“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”
Psalm 77:11 ESV
Many of you have met Bishop David on one of his visits to the US. Today we had the distinct privilege of seeing his first home, and the first place he brought an orphan home to. On this beautiful morning, Bishop met us at his original home in Kinangop. He had Kenyan tea prepared for us, which is milk and water mixed together with black tea brewed in it. Really spectacular, and I’m not even a tea drinker. Bishop shared with us his story, starting with his first job as a teacher in Kinangop, to buying the land we were on, to starting his first GOA church, and then marrying his lovely wife Joyce. The story moves quickly from there with David preaching the Gospel in the town and coming home with the first orphan until there were 26 children staying in this small home with them. Before you know it God provided a donor to purchase the land across the street, and Tumaini was built. There is much more to the incredible story, and we hear Bishop will be publishing a book soon telling more of it.
Today Tumaini is a children’s home as well as a school. It is the largest children’s home with 97 children. The school has elementary grades all the way through to the boarding high school. Kids from the other GOA schools come here for their high school and go home during school breaks, like this April break.
The children greeted us with a song, and it was so fun to see familiar faces! Cumberland has many sponsored kids at this home, and we worked hard to track them down and get pictures with them. We shared lunch with them, and played soccer and did crafts. It was a beautiful day to be together and we were blessed by our time with the children more than they were. It’s still fun to see the children gravitate to Hudson and Durelle. Kids are kids all over the world, and they like to be together. Having younger people on our team has been great for us too. They offer such a wonderful perspective that adults don’t always see.
Josphat is the house father there and he just celebrated his first anniversary with his wife, Joyce. Josphat was one of those first 26 orphans Bishop had, and moved into Tumaini as soon as it opened. He graduated from college with a degree in Social Work and came back to work here, helping other kids have a success story like his. Cecilia is a house mother now but also when Josphat was a kid, and we laughed about their relationship changes from mother to friend. Cecilia was away and we missed seeing her, but got to meet Ruth, the social worker who helps the children. The staff also includes cooks and grounds keepers to help with the gardening and livestock. The sheep and cows seemed to stay out of the way of the soccer game!
Pastors from the region came in to meet with Pastor Rob. There are not many people who have the incredible gift of encouragement that he has, and he uses it so well in Kenya. We are always watching and learning from the best. Time goes so quickly here in Kenya. They are the ones who believe “there is always more time” and rarely rush. But we are the ones always sad to leave and wishing we had a little more time at every stop. Kenyans are such a warm people and we are blessed to get to spend time with them.
Psalm 77:11 ESV
Many of you have met Bishop David on one of his visits to the US. Today we had the distinct privilege of seeing his first home, and the first place he brought an orphan home to. On this beautiful morning, Bishop met us at his original home in Kinangop. He had Kenyan tea prepared for us, which is milk and water mixed together with black tea brewed in it. Really spectacular, and I’m not even a tea drinker. Bishop shared with us his story, starting with his first job as a teacher in Kinangop, to buying the land we were on, to starting his first GOA church, and then marrying his lovely wife Joyce. The story moves quickly from there with David preaching the Gospel in the town and coming home with the first orphan until there were 26 children staying in this small home with them. Before you know it God provided a donor to purchase the land across the street, and Tumaini was built. There is much more to the incredible story, and we hear Bishop will be publishing a book soon telling more of it.
Today Tumaini is a children’s home as well as a school. It is the largest children’s home with 97 children. The school has elementary grades all the way through to the boarding high school. Kids from the other GOA schools come here for their high school and go home during school breaks, like this April break.
The children greeted us with a song, and it was so fun to see familiar faces! Cumberland has many sponsored kids at this home, and we worked hard to track them down and get pictures with them. We shared lunch with them, and played soccer and did crafts. It was a beautiful day to be together and we were blessed by our time with the children more than they were. It’s still fun to see the children gravitate to Hudson and Durelle. Kids are kids all over the world, and they like to be together. Having younger people on our team has been great for us too. They offer such a wonderful perspective that adults don’t always see.
Josphat is the house father there and he just celebrated his first anniversary with his wife, Joyce. Josphat was one of those first 26 orphans Bishop had, and moved into Tumaini as soon as it opened. He graduated from college with a degree in Social Work and came back to work here, helping other kids have a success story like his. Cecilia is a house mother now but also when Josphat was a kid, and we laughed about their relationship changes from mother to friend. Cecilia was away and we missed seeing her, but got to meet Ruth, the social worker who helps the children. The staff also includes cooks and grounds keepers to help with the gardening and livestock. The sheep and cows seemed to stay out of the way of the soccer game!
Pastors from the region came in to meet with Pastor Rob. There are not many people who have the incredible gift of encouragement that he has, and he uses it so well in Kenya. We are always watching and learning from the best. Time goes so quickly here in Kenya. They are the ones who believe “there is always more time” and rarely rush. But we are the ones always sad to leave and wishing we had a little more time at every stop. Kenyans are such a warm people and we are blessed to get to spend time with them.