Dear Friends and Family,

I want to thank you all so much for your support and your encouragement to me. I am back in Toronto, Canada right now and it has been so good to see and meet up with some of you.

I realize I had not made an update of my last couple weeks in Kenya and so I will try my best to tell of what I had learned and experienced.

In June-July I had the chance to go on two day trips to visit two other ministries. In early June I had actually gone to visit another Children home about a couple hours away just for HIV/AID orphans. The name of the home that I visited was called “Beat the Drum” and it is under the same organization that Tumaini Children’s Home is under- GOA (Glory Outreach Assembly). The home only has 15 children and because of their condition they are actually split up in 3 mini homes (5 children each) with one mother each so that they can have someone look after and care for them better. When I met the kids,  I couldn’t even tell that they were AIDS orphans just by looking at them and playing with them but when I got to talk to them and hear that they were all children with HIV/AIDS mostly from their parents it made me so sad for them. I spent most of my time talking to them and playing soccer with them as they also sang songs and presented poems to us about HIV/AIDS. I was not at this home for too long, just several hours but I felt really sad to leave and burdened for them after meeting them and seeing how much they were looking for love. I also was really touched by how joyful a lot of them were even based upon their condition, for  if I was in their situation I would never be able to take life like they do. Below are some pictures from “Beat the Drum”.

Also on another weekend, there were two missionaries who were heading off to a church in a small town further in the mountains only about half an hour away from the orphanage called Bushi and it happened that they needed help with their ministry and knew I was close by, so they asked me to go with them and help them. These two missionaries are from England and they go around to different churches in Kenya starting cell groups as there are many churches in Kenya with no small group/cell group structure. So that weekend they called me to go with them to meet the church leaders and help them take pictures but also lead one of the small groups to show these church leaders what cell groups were like. It was quite intimidating at first for they were all the church leaders of about a 1000-2000 people church, but the leaders were all very friendly and understanding. At the end it was encouraging to see them get excited for starting cell groups in the future at their church and it was nice for me to see a part of church ministry in Kenya. There are pictures of the church and the church leaders below.

Then for the final couple weeks I stayed mostly at the orphanage. And one highlight was actually when my brother, Lincoln had come all the way to Kenya to visit me for one week. It was great to have him visit me and see the orphanage and all the children and he came at the right time because I had actually gotten really sick and helped me as I went to the Hospital to get checked out. I had a high fever along with a headache that would not go away with painkillers so after several hours we were really blessed to have gotten a ride to a missions hospital about 2 hours away. We were at the hospital for two days and when we had gotten there they had suspected it might have been malaria or typhoid but after blood tests nothing showed up so even until now we aren’t really sure what I had but I did get better and was so blessed to have my brother with me at that time and to be under the care of a doctor from SIM. After recovering my brother was with me during the 8th anniversary of the Orphanage which also happened to fall on the same day as the day of the African Child and so we got to see lots of dancing and singing from the orphans.You can see a picture of the choir as well as my brother with one of the boys on the bus.

Once my brother had left I only had two  more weeks remaining at my time at the orphanage and it was really sad because all the orphans knew that is was my last couple days with them. There was even one boy who had kept track of the number of days I was at the orphanage so each day he would help check it off for me and tell me exactly how many days were left. At the end I realized how deep and close of a relationship I had built with each child. It was extremely sad for me to say goodbye and so strange for me to leave as I had been living with these children for 6 months and the last couple days there was quite a bit of crying and tears. It was sad to pray and read the Bible for the last time with two boys that I had regularly prayed with and read the Bible with every night. The two boys are below (Solomon on left and Josphat on right) and they promised to continue praying for me and to continue reading the Bible/Devos without me. By the end I was so encouraged by how much God was helping them to grow and they actually pushed me with my own faith. Sometimes at the orphanage we were able to watch the World cup if there was power/electricity and so one night I was rushing to go watch one of the quarterfinal world cup matches and as I was heading over to watch the game, Solomon comes up to me and reminds me we have to read the Bible and pray first, and he comes and tells me “God first right?” Its funny because I was the one that had reminded him of this before several weeks ago and I realized how true that is even if it is the world cup. And I was so impressed and encouraged because Solomon loves soccer so much which is the same as pretty much all the children at the orphanage but he was able to see that spending time with God reading the Bible and praying was more important.

The last day before I left the orphanage they had a farewell for me in where they prayed for me and had a chance to say their good byes for me and during the night “study time” instead of doing their homework, most of them spent time to draw pictures and write notes for me to read. And as I read most of them in Canada after coming back I was amazed at the impact I had made in ways I did not expect. I realized that it wasn’t really necessarily the formal times of teaching, leading Bible studies, leading activities in which I had really impacted the kids but rather it was that I was willing to live with them, spend time with them, play with them,  try farming with them even if I was so terrible at it, chop firewood, try to cook their food, cut their vegetables, eat their food, sleep with them in their rooms, or let them sleep in my room, or just live life with them that really impressed them as they saw this as love in how I had tried to make an effort to be/live with them and understand their culture even if I was so weak and bad at it. During my time in Kenya my brother had showed me a sermon by a speaker at Urbana this year called Oscar Muriu who talked about Incarnational Ministry (http://vimeo.com/8450561). He talks about how Jesus came as a baby and didn’t start formally speaking until he was past thirty years old. In the same way he talks about how Jesus could have come into the world all flashy through CNN or from the sky like the aliens in the movie Independence day but instead he came to the world as a baby and came to live with and be among the people and as a servant to all man until he died on the cross for all our sins. He mentions Philippians 2 which part of it says:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

After hearing this sermon it really encouraged me as to what I was doing, as for many months at the orphanage I was not even really sure of what impact I was making to the kids and kept praying to God to only be magnified and glorified through me. During my last couple weeks a good friend also shared and reminded me of 2 Corinthians 4 about how we all are jars of clay with treasures within us.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hardpressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

I was so encouraged and was reminded that I am so weak like a jar of clay, but we have this great treasure within us which is Christ which shines from within us. And it is through those cracks, weakness, brokenness by which Gods light can shine through us. And so as I pondered through this verse I saw how God was able to shine through all my weaknesses at the orphanage, especially through those times in where I was so humbled as I was trying to learn how to live among them. During my time when I was getting ready to fly out of Nairobi and I was reading part my past journals  from what I had written when I was in Burkina Faso and Kenya I came upon one quote that had really impacted me by Hudson Taylor -(a missionary to China) and I found it so true for he says,

“I often think that God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough for him to use, and that he found me” (Hudson Taylor)

In the same way, I thank God for using me and my prayer is that even if they forget me I pray that all of these orphans may be able to remember God and the love that he has for all of them. For in the end my goal and our goal I realize in missions is for God to be magnified/glorified.

And so I would like to thank you all so much for your prayers and support even if I was not very consistent in my updates and keeping in touch with you all. During my time in Africa I really felt supported as I knew that there were people praying and caring for me.

In terms of what I will be up to now, I will be leaving to go to Waco, Texas in about a week to study at Baylor Univeristy to do my Masters of Social Work at Baylor University  as well as maybe doing my Masters of Divinity for a total of four years in Texas. And so I would appreciate your continued prayers as I go back to school and for where God will call me and lead me next as my heart is to do missions for long term in the future.

I would like to thank you all again for even reading this blog and if you would want to hear more or even just catch up as I would like to see how some of you are doing again, you can be sure to call me in Toronto (416-400-6067) or even just email me (calvlau@gmail.com).

In Christ,

Calvin Lau.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Dear friends and family,

Thank you all for your continual prayers and support. It means a lot to me that you are all still praying and thinking of me even if I have not been consistent and good at keeping all of you in touch.

I am sorry that I can not add too many pictures to this update as the internet here is too slow but I will try to add them and show you all when I leave the orphanage.

It is still the rainy season now and the weather has become a lot colder as well. Due to the rain, the power and water has been out quite often but I have gotten used to always knowing where my flashlight is and sleeping without bathing even when my feet are all dirty and muddy. There has also been lots of sickness spreading between the children and staff. Right now I have a cold and have been recovering but it would be great if you can remember to pray for the health of all of us here at the orphanage. At night I have also been bitten by bugs and some of the boys as well. We aren’t sure what they are however, though the kids say they are bed bugs, but there are bites all over my body and they are quite itchy so if you can just pray for healing and that we will be able to sleep well at night.

This past month I have been more involved with more teaching. The computer teacher has left the school and so I have been left to be the computer teacher. It is funny because if I was back in Canada or anywhere else I would never have seen myself as being a computer teacher but because computers are not so common out here especially in all primary schools, none of the other teachers or staff know much how to teach or even use a computer. As sponsors have donated used computers to the orphanage they have asked me to see what I can do to teach the children. It is a struggle sometimes to know what to teach but right now I have been teaching them typing and it has been hard as the computers, keyboards, mouses are always breaking down, and as the power is not always consistent, classes would have to be cut short once the power would go off. There are only 4 working computers and so I have been letting them use my laptop as well so that they can share the computer between about 30-40 kids. I have been teaching grades 4-7 and it is good to know that they are improving and learning. Once again it has reminded me of being able to use whatever God has given me to serve the children here.

In terms of other classes, I have filled in to teach Math, Science, English and C.R.E (Christian Religious Education) and classes have been going well though it makes me glad that I am usually filling in for the younger children instead of the older children as the subjects and material is not as specific and as in depth. Christian Religious Education has been interesting but it is not really like leading a Bible study, or teaching Sunday school. The teachers are saying how you are not supposed to preach in C.R.E classes but instead you are only supposed to teach the material. Overall I think it’s good for the children to gain knowledge and facts about the Bible but I think it is hard sometimes because to them Christianity and the Bible only becomes a subject to them instead of seeing the deeper implications and true meaning in the gospel.

These past couple months I have been praying for more opportunities to be able to share with them more about the gospel and it has been amazing to see God answer my prayers. I found that the school/orphanage seemed to have more of an emphasis on their academics then on their spiritual walk with God. Even if they have fellowship every day it always seemed dry and the focus of everything seemed to be on doing well on their exams. But two weeks ago a young new pastor/chaplain has arrived and he has been changing the way/format of the fellowship. And it has been good to see this change as the children are beginning to understand the reason to fellowship and what it means to be “Christian” orphanage. The pastor would preach a little each day and then all the children have been split up into 4 and I have been helping to lead one of these groups. Before we had never had a theme but the pastor has set the theme to be on “pressing on” from Philippians 3:14. We have been going through Philippians starting from Chapter one and it has been good that the children are beginning to be more serious in the discussions but it is still a struggle to get them to pay attention. I have all the boys in my group and it has been hard for me at times as I wonder if they understand what I am saying but I have been learning to “press on” myself and to pray for God to work through his word. I would really appreciate it if you can remember to pray for me as I try to lead these children and for these children as well that they may be able to see what the truth and the gospel actually is. Below are pictures of the kids in small groups.

It has also been interesting these past couple weeks because I have also been involved as an “alarm clock” for these children. The children have been motivated to study harder as they have had more exams recently and so they have been more inclined to waking up earlier. Their normal “study time” is 5am but they have been asking me to wake them up earlier since they don’t have alarm clocks. And so every morning for the past couple weeks I have been waking up some of the children at different times with the first one being at 3am up to 5am. Sometimes I would have gaps or breaks in where I would be waiting to wake up the next boy and so what I have been doing is during those times I have been bringing my Bible and have been doing my devotions in their rooms as the boys are studying. But its been funny how God works because I have had the children ask me what I have been reading and these past weeks I have been reading the book of Proverbs and so I got to share with them different proverbs and have been memorizing them with the boys. They are short, but the boys that I have been sharing with have been enjoying them. Recently we memorized two proverbs. I have been trying to share to them how we need to put God first above everything else so one main one in which we have been memorizing is

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the LORD whatever you do and you will succeed”.

Another proverb that one of the boys really liked was

Proverbs 15:17 “Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”

It gets really easy for the boys to complain about the food sometimes as some of these street boys grew up on the streets watching other people eating meat and watching television or seeing people in pictures eating lots of different types of food. At the orphanage we eat vegetables, beans, maize everyday (there is a picture of ugali hope it is clear enough, it is grinded up maize and cabbage below which we eat every night) and only about once every two months we get a little meat. And so as I shared this verse to one street boy, he really liked it as we both memorized it, it has been a good reminder not only to him but to me too how blessed we are to have love, and people to be able to live and eat with no matter what the food may be. It has also helped us to see how lucky we are to have food as there are so many people in Kenya and around the World with no food at all. In terms of prayer it would be great if you can pray for strength and energy as after waking up early I have been feeling more tired and drained during the day.

Also these past couple days, one of the boys has been asking me to read the Bible with him every night for this past week. We have been able to discuss different Bible stories, and it has been interesting because some other boys would sometimes be around and come in and wonder what we have been talking about or doing. About two nights ago as me and this boy were done reading and about to pray, two other boys came in and they ended up praying with us that night. If you can just continue to pray for these nightly devotional times I would appreciate it as well that they will be able to learn what it means to do devotions rather than to just read for school.

A couple weeks ago there was a big fire right next to the orphanage. I have never seen such a big fire before or anything on fire like that before. It was during the night when the kids were about to go for their study time when the electricity cut, and all we could see was fire and smoke only a couple metres away. It was black everywhere because it was night except for the fire as the redness of the fire and the smoke lit the sky. What had happened was the boys dormitories of the High school right next to the orphanage had caught on fire from one of the electrical wires and because the orphanage that we are at is so close, they had to cut the electricity of the orphanage as well so that the orphanage wouldn’t catch on fire. Also as there are no fire trucks or fire stations nearby since we are so out in the country, when there is a fire they just wait for the fire to go out. It was good that the land was so wet however so that the fire was not able to spread.It really scared lots of the children as many of the teachers and even some of the other day schoolers lived in where the fire was so there were lots of children crying. Some of the of the street children were shocked and scared as well as they were telling me it reminded them of when they were on the street when people were burning each other houses. That night there was one boy who told me he was afraid to sleep and was afraid to die and so I got an opportunity to share with him how even if it is scary, we don’t have to fear death if we have faith in Jesus Christ as after we die we will receive salvation if we confess our sins and believe in Him. He seemed a bit more reassured afterwards, but continue to pray for these children for them to find faith and trust in God. There is one orphan who actually was living at that High School, but because of the fire all his things have been burnt. Right now he lives in the orphanage and walks to the High school each day. It is good that no one got hurt, only about 10 fainted but continue to pray for those affected and shocked from the fire.

Recently there were two other orphans in boarding high school that had come back. One came back because it was the second time that the school had caught on fire. It seems that it is quite easy for the schools, dormitories, houses to burn because of the unstableness of the electric wires but also because they are all made out of wood. He has gone back to his high school now but it is important to pray for their safety. I had bonded with this boy during the one-month break in April as he has hopes to become a tour guide and so I actually taught him some Japanese for about two weeks. Its funny how God uses all, and whatever we have to help others. But this boy seems to be alright now and is actually the oldest boy at the orphanage. This boy was a street boy and he is in grade 12 now but he was the reason as to why the orphanage had started. He went to church and heard the pastor preaching on love and helping the poor and after the sermon he asked the pastor to live out his message by taking him in off the streets and so the pastor (founder of the orphanage) took him in and eventually started an orphanage/children’s home for street children. Its amazing at how God works and now this boy is like the elder brother to all the other orphans and street kids.

The other boy that had just come back from boarding High School was also from the streets. He is in grade 9, and he was actually hospitalized because when he was sleeping in his dorm he was beaten by four older boys until he fainted and passed out. He has been taken to the hospital and has seemed to recover though he still has pain in his back. This boy has also gone back to school just a couple days ago but if you can pray for him as he tries to learn how to forgive those that had beaten him. I have also bonded a lot with this boy as well, and he is actually one year older than me, but he grew up on the streets helping to chop firewood at a really young age to get food (picture of some boys chopping wood-I have been learning from them how to chop the wood). He had also learned a little bit of carpentry but never got to finish learning and is grateful now to be able to get a chance at going through high school now. He is also the older brother of a brother and sister that are also at the orphanage whom are actually at the top of their classes right now. Each of these children have their own stories and it always touches and amazes me at what they have gone through and how God had delivered and helped them through their hardships. It always makes me see how little my “hardships” and “struggles” are in comparison to them.

Thank you all for taking time to read my updates and praying for me. I only have several weeks left and so if you can remember to pray that I will be able to make the most of the final weeks that I am here. I will be looking forward to when I see some of you again so that I will be able to tell and share more but I am so grateful for all your encouragements and prayers. I hope and pray that you are all having a good summer as well.

In Christ,

Calvin.

Dear family and friends,

I am so sorry that I have not had an update in so long. There has been lots of rainfall as it is rainy season now and so there have been many power outages and it has been harder to get hold of internet. I am currently in Nairobi right now and have just come back from renewing my visa but will be leaving tomorrow to head back to the countryside. I have had a good couple days here in Nairobi and also spent a couple days on a safari along with some animal centers. I got to see quite a few animals like lions, giraffes, cheetahs, elephants and it was amazing just to see God’s creation. You can see some pictures below.

I thank you all for your continual prayers and support.  It is always encouraging to know that there are brothers and sisters all around the world praying for me.

These past couple weeks the kids have had exams to mark the end of their first term and so I have been helping to get these kids get ready for their exams. These examinations are really important as they are what make up the grades for these kids. Due to the importance of these exams, the children have had a more intense study schedule. Each morning they have a study time from 5am – 7am. And then they have breakfast until classes start at 8am. From 8am they have school up to 5pm. Then from 5pm they have to clean the school and their rooms until fellowship which runs from 6-630pm. Dinner is then from 630-715pm up to the next study time which runs from 715-930pm. And the oldest children have classes that run from 730-930pm so sometimes they will have to stay up later or even wake up earlier to be able to finish their homework. At first when the school and orphanage made this new schedule the kids were all complaining and falling asleep in their classes but now they have been more adjusted to the schedule though at firstI had to try to encourage them and keep them awake during the study times. At the end of each month they have exams and at the end of the February exams they had an “academic clinic” for the children. This clinic was a chance for the children to talk to the teachers with their parents to see how they were doing in school and as most of the children of the school are orphans I got a chance to act as a “parent” to some of the boys. There were also some adults from the community who came to act as “parents” for these children. It felt really strange for me to act as their “parent”, but it made me feel so blessed of my own parents and how blessed I was to have parents that were there to encourage and care for me. At first I did not expect to act as a “parent” for some of these kids because I though there were adults from the neighbourhood who would be willing to help but there were some boys who had no one to go with them. And so when some of the boys came up to me and asked me if I could go with them as their parent I felt so sad for them and had to accept. It is funny now because one of the boys even now is known as my son and we always joke about it but I have been really felt a burden to show the love and care and even “parenting” that these children need even if I have no idea what that means.

Recently I listened to a sermon by CJ Mahaney about adopting grace and how we are all the adopted sons and heirs of Jesus Christ (Gal 4:1-7)

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ⁵to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. ⁶Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^[a] Father.” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:4-7)

After listening to this sermon it really reminded me of how great our heavenly father is and how much he was willing to give to adopt us as his sons and not just to be his sons but as heirs to what we do not deserve. Instead he sacrificed his real perfect and innocent son for us so that we could all be saved. How great is God’s love for us that now we can turn to him and call him our father and cry “Abba Father to him”. We don’t deserve this relationship with God yet because of his great love he has chosen to save us. As I was listening to this sermon it made me feel so convicted of just how great God’s love was for us to sacrifice his own begotten son and it brought me to pray that I could also be able to love and take care of these children through the love of Christ, but more importantly that they would be able to accept this great love and sacrifice that Jesus had shown for them. If you can just pray for me as I learn how to love them and for all these children that they may be able to find and understand how great Gods love is for them.

Last month, two street children who have been at the orphanage for a couple years now ran away back to the streets. This is not their first time however, but it is sad because even if they are able to have education, food, a place to stay and sponsors that support them to stay at the orphanage they choose to run away because of their addictions still to their old way of life. Both of these boys have grown up on the streets for several years and so they have been addicted to glue since a young age. They are about 11-12 years old and are studying in grade 2-3 right now and are actually these two boys are the ones that I had bought rabbits for. It was really sad for me when I heard that they had run away because I was close to both of them. They ran away on the way to church all the way to the closest town-Naivasha. One of the boys got caught a couple days later by the pastor and so that night he spent time in my room but he was a bit different because he had sniffed some glue. We talked for awhile and he explained how he was so angry when the pastor had caught him and how he had wanted attack him, but he said something had kept him back. I tried to ask why he had run away but he didn’t really say anything except that he was bored. He seemed really embarrassed by all the other kids and the other staff and so he came to “hide” in my room. Anyways that night I brought him to his bed and tucked him in. But the next morning, after breakfast he ran away again. The staff and I thought he would try to run away so we had locked his room at night and had someone watch him in the morning but he had cleverly sneaked away again. Early in the morning someone came in my room asking if this boy was in my room but I told him no and when I heard that he had run away again I felt really sad and wished I could have said more to him. A few days later however both of them were found in Naivasha close to where one of the kids had grown up. They were really desperate to get away as one of the boys climbed over this really tall wall over barbed wires just to run away but one of the older kids who had also grown up at the orphanage climbed the wall too and caught him. When both of these boys came back I was happy to see them again, and it reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son.Even if I was upset at them for leaving it reminded me of God’s acceptance and love for us even when we so clearly do not deserve it. Both these boys are back at the orphanage now (their pictures are below) and actually one of these boys even has a chapter about his life in a book called “is it ok with you?” by Janin Maxwell and there is a whole chapter about a mission team that had found this street boy on the streets of Nairobi and had wanted to take him in to support but because they did not have the money they couldn’t. But when they did get the money they went back going all around different slums in Nairobi looking for this boy and when they had finally found him they decided to sponsor him and right now not only him but 3 other boys who had also grown up with this boy are at Tumaini Children’s home. I had not known that this boy’s story would be in the book because there is another girl’s life that is mentioned in the story and she had told me to read about her life (she has an amazing testimony; after being raped at about 15, now she is one of the oldest kids at the orphanage in grade 8 with a 3 year old son and is now fully living her life for God). I showed him the chapter on his life to this boy and I think it really touched him because he had forgotten how much love he was shown to have been sponsored to be at this orphanage. As I told him I had read about his life and showed him pictures from the book I saw him teary eyed and I think he was once again reminded of just how he was brought off the streets. Though even now I am not fully sure if he will run away again but if you can continue to pray for these two boys that they will be able to really appreciate all that God has shown to them and as to what it really means to have a true relationship with Christ.

In terms of other prayer requests if you can just continue to pray for me as I continue to try to be a good testimony to these kids and that I will also continue to be able to pick up the local language. At the orphanage they speak both their local language-Kikuyu and in classes they speak Swahili and English. I have been learning both Kikuyu and Swahili at the same time and so it is a struggle at times but if you can just pray for patience and perseverance.

Thank you so much for your support I hope you are all doing well and have had a good Easter.

In Christ,

Calvin.

Hey friends and family. I hope you are all doing well. I am actually in an internet cafe now in the closest town Naivasha which is about a 2 hours local bus ride.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. I have been adjusting well over here at the orphanage. I have been making lots of connections with the kids. Last week the kids had many sports competitions so I actually helped to coach them in football (soccer) and volleyball. And I was even asked to be the main referee in one of the main football matches between Tumaini and another local school. It was actually something that was really hard for me as I had the children and teachers of both schools watching me as I was refereeing and so there was a big crowd watching this game. This was a big game because it was between the oldest boys of both schools and whoever does well gets selected for the next stage. There are many stages from provincial all the way up to national. At half time the teachers from the other school came up to me telling me that I was not making enough calls and were telling me to make sure I kept my eyes open. So I had a rough time but in the end Tumaini won 2-1 so the other school wasn’t as happy but in the end it all worked out. But I remember praying for God to pull me through and he did. There is a picture of me refereeing on the bottom though it is not very clear.

I have been making lots good connections with the children. I know almost all their names now and I have been spending lots of time with them. With the younger children I have actually been helping them raise rabbits. The children raise these rabbits then when they are older and bigger the kids will kill these rabbits and cook them. I have not had a chance to cook one yet,  but they children were promising me that they would tell me and cook it for me to eat when the rabbits get bigger. During their free time we go to the field and pick up plants for the rabbits to eat. The children also make the rabbits mate and I actually saw a female rabbit give birth yesterday. Sadly two of them were premature however as a male rabbit had gotten into the place that the female rabbit was staying. I have been learning a lot from the boys how to raise these rabbits and I actually bought three of the boys rabbits which are only 25 shilling each. Also they were showing me how to open the eyes of the baby rabbits. Usually the mother is the one that helps these rabbits but the boys were showing me how to stretch and pull open the eyes of the baby rabbits. And it is quite amazing because once you open their eyes, then they are able to see. It really reminded  me of God and how he opens our eyes when we cannot see.The picture of where they keep the rabbit are on the left.

Recently I have been learning a lot about just how loving and great God is. These past couple weeks I have had many things broken or even stolen from the kids. I have lost a few t-shirts and yesterday my electric toothbrush got stolen.  Sometimes it feels as if the children or people see all  mzungu (white people) as having lots of money and that they only want to talk to me because of maybe the rewards they can get from me. There have been times that I think I have felt frustrated but one time after I got into my room and was reflecting I began to see that in the same way this is how I treat God, and even worse sometimes as I will not even think or care about God only to pray or complain when he is not giving, blessing or answering for what I ask for in my prayers. It helped me realize just how great God’s love is for us and it reminded me of 1 John 4:10-12  because it says,

“¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

I began to see just how undeserving I was of God’s love, and just how great his love is for us even when we are so sinful and deserve death. Just as God loves us I was reminded that this is how we should love those that we are around even when sometimes it is not easy to love them or when it seems they want to know me just so that they can get me to buy things or give things to them. I got to share this with some of the boys now and I think it has developed our relationship even more. Last night one boy came to my room to tell me that he never saw things like that before. If you can just pray for me that I will be able to keep loving these children  with the love of Christ. I also began to lay all my possessions down to Christ, and last night I got my electric toothbrush back.

I need to leave the internet cafe now as I need to head back to the orphanage as on Saturdays we wash our clothes. Thank you so much for your prayers. I will try to update whenever I can.

In Christ,

Calvin.

Hey friends and family,

Thank you so much for you prayers. I am sorry for not being able to update my blog in such a long time. There have been some power outages and the internet has been quite hard to get a hold of. I have been adjusting to the life style here and have been living with these children for about 3 weeks now. There have been many things out here that I have had to learn but the children have been really helpful. They have been showing me how to wash my clothes by hand, milk cows, and even farming potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. The nature is beautiful out here as well as the orphanage is up in the mountains and I think it is around 8000ft altitude here and so even if we are close to the equator it is actually really cold out here. At night and in the mornings it will be really cold and so I have been using three blankets to sleep, but in the daytime it can get really sunny. I have actually gotten sun burnt out here because of the sun but have also caught a cold out here because of the change in temperature.

This morning I went to church and it takes about one hour to walk to church and walking to church has just made me to see how beautiful God’s creation is and the greatness of God. To get to church I have to go down a hill then all the way up again and along the way I see lots of sheep eating grass just on the side of the road tied to a short stick stuck into the ground. Every time I pass by the sheep I see how dumb they are as they do not try to escape or run away even when they easily can get loose easily. Instead they just see the grass around them and chew on what is in front of them because they need the shepherd to guide them to where they can eat grass. From these sheep, it reminds me of myself and how in the Bible it talks about how we are like sheep that have gone astray, and how we need Jesus as the good shepherd to guide and take care of us. Like the sheep we just see the grass in front of us and eat and we will keep eating that grass when really there is grass everywhere. We will only be able to get to all the other grass with the help of the shepherd. We need the shepherd to guide us and lead us to green pastures to show us where to get grass (psalms 23). This was just something I have reflected on recently and it has made me see my own helplessness without Christ to guide me. It has made me to remember to trust him to always be there to provide and help me.

Right now I am still trying to find what it is that God wants me to do here, but I have been helping out here at the primary school. I have been helping to teach computer and science and even a little bit of guitar. I also might start teaching CRE (Christian Religious Education) and on my free time I have been playing and hanging out with kids; playing soccer, volleyball, and even playing with the rabbits that they raise to eat. The children also have fellowship or evening devotions every night before dinner except Sundays and so these children all need to read their Bibles but I am hoping to be able to encourage them spiritually. I have just started memorizing Bible verses with one of the kids and am praying that I can be there to help them with their faith in Christ. To get into the orphanage you must be Christian, and a lot of them are from and have lived on streets for years and so to get accepted they may have just said they were “Christians” but I think it is hard to know if they really know what it means to be a Christian. And so if you could pray that they will know what it means to have a real relationship with God. It is really sad to hear where they have come from and their background but it has been encouraging to see some of the children’s passion for Christ and how much their life has changed because of Christ. Below is a picture of some of the orphans on my bed.

Thank you so much for your prayers again. I really appreciate it and here are some requests:

1. If you can pray for my continual reliance and trust in God to show me how he wants me to serve here.
2. To be able to get better in learning Swahili and the local language (Kikuyu) so that I can communicate better with the children and villagers here. The children have most of their classes in English but they still communicate in Swahili or Kikuyu.
3. For a continual growth in my spiritual walk with Christ.
4. That I will be able to deepen the relationships that I have made with these children and that I can help them know who Christ is and to love them with the love of Christ.

Thanks,

In Christ,

Calvin.

Hey everyone,

I have made it safely to kenya. I have been in Nairobi for a couple days and have just finished my training.

I am leaving tomorrow morning to the countryside to North Kinangop to go serve at an orphanage called Tumaini which mean Hope.  At this orphanage there are around 87 children  and I will be living with these children for the next couple months. I am not fully sure yet as to what I will be doing so if you can pray for me as I try to find what and how it is that God wants me to serve at this orphanage.I will continue to send more prayer requests and updates when I can.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement.

Hey everyone, Merry Christmas and happy new year.

I hope you all had a good break. Sorry it has been awhile since I have updated my blog. I am currently in Hong Kong and have been here for a couple weeks  but will be leaving for Kenya tomorrow. It has been a good time just to rest and meet up with different friends and family.

I feel I did not really talk about my final couple weeks in Burkina Faso. So I will try to sum up the end of my time there.

In terms of of my final weeks it was sad to have to say good bye after building relationships. But during the last couple days I had time to meet up with friends, students and take part and plan for several Christmas parties.

For ESL classes during the last couple classes we started having really good discussions about Abraham. I had one student ask me why God needs blood for our sins, and it was great because all my Christian students started giving answers and we ended up having this discussion for two classes. During the next class it was really good because we talked about how blood represents life and we all deserve death because of our sin and a blood sacrifice is what we need in order to take our place. But we talked about how in the old testament the sacrifices only “cover” our sins but do not fully wash away our sins. Atonement in Hebrew only means to “cover” but instead we have Christ the perfect sacrifice that fully washes  takes all our sins away. I was so blessed to have a local pastor in our class because he got us all to read Hebrews 8-10 and Isaiah 1,2. This was a perfect transition because during the last couple weeks we started discussing Christmas and how Christ came into this world and just how important his sacrifice was for us. It was great because after the class discussions the non-Christian students would be talking to the pastor in French. Its been amazing just to see God work among the discussions. Below is a picture of my students.  And at the last party it was sad to say goodbye to them but I still keep in touch with some of them through email. If you can remember just to keep them in your prayers as they will probably continue to take ESL this coming year as well.

For English Academy, we only ended up having two students. One student is only around 9 years old while the other student is about 13 years old. Even though we expected more students its been amazing to see how God has been using these English classes to do his work. During one of the classes the older student decided to rededicate his life to Christ. He did not go to church before and his parents are not Christian as well though he told us he was Catholic when he first joined our classes. But during one of our classes, Joseph (the pastor) went through the gospel once again with him and he decided to give his life to Christ again. If you can remember to pray for him that he can stand firm and for his parent’s faith as well that they may be able to understand his decision. The younger student is quite interested as well. He is Muslim but he does not go to the mosque to pray, and he has been very interested during the Bible time of our English lessons. We asked him if he would like to accept Christ as his savior and he said yes but we are not sure if he really meant it when he said yes. So pray for his salvation and that he may get to know who Christ really is. Pictures of both of them are below.

Kids of Hope has been really sad to leave as well. We had a Christmas party in where we had more than 80 or 90 Muslim beggar boys. We had so many of them because they always come for the Christmas party. We had a puppet show and there was a gospel message. Recently there have been some problems however within the place that kids of hope is run. Some of the beggar boys had tried to steal the stuff from the three christian boys who live at the place where Kids of Hope is located. The Christian boys caught the other boys and tied them up and called the police. Now one of these boys is in prison so it has been hard for these Christian boys. Pray that they can continue to stand firm and for the boy in prison. It has been encouraging to see the 3 christian boys step up during the kids club on Saturdays and read and explain the Bible stories in their own language (Fulfide). I also went to a Fulani (people group) church on my last Sunday and it was encouraging to see the three of them there. It also was a day of baptism so it was nice to see some other Fulani people get baptized. There are pictures of me and the kids on my last day.

Last of all I want to share about one of my closest friends that I made in Burkina Faso. My friend’s name is Altine and he is part of the Fulani people. Lots of the boys from Kids of Hope are Fulani and if you are Fulani you are pretty much known to be Muslim. But it is amazing just to hear how Altine became a Christian. He had grown up in a village with no parents and was made to live with his relatives but they did not treat his well at all. He grew up as a shepherd boy and one day he got bitten by a snake but there were no doctors or medicine to treat him and so his relatives pretty much left him out to die. Instead what they did was give him a black rock that they put on his snake bite but it did not do anything and he kept getting worse. But he was lucky because one guy decided to carry Altine all the way to a hospital a couple hours away. Once he got to the hospital the Doctor treated him before it was too late and it actually happened to be a Christian hospital and he got to hear the gospel once he was treated. And a pastor decided to take Altine to live with him and eventually Altine decide to give his life to Christ. Altine talks about how it is a miracle in how he was brought to Christ as out of 6 million people only about 900 are Christian. And once a Fulani becomes Christian they are greatly persecuted and mistreated. Once Altine told his relatives he was Christian they despised him and yet Altine talks about Joseph in the Bible and how he is still able to forgive them. During my time in Ouagadougou Altine was my ESL English assistant and he is also a student at the Univeristy of Ouagadougou. He is studying the sociology of beggars and wants to help them in the future. He helps to teach french to the beggar boys at Kids of Hope. Altine has been supported by some missionaries but still it hasn’t really been enough for him to have enough food everyday. And so during my time in Burkina Faso during my last month I ended up using all the extra money or money that I had in my budget to feed Altine as well. The day I left he told me how much it meant to him when I ate with him each day and bought him food. But I got to explain to him how it was not my money but money from God and from all of you that had supported me and so he was greatly encouraged. If you can just continue to remember to pray for him that he may be able to stand firm and that he may be able to get financial support and have enough so that he can live . Late at night before I got on the plane he made me local Burkina Food. We are eating Tou and sauce. Tou is kind of like grinded millet that you put in your hand then dip in the sauce . There are pictures of me and Altine eating tou.

From my time in Burkina Faso I really got to experience and see God at work. Thank you all for your prayers and support. If you can just continue to pray for me as I spend the next 6 months in Kenya. Pray for my trip and for my training. I will have training in Nairobi for a couple days before heading off to Northern Kenya. I will try to send out updates and more prayer requests once I get to Kenya.

Thanks,

In Christ,

Calvin.

hey everyone, thank you for your prayers.

I have been Burkina Faso for more than a month now and I have become quite settled into the life here. The weather is cooler now though it is very dusty right now. It’s been funny to see people bring out their jackets and winter hats even though the temperature is still over 30°C.

Recently I have been part of some other ministries. In the mornings I have been helping to plan the start of a new English Academy for children. I have been working with a local pastor and he has a huge vision for this Academy. We have handed out flyers to different schools and we are hoping to teach English to these children as well as teach them the Bible.  He is hoping that this will eventually lead to a mission in the future where local Christians here from Burkina Faso and West Africa can be sent to do missions to the rest of Africa and to the world. Right now we are hoping to start classes by next Thursday but we still need lots of preparation and materials. We have just started to plan the whole curriculum but there will be a need for teachers in the future as I will be leaving Burkina Faso in the middle of December.  So if you can pray for the preparation, as well as for Gods provision of supplies/materials and even teachers for this ministry.

Also this pastor has already started a Christian primary school and I have been helping to play guitar for these children as they are planning to have a Christmas show sometime in December.  I have really just been amazed at how God has been using me,  especially in ways that I never expected and in things I never had confidence in. But through these challenges it has only  made me count and trust in God more and to count on his strength and not mine. I actually got asked to lead worship with the guitar at the International Church last Sunday, and I was nervous but God carried me through and I began to realize that it was not about me but about God. I will have to lead worship one more time in December so if you can pray for me as I lead this congregation to worship.

Last weekend I also went to help out with flood relief work. A couple months ago there was a big flood here in Ouagadougou that wiped out many homes. So I went with the same local Pastor to hand out food and supplies to these people. They are right now living in tents donated by UNICEF but they will have to leave by the end of this month (pictures are below) so pray for them that they will be able to find new places to live in. I got encouraging news from the pastor this morning as I heard he went to evangelize to them this morning along with a couple others and 60 of them gave their lives to Christ! This is such an encouragement; if you can continue to pray for these people and for those that have just made decisions today.

Two ESL students have been coming to visit me every week to practice their English. They are from Chad and are Muslims but they have been interested in discussing the Bible. Recently I have been talking to them about Proverbs in the Bible and about the sayings of Jesus. Pray for their salvation and for me as well that I will have more opportunities to discuss the Bible during these casual English practicing times. You can see the picture of them below.

God has really been teaching me and helping me to grow  spiritually especially through the challenges and trials that I have been having here. Even though it has been hard, I have been learning to delight in God. In my devotional time there have been many verses in Psalms that I have been reading about how to delight in God. One that has stood out to me and been trying to understand is Psalms 37:4, “Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart”. I have also been reading through John Piper’s Desiring God and have been really encouraged  by how he talks about how “our chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever”. I have always been doing and seeking to glorify God but I never thought about glorifying him by enjoying him and his greatness. Instead I have been trying to glorify him by doing things for him but then I realize that God doesn’t need us to do anything for Him he could do it all if he wanted to but instead he wants us to delight in Him and to do these things because of our joy that we have in Christ. A couple weeks ago I got my cell phone stolen actually and I read this passage which says, ” But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” (Hebrews 10:32-34) What I have been going through is nothing in comparison to those first apostles and what they had endured and what they lost but the end of this verse reminded me of how even though my cell phone was “plundered”  (stolen) I realized I had such a greater joy and everlasting possession in Jesus Christ.   I was so blessed a week later as  one of my local African friends is lending me a phone to use right now. If you can just continue to pray for me as I continue to learn what it means to delight and find joy in Christ.

Thank you for your prayers, I have really been feeling your prayers in how God has been taking care of me and teaching me so many things.Thank you all for your support as well, I have been so encouraged whenever I hear from any of you.

–

I have been able to travel for these past couple days and it has been great to see the countryside. I spent one day in Yako (about 1 hours away) and got to visit an orphanage there and it was nice to see the kids and I got to see many babies. Some of them were so small; there are pictures below.

Then I spent two nights in Piela (a small town about 3 hours away from Ouagadougou). It was so nice to see the villages and the bush. One of the missionary kids who is home-schooled needed help with his Biology and Math and so I spent the whole day going through lessons with him. I never thought I would have to use Biology or Math out here in Burkina,  But I  really learned how God uses whatever we have to do his work. He actually was doing a project on trees and their medicinal uses and its funny because I took a course at my University in Ethnobotany and another course Plants and People in which I thought would never be of any use in the future but surprisingly I did get to use a little bit of what I had learned. I have never seen African trees before but it was nice because Marty took me out on his motorcycle and we rode out into the bush to look and take pictures of trees. The nature is just so amazing out here. There was also this place with all these rocks and in the picture below you can see a path on the rock. According to the local people this is called the “Path of God”. I also got to visit a dispensary and medical clinic and got to see lots of mothers with their babies, you can see the pictures of them below as well.  And in the afternoon I played soccer barefoot with the kids here.  I had a really great time on this trip and it was so good to get out of the city to see the villages and God’s creation.

Hey friends, I have been in Ouagadougou for more than 2 weeks now and have been starting to get used to things. Thank you for all  your prayers. God has been really good in taking care of me.

Recently I have just started to be part of another ministry here and have been working with Muslim beggar boys. Most of these boys are part of a people group here known as the Fulani and they speak a language called Fulfide. I know only the basic greetings for now but hopefully I will be able to learn more. These boys are sent to study and live with a Muslim teacher when they are young and if they have free time then they are able to go outside, but during their free time they have to beg for a certain amount of money. Kids of Hope is a place where these boys come to hang out and get food and on Saturdays there is a kids club for them in where they have a bible study and a craft for them to learn. During the week I go visit and help them during their french lessons and with whatever they need help with. Last week I helped them paint their tables and chairs because they were really rusty and worn out. I am not really a good painter though  and somehow ended up with red paint on my head. Maybe you will be able to see the red paint on my head below. There are also some pictures of the boys below. The boys range from all ages and they gave me a Fulfide name. My name here is “Demyo”.

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Recently it has been amazing to hear that  three of them have accepted the Lord, but their Muslim teacher found out and so they got kicked out of the mosque and now they actually live at where Kids of Hope is run. It is amazing to see their testimony as they have no family or any roots here in Ouagadougou.  Please remember to keep them in your prayers that they may be able to stand firm and for the rest of these boys to be able to receive the Lord and his love. Two of these christian boys are pictured below.

Thank you for your prayers I have been settling in and the English classes have been going well. I have been struggling during the bible study parts but I  had a good discussion with my students last night about how we are made in God’s image. They were so into the discussion that they started even talking in French. Please continue to pray for my students that they may be able to know God and for me as well that I may be able to really connect and share who God is to them.