Greetings everyone!  Praying you had a very Merry Christmas!  Dan and I just wanted to share with you our Christmas.

In the morning we did our normal "tradition" by making pancakes, sausages, and Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes for the children, and for the staff that was working.

We also provided lunch for the staff that were working on Christmas day.  Then in the evening we provided a dinner at our home for the Admin. Staff and their families that were at Baby Centre.  It was a fun time of fellowship.

 Also, we have a new member to the Jacobs family.  Yes, Buddy Jacobs made his arrival on Christmas Eve and he and Hope are already best of friends.  He follows her around absolutely everywhere!!

Blessings,

D&D

Our First Month Back

   Well friends we've had quite the time since we've been back in the states.  We've had a lot of laughs, some time with our children and parents, reconnected with a lot of people at our home church, Nappanee Missionary Church, and also other churches that we've either spoken at before or have had teams come to the Baby Centre.
   We are in the midst of traveling at the moment as we had a couple speaking engagements out of town.  Down to Tennessee, then to Alabama, then to Florida.
   So far on this trip we've been able to spend some time with some good friends, Jeff & Tascha Fyke.  Jeff & Tascha came to the Baby Centre to serve as VIA's for about 7 months in 2014.  We had a wonderful time with them and their little daughter Lizzie.  We were able to spend almost a week with them and also went to their church, Central Baptist Church of Bearden, where Dan got about five minutes to speak and gave the Benediction at both church services as well as spoke in two of the Sunday School classrooms.
   Then we got to go spend some time together with the Fyke's at a waterpark/resort for a few days.  It was a lot of fun and all of us had a great time!!

Central Baptist Church of Bearden benediction in the sanctuary.

Central Baptist Church of Bearden speaking in a Sunday School class.

   Today we went to visit some friends at Covenant United Methodist Church in Alabama.  Covenant has sent multiple teams to Baby Centre.  We were privileged to be able to speak in all 3 of their services and are being treated to a big party this evening.
   It was great to reconnect with some of the past team members, as well as get to speak about our ministry and the Baby Centre for the first time in their church.
   Below are some photos from our speaking in the church services at Covenant UMC.

   We are off to Florida in the morning for a couple of days.  We are hoping to connect with a church down there as well.

   Oh, forgot to say that Hope is now a Pastor as she stands at the podium in a little country church.

   A huge thank you to Jeff & Tascha Fyke and also Libby Glasgow and her son Jamie for all their hospitality while we were staying with them.

Blessings,

D&D

Time Goes So Quickly

   Hey everybody!  It has been quite a while since we've updated our blog and we apologize for that.  It seems as though that ever since the middle of January this year we have been on the go and trying to get things accomplished before leaving on our HMA (Home Ministry Assignment).  That includes visitors, two teams, our mandatory WGM retreat/meeting, not to mention all the jobs that we have at the Baby Centre.
   Yes, we are headed back to the states for our HMA.  That is when we come back to try to rejuvenate, but it is also when we travel around and speak at different churches/venues to get people excited/educated about the Baby Centre and our ministry.  We have been on the field for just about 4 years now, it is time to raise our  financial support for the next season of our ministry. We do believe that when God class, He does provide.  Our funds have dipped very low in recent months and our account remains close to deficit.
   We will be back for 4 months and during that time already have many speaking engagements, but we have plenty of room for more.  If you would like us to come and speak at your Sunday School class, church or business please e-mail us directly at:  jacobshouse6@aol.com.  We would be glad to hear from you and get a date down on our calendar for speaking.

Emmanuel

Betty

   We would appreciate your prayers for the Baby Centre as we leave for these few months.  Prayers for our Administrative staff as they will running all aspects of the Baby Centre with us gone.  That includes:  Emmanuel (Deputy Director) and his wife Millicent (she will take over Dana's responsibilities with visitors/teams), Rev. Pius (Ministry Manager), & Betty (Outreach Ministries Manager).  This will be a good test run to see how close to transition we are.

Rev. Pius

   Prayers for our family would also be appreciated.  It is difficult transitioning from one culture to the other.  It can affect you in ways you don't even think about.  We are sad to leave our Kenyan home and friends, but super excited to come back and see our kids, grand

Carson delivering his graduation speech

kids, parents and siblings!
   One of the biggest changes this time that we come back will be that Carson, our youngest son, will not be returning to Kenya with us when we come back.  He has graduated high school and will be staying in the states to attend college.  This will be a huge change for us and for Carson.  Please pray specifically for that transition for him and us.
   Carson has many friends here at Baby Centre and he will be greatly missed.  The evidence of his walk with the Lord  has made a lasting impact on all the people he's come into contact with over these years.  Carson has also been a tremendous help to us as he has spearheaded the Tilapia fish farm and has also taught himself AutoCad so that he could design buildings for the new Special Needs Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre we hope to begin building within the next 12 months.
   Carson is such a blessing to us.  We know this is a natural move at this time in his life, but let's just say it will not be without many tears shed.  One of the hardest, most difficult things for us as missionary parents is getting on that plane in the states to travel back to the mission field without our children.  I can say from much experience it gets more difficult each time you do it.  It in no way gets easier.  We are very happy for Carson moving forward in this next season of his life and know he will excel with the Lord by his side.
   Another prayer request we'd like to add is that we are in need of a vehicle to use while we are back for the 4 months. We no longer own a vehicle in the states.  So, we just want to put that out there in case anyone happens to have a vehicle they wouldn't mind us using while we are back.
   If you are wondering how to support us financially you can go to the WGM website (www.wgm.org) and go to missionaries, find our name and click on it.  There it will explain how you can do that.  Or, if you would rather, give us a shout in an e-mail and we can help you.

Graduation photo

Blessings,

D&D







 

A Busy Christmas and New Year

   Hi all!  We hope that you've all had a most wonderful Christmas season celebrating our Savior's birth!  And a great start to the New Year!!

   We had a very good, but busy time here at the Baby Centre.  And it continues on in the coming weeks.

Alaska Team

   Over Christmas we had a team here from Alaska.  It was the first time we met them, and they were certainly a blessing to us.  We were glad they were able to come and visit the Baby Centre and get to know each other.  They are already planning a return trip.

New Year's Breakfast
Jackie, Carson, April, Dana, Hope

   Also over Christmas and New Year's Eve we had Jackie Burton, our long-time friend from Northern Ireland back with us for a couple of weeks.  It was great to have Jackie here for a short time and to show her all the changes at the Baby Centre and here about all the changes going on with her.

   We had a lot of fun, and Jackie was able to help Dana with the store room and getting items placed in their appropriate spot.
 




  On Christmas morning we had a Christmas breakfast and celebration with the Baby Centre kids.  We celebrated with pancakes (over 130!) and sausages and Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes and yummy juice.  After the breakfast feast, we handed out gifts for all the kids.  There was a bicycle, other riding toys, dolls, balls, bubbles, etc.!  Everyone had a great time praising God and playing!

 

   We hosted a staff lunch on Christmas day as well for all the staff that were working, and we were able to hand out a small gift to each of them.
   Our Christmas evening meal was a little more quiet, we had Jackie, April, Millie & Manu over for some chimichanga's and spanish rice.

Dana & Dan and Denny & Michelle

   We also were delighted to host Denny & Michelle Craker at the Baby Centre just this week.  What an amazing couple with wonderful God stories and miracles that they shared with us.  We were sad to see our new friends leave as they continue their journey in Kenya, and then on to where their ministry is.





   In the next couple of weeks we have a YWAM team of about 20 coming to stay at Baby Centre.  We have a few visitors coming from the states to do some ministry work through a Women's Retreat and a couple conferences.

   There is also a very important Baby Centre board meeting happening on the 20th of January.  Please pray for this meeting as some of the items to be discussed could make some major changes to the Baby Centre.

   Our Special Needs Centre Task Force also meets at the end of the month.

   We want to thank all of you for your prayers for us and for our family.  Especially through the holiday's when it is extra hard to be away from each other.

   If you are interested in hearing more about the ministry God has called us to, and you would like to partner with us financially, please contact us at jacobshouse6@aol.com and we can let you know how best to do that.

Blessings,

D&D

AGC Baby Centre Transition Update

     We thought it might be time to update you on what is happening here at the Baby Centre with some of our staff.  We continue to work on our transitions and things are going very well.

Emmanuel

     Emmanuel Muraran "Manu" currently the Deputy Director is continuing to learn the role of Director.  He and Dan are continuing to work closely together as they continue down the path of transition here at the Baby Centre.

Millicent

     Millicent Muraran, Manu's wife, is currently engaging in many areas of the Baby Centre.  This includes working closely with Dana learning the role of Baby Centre Hospitality Coordinator.  She will be transitioning into this role and will be in charge of all International teams as well as National visitors when the Board deems her ready.  

Everlyn

     Everlyn Korir our Childhood Development Coordinator works very hard with the children making sure they are at the correct learning level for their age.  She works with the children that aren't old enough to go to school yet, does homework with the school kids, does evaluations of each child monthly, and also is working hard with the special needs children to help them reach their fullest potential through daily therapy.

Irene and Edith

     Edith, our Head Caregiver, works with all the children, as well as takes care of supply needs in each of the Wings.  She does a wonderful job of getting to know each child personally.  She also helps Everlyn with working with the special needs children and their daily therapy.

Betty

     Betty is doing a fantastic job as our Outreach Ministries Manager.  She is spreading the word about Baby Centre and making extremely important contacts that could prove very viable for Baby Centre in the future.
     She also has been the push behind the new "Champions" group.  They are a group of 20 Kenyans that are spreading the news about Baby Centre all over as they are all from different areas.  This group has organized important meetings, worked together with another organization to have a walk for Baby Centre, and have also made Baby Centre shirts that are available to other Champions or Friends of Baby Centre for a small donation.
     Betty will also be working with Dana to learn about all Baby Centre social media sites and learning how to maintain and update them.  Eventually, when she is ready, this will be part of what Betty will do each day.

Robert

     Our two nurses, Robert (pictured left), and Joyce (pictured below), continue to work very hard at meeting the medical needs of our babies.  They have such wonderful hearts for these children and strive each day to maintain health for all of them.
     Our children are in very good hands with Joyce and Robert attending to them.

Joyce

Christine

     Christine remains as our Administrative Assistant and continues to help out our office staff in a large number of ways.
      She also enjoys helping out in the Wing's whenever we have the need.

Irene

     Our wonderful Social Worker, Irene, remains hard at work along with different adoption societies to find forever homes for our children.
     Frequently throughout the day you will find Irene loving on and feeding the babies in Wing A, or playing with the children in Wing's B or C.  She has a huge heart for these children and this Centre.

Gideon

     Gideon continues to learn the financial ropes here at Baby Centre.   Here he is running through a report for the Board meeting.
     As with so many of our employees, Gideon can be found outside frequently during breaks playing with the children in Wing C.







     As you can see, we have many employees at the Baby Centre (these are just a few) and they all have big hearts for the children here.  Each of them play a vital role in the development of each of these children, whether physical, mental or spiritual.  We are blessed to have such a staff.

Blessings,

D&D

A Special Sunday

     This past Sunday was Baby Centre Sunday at Ngata AGC.  The service began at 9:15 a.m. and lasted until 1:20 p.m., followed by a gathering at Baby Centre for a light lunch and tour.   There were 5 different churches represented as well as some governmental offices.
     During the church service a harambe was held, which is a fundraiser, for Baby Centre.  Over     Kshs 180,000/= was raised for operations.
     We were also privileged to have the Senator of Nakuru county attend, Honorable Lisa Chelule.  She is a remarkable women that plans on getting involved in a official capacity on behalf of Baby Centre.

Honorable Lisa Chelule

     This Sunday was prompted by a new group of individuals that are called Champions of Baby Centre.  This is a group of about 12 individuals, from Nakuru, Nairobi and many other towns, that have a heart and passion for these babies and go all over and speak on behalf of Baby Centre.

Dan delivering the sermon

     The Baby Centre Administrative team was in charge of the entire service.  Dan delivered the sermon, Pius was service leader, Emmanuel & Betty both delivered statistics on Baby Centre and our Champions, Gideon was in charge of worship, even some of our kids had a part singing and reciting Bible verses.

Baby Centre kids and Caregivers presenting during church

Manu presenting some statistics

Betty speaking of the "Champions"

Gideon leading worship

Rev. Pius also participated in worship

Some of our Champions

     We also have a 10K walk coming up on October 10th in Nairobi that all these individuals will attend.  This walk is sponsored by a Preparatory school in Nairobi that has a walk annually and raises funds for an organization, this year they chose Baby Centre.

In Wing A with the Senator

     A lot of our staff worked Sunday and so some had their children with them.  We wanted to pass along this photo.  Some of you may remember one of our first children here at Baby Centre, Lucy.  Well, this is Lucy today (the tallest child in the blue and white dress)!  She is just beautiful!  She is pictured below with her siblings and mom, Maorine.  We love seeing the children as they grow up and how they are getting along.