Recently I posted on Facebook asking others to share things they would like to know about Mercy Ministries and the work that is happening here. I would like to blog more consistently, but I find myself not knowing what others would want to know. A lot of my daily life is just normal to me so it can seem silly to write about it.

The first question I want to tackle is "How do y'all do this knowing you can't help them long term? For example you can't adopt them or help them be adopted."

First I want to start by explaining our thought process here. While we are technically an institution we aren't set up and ran that way. We have staff, but we try our best to all work together and operate as a family. Our heart and goal is to raise these children and continue to be family to them, even after high school, even when they have their own families. As many of you know we live in the home with all of the children so we are very hands on, this isn't a building that we visit a few times a week. We are here running the family very much like most families do.

I've realized in the 3 and half years being here that before Kenya I didn't actually trust God. I thought that I did, I would have told you that I did, but Kenya has been a wild ride and there have been times I've literally had to trust God. During our first year here we left our home (the one we live in now), Jeff and I were thrown in jail and we had our lives threatened a few times. For those of you that didn't know me pre-Kenya I was very anti motorcycles and incredibly scared to be on one (had never been on one before Kenya). This wasn't just a fear, like "oh I'm scared of that.", but more like panic, sweat and hard to breathe fear. I would rather have attempted to walk all over Kenya than get on a motorcycle. Jeff has a picture of me the first time I ever got on a motorcycle and I have the meanest look on my face...I really wanted to cry because motorcycles were now very much part of my life. Today I'm typing this blog while riding to town and it is really no big deal and actually one of the only places I can clear my head and think.

So another way we do this is fully trusting God. I don't know how we will accomplish all the things we feel like He has called us to. I don't know how we will afford to send over 100 children to high school. I don't know how we can continue to add ministry work to our plate. But I know that God does. I know He knows the ones coming to serve alongside us (y'all are coming right? 😂). I know He knows the Drs and nurses that will help us run our very much needed clinic one day. We fully trust Him to lead us and show us what is next, we have to.

As far as adoption goes currently Kenya isn't allowing adoptions. My heart is so torn because I have felt like we would adopt more children. But does an official adoption make a difference? Does a piece of paper make what is already in my (our) heart more true? Our plan is to spend the rest of our lives here and be a family for children who need that. We have added many children to our family. I'm not sure what God will do, what laws will change, but for now we just keep loving them no matter their last name, background, or needs.

It isn't always easy to just trust, I am human, I want to take things into my own hands. I want things my own way. I want fundraisers to fund quickly, I want a medical clinic built yesterday, I want to help all the widows and grandmother's that need help, I want to feed ALL the kids, I want to fix all the problems, but He has shown me His way is best. I have learned that what I truly want is whatever His will is for us.

The short answer to "How do y'all do this knowing you can't help them long term? For example you can't adopt them or help them be adopted." is that we keep trusting Him and we keep doing what He wants us to do. I can't imagine my life without the joy and beauty that it has today and God gets all the glory for that because without Him I would NOT be in Kenya today! If you want to be a part of the work here, keep us in prayer, share with others and/or you can visit our donation page or our fundraiser page to give financially. Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support!

Regan, Junior, Zekeli, Fadili, Reed, Rogers and Bravin

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6

Trust, Fully Trusting

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