Ngila Needs Jesus

Ngila Needs Jesus

By Dawn Brown

“The primary responsibility of Christians is to the poor within the body of Christ, but the Bible also forbids us to neglect the poor outside of the church.”

~ Timothy J. Keller ~

  

 

Ngila is a widowed woman who receives help from Child Arise and she is not a Christian.  She is an example of how Elizabeth Mativo shows the love of Jesus to those outside of the church. 

On our 2012 Summer Trip to Kenya, we were told there is a big problem with men in the community and alcoholism.  They drink “illegal brew”, which contains strange and deadly ingredients, like battery acid.  It’s cheap and speeds up the fermentation process.  Ingestion has killed many young men.  Some begin to drink to dull the pain of being unable to provide for their families, even though they know it will kill them.  They become addicted.

Little did we know when we arrived in Kenya, we would go to a location where this “illegal brew” was made.  When visiting one of the widowed women, a widowed man told Elizabeth about a place where this was going on.  He told her about some small children there that needed her help and said he would take us.  He too, was addicted.

We followed him over the mountain trails until we came to the place.  There were men sitting all around.  Some of them had been classmates of Elizabeth’s son, Joseph, who was with us, but they looked much older, resulting from their drinking habits, we were told.

Some of the men we met at Ngila's.

Elizabeth was introduced to Ngila, an old woman.  There were several children in this environment; not only the alcoholics hanging out getting drunk, but horrible poverty. Elizabeth recognized two older children.  She told us they were a part of her Saturday Bible lesson and meal, but she didn’t know anything about the younger four.  We learned they were all orphaned and Ngila, a widow, cares for them.  They are her grandchildren.

Once Elizabeth found out about all six orphaned children in her care and saw the way they lived, she told us that the younger ones would be invited to the Saturday Bible lesson, where they would also get a meal.   She invited Ngila to join the women’s group.  The younger children started coming to the meal and lesson too.  Ngila’s orphaned grandchildren benefit from your donations to Child Arise. 

Elizabeth made a point to visit Ngila, encouraging her, praying for her and occasionally would bring her a bit of food.  She let her know that Jesus loves her.  She told her she would be welcome in the church and the widow’s group, should she ever want to attend, but Ngila never came. 

Since our trip last year, another of Ngila’s daughters died.  She had two children and her husband had already died.  Now Ngila is caring for eight of her orphaned grandchildren.  

I was able to have a conversation with the oldest boy when we were there and I believe he is a follower of Jesus through the Bible lessons and feeding program on Saturdays.

Anna Diaz, on our team, saw that he had ripped out the back of his pants.  We went to our luggage and Anna pulled out a way to large pair of jeans.  We cut some twine we brought with us, so he could use it as a belt to hold the jeans up.  He was thrilled and so very thankful.  He just kept smiling and thanking us the rest of the day!

Ngila & her six grandchildren we met.

In August of this year, the government finally raided these small but deadly, illegal operations that are located all over Elizabeth’s area.  This is a very good thing, but it presents a problem for many living in extreme poverty who were able to feed their families through this small income.  Poverty alleviation is complicated. 

Ngila was jailed for her part in this crime.  Kenyan prison conditions are considered deplorable and inhumane by international watchdog groups and have drawn the attention of the U.S. State Department.

Ngila spent many weeks in jail until some were able to plead for her release.  On her first Sunday out of prison, Elizabeth Mativo reports that Ngila was in church for the first time!  She has continued to be in church on Sunday mornings as of this writing. 

After Ngila's release from jail, Elizabeth continues to visit.

Please keep Ngila, her grandchildren and others like her in your prayers.  Just like you and I, they need the hope of Jesus; His love and His forgiveness.  Without it, no amount of food or school fees will mean anything, but with your donations providing these material things to those unbelieving households, it just may be what our Lord uses to draw them to Himself!

Prayer Requests

•  Pray for Ngila that she can accept Christ and leave her wayward behavior.

•  Pray for protection of the children in Ngila’s care and that they will follow Jesus.

• Pray for wisdom to know the best way to help the ladies and children.  Pray as I prepare my lessons.   
• Pray that the Word of God will reach each of them.

• Pray for the drunkard men to leave their illegal brew, come to the Lord and live productive lives.  Some have come to me requesting Bibles.  Pray that I can have provision to provide them.

•  Pray for our Country. We suffered a major loss with the burning of our airport which literally burned to ashes. Shortly after that one of our Nairobi malls was attached by terrorists and many were murdered.  This has caused a strain on our economy.    Pray for cleansing of the nation as well as better economy.

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

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Ngila's place at the time of our visit.

 

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