MY JOURNEY CONTINUES IN KENYA!

I recently returned to Kenya after a short holiday with my family in Canada, and then was on my own with the Kenyan staff for about a month! Rachel, the president of Open Arms, and my longtime best friend, just got back from USA last week! Yeh!

Caring for Baby Diana is such a joy in my life. I just love every minute I have with her. She is almost standing on her own, and will be walking very soon! I took her swimming today - SHE LOVES THE WATER, cold or warm, she is game!

The kids at Open Arms Village (Orphanage) are doing great! I have had to do some counseling with the older girls, and will be meeting with them regularly. All of the kids, in one way or another, have had severe trauma that they still deal with, but thankfully, God has rescued them and they are all doing so well surrounded by the LOVE and patience of our Kenyan House Parents and the Open Arms staff.

There are now 27 children, aged 1 1/2 through 14 years at the Village. Construction on 5 Children's homes that will house 16 children, 2 House Parents, and 2 assistant House Parents, is now under way and should be complete by early September.

We just received another little girl this last month, named Beatrice, age 2 years. She was living on the streets with her mother, who would sometimes leave her alone, and she would just wander around on her own looking for food. Her mother is an alcoholic, mentally ill, and not doing very well for herself, so she was not able to take care of Beatrice. When we first received Beattie, she just wanted to stuff food in her mouth as fast as possible, thinking it was the only meal she would get for a long time. Her new Mommy at Tumaini House (Tumaini means "Hope") has been patiently teaching her, and loving her so that she is no longer afraid and feels so secure. Beatrice comes running to me every time I visit and wants to be held the whole time I am there! :) She is a really good little girl and is smiling all the time now.

In the next 3 months, starting Monday!, (June/July/August) we have 5 American & United Kingdom (UK) teams coming to help us build the new children's homes, and to assist us with 2 Medical Camps that we will be providing for the communities here. Part of my job is to manage these teams, so I will be very busy for the next 3 months!!! :) And, my very good friend Reggie is coming to visit me!! YIPPEE! He and another mutual good friend, Brad, are doing a trip through a few African countries and will be stopping in Kenya for a few days in July!! I am SOOOOO excited!! :)

We continue to feed more than 110 children in a local slum community call Kambi Teso. For many of them the meal we bring is the only one they get. Some of the mothers are working to save their money, and keep it safe with us, as many of their husbands are drunks, and steal whatever little they can earn. We are trying to teach them about saving, building a small business, and providing for their children, so they do not have to depend on the feeding program forever.

Two of my biggest sponsors have also enthusiastically decided to support a very special project for the kids of our feeding program. It's rainy season here, and with the rain comes high winds, especially in the Kambi Teso Area where we feed the kids. When it rains and the winds come, the kids have no shelter to go to as we are currently feeding them in a field owned by the local school. So, when they are eating, sometimes the winds takes the plates right out of their little hands, and they cry because they have lost the only food they may get that day. So, we wanted to build a structure in their community that could serve as a shelter for the program but could also assist the local school with more space. Thanks to generous support of my kind sponsors in the USA, we are now preparing to build a structure, that will resist the wind and rain, and give them shade from the sun while they eat. The team coming this week from America will be building it this Tuesday! The kids, and the community are so excited and thankful!

Also, I wanted to let you all know, if you are interested, to check out my profile for the Canadian Organization, Possibilities International - go to www.possibilitiesinternational.com(click on "Kenya" link on home page) that I am representing while in Kenya as well....always have to keep a few plates spinning! :) I am a volunteer agent for them, identifying key humanitarian needs and projects that average people can give toward and see a big difference, and a life changed. So, we are looking at special projects with the kids, and with the single mothers that are raising the kids in Kambi Teso.


I am so honored to be a part of what God is doing here in Kenya through Open Arms & Possibilities International, and I am so grateful for the support from my friends and family who are joining me in this journey. I know that I could not do it without your prayers, love, and generous support!