| The team at Serving in Jesus’ Name praises the Lord for the work done in His name in October. We take joy in having been able to provide enhanced dignity for the children and caretakers at the Ivugui and Don Bosco facilities. This weekend, having finished painting the new latrines, the workers will scroll the Word of Truth across the privacy walls to remind the children daily that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and faith in Him alone can bring them into a saving relationship with the Father (John 14:6). Looking to November, we will be starting the installation of three rainwater catchment systems to provide a supply of fresh water for drinking and cooking during the dry season. We had originally planned to start only two projects next month; however, a designated donation from a friend is enabling us to complete an additional project. We are excited to head to western VA tomorrow for the November 2 outreach in Appalachia. We look forward to spending time with the sweet nurses, Keylia and Ang, who head to Kenya later in November to join Immaculate in ministering to the children and women at many of the orphanages and the 2 rescue centers. These 3 dedicated ladies will be visiting Divine Mercy. This orphanage, which is new to us, provides care for 30 children, including newborns, toddlers, and children under 10 years of age, and we consider it a privilege to bring it into our support network.  In all we do, we are ever mindful the work is the Lord’s, and not ours, praying always that we may be steadfast in performing kingdom work, not moved or distracted from our mission to serve as He leads us, so our labor will produce fruit and not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). As we endeavor to be faithful to Jesus’ commission (“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you – John 20:21), we strive to remember “The great dominant note is not the needs of men, but the command of Jesus…. For the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ — ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.’ ” (Matthew 28:19). (My Utmost to His Highest, October 26, Oswald Chambers) Many thanks to to each of you who support us with prayer, funding, help packing, and the items we ship to remote places or deliver nearby. You are a blessing to us and to those we serve in Jesus’ name. Blessings, |
Activities at Serving in Jesus’ Name in October:
- Praise the Lord – we have around 900 devotionals and 1200 journals of the 1300 needed to give one of each to those in the 13 orphanages, 2 rescue centers, and senior men’s home in our network. The devotional count took a huge jump when a couple donated 360 Wonder Devotional Packets for children aged 5-12. This 6-book series is published by Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). This amazing organization, which shared the Gospel in 2018 with over 25 million children around the world, has a vibrant ministry in Kenya. We are exploring starting CEF Good News Clubs in many of the orphanages and in getting CEF JYC teens teaching curriculum kits for each facility.
- Donated items continue to flow in. Every item is a gift and will be someone’s treasure whether it comes in a small bag left on my porch or a stuffed SUV. We are especially grateful the Lord put on Karen Dawson’s heart to come beside us by gathering donations. Though Karen’s outreach, the people at Berea Baptist Church have donated a small mountain of items. This is a huge answer to prayer. I must confess, as I considered the 2100 cubic feet inside the container, I was fretting over how we would fill it, but the Lord reminded me fretting is not part of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I am grateful, that He, who leads me beside the still waters (Psalm 23), will accomplish His purpose (Isaiah 46:10), and I don’t have to worry about how He will do it.
- Andrea and Tami from The Sophie House donated 3 SUV’s full of amazing things since they are moving to a new facility. When I thought of the young children at Arch Angel playing with this dollhouse, I couldn’t pass it up even though it will be in my garage until the container ships. The Sophie House is dedicated to assisting working single moms by providing them with financial assistance for quality childcare, as well as educational workshops centered on financial, legal, and family issues offered through Second Saturday Workshops. To learn more about The Sophie House or to make a difference by donating to support and enrich the lives of single women and their families, hence enabling them to go from instability to stability, visit them at thesophiehouse.org.
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- Sometimes you need muscle to go with a willing heart, so we are grateful for Kapil who donated a chunk of his weekend to move 23 large boxes of books from my garage to the unit.
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