Every effort has it’s ups and downs. Caring for 54 abused, abandoned, and orphaned children is no exception. The last 6 months have been spent on efforts which are culminating this week in some exciting improvements to our Children’s Home.
We are in the final phase of updating all of our Policies and Procedures with changes that we believe will enhance the care and mentoring provided to our children in the Home.
We have finally launched our new Transition Program for our older students who have completed school, with 4 of our boys. We spent last weekend teaching classes that we are requiring the students to take as part of the program: Budgeting, First Aid, and Job Seeking Skills. We helped Joshua find a place to live and move out this week. Moses and Caleb are still looking for the right place to live, and Robert will start looking for a place when he finishes school in August. The program will be 4 months long, with opportunities for guidance and mentoring, as well as gradually decreasing financial assistance. It is our hope that the program will motivate our older students to seek independence, while still letting them know that we care about what happens to them after they leave the Home.
We have finished our Girl’s Sleepover nights, where Amy and our teammate, Jennifer, have been teaching the girls in small groups about body safety and self-defense.
We have finished praying individually with each of the children at the Home.
We assisted our choir kids in going to the Provincial Competition a few weeks ago, where they placed second! They will be moving on to Nationals on August 6.
We assisted our choir kids in going to the Provincial Competition a few weeks ago, where they placed second! They will be moving on to Nationals on August 6.
And just today, we hired a Social Worker trained in counseling who will help us to understand and guide the children into healthier relationships. She will officially join our staff on August 1.
We’ve had many ups in the past few weeks, as we feel we are making bits of progress in nurturing and discipling our children. But no effort is without it’s downs, and today brought one of the most difficult downs we’ve had in our time here so far.
One of our promising boys who is still in High School (at a nearby boarding school), has been suddenly getting into trouble at school. For the last month, Jason and Jennifer have been trying to talk with him, and with the officials at school to figure out what is going on. Our boy won’t talk to us, won’t let us help him get through whatever is happening. He has ambitions and dreams, but his troubled heart won’t let him open up or accept help. Rather than choosing to face his difficulties, he chose today to pack his bag and leave. He just left. With no diploma, no job, no money; He just left. After dark, Kenya is a scary place. And that’s where he is at this very moment...in a very scary place. Our hearts are breaking tonight and our sleep will be restless.
While this young man has left our hands, it brings comfort to know he is still in the Hands of the Father. We pray he will be touched by the One who already knows our troubled hearts and can set our footsteps on the right path.
