We sifted through and organized more than 3,000 images
which was quite the task! Thank you for your patience! To view a slide show of
various elements of our trip, click on a topic below. Enjoy the images! —Chad & Deb
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December
2006
Hello Family, Friends, Clients, and
Colleagues:
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We trust that you had a
wonderful Thanksgiving and are preparing for the Christmas season.
We are all so blessed with all we have in this country . . . our
family is especially thankful that we have a home, food, a thriving
business, wonderful friends, and loving, supportive families—these
things that we take for granted are things the others in the world
do not have at all. |
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In October, we
sent out an initial letter notifying you of our plans to travel to
Nairobi, Kenya for a 16-day short-term missions trip with First Love
International. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with an
update as to what has taken place since we first contacted you.
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In December,
the Kenya Field Director is working to get the building permits that we
need in order to start construction on the Trades Center. They are
hoping that the masonry construction will be finished by the time our
team arrives in Nairobi in January so that we can get the roof on it and
some of us can build tables, benches, and shelves and also paint. We
will be finishing up the construction on the duplex that our friends
Brian & Heather Dellamater and their two sons will live in during their
two-year term as full-time missionaries. At this duplex, we will have
plumbing work, tiling work, electrical work, cabinet making, and
carpentry and painting to finish up. We will also be able to work at
Kids Klubs at two schools each day to minister to the children. So,
there will be lots to do and we are excited to be a part of it.
At left: Future home of new missionaries Brian &
Heather Dellamater, who will be moving into this home during our
time in Kenya.
(Brian and Heather are friends of ours from church) |
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So far, we have
both received our first set of immunizations in a three-part series. We
have also applied for our passports. Chad's sister, Colleen, and his
parents, Lee & Marcia, have come forward and arranged to care for our
two children, Holland & Griffin, while we are gone—this is such an
unbelievable gift to us and a huge burden lifted from our minds knowing
that they will be well taken care of! We can not express to you how
grateful and humbled we are by those who have already given and to those
who are continuing to give. It has been such a blessing for us to see
all of you who are supporting us through prayer and through your
financial gifts. To update you, we did meet our first deadline of half
the funds by November 20—thank you! Now, we need to raise the remaining
half and have it come in no later than December 31st. We are still in
need of your help both in prayer and financially. We truly appreciate
your support!
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If you would
like to support us, any amount of donation can be sent payable to "First
Love International" at the address provided here. Please designate your
gift in our name, Chad & Deb Smits, for the Kenya 2007 trip. All
donations are tax deductible and you will receive a receipt of your
donation. If you have any questions for us, please call (815) 703-7294
or E-mail Deb at
deb@smitsphotography.com.
Thank you for your support and God Bless you, Chad & Deb Smits
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First Love
International
P.O. Box 15836
Loves Park, IL 61132
www.firstloveinternational.com |
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Download a PDF copy of this letter
October 2006
Hello Family, Friends, Clients, and
Colleagues:
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It is with great excitement that we are
writing to you to share some exciting news! From January 20 through
February 4, 2007, we will be traveling to Nairobi, Kenya Africa for a
two-week missions trip. We will be part of a short-term missions team
with First Love International continuing work on several projects on a
newly purchased five-acre piece of property in an area named “Karen.”
First Love International is well established in this area with
children’s feeding programs in Mituma and Kibera—these are some of the
most impoverished slums in Africa. This new property will provide a
tremendous opportunity for First Love to minister to the people of this
region.
Here are some things we will be helping
the team do on this trip:
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Finishing
the interior of a remodeled, existing structure which will be home to
a new missionary family also traveling there in January with us...the
Dellamater’s—Brian & Heather and their sons, Noah and Gabriel.
Brian and Heather are friends of ours that we met
through our Sunday school class at First Evangelical Free Church. The
Dellamater’s have made a two-year commitment to the work being done in
Kenya.
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View of the property at Karen,
future home to the Dellamater's
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Getting the foundation put in for the
first dormitory on the property.
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Beginning
construction on the trade training center.
This training center will be a classroom which will
house woodworking and other tools which will be used initially in the
construction of the furniture needed for the two dorms that will
eventually be constructed. Later on, this classroom will be used to
train young people in the trades—carpentry, plumbing, electrical,
masonry, and even auto mechanics. This type of training is much needed
for children growing up in the slums as it will give them a chance to
break the cycle of unemployment and poverty.
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Working with the children of the area.
The children of
Nairobi, Kenya:
In order to join this team for the
wonderful work God has planned for us, we need to raise the necessary
funds. The trip will cost $3,100.00 per person (a total of $6,200.00 for
both of us) to go. This includes travel expenses, water, food, lodging,
and some funds for materials needed for construction at the children’s
home. If we are able to raise an additional $650.00 each, we also have
an opportunity to go on a safari into the Masai Mara for two days—a
breathtaking experience! Because of the quick turnaround time of this
trip, we need to raise half the amount within about a month’s time
frame—that is around Thanksgiving. We know it sounds like a monumental
task to do, but we have seen God do amazing things in our lives and
those of our friends. We have faith that the Lord will provide if
He wishes for us to go.
We are looking forward to being used by
God to help the people of this area. This is our first missions trip and
we know whatever we think we are going to experience, it will be
something that we could never have fathomed. We are not quite sure how
or when our gifts will be able to be used, but we are going on faith
that we will be able to use those gifts to benefit this community to
help them build foundations both physically and spiritually.
Views of Kibera:
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If you would like to support us, any
amount of donation can be sent payable to “First Love International” at
the address provided to the right. Please designate your gift in our
name, Chad & Deb Smits, for the Kenya 2007 trip. All donations are tax
deductible and you will receive a receipt of your donation. If you have
any questions for us, please call (815) 703-7294 or E-mail Deb at
deb@smitsphotography.com. |
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Thank you for your support and God Bless, Chad & Deb
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The Dellamater's
Ministry
(www.journeytokenya.com)
As
mentioned above, we are going to be helping with some projects
that will start to get Brian & Heather Dellamater and their sons
settled in their new home. The work they are planning to do in
this area is inspiring. If you would like to learn more about
their ministry, read their newsletters provided below. Each
newsletter is provided as a PDF download.
Newsletter #1 - Introduction letter
Newsletter #2 - "I Spy With My Little Eye" |
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Kenya photos compliments of Heather Dellamater
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