“There was no rice sorting today.  Instead, I was handed a small black bag and 4 knives.  It didn’t take me long to realize that there were goat parts in there, but I was thankful it was parts and not 4 knives and a whole goat  I sat with the Headmaster of the Ereri Primary and he taught me how to butcher it.  We spent at least an hour sitting on the ground while he asked all kinds of questions about the U.S. and how our meat is slaughtered and packaged for us.  Quite an interesting conversation and one that I cherish.”

Stacy Williams
Team Trip: November 2011

We are excited to introduce Wendell Robinson to you as our newest 410 Bridge U.S. team member! Wendell is serving as our service trip coordinator to Haiti.

Wendell comes to the 410 Bridge with a love for people and a passion for culture. He loves trying new cultural foods and embraces the uniqueness every culture offers. After ten years as an ordained minister working with youth, Wendell along with his wife Lisa and their three boys Caleb, Josiah and Eli packed their suit cases and left their home in Portland, Oregon to serve as missionaries to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. They lived in Puerto Rico for seven years. During their time in Puerto Rico, Wendell also spent time traveling in and out of Nigeria, Ghana and the Republic of Benin assisting African pastors in developing a small group model for discipleship. He later spent two years working in the Ugandan community of Kiwuunya where he got his feet wet in community development. Wendell is excited about the future and the great things God will accomplish in the coming years through the 410 Bridge.

Wendell loves spending lots of time with his family, long walks on the greenway, watching track meets, and eating Lorna Doone Cookies. He hopes one day to own a Weimaraner and wants to do more fishing.

I was in the Segera area last Thursday with a small team of US executives on a vision trip.  During our time in Endana and Ereri, we visited a couple of homes to check on two children that had been previously identified with medical conditions that were successfully addressed.  Both children are healthy and well.

As we were leaving the second home, we were presented with a letter from a doctor and a letter from the community requesting immediate assistance for Baby Ifran Leshan Santamu.  He is six months old and has a hole in his heart that cannot be repaired in Kenya.  Ifran needs to be transported to India with his mother where the procedure will be performed.

Ifran’s condition is called COMPLEX CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE (A-V CANAL DEFECT).  We confirmed from the doctor that his condition is grave and the prognosis is not good without the procedure.  Normally this type of condition should be addressed within the first three months.  Ifran is six months old.

The total cost for the operation and travel expenses is estimated to be $15,000.

The community is raising funds from friends, family, and the ranches in the local area to help cover the costs.

We also have the commitment from two of the US Executives to match funds if required.

We’d appreciate your prayers for Ifran and his family.  We’d also appreciate any financial support that you feel you can provide.

Blessings,

Kurt

“We did home visits today.  It was like stepping into National Geographic.  At this time of year, they are in ceremonies when the boys become men.  There are lots of celebrations going on in the community and the young men are dressed in their tribal garb, getting trained.  It was stunning for all of us to meet a Samburu warrior and his “trainer” – dressed in full traditional wear with spear and hunting knife while out in the middle of nowhere.” – Stacy- November 2011

Sign up for your Trip to Kenya today!

The 410 Bridge Trips Department is looking for an intern to serve with us during the summer of 2012! After reviewing the details below, if you are interested, please contact juli@410bridge.org for an application!

DATES:
Internship dates are flexible but the ideal timeframe for the internship will be May – August. There will also be 4 – 5 required training dates during March and/or April.

DEADLINES:
All applications are due to the 410 office by February 15. Upon receiving your application, 410 will follow up with you by email or phone to let you know if we’d like to set up an in person or phone interview. We would like to have all interviews completed and our intern selected by the end of February.

Please fill out the attached application and mail it back to The 410 Bridge office along with a copy of your resume.

The 410 Bridge
35 Old Canton St.
Alpharetta, GA 30009
ATTN: Stacy Williams
RE: Trips Dept. Internship

INTERNSHIP DETAILS:
Here are some important points to note as you are thinking through your summer and spring plans:

The 410 Bridge trips department experiences the bulk of the trips volume during the summer season. Our ability to have a trips intern come into the office for 4-5 training sessions before May will be crucial to the success of this internship. Ideally, we would like to have the intern in for a few days during March and a few day in April but we are flexible with the actual dates of availability during those months.

We are looking for an person with a strong desire to learn a skill set including: administrative tasks, high attention to details, deadline conscious, comfortable with a fast paced environment, and ease with multi-tasking. We need the type of person that will be willing to seek out opportunities to assist the trips team on their own as they have free time during the work day – a self-motivated type.

Here are some of the of tasks the trips department intern may encounter this summer:
Answer phones & emails / direct calls and messages to the appropriate staff members
Learn 410 Trip FAQS in order to provide information to those interested in taking a trip with our organization
Keep summer deadlines in mind and alert trips department when you see a deadline approaching for upcoming trips
Assist with team meetings – prepare meeting documents & information packets, arrange conference calls, collect forms, run errands, take notes, & assist with follow up
Manage team first aid kits and 410 issued cell phones
Assist with team preparation by shipping packets & filing forms
Keep track of team release forms as they come into the 410 office
Oversee team registration pages and provide weekly updates on team sizes and changes to trips department staff