Wesley Then & Now
A couple of years ago was a weird time for us. The end of 2017 had been extremely difficult for us, but we had come out the other side of that with a whole lot more knowledge, which was a blessing. 2018 was about growth, more people knew about the project here and we often got calls from hospitals asking us to take in children in need. It was a struggle though because while we felt like God was putting these children in our path, our home wasn't finished and our budget was tight, meaning we shouldn't be growing, at least in our minds.
The boys’ dorm room under construction
In April of 2018 we were notified by a hospital that there was a young man (Wesley) in need of help. His family was trying, but he needed more. We went to his home and he appeared to have given up on life. He wasn't eating and was severely malnourished. He wasn't sure about coming with us and I wasn't sure how we would care for him, his situation seemed scary to me. However, we knew we couldn't leave him there in that condition, especially since the family really wanted him to come with us.
A couple of weeks later Wesley got really sick, he kept requesting to go home and he refused to eat. After a 10 day stay in the hospital and the biggest medical bill we had seen yet we learned that Wesley had fungal meningitis. The Dr told us they thought he would die while he was there and that if he had not been taken to the hospital when he was he would have died. Scared doesn't begin to describe what I was feeling. Not only was his life on the line, but we had a large medical bill when we already didn't have extra money.
On the left is Wesley after his 10-day stay in the hospital in May 2018. On the right is Wesley on Nov. 2020
But God! He filled in and made it happen. God healed Wesley. He regained his strength and decided that he loved eating. We were able to pay the hospital bill. Wesley has been able to go back to school and has been able be tutored during this long school break in Kenya.
Brendan and Wesley
God has been so good to allow us to have a front row seat here. We have been blessed to watch Him fill in the gaps that we see. We've been blessed through all of the challenges. We've been blessed to see that although it looks crazy to others we really are doing what God asks of us (or at least trying). Whether you've been here since 2016, you jumped in along the way, or you are brand new, thank you for being part of the work God is doing here. It means so much, not just to us, but to our community. 💜
When we first met Wesley he was refusing to eat, now we can hardly get him to stop!
