FEBRUARY 2025

February marked a significant time for us as we welcomed family for a visit and made a decision about our future in Kenya.

Family Visit & Encouraging Impact

We were recently joined by some of Rachel’s family during the February half-term, making for a special time together. We enjoyed the beauty of Kenya, with highlights including a safari and a few nights on the shores of Lake Naivasha. The most meaningful moment, however, was when Rachel’s parents and sister spent time with the children they sponsor. A 2013 study in the Journal of Political Economy found that international child sponsorship programs significantly improve educational attainment and employment outcomes. We see this firsthand at Naomi’s Village and Cornerstone, where generational cycles of poverty are breaking, and children are thriving in tertiary education programs worldwide. It’s a privilege to be a part of the redemption story that is being written in the Great Rift Valley. 

A New Chapter: Returning to the UK

As many of you will now over the past few months, we have been praying and discerning our next steps. This year marks five years since we moved to Kenya, and we always intended to pause at this milestone to reflect on what’s next. In November 2020, we answered the call to “take up the cause of the fatherless” (Isaiah 1:17) and “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10) by joining the Naomi’s Village team. That calling remains, but the location from which we will live it out is changing—we have decided to leave Kenya and return to the UK. A significant factor in this decision is that Naomi’s Village has now been officially registered with the UK Charity Commission under the name Hope Begins. This presents an exciting opportunity to expand UK-based support for the incredible work happening in the Great Rift Valley. The potential to grow Hope Begins and make a lasting impact is extremely exciting. If you are from the UK then you can sponsor a child through Hope Begins by clicking HERE. 

Family & Faith in Transition

This move is significant for our family. Jonah has spent most of his schooling in Kenya, Caleb has spent more than half his life here, and Kenya is the only home Anna has ever known. The timing of our return, however, feels right—Jonah begins secondary school in September, Anna starts nursery, and Caleb will complete primary school before transitioning to secondary in a couple of years. Returning to the UK comes with uncertainty—we don’t yet have jobs, housing, or schools places for all 3 children. While staying in Kenya might seem easier, we believe a return to the UK is where God is leading us. Navigating the unknowns and uncertainty feels overwhelming and, at times, stressful—but being in that unknown is where the journey of faith is! We plan to return to the UK in July and would be grateful for your prayers as we navigate this transition. Please pray that we will embrace this new season with trust as His plans continue to unfold.

Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we pray, "in the Great Rift Valley, as in Heaven." God bless.