Wednesday - How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Great day at Salgaa. We had a great testimony from Alyssa. We handed out Bibles, shawls and blankets. We also visited in many homes. We then went to the IDP camp. We took water for them and we did a bible story and coloring page. Anne did a wonderful job on the story with Mesh. We visited in the tents with many of the residents. It was a very moving time. We then stopped at the well and prayed over it. The trees all have fruit! And there is a greenhouse full of tomatoes. Thanks to all the NMC family for your prayers they are felt and much needed. We are all very tired. Pray a special prayer for strength as some team members are feeling exhausted.

Tuesday - Each one Reach one

Tuesday we spent all day at the baby centre so the team was able to really
connect with the children and they all have fallen in love with the babies.

What a huge difference between what we saw at Mathare and the AGC Baby Centre.
It really opens our eyes to the miracle of what God will do through people when
they are obedient. Thank you so much to all at NMC for listening to Gods call.

Monday - Jesus loves the little children

Monday we headed to the Baby Centre. Staci took the team on a tour. Then they
were able to spend some time with the babies and get to know all 50 of them!
We've spent a lot of time organizing, sorting, helping with the laundry, and
playing with the babies.

Sunday - Give me eyes for the brokenhearted

We spent Sunday with Robyn to Mathare and then at Huruma. It broke everyones
heart to see how these children live and to experience all the poverty. No one
should have to live like they do. Yet these children are full of smiles and
just happy with what they have. Everyone could learn something from those
children.

That same day we had the opportunity to meet the newest addition to our Baby
Centre family, JJ. He is an adorable little 16 month old. The team had lunch
with JJ and his foster parents and Robyn. After lunch JJ was handed off to
Margie for her to take him a day ahead of time to the Baby Centre.

Friday - On Their Way!

The April 2011 Team left Nappanee Missionary Church at 11:30am Friday morning. They will arrive in Nairobi late Saturday night. Team members are: Front - Linna Sommers, Angela Walters and Talia Jacobs. Middle - Anne Hemminger, Tonia Rensberger, Rochelle Sharick and Kelsey Christner. Back - Margie Helmuth, Tracy Bussard, Carson Jacobs, Dana Jacobs, Dan Jacobs, Tony Hemminger, and Michelle Sharick. Please remember them in prayer as they begin their ministry in Kenya.

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

Back in Nairobi

We're nearing the end of our stay here in Kenya. The time has gone extremely fast and although we are looking forward to going home, we will be so sad to leave this beautiful country. God has been so good to us. He has gone before us in areas of ministry and has shown Himself to be faithful and powerful. He has answered prayers on the spot and He has changed hearts (ours as well as those we were ministering to). He has given us a renewed sense of compassion for those who don't know His love and provision for their soul. He has shown us areas of our lives that we need to change. He has provided rest and allowed us to witness the beauty He has created. We believe that greater things have yet to come... greater things are still to be done here! For all of us we know - there is no greater God than our God! Blessed be the name of the Lord!

2010 10 Kenya Team Picture

Front Row: Colleen Sweeney, Steve Widder ,Ezra Schmucker, Stephanie Wong
Middle Row: Donna Rohrer, Don Rohrer, Cassie Lengacher
Back Row: Jeff Simpson, Jamie Lengacher, Jolinda Lengacher

Baby Centre Reunion

 What a fantastic celebration! There were many tears as the first children and their parents started arriving at around 9:30am. The first child I saw was Joseph. He was dressed in a little suit and looked so grown up! His parents were so proud of him and he was a happy well adjusted child! Then around the corner came a very familiar face - Mo Mo! He had a smile from ear to ear! As the morning went on it was absolutley amazing to see Mary and Benson - the first babies to arrive at the baby centre in 2006. They were so tall yet still looked the same as they did when they were babies! So many of them had the same personalities that they had when they were younger. Meshack remembered everyone and was quick to lead the other kids in play. Silas was as busy as ever. In all 42 previous baby centre babies and their families came. They were each unique and so different from each other, but one thing they all had in common was a parent to love and care for them in a home of their own!

Babies, Beds and Being Busy

Wow, it's hard to believe how fast the week is going! We have tried very hard to spend as much time as possible with the babies while finishing all of our projects. It is a balancing act and it's too easy to feel like you should be working on a project instead of just sitting and holding a baby. We had to make baby hours where we would just stop whatever we were doing and go spend time one on one with the kids. There is no better way to spend a morning than holding, playing and loving on beautiful babies. They love it too and often fall asleep! The weather has been beautiful and it makes it nice to sit on the grass in the sunshine. The birds were singing in the acacia tree near the play yard. And I was so surprised that I have only seen one pigeon! The previous October team must have won the pigeon war! We worked hard on finding clothes out of the storage room for each baby to wear for the Baby Centre Reunion. The biggest challenge was finding enough shoes in the right sizes for each child. That is definitely going to the top of the list for the next team - shoes of all sizes! Colleen finished up her murals in the crawler nursery and Pastor Don finished painting the new entrance sign. Team members are starting to have "favorite" babies and the babies seem to know it! In the evening we took finger puppets and bells down to the toddler room. Stephanie and Cassie brought a veggie tales cd and we "danced" to the music. The bells were attached to a shower ring with ribbon. Of course it didn't take them long to realize if they bit on the ribbon hard enough they could bite the bell right off. We quickly confiscated them...we hope! Everyone was very tired at the supper table but it was a good tired. God is so good!

Serving in Salgaa

After getting off to a late start (they were quite amused that the wazungus were late as it is usually a Kenyan trait to not be quite on time), we headed out to Bible Study at Salgaa. We met in a small room and had a lesson on spiritual warfare. It was encouraging to see the growth in these new Christians as they have now been meeting together to study the bible and encourage each other for about 9 months. We split into two groups and visited several support group members who were ill. We also got the chance to pray with a woman who was discouraged because she and her husband had not been able to have children. It was a blessing to minister and pray together. We know God hasn't given up on Salgaa and He is working together for their good. We then went back to the church for the support group meeting. There was a student that needed to make a final presentation for a class so she came and shared with the group about cancer causes and prevention. We had to leave early because we were going to stop by the local IDP camp and the baby centre water project. So unfortunately Colleen and Donna, who had worked so hard on their presentation, were not able to share it today. The team was exhausted after ministering all morning but were happy to have been able to help with such a valuable ministry.