Our Growing Family:
I wanted to welcome more children into our home when I was in Kenya. However, when we went to Nairobi Children’s Home we were told there were no babies anywhere. I was shocked, but at the same time it was good news for the country of Kenya. I called Pastor Samson and he said he knew there were actually many children that needed homes. We had the blessing of visiting a home in Nairobi where we met Douglas and his sister Damaris. I originally planned to look for children one or younger, but I didn't want to separate Douglas and Damaris just because Damaris is supposedly 2 1/2. We also found out about a three month old baby girl that is at the Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi. We are hoping she will join our family at Into Abba's Arms as well.
Our New Kitchen and Dining Hall:
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who supported us and helped build and equip our beautiful new kitchen! It was such blessing to see the finished kitchen and dining hall. We are told we have the best kitchen in Kenya. Due to the heavy rains we never had the opportunity to “officially” dedicate the new building, but we plan to do that sometime soon. The staff started using the kitchen two days prior to our departure. I think it was a bit intimidating for the staff at first as they had become so accustomed to the small old kitchen we’ve had for the past 10 years. The children loved their new dining hall. The older boys convinced us right away to move a small TV to the dining hall so they could watch the 7:00 news. It’s a good hang out place for them to get away from the younger children for a while. I cried when the tables and benches were moved in. It’s all so nice and such a blessing.
IDP camp:
The 3rd Annual King's Feast:
Enjoy the slideshow!
When we arrived in Kenya the rainy season had started. We prayed the night before and the morning of the King’s Feast that it wouldn’t rain. Would you believe that is the only day during the time we were there it didn’t rain? It was a beautiful, sunny day. God is so good! Joseph counted 310 people were at the Feast. We had many presentations from visitors: Mike Eden’s Children Home; Flying Kites Children’s Home; the community children that attend the IAA Children’s Chapel; and our own children. There were also many adults from the community that attended the celebration.
Enjoy the slideshow!
Many of you already know we celebrate the King’s Feast first and foremost to celebrate our King of King’s and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Secondly, we honor the memory of our dear friend King Lane who passed away three years ago. He was a blessing to many children in Kenya and he always wanted to make sure they had meat to eat when he visited. We celebrate his memory by slaughtering sheep and goats. This year we had three sheep and one goat. Thank you to the Iverson family for purchasing them!
The older children decorated the church with the supplies that were donated. Thank you to those who gave towards that! This year, Tarin Paradise, our Missions Director, Doris Wilson, a volunteer from West Conroe Baptist Church, and Doug Gifford, a regular volunteer, planned and organized many fun games for the children to participate in. We had a ring toss, bean bag toss, an area with dirt and little shovels and rakes to play with, a fishing game, jump rope, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and much more!
Paul's funeral:
We were grieved to hear that a little boy named Paul who regularly attended the Children's Chapel at IAA passed away. Tarin, Christine, and several of our children attended his funeral. The father also lost his wife recently. Please keep this family in your prayers.
Meet Agnetta:
Agnetta is our new house mom for the younger girls.
She's tall, has a beautiful smile, and the children love her.
Mum Posey:
Posey is not only a loving house-mom for the children at IAA, but she is also a nurse for those in the surrounding community. Day after day I watched as people arrived at the site for care and medications for their illnesses.
Toddlers Welcome Home the Boarders:
It was a special day when the boarders arrived home at IAA. The toddlers were so excited to see them and wanted to help them bring in their very heavy bags.
IAA VOLUNTEERS:
Donna: Donna started a library for the toddlers and reads them a book every night at bedtime. She then lets the children check out a book to read until the next day.
Tarin Paradise: Tarin, IAA’s Mission Director, traveled with Jane to Kenya to organize and prepare for the upcoming teams and visitors that will be coming to IAA this summer. She was also a huge blessing in helping with many other projects, especially with the King’s Feast. We are so blessed to have her and her husband Bill working with IAA.
Doris Wilson: Doris kept up with my fast pace during her time in Kenya and was such a blessing to many. She was always eager to serve and helped with anything that was needed.
Doug Gifford: Doug was with Jane on her first trip to Kenya in 1997, and he came to volunteer at IAA again. Doug blessed us with a beautiful new handrail on our stairway.
Jim and Julie Taubitz: We were so blessed to have Jim and Julie as the site supervisors for the dining hall project. Their professional expertise and their love for serving the Lord was apparent and very appreciated.
Daryl Whiteman and Richard Coleman: We were blessed to have a quick visit by our Missions Society friends, Daryl, the Vice President for mission mobilization, and Richard, the director of mobilization.
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