A Very Special Thursday

     We are sorry this post did not get posted when it was finished.  We thought we had posted it and in our hast to get to Nairobi to pick up Talia we hadn't noticed that it actually had not been posted.  Please enjoy the news even though it is late.
     What a day we've had at the AGC Baby Centre today!!  Praise the Lord for the families that were formed today!  Four families to be exact!  We had four children go home today with their forever families!!
     Susan Naliaka, Jared, Jael and Joshua Alumasi all went home today with their new parents.  Below are pictures of them all.  All the parents came and were here all at the same time so they all got to meet each other.

Jared and his parents

Susan Naliaka and her parents

Jael and her Mum

Joshua Alumasi and his parents

Rachel Salome

     In the midst of the families bonding, Dan and I were called away to go and pick up a baby from the police station.  So we now have a new baby, Rachel Salome.  She is about 2-1/2 weeks old and weighs about 8-1/2 lbs.  She is just beautiful.

Blessings,

D&D

A Wonderful Tuesday!!

     These are the days we say "Yes, this is what it is all about!"  To see three different children go home today with three sets of parents!  Awesome!!
     The first set of parents to arrive were Alex's.  They were wonderful people that were thrilled to invite Alex into their family.

Alex and his Mum & Dad

     The second set of parents were Adam's.  Again, a wonderful couple that were so very happy to be gaining a son today.

Adam and his Mum & Dad

     The third set of parents to arrive were Peter Maina's.  Peter just immediately snuggled into his new mama's neck as she held him.  They too were beside themselves with joy with their new little one.

Peter Maina and his Mum & Dad

     What a glorious day for all the staff here at the Baby Centre!  We pray for all these new families to find joy in each other and what the Lord has brought together!  And, imagine, getting a mommy and daddy the week before Christmas.  What a Christmas present they all received this year!!  Thank you Jesus, You are GOOD!!!

Thomas Emmanuel

    And yesterday we welcomed little 5 month old Thomas Emmanuel to our Baby Centre family.  He weighed in at almost 16 lbs. and he is such a happy little guy.  He is adjusting to life here at the Baby Centre just fine and is doing very well.








     Thank you for reading and staying updated with what God is doing in Kenya at the AGC Baby Centre and in the lives of the Jacobs' family.

Blessings,

D&D

To Turi, Tenwek, and Mau Forest

     Karibuni!!  We are thinking of you all as the holidays are fast approaching.  Praying you will take the time to reflect on what the season is truly about and praise our God and Father for blessing you so richly.
     We wanted to take a moment to fill you in on what our last week has looked like.  Where we have been and what is happening here at the Baby Centre.

          First off while we were away we had another addition to our Baby Centre family.  Little Moses is about 1 year old.  He arrived on Tuesday and is adjusting well to his new surroundings.

Moses

     We began Monday by traveling to a place called Turi.  It is a boarding school (which is out of session right now) where WGM has it's December Field Meeting for all the missionaries stationed in Kenya.  It's a lovely place.  It was nice to connect with some of the other missionaries that are here that we don't see very often because of distance.
     Our actual meeting was on Tuesday, lasting the entire day.  Then Wednesday we had a Christmas program with the missionary kids and parents, and Santa and Mrs. Clause even made an appearance.  It was very nice and need I say we have some very talented missionaries and MK's on our field!!

     We left from Turi on Wednesday and headed to Tenwek Hospital in Bomet where the 2012 Annual AGC Pastor's Conference was being held.  Dan was speaking on Wednesday evening about the Baby Centre.  We arrived just in time to finalize our presentation and have a quick supper.
     There are over 1,700 AGC churches in Kenya, and there was probably about 1,000 representatives at the Conference.  It was a spectacular turnout.

Dan

     Dan had a slideshow and presented what the Baby Centre is all about, and where it is going.  Cate Habib, as Outreach Ministries Coordinator, also spoke on a portion of the slideshow sharing all the different ways that the AGC churches can get involved and take ownership the Baby Centre.  Both Dan and Cate did a wonderful job conveying all the information to the many attendees.  (And they did it all with no practice or run-through of the presentation because of lack of time.)  I've included a few pictures from the Conference.

Dan

Cate Habib

     We headed back to the Baby Centre on Thursday morning.  Our travels took us right the the Mau Forest.  What a beautiful place!  The road we travelled on through the Forest had us wondering at times if we were really supposed to be on the road, and if, in fact, it was really a road at all.  It was very deserted with us only seeing enough vehicles/people that we could count on one hand.  But such beautiful country!  We didn't see any wildlife except for a monkey we saw scurrying across the road in front of us.  We have been told that their are in fact elephants that still live in that Forest.




     














    We also wanted to say that Thursday was a very difficult day because it was Talia's birthday and it was the first birthday we were unable to spend with her.  Just a reminder to you to please continue to pray for us.  Being away from your children is very difficult.

     Dana has been working on many promotional projects at the Baby Centre.  One of which is the 2013 calendar.  It has been almost 3 months worth of taking all the photos and discussing the details with the printer.  The calendar is finished and printed and we will be selling them as a fundraiser for the Baby Centre.  Some of the calendars will be coming back to the states in January so be sure to look for them.  Some of the other items are Helping Hands Booklets and Response Forms that we can hand out at Conferences and churches to get the AGC congregations more engaged with the Baby Centre and give them a better understanding of what the Baby Centre needs are.

As always, thank you for your continuing support of this ministry and for all your prayers!

Blessings,
D&D
   

A Visit to Mogoon AGC

    Today was the first Sunday we started our new outreach to the AGC churches.  Today's group included Dan, Carson & myself, Pastor Meshack & Cate Habib & family, Flo and Mary C. (two of our caregivers),  and six of the Baby Centre children.

     As Director, Dan speaks about different aspects of the Baby Centre, explaining what exactly the ministry is and about God's calling and direction.  Cate, as Outreach Ministries Coordinator, then speaks about ways the congregation can get involved and help the children at the Baby Centre.  We challenge them to become partners.  And the children put on a little program for them with songs and scripture memorizations.

Beatrice, Erick, Michael Mwangi

     We received such a wonderful, warm welcome from this church.  They pledged to become more involved in the Baby Centre and have already scheduled the date of the 29th of December to come for a visit.  They also responded with cash donations and gifts-in-kind.  We are so thankful that God provides these opportunities for us to go and speak and tell people what the AGC Baby Centre is all about.

     Below are some photos from the day and a short video of the kids singing one of their songs.

Beatrice, Erick, Michael Mwangi,

Tahila Habib, Alex, Seenoi, Wycliff

Seenoi, Alex, Wycliff

Beatrice, Erick, Michael Mwangi,

Tahila Habib, Alex, Seenoi, Wycliff

Dan & Pastor Meshack Habib

Cate Habib

      Thank you for your continued interest in this ministry and for continuing to read our blog.

Blessings,

D&D

Bittersweet Farewell

     Today was the day we said farewell to Staci, Wycliff & family.  We celebrated with them with a big Thank You party with friends and family.  It was a good day with many words of appreciation from coworkers & staff.
     We have been planning the party for a couple of weeks now and it has been very hectic around the Baby Centre.  We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the Baby Centre family for all the hard work they have done.  The office staff, especially Emmanuel, Cate and Christine did a fantastic job helping get things done.  The party would not have been possible without the three of them and all the help they provided.
     There were representatives from each department that gave an appreciation speech to let Staci know how she has impacted them and the entire Baby Centre.  Linnet representing the Operations Department, Flo representing the Caregivers, Christine representing the Office staff, Jim Vanderhoof representing WGM, Bishop Reverend Dr. Robert Lang'at offered his appreciation and prayer, & Dan, along with being the facilitator, read letters from Board members that could not attend.
     Below are some photos from the special day.  We pray for all the best for Staci and Wycliff as they move in the direction they feel God is calling them.  They will be greatly missed.

Dana making 300 cupcakes for the party

Dana & April traced all the children's hands onto the banner,
then April painted them.

Staci & Wycliff, the guests of honor

Some of the Baby Centre children, as well as Eliana and Tahila

Singing and dancing for Staci

     The kids put on a great program for Staci.  With many songs, dancing and reciting scripture verses.

More singing & dancing

Carson & Dan presenting Staci with the banner

Bishop Lang'at & Dan praying for the Keter's

Some of the caregivers singing

Caregivers presenting gifts to Staci

     It was a wonderful day and now we have to look towards tomorrow.  We will be presenting at Mogoon AGC in the morning.  This is a new church that is anxious to partner with the Baby Centre and we are taking five of the Baby Centre children with us to do a presentation.  We look forward to this new way to connect with the AGC churches.  

     Monday begins our WGM Field Meeting at Turi.  We finish with that on Wednesday and Wednesday night we present at Tenwek Hospital for the AGC Pastor's Conference.  So please keep us in your prayers for all the travel and all the presentations as we continue to build relationships with the local churches.

Blessings,

D&D

3 December 2012

  Welcome little Joshua Mzima to the AGC Baby Centre.  He is a sweetheart at about 1-1/2 months old, weighing a little over 9 lbs.  From the moment he came he has been full of smiles and is a very happy baby.  Remember to pray for Joshua as he adjusts to life at the Baby Centre.  This brings us to 67 babies!!

Joshua Mzima

To Kinango and Back

   Dan arrived back safely late Thursday evening from Kinango after a very long drive.  It took us over 15 hours from the time we left Mombasa to arrive at the Baby Centre at 11:00PM.  The purpose of the trip was to go and meet the Duruma people.  A least reached people group that live south of Mombasa.  The group that I traveled with was Bishop Rev. Dr. Robert Langat, Rev. David Mutai, Rev. Julius Tonui and Jim Vanderhoof.
   We were also able to stop at the new AGC Church in Mombasa and pray over it and see how things are progressing. Dennis and Gladys are doing a wonderful job, and the church is growing.

AGC Church Mombasa

Dennis and Gladys Mutai

     After leaving the Mombasa church we headed for Kinango. This was a two hour drive through some beautiful but rough country. We met with area leaders of the Duruma tribe and had an official handing over of 100 acres of land to the Bishop for AGC to develop over the next several years. In the pictures below you will see the start of a missionary home and a missions school. We were also able to visit the well that had been repaired through the efforts of AGC, NMC, and Davis-Schirttliff the well contractor.

Bishop laying the cornerstone of the missionary home

Praying inside the new mission school

Praying over the well

   I don't think that words can describe the appreciation of the Duruma people for having this functioning well. We take for granted that when were turn on our faucet at home that there will be clean     drinking water coming out every time. Even with this well they have to transport the water several kilometers, but they are very happy to do it. Before this the closest water source was 25 kilometers away. 

   Below are some pictures of the celebration and ceremony we attended with the Duruma people. We had children and adult dancers as well as a Duruma band play for us. It was amazing!

Duruma band

Duruma adult dancers

Duruma children dancers

     We thank God for a great trip, and safe travel.

     We've had a busy week at the Baby Centre with some children coming to us for protective custody and very many parent packets coming over our desks.  Which is great because those are all prospective parents for our babies. 

      On December 1st we were able to send one of our babies home. Mary Ivy went home with her new mom and dad. She also has a new older brother waiting for her at home.

Mary Ivy and her new mom and dad

     These are the days that encourage us and allow us to press on. It is a very emotional day for all of us here to say goodbye to a child we have taken care of for so long, but are so happy for the family that God has brought to take her home.

     We have had many things to prepare for with the AGC Pastor's Conference coming up in a little over a week.  We've been trying to get 2013 forms, calendars and business cards up to date so that we have them to take with us.  

     On Dec. 9th we will be speaking at a local church.  Some of the children will be going with us and doing a small program for the congregation.  Dan will be speaking as well as some others of the Baby Centre staff.  These are wonderful opportunities to get the local church involved at the Baby Centre by informing and challenging them to get involved.

     Please pray for all of us here at the Baby Centre for endurance. We are also at this time enduring a matatu(taxi) strike. It has been all over the nation. We are having to shuttle BC employees to and from home in order to keep things going. Thank you for keeping up with us, and praying for us.

Blessings,

D&D

Thanksgiving

     There are so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving that there isn't enough room to list them all.  God has been good to us and we are so thankful to Him for the many blessings and the "bends in the road" that we've encountered over the last year.

Linet preparing food

     This is our first Thanksgiving in Kenya.  We miss our families and friends back in the states, but are so very thankful for the family we have here in the Baby Centre employees and the other missionaries.  Kenya doesn't celebrate a Thanksgiving Day so on Wednesday we threw a Thanksgiving lunch for all the Baby Centre employees and explained to them what Thanksgiving Day is all about in America.  We had a really good time serving and talking with the employees.  Here are some photos.

Margie preparing food

Cooking on the new outdoor cooker

Us serving lunch

Some of the group

     Then today, Thanksgiving Day, the missionaries celebrated together.  We had our meal at Staci & Wycliff's home.  We had a wonderful turkey (after we were able to get it thawed out!), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, salad, butternut squash casserole, green beans, rolls, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake, mango pie, chocolate pie, coffee and pumpkin spice latte!!  It was a wonderful meal.  Then we had good fellowship with each other and some time to just relax.  We were very thankful for today and time with our missionary family.  We were all missing our families back in the US so it was good for all of us to be together today and laugh and have a good time.  Here are a few photos.

Dan carving the turkey

Dan & Wycliff carving the turkey

Carson, Wycliff, April, Alice, Staci, Eliana

     Thank you Lord for your goodness, your faithfulness, your love.  

We are thankful for all of you, we pray that you too will have a wonderful day of contemplating how the Lord has blessed you. We thank God for all of the babies. We thank God for people like Robyn Moore and Dr. Chuck Bemm who volunteer their time to make sure the babies are healthy.

   Bwana asifiwe, Bwana asifiwe tena!

   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord again!

Blessings,

D&D