information already available. The children wrote letters to their sponsors
(or future sponsors). We also visited the boarding schools the older children
attend.
We visited a local vocational school to determine the costs of supporting
the children through this phase of their development. While we were there, I
wrote regular reports back to the committee and sponsors. These were posted
on our website and Facebook page as well. Here are some of the entries:
July 2: Samson and Jackline’s devotion to looking to the Word and Lord as
the starting point for all they do is truly humbling to witness. Oftentimes we
go to give them advice and find that what they are already doing far exceeds
what we were going to suggest. We are the ones being humbled.
July 7: In rural Kenya children are just a breath away from living a life
of abuse and death on the street…Samson and Jackline have a deep-seated
calling to help children in need and to do so with a flavor of loving kindness
that well represents the life we are called to live in the Heavenly Doctrines.
This amazing couple and their children welcome others into their home and
provide them not only with food and clothing but with love as well. Truly all
the children in their care are treated as their own.
July 9: At one point I asked Samson if he thought the children in the
orphanage would be New Church when they left. He looked at me and said,
“Honestly, considering all these children have been through, Jackline and I
will be happy if they are good people.”
Our time in Kenya went by too quickly. The pressure to get everything on
our list done was eased by the fact that a few weeks after we were to leave two
interns would be going to Kenya to work for GCSC for 10 weeks. They were
the first interns to be sponsored by the newly formed organization Charity
Works. It supports young people who would like to volunteer for internships
for the General Church.
Our interns, Cailin
Elphick and Kira Kerr,
picked up the work that still
needed to be done after we
left and took it to the next
level. Both HCIC and GCSC
are extremely grateful for the
work they did. You can look
forward to a report on that
exciting chapter of our work
in the March-April issue of
New Church Life.
During our time with
Kay Alden surrounded by the orphans she quickly grew to love
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