SISTER FREDA IS COMING TO TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA !!!!

Sister Freda Robinson, the founder and director of a cottage hospital in Kitale, Kenya, is coming to Texas and California in January of 2009 (next month!) to speak with folks about the school for nursing that will be completed during this next year. 

The school for nurses has long been a dream of Freda's as her way to continue the work of caring for the sick and suffering in this region of the Rift Valley. But that dream didn't take flight until a gentleman named John West began praying and talking with Sister Freda and her husband, Richard Robinson about a legacy training site for young nurses in the Tranzoia area of Kenya.

Slowly ('poli-poli' in Swahili) the idea began to take shape and many others began to rally around the concept of Sister Freda 'duplicating' and 'multiplying' her work through training a new generation of nurses at her cottage hospital outside Kitale, Kenya.

DARLENE SALA has written the most wonderful account of Sister Freda's journey called 'HEART of COMPASSION, HANDS OF CARE, which you can find on Harold and Darlene Sala's ministry website...www.GUIDELINES.org   or call 1 (949) 582-5001 and ask how you can get a copy.

It is a wonderfully written book about a wonderful woman of God who does what she can with what she has.

Freda arrives in California around the 10th of January and will be in Texas around the 20th.

Get a few copies and give them to your friends....

To get details about where to meet and greet Freda, email Linda at calllinda2@aol.com

HOLY COW !!!!!

I'm only going to be in Kitale for 3 days ...on my way to Congo...more on THAT later...  

I just have to drop in on one of my favorite cows...donated by Sandy Green's small group for the children at Patricia Sowa's HIV Home, Discover to Recover.  

HERE'S HOW 'HOLY COW' WORKS !!!!

• A person or small group donates $450. to SADDLEBACK CHURCH's HOLY COW designated acct.
• The Holy Cow training team from Deliverance Church, Kitale Kenya, selects a needy family from the community.
• The family builds a simple 'zero-grazing' shed to house and shelter the gift cow.
• The recipient family completes a course, taught by team members from the Department of Agriculture, in raising and caring for this gifted asset.
• The milk cow is awarded, delivered and dedicated.
• The milk from the morning is SOLD and used for income for school fees and materials.
• The milk from the evening milking is fed to the children for calcium, vitamins, protein , and fat.
• After a year the HOLY COW is artificially inseminated by the Agriculture team.
• The first offspring calf goes BACK into the HOLY COW Program and is donated to another family.
• The second and third calf belong to the recipient family, so now they own 3 HOLY COWS.

IN 2004, we started HOLY COW with just one cow donated to Patricia and Frances Sowa, who had been fired from their jobs when it was discovered they were both HIV positive.

Today there are over 150 cows and calves in the program and it continues to grow from the inside out.

Ukraine PEACE Trip May 09

CAROLINE LOSES AN APPENDIX !!!

This tiny red body part sure changed Caroline's weekend plans.

FRIDAY PM...Caroline tells Connie her tummy hurts...things start happening...Saturday tests at Saddleback Memorial...inconclusive...Saturday PM...a CT SCAN confirms...APPENDICITIS...

SUDOKU on PAINKILLERS...better wear a seatbelt

Flowers from the Hamers

PLEASE !!! No Papparazzi in the ER !!!

Connie and I are grateful that Caroline was back from Africa before this happened

Sunday Morning...APPENDIX GONE and things are starting to get better.

YAHTZEE !!!!!!

WHEN YOU SEE THOSE FACES...

When I walk into a church in the Kipsongo slums and see 200 little faces looking back...

When I realize that they will struggle their whole lives with illness we'll never know...

When I see there is NO ONE to take them to the district hospital...

When I see that even if they found a doctor, they have no way to pay for the meds they need...

When I see the effects of malaria and cholera and worms and parasites and HIV...

When a meal of rice and beans and ugali does so much to cancel malnutrition...

When I see the huge results of a mobile medical clinic...

I am forced to  ask myself...

How can I just walk away and not do something?

For me that SOMETHING is helping with Sister Freda's Mobile Medical Clinics.

We just purchased a used Land Cruiser from simple gifts.

We just bought life-saving meds with simple gifts.

We just de-wormed over 2,000 kids with simple gifts.

We just bought hundreds of blankets and cooking pots and cups with simple gifts.

Simple gifts go a long way...don't get me wrong...if you want to give some huge gift, I think that's ok, but most of the folks I know are simple gifts kind of folks...not 'what am I gonna do with this extra $200,000.?'  kind of folks.

Actually a few folks giving a simple gift works out just fine.

Two ways to give to a Mobile Medical Clinic for Sister Freda...

#1 If you go to Saddleback Church... write an offering to 'SVCC' and designate that you want it to go Sister Freda Fund. Send it Saddleback Church, 1 Saddleback Parkway, Lake Forest CA 92630

#2 If you don't give through Saddleback...give through:

 'Reaching Beyond Ourselves' 

21961 Calatrava Dr.

Mission Viejo, CA 92692

 It's an all volunteer group and it ALL goes to the work.

There's no gift too simple or too small.

Sugar Rae...made my day!!!

Some Random thoughts on the birth of Raegan Lynn Rutenbar

1. The amazing team of cousins and grandkids, Harper and Lukey, has added a new fantasy draft pick to it's DREAM TEAM.
2. This picture of Courtney and Kyle and Rae Rae makes my jaws sore from smiling so big. (go to www.maryrosenbaum.com/raegan to see more and a video that will make your bitterest, angry uncle cry ...it'll make your dog cry !!)
3. Kaiser Hospital Irvine is a sweet hospital...but they need a larger waiting room for these Woodstock-like events.
4.  After months of speculation over what this baby would look like...the results are IN...the DORMAN genetic pool overwhelmed the Rutenbar DNA and this little RAEGAN is a beautifully complete copy of baby Courtney 22 years ago. 
5. They should bottle and market the smell of newborn baby...
6. Seeing Connie hold and kiss Reagan reminds me why I love her.
7. Courtney was so calm and collected...which shouldn't surprise me, but amazes me.
8. Seeing all of Kyle and Court's friends gather to celebrate Raegan's birth makes me so happy for them all...there's alot of community and shared joy in all our lives and that's the way God planned it.
9. Playing cards with Bumper in the waiting room takes me back to distant Ukraine bus and train rides with the Dormans.
10. If baby's could pick parents...Rae Rae couldn't pick any better and loving and fun parents than Kyle and Court.
11. Lord Jesus...Bless this little gift and help all of us encourage her along the Path.

        I John 1:7  'If we walk in the LIGHT... we have fellowship...'

4 GIRLS...and ONE AWESOME GUY

There are five terrific kids from Saddleback who are living in Kitale, Kenya today.

Teaching and encouraging and ministering at:

• OASIS of HOPE  Street Kid Outreach
• Gilgal Secondary School
• Deliverance Church
• Sister Freda's Cottage Hospital
• Purpose Driven Academy
• and Discover to Recover HIV/AIDS Center   
  

Allison is one of the very best examples of a Christian who has moved from an 'awakening' PEACE experience to becoming a true 'advocate' for the sick, the poor, and the hurting. 

Daina's heart for people is so evident...from the moment she walks into an orphanage or a church or a hospital...she goes right after relationship. 

Is Megan a journalist because she asks GREAT QUESTIONS? Or does she ask great questions because she has the heart and skills of a journalist? She dives into ministry by seeking out the truth and the facts and the background. 

Caroline could care less if she EVER is on stage or up front or in the limelight...in fact, she prefers to lead quietly from the middle of the pack...by example, not word.

 

Chris will do ANYTHING, ANY TIME, ANYWHERE...to help share the GOOD NEWS of GOD'S LOVE. I admire his humor and his energy for ministry.

We're not here to SOLVE! We're here to SERVE !

As Don Thompson spoke to a church in a Bukusu slum during a community assessment day...his t-shirt gave me reason to flash back to Hurricane Katrina and the hundreds of servant-hearted Saddleback folks who spread out along the Gulf Coast during the past 3 years. Our teams have blessed over 150 churches and pastors through PEACE RELIEF. And in the process hundreds of abiding friendships have emerged. 

The problems at hand were absolutely overwhelming, but because we reminded ourselves daily that our role was to serve not solve...it relieved the anxiety that comes from trying to 'fix the unfixable'.

 

Don, a retired fire chief, and his family, are shining examples to our church and our worldwide friends that by showing up...in Mt. Elgon, in Slidell, Louisiana, or in Burma...the most wonderful things happen in the most devastated places. 

Matthew 16:24 

FEEDING PROGRAM at KIPSONGO

When you enter the broken backdoor at Pastor John’s Caanon Church in Kipsongo Slums, you immediately are greeted by 200 + tiny chocolate faces.

The number of kids is deceiving because, frankly, they are so very little and only take up a few rows in the wood and mud building. Then you start counting...

The daily feeding program supplies 2 meals for kids between 1 and 3 years of age and in most cases it is the ONLY food they will ever see.

Their moms are nowhere to be found…maybe scavenging for something of some worth in the dump…maybe drinking ‘changa’, the local brew…maybe worse…much worse.

Their dads, if they were EVER around, are long gone…off to Lodwar…off to town…just off…permanently off.

We brought two 90 kilo bags of maize and beans…a good mix of carbs and protein…along with cooking oil and ugali, a Kenya staple, sugar and rice for future days.

Allison, Caroline, Chris, Daina, and Megan jumped right in and began serving…and cuddling…and hanging with these very sweet kids.

Not one bean or kernel of maize remained an hour later…

No ‘finnecky’ eaters in this group.

I like feeding kids…they are so dang happy to be with you and so grateful for whatever comes their way.

“For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water…”

Matthew 25:35

Mobile Medical Clinic at Kipsongo

It’s 1pm on Monday afternoon…

Rain pours down on an already-soaked slum…

Hundreds of hurting folks wait, patiently…sorry for that pun, but it was begging to be thrown in…

Up rolls the medical team…

Sister Freda’s Mobile Medical Team…with a few borrowed hands from abroad…

* Umida from Uzbekistan

* Julia from Ukraine

* Graciella and Ron from the OC

The medical needs are overwhelming to a rookie, but the team just wades in and starts assessments…

• cholera
  
• tb
  
• malaria
  
• typhoid
  
• std's
  
• worms
  
• jiggers
  
• fever
  
• diarrhea.
  

Freda’s treatment team systematically and lovingly cares for and prays for EVERY person there.

She doesn’t rush or linger…

She doesn’t fall into pity or self doubt…

She just does what God designed her to do.

Comfort the Afflicted

When Folks Have Dirty Water

Bad Things Happen…

• Clothes never really get clean
• Bathing and washing are ineffective
• Even a sip becomes a nightmare
• Parasites enter the system
• A dozen different diseases attack
• Diarrhea becomes a constant enemy
• De-hydration sets in
• The body’s natural immune system is depleted
• People die…especially kids

When Folks Have Clean Water

Good things happen…

• Clothes can be cleaned
• Hands and bodies can be washed
• Drinking becomes safe again
• Water-borne diseases stop
• The kidneys start to cleanse the system
• Parasites stop entering the body
• Diarrhea and cholera lose their stranglehold
• Little bodies get re-hydrated
• People live healthier lives…especially kids

I RE-DISCOVERED SOME THINGS ON THIS COLLEGE UKRAINE TEAM

#1 I’M NOT 23 YEARS OLD...I’M 55.

#2 I USED TO THINK OF MYSELF AS HIP....NOW I WONDER HOW LONG BEFORE HIP RELACEMENT SURGERY.

#3 RIDING THE KIEV-TO-MARIOPOL TRAIN WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS IS HILARIOUS.

#4 OUR UKRAINIAN PARTNERS FROM ‘NEW LIFE CHURCH’ AND ‘CHURCH OF GOOD CHANGES’ ARE THE MOST THOUGHTFUL AND SERVANT-HEARTED PEOPLE.

#5 INDIGENOUS, CHURCH-BASED PARTNERSHIP IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO IN LONG RUN MISSIONS.

#6 UKRAINE IS A POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FORCE TO BE RECONNED WITH.

#7 THE BLACK SEA, IN JULY, IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH.

#8 I AM 10 YEARS BEHIND IN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND THOUGHT.

#9 I WILL NEVER CATCH UP...AND THAT’S OK WITH ME.

#10 I’VE ALREADY GOT NEXT SUMMER IN CRIMEA CIRCLED ON MY CALENDER...CAMP FOR 100 DRUG ADDICTED STREET KIDS ANYONE???

The CRAVE TEAM in Ukraine

I’ve been at Saddleback for 27 years and I’m embarrassed to say I have NO IDEA what ‘CRAVE’ stands for...
The fact that the name is capitalized MUST mean that in true Warrenesque fashion... it stands for something...but I can’t tell you what.
Rick’s love for acrostics has spawned a whole Saddleback world of words like SHAPE and PEACE and CRAVE

But in old school language...it’s the ‘college group’...
An awesome college group.

What a blast it was ministering with them in Kiev and Mariopol and Crimea.
Addressing the issues of poverty and homelessness and drug abuse.
And seeing, first hand, the biggest challenge of the Worldwide Church....men and women, boys and girls , facing eternity WITHOUT knowing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

With our friend, Vlad, with us...our Crave team shared their stories of their own faith journeys and their loving concern at orphanages...drop-in centers...group homes and rehab centers.


SO EVEN THOUGH I MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT ‘CRAVE’ STANDS FOR ...I KNOW WHAT THESE KIDS COLLEGE KIDS STAND FOR...CHANGED LIVES.

Me and TENTS

OK .... Camping is cool....fresh air...the sounds of birds and the wind and rain...
But at 55 years old I think I may need to get a little bigger tent...
One night in Crimea there was more rain and water INSIDE this tent than outside it.
I spent most of the long downpour night wondering what exactly getting struck by lightning actually does to you.

Baptism in Crimea

In a crisp mountain spring...
In a forest right out of LORD OF THE RINGS...
With a waterfall as the backdrop...
By a clear blue pool where people jump from the rocks above...

With a hundred Ukrainian hikers looking in...

We had the most wonderful BAPTISM service. Breanna, Lauren, and Natalie shared in the 2000-year-old symbol of being buried with Christ and rising to walk a New Life in Him.

As I explained the meaning of baptism to our CRAVE team, the coolest thing happened. As we talked about following Christ's EXAMPLE and His COMMANDMENT, folks began to crowd in close to the water...people were just out hiking and stayed through the whole baptism and prayed with us and cheered and celebrated the girls' step of faith. 

What began in the Jordan River so many years ago with Jesus and John the Baptist...is still very much alive today. 

RETURN TO UKRAINE...RETURN TO FRIENDS

(Vlad and Bill Dorman pray with a crippled man at the Donyetsk train station.)

One of the delights of returning to an area around the world is seeing long time friends and co-laborers. I have had the opportunity; the blessing; to work alongside these guys in Ukraine and learn what it means to serve the Lord with JOY.Uri is from THE CHURCH of GOOD CHANGES in Mariopol...a city on the Sea of Azov in southeast Ukraine. Uri and his wife, Tanya, were alcoholics and drug addicts, when they gave their lives over to the Lord Jesus. Now Uri is the MOST ENCOURAGING Christian you’ll ever meet, because of the CHANGE God brought about in hs family...Once they were hopeless drunks, looking for their next fix...now witnesses of the POWER of Jesus to restore life and hope.

I don’t think I will EVER meet a man who has taught me more than Vlad about keeping the message of Christ SIMPLE and PURE. Vlad is from NEW LIFE CHURCH in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. He was also held down for years by hard living and bad choices...the same old tools of our enemy...drugs...vodka...partying. Then one day he had his ‘Damascus Road’ experience and things have never been the same. I’ve traveled around the world with Vlad...in prisons, on trains and bizarre busses. I’ve been in freezing markets in Moscow and with glue sniffing street kids in Africa. I’ve seen him lead migrant workers, on Orange County busses, to the Lord.

Today I get to see Uri and Vlad...now that’s a reunion to look forward to.

Disturbing Reality

WARNING!
The photo that follows this blog post is troubling.
If your kids are reading this with you DO NOT proceed.
I am not posting it to mess with you or for make you sick, although both may happen.
You may be angry that I would even post it, but ...the TRUTH is ...this is what's happening.
If you are troubled by the truth of what is happening in Myanmar and don't want to see it for what it is...go to the Myanmar government posts, where they'll tell you everything is just fine.

------------------------------------------------------

While children cry out for food...
the military sits and waits.

While families try desperately to find their lost relatives...
the military sits and waits.

While people are developing waterborne diseases...
the government sits and waits.

While farmers see their livelihood, their fields, soaked in salty floods of ocean water...
the military sits and waits.

While people are dying of starvation...
the military sits and waits.

While families beg for a cup of fresh water...
the military sits and waits.

While bodies wait to be properly buried and laid to rest...
the military sits and waits.

Having heard what we've heard...having seen what we've seen...been where we've been...
It would be a SIN for me to sit and wait.

We can't fix this mess... by any means...
but we can raise awareness.
We can pray.
We can read and study and learn.
We can work through networks to get help to helpless families.
And believe me...a little bit goes a long way.

Put a check in the offering plate at your church...at Saddleback Church designate it to PEACE RELIEF.
Or go to the online giving at Saddlebackfamily.com and give something for PEACE RELIEF.

The military won't change...but we can.