04.20.10 - the main reason I went to Africa...

This is Larisa Adoyo Ongeri. She is 14 and in the 8th grade. Larisa likes playing football, signing and reading storybooks One day she hopes to be a lawyer.

Larisa was the first of almost 300 portraits that I took while I was in Kenya.

If you're interested in sponsoring a student for $35 a month please contact Anne VanHouten.

Taken with the Canon 5d Mark II
24-105 f4 L IS USM
ISO 1600 - 67mm - f/4.0 - 1/60sec

I saw this wall near the entrance of one of the buildings when we went on our tour of the grounds. I took this picture of Arielle and knew that this would be the background for the portraits. Window light is coming in from the right.

I'll write more soon showing more portraits and talking about what was going on as I shot the portraits.

JIM baker

03.16.10 - as promised another Africa blog SUNDAY morning

Sunday morning, Brian and Devo introduce themselves and are interpreted into Swahili to the congregation of over 600 people.

Worship was loud and joyful. Click here to see a video of some of the kids dancing.

Bishop John brings one of the students forward whose parents were killed in the election violence.

Second time preaching a sermon and I preached to a church of 600 in Kenya. I brought a simple message of God's love for them and their authority as sons and daughters of Christ. I also encouraged them to dream big dreams because we were all reaping the fruit of John Okinda's big dream.

Brian blows bubbles with some of the kids after the service.

Heather and Arielle are asked by the students to sing the US National Anthem... the students respond by singing theirs. Click here to hear them sing it.

Jess serves some of the female leaders in the church cookies. I will let Jess write a blurb about what she experienced here and post it soon.

While Jess and Anne were talking to the female leaders, Brian, Dave and I were talking to the pastors.

I was utterly humbled by this group of pastors. When I asked them to articulate their struggles as pastors someone stood up and said that their main struggles were as follows...

1. Our congregations are made up or orphans and widows 2. They have not eaten and do not have money for food 3. They do not have clean water

The group was so hopeful and I reminded them that without the supernatural intervention of God nothing would change. If Jesus could turn water into wine and He said that we would do greater things then maybe we need to be using our authority to be turning dirty water into clean water. A bold thing to say but it flew out of my mouth.

The group really wanted ownership of what they were doing and were not just looking for handouts. They were so grateful for the things that we were assisting them with but desperately wanted to become self sustaining. We were handed a micro-finance proposal.

While we were there we were able to buy them 3 acres of land with a river running through it which will start them in agriculture so that they can be self sustaining.

During this pastors meeting is when I first started to feel sick... I left this meeting to go to the bathroom and it was all down hill from there...

I'll post more soon and promise to leave all of the graphic sick stories out of it.

Take some time after reading this to pray for the pastors and church in Kenya.

JIM baker

P.S - leave COMMENTS!

01.27.2010 - off to kenya

a graphic my dad made for us :)

Jess and I are off to Kenya today. Please be praying for us. We return in 10 days.

Wanna read about what we'll be doing there? Click here.

If there's internet where we are I'll do my best to keep you all updated, but no promises. Check the twitter feed below for the most recent updates.

JIM baker

01.20.10 - one week till we leave for KENYA!

The Africa Team! Photo Courtesy of Josiah Blick.

Jess, Jim, Anne, Heather, Dave, Arielle, Brian and Devonne.

Next week at this time we will all be on a plane headed for half way across the world to Migori Kenya.

So here's a little bit more detailed post about what we'll be doing while we are over there.

photo courtesy of Rick Rohlin

John Okinda runs an orphanage, a training school for Christians, a high school, and a teachers college. One of our main objectives in going over is to get a headshot portrait of each of the 200 orphans so that we can find sponsors for them.

Along with meeting with the District Commissioner of Migori, Mr. Julius Mutul, we will have opportunities to teach, preach, love on and most of all learn from the people of Migori, Kenya.

Our team is made up of 3 different parent/teen pairs. As the youth pastors of the congregation sending us, we are truly honored to be a part of such an experience that will deepen these family relationships for a lifetime.

Here's John's website. And here is a satellite view of where we will be staying.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and financial support!

JIM baker