June 2010 update

Greetings to all, 9/29/10

This first half of the year has flown by at warp speed and Penny and I want to update everyone up on what has and is going on in Kenya. I was in the USA for about 3 months assisting my parents and completing nursing hours to keep my nursing license in active status. My time their was productive and yet I was very aware of how much I missed Kenya and my friends here.

Penny did a great job expanding ministries at the Narok Prison and Pendo Donkey Rescue and Education. Prior to leaving Kenya, Penny, Sarah ( a good friend ) and I were granted entry permits into the prison system here in Kenya. This permit allows us and any visitors access to minister to the prisoners as well as the prison staff. I thought to obtain a pass was just standard protocol, but later I learned that two of my friends that work for Campus Crusade for Christ have waited for a few years for a positive reply. God’s favor in the matter was an enormous factor and Penny and I realize this blessing.

The prison system here is different than the USA in that a remand or someone waiting for their case to go to trial will stay in jail and time will not be counted as time served. So if your case takes 2-3 years to go to trial, an then your verdict at trial is innocent then just count your blessings that you are free. However if you are convicted, the 2-3 years will not be counted against your sentence as time served.

Another glaring difference is visitation, and every prisoner is allowed to have 1 visitor every 3 months. So if the family is poor, which in most situations seems to be the case, the family is supposed to supply any hygiene products like toothpaste, toilet paper, soap, shampoo and any other items in quarterly delivery. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you are living off of $50-100 a month it is a major struggle for the family of the inmate to come up with the money for these supplies. Often times the family my even abandon the inmate and ostracize he or she because of being incarcerated. Needless to say this is a population that seems to be neglected by humanity and yet Penny and I feel like this was on the heart of God for us to enter into this arena to show HIS marvelous love.

When the Kenya Medical Outreach team came over in late May, the team had the opportunity to minister God’s love and grace to the staff and hold a medical clinic for one day for staff and prisoners as well. The people were so appreciative of the out pouring of love and medical care and it made the experience great for all the team members too. It was also wonderful to be a part of handing out milk, soap and toilet paper to the prisoners and watch their eyes light up as they received their gifts . One man had a severe case of typhoid that had it not been for intervention, I wonder if he would have survived. Many needs were met medically and also spiritually as well because we had an area devoted to praying for those who wanted prayer too.

After an inmate completes his sentence, typically he has no where to go because his family has refused to support him while in jail and will not welcome him back into the family. This creates a dilemma in that the inmate has no support system nor does the prison system when the prisoner is released, so the inmate will commit another crime just to have a place to return to. Penny and I would eventually like to start a transition home that will be a safe place for the prisoner to go to after being released and have equipment and resources to teach the prisoner a life skill so he can provide for himself instead of committing a crime due to poverty. Hopefully we will someday see this project come to fruition.

Over a year ago Penny and I rescued a severely abuse donkey that was wondering around town and we named him Paul because of the abuse he endured. Little did we realize but at the time this would be another door that would be open to make an impact on God’s creatures and help educate people on caring for animals. Donkeys are a major utility animal here in Kenya and it is very common to see donkeys caring grain, hauling water or firewood to help out on the work load. Unfortunately many of these donkeys are harnessed incorrectly and develop wounds or the owner is abusive to the animal and inflicts wounds to try and make the donkey work faster or longer. Given the number of abused donkeys Penny decided to push for reform in this area and encouraged the District Vet office of the government of Kenya to get involved and no longer turn their heads to the situation. The District Vets office is very over worked here in the Narok District and seemed to be motivated by the fact that some one was willing to extend help to them in this area.

One may ask why does a missionary devote time to a project of this kind and I will be glad to answer this question. When a person takes the time to help others especially with the donkey, it establishes relationship which opens the door for other areas of life to be discussed. Since the inception of Pendo Donkey Rescue and Education, 12 donkeys have been rescued and the people of Narok have changed in many areas. The donkey owners have become more conscientious about how much they work their donkey, make sure they allow the donkey time to graze sufficiently, harness the donkey correctly to maintain better control of the workload and prevent injury and an a greater awareness of injuries to donkeys by children and adults.
The collaboration of missionaries with the District Vet and the local Chief has made a difference with the people and the beneficiary has been the donkey. So once a donkey has been rescued, the owner will have to report to the local vets office and comply with an education program and show that he or she is willing to treat the animal with respect, but in the event that the owner in noncompliant, the donkey is then cared for and once it heals it will be given to a widow or widower to be a beast of burden for them in caring out daily chores. Many people have stopped us and thanked us for caring for the donkeys and have supported and encouraged the project. Daily we are experiencing knocks at the gate from people asking for help for their donkey and the response from the community continues to be very positive. The local Chief tried to stop the abuse 3 years ago and was not able to impact the community and see a change in the behavior of people toward the donkeys, but Penny and I have and it has been rewarding. So with the local chief seeing the change in his community he offers any counsel and military assistance when needed.

The School of Prophets has been in session for over 8 months and the class is at the halfway mark of covering Dr Bill Hamon’s curriculum of prophets and personal prophecy and it is exciting to not only to equip the body of Christ, but watch them develop their God given gifts for Kingdom purposes. Penny and I will continue to invest in this arena as we both believe that hearing God’s voice is important to everyone’s calling.

Many of you may or may not be aware that Kenya will be voting on new constitution on August 4th, and this will be a major turning point for the nation if it is passed. Recently Obama stated he supported the Kenyan constitution, but yet he thought that Kenyan’s should decided the outcome. Then a few days later Kenya received our VP with instructions that it was pivotal that this constitution pass and that the relationship between the USA and Kenya relied upon it’s passing. In addition to these coercive statements from politicians from the USA, it was put in the papers that all who support the constitution by day and oppose it by night will be dealt with by intelligence forces. This is heating up to be a battle between Christianity and Islam and already violence has raised its head. At prayer meeting mid month of June in an open park a bomb exploded killing 7 people and wounding over 100 all of this over people gathering to pray over the constitution. In many ways I can see the unrest being greater than that of the post election violence Kenya experienced in 2007-2008 when more than 5,000 people lost their lives. God help us all if the USA and Kenya align in this matter. Prophetically Kenya has been called the lighthouse of Africa, so will it turn to Islam or will the people fight to keep the true God in their constitution. Please pray over this matter and Penny and I as we do what we are called to do and that is it on this matter.

Kenya Medical Outreach completed their annual trek to Kenya and as a result 130 people accepted Christ as their savior, hundreds of people in remote areas were able to received medical and dental care by a team of VOLUNTEERS. Unfortunately the many stories of what occurred would take a book to write, but I will say when we had need of something we had it and if we didn’t have an item, we created it in some fashion to get the job done.

One story that I will share involves a 6 year old that came to the clinic on the last day. He was being held by his mother in line and as we frequently do we try to triage the people who present with obvious illnesses to expedite medical care on their behalf. So the Mother and child were triaged and seen in the clinic by Dr Bird an ER physician. The boy had symptoms of both cerebral malaria and or meningitis which are high fever, vomiting, and seizures. We eventually loaded the boy,his parents and the MD and nurse up in a vehicle and rushed to Narok hospital which was 1 1/2 hours from our location. As the vehicle pulled away the picture of him seizing and knowing his condition I was really concerned if his treatment was in a timely manner. You may not realize it , but once an individual gets cerebral malaria you have a 24 hr opportunity to not only diagnose, but treat them in hopes that they do not become comatose and die. This is a disease not to be taken lightly. The team that stayed behind circled around in a group sensing the urgency in the matter to call upon the name of the Lord. As we prayed, you could sense the Lord’s intervening on this boy’s behalf and the outcome is awesome. He arrived at the hospital alert and was treated and released a few days later for meningitis.

Penny and I still have two people that are in need of medical sponsorship one is a 3 year hydrocephalic that needs a shunt put in and a 7 year old with contracted fingers from a horrible burn. At this time we only have an estimate for the hydrocephalic to receive a shunt and it is more like a guesstimate. According to a missions hospital it will cost between $600-700 to have shunt put in place for the child and again I am not sure of any figure for the other child. If you would want to donate toward these two children, please send your contribution to :
KMO-Penny Martin and Dollie Sauls
200 Johnson Rd.
Suwanee, GA. 30024

Penny and I would like to ask that you all continue to pray for the Prophetic School, Prison Ministry, Donkey Rescue, Evangelistic projects and Women's groups that we are involved in Nairobi. In order to continue ministering in these areas we need your help. Historically we use just about all designated person funds to do these projects and that has been fine, but the resources have not been adequate to sustain our household budget and the projects. If you do want to contribute to the cause,send the funds to the above address.

Again thanks for your prayers and love,
Penny Martin
Dollie Sauls