ROCK Newsletter March 2024
Dear Friends and Partners in Ministry,
Kyon and I received this adorable picture from ROCK’s director, Teresa Boyani, the other day with this note: “The joy of nurturing the little ones and guiding them to grow on a firm foundation in Christ, then hear them say ‘When I grow up, I would like to be a pilot and fly up there in the sky.’ Deep, sweet thoughts.” ❤️ Malava Christian Academy has three preschool classes referred to as Lighthouse Preschool. It is through your prayers and financial support that the school is growing year-by-year expanding ROCK’s influence in the community. If you would like to contribute to the school building fund, check out www.newhorizonsfoundation.com/project/single-project/2713/.
Teresa attended a four-day training recently for current Charitable Children’s Institutes (orphanages) to be updated regarding what programs will be needed in the future as Kenya shifts to a foster care structure. Changing from an orphanage to a Child Rescue Center for children is the possible direction ROCK Ministries International will take. This will allow the ministry to care for children while authorities handle emergency situations and carry out investigations. Also, having programs for strengthening the parents, and the entire family unit, such as the animal (poultry, pigs, cows), farming, and business entrepreneurship projects are all being considered for ROCK’s future. These are exciting days as God is shifting the focus of the ministry from individual children to the entire family unit and beyond. Please pray for wisdom!
Kyon will be flying out of Anchorage, Alaska, this Saturday morning (March 23rd) at 1:30am to begin the approximately 45-hour journey to Nairobi. We are so excited for this visit albeit strange that Mom (Elaine) will not be there. How precious the memories are of our visit in 2022 when we had gone to assess what her personal needs were. Now Kyon goes to assess the needs of the children, staff, children’s home, and school. We anticipate with joy the future of the ministry as God is clearly leading and guiding. The emphasis now will be to continue nurturing, loving, and caring for the 16 children still in the home as well as growing the school and laying a good foundation of policies, procedures, and people under the lordship of Christ.
This has been such an interesting journey for our family over these last four years since becoming more involved with ROCK in March 2020 due to Mom’s dementia diagnosis. Our family’s adventure has, in several ways, paralleled the ministry’s as we have walked the road of adoption and fostering. It has been a painful journey at times, and heart-breaking, as we observe the destruction caused when one is trapped in the lie of addiction, but we cling to the Holy Spirit’s truth found in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” So, we do not give up and keep on loving those God puts in our path from Alaska to Kenya. Teresa, her husband Victor, and the staff on the ground there at ROCK Ministries International in Malava have this God-given passion as well.
As we begin this new adventure of raising money for the school building, of changing our status as an orphanage to a possible rescue center, of providing training for parents we know that His grace is sufficient and that without Him we can do nothing, but with Him we can do all things. “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none… But I the Lord will answer them… I will make the rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys… so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this.” (Isaiah 41:17-20)
Grace and peace, Kyon and Cindy
