POWERGRAMS

24 "We began speaking to Sunday school groups and at church services, and that's how God has built Mescal's," said Charlotte. In 2014, Steve and Charlotte returned to Luanda to inspect the property and meet with contractors. Since then, several mission teams have traveled to the community, with the latest group on hand last summer to celebrate the opening of the new school. As president of the MCCH nonprofit that oversees the orphanage and various community development programs, Charlotte has managed and coordinated the fundraising side of the project. Steve has been a consultant, working with contractors who built the children's home and other buildings on the 2-acre property, and has been a member of the MCCH board. "We had to learn quickly that their ways were not our ways," said Steve, who has been the general contractor overseeing the construction of the Robertsons' homes over the years. "Everything was done by hand. They even dug the footings by hand. We learned that they knew what they were doing, and we had to back up and let them do the work." Growing the community The new orphanage, which opened in 2015 and houses 35 children, was only the beginning. "Ruth became burdened over the poverty there and felt the best way to impact that community was to provide a Christian school," Charlotte said. "We prayed over the land and began sharing back in America." Charlotte and Steve led a fundraising campaign. With the help of about 300 individual and church sponsors, the school, Mescal's Christian Academy, opened its doors last July and serves 80 children in grades K-3. The plan, Charlotte said, is to add students each year until the school includes grades K-8. "It is one of 5% of private schools in Kenya that serves the poor. And these children are the poorest of the poor," Steve said. Owuor said because of the help received from Steve, Charlotte and others in America, the community is forever changed. "I've seen God do miracle after miracle through the Robertson family," said Owuor. "Steve and Charlotte took it upon themselves to look for support for these children, and it has never stopped coming in to supply their needs. The children go to school, they are taken care of medically, they have a place they can call home, and now they have a school Mescal's Christian Academy has more than 80 students. Charlotte Roberson talks to children in orphanage that opened in 2015.

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