Kenya Ministry and Scofield School

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The Scofield School in Kenya needs support for teacher’s salaries and mosquito netting supplies for malaria control. Teachers are paid $300.00 a month. Thirty sleeping nets are needed and they are $6.00 each. Thank you for continuing to support the health and education of our Kenyan Children.

Update on the Scofield School in Kenya: Thank you for your generosity in providing mosquito nets and for supporting the education of our Kenyan children. We continue to need additional support for teacher’s salaries.



Prayer partners,
I was able to speak with Ben today while he was in Nairobi and he asked that I share this update with you:
  • Ben is feeling a bit better, he has been taking medicine for the past two weeks that have his pain levels down.  He has a morning appointment with the urologist tomorrow for further results and treatment plan.
  • Thomas is continuing to show improvement.  He remembers well his "nurse Shirley exercises" and does them daily with Emily.  He is still too weak to stand or walk on his own, but is determined to keep trying.
  • Ben did share that with the regular daily care that Thomas requires, Emily is quite overloaded caring for all of the children.  He would like to bring on a helper for Emily to car for the children at the orphanage if possible.
  • Linda, one of the children who suffers from sickle cell anemia, was again ill, but has improved and is back at Scofield again.
  • Harris, one of the children with HIV who was suffering while we were there last, has improved greatly and has been attending school and even playing soccer with the other children.
  • Kedzia, one of the faithful volunteers, has been very sick with pneumonia and highland malaria, nearly to the point of death. She was hospitalized in Migori for treatment, and has now begun to recover and is back at home.
  • With a very heavy heart I share that Melvin, one of the gifted and strong children who had gone on to boarding high school last year, has had a great deal of trouble at school, has been expelled, and has refused to return to Scofield for grade 10 studies right now. Ben continues to reach out for her, however, he has requested that the support which had been raised for her schooling be moved, at this time, instead to Linet who is continuing to do very well at her boarding school at grade 11 level now.
  • The new high school has been underway for several weeks now with the grade 10 students and the grade 9 will start next week.  Ben had such a strong response to his request for high school teachers that he had to turn away some applicants.  He now has 7 new, fully certified High School teachers in place, teaching multiple subjects such as physics, chemistry, history, languages, mathematics, etc.  The teachers are all young, recent graduates from university programs across Kenya and as such, they are all now living in the two buildings on the compound.  All are Christian believers.  Two of the new teachers, were also once orphans themselves (the history & geography teacher and the new high school principal).  Full funding for the elementary and high school teachers is not yet in place, but the teachers have agreed to continue to work for what is now available and volunteer.
  • Ben has been helping one of the existing elementary teachers (Peter) to complete additional teaching certification to qualify him to teach at the high school level.  To complete his university studies and certification, $1,000 is still needed.
  • With the recent generous gift, Ben has been able to complete the needed science laboratory building and they are finishing the roof this week.  They still have need for approx. $1,500 in funding to purchase the needed equipment for the science lab.
  • With the recent heavy rains, the boys continue to be very grateful that they are in the new, solid dormitory building, though they are still sharing beds.
  • Ben was able to purchase new uniforms for the children for school and they are very thankful for this support.
  • Ben wanted to again thank the team and the "engineers" for the wonderful gas generator.  They have installed it properly and have added additional wiring to the elementary school classrooms.  Ben said that in the classes it now "looks like daytime at night" and they are "out of the darkness" and the children are glad to be able to study.  Teachers can even use a laptop and charge phones to help to prepare their lessons.  They have also added additional wiring into the high school classrooms as well and have been able to purchase a little gas each week.
  • Ben asked about the Creighton University team and whether they will come in Spring.  I am meeting with the head of the Energy Dept tomorrow and will have an update on these plans back to Ben when I get further clarification.  I shared that there are some at FCC who have expressed interest in coming to Scofield in August so we will firm up dates and participants soon as well.  I will also reach back out to the World Orphanage Fund team to see if they will be able to join in the August trip this year.  He is prayerful that we can find support for the renewable energy grant and potentially for some computers for the high school and teachers.
Please continue to be in prayer and thanksgiving for Ben, Emily, Thomas, the children, teachers and helpers at Scofield School and Orphanage.  Ben sent loving greetings and heartfelt thanks to the Pastors, supporters, and our whole prayer family continuing to lift them up to our sovereign Father each day.
Ever in His grasp,
Patty
 Scofield School and Orphanage renewable energy project opportunity

Just to keep everyone in the loop:  
God has opened an amazing door with Larry Hopp, Director of the Energy Technology Program at Creighton University, a Christian university in Nebraska.  Larry and I have been discussing options to get his graduating seniors engaged with Scofield and the ministry in Kenya to help us with some creative thinking, design ideas, and support on grant proposal development around renewable energy options to help Ben, the children, and teachers with sources for electricity for lighting, running water, etc.  
 
Creighton students have access to their own on-site solar energy laboratory where they design, build and maintain equipment through their coursework, as well as study many other advanced energy technologies.  Larry is a very strong Christian leader in the program and believes that these students should have opportunities to use their skills and gifts to serve others before they graduate (and then hopefully beyond their academic years).  Larry also has strong connections to energy programs and firms that are very complementary to my own and has identified a potential option for a grant proposal through the university in addition to the one that we will be pursuing with Toshiba (who manufacturers and implements solar and wind renewable energy equipment as well as electric battery storage devices), and perhaps others based on what the students recommend.

For their Energy Innovations II course international service project, Larry is providing a team of 5 senior students for a 5 week project who will be charged with:
1) developing an understanding of the people associated with the project, 
2) performing the required climate studies for the specific site, 
3) developing a renewable energy design, 
4) “brain-storming” other ways to provide assistance, 
5) exploring procurement & logistic details, 
6) apply for grant funding for the project, 
7) produce a formal report for all stakeholders, and 
8) present their findings in a formal recorded presentation

In addition to the 5 students working on the Kenya Scofield Orphanage project, Larry also has 5 students working on a Kidegala, Tanzania medical clinic project, and 4 students working on the Holy Family Children's Home project in Castries, St. Lucia!  Larry Hopp holds these senior students to a very high standard of self-management and professionalism, while allowing a good bit of creativity, so it will be a wonderful opportunity to work with these talented young people.
I will be updating my contacts at Toshiba to let them know the additional support we're getting and building some relationships between them and Creighton University, as well as to get further details on their formal grant process and requirements.  I will also be reaching back out to our dear friends at the IBM Nairobi office to see if there would be a way that they could host Ben and perhaps some of the teachers from Scofield to do an in-person Web Conference at the IBM office at the end of the 5 week project when the Creighton University students do their formal presentation of findings and recommendations, as I think this would be very uplifting for Ben to hear/see directly, and perhaps even some of my local IBM Nairobi colleagues who are working in the Energy and Utilities industry area.
The Creighton students will do their work on campus, so we won't have to plan a second trip to Kenya this year, but Larry and I have discussed the potential that some of these students may be interested in joining us in a future trip, given that we believe they will be quite "vested" in the ministry by the time they complete this project.  (Per interested team members who have come forward for 2016 Kenya mission trip, we'll be targeting dates in the first two weeks of August for the next trip to provide flexibility for families to potentially participate in this year's trip, as well as others who have come forward with that time frame available from work, etc.  When I return from Barcelona, I'll set up our kick-off meeting and on-going team meetings for anyone interested.)
To further inspire the students to what is possible when we follow God's will for our lives, Larry starts this course with the following 6.5 minute U-Tube video of Matthew West’s – "Do Something" video which explains the inspiration for the song.   I know that each of you will enjoy it as well, if you haven't already seen it:
Please join me in prayer that the Holy Spirit will strongly guide these faithful young people, that they will feel God's leading on their hearts in a powerful way through this project, and that throughout, God will be greatly honored and glorified.
Firmly in His grasp,
Patty
(M) 920-691-6380
(W) 920-222-9545