Thank you Speech and Communication class!

I (James) was gobsmacked this evening as I walked through the door on my way back from some football (soccer). My wife handed me an envelope that was personally hand delivered by our professor earlier in the day with $500 in it! Yes, you read that correctly, $500. This is massive for the school.

Our class had been 'competing' in our final persuasive speech project for the prize that would be the accumulation of the class's efforts in fundraising. The class itself went well beyond any other previous class and what could have been expected. They gave handsomely and with our professor's kind donation on top we are now well on the way to a new dormitory. Sadly, many other ministries did not make it and the prize had to go to one. I am partly regretful that they did not receive such a large amount but at the same time we must rejoice that West Special School will soon have place for all the children. Passivity can never be an option in missions.

This new donation of $500 is another landmark in the roller-coaster story of West Special School. So many for so long had reject school and it's moments like these that remind us all of God's provisions. I shall declare from my 5A Jenkins apartment that the Lord has not forgotten about us. He has been faithful thus far!

On behalf of the children, myself and everyone involved, a massive thank you to the Speech and Communication class!

Memories...

This first photo was a trek into the caves of the foothills of Mt Elgon with some friends. It turned out to be the most grueling walk of my life and made the 3 peak challenge feel like a walk in the park.

In the middle of the photo is my dear friend Pastor Job Matimbai. He is one of the Kenyan Dream Team keeping the school going. He is a gentleman of integrity.

These two men with me are just as wonderful as Job. Jacob on the left is a deaf pastor and helped build the school. Julius Juma on the right in a teacher who has served the school without pay for 2 years. He is now being paid and God has blessed his faithfulness. I miss them today.

Kutete (Wycliffe) and Evelyne. These two complete the dream team. Kutete, a legal genius with a heart of commitment and justice is still fighting away. Evelyne is full of faith and joy and loves the children as if they were her own. I think they make a wonderful couple. And just in case you are wondering... that elephant-brain looking thing is a Jack fruit.

Summer 2011

West Special School from Endë Photography on Vimeo.

THANK YOU Ende Photography!

November 2011

Lots has been happening over the last few weeks. Since we have a severe lack of time on our hands let me list a few off so you have an idea where we are and what the needs are:

- Medical center is being constructed very soon. This will serve the community and the children.

- In need of charity status or affiliation.

- Drawings for the on-site house have been completed.

- Bricks have been baked for the beginning of the house.

- Plans are being drawn for the dormitory.

- Jeff and team from Missions on the Move plan to go out in late January/early February. One of their goals will be to drill for water.

- Evelyne is studying for her teaching certificate.

- The new teacher, George is doing a fantastic effort and teaching well by all accounts.

- Still looking for one more teacher to assist Julius.

- We are taking the 'no-fuindraising' rule at Moody Bible Institute to the authorities in question to get it changed and allow West Special to be fundraised for.

- The children really need this dormitory.

- We are in need of more land @ £2,500 p\acre.

- Kenyan inflation means that our £'s and $'s go much further so now is a good time to give.

- We still have 10 more US calendars to sell at $25 each.

- I (James) will be presenting the project to my speech class in 2 weeks to compete for the $100ish prize for the school. There are about 30 us of competing so the chances are slim but I am willing to put the work in for it.

- The team of Mothers are getting excited about next summer. It will certainly be a good one.

That is about it at the moment.

PRE-ORDER CALENDAR!

PRE-ORDER A WEST SPECIAL SCHOOL 2012 CALENDAR NOW!
Starting prices: $25.00 or £17.00
(Keep in mind this is the suggested amount! Feel free to give more to support WEST!)

Email quincie.miller@gmail.com to pre-order now!

2012 Calendar

Keep an eye out for the 2012 West Special School Calendar, complete with photos of the children, their artwork, the school, and various moments along their journey. Because the calendar will primarily serve as a way to gather money for maintaing the school itself, feeding + clothing the children, paying teacher's wages, and supporting construction projects on campus, the starting price for one calendar is 25 USD or 17 GBP. We'll leave the maximum contributing price up to our buyers and supporters.

We will start selling these in approximately one month, so be sure to stay updated with West Special School news!

Photo: Sharon and her artwork (a featured photo in the calendar). June 2011.

September 2011.

We have finally managed to sort out the arrangements for getting money out to the school. With this new method we were able to send chunks of money out far cheaper than Western Union or MoneyGram. Having received the money those at West went hard to work to spend it wisely. With contribution from some wonderful people at BRBC (our church in England) and, of course, Missions on the Move in Canada things are really starting to take shape for next semester. The following is a a part of a recent email from Kutete on the ground in Chwele regarding the spending of the money. It is a marvel to us in the Western world how far our God-given resources actually go!

"We have a new teacher on us-his name is GEORGE OCHIENG. We had a whole day with him today and we reckon he is a nice young man. Over his professional training, he is deaf and that is a bonus. But over and above that, he is born again. He is ready to move in on Tuesday. We had a lengthy day with him and he was excited that so many of his kind were gathered together at West! We are sure to retain him longer than we would a teacher who has speech and hearing.

This was after many false starts in our search for teachers. The sort we were seeking are either all taken and for the ones available, they could not take what we were offering as remuneration.
We got the money that the Cliburns sent, last Saturday, thank you James. We have bought 15 bags of cement, bought enough two mature trees for firewood-which should last us many months to come. We have bought enough maize to last us upto the end of the year.
We are paying The Soldier this month's wages tomorrow-Monday.
We have contracted a cook for the school and she will be at her station tomorrow morning.
We have leased a house for the teacher in which he moves on Tuesday.
We have bought two Teachers' chairs.
We have bought school previsions-Salt, bar soap, steel wool, cooking fat-enough to take us for some time.
We have bought a classroom desk which should be complete by tomorrow morning.
We open school KESHO (TOMORROW) for the third and last term this year.
And we hopefully start baking bricks tomorrow!
And we shall hire two-three extra hands to start the baking!"

Mid-August.

The team has been back for about 5 weeks now. The memories made and friendships strengthened stand just as strong as they did on the plane flight home. The future of the school now looks brighter than ever with plans to employ teachers, fundraising for a dormitory and baking bricks for an on-site-house. It is plain to all involved that the LORD is fierce about the love of Jesus being shown to the children in such a practical way.

With so much there is still a long way to go. There will be many more sacrifices, big and small, to be made this side of the project (and by 'this side' I mean the rich side). The needs of the children at West Special School and of those hoping to attend are still urgently present. They all need food everyday and a place to live. We are ever more hopeful that these will become a reality in due course.

Quincie and myself (James) were able to talk to our church, BRBC, last Sunday evening to present the project to the church. We are yet to hear of the response of the church as a whole but certainly a few individuals have helped us out a lot, and their generosity will not go unnoticed when the Lord questions what they did with their 'treasure'.

We could say so much more but as always we're in the middle of a process, a process of seeing the love of Jesus become reality before our eyes. We hope and pray that as the world looks on at the lives of those involved they don't see us making a treasure empty things. We want a watching world to see Jesus as treasure. All things have been given to us to use in such a way that it is plain to the world that the things of the world are not treasure, but rather Christ is.

The Story

Click the link.

http://stormthemighty.tumblr.com/post/7190387430/west-special-school

Zero to Five.

Toilets have been a massive stumbling block for West Special School. At their rented facilities, in addition to the difficulty of sharing with the other people nearby, the toilets were highly unhygienic and quite dangerous for the children at times. Fortunately, at their new site, the children now have five toilets all to themselves, and three showers. Notice the toilet construction progress to the left. A huge thanks goes to the hard working men of Chwele!

They said it would never happen.

BEFORE:


AFTER:



After four weeks of construction in Chwele, the students now have three classrooms, a kitchen, five toilets, three showers, and a large space to run + play. To those who supported: we simply cannot thank you enough!

April Update

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!

-PHILIPPIANS 4:4



Our hearts are encouraged once more at the sight of these new photos received early this week. The photo above shows the overall progress of the building project, as well as the headmasters of the school, volunteers, the local pastor Job, and other helpers. The walls are up. The roof is complete. We are now waiting for proper doors and windows. And in five weeks a small group of three (James, Quincie, and Seth) will be in Chwele, Kenya for four weeks. The team will bring along school supplies, clothing, games, and other needed material. The teams hopes to serve in any possible way, possibly by beginning the vegetable project, adding to the interior of the classroom, and/or general relationship-building with each of the students and staff.

PLEASE PRAY that Father would continue to guide every step of this process. PLEASE PRAY for the children of West Special School; may they be lights in their village and in their families. PLEASE PRAY for Wycliffe and Evelyn as they further serve faithfully and selflessly. PLEASE PRAY for the travel and provision of the team as they prepare and arrive in Kenya early June.

Thank you for all the support. Let us press on. Let us look up. Let us love Father. Let us praise Him. Amen!

Do what you can, not what you can't.

Do you want to support these children? Do you want to help build their walls? Do you want to give school supplies? Do you want to donate Bibles? Do you want to pray for help to be found? Do you want the heart of Jesus to be known by these kids?

I urge you to send a simple email to westspecialschool@gmail.com

Are you capable of gathering school supplies for the team going out in June? Do you have the resources to provide financial help? Do you want to help but don't know how?

Once again, please send a simply email to westspecialschool@gmail.com

All emails will be responded to immediately.

For His glory...I pray that you get involved.

The Queen of Kenya, Evelyn outside the school.

Wycliffe:

Evelyn and her two generous sisters:

Mid-Feb

The hard work continues and we're now ready for the roofing! Soon the children can have school there. This will bring the school onto their own new property and give them a much better chance for being registered as a school. God has been faithful this far.

Summer Plans

[KENYA, JUNE 2011]

James and Quincie have finalized their travel plans for the summer, including a month-long stay in Chwele, Kenya to serve West Special School (and everyone involved) in any practical way.

In the Western Church today there seems to have been a shift away from proclaiming the Gospel alone towards righting social injustices. Although this in itself is not bad, the Gospel message attached to it has been weakened. The message has often been compromised for the sake of meeting physical needs/wants/desires, rather than keeping the main thing the main thing (Jesus Christ as Saviour; our desperate need for Him). Everyone involved in the project will be certain to maintain the real objective of the project - to proclaim His name, bringing the love of Jesus to those most rejected by their people group. Social injustice must be addressed, but only for the sake of the Gospel... let us never forget that, friends. I suppose we will be doing a most controversial thing of being used to give a school in one hand and Bible in the other. We have to say "Sorry, world, we've found a Saviour to serve and a purpose to pursue."

This project has taught us a lot so far, but wait... remember it's not about us in anyway. It's not about the children or even a fight against injustice. It's Jesus. Done deal. The story of West seems to be a little like the story of Nehemiah from this end. Coming up for a year now, after the first visit, so many have been supportive of the vision; with much enthusiasm at first sight, and then behold - no more. So many came and so few remain. Maybe that's just a lesson of life; the reality of a broken body in desperate need of unity. Do what you can with what you've got and that leaves very little room for stress or worry... thank God.

Keep your eyes open my beauties... there is way more to come. The walls are not built yet people!

A Special School...that's for sure!

Photo taken: November, 2010.

Well, the photos & videos have arrived from Martyn, and we are extremely thankful for his time & effort into this project. The photo above shows the students, volunteers, headmasters, and everyone in Chwele involved in the project. The building is currently where they hold classes each weekday, but hopefully not for much longer. The progress of the new building site continues, and we are hopeful & prayerful.

New Photos

Students and some staff standing on the new site of the building project. Progress is impressive.

















Volunteer staff and local pastor, Job, help in the beginning stages of the building project.

June 2011

In response to Martyn's visit, Wycliffe and some others began to build on their own land. They have been working relentlessly for almost 2 months. Foundation is down, several walls are up, and their progress continues at a steady pace. Classes begin again next week.

The Father has been faithful in providing the strength and resources to make this dream become reality. We intend to support them through the entire building process, and after the school is completed. We are committed to serving and loving and praying for the people involved, and the community surrounding.

This June a small team of 5 or 6 will be visiting West Special School. Our primary goals are to help build the school, build relationships, and provide any supplies we can possibly give. We will also focus on community outreach including sports ministry, Bible-teaching classes, and discipleship making. The majority of us will remain in Kenya for 4 weeks, besides our friend, James (Vancouver, BC), who is willing to stay for 6 months to oversee, project manage, and continue to be physical support for Wycliffe, Pastor Job, and their families.

It is obvious that there is a need for practical supplies like Bibles and academic tools. We will gather these items and take them with us in June. If you would like to partner with us, please email at westspecialschool@gmail.com

If you are a student and would be interested in seeking permission to have your school help raise school supplies, that would be very efficient and effective. If you have a child in school, it could be possible for you to be in contact with their principle to present this idea to them. For any other ideas, questions, or concerns, please email.

If you are a member of a church congregation and would be interested in financially or prayerfully supporting this project, please email. It is possible for you and your church to do a Bible fundraise, a financial fundraise, or even a school-supply-drive. For any other ideas, question or concerns, please email.


SEE MATTHEW 25:31-46
Thank you for your interest and concern for these children in need. And most of all, thank you for your love for the Father. For in fact, He did first love us.