Massie Update

We finally have internet connection in Moti.  All of us have been sick over the past week.  We have all had Giradia and I (Shalene) have had walking Pneumonia.  We have these diagnosis because of a missionary doctor here that has faithfully seen us and helped us get the right medications.  We are very thankful for Dr. Philip and Linda Byler.   They allowed Abigail and I to stay with them for a night and helped take care of Abigail while I rested.  That was a huge blessing!  They had a new grandson born the night we stayed with them, so it was neat for Abigail to be a “stand in” granddaughter for them to hold.  We were rejoicing with them as they received the news!

Kevin has continued to stay busy helping coordinate clearing of the land and building the fence around our compound.  We took a walk yesterday and he showed me the perimeter of the fence.  It is a lot of land!  He has been pleasantly surprised at how quickly the men have cleared the land. 

My days consist of cooking in our new outdoor kitchen, cleaning, washing diapers, taking care of Abigail, bathing her to keep her cool, and visiting the cooks on the compound.  I am beginning to learn some Arabic from them.   

Abigail is crawling and has her two top teeth coming in.  She loves to play with the musical cards her Grandmother Young bought for our birthdays.  She opens them up and looks up at me with a grin and waits for me to dance and then joins in.  It is so much fun!  She also loves to see the chickens run around the compound.  She looks at them and then at me.  I say, “Chicken, bawk, bawk,” and she laughs and claps.   She loves to go for a ride in the land Cruiser to Torit, which is about 3 ½ miles from Moti.  The rode is VERY bumpy and she squeals and laughs until the rocking puts her to sleep.  The best way for me to carry her is in the Ergo carrier so I can hold her head and brace myself over the bumps.  We could  use the car seat, but that would be to easy and not near as much fun!

Eugenio, our taxi driver friend from Nairobi, visited us for a few days.  He wanted to see what he helped us buy supplies for.

Here we are in front of our Kitchen with our tent in the background.

We have enjoyed having Matt McGowen, our new MWP staff member here.  He is visiting for about 10 days.  He helped Kevin make our bed frame and “re-roof”/ tarp our kitchen just in time for a big rain storm.  The previous day it rained and the kitchen got pretty wet from leaks.  The rain was unexpectedly early.  What a blessing!  It really cooled the air. 

A picture inside our tent.

 We are thankful to be connected again so will be able to send more updates!

Much love and blessings,

Kevin, Shalene, and Abigail

Massie Update

Hello!

Here is a little update from our life here.  We do not yet have internet access, we are visiting some missionary friends and using theirs.  We will be getting it soon.   We are having some problems with our e-mail sending.  I have some e-mails sitting in my out box since Nairobi.  So, if I haven't responded to your e-mail, that is why.   Face book is a great tool to communicate right now!

We are SLOWLY getting settled.  Everything here takes much longer to do than normal.  Kevin was able to get a shelf set up for me in our bamboo kitchen.  It is a BIG step up from balancing our cook stove on a wheel barrow with a small sliver of shade beside our tent.  We now have a good shelter and a big ground mat for Abigail and some of our cooks children to play under.  I love our little kitchen.  It is wonderful to spread out our food and kitchen items and get unpacked.

Kevin has been VERY busy with the laborers on the compound staking out the lines for the fence for the orphanage, and coordinating many other tasks and people around the compound.  They will be putting up the fence soon.  Our bath house a latrine were just completed yesterday.  We are very thankful to have a place to bathe and "squat".   We also installed some wiring and lights yesterday.  So, last night we were able to sit around our tent and kitchen without bugs swarming our faces from our headlamps, and were able to see well!  We were very thankful for these little miracles!

We are excited about having Kimberly, Fred, and Matt (our team and Directors from Make Way Partners) coming to visit us for the weekend!  We also have our taxi driver friend from Nairobi that hopped on a plane we had coming for an unexpected visit.  It is nice to have visitors.

Continue to pray for our adjustments.  Abigail is starting to get adjusted to the heat.  It has been very hot.  The locals say that means the rains are coming early.  Pray for relationships and communication with the workers.  Pray for God's spirit to fill our compound and community!

Blessings and peace,

Kevin, Shalene, and baby Abigail

Massie update from Torit, Sudan

Hello family and friends,

We have arrived safely to our new home in Torit!  Our truck has also arrived safely.  Hallelujah!   We were greeted at the airstrip by Phil and Linda Byler who are missionaries here.  They graciously gave us a place to stay for a few nights.  It has been nice to begin building community with them.  They are very excited to have a “granddaughter” here now. 

It hotter than normal here, but we are faring well.   Abigail seems to be adjusting.  I have to keep her well hydrated. 

Kevin, Romano, and some local men worked hard yesterday dragging our two 20ft. shipping containers off of the truck that we will use as storage.  They also worked hard unloading a 1 ton block making machine off of a truck.  In Sudan, there are no cranes.  So, we have to be creative using trees, manpower, and pullys to move heavy equipment.  It takes much longer than if we were to have the proper equipment, but they always find a way!

Today, we hope to begin setting up our tents and building shelter for some shade. Abigail and I hope to make our way to the market and buy food to cook our first meal on the Hope for Sudan compound.   

We are glad to be here and are very thankful for you all keeping up with us and praying! 

With love,

Kevin, Shalene, and baby Abigail

Massie Update from Nairobi

Hello family and friends,

Since our last update, we have moved into a furnished apartment in Nairobi.  We knew we would be here for almost a month and it was much more cost effective and convenient (for cooking) to be in an apartment.  Kevin ventured out to look around at different ones in the city.  He found this complex and looked at a small efficiency.  We made a deposit and returned after the weekend to move in.  To our amazement, we had been upgraded to a very spacious TWO bedroom TWO bath apartment.  At the time, we didn’t realize that our indigenous director, Romano, from Torit would be staying with us for about 2 weeks.  He arrived and I said, “This room and bath were meant for you!”  It has been wonderful having him stay here as he and Kevin have been coordinating the supplies and orphanage plans till late in the evenings.  It has also been great to build community with him.  We have begun our little “family” and community that will be building a life and orphanage together in Torit.

            I have been learning my way around Nairobi and Abigail and I have enjoyed walking to the store to get groceries for meals.  It feels more like home to be able to cook in my “own” kitchen, even if it is temporary.  I have also enjoyed creating recipes that I will be able to make in Sudan. 

            We made our BIG Nakumatt (neighborhood Walmart) run yesterday to get our personal home supplies to outfit our tent and kitchen.  A staff person walked around with us and wrote down the item numbers for each item we wanted and then, went and pulled the items off the shelf for us.  He was very patient as we made our tedious decisions of the items we would want and need.  At the checkout, several staff boxed up the items carefully to ensure safe shipment and had them delivered to our warehouse where we are staging ALL the supplies Romano and Kevin have been collecting for our 40ft. truck.  They will begin loading that tomorrow.

            We have met several missionary families that live in Sudan that have been in Nairobi for a conference.  I bumped into one family that has 3 young boys today in Nakumatt.  We have been following many Sudan missionary blogs and I recognized the woman.  It was neat to meet them and they gave Abigail and I a ride back to the apartment. 

Our supply truck should be leaving in the next couple of days.  In Africa, not much runs on schedule!  Please pray for the truck’s safe travels and delivery.  Romano will be riding with it.  He can help negotiate crossing the border into Sudan.  We are eager to get settled and begin our life in Moti.    We will keep you posted as to when we will be leaving Nairobi. 

(The pictures are of us in Birmingham airport before boarding the plane and of Abigail meeting Romano.  He was like family immediately!)

Blessings and love,

Kevin, Shalene, and Abigail

Greetings from Nairobi!

We arrived safely last night.  It is great to be back in Africa!  As the plane landed in Nairobi, I (Shalene) was surprised by my emotion.  Tearfully I looked at Kevin and said, “We are home, well almost!”

 

We were welcomed at the airport by our trusted taxi driver friend and his wife with a bouquet of 44 roses!  It was a warm welcome!

 

We continue to be amazed at Little Abigail.  She did wonderful on the trip!  She didn’t sleep very much on the planes or in the airports because she loves seeing new people and new things.  We fully expected her to have a melt down by the time we were driving from the airport to the guest house.  She looked SO exhausted.  But, she just looked up at us with those big blue eyes as if to say, “When will this be over and I can sleep in my own bed?”  We wonder if she will show signs of jet lag in the next few days.  Pray we will all recover well and quickly!  

 

Continue to pray that all the logistics will go well with buying supplies, connecting with some people here in Nairobi, and running many errands.

 

Thank you all for your prayers for our journey.  They are truly felt!

 

 

Massie's are flying out tomorrow!

Hello Friends and Family,

 

We have one more night left in the US before we embark on our journey to Africa!  We are eager, excited, and sad.  We fly out at 3:00p.m. tomorrow.  Please pray for our travel, rest, and smooth logistics for the next few weeks as we will be in Nairobi gathering supplies for Sudan.  Continue to pray for the food shortage in Sudan.  Continue to pray for the Sudan election coming up in April. Pray for the beginning stages of construction and hiring of staff for the new orphanage in Torit.  Please pray that we will remain faithful as we begin and carry out the call God has on our lives!  Thank you for your continued prayer and support!

 

Much love and Joy,

 

Kevin, Shalene, baby Abigail

 

Massie Update - Meet Romano, our Director in Torit

Shalene and I recently returned from a trip to North Carolina where we

shared Thanksgiving with her family. We also made a Sunday visit to

Blacksburg. Thank you for the warm reception at Dwelling Place.

In our last update we shared about our plans to work in the village of

Torit, starting a new orphanage there to protect children from the

Lord's Resistance Army. Today I want to introduce you to Romano, the director of this work. Having a local director truly leading the work is a critical part of Make Way Partners ministry model. Romano was born in Torit, and in Sudanese culture this gives his work there an immediate legitimacy that is necessary for a successful ministry.

As a teenager Romano was conscripted to fight in the military. After

leaving the army, he had the opportunity to pursue education. He has

completed Bible training programs and has served as a pastor with the

local church. While there Romano started a children's ministry at the

church in Torit, and secured the land for an orphanage on the faith that one day he would be able to open one. In addition to his work with the church in Torit, Romano has trained many pastors throughout Sudan with another mission called African Leadership.

Romano is married to Susan and they have two small children.

Romano is a passionate evangelist and pastor. Pray that he might boldly proclaim the gospel as he ministers in and around Torit. Pray also for wisdom in his interaction with the community, as he is on the

front line in all of our work with government and the community.