| William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, “If I thought I could win one more soul to the Lord by walking on my head and playing the tambourine with my toes, I’d learn how!” While we may not attempt such a feat, we share a passion with William for those who have not yet come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. In January, we continued to share the Good News of abundant life in Christ (John 10:10) by distributing Bibles, painting Scriptures on structures, rewarding youngsters for memorizing verses, and showing The Life of Jesus film at boarding schools. People have commented on the uniforms children are often wearing in pictures, noting they give the impression of a fancy prep school. While most Kenyan schools are extremely poor, they require uniforms to avoid shaming students who do not have adequate clothing. Both schools we visited this month require the children to wear uniforms. While one school’s uniforms appear quite fashionable and the others are merely mismatched yellow tee shirts, they achieve a common goal – fostering a sense of belonging and unity. We put the finishing touches on the new latrines at Kongoni Secondary School in January. The stylish uniforms the children are wearing belie the pitiful condition of the sinking latrines we replaced. We also completed a rainwater catchment system at the facility. Formerly, the school’s only source of water was a community well, where buckets are lowed down a wide shaft to obtain water. This dangerous and time-consuming method of getting water only provided a tiny ration of water per child, so the two 5000-gallon tanks are especially welcome. |
We visited the Hill Base School for the first time in January. This privately-owned school is in the small town of Kiserian in Kajiado County. The administrator, Susan, a teacher herself, started the school since Kajiado County had few educational opportunities for children. The indigenous people, the Maasai, are nomadic, and they often do not keep their children in school. The school survives on gifts from well-wishers, so the clothes and other items Immaculate distributed were much needed and greatly appreciated.
Other Activities in January
- Collected almost one thousand books to send to Kenya from a local church that is closing its library
- Provided compassion funds for those with extraordinary needs
- Provided funding to convert the two containers we previously sent to Kenya into a permanent home for Kenny, Immaculate, and Diana. This is our thank you to Immaculate for her five years of unpaid service to the ministry.
- Planned for Caitlin’s trip to Kenya in February. She will spend 12 days with Immaculate visiting orphanages and schools, taking pictures, inspecting the projects Hydromissions co-sponsored with us, and assessing ground conditions for potential wells. Although she has traveled all over the world, sleeping on the ground and bare floors, in huts, tents, and even a grain storage shed with rats, spending two days in a container house will be a new experience for her.
Many thanks to each of you who prays for our ministry, donates items, provides financial support, and gives time to help with the work of the ministry. We are grateful for all those who enable us to continue sowing seeds of life in 2022 (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Blessings,
Kathy Carlin, Executive Director
