Jambo everyone!

I hope you all are happy and healthy, enjoying nice weather with family and friends! Here in Kenya, we are doing well! The kids are still home from school. The rains have come, giving a huge sigh of relief to the farmers, while at the same time causing floods that are leaving people with nothing! Isn’t that how it is? A blessing to one person can be seen as a curse to another!

Here at the home, we are still on Groundhog Day, except that we have opened up enough to allow our staff to come and go from home to work. What a committed and loyal group of employees we have! I, myself, can hardly imagine staying at work for ten weeks without seeing my family, tending to my farm, taking care of my cows and chickens, etc. Such a sacrifice was made by so many, for the sake of our kids!

As I mentioned, we are no longer on complete lockdown, but are still not totally open, either. After several meetings with the Ministry of Health and the Department of Children’s Services, we have come up with a strategy which will hopefully (and prayerfully) protect our children from the virus, which is growing in numbers daily but has still not reached our area, praise God!

The measures we are taking include the basic recommendations like washing hands and having temperatures taken upon entering the campus. Our Provincial Health Officer (PHO) visited us to teach proper hand washing and temperature taking. 

We are also still receiving supplies at the gate, where the packages are sanitized before entering the campus. No delivery trucks or their drivers actually come inside the gate.  

PHO teaching COVID-19 safety precautions

Our employees have been asked to limit their contact with people and to, as much as possible, just go straight to and from work and home. We are doing whatever we can in an environment where social distancing (within our compound) is pretty much impossible. The thought of Corona entering here is unsettling, to say the least. IF we had an outbreak within the home… I don’t even want to think about it!

On the same day that we partially opened, we had a special lunch to celebrate all of us being back together! It would have been nice to celebrate the end of the COVID-19 threat, but it looks like it’s going to be around for a while. So we celebrate what we can!

Some friends of ours sponsored our reunion celebration by providing meat, sodas, rice, potatoes and special vegetables! Everyone was so happy! It truly was a celebration! 

Now that employees are coming in and out of the campus, it is interesting to watch their interactions. It has been quite difficult for the Kenyan people to adjust to greeting people without shaking hands, which is normally absolutely required! They have come up with all sorts of foot-bumps, elbow-bumps, bowing to one another, etc., as their culture just does not allow a simple wave! It has been fun, but sad to watch.

We continue with homework time, activity time, chore time, soccer time, etc. Have I mentioned Groundhog Day? LOL! The only real difference in our day to day operations is that staff are now back to their regular shifts and departments.
Because I don’t really have anything new to say, I thought you might like to hear from some of the kids! (Keep in mind that I have typed their exact words, which might seem a bit simplistic, as English is their second language.)

Hope Elizabeth, 13 years, Class 7:

When we are at home, I like helping in the kitchen. I also like taking care of the babies. My favorite teacher during homework time is Vero (high school freshman).

Violet, 13 years, Class 7:

I like when we are at home, especially taking care of the babies. I even like working in the kitchen. I don’t like when they have closed school because I miss my teachers. When we are home and we go to homework time, my favorite subject is math, especially when Vero is teaching. (You may recall, Vero is Violet’s older sister.)

Iroo, 14 years, Class 8:

I don’t like that we are home and I miss going to Joshua Blueprint (a ministry in Kitale that offers classes in music, drama, dance and art). I like doing my homework that the teacher brought for me and I like the Form One (high school) kids to help me with my homework. I like that we now have movie nights in the dining tent.

Rohosafi, 12 years, Class 5:

I like helping in Mama Carla’s kitchen every day. I like mopping and washing the dishes. I also like to play games like soccer, if it’s not raining. I miss my teachers, but am happy that we do homework time.

Jose, 12 years, Class 6:

I like to work in the kitchen and at the laundry. I don’t like to work at the dairy or shamba (farm). I like to go to homework time, especially when Benny (high school freshman) is my teacher. My favorite activity is Straight Talk (learning about social issues).

So, as you can see, the kids have pretty much fallen into a routine, each with their favorite places to be and things to do.

Many of you know that Jeff and I (and also fellow missionary, Beth Ann) are active in our local Rotary Club. Living in a developing country means there is no shortage of humanitarian projects to do! Our club has been blessed to partner with a few different Rotary clubs from the west, who are interested in helping the people of our area. One of these clubs is located in Ohio and is particularly interested in helping the people of West Pokot, a semi-arid area a few hours from us.

In West Pokot, there is (or should I say was) a village called Chesogon. A few weeks ago, after heavy rains and floods, a horrible mudslide occurred, wiping out more than 500 homes. Total devastation to an already poor, struggling community! (There are a few videos of the aftermath on YouTube.) Our club, in partnership with Rotary International, the West Pokot County Government and the club in Ohio, put together relief food packages and blankets to be distributed in Chesogon.

It was quite the experience just getting there! Many bridges have been washed away by the flooding, including the one we needed to cross to get to our destination. We had three vehicles filled with supplies and people, but the only vehicle that stood a chance of crossing the river without a bridge was our Land Cruiser. (You can find the video on my Facebook page.) So, we loaded as many of the supplies as we could, plus me and Beth Ann crammed in amongst them and one or two people on top, into the Cruiser and Jeff drove us across the river! 

The other Rotarians had to pay local guys, who have now found a way to make a living by carrying people across the river, to do so! These guys know the river so well that it’s much safer to have them take you across than it is to try to negotiate your own steps through the fast current. Most of our team members don’t know how to swim and were absolutely petrified, but they pulled up their socks (as they say here) and did it for the sake of the project. (Sorry, I don’t have a picture of them being piggy-backed across! I have a few videos, but somehow didn’t think to take a still shot.)

Because not all of the relief supplies fit in the Cruiser, we also had to hire these guys to carry the remaining supplies across the river. Eventually, we all made it to the other side! Next was the challenge of figuring out how to get all of us and the supplies to Chesogon, which was still another hour into the bush! After talking to several locals, we decided that we could hire a car (one of the few that happened to be on that side of the river when the bridge washed away) to carry the supplies that didn’t fit in the Cruiser.  

This still left the challenge of transporting nine people the rest of the way, so we hired five piki-pikis (motorcycle taxis), four of which would carry two Rotarians (plus the driver) and one to carry one Rotarian. (Yes, there was the discussion of which Rotarian was the “biggest bodied” so would ride alone. LOL!) I was very happy to have my seat in the Cruiser, as was Beth Ann, who absolutely does not do pikis! 

That last leg to the delivery point was long and bouncy! I’m not sure what the so-called roads were like before the floods, but suffice it to say that the way they are now, made for a rough ride! But we made it to the distribution venue! Community members and their local chief were waiting for us and the distribution was done in a very orderly manner! All of the recipients went away with smiles on their faces and lots of discussion as to what they were going to cook when they got back home… whatever that meant since they no longer have houses.

We all crowded into the now empty Cruiser and headed back. We crossed the river with no problem, divided ourselves into the three vehicles and headed home. It was a long day (15 hours), but was a good one! There’s just something about helping people who are TRULY in need that seems to put life into perspective!

Many of you have been asking what plans we have for a visit home. As of now, we have no plans at all. Everything depends on the virus and how the Kenyan government chooses to deal with it. At this time, there’s really no choice in the matter, as international flights are still not happening. So, we wait.

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this long updates! Your interest in what is going on here means the world to us!

Thanks also to those of you who pray for us and the kids! That is for sure the biggest way you can help!

Thanks so much to those of you who forward this letter or use other means to spread the word about what God is doing here!

Finally, I want to mention how grateful we are to all of you who support us financially. Without your generosity, none of these children would have been rescued in the first place, and certainly would not have been able to enjoy the safe, loving environment we try to give them!

GIGATT (God is Good All the Time)!

Mama Carla

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