Recently, we were in the US for the holidays, visiting family and touching base with some of our supporters. We spent a lot of time saying, "Thank you for your support and prayers." We genuinely mean that...but what does it mean for us? As we reflect on the close of 2024 and start planning and praying and hoping for 2025, here are a few thoughts on "support and prayers."
Support
When we tell people that we work for a nonprofit and raise money for our salaries, health insurance, travel, and "ministry expenses" from our friends and family, most people respond the same way - "Whoa, I could never do that." My almost-universal response is - "You probably could." If you are fortunate enough to have a job that you believe is worthwhile, and if you believe that you are able to do it well, then you probably believe that you should earn a salary for the service you are providing. We believe that we have jobs (providing healthcare for women, teaching pastors and church leaders) that are worthwhile, and that we do well. We just happen to provide those services for people that legitimately cannot afford to pay, and we work in an area of the world where those services wouldn't be readily available if we weren't here to provide them. We are so blessed to have family, friends, and even some complete strangers who also think our work is important, and who are willing to contribute financially (some a small amount, others large amounts) so that we can continue to do this work that we love. So, to those of you who support us financially - THANK YOU, and thank you for making it easy to ask for and to continue to receive your support. We consider it a privilege to partner with you all.
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| Kris giving the new graduates a study Bible at their commencement ceremony |
Your generosity has enabled us to support our community here in Kenya as well. In the past year, we have funded the purchase of new equipment for the hospital as well as maintenance of old equipment, supported students' fees at the School of Theology and in our community, kept antenatal care at the hospital when the government stopped paying, and even bought a piano that we use for praise and worship with our community (as well as for personal use/mental health!). We have attended a conference with our organization, Serge, and we are planning to attend another medical conference this winter.
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| Kim can't purchase this special "NST" paper in Kenya so she has to buy it in the US and then get it to Kenya. This can mean the difference between a sick baby and a healthy baby - or even no baby at all. (This patient got a c-section, by the way!) |
Support isn't just financial, though. We also have many people who help us with the various challenges of living overseas - here are some examples (sorry if I've missed something!):
- Reading with Dominic by Zoom
- Faithfully responding to blog posts and emails with words of encouragement
- Providing support (access to vehicles, clothes and shoes, places to sleep, rides to airports or train stations or bus stations) while we are in the US
- Managing our mail and local communication, especially responses to jury summons (that's mostly just Kim's mom!)
- Sending birthday cards and greetings
- Random texts and messages of encouragement
- Transporting stuff "from home" - sometimes things we need, often just things we want like mac and cheese powder and real chocolate chips
And finally - visits! We know that not everyone can fly halfway around the world to visit us. But we've treasured the time that we have spent with family members who have come to visit us, and we look forward to two more visits from family in the next few months!
Prayers
We are honored to be financially supported by about 85 individuals/families and six churches. Most, but not all, of those people are "praying people." For those of you who do regularly pray for us - THANK YOU! Here are two very important answers to prayer that we have received in the last year:
