Christmas Letter 2011

December 24, 2011                                                                     

Dear Friends & Family:                                                               

What an amazing year this has been for us!  We began 2011 with a 2 week mission trip in January to Kenya.  Now we find ourselves about to celebrate our first Christmas in Kaptagat, Kenya and begin a New Year of longer term ministry.

Michael and the boys have been here about 6 weeks, and the dust has not yet settled from the time their feet hit the ground.  Michael has been working on improving the living conditions at the children’s home, establishing a community children’s ministry, developing a youth soccer league ministry, partnering with local church ministry teams, making numerous missionary contacts, coordinating plans for the short term missionaries coming to serve in 2012, as well as arranging all the personal family matters relating to living in a foreign country. 

Kellie is keeping busy with the children and supporting Michael.  She’s grateful that homeschooling is off to a good start, and loves our new home.  She’s enjoying getting to know the children at the orphanage and developing relationships with the women in our area.  She’s had a lesson in washing clothes by hand, but thinks it will be quite a while before she gets them as clean as the Kenyans do.

Gabriel, Christina, Jacob, and Abigail are enjoying the freedom of pickup truck rides, playing with new friends, experiencing a bit of farm life, and buying treats with their shillings.  God is already using them to develop relationships and share His Word.  We are blessed to have each of them with us during these days, and so proud of their good attitudes towards the cultural differences they are facing!

Currently, David Cheromei, the Founder of the Grace of God Children’s Project (GOGCP), is visiting with us, and is helping us make huge steps towards:  moving the children’s home to the new property before the beginning of the January school term, raising funds for the ministry and beginning construction of the new facility, setting up ongoing policies of operation for the orphanage, and locating our personal transportation.  God is opening doors as only He can do, to accomplish all that needs to be done!  Bwana Asifiwe!

We are so fortunate to have been invited to serve the Lord in this place.  God is teaching us that a willing heart is all He needs.  His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9)  Along with that, as life has been a bit less comfortable as of late, it’s caused us to reflect all the more on Christ’s sacrifice for us.  Not only did He leave His Father and a perfect Heaven to be crucified for our sins, which He didn’t commit, He spent over 33 years on earth living in some pretty tough conditions!  We are praying that He will give us His kind of love for others as we learn to peel our eyes off of ourselves and onto our Sovereign Lord.

We hope this note finds each of you well and walking closely with the Savior of the world.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers, acts of kindness as we prepared to leave, words of encouragement, and financial support.  God has and is using you to demonstrate to us, that He’s got us in His hands, and He’s going to take care of it all.  Thank you for your partnership in what God is doing in Kenya.  We love you and hope to hear from you soon and continue to pray for you daily. 

Love in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ,

Michael, Kellie, Gabriel, Christina, Jacob, & Abigail