Our First Day!

Ok, in case anyone is wondering, yes I am serving Chuck and Robert! I told Pauline that I had stopped doing that the minute I hit Nairobi going home but would begin being the African woman once again. After a late breakfast our first stop was the Acacia (the supermarket) for some supplies and sweets for the kids. We were told that the workers at the Acacia were wondering when they should start stocking sweets again and Pauline told them NOW since we were landing that very day! Then it was off to the Academy and it was so exciting! I even forgot to get my video camera out for the welcome program but I so enjoyed it that you’ll just have to trust me that it was fantastic. But I do have pictures for you! (and here’s one of me using my new camera!) Hugs were handed out like sweets and it was glorious to be with them again. I thank God for this opportunity to be with His children again. I can’t speak for Robert but I believe he had a great time too. While we were touring the Academy with Robert he made some new friends and even served them dinner! Pauline and Ruth were quite surprised to see Robert’s interest in the kitchen and when I told them he cooks at home they couldn’t believe that a man would be in the kitchen.
It was such a joy to see our Kenyan family again and get right back into life with them. Thank you Father for your love, your work in our lives and the opportunity to share that love with these children. I look forward to sharing more stories and pictures with you soon. God is good all the time!

Travel Day

First a big thank you to everyone who helped get our luggage to the airport at 3 a.m. (Joe and Allen you know who you are), my kids and Rachael for coming out so early to see her husband off to Kenya. We were very thankful that God gave us a cordial person at the Northwest counter where we had to check in 30 pieces of luggage! We had over 2100 lbs going with us – and praise God for His providence! After that we just had to wait for our plane to depart. That's Robert admiring the "big plane" like a kid! Robert and I took some motion sickness meds (I did not want another Heathrow experience for me or Robert!) and we were on the flight to Detroit. No issues there really because it’s a short flight (4 hours) compared to the next flight of 8 hours and then another for 9 hours! Rachael he did great on all flights – a little sleep deprived but relieved when it was finally over. We got our visas, corralled our luggage (all our luggage - Praise God!) and found Gideon and Pauline. Then it was about an hour drive to the academy to drop off most of the luggage. That took another hour then we were finally able to go home and there we found an extension on our home for Robert! I'll get photos of that later. So now he has his own bedroom and bathroom for privacy. Gideon and Pauline worked feverishly for a month getting it ready because they wanted to make their visitors feel comfortable. And Pauline said that when Robert brings his wife and kids back they will have a home to come to! We had a very late dinner (around 1:30am) then it was off to bed. It was so exciting to see Gideon and Pauline again! Now I can’t wait to see the kids tomorrow. Please pray that this trip is in line with what God has for us to do.

Almost ready!

As you can see we had quite a jumble of stuff in our living room for a couple of days while we packed the 1 ton of material going with us! But after it was all said and done we have 30 lugagges/boxes going with us. Magie (the director of Eldama Ravine Children's Village) came by to see all that God has provided for the orphanages and we praised God for His providence and faithfulness. Thank you to everyone who donated items for us to take with us. Please pray that all the items make it to Nairobi from begining to end. Now we are doing last minute details, getting our carry-ons packed and spending time with the kids before taking off. Thank you for your continued prayers that this ministry remain in God's will. I look forward to greeting my kids again at Nice View and meeting my new children at Eldama Ravine and Mercy Child Foundation. Watch the blog for pictures (from my new dontated camera - thank you Jeanne!) and updates from the orphanages. What a safari (journey) God has brought to us and I want you all to be able to participate with us even if it is only through pictures. God is good all the time and that is His nature!

Leaving again!

I can't believe it is coming up so fast! We leave August 12 at 2:30 in the morning! We are going to start packing and getting our literal TON of stuff organized to go. As you can see our garage and closet are full and ready to be packed! Thank you to everyone who donated items to go with us. I can't wait to see the children's faces when they get their new clothes, books, toys, sports equipment and shoes. Not to mention all the school supplies also going with us. I found out last week that since Nice View Academy has been in existence they have placed 27th or 28th (out of 28 schools) overall for their testing scores. Their last scores for the first half of the year they placed 3rd! We were told this is because of several reasons: 1) they now have adequate school supplies. 2) more text books (instead of 20 children sharing a text book it's now only 4 children sharing). 3) the teachers have adequate teaching tools and that makes them excited to teach and 4) the children have seen that someone cares about them and their future (all of us but ultimately God) and this makes them ready to learn and want to better themselves. They now have hope for the future because God touched your heart and you were moved to help. Thank you for all your support, financially and physically, and please continue to pray that God's will be done in this ministry.

Experience Kenya!

What an event! God was so gracious and present during the evening. Chuck was very ill and wasn't able to make the event, but he got several stories over this last week on how much everyone enjoyed themselves. Thank you so very much to all who stepped up to the plate and helped. The Kingdom Dancers United were wonderful and Magie Kigen did a great job of letting people experience a little part of her life, including Eldama Ravine Children's Village. Tarrin did a great job of organizing things before, during and after - a big THANK YOU TARRIN! Overall the event raised approximately $1500 and four children were sponsored as a result of the evening! Praise God for His faithfulness and His providence provided through you - thank you!

Our announcement for Experience Kenya

Thank you Tarrin for putting this together from the video we brought back in April 2008. She used this as an announcement at church.

A New Look!

Wow, it's been a busy couple of weeks. When you go to the website it has a new look which includes being able to sponsor a child directly from the website! You can see the child's photo, read some background information and then go to our secure site to sponsor him/her. You'll be able to correspond and be involved in their life and give hope by showing them that someone cares about them.

We've also begun working with another orphanage in Kenya (Eldama Ravine Children's Village) and look forward to visiting them on our next trip. That trip will begin August 12th and we are hoping to take several boxes with us again. If you go to our website (http://www.savedbygodsgrace.org/) you can sponsor a child, read about Nice View Academy and Eldama Ravine Children's Village, read the most recent newsletter and find out what Saved By God's Grace has done (by God's Grace!). Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Please pray that this ministry continues to be in God's will and protection and that He continue to provide the providence for the children of Kenya.