Thursday 13 December 2012

NEWS OF THE WIDOWS' FARM & UPDATE ON IMANI

WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE FARM?


The House/Barn from the Water Tower
John will be going to Kadawa January 6 to see how things are going and to get some new things into motion. Jeremy Bell has just left there and has been reporting regularly about the projects and also has sorted some issues out.  He has taken several photos that are so exciting to us.  We'll share some here. (We also have plagiarized some of his reports. The Lord truly has taken care of the farm this year and, once again we must praise Him for Johnfred, who has done a masterful job while we are away.
The Terrific Maize and Bean Crop

The widows' farm crop is one of the best we have seen with many of the stalks having 2 cobs. There are beans planted in-between the maize, there are bananas on the bush and squash growing underneath them. Management and timing is everything. (Johnfred ordered the tractor to plough  for planting back in Sept.  The way the schedule for the tractor was working it wasn't going to get there until into the rainy season, which would make it impossible to plough. We prayed and the tractor guy came early and got the field ploughed twice.) The tractor came back 2 weeks later to plough the church land but the ground was already too wet by then so they have had to rest the land this season.  There is also a small veggie patch that you can see from the top photo, which will provide food for widows, but those and the squash under the banana's are also cash crops; the money to be used for medical transportation and related expenses when a widow must go to the city for treatment.

Once we get our own tractor ploughing will no longer be a problem for the farm or for the church.  Plus it will provide income for the farm by ploughing other peoples' fields.  God will provide it, and take care of us in the meantime.  That's for sure!!!

The water tower is painted red and white to warn approaching aircraft. (We are still trying to figure out why a plane would be low enough to see the red and white.) It's beautiful! The final stage of this project is to pump water from the well into the 10000 litre (2200 gallon) tank.  With the data we get  from Jeremy, John should be able to get that part of the project going when he is there in January.  During the rainy season there was a violent wind that blew so hard that the empty water tank blew all the way across the platform.  But for the railings the tank would have blown to the ground and been destroyed.  Johnfred has secured it tightly with ropes on all sides, but it is vital that we get water into that container.  Once we get the pump, generator and associated paraphernalia to get the water up there, we will be able to irrigate the crops regularly during the dry season and will have outstanding yield.                                                    
Beautiful Bananas!


Squash Planted in with the Bananas
















The Miracle of the Beans and Beans


There was only one kind of bean planted when the crop was put in, but two different kind of beans were harvested!  It was a good crop!  They are planted in furrows between the maize crop and harvested shortly before the maize.















 Distribution of Maize to the Widows      
                    There are two crops a year in Kenya, one that is planted before the "former rain" and one before the "latter rain".  Yes, just as in bible times.  In villages, getting a good crop depends upon rain - at the right time and in the right proportions.  Therefore, if there is drought or if there is an excess of rain at a critical time in the growth process, there is little or no food.  It is now near harvest time and many folks have no maize or beans left from the last harvest.  When this happens the price for these commodities goes up at the native market.  Maize, when it is plentiful, sells for 40 to 50 shillings per 2 KG tin (4.5 lbs.); now it is selling for 70 shillings per tin.  Many people cannot afford that; especially, destitute widows.  We save much of our maize and bean crops to distribute when times are difficult.  Last week we were just able to distribute 10 KG to the widows.   

Joel distributing maize.
UPDATE ON LITTLE IMANI
We were in a coffee shop a few weeks ago when we "accidentally" came across an article about bone-marrow transplants being successfully used to cure sickle-cell anaemia.  After some research, with the help of a doctor friend and the Internet, plus a phone call to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, we have found that bone-marrow transplants in children with sickle-cell anaemia have very high rate of curing the disease.  (It doesn't work so well with adults because the disease has had a long opportunity to cause irreparable damage to the body's organs.)  Also, the possibility of finding a donor with a 100% match is high if the child has siblings.  Imani has four!  We have learned of mission teams going into Kenya and doing bone-marrow transplants; teaching national doctors the procedure.  We have contacted two doctor friends who are checking around for us to see if they can find anything about such teams.  We can't find any doctors or facilities within Kenya (yet) who do that procedure, but when John goes there in January he will do some checking around.  That's the latest.  It certainly is a ray of hope.  We believe that the Lord has His hand in this child's life and has a plan for her future.  We are trusting Him to open doors and also to give us Divine thoughts and strategies regarding her healing.  He is the God of the impossible!!!
Imani and Mommie - Elizabeth



WE WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, PEACEFUL, PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY NEW YEAR, AND MUCH BOUNTIFUL GRACE!


JOHN AND MARTY