INTRODUCING

“MISS SCHERRY BROWNFIELD”

This beautiful Ayrshire milk cow came to live with our little community of teachers and children at Kiwanda Cha Tumaini on the very day I was leaving Kenya a week or so ago. She is already blessing us with some milk, but will kick it into high gear when she gives birth to her second calf in a few months.

When we arrived in Western Kenya at the beginning of March, the country was in a severe drought, and the dry season had gone on for much longer than in normal years. When the rains finally came, it was a new experience for this Texas Girl!  I’m talking, daily torrential downpours! I realized that I had never been in Kenya during March and April. Wow, what a trip!

The downside of this situation was that there was very little Napier grass to feed a cow, even if we could find a good one. Our search went on for weeks and weeks. We found a gorgeous Jersey heifer, ready to calve at the end of May, at the University of Nairobi Vet Farm. The people at the farm were so wonderful, and we had made arrangements to buy our first cow. However, at the last minute, we ran into a roadblock when the University System placed a hold on any sales while they were in the process of an audit. We’re still holding out hope that one day, she may come to bless our kids with even more milk.

The upside of the situation is that, when the rains finally came, we were prepared and ready to receive our new resident cow. She will give us greater quantities of milk, although the Jersey’s milk is higher in butter-fat, and we were looking forward to teaching our beloved Kenyans how to make butter. This will be a great improvement in their diet because they consume tons of a disgusting product called Blue Band. It’s an unrefrigerated margarine-type goop, very close in chemical structure to plastic. Gag!

You may be wondering why we named our cow “Miss Scherry Brownfield.” Well, I’m glad you asked. Back in the good ol’ days when John and I were at Baylor University, he belonged to the coolest “Social Club” on campus. In fact, he was a founding member. (This was before Baylor gave in and admitted national fraternities and sororities.) I always considered myself an honorary member (and still do), because I loved these guys so much, and hung out with them more than I did with my sorority sisters from Delta Alpha Pi. In addition to being awesome, they all had great senses of humor. Consequently, when Baylor’s Homecoming Parade rolled around, rather than build a traditional float, they rented a “cow” from a local dairy and placed a couple of Baylor’s most breath-taking beauties atop.

Their names were Norelle Hicks and Scherry Brownfield.

We had already assigned Norelle’s name to the beautiful Jersey we had found, so when we located the Ayrshire pictured above, her name just had to be Scherry Brownfield. We are still praying for Norelle to show up on the scene, when the University of Nairobi System gets their audit finished.

Please pray for our ministry as we strive to improve the lives of orphans and disadvantaged children in Kenya. Our school will reopen three days from now on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, and, God willing, milk will now be a regular part of the diet of 85 children and approximately 20 teachers, staff, and patients at the school and clinic.

We are praising God for cows, and for our faithful supporters who helped us reach this new milestone.

Mungu akubariki sana!

M.C.