Mission:180 Spring Update

Mission:180 has been enjoying a season of growth for some time now. In this post we want to highlight some of that. Spring seems like the right time to deliver exciting news about how God is growing this ministry here in Kenya. We are growing not only in the number of children we have in our care, and subsequently also in our number of Kenyan staff, but we are growing in resources and infrastructure as well. Below you will read about and see some photos of how we are growing!

                                Meet Margaret

Margaret has a bright smile and a very happy attitude.

We were called by another Child Care Agency in Kenya recently and asked to take a little girl into care. Her name is Margaret, and she is 4 years old. Her story is heartbreaking. We are unable to go into the details of Margaret's story but we can tell you that she has had a very difficult start to her precious little life. Her mom has passed away, and her father has abandoned her. He is nowhere to be found. She has been a resident in this other children's home since she was two years old, however because that home specializes in short term care they asked us to take in Margaret. We are thrilled to be able to give her a loving home.  Margaret will be in long term care, and she is settling in very well at Mission:180. She is a very happy and cheerful little girl. 

Staff Increase
We have a total of 21 staff now, most of whom are directly involved in childcare. We also have an excellent team working in the water project, managing the farm and assisting in the Hamper of Hope project. As we grow the ministry and we take in more children the number of

The team is growing! We are very proud of them.

Norah in her element!

childcare providers needed also grows. We are very proud of the level of excellent care our babies are receiving. It is so obvious to us and our guests that our Aunties and managers truly love the little ones they are charged with caring for. With growth comes adjustment as well. We have transitioned Norah, one of our long term employees into the role of cook. All the meals are now prepared by her in one of the homes and then taken to the waiting recipients. She is doing an excellent job and she really enjoys her new role. Everyone else is enjoying the fruit of her labor!

Meet Pendo

Pendo our dependable security guard!  

Recently we were given a pure bred German Shepherd by a family that was heading back to the United States.
We had been thinking about getting a dog for security out at the Children's Homes. Pendo is a perfect fit. She does a good job as a security guard, and she is great with the kids.


The Farm is Growing
The garden is doing really well. We grow a variety of vegetables that are used in the  every day meal planning for the children.

Hope the calf!

Humphrey our farmer,
 and the chicken coop.

Squash

Papaya

There are always lots of eggs.

Humphrey knows his business!

We have planted banana trees and we eagerly await our first crop of bananas. We have plowed another acre on the property to grow food for the cows and also to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The Bunny "Hilton"

Bunny News

Transporting the rabbits. The truck gets lots of use!

We have been considering growing rabbits for their meat. Recently we were given 12 rabbits. We have settled them out at the Children's homes and we are hoping for a Thumper crop soon!! What a blessing to have these bunnies donated. Its a great start to what we are hoping will be a big part of the food supply for Mission:180's Children's Homes.








The Bore Hole (AKA TheWell) 
We have a borehole on the property that is 270 meters deep. It provides the Children's homes with fresh clean water, and we serve our community by providing water to a number of households in the surrounding area when people bring their jerrycans and we also pipe directly into a few homes in our immediate neighborhood .

Working on the valves at the top of the well.

The well is back up and running.

Many people bring their animals from miles around to make use of the water troughs.  It was time for a major servicing of the pump at the bottom of the well and we had to change a few valves. It was a very involved process but it had to get done.

Farewell Luke

A couple of weeks ago our little guy Luke was returned to his mother. She came back to the authorities looking for him, and after some investigation  she was deemed fit to care for him. We were instructed to return him to his mother.Our hope and our prayers for Luke are that he is happy and healthy in his mother's care.

The Sheppard's at Joshua's annual Middle School
Formal Banquet.

We have a lot going on here at Mission:180. Life is busy and often complicated, but it is worth every bit of work when we get to hold those little ones and remember that they are they reason we are called here to Kenya.

With all growth comes expense. If you are not already a part of the monthly support base of Mission:180, would you consider getting involved by making a monthly support pledge? We operate on faith, knowing that the same God who called us here will also supply what is needed for the work.   If a monthly commitment doesn't suit you, we certainly appreciate and very much need those occasional donations as well. They always seem to come in at just the right time. Funny how that works.
To get more involved in supporting the work we do in Kenya, you can follow the directions for PayPal on the top right hand side of this page, or send Jennifer an email (jennifer@mission180.ca) to find out how to give directly from your bank to Mission:180's bank.

To all of you who already support this work faithfully with your finances, we can't thank you enough! Your generosity keeps us going. Your prayers, your kind and encouraging words in emails and on Facebook, they mean so much to us. THANK YOU!!!