Back in Kenya...

Hello everyone! I hope this finds you well. I arrived in Nairobi last Tuesday, it is great to be back. I have been to visit the school and it is an incredible encouragement to see the progress. We have 125 children, a new male teacher and the equivalent of a school principal. The new staff are great people. The children are as joyful as ever, and melt my heart as always.

Our skill training program is really thriving, as we have developed our own dressmaking training as well as hairdressing training. We have rented two small rooms, and we are able to employ local individuals skilled in these areas to lead the trainings. This keeps us from having to outsource to other training programs. I have observed the dressmaking training, and am so impressed by the ability of the people involved and as always, by the incredible resourcefulness of the people in the program. Those involved in the training use recycled paper bags to practice on with the sewing machines, to avoid wasting or the added expense of using cloth. I have never seen more beautiful paper dresses. Once the individuals have completed this program they will be eligible for the micro loan program in which we will provide a microloan of a sewing machine, which they will gradually pay off.

The second great thing I have been able to check out was the permanent structure for our classrooms. Our executive committee has identified a building to purchase. It is beyond what we originally budgeted, but would not require any additional building as we had originally anticipated. Additionally there is enough space for the school to grow all the way up to high school, and there are enough rooms for our skill training programs. Another positive is that we will still have additional space to rent out a number of rooms for additional generated income.

So things are going well in the school and connected programs, I am very encouraged. I would like to ask you to be praying for the incoming teams which will be coming to Kenya over the next couple of months. There will be twelve individuals coming to Kenya and prayers for safe travel would be appreciated. Also, pray that these individuals would be open to whatever and wherever God may lead them throughout their time in Kenya. As always, your prayers are appreciated for the children, families and staff of the KCP.

The individuals coming will be traveling the following dates, so you can pray for them specifically:

Sheila Bell and Micaela May - May 9-18
Steve and Sherrie Gould - May 9-24
Ian Noyes and Larry Smith - May 14-30
Sarah Homan - May 24 - June 6
Luke and Abbie Michael, Wendy and Cara Turner - June 10-22
John Rosacker - July 22-31

Lastly, as many of you know we are in the midst of a lull in the economy. As the markets continue to recover, I realize many people are out of work or are a bit more hesitant to part with the funds they do have. This has also impacted giving to the KCP. Though we continue to be blessed by many people's generosity, we still have a significant hill to climb to gather the funds needed to achieve self sustainability. I would ask you all to pray regarding supporting the KCP either again, or for the first time. We are still in need of roughly $375,000. If you are unable to support the KCP financially, please be a voice for us and share with friends and colleagues of the work God is doing here in Nairobi. Thanks for your continued prayer and financial partnership. You continue to be an encouragement to me and to our Kenyan staff. I will continue to report what is going on here in Kenya.