TWO–MY–EENIE

My favorite word in Swahili is Tumaini. It means hope. All I had to do, then, was find the word for factory – Kiwanda. So, there you have it: Kiwanda cha Tumaini, the Swahili equivalent of The Hope Factory. The sound is so beautiful, a fitting name for the orphanage we plan to open when we return to Kenya in August.

Kiwanda cha Tumaini. I just can’t quit saying it!

There are so many babies and young children in Kenya who have lost both parents to HIV/Aids, or whose parents are so destitute that they cannot care for their children. In the slum area of Nairobi, this is particularly true. In order to serve those precious little ones, to assure that they have a chance in life, we will just jump in with both feet and see what we can do.

We took our first baby step yesterday when we picked up a ton of infant girl clothing from our sweet friend, Neely Rogers Michaelis. Just touching these clothes served as tangible evidence to me that we’re really going to do this!

Neely and Andy have two precious little girls, Lila and Cora. So, to all four of them, we say a heartfelt thank-you. I can’t wait to see these cute little frocks on our little Kenyan babies!

John and I leave for Kenya on August 1. Going with us will be Michelle McClelland and Brooke Woosley. I’ll tell you more about Brooke a little later.

Michelle went with us in January when we reopened the clinic in Western Kenya. It was clearly evident that God had placed a burden on her heart, a deep desire to adopt or care for orphaned children. At 19, she is bravely surrendering her life to follow God’s will. She has the advantage of having already fallen in love with Kenya and the Kenyan people, so any hesitancy that she had prior to January has evaporated.

The thing that blows my hair back is the way I have seen God moving at warp speed since we jumped on board with His plans. This isn’t us. These are not our plans. This is God moving. As we have made ourselves available to Him, He has blazed a trail before us. The past 19 months (I’m not kidding you, it’s only been 19 months since we founded The Hope Factory!) have taken us to places we never imagined, doing things we could never have dreamed up on our own.