We are so thankful to the Lord for this precious little girl!
Soon to officially be named:
“Gracie Joy Kinlaw”
Here are the details:
19 pounds! (New record)
27 inches long! (Wow)
A long 11 months of labor!
Sleeping through the night upon arrival! 🤗
Very vocal already!
Healthy & happy!
As you can see, this is a special little girl! All kidding aside, on Friday, January 24, 2025, we brought little “Gracie Joy” into her forever home. Abandoned in a rice field on Jan 1, 2024 and left for dead, BUT GOD… He stepped in and had a plan for this little one. She was found on Jan 2, 2024 and brought to the orphanage where Jennifer arrived a few weeks later to train with a German nurse, and the rest is history or should we say “His - Story”!
There is no shortage of pictures of her, that’s for sure! Last week when we were informed that the certificate for fostering would be ready Thursday morning (Jan 23), Katie and I (John) drove the 12 hours to personally pick it up instead of waiting the 4-5 days for it to arrive in Kigoma.
We returned the next Friday (Jan 24), and immediately went to pick her up. We were all so excited, considering her long anticipated arrival! Now that she is home, she is adjusting so well, sleeping through the night, eating well, and seems to be getting more and more used to living life with us.
The bulk of the process is behind us, but we must foster her for six months before we are given the adoption certificate which will allow us to change her name etc. We are so thankful to have her home, and begin this journey together. There are adjustments as we juggle homeschooling 4, plus Jennifer’s master’s program, plus all of the ministries (Emmaus, Schools, Kizenga), and preparing for the building of Camp Nuru :)
On Monday the Lord clearly spoke to me in Isaiah 41:10:
“Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. “
All week as a family, we have seen the Lord do exactly these 3 things:
Strengthen us
Help us
Uphold us
The small village church in Kizenga is going well. We’ve had record numbers of children over the last 2 months averaging around 80-10 kids!
Our kids club Christmas party was a success! We are so thankful for Pagi, he is so gifted with children. It was a fun time to bless them with a good meal, fun games, songs, and a good message from the Word.
One of our young couples unfortunately suffered the loss of their one year old son during the Christmas season to some kind of sickness. As we were having the funeral, which was outside, clouds began to form and a big rain was heading our way. Several of us were silently praying as many Muslim neighbors were present, and when I got up to preach, the clouds dissipated and there was a great calm. The Gospel was clearly preached that day! Praise God!
In January, the new school year begins in Tanzania. We had mentioned that we were burdened for one 8 yr old named Sarah. She has never been to school, and this is common for children living in the villages.
Pagi was able to speak with her mother and the local teacher, and she was able to start school for the first time this month! What a joy to see her in her new school clothes, and to hear she is doing well :)
Emmaus is continuing to grow, and I have been praying about opening an office in Ilagala (one of the villages we visit every 3 weeks). Praying about when/how/with who. The last trip we received over 90 exams! The same week I received over 50 courses from the local prisons.
Praise God for this spiritual hunger and thirst for the Word of God!
We get back into the schools to resume our weekly Bible class next week (beginning of February).
We have a team of 10 from the US arriving in February for 2 weeks. We hope to clear some land for the camp, combined with many ministry opportunities.
These are busy days, but as the Lord reminded me :
He will strengthen us
He will help us
He will uphold us
Thank you all for your prayers and support as we serve the Lord here in Tanzania 🇹🇿!
~ The Kinlaws
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for little Grace as she adjusts and for our family :)
Please pray for spiritual growth in the church of Kizenga.
Please pray for little Sarah as she adjusts to school.
Please pray for wisdom on how to open an Emmaus office in one of the villages.
Please pray for Camp Nuru and the building process as it begins in February.
Please pray for Jennifer as she studies for her masters in midwifery.
Please pray for the spiritual growth of our children.
Thank you!
Below is a link to a video update from CMML about our work :)
Enjoy!
Opmerkingen