JANUARY 2022

Happy new year! We are delighted to be able to send you this update from Kenya. We were originally due to return to Kenya on 2nd January but due to a series of COVID related delays, we didn't get back until 24th January. Despite the delays and the frustration of having to isolate, we had a lovely time back in the UK. We definitely feel rested, refreshed and were ready to return.

Kenya is beautiful country and it wouldn't be silly to suggest that it is possibly one of the most beautiful nations in the world. It has a golden coast, scenic valleys and mountains and lush national parks full of wildlife, but it is also broken. Beautiful but broken. Working in that context has been difficult. Working in a community trapped by generational poverty is hard and we have made no secret of that. Before travelling to the UK, one of the things we anticipated was that we may not want to return to Kenya having been being surrounded by friends and family and enjoying all the familiarity of home comforts for a few months. We were also aware that we didn't want to make any knee- jerk or emotional decisions. We recently came across a quote by a pastor who said:

Missions isn't so glorious. The call to missions among unreached peoples or the poor is often exciting but the reality is often quite different. The struggle. The frustration. The discouragement. There are often very few victories. And that's okay. I had seen enough, I had experienced enough of Jesus to know that deep down, without the feelings that he is worth it. That he is with me, sustaining me, keeping me. He is faithful. In Christ I am more than a conquer. I have all the victory I need so I stay for as long as King Jesus wills it. Because even though Missions isn't very glorious I stay because Jesus is.

It really was lovely to spend time back in the UK but, we know that despite the frustrations and difficulties, Kenya is where we are supposed to be right now. Like the pastor said, we have seen enough of Jesus to stay until we hear otherwise. We don't know how long for but we are committed here for the next year. What we do know is that we wouldn't be able to educate, equip and empower orphans and vulnerable children in Maai Mahiu without you. At the end of Acts 2 it talks about the Fellowship of Believers and how the early church gave to anyone who had need. Our travel delay came with several financial implications, yet we can say that every need was met. Just one of these was the cost of PCRs. In the end we paid over £700 for PCRs and yet because of your partnership and support we can say the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. Every need, every challenge was overcome because of the Fellowship of Believers. Thank you.