November 7, 2006
Merry Christmas from Kenya.
A child at the Wee School gets a hepatitis B shot.
We bring you warm greetings, for it is summertime here. And in
our rural village of Kikuyu the laughter of children in the schoolyard
fills the countryside. We enjoy watching the children play. Although
some of the little children hate to see us coming—because
we bring the pain of needle jabs in the form of a series of three
hepatitis B inoculations to protect them for a lifetime, courtesy
of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Delaware.
With refugees from Sudan and Somalia fleeing into Kenya, the
risk of disease, including polio and measles, has increased. Non-governmental
organizations are immunizing these populations as quickly as possible.
Lyle outside the Wee School, a school for 270 "vulnerable
children," including 37 refugees.
Our school for vulnerable children (Wee School) has 270 children,
of which 37 are refugee children. Wee School students are a determined
and spunky group. Among the schools in our area (with parents
who pay school fees and provide uniforms and shoes) our little
“rag-tag” group, playing without shoes, won the local
soccer tournament. Our boys’ team took first place, and
the girls’ team was second!
We are completing our fourth year of service here in Kenya. Our
work at the college has been enjoyable and rewarding. But we face
challenges and uncertainties ahead. Kenyan church politics is
impacting the college where we teach. Most of the faculty has
been transferred out and a new teaching and administrative staff
will be in place starting January. So far, we have been spared.
We are scheduled to provide clinical pastoral education when the
new semester begins. We hope the Presbyterian Church of East Africa
will continue to want our services. But there are no guarantees.
We pray we will be allowed to stay and to help during these times
when children and families are so vulnerable.
The Christmas story is for all times and for all places. “And
ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending
low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow,
Look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.”
May you hear angels sing this Christmas season and all year long.
Blessings and peace,
Lyle and Terry Dykstra
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 334
|
