Jambo everyone!

I hope you are all doing well! I have been seeing posts about unpredictable weather on that side. Ours has also been different than usual, but we did get a few weeks of “dry season” in February! (Dry season normally lasts about three and a half months!) I must admit, it’s nice to have some days when my solar powered hot water actually gets warm!

I know that many of you are following the high school kids’ stories. Well, we were blessed to have them home for a visit for a week during their half term break! They all seem to be doing well and enjoying their schools. Each of them said they are making friends and getting settled in well! Even so, they have had a few challenges. Vero and CJ have been struggling with climate a bit as Vero is in a place where it’s quite a bit hotter than she’s used to and CJ is where it’s colder than what he’s used to. Benny had a uniform shirt stolen so has been having to wash his one remaining shirt at night, lay it out under his mattress then put it on, still damp, in the morning. All of them have lost a bit of weight, which isn’t surprising…boarding schools are not famous for their food!

We had two big projects going on this month! First, I’ll tell you about the much needed dining hall. Construction is almost finished! We decided to go with an open-air tent type structure, which will make the space more versatile! This way, we can lower all the side panels when it’s cold and rainy and raise them when it’s hot! 

Although it’s basically a tent, it will have four hand-washing sinks, electric lights and outlets, and a drainage system so it won’t flood during rainy season. The kids and staff are so very excited! Next week, we will get started building the tables and benches. I want to thank “The Dans,” our Sites & Facilities committee and our donors for all you’ve done over the past two years to make this come to fruition!

Tami Silk is also here right now, as she usually is this time of year. This year, she came with a particular mission in mind: SEWING! She planned months ahead so she would be ready to get right on her projects, but alas, this is Kenya. The money to buy the machine had already been donated, all that needed to be done was to order the machine. She and Jeff looked online and found several distributors who advertised that they had plenty of machines to choose from – WRONG! 

 Evidently, common practice is to advertise what you don’t have, then try to convince the potential customer to take a lesser product that is already in stock. Ugh! Poor Tami was so frustrated that she couldn’t get going on all the projects she had planned!  Finally, after about a month, she and Jeff were able to locate a satisfactory machine and she is now sewing away to her heart’s content! We appreciate her creativity and ability to make our space more beautiful and comfortable! Tami has also been helping us in other ways, such as being that extra driver on-site, helping with duka, painting, etc. The extra set of hands really takes some of the pressure off of our shoulders! 

 

I was personally blessed in a huge way when an anonymous angel blessed me with funds to purchase a beautiful, new refrigerator! My old one had been on its last leg for some time. It would quit… we would empty it out, throwing away what couldn’t be eaten by the dogs… Jeff would mess with it and get it going again… and on and on. I don’t know how someone back home heard about my dilemma, but I’m sure thankful! My new fridge is much bigger than the old one! I was constantly having to arrange and rearrange to fit everything, especially when Jeff would chop up his watermelon. LOL! It also has one of those fancy shelves for meat and cheese, plus the freezer compartment is huge… some of you know how dependent I am on ice cubes! 

What the anonymous angel doesn’t know (I sure hope he or she is reading this!) is they blessed me with enough funds that I was also able to buy myself a washing machine! Can you believe it?! A real, electric washer! Well, it’s not exactly what most of you would consider a “real” washer, as it doesn’t automatically fill or drain the water… you have to do those things manually. You fill the tub with water, add soap and run the cycle. Then you come back and drain the water, fill it again for rinse (repeat if you want an extra rinse), then move the clothes to the second tub for spinning. So, it’s not exactly like at home, but after 17 years of hand washing, I am totally stoked! Thank you to this Anonymous Angel!

Along with all the good news, there’s usually some bad. Last month, our amazing head teacher lost his young wife. The entire community was in shock, as she was only 28 years old and a very healthy and strong lady! She left behind a little girl in kindergarten and a baby boy, not yet a year old. It’s always a tragedy when someone leaves us suddenly, but when it could have been preventable (and we don’t know if that was the case), it’s doubly sad.

She became sick very suddenly! Her husband rushed her to hospital where they said she needed emergency blood transfusions, before running tests to find the problem. The local hospital did not have any blood in their blood bank, so arrangements had to be made to transfer her to a hospital two hours away. It was late at night so it took some time to make the arrangements and before the ambulance even arrived to transport her, she had passed away. Such a tragedy! We will never know what happened, as the family decided to not try to raise the money for a postmortem, but I will always wonder if a blood transfusion might have saved her life.

During this sad time, I was so proud of our kids! Their notes of condolences, visits to comfort their teacher, etc. were very touching to him. The seventh and eighth graders attended the burial, where one of the kids read a prepared statement on behalf of all of the In Step Academy students. The staff of ISF, both the home and the school, gave generously to help cover the unexpected costs and pitched in with cooking, etc. during the all-day event. The true family dynamic of In Step shone through and made me very proud to be part of this family!

For those of you who are wondering about the locust invasion, praise God we have only seen one locust on our property! He didn’t seem to have any friends or family traveling with him, so that’s a relief! LOL!

Well, as you know, I could go on and on! Things never seem to slow down around here! Thanks for hanging in there with us! God has put together an amazing family and team! Thanks for being part of it!

GIGATT (God is Good All the Time)!

Mama Carla

Posted in