Hello! 

We want to apologize for not staying in contact with everyone through the past few months.  We have a very busy schedule; and then between power outages and computer software updates that had made our website program inaccessible, it has kept us from making updates as needed!  We are very sorry.

We do ask that you continue to be patient with us.  We are trying to make some changes to our websites, but not all of kinks have been easy to work out!  Since I am a self-taught website designer, I often have to do things the long way until I figure out the shortcuts!  But we are working on the problems, and hopefully we will get things all sorted out soon.

Our family is all doing good.  We had a good time during the holiday season, and we pray that you enjoyed the time with your family and friends as well.  We are ALWAYS amazed when we look back over the past year and see what the Lord has done in our lives and ministry.  God has been good to all of us, but then that is NOT a surprise!!  We are looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us this year.  We pray that you, your family, your church, and your ministry all have a wonderful year!

Thank you for your patience,
Tonya

My Favorite Place (By Breanne)

A hill in the outskirts of Kisii presents a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. The name of this hill is Mount Manga. From there you would first see each house surrounded by its own field; these houses are close together and each detail is distinctly recognized. But as you gaze farther and farther out, you do not see each house with its field, but the fields all begin to blend together into a large patchwork quilt. If the haze is not too dense; from this vantage point, it is possible to see Lake Victoria! Now if you would look slightly to your left, there are two smaller hills (that are contained within the valley) can be seen. First one, then the other behind it; between these hills lie the downtown section of Kisii. This breathtaking view is my favorite place in all of Kisii!

Kisii (By Breanne)

In the highlands of Kenya lays a busy town nestled between two hills. On the slope of one hill stands a two-story, colonial, stone house like sentinel guarding the marketplace below. At a second story window peers a bystander, watching the action occurring along the heavily used paved road. This highway is always teeming with traffic, not only automobile traffic, but also pedestrians and motorbikes. The traffic here is not any kind of traffic you will be familiar with in America, this traffic is native to Kenya and Kenya only (well maybe in other African countries too!). This traffic is push and shove, accidents are common, and the people just walk across the road as if it were empty! If an accident does occur, the road has no shoulders to pull off onto. The shoulder (a narrow, steep dirt path), when there happens to be one, is used as a sidewalk and a place to sell wares. Watching from above could keep a bystander occupied for absolutely hours!!

Riding in a Matatu (By Breanne)

Matatus are the main transportation vehicles in kenya, a matatu is really a compact 14 passenger van. If you want to go for a ride, first they tell you to climb over the seats until you get to a back window seat. Here in Kenya, in order to take less trips they cram people in until no more can fit (up to 35 and sometimes more if there are children!). Finally, there is no more room, but the pressure on all sides of you makes breathing almost impossible. You look around trying to find a way out, and you notice that everyone else is holding something in their lap. Some are carrying children, others have fresh produce, and some are holding chickens! The smells begin to overwhelm you, and you realize that you are by a window; you manage to get it open with some difficulty. As the window slides open, you notice that you are driving through the main Kisii Market with its cows, goats, rotten vegetables, stagnate mud puddles, and fried fish out in the hot sun. The smells seem to hit you all at once, you are tempted to shut the window, but you decide against it. You begin to feel nauseated as your driver swerves recklessly in and out of traffic. The noise inside the matatu spikes as children scream, terrified. Though it may seem to be too much for you to take our form of transport ion; the people here do it all the time!!