Update from the Director - December 2010

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten….You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never again be put to shame.” ~Joel 2:25-26 (ESV)~
This last week of 2010 has been a whirlwind for us at AGC Baby Centre—but in a blessed way! It seems that every time I sat down to write an update, a new phone call would come that would change the course of the week. Last Friday (Christmas Eve), we received precious Maria, a nearly-two-year-old girl who had been abandoned by her mother in the middle of the night nearly a year ago, and then was essentially kicked out of another children’s home for “staying too long.” My heart aches for Maria as I try to imagine what a tough couple of years she has had!
Monday we were blessed to see baby Mercy adopted into a new family! She was the baby that our family picked up on the way home from vacation back in April. She had been abandoned in a courtroom and discovered after the crowd cleared out. What an amazing work of God that she already is blessed with a mama and daddy, a big brother, and THREE big sisters (one of whom is an AGC Baby Centre alumnus)!
Today we received a call about another precious baby girl of about 15 to 18 months of age who had been abandoned. We named her Noel since she has arrived at this festive season as we continue celebrating the newness of life that comes from Christ’s birth. Noel today is struggling and needs our prayers. When I first met her, the caregivers said she regularly calls for her mama. She was crying a little, so I picked her up and just held her close like I do my own daughter of almost the same age. Since she was crying, I asked her, “What do you want?” My heart broke when she simply answered, “You.” She is definitely in transition, needing the love of a mama and not understanding why she’s not getting her own mama.
It’s always a struggle to see these bigger kids like Maria and Noel go through the transition. For them, it has been a tough time— what most likely have been years that the “locusts” have eaten up until their little spirits feel damaged and broken and empty. But just as we have seen Jesus redeem and restore Mercy’s life, we believe He will do the same for Maria and Noel…and for all 44 other babies still with us at AGC Baby Centre. We believe He will restore to them all the years the “locusts have eaten”, because it’s a promise of His Word.
What an honor and a blessing that we get to be a part of what Jesus is doing in restoring these precious lives! Thank you to those of you who continue to pray for each precious life that appears before you in these updates! Thank you to each one who has given over this year (and other years) to see this ministry continue to meet the needs of children in Kenya! Thank you to all who have visited and held these babies, who have encouraged our staff, and who have shared with others about this ministry! Each one of us is a part of the restoration process that is essential to the lives of these babies.
In 2010, 35 precious little ones were welcomed into AGC Baby Centre, where the process of restoration can begin! As we step into a new year, the need continues to be great, and we continue to welcome people like you to be a part of the ministry here. May Jesus continue His great works of restoration in this place through people like me and you!
So thankful for His restoration,
Staci Keter
Director

Glorious Triumph

28 September 2010 And Miriam sang this song:"Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously...." ~Exodus 15:18~
Today we welcomed precious 1-day-old Miriam into our AGC Baby Centre family. Cold and hungry and covered in mud, baby Miriam has truly had a rough start in life. I’ll never understand how such precious lives end up in these kinds of situations. It never gets any easier to see. But each and every time, I’m thankful to Jesus that He has preserved such a precious life. I praise Him today that “He has triumphed gloriously” over any evil that was intended in Miriam’s life! I praise Him that Miriam can grow up to be one who sings praises to Him, one who gives testimony to the victorious grace of Jesus!
Pray with us today that Jesus will have victory in each of the 42 precious lives with us at AGC Baby Centre. Thank Him for the victories already won and for how He triumphs in unbelievably difficult circumstances. Thank you to each of you who partner with us in so many ways. Because of your obedience, generosity, prayers, and involvement, God continues to be victorious in the battle for lives here in Kenya!
Praising the One who triumphs gloriously,
Staci Keter
Director

Update from the Director - Nathan and Joel

28 June 2010 “…He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep….The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”. ~Psalm 121:3-4, 7-8~
Baby Nathan was not a surprise for us. We knew on Friday that we were to receive him today, and things went just as planned. We welcomed this tiny, healthy 3-week- old baby boy, and he is settling in easily to the love and food and care at AGC Baby Centre. He seems to be taking Jesus at His word and is giving Him many opportunities to watch over him while he sleeps. 
Just as Nathan was arriving at Baby Centre, I was receiving a phone call that there was another baby in town who needed a safe place. We were surprised today to receive baby Joel—a big boy around 9 or 10 months old. We were also surprised to find him extremely clean, in very good health, and with excellent social skills, all of which led us to wonder if perhaps he is more lost than abandoned. During the afternoon, he played a bit with toys, but as nighttime began settling in, Joel began to struggle. It seems it was also a surprise to Joel to find himself surrounded by strangers and out of his routine for going to bed. As I rocked this precious boy who is almost the same age as my own daughter, I wondered if there is a mother somewhere who is missing her son as much as he apparently is missing her. And one more time, my heart was torn up by what the fallen-ness of the world can do to a precious life.
Tonight as all 42 precious babies are laying down their heads and preparing for slumber, there is one among them who is finding sleep to be difficult. As we struggle with Joel and feel his pain, we take comfort from the God who watches over our lives, the God who will keep us from harm, the God who will not sleep the whole night through just to make sure that He has planned our coming and going. Some part of me is praying that while we slumber, the same God who planned Joel and Nathan’s coming here will do a miracle in planning Joel’s going—that maybe the mama he apparently loves so much will be able to trace where he has gone so that they can be reunited. That’s my human will, I know, but no matter what the outcome, I must entrust the lives of Joel and Nathan into the hands of the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. I can do that, because I know that He watches over our lives and doesn’t want to bring us to harm. Pray with us now that while we slumber, God is able to bring peace and rest to Joel’s life. Pray that we ourselves allow Him to do the same in our lives.
Able to sleep because He doesn’t,
Staci Keter
Director

Standing in Awe

25 June 2010 “When they see among them their children, the work of My hands, they will keep My name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.” ~Isaiah 29:23~
As our staff gathered for prayer today to send Jessica home with her new mommy and daddy, we realized that so many things were familiar—the joy we felt that she was getting to go home, the tears as we said good-bye, the awe at what God had done in redeeming a child’s life and then blessing that child with a family. All these thoughts and more seem familiar to us now as we see children going home.
But today there was something even more familiar—the parents. Just 18 months ago, we were gathered on the same playground with many of the same staff and the same parents as they were taking Daniel K. home from AGC Baby Centre. What an amazing thing Jesus has done in the lives of these children! Jessica doesn’t just get a new mom and dad. She also gets a new big brother—and not just any big brother, but one who comes from the same place she does. Daniel and Jessica get to grow up sharing love and support and family and a connection deeper than any of us will probably ever realize. I stand in awe of the God who does things like this! To see the lives of these children and all He has done for them—it’s so clearly something that could only be done by the work of His hands!
Praise Jesus with us today for all His children among us and how each one displays the work of His hands. We are in awe! More importantly, may our awareness of Him and His working drive us to humility and holiness—that He may be glorified through our lives the same way He is glorified through these children’s lives.
In awe of Jesus,
Staci Keter
Director

Precious in His Sight

11 June 2010 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you….Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.” ~Isaiah 43:2, 4~
As the week draws to a close here at AGC Baby Centre, my heart is full of many different emotions. This week baby Sammy was able to go back home to some family that was found. We are happy that he can be where he is supposed to be. We are thrilled for the opportunity we had to be a part of his life for these past few months! I am continually overwhelmed at the privilege of touching these lives—and letting them touch mine—and cannot thank God enough for that honor.
Yesterday, we received baby Precious. She is a tiny and, yes, very precious, 3-day old baby girl who has had quite the rough start in life. She was rescued from a pit latrine on her birthday and has a number of health problems as a result of that. In my heart, I have struggled with her situation. Today I stood over her crib, watching her sleep peacefully, and thinking how much she deserved that rest. I wept as I imagined her floating there in the midst of that waste, thrown out as if she, too, were waste. My heart rose up in desperate prayer that her body can be made whole, and especially that she will grow up knowing the depth of God’s love for her and how truly precious she is in His sight. I don’t know what “exchange” happened in the realm of the Kingdom of God so that her life was saved, but as I looked at her, I was so thankful that God redeemed her life and she was not overwhelmed by those waters!
Today, please send up a special prayer for baby Precious—that neither her body nor soul will bear any lasting effects from the trauma of her first days. Thank God that what He has done for Precious, he has also done for each one of us in redeeming our lives from the pit of sin, just because we are precious and honored in His sight, and because He loves us!
With a full heart,
Staci Keter
Director

Why We Do What We Do

14 April 2010 “Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.” ~James 1:27 (CEV)~
“Who is that baby?” “Why do we have that baby?” “What happened to her mommy and daddy?” “Why did they leave her?” These are just a few of the questions that my 4-year-old twin sons asked me yesterday evening in the car. We were on our way home from a trip to the beach and were called to pick up a baby who had been abandoned. When we picked up 6-week-old Mercy (a chubby-cheeked, curly-headed cherub of a baby), it sparked many questions in my boys. These are complicated questions that are not easy questions to answer even from an adult perspective, so I found myself struggling to explain things in a way that 4-year-olds might be able to understand. At the end of it all, the toddlers made more sense of it than I could ever have done. “God doesn’t like it for babies to be left alone on the ground,” said Gifton. To which Solomon added, “Who’s gonna take care of her? Someone’s GOTTA take care of her.”
That’s pretty much it. That’s why we do what we do, why AGC Baby Centre exists—because God doesn’t like for babies to be left alone and someone’s “gotta” take care of them. So as the sun was setting yesterday evening, we welcomed little Mercy into AGC Baby Centre…and hopefully my boys learned a little bit about “pleasing God” and “not letting the world make them evil”.
We’re thankful we’re not alone in this endeavor to care for vulnerable children. We’re thankful for the families who come to care for orphans in need in a very personal way by welcoming them into a family. Mercy was able to come home with us because Joshua went home with his new mommy & daddy just a few days ago! We’re also thankful for people like you who pray, give, encourage, and even come to spend time with us. Today at AGC Baby Centre, we remain full with 36 precious little ones in our care. Thank you for pleasing God through your part in His ministry to orphans! Thank you for making it possible for these ones to receive His love and care!
With gratitude,
Staci Keter
Director

Those Who Cannot Speak

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute….defend the rights of the poor and needy.” ~Proverbs 31:8-9~
Normally our updates are full of photos of smiling, chubby-cheeked babies. We love those kinds of photos. They are fun and joyful and make us smile back. They remind us of the reason we are here. Today I don’t have a photo of a smiling baby to send. But this photo reminds us even more of the reason that we are here.
Moses Kibet (yes, he’s our second Moses Kibet) arrived from a town a few hours away. A children’s officer phoned to say there was a baby who had been abandoned and was in need, so we said, “Bring him.” We are so glad that we did. Moses is approximately 4 months old, but weighs only 3.5kgs. He is very malnourished and in great need of some good food and loving care. Little Moses has arrived to us truly “destitute,” and we pray that Jesus will enable us to provide for him all that is his right as a child—good food, a warm bed, some happy play time, and especially loving care.
So as the day draws to a close here at AGC Baby Centre, we are full once more—36 precious little lives in our hands. Each child has the right to be cared for, to be loved. For those of you who are partners with AGC Baby Centre, THANK YOU for defending the rights of Moses (and others like him). THANK YOU for speaking up for them through your prayers, your giving, your encouragement, your work for us!
On behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves,
Staci Keter

He Does All Things Well!

We just received this news from the director of the baby center. The October NMC team was concerned about Elijah and many have been praying here in America as well!

18 March 2010

“People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well,‟ they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.‟. ~Mark 7:37~

I often tell people that if you want to learn very many things about God and His Kingdom, then you should spend some time with us at AGC Baby Centre. It is not that we are especially holy people—no more so than any other followers of Christ. It’s not that we are more schooled in theology or have known more than the average Christian. It’s just that God is daily doing things here in and through the lives of these children that cannot be explained any other way apart from His working. And so it is that on many days the veil is pulled back, and we get to see a glimpse of the reality of how His Kingdom is to be.
One such case that has happened recently is the healing of our Elijah. Our medical staff here were quite certain that Elijah was deaf. In fact, Elijah was deaf. He didn’t respond to any noise in the way that babies do. Hand clapping, key jingling, even loud construction noises that would startle every other baby here—those would bring absolutely no response from Elijah. Our staff began to pray. Just a few weeks ago, Elijah started responding to noise, and even now answers to the calling of his name! We simply asked for healing in the name of Jesus, and He did it! Some people may say, “Maybe he was never really deaf. Maybe he just wasn’t responding at the time.” But we will not steal the Lord’s glory by explaining it away as something else. We prayed, the Lord did a miracle, and we praise Him!
We have seen a very personal testimony that “He even makes the deaf hear.” We ask that you join us in thanksgiving for Elijah’s healing and also that you join us in prayer for another baby. After several attempts at testing, we have seen that baby Grace is not hearing at all. Will you join us in prayer for her? We ask for healing, but whether or not her hearing is restored, we pray that her life will be guarded and her soul preserved for the One who does everything well.
Trusting in the One who does everything well,
Staci Keter
Director
e-mail: director@agcbabycenter.org
Thanks to Cason and Colleen Wittig and Kristy Mikel for the pictures of Elijah and Grace!

A Princess Finds a Home!

10 March 2010
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light.” ~1 Peter 2:9~
Yesterday our Sarah went home. The name Sarah means “princess” and couldn’t be more appropriate for her. She is such a special girl—bright, outgoing, and beautiful. She has been so excited since her mother first came for bonding—telling everyone that she is leaving. She has really felt like royalty the last few days of preparing to go home, knowing that she was chosen and is loved by her new mommy.
We believe that Sarah and all our other babies deserve to feel special and loved, to know that they are “royal” and “chosen.” We have seen testimony after testimony of children being brought out of the darkness of sickness, abandonment, desperation and being brought into the light of the love of Jesus through His healing and through the work of His people here who care for them.
As you think of AGC Baby Centre today and celebrate with Sarah, also pray for our other babies who deserve to be chosen and loved by a family. Pray that in the midst of the waiting, they will feel the love of the Father and know that they are already chosen to be His, that they belong to Him. And thank God today that even you are chosen and loved by Him!
Resting the Truth that we belong,
Staci Keter
Director
e-mail: director@agcbabycenter.org
Thanks Erika for the picture!

Written in Your Book!

“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” ~Psalm 139:15-16
On Wednesday of last week, another one of our big boys, Meshack, was blessed to go home with his new mommy and daddy! We are so thankful for the way Jesus has answered prayers for our bigger children to be able to get a home. After Meshack went home, we were down to 35 babies. On that same day, however, we received a call from Tenwek Hospital that just the evening before a small baby girl was abandoned at the hospital. So on Friday, with the arrival of baby Rose—a healthy one-month-old—AGC Baby Center is once again full!
As I thought of how God knew just when space would be available for baby Rose, I remembered that Meshack arrived almost the same way more than two years ago. The day that our precious Abigail went into the hospital before passing away, Meshack was left at our gate. We had been full, but God made a way for him to be safe with us. It’s amazing to think that before even Abigail or Mesh or Rose was created, God had already ordained and arranged all the days for them to be healthy and safe. Before Abigail was created, God knew He would take her home before she reached one year of age. Before Meshack was created, he knew just the right day for him to come here and just the right family for him to have. Before Rose was created, God ordained for her to come to us at just the right time! And He does the same for each and every one of the babies here! Let’s thank Him together for how He orders the steps of our babies!
Trusting Him to keep leading us ,
Staci Keter

(Thanks Erika for the updated pic of Meshack and the new pic of baby Rose)

While they are yet speaking...

We received the following exciting news from Staci this morning:
24 February 2010
“And it shall come to pass, before they call, I will answer and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
It is with very great rejoicing that we are happy to share that our dear MoMo (Moses Kibet) has gone home with a new mommy and daddy! For many days and weeks, we have prayed that God would bring just the right family for our big boy and today we saw that Jesus has answered. MoMo’s new mommy and daddy began the application process for adoption nearly one year ago, so truly God heard and was answering our prayers before we called! Both of MoMo’s parents are very excited to have their new son and told us of all the ways they will teach him to know Jesus.
While we rejoiced with Moses, there were some others of the big kids who were a bit sad—sad to see their longtime friend leave, sad that they were not the ones getting a mommy and daddy. For those ones, we hold on to the promise of God: “I will not leave you as orphans.” Let us call out to God for those children who remain, believing in faith that He is already answering our prayers and upholding His promises!
For the AGC Baby Centre family ,
Staci Keter
Director

NMC had a special prayer time for Mo Mo on Sunday, February 14th. Ngata AGC had a special prayer time that day for Mo Mo as well! We prayed that VERY SOON a family would come for him. How exciting to see God answer that prayer so quickly! Thanks Cason and Colleen for the pictures!

Showers of Blessings

We received the following email from the director of the Baby Centre today:

18 February 2010
"Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.'" Jeremiah 14:22 (NIV)
In Kenya, rain is a blessing, and when a visitor arrives during the rain, you say they have brought blessings with them. Yesterday in the midst of heavy rain showers, we drove back from Nairobi with a new visitor to AGC Baby Center—baby Hope who is approximately 10 months old. The blessing of rain came with her, and so we gave her the second name of Nafula (a tribal name that means she came during rain).
For baby Hope and all the other babies, we continue to put our hope in the God who sends down showers. We pray He sends showers of blessing for each child in the form of loving parents who will teach them to follow Jesus. Truly He is “the one who does all this”!
Pray for Hope to be strong and well, as she currently has a fever. Please continue to pray that God will send showers of family blessings to these little ones.
Putting all our hope in Him ,
Staci Keter
Director
e-mail: director@agcbabycenter.org