Wednesday Team1

Hi all,

Today we agian forged ahead with awesome success. We have also made a great friend with the bus driver who takes us to and from the job site. He plays Kenyan music in the morning and teaches us Swahili in the evening. If you didn't hear, we had a flat tire yesterday due to a sharp stone in the middle of a maze field. ssssssssssss.

Our success on the job resulted in the frames and perlins (rafters) across the trusses. We now have all the steel framing erected for all three buildings.

Blessings to all!

The Rainy Season

Today we continued many of the tasks we began yesterday. With the main structure of the first building having gone up yesterday, we framed the rest of the roof and finished cementing the footers. We made great progress on the kitchen/classrom area as well. The ground is nearly leveled and the framing is ready to be erected once the foundations are dug. There was a little confusion on the other dormitory building as to how to go about leveling the floor, but it is progressing nonetheless. The framing is ready to be raised and the footers have been dug.

Throughout the day it rained. At times, rain poured and thunder could be heard in the distance. It did not deter the workers, however, as the job progressed.

It will be interesting to see what the days ahead hold. Many of the workers will not return due to a misunderstanding in previous days as to who had been officially hired.

The First Day of Construction

Today marked the first day of construction for the Johabeto project, which was very exciting and full of action. As most first days of anything there were the normal unknowns, things that were forgotten and glitches. Most all of that was to be expected. what wasn't expected was such a large turn out of workers, about twenty members of the community, that had came to work and show support. With all of their help we were able to get the ground broken and prepared for two of the building and half of the third. We had started off a little bit on the wrong foot digging the holes in the wrong place, trying to stay busy before the designer of the buildings had arrived to inform us on the correct procedure, but it was easily corrected. Once we received the instructions and help from an experienced builder we were able to get the columns and trusses up for the first building. what an amazing first day, that has us all tired yet pumped up to get the roof on the first building and the frames up for the second building tomorrow. Glory be to God!

First Full Day in Kitale

Hi everyone!

This morning, most of team 1 slept in quite late. A few of us were awoken just 10 minutes before church service. The team attended service this morning at Kitale Christian Worship Center and worshiped alongside Mark, one of Transformed International's employees. We were late getting up, and thus late arriving at the church after a long walk in to town from the compound. We arrived in time to catch the tail end of witnessing and stayed through the rest of the service, which included an opportunity for visitors to the church (including us) to speak and be welcomed. The service was a very interesting cultural experience for us all and we were very warmly received. After church, we all went shopping in town. We bought food and shovels and various other supplies at Transmattress supermarket, the largest store in town. We hired a vehicle to take our supplies and three of us back to the compound while the rest of the team walked with Daniel back to the compound. Transformed International Kitale is located in an old neighborhood built by the British during their occupation of Kenya. Very little of the original pavement (left when the British left in the 60s) remains, but the houses and tree rows lining the streets show a ruin of what was once a very wealthy area of British Kitale.Once we returned to the compound, we rested and prepared for our first day of work bright and early tomorrow (well, not bright since we'll likely beat the sun up). The dinner this evening was spaghetti with delicious meat and vegetable sauce. Some of us played hearts until it was time to pack up and head for bed. Good Night

Team one travel and arrival!

Hi All! Team one has all arrived safely in Kateli! The five of us that traveled through Egypt had an exhausting but awesome visit. I got one good nights sleep in the hotel in Luxor which was quite a hotel with a floating pool in a barge on the Nile and all. We pushed ourselves to see as much as we could in the time we were there and all agreed that that it was an awesome experience. We arrived in Cairo after our all night trans Atlantic flight and hurried off to the train station on the other side of the City.We were able to get sleeper births on the train and traveled all night to Luxor. We arrived in Luxor at 6:30 AM, went straight to the Hotel and they let us check into our rooms at that hour! Then it was off to the valley of the Kings and the rest of the West bank. We had eaten on the train so except for drinking lots of water, the temp was well over a hundred, we didn't stop to eat until dinner time. In the evening we took a falouka ride out across the Nile, and the wind died down so we all had a turn at rowing back! The next day we walk to and spent a large part of the day at the Karnak temple which all agreed was awe inspiring! In the afternoon we went for a swim and then went to the Luxor museum,as well as taking a walk around Luxor and doing a little shopping. In the evening we went to out to eat and then caught the train back for Cairo. Getting off the early in the morning again we went to Giza and the pyramids then out to Sakkara for more rode camels went to another museum then on to the airport and our Flight to Nairobi! We left Cairo at 10:45PM and landed in Nairobi at around 4AM. By the time we got through immigrations it was going on 5 and we had coffee and played cards until time to catch our plane to Kateli at 9:30AM. Todd and Jena had arrived the night before and met us at the gate. After an hour flight to Kateli, Daniel met us at the airport, took us back to camp (quite up scale!)where we dropped our bags and then went to the Hotel in town for lunch. After lunch we drove out to the work site. We staked out the 2 dorm building so the area could be leveled up. While there some of the kids that are going to be living there had a welcoming presentation for us and Martin had a welcoming speech. We went from there to another of Daniels projects which is an orphanage with kids who our all HIV positive. From there it was back to camp and dinner. Which brings you up to where we are now tired and ready to crash!!! There have been a lot of little adventures along the way that we will share with you when we get home but, God is good and everything is going well! Will try to post some pics at sometime butat the moment I am too tired!!! Love to all,God Bless!

"IN THE BEGINNING . . ."

Today, June 21st marks the longest day of the year and a beginning of the JOHABETO [JOining HAnds for a BEtter TOmmorrow] construction phase of the project to construct a new orphanage in Kitale, Kenya. As the first team takes off today from Rochester, New York over two years of planning kicks info full swing. They are the first of four 20 person teams the Lord has guided to the project. They have the support of thousands back home, about the nation, Canada and in Africa while undertaking this large mission.

The mission is the construction of two dorm facilities that can house up to 48 orphans and administrators plus the construction of a dining facility/kitchen building, wash houses and toilet facilities in 8 weeks. The massive amount of water needed for the cement work will come from a well completed in May (thank you Rotary Toronto)on the 2 acre site purchased this past winter. The teams face daily rains, 85+ degree heat and, thankfully, cool nights to sleep. Upon completion, today's 35 orphans will take up residence in this new facility.

The real beginning of the project was the morning of March 25th, 2008. That is when Martin Shikuku Wamalwa wrote Beverly Reeve noting the recent loss of the late Ted Pollock. Martin had been under the care of Ted and his wife, Dolly, when they first met back in 1978 in Africa during their active missionary days. Martin's note was to express sorrow to the Pollock family for their loss and note Ted and Dolly's positive influence on his life. So much was the influence that Martin named several of his children after Pollock children names.

Martin went on in his letter to inform Beverly of the orphanage that he and his wife, Ruth, operated in Kenya. He indicated his facilities were challenging with 3 dozen orphans (ages preschool to 17 with 12 boys and 23 girls). Their current facilities were grossly undersized. He expressed a desire to build an appropriate facility to honor Ted and Dolly. And so, the bug was placed into the Pollock family.

Some of the first discussions were taking place the summer of 2008 in Mozambique as the family managed the first church construction project without their Dad. By the fall of 2009 it had become more than clear that God was directing team to the orphanage. A project that would be more than double the size of all past projects and well over twice the cost. (shhhh...it could be triple in size and cost!)

Every challenge from fund raising to recruiting volunteer missionaries to obtaining construction materials has been accomplished by His divine guidance. In the weeks to come you can return here to get updates from the Kenya based teams as they report on the project progress. Join the teams with your prayers of support over the summer. May God's speed be with them on this project JOHEBETO.

jim weick

Model close up on display 1st Pres., Pittsford

Scale model of one of the two dorms being built

1st Team with Orphanage Model

Commissioning of 1st Team