Kenya Email Update 12/16/14

Wow, it has sure been busy around here.  As this email may get long (there is so many things to tell you) I am going to start with a few Christmas items.

 First, the Christmas spirit is far different here.  Without watching TV, listening to the radio, and little internet access we have only heard about 2 minutes of Christmas music, have seen two Charlie Brown type Christmas trees, and have not spent near the money we would've at home on decorations, cookies, candies, and presents. Our Christmas here will be far different.

 A friend from college had the idea that his family (and his sisters') donate money to sponsor an animal here in Kenya for a family.  We are super excited and are shopping today for 5 small goats to give to 5 area families.  This will be a complete surprise and I am excited to document that process for everyone to see.  If you would like to also participate in something like this by giving a goat or a chicken or a cow, please let us know and we will orchestrate this for you.  It will be the gift that keeps on giving as the animal grows and the family benefits from this gift.

 For Natalie, her tree project is in full swing.  She has already planted (23) 4' trees and over 10,000 seeds.  Soon she will be planting another 20,000 or so seeds.  Many of these seeds will grow to trees and be sold or given away to area residents in her efforts to combat the decades of deforestation in Kenya due to severe poverty.  Natalie needs a little help, so if there is someone out there with a heart for this project, a Christmas gift for Natalie would be a donation towards the tree project.  She needs to purchase 14 tons of soil for the thousands of trees she plans to sell and we are building her an underground green house for her tree nursery, we believe this nursery will be able to start over 200,000 seedlings.  So, if you want to team up with Natalie on this project please let me know.  We are excited to see her plant hundreds of thousands of trees to beautify the area, protect the soil, and improve air quality.

 Marquite is doing well.  Leaving her friends and boyfriend thousands of miles away is more difficult than I think any of us can imagine.  Each day she works diligently on her homework and projects in Kenya and keeps a positive attitude.  I am so proud of how she is handling all of this.  She has already cooked 4 meals with the chef, logged tens of miles in hiking, journaled, and much more.  Her next project will be working with our IV team member Charity Mokes in turning the water kiosk (place to sell water) into a store.  Together they will plan what to put into the store, how many to buy, how much to sell it for, purchase and sell the goods to area community members.  At this time, we are not sure how much working capital they will need but if there is a business owner out there that would like to support these two young women for Christmas please let me know!

Phillip is doing well.  He enjoys running, climbing, exploring, and playing Legos with his siblings and his new friends that he has met.  Today he spent 20 minutes with me picking up litter.  He doesn't understand why people would throw garbage on the ground.  Phillip's faith is also blossoming as he is often the first to offer to pray and remind us of our morning devotion, I am so excited to watch him grow!

Jodie is meeting with the fistula group today and together they will see how they can work together.  Jodie is an amazing woman that I am so blessed to be married to.  She is an excellent mother, dedicated teacher, and caring friend.  Her strength with relationships shines so bright.  The kids flock to her whenever they see her.

My parents are also doing well.  Mom is helping prepare for our guests that will be coming soon and is working with the IV team on cleaning and organization.  She is teaching Natalie how to crochet, taking daily naps with Phillip, and caring for the rest of us like she always has.  Dad is working on the grounds with the IV team and taking notes on the language and his ideas.  His newest project is constructing an earth oven to cook our food.  We do not have an oven here so we have been doing research and over the next two weeks will be constructing an oven out of clay and sand to cook our food.

Seth is enjoying himself.  He is being more active by taking walks and hikes and is helping around the IV.  The beds here are not good for him as he is so large, but he is looking to figure something out that will work better for him.

 As for me, this trip is going well.  I am happy to be with my family and love the support from home.  So far, the house we are building is going on well and should be only a little over budget.  We have been asked by people how they can help/support Jodie and I and we would defer to the kids projects, but if someone out there wants to help, a small donation towards the completion of our house would be appreciated.  I am excited to share our story through email and Facebook and love watching my family fall in love with Kenya and use their God given skills and interests to help in the way they feel called.  It is empowering to be able to help others in such ways and as a husband and father it is my goal to empower those that I love.  Which brings me to my final point...you.  I hope that our trip can empower some of you to join us.  To take a leap of faith as Jodie talked about in her blog and travel to Kenya.  We can take a single person or a large group and can host them for as long or as short as they wish.  If you have dreamed of coming to Africa, now is your time.  Please send me an email and let's start planning.

Finally, thanks to the people that sent money for the popcorn machine, we bought and used it yesterday!  Also, thanks to those that supported the rain water harvesting project, yesterday during the rain we harvested 500 liters of rain water in 20 minutes!  Progress is exciting

If you would like to send a gift of money you can send it through Paypal to: Phill.Klamm@gmail.com or you can send a check to Soar-Kenya 6230 Kuehn Rd Waunakee, WI 53597.  If you do send a donation please also send me an email telling me what you would like that donation to go for so we can follow through and send you an update.

Thank you for your love and support

The Klamm Fam