Mary’s life in a nutshell can be coined as a story of resilience and hope.  Despite all the challenges surrounding her , she presses forward as a soldier for Christ with a brave smile. At a tender age, she was forced to play the role of a mother to her siblings, after her mum’s death. She now assumes the role of managing their home ensuring that her siblings are in perfect health, food prepared in good time, and the daily responsibilities that need to be carried out in her home.

Despite all these challenges, she emerged as a top performer on her national entrance exams for acceptance into Secondary School, the Kenyan equivalent of U.S. High School.  Given her overwhelming responsibilities for her siblings, she exemplifies dedication and commitment. Her teachers applauded her efforts and commended her hard work in all that she does. Everybody is proud of her and she has remained to be an epitome of hard work and resilience in the community at large.

She promises to work extra hard in high school to emerge among the top students in the country. Her future is very bright. What an incredible encouragement she is for the other children. With her soft spoken voice and her radiant smile, she whispers “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, a life characterized with poverty and disillusionment is about to be over!”

Join us in praying for her continued success and God’s guidance in all her endeavors!

If you would like to learn more about how you can help Mary and other children in our communities, please explore sponsorship opportunities on our website.

www.project82kenya.com

January marks the beginning of the first term of schools in Kenya. Children move to the next class and they are usually very excited. Our children in Bewomi were happy to start their year differently. They all had new school uniforms shoes, socks and bags. They had all the books they needed and other school supplies. It was an exciting moment for them as they hurried to pack their food and rush to school. For the younger ones who were joining primary school for the first time, it was a different feeling all over. They were not left behind. They were soon going to get used to waking up earlier than usual. All the discomfort that comes with moving from a comfort zone did not seem to affect them, school was much more exciting. They all had great smiles on their faces and when I looked at them I could not help but thank God for giving me an opportunity to share this phenomenal moment with them.

Munaini Primary School Children – Kenya

The mornings are a usually a beehive of activities everyone running around trying to locate their shoes, their bags, taking breakfast etc. The matrons prepare the very little ones. These children however share this amazing bond; the older kids help the little ones with some things like tying their shoe laces and locating some of their things.

Munaini Primary School Boys

The children made a commitment to prepare New Year resolutions. They will make them in duplicates where they will indicate what they intend to achieve at school by the end of this year and they should also indicate how they are going to achieve that. I will keep one copy and they will keep the other copy. We will keep evaluating the progress. This is to help them improve on their studies and make sure that they remain focused throughout the year. I am also in the process of analysing their performance for last year and will talk to their teachers to identify their weak areas and we can get them a tutor to assist them.

Munaini Primary School Girls

What a joy to be able to share in this great moment with our children.

You too can share in this joy. By sponsoring a child, you will be sharing the blessings of food, water, shelter, education and healthcare. Please help us continue to serve these wonderful young children.

This little boy has not laughed a lot in his young life.  Isaac was recently rescued from the bushlands of north/central Kenya and brought to Neema House for healthcare and restoration.

We were contacted by a friend asking if we could help with this young boy. He is 6 months old. His mother is terminally ill and his grandmother is struggling to care for her daughter and Isaac.

Annie traveled to meet with the mother and grandmother to understand their wishes for this little boy.  Upon arrival to Neema House in Nairobi, Isaac was introduced to Caleb, Lily and Alice, other young children under Annie’s care.

Isaac is currently in the hospital fighting an intestinal infection. He weighs 10.5lbs., has perforated ear drums due to untreated ear infections and scabies from general uncleanliness. Once Isaac is well, he will begin a nutrition regimen designed to address his malnourishment.

We are so blessed to have this young man in our care. He WILL laugh one day. Within months he will flash us a smile and a glisten from his eyes that will let us know, he is well. We will keep him in touch with his grandmother and pray that one day he will be strong enough to be reunited with his family.

Please keep Isaac, his mother and grandmother in your prayers. Keep our staff in Kenya covered in prayers as they travel to rescue, serve, love and care for the children.

Alice is always smiling and loves people more than anyone I’ve ever met. Her sweet smile and cute giggle meets any and every one who enters the room and immediately puts them at ease. She loves her “big brother” Caleb most of all and always welcomes his attempts to snuggle, kiss, hug, and squeeze her. Alice knows how to say several words and it is quite shocking to hear what appears to be a toothless 3 month old speaking. She is very even-tempered and is definitely the “go with the flow” twin. She is patient and loving and seeing others happy makes her happy too. Alice is also proud to announce that her first tooth is coming in!

Lily has become our Neema House drama queen.  She’s been known to go straight from screaming her lungs out to giggling within seconds. I wish you could hear her happy songs and dance when she sees food! The girl loves to eat and will not stand for anyone else eating in the same room as her… even if we are eating something her little 2-toothed mouth couldn’t handle. Her favorite game is “hiding” with her two hands covering her eyes. She hasn’t quite grasped the concept of Peekaboo, as she usually sits for several minutes without removing her hands, just giggling and grinning as we “look for her.”

Both Lily and Alice suffer from Rickets, a vitamin D deficiency that causes bones to soften. So, in addition to their severe malnutrition, their development was significantly delayed due to a lack of Vitamin D. This diagnosis also explains their delayed tooth development. Thankfully, food, occupational therapy, and vitamin D/calcium supplements are already doing wonders in treating them. We love watching them gain the strength necessary to start accomplishing the developmental milestones they have missed. God is great!! They are now 19 months old and Alice has grown from 11 pounds to 14.5 and Lily has grown from 12 pounds to 15! They were both excited to start wearing 6-month clothes this week!!

Lily and Alice are so loved and they know it. We are so thankful for your prayers and support in caring for these sweet ones. Please continue to pray for their mother and older brother Martin as we seek God’s will on how to best proceed in caring for their family. We would also appreciate prayers for continued growth, strength, and healing.

Enter Mama Laura. She is the bloom of hope to her children, other widows and guardians in the community of Molo. A bright beautiful gerbera daisy.

Esther, Mama Laura as she is known to most of us is an incredible woman. Her laughter full of love and her joy is contagious to all she meets.

Esther is a young mother of two, Laura Njambi Njuguna and Brian Kamau Njuguna both of whom are in the Project 82 child sponsorship program. Her husband died a few years ago and she was left to be the sole provider for her family.  Having been from a different tribe, being young, Esther could have gone returned to her parents but she chose to stay in the community where her children were born.

When Project 82 first began ministry in Molo. Esther was very sick herself due to a lack of food. She was depressed, as she could not provide food or school fees for her children. She truly was at the end of her means and didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. Today, Esther smiles brightly and thanks God, for she has food to meet her physical needs and spiritual food for her soul. Esther’s words are that “God came through for me at the time of need.”

Early this year, Esther received a dairy goat from P82 and it’s been helpful to her and the children as they can now get the nutritious goat milk. Esther volunteers to work with P82 staff and children during the Saturday program in Church and serves as a leader for the other guardians in organizing them to cook for the children. She is the bloom of hope in the spiritual garden of Molo.

Her prayer is that God may keep her to see her children realize their dreams and that God may bless all those who sacrifice to make lives easier for all those who were languishing in poverty.

We were greeted by three sweet faces Martin a 4 year old boy, and twin girls Lillian, and Alice estimated to be 15-17 months old.  While their tiny bodies showed the physical signs of severe malnutrition, their faces glowed with the presence of God. The mother kindly agreed to let us take her children to the hospital and to keep them while their frail bodies are rehabilitated. We have great faith that God ordained our meeting, as there is no coincidence and has wonderful plans for each of these children. We are honored to be a small part of His work in their lives.

Lily and Alice are precious twins—they are happy, funny girls who are content as long as they are within view of each other. They LOVE to be held, especially if together in the same pair of arms. Martin is a strong, curious and intelligent boy who loves to eat. The types of malnutrition they are suffering from seems to be a result of improper nutrition, not necessarily a total lack of food.

According to their clinic paperwork, the twins are around 17 months old and Martin is around 4 years old. It is hard to believe that these 11 lb babies who struggle to sit up and control their heads are toddlers in age, but we anticipate they will be transformed into chubby little babies soon. The lack of proper nutrition has prevented the baby’s teeth from even beginning to develop. We were thankful for our Project 82 team full of grandparents, moms, dads, and babysitters to help us care for the babies. They have been moved to Neema House, our Infant Rescue Home and Caleb, our toddler at Neema House is loving his new role of big brother, or “kaka kubwa” as we say in Swahili. The baby girls already love him!

Martin will be staying in Molo with Kellee Gorski and Rose, a member of the Molo council. They are working with nutrition specialists to ensure he is properly rehabilitated. Soon he will have the energy to run and play and explore like other 4 year old boys. We look forward to that day!

We ask for prayers as each of these children still have quite a long way to go before they are stabilized and can begin to catch up on missed developmental milestones. We trust that the love God promises to fill us with will heal them even faster than food will. We also ask for prayers for their mother, Susan, as we work to empower her to better care for her children in the future.

I know how difficult it is to feel close when a picture, some carefully written notes, a brief bio, and perhaps a too-short meeting are supposed to serve as a bridge between you and someone you call your own 8000 miles away. It’s hard.  But more than your monthly financial support and faithfulness in writing letters and encouraging the children you sponsor, you have the unique privilege (and responsibility) to approach the throne on their behalf, to adopt them in prayer. I have found that maintaining relationships across oceans is nearly impossible if not rooted in prayer for one another.  It truly is an incredible honor to pray for an orphan and in God’s grace, He is sure to draw you both closer through this simple and obedient act.

Like you pray for your own children, specifically—throughout the day—intentionally, I encourage you to do the same for the child your family has chosen to fight for. There are a whole lot of orphans in this world and we have been given the opportunity to know one and lift him or her up to the Father as their own mother or father is not there to do.  Let’s live James 1:27 in this way.

As you wake up, they are walking home from school, helping to prepare supper, or doing chores. As you fall asleep, their day is beginning with a quick bath, some chores, a long walk to school, and a strenuous day of learning. Think of them and you are sure to pray for them. Unfortunately you will miss the moments when your sponsored child comes home defeated after receiving a bad grade on a test or with a hurt heart because of unkind words, but these moments are sure to be happening, so there is no reason we can’t pray for them ahead of time. We can pray for their futures when no one else is and believe that God hears us, treasures them, and has wonderful things in store for them. We can pray the same things over them that we pray over our children—that He makes Himself known to them in every way.

I would love nothing more than for Jesus to hear the sweet names of orphans on our lips just as often as He hears us utter our own requests and prayers for the children we birthed. What a beautiful way we can love them.

This guy is a lover. He has spent his short life living on the streets with his mother who suffers from severe mental illness. His grandmother also has debilitating mental issues and is unable to offer him a stable life off the streets. Though we are excited to have him, his entry into our lives comes with great loss and pain. We know in our hearts  that his mother, no doubt loved this little boy as well as she was able. We thank God for not letting this family leave His sight for the past 18 months… Caleb’s needs were provided by shopkeepers and well-wishers who passed him on the streets daily. The boy was loved, though unconventionally… He is alive today because of Love.

He has spent just over a week now in our home and already calls it his own. He has the cutest dimple on one cheek and his giggle could melt even the hardest of hearts. He never meets a stranger (probably due to his last 1.5 years of street life) and is quick to greet any and every person he passes with a fist pump (saying “gota!”). The only time we ever hear him cry is when bedtime comes and another day of fun is over. We promise him we will do it all again tomorrow and he eventually falls asleep. He still calls me daddy, but that’s fine with me!

This boy has filled Neema House with so much joy. He has made us into a family and we are beyond thankful to God for the opportunity to love Him. To God alone be the glory.

Annie

Following this time of fellowship together, we were given the ultimate privilege of walking with the community leaders for a home visit. It was extremely humbling to have a family share with us their milk and tea.  Their modest home was filled with love and the closeness of family. As we were visiting with them, a new born baby goat wobbled up to us and reminded us again, how precious new life is.

We enjoyed beef stew with the Maasai tribe and left for Amboseli National Park.

Mt. Kilimanjaro stands majestically at the south end of Amboseli park, guarding both Kenya and Tanzania. We treasured an evening game drive and observed elephants, giraffe, water buffalo, ostrich, zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, hippos, and many other creatures of God. What a perfect rest for a busy mission team.  An opportunity to inhale deeply the fresh air and surroundings while quietening our minds.

Following dinner, we gathered around the campfire with candles and sang, “Go Light Your World”. To everyone who ever has been or ever will be on a mission trip serving others anywhere in this world, know you are a candle, sharing your light.

Lyrics:

There is a candle in every soul, some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings a fire, ignites a candle and makes His home.

So carry your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it, Take your candle and go light the world.

Take your candle and go light the world.

Cause we are a family whose hearts are blazing, So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky.

Praying to out Father in the name of Jesus, Make us a beacon in darkest times.

So carry your candle, run to the darkness, seek out the hopeless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it, Take your candle and go light the world.

Take your candle and go light the world.