Kenya: First Full Day

July 18, 2012 This morning Crew and I both woke up about an hour before the sun. We waited patiently in our beds reading until we heard the first voices of little children outside. It felt like Christmas morning. We hurried and got dressed and ran down to meet all the children. We realized we were saying goodbye to about 14 school aged kids. We then went and had English muffins with the babies and toddlers. We couldn’t meet them fast enough. After breakfast Crew ran around with a few of the boys outside and I went to help the little girls brush their teeth. I happened to look over and see one little girl who is maybe 4 years old, gagging. I quickly picked her up and ran her to the sink and found myself rubbing her back and head as she continuously vomited. Another little girl, who could be no older than four was brushing her teeth next to us. She reached over and rubbed her sick friends back and said over and over “So sorry, friend.” Later that day we learned that sick little girl had watched her mom burn to death from a gas pipeline explosion. The government had been warned that there was major danger with this pipeline, but did nothing about it. The death toll from the explosion was right over 100. Naomi’s Village received five children through this tragedy. Even though it’s such a tiny thing, I felt such a huge responsibility as a mom to her in that moment. She no longer had a mom to rub her back as she threw up. Praise the LORD she has moms at Naomi’s Village who step in and provide this. We wasted no time and quickly found ourselves meeting a sweet man named Joseph who lived in the IDP camp here. IDP stands for Internally Displaced Persons. The people in the IDP camp (about 1500) have been living in tents since 2007. The government makes promises to help and build them houses, but they have never done anything. In the last year, Habitat for Humanity took notice of them and have begun building them square stone houses with a tin roof and no electricity or plumbing. They must still walk and fetch their own water. Joseph took us to two houses where they were in great need. The first house we met a mother, Eunice, and two small boys Sami and Joe. Joe had been cut on the face and then his cut got infected. The infection is now spreading across his face. Of course he has had no vaccinations so he is in desperate need of a tetanus shot as well as medical attention for the infection. The mother has absolutely no income and the father is away for weeks at a time searching for any day labor work he might find, which is few and far between. Eunice used to have a sewing machine and made dresses that she sold for a good profit at the market. Since her house burned in the post election riots, she has not had a sewing machine or any way of making an income. Finally we asked how much it would cost Eunice to get the hospital card to get Joe the help he needs, our friend told us it would cost 1 US dollar. My heart immediately dropped and I understood truly the state of poverty these people were in. The best part of this visit for me was that Crew had pastor Isaac interpret for him as he asked both of the boys if they knew who Jesus was. They answered him no. He proceeded to share the gospel with these boys and how Jesus died on the cross for their sins. He also shared his whole story of how he came to know Christ himself. The boys were so encouraged and loved having time to talk with Crew. Crew also prayed for them and taught them how to give hugs. The children have little to no affection because their parents are still in shock and basically are just trying to survive. We moved on to an elderly lady, probably in her late seventies. Jane finally had a house built, but there was nothing in it besides a small water bucket. We asked what she slept on and she said she has one blanket that was issued to her shortly after she was displaced in 2007 and that she slept on the concrete floor, rolled up into her blanket. June had also lost all three of her children within the last two years and was left to take care of one grandson, she smiled from ear to ear the whole time we visited with her. She talked about how GOD had been her great comfort through each step of this massive storm and how much she loved Him. We were all blown away about how God truly is who He says He is. He can get us through anything. He truly will be enough. Our team, finally pulled together and realized for very little US money, we could provide Joe all the medical attention he needed, Eunice and new sewing machine and sewing supplies, as well as Jane and her grandson a huge water drum to store their water, and two mattresses with all the bedding they will need to stay warm. The church planters who drove us to the camp will be buying those things with the money we gave them and we get to actually give them those things on Friday. Joe will get medical attention even sooner than that. We all talked about how thankful we were to our financial supporters. Literally their money given is immediately helping some of the most needy people in our world. For lunch we ate a great Kenyan dish called Ugali. The Kenyan food is actually really delicious and it has been fun to try all the different food. After dinner, with more great Kenyan food, we ended the night by saying bed time prayers with each one of the boys in their dorm beds. Crew and I laid hands on each one and echoed the same prayers over and over. Crew told me he wanted to lead out so he prayed first and then me. We prayed first that these boys would know the salvation of the LORD and that they would be saved. We also prayed they would develop a great love for Him and follow Him all the days of their life. We asked that they might grow up into great men who were leaders as awesome husbands and fathers.

Arrival Day: Travel from Nairobi to Naomi's Village

July 17, 2012 Tonight we finally finished all of our travels. It was surreal to pull through the gates of Naomi’s Village. We have seen many videos of those gates, but to see them with our own two eyes was amazing. Two brothers in Christ, Josiah and Lucas, picked us up from the airport. It is not safe to travel after dark in Kenya, however the people here felt it would be okay for us to travel with these two specific men. Josiah asked us to pray for him after dropping us off here at Naomi’s village, because he had a 30 minute drive through the jungle to his home. We asked him if he was scared and he replied, “There have been a few ‘instances’ of things going badly, but I am covered by the blood of Jesus.” Two things stuck out to me. One, he knows his need for Christ each moment here. Two, he risked his life to get us to Naomi’s Village after dark. We prayed for his safe return. We found where we would be staying pretty quickly and everyone actually got a warm shower! We unpacked all the fun gifts and costumes we got the children here. We cannot wait to meet them. Crew never complained once on our three really long flights. I was so proud of him. He is so excited to be here! I read in the Psalms tonight and I claimed Psalm 124:8. "Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth." There is true power in his name. Just like Josiah, on his drive home, knew where his power lay. We too are claiming the power of Jesus this week. I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for the cross. It is simply nothing we have done, but everything HE did in pouring out his blood for us! Please continue to pray for peace, unity and that the power of the Holy Spirit would move mightily through us as we minister to the people here.

Were we right in thinking PINK????

YOU GUESSED IT!! THANKS EVERYONE FOR THINKING PINK!!!

WE ARE HAVING A BABY GIRL!!!!





The pink things are already flowing in and we are so excited! Corban and Crew now talk about their baby sister!! It's so cute!! July 19th we'll be welcoming our new baby girl!! YEAH!!!

SNOW DAY

So today the boys had so much fun with their dad playing in the snow!! The Snow man they built was AWESOME!!





Until of course...Crew started screaming from the pain of frostbite on his fingers so we had to go inside.

VALENTINES DAY TRIBUTE TO MY BOYS

I had a revelation the other day. I was mopping our horrible lanoleum floor the other day and I began to get angrier and angrier as I couldn't get the huge black skid marks that streaked across half of it off. I found myself frustrated and saying things in my head, "What would possess my husband to push the boys around so fast and hard through the house on their tricycles until there were huge black skid marks on my floor THAT DON'T COME OFF!!" Who would do such a thing? As soon as I found myself complaining I realized that I would take those skid marks every day and in every part of the flooring in my home so my boys can know what it is to have a father who loves them and honestly enjoys every second of playing and being with them! WOW! How priceless. I pray each and every day for my sons that the love their father so selflessly gives them will transfer into the knowledge and understanding of how much their heavenly father loves them and pursues them every second of every day! So for now, the skid marks remain and I'm even able to smile and remember ultimately who faithfully loves and pursues me each day...my heavenly FATHER. So, for Valentines Day...I am thankful for how much I love my husband, who is such a good picture of how GOD loves me...HAPPY VALENTINES DAY BLAKE, CORBIE AND CREW!!!

14 Weeks Pregnant, 5 Week old Puppies, Pneumonia, Stomach Bug, Smelly Feet

So it's been a while since I've blogged...life has been a tad full! In case you haven't heard, I'm 14 weeks pregnant right now and we are really excited! I'm getting fatter every day, but also feeling less tired and sick every day! YEAH! I think we'll find out if it's a girl or boy toward the end of February! I'm trying to think pink though!!

The week before Christmas our sweet Boxer Zoey had two little puppies! They are too cute, but such a handful. The smell in the bathroom is so overpowering if we don't clean it constantly. Only a couple more weeks before we can give them away. Anyone want one? They are soooo sweet!




So...Crew had double Pneumonia after Christmas...now we think Corban has it...except now he's throwing up and pooing everywhere! I'm hoping it's because of the antibiotic and not the tummy bug! We'll see! Tired of being inside though!



Smelly Feet...well that has to do with today. My feet smell really bad from these shoes I've been wearing with no socks and it's making my stomach hurt. I should go wash them, but I can't quit watching Celebrity Rehab on VH1. If you haven't seen it you should tune in!

That's pretty much it for the Chilton's. Life is good, real and full and we're thankful for every bit of it. I'll try to be better at blogging, but no promises! ;)

Lauren Tagged Me

I've been tagged.


The Game of Tag about your MAN:

1. Who is your man? Blake J
2. How long have you been together? 4.5 years married, 7 years total
3. How long dated? 2.5 years
4. How old is your man? 30
5. Who eats more? Him.
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did in the creek at his grandparents house.
7. Who is taller? Blake by 7 inches
8. Who sings better? Blake has an awesome voice, but he has a hard time picking up harmony unless I teach it to him...so I would have to say that I sing better!! HA!!
9. Who is smarter? I don't know who is smarter. I definitely did better in school...but he doesn't even try and can pull a B...so if he tried...he probably is a lot smarter than me.
10. Whose temper is worse? I would have to say his although it's gotten a lot better and of course...I have a slight temper too. ;)
11. Who does the laundry? I definitely do the laundry. For the last month it's been completely done every day...no dirty clothes. Surprising. He will try to do it sometimes, but he almost always ruins something so I BEG him not to do it.
12. Who takes out the garbage? Mostly Blake, but if he forgets I do it.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are looking at the bed from the foot of it, Blake sleeps on the right side.
14. Who pays the bills? I have always done the bills, but the last couple of months Blake has been doing them.
15. Who is better with the computer? I would have to say that I am...he knows how to email...oh and I taught him how to pull up spider solitaire the other day!
16. Who mows the lawn? If our mower wasn't broke I'd go mow that foot tall grass right now. Blake mostly mows, but he's been gone so much that I've done it since the summer mostly.
17. Who cooks dinner? I definitely cook dinner...although Blake knows how to make a sandwich and macaronni. Sad thing is he still can't even make the instant oatmeal right. The kids look at it like, "We're supposed to eat that glue?" :)
18. Who drives when you are together? We take turns. Blake falls asleep while he drives so on long trips I mostly drive because even if he does drive I can't fall asleep because I'm too afraid.
19. Who pays when you go out? He does because I hate carrying a purse.
20. Who is most stubborn? I would have to say that I am. He gives in and definitely says he's sorry WAY before me.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? He definitely is. I take forever to say I'm sorry...although I'm getting better.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? It goes in spurts. His parents like to come stay at our house and visit us...while mine mostly come for day trips or we will go there for a weekend. Sometimes we see mine a lot...then sometimes we see his a lot. Just depends.
23. Who kissed who first? Definitely he kissed me first...on the forehead outside his apartment.
24. Who asked who out? He did.
25. Who proposed? Blake.
26. Who is more sensitive? Neither one of us are overly sensitive. I'm probably meaner though.
27. Who has more friends? For sure Blake. He doesn't meet a stranger. I'm more the recluse type.
28. Who has more siblings? Me...youngest of five.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? I like to wear the pants, but GOD has been gracious in showing Blake how to lead and me how to follow. I have to say that although he is for sure the leader...he is just always gracious in wanting my input and truly valuing my thoughts and opinions and desires for our family. So...that's pretty easy to follow.

Okay, I think I have to tag 5 people: Steph, Maury, Kimbo, and I don't have too many more friends, but everyone can do it if they want!!