Journey with our team serving in Africa!

Our Africa Team

Please pray for our team, Jeannine Allen, Ken Holland, Kathy Peart, and Duane Tiede who are traveling to Nairobi, Kenya, February 7-16. We are so excited to be returning in person and can’t wait to take you along for the journey! Check this page throughout their trip for regular posts and photos written by our Director of Missions, Jeannine Allen. Looking forward to sharing with you!

Monday, February 7th

Today is travel day! We are learning things are a bit more complicated with inter-continental travel in a covid world! After applying for our online Kenyan visas, meeting immunization requirements, uploading proof of vaccination and negative covid tests to global entry websites, and completing a Kenya health screen, we are ready to go! We have all your cards and letters for the children and lots and lots of hugs! Can’t wait to see what God will do in and through this team! I’ll let you know when we land safely!

Tuesday, February 8th

Spent the entire day traveling! Our team finally arrived at our hotel around 10:00 pm. It’s a long difficult journey to get from Naperville to Nairobi, Kenya! But we are eager to see how God will use our team and know our time spent in Kenya will be worth the 33-hour journey!

Our ArrivalWednesday, February 9th

There is a beautiful Kenyan tradition to welcome your visitors and make them feel most welcome! I have to say, I have honestly never experienced anything like this! It was beautiful, heartfelt and so very special. The children had been practicing for weeks and they were so excited to see us! As the gates opened to Cheryl’s children’s home, this is what I witnessed and experienced.


After this beautiful courtyard welcome, we went on to tour the facility, which included visiting each classroom. As we entered each grade level, the children welcomed us like family! They eagerly greeted us and had a special presentation that may have included a poem, memory scripture, or song. I was instantly struck by the hard reality of the environment and condition in which these children learn daily. Low light, hot, stuffy classrooms, homemade desks, chairs or benches, some missing backs on them. And yet, they are so grateful to be there and simply have the opportunity to learn and go to school! Unfortunately, not all children in Kenya have this opportunity! The staff at Cheryl’s including teachers, social workers, and the Administrative Team are some of the most dedicated and wonderful people I have ever met! They are truly doing the Lord’s work each and every day and we give thanks to each of them!


Thursday, February 10th – A trip to the museum!

Today we had the opportunity to take the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade classes to the Nairobi National Museum. This is a rare opportunity for them, to ride on a bus, explore and learn. We packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take along (another real treat from their usual rice and beans lunch!) These students are so grateful for the opportunity to learn and they were excited and eager for the day!

The students were respectful, attentive, as they listened, they took notes throughout the day. The next day, each student wrote a composition about their experience at the Nairobi National Museum. So proud of these young students and their eagerness to learn! Thanks to our sponsors and supporters for giving them that opportunity!


Friday, February 11th A permanent home!

Today our team went shopping at the open market for grains and produce for the orphanage. This is an experience like no other! We also visited the construction site for Cheryl’s new location scheduled for a Spring completion. Many of the children are still traumatized about being evicted from the original Cheryl’s site when the Government showed up with bulldozers to reclaim the land for another purpose. And while we have made it work at the temporary facility for four years, this is not the environment we want for these children. I am so grateful for generous donors who have made it possible to build a new, permanent home and school for these children! It is a better environment for these precious children and one that will provide stability and the opportunity to focus on learning! From poverty to possibilities, God made a way to provide a new, permanent home! It is answered prayers indeed, to God be the Glory!

The current location

The NEW location will be completed this Spring!

Saturday, February 12th – Visiting High School Students and Alumni

Today our team got to visit with some of our sponsored High School Students and Alumni.

Ken visiting with Cheryl’s Alumni

I have never heard such a beautiful expression of gratitude! Listen as one of our sponsored high school students sings his thanks and praise! I was moved to tears! In Kenya, secondary school (high school) is not a guarantee! First, you must achieve a certain score on your entrance exam. If you do qualify, you must be able to pay a monthly fee that is beyond what most families can afford. Not to mention, many of Cheryl’s students are without any living parents. Education is the students’ only hope for a future and a way out of extreme poverty! Our Good Shepherd sponsors pay $75 a month which provides housing, uniforms, meals, and an education. I am so grateful to those who are investing in the lives of these deserving students, you are helping them reach their God-given potential!

Sunday, February 13th – Church, Kenyan style!

The day we have been waiting for! An opportunity to take the Children currently living at Cheryl’s, along with the staff, and other students to the new facility for a tour, a celebration worship service, and lunch! I wish you could have seen the sheer joy on the faces of the students and staff. They expressed their gratitude over three hours of worship, praise, testimonials, and dancing, lots and lots of dancing! There is so much to learn from these precious brothers and sisters in Christ. They have deep, deep faith. They put their hope in God alone. They lift up heartfelt prayers and trust in God for their every need. And, their gratitude is genuine and beautiful.

Monday, February 14th – A Valentine’s Day I will never forget!

We love because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

On Monday, Valentine’s Day, we had the wonderful opportunity to take 60 students to a morning movie, Sing 2, and then our team hosted an afternoon Ice Cream Social for the entire school! When you live below the poverty level, every shilling goes to survival, food, water, clothing, and shelter. So, there is no opportunity for any such luxury items like a movie or ice cream. There was so much joy and laughter that day! I was so grateful that they got to taste and see the goodness of God through these special valentine’s memories. The laughter in the movie theater was priceless!

Ice Cream Social

We also handed out cards and letters from our sponsors. And, distributed beautiful quilts stitched with LOVE by our Good Shepherd Quilting team! What a beautiful expression of love to these children.

Tuesday, February 15th – Goodbyes are always hard!

The day arrived that we had to say our goodbyes. There is never enough time with these precious children. It is our prayer that they felt God’s amazing love through our team. And, that God will indeed hold them close until we can see them again. I am humbled, grateful, blessed to have had this opportunity to visit Cheryl’s Children’s Home. I will be forever changed with the new perspective God has given me. The need at Cheryl’s is so great and there are many children still in need of sponsorship! If you are a sponsor or supporter, I cannot express enough gratitude for your partnership. This is the Lord’s work indeed and Cheryl’s Children’s Home is God blessed. If you or someone you know may be interested in sponsoring a child, please email me.

We love you, Good Shepherd!

We are blessed to be a blessing!

The mission continues! Please join with us in prayer for:

  • The children and staff at Cheryl’s
  • For our 8th-grade candidates taking secondary school exams
  • For our High School students taking year-end exams
  • For the completion of the new facility and a smooth transition
  • For the unsponsored children – may God provide for this great need!


Join us in our mission to care for those who are orphaned, and in need of an education. To help, get in touch with our Director of Missions through the button below.

EMAIL LEADER

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