What a Blessing our Children are to us in our Mission!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  (Colossians 3:23-24)

One of the really cool things about being a missionary here in Kenya over the years is getting to see my children growing and giving glory to God through the gifts and talents He has blessed them with. The older they get, the bigger the roles they play here in our mission. Our daughter Caitie, who is about to turn 23, handles a huge amount of the admin that it takes to run the church, home, and school, as well as being in charge of medications and she helps a great deal with the care of the little ones. Brendan, who is 18, is becoming an excellent farmer and is stepping into a leadership role over our farming and animal projects. Joy (17) and Violet (13) are a huge help in caring for the youngest of the Mercy Home family, and Joy is expanding her interest of photography/videography. Even Aspen (10) and Reed (9) are getting more and more helpful and exploring their God-given talents.

Karson, who will turn 20 in a couple months, has also amazed me. He was 13 when we moved to Kenya, so has done a lot of growing up on the mission field. Not only does he speak Swahili like a local, but he has faced danger as a teen with a courage rarely found among grown men (you can read about that here). But perhaps what amazes me more is his ability to troubleshoot, fix, and build things, especially considering the limited resources available to us here. A good example of this is the way he was able to fix the roof on our dining hall which you can watch here: