Pastors Galik and Sell, along with Elizabeth Nelson and Kirk Radford will be in Kenya soon. As they make their way through the countryside, visiting orphans and building relationships, they will 7 hours ahead of our time in Michigan. So, in Kenya, it is currently...
Keep this in mind as you go through your day. It makes for an interesting contrast.
Showing posts with label Lutheran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lutheran. Show all posts
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
St. John's Partnership with Friends of Mercy to Minister to Children in Kenya
The PartnershipFriends of Mercy is very thankful for this opportunity to work together with our brothers and sisters at St. John. Partnerships are the way to get things done, especially when following through with God's Word to "the ends of the earth."
You might want to take a look at our web site (here) to learn about what Pastor Galik, Elizabeth, and Kirk will learn about. Please feel free to e-mail me and ask any questions that you might have about our upcoming trip.
You might want to take a look at our web site (here) to learn about what Pastor Galik, Elizabeth, and Kirk will learn about. Please feel free to e-mail me and ask any questions that you might have about our upcoming trip.Kenya and AIDS Orphans and FGM
Our goal in Kenya is to work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to assist the weakest victims of HIV/AIDS, the children left behind. Most parents are dying by the time they are 30 years old. Sibling families are formed, where the 11-18 year old brother or sister steps in as a "parent" figure to the younger children.
FGM is a terrible rite still practiced by the Masai tribe. I suggest you take a look at FoM's website here to learn about the details of exactly what it is. Our goal is to build a compound called the Entito Rescue Center which will be a girls boarding school for 500 young girls.
Check back often for more information and updates by the whole team!
Thanks again for allowing Friends of Mercy to serve our Lord through St. John.
Pastor Mark Sell
Monday, October 1, 2007
If we don't do something...
HIV/AIDS
By 2010, an estimated 15.7 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will have lost at least one parent due to AIDS. Even where HIV prevalence stabilizes or begins to decline, the number of orphans will continue to grow or at least remain high for years, reflecting the time lag between HIV infection and death.
In Kenya, according to UNAIDS, in 2005 there were 1.1 million orphans due to AIDS. This crisis impacts entire communities as they struggle to respond to the needs of these children, who suffer physical, emotional, educational, and sociological impacts.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya ministers to these orphans and to the families and communities mobilizing to provide them with care. We seek to partner with the ELCK to fund and support a project, perhaps a community-based orphanage, over a five year time frame.
Poverty
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is a city of 3 million inhabitants. Some 60% are packed into slums, which comprise only 5% of Nairobi's land mass. The biggest and poorest slum in Nairobi, and in fact in all of Africa, is Kibera, with a population of over 1 million. A BBC reports describes it as "600 acres of mud and filth, with a brown stream running through the middle."
The ELCK has a church in Kibera where the living Word is preached and people without hope hear of a Savior.
Just barely scratching the surface, these statistics and descriptions of a humanitarian crisis inform and influence our calling. Because at the end of the day, if don't do something people will die. We can do some-thing, and therefore we go to Kenya to find out what that is.
By 2010, an estimated 15.7 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will have lost at least one parent due to AIDS. Even where HIV prevalence stabilizes or begins to decline, the number of orphans will continue to grow or at least remain high for years, reflecting the time lag between HIV infection and death.
In Kenya, according to UNAIDS, in 2005 there were 1.1 million orphans due to AIDS. This crisis impacts entire communities as they struggle to respond to the needs of these children, who suffer physical, emotional, educational, and sociological impacts.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya ministers to these orphans and to the families and communities mobilizing to provide them with care. We seek to partner with the ELCK to fund and support a project, perhaps a community-based orphanage, over a five year time frame.
Poverty
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is a city of 3 million inhabitants. Some 60% are packed into slums, which comprise only 5% of Nairobi's land mass. The biggest and poorest slum in Nairobi, and in fact in all of Africa, is Kibera, with a population of over 1 million. A BBC reports describes it as "600 acres of mud and filth, with a brown stream running through the middle."
The ELCK has a church in Kibera where the living Word is preached and people without hope hear of a Savior.
Just barely scratching the surface, these statistics and descriptions of a humanitarian crisis inform and influence our calling. Because at the end of the day, if don't do something people will die. We can do some-thing, and therefore we go to Kenya to find out what that is.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Welcome!
Welcome to the St. John Lutheran Church Ends of the Earth blog! Here we will be posting information related to our upcoming trip to Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya, October 16 - 26 2007, to conduct fact-finding and relationship-building toward the goal of establishing ongoing support for at-risk children. We will be working closely with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to identify an area we can partner with over a long term committment. Our trusted guide and advisor is Pastor Mark Sell from Friends of Mercy. He has a blog too, right here.
Our Lord has already laid our path in Kenya, and we pray through Christ that He will make it known to us as we journey to the ends of the earth! Acts 1:8
Check back often for more!
Our Lord has already laid our path in Kenya, and we pray through Christ that He will make it known to us as we journey to the ends of the earth! Acts 1:8
Check back often for more!
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