| “Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love stays with us. Love is God.”1 Therefore, our unwavering focus at Serving in Jesus’ Name is to share the love of God through material support, wrapped in His Holy Scripture. It alone has the power to make His love real to those who will receive it. As we reflect on 2021, we have no way to count the children and adults who received Christ or drew closer to Him through our work, but we can trust that His love has touched many hearts. We have assurance that the Scriptures we painted on buildings, shared in celebrations, and provided in Bibles and other Christian materials “will not return to the Lord void” (Isaiah 55:11). |
Year in Review
- In July, we shipped a 40′ container with around 85,000 items for distribution in Kenya to orphans, schoolchildren, and their caretakers.
- Throughout the year, we made distributions to 28 orphanages and schools, bringing joy to nearly 9,000 children. Whenever our team visited a new facility and gave the children their first toys, new clothes, books, and other wonderful gifts, their excitement was almost uncontainable. Many locations had only a single Bible for the teacher to read from, so when each child received a Bible, they were often confused, asking, “Is this Bible for me? Don’t I have to give it back?”
- We saw the classroom we built at Mirembe and the library at Lumino bustling with children after sitting idle in 2020 due to COVID.
- We started our 2021 building projects by giving light to the Magodo Orphanage in Nairobi, which had been without electricity for four years due to unpaid electric bills. We, along with the children and their caretakers, praised Jesus, the light of the world (John 8:12), for the solar energy system we installed to replace their paraffin lamps.
- To give a clean, safe place to prepare their meals, we built standalone kitchens at the Lumino Orphanage, Lusweti Public School, and Mirembe Primary School. Previously, all meals were prepared over open fires, so the build-in ovens enabled the staff to bake their first bread. They thanked the Lord, the Bread of Life (John 6:35), for His provision.
- As we spread the Good News of Jesus, the living water (John 4:14) , we built rainwater catchment systems at 10 faculties. We also replaced sinking, wretched latrines at 7 facilities.
December Stateside Activities
- Middle school student, Siena Segall, spent part of her month collecting items for Kenyan children. With the support of her mom, Kristi, and the generosity of her neighbors, she collected 265 stuffed animals and over 100 books, binders, and other school supplies. Seeing a young person having a heart for the less fortunate is a true blessing to us, and her efforts will certainly bring joy to many children.
After several closed doors, West End Presbyterian Church opened its facilities to us to host our “annual” winter apparel giveaways to those who might need warm outerwear. We had 220 people, mostly recent immigrants, attend to hear the Gospel and then help themselves to coats, boots, hats, scarves, and gloves, as well as Bibles and children’s Bible storybooks. Luke Mansfield gave a powerful message on the grace and love of God.
We know the Lord calls some to sow and some to reap, but He alone causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6). We are grateful for all those who enabled us to sow seeds of life in 2021 – Berea, Mt. Vernon, Hope, and West End Presbyterian Churches that made donations, supplied crews to help move boxes and load the container, and helped in so many other ways. We appreciate the hundreds of kits donated by Days for Girls and thousands of dresses donated by Dress a Girl, and we send our special thanks to Hill’s Storage for providing a free 20’ storage unit. Our thanks go out to every person who supported us financially, helped with the work, and donated items. As we reflect on all the Lord has enabled us to do this year, we know God is faithful and His people are awesome!
Blessings,
Kathy Carlin, Executive Director
