Bible Club

If you visit Mavuno on a Wednesday afternoon, you might see tiny girls with tinier babies on their backs, headed for the Team House for Bible club. 4:45 brings children from the village, having carried their water buckets and collected their firewood, ready for our time together.

All of our Mavuno children as well, look forward to singing songs that the children know in Kiswahili before everyone sits down on the stone wall or the grass to listen to a Bible story. Milka Mbugua teaches the lessons

and a skit about the story follows. Everyone excitedly runs to the soccer field afterwards, for a rousing game of soccer or tag. The sand pile is also a favorite. We hope that we can be a blessing to the children of the village we live in (outside of Mavuno) through this weekly club.

Another Miracle

Musa and his buddy, now brother, Michael

Yesterday we received another miracle--little Musa. He has joined the Mbugua family as the tenth child now that Manyashi is gone. Musa Miracle (that is his name!) came to us from Forever Angels, where he has lived for several years. As he is old for the baby home and was totally abandoned, he was a perfect candidate for joining us here.

Because five of our other children are from Forever Angels, Musa has become a brother to many of his former buddies--and they were ALL excited to have him come!

We are so thankful for the amazing job Amy does at Forever Angels caring for many needy babies, and so happy to be part of the solution to some of her children as they grow up.

Welcome, Musa! We are so thankful to have you here!

Biance, Esther, Musa, Michael, Helena, Jonathan, Mariam and Sammy

Trials

The past couple of weeks have brought some sad happenings for us here at Mavuno. The first was the death of one of our off-campus mamas, Mama Selemani. They have had two of our Mavuno boys, David and Martin, and they also have three of their own children (and two relatives' children staying with them). They have been exemplary parents to all of these little people. We learned in January that Mama Selemani had liver cancer and only a few weeks to live. She was able to be at home and with her family until she died. Although we are, of course, deeply sad over the loss of this wife and mama, we are very thankful that she didn't have to suffer any longer. And we know that she is with the Lord! Baba Selemani now has a great weight to carry, so please pray for him and the children as they grieve for her. We are so thankful for the privilege of knowing this sweet and generous woman.

Martin, our Mavuno child and his mama

The same week of her death, we got a call from the biological mother of Manyashi saying that she wanted to take him back from Mavuno. She had originally relinquished him to us five years ago. We had interacted a number of times with her, and each time Manyashi also told her how much he wanted to stay with John and Milka and his new siblings and go to school here. He was so excited to finally have a family and stay in one place. It was with great sadness that we gave him over to his mama so that he could go back to the boarding school he had been attending. Not because we don't like his mama, but because we are not sure what the reasons are for her taking him back. Because social welfare will always give a child back to their biological parent, they were just doing what is customary. However, Manyashi did not know his mother well and had other desires. Please pray for him now that he is back at a boarding school and will not be a part of Mavuno anymore. Please pray for John, Milka and their children, as they are devestated over losing him. We know that God has great plans for him, and truly loves him more than we do! We love you, Manyashi. You have been a blessing to all of us, and we will never forget you!

Marco Kadinda

Marco Kadinda is a Mavuno volunteer who has been working with Mavuno for the past three years. He is engaged to a beautiful young lady named Rahabu, and they will be married in May.

We recently interviewed Marco, in the hopes of having you get to know him (and we even found out a couple of things ourselves!)

What is your Job here at Mavuno?

I am a full time volunteer administrative assistant. (This is another way to say, I keep Mavuno running!)

Tell us about Rahabu.

I love Rahabu, and she loves God. We want to raise a family together who loves God.

What do you think will be the hardest thing about marriage?

I think it will be difficult to adjust to having two people live together who have different upbringings and have been raised in different ways.

What do you want for Mavuno in the future?

My prayer is that Mavuno will be productive and that I will be a blessing and use my training to the glory of the Almighty God!!

We are so grateful for all of our staff, and Marco is a blessing to everyone who comes in the office!

Reading, Writing and a Trip on a Four-Wheeler!

Five of the younger Mbugua kids are currently attending the early education center taught by Alicia Hazlett on campus.

Bianca, Michael, Aika, Helena, and Pili began their first term of the year on Monday and have greatly enjoyed their first few days doing many fun activities.

Jonathan attends classes for a short period of time in the mornings.

Manyashi, Mariamu, and Esther, the three eldest Mbugua children are enjoying their classes at JBFC, a neighboring private school. For the sake of Manyashi’s safety, the three kids get the rare opportunity to ride the four-wheeler to school every day, chauffeured by Grandpa Larry Nickish.

John (daddy) will take the kids by four-wheeler when Grandpa is gone.

On Tuesday Alicia took the kids up to a small cave on the hill to find hidden scrolls representing the discovery of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

It is proving to be a year of discovery in the education department!

Christmas

Reuben Tanner reclines in a mound of mangoes harvested from Mavuno trees

Christmas came decked in mangoes and mud this year. Staff excitedly made their entrance to the annual Christmas party, which included some tasty beef and an intense white elephant gift exchange. The children eagerly passed gifts in a game of Musical Presents, and the day was polished off with many rounds of volleyball.

The hat with hair and the absurd glasses were big hits at the white elephant exchange

Church was the perfect place to celebrate on the actual day, and choirs from the area arrived to sing and worship together. Everyone enjoyed a large feast together and some of the events lasted until after sundown.

Michael Mbugua prepares to pass a wrapped surprise in musical presents

Esther Mbugua returns to her seat with a heaping bowl of food

Merry Christmas, one and all!

The children enjoy a lavish feast at the party

Dan Tanner successfully disposed of a massive village pest; one of four hippos that has been destroying numerous fields of corn and rice. The nationals were grateful for the unexpected source of meat provided by the large creature.

Dan Tanner supervises as the dead hippo is dragged from the lake

Villagers survey the large beast as they observe the process of extracting it from the water

Volunteers

Joel and Lauren Wildasin joined the Mavuno team on Saturday, November 26. They have two children... Treth, age 3, and Nya, age one; the third child is due in January. Joel is helping with the agricultural program and we praise God for their enthusiasm and expertise.

The Wildasins in their front driveway with the lake in the background

Alicia Hazlet is a long term volunteer who is developing the school program. Right now she teaches seven of the Mbugua children preschool. She comes to us with lots of experience and great ideas and she is an invaluable asset to Mavuno.

Alicia looks on as the children play a game with mangoes

With the Millers on furlough, Bev and Larry Nickish came to Mavuno for three months to do the bookkeeping. Bev works in the office as accountant while Larry does various projects on campus. He used to be a butcher and helped with slaughtering and butchering one of the Mavuno steers as well as construction and anything else that needs a handyman.

Larry and Bev were excellent in aiding the meat production

We thank God that he sent these dedicated volunteers to Mavuno.