News

Jambo everyone! Here I sit, outside in my new favorite place, a wonderful patio under the bougainvillea trellis, listening to birds, drinking a cup of tea and enjoying the slight breeze. Let’s see if I’m able to focus enough to get you guys updated! This patio was a gift from an old friend of Jeff’s. I have dreamed of this space since the day we purchased this land in 2007! I remember everyone laughing at me for planting a row of bougainvillea before we even started construction of the house!   The bougainvillea grew quickly and after only a few years, it was necessary…

Jambo everyone! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer! Here, it is still cold and rainy with lots of MUD! There is no such thing as a clean floor right now, especially when a Great Dane lives in your room! LOL! We, like many of you, are still living Groundhog Day. School remains closed, so the kids are home. They are still having homework time a few hours per day. They are still doing chores every day. They are still having specially planned activity time every day. I feel like my updates are the same every month! The President of Kenya has, however,…

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…

Jambo everyone! What a weird time, huh? I hope you are all staying healthy! It’s such a strange thing for the whole world to be going through something together! I mean, this is not a typhoon in the Philippines, or a tsunami in Japan, or famine in Ethiopia, or war in Congo, or a hurricane in America, or a nuclear accident in Russia, or a heatwave in Pakistan, or locusts in Kenya, or wild fires in Australia, or an earthquake in Haiti, or a flash flood in Egypt, or landslides in Malaysia. This is COVID-19 in the whole world! I’m seeing lots of people posting…

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…

Jambo everyone! I hope your 2020 has started well! Here at In Step Children’s Home, January has been a very busy month! The Kenyan school year is the same as the calendar year. School “opens” in January and “closes” at the end of October. So this month, there was lots going on, getting all the kids ready for school! In Step Academy is now a complete primary school with grades starting from preschool and going all the way through eighth grade! I remember when we first started our school with seven students and one teacher, all crowded into a 10’…

Jambo everyone! Happy New Year! I hope you are all ready for a productive and prosperous 2020! December was a great but super busy month! After arriving in Nairobi from the states, I stayed an extra day to try to take care of some immigration business, which was a big flop because in Kenya, there’s no such thing as taking care of business in any government office, without several trips and attempts (insert rolling eyes look here)! So I traveled on to Kitale and will try again in a few weeks because there’s also no point in trying to take care of business…

Jambo everyone! November has been a very busy month in USA! I have been able to spend time with family and friends, attend a few events and a few churches, and just plain catch up with lots of folks! I am now in scramble mode, constantly distracted (even now while writing this) by my list of things I need to do before I go. Every trip home, I tell myself I’m not going to leave stuff to the last minute, but time flies so fast, it always happens. Good news! Our five eighth graders did well on their exams and have all been accepted…

Jambo everyone! I hope you are all doing well and adjusting to the climate change, whatever that is, depending on where you are in the world! Personally, I have experienced a huge climate change after traveling from Kenya to Washington State! So, here I sit, after waking up starving at 4:00 AM (thanks jetlag), bundled up in my big fuzzy robe and warm slippers, drinking hot tea and trying to mentally put myself back in Kenya so I can give you guys an update! October was a great month! As has been our tradition for the past many Octobers, we welcomed an amazing…

Jambo everyone! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the change of seasons! Here in Kenya, the rains are starting to let up a bit, although the ridiculous amount of mud is yet to disappear! September was a good month here at the home for the most part. The kids are back in school and working hard to finish strong, as we wind up our school year! Please pray for our five class eight “candidates” who will be taking their KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) exam in a few weeks. This test is extremely important because their test scores will determine…