Visit to Canada

On Tuesday morning, Sean and I visited Canada. The trip was short; it was only for three hours. And then we left again.

Okay, we didn’t actually get on a plane and fly over to Canada for three hours.  We went to the Canadian Embassy in Nairobi.  Sean and I needed to go to the Embassy because we need a letter from the Province of Ontario and the Canadian Embassy stating that both of them agree that we are Canadian citizens and that they are in agreement for our adoption.  It’s a standardized letter but needed by the adoption agency.

As we drove toward the Embassy, there was a drop-off lane that had Canadian flags leading up to the entrance gate.  I turned to Sean and said, “I’m so excited to be on Canadian soil; even if it’s only for an hour.”

We went through a bunch of security; we had to turn in our cell phones.  We saw the tennis courts and basketball courts (but didn’t see the pool).  I don’t think these luxuries are available for any Canadian who just strolls off the street; I assume it’s for the staff of the Embassy.  Bummer.

We walked to one department of Embassy and were quickly told to go to another department which lead to more security to go through.  When we reached the immigration side, we sat down and waited our turn.  We looked around at the people waiting their turn as well.  We were still the minorities. In the three hours we were there, we only saw two other white people. 

We then finished with immigration and went back to the other department to finish up with them.  As we sat in the comfy chairs, it was so comforting and cool to see the Canadian flag displayed everywhere. It was nice to read books about our Canadian history. It was great to see pictures on the wall of the Rockies, even a York University poster. 

It made me miss Canada a little bit but helped with a bit of the “homesickness” that I’m feeling.  You can take the girl out of Canada but you can’t take Canada out of the girl.  I’ll always have a soft spot and love for Canada.

It’s always nice to have family/friends come from Canada.  Although we can’t go there, when people come and visit, it brings a bit of “home” to us.  And usually family/friends are awesome to bring us things from Canada that we can’t get here or really miss from there. 

We currently have two friends here in Kitale from our church back in Newmarket; they are here through a different ministry but we get to see them.   We have a team from our church visiting us at In Step for two weeks in July.  And one of the team members is staying for three months.  Sean’s mom is looking at coming in the fall of this year too for a visit and hopefully to hold her grandbaby for the first time!

We don’t know when our REAL next visit to Canada will be. Sean and I looked at coming to Canada for a visit in April but just don’t see it being a financially responsible move right now, especially with the adoption stuff going on, among other things.  But God has been so faithful to us; I’m learning to worry less and trust more. J

So if anyone wants to plan a trip to Kenya to visit us, come on over!  We have the room for you.

Much Love,

Meredith

Adoption Paperwork Update

We have been asked by a few people how the paperwork is going for the adoption so we thought we would put out an update.

The paperwork isn’t difficult to work on or get, it’s just the waiting period of getting them all.  We had a “hope” to have all the paperwork done and in our hands by the end of February so that we could have it submitted to the adoption agency before the Kenya elections on March 4^th. Unfortunately, there are two things that likely won’t be available by the end of the month and so we will likely delay putting our paperwork in until mid to end of March.

We’re not upset, slightly disappointed but not upset.  As one of the ladies said in bible study last week, “It’s just part of God’s plan to be perfectly orchestrated so that you get the baby He has specifically chosen for you and Sean.”

Ah, yes.  God’s plan. Not mine.

I just can’t wait to hold our sweet baby girl or boy in my arms.

Here’s the list of what is needed and what we have so far (check marks indicate what we have - blogger wouldn't let me post it differently):

• ü  Passport copies
• ü  3 full size colour photographs
• ü  Copies of Birth Certificates
• ü  Copies of Marriage Certificate
• ü  Application Forms
• ·         Medical Certificates  (going in the next two weeks)
• ü  One reference from someone overseas 
• ·         One reference from someone in Kenya  (should have in the next week or so)
• ü  Legal guardians letter of consent 
• ü  Consent letters from extended family members
• ü  A report on finances
• ü  Copy of work permits and residence pass
• ü  Letter from employer
• ·         Certificate of good conduct (Kenya)  (will be ready at the end of the month)
• ü  Criminal Clearance (Canada)
• ·         Consent from government authority (Canada) permitting the adoption (going to apply for it soon!)

We’ve already been given a few little gifts for our child.  First we received a baby carrier from a missionary family here.  The day we got it, yes, Sean and I did try it on.  We were so excited.  We’ve been told to put a large watermelon in the seat of the carrier and walk around. That will give us a bit more of a “real” feeling.

Note to self:  go and buy a watermelon.

And the second thing we have gotten is a high chair. A real high chair!  Awesome.  Love it.

And so we wait and try not to buy baby stuff. Yet.  J

If you could all pray for us, it would be so appreciated.  We know that with the upcoming elections and what may or may not happen with them, it will delay things.  But we know that when we hold our baby for the first time, the wait, will have been worth it all and maybe, we’ll forget how long the wait really was.

Much Love,

Meredith

More Valuable Than Birds

During my first year of college, I was poor. I moved away from home to attend school. I lived in a house with four other girls; three of the girls I had gone to high school with.

I had a gotten a job transfer from the A& P grocery store (as a cashier) in my hometown to the city where I would be going to school. Unfortunately with the transfer, I was put on the bottom of the sonority list and therefore, I got the least amount of shifts to work. Most weeks, I worked four hours a week (the odd week, I didn’t even work at all). Not exactly easy for anyone to live off of.

My parents had agreed/offered to pay for my rent ($300 per month) but all other expenses were on me – with four hours a week of pay. It was TOUGH.

There were many weeks where I couldn’t afford lunch and so I would have a piece of toast for breakfast, head to school, be in class all day with nothing in my stomach, and then go home and find what I could scrounge up.  In that first year, I mostly lived off pasta noodles and no name Italian dressing.  That would be my dinner. Every. Single. Night.

I had some friends in school that would randomly bring me or buy me a bagel for lunch and sometimes they would invite me over for dinner just so that I could have one decent meal to eat.

There were times when I didn’t know how I would pay for groceries when I had nothing left or how I was going to pay for my week of toilet paper in the house. 

I would forget that I am more valuable than birds.

During my first four years on the mission field, I lived off of $250 per month.  It was okay to live off of that for the first year because I lived at a children’s home and didn’t have very many expenses.  I wasn’t charged room/board; all I had to pay for was my personal expenses (internet, food outside of what they had to offer and toiletries).  But when I moved to another ministry and lived on the compound, I needed to pay rent, food, transportation, etc.).  It was a stretch when after paying rent, what was left over for the rest of the month of expenses.

I started to remember that I am more valuable than birds.

During Sean’s and my first year of marriage, we lived on a compound with other people.  We had only a bedroom to ourselves and felt constantly watched by everyone.  The compound had a revolving door of teams, interns and regulars.  If Sean and I needed to have a conversation, we had to go to our bedroom to talk. We would constantly get bugged or harassed for giving each other a kiss hello or goodbye that was outside of our bedroom.  

In our first year of marriage, we spent four weeks of that, alone. Not one single person on the compound. Four weeks.

We knew that the best thing for our marriage (and sanity!) would be to move out and find a place of our own. Our financial support was good for living on a shared compound with people but we knew that it was going to be stretched by having a place of our own.  But we were doing what we knew was best for us.

And God provided us with the perfect house...just for us.

We moved in to our home in May of 2010. We hired a day time watchman and a night time watchman.  We hired a lady to come and do our laundry (it’s all done by hand – we don’t have a washer/dryer). We got a guard dog.   All necessities when living here.

The first year of living in that house, by the beginning of the third week each month, we didn’t know how we were going to get groceries or have transportation money to get to/from places we needed to go.  Our money had been spent on necessities.  The expenses increased but the financial support remained the same. 

We had even contemplated not having internet anymore but we realized it was a necessity to us. It was our connection to family and friends back in North America.

We had been invited to a fellow missionary’s home for dinner one night and when we were leaving, the wife handed me a bag. I looked inside and it was groceries (meat, canned goods, fruit, vegetables, etc.).  She just looked at me and said, “God just laid it on my heart that I needed to give you guys these things.”  How did she know? God told her.

We ARE more valuable than birds.

Sean and I are approaching our fourth wedding anniversary in two weeks (from tomorrow).  We are embarking on a new adventure of adoption.  We are also embarking on a new year of our financial support being lowered.

The economy isn’t the greatest right now and we know that.  We know that every one of our supporters is working hard for their families back in Canada and the US and also feeling the pinch in their own personal life too.  And please know that we are forever grateful for each and every one of you who continue to support us (financially, prayerfully) no matter what.

January of this year was our first month with our financial support being lowered.  It was lowered by the amount equivalent to paying for the rent on our home and almost the amount of our night time watchman.

Yes, I admit, I lost a few nights of sleep worrying and then in the middle of the night, God said, “My daughter, read Matthew 6.” 

So I did. And I came to Matthew 6:25-27.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” - Jesus

Sean and I BELIEVE and KNOW we are MORE VALUABLE than birds.

Why?  Because our Daddy continues to provide. We have seen it first-hand. We have experienced it over and over again.

I experienced it in college when God would have my friends bring me food for lunch or there would randomly be $100 in my account on a month when I was hungry.

I experienced it in my first few years on the mission field (pre-marriage) when I didn’t know how I was going pay for groceries every week when living on the compound and then I would check my bank account and there would be a random $100 or $200 in my account.

Sean and I experienced it in our first year of marriage when a missionary friend gave us a bag of groceries from her kitchen or when we would get an email that someone had donated an extra $100 that month to us.

Sean and I experienced it THIS WEEK when we were wondering how/where we were going to work things out, having received less support (the new changes for the 2013 year) and we got an email that there was a transfer in our account of what was needed plus a bit extra.

We have never gone without the necessities.  Luxuries - yes, we have gone without. But necessities – never.

And so we press on with life here (and the adoption!) because we know all this is where God wants and needs us to be right now and we do it without (as much) worry (I’m still a slow-learning human being, remember!). 

Jesus said we are more valuable than birds and He has shown it over and over again. So my mustard seed of faith will just keep on believin’!

I hope you will start believing too.

Much Love,

Meredith

Sweet Miss Tracy

Anyone who has ever meet Tracy, always says the same things:

“She’s beautiful!”

“Her story makes me cry.”

“What can we do to help her?”

The first two are absolutely correct. The third one:  you can read the rest of this blog to find out how.

Tracy was severely burned on the top of her head by her mother when she was about two years old.  Her mother would scrap the burns on her head raw and walk the streets, begging for money, using Tracy’s burns to gain people’s sympathy.  Her mother never used any money she got on Tracy or Tracy’s medical needs.  Even with the financial offer of help of a fellow missionary who was here in Kitale for over one year, Tracy’s mom, just wanted money.

Tracy eventually left that home and came to In Step.

Tracy got a skin graft done on her head shortly after coming to In Step. Unfortunately the graft didn’t stick and last year, it opened up and became a gaping hole in her head, which got infected and bigger as time went on.

Tracy's head at its worst

In November, In Step had arranged for Tracy to go Kijabe’s (a town outside of Nairobi) Cure Kids Hospital to see a doctor there about getting a skin graft done to cover this hole on her head.

The surgery was done and PRAISE our FATHER....the graft stuck and has completely healed. 

Tracy's head AFTER the skin graft

But this isn’t the end of the road for Tracy as there is still more work to be done.

As per Carla’s note:

The first of February, Tracy and Hoglah (our social worker) will move to Kijabe for a minimum of three months.  Tracy will be admitted into hospital for a surgical procedure to insert a balloon type device under her scalp.  After the initial recovery period, she and Hoglah will move into a local guest house, which will be their temporary home.

Once a week, Tracy will return to the hospital where the doctor will, little by little each week, fill the balloon with water.  As the balloon slowly expands, so will the skin on Tracy’s head.  After several weeks, the skin should be stretched out enough to be able to go back into surgery to kind of redistribute the skin to properly cover the scalp with healthy skin.  The hope is that this procedure will eliminate the need for Tracy to have multiple skin grafts throughout her life!

There is an urgency to start this procedure right away, while Tracy’s head is infection free and there are no open wounds!  The skin graft is very fragile!  All it would take to break loose would be another growth spurt or Tracy constantly scratching one itchy spot on her head!  We need to move forward while the graft is intact and Tracy’s scalp is completely closed and free of infection.

They are scheduled to leave for Kijabe on February 15^th to begin this process.

And this is where we need your help.

We are estimating that the total cost is going to be around $3,000.  This is $2,000 for the medical care for Tracy and $1,000 for food, lodging, transportation to/from the hospital and any additional necessities. 

We do not have extra money in our budget for something of this expense.

So, can you help Tracy?  Yes you can!

If you would like to donate toward Tracy’s surgery, follow the below options (based on Canada or the United States):

CANADA

Please send cheques to:

In Step Children’s Home

301 King Street East

Mount Albert ON

L0G 1M0

Please make cheques payable to “ASSISTS PROJECTS”.  In the memo line write: “In Step – Surgeries”.

UNITED STATES

Please send checks to:

Rehema Ministries

1117 3^rd Street

Anacortes WA

98221

Please make checks payable to “REHEMA MINISTRIES”.  In the memo line, write: “Surgeries”.

Or for online donations, click on the below link and go toward the middle of the page:

http://www.rehemainstep.com/getting-involved/donations-sponsorships/

Thank you everyone for your support.  We can’t even thank you enough.

Much Love,
Meredith

Personal Update from the Stewarts

From the day Sean and I knew that we were in love, wanting to get married, then got married (almost four years ago), we knew that we wanted to have a family. 

We got married when I was 32 and Sean was 35 so we had already decided that we would try for a family right away. Two years went past, no baby.  The day before my 35^th birthday, I had a miscarriage.  Heartbroken doesn’t even begin to describe how we felt.

Our hearts desire has always been to have children. It’s been my desire since I was six years old and got to watch the birth of my sister in the front seat of my dad’s Mercury LN7. I was in the back seat (well, actually the luggage compartment) with my three year old brother and six month old cousin.  It was absolutely AMAZING (maybe not for my parents at that particular moment) and I couldn’t wait to be a mommy some day.

It just may not be the way we always thought it would be...

Over the past six to seven months, Sean and I have been really praying to God as to what His steps are for us.  We kept quiet about it for awhile, just for us to really seek the Lord, asking Him to open and close doors so that we could see His path.

A few months ago, I did some research and found that what we were praying about was possible and a bit easier than what we thought.  So we then brought it to our families to pray with us about it.

And so....

On Monday, January 14^th, 2013, Sean and I visited an adoption agency in and have begun the paperwork to adopt a sweet baby boy or girl from Kenya.

Because we have lived in Kenya for a minimum of three years, we are eligible to adopt a baby as Kenyan residents and not as an international adoption.  We still have quite a bit of paperwork but not nearly as much as an international adoption does.  We still have a fee to pay but again, not nearly as much as an international adoption.

We were over the moon excited that we could proceed this way (and the child would also become a Canadian citizen). We shared it with a few close friends/advisors and asked for prayers from them.

Without even asking, soliciting, anything, we had great friends of ours say that they would like to help us pay for the adoption fee.  And in fact, they are paying for the whole fee. We have other friends, who told us that they too, would like to help pay for what is needed. 

We had found a lawyer in our area that has fees for adoption but they are quite expensive so we talked to the adoption agency about it. They are passing on some contacts of lawyers for us that will be at least half the cost of the lawyer we know about here.

I am continually in awe of my Father and how He takes care of us.

We have our eyes and our ears open to the struggles too.  We are not going into this blindly. We know that my IMpatience of the slowness of the adoption process and all the paperwork needing to be completed will flare up from time to time.  But my impatience stems from just wanting to see and hold our sweet baby for the very first time. 

But all good things come to those who wait.....

(at least that’s what the Heinz Ketchup commercials would say...)

So won’t you join us in prayer and in this journey?

Prayer Requests:

1.       All paperwork can be done in a quick manner. We are aiming to have everything complete by early March.

2.       The adoption will be approved right away and not deferred or rejected.

3.       Those who are skeptical or afraid of adoption will learn from our walk that it’s not based on blood, genes or skin color but of God’s amazing love. Love is love.

Thank you to those who have offered amazing encouragement and love to Sean and me so far. We can’t thank you enough. Keep ‘em coming!

Stay tuned...

Much Love,

Meredith

On Overdue Update

Wow!  It’s been long since I did an update for everyone. 

I can’t believe that it’s almost the end of 2012. And no, not the end of the world, just the end of 2012. :-)

So much is going on at In Step.  We have 121 children now and we have three major building projects: dorm, school and clinic.

The In Step Children

A few weeks ago, we were at 120 children but went down to 119 children. One of our younger children, Larry, was fostered out through the children’s office by a Kenyan couple who couldn’t have children.  From what we know, they are a nice couple and totally fell in love with Larry.

Just a few days after Larry left, we got a call from the children’s office that there was a two-week old baby that had been found on the side of the road in a village. Carla went and picked him up and he was named Nathan, after our visitor Nate who had been staying here.

A week later, we got another call that there was a two-day old baby at the CPU (children’s protection unit – through the local police station). Sean and I picked the baby up that evening from CPU and kept him overnight at our house.  His name is Raymond, also named after a guy staying at In Step right now.

Baby Raymond was SO tiny. He didn’t have a diaper on and so his pajamas were completely soaked through with urine. That was all I could smell when I picked him up.  I put a diaper on him (even the newborn size diapers were too big for him), put a onesie on him, wrapped him in a new blanket and brought him home.  Sean and I gave him a bath as he still smelled like urine.  He slept a lot and only woke up to be fed. He did not like having his diaper changed as it meant you had to move him from his comfortable, fetal position. J  He was a pretty easy baby for that one night; he had his last feeding before 11:00 pm and didn’t wake up until 6:00am. We were impressed, especially with him being just two days old.

The next day was ladies’ bible study at our house and all the ladies were lovin’ on him. Sean was not happy with having to share Raymond with all the ladies. I don’t think Sean ever wanted to let him go but he had to as Carla was taking Raymond to In Step with her after bible study.

So, we sit at 121 kids right now. Who knows what the number will be next week. :-)

Our school age kids are also off of school. They completed their school year last week and are off until the second week of January.  We, the staff, have put together a chore rooster/schedule for them. When you have 26 children off of school and needing things to do (to stop boredom and trouble from finding them!), we knew we had to keep them somehow busy. We’ve divided them into teams, assigning a team leader and two kids to that leader.  The leader is to make sure that their team is in their appropriate station and helping to work for the time frame.

The chores include: cutting the grass, helping in laundry, helping in the kitchen, looking after the cows and cleaning/sweeping up the compound. They do the chores in the morning until lunch time and after lunch; we have fun-time planned with them.

Some of the things they are doing in the afternoon are: having separate girl/boy time with us, learning to needlepoint, playing soccer, having bible study, sitting under a tree and reading and having movie appreciation time where they watch a movie and then questions are asked, lessons learned, etc (you all know who’s leading that one!).

The Building Projects

The dorm just had its second floor cement laid and right now it’s curing (strengthening – I don’t know) for the next month.  We still need major funding for it to be completed. This is also the future home of Sean and me.

The school is being built classroom by classroom. We had about $8,500 raised toward the school from various people, including The Piano Studio in Newmarket, ON and so we’ve been able to build two good size classrooms thus far.

The clinic is ALMOST complete. We just need about $20,000 more to finish it.  It’s just the little stuff now: tile, paint, bathroom fixtures, electrical, etc. 

The Kenya Election

Most of you may not know but the Kenya presidential election is to be held on March 4^th, 2013. As many of you do know, the previous Kenyan elections did not go very well and it was made known all over the world.

We ask everyone for prayer.  It’s a sensitive time for the country, starting now.  There are changes that the government has made and most of the Kenyan people aren’t even aware of it.

Also, the presidential candidates have to register on December 4^th (subject to change as nothing ever really seems to stick to the original plan when it comes to the government) and two of the probable candidates are on trial with the ICC currently (due to 2007 election violence). The High Court in Kenya has to rule if the two are going to be eligible to run in the elections due to them being on the ICC trial. This decision has to be made by the end of this month.  If it is ruled that these two possible candidates can’t run, we could see some issues arise as they are two very popular people to be running for the presidential seat.

We don’t know how the 2013 elections will be but we have been advised by our embassies (US/Canada, etc.) to be cautious and take all necessary precautions.  We hear different sides: 1) no, there won’t be violence because the Kenyan people learned their lesson from the 2007 elections to 2) of course there will be violence; nothing was fixed after the previous elections.

We are preparing here at In Step as well as personally for the possibility of things not running entirely smoothly. We are beginning to stock up on things that we’ll all need, especially in case of road closures and us not having access to things being delivered into our town (groceries, fuel, phone and internet credit, propane, etc.). 

As the US Embassy said, “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

Prayer Requests

Here is a list of things that you all can pray for:

• Funding for the school, dorm and clinic to be completed. These are all necessities.
• Sponsoring of the kids. You can sponsor a child for as little as $10 per month. Please visit the website (www.rehemainstep.com) for pictures and stories of the kids. 
• Wisdom for the Kenyan High Court as they make their decision and do what is best for the people and the country.
• Wisdom for the Kenyan people to express their frustration with the elections (and whatever it may come to be) in a healthy way and not a repeat of the 2007/2008 violence. 
• Safety and wisdom for all of us missionaries on the ground and for our homes and projects during this tension filled time (this is especially important over the next few months). 
• Prices not to escalate too high (or at all – since it’s already expensive) so that we can all stock up on necessities in preparation.
• That the right president will come into place in Kenya and that he will be a president who is for the people and this country and not for the corruption and self-fulfillment that has hindered here for so long.

Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support.

Much Love,

Meredith

And We Just Keep Growing....

In two days we went from 112 children to 114 children.

On Monday, July 23rd, Jeff got a call from the children’s department. There was a two year old that needed to be placed at In Step.  We didn’t know about this until he got home and dropped off a new little face at the front door.

Here is Bravin Ekiru.

Just after he arrived at the home. 

Bravin’s mother had died and his grandmother just couldn’t take care of him any longer so she brought him to the children’s department.  He’s a very friendly little boy who has the face of a man with many years of wisdom and really cute chubby cheeks.

He fit right in at In Step; he wasn’t bothered by the dinner chaos and sharing a table with 112 other siblings. He was so happy with his food; I don't think he realized he wasn’t alone. J  He’s adapted to the routine very quickly and has a ton of new brothers and sisters to love on him now.

Then the very next day, Tuesday, July 24^th, Jeff came home from town and asked Carla if she wanted to go to town and pick up a baby. I just about fell off the chair, “Yes, we’ll go. We’ll go!”

Carla and I got in the car and drove to the children’s department to pick up our next new addition.

His name is Jason Wangolo.

About a week after being at the home. 

Jason’s father died some time ago of AIDS. His mother died about two months ago of TB and was also HIV positive.  Jason’s mother was the third wife to his father and the first nor second or fourth wife wanted to or couldn’t take care of him.

Jason is nine months old and very malnourished, as well as positive with TB. When we got in the car to drive home, he started to scream, not cry, scream. He didn’t want the bottle; he fought me; he’d arch his back. He was mad. I rolled up his shirt sleeve to find his fingers; if he didn’t want a bottle, maybe he’d want his fingers. He found them and started sucking on two of them (so cute!). He managed to fall asleep for about.....oh, five minutes and then started to scream again. Carla and I couldn’t even talk to one another, it was so loud.

He wouldn’t eat; he wouldn’t sleep, nothing worked. We had to use a syringe to get some milk down; he had to eat. He was SO exhausted. I had taken him into our room so that I could try to get him to sleep.  I rocked back and forth while he screamed. I turned to Sean and said, “Let’s just pray over him.” 

So Sean laid hands over him and we just prayed. I asked for curses that I felt had been said over him, be broken. Sean prayed that God would comfort him so that he could sleep. We prayed that he would eat so that we could get him to gain weight; get him healthier. 

A little while later, I had him in the rocking chair; he fell asleep for awhile. When he woke up; he didn’t cry. He actually started to smile when some of the kids came around and were talking to him. He still wouldn’t eat though.  Overnight though, he managed to take most of a bottle and then this morning, he took a full bottle from Sean.

We’ve been monitoring Jason closely over the past two weeks. He’s now talking, smiling and has even learned to hold his own bottle. We have him rolling over now (with a bit of help sometimes) and he only cries (which is just little whimpers for the most part) when he’s really hungry or overly tired.  

All I can say is, “Thank you Jesus!”

Much Love,

Meredith