To Everything There is a Season...

[Hopefully most people who read my blog will have already heard this news, so it will not come as a shock. If you haven’t heard this, I apologize that this is the way you have found out. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have.]

It didn’t take us long after being here to realize that a majority of our time here in Africa was going to be spent at the Kenya Church of Christ Children’s Home. Before we arrived, we had no idea what shape the home was in, and how many improvements it needed to be run the way it should have been. But we quickly realized this and re-adjusted our priorities around the home, thus putting aside our goals and dreams of teaching AIDS education, counseling, and opening an AIDS clinic. While we definitely didn’t get to focus on AIDS ministry, we did get a first hand look at what it takes to run a ministry here in Africa, more specifically Kenya. We learned much about the politics involved, the accountability needed, the hardship of finding trustworthy people to help run ministries, but most of all about the inadequacy of our preparation in coming to Kenya. While God gave us what we needed to help the children’s home, we learned that it would take much more preparation and planning to start something like an AIDS clinic, or even that type of ministry. Working with a ministry that had already been around for 14 years taught us how much more it would take to start a ministry from the ground up.

Our sending church still had a vision for the AIDS clinic, however. And we felt as if they were expecting major results by the time we were scheduled to come home, next September, 2007. But the more we prayed about it and thought about it, the more we felt like the team that was needed was different than what we had to offer. We also felt like all the details that needed to go into planning something like that were far too many for us to start such a project, already almost one year into our two year commitment. For example, we really felt like the AIDS project is more needed in Kisumu, rather than Kitale. To do this, we would almost have to start all over again, with only 1 year left to achieve anything. After much prayer and consideration, we felt it wise that we return to the states now and help the church prepare a better equipped team to take on such a task. This was a very difficult decision to make, as we have already built great relationships with the church members here in Kitale, especially those at the Children’s Home. We felt like this decision was integral to the future of the AIDS ministry here in Kenya, however. We especially did not want to be bad stewards of the money that had been given in good faith that an AIDS clinic would be built in Kenya, when we didn’t feel like that was a realistic goal for us to achieve in a year’s time. (Things here in Kenya take about 10 times longer than they do at home, especially when you’re white!!)

We know that not everyone has understood or will understand our decision, but we feel at peace with this decision, and that it is what God had planned for us to do. Sometimes God uses one motivation to get you somewhere where your purpose ends up being completely different. Although we didn’t know about the serious problems at the Children’s Home, God used us to restore the home in many ways because we were willing to be used by Him. And we are so grateful that He chose to use us in this way.

In fact, I am still praying about returning to Kenya someday, maybe in the near future, or maybe further down the road. I don’t have any idea what that would look like, but I also can’t help but feel that God is not done with me in Africa. I am praying, watching & waiting for the time being. I appreciate your prayers regarding this as well!

Like I said, feel free to email me with any questions…
alita.tombleson@gmail.com

Blessings,
Alita

PS- We will arrive back in the states the night of October 30th in Seattle. I look forward to seeing many people over the holidays!