Letter to Kenya from Grandpa and Grandma Dorr

Dearest Baby Girl (our granddaughter),

We have huge smiles across our faces because we are so happy that your Mama and Daddy have created you with God and that you are coming into our world.  Oh so very, very happy! You are oh so special... already and always.  You are the first baby in our Dorr family... the first granddaughter.  An oh so beautiful one!  You have an amazing mother and father with many talents, many gifts and love beyond measure.  We look forward to all the special times and moments we will bring to each other's lives.  Our special times of...
overnight (and hopefully longer) stays/sleepovers, teaching you sports, playing, laughing, adventures together, singing songs, reading stories together, creating stories together, trips, travels and discoveries, dancing together, doing fun, creative projects together and lots and lots and lots of hugs and kisses.  You have stolen our hearts already.  We think of your tiny little feet and how they will be pitter pattering on the floor.  We think of your tiny little hands playing patty cake.  Those beautiful sweet lips giving us a kiss.  Thoes chubby little strong arms wrapped around our neck giving us a big hug.  Your parents are working so hard on making this a better world for you and every other child and person in this world.  They're special too!  You are precious to us beyond belief sweetheart... our beautiful special granddaughter.

Your happy, excited, full of love... for you baby girl... grandparents,
John and Debbie xoxoxoxoxoxo

Sawyer's Run 2012

The 2nd small donation made on behalf of the Kenya Foundation is to "Sawyer's Run 2012".  Sawyer's Run is actually happening today (right now as we speak), but I just got the idea to share about it on the blog.  While it may be too late to get out there and run, it is not too late to pray for this amazing family and all of the people who are running on Sawyer's behalf.

Now to fill you in on the cause.....

This is Brent and Jenny (Smither) Brown.  Beautiful people right?  Believe it or not, they are even more gorgeous on the inside.  I grew up with Jenny's older sister Katie who is a close friend of mine and became to close to all of the Smither family.  AMAZING people.  I could go on and on and on about the Smither family and all they do to make the world a better place (but that would be an entire blog in and of itself).  Katie and some of the others from the Smither family were also some of the first people to reach out and help when we were going through our situation with Kenya.

Though Jenny was a couple of grades below me in school and I didn't have the chance to get to know her as I would have liked to, it is easy to say she is one of the strongest and most beautiful women I have ever met.  You can read her story about the loss of her precious son Sawyer here on her blog - http://www.sawyersrun.org/why-we-run/.  Make sure to have a box of kleenex handy, because it is that moving and that incredible.  Jenny has turned the tragedy she has endured with Sawyer into a beautiful way to help children in need who are in the foster care system, and every year has a whole bunch of people get together to run in Sawyer's honor.  I wish I could be out there today, but want Jenny to know that even though I can't run with her, I am praying for her and her family.  Please pray for Sawyer's Run today, and get involved in other ways that you are able. I know someday I will have the privilege of meeting little Sawyer in heaven as well as my little babes I have lost to miscarriages, and I know Sawyer is a happy boy watching down as his mommy and daddy honor him today by helping so many other children in need.

Thank you again to all of you who make The Kenya Foundation possible.  It is really exciting for us to share and raise awareness about such amazing people and worthy causes out there!  Love you all (and promise to share a Kenya update for you soon too!)

Love,
Kristin, Dave, and Kenya DeYoung

The Kenya Foundation

Hi all,

Sorry it has been forever and a day since my latest update.  Things have been crazy with Dave in the DR and us moving around like a little gypsy family all the time. :)  But we are super blessed, Kenya is healthy and happy, Santa and Dave got home safely, and we continue to be blessed by SO many people who love us, support us, pray for us, encourage us, and of course give sweet little gifts for Kenya!!  I can't even imagine where we would be now without the love, prayers, and financial support that has been poured onto our family, and I can't say enough how your support has helped us SO much to get through these past couple of months.  We have been blessed so immensely that we even have some money leftover for the time being.  While it is tempting to give it all away at once because there are so many great causes out there that are near and dear to our hearts, we are still saving for any future medical needs for Kenya, and because it looks like I will need some surgeries in the future (related to the birth complications) that I don't know will be covered or not.  But in the meantime, we want to put some of the money that was donated to our family into a foundation in Kenya's honor to help other people, especially those in situations like ours.  We are not sure how to start a foundation yet (I am open to ideas and suggestions!), but for now we are going to put some money into a fund where interest can grow so we will have more money to give, so that your gift you gave for Kenya can keep on giving.  Each time we use money from the Kenya Foundation to help out others, I am going to try to put a little post on here with the details for people to read about (please be patient with me though as Kenya's needs come before blogging which makes it slow for me sometimes! :)  The reason I am going to write about the various causes we give to is not to ask you for more money, but so you can see how the gift you gave to help Kenya has not only helped her, but continues to give and help others all the time.  And I will always post a link for more information if you are interested in getting involved with the cause.  Even though we are not able to be in the DR doing the mission work we had planned, we are excited to be able to continue to help others, and it is because of your help that you gave to us!

I got the whole idea to start this the other day when I came across a story on facebook so similar to ours that it brought me to tears.  Here is a short version of the story I found on their facebook page:

This is the Orrange family.

 

"Brent, Courtney, Sam (7) and Brooklyn (8) Orrange moved from Colorado to Sierra Leone in August 2012 to work with a safe house for women/children who are coming out of human trafficking. Brooklyn became ill shortly after their arrival, and did not improve with medicine. On Friday morning, September 14, her kidneys began shutting down. She was flown from a hospital in Sierra Leone to a hospital in Ghana in order to receive dialysis and get her more stable.  The next step is to get her to London for further care. Our hope is that she will be stable enough to go on Monday morning, September 17." 

I couldn't believe when I read this that another missionary family, also in another country to help with anti-trafficking and safehouse mission work, also with a daughter (and a daughter whose name is also a place for that matter), also having to be flown out of country on medical emergency, who is also going through a life-threatening condition, and also having people pour out around the world to help her.  It reminded me so much of Kenya that we just had to help and share, like so many have helped our little Kenya!!

There have been more updates on their facebook page here - Pray for Brooklyn, and it looks like she is starting to heal, just as God has healed Kenya, but the family still needs a lot of support.  So helping Brooklyn's medical expenses was the first small financial donation made on behalf of the Kenya Foundation.  And we are praying for little Brooklyn here all the time, and ask that anyone reading this would stop and pray too!!

To find out more about the Orrange family, you can read their blog at www.fighttrafficking.org.  They have also asked others to wear the color orange to let them know you are praying and support them, and many people are walking and running races in Brooklyn's honor. (I will have to leave the running and walking part to Dave ;)  Please stop wherever you are to say a prayer for little Brooklyn, and feel free to check out these links to find out more about her status!

Kenya and Daddy showing their orange to support the Orrange family!

Thank you again to all of you who have helped to support our family, and have made The Kenya Foundation possible. 

Love and prayers,
Kristin, Dave, and Kenya (and now Santa is with us too! :)

Dave in the DR!

Hey everybody,

Dave is in the DR now picking up our dog Santa, selling our vehicles and some of our other personal things.  He is only able to bring a couple of suitcases so most of our belongings have to go.  The motorcyle has already gone, but if you are interested, we still have a jeep for sale:

*pregnant woman not included

 Anyone who is interested, you can contact Dave at stofue@yahoo.com.  He will give you a good deal, and will only be in the DR one more day so get a hold of him soon! :)  He put a lot of work into getting it up and running.  He is also selling a lot of our personal items at the house today (Sunday) if you would like to stop by for anything.  You can contact him by email to find out the location of our house in Jarabacoa.  Sorry this is late notice but my mother-in-law just gave me the idea this morning and I thought I would hop on it!

Dave is then is flying out on Tuesday on MFI with our dog to Fort Pierce, Florida.  He wants to buy a vehicle there and drive it up to Michigan.  If you know anyone in the area of Fort Pierce, Florida who is selling a vehicle, knows someone who does, or could help him out otherwise, please let him know - email stofue@yahoo.com. 

Sorry for the late notice, but there have been so many people out there who have helped us out in so many other ways, so I thought it was a worth a shot.  If nothing else, just say a prayer for his safe travels por favor. :)  Kenya and I are missing him lots and lots!! 

Thanks for your help!!

Love and prayers,
Kristin, Dave, and Kenya