I can't believe how quickly time passes. It has been much too long since I have written an update. In the last few months, God has continued to bless us here, in Mombasa. Yesterday, we had our weekly school worship service. The Holy Spirit blessed us by manifesting His presence in a mighty way. Many children were convicted of their sins and were seeking a relationship with Jesus. Even Muslim children were knelt and praying. As the children went back to their classes, I spoke to several of them and encouraged them to continue seeking the Lord until they find peace. I spoke to one of my students, who was especially troubled. I asked him if he had been praying for the Lord to save him. He said that he had been. I told him that he can be saved anywhere and that only Jesus can save him. I encouraged him to keep praying until he felt peace from God. Please pray for these students. At New Hope School, we care a lot about education, but we care much more about the Gospel. Brother Tom, Sister Sarah and myself will all be traveling to America this March. I am beyond excited that the Lord has given me this opportunity. I am looking forward to seeing my family and reporting on all that I have experienced in the last six months in Kenya. Please pray for us, that the Lord can guide our steps as we travel to America. Please also pray that the work in Kenya will continue as God wills it to be, while we are away. Since starting school in January, we have been busy with a lot of changes. Construction is still continuing on the new addition to the school. Although the 3rd and 4th floors are not finished, the 2nd floor is finished and has given us four new classrooms. Previously, grades 5-8 were in a small, incomplete building, down from the school. Now, all of the classes are together in the same place. The bottom floor is a wonderful, open space for us to finally start a library at New Hope School. We have been blessed with so many people and organizations that have made the library possible. We received 500 books from a British organization called Book Aid International. We also received a grant from Lafayette Rotary Club that is paying for shipment of over 1,000 books from America. Many schools, churches and families donated new and used books for this shipment. Within the same grant, the Rotary Club granted us money to purchase over 500 Kenyan books. This was a huge blessing, because it is often difficult to find American books that are culturally relevant to the children here. Now, with the combination of Kenyan, American and British books, I feel confident that we have a good balance of books from the students’ own culture as well as cultures around the world. In a few short months, we have gone from absolutely no school library, to soon having over 2,000 books for students to read and study with. We are only remaining with the purchasing of shelves, tables, chairs and various other supplies for running a library. Once the library is complete and running smoothly, we are hoping to open the doors to the surrounding community, as a public library. This will give the community access to literacy and information that they have not had access to before. I am excited about this opportunity, as it will give us an open door for building relationships with people and sharing the light of the Gospel with them. In addition to the library, we have began looking at plots of land to purchase for the future New Hope Orphanage. We cannot start on the orphanage until the addition to the school is finished, but we have started making some preparations. Please continue to keep the orphanage in your prayers. There is a great need for children to be in a home where they are safe, cared for, fed and loved. I know one day, God will make a way for these children to have a home where they can be shown the love of Christ.
I cannot say thank you enough to all the people that are praying for and supporting this work. We would not be where we are today without you. We are continually reminded of our dependence on God as He meets our needs through the donations of many generous people. Please continue to pray that God will make a way for us to finish the construction on the new building and library, so that we can take more steps towards establishing an orphanage. Every aspect of our lives can be used to glorify the Lord and advance the Gospel. The Lord has given us, at New Hope, the opportunity to share the Gospel through education. Whether it be in the library, in class or in the cafeteria, our ultimate goal is for God to be given glory through His saving grace. No matter where we are, we all have the chance to use our lives to give eternal glory to God. Every person has a unique opportunity to point people to the Savior. Let us not waste a single chance that we are given.
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