Jambo Everyone!
As always, Iāll start out talking about the weather. It has been raining most days, which is great for the farms, gardens, and MY favorite: flowers! A few months ago, I promised that in an upcoming letter, I would complain about the mud! LOL! Well, honestly, it hasnāt been that bad! My biggest complaint about it is the big paw prints on my carpet, courtesy of Hemi! Thatās ok! Heās worth it! Iāll just get through rainy season the best I can, then Iāll take my rugs to the car wash to be pressure washed!
I am so proud of our almost grown-up kids! We now have nine in college/university! Five of them just started so I canāt really comment on how they are doing, but the other four, who have just completed their first year, are doing so well! They are all taking their studies seriously and loving the college experience!
Back in February, we hosted our first College and Career Day here on the In Step Academy campus. The event was spearheaded by part-time missionary, Tammie Myslivecek, who had been working on it for almost a year! This first year was quite a struggle for her as the people she was trying to work with really had no clue what it was she wanted to accomplish. They had never attended such an event and were having trouble catching the vision. But they cooperated and did all that Tammie asked them to do, and it all came off wonderfully! Next year will be easier, as the team now knows what they are shooting for!
At the event, we had only four colleges represented. Iām not sure how many Tammie invited, but again, I think they just didnāt get it. We were happy to welcome Daystar University; where we have six students at the moment, Eldoret Polytechnic; where we have one student, Strathmore University and a local beauty school where a number of our girls hope to attend. All of them gave good presentations, handed out brochures, answered questions, etc.
Also at the event, we had a number of professionals from all walks of life, who talked to the students about the pros and cons of their chosen careers. Representatives from the medical field, farming community, businessmen, the beauty sector, tradesmen, artists, etc. gave presentations and answered questions!
Probably the biggest highlight of the day was when the Vice Chancelor of Daystar University addressed the kids. He told of how God had taken him out of Kibera Slum as a young boy and had given him the opportunity for an excellent education. He encouraged the kids to take advantage of the chance they have been given and to take their education seriously. The kids were spellbound, hanging on his every word!
We had invited other childrenās homes to bring their high-schoolers and all of the students had a great time, sharing lunch and a bit of playing soccer, before the event started. (Our kids love to hang out with kids from other childrenās homes. Thereās no stigma, no questions about what itās like to be an orphan, etc. We try to give them the chance to spend time together as often as possible!)
Anyway, it was a great day! I especially appreciate Tammie for all the hard work and perseverance to make it happen! Canāt wait to do it again next year!
As of late, I have been noticing, seemingly out of nowhere, a maturity in some of our older kids, especially the boys. I have had some pretty deep conversations with both individuals and groups and have been amazed by their newfound understanding of life! Anyone who has parented teenagers knows the feeling! Itās like you spend their whole lives trying to get certain concepts acrossā¦ things like: Life isnāt fair. Respect goes a long way. Hard work brings results. The future is sooner than you might think. Etc. Then one day, they come to you with these life-changing, majestic epiphanies, like they thought of it all on their own!
The truth is, I donāt care how they came to these wise conclusions! Iām just happy that itās finally happening for some of them! I suspect that one factor in this wonderful transformation is seeing their brothers and sisters starting to make it in life. Itās like they can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and realize they better grow up and get ready! Seeing others being off at college, doing well, loving life, fitting into society, succeeding, maybe has added a level of confidence in these boys! They are picturing their futures and seem almost excited to put in the work to get where they want to be, step one being graduating high school! I pray that it lasts and that they donāt get discouraged! Some of these kids have the potential to change the world!
Some of you have been asking how Joanie is doing. (For those of you who donāt know, Joanie was born completely deaf. One month before her 3rd birthday, she underwent cochlear implantation and the following two and a half years have been quite the journey!) Joanie is doing extremely well learning to talk, building vocabulary, stringing together sentences, etc. She loves school, which really helps her progress! She continues to have speech therapy over Zoom and Nurse Abby works with her every day too. She is now in kindergarten and is thriving academically! She is extremely outgoing and makes friends easily. It is so fun to watch her growth, especially where speech is concerned!
Tomorrow, baby Alan will visit the audiologist. We are suspecting hearing loss, especially in the left ear. Itās funny how our experience with Joanie has made us more aware! She was more than a year old before we figured out that she couldnāt hear! Alan doesnāt ābaby babbleā much… neither did Joanie, but we didnāt notice. Iāll let you know what we find out about Alan.
Jeff is as hardworking as ever! Lots of stuff going on all the time, and unfortunately, a lot of it is stuff nobody but Jeff can deal with. Heās on the run and scrambling from morning to night, every single day! Please pray for God to send someone, a missionary volunteer type of person, to take a bit off his plate! We have an excellent Kenyan staff, but there are certain things that, for accountability reasons, must be handled by either Jeff or myself (mostly Jeff). We have been praying for years that God would send a younger couple to work alongside Jeff and me, who could gradually learn the ropes and eventually, over a period of ten or fifteen years, take over as directors. I know thatās a pipe dream, but nothing is impossible for God!
Thanks again for your prayers and other support! As Iāve said before, God has put together an amazing team!
God Is Good All The Time (GIGATT),
Mama Carla