God is Doing Some Amazing Things

It is hard to believe that God has opened up the door for us to build a house here in Kenya. Praise God, this is so exciting. 

Not only has He given us land, but He has also shown us an amazing form of construction called "Earthbag Construction".  Basically you build the house out of rammed bags of earth. You use the bags like bricks and then you plaster over them after you are done.  With this form of construction we will be able to build a house for the cost of rent for 2 or 3 years.  Praise God.

We were already planning a very brief furlough to the USA and while we are there we will be fundraising for this home.  Our goal is $15,000. We hope to build it for less than that, and if we can we will use the access for our ministry projects. 

We are also looking for volunteer teams to come out and help us build the house.  We will be starting the project in May of next year. Come join us. 

Thank you,
Alan, Leah and Ross

Do you have a cow in your back yard?

We are sleeping on mattresses on the floor. We use a 50 amp deep cell battery to charge our computer and phones and give a little light.  We don't have a fridge, a stove, a dining table or a couch to sit on. We do have two canvas camp chairs. We wash our clothes by hand and store them in foot lockers because we don't have a chest of drawers or a closet. We don't have running water, so we use an outdoor toilet and carry water into our house for clothes washing, dish washing and bathing. We heat our bath water in the sun and do most of our cooking on a one burner camp stove.

Our resources are low and we are struggling to have our day to day needs met, and having enough money coming in to fund our ministry seems to be a dream at the moment. We say all that to say, we are not in Kenya living the high life.  We are trying to be good stewards of the resources that God gives us.  But it is difficult to stretch what we have been receiving to cover the needs of our family and have enough left over to do the ministry that God has brought us here to do.

There is a fine line between living above the people that we work with and having enough modern conveniences to make sure that we are not just spending all of our time and energy "living".

We kicked off the project at Lowangilla this week by teaching how to build a Garden in a Bag.  We hope to go next week and build more and teach more people.  We want to be able to pay for half of the cost of the bag and let them pay the other half. We also want to give them the option of paying their half in installments. The bags cost about $3, so their half is around $1.50, but that is still a LOT of money to them. After we get that project going we want to move on to solar cooking. But again we don't have the funds to buy the materials to build the final design, much less build many so that we can have them to give/sell.

Please take a moment to pray about joining our Financial Support Team.  No amount is too small or too large.  We have people who give as little as $15 per month. The right amount is the amount that God is leading you to give.  Our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, are one of those cows in your back yard and God is saying "Give that to the Flemings" ? Obviously we don't mean, literally do you have a cow in your back yard. But we think that you understand the comparison. Pray about it and let's see what God wants to do.

Getting Started in Isiolo

Thank you for praying about your involvement in what God is doing in Kenya
 
PTL! We have been back in Kenya for 8 weeks and it has been a whirlwind of activity.
We are hoping to move into our house next week and we have already started working 

on the projects that we believe God has given us the vision to do.

For the first 6 months of 2013 our average monthly income was $1729.40 .

Our Ministry Budget is $2000 and our Personal budget is $2000. 

Our goal is to use at least 50% of your donations to go towards ministry expenses. 

We are a LONG way from being able to pay our bills AND

accomplish all that we believe God wants us to do in the projects.  

Please pray about making a one time donation OR joining our monthly support team.  
www.nomads4jesus.com/donate.html 

Household Needs ($1909) One Time Need-Details of costs at end of post
1) Double Bed Mattress (Bought); Double Bed Frame 2) Twin Bed Mattress (Bought); Twin Bed Frame 3) Water Filter (Bought) 4) Solar Hot Water Heater 5) Six-Cubic foot Refrigerator 6) Gas Stove 7) Couch 8) Dining Table & 4 Chairs 9) 2-Wardrobes for bedrooms

Ministry Expenses ($2000 per month)

1. Street Boys Feeding Program ($150 per month)
2. Orphanage at Maisha Bora Feeding Program ($150 per month)
3. Garden in a Bag Project-60 bags per month ($275 per month)
4. Solar Cookers-60 per month ($375 per month) 
5. Farming Supplies, tools, seeds, etc. ($175)
6. Rent ($140-half of total)
7. Electricity ($25-one fourth of total) 
8. Water ($40-Half of total)
9. Internet ($45-three fourths of Total)
10. Phone ($10-one fourth of Total)
11. Travel in and around Kenya ($250)
12. Travel from Kenya to US ($165-half of total cost)
13. Kenya Income Tax ($100)
14. Work Permit and other immigration expenses ($50)
15. Guard ($50-half of total)

Personal Monthly Expenses ($ 2000 per month)

1. Tithe ($200)
2. Rent ($140-half of total)
3. Electricity ($75-three fourths of total)
4. Water ($40-half of total)
5. Food ($435-estimate)
6. Internet ($15-one fourth of total)
7. Phone ($30-one fourth of Total)
8. Household Necessities ($75-estimate)
9. Emergency Fund, Medical etc. ($100)
10. Homeschool Materials ($75)
11. Travel from Kenya to the US ($165-half of total cost)
12. Social Security Taxes ($200)
13. Guard ($50-half of total)
14. House worker ($100) (Frees Leah up to do ministry)
15. Personal Salary above Necessities (15%) ($300)

Dream List-Solarizing ($1904)
We would really like to solarize our house. We believe that solarizing our house will quickly pay for itself and then we can start saving money every month.

1. 2-138 Watt Solar Panels ( $380)
2. 4-Deep Cell Batteries ($400) (Bought one)
3. Wiring/Etc. ($150)
4. Stand for Solar Panels ($150)
5. (Solar Refrigerator-$824)

Break Down of Costs for Household Items

1. Double Bed Mattress ($80) (Bought) & Double Bed Frame ($100)
2. Twin Bed Mattress ($37) &(Bought) Twin Bed Frame ($60)
3. Water Filter ($43) (Bought) 
4. Solar Hot Water Heater (Building our own) ($200)(Pre-made ones are $700 - Electricity to heat water for showers can easily run $100 per month.)
5. Six-Cubic foot Refrigerator ($319)
6. Gas Stove ($295)
7. Couch ($125)
8. Dining Table ($125) & 4 Dining Chairs ($100)
9. Wardrobe for Alan and Leah ($150) & Ross ($150) Kenya Houses do not have closets

We Have Returned to Kenya

Financial Supporters Still Needed!

We have returned to Kenya and we are trusting that God will raise up more people to commit to being a part of our monthly support team.

Please Pray about joining in the work in Kenya through monthly support

OR a one time donation. 

No amount is too small and no amount is too great. 

Join our support team today and be a part of God's work in Kenya.

http://www.nomads4jesus.com/donate.html

Thank you for praying!