Jambo everybody!
Ok. So, I’m starting with a disclaimer for those of you who have known my travel schedule. I wrote this a week or so ago, but before I could insert the pictures and send it out, my laptop battery died! When I got to Germany, I wasn’t able to find a plug compatible with the German outlet, so still wasn’t able to get this out to you! I am now in Nairobi, ready to head back home to Kitale tomorrow, so am FINALLY able to update you all! Thanks for understanding!
Wow! Is the month of May already gone? It has absolutely flown by! Maybe it’s because I have been in the states, trying to make the most of every minute. I guess I should live like that all the time, but admit that I don’t always do it.
Here I sit at the Pasco Airport, heading back home to Jeff and the kids. I won’t be back to Kenya for another ten days, as I have a week long stop-over in Hamburg Germany to attend the Rotary International Annual Convention. I’m excited to meet with other Rotarians who are working together with us on a Global Grant project which will benefit In Step Academy Primary School, as well as our community. I’m also looking forward to seeing some of Germany for the first time!
Update: The conference went well and we even got in a tiny bit of sight-seeing!
This trip to the states has been a good one! I have connected with many of you in Western Washington, Eastern Washington and Arizona! The weather has been great and it has been fun to watch the spring flowers bloom! I haven’t been home in the springtime for eight years, and have never before been home for Easter with the grandkids! It has been a super special time…. Easter, my birthday, two of my grandkids’ birthdays, my sister’s birthday, Mother’s Day, the release of the new Aladdin movie (the animated version was an old favorite of our family), and much more! A good time, for sure!
One of the most fun times was attending the Classic Car Auction last Saturday in Pasco! A long-time supporter donated a beautiful 1995 Corvette to be auctioned off to benefit Rehema For Kids! On top of that, the auction house, Musser Brothers, waived their fees! Thanks, Musser Brothers! That was incredibly generous of you!
The winners of the bid, a wonderful couple who have supported us since the very beginning of the children’s home, and happen to be fans of classic cars, shocked me and everyone else in the auction house, when they turned the car right back over to the auctioneer to be sold AGAIN! Let me tell you, we have some great people on our team!
I’m struggling this trip with saying my goodbyes. You would think it would get easier as the years pass, but it doesn’t. I don’t know if it’s my age or what it is, but it seems to get more and more difficult each and every visit. Likewise, it also gets more and more difficult to leave my kids in Kenya. Wherever I am, it’s hard to leave those I love. But, NO REGRETS! I know that Jeff and I are right where we belong, doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing, so the emotions that come with it are just part of the package.
In my previous Jambo letter, I told you about our visit to West Pokot, where the Kitale Rotary Club had drilled a borehole. I told you about the old woman who didn’t want a lollipop… she wanted soap! Well, a generous donor decided to provide this woman and her neighbors with enough soap to last them several months!
So, we loaded up the cruiser with forty-eight cases of bar soap and our five eighth graders, and headed up to Pokot! What a great time it was! The ladies were so happy! They danced and sang and celebrated like they had won the lottery! It was such a heart-warming experience, especially for the teenagers who had gone with us!
Our kids, growing up at the children’s home, have never gone without! For them to see people who had absolutely nothing… who were so excited to, for the first time in their lives, have access to clean water…who, now that they had water, wanted soap to go with it… who couldn’t wait to wash their clothes and take a bath… let’s just say it was eye-opening! Our kids came home with a new understanding of how blessed they are and how people all over the world (even just a few hours away) are suffering.
Linda is doing well! Right now, she is admitted at Shoe For Africa Children’s Hospital for her sixth chemotherapy treatment. This is the “long treatment”, which is administered over a period of five or six days. She has done so well tolerating the one and two day treatments, we are praying that her body accepts this five day series just as well as it has the others. This has been a rough road, but we praise God that He revealed the problem to us, directed us to quality care for her and has walked us through every step of the way. Linda is such a lovely little girl……and getting more and more lovely as she feels better! LOL!
With me being out of the country for the past six weeks, this update is a little different than most. I’m excited to get back to real life in a week or so. Thanks to all of you for the many ways you stand with us and the kids! Words will never be able to express our appreciation! May God himself pour his blessings on you!
GIGATT (God is good all the time)!
Mama Carla