Miners Habari #23

Dear friends,
In this letter, we'd like to share another glimpse into our life and work in Kenya. David has launched some exciting projects in neighboring countries, and Lisa's highlight was the Soul Care Retreats earlier this year.

Banda Health

At the beginning of the year, the first BANDA conference took place, bringing together clinic staff from all over Kenya. We had a valuable exchange about successes, challenges, and new ideas for expanding our services.

My (David's) work remains varied and diverse, for which I am very grateful. While our team supports the clinics in Kenya (more than 80) with great professionalism and passion, I am increasingly focusing on neighboring countries and strategic side projects. Currently, I am working on new clinic and hospital projects in South Sudan, Niger, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, and other regions, mostly providing planning support and process consulting using our software.

In February I was in the north of the country, visiting clinics and, for a change, I was able to do something with my hands when we helped friends complete a construction project for the local church.

I reported last year on the major project for a new hospital in northern Mozambique – the doors seem to be opening step by step! We are establishing a new organization: Associação Rafa Moçambique! Several large partner organizations are ready to join. This project is particularly close to my heart, not only because of the combination of spiritual, physical, and structural needs, but also because of the enormous potential I see in it.
At the end of February, I asked for your prayers for the meeting with the Department of Health. It seems the new presidential family now supports our project. Last night, we finalized the draft of our proposed contract with the lawyer. Please pray that a healthy partnership develops between all parties and that the contract is signed without major delays. Furthermore, it would be wonderful if God would grant us ae „Person of Peace“ (Luke 10:6) in the north, which accompanies our start. I can hardly put into words how thrilled and grateful I am to witness God's work. Thank you for your prayers!

Soul Care

January was an intense and blessed time for me (Lisa). This year, we were able to offer two full Soul Care Retreats with over 60 participants from six nations. We worked intensively on the "garden of the heart," and we witnessed some wonderful breakthroughs. My personal highlight is seeing how our team has grown over the years, not only in numbers but also in depth and naturalness! It was a privilege to spend three weeks with such a dedicated team.

We were also able to spend two days with the women who had participated in a retreat last year. We talked about the easy yoke (Matthew 11:28) – as always, there was no shortage of illustrative examples. It's incredible how these women support each other and encourage one another in their often difficult situations. On another Soul Care day, we explored Psalm 1 at various stations, a new experience for some to engage so deeply with a psalm.
Here is some feedback from the participants:

„I had sworn I wouldn’t become like my father – violent, he beat my mother. I was so afraid the same thing would happen to me, and I didn’t let women near me. I hated him. The „anger bags“ helped me so much – I understood that it wasn’t my fault, and I was able to let him go.“

„I was used to others giving me answers, but now I can look into my own heart with Jesus. I never spent time meditating, but now I find peace in God’s presence.“

„I was full of anger. During prayer time, I realized that every area of my life was affected. I didn't want to face my problems. But here I had the space to simply be myself, to let my feelings out and to let go.“

Thanks also to everyone who helped financially to make participation in the retreats possible.
In April, I will be traveling to Mozambique and Malawi with a colleague to give training on creative forms of expression in trauma processing.

Home front

We are currently praying and considering whether a longer stay in Austria is in order for us starting this summer. After more than six years in Kenya, we have to admit that we need an extended break. We also need to plan our children's educational future to ease their transition from the mission station in the jungle to the wider world. Our "donation lion" also needs a fresh coat of paint.

For the first time in six years, we were able to experience a white Christmas with our families in Austria! Our girls both tried snowboarding – a great joy for Lisa. In January, we had a visit from David's parents. Sixteen miners in Kijabe! Layla successfully completed her football season. A highlight for her was a camping trip at a volcano – Mt. Suswa.

Help that Arrives, our sending organization in Austria, is celebrating its 15th anniversary on June 14th in Mödling! We'll unfortunately still be in Kenya then, but you're warmly invited. More information is available on the flyer. Also, check out the latest... Annual Report an, in which you can find out what other projects HDA has!

Greetings from Kenya, David & Lisa with Noemi and Layla