December 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Supporters,

How can I summarize 2019 for SIHG?  It should be easy enough.  I visited SIHG this year.  I got to talk in person with Linda and Becky and listen to them explain the challenges they are facing.  I got to see the children, talk to the children, and even held one outgoing 2-year-old named Liza.  Yet, I am still at a loss for words so I will just steal from a better writer.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way”

In Kenya there were some great blessings, watching and listening to the youngest Children sing songs and dance, speaking with some of the older kids as well as some of the adults who grew up at SIHG.  I realized I can write two letters, both equally true.  First, these kids are amazing.  Their smiles are contagious, they are smart, they seem to love each other, and they appear generally happy. 

I could also write how the children at SIHG come from some of the most harrowing backgrounds and have experienced traumas which I struggle to comprehend.  It is obvious just below the surface that each has a story filled with pain.  They come with physical scars, some which will heal and others that must be dealt with their entire life.  They carry emotional damage some which is obvious and much that resides under the surface and manifests at any time.  They are very damaged and very broken.

And yet they are now safe at SIHG.  They are being physically healed through proper nutrition and medical care, and their emotional issues are being treated each day, both in obvious straight forward care, but also is giving them a safe loving environment to grow up in.

SIHG is an oasis.  You drive down a long and bumpy dirt road and when you enter the gates you come upon grounds that are breathtaking with lush and beautiful landscaping.  I can only imagine what it must be like for a child who grew up in the slums and has only known poverty and filth to enter into those gates and see the trees and the flowers everywhere.  To only point out the successes and beauty would be an incomplete picture because every good thing at SIHG in a combination of back breaking work, hard fought patience and the grace of God.  Simply coming to SIHG does not take away a lifetime of abuse.  And what SIHG is, does not happen if Linda, Becky, and many other workers do not invest of themselves fully, if the kids do not grow up and embrace the hope offered to them, and if we are not blessed. 

“We were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way” Both paths exist at SIHG.  You can literally see a glimpse of heaven in a child’s smile, and you can see the other way in some of the deep pain which resides in their eyes.  SIHG sees the worst and strives to make it the best.  It sees despair and works to give hope.

Your donations have allowed SIHG to thrive for over 20 years.  Thank you so much for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Baloian

Meet Immanuel, one of the newest “Seeds”.  Immanuel was born weighing only 3lbs but is now 3 months old and weighs 9lbs.  SIHG continues to be willing to receive the most difficult children and counts them as blessings.  SIHG is unique in the care it is able and willing to provide to the neediest of children.