Mama Linet

Hello friends,

I was able to meet Mama Linet on Wednesday of this week. Mama Linet, is of the Luo tribe, like President Obama in USA. She has been away a long time due to a death in the extended family.

I catch a ride to "Mama Linet's."  It is too far to walk there.

I found her doing great and I was so glad to meet her again to see how the children are growing.

You might remember that little Linet is the girl who was losing weight and couldn't eat. She was wasting away but after receiving medical treatment she is doing much better.

Little Linet on her mama's lap.

 Linet is getting more energy each day and she has started to play with the rest of the kids, and that is very good.

I have given Mama Linet some 'seed' money for her business. She is still thinking about her options for making money through small enterprise. I will be returning to see her again soon and to check on the children and her progress. 

I am grateful for the support that you have extended to this family through prayer and financial gifts.

If you would still like to help before Christmas, there is time; especially for food needs and Christmas.

The leftovers from the family's lunch.

Many thanks and God bless!

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This Baby Needs Your Help

Hello friends,

For over a month now I have been coordinating efforts to save this little girl (on the right, in the pink) from losing more weight. She had been losing weight due to having wounds in her mouth.  She could not eat, and she has lost most of her teeth.  Some of her teeth had broken off and she had early dental issues. Her parents took so long to get her to hospital for one reason or another.

I met this little one and her mother in one of the medical camps that we held at the slums.  Her mother brought her and she was weak and emaciated.  She had been unable to eat for days and had wounds all over her mouth.  I took her to one hospital and helped her for about a month with her medical needs.

This is the slum area.  When you live in poverty with little water, food or sanitation, it is hard to stay healthy.

This week was a success for me.  The little girl (in the pink) is able to walk, run and smile.  She is able to eat!  This is miraculous.

It will take awhile yet for the child's blood count to strengthen before she can get surgery. She will also need special teeth to help her eat.  The mama is so happy to have help for her little girl.

What we need: prayer and a possible donor for mouth reconstruction surgery and artificial teeth. The long brown elongated one's (teeth) will be removed. Also, food to keep her healthy...in terms of milk & school. That is a lot we know, but God can talk through other people. Pray for this girl. She seems so bright. She draws with very little teaching from any quarter.

Buying some food for the family.

You can help awareness of the Missions of Hope by using the share buttons at the bottom of this post or any other post. 
Thank you!

A Love Like No Other ~ My World Tuesday

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them.

Matthew 7:12

Hello,

Imagine you are a father or a mother and you gave birth to a child who is not well, and could not stand up for close to nine years. What pain you would have. But the family I am about to tell you about, had such a child and loved him dearly.

The child could not talk, but he would move his eyes. He was happy to see his father and mother and he knew their voices. He was happy when children played too. This is Kiprotich, a precious jewel that will be missed by his mother who loved him the way he was.
I don't want to look or think about the work it will entail to keep such a child; waking in the middle of the night to turn him, cleaning him, etc. but the family loved doing it for their dear one.

That is why God has blessed this family with two beautiful kids, a boy and gal. It touched so many of us to see the strength of this dear family as they laid their loved one to rest.

I love them with all my heart.

Thinking About the Children

Hello friends,

I am sitting here and my mind is far away. I have been praying for those in Haiti and thinking about the sights and voices there that I see on the news.

Here in Kenya, I am thinking of those who are in the displacement camps. Their tents are torn and leaking. It is sad that we have a cruel world.

I am saddened more with the sight of the children, crying for help, and not knowing the dangers of over exposure to cold and bad weather. The worst thing is that they don't have enough clothes to cover them.

I also met Rachael who gave birth at the camp. We asked her how she got to her child without the services of a matron, and she said, the Lord was on her side. She appealed for help in terms of clothes and warm items to keep the baby warm as they live in the tent.

We need to stand out and pray for the hurting world. It is such a sad time for those in camps.

God Bless

Death at IDP Camp

Hello friends,

It is disheartening to die at an Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camp. It happened this week to one dear soul and we had to make quick arrangements to go there with food and water for the community that needs help. A kid died of cold, and chest problems since their tents are now torn and it is so far for them to access help.

We had to go and comfort the people with the Word of God too. Mr. Chepkwony who lost his kid said he tried everything to save his child. But where they live it takes a full two hours just to get to a tarmac road.



They people in the IDP Camp really appreciated the little we had to share and they shared it equally. We plan to go there again at the beginning of February. We are sending appeals now for donors to help us and we are sure the Lord will open a way.

Have a great day.

A Message of Hope

Hi,

Vacation Bible School (VBS) is here again. We have been busy working to prepare the materials for over two months now. Praise God they are ready for distribution!

Here is the desk where I've been working at the computer writing these books.

Here I am holding the finished product.

Hard at working packing the booklets for distribution.

We are going to have over 500 teaching centers and over 10,000 kids will be learning about Christ through these booklets. We also hope to reach some rehabilitation boys in VBS in a few weeks with these teachings and the message of hope.

Please pray for us as we continue to distribute these books. It is a difficult work and we do hope we will make it.

Many blessings to you all and to those in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving.

Kibet is Very Excited

Hello friends,

This is just a short praise report to let you know that a little boy named Kibet was able to get some medical help for his leg.

A few weeks ago Kibet was very sick with the problem in the leg. I first showed his photos in a story here . One of God's servants responded and we are so glad she was able to send us some help so he could get medication.

Kibet was very excited, and he could not hide his joy to us as we also brought him sandals to keep his feet dry and clean and a blanket to keep warm.

Please continue to pray for the entire family as they share the few other resources they have
It brings lots of joy to help these families get basic things that some of us take for granted.

[Caption: Brother Thomas checks over the oranges we will take to the children.]

[Caption: The children are enjoying the oranges and the blanket.][Caption: The children say goodbye to us.][Caption: This little girl also needs to see a doctor]

Continue praying for us too as we move one step at a time. A few dollars can be stretched to meet more needs.

Thanks for your continued prayers.
Brother Jonah
Contact me here if you can help

Getting Back to School

hello,

with high schools opening soon there is great need for books, textbooks, bags, pens, shoes, shirts, sweaters, rain coats, soap, lotion. etc. these are the top needs as the students begin the new school year in february 2009.

this year five of our orphans qualified for higher level grades and were called to various high schools to go and study.

the form one students are to report to school in February and i hope by then we can be able to send these kids to high school. getting an education will help them so that their lives will be like ours where they are able to go to high school, then college and later find work. so far, in january we have managed to cover the basic school cost of several primary children and now we need to concentrate on these 5 older students who start school soon.

i've listed the cost for all items* for each of the 5 orphans who have moved on to higher grades below. you will see the cost in several currencies, for one student and then for all 5 students.

One Student
- 28,150.00 (Kenyan Shillings)
- $370.39 (US)
- $433.08 (Cdn)
- £234.58 (British Pounds)
- $269.77 (Euros)
- $516.19 (Aussie)
- $538.88 (Singapore)
- $2827.92 (Hong Kong)
- 32,892.40 (Japanese Yen)

Five Students
- 140,750.00 (Kenyan Shillings)
- $1851.95 (US)
- 2165.40 (Cdn)
- 1172.90 (British Pounds)
- $1348.85 (Euros)
- $2580.96 (Aussie)
- $2694.44 (Singapore)
-$14,139.56 (Hong Kong)
- 164,462 (Japanese Yen)

Fee Payment Schedule

The school year is for a total of 9 months with 3 terms (3 months each) per year. Half of a full year's payment is needed up front. The remaining half can be paid in 2 parts if needed.

Minimum due January 2009

1 student- 14,075. 00 (Kenyan shillings)
5 students 70,375.00 (Kenyan shillings)

a payment would then be needed again about 3 months later (march/april 2009). we have opened an account to try and set aside money for these students to help us plan ahead. we really need your help and we gratefully accept what u can do to help these kids.

we can receive funds through money gram or western union (see the information in the right side column). if u want to send funds through international bank to bank transfer, let us know and we can tell you how to do that. i also have a mailing address but that method is very slow and is insecure as cheques can be lost in the mail.

the photos below show the school kids lined up to return to boarding school.



i want to let you know that everything here in kenya has gotten harder since last year. the costs of everything has gone up and education fees have also gone up very recently making it even harder to get an education.

the December 16,2008 issue of The Standard, Online Edition described in graphic terms what happens to children who do not get an education or who have to walk far to go to school.

"The children are often sucked into the informal employment sector where they are exploited by their employers, and exposed to physical and sexual abuse.

Ms Phelomena Elizear, the secretary for Embakasi Constituency Right to Education advocacy group, says distance to learning institutions present a big challenge to the girls. "Parents are reluctant to send their children to school because they are at risk of being waylaid and raped," she says. The problem is compounded by insecurity and poor infrastructure."

click the news link for an article in the Daily Nation news for more information on school costs http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/512242/-/u18940/-/index.html
we want to do what we can to help these kids that God has entrusted to our care..and will send them to boarding school as God enables us through your help. please pray with us and, if you can, send us your support today. May God richly bless you.

Because He lives
Jonah

* books, textbooks, bags, pens, shoes, shirts, sweaters, rain coats, soap, lotion. etc

JESUS CALLS THE CHILDREN (& Pastor Jonah Calls the Children's Writers)

hello friends,

it is always a great joy to see young ones coming to the saving knowledge of Christ through Vacation Bible school (VBS). this week alone we were able to reach about 100 boys and gals in the village through VBS.

in VBS we have games, songs, colouring, making puzzles and memorizing scriptures. this year our theme was God's LOVE

we divide the students into three levels:
-beginners - those in kindergarten
-lower - involves those in lower grades
-upper - those in upper grades.

we do this every vacation (when the term end's and the kids are free, like this month of December ). what a joy to see so many of them committing to serving God even in these last days.

on another matter, i will need your prayers and volunteerism (am sorry i can't pay u). i am greatly involved in writing and editing children's books. if u are gifted in writing simple children's stories, let me know (kericho120@yahoo.com). u will not need to travel over to africa (though u are most welcome). the internet is a great help.