November 28, 2011

Hi all

Well I pray that everyone here in the states had a great Turkey Day and have recovered from overeating, disappointing football games, or the rotten ride to and from where ever you traveled to over the holiday.  Just think you can do it all over again next year.  I find it amazing that we all love our T-day.  Has anyone done a study on how many woman hours are spent preparing the meal only to be eaten in about 10 to 15 minutes.  My guess it is well over a billion woman hours and a few man hours too.  Come to think of it the Christmas feast is just around the corner.

On the other side of the ocean is a couple of dozen passion fruit orchards.  I am waiting patiently for them to fully mature and produce some fruit.  My last emails that I have received are all promising and they are coming along fine.  Next spring can not get here quick enough.  Hezron took some pictures and sent them to me.  However I am unable to get them off the word document to post them here.  Hopefully before too long I will be able to post some pictures of our progress.

As we have already given thanks for our blessings this last weekend and are about to come into the season of Christ please remember those that are less fortunate then ourselves. 

Be blessed and take care.

Dave

November 18, 2011

Greetings

It is really agonizing to be here eight thousand miles from the passion fruit project.  I have been back in the states five weeks now and my eyes yearn to see how the little vines are doing.  Well I hope that they are not so little anymore.  This waiting till they grow up is driving me crazy.  I am waiting on word on how the first orchard planted in July is doing.  Last I heard it was doing well and I would believe that by now many are at the 8 foot mark and starting to flower.  The first fruits should be ready by sometime in January if all goes according to plan.  The orchards planted last month will not be ready until sometime in March or early April.  Much to long of a wait.

The other day I got word that the training session in Mumias was completed with an attendance of thirty nine students.  It was originally to be only about twenty students over three days but was changed to two really long days with up to forty students.  I am waiting for the session report to see whom all attended.  The last I heard there were groups coming in from Kakamega, Mumias, Busia, Bulimbo, and Bungoma.  I am not sure if Mt. Elgon was able to come to the session or not.

I have also heard we did lose some seedlings but not in the percentages that we experienced with the first orchard.  The first orchard had some bad scions and we had replaced the dead ones.  All of them have taken hold and are doing fine now.  This batch of seedlings looked much healthier and more foliage then the last batch in July.  The seedlings are grafted from the yellow disease resistant variety and the purple preferred passion fruit we expect some to die but I do not know what that percentage should be.  I am sure some are damaged during grafting, handling, transportation and possibly during the planting process.  According to what has been replaced it looks like so far we are under five percent.  Again I do not know if this is normal or not.

Hopefully soon I will get word and some pictures of the first widow’s orchard planted in July and an update on the widow’s plot in Mumias and the plot that was put on Mt. Elgon.  Its one thing to fund a ministry but it is another if we can duplicate orchards to help support widow’s, orphans, and with Mt. Elgon a clinic to help provide much needed medical care to the community.  I pray that I will have a progress report to you all soon.  As we approach our Thanksgiving please give a few blessings to our friends that have much less then we do.  If you would like a good verse to read this Thanksgiving check out Matthew chapter twenty five verses thirty one thru forty six.

Take care and be blessed.

Dave 

November 2, 2011

Greeting

Just a quick update.  Got word that all of the last orchards in Kakamega and Busia are planted.  Still do not have a total number of seedlings planted but it is in excess of 6000 vines on 26 orchards.  One of the orchards in Kakamega was not ready and the seedlings were put on one of the other plots that still had space available.  The original orchard that was planted in July is moving along well.  I hope to have some pictures before too long.

I am also told that the training seminar has been scheduled for 11/11/11.  Just think next year we have Twelve Twelve Twelve and it will be the last of these special days in our lifetimes.  The session will be at the Jerusalem Church in Mumias.  I am waiting to find out how many people will be attending and which areas are going to be in attendance.  I do know that Bungoma and Mt. Elgon orchards are quite a distance from Mumias and they might be getting a separate training.

Inside of the Jerusalem Church in Mumias

Outside with some members of Jerusalem Church and I

What we had set up for training was to have a sort of train the trainer session so we would not have all the people involved in the orchards since it would be a really huge number.  The widow's in Mumias have over 100 members themselves.  I am under the impression that we are going to have somewhere around 20 to 25 people attending.  Some in Kakamega had already been through training back in July.  I am almost positive that Mt. Elgon will not be attending this session.  We are also asking for the Jerusalem Church to host those coming in from out of town in members homes.  We will be providing all the meals, training materials, and instructor costs for the seminar.  The only item not covered was any transportation costs to and from the seminar.

Again I am most grateful to all involved and those of you that keep us in your prayers.  So far everything looks like it is going well.  The rainy season is about to start not that it doesn't rain every day already at least when I am there.  It looks like everything was planted in advance of the heavy rains to follow later this month.  I will post more as I get word and or pictures. 

Take care and God bless you all

Dave