Chapter 18: Relationships

One of the relationships that have really grown over the past two months is with Hope Streams Academy. Hope Streams is a Kenyan school with 180 children K-5th grade. Since our last update, we have been able to provide them with a kitchen countertop / table with storage area as well as feed them a few times. We enjoy spending time at Hope Streams providing food for the kids and interacting with them. My mom & Dave were able to go to Hope Streams with us when they were visiting. We cannot say “thank you” enough to the ladies at Peace Christian Reformed Church in Menno, South Dakota who sewed over 100 dresses for the little girls at Hope Streams as well as Mr. Hoezee & Perrin Incorporated who donated over 100 t-shirts for the boys. The smiles on their faces as they came running to receive their dress / shirt will forever be ingrained in our memory.
Thanks for your prayers & support!
Love,
Tom & Tera

Chapter 17: Taxi Service

Tera and I started a taxi service!! Well, just for a week or so. We saw a need with some of our co-workers and traveling to the airport. A lot of them take off for the holiday back to the States and finding a ride to the airport can be a struggle. It can also be pretty expensive as well. So far this week we have made three trips to the airport and we will make three more for a total of six trips. It has been a great opportunity to serve and help out where there is a need.
We have offered to take in a dog too for some of our co-workers who have traveled back to the States for the summer. The transition has gone some what smoothly...so far...
Tomorrow, we are meeting with a guy to see if we can come to their school on Saturdays and feed some of the students. We are thinking about making mandazis and giving out juice. The school has around 185 students from K-5th grade. We are looking forward to another opportunity to serve here in Kenya.
Thank you again for your support and your prayers!
Love,
Tom & Tera

Chapter 16: Community Meal

It has been a while since we have written...we apologize.
Tera and I have been wanting to learn how to cook some Kenyan dishes, so this past Saturday we had two Kenyan friends over, Jerry & Martha. They showed us how to make mandazis, meat samosas, a beef stew, green grams, and chapatis. It turned into a great opportunity to reach out to our neighbors. We had a lot of extra food leftover and we decided to invite a bunch of guys from the area over. They were shocked, they had never experienced anything like it before. When we are coming and going throughout the neighborhood we see them now with huge smiles on their faces.
Tera has volunteered to help out with the girl's volleyball team this year. It starts on Monday and goes until the end of May. Tera was tutoring one of her students after school two days a week and now that volleyball is starting she would not be able to tutor...but...we have worked it all out and I (Tom) will help out and tutor her student after school!
We hope everyone is doing well. We appreciate your support!
We miss you all.
Love,
Tom & Tera

Chapter 15: Family

I recently read in Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven:
“Do you have family & friends you wish you could spend more time with? In Heaven you’ll have unlimited time….A young woman visiting a missionary in Eastern Europe asked her, “Isn’t it hard being so far away from your children and missing important events in their lives?” “Sure,” the missionary replied. “But in Heaven we’ll have all the time together we want…” (page 237).
This was comforting to read and to be reminded of.
We understand some of the challenges of being out on the mission field and one of them is missing our families and the special events that take place. But at the same time, we get to witness and see first hand how God is working overseas. We serve an awesome God.
The Lord is good and He provided us with a couple opportunities to spend some time with our families over this extended period away from our loved ones. On December 17th, Tera’s sister, Leah, flew into Kenya. We were able to hang out and visit a number of places here in Kenya with her for two weeks. Then on December 31st, Tera and I flew into Grand Rapids, MI to visit with family. It was great to be able to see family again and hold new family members for the first time.
Thank you for your love, your support, & your prayers!
We love you & miss you.
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58