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Feb 9, 2012, 9:43 pm
NOTE: I wish I could scan these so you could see her little drawings and her hand writing! Also, Mercy is 15 yrs old. “Dear Mommy, Thank you for the letter that you sent me. When I read it I felt loved and cared for. Your sweet sympathyzing words touched my heart leaving me as happy as a king. ... Comment - Like
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Feb 7, 2012, 10:51 pm
My friend, Sean Howard, is an amazing artist. He decided to paint portraits of our ‘orphans-no-more’ and donate the proceeds to A Future and a Hope! He put us on his blog! http://saintschizophreniastudios.com/main/kenya-dig-it/ These paintings are amazing. If I could, I would buy each one for... Comment - Like
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Feb 7, 2012, 6:06 am
(I tried to type Mercy’s letter JUST as she wrote it.) ALL ABOUT ME I used to live in a place called Kodioga where I was born. I live with my grandma, grandpa, my aunti and uncles. I did not spend lots of my time with my mom because she always woke up early in the morning and went to look for a... Comment - Like
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Feb 6, 2012, 7:05 am
Kate recently blogged about needing and wanting ordinary folks to come and visit. You know barbers, chefs, mechanics, and supermodels instead of professional preachers, those who want to convert Africa, and doctrine enforcers. I agree, though I appreciate good preachers, or rather good lecturers.The... Comment - Like
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Feb 5, 2012, 12:33 pm
Recently, Johnny and I were chatting in the car on the way to town and the topic of interns and volunteers came up.
Oftentimes when a person considers going to Africa, I think he or she might feel they have to be super religious, be a Doctor, or be a 'world changer.' I can remember a lady visit... Comment - Like
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Feb 1, 2012, 1:05 am
Haven't posted anything recently about how much I love my wife. So here you go, the only woman I have ever loved with all my heart.
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Feb 1, 2012, 12:57 am
To my lovely mom
From Mercy
Dear Lovely mommy,
I thank you for everything including love. The love you give me is precious than the love I was being given before I came here. Second is the food you feed me. You feed me very expensive food and I appreciate it. You are so generous and k... Comment - Like
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Jan 30, 2012, 2:03 am
... to subscribe to it: www.butterflybrooks.wordpress.com Yesterday, she decided to convert a cardboard box into a MAIL box for their room. Thus the form of communication which the girls can relate to and feel comfortable with has begun! I have been getting letters in this mail box addressed ... Comment - Like
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Jan 28, 2012, 1:28 pm
Grace, BT, Mildred, and Sarah A. ~Photo taken by Makena Brooks age 11. Comment - Like
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Jan 26, 2012, 9:20 am
We have been trying to reach out to some prostitutes in Ali's community. I'm not talking about a big project meant to rescue or rehabiltate them, but instead just attempts at building relationships. We are trying to be there, when no one else can or will be there.
Ali texted me today letting me... Comment - Like
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Jan 25, 2012, 11:20 pm
Cooking with Kate in Kenya: Andrew makes the BEST burgers!
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Nov 1, 2011, 2:56 am
Ok, so lots of folks are asking what happened to me. I have this commercial metal potato cutter. It’s heavy and huge. It was screwed into our countertop, and I was trying to cut some butternut squash through it so they’d be uniform for roasting in the oven. The squash was harder than potatoes ... Comment - Like
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Oct 28, 2011, 4:00 am
Dictionary.com defines " target=_blank>bipolar as: characterized by opposite extremes, as two conflicting political philosophies. That describes my faith walk perfectly. Sometimes I feel all giddy, like I’m walking in the clouds with Jesus. I have a sense He is involved in my daily life, and ca... Comment - Like
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Oct 26, 2011, 8:56 am
I just thought I’d let every one know that we are making some life changes at our home. We all have decided to change what we eat to make us all healthier. I have to admit, I am a bread addict, and I love sugar… Some of our kids are getting cavities, and well, we need to make an about face so... Comment - Like
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Oct 25, 2011, 12:00 am
You may or may not have heard that Kenya’s military has started fighting militants in Somalia this past week or so. You might or might not have heard that yesterday there were two explosions in Nairobi. The Kenyan government is making the connection between the two, and has begun a crackdown on So... Comment - Like
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Oct 21, 2011, 1:32 am
When talking to Ali, our orphan boys’ dad, he recalls that if he DIDN’T get caned at school, it was an unusual day. I am still dealing with the schools threatening to beat my girls for tardiness or poor grades. (Due to a broken van, they are having to walk to school, which takes them 45 minute... Comment - Like
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Oct 18, 2011, 3:31 am
Can I just start this day over?? So far the day has been a big FAIL, and it’s only 10 AM. This morning I woke up and one of the girls told me that the head teacher says if I don’t call the school every time one of the girls is sick, they’ll expel them for 2 weeks. (We’ve had a virus going t... Comment - Like
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Oct 15, 2011, 2:55 am
We actually have 11 clothes lines strung about all over the yard to accommodate the drying load of our huge family. Here’s a picture of some of them. It’s a drizzly day so these will be on there for a long time.* ~Kate *I saw a DRYER at our local supermarket for the FIRST time since moving... Comment - Like
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Oct 12, 2011, 11:28 am
Just now at the dinner table, 3 of my Kenyan ‘orphans no more’ were whispering and laughing, saying, “Makena said, ‘1000 years BC!’ snicker, chuckle, snort… I inquired as to what was so humorous. Then Beatrice told me her whispers out loud. “Makena said, ‘1000 years BC!’ “Do yo... Comment - Like
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Oct 11, 2011, 1:31 pm
Living in Kenya for 7 years now means I don’t notice many of the culture differences I once noticed when first moving here. But on days like today, sometimes I just have to laugh at my Kenyan kids and the things they do differently than what American teens would do . I just walked into one of t... Comment - Like
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Oct 10, 2011, 7:13 am
Those of you who know me should have realized by now that I’m a contrarian at heart. I pretty much will disagree just for the sheer enjoyment of disagreeing. If you don’t know this about me or you are thinking to yourself, “but he’s so agreeable” there could be a few reasons why: A) Yo... Comment - Like
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Oct 7, 2011, 2:06 pm
Travelling Tutus sent more tap shoes since my kiddos feet have grown. Emma refuses to wear anything else! She has on a belt from Micah Mak and her dance dress from Jenna Johnson. She even sleeps like this! Comment - Like
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Oct 5, 2011, 2:55 am
If I don’t believe in this or that, but you do, is it really so important it should divide us? One of the things I can’t stand is bickering. I hate it. Even among my kids, it’s a pet peeve of mine. Whatever the ‘issue’ is, I remove it. This dividedness is one of the reasons I don’t ge... Comment - Like
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Oct 3, 2011, 2:43 am
September has been a fun month. It started off well with a fresh look from our local hair stylist. We each got drastic hair changes. The neat thing about the hair cuts is they are only $5 a head for the children (including the dye!) In the middle of the month, we got to meet a really cool youn... Comment - Like
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Sep 30, 2011, 2:51 am
Our friend Denny Huebner has started a new company called Dorcas Wear. What is Dorcas Wear? From the website: Our founder spent 3 years in Kenya, helping to establish schools and orphanages for the street children of Nakuru. While there, he met dozens of people named.... Dorcas? Curious, he d... Comment - Like
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Sep 28, 2011, 12:49 am
My horse’s mane is white as snow. He runs at speeds as fast as lightening. He runs with me on his back. La la la la la la la la la la! My horse obeys in every day. My horse loves me forever. ~Butterfly Brooks, age 8 Comment - Like
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Sep 28, 2011, 12:07 am
I wrote about Samuel a few days ago. (Actually his name is spelt Samwell.) We arranged for him to have a surgery, in fact today was the day the surgery was to happen. Unfortunately Samwell passed away early this morning. I do not have any details, but he did have an infection that delayed his surge... Comment - Like
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Sep 23, 2011, 5:54 am
From My Brother's Keeper Samuel is an infant born to young parents. He has hydrocephalus, which is basically fluid on the brain. It causes the head to enlarge and can cause brain damage. He is suffering, as well as his mother and father. Ben (we work together to love people like Samuel) m... Comment - Like
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Sep 23, 2011, 2:48 am
Often times when planning a trip to Africa to do a week or a month long mission, folks have delusions of grandeur. They imagine themselves changing lives on a massive scale, (of course it’s possible, I suppose, but I’ve not seen it happen, usually it’s on a meeker scale of say, ONE person or t... Comment - Like
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Sep 21, 2011, 10:58 pm
Do you remember our school saga and how the children were being hurt at their private school? Then we took them out of that school, home schooled them for 8 months until we could put them in another private school that is much better? Well, today Mercy told me that the teacher who was ‘abusing th... Comment - Like
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Sep 21, 2011, 12:00 am
I’m on Google+ now. Not sure how you can find me, but search my name and you should be able to get me. Haven’t abandoned Facebook, just trying out something new. O.K. I’m pretty sure if you follow this link you can add me to your circle: https://plus.google.com/102733166510006791048 Comment - Like
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Sep 14, 2011, 12:00 am
I suppose a bit of information on what it is we do here in Kenya might be in order after asking Who Am I? yesterday. We care for children. Specifically orphaned or abandoned children. There are literally millions of orphans here in Kenya and virtually no system or way to care for them in place. ... Comment - Like
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Sep 13, 2011, 12:00 am
Who am I? I can’t answer that query with any kind of accuracy. When I embraced love as the one thing needed I lost so much of who I was, or who I thought I was. I had been identifying myself by Christianity the religion. Here’s an example of my messed up means of identifying with religion: I ca... Comment - Like
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Sep 12, 2011, 12:00 am
Once upon a time one could find me at the church building anytime the doors were open. I was there early on Sunday morning and left well after most everyone else. I was present and sitting in the little cushioned chair at the midweek meeting, part of the intercessory prayer group, and came to all th... Comment - Like
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Sep 9, 2011, 1:37 pm
Today, as I browsed a magazine my mom mailed me two years ago, I saw a photo of a child with dark, sullen eyes pouring dramatic tears down his brown cheeks. It was an advertisement for donations to help. I thought, ‘Ya know, this kid isn’t crying like this all the time. He probably is playing an... Comment - Like
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Sep 9, 2011, 12:00 am
We are a complete family once more. Mary, one of our Kenyan girls, came back last night. She got stuck in her rural home village several hours away due to logistical errors. She’s back and we are once again one big happy family. About four years ago we started this family, and that was our goal; ... Comment - Like
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Sep 5, 2011, 12:00 am
Today is Labor Day in the U.S.A., which is where we hail from originally, so I thought a little reminiscing would be in order. Just in case there might be one or two of you who do not know what Labor Day is, here is a bit from Wikipedia: Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on t... Comment - Like
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Sep 4, 2011, 2:03 am
When Johnny and I first got married 16 years ago, I was 19 years old. He was 21. He had all kinds of ideas of what his wife should be like… I had NO idea how to be that woman. We didn’t really fight much, since it would take an act of colossal proportions to get Johnny even slightly flustered.... Comment - Like
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Sep 1, 2011, 4:43 am
Today, we rearranged furniture, bedrooms, etc… Andrew moved out to the guest house, and we moved 3 girls into his old room to make space so Emma and *Edith won’t have to sleep on the trundles since they get stepped on by the other girls and are difficult for them to push in and out, etc… With... Comment - Like
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Aug 31, 2011, 12:00 am
Sometimes, o.k. if I’m honest almost all the time, life is difficult. That’s not right, life is horrible. Not quite there, life is painful. Closer; life is rough. Life is terrible. Some people in this world are blessed with a life that is only bad on occasion. They have food to eat, clothes to... Comment - Like
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