Congratulations Mwangi Family!

And baby makes four for the Mwangi family!
Eunice and the baby are doing well.
Dad is proud of the new addition.
Abby is already being a sweet big sister -
lovingly touching her brother's face.

Precious Timothy Imani Mwangi
Born on Monday, June 8, 2009 - weighing 7 lbs.

Abby - happy to be a big sister.

Team Trip to Kenya

Greetings - with hope in Jesus,

During the last two weeks of March, LLM Board Member Mel Nissley and a team of four other men went to Kenya ready to put their repair skills to work. Mel was happy to see the new house that LLM had recently bought. “It’s a very well-built house with a long-lasting tile roof and good solid walls.” he reported at a recent LLM Board meeting.

“The water, pressure and drainage system is excellent and will be top-notch with a few small repairs. And with 9 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, along with a living room and a kitchen, it has everything that is needed to start a children’s home.” The house hasn’t been used for a few years so Mel and his team worked on rewiring some of the electrical fixtures and switches, along with working on the drainage system.

Esther, the woman that sold the house to LLM, came to meet them one day and see the progress on the house. She’s always wanted to help hurting children, so she’s very happy that the house, which was her family’s vacation home, will be used for that purpose. She invited Mel and the team to her home one evening for a delicious dinner.

This house sits on two acres adjacent to the twelve acres LLM already owns. A few other board members saw the house while on a trip there last December and agreed with Mel as he said, “This house will allow us to help hurting children sooner than if we’d have to build a house. It provides a great starting home and then as we grow, we can expand to the land we own next door.”

Solomon and the Kenyan Board are working on the registration papers that need to be filed for the operation of the home and hope to finish that shortly.

JEHOVAH JIREH OUR GREAT PROVIDER!

Greetings to you all in Jesus Name. This is a short note to glorify the Lord for what He has done! He has proven again that He is Jehovah Jireh our great provider. LLM’s (Living Love Ministries) dream for a functional children's home came closer to reality yesterday when we gave the down payment and signed the sales agreement on a farmhouse and 2 acres adjacent to the 12 acres we already own.This house will allow us to provide a home for children quicker than building our own. The house has a number of bedrooms and bathrooms and is in good condition, just needing some paint and repairs to the roof.

LLM is now the "legal custodian" of this property pending the issuance of the new legal title deed. Through this agreement, we’ve also been granted the "right of immediate occupancy" and can move in and occupy the property and begin working on it right away. This is more than a miracle and more than words can describe.

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the 5 member USA team led by Mel Nissley who arrive on Sunday 15th for a 10-day trip. We are now busy purchasing supplies for next week when the team will help us fix the leaking roof and painting walls of the farmhouse.

The Lord willing and if we get the legal papers soon enough, we could admit the first group of children into the home by the second half of this year. We however need lots of prayers and God's favor to register the home that fast so we will be operating legally.

Thanks again for all your prayers during this time. Its been very hectic but worth the wait. We give all the glory and honor to the Lord. We will keep you posted on any new developments.

Chau, Solomon for the Kenya team.

Solomon, Eunice and Abby Mwangi

Every organization needs a dream and passion that fuels it and behind Living Love Ministries that is the Mwangi Family - living near Nakuru, Kenya. They have a dream, desire and passion to help hurting children.

Eunice, Solomon and Abby Mwangi

Beautiful!

Celebrating her birthday in October -
trying to get the correct number of fingers up.

Ready to grow up :)

Swimming!

Priceless!
Cute as a button as she tries to fill Mommy's shoes.

Tree Planting

Dedicating the 12 acres of land on December 8th

with a tree planting ceremony.

Solomon - one happy man
to be another step closer to a children's home!


Pastor Mark Kraybill digging ...



Eunice and Bob Gehman checking depth ...



Becky Jones and Pastor Mark planting ...



Solomon watering ...

Now pray with us ... for God to make the trees grow -
and that together with his help and blessings,
we can make a Children's Home 'grow.'

Sikukuu njema ya Krismasi

("Merry Christmas" in Swahili)

Christmas in Kenya is a time for social gatherings and food. Visitors will stop at the homes of friends and family, and food is served to everyone. Christmas dinner is likely to be fish or nyama choma. Goat or beef is used for nyama choma, although goat is considered a greater delicacy. Vegetables, fruit, and chapattis are often served with chutney.

Serve a meal with some or all Kenyan food and pray for the hurting children in Kenya.

Yogurt Chutney

Ingredients

• 1½ cups yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons mint, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon coriander
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• Hot pepper flakes, to taste

Procedure

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Chill.
3. Serve as a condiment for meats and vegetables.

Nyama Choma

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef short ribs or spare ribs
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure

1. Season the ribs with salt and pepper.
2. Grill on a gas or charcoal grill over medium-high heat for 1 hour. Alternatively, roast in the oven at 300°F for 1½ to 2 hours. The meat should be dry and chewy.

Serves 4 to 6.

Na azaliwe ndani yako
("May the Lord be born within you this Christmas")

Dedicating the Land

Hope and urgency fills the Living Love Ministries Board as they talk about the plans to build a home for hurting children. One key part of everyone’s conversation is thankfulness to God for the newly purchased twelve acres of land and a desire to give honor where honor is due. Looking to the Bible for direction, we see that many of the people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 honored God by building altars to Him after receiving land. Here’s an example from Abraham’s life ...

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your children, I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel ... There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. Genesis 12: 7-8

In our time, building an altar sounds strange, but scholars of the Bible tell us that building an altar was an outward expression of honor and of dedicating the land to God. By dedicating land to God, we are acknowledging who God is and honoring him with gratitude. So, on December 8th, Pastor Mark Kraybill, Bob Gehman and Becky Jones from the US Board traveled to Kenya to join the Kenyan Board at a dedication for the new land. Along with a time of prayer, trees were planted as a symbol of peace and hope for the future.

Will you help LLM provide hope for Kenya’s hurting children? Lord willing, the building will begin in early 2009. God has blessed LLM with a matching grant of $50,000, so all donations from now to December 31, 2008 will be doubled. (up to 50,000)

May peace and joy fill this Christmas season for you!
Janet Oberholtzer - for the Living Love Board