Saying Goodbye

The children at the Village of Hope singing songs for us at our going away party.

Saying Goodbye

As we watched the children at the Villages of Hope emerge from the different houses laughing and chattering to make their way to the Schwartz’s house, I could not help but reflect that six years ago it was a very different scene and it was very quiet.  There were only two houses built and only one of them contained occupants—Kamau, Kimberly, Kimani and Malaika.

So many wonderful things have taken place since then through the work of God and His people and we are grateful to have been a part of the lives of the children who have come to live there and those who care for them.  Now we were all gathering for a going away party that was held for our family. That day and the next were bittersweet for us as we said our goodbyes to everyone.

  

Karen Weber with her beautiful servant's heart helping out with serving

  

Yummmm...... boys enjoying chicken raised at the Villages of Hope

 So many prayers, ours and yours have been answered as our journey to Nairobi began.

  

Here are some of them:

R  Packing up a household is never easy especially when moving to another country. It is a good thing that we began in January!  Right up until the day we were leaving there were last minute things to do.  We had the assistance of Karen Weber who was invaluable to us in so many ways.  Certainly this was an answer to our prayers.

R  In May, loving homes were found for our two cats. This was a big concern for Kimani and Malaika.  We hear that they are living the good life!

R The day before we left, our car was sold to another ministry that cares for orphans.  Whoo…hooo!  Yay God!

The big day arrived!  Waiting to board the train to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Reading, sleeping, playing games, and more sleeping during the two day trip on the train

One of the stops along the way... these villagers are hoping to sell foodstuffs to passengers

R Our trip was uneventful and went very smoothly.  There were no train delays and even though we had a lot of luggage, somehow we managed.

R When we came to the Kenyan border, we wondered if we would have to pay $200 in visas fees or would we be permitted to come in to the country under the new dual citizenship law. To our delight, we entered the country legally without visas.  We were so excited and happy!

R  Within one week of arriving in Nairobi, we found a place to live that would meet our needs for our family and hospitality and within walking distance to the slum where we will be working. 

After seeing so many of our prayers answered, we are very encouraged by the Lord’s faithfulness and we hope you are too.

What’s next?

  U  Kamau will be traveling back to Zambia within the next week and a half to arrange for the rest of our belongings to be transported to Kenya.  Please pray for safe travel to and from and success in getting the items through the borders.

  U We were delayed in moving into our residence due to water and plumbing issues.  Pray that they will be resolved within the next few days.  Also, please pray that we can get ourselves into a regular routine with family life and homeschooling very soon.  This will enable us to turn our focus to beginning the ministry to the children in the slum.

  U  Pray that we will find a church home with solid Biblical teaching and a strong youth program for Kimani & Malaika.

 Grace  & Peace

Who would think we would find a herd of cows in a major metropolitan city
like Nairobi!  They were on the road right outside our residence.

Tropical, green Nairobi

The Kamaus