Friday, July 31st

Vroman's plus one here....Happy Birthday to my brother, Doug! It is 6:15pm here in Kenya and we just got back from our day at the village. We had many 'Yeah God' moments today...the first was that we saw 111 patients! Our prayer was for double and we were pretty darn close to double! When we first arrived, there were only 6 people there and we felt a bit discouraged....then we sent Brandt, Shane, Levi (a local, english speaking man) and a speaker system out in a pick up truck to rally the locals. They drove through towns, villages, farms, etc. announcing that there was a mecial clinic going on....apparently the Village Elders did not do their job in spreading the word. But, Levi, Brandt and Shane made the difference, even picking one mom and her baby up and giving them a ride to the OAI village to receive care. Another car followed them and driving it was a man about 65 years old and he had brought his mom who is 80, his mom's best friend who is 85 and his auntie who is 89. These three little ladies managed to climb out of the back of his car with their canes and taking about 15 minutes to work their way from the car to the tent to seek medical care. Amazing to witness! One of our fellow team mates from the UK, Helen, prepared another amazing day of fun activities and crafts for the children. Bethany, Charley, and Rachel, also from the UK, and Karleigh played with the kids and helped them make bracelets and all kinds of other fun crafts with paint. From the children's tent you can hear laughing and giggling all day long! Morris, who is a local young man, plays the guitar and leads the children in song and dance....oh my gosh, it is the cutest thing ever!! I have video for anyone who wants to see when we return! When Brandt returned from his promotional tour with Shane, he helped in the pharmacy for a bit. Spencer shifted to the pharmacy today and became quite the pill counter and learned to read doctors' printing in about 15 minutes...pretty impressive, I lasted about 5 minutes and gave up...back to the prayer tent for me. Hunter started on registration today but took his turn in the pharmacy too. Shane was on crowd control when he first got back. About 2:00pm, Brandt, Shane, Hunter and Spencer took on a big project for the village. Just a little ways down from the compound and next to the garden, are these 3 large 150 year old pits. They are lined with rock and were used as places of safety and housing for the Africans....can't think of the name of them right now, but will tell you tomorrow, (if my Aunt Pat and Uncle Bill are reading this, they probably know exactly what I am talking about)....anyway, they are completely over grown with brush, grass, vines, etc. We decided we would help restore them to their original state so that they can preserve their history. They were beyond thrilled and Shane was beyond ecstatic cause he has been waiting to use a machete(sp) since we got here. They spent the next couple of hours working up a serious sweat and completed one of them! To see Daniel's face( he is one of the house parents and the main guy really in the village), oh my gosh it was a great 'yeah God' moment! Brandt and Daniel have had a wonderful time bonding over talks of gardening...Brandt has said he wants to come back in March and bring lots seeds to help the village create a truly sustainable garden...Brandt is dreaming big folks, for those that know him well, he has an orchard planned, multiple types of squash, and even some Giant pumpkins to show the children! We'll see... Anyway, all is well and we are all feeling strong...a sore back on Hunter and a sever stiff neck on Brandt....so pray for them! But mostly, we are in great spirits, rested, eating well...pizza tonight...and ready for another day! Tomorrow we will go in to town and do a bit of shopping before we head to some place that is suppose to be just amazing. We are excited to see this place they keep telling us about. Oh, forgot to mention the power outage that occurred last night just as I stepped in to the shower....ugh, no hot water!...we ate by candle light and then Karleigh, Rachel and Bethany from the UK and myself played some serious games of spoons. The UK has a differnt way of playing sppons that we will teach the youth group when we get home! Thanks everyone for leaving comments, we gather in Brandt's and my room and read them together! By the way, it seems crazy that we had to go to Africa to escape the heat....who would a thunk it! It is only about 75 or so here and cooler in the evening, just lovely really! Sorry to hear about the crazy heat back at home...hope our employees are keeping everything alive for our clients! Again, thank you for checking in on the Vroman's plus one and continue praying for all that God will do through us! Pray about the idea of each of you coming on the next trip to Kenya!! Until tomorrow...

Pictures of the team!

Hi, this is Sherri at WCC. Welcome to everyone who is following Shanon's blog about her family (+1)'s mission trip to Eldoret, Kenya. Many of you already know the Vroman family. Until Shanon is able to post pictures, I thought I would put up photos of the team for those of you who don't. It's so much easier for me to pray for someone when I have a face to go along with the name...

At the top is Hunter, then the next picture is Shane. In the family picture at the bottom are Brandt, Shanon, Karleigh and Spencer.

Thursday, July 30th

Hello from the Vroman Family plus one! We had a great day today. It started with a devotion time led by David Gallagher and then we were off to the village to complete the set up for the clinic and prepare to see patients. We played with the Open Arms International Village children as they did not have school today! So between playing with kids and setting up, our morning was full. Setting up consists of counting out pills, setting up cubicals for the doctors to see patients in, preparing the intake table to receive patient info and the prayer tent. At about 11:00am, we had about 35 locals waiting to be seen. We had a mini church service before we started treament, where the village children sang a couple songs they had prepared...it was priceless! Then a few more worship songs and a short message from David. Then we took to our posts...I was assigned to work the prayer tent...scary, I know. Brandt and Karleigh were assigned the Pharmacy, Shane and Hunter were on crowd control and Spencer was on registration. The time flew by as we provided treatment for 60 patients, raging in age from 5 months to 98 years old. And the 98 year old had walk about 4 miles to get to us! David and I prayed for about 45 of the 60 patients as they are the ones that requested prayer. I think I will be on that duty again tomorrow, so please pray I can serve God well in this role....I am feeling a bit under qualified as they need such amazing healing! But, I am trusting in God to lead my words! Brandt and Karleigh passed out everything from vitamins, to ibuprofen, to Typhoid and Maleria medicines. We only had to refer one patient today to the hospital...yeah God! At the end of the day, we spent about an hour playing with the kids from the OAI village....they love to climb up your legs and hug you and then have you spin them around! We ask for prayers for twice as many people to come to receive treatment tomorrow!! Shane and Hunter could then actually put their crowd control skills to work! All in all, life is amazing here in Kenya and we feel like God is using us for His glory! Thank you for checking in on us and sorry I haven't been able to up load photos yet! Service here is very slow....hard to believe we even have service! Til tomorrow, thanks for the prayers!

July 29th 5:30pm Kenya Time

Hello Again....our work day is over and we are ready for showers and dinner. We went to the Open Arms Village today and set-up for the medical clinic tomorrow. Temporary tents, cubicals, a pharmacy, prayer tent, intake, etc. We took a walk of the property to see the full vision for this amazing village, including the school, bunk houses for the orphans, medical and dental care facility and the dairy and garden. Truly a self sufficient concept in the making. The children ariived home from school so we were able to play with them after our peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch. They are adorable and love to run in to your arms for hugs! We danced with them to African music, we played with balloons with them and spun kids around in circles til we wanted to throw-up! But the giggles and smiles keep you going one more time! Tonight we are going to the streets of Eldoret to feed the street kids. I know this will be difficult for each of us to witness, but going with a heart full of love for them will ease the discomfort, I am sure! Tomorrow we will begin the medical clinic and expect about 200 people the first day, 300 the second day, 400 the 3rd day and more than we can handle the last day. After the first day, the word spreads through the villages and people walk miles to get to the clinic. So by the last day, there are many from very far distances! Shane, Hunter, Karleigh, Spencer, Brandt and I are all feeling strong and rested, so thank you for praying for us and keeping us strong through prayers! We know that God is working here with us and will hope to send photos tomorrow morning so that you all can see the amazing people of Kenya and how God is serving this part of the world in a mighty way! I can't describe the simple joy and happiness that the Kenyan's express with their smiles. As they walk miles, carrying heavy loads, along dirt roads, with cars driving by them leaving inches between them and the car....it is scary, really, but they don't flinch, they turn and smile and wave! It inspires us to consider how we would react in those moments and think about a different reaction the next time we are faced with a driver cutting us off! Anyway, all is well here in Kenya and we are loving the opportunity God has given us to serve him here! Keep the prayers coming and please consider leaving a comment...we will be able to read them each day now...and as I said, I hope to up load some photos tomorrow morning! Until then, Blessings from "The Vroman's plus one!"

Hello Church Family and Friends! We are finally here in Eldoret, Kenya. I am short on time so will share a bit and finish tonight! We are setting up for the medical clinic today and anxious to meet the children in the village as well and the surrounding area! The village leaders have all spread the word about us being here to provide medical services, so we are anticipating there being a few hundred locals that will come in need of medical treatment. We met up with our team member from Texas and the three ladies from the UK upon our arrival in Nairobi. Our trip so far as been great, other than one bag that appears to have never left Portland, carrying my shoes, sun screen, hat and medical supplies...bummer! But, we will forge ahead and gather the bag when we return! We are thankful for our safe journey here and that all the other bags made it with the bulk of the supplies! The spray insulation was confiscated in Portland, but no real hassel, thank goodness! Please prayer for each of us to serve God well today! I will provide a more detailed up date this evening! Thanks for checking in on us!

Ok, so I reduced the 22 bags down to 14..wa-hoo! It's 9:00pm and we leave in 14 hours. We already have a, "yeah God" moment...we were going to be short on medical supplies for the final day of the clinic, God provided and we are good to go for the full length of the clinic. Pray that all our supplies make it through customs without hassle and that all our luggage makes it to Eldoret! We are excited and ready to roll!

OK, we are 26 hours away from departure....still need to pack the 20 suitcases that go with us filled with supplies! Yikes! But we are all very excited and filled with anticipation! We again ask for your prayers....for safety while traveling and for us all to be able to sleep on planes! Thanks for checking in on us and please check back on Monday!

Vroman's Kenya Trip

Hello Friends and Family....we have 5 days until our departure to Kenya. Shane Monahan, Brandt, Shanon, Hunter, Karleigh and Spencer Vroman make up the US team members, but we will join some fellow servants in London before we head to Kenya! We ask for prayers as we travel to and from, as well as for our time in Country, being the hands and feet of Jesus!! We will hope to update this at the end of our day so that you can read it each morning....what a great way to start your day, hearing and seeing how great our God is through the things he will do in Kenya! We will also hope to post photos, but the internet is hit and miss so not sure they will upload.....but we will certainly try! Our next blog probably won't be until the 27th or 28th, after we arrive! Until then, be a light for God!