News from pandemic

    Dear Friends,

Although we are not among you, we would like to share some things with you. I also believe that in carrying out these missions to which each of us has been called, we will in everything refer to the Word of God, which is, was and will be light in this dark gray world. I also trust that the Holy Spirit is present among you today and that He will guide your hearts, as He gives directions and wisdom for further work.

Quoting Psalm 25,

TEACH ME YOUR PATHS To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day

Let us submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, so we can prepare ourselves for him to touch our hearts, to refresh us and give us joy in every little thing, despite all the logs that the devil throws at our feet, let us remain in the Lord and let us not give up in difficulties.

A few words about us: When we were starting this mission, I knew that it would not be easy, despite the long months of expectations and prayers, "the rain of blessings’’ did not come. One year passed, then another and another and there was still only silence. Our barely smoldering spark of hope that better days will come did survive deep in our hearts. Despite many questions or doubts, God gave us so much grace to remain in faith. If it were not for this persistence (someone else would say naivety) we would not be where we are today. I am deeply convinced that God had a plan for this place and He still has! But are we still in the same faith as we were in the beginning? We have come to work in a place where not everyone is enthusiastic about change, development and Gods word. Some in the society still practices shamanism,witchcraft, some of the values we believe bring positive change to communities and individuals are met with distrust. Kwademu has a high percentage of poverty, and this is largely the result of lack of opportunities, faith in change, old habits or lack of equality. Women are usually seen as harlots, expected to stay at home. Their role is to carry water from distant sources, cook and always submit to men. It is the man who should look after and provide for the family according to the local tradition, but in most cases men do not fill this role because the circumstances are too difficult for them to bear. Their families are so numerous that they can barely make ends meet. Education is seen as superfluous and it’s value not recognized, as previous generations didn't have the opportunity to attend school so find it hard to recognize the benefit of education. Free school meals are a huge motivator for attending school. Centuries of poverty and lack of opportunities mean that children are born without any plan for the future. They are often born outside of marriage and many men have two families, two wives at a time. As a “white school” as our school is called here, not Light of the World but ‘’mzungo school’’, we struggle with many things. Our parents expect things that are sometimes impossible for us provide. There are needs practically everywhere. We often offer work opportunities to parents to cover their children's tuition fees and earn for their own needs, but not all are sympathetic. Once, one parent expected us to provide 3 meals a day for his child (we offer free lunches) but when given opportunity to come and work for us and earn some money he declined, although he is a construction worker. Helping people to see opportunities and want to take part in positive change is the hardest task. It is similar a bit to someone addicted to alcohol, the person does not see the problem, according to them everything is fine - usually other people can see some things clearer than the person affected by the addiction problem. If the person does not deny himself and makes a decision that he or she does not want to live like this, that change and help is needed, then there is nothing other people can do but persuade and pray. Nevertheless, hope remains that a day will come when the breakthrough occurs. We may not witness it ourselves, but we will have a small part in it. We sowed and inoculated a seed that grew with time and turned into a beautiful flower. I understand this process as during my entire childhood one of my parents struggled with alcoholic addiction. It is not that none of the local residents respond positively to our work. When one sees that a parent cooperates and wants to participate in our work, the heart rejoices in itself. However, there are not too many people like that. Why am I writing about this? Well, I guess it’s hard to understand the reality from far away. We all have the will and we want well, but in all of this, we need wisdom and God's guidance. The most important thing in all this however, is the gospel, not the bowl of rice and beans, which will end at the end of the day. The next day we will go back to the same starting point looking for another bowl of food. I am not saying that food is not important because this is how we are constructed that we need calories to live but the Bible says ‘’Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be given to you "- Matthew 6.

We sow and we do what we can. Often the truth has to be spoken loud to help to open ones eyes to things that should not happen. The decision is no longer with us. When Jesus preached the good news, not everyone accepted it. Not everyone saw the light that He was trying to communicate to others. Some people spat at him, pointed their fingers or laughed at him and finally, as we know, He was crucified. I am aware that not everyone will be satisfied with what we do, not everyone will be open to the changes we are trying to bring to the community and individual lives. One will say good things about us; the other will point his finger at us, or worse, as it used to be. With each day, we face new challenges, and it is with each day that God reveals new things for us, and for this mission, the devil also comes and has it in our hearts. There are times when a person starts to wonder if it's you, God? Was it your will? Therefore, I am asking you for prayer, not one, but a series of prayers for the whole mission and us. For some time now, Henry began to fast and pray for, among other things, our family, ministry and village people, that God would refresh their hearts and open their spiritual eyes. I must admit that I am involved in this, but not as intensely as he is. He has lost a lot of weight, the neighbors even wondered if he was sick. When a person lives in devotion and sacrifice, with time he does not feel hungry, the hunger he feels is a spiritual hunger, thanks to him we function. If you feel that God is leading you to this, I also encourage you to fast and pray. For some time now, Henry has also been thinking about doing a Community Development course that would include an individual approach to families depending on the problem - counselling. It is also one thing I would like us to focus on when we pray. Briefly about what happened in our country during the pandemic. Since the schools closed,
Headmasters salary have been paid in 70% and 100% of the gardener’s but the teachers only got a small bonus of $ 10 each (most of their salaries are paid from tuition fees). In recent months, we have focused on the expansion and renovation of the school: we finished the tower, i.e. rooms for teachers, we installed solar batteries on the tower and large school, we also put a bathroom for teachers, we repainted the school, we almost finished the fence, we made a few paths in the area, we also sowed some grass. The store for building materials is also almost finished and we have installed another gate. We also organized food packages for families.

The plan is to continue the paths, build another staff room and put up bathrooms for girls. Furthermore, to supply a water reservoir, with a capacity of 2000 liters, to the store. I believe and I deeply hope that we will be able to achieve it over time.

As we all know, we didn't manage to come to Poland as planned. We didn't know if the airlines would pay us back for tickets or not. We waited a long time, wrote emails, called with the help of some of you. We were promised that we would get a voucher worth the ticket prices to be used by 2022. To our surprise, we were not sent any vouchers; in return, we were returned the entire amount. Initially, we wanted to spend on another trip, we thought we would go to Poland for Christmas. However, with increasing infraction rates and warnings, we knew that we would not be able to fly quickly. In August, it turned out that our health insurance expired (each insurance is renewed every year). We discussed what to do for a long time, and finally we used part of the amount from the tickets and we bought insurance for another year, taking into account our health, which has recently deteriorated a bit. With the onset of the coronavirus, my heart problems also began. Recently, Henry had surgery near his eye. A growth appeared that had been growing for a long time. He should go to the doctor and check his vision to see if there is a need for glasses. When we were returned money for the tickets, I really wanted to remove the roof in the house in the village and strengthen the foundation, which would be a good start and start for the future with the addition of two more rooms upstairs and another bathroom. Unfortunately, it didn't work this time. The rest of the cash from the tickets Henry paid to the motor boda boda, which will ultimately be used at school, for example for visits to parents or transport for teachers for their training. The school is expanding at an extraordinary pace and with this, there are new needs that I think will be realized over time. More about to the well. The cost estimate we initially received for the purchase and installation of the pump was over $ 11,000, now it has even increased to $ 13,000. From the very beginning, there was a problem because the electricity that is on the school premises is too weak to run the pump. People from the electricity company delayed work and until today we still did not receive anything from them, even the price list of the work. We decided that there was little hope that anything will be submitted by them soon. However we did not give up and asked the company installing the pumps for a different cost estimate, with a weaker pump that was to be adapted to the current. It turned out that there is such a possibility and the cost of buying and installing this pump is about $ 8,500. Also a lot, but we believe that God has no limits, for Him no amount is large. Returning to the church that we are rebuilding, we slowly move forward. Everything takes a lot of time, because people from the church are not available every day, they also have other jobs and duties which they do at their own pace. We have the funds for plastering parts of the church and filling the windows. The floor will be the biggest expense because the church is quite big. But this

can be done even at a later date.

There are still debates about the full reopening of the schools. Suddenly, the government made the decision to return the children from grades 4 and 8 and the first grade of high school. These classes are to continue their studies, which is now semester 2 and their final term will be in January. I have no idea what is the plan for the next year and what will happen next with these classes because in Kenya the academic year starts in January. We can only wait and over time we will get all the answers. In concluding this update, I entrust you to God, “ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength Eph. 1: 16-20, God bless you Mirka and Henry

Latest update

Dear friends, sponsors, brothers, and sisters in Christ.

 I would like to thank you all on behalf of Light of the World Academy for your relentless support, for your constant prayers and words of encouragement. It is thanks to you at large and God of miracles, that we can see great things and progress being done in Kwademu. 

The reason I am writing to you is to update you about the current situation in Kenya. Last weekend, the President of Kenya extended the quarantine/lock down period for another 30 days. The bans on moving between cities and public meetings, as well as the curfew, remain in place. Hotels, churches, and schools will remain closed until further notice. There is a chance, however, that schools will reopen in September, although this is not certain, especially with the growing number of coronavirus cases. I know that most of you still send support for children, even though the children are not attending school. Thank you for your trust and persistence in what God called you to do. Because of the lock down restrictions, we are unable to prepare meals for children. Breaking the restrictions would result in us being put in quarantine. However, the school has a lot of other needs for which there is no budget. We do not always mention all of them as it would certainly look like a bottomless well for some. We all know that the school has been growing at a fast place, but there are still a lot of things to do. First of all, most of the teaching staff are from outside the village - when a teacher takes up employment, they look for accommodation as well, and unfortunately, we are not able to offer it yet. We used the tank elevation project to create 3 rooms for teachers, the work is in progress. We hope to create more staff accommodation in the future. We have just entered the rainy season, and like every year, the school grounds were hit with a multitude of water and was full of mud. Getting from one end to another was a problem because there was stagnant water everywhere, so we had to build a draining system to remove the excess water. Additionally, we started work on footpaths, and to be able to complete them we must first insert another gate for lorries and trucks. The reason for this is that large vehicles that deliver building materials to the rear of the school plot (where main construction works take place currently and will continue in the future) could destroy what we have done so far on the ground. Someone could also ask why are these footpaths needed? They are necessary, especially in the rainy season, otherwise, children will walk in the mud and bring it on their shoes to the classrooms. We have not yet completed work on enclosing the school with a wall, some parts are still only fenced, which makes it easy for snakes to sneak in, we have noticed a few recently. Due to the increase in pupil numbers, we need to build additional toilets for girls in a spot currently occupied by a temporary shed (covered with metal sheets). The shed is used as storage for building materials but we need a more solid and safe permanent storage. These are just a few things we would like to do and plan to do in the near future, step by step, of course, depending on funds available. Not to mention the still in progress well project, for which we are all the time fundraising and praying for. It needs the pump and strengthening of the school's electricity system, otherwise, the power will be too weak to run the pump. Currently, there is no budget for all these things, but if you agree to allow us to use the funds that are being sent, despite the fact that they are meant for lunches, to be used do part of these works, we will be grateful for your understanding and support. We also fully understand if you would prefer that the money you sent is used exclusively for lunches. In that case, we would like to ask you to pause the lunch payments until the school reopens. We are well aware that the economic crisis has reached many in different countries, not only us here in Kenya, so we fully understand whichever decision you make. Continuously thanking God for each of you and keeping you in our prayers!

 ''I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Eph.1 16-17.

May 2020 update

Dear Friends,

We believe that you and your families are doing well in this unusual time for all of us. Who could have expected that everything would suddenly stop- schools, nurseries, hotels, restaurants, other institutions, businesses, etc. We don't know the answers to many questions, we can only not lose hope and trust God to strengthen us, both mentally and physically, and lead us through this strange period. My wish and great hope were to meet with you, but it did not happen, this time. We believe it will be possible at a better time.

In short, how we are doing:

Like all over the world, schools, churches, restaurants, and other businesses have been closed in Kenya. Therefore, our school remains closed too. The 2nd semester was meant to start at the beginning of May, unfortunately, the quarantine/ lockdown period got extended, according to the ruling the quarantine/ lockdown is to last until June 6th. A ban on moving between districts and major cities was also introduced. Curfew from 7 pm was also introduced. Some sources claim that schools will open in June, although in my opinion, this will not be the case. The number of new daily cases of Coronavirus is higher every day, compared to the initial statistics. As of today, there are more than 1,000 cases in Kenya, including over 50 deaths. Only God knows the real number because it is impossible to reach and examine the sick in all areas, especially those in smaller towns.

Very few schools have started running the curriculum online, most children are still waiting for the physical opening of schools. The reason is that not all schools, including parents, are equipped with the necessary materials to provide over the internet teaching. In Kwademu, unfortunately, it is impossible, parents and guardians do not have smartphones, internet access, besides, most of them did not complete education and would not be able to carry out lessons for their kids. We hope that this quarantine/lock-down period will end soon and life will return to normal. Although the children are not at school, the building work is progressing slowly. I don't remember if I mentioned it earlier, but along with the water reservoir tower plan, an idea came up of using this project to build bedrooms for teachers. Most of the teaching staff are from outside the village, it will be much easier for them if they are provided with accommodation on school grounds. That's why 3 rooms are being added to the water reservoir tower. We hope to build more in the future.

We have now entered the rainy season. Heavy rains caused a lot of water to accumulate on the school grounds, not only in tanks but also on the playground. We do not have any drainage system as a result solid on the ground got torn up. We planted some grass and started some minor work – making pathways. We were able to make the pathway to the office and from the office to the area with flags, we also completed the pathway from the kitchen to one of the gates.

We had to repaint the exterior of the youngest kids' classroom as there were drawings and marks done by kids. We also bought another large mattress for the youngest children group. Furthermore, building work on the church has also started. This week, we plan to return to the church building and move the work forward a bit. Thank you most for your prayers and support. God is good, and with the following verse, I would like to encourage you and finish my letter.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 New International Version (NIV) ''..give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus''

New Year 2020

Greetings to you our friends

Every time we think of you we are so much grateful to our God for bringing you into our lives. We are so thankful for your constant love and support.

We are growing every day. Most likely because of your obedience to God who has call you to join your hands together with us. Thank you for your generosity.

We have started this new year with Christmas celebration party at school. We were able to prepare Christmas gifts for 200 kids. Every child received food in form of cooking oil, ugali flour, rice, beans, sugar, tea, Vaseline, washing soup and soap bar, followed by sweets and bis cuties. We can count this day as one of the greatest days in a year. Most of the kids received nothing during this special season, this time we thought to bless whole families by buying most necessary things used at home. At the end of the day everyone had a meal - a tropical African dish - pillao ,rice with meat.

We also had employed new teachers. Last year we miss 2 teachers, because we were not able to provide salaries to all. This year we really stretched and added 3 teachers so our headteacher has more time to focus on running the school.

As we wrote last time, we needed another class,in 4 weeks just before the academic year begun we had build up class number 5. God is so great.

We also completed the tower for the tank, during that time new idea pop out. Most of our teachers are from outside the village, they need accommodation, so we started to work on the rooms for them. We are planing to use the space on the tower and put 3 rooms for teachers. So far we managed to do one.

The borehole project is still undergoing, we need pomp installation which is very costly over 11000$, but before that we need to upgrade the power on the site, as the power we are using it is too low to run the pomp. Please stand with us in this particular prayer so we make this borehole work as soon as possible.

Back to us. We are doing well, though there were days where we have been failing with our heath but God was lifting us back.

Soon our family will travel to Poland, YES HARD TO BELIEVE, we took some time since last time visited my country. Already having some meetings arranged, so please stand with us in prayer for Gods protection and provision as we are going to move a lot.

I am hoping to see some of you during our visit. For now we want to thank you one more time for your love. Let keep in touch and encourage one another specially when the trial comes.

With much blessings

Mirka and Henry