The Kennedy Family

6kennedys.com

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:50:00 +0000

We are now blogging at 6kennedys.com. Update your bookmarks and RSS feeds at our new site. There is even a new post, believe it or not!

Buy Esther's House on DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:18:00 +0000

If you enjoyed the series and want to get a copy, you can buy them online for $20. Half of the proceeds from your purchase will go to support the orphans at Esther's House.

You can buy them here.

Episodes 4 and 5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:26:00 +0000

We are winding down to the end of the series. If you have been watching and enjoying what you see, let us know over at puremission.org. It will help us as we determine the success of this series and the potential for more like it in the future. Here are episodes 4 and 5.

Kids will be Kids...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:46:00 +0000

Hope you are enjoying the series. If you haven't gone to puremission.org yet, go this week and click "LIKE" on the facebook section. A donor has agreed to give $1 to Esther's House Orphanage for every "LIKE" up to 10,000. The deadline is Sunday, and it is a simple way to send a dollar to Esther's House.

Episode Two

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:17:00 +0000

The second episode aired yesterday, and will air again in about 1 hour on Daystar so you still have time to catch it if you want to watch it on an actual television. There are only four more left, so please spread the word about the program to your blog-friends and family.

Here is the second episode if you missed it.

The First Episode

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:26:00 +0000

If you haven't seen the first episode yet, here it is. Episode 2 is coming up on Sunday, and it deals with how we settled into life in Africa, if you ever really settle in. Honestly, just living in a third world country takes up so much of your time and energy that there is never an opportunity to really get settled. At least not in the two months that we were there.

There are no restaurants, no grocery stores with everything in one place, no local supply of mac n cheese. Everything took four or five stops to find, and then several more hours to prepare. That was if the power stayed on the whole time. We definitely returned with a new respect for those on the mission field in the most challenging places, giving their lives to share the gospel. It takes a strong heart and a lot of patience. And in those challenging places, you realize how little patience you actually have within you. It can bring out the best in you, or expose the worst. Most days, it did both.

Premiere Eve

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 May 2010 12:52:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the big day for the launch of "Esther's House, Africa." If you haven't set your DVR yet, it will air on Daystar at 4:30 central tomorrow. If you don't have Daystar, you can view all of the episodes online as well at puremission.org. I will post all of them to our blog also, so you should have plenty of places to find it.

The more we get into the editing of the footage the more I am reminded how much I miss our Malawian friends. We hope to go back soon, though this time without all the kids!

By the way, this post is coming to you from the Greatest City in the World as Erin and I are getting some much needed time away. Big thanks to Grammy and Lovey for watching the kids for a few days. You are the best!

Here is a quick taste of what is coming tomorrow. We created one minute spots on the kids we care for at Esther's House and will feature their stories on the show. Here is the story of Linda.

Esther's House Sneak Peak

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:04:00 +0000

We have been working for some time on the first few episodes of the reality television project we shot last summer. It is set to air soon, as early as May 2nd if all goes as planned. We will post more information on where and when you can see it as we get closer to the actual air date.

For now, here is a short promo that includes some of the footage from the pilot episode.

Sophie gets stuck...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:41:00 +0000

We break our blogging absence to tell a funny story about none other than Sophia. But first, here are some recent pictures of the kids.

Now for the story:

Erin called me at work this afternoon.
"Hey, how is your afternoon?"
"Things are going well, you?"
"Do you have a hand saw?"
"Why would you need a hand saw?"
"To cut Sophie out of the chair she is stuck in."

I drove home as fast as I could and here is what I found.

We walked her out to the garage so we wouldn't get sawdust all over the house. I chose to use a jig saw as it was much less intimidating than a huge hand saw.

We are still not sure how she got into the chair like that. And, knowing Sophie, it wouldn't surprise me if she managed to do it again.

Sophia gets her hair cut

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:39:00 +0000

I think it made her look smaller and younger. It is most definitely cute. She tells everyone that it is just like her momma.

2009 in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:11:00 +0000

I am a few days late but 2009 was a great year. I won't bore you with typing much because there are a million pictures ahead...

This is how 2009 started. The ice storm.

My husband during his mid-life crisis.
(if you can have one of those at 27)

This is what Sophie likes to do during nap time. Organize!!
Unfortunately, the naps came to an early end this year.

Some of the cousins!

Our first annual girls weekend with Lovey while the boys were away at Father and Son camp.

The twins turned five.

Their annual birthday trip to Tulsa.

Catherine's dance recital

Love these kids!

We LOVE summer!

Easton started T-ball

Sophia turned 3. Here they are with Cousin Mark.

Addis' day in court!

All the cousins on Erin's side got together for the yearly Kid Camp at Grammy's housed.

Addis and his best buddy Jeb

Random family picture

Real family picture

I love this picture. The kids were about to get their shots for Africa. This was the beginning of a long 2 months. That camera followed us everywhere.

My flower girls and ring bearers

First day of Kindergarten

Off to Africa!!

Back home for just in time for Halloween

Thanksgiving program at school

My little cheerleader

Sophie can't be serious

Christmas picture with Lovey and Papa

Christmas morning!!

We had a great year, one full of changes. I think after going to Africa for 2 months we should have known we were in for a lot of changes in our family. You really can't go and come back the same.

Thank you all for being a part of our 2009. Here's to 2010!

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:01:00 +0000

I know, I know, it has been way too long. Well, here are a bunch of pictures from the last month or so that should make you like us again.

Sophie did her first Christmas music program. She is not very fond of these sorts of "public displays" and she generally chooses to protest her attendance by doing the opposite everyone else around her. Dance recital this year should be awesome to watch!

This is my favorite picture from the day. She is looking at her friend next to her like, "What in the world do you think you are doing?"

Our kids are blessed with lots of cousins on both sides of the family. Here are all of the cousins from Erin's side.

The Girls

The Boys

Christmas was extra special this year. Addis was old enough to get into it, Sophie had the time of her life, and Catherine and Easton are old enough now to actually remember some of these moments later on in life.

Everyone participated in making Santa's cookies. Addis spent most of his time eating spoonfuls of icing, but he did manage to get a few cookies done.

It is a Kennedy family tradition to wake up WAY too early on Christmas morning. My brother and I used to be up and ready to open by 4:30 am. In order to keep the tradition going, we wake our kids up at the crack of dawn. We let them sleep till 6:30, but as you can see, they were still VERY asleep when we went to get them up.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Our Blog Absence...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:13:00 +0000

If you want to know why we haven't posted in a while, I haven't been around much. As the media pastor at a church, this time of the year gets really busy. Sunday was our big Christmas performance at church, and I wanted to pass along a little bit of the work we did for it. Here is one of the videos from the concert.

I promise, the next post will be pictures of the kids. That is what you all want to see anyway!

The Whole Cast

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:43:00 +0000

When your family completes the main characters of the Wizard of Oz, you might have more in the quiver than the average American family. Just an observation.

If you ask our kids, they were characters from the Veggie Tales knock off, the Wizard of Haas. They have never seen the real version before.

Here is our tin-man. He was so excited that he got to put on face paint. He only asked 10,000 times when he was going to get to put it on.

Addis made for a pretty cute lion.

The girls outfits were very fitting for their personalities. Catherine was the sweet and innocent Dorothy. Sophia was the scary scarecrow. The best thing about Halloween costumes is, at this age at least, they have a much longer life than just one night. The kids continue to dress up, including Addis, and roam around the house pretending to be The Wizard of Haas.

Adoption Video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:51:00 +0000

I was asked to highlight some of the families in our church that have adopted for our Pastor's message on Sunday. We are so thankful that our church was so supportive of our adoption of Addis and that he is able to grow up in a place that celebrates adoption.

Some of the referral pictures are blurred out because the families are still in the process of adopting.

Me Too...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +0000

I wrote something for our Pastor's blog today about our experience in Africa. Go check it out when you get the chance. Here is an excerpt:

Life in America is tough. Life in Africa is tougher. I don’t know if that is proper English, but truth rarely fits into neat grammar.

For the last two months, my family of six lived and worked in the African nation of Malawi. With a life expectancy of 37 years and an AIDS pandemic that is unrelenting, Malawi is tougher. However, it took me a while to admit it out loud. At first, everything was an adventure.

Read the rest here.

School

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:42:00 +0000

If you want to go to school in Malawi, you have to have a school uniform. A lot of kids can't afford a uniform, so they are not supposed to be able to attend. Thankfully, they have relaxed that rule lately to allow the poorest children to still attend. We had uniforms made for our children so they could experience Malawian primary school. The uniforms cost about $3 a piece, and they are custom made by the local tailor. Our church takes care of 50 orphans in a non-residential program that pays for their school fees including uniforms.

The primary school in Madzanje has around 1300 kids in grades 1-8. Problem is, they only have 4 classrooms. The other rooms are grass huts that they put up just for shade. When the rainy season comes, most kids choose not to go to school. Recently, they decided to allow the kids to use the court buildings for classrooms, so the kids that used to meet under the tree outside can now have a roof over their heads.

Since our kids are "azungu" or "white," the headmaster wouldn't let them go to school in the grass hut building. Instead, they went to the courthouse with about 50 other kids. See if you can pick them out in the picture below.

The longer school went on, the more the Malawian kids crowded towards Catherine and Easton. By the end of school, they were squished up against the wall to the point that they couldn't even see the board. It might seem crazy, but white children have never been to this village before.

The longer we live here, the more I feel like there are two main areas that could and should be addressed. Healthcare and Education. For $1000 a school building could be built where these kids could go to school year round. The foundation has already been laid. They just need sheet metal and bricks to put it up. And a clinic in Madzanje is in the works as well. Maybe someday soon these issues will be taken care of.

My parents came in yesterday. It is really great to be able to share this experience with them. Their coming means that things are winding down here. Just a week left and there still seems to be so much to do. We are trying to finish up the last remaining projects. We are working on beds for the orphanage right now. For those of you who donated, much of the money is going towards mattresses and bunk beds for the kids. For children who have spent their lives sleeping on grass mats, a bed and mattress is a rare luxury.

Patrick's Story

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Patrick is 14 years old. He lives with his grandmother along with his 2 younger brothers. He is very shy but his smile comes out every now and then. His mother is 31 and has advanced HIV/Aids. She lies on a mat outside their hut, her body frail because of the disease.

We first met Patrick when we took him to the doctor for large sores on his legs. He had lived with them for quite a while, but didn't know where they had come from. The doctor mentioned that sometimes HIV causes sores, so we should have him tested. Knowing the state of his mother, we knew he was probably HIV positive as well.

We loaded up Patrick along with his brothers and took them to the local clinic that does free HIV testing. The doctors took him to the back room and we waited, hoping for good news. When he came through the doorway, his smile said it all. The life-wrecking disease was not passed on to him or his brothers.

Yesterday, we got a call that his mother was bad enough to go the hospital. They admitted her and it doesn't look good. The hospital here is rough. They don't supply any food, so a family member has to stay and cook all the meals. This means that Patrick's sole care giver, his grandmother, will be at the hospital. We asked him who would watch after him while his mother and grandmother were away. Apparently a half-sister lives nearby, and she will come stay with him. She is 14. Same age as Patrick.

Here is Patrick, showing off that great smile, sitting with his mother in front of their home.

The Meaning of Money

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:14:00 +0000

You hear the "dollar a day" stat all the time. In Malawi, most people earn a salary around that amount, if you are one of the 60% with a job. Being here brings a whole new perspective to the statistic. Numbers turn to faces. Faces become friends.

The truth is, money isn't really the main way of survival here. Most people live off of the land. They grow their own produce, raise their own chickens, and build their own homes. Sometimes, I feel like money just complicates life and brings on responsibility that most people aren't ever ready to handle. It is no wonder that Proverbs teaches that the love of money is the root of all evil.

I used to think that when Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is required" he was talking about people like Bill Gates. The top 1% of the richest people in the world. He certainly couldn't be talking about my family.

Then, you move to Malawi. Suddenly it is hauntingly clear. We have been given MUCH. And MUCH is required of us.

Safari

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:08:00 +0000

This week my mom and aunt Mo came to visit. It was so wonderful to have them here. I loved the help with the kids and I was really excited for them to share in the experiences that we are having here. It is so hard to express what it is like here. Zach came 2 years ago and brought home a million pictures and video but I was never able to truly understand until I stepped off the plane 4 weeks ago here in Malawi.

So since I am posting tonight and not Zach prepare yourself for pictures!!! Zach almost killed me when I asked him to upload all of these for me. I know...I should learn how to do it myself.

The first picture is just us waiting for Grammy and Aunt Mo to get off the plane. The kids were so excited to watch the plane land. And I don't know if you can tell from the picture but right at their feet there is an opening in the glass that is just large enough for a small child to slip out of... a small child named Addis. Yes, he almost crawled under the glass and fell off of the balcony of the airport. Thankfully some man grabbed me and pointed out my son on his suicide mission.

Days are long and hard around here, so it was time for an escape. It is crazy that there are places like Mvuu Camp in Malawi, but I guess there are tourists everywhere. The lodge and restaurant are situated in the middle of a huge national wildlife reserve. You drive "safari style" for about 10 miles before you reach the river. You then get into a boat for an hour tour. At the edge of the river there is a restaurant with excellent food. Which we proceeded to eat until we were all miserable. After four weeks of tuna and ramen noodles we couldn't help ourselves.

This is the children hanging out of the sunroof of the van as we drove through the safari.

The crazy thing is that we really are as close as the picture looks. It was amazing to see all of these animals this close in the wild. It made me a little nervous too because Addis kept trying to jump out of the boat.

My mom made friends with this little girl one of the days we were at the orphanage. Her name is Ana and she is one of the fifty orphans in the non residential program that we care for at Esther's house. They are fed vita-meal every morning and fed a big lunch on Friday and Saturday. Ana asked my mom if she would be her special friend.

This is a goofy picture but I had to post it. This is Addis holding baby Ana. He always wants to hold her because he sees his brother and sisters hold her all of the time. She is with us 2 nights and three days a week. I am also well aware that his hair is a little scary in the picture and poor Ana agrees. By the way this is what she does most of the time we have her unless I have her tied on my back in the chitchenzie.

I love these last two pictures. Every time we are out at Esther's house or in the villages the local children flock to our kids. They want to hold their hands, carry Addis, and pet the girls hair. My kids kind of like the attention. Well three of them do. Sophie just gets irritated and wants me to hold her all of the time. Imagine that! I just wish they could communicate with each other. I think they would all really enjoy each other if they could talk to one another.

Well that is all for today. We don't have any big plans for tomorrow except for catching up on school. Grammy and Aunt Mo might have set us back a little this week!!

Where is They Moms and Dads?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:20:00 +0000

As we made the drive from the capitol city of Lilongwe to our little home in Ntcheu on the very first day, Sophia was the first to notice the cruelty of Africa. She looked out her window at all of the children wandering the streets and asked, "Where is all they moms and dads?" While not all of the children that she saw were orphans, many were. In a country where 1 million children are orphaned, you will encounter at least one every day.

And that is why we believe in adoption so strongly. Because, although an institution like Esther's House can show love, support, and family structure, it can never replace a Mom or a Dad.

At this point, Malawi is not very friendly to adoption. They require you live in country for 2 years or have written a few hit songs while wearing a cone-shaped bra. If you don't meet one of those two requirements, you are out of luck.

When you look at the massive numbers, adoption may not make that much sense. What can adopting 800 kids a year do to help a country that is struggling with a problem of millions? But when you look at the ONE, it makes all the difference.

For the ONE, he/she gets the chance to have a mom and dad again. And that is a chance that every child should have. It is time for Malawi to change the laws to give kids that chance, and there is rumor that the change may be coming.

Our Week in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:05:00 +0000

It has been a while since we posted some good photos, so here is some of our recent events in photos.

I am not quite sure what has been wrong with Addis, but he has cried A LOT since we arrived in Africa. I think he is afraid we have brought him back to leave him here! Much of the day, he is making this face...

Everyone immediately knows that he is from Ethiopia. "He has the eyes," they always say. It is pretty obvious from this picture that he is not a Malawian.

Catherine is in Heaven on the days that we keep Anna. She begged to carry her around on her back like all of the other 5 year old girls do here, so we let her for a little while. She is really good with her, and doesn't shy away from her when she cries. That is a good thing, because she cries a lot.

Like we have mentioned in the past, it is very dirty here. Always. Every day.

This is our version of fall pictures this year. Sophia does not have a black eye, though those are bruises on her forehead. She is just really dirty. I think I have already mentioned the dirt though.

Grammy and Aunt Mo made it here yesterday. They are visiting for the week. DJ, the camera man, had a run in with the local Police at the airport. Apparently immigration officers don't want to be on TV, so he had to tape over all of his footage of the customs area.

This is our little Malawian drive in movie night. The black thing in front is a laptop. Josh and Kristen Copher are living with us for a few weeks, and it has been great to have their company.

This is Nylia, the care giver at the orphanage, along with her family. She was so excited to show them off to us. She had not seen her kids in two months while she had been working at the orphanage, so it was a grand home coming for her. She gets two days off a week now that we are here watching the baby. We are also working to find more qualified care givers, though that is proving a little more difficult than we once thought.

While we were in Lilongwe picking up Grammy and Aunt Mo, we stopped at a really cool greenhouse/nursery. They had a great playground and the kids would have played for days. It is funny how much you miss a good playground.

Funny picture of Sophia for the day... Wonder what she is thinking here?

Sophie got sick in Lilongwe on Sunday morning. She laid down in the floor after a throw-up false alarm, and she was asleep in a few seconds. We moved her to the bed, but not before a picture!

The sunsets here are amazing, so we leave you with a small taste of a Malawian evening.Good night from Malawi.

Thoughts on Charity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:11:00 +0000

When we first met our night watchman, Crispen Ebemba, I was a little disappointed. I had hoped for someone that spoke a little better English and was a little more mean looking. Crispen had a round face, and couldn't be more than 5'5", so he wasn't the bouncer that I had expected.

We quickly learned that he was a very hard worker and desperately wanted our approval. Every night, we would take him a meal and share the leftovers with his family. One night, I realized that we had always expected him to eat outside and never invited him in. I told him to come in and pulled up a chair at our table.

Totally shocked that we would invite him in to eat, he bowed down to his knees at our table to thank us. He said thank you repeatedly, and I began to wonder how long he would stay down on his knees. We again told him to come sit down. He very nervously ate his meal, not being able to say anything other than "You are a good boss." He didn't feel like he deserved a place at our table.

I was reminded of the story in scripture where Lazarus longed for the scraps from his masters table, and the rich man gave nothing. Abraham tells the rich man, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony."

The humility of Crispen challenged my pride and my understanding of caring for the poor. If charity only involves hand outs, then humanity is only surviving and not being restored. We could have continued to take Crispen a meal each night and he would have continued to feel like he wasn't worthy to sit at our table. Our work should be one of restoring humanity. Helping people understand their worth in God's Kingdom restores a piece of humanity stolen away by sin. It is in these moments that we too are humbled to realize our worthlessness without a Saviour.

Anna's Story

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:55:00 +0000

From time to time, we will post some of the stories of the one million orphans of Malawi. Today, Baby Anna is in our care so it is only fitting that we start with her.

When Anna's mother went into labor, she was a great distance from the hospital. Not having any transportation, she was forced to walk the 15 kilometers. Once at the hospital, she had already lost a great amount of blood. She delivered Anna, healthy and beautiful, but mom was still in great pain. One of the nurses realized that she still had another baby to deliver, and Anna's twin brother was born. Unfortunately, due to the great stress of being in labor for so long and losing so much blood, the baby boy died shortly after delivery.

Attention was focused on mom, trying to get the bleeding stopped. She needed blood but there was no one from her family with her that could donate. Apparently, the policy of the local hospital requires that someone from your family donate blood before you can be given any blood from the reserve. Her family members were unable to make it in time, and she passed away.

The hospital called late that night to let Pastor Phiri know that no one in the extended family could care for the baby, and so she came to Esther's House.

As we have cared for her the past 24 hours, it has felt a bit like baby sitting. Then it hits you. She isn't going home to her family when our time with her is over. While we are grateful for a place like Esther's House, we still can't comprehend the cruelty of her situation. It just isn't right and doesn't make sense. For now, she will be loved and cared for, and maybe even adopted into a family of her own at some point down the road. Until then, we will show her the love of a family and give her the best start possible.

We love you Anna, and believe God has great things in store for you.

Baby Anna

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:49:00 +0000

After some confusion from the last post, we feel it necessary to clarify something. The nets over the bed are not for decoration. They are mosquito nets to keep our family from getting Malaria. They are also the most frustrating things on the planet. I tuck them in so tight every night because I am afraid a spider will crawl into the kids bed, and at least once a day someone pulls their net down and Zach has to rehang it.

Today, it was Addis. He was pretty proud of himself.

Right now, there is only one caregiver at the orphanage, and she hasn't seen her own kids in almost two months. We offered to take care of the baby a few nights a week so she could go see her family. The twin boys are staying with Kapalassa, the administrative assistant at the orphanage. Here is Anna in her new bed at our house. If it looks like a suitcase, it is because it is a suitcase.

Unfortunately, Anna is not the happiest baby in the world. She has spent most of her night screaming, and we are hoping that she might be done for a few hours. We gave her a good bath with soap, something that she has never had before! We had to pick the dreadlocks out of her hair, it was so matted together. Next up on the agenda, a cleanliness schedule for the care givers!

The remaining construction on Esther's House is coming along. It is very quiet there right now, but I have a feeling it won't be that way for long.

Tomorrow, we are taking Patrick, one of the local orphans in our non-residential care program, to the hospital. He has sores all over his body, and we fear he might be HIV positive. The good news is the hospital in Ntcheu gives free HIV drugs. We hope that the child sponsorship program will be able to pay for the transportation each week to receive the treatment. That is another thing that is on our agenda over the next few weeks. Lots of interviews with kids are ahead!

We hope to share some of their stories on this blog. Hearing the hardships that these kids have faced will make us all more appreciative of the life we have been given and stir us to do something to bring about change in theirs.

Good night from Malawi.