February 2026
Jambo!
How is the weather where you are? I know – I always seem to start with the weather! But here in Kenya, it has become so much less predictable than it used to be. The timing of the rains, when they start and stop, and how long they last – it all seems to change from year to year.
This year, the rains came very early. They started in February, when normally we don’t expect them until the end of March or even the beginning of April. Because of that, farmers have been scrambling to get their maize planted. Some planted just before a huge downpour and had their seeds and fertilizer washed away. Others waited for the rain and are now trying to plant in heavy mud. It’s a challenge either way, and every year it becomes a guessing game. You don’t want to plant too early and have no rain for germination, but you also don’t want to plant during a heavy rain and watch everything wash away. Still, somehow the farmers always manage to figure it out – they are incredibly resilient, and each season they do their best with the conditions they are given.
I think I mentioned before that we had 16 of our kids graduate from high school this year, which is a huge milestone for them and for our home. Now the real work begins as they decide what comes next.
Tammie has been an incredible help with our graduates. She works with each student one-on-one, helping them think through their interests, abilities, and what courses might lead to a marketable career. She’s helping them choose a course of study, register at a college or university, and work through all the logistics involved in getting started. Most of the students will begin school in May, so between now and then Tammy is also helping them find places to serve in short-term positions or internships with businesses related to the fields they plan to study.
Volunteer missionaries Dean & Tammie Myslivecek of Redfield, NY
This gives them something productive to do, but it also lets them spend time around people already working in those professions and get a feel for the industry. And who knows – some may spend a few weeks there and realize, “Nope, that’s not the direction I want to go after all!” If that happens, it’s much better to discover it now before committing to a course of study. We are incredibly grateful for Tammie’s hard work, experience, and wisdom in guiding our young people. It has been a huge help to me personally to hand this process over to someone so capable and know that our graduates are being thoughtfully guided as they step into the next stage of their lives.
Learning new skills for the road ahead. One of our graduates practicing with the technology he’ll use in college and beyond.
I have mixed emotions and feelings as this group prepares to leave home! The majority of them seem to be totally ready for the responsibilities that come with adulthood. They are confident and capable, ready to blaze their own trail! But a few of them still seem a bit immature for what we all know is coming! These few seem to think that being an adult simply means owning a phone and doing what you want. It hasn’t yet hit them that they are about to enter a whole new world; one which requires responsibly handling money, willingly and regularly attending classes, studying during “free time”, etc.
For some, the transition into college life will be a smooth one, while for others, I suspect a bumpy road might be waiting!
Meanwhile, Dean, whom we jokingly call our “Superintendent of Schools,” has been investing a lot of time at In Step Academy. He works closely with the teachers, helping them incorporate more digital learning into their classrooms and lesson plans. Dean is a retired high school teacher, and he is full of passion for education – for teaching, for students, and for supporting teachers. He has been helping with professional development, introducing different teaching methods, and even guiding teachers in co-teaching strategies.
His input has been a real blessing. It encourages our teachers to stay excited about their work and their students, and it’s wonderful to see that enthusiasm passed on to the children as they learn and succeed.
Tyson, age 2
I also want to tell you about little Tyson. Tyson came to our home last summer in really poor health. He had pneumonia, chest problems, no appetite, and was severely malnourished. On top of that, he has a physical condition that we hadn’t focused on until now because we were so focused on getting his general health where it needed to be.
Thankfully, Tyson is now healthy, stronger, and doing much better. That has allowed us to turn our attention to his right foot, which was severely burned when he was an infant.
The burn wasn’t properly treated, and as a result, during healing, the toes curled under and grew to the ball of his foot. He walks with a limp and has very poor balance. When walking, he puts all his weight on his heel instead of the weight being distributed across the sole of the foot – something that could cause even more problems as he grows.
The doctors have recommended surgical correction. The plan is to separate and straighten his toes and use skin from his abdomen to reconstruct the sole of his foot. Tyson has learned to walk, but the surgery will dramatically improve his mobility and balance, and enhance his quality of life – allowing him to run, play, and enjoy life without the limitations this deformity would otherwise cause.
We have a preliminary appointment with the surgical team on April 10th, at a hospital about six hours from home. Our nurse will accompany Tyson to meet with the plastic surgeon and plan the procedure. After that, we’ll know more about the surgery, recovery, and physical therapy needed. This surgery is life-changing for Tyson, and we are so grateful to those of you who helped with the cost of surgery and the hospital stay.
Finally, I’ll end on a fun note with some photos of our kids! A friend of the ministry gave a Christmas present of inline skates for the older kids and a small electric car for the littles, and they are absolutely loving them. I cannot believe how fast they’ve learned to skate – they just flat get after it. I’m not going to be getting on the skates myself, and they probably don’t believe me when I tell them that I used to skate pretty well! But I do have a great time watching them master the skates!
The littles get so excited when we announce that it’s time to drive the car, which is equipped with a bluetooth speaker so that, with the help of auntie’s phone, they can blast music while driving, just like Baba Jeff! LOL!
A huge thank you to the friend who made the skates and car possible, and to all of you – some of you have supported us for years, and some have just recently joined our team. God has built a beautiful family around this ministry, caring for and providing a future for these children. God bless you all and thank you for reading my long letter.
God Is Good All The Time (GIGATT),
Mama Carla