Child Arise Kenya Widows & Orphans Ministry: Change is so Exciting!

Change Is So Exciting!

By Dawn Brown

Life is full of twists and turns, isn’t it? When we see those events as positives, life is wonderful and as Christians, it gives us opportunities to praise God for the blessings He bestows upon us. What about those situations that don’t seem so appealing? What about the hard things of life that we typically dread or the really horrible experiences that make us feel like we’re suffocating; when our closest loved ones have chronic illnesses that only promise to worsen, when we have life threatening illnesses ourselves or when death takes a young family member that we, in our humanness, have deemed to be too young? How do we handle our feelings towards the Lord in those times?

Our lives in the Brown family have had all of the above and more in the last 5 years, and from my fleshly perspective, we’ve been pretty heavy on the lousy side.

For me, in some ways, it’s harder to focus on the Lord in the highs. I have to be very diligent in not allowing myself to get so wrapped up in the gift that I forget the Gift Giver. On the other hand, in the times of deepest despair, what choice do I have but to cling tightly to the Lord? It’s in those times that I have been most likely to see His hand, even when I don’t understand. I can rest peacefully knowing that we can trust Him in ALL things.

Life changing events in our lives are just that. They actually change our lives. I started the ministry of Child Arise in 2009, at the prompting of the Lord, to come along side Elizabeth Mativo, after her life changing event; the death of her cherished husband, and partner in the mission of sharing the Gospel to some of the hardest and most dangerous people groups of Kenya. God used that time in her life to show her the needs of the widowed women and orphaned children in Mbooni. I knew without a doubt, I was to be a part of that.

We are thankful for the blessing of 17+ years with our daughter-in-law, Rachelle, who is greatly missed and the newest member of our family, baby Simon who wasn’t yet created at the time of this picture.

Now in 2018 my life is so very different than it was in 2009. So many things have happened in our family that I never imagined. Out of necessity, the Lord has changed my ministry focus to less outward and more inward; to my mother, our son, and our grandchildren. Interestingly enough, still to widows and orphans.

Where does that leave Child Arise? I have had little time to devote to the ongoing needs of this ministry. The Lord continues to minister through Elizabeth Mativo with the spiritual needs of the women and children, but their physical needs continue as well.

I have spent several years praying for God to provide the right person to take over Child Arise Kenya Widows & Orphans Ministry. I have to admit, patience hasn’t been my strong point here.

I am pleased to announce that as of December 1^st, Child Arise will be under the leadership of our new president, Dr. Joseph Onesimus!

The family of Joseph Onesimus,

Joseph is so qualified! We’ve known him for 21 years and I eventually dubbed him “my Kenyan little brother”. We, along with my parents and siblings’ families “adopted” him into our “American” family. It was because of our close relationship that we met his parents, Pastor Onesimus and Elizabeth Mativo.

Joseph and his wife, Faith, live in Elgin, IL where they are raising their children, Aaron 12, and their 2 year old twins, Ethan and Jolynn. Joseph is proud to be an American citizen since 2005.

Joseph, as the son of selfless missionaries, knows firsthand, a lot of the plight of the poorest children of Kenya. He wasn’t orphaned, but they were poor and didn’t always have food. Sometimes his only clothing was his school uniform. Valuable insight for leading this ministry.

The Lord used Joseph to oversee the construction of the Child Arise clean water borehole, the towers, pump installation, etc.

Faith, Joseph’s wife, served with Elizabeth in her ministry for several years. She knows and loves many of the women and children. She will be an excellent asset to the ministry assisting Joseph.

In addition to his full-time position as an Estimator and Assistant Project Manager for a roofing company, Joseph is Interim Pastor at Chicago Swahili Chapel and will finish his commitment in December, when he will take over Child Arise.

I will spend the next year mentoring Joseph and I have volunteered to keep accepting and recording donations, making deposits and sending funds to Kenya. We hope you will commit to praying for us during this transition.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for Child Arise during this transition period and that the learning curve with go quickly.

Dennis just finished his university education and will be graduating this year. He is now ready to look for a job and start a life of his own. Child arise has supported Dennis for 10 years!! This is the first Child Arise educational fruit. God is faithful.

Pray for our students who will be doing end of year exams in order to move to the next grade that the Lord will give them a peace of mind and provide for their next year fees.

We have a young gentleman who will be joining university next year. He has been called to Maseno University which is quite far away from home. We also pray for provision for his fee and other necessities required. He is a very bright young man.

Child Arise Kenya Widows & Orphans Ministry

Friday, September 28, 2018

Change is so Exciting!

Change Is So Exciting!

By Dawn Brown

Prayer Requests

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