Andrew & Malachi have families!

 

Our God is a God who hears our cries and answers our prayers!

When we left for the US last month I wept on the flight home because I was leaving behind two precious little boys who desperately needed families. Malachi and Andrew are two of the oldest toddlers and have grown up together. They are the last of the original group of toddlers who were at the Baby Center when we arrived last September.  Over the last year they have watched their age mates find homes and go to live with their new parents. Both of them have really struggled being left behind and are getting to an age where they understand that they aren’t whole without a family. As the last remaining from their original group, they became very close to each other and didn't really bond with the newer kids.  I was so afraid that one would be adopted and the other one left, which would have left the one remaining at Baby Center devastated.  

Once again God proved to me that he loves these children and is caring for their every need. A week after I arrived in the states in June, Staci, our director, emailed me to let me know that God had performed yet another miracle. At the same time, two families were expressing interest in adopting 3 year old boys.  What an answer to prayer!

  Yesterday Malachi and Andrew both joined their new families! Both boys were so excited and ready to be home that they hardly even could sit through our celebration service to say goodbye. Andrew kept saying “I’m going home now, my Mommy and Daddy are taking me home…. Bye!” And Malachi was promising Staci that he would bring sweets and toys back for her when he came to visit. It was so emotional and beautiful to watch these boys run and hug their parents, ready to start their new lives.  Please be praying for both boys as they adjust to their new lives outside of the Baby Center and also for both sets of parents to rely on God to give them wisdom in raising their new sons.

Andrew with his mom and dad!: 

Malachi leaving with his new mom!:

The LORD is faithful and knows our every need!

Love, 

Colleen 

Final hugs from Solomon and Gifton (Director Staci’s adopted boys):

 

Colleen and a dapper looking Malachi listening to his new mother at the goodbye celebration:

One last picture of the boys… we’re so happy that they’re at home with their families!:

Quick Baby Center Update

Friends,

We have been back in Kenya for a few weeks now and have pretty much readjusted to life.  It has been interesting to discover what was easy and what was more difficult to readjust to.  We quickly remembered how to drive of the left side of the road, how to arrive quite late for events.  We forgot the long lines and sometimes ridiculous inefficiency that occurs in government offices.  Cason came back to the office to a crashed computer so he had jump right back into work.

Zeke got so much bigger while we were gone... he's such a cutie!:

I went straight out to see my babies the day we arrived in Nakuru.  I was able to spend a week with them and then promptly got sick and have had to spend almost a week without them!  Fortunately I’m on the road to recovery and will be back out there soon.

 

At the baby Center we have three beautiful new additions to our family! 

Nathan

Gloria

Joel

While we were gone baby Phyllis and Jessica were also adopted out to wonderful parents.  Praise the Lord that they are with loving families now.   

Thank you all for keeping up with us!  We’ll be writing more soon.  There are some exciting things happening at the AGC Baby Centre! 

Colleen

Here are pictures of Phyllis and Jessica... I miss them, but am so glad that they now each have a mom and a dad!

Beautiful Phyllis

Jessica

Three weeks in the USA

Can’t believe it has been a month since our last post!  Our three weeks in the US flew by and we are now back in Kenya.  We were blessed with so much great time with our friends and family during our time in Wooster, Chicago, and Greenwood. 

Colleen’s sister Adrienne (with her husband, Matt, in the photo at left) got married the first Saturday that we were in the States, and it was so good to see so much of the Ramsay/Ambrose side of the family.  After the wedding, we stayed for some days at the Ramsays, enjoying some post-wedding relaxation and watching the World Cup. 

While in Wooster, we had the opportunity to share at the church Colleen attended growing up, Wooster Mennonite.   It was really fun sharing with the Sunday school kids – they ask the best questions!  Both the church and the Sunday school kids had raised some money for us, and the kids bought some toys for the Baby Centre kids.  It was great to share in the service, especially since so many had been praying for specific children at the Baby Centre. 

The birthday girl in a heart...:

From Wooster, we went to Chicago for Fourth of July weekend accompanied by my sister, Corinn.  We stayed with friends from college, and got to celebrate Corinn’s 23^rd birthday (on the 4^th) walking around downtown, Navy Pier, and the Taste of Chicago in Grant Park.  (Click HERE for our album of pictures from Wooster and Chicago)  We also took some fun pictures with sparklers... Click HERE for more sparkler photos.  

In Indianapolis/Greenwood, we juggled spending with the Wittigs, visiting friends in the area, and shopping for “necessities” to take back to Kenya like peanut butter, rice krispy treats, and jello...  we also found some time to shoot some more sparkler pictures since we had so much fun doing that the first time in Chicago - click here to see them. 

Here's us with Corinn and the Moores at the Bean in Chicago:

One of the days we were in Greenwood, we drove the hour and a half down to see my (Cason's) grandparents who are in nursing home facilities close to the Kentucky border.  We were incredibly blessed that my grandpa, who suffers from Parkinson’s among other things, was having a “good” day so he could talk and pray with us – it was such a blessing to be able to talk with him so much!  My nana, who is 91 years old, is as spunky and opinionated as ever – among other things, she told us she has a list of baby name recommendations for us. :  )  Papa and Nana have to live in separate facilities because of the different levels of care that they require, so it was so sweet to see them together when we took her to visit him.  The picture at the top of this post is of them holding hands... click here to see an album of photos with them. 

For our last weekend before returning to Kenya, Colleen’s parents John and Eileen came to Greenwood to spend time with us.  Everyone enjoyed spending some of Saturday at the Indy Museum of Art outdoor grounds and gardens.  See pictures at the bottom of this post. 

On that Sunday morning (the 11th), we shared at my parent’s church, Southside Bible, which has supported us from the beginning.  Above is the video that we showed in church before sharing about our ministries in Kenya.  As you might note, no pictures of spreadsheets or me in the office… people really seem to respond much better to pictures of the Baby Centre kids! 

Sunday afternoon was (of course!) the World Cup final, so Ramsays and Wittigs headed up to a pub on the north side to watch the match between Spain and Holland.  We met our friends, the Van Burens, at the pub, and they were both wearing Netherlands jerseys… in contrast to my Spain shirt. 

The match went long, and was a little dull, but it was such a fun environment.   I was happy that the Spanish won.  We said our goodbyes to the Ramsays after the match, then had one more day of frantic packing and shopping in the US before flying out on Tuesday. 

Colleen with her parents:

I’m writing this on Wednesday evening on our flight to Nairobi… the little plane graphic on the monitor keeps getting closer and closer to Kenya.  We feel so blessed to have so many friends and to have had the opportunity to see so many of them while we are home.  But are also excited to be back in Kenya with our friends there, and to see the Baby Center kids again. 

As we said in a previous post, World Gospel Mission has asked us to extend our stay in Kenya beyond our original return date of August.  We’ve agreed to stay until Christmas, so we are trying to raise funds towards that end.  If you are interested in supporting us, please see the contribution forms on the right side of the blog.  Let us know if you have any questions.

While in US, we were asked often what our plans are for after December… and the true answer is that only God knows.  It is exciting and yet a little nerve-wracking to not have any plans, but we trust that God knows the way for us (Jeremiah 29).  At this point we are planning on coming to the US in December when our current term ends, and seeing what God has for us there, but we’ll be praying for guidance over the next few months, and it would mean the world to us if you would join us in prayer.  More than requesting for “writing in the sky” telling us where to go/what to do, we are mainly claiming the promise of James 1:  “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt…”

Thanks so much for reading our blog, and for your support. 

Cason & Colleen

Note: Click any of the pictures on the post to see a larger version.

Our friend, Linnea, as a sparklered angel:

Me, in a box:

Corinn and Colleen in front of Buckingham Fountain in Chicago:

Colleen and her mom relaxing at the Ramsay house in Wooster:

Americana on July 4th:

Family pictures from the Indy Museum of art:

Until next time...