Baby Strong

So, the news is out... Baby Strong is on the way and we are extremely excited

So, many people have been asking what area our plans are? Well, we believe that our mandate for Kenya hasn't changed at all. We still believe that being in Kenya is where we are supposed to be. Although we are planning on having a brief period in the UK to have our little boy, mid Sept - Dec, we are hoping and planning to return to Kenya at the start of the new year. All being well, we plan to then be in Kenya for another six months to continue the projects and work that we are forgoing.

Over the passed few months we have had several moments of sitting together, wondering how having a baby is going to fit into our lives as volunteers out in Africa, doing what we do. We have learnt to accept what is, we have learnt to let go of what was and we are choosing to have faith in what will be. We have been learning that we shouldn't always plan, we shouldn't obsess or imagine, sometimes we need to just take a few breathes and trust, let go and trust Gods plans. Raising a child in Kenya may be hard but hard is not impossible. Gods timing is perfect.

We are overjoyed and excited to have a new addition joining us on our journey, bringing us a whole new dynamic. This baby is a huge blessing, a gift from heaven, whom we already cherish and love. We feel like we have had a little practice over the passed 20 months, as being surrounded by all the children at the children's home has obviously come with its challenges and moments. We thank God that not only have we been learning on this journey, but that the little one will have such a big family! When we first told The KCP family, all the kids went absolutely bonkers! Their excitement, the noises and the volume level was one we shall not forget! The kids literally got up out of their seats, they jumped around, danced and we were thrilled they were so happy. We've had the girls cheering for a baby girl and the boys cheering for a baby boy. We have had many amusing questions, such as, 'will the baby come out black?' and we've had several kids requesting their name be used as the babies name.

As we left Kenya and the kiddies for six weeks in April to visit family and friends in the UK, we were a little sad saying goodbye again, but we knew that time would fly and here we are several weeks into our time away. We are at peace presently, but it is hard to be so far away at times. We truly miss the little ones and all their various characteristics. It may be hard to understand why we miss being there when we are here, especially when we often wish we were here when we are there! You see, we now have two homes. When we are at one, we are away from another and there is a lot of emotion attached to that. It can also be a little stressful living out of suitcases, I especially don't find that easy. We return at the beginning of June and we are looking forward to the staff and kids seeing how 'bump' has grown and hearing all their latest news and school reports.

When we return, we will be continuing to focus on heading up the social department. Our goal is to continue teaching and empowering the team to use all the resources, documents, policies and procedures that we put in place for them over the passed year. We also want to see how the follow - ups of the repatriated children are doing and how the social enquiries are going for the newly highlighted vulnerable children. This season of work has just begun and we cannot wait to see what will be achieved by the end of the year within the charity and within the social care team.