Dear Prayer Team and Supporters!

Wow, I cannot believe that I have been in Africa for over a month. God has and continues to bless our time here. I feel like I am becoming quite the native. . .I am becoming “fluent” in my one word Swahili vocabulary, I can walk to and from the school by myself without getting lost, and I begin and end each day with my Kenyan chai tea:-) Look out- this mzungu is becoming quite African in her ways:-)

Katie and I are now in Eburru, Kenya serving with David’s Hope International. Below are a few vignettes of our time here in the past week.

1) “Jack & Jill of ALL Trades”- Pastor Steve and his wife Mary are the inspiration behind the church, clinic, feeding program, and school here in Eburru. They work tirelessly serving in whatever capacities are needed. For example, in addition to his responsibilities as a pastor, husband, and father, Pastor Steve can be found hauling construction material to and fro, hosting mission teams, providing transportation for hospital visits, playing keyboard at church, and a myriad of other tasks. Mary works long hours as the head nurse at the mission hospital in Kijabe where they live during the week. On the weekends, she serves at the clinic and church in Eburru and always is the “hostess with the mostess” for visitors. I thought I had a lot of energy until I saw Mary in action:-) What self-sacrificing servants of the Lord this couple is!

2) Eburru “Retreat”- Eburru is a remote village tucked away in the north central part of Kenya. If you look up Eburru in the encyclopedia, it will actually describe it as being in the African bush. Although this isolated place lacks in the modern conveniences of electricity and running water, it overflows with natural beauty and the friendliness of the people. Each night we lay our heads down beneath the black African sky illuminated by the shining stars and we wake up to the sounds of chirping birds, gobbling turkeys, and a cocka-doodling rooster. The perfect alarm clock- God’s creation!!:)

3) Faith of Children- The children of Eburru have captured my heart. Before the school and the feeding program which is sponsored by David’s Hope International was here, many of the children would go for days without food- let alone any nutritious food. As a result, these young ones are quite small for their age. For example, little Mary is 7 years old, but she is the size of my 3 year old niece, Abby. Although these precious ones may be small in stature, but they are big in heart.

My favorite part of the school day is break time when we have chapel hour. My heart melts seeing the smiles and the joy of the children as they praise God. This week the students learned Psalms 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd. I have all that I need.” Wow, these little ones may not know where their next meal is coming from, yet they are confident knowing that their Heavenly Father will provide all that they need! The great faith of children- a lesson we can all learn from.

I pray that these stories encourage you about what the Lord is doing here in Africa and also encourages you in your walk with the Lord. As the children of Eburru exhibit with confidence, we serve a God who is a Provider:-)

A Humbled Teacher,

Kari:-)