Lives
Changed, Glory to God
By Dawn Brown
Some of you
may remember a prayer request a while back, about one of our teens being hit by
a motorcycle. Since most people of
Mbooni don’t have cars and there’s no mass transit, entrepreneurs give
motorcycle rides to people traveling a distance. You can be walking along a dirt road when one
of these bikes will go whizzing by.
The girl,
Syokau, who was hit, had no broken bones, but was in a lot of pain with cuts
and bruises to her arms, legs, hands, and face.
In spite of her pain, Elizabeth said Syokau continued to be a good
helper to her with the ministry.
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| Syokau |
She and her
widowed mother are again, going through some very difficult times. As I was praying for them, I began to think
about all the changes in their lives, because of God using your prayers and
donations to Child Arise.
Syokau is a
close neighbor to Elizabeth. Her father
died when she was very young. Her family
was involved in making and selling illegal alcohol for years. Church was never a consideration for them.
Elizabeth and Pastor Mativo have always been very kind to her and her
family. After Pastor Mativo died, Syokau
was caught more than once, stealing from Elizabeth.
She always wanted to be around Elizabeth and at one point, she even lived
with her, but she had no moral compass to guide her actions. Even while living with her, Syokau continued
to take things. Elizabeth had to ask her
to leave, but she didn’t give up on this wayward girl who needed Jesus. In time, with Elizabeth’s loving discipline,
godly example, Bible teaching and not giving up on a rebellious girl, Syokau
became a believer!
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| Elizabeth Mativo & Syokau |
Her widowed mother, Munyic Mukusa, through this ministry, has put her
faith and trust in the Lord too. She took
rigorous Bible classes at the local church, was baptized, and has been an
important part of the ladies group, meeting with them regularly at the Child Arise prayer and Bible study. At her baptism, she gave Elizabeth the honor
of choosing her new Christian name, Dorcas.
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| Dorcas |
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| Dorcas & Elizabeth |
When
Elizabeth was staying with us in the United States last fall, I was asking her
about Dorcas. On our 2012 trip, our team
really enjoyed our visit to her home and loved her infectious smile. She was so full of joy! We seemed to meet her along the mountain
trails often and she was always working so hard.
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| Our team meeting Dorcas along the mountain trail |
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| Dorcas & our team member, Anna Diaz |
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Elizabeth
told me about the changes she’s seen in Dorcas.
Before becoming a Jesus follower, Elizabeth said she caused so much
trouble in the community. She spread
rumors, yelled offensive things at people and was always looking to start a
fight, verbal or physical.
At one of
the Child Arise women’s fellowships, Dorcas told the other ladies she can no
longer even think of living like she did in the past. She said she represents Jesus now and it
would break her heart to cause damage to His reputation by acting the way she
did for so many years. She continues to
grow in her faith and she’s been delight to the other ladies.
A few weeks
ago, Dorcas suffered a massive stroke.
There is no medical care for her.
They are very poor and even though they are both hard workers, they
can’t really meet their basic needs of food and shelter, let alone a
doctor. Dorcas can only lay on her
mattress now. She can’t move. She can’t walk outside to the hole in the
ground surrounded by corn stalks, which is their “toilet”.
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| Cornstalks & weeds are used around the hole in the ground for privacy |
Elizabeth,
Syokau and some of the other widowed women in the ministry, regularly visit
Dorcas to pray with her and to move her arms and legs in hopes of her regaining
her abilities. Please pray for these
cherished women of God, our sisters in Christ.
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| Dorcas after stroke, another woman in the ministry & Elizabeth Mativo |
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| Dorcas after stroke & Syokau |
Our prayers
have an effect on what’s happening in Mbooni.
When we pray for widowed women like Dorcas and orphaned children like
Syokau, and the ministry of Elizabeth Mativo, lives are being changed. We will meet them in Heaven someday!
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| Many Bibles have been give to those who are thirsty for God's Word |
Elizabeth
can share the Gospel with the widowed women and orphaned children in her area,
but the financial impact we have is so helpful to draw them.
Many of the kids would initially never come to
the Bible lessons if they didn’t know they would get food. The poorest of these orphaned children
probably wouldn’t get to high school without sponsorship from Child Arise. The community wouldn’t have clean water
without The Well for Life borehole. Although our focus is
not medical, in extreme need, we have been able to provide a doctor’s
care. These things could not happen
without your generosity! All in the name
of Jesus!
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| Little girls coming for clean water |
Without the material financial support, widowed
women like Dorcas and orphaned children like Syokau, would have less reason to
come to Elizabeth, where she can meet some of their physical needs while
meeting the spiritual needs they may not realize they have. Your prayers and donations are not only
helping our brothers and sisters in Christ.
They are also drawing people into His Kingdom!
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray
for the children who will be taking exams.
Nthenya and Mutiso will be taking exams to see if they qualify for
college or technical school. Several are
testing to see if they can go to high school.
Due to the teacher’s strike
earlier this year, the children will have a longer year end vacation. Please pray that we can use this time to
reach them for the Lord and strengthen their faith and understanding.
Please pray for the
construction of the building where we can hold ministry and be out of the
weather.
Continue to pray for our new church plant. It is growing.
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100% of your donation goes to Kenya!
Donations can be made to
Child Arise Kenya
Widows & Orphans
Ministry
827 5 Ave Dr W, Andalusia IL 61232
309-798-2596
ChildAriseKenya.com
Child Arise Kenya is an IRS
approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt ministry
