I hope each of you had a blessed Holy Week and Easter Celebration.  It was a joy for our family as we read and discussed the scriptures that led up to our redemption and the celebration with extended family that ensued on Sunday.  As I woke up Monday morning, I felt a desire to share a follow up email to the Resurrection and the connection it has to eduKenya.

We often use the word transformation in our organization.  We have Transformation Milestones, we have a mission statement that uses the word ‘transformational’ and a vision statement that ends with the word ‘transformation’. For those of us that have just celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the word transformation carries meaning that is overwhelming.  In the last email I referenced 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” This is the transformation journey, letting go of an old and self-serving mindset and embracing a new Christ-centered life.  Romans 12:1-6a states, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each one of us has one body with many parts, and these parts do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us.”

‍Our pursuit at eduKenya is not simply ensuring empty bellies are filled and children that don’t have access to school get to go to school. Our pursuit of transformation at eduKenya is the same pursuit that each of us is striving for as Resurrection people.  It is through that transformation that we identify our purpose in the larger body of Christ to see God glorified.  Our journey towards transformation at eduKenya does include filling bellies, while also providing Godly truth and knowledge in the education we provide, giving opportunities to see God’s creation, and opportunities to be supported in overcoming challenges. Transformation frees oneself to live for others and to glorify God. Too often when addressing poverty, we simply try to use human solutions. We identify the solution using language such as "escaping poverty" and "breaking the cycle of poverty." We do hope our students are able to break the cycle of poverty, but also as transformed individuals, they would see themselves as part of the body of Christ to be the solution in their community, so that God would be glorified.

I continue on the transformation path each day, seeking to understand my purpose in the body to serve others and to glorify God.  I pray the same for each of you, and cannot thank you enough for making the investment in our children and families as they pursue transformation in their lives.