Hello World!
Hello world! It's me, Joy. I've been on the quiet side for a bit. But, I'm here to fill you in on all that Iddy's has been up to!
After a lot of prayer and consideration, I took the last year off of traveling to Kenya. Not because I didn't want to but because my oldest love went to college. I felt the need to be present for that first year of transitioning into her new normal. I stay in close contact with friends in country and up to speed on how our students are doing and how are kids from MP are! Leading up to 2023 a lot of changes took place at Miracle Power which is where I would stay when I visited, where we lived as a family and where a huge chunk of my heart resided. Kenya passed a new law in 2022 called the Children Act. It's proven that children flourish more in homes than in institutions. More focus was put on reunification of children with family units. Luckily, Jem had done family tracing with ALL of our kids at MP and found family members that many of them didn't even know they had. Through intense family counseling over the course of a year, ALL of our kids at MP were reunified with family or a parenting figure. Jem spent the next year doing surprise family visits to make for sure that things were going well. The fact that ALL of our kids were reunified was a HUGE deal. Moses (if you've followed our journey at all, then you know who Moses is ;)) went to live with his grandmother. He is doing well. They have a small little road side stand where they sell bread to help him pay for his transportation to his physical therapy appointments in the city.
In May of this year Kenya was hit by it's First-Ever Cyclone. Weeks of heavy rain and deadly floods claimed over 400 lives (that they know of) and displaced more than 212,000. Moses & his grandmother were one of those affected by the cyclone. Their house was completely destroyed. Through close connections, Iddy & Oscar's was able to help rebuild a home for them! You guys truly help make a difference! Thank You!
One of our mamas became very ill with breast cancer and because of Iddy & Oscar's we were able to help her with treatment. Praise God she is now in remission!
Over the past 3 years we've prayerfully considered educating kiddos in other countries. In January of this year we took on our first student in a new country other than Kenya. We are now sending girls to school in Cambodia! You ARE making a difference!
So, although I have been quiet, Iddy & Oscar's is continuing to make a difference not only here at home but around the world in Kenya and now Cambodia. Thank You from the bottom of my heart for supporting this store! We appreciate you!
Huge hugs from me to you and I hope to see you in store soon!
Joy
PS. If you've been a supporter of MP and have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me!