John, Shannan, and their three children have now been in Kenya working with the Bryce Homes for 4 months.1 While the time has had its share of struggles, as they adjust to life in a third-world country (including frequent stomach sicknesses), they wouldn’t trade this time for anything. They have loved getting to know the Bryce Home families as well as other families they have met in the town (and rural area) in which they are living. Here pictured to the right, they are with a woman named Mary and her disabled child. There are a few other children in the family and Mary’s 65-year-old sick husband (Mary is about 30 and was given in an arranged marriage when she was a young teen). The conditions that Mary’s family is living in are almost unimaginable, much like many of the Bryce Home widows were living in when we met them and began officially helping them in 2011.
John and Shannan reached out to their own line of supporters in the US and have just raised money to build this family a new house on an acre that will be their own. They also raised enough money to get some ongoing medical help for the baby. As you can see in the photo to the left, the house the family is currently living in is just a small tin box. There are no beds or furniture, and they get their mucky water from a pool of ground water. This is life for millions in Kenya.
John and Shannan have also begun working with the Bryce Homes on a gardening expansion program for the Bryce program. Many of the widows are already growing gardens, but we hope to see them expand the variety of vegetables, and for some, help them grow larger gardens. The Bryce Home project, which is supported solely by Understand the Times and Lighthouse Trails readers, has been going on in Kenya for about 4 years, since Roger Oakland, the founder and director of the Bryce Homes International Program, made his first trip there and met with a group of rural pastors who were trying to help several Christian widows and their families but with very little means to do so.
The Bryce Home project in Kenya has changed the lives of 24 families, and we plan to expand the program to more families as the means are made available. Some of the present families are in the process of becoming more self-sufficient, which will allow us to bring in more needy families. There are many many families in this region of Kenya that are very much like the family pictured above.
Please pray for John, Shannan, and their children that they will remain in safety and be healthy during their remaining stay in Kenya. UTT and LT are grateful for their involvement in the Bryce Homes in Kenya. If you would like more information on the Bryce Homes or would like to become a supporter, please visit Understand the Times website at: http://www.understandthetimes.org/missionkenya.shtml. You may also call Lighthouse Trails (866-876-3910) at any time with questions.
