We are back

We are finally back in the US.  Returning to the US has been different than what we expected.  We have been feeling a little out of place here, but after a few weeks, we are feeling much more normal and are adjusting back to life in the US.  It is difficult to describe the emotions we have been going through.  It has been great seeing friends, family, and our dogs, but we also miss our friends in Kenya and of course the babies at the baby center.  We look forward to hearing about how they are doing.  As we moved in to our new place we have realized just how much stuff that we have.  We have been here for over two weeks and we are still unpacking.  Nicole and I have enough shoes for a small village in Kenya.  It will be a challenge for us to keep living more simply here in the US.  As for what we are doing next, Nicole and I don’t know.  We feel a little lost as to the direction for our lives.  We are looking for jobs and are planning to wait about six months and then evaluate whether we will return right away to Kenya or not.  We are so grateful for all our support while we were in Kenya.  We will be posting many more pictures of our trip on the web in the next few days.  We will post a blog when they are up. ~ Jeremy

The End of Our Term

We have reached the end of our term here in Kenya.  We will be flying out late Tuesday night, October 20th.  Nicole and I are going through a mix of emotions as we are preparing to leave.  We are very excited about seeing our family and friends as well as being in our own culture again.  I personally have been really craving pickles and pretzels.   But we are also leaving behind many friendships we have made with missionaries and Kenyans, and of course, we are leaving the babies at the Baby Center.  We have become so attached to them over the past 9 months.  Saying goodbye will be very hard.  There is so much that we will miss about Kenya: the beautiful animals, the inspirational stories of the missionaries, the smiles, laughs, and sayings of the kids, and the many adventures of Kenya, where you never know what exactly to expect.  I am sure we will never see guards in America carrying bows and arrows or a man walking in the city with about 20 chickens strapped upside-down on his shoulders selling them.  We feel so blessed to have been able to work at the Baby Center, and it has been a privilege to work beside many people who have dedicated their lives to being servants of God.  I am beginning to understand a little more fully what Jesus meant in his favorite phrase found throughout the gospels: “If you keep your life for yourself, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life.”  My wife and I came here to serve as best we could, but we have received so much more than we ever could have given.  As St. Francis of Assisi says truly in his famous prayer, “It is in giving that we receive.”  My wife and I have been blessed in more ways than we could ever have imagined, and we are grateful for all of our supporters who have made this experience possible through their generosity.  Thank you so much. ~ Jeremy

Before & After

One of my favorite parts about living and working at the orphanage is watching how the babies change so rapidly once they are here getting food and attention. Below are pictures of Jesse upon arrival to the Baby Center in March when he was almost 4 months old and weighing only 5 pounds.  Myself, our social worker, and another missionary picked him up from a hospital in Nakuru where he had been abandoned and awaiting a home since birth.

Jesse after 6 months at the Baby Center:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Nicole

Triplets

Last week we got orphaned triplets here at the Baby Center. They are pretty darn cute.  There are 2 boys; Caleb and Benjamin, and 1 girl; Lydia. We are hoping to be able to find a home where they can stay together, but obviously taking on 3 infants is a pretty big task.  They are about 7 weeks old and are small but doing really well. ~Nicole

August is Over

August is finally over, and Nicole and I have finally had a chance to take a few days off.  We were very busy last month because of the youth being on holiday.  After the Losam trip, we had many other youth activities each week, including discussions, movie nights, and a baby center outreach where about 20 youth came to spend time with the babies.  In addition, I was asked to preach the next two Sundays after the Losam trip.  It is safe to say that I was exhausted, though  the experience was also very interesting.  One quick example of this occurred on the second Sunday as I was walking to the pulpit  to begin my sermon.  As I am about to begin, one of the elders came up to the stage and called me to her.  I took a few steps toward her, and she whispered to me that Pastor Meshack, who was away that weekend, had called and wanted to talk to me.  I was caught a little off guard since this was the last thing I expected as I was about to begin my sermon.  I told her the call would have to wait and assured her that Pastor Meshack would understand.  Interruptions are not uncommon during our church service.  In August, we also finished building our brand new ping-pong table thanks to donations from family and the help of a few friends in Kenya.  We ended the month with a day trip to a nearby university, where we played volleyball, badminton, Phase 10, Uno, and many other games with the youth.   We had 36 youth overall and ended the trip with a devotional and time of sharing about the many barriers and challenges we face as  Christians in school, at work, and in our communities.  We, of course, had the many traveling woes, which I am now coming to understand are a necessary part of any youth trip in Kenya, whether I like it or not.  I guess Nicole and I can’t expect not to have adventures here, though I am sure that our “adventures” will be some of our best memories/nightmares of our experience in Kenya.  One thing that we always enjoy is the good laugh we get seeing the many odd things we don’t see in America; such as the Lazarus Funeral Home, or seeing a guy working under his car on the side of the rode while the car is jacked up with two big stones under two of the wheels rather than using a car jack.  Or seeing the “fire equipment” at the AGC Bible School.  Apparently, the school was required to meet certain fire safety specifications, so they added a bucket full of sand near the center of the campus.  Overall, things are going well and after our short rest, we are now preparing for a new sports ministry we have helped to start in our community as well as our church mission trip to Tanzania.   I am a little nervous about it, but I know that the trip will be a once in a lifetime experience.  Nicole is off to Tenwek Hospital (about a 3 hour drive) this evening as one of the babies is very sick.  Please pray for a save journey and for the health of the baby.  She will also be going through surgery in a few weeks because of a problem with her heart.  Nicole and I appreciate all of your support and prayers throughout our stay here in Kenya, and we hope that our short blogs are able to give a small picture of how grateful we are for the opportunities we have had because of so many of our friends and family.  God bless. ~ Jeremy

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  We have been here, there, and everywhere the past few weeks.  This past weekend we were in Nairobi doing immigration stuff and taking a few days rest.  The weekend before that we were at Tenwek Hospital for the World Gospel Field Meeting.  It was nice to get out of the Nakuru area and spend some time with our friends at Tenwek. 

Life at the Baby Center is going well.  We are up to 29 babies.  We had 30, but Joy (whom I had blogged about a few months back) was adopted last week. We have one baby who just returned from Tenwek Hospital.  She was admitted due to some severe cardiac complications accompanied by pneumonia.  About 3 weeks ago we also received a new girl that is about 11 months old and clearly the product of severe abuse.  She finally smiled this week and it’s amazing to see the change in her as she learns that she doesn’t have to be afraid anymore.   

As for our date to return to the U.S., we are still deciding.  Hopefully we will have a decision by next week.  Our 9 months that we originally committed to is up on October 20th, and currently we are scheduled to fly out that day.  We may extend a little longer depending on the needs here at the Baby Center and our funds, but we haven’t decided for sure.  It’s bittersweet as we think about returning to the U.S.  We are anxious to get home to friends and family, but definitely not looking forward to saying goodbye to the kids/babies and some other friends here.  ~Nicole

Faith

A few weeks ago I had blogged about receiving 3 new girls; Faith, Elizabeth, and Deborah.  What I didn’t have a chance to write about was Faith’s story.  Faith was  abandoned in a town about one hour from the Baby Center.  Apparently she had been thrown into a choo (outhouse).  She was thrown down into the hole and left for dead.  Eventually someone heard her down there and called the police to rescue her.  It’s amazing she didn’t drown.  Upon getting her out she was covered in maggots from head to toe.  They said that every orifice of her body had maggots in it and her stomach was bulging and hard from all of the maggots inside.  They took her to a local  hospital for treatment and were able to get her cleaned up and stabilized.  It looks like she was in there for over 24 hours.  Upon receiving her here at the Baby Center she looked mostly normal except her eyes were swollen and one eyelid was drooping.  We took her to Tenwek Hospital to see one of our Missionary ophthalmologists.  He said that her eyelids had grown into her corneas (this was due to the maggots having been in her eyes and causing an  infection).  He was able to cut the lids and cornea apart and we expect her to make a full recovery.  Currently she is doing really well.  ~Nicole