Out of the Darkness and Into Abba’s Arms
In 1997 Jane dreamed of Africa. The next Sunday at church, her pastor announced an informational meeting for an upcoming mission trip to Kenya. Stunned, the petite Texan leaned over and whispered into her husband’s ear, “I think I’m supposed to go on that trip.” Jane attended the meeting and as a trained dental hygienist, she was immediately appointed to serve as part of a mobile medical unit. Her duties would include administering injections and performing tooth extractions. Though she was employed as a hygienist, Jane had no previous experience extracting teeth, nor was she licensed to do so in the U.S. “It was as if God was moving very fast and wanted me to learn quickly that I could trust Him and that He could do all things through me. I was so on fire for God at the time that I literally “took Him at His word.”
While in Africa, Jane and others from her team, met with a Kenyan pastor named Nicodemus. He inquired about the careers of each of the team members back in the States. Jane explained that in addition to being a dental hygienist, she had done some work as a court-appointed advocate for children who were wards of the state. “Oh, you can help us with our orphans,” Nicodemus replied, and he went on to explain to Jane the tragic plight of Kenya’s orphaned children- children whose lives were devastated by AIDS, political upheaval, and violent tribal clashes. Jane was moved by the wretched circumstances facing Kenya’s orphans but explained that there was nothing she could do. With a promise to pray for Nicodemus and Kenya’s orphaned children, Jane returned to the States.
Back at home, Jane could not stop thinking about the conversation with Nicodemus. She began losing sleep over it, “It was almost like an obsession,” and before long, she became certain that God was speaking to her about building a home for Kenya’s children. “I began to argue with God about it saying, ‘No, I can’t – it’s impossible.’ It’s too big for me.” Soon Jane was driving herself and everyone around her crazy with the idea. After nearly a month she gave in and agreed to do whatever God asked of her.
Jane began meeting with an African American pastor at her church who encouraged her and reminded her that any time God calls His people to a task, they can expect opposition. He advised her to study the book of Nehemiah. She did, and as expected, the opposition came but from a very unlikely source. The head pastor at Jane’s church attempted to discourage her efforts, reminding her of the impossibility of her task and informing her that Kenya was a man’s world. Rather than pursue what she believed was God’s call to Kenya, her pastor advised her to abandon her efforts and instead support a ministry that was already in place. But Jane refused to be dissuaded. Despite the protests from friends, family, and pastor, Jane pressed on certain that God had called her to this work. Time and again over the next few years God would clear the way for Jane’s work in Kenya further confirming her call and His mighty hand in her work there.
In 1998 Jane returned to western Kenya, and with the help of two friends, filed an application with the Kenyan government for designation as an NGO entity, a non-profit status for the children’s home she would call Into Abba’s Arms. On average, it takes about five years to obtain this status, and the process is further complicated when applicants are foreigners. As is the case in many developing nations, Jane was advised that it was not uncommon to bribe government officials in order to expedite the approval of paperwork. Jane knew that hers was a God of honor and integrity and she refused to even consider the idea. Jane received NGO status for Into Abba’s Arms in a mere 18 months.
The need for land necessitated a second trip in 1998. This time, Jane joined a group from Living Waters, a well ministry that was conducting training in Kenya. The founder of the group, Harry Westmoreland, introduced Jane to a local attorney who had property for sale. With donated funds, Jane was prepared to pay a modest price for a parcel of land upon which to build the children’s home, but in a surprising turn of events, the attorney agreed to donate the property for the children’s home. In terms of its fertility, the land was perfect. Unlike the dry, barren expanses that characterize much of Kenya, this piece of property was in Kinangop, an area in the northern region of Kenya. It boasts a mild climate in an area free of mosquitoes, and like an oasis, it rises to a lush and fruitful plain in the midst of a land parched by drought. However, because of the land’s remote setting, Jane’s decision to accept it as the location for Into Abba’s Arms met with some resistance from friends that it would never have access to water or electricity. Jane was undeterred. God had provided the property free of charge, and He would provide what was needed to make it habitable.
By 1999 Jane held the title for the property, and the need for a well was reaching a critical stage. Without a well, construction could not take place. Out of nowhere came a $25,000 donation – enough to cover the drilling of a well on the property. As Jane knew He would, God had provided water.
Construction at Into Abba’s Arms began in 2000. Patti McLane, a dear friend of Jane’s, traveled alone to Kenya and oversaw the final stages of construction and the hiring of key staff members including Christine Achola, the facility administrator. By 2003 a kitchen building and the first dorm were ready for occupancy. Board members agreed that Into Abba’s Arms would begin with ten children ages 3 to 7. Patti McLane contacted the Kenyan government and arranged to select the home’s first children. In heart-wrenching fashion, workers lined the children up, and Patti was instructed to “pick the ones she wanted.” She chose ten, and Into Abba’s Arms welcomed its first residents.
Into Abba’s Arms is vastly different from most institutional homes in Kenya where children outnumber beds by 4 to 1 and education is sorely lacking. Children remanded to government facilities will eventually end up back on the street, pregnant, or addicted to drugs. “From the very beginning, the Lord has put it on my heart that our home is to be like a home,” says Jane. The children attend school, are responsible for doing chores around the home, have regular homework time each evening, and take meals together as a family. Jane has also resolved to never have more than 10 children per house mom and therefore, the children enjoy close personal relationships with their caregivers. But perhaps the most important difference lay in the home’s spiritual foundation. “We want our children to grow up knowing that they are loved. We want them to grow, to know the Lord deeply, and to be grounded in scripture.” “Discipleship is the most important aspect of life at Into Abba’s Arms. It‘s what brings about the greatest change in our children because, like all sinners, every one of them has a past.” And now, they have a future as well.
The ministry at Into Abba’s Arms extends far beyond the walls of the home. Overflow of fresh vegetables from their garden and donated clothing items are frequently distributed to inhabitants of the surrounding villages. But perhaps the greatest ministry to area villagers is the provision of fresh drinking water. When the well at Into Abba’s Arms was installed, there was no question about whether to share the water with area villagers. However, in order to avoid chaos and have some control over the overwhelming number of people that might arrive for water, Jane was counseled by her friends at Living Waters to charge two to three shillings per jug for water and to limit the days on which people could purchase water. The money collected for water also helped offset the cost of fuel for running the generator used to pump water up from the well. This would be the practice for the next five years.
Then one morning in April of 2008, the Lord spoke to Jane during her quiet time. He instructed her to continue supplying water to local villagers but to stop charging for it. She immediately emailed Christine, the site administrator in Kenya, who questioned this decision as the income from the water allowed them to keep the generator running. For two months, Into Abba’s Arms supplied water to surrounding villages free of charge. During this time, funds were diminishing, and Christine asked repeatedly when they could begin charging again for water. “I haven’t heard from the Lord yet,” was Jane’s reply. “We have to continue supplying the water for free.”
Not long after this conversation took place, Donna, another Into Abba’s Arms employee, heard about a community meeting at which government officials would be discussing electricity. Donna and Christine attended the meeting and obtained a list containing the names of local businesses that might be eligible to receive electricity. Absent from the list was Into Abba’s Arms. Donna was informed that only public companies such as storefronts would be eligible for service. The officials outlined several requirements for organizations desiring electric service. Amazingly, one of the requirements was that potential recipients must be establishments supplying water free of charge. That Into Abba’s Arms was supplying free water to approximately 300 people per week catapulted them to the top of the list making them the first in the region to receive electricity.
Today, Into Abba’s Arms is home to 69 children. The children are a testimony to God’s goodness; they are healthy and thriving in a country devastated by drought and disease. But perhaps the most amazing thing about what is happening at Into Abba’s Arms has been God’s movement among the people of Kinangop. Knowledge of the Lord is something that Into Abba’s Arms is sharing with children in the surrounding villages. Currently, Sunday morning services in the chapel at Into Abba’s Arms are attended by upwards of 150 village children, many of whom have come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jane Nitz never believed that she could achieve the vision of a children’s home halfway around the world, but what she never doubted for an instant was that God would. Her obedience and trust in God’s ability to accomplish a work that she never could have done on her own has been a blessing, and she is content to continue serving Him as He brings one remote region of Kenya out of the darkness and Into Abba’s Arms – one child at a time.