R.I.P. ... dear Peugeot!

R.I.P. … dear Peugeot. 

This is a story about a faithful servant of God who has given her all to the work of the Kingdom. Rising above each challenging occasion she went above and beyond the call of duty… not caring for herself but sacrificially giving … all that she had. At only 28 years old she had attained, in our hearts and minds, the prestigious title of … ‘Indispensable’ . 

Now … let it be known that we understand that in Kenya, servants of her kind must be able to ‘take a licking and keep on ticking’ . They must be able to bear burdens they were not ‘designed’ to bear. 

Be that as it may… with trepidation and deep-felt gratitude…we offer this story of our dear old car … the  ‘amazing french workhorse’ … the Peugeot. 

This is the picture of what she looked like when she was first created…

And this is how she looked when she came to be with us…

Alas.... this is how she looked after only 6 months. 

But how she threw herself into the work… she heroically carried speakers and chairs to our churches…

Motorcycles from Masai Mara..

Tons and tons of bags full of sand to our construction site…

Along with hundreds and hundreds of gallons of water…

Scores of twenty foot hardwood poles…

Well over a 200 ten foot fence post…

A mile of water pipes that small trucks couldn’t carry up our driveway…

Multitudes of needy people…

And even a baby cow! 

She traveled roads that four wheel drives feared to go…

She got stuck in many exotic places ...

Sometimes she over heated, bless her over worked heart, forcing us to seek water in deserts, crocodile infested waters…

All the while, listening to my encouragement for her to press on just a little bit further…

And she listened… even while losing mufflers,

Gas tanks and other internal parts. 

Always bravely moving on… as we bandaged her up to complete the journey!

She has been in emergency rooms all over Eastern Kenya… as they too pieced her back together, enabling her to carry us safely all the way home.  

And though we are eternally grateful for her service and sacrifice… our readiness to lay her down and let her enter into her final rest… has become evident... which you can see so clearly on my wife’s face.

Thank you dear Peugeot .. and may someone rise up soon and replace you…bless you and may you ever so quickly enter your so well deserved rest.

May all who read these solemn words, find it in your hearts to help give this ever so faithful servant... rest. Much love  ... the StoneHouse Family.  

Medical needs

Medical care in Kenya 

is comparatively low cost, but even so, many cannot afford to pay. 

We'd like to give you the opportunity to help. These are stories of children and adults with health care needs. Being able to get proper care can change the outcome of their lives in many ways.

Eunice Muthoni Njeru 

is a lovely 14 year old girl. She was born with bilateral cleft palate and cleft lip. She comes from a poor family and hasn't been able to get all the surgery she needs to correct the problem. 

You can imagine from this picture the difficulties she faces everyday with eating and speech. You can help answer the prayers of this young teenage girl.

200,000 Kenya Shillings equals $2,000.00 and will allow her to get the surgery and treatment she needs.

Next, meet this darling little girl, named 

Winnie Adhiambo.

Winnie is a 4 year old girl born with scoliosis - curvature of the spine. She has never been able to stand or walk because of the lack of support from her spine. She also has club feet. 

You can see the curvature and the width of the spine.


The brace will provide support and help to straighten her back.

Both feet are clubbed making it impossible for her to bear her own weight.

The braces will help straighten her ankles 

so she can learn to stand and walk.

She’s had physical therapy for the past 2 years without much success. Recently, she was fitted for braces for her back and feet and is able to stand with help for the first time.

For now her handicap prevents her 

from being able to go to school.....

.... so her devoted mom is teaching her at home 

and carries her every where she goes. 

Here's how you can help with her medical expenses:

Back Brace         $50.00 one time cost

Ankle Braces      $35.00 one time cost

Total:                  $85.00 one time cost

Medications        $40.00 a month

Massage oil           $8.00 a month

Physical therapy:   $8.00 a month

Total:                   $56.00 a month

If you'd like to help go to our website at:

www.stonehouseministries.org 

and click on the donate tab.

We thought the first SBTS (small business training seminar) was amazing and it was… but the second one was over the top! Heaven's Family  team...Daniel and Terry O’connell were awesome.

This is my favourite picture out of all the hundreds I took during the two at seminars. 

All of us were very tired from the preparation and follow up from the first seminar and Micro Bankers training session, we had to keep waking each other up at the beginning of the second. James felt like he hadn’t slept in a week. 

Registration began early Tuesday morning for the second seminar and people kept coming… and coming, and coming. The first seminar on Friday and Saturday brought 125 people eager to learn. This next one on Tuesday and Wednesday brought almost a 160. 

Between Dan’s smile, Terry’s compassionate heart and the StoneHouse Family’s hospitality, everyone felt very welcomed when they arrived. 

We began with singing/sharing and were especially blessed by our friends from the Masai Mara. Simon and his team are from the Masai tribe and were representing the ministry of Debora Deren and Threads of Hope. 

Then the O’connells got down to some serious teaching concerning concerning how to manage … Kingdom businesses. 

The 2 day long concentrated training, consisted in hearing a lot of business wisdom, participating in interaction between teacher and students, and a focus on becoming a competent disciple of Christ in the business field. 

Around 1:30 we broke for an hour long lunch and fellowship. Good food!

The delicious smells of our scrumptious lunch drew many hungry street children, as well as our impoverished neighbourhood children. 

So… much to their delight … we invited them in and fed them. 

There’s not a better feeling in the world than getting feeding the ‘least of these’… especially if they are children.

That afternoon Dan and Terry concluded the training session by awarding everyone who attended the entire seminar with a certificate of completion. This qualifies them for a possible loan and further training. All of our churches had members graduate. Thank you Heaven's Family! 

This last picture of James that afternoon describes how we all felt when we finished.

Our concept of the church is, that every aspect of human life needs to be redeemed. Business is just another part of a Christian disciple’s experience. Pray for us as we seek to bring the members of Christ's family into more of the fulness available to them in the Kingdom of God.

Much love … the StoneHouse Family.