KISII REPORT - "SOCIAL DISTANCING" COMES TO THE ORPHANAGE

(I am taking a break for telling the story of my first days of being involved with the Log Church Orphanage to give a report on what is happening today.

So from November of 2017, we now jump ahead to March of 2020)

 

How do you do “social distancing” when you sleep 4 to a bunk?

(That’s 2 on top and 2 on the bottom). That’s the situation right now at our orphanage. Like most of the rest of the world, Kenya is also enacting the social distancing policy.

Because of Covid 19 and the new distancing requirements, the orphanage was visited by the health inspector who came with new instructions from the Office of Health. The inspector told the church leadership that the children are no longer to sleep in the same beds. The new requirements must be put in place. The children are now to spread out in the room as much as possible, putting separate mattresses on the floor.

 

This will still not provide the two meter distance between children, but they

were told they must do what they can.

There are a couple of difficulties with this. The first is that we have no more mattresses and the second is that we have no more blankets.

It seems every week presents a new challenge for the orphanage, but our faith is growing as we see God meet these needs. Pastor Joel always responds to these challenges with words of confidence in the Lord:

“We trust God will take care of the children. It's a period of testing but God will stand in the gap and bridge everything. Our God is faithful. The children are sleeping bad because of the Corona virus, but God is faithful will take care of us.”

Here in the US, we have been told that every adult will receive a check for $1200 from the federal government, and $500 for every child under their care. You can be sure that this will not happen in Kenya. Those of us in the United States and other more wealthy nations should be thankful that God has granted us with the gift of living in societies where more resources are available, but not all are so fortunate. Kindly pray for these needs in Kenya and other places facing such difficulties. And help if you can.

I’ve not written of it lately, but the other looming difficulty in Kenya is that the new generation of locusts are preparing to take flight and further devour food crops. As far as I have heard, the locusts have not come to the Kisii area, but the nation’s already scarce harvests have been further reduced by what the locusts have taken.

Food prices have already risen considerably, and they expect them to continue to rise. There have been government spraying programs in place, but because of the new coronavirus pandemic, much of the funding for the locust control has now been diverted for combating Covid 19.

The world is undergoing seldom before experienced pain, but there remains those of us who recognize that the world will never give security. There are those of us who instead place our beliefs in greater realities.

Since our meetings in our church have been canceled, here is something that I wrote to them:

WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) with Coronavirus?

The situation was much different of course. In John 16, Jesus was not talking about the coronavirus covid 19, but these words of his took on a little different shade of meaning to me as we face this present “social distancing.”

Jesus said, “An hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home.”

Jesus was telling his disciples what was to happen when he was soon to be crucified. That is obviously not the situation now. Nevertheless, his words in those times still apply to each of us if we are feeling alone.

Jesus told his followers at that time is still true today, “Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

If you keep your heart, your mind and your eyes on Jesus, you will also have peace in these times.

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

 

Send it to:

The Log Church

PO Box 68

Tripoli, Wisconsin 54564

 

Every nickel given in this way will be used for only aid for the orphans. It will be used for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose