Child Arise Kenya Widows & Orphans Ministry

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Family Love ~ GOD'S Love

By Dawn Brown

Elizabeth Mativo and Janet Dailing at the start of the widows and orphans ministry in 2009.

I have the best mom ever! Janet Dailing raised her kids to feel loved, secure, and to be moral and independent, among many other things. She’s always been there when we needed her. She gave up so much to help my family when I had lymphoma at the age of 34 with 2 little boys.

She even became my caregiver at University of Nebraska for 8 weeks during my bone marrow transplant procedure so my husband Jeff, could continue to work and keep our little guys in school.

Now my mom needs us. In early December, for health and safety reasons, we moved her into our home to better meet her needs.

It was obvious to me that there just weren’t enough hours in a day and I would have to make some changes in my life. I began to eliminate my involvement in ministries that have been very important to me over the years.

The most time consuming ministry for me is Child Arise. Would I simply have to dissolve the ministry that raises funds for Child Arise NGO in Mbooni Kenya?

My mom has loved Elizabeth Mativo since the day they met back in 2001. She’s been a supporter of Child Arise financially, prayerfully and helping me with many tasks. Would she be disappointed in me if I just let it go?

Janet Dailing with the Mativos during their 1st visit, 2002, in their church planting days.

Yes, Elizabeth would continue to work very hard to share the love of Jesus with the widowed women and orphaned children in her area. Yes, she would continue to teach and encourage them from the Bible, lead them by her example of hard work, and following and trusting the Lord. She would still visit those who can’t leave their homes and reach out to widowed women who don’t know the Lord in a saving way.

Then I began to think of all the widowed women I met in Kenya who are taking care of orphaned children with grave physical and mental disabilities and none of the advantages we have in this country.

First I thought of Ruth. She’s an elderly woman and she has 4 orphaned children, 2 of them with handicaps that require intense commitment from her. Those 2 kids have severe mental disabilities and along with many other things, they have voiding dysfunction. How does Ruth handle that with no bathroom, no laundry facilities, and no water at her fingertips?

Ruth & some of the other women dividing up the grain for all the women.

Then I thought of the widowed woman who has a mentally ill adult daughter. When her daughter doesn’t get her medication, she flees off into the dark forest in the middle of the night. The woman has to take her 2 little grandchildren in tow, and head into the forest to find the daughter.

There are the demands on the old lady with cancer who still must care for the orphaned children she took in years before. What about the struggles of the grandma with leprosy who’s raising her orphaned grandchildren. The list goes on and on. I can’t imagine the burdens and responsibilities these widowed women carry.

Margaret has painful leprosy.

No, I cannot dissolve this ministry that the Lord clearly guided me to start. No, I cannot turn my back on these precious women and children who are loved by the Lord, every bit as much as He loves my family.

We have worked so hard, you and me, to provide materially for these very needy women and children. We are making a difference that can be seen all around Mbooni Kenya, by keeping these kids in school and providing some of their physical needs.

How can I let these women and children down? How can I let you down? How can I walk away? Most importantly, how can I say no to the Lord? I cannot.

Agnus cares for orphaned children & is dedicated to working with the Sunday School children.

It’s a bittersweet time. My mom leaving the home she loves, me stepping back from ministries that are important to me, the joy of having my mom in our home and privilege of serving her and the Lord in our new adventure. My desire is that, with the Lord’s help, we can be there for my mom like she has been there for all of us for so many years.

As we continue to move forward, I hope and pray that you who donate to Child Arise will continue to remember those “widows and orphans” in Mbooni. I hope that you will give me grace and forgive me if I’m not able to provide you with the updates and information on a regular basis, like I have in the past. The needs will still be there.

This article was printed with permission and the blessing of my mom, Janet Dailing. She will be faithful helping with the mailing of this newsletter; folding, stuffing and stamping, as usual, serving the Lord and the women and children of Child Arise. My mom continues to be a blessing to many!

Prayer Requests

Pray for my daughter Irene & her new husband, Kevin. They were married in January!

Pray for the children as they start the new school year.

Praise for how far we have come in our community because of our blessings from the church in American.

Prayer for my mother’s health and for my friend; Dawn’s mom, Janet Dailing.

Pray for Kenya. We have much violence and our economy is failing.

LIKE and GET NOTIFICATIONS on our facebook page

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

dawn@ChildAriseKenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

Child Arise Kenya is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt ministry

Thursday, November 20, 2014

PROJECT CHRISTMAS JOY~Give A Gift That Will Change A Life

The women & children enjoy Bible & fellowship time.

You can see how dark their homes are inside during daylight hours. Imagine how hard it would be to do homework by candle light when it gets dark at 6pm on the equator.

The children don’t have enough to eat & they need to be in school consistently each year, each trimester.

Elderly widowed women sleep on rags.

They are thankful for the food they are given. Many older widowed women have taken in orphaned children they did not give birth to.

Clean water is such a blessing! It’s still hard work, but disease free. Gasoline is needed to run our generator for our borehole.

The able bodied women want to learn to plant & harvest

but they need the tools to garden on their own.

They are thankful for the food they are given.

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

dawn@childarisekenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

Child Arise Kenya is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt ministry

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Progress for Widowed Women!

By Dawn Brown

Some of the women at their midweek Bible study.

It's always amazing to me to see what the Lord will do with the obedience of one!

Elizabeth Mativo and her husband, Pastor Onesimus Mativo, had always been kind to widowed women, even though that goes against the cultural norm in Kenya, where widows are mistreated and looked down on.

When Elizabeth Mativo’s husband died in 2008, she felt so lonely & depressed. In addition to losing her wonderful, kind, loving, godly husband and lifelong missionary partner, Elizabeth was experiencing all the discriminatory hardships other widowed women experience in Kenya.

Child Arise widowed women sing praises.

People were telling her that nobody cared about her anymore, that her own family didn’t love her, and some even came to steal her property, all of which are common for widowed women there.

As she began to look at the other widowed women around her, she felt the Lord leading her to start a ministry for them; to encourage them from the Bible, to pray together, and to reach out to widowed women who didn’t yet know the Lord in a saving way.

As a well-educated, widely known and respected missionary with African Inland Church (AIC), she had never heard of any type of grief support group before.

Ladies prepare a meal to share.

When Elizabeth Mativo came to visit us in the United States in 2009-2010, she attended Homewood Evangelical Free Church and participated in different grief ministries there. She took every informational paper and booklet on grief support she could get her hands on.

Elizabeth Mativo with her Homewood Grief Group friends.

Fast forward to Kenya 2014. The women of Child Arise Kenya Widows and Orphans Ministry recently participated in a drama competition with OTHER widowed women groups from ALL OVER a wide area of Kenya. They placed fifth out of thirteen! Their play was based on Dorcas, in Acts 9.

Every year, Elizabeth speaks in Kenya, at the District and Regional level, about Child Arise Kenya Widows and Orphans Ministry. Using Biblical support, she calls the church to care for widows and explains their needs. Now, every church Elizabeth knows of, has such a group! She also says that the attitudes towards widows have improved greatly within the church!

Widowed women take a Bible test to qualify for

recognition after intense advanced study.

Part of our Statement of Purpose says, “Child Arise will endeavor to educate communities on changing their discriminatory attitudes towards widows.” Through the hard work of Elizabeth Mativo and those who pray and donate, the Lord is doing just that!

Elizabeth Mativo was elected this year as Chair Person for all AIC Widow’s Programs in the Machakos region.

Award ceremony for graduates of the advanced Bible studies.

When you partner prayerfully and financially with Child Arise Kenya Widows and Orphans Ministry, you are participating with THE ONE, in obedience, to “look after widows and orphans in their distress” as HE tells us in James 1:27.

Prayer Requests From Missionary Elizabeth Mativo

U Pray for spiritual growth in all the groups. We continue to testify of the Lords grace and providence all through the year and we thank God for this.

UAs we come to close of the year, let’s pray for the candidates who will be doing their primary school national examinations.

U For the Lords provision and favor as we approach Christmas and the New Year.

UThe Board of Directors in Kenya asks that we thank God for Elizabeth’s health this year! The Board of Directors in the United States agrees!

ULet’s pray for the USA team coming in 2016, that God will prepare them for the funds needed, the medical preparations necessary, for them to adapt to the weather this side and mostly that the Lord will use them to bring glory to His name.

LIKE and GET NOTIFICATIONS on our facebook page

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

dawn@ChildAriseKenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

Child Arise Kenya is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt ministry

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Nzioka Is Top Student!

By Dawn Brown

I remember meeting Nzioka Musembi during our visit to one of the primary schools in Mbooni. I saw the scars on his face and could tell they ran under his school uniform too. A school administrator and a teacher had brought him to us and began speaking words I couldn’t understand. My mind wandered, trying to imagine what this child had experienced in his young life. I knew I could never even begin to understand.

I wondered how he felt about being paraded in front of us. Were we the first white people he’d ever seen? Were we bizarre looking to him? So many other children were watching. Were they his friends? Did they treat him well or was he ridiculed? What kinds of emotional hardships has he faced?

Teacher, Nzioka, Joseph Onesimus (our team leader), Administrator~

Our team being introduced to Nzioka.

They told us he was very intelligent, had much potential, but was in and out of school because his widowed mother didn’t have the funds to keep him and his sister in school consistently.

I handed him a piece of paper and asked him to write his name. How would he feel when I asked him to hold his name up while we took his picture? Had he ever had his picture taken before? Had he ever seen a camera? Would he feel like a celebrity or would it be demeaning?

That was the system I was using to keep track of the names and faces after we returned home. I knew from other short term mission trips, that memories fade, even when you think they won’t.

“Oh God,” I quickly and silently prayed, “May we do more good for this boy than harm.”

We had spent the morning in meetings with administrators & teachers, learning how their educational system works compared to ours, and what type of needs they have.

Elizabeth Mativo told us it was significant that the educators brought Nzioka to our attention over all the other children in the school. She had not been fully aware of the financial need and she was not aware of Nzioka’s strong possibility of above average achievement.

It was shortly after our trip and more investigating and interviewing, that Elizabeth added Nzioka to the list of orphaned children that Child Arise is trying to keep in school consistently. Praise God and thanks to you donors, she has been able to do that!

Elizabeth & Nzioka in his new shirt given by Child Arise donations & sent by sea container.

In Kenya, not every child can attend high school. A difficult national test is given and only those who pass are allowed to enter. The passing children are told which high school to report to, based on their performance on the exams.

Early this year, the announcement came that Nzioka was number one in the entire district of Mbooni! Mbooni district is huge! He reported to the top notch, Nakuru National High School. It’s a great distance from his home, so he doesn’t often get back to see his mother, sister and grandmother. So far he is doing very well in high school. At this time, he hopes to become a doctor someday and longs to help others.

Nzioka's mother and Nzioka at the feeding program and Bible lesson.

Traditionally, when a woman marries, she becomes part of the husband’s family and moves to his family area. After the death of Nzioka’s father, the husband’s relatives started to abuse his mother. Eventually, she moved her children back to her widowed mother’s home to escape the situation. Nzioka has been raised by his mother and grandmother for years.

A common practice for men, his mother now works in a faraway city, trying to sell biscuits and candy in the streets, to people riding the Matatus (mini buses or trucks that transport people).

Nzioka's mother.

There’s never enough to meet the most basic needs of her children, her mother and herself. In the past, she and her mother have found work as land laborers, or fetching water for businesses or any other manual jobs they can get. They work very hard, but earn little.

Nzioka's sister and mother on the left.

When Nzioka was a little boy, he fell into a cooking pot of hot broth and was badly burned. The scars remain on his face and body. I wonder what kinds of scars are hidden on the hearts of Nzioka and the other orphaned children of Child Arise.

When you donate to Child Arise Kenya Widows and Orphans Ministry, you are helping kids like Nzioka to have HOPE for the future. God is using YOU to make a difference. THANK YOU!

Prayer Requests From Missionary Elizabeth Mativo

U The children are on trimester school break. Pray that the extra time with those in the feeding program will be spiritually fruitful for all.

UPraise for the growing acceptance of widowed women within the church.

UPray for funds for a tanker truck to carry the water from our borehole to schools, businesses & homes. There are people who need it, but it’s too far. We have plenty of water, but no way to get it to them.

*LIKE* and GET NOTIFICATIONS

on our facebook page

100% of your donation goes to Kenya!