‘’Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;fear the Lord and shun evil.’’
(Proverbs 3:5-7, NIV)
At the beginning of this letter, I greet you all very warmly. I sincerely hope that the situation in the world in connection with the current Covid19 situation has not impacted your plans for the year 2021. I trust that everyone is in good health, but if this is not the case, I am placing the sick in the hands of the Lord.
The New Year has fully started and new challenges and responsibilities have also appeared. In accordance with the Ministry of Education decision, schools in Kenya were opened on January 4th, so our school in Kwademu is open too. Less than 200 children came to school, as not all children have returned. Some families moved their child to schools closer to their place of homes. We have about 20 new kids among those who came. We also expect the number of children to increase slightly in the following days. Ultimately, we have room for 220 children. As kids have lost almost a year of education due to staying at home because of the pandemic restrictions, the Kenyan government has shortened their school holidays for the next 2 year. This was done in order to help them to catch up with lost time. Usually the school year in Kenya starts in January, now the new academic year will start at the end of July, the August and December school holidays will be canceled.
We hope that we will all find ourselves in this new reality. Shortly before the end of 2020, exactly during Christmas, we have once again organized food packages for the families of children from our school. The parents were happy to be able to prepare a Christmas meals for their kids.
Shortly before the opening of the schools, we also completed the construction of toilets that will be used by our teachers, and the former toilets used by teachers got allocated for girls.
However, the biggest challenge now, is the access to drinking water. Unfortunately, it is the dry season in Kenya, rain is sporadic, extremely rare. Most of the local residents are dependent on the water from the river and the so-called ponds, in remote locations. The well project is still unfinished. The pump, and the necessary materials to connect it, still need to be purchased. The last cost estimate we got was around $8,500. This is a considerable expense, especially in the present situation when the world has turned upside down, and many small businesses have collapsed, people lost their jobs, etc. However, we trust that all provisions belong to God and there are no limits for His generosity.
I approach it with humbleness understanding that there are matters that I can change and there are those I can’t where only God can help, and it’s Him who decides when and how. In this situation I can only have faith in God, trust and wait patiently.
Despite the issue with access to water it does not mean that the school will have to be closed. We try to meet the challenges. We cooperate with very committed parents who decided to carry water to school every day- for cooking and washing hands.
Now, shortly how we Kalumes have been..
For some time I (Mirka) started having health problems. Firstly, with stomach ulcers, then with my heart, and finally with legs. The latter got so bad that it was almost impossible for me to stand or move, I practically dragged myself from place to place. The medication I took for several months did not help and the pain continued. A specialist doctor recommended surgery. It all happened very quickly, during Christmas period doctors decided that I needed an operation. Just after the New Year a specialist doctor came from Nairobi (unfortunately in Mombasa there is no doctor trained for this type of surgery). Thank God, in August last year, we extended our health policy for another year with the money returned by the airlines (as you know, we did not manage to fly to Poland, and the airlines turned out to be very responsible by giving a cash refund for unused tickets). Thanks to that we were able to take out health insurance. In short, it was the insurance that covered all the costs of the surgery, which the hospital estimated at nearly $4,000 (in the end it turned out to be a bit less, around $3,500). Currently, I'm recovering, according to the doctor's recommendation. I have to slow down significantly and in 3 weeks return to the hospital for checkup. How am I feeling? Physically, it gets better every day. I think that past calls from my friends and Henry to slow down were a good advice which unfortunately I didn’t take on seriously. I have to admit that I find it difficult to ease off and relax by doing nothing. I fell into a vortex and it was hard for me to stop. I finally had to slow down although not of my own will, God has stopped me. Now I have time to reflect and spend more time with Him
Henry has been fasting for a long time and at the same time praying for us, for the people from the village, for the project and for God's guidance. Earlier, he mentioned a course that God put on his heart - Community Development based on biblical standards. The plan was that in April last year we will fly to Poland for a short time. On return girls were meant to start school and Henry college. As we all know, our plans do not always match God's plan. So our plan did not come to life as Covid showed up.
Henry, continued to pray. He received a letter of college admission this January. The university that accepted him is located in Nairobi. It is a Christian university. When he received the admission letter he had to go to Nairobi to enroll, so I was left with the kids. He believes that God will provide for him and guide him, thus take care of us here in Mombasa. The course lasts for one and half years, with breaks between semesters. This is not a situation that I completely understand, but it is one of many that I cannot control. I don't know what God has planned and what He has prepared for us. All I can do is trust Him and entrust my worries into His hands. My only consolation is that God does not give us things that are too heavy for us to bear. If this is Gods plan, we should definitely trust Him and act accordingly. There are days when I feel unwell, there are days when I try to find guidance and comfort in God’s Word, this verse recently became close to my heart : “ I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13, NIV)
This is what I find comfort in every day, especially when the devil tries to attack me, saying that I can not do it. I don't know the answer to the questions why Nairobi, why so far and not another school, how God will provide for us, but I know that God will not leave his servant. In all this, I want to thank God for Magda who is near the school, she is the one who has been helping me and supporting me as much as possible.
Concluding this letter, I entrust all of us to prayer
Greetings
MIRKA
