Busy Week at Agape

We have had a busy week at Agape!  As we've discussed before, part of Agape's mission is to rescue street boys off of the street, and this past week four new boys chose to leave the street to join the Agape family; Praise the Lord!  Please be in prayer for these boys as Agape begins to counsel them to determine their family background and experiences on the street.  The street is a scary place and some boys have been severely abused, so please be in prayer that the Lord will begin to heal these broken children.  I've added the boys' photos and names below so that each of you can be praying for them; their photos will look a little rough, because they are taken when they first come off of the street.

Brian David, Age 13

Briton Kuzwa, Age 12

Calvins Okoth Otieno, Age 13

Vincent Otieno, Age 12

We are also really excited that one of our prodigal sons has returned.  Paul Ooko chose to "jump the fence" at Agape last week to go back to the street, but he chose a few days ago to come back to Agape!  Please pray that the Lord will work in his heart to remove the desire to go back to the street.  

Paul Ooko, Age 12

Another part of Agape's mission is to eventually reunite Agape's boys with their families in their home villages.  This past week, Agape successfully reunited five boys with their families!  Please pray that these boys will settle back home quickly with their families, and that their families will treat them well.  

Backstone Mungao, Age 10

Daniel Ochieng, Age 10

Duncan Omondi, Age 12

Levis Otieno, Age 9

Richard Oselu, Age 11

Note:  You'll see a whole lot of "O" names listed above; if you'll recall, the Luo tribe in Kenya names their children based upon the events surrounding their birth.  Here's a quick answer key:  

• Otieno:  Born between 7 PM and 11 PM
• Ochieng:  Born between 11 AM and 3 PM
• Omondi:  Born in the morning

Truth In Advertising? Hangover Hotel

Only in Kenya do you find real truth in advertising . . . Hangover Hotel.  "Hotels" in Kenya refer to both traditional hotels, as well as restaurants.  I guess that this restaurant specializes in Tusker beer!

Happy Birthday Lyla!!!

A big happy birthday to our little Lyla who turned 3 years old today!  We had a small birthday party at our house this afternoon with our fellow Agape missionaries.  Here are a few photos and a video of the festivities!

Miss Priss is 3-years old!!!

"Happy Birthday to You . . . "

The Cake Boss

Uh no, we didn't make the flowers . . . they are store bought.

Lyla snoozing before the big party.

Chow down!

Lyla and her new baby doll and stroller.

How do missionaries party?  Uno and Connect 4!!!

Our New Ride

Praise the Lord!!!  After seven weeks in Kenya, we finally have our family vehicle!  As you may have read in some of our posts last month, we were considering buying a mini-van for the family, but after talking to a lot of folks (mechanics included), we were encouraged to buy something a little more sturdy for the Kenyan roads.  Between bad roads, potholes and speed bumps, a mini-van just won't cut it long term . . . so, let me introduce you to our new family friend, Big Red!

Big Red is a 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, and we are so thankful to have it!  I purchased it through a small company in Nairobi that helps missionaries buy and sell vehicles.  Last Friday, Steve Warn and I flew to Nairobi, and drove the 7-hours back to Kisumu . . . quite a test drive.  Well, Big Red passed with flying colors!  A big thank you to all of you who have been praying for us to find a vehicle!!!  (Note:  If you look closely, there's a turtle hiding behind the back left tire.)

African Flu

Tammy and I had our first African experience with sickness this week.  On Monday, Tammy started our with just a headache, which progressed to sinus congestion with sore throat on Tuesday.  Initially, we just thought it was a cold, but by Thursday she was so miserable, I took her to the doctor (Some of our staff said that she had the "African Flu," but I'm not sure that it's the flu).   We're really fortunate that one of Agape's Kenyan board members is a physician in Kisumu, so all of the missionaries in the area go to see her.  Her name is Dr. Ruby Sokwala, and she is a wonderful physician!

So, I took Tammy to see Dr. Ruby, who gave her a shot of antibiotic and a prescription for an oral antibiotic.  She instructed us in the future not to mess around with sickness in Kenya, but at the first sign of symptoms to come see her.  Because we're in a new country, we've never been exposed to the sicknesses in Kenya, so we are much more susceptible to catching these "bugs."  Evidently, with the respiratory sicknesses, it's easy to get pneumonia if you leave it unchecked.

I caught the same bug Friday night, so I went in and got the same treatment as Tammy on Saturday.  I'm feeling a lot better today, but Tammy is still battling a nasty cough . . . so, if she's not feeling better tomorrow, we'll probably head back to see Dr. Ruby!  Please keep us in your prayers, especially that the kids will stay healthy!

Oh yeah, Americans will get a kick out of this . . . here's a breakdown of the approximate cost for a doctor's visit:

• Medical Visit:  500 KSh (approx. $5.50)
• Antibiotic Injection:  500 KSh (approx. $5.50)
• Oral Antibiotic:  550 KSh (approx. $6.00)

Needless to say, it's going to take a long time to meet our deductible at these rates!

Cowabunga Dude!

Earlier this week, we welcomed six new additions to the Page Family!  No, not kids but turtles.  There are two big turtles (2' long), two medium-sized turtles (18" long), and two small turtles (12" long), so inevitably they became the mommy and daddy turtles, the boy turtles, and the girl turtles.  The turtles used to be at Agape's drop-in center for the street boys to play with, but when the drop-in center closed the turtles have been relegated to a cage.  We thought they would be much happier at our house!

Here are a few photos of our new friends (and a few other pictures):

A local lizard hanging out outside our house.  They are really fast!  Lizards are a good thing . . . it means that there aren't any snakes around.

Seth with one of the medium-sized turtles.

Connor with her new friend.

One of the big turtles trying to escape . . . i don't think he'll be successful getting over the 8-foot wall!

Seth with one of the small turtles.

Seth playing ball with our friend and guard, Moses.  Moses is from the Masai tribe.

Other Turtle Tidbits

• The street boys sometimes refer to themselves as "ninjas."  We weren't sure why until one of the Agape boys told us that the street boys had seen the movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," and the turtles in the movie live in the sewers.  Because the street boys live, sleep, and hide in the sewers, as well, they started calling themselves "ninjas."
• The largest tribe around Kisumu is the Luo.  While many are Christians, there are some that remain superstitious and dabble in old African religions.  We were told that some Luos are terrified of turtles because they are used in witchcraft. So, we decided that we are going to put a sign on our gate: "Beware of Turtles!"

Vonage Works!!!

We finally got internet set up at our new house, and we can now use Vonage!  You can call us for free at (919) 894-7945.  (Note:  I will be shutting off Vonage at noon EST to have full bandwidth to watch Clemson crush Auburn in football, though).  Vonage will be back up in full operation tomorrow!