June 2026

Jambo!

Here in Kenya, things are going well. The weather is a little strange, though. We’re supposed to be in the rainy season, but we haven’t seen a drop of rain in several weeks. I know many of the farmers are getting nervous, as their maize is in the ground and desperately needs water. We’d appreciate your prayers for rain.

Around the home, things are going well. We’ve had a few projects underway recently. I think I’ve already told you about our new kitchen. We’ve been using it for about six months now, and it has been a tremendous blessing. Having adequate space, a serving window, and a layout designed for efficiency makes feeding 300 people – and over 400 on school days – so much smoother.

Speaking of pleasant places to be, most of you know that we were blessed with a house, which we moved into about a year and a half ago. It has been wonderful to watch it gradually become a home.

The yard is finally starting to come together. In fact, the lawn was mowed for the very first time the other day, which felt like a milestone! Flowers, shrubs, and other plants are beginning to fill in, and we’ve recently planted about twenty fruit trees. Right now they’re only about three feet tall, but everything has to start somewhere. It will be fun to watch them grow over the coming years, and hopefully they’ll produce plenty of fruit as well.

The house itself is just perfect for the two of us. We even have a guest room, which means we’re looking forward to welcoming more visitors, especially our grandkids, in the future and sharing this beautiful place with them.

This home has truly been a blessing as Jeff and I get older. It provides a peaceful place to rest and recharge at the end of each day. Having a comfortable place to come home to helps lower our stress levels, gives us a chance to unwind, and enables us to keep on keeping on. We are very grateful for this gift and for all those who helped make it possible.

Please pray for wisdom as they seek the best way forward. As you know, water is critical and it takes a tremendous amount of water to operate a children’s home where more than 240 children live, a farm to feed those children, and a school where over 400 students attend. We appreciate your prayers!

In the childcare department, we’ve recently welcomed quite a few new children. I don’t know why it seems to happen this way, but there are often long stretches when no new children arrive, and then suddenly it feels like we’re receiving a new child every week.

For the past several years, we’ve generally had fewer than a dozen children who were not yet old enough for school. Here in Kenya, children begin school at age three, so those are our littlest ones. Recently, however, that number has grown to nearly 20! That’s a lot of little feet running around, but they are so much fun!

As busy as it keeps us, we truly enjoy having these children with us. One of the most rewarding parts of what we do is watching children who have experienced unspeakable trauma begin to heal.

When many of these children first arrive, you can see the uncertainty in their eyes. They seem to be waiting for something to go wrong because they’ve never known stability. Many have never lived in a place where they know they will receive three meals every day. They’ve never experienced a safe environment where they can simply play, make friends, and be children. Survival has been their way of life.

Right now, we have several children who are in this transition process. Little by little, we’re watching them become less focused on survival and more able to simply enjoy being kids. They begin to feel safe. They start to trust. They laugh more. They play more. They discover what childhood is supposed to be like.

Seeing that transformation is deeply rewarding and is one of the things that keeps us going.

Rescuing children is certainly part of our calling, but our goal is much bigger than simply bringing them into a safe environment. We want to give God room to work in their lives so they can break free from the cycles that have often affected their families for generations.

Many of our children come from situations marked by poverty, addiction, abuse, abandonment, or instability. These struggles are often passed from one generation to the next, making it incredibly difficult for families to break free from them.

I often tell our children that God has rescued them from something, even if they don’t remember what it was because they were so young when they came to us. He has given them an opportunity to break those generational chains and begin a new story. Here they can grow up in a Christian environment, receive a good education, learn the value of hard work, and prepare for a future filled with possibilities.

I want them to understand that growing up in a children’s home is not simply about receiving food, clothing, and shelter. It is part of God’s plan for their lives. He has given them an opportunity to move forward, build strong families of their own, and create a different future for generations to come.

We’re beginning to see some of our older students understand this more clearly. As our college and university students enter the wider world, many are gaining a deeper appreciation for the opportunities God has given them through growing up here. Watching them recognize His hand in their lives is an incredible blessing and encouragement to all of us.

Lately, my heart has been especially heavy for young people – not just here in Kenya, but around the world.

A few weekends ago, I spent much of a day praying, listening to worship music, thinking, and doing a little reading about some of the challenges this generation is facing. The more I reflected on it, the more I realized that many of the struggles we’re seeing are not unique to Kenya or America. They seem to be appearing everywhere.

Young people today are growing up in a very different world than the one many of us knew. They are constantly surrounded by comparisons, competing expectations, endless information, and voices telling them who they should be and what they should have. It seems to create a tremendous amount of pressure, confusion, and dissatisfaction.

Here in Kenya, we’ve seen several heartbreaking incidents in recent years (and months) involving unrest in high schools, including tragedies where students have burned school buildings and dormitories. These events are devastating for everyone involved and leave many people searching for answers.

I don’t pretend to have those answers. I know that adolescence has never been easy, and I know that every generation faces its own unique challenges. Yet it does seem that today’s young people are carrying burdens that previous generations never had to navigate. The influence of social media, in particular, has become impossible to ignore. Young people are more connected than ever before, yet many seem to feel increasingly isolated, anxious, and uncertain.

As I prayed about these things, I found myself thinking less about behavior and more about the condition of the heart. Young people need hope. They need purpose. They need to know that their value is not determined by likes, followers, possessions, or popularity. They need to know that they are loved by God and created for a purpose far greater than anything the world can offer.