I should arrive in Kisumu, to the familiar sites and smells of the lakeside town, sometime tomorrow afternoon.
It should be an interesting trip.
It has been over 10 years since Nicky and I first went out to Kisumu, since we first walked around the dusty streets and onto the rubbish tips of the town.
We want to spend a little time, along with Moses and Paul James, reviewing the work and thinking about our original calling and vision.
For me, God spoke very clearly from Isaiah 58: -
"(I want you) to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
Whenever things have faltered or seemed beyond us in that time I have held on to the promise of verse 11: -
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. "
Whe I first read it I knew it was for me. I knew that God was reassuring me about this work and about His hand upon it. I knew that this was something I would work on with Him.
There have been many times over the last 10 years when I have felt challenged. Times when people have tried to take money, hard earned money, meant for orphans, for their own benefit. We have sacked people, been abused by people, been deceived, attended court and been threatened.
But we have also seen children blossom in the hands of God. Street children, the most vulnerable, needy, helpless children in God's kingdom healed and made new by His grace,
We have seen children who lived on the streets complete secondary schools, children with nothing walk tall.
We have never had lots of money, but we have always had enough.
We have never been rich in earthly wealth, but we are rich in our inheritance.
On this trip there are issues that need resolving.
Our landlady of our main home in Kibos died last year and different relatives are claiming the rights to the rental income. I have meetings planned with our lawyer, to understand Kenyan inheritance rights, and then with the families.
I also plan to visit some of the children who, in January, made the leap from primary to secodnary school. It is a big step for them, and financially for us also (primary schooling support costs are about £50 per year, compared to more like £500 for secondary school children)
I am also hoping to get up to our new 10 acre farm, to meet our new farm manager and to talk about a sustainable program of farming that will supply, not only food for the ongoing work, but also help to provide an income and training for some of the older street boys we work with.
Nicky arrives on Thursday, and we hope to spend a little time together reflecting on what has been built since those first tentative steps more than 10 years ago.
We had an interesting evening in church last night with Holly bush fellowship, from near Thirsk in North Yorkshire. Their pastor, Jim Wilkinson, has an incredible testimony about God's blessing and goodness on their fellowship.
One thing he said struck me in particular.
If it's not a work of God, he said, then I would give it no mor than two years, before the effort of keeping something going would fail. But if God has called you to something, then he will strengthen and sustain it.
It chimed with me, with my promise from Isaiah 58:11 - "He will satisfy your needs ... he will strengthen your frame".
I am looking forward to seeing everyone again in Kisumu, to resolving problems and to looking forward to new visions and directions.
I will try to update the blog throughout the trip, but please bear with me if it is not every day, as wifi and electricity are not always consistent.
If you would like to suppor the work of the Trust, please go to www.isaiahtrust.org.uk
Mungu akubarike sana, Bwana Asifiwe
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