Happy Halloween 2011!

H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N

Creepy Pirate Zombie!!!

This Halloween, we joined our friends Matt and Vanessa for a neighbourhood party and "trick or treating". It was a fun afternoon and evening with fellow Canadians!

Little witch and the black kitty

Trick or Treat!

Tinkerbell

Andre & Erica

B O O !

Mosaic

The Fall Issue of Mosaic Available Online

We are excited to share this link for the latest issue of Mosaic which features articles on the current crisis in East Africa by Rupen Das, Paul Carline and Aaron. With photos in North East Province taken by Erica.

Sack Gardening in the

Iftin Unity Garden

Eastleigh Community Centre, Nairobi

To read the latest issue of Mosaic

Click Here

Or follow the link at Fall Mosaic_D4b.pdf

Growing

Vertical sack gardens doing well!

Over the past month, the Iftin ladies really don't need a watering can, as Eastleigh is getting almost daily rains. It may make the streets muddy, but all the rain has been great for the Iftin gardens.

Laura at work in her new office

Activities are going on as usual in Eastleigh. The ladies are back in full attendance within all of the Iftin projects. Presently, Erica and Laura are working on the final reporting for the Canadian Baptist Ministries pilot project that has funded the Iftin Women's Empowerment initiatives over the past three years. As this project comes to an end in December, we are already dreaming with the ladies about the future. We are excited to be working on what the next phase of the project will look like!

More new books and supplies for Iftin

Nelius teaching in the Iftin Literacy Class

Patrick, Laura and Erica

labelling new chairs donated by the

Fallingbrook Heights volunteers

Seed beds and sweet potatoes in the Iftin Unity Garden

Sack Gardens

Two local guys helping three of the Iftin ladies bring sack garden supplies to their home with a hand cart. We are so excited to see how many women are embracing the bag gardening project!

Nairobi Under Construction

Highway Construction in Nairobi

Over the past year, the investment in infrastructure in and around Nairobi has been incredible. Kenya is creating new by-pass roads (unfortunately, none are dual carriage ways), around and through the city. Of course, anyone familiar with road construction knows that it leads to detours and long traffic jams. Multiply that by a hundred and you have a bit of a picture of driving in Nairobi. Our 15 minute drive into Eastleigh can now take us 3 hours in the rain!

Security issues have become more intense in the city as Kenyan authorities carry out sweeps for Al Shaabab. Everyone is taking extra precautions, including our friends in Eastleigh. Our projects continue to go ahead, but we covet your prayers especially for the Iftin ladies and their children as they walk back and forth from the community centre.

We know that a lot of family and friends are seeing some pretty scary images in the media, but we want to reassure you that we are safe!

Sleeping Warrior

Sleeping Warrior Camp

Lake Elmenteita, Kenya

We just returned home from a relaxing weekend in the Great Rift Valley with our friend Vanessa and her her children. We had a delightful time at the Sleeping Warrior Camp within the Lake Elementeita Conservancy. Among our highlights was coming face to face with a leopard, as he jumped out of a tree and ran past us. Unfortunately, we were not fast enough with our camera, but we do have a few other photos from the trip to share.

Our Friendly Neighbourhood Tree Hirax

Rose, Tristan, Emma, Erica, Vanessa, Evelyn,

Owen, Eliot, Ava and our Masai guide, Sampson

We had a lot of fun exploring the local conservancy

which is home to a host of wildlife

Cape Buffalo

 Emma and Owen riding on the roof

on the look out for another leopard!

 Sleeping Warrior Crater on the border of the Lake Elementeita

Another friendly hirax at our camp

Apartment Scam!

W A R N I N G !!!!!!

As we posted last month, someone has been using our name and referencing this blog in a Craig's List scam for an apartment in New York. We have contacted Canadian authorities and Craig's List, but unfortunately we continue to here from people who have been scammed.

We do not know what else to do to help, but if you are checking out our blog to confirm the authenticity of this listing -- IT IS A SCAM!

We pray that no one else loses money to this.

Drought Response in Kenya

Somali Children in Sankuri Division, Garissa

Rain is falling in Northeastern Kenya, but will it be enough?

Today is another cloudy day in Garissa. A fine mist of rain has raised the humidity, but there are no puddles of water to be found. After several years of failed rains, Northestern Kenya and the rest of the "Horn of Africa" are praying that this October-November rainy season will be different. They desperately need good rain as people rely on rainfall for pasture and rain catchments for water. If the rains do not come, the current famine and humanitarian crisis will only get worse.

During times of drought, tens of thousands of people are drawn to the Tana River. This mud brown river snakes from central Kenya eastward, forming a border with Northeastern Province and eventually emptying into the Indian Ocean on the Kenyan coast. Rate of flow is remarkable as water gushes past Garissa on its way to the ocean.

A few weeks ago, we were visiting farms started by the Kenyan Red Cross, north of Garissa on the banks of the Tana. As we visited with Somali farmers, a dark cloud opened up and wet our heads, but remarkably the ground beneath us never got wet. It was so dry, it was as if the rain evaporated before it could land. I've never seen anything like it before. If we can not trust the rains, why not the river?

As Canadian Baptist Ministries assists in famine relief, we are already beginning to work with communities to help them to literally tap into this resource and find food security and livelihoods through farming along the river. This represents a seismic shift in local culture and values, as we help traditional wandering pastoral communities settle into agricultural life.

This week, our colleagues Yattani, William, Laura and Pauline are carrying out a baseline assessment within three small communities where CBM will be serving. Please keep them and these communities in your prayers.

In Prayer:

* Please remember the people of the Horn of Africa.

* Pray for much needed rain.

* Pray for peace, humility and wise leadership that will be needed to stabilize Somalia.

* And please remember our CBM NEP team as we struggle to love and serve our neighbours in a way that will help bring about growth, healing and change.

To Learn More about how you can be involved with CBM's Drought Response

Click Here

Knowing Your Status

Moonlight Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre

Embu, Kenya

On October 9th, our friends Patrick Maina and Henry Mwangi from the African Christian Church & Schools (ACC&S), participated in a moonlight VCT clinic with the Embu Guardians of Hope. We are excited to share part of their brief report!

Greetings!

I am writing to update you on the progress of Embu GOH project on their moonlight VCT. I and Henry paid a visit to Embu on 9th October to witness the event.

The event was so well organized as the local Chief together with the local OCS (Police) were in attendance. The level of stigma have gone down so much that the people are so much willing to know their status. Those in the waiting were so many such that the counselors could not handle all of them. Again from their report they were able to test about 100 people both male and female.

The importance of one knowing his/her status was well explained by the counselors emphasizing that once a person knows his or her status it helps in planning. Again the cases of discordant couples is in the increase among the married people. Once a person knows their status, it helps to prevent reinfection, and helps to prevent a mother from infecting their new born babies. Prevention of Mother To Child (PMTC) is being emphasized.

Why is it important for people to know their HIV status?

• It helps those who are not infected not to become infected

• It helps those who are infected not to infect their uninfected partners or reinfecting one another among the infected once.

• It helps those who are infected to receive support, early treatment, care and help from the community and family members.

God bless you and your family.

Patrick

Pastor Mbau taking the test

to lead others by example

Thank you for praying for the ministry of the Guardians of Hope and work of the African Christian Church & Schools in Kenya. Coming up this December 1st is World AIDS Day*. This years theme is "Getting to Zero". Canadian Baptist Ministries is currently preparing materials for churches, individuals and organizations interested in participating in the 2011 day. We will be posting links for these resources on the blog once they are ready.

WORLD AIDS DAY*

AIDS is a condition resulting from damage done to the human immune system by HIV. It affects tens of millions of people around the world. The United Nations' (UN) World AIDS Day is held on December 1 each year to honor the victims of the AIDS pandemic and focus attention on the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS related conditions.

Thanksgiving Podcast

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This Thanksgiving, we have a new podcast featuring a short interview with Emma and Ava. In this podcast, our girls talk a little about life for a missionary kid in Kenya. You can listen by clicking the link below or by visiting www.fivennys.podcast.com.

To subscribe to all of our podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes, just search "fivekennys" in the podcast category.

We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Click here to Listen

Canadian Maple Leaf Ball 2011

Erica and Vanessa

Last night, we attended the annual Canadian Maple Leaf Ball. This year's event was held at the Muthaiga Club, Nairobi. It was a wonderful evening celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving with fellow Canadians and friends. Erica serves on the executive of the Canadian Association of Kenya; this has been a busy time for them as they pulled together such a big event. Here are a few snaps from the evening:

The girls

Vanessa, Krista, Erica, Andrea, Jeanette, and Vanessa

We had fun at a little pre-party at a cottage with friends

Sandie, Andrea and Erica

The Ball itself was held under large tents

and within the Muthaiga Ballroom

Brenda and Gary Kean

Time for dancing!

Farewells

The Fallingbrook Heights Team

at The 140 guesthouse, Nairobi

Late this afternoon, we said our good-byes to our friends Don & Joy, John & Julie and Nick & Lila. The team begins the return trip to Canada tonight after a busy two weeks with us in Eastleigh. We are so thankful for the contribution and love shared with the members of the Iftin Women's Empowerment Program, and the staff of the Eastleigh Community Centre. But most of all, we are grateful for the time we shared together as a family with the team. We pray for their safe journey home.

WARNING!

W A R N I N G ! ! !

Recently, someone has been trying to hack into our email and blog, and has been using our information in an apartment scam on Craig's List.

We are not leasing an apartment in New York, or anywhere else.

If you have come to our blog to check out who we are, we pray that you haven't lost any deposit to this person. We have contacted Craig's List and asked them to take down this false advertisement.

Happy Fifth Birthday Ava!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVA

Today we celebrated Ava's 5th Birthday

with some of our friends. Ava was excited

to have her buddies Njeri and Braydon

over to go swimming at a local pool

and celebrate at our home.

Ready to cut the cake!

Ava with auntie Mo and auntie Kerry!

Kerry, Mel, Erica, Whinny, Tom,

Ava, Cabbie, Njeri, Diana, Emma and Braydon