RECORD YEAR
Beauty Out of Ashes BY FOUNDER, KRISTEN WELCH
On January 24, 2021, a fire burned down one of our three maternity homes in Kenya where nine girls and nine babies live, along with staff. Although this was a devastating way to begin a new year, we are forever grateful to God that all lives were spared. The only wall left standing in the ashes, untouched by the flames, held two framed prints that read: “He makes beauty out of ashes —Isaiah 61:3” and “It is well with my soul,” both powerful messages from our Heavenly Father. We trusted His promises to redeem what had been lost, to take the ashes, the destruction, the loss, and to make it beautiful. Until then, it is well with our souls. We are so thankful to God for His protection. No one was harmed and all moms, babies, and staff were able to escape. This has been a holy recovery story as we have witnessed God turning our ashes into something beautiful. A few hours after the fire, the girls and staff were still among the smoking ashes — praising and praying and thanking God for sparing their lives. We spent the seven days after the fire in prayer and fasting in gratitude to God.
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