Dearest Friends & Family,
We are glad to report that we made it to Kenya safely late last night! (Monday, 5/26) We are so thankful to report that we got so many donations from everyone – from school supplies like notebooks and pencils – to clothing and shoes for the children, as well as the teaching staff and administration (men and ladies) – as well as other generous gifts, like bedding and more. This blessed us so much – the only challenge was figuring out how to take all the overabundance on this one trip, vs. having to take some of it on a subsequent trip. Well, I’m happy to report, based on my wife’s ingenuity, we got all of our personal belongings packed in our carry-on and personal bags, and all 10 of our allowed bags (2 per person), along with 2 additional bags, could be used for donations, alone. At one point we thought we’d have to take around 15 bags, so this is great! We did try to use our non-profit status at Dulles to get 2 free additional bags, but that was for naught; however, God was not without an answer – the exact donations you all gave in response to this potential need was met, and we were able to cover the cost of those additional bags – so we wanted to say “Thank you”! (also a big shout out to my sister-in-law Tami, Toby and Anne for driving us to Dulles, helping us cart all these heavy bags into the airport, and staying with us while we got checked in; and Toby prayed over us as we departed)
The flights were great, and Tom got to meet a Kenyan who had lived in Holland the past 20 years and was going back for a homegoing with his adult daughter for several months. Tons of great discussions on the flight. Then we got to Kenya late Monday night (local time here) and made it through customs, without incident. We got through very easily and didn’t have to pay any duties! We did tip the nice gentleman who was airport staff who helped us, and we learned from Pastor Samuel later that we flew into the gate at the airport here that has the best flow of people and luggage, that usually experiences less scrutiny – praise be to God!
Your financial contributions have also been so wonderfully felt! We are now in prayer for how God will use these.
Most of our day on Tuesday on the ground here in Kenya was spent talking and praying over the plan for the next two weeks, as a family of (our) 5 and our good friend here, Pastor Samuel. (of course, this was only after sleeping in, since our bodies needed a bit of rest to adjust, so we didn’t rouse until nearly noon today, lol) Once up and going for the day, we got to visit one of our favorite places here – Amani Ya Juu, right in the city center of Nairobi. We first came here in 2007 when my sister-in-law Kim was first adopting my nephew and niece (14 months and 4 years old respectively at the time), and was living in-country as part of a 9-12 month stay. (side note: they are now 18 and 22 and I feel so old! I also have two other nephews in that family who are siblings – Jasiri (which means “courage” and Amani, which means “peace”))
But back to Amani Ya Juu – It’s a beautiful shop run by ladies in ministry for the Lord, selling clothing and other wares, all as part of a recovery program for women who have come out of indescribable circumstances. (please ask Rebecca about the ministry sometime when we get back home) They also serve food and the most amazing Kenyan coffee and tea there in this idyllic garden area, where they also have a small playground for children – where I still remember my nephew and niece playing back in 2007. It brought back such memories for us today to be there. Here’s their website to read more and see some pictures:
https://amaniafrica.org/pages/kenya?srsltid=AfmBOoqfdAIllh0vTiEc4dj3nrq6spWSAiKc-WxtSjyyTSuI9HpOQ9-2
(see Rebecca’s good friend, Maggie – bottom right picture of this page – she’s still there and we saw her today! She gave all of us big hugs 🙂 )
https://www.amanigardencafe.org
So we chatted, ate, sipped, and talked about the school and the ministry of the church there in Soweto/Kayole. (the slum/village where we serve here in Nairobi) The Lord began to open up our eyes to many needs there – for some well maintenance (to the well the Lord allowed us to be a part of raising the funds for and seeing installed first-hand in 2009), and some school building projects (computer and science labs) to support some new standards the Kenyan government is putting into place beginning next school year. These are two areas we are praying about and planning for in the coming days.
Please be praying for how the Lord will lead in these areas. We need His help so that we will walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We want our contribution – and your contribution – to be in His hands, done by His will, and not ours.
I’m reminded of this scripture as I think of everyone back home:
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
Philippians 1:3-6
We’re heading to bed now, and tomorrow will be our first day on site at the school. Praying for a wonderful day of fellowship and connection – or re-connection – with friends there.
But before we go, here are some quick pictures to share from today at the café, along with our friend, Pastor Samuel. It was beautiful weather – and then the monsoon rains came! But we were under the canopy – had to do a little maneuvering, but nothing major that interfered with our planning and fellowship time.
