YASHA Ministry, KENYA: VISITING THE FOREST

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

VISITING THE FOREST - Sunday, 6th of April 08

Wilco and past David Birgen from Londiani. He visited us on Saturday and Sunday. He is our new Coordinator of the churches in the forest.

Below is some of the members of the church in Teret.

They've also managed to visit Nessuit Reformation Centre. Here Wilco is handing out some Kalenjin Bibles to past Richard.

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THURSDAY, 1 JULY 2010

Dearest friends and companions ...

On behalf of Wilco and my family, I'm greeting you in the wonderful Name of
Jesus Christ. Trust you are all doing well.

I had a good time in South Africa ... I stayed on after we buried my mother
on the 1st of May, as it is just too far and too expensive to go there for a
short time. It was great spending time with Wilco and my son, Stefanus, and
to enjoy the things that are just not available in Kenya.

I want to thank God for the healing that I can sense in my spirit concerning my own life ... The 1st seven years in Kenya had left a very deep scar in my soul, but God specializes in broken people whom He can turn into vessels of honor unto His Glorious Name. All glory to Him as I can feel how His Holy Spirit fire is burning passionately in my heart again.

Thank you friends for standing with us over the years through thick and thin. When we stand back to look at what the Lord had done (is doing) through YASHA Ministry, then we can only declare with a loud voice ... "This is God's handy work!!! created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." It is SO beyond what we are capable of ... GOD's VISION plus YOUR PRAYERS plus HIS RECOURSES POURING FROM HIS CHILDREN can make it all a reality.

Let's not stop people ... Let's continue breaking new ground and reaching new territories for Christ's Kingdom. Never, never think that your prayers and love offerings are anything less than what we physically do here in Kenya ... The one hand is supporting the other so that together we can reach further and do more.

YASHA Mission Academy is doing exceptionally well these days. Our staff are dedicated to make a change in the lives of our children and people from all around our village are starting to SEE the difference between our kids and those from local government schools. The same with the 2 schools in the forest. Apparently the Area Chiefs of both Teret and Chemamul have vocalized how impressed they are with the ACE system that we are using. We are grateful indeed for their support as their words are pretty much still law in those far-off remote areas.

Our biggest challenge right now is the fact that the guy who was overseeing the forest projects, resigned to help his father in their family business in Nairobi. We can feel the gap that he had left as we just don't have another skilled and trained person who can continue the work in this regard. Please pray with us that God will send the right person to fill this very strategic position.

Our vehicle is in need of urgent repair. I can't even begin to say what's wrong as the list simply is too long. It is not only mechanical problems that need to be fixed, but even the body is starting to decay. Already we had to remove the canopy as it broke loose completely. We urgently need funds to repair our 1993 Nissan 4x4. The director of Seas Motors has assured me that it is worth fixing the vehicle in stead of buying a new one (as if we could have done it now :-) He religiously believe in Nissan as one of the strongest and best vehicles for the harsh conditions that we all too regularly have to face this side. Please partner with us in this ... I will send a report on the estimate cost as soon as it is available.

We are blessed to announce that we managed to register a CC in South
Africa called "YASHA Ministry Education Projects" ... Wilco is in the process of registering a Non Profit Organization (NPO), but that will take about 3 months for the registration process to be completed. We want to thank our friend, Santie Stead, who is helping us through this process.

The main purpose for this is to raise funds for the land that we need to buy for specifically the school here in Njoro. As most of you know the place where we currently operate from, has been sold on an auction last year December and we basically have up to December this year to find another place to run the school from. This is a major event so we ask you all to join hands in prayer for the R2,000,000 ($258,000) that we need - With our God all things are possible!

We also managed to open a bank account for the same and we would please advice our friends in S-Africa to pay any money donated to
YASHA in the "YASHA MINISTRY EDUCATION PROJECT" account (pls contact us for the details thereof).

Oversees people are welcome to still make use of the ministry account that we have in Kenya.

On Saturday, the 24th of July we will be launching a local fund raising event at the YASHA Guest House, called the "YASHA Buying of Land and Building Project" ... YOU ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND ;-)

Always indicate clearly if you want the money to be utilized for a specific mission/purpose. If not, we will use it where the need is. Thank you once again for partnering with YASHA Ministry.

Something we would like you to pray about, is a project that we want to start for orphaned children that has been placed with the extended family and who want to attend our school, but are not staying in our village. We had so many requests for such a boarding facility over the years and finally we feel that the Lord is starting to press it on our hearts.

We had 2 very exciting sport days behind us. You can check out the photo's on Facebook on the following public links :

Sports day for Junior Academy : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065567&id=1287937088&l=d65278ef8d
Sports day for Academy (although I'm still busy loading photos :-) :
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066429&id=1287937088&l=b43ef30a14

Our little Dachshund (sausage dog) also got some lovely babies, and
you can check that out on :
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065810&id=1287937088&l=043fcaff54
- The father is a white miniature American Eskimo Dog so of course we
can't wait to see how the puppies will turn out.

Please let us know how you are. We are also keeping YOU in our hearts and in our prayers.

Mungu awa bariki sana (the Lord bless you all)

"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"

Dear friends ...

When the clock struck midnight on the 1st of January 2009, we were all grateful that we are not starting the new year as 2008 when the whole country suffered from post election violence. Little did we know what still lied ahead ...

Please pray for the two recent tragedies that have hit Kenya in less than a week and that have so far taken 150+ lives.

1. The fire that broke out in Nakumatt Supermarket Downtown, Nairobi last week and Wednesday (28th Jan). So far 30 people’s bodies have been found, but there might be many more as quite a number of people are still listed as “missing”.Our hearts are broken as 2 of our CONGRESS friends, Past & Mrs Wakaba, whom we often visited when staying over in Nairobi, were also amongst those who had died. They were still having lunch with their daughter, Grace (17), when they then all went their separate directions. That was the last time Grace ever saw her parents. Please pray for the remaining family as well as all the other families involved.

2. The fuel tanker explosion in Molo on the 31st of Jan. The accident occurred on Saturday when an overturned petrol tanker exploded, as several people attempted to scoop up fuel that was leaking from it. (Sad thing is that there are now so many stories – some say that the police were the ones selling the petrol to the people and when one guy couldn’t get petrol because of a lack of money, he lit a match and BANG!) So far the death toll had reached 122. Apparently whole families were wiped out, as it happened near an IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp. Is God trying to tell us something?Another sad side of the story is that the social worker who was dealing with Teday’s foster care process, also died in the accident. As a matter of fact the whole vehicle of the orphanage were blown to pieces. The driver is currently in hospital with 3-degree burns all over his body. Please pray for Dawn, the director of “Arise and Shine Orphanage”, and especially for the driver. After Wilco’s accident that time in the mine where a 6,000volt cable exploded a few metres from him, we know the pain that these people are going through. It is only the Lord who can see them through.(Dawn also told us that the court in Nakuru had apparently “lost” Teday’s file - funny that it also happened with Timothy’s file that time. It now seems that Paul had all the copies of Teday’s documents with him in the car ... That means there is NO DOCUMENTS left for Teday – our new baby. Another serious prayer item to bring before the Lord, please.)

There are also little opportunities to minister to the victims in hospital, as the wards are guarded by Administration Police ... you just hear the wailing of the patients ... May the Lord have mercy on these people and their families.

In the mean time we are still trying to fix our new home after moving in over the weekend. Yesterday we’ve ministered in one of the local churches and we really felt the Lord was moving powerfully. The building of the bathroom and toilet at the Guest House has started slowly, as we first need to pay staff salaries.

Other news is that Clemencia is back from Nairobi to manage YASHA Guest House for the school. It is so lovely to have her back. She’s looking great and has gained a lot of experience while working in the city.

In His service ...

Wilco & Lydia Venter

Our contact details are as follows -
School E-mail: yashamissionacademy@yasha.za.org or yashamissionacademy@hotmail.com
Wilco: (+254) 723 791 969 / wilco@yasha.za.org
Lydia: (+254) 722 374 007 / lydia@yasha.za.org
Website address: www.yasha.za.org
Guest House Blog:
www.yashaguesthouse-kenya.blogspot.com
E-mail: yashaguesthouse@gmail.com
Family Blog: http://www.rainbowcelebration.blogspot.com/
Maki, Joy, Stefanus & Timothy's Blog : http://www.venterkidzinkenya.blogspot.com/ (it seems the blog is not operational - I'll have to still check it out.)

~~~~~~~~~~

OLDER NEWS

SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2009

Dear Friends and Co-workers ...

Warm greetings from a very dry and dusty Njoro. Please read this letter until the end as there are a lot of interesting developments going on.

As a individual, as a family and also as YASHA Ministry, we are looking forward to a great and productive year. One of the scriptures we feel God has pressed on our hearts, is Psalm 65:11-13 :

“You crown the year with your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side,
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys are also covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.”

The year has started off with a lot of excitement and a lot of unexpected happenings, which we will share shortly. We challenge you to continue this Faith Walk with us as we fervently pursue to establish God’s Kingdom – not only in Njoro – but also in every area the Lord has granted us to work in. We believe we have a mandate to make a difference. Money ... or the lack thereof ... cannot make us prosperous. It is in the changing of the lives of people that we count our riches.

YASHA Mission Academy

The new term has started off well. We now have almost 130 students in the school and – except for a few spaces in Junior Academy – we literally have no place for even a mouse. We also now have 32 staff members (the 4 voluntary workers included) which make “pay-day” a real Faith Mission. We urgently need more people to partner with us ... We urge you to prayerfully consider how the Lord wants you to get involved. For those of you who are already sowing into our lives ... Thanks and God bless.

New Project : YASHA Satellite School in Teret Forest

The other exciting development was the opening of the satellite school in Teret Forest. We’ve decided to call it YASHA Learning Centre as it will operate as a Nursery School. The biggest challenge in the forest is the fact that children will most probably NEVER learn to speak, read or write English. That wouldn’t have been a problem if their education and exams were in their tribal language (Kalenjin), but the fact is that exams come from Nairobi and it is all in English. The result is that only 10% of those kids will ever proceed to secondary level. Our desire is to change these statistics. Although we are starting small, we envision that in the not so far future, we will at least have established a satellite school in each one of the 10 areas in the forest where we’re involved in. Thank you for helping us in making this dream a reality.

The opening of YASHA Learning Centre was suppose to take place on Monday, 19th of January, but on arrival at the site we found almost double the number of children than we’ve prepared for (that is after we’ve planned this event with the leaders of the community since middle December). We then had to (again) sit down with all the leaders and parents, explaining to them that we can only start with 20 children. We also told them that the 1st twenty (20) who have paid the registration money and brought us a copy of the child’s birth certificate or clinic card before Wednesday, will receive a place in the Pre-School class. Realizing however that there are no other nursery schools in the area, we then promised them we will trust God to build another class room for the smaller kids (3-4yrs). Please pray with us for this, as we need to start building as soon as possible.When we arrived there on Wednesday, we were deeply touched by what we found. The parents of ONLY 20 kids were waiting for us WITH their registration fee and WITH their birth certificates and clinic cards. On Thursday Teachers Veronica and Fancy started the lessons. Wilco was with them until about lunch break. He came back very excited as he was amazed by how quickly these kids pick things up. We’ve loaded some photo’s on Facebook. Please follow this public link (you do not have to be a member) and experience part of this great journey with us (we have not yet loaded photo’s on our blog, but will do so soon).

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011601&l=b788a&id=1287937088

We are Moving ...

Literally and spiritually LOL. Around 2 weeks ago the Lord woke me one night at around 2am, telling me that we are moving from our current location. I immediately woke Wilco, and shared with him what I felt God was saying. The very next day a lady approached us, telling us about her house not far from the school and asking if we were not interested in renting it. I may add that her house is fully furnished. Although we couldn’t receive this with our carnal mind, our spirit man got excited. During the Sunday service, the preacher was talking about “leaving your comfort zone to walk on the water” ... Wilco got totally convinced that the Lord is speaking to us.

We have been living in this 3-bedroomed house with one small bathroom for the past 7 years ... LOVING it! After we got attacked last year we got several opportunities to move, but we did not feel that the Lord was prompting us to do so. Suddenly we just felt such a release in our hearts. This gave birth to another vision that has been on the horizon for so long ...

YASHA Guest House ...Hoping to open on the 1st of February

Since moving into our present house 7 years ago (of which we’ve already now departed from in our hearts), we “saw” traditional tribal houses where people from all over will come and stay. Wilco and I have been talking about this many times over the years. Suddenly the Lord started reminding us of this vision. Because finances is a constant struggle – God knows it’s a STRUGGLE!! – we just felt that this can be a wonderful opportunity to generate funds for YASHA Ministry ... especially now that we need to buy land soon. We know that this will put even more responsibility in our lap, but we are not lazy and we know that the Lord will reward our effort. We’ve opened a blog in this regard – please check it out and tell us what you think. We know you’ll probably tell us we’re CRAZY ... At least try to say it in a diplomatic way, will you?

www.yashaguesthouse-kenya.blogspot.com

If you have some great ideas concerning the guest house, then you know where/how to find us. We obviously need quite a bit of cash to get the place running. Right now we’re thinking of bedding, towels, food stuffs, etc. We’re also thinking of building a small toilet and shower outside as we only have one small bathroom. We have a lovely idea that will not cost much more than $500. We are excited, as Njoro really need a nice guest house. Our house is on one of the main roads to Masai Mara as well as quite central in regards to many other attractions in the surrounding areas.

We might receive guests from Scotland somewhere between the 5th-13th of Feb. They contacted us for advice, as they are working with some local people and want to open an ACE school in Nyahururu. We would very much like the guest house to be in order (at least more or less) by that time. We also trust the Lord for an additional $150 to fix our new (1960-model J) little Renault that No’am blessed us with a while back. It will help a lot in the guest house when guests had to be picked somewhere. Apart from the fact that it is very light on fuel, it also looks toooooo cute and we think it might just be another attraction altogether. Thanks for your prayers in regards to this new and exciting project.

Oh, and by the way ... Clemencia – you remember her? – is coming on Wednesday ... She might run the place for us.

Please also pray for rain. The biggest asset in the new house will be WATER. No words can really describe a life without enough water ...

Our Family

Apart from cutting teeth at the moment, Teday Shawn (that is his new name) is doing well. He has stolen everyone’s heart at school and we thoroughly enjoy every minute of him. We do ask you however to pray for the issuing of his birth certificate. Apparently the orphanage cannot get hold of the policeman who found him and who wrote his report ... “Karibu Kenya”! The rest of the kids are also doing fine ... None of us can wait for the actual day when we move to our new house. We’ll keep you informed. Thanks to all of you who make it possible for us to continue our labour here in Kenya. We do believe it is not in vein. God bless.

In His love ...

Wilco & Lydia Venter

~~~~~~~~~~

TUESDAY, 9 DECEMBER 2008

Seasonal greetings ...

Can you believe the year is almost gone ...? In Kenya we started 2008 with a lot of fear and uncertainty. Last year this time we were preparing for elections and - as you all know - it didn't turned out good. Thousands of people died, houses were burnt, families were scattered as they lost all they had ... We are utterly grateful that we are here to tell the story. You can read all about it under the label "POST ELECTION CLASHES".

Then - on the 12th of March - our family were attacked by 5 thugs. Thank God they never touched our children, but that night Wilco and I were slashed and beaten until we thought we will not make it. For those of you who have missed the details of the ordeal, you can read about it under the topic "CLOSE ENCOUNTER" and "SECURITY UPGRADING". Today, 9 months later, you can hardly see the scars. God is good!!

Another exciting thing that is happening, is the fact that we have given over the school (not officially, but we're 3 quarters there). Pauline Maina is the new Administrator and, together with Mary Anyango who is the principal as well as a very capable staff, things are going well at YASHA Mission Academy. We bless the Lord of what He is doing in this project. We are still as involved as can be, but we are also now available to stretch ourselves a little further.

We are seeing great things on the horizon and trust God every step of the way to make those things a reality. We desire to walk into an apostolic and prophetic grace, so that whatever is on the horizon, will manifest in the "now reality". We thank Father for the CONGRESS World Breakthrough Network whom we belong to and who is giving us the spiritual back-up to press on and to break through. This is a new day and we embrace it with all our hearts and minds.

Thank you for journeying with us ... We invite you to get involved in the work here in Kenya ... that is if you are not already involved. We also want to make use of this opportunity to THANK all our partners who have faithfully sown into our lives and the lives of the people around us. May our dear heavenly Master reward you a hundred fold.

I'm including a poem that will give you a glimpse of what we've gone through this year ... and the victory only God can give.

FROM CLASHES TO GLORY

Kenya, oh Kenya – you mighty land
It is marvellous how you were able to withstand
The enemy’s attacks that were aimed at you
But at the end, God took us through

Elections came with excitement and fear
The end of the year was rushing near
After voting was done, we all were stunned
As tribes were threatened and people were gunned

Neighbour against neighbour and man against man
Each one for himself – each one for his clan
Houses were burnt ‘til ashes and dust
People looked for revenge with eyes full of lust

Families got scattered and lost all their things
It came with all the terror and sadness a war brings
Kids lost their mummy, their siblings, their dad ...
With only one revelation – Elections are bad

Mothers lost their babies – some still on the breast
Some were stolen, like a bird from the nest
Businesses were burnt and shops were locked
Politicians were quiet and democracy was mocked

It went like this for weeks and for days
And all through the church prays and prays
For a breakthrough to come – an intervention from God
“Let Your peace reign on us” , was all that we thought

Slowly it seized until one day it stopped
Peace appeared like a smoke bomb was dropped
People were scared, bowed down like bended trees
‘Cause wherever you looked, you found IDP’s

Respect was scattered ... trust an unknown word
Lives were broken ... silent cries were heard
Thousands of children were removed from their mothers
Some were cared for ... but what about the others?

Time has since passed – slowly hope appear
In the hearts of people where all they had was fear
The light is breaking – a new day has arrive
We need businesses to grow and the economy to thrive

Come on fellow citizens – let’s lift our heads up high
Let forgiveness be our banner – Unity our cry!
Look at your fellow brother and see him through God’s eyes
And know that it’s in Him alone where our victory lies

Life in the Kingdom has different rules, my friend
We can live with one another – It’s not so hard to blend
As hard work and integrity become the backbone of it all
United we can stand ... divided we will fall

Our prayer for this country Kenya, is for God’s purposes to be done
“Let Your will be established ... Let Your Kingdom come
Let our government be righteous as they truly seek Your face
Release in us Your wisdom – Release in us Your grace

We pray for Reformation and a church so pure and true
As we journey on this pathway of truly knowing You”
Let’s rise and shine oh people, let’s all embrace the Son
As we grow into His image, as we work until He comes

(Written by Andika – 16 October 2008)

We love you all ... in Jesus Name.

Wilco, Lydia & family

~~~~~~~~~~

SUNDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2008

Kingdom greetings from an ever wet and rainy Njoro ...

Wilco had just recovered from having flue and right now I'm the one not feeling too good.

On Friday we had our Sports Day at YASHA that was actually suppose to take place two weeks ago. It's basically raining every day and we have NEVER seen so much rains in the 7 years of being in Kenya. We thank God for keeping the rains back a little and for giving us a great day with heaps of fun! Although the Red Team won the Socker, they both played well.

Yesterdat (Sat) we had our Parents Day. We were a little dissapointed at the turn-out and it was once again confirmed that one of our greatest challenges is Parent Involvement. Please pray for this issue as this is one of the major pillars of ACE.

Our students are very busy preparing for the Award Ceremony - we only have about 2 weeks left. The dates are as follows :

Junior Academy - Tuesday, 18 Nov
Theme : Fly Higher
Academy & Snr Academy - Saturday, 22 Nov
Theme : Life in the Kingdom

School is closing on the 25th of Nov with Parents Conference on the 26th & 27th of this month. Our Staff Celebration will take place on Friday, the 29th of Nov.

One of our teachers are getting married on the 30th of Nov. We wish Mr Julius Mwangi and his fiancee, Isabel, all the best for their future. (See the photo of Mr Mwangi with the rings that I bought them while being in South Africa.)

Last weekend we had a trip to Eldoret. Will post some photo's soon.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. The exchange rate of the SA Rand is extremely low and we desperately feel it. We lose anything between R5,000-R7,000 in our monthly budget at school. We trust the Lord for a break-through in this regard.

In His love ...

Wilco & Lydia

~~~~~~~~~~

SATURDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2008

Greetings from Njoro ...

Tomorrow Past Njoroge from CONGRESS World Breakthrough Network is visiting our Kingdom Community, Kingpriest Centre. We are very excited as his program normally is so full. Most of the staff members of YASHA Mission Academy will also attend, as our school is in close relationship with CONGRESS and one of the pilot projects of EMPOWER AFRICA, a sector under the CONGRESS.

Wilco has left early this morning to visit one of our new churches in the forest, Kiptenden Reformation Centre, where a certain past. Ken is the set man. It's in the Olenguruoni Division and it's neighbouring Narok - 43km from Molo. There is great advancement in the forest area amongst the Ndorobo tribe. Wilco is doing some leadership training today and will then come back tomorrow after the service, as he also wants to be back in time for the service where Past Njoroge will be ministering as from 2pm.

This week we travelled to Nairobi to attend to some business. Wilco had to go and see the people who gave him the contract in Tanzania. Dr Keith Ormand and Robert Ferreiro are 2 very kind people and Wilco feel blessed to be working with them. I had to re-apply for my passport as it is expiring in November. We also had some business at Faith Ventures Academy in Garden Estates, our ACE host school. BUT the most exciting thing that we had to go and do, was to pick "Sweety", our new little Renault 4 car. You will love it!!!

We want to thank NO'AM FOURIE, our SA friend who has been the principal of the school in Nairobi for the past couple of years, from the bottom of our hearts for her generosity. We also want to THANK GOD for her new vehicle "Blessing" - "May it truly be a blessing in your life, No'am, as we know you've been struggling with little Sweetie many a time."

Well friends, that is all for now. Our power is off and I see my battery is on it's last. God bless you in the week that lies ahead.

Wilco & Lydia