Thanks for being so supportive of me by reading what is happening in my daily life!! I know I don't post every day, but I hope I post enough.

So today is day 45!! My stay is already halfway over and it went by soooo fast. I am hoping and praying that the next 45 days are as exciting and eventful as the first.

Thursday we went back to Juja farm!! The town is called Juja Farm, as well as the 2nd location of Happy Life. It is approximately a 45 minute drive from the Nairobi location. It is amazing out there. They have one house with 17 kids, a house mom, a teacher and a cook. They are working on the second house, which will be the same setup. They have a large church, where the locals at Juja Farm can attend. They are looking towards building a school, as they have 5 acres of land. This school will be for the children at the home, as well as the local children. There are many parents in that area who would never even think to put their children in school, because they cannot afford it. This school would be a way to get more children educated, as well as provide jobs for the locals as teachers and helpers. Also in the future, there are plans for a clinic. This would also be for the locals use, as well as the children. Juja farm is an amazing addition to Happy Life children's home. I will be sharing much more about this project when I get home.

The last two days for me have been filled with dizzy spells and hospital visits. Every now and again during the day (for the past three ish days) I all of a sudden get dizzy and have to go lay down. I think it is from not drinking enough water. Unfortunately, since the elections and all, some people say don't go out and some say it is fine, so I was conserving my water supply...bad idea. I will not be doing that anymore!! And if they don't go away, I will chat with the nurse here and see what she thinks. And as for hospital visits, I was asked yesterday and today to accompany some children to the clinic. Yesterday (Friday) we took four kids, all under 2 to the clinic to get treated. Some have pneumonia and some have the flu. Today (Saturday) our nurse isn't in, so we had to take the babies back to the hospital to get their daily injections. Now, I am sure you are picturing us loading all of these babies into carseats in a big van and driving to this clinic...WRONG. We don't use carseats here, we just hold them on our laps. It is pretty crazy. Yesterday we had one lady per baby and the 2 year old was buckled up. But today was a different story all together. We had one driver, Winnie and then Hannah (a house mom) and I and five children. Veronica is about three so she sat in her own seat, but the others are all under 1 1/2. So I was carrying one baby and had another lying on the seat beside me and Hannah had one baby in each arm in the front seat!! It is super crazy, but this is totally normal. And I got to experience today what it felt like to have triplets. Picture this, I am sitting in the back seat of a van. I have one screaming baby lying on my lap while another is lying on my chest and I am patting her back. The third one, who desperately wants to be held, is on laying on the seat beside my leg while I pat his tummy. It was crazy because all of them are hungry and sick!! Not too sure if I want triplets anymore.......hahaha!! If you can please pray for our sick babies:

• Cathy; who is currently staying in the hospital with pneumonia. She is three months old.
• Seth; not too sure what he is sick with, but he also may be deaf. It is hard to get him checked out because the waiting time for a specialized doctor is a long time. He is about 2 years.
• Naima; I think she has the flu. She is about  1 1/2 years.
• Jaden; also the flu and is 8 months.
• Patrick; he has diarrhea and is about 1 1/2
• Hannah; she has been sick lots lately. Not too sure what she has this time. She is 7 months.
• Sophie; is 8 months and has the flu.
• Veronica; she is about 3 years, and she also has the flu.

On the bright side, after six looooong days of waiting and tension in the air, Kenya finally has their 4th President!!! Uhuru Kenyatta from the TNA political party. From what I hear he is the better choice because the other candidate who was closest in votes, would have lead the nation downhill. He is suspected of being a devil worshiper...so thank The Lord he didn't win!! And there is peace right now in this country which is super amazing!! You should have heard the noise today. It started at 3am this morning, when they heard that Uhuru had won. I heard the noise at 5am and it has continued all day. Car horns going, people cheering, party horns being blown and house moms dancing and singing!! At 3pm this afternoon was the "official" announcement and then the noise rose up loud once again. I am so thankful for all of your prayers, and for peace in this country. God is so Good!!

Tomorrow will be church in the morning and a pretty regular day in the afternoon. Nothing too big planned for next week aside from maybe visiting Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa. Whether we go or not depends on any post-election violence. Usually the violence starts in the slums, so we will have to see if we can go or not.

I talked with Rev. Peter about the donations that I raised while I was at home, and I have started giving him the donations. Mostly they will be going towards Juja farm, but I will be given a list of all of the things that your donations went towards!!

I hope you are well and enjoying your winter :)

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!! If you are intersted in donating to Happy Life Children's Home please email me at rachelbergen_13@hotmail.com.

Love: Rach :)

Counting and being a Nurse's helper

Hey!!

The last couple of days have been pretty good. Went into the City center on Sunday with Elise and Madi for lunch and a little bit of market shopping. Played more soccer with Fred and a couple of others and lost again...I really have to get better at this!!!

Monday was the voting for the elections, and the counting of the votes continued until today (Tuesday) and I think the results should be revealed sometime on Wednesday. Still hoping and praying for peace and safety. A few (six I think) police officers have been shot, down in Mombasa, but that is all the violence I have heard of. It was crazy because I was up at 6:30 am on Monday and when I looked outside there were people already lining up to vote. And apparently some people stood in line for five hours just to vote!! Hordigans!!! This means crazy people...

I am slowly learning some Swahili words from the older kids downstairs!! I can sorta communicate with the younger kids now, the ones who can't speak english. I can tell them yes and go to bed and "come here you" and sorry!! And today they were trying to teach Madi and I to count to 10, which is harder than you would think...haha or I am just a slow learner.

Today I helped the nurse, Leuba with a baby named Cathy. Cathy has pneumonia, poor little thing, and so it was my job to hold her while Leuba got the injections ready. I also had to hold her while she cried because of the needle. That was the worst part. I mean she isn't even my child and yet I felt for her, and it broke my heart that this tiny child of only two months has to go through these needles and medication. Please pray for Cathy as you remember, so that she will get well quick!!

Other than that, not much else is new. Elise, Madi and I might go to supper tomorrow and we are going to Juja farm on Thursday, providing peaceful election results for both of these things.

I will try to update tomorrow or Thursday on the elections. Thank you for praying!!! Keep it up please and thankyou :)

Ps, here is a little converation I had with Fred
Fred: *feeling the hair on my legs* What is this?!
Me: It's hair
Fred: Don't lie!!! That's thorns!!!
Hahahaha made my day!!

"He puts a song of Praise in this Heart of Mine!!"

Mambo Rafiki!!

God is GOOD all the time :) I am not sick today!!! Praise the Lord. Yesterday I had a headache, a stiff neck and a runny nose and today I am healed. I Jesus' name anything is possible. And you know, I wish I had more faith that HE will bring me through, because honestly I think I was feeling sorry for myself this past week. I mean I was sick, but at the same time I wasn't trying very hard to learn anything in this particlar valley. I did have an amazing conversation with my dear sister, Sheila during this week. And she sorta put something into perspective for me that I am pretty sure I needed to hear; I am sort of like a  mommy, sister, auntie and grandma!! and I haven't been acting like it. Sure I feed them and hold them and talk to them, but do I love them like I should?! Mmmmm maybe not so much. At that moment when they are in my arms, I am all four of those things to that child. And you know, not that Sheila even knows this (until she reads this that is!!), hearing this really hit me hard. I know that God specifically gave Sheila those words to say to me so I would finally GET IT. This is what I learned this week while being sick.

In the weeks of being here, five in total, I have taken one week to adjust and get used to routine, one week for safari, and one sick week. The other two weeks I have been here and perfectly capable of performing duties to the full and I have chosen not to. I have had no problem feeding and being with the babies the four different times of the day but during the rest of the time I didn't very often make myself available to help in any way. Now I have been sick from Tuesday until Friday and I realize how much it sucks being useless when you can't help it. I hated lying in my bed with a fever, but I think that is what it took to show me that maybe I need to make myself available!! That and a message from Sheila. So this week has been a learning week and today I woke up with this amazing desire to do all that I could!! PRAISE GOD IN THE HEAVENS :) Ps, my blog is titled the way it is because that is the song that has been in my head today;

God is Good

All the time

He puts a song of Praise in this heart of mine

God is Good

God is Good

All the time



Please pray that I could continue to remember what God is teaching me. It is amazing to learn these things, and yet I seem to so easily forget the lessons sometimes.

On another note, we got some new volunteers in yesterday; Elise and Madi (mother and daughter) who are staying for two weeks and Jill (widowed older lady) who is staying for four weeks. I got to show them around today. I took them to a few different supermarkets and to meet some of my local friends who have shops. I introduced them to Tim the taxi driver, who gave us a free ride!! (This is what he does to all new volunteers at HappyLife).

Other than the time spent with the new volunteers, I fed the babies three times so far and I even got to hang out with some of the big kids!! Because of the elections the kids tell me they are off of school until the 11th which is great because I can spend lots of time with them this way. I was playing soccer today with Fred mostly and Louise a little bit. It was super fun, although it was very hot outside. Usually there is at least a breeze here so it doesn't seem so bad, but today was still and hot...but soccer is always fun!! I didn't win though, so I challanged Fred to another try some time soon :)

Tomorrow I will be going to Overcoming Faith Church, Rev. Peter's church (founder of  HLCH). We get to take the older kids with us, which is cool. They LOVE church :) it is amazing. Even all the young ones stand at the gate and stare as we leave because they wish they were old enough to go.

Nothing big planned for tomorrow, except church and praying for the elections coming up. I have been told by several people "stay on HLCH grounds until Thursday!!" They have no idea the outcome of the elections so they are warning us to be cautious. Please keep Kenya in your prayers!!

Have a blessed weekend.

Love: Rach