Date of Trip: January 13, 2006 - February 2, 2007
Trip Leader: Kelly Vander Galien (Reporting)

Hi Everyone;

I just wanted to email and let everyone know that we arrived home safely. We got home Sat. afternoon at about 5:00pm. The flights there and back were smooth. No one got a lot of sleep but we did manage. The time in Kisii was incredibly productive. This is due not in a small part to 3 of the guys who came with us, Roger DeYoung, Doug Schultze and Sam Kok. They did an outstanding job doing the brick work and masonry. The walls for the first floor are up as high as the windows and all 32 columns are poured. They worked and worked and worked! Some days it was 95 and they were inside the walls where it was like a steam bath! We are so thankful that God blessed us with having them along. Wendell did an awesome job of wiring, fixing plumbing problems and running water lines to all of the buildings! Everyone now has access to water. Shanna, Elli and I painted the orphans room and Pastor Joseph's office. We also played with kids (this was really hard!) and helped out by moving bricks. Approximately 5,000 bricks! We enlisted the help of anyone and everyone that was standing around watching us. Kids, women, men, anyone. It was an awesome sight to see little kids (3-7) carrying these bricks on their heads. Everyone has a stake in this building and it shows. We now have 12 kids in the orphanage. I sat with Monicah and Pastor Joseph and we figured all of the finances. This truly is a ministry that God is blessing. If anyone is interested in sponsoring, either partially or fully an orphan, please let me know. The waiting list is very long and the kids have a wonderful life at the orphanage. They are loved and fed, both physically and spiritually there. Monicah and Mary took very good care of us. We had huge meals that were delicious and we were not allowed to do housework. It is kind of hard to come home and have to do it all again!
We all want to thank you for all of your prayers while we were away. We felt them and knew that God would take care of us. We know that God listened and watched over us. Thank You.
We hope that we will be able to see all of you in the near future and share many, many stories and pictures.

Thanks Again,
Kelly