Many Thanks From Mbooni!

Singing Praises to Our Lord & King

Many Thanks From Mbooni!

By The Women & Children of Child Arise & Dawn Brown

            Child Arise Kenya Widows & Orphans Ministry has received thank you notes, in English, from some of the orphaned children and a group note from the Christian widowed women who benefit from your ongoing and generous support.

            I wish I knew of a way to easily get them to each one of you so that you could experience the uniqueness of each note, see the individual child’s handwriting and style, the type of note paper each person used, the size of each piece and the way some of the paper has been torn to the needed size and individually folded to be mailed to the United States.

            It reminds me, once again, how real these woman and children are and how, like each of us, they were fearfully and wonderfully created, knit together in their mother’s womb, not hidden from God, and brought to our attention like only our Lord can do.  He allows us to show His love to them!

(I have removed the names for this blog post.)

            Here is a little sample of the notes:

From the women:

“Christian Widows

A.I.C. (African Inland Church) Muthei

P.O. Box 233

Kikima.

RE: Thanks Giving.

            We take this chance to thank our God and send greetings to you all as we hope you are all well.  We are all fine and also our family members.

            Our main theme is to thank you a lot for the present gifts you always send to us through Mrs. Elizabeth Mativo and her son Joseph. 

            As we remember the Bibles, blankets, cooking flour, cooking fat, and also each widow received one of these sheep, goats and hens which we are taking care of at our homes.

            May God bless you all as we continue to remember you in our daily prayers.

Your’s faithfully,

A.I.C. Muthei Widows:

Twenty-five individual women listed their names.

From one of the children:

29/4/2013

Name of Child

            My name is ________________.  I am in standard eight (8th grade).  We are three in our family .. two boys and one girl.  Our grandmother is the one caring us.  My parents have passed away. 

            I am so thankful to Elizabeth Mativo who is paying my school fees.  I want to continue with my studies and I know God will help Elizabeth to continue paying my school fees.

Thank you,

Name of child

From another child:

6/5/2013

            My name is ___________________.  I’m in form two (high school sophomore).

            My family consists of three people, my dad, my grandmother and my elder brother.

            What can I do is to thank God for providing me with school fees for the last year and I believe that He will also provide for the coming two years.  Amen.

            I thank Elizabeth Mativo for providing the school fees for me and God will never leave her behind.  She also provides things like books, biro pens, uniform and other shopping items.  I thank her very much.

            Continue praying for me.

Yours faithfully,

Name of child

From a child:

7/05/2013

            My name is ___________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­.  I am in form two (high school sophomore) in Utumoni Secondary School.

            I am happy for providing me with school fees and other personal items like uniform, books, shoes, pens, etc. 

            I think God to Elizabeth Mativo.  I’m happy to stay with her.  She is like my mother.  She tell me word of God day and night.

            I love education and I pray that God will provide me with school fees until I finished my education.

            Our family consists of 8 people, 5 girls & 3 boys.  I am the last girl in the family.

            Pray for me.

Yours faithfully,

Name of child

(She never attended church, but now, her and her widowed mother are believers!)

 

Prayer Requests

U   Recently teachers were on strike in demand for higher pay. That means all children, especially boarders, had to come home until teachers resume duty. This has caused some financial restrains because of transport back home and now back to school again as teachers have resumed duty. Please pray for understanding between the government and teachers as they have not resolved the salary issue yet.

U As we thank the Lord for how far we have come, please pray for the ministry to grow and also renew our strength in this journey to heaven. Pray that we will get more financial help. The poverty levels continue to rise but we thank God we can do something little - We give food baskets to the needy every week.

 

 

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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

dawn@childarisekenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

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

 

 

 

 

 

YOU are changing lives! Bible Lessons & Meals!

 

When you donate to Child Arise Kenya Widows and Orphans Ministry, YOU are allowing the Lord to change lives through YOU!  Here are a few pictures from one of their Bible lesson/meal times.  When our team went to Kenya in June 2012, Anna Diaz took foam core boards to use for our lessons for the orphaned children.  What a good idea!  Elizabeth Mativo continues to use them every Saturday at the Bible lesson time.  Thank you donors!

 

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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

dawn@childarisekenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

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

Compassion Fatigue
By Dawn Brown

Do you suffer from compassion fatigue?  Do you feel guilty when you don’t help and then guilty if you do?  Do you try to do your part for those in need and then wonder if you’ve done enough?  When you give, do you question if it makes a difference?  Do you ask yourself questions like, who’s to blame for the poverty or why should you even bother?

If compassion fatigue is wearing you down, you might need to refocus.  I hope this article will free you.  I recently read the book, Invisible: What the Church Can Do to Find & Serve the Least of These.  One chapter offers some help that I’d like to draw upon.

The purpose of our salvation is not just a future in Heaven.  We follow Jesus for the here and now too.  “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  We are here to serve.   It’s an opportunity for us to see God work and for the world to see Him too.  What a privilege He’s given us!     

Most of us healthy Americans have the ability to accumulate wealth unlike most of the world.  We can come alongside struggling ministries who serve “the least of these”.  The Bible talks a lot about serving the poor, the widows and the orphans.  I’ve heard that there are over 2,000 Bible verses that address the topic!

God tells us to think of what we are giving to others, as though we are giving it to Him.  It might help to become less concerned about who’s to blame for the poor and the injustices we see.  Maybe we should stop wondering if we are really making a difference.  God gives us the chance to give others the benefit of our goodwill and monetary blessings, and He promises to bless us in return.  How exciting! 

Those blessings may come in unexpected ways.  We may be freed from our self-centered egos.  Our focus on the Lord may begin to go deeper.  We may be moved beyond our prejudice or fear.  Our burdens may be lightened because we are learning to trust God to meet our needs, rather than trust our ability to earn our own way.  A growing and maturing faith may be gained.  We may have a more willing and open hand to others.  We may experience the joy of being obedient and being used by the Lord.  The most important blessings don’t always come in material things.

We need to learn to live the way Jesus did.  Ask God to give us His compassionate heart.  Then, the cry of human need will reach into the deepest part of us and compel us to joyfully respond. 

When it comes from Him and we begin to work and give with the right motives and not out of guilt, we will begin to give up our self-centered, materialistic lives and be overcome with loving kindness, openhanded generosity and be advocates for the marginalized.  God will bless us.  God doesn’t twist our arm, but He invites us, and offers us meaning and fulfillment in our lives! 

“When we ask God to do something about poverty,

God is saying back to us, ‘I did do something.  I made you’”.

–Shane Clairborne

Elizabeth giving school books to Dennis & Syokau in 2011.  Read about Dennis next.

Dennis is One Smart Guy!

Elizabeth Mativo is so proud of Dennis and what he has accomplished.  In spite of being in and out of school much of his life, Dennis has graduated from high school and has very good grades!  Early on in this ministry, Elizabeth identified him as being a very good student who really wanted to learn.  He has been steadily in school since 2010.  Your donations to Child Arise are changing lives!  

Not all children in Kenya have the privilege of going to high school.  Only those who pass a very difficult national exam are allowed.

To attend the University of Nairobi, students must have a GPA of B-, which Dennis has exceeded.  He has taken the entrance exams and qualifies to go directly to the University.  This is quite an accomplishment, especially from a child who grew up, in and out of school depending on funds, without enough food, overworked and a difficult home life.

You may remember reading about the tragic family event he experienced.  Being distraught over poverty, his mother killed his two younger siblings and then killed herself.  This left Dennis and a sister, Nthenya, who was featured in an earlier newsletter.

Their father re-married and their stepmother died of AIDS.  While we were in Mbooni, the father told us that he is troubled with bad dreams and scary thoughts.  He travels away from Mbooni trying to find work, like a farm hand or building things, but there is little work to be found.

Because there is no electricity in Mbooni, Dennis has no computer experience, which he will need at the University.  The next step in his education is to go to a computer school in Nairobi for several months, to gain the skills he will need to succeed.  From there, he will begin at the University. 

These computer courses come at a cost of $1,439 which includes his room and board.  I hope Dennis will have a chance to graduate from college and the possibility of achieving a life sustaining career, because someone reading this (or several someones) may be willing to provide him with that opportunity.

Elizabeth Mativo’s daughter, Irene, states, “I personally have very high hopes in Dennis.  He is a brilliant young man.”

 

Prayer Requests

U Please pray for continued improvement in Elizabeth’s knee.  Working on her crops and walking the mountain trails hasn’t allowed for proper healing.  Paise that she is able to do her work.  God is able!

UPray that the Bible lessons for the woman and children will bring them closer to the Lord.

U Praise for those in the community who continue to come to receive a Bible.  Even men who don’t attend church are coming!

UPraise for how the Lord is providing through money from partners in U.S. and that more children will be helped to go to school and for adequate food for the women and children. 

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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

dawn@childarisekenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

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

From Elizabeth Mativo-Thanks & Updates

To Our Fellow Ministry Partners

From Elizabeth Mativo

Receive greetings in the name of Jesus from Mbooni Kenya!

Through the years we have been able to experience God’s blessings and good things through you. We thank you for extending undeserved favors through your generous support and prayers. 


 

You have promoted this community in ways you will never understand fully.  You have opened closed doors that would have taken years to open.  For example, Mueni who was struck with a visual impairment is now going to a special school for the blind. 

She is enjoying school, excited to be there and has a zeal to read.  The teachers love her.  She has made a lot of friends. God is truly amazing. She is active in sporting activities, loves running and the teachers told me she once was number two in a race. I pray that God uses her to make a difference in many in the coming years.

 

Kalondu who couldn’t even afford a bed, now sleeps on one comfortably, because the summer team authorized the funds you sent.  There are many more widows who come to collect food on a monthly basis to share with their families.  Many of them care for orphans. 



 

You provided a bed for this precious widow.  Two women and two children, including the baby above, live in this 1 room home.  They breath the smoke from the cooking fire right in the room with them.

You have changed Nthenya who could barely smile because she has suffered so much loss after her mom committed suicide and murdered two other siblings.  Later her dad, who turned out to be a drunkard, remarried another lady who was mistreating her and her remaining brother, Dennis.  The grandmother who suffers from leprosy could barely assist the children in any way.  Nthenya now is happy in school. 

 

There is Syokau who is now in school.  The mom had been struggling to put her in school and had to keep her home for months because of lack of school fees.  Their homestead was often visited by drunkards, as the grown brother makes an illegal local brew.  Now Syokau and her mom are Christians and have been baptized!

Widowed mother, both baptized believers now.

Syokau

For Mutheu who was at a loss for meaning of life after growing up without parents and having a seriously handicapped sister, Musenya, who was laid to rest last year.  Mutheu has a future in computer because of her computer training after completing high school.



Jackson family, orphaned for 14 years.  Mutheu is center back and the late Musenya in the wheel chair.

The CLEAN WATER BOREHOLE has a big impact on this community.  The water keeps coming because you provide the gas for the generator to pump it. 


Filling the generator with gas to pump the deep water well.



These kids don't always get TWO meals a day.

There are so many more testimonies that this community has experienced because you let God bless us through you!  The list is endless.  The widows and orphans are beginning to see they are loved and valued.

Our Prayer for you is that this year and the many more to come, God will also unveil His favor just like He has done to us.  We urge you to stand on His Promises like we have. 

 

You are one of the many ways that God has poured His goodness into our lives.  Through your faithful prayers and generous support, you have helped us share the message of HOPE with the Mbooni community every day through all of our different ministry outreaches. Thank you for helping to bring such an important difference in our lives.

God bless you mightily.

In Him,

Elizabeth Mativo

 

Prayer Requests From Missionary Elizabeth Mativo

U  Peace of mind for the orphaned children who are in school.  Usually they leave home with their mind overloaded with troubles from home or are loaded with a lot of work before going to school, thus concentration levels lower.

UPray for our country now that the elections have past and praise Him that few were killed during that time.

U Pray for more support.  There is enormous need for more funds to help in supporting those widows and orphans who can’t always afford 2 meals a day and also those who are not able to pay school fees for the children.

UPray that anyone who gets any help through Child Arise will come to know the Lord and trust Him to fulfill his/her needs.

U Praise for my restored health and your prayers for me during my illness.

 

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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

dawn@childarisekenya.com

ChildAriseKenya.com

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



 

 

Prayer Requests & Elections in Kenya

 

Prayer Requests from Elizabeth Mativo in Kenya-see below.

 

I just spoke with Elizabeth Mativo in Kenya and she has some prayer requests for us.

Monday, March 4th are the presidential elections in Kenya. Please pray that the best candidate for the people will be elected. Pray for peace and safety for everyone in Kenya during the elections and transition. (FYI-It was the last presidential elections when Pastor Onesimus Mativo and Elizabeth Mativo were ministering in the slums and had to flee for their lives. Many people, I believe apx 800, were killed during those riots that election period.)

The government has closed all schools for a week for the elections and ordered that all children are to return to their homes. Elizabeth has just picked up Mueni in Nairobi at the school for blind children and will be taking her back to Mbooni for the week. Please pray for safe travel for the two of them on the long trip.

Elizabeth's health is much better, but she is still struggling with her blood pressure and headaches. Please pray that her blood pressure will lower and the headaches will go away.

Elizabeth's mother is not feeling well and is in a lot of pain in her legs and back. She can no longer walk well. Please pray for her.

Elizabeth sends her thanks for your prayers.

In Christ's love,

Dawn Brown